I used to cringe when people put themselves in their own work. Come on folks, can't you find someone better? Turns out I've become that person. Happens a lot with me - I judge everyone in my path until I become them, and then I brag about how awesome I am for having evolved. Such is the theme of my show - it's about someone who will always be wrong about everything even when they're right. And they're wrong about that, too.
I was in Rotterdam recently and I went to a "coffee shop" and got legally high with a couple of Dutch locals. I looked over in the corner and saw a gaggle of large white men, all with the same haircuts and tight black tees. I said, "They look like the Russian mafia." And one of the Dutchies said, "Americans judge too much." And he was right, so I judged him for saying it.
I wandered around something-Straat and had a very high, very clear thought - "I am constantly learning less than I learned." It's stayed with me even though I still have no idea what it means. Maybe it will make sense when I get stoned again.
As Ron (Ronnie D as I like to call him, but only in texts) and I have edited, there are two things I have to constantly ask myself - 1) Is this honest even if it hurts? and 2) Do I look like the dumbest person on the show? The answer to both questions always has to be yes. I find that comedy where the writer/director/creator makes fun of people without making fun of themselves always falls short for me. It's immature and boring. We're all a little dumb and it's better if we just admit it.
Which brings me to this. Am I narcissistic? Yes. But it's 2013. There's a new, fresh, innovative version of narcissistic parading around the pool. But neo-narcissists aren't bent at the elbow, staring deeply into their own eyes because they're in love; they're doing it because they're trying to make it better. I suppose in the end we all fall in and die, I'd just rather drown in a lifetime of work then a fleeting moment of pride.