Good article in People magazine
Yesterday, I picked up the latest issue of People, mostly because there was another cover story about The Passion inside. The article was actually pretty interesting in that it touched on a few of the prevalent religions (and philosophies) in Hollywood. The stuff written on the movie was pretty interesting, but I thought it was good that People took space to explain each of a few different religions being practiced in Hollywood. I think it gave me a better idea of what people are thinking these days and some perspective on how the writers at People view religion and its role in society and peoples’ lives.
I noticed a common theme in their choices was “self improvement” of some kind. In fact, most of them seemed focused on helping their followers find happiness, treat others well, perform to their full potential and be less focused on themselves. I guess People‘s explanations of these religions could have been superficial, but it seems to me that most of the religions aren’t so much “religions” as self-help philosophies that people follow to be “better” or “more successful” or whatever. Ultimately, I thought it was a little odd that People seems to believe that Christianity (and these other religions) is primarily about helping people be “good” and successful. Seems to me they’ve missed the point.
Acting lessons start tomorrow
I officially feel totally unprepared and a little nervous. Mostly, I keep asking myself “what can I do to be prepared tomorrow, so I don’t make a total fool of myself?” And, of course, I know the answer is “nothing, I will make a total fool of myself regardless of how much I prepare.” I’m looking forward to performing awfully, so I can look back on my first performance and say, “Man, I sure have improved!” I figure I’ll probably start off pretty awful, but hopefully I’ll be a good enough student to become a decent actor. Time will tell.