#don'tbedumb

When my boyfriend met me two and a half years ago, I was unapologetic in my love for all things Bravo.  I watched The Real Housewives of…every city.  I watched Top Chef and Watch What Happens Live.  I didn't want to be sorry for my taste in TV reality shows.  Plus, I felt like I needed a break from my father's illness.  It was great escapist TV.  After Dad died, I held onto those beliefs that I could spare a brain cell or two even if those shows were making me dumber.  Plus, I needed to turn off sometimes and those shows helped me turn off.

And I'm not saying he's right…

But I do feel like there are books and plays and novels and poems I haven't read that I should.  I'm an avid watcher of all  things Netflix now.  House of Cards, Orange is the New Black…and a bunch of documentaries.  I'm waiting to get into Derek and Lilyhammer.  Plus the Sundance show The Returned just showed up on Netflix.  I'm ready to feed my brain good, healthy, no nitrate heavy, organic food.  That doesn't mean I've gotten snobby about my choices: I still watch The Voice, The Biggest Loser, Project Runway and I'm coming back to American Idol this season.  I still need some time to let my brain rest.

But I've got things I want to write and my brain needs to be worked out in order to do so.  I'm at the local library at near my Mom's house and I realized that I haven't read every Sam Shepard play (I've read a good amount), there's some Tom Stoppard I want to get caught up on, and there are some William Blake poems I reference in my new play.  I did read a David Shield's book recently and also the new Dave Eggers book, The Circle.

I still read lots of magazine articles every day.  I still watch smart documentaries.  It's not like I had let my brain go to mush.  And it's not like I'm not obsessed with Bethenny Frankel.  The talk show isn't great, but I still watch every day along with my Wendy Williams.  I need lightness and frivolity in my life.  It can't be all serious.

I just started getting into Brooklyn Nine Nine, which after the Super Bowl seemed like a better fit for me than New Girl.  I'm fully caught up on Parks and Recreation, which is a show I adore and always have.  I'm also getting ready to write a half hour single camera ensemble comedy, so it's good to see how the pros do it.

Everything I read or watch feeds my writing.  And sometimes it feeds it by giving me something else to focus on.  I watch the HBO documentary about Fran Lebowitz every chance I get: Public Speaking.  I love listening to a smart person talk.  I'll probably pick up The Eye Has To Travel again because I'm  obsessed with Diana Vreeland.  It would be great to write a character who's like that woman.  I'm working on a soap set in the art world.  Maybe that's the right place for her.  But I have to have a feel for milieu.  And that's why I watch all of this stuff and read all of this stuff.  If you are full of information, it eventually has no other choice than to leak out without any effort of your own.

Spill over and overstuff. That's my philosophy when it comes to learning.

I am grateful for so many things to read and watch.
I am grateful for my ability to enjoy my work.
I am grateful that there are plays and poems that are available at my Mom's library that I actually want to read.
I am grateful for great writing.  It inspires me.
I am grateful for the inspiration.