Fucked up mental priorities.
 

If you think about it...If you put someone on a stage in front of an audience at gunpoint, I'm sure a lot of people would be more afraid of embarrassing themselves than they would be of having their brains blown out.

For some reason I've never had much of a problem doing public speaking. The only time I've ever had real stage fright was when I did stand-up comedy a few times in college. I had to get liquored up to do it.

Comedy is the hardest of all performing arts. If you are an actor or actress you've got other actors to help you if you mess up a line, if you're a singer and you're done with your song, you'll get courtesy applause. But if you're a comic and you're not funny people not only laugh they get mean. I usually did ok when I did comedy but there were a few times where I got the loudest silence in the world and I wanted to run screaming off the stage to escape my flop sweat.

I think that's why they use violent terms like, "I killed 'em".

I've never had trouble with public speaking either, but a lot of my friends would rather eat shit than speak in front of people. My state requires all high school students to take a speech class, and they were all on the verge of pissing their pants all semester.

Grace, this is the last thing you want to hear BUT you're much too young to be so angry.
Yeah, yeah. I know. You're tough as nails, you don't give a fuck what I think, you know where it's at, yada, yada, yada.
Believe me, you are entitled to your opinion and to express it as much as anybody else.
So am I. And mine is you can have an opinion on whether anything is good or bad but you seem to feel everything is bad and that will consume you.
Lighten up a little and you'll find there are some very cool things in the world around you.
I'm not attacking you. I'm trying to be a friend.:beer:

Haha, I think you have me a little misread. I'm just an angsty teenager. I'm not one of those angry children that listens to slipknot and paints their bedroom black and cuts themselves and thinks its cool. I think of myself as semi-intelligent, and while a lot of shit clutters my brain, a lot of comes out in a negative way. Sure theres good things around me. I love music, and animals and nature etc.. But blah, teenage angst is something that inhibits us all.

Nice to meet you, Bruce.

I agree...you're still young Grace...there's a lot of life out there. You're not allowed to be so angry until you're at least 21. :)

Could part of the issue be that you live in Boise?

But I also agree with the initial post to a point. I think that can be easily said for teenagers, who tend to be more esteem-centered. I think that fades away as you get older...at least for most people. Unfortunately, some people never get past the esteem issues.

Well that's certainly good to hear. That shit is so played out anyway.

Wow I didn't nocie that you're from Boise. Beautiful place down there. I actually have a cousin who moved there from Chicago the end of last year.

If I fade any more I'll be transparent.:D

Nice to meet you too, Grace. By the way that was my Grannie's name so it make's me all warm and fuzzy and there's damn little that'll do that anymore.

Damn, that's one hell of a change of scenery for your cousin.

I've heard nice things about Boise...it's just fun to bag on people's hometowns. I mean, you can come up with shit on any town. e.g. "Filthadelphia"

Yeah. Boise blows ass. I would do anything to get out of here.

Good...now I feel better. :)

He was originally from Butte, MT so it wasn't bad for him. He actually is liking it better in Boise then Chicago, more outdoor activities and all.

[butt-head]Huh huh...you said "butt."[/butt-head]

sycamore, did you see the post i put on your "sycamore the published poet?" something like that thread?

Very simple solution.

--Work hard in high school...get good grades.
--Apply for lots of scholarships.
--Go to a college far far away from Boise.

well, yeah.

Yep...I'm going to send the proof back for shits and grins...it'll only cost me 37 cents.

I've never done actual stand-up before, though some folks thought I should. No thanks...I can deal with the stage, but I'm not a fan of starting at the bottom in something like that.

I really would like to know the percentage of high school students that liked their home town. I think it would probably be incredibly low. I'd want to survey the same peopl 7 years or so down the line and see how many of them wish they could move back.

I don't have a problem with public speaking, so no gunpoint would be necessary.

I did a lot of stage work, acting and singing when I was in high school, but tapered off in college. I never quite got what the whole stage fright thing was about ... you go out, you do what you've been practicing for the last n months, and for the most part, nobody really notices if you screw up — learning to cover for screwing up is also part of the process.

My job essentially involves a lot of small group public speaking ... nearly all off the cuff stuff, although there is a certain framework provided by the mental health procedures act. ;)

I haven't presented at conferences, but would be comfortable doing so if I had the opportunity. I have gotten into longish discussions with presenters in smaller (40-50 people) sessions without any hesitation.

I dislike public speaking not something I like to do, I can do it but I never like it.

The public speaking classes here are ridiculous. The amount of work you have to do finding sources rivals anything I've done in writing classes so far. We have to use 4 different sources for one 5-6 minutes speech just to get a C if you want an A it's 6. For a class that preaches speaking on a topic you know something about it seems like overkill to me.

*I* have done stand up comedy...even almost made "it" big.
I had to pass on the opportunity though. I'll always be kinda bitter about that.

ANYWAY...I also taught a course at Georgetown on that very topic (Pubilc Speaking disguised as Comedy 101).

How I got there without teaching credentials is a 'nother story.

But suffice it to say that I taught well and didn't fail anyone!
And I wasn't an "easy grader" either. I was really tough, but the subject material was fairly easy, presented in an intelligent way, and I broke them in slowly, as opposed to just dumping them in the deep end.

Brian

If you do this while you're packing is it a.....

Ya ready

Ya sure

.....Glock 'n spiel?

Oh stop groaning.:rolleyes:

I absolutely DESPISE puns.

Despite this I am still laughing!!

That's GOOOD. :D