by Dr. Susan Corso from the Huffington Post
Posted April 19, 2009 | 02:11 PM (EST)
I have to take issue with Saturday's New York Times' article headline: Unlikely Singer is YouTube Sensation.
Why the hell is she "unlikely?"
Because she doesn't look like a star. So?
Because she's 47? So?
Because she's an unemployed spinster from Scotland? So?
Susan Boyle isn't an unlikely anything. None of us are.
Instead, she's a human being who's been kissed by an angel -- of song. And by the grace of divine order, we were privileged to receive her gift poured out for all the world to hear last Saturday night on Britain's Got Talent.
By her own report, Miss Boyle has been singing since she was 12. If we do the math, that means she's been holding, thinking of, nurturing and growing her dream for 35 years. She's also been singing during that time -- when she could, where she could, when asked, and probably when not asked as well.
Miss Boyle has sung in her local church for more than three decades, but she didn't pick a church song for her first worldwide venue. (I can't wait to hear her knock "Ave Maria" out of the park!) Instead, she chose a song about dead and dying dreams -- ALL THE WHILE holding out for her own dream of being a professional singer, in her own words, as good as "Elaine Paige."
The conventional wisdom from her first Scottish television interview, from the BBC, and various other sources yammered on about how Miss Boyle is so inspiring because ...
she's an underdog ...
looks and age don't matter ...
it's never too late ...
she reminds us that we should never give up hope ....
I hold a dissenting opinion.
Susan Boyle is the exact right singer with the exact right song for our exact right time.
Our world is falling apart. Our dreams, if we want to continue in the new world that's forming, must be different. We can't keep the same dreams, in the same forms, doing the same things to make them come true, when the environment for their becoming is drastically changed. We can't. We have to let life kill the dreams we dreamed, and let new dreams surface.
Interestingly, the only other song I found online sung by the angel-kissed Miss Boyle was "Cry Me A River." Originally written for a film set in the 1920s for Ella Fitzgerald to sing, it was tossed out because, according to the song's author, Arthur Hamilton, "no one will believe a Negro knows the word 'plebian.'" I kid you not. I know the song from Streisand's debut album. Miss Boyle sings this depression-era song as though she was born to it. She, too, is one of the plebian, from Latin roots plebius, of the common people vis-à-vis the patrician people.
The Times says, "Miss Boyle's apparently complete lack of formal training fits more purely into the archetypal talent-competition narrative: Unknown From Nowhere Reveals Extraordinary Gift and Stuns World."
Let's take it apart idea by idea, shall we?
Unknown: to whom? She took care of her mother all her life. Her mother knows her. Her church folk know her. Her brother knows her. Now we know her. Unknown, not so much.
From nowhere: please? She told us where she was from, a small collection of quiet villages in Scotland. No one is from nowhere.
Reveals: nope. She didn't reveal it. She received it, cared for it, used it as much as she could in as many venues as possible until that 35-year nourishment program sent her into a venue where she could pour it out, and Miss Boyle stinted nothing. She rained, she poured, she blessed us.
Extraordinary Gift: I'll give you this one. Her gift, and a gift from the angel of song it is, is truly extraordinary.
Stuns World: Well, certainly it stunned the three cynical judges of Britain's Got Talent. Piers Morgan said he gave her performance "the biggest yes in three seasons of the show." Amanda Holden said, "Definitely yes." And the arrogant Simon Cowell took credit for knowing what they were about to see in advance, adding (finally), "three yeses," and letting a tiny flash of his buried enthusiasm for talent peek through his cynicism before the clouds descended again.
Was the world stunned, really? I don't think so. I think instead we were awed, delighted, overjoyed, reminded of who we are, blessed by this generous outpouring of song that was, to quote Amanda Holden again, "the biggest wake-up call ever."
Wake up, rise, let the old dreams die. Keep nourishing the ones that do not go away. We, like Miss Boyle, will live to sing another day.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Susan Boyle's Got Talent and Us Eating Out of Her Hands
by Mark Goulston, M.D. from the Huffington Post
Posted April 18, 2009 | 06:15 PM (EST)
Please forgive me for being late to the Susan Boyle pundit blogging bonanza. I was preoccupied.
But now I'm not.
So here's my two cents as an emotional intelligence and communication specialist on how and why Susan Boyle emotionally got to so many of us. She is a solution to the following conundrum of our times:
A skeptic is someone who is reluctant to believe; A cynic is someone who refuses to believe.
A skeptic is someone who once believed and was hurt and/or disappointed; A cynic is someone who once believed and was humiliated and/or betrayed.
However deep inside all skeptics and even most cynics is a deep abiding ache to believe again (because not believing leaves us safe and bitter or at least British), but do so without the fear of being hurt, disappointed, humiliated or betrayed.
And Susan Boyle is someone we can believe without any of the worries.
Furthermore, before she began to sing on Britain's Got Talent, we collectively laughed or even sneered at her nerve at thinking she could be a star, much less convince us she had any talent. Before she opened her mouth, we were all getting off on feeling superior by thinking how much above her (smarter, prettier, cooler, suaver) we were (not the healthiest way to feel better about oneself, but nevertheless a nearly universal practice).
Then she opened her mouth and you saw the immediate reaction on the judges' faces on our own. In less than five seconds, we went from trying to feel better about ourselves by looking down on her to identifying with her as an underdog triumphant.
Laughing at her one moment perched upon our own inflated view of ourselves to identifying with her the next and rooting for her as we would people to root for us.
It's enough to make a grown man cry and maybe even a cynic (are you listening Simon Cowell?) believe.
Posted April 18, 2009 | 06:15 PM (EST)
Please forgive me for being late to the Susan Boyle pundit blogging bonanza. I was preoccupied.
But now I'm not.
So here's my two cents as an emotional intelligence and communication specialist on how and why Susan Boyle emotionally got to so many of us. She is a solution to the following conundrum of our times:
A skeptic is someone who is reluctant to believe; A cynic is someone who refuses to believe.
A skeptic is someone who once believed and was hurt and/or disappointed; A cynic is someone who once believed and was humiliated and/or betrayed.
However deep inside all skeptics and even most cynics is a deep abiding ache to believe again (because not believing leaves us safe and bitter or at least British), but do so without the fear of being hurt, disappointed, humiliated or betrayed.
And Susan Boyle is someone we can believe without any of the worries.
Furthermore, before she began to sing on Britain's Got Talent, we collectively laughed or even sneered at her nerve at thinking she could be a star, much less convince us she had any talent. Before she opened her mouth, we were all getting off on feeling superior by thinking how much above her (smarter, prettier, cooler, suaver) we were (not the healthiest way to feel better about oneself, but nevertheless a nearly universal practice).
Then she opened her mouth and you saw the immediate reaction on the judges' faces on our own. In less than five seconds, we went from trying to feel better about ourselves by looking down on her to identifying with her as an underdog triumphant.
Laughing at her one moment perched upon our own inflated view of ourselves to identifying with her the next and rooting for her as we would people to root for us.
It's enough to make a grown man cry and maybe even a cynic (are you listening Simon Cowell?) believe.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Gun-Loving, Zombie-Hating Twins Geek Out in Observe and Report
by By Lewis Wallace (from Wired magazine)
This was such a funny interview, these guys sound so cool. Best line:
'And our Adonis-like bodies'
Wired.com: After the Observe and Report premiere in Austin during South by Southwest, there was some awestruck talk about your zombie-fighting plan. What is the plan, and what part did it play in your getting hired for the roles?
John Yuan: The plan is to make it to a hardware store near our home. It's a fort, but not an obvious choice like a mall or police station. It has everything we need for short-term survival as well as the tools we'll need to carry the seeds of civilization out of the hellhole that L.A. is going to turn into.
Matt Yuan: We hate to say this, because it's kind of our trump card, but yes — Jody did hire us because of our zombie-survival plan. In fact, our plan has gotten us hired dozens of times.
John Yuan: Well, that and our Adonis-like physiques.
Wired.com: Are you guys widely known as anti-zombie experts? Do you share tactics online, use Twitter to disseminate zombie-fighting tips or anything like that? Are you part of the larger anti-zombie community?
Matt Yuan: Our friends and family know us as anti-zombie experts, but we tend not to talk about it too much online.
John Yuan: When the dead rise, the power's going out. A plan on the internet doesn't do you much good then.
Matt Yuan: So we spread our plan verbally, face-to-face, with people we know we can trust.
John Yuan: Sort of like Johnny Appleseed, but with shotguns.
Wired.com: Did you ever think your knowledge of firearms and zombies would land you a spot in a major movie?
John Yuan: We didn't think so, but we certainly hoped so since yelling, "I told you so!" to the few survivors of the [zombie] aftermath seemed kind of a petty way to get recognition for all of this hard work.
Wired.com: What's in your arsenal? How many weapons do you have, and what's best for killing zombies?
Matt Yuan: We go for practical over tactical, so our arsenal looks like the props room for Escape From New York.
John Yuan: Pipes, chains, bats with rusty nails, mini-chandeliers.
Matt Yuan: As far as what's best for killing zombies, you're never going to get them all. It's just not possible. So the best alternative, really, is just to make friends with really slow, clumsy people.
Wired.com: Why are you so concerned about zombies?
John Yuan: 'Cause we're kind of phobic about being eaten alive?
Wired.com: What was the coolest part about working as actual security guards at Motorola? What was the worst part?
John Yuan: The coolest part was the people. We worked with a great bunch of people at Motorola who knew how ridiculous the whole job was.
Matt Yuan: It was more M*A*S*H than Paul Blart.
John Yuan: And the worst part? The raccoons. If we tried to give them warning tickets, they'd give us rabies. So they got to do whatever they wanted.
Wired.com: How old are you two? Are you identical twins?
Matt Yuan: We're 35 and we've been told we're fraternal twins, but we're only taking the doctor's word for it.
Wired.com: Observe and Report was your first big picture, but you guys ended up lighting up the scenes you're in. Is acting a full-time job for you?
John Yuan: Thanks for the kind words. We actually think Aziz had the best scene in the film, but it's nice to know folks enjoyed our presence. Although acting is great, we are primarily writers — mainly because we're funny-looking, can't sing and can only dance a little.
Wired.com: Please tell me a little about your personal lives. I think Jody said you guys live together.
Matt Yuan: We do live together — rent's cheaper that way.
John Yuan: We're also the only roommates we can trust not to butcher us in our sleep for our kidneys and retinas.
Wired.com: Are either of you married?
Matt Yuan: Hmm.... Let's think about this.... We read comic books, obsess over zombies, and still know the THAC0 of a Level 4 thief from D&D (the first version).... Surprise, surprise! We're still single, ladies!
Wired.com: Do you guys go everywhere together? Any special twin bonding or anything?
Matt Yuan: Everywhere except where pants come off.
John Yuan: That's the line. As far as the twin bonding thing, we don't have telepathy or anything. Just an unspoken language that travels through mind waves alone.
Wired.com: Do you guys do any social networking online? Do you have Facebook, Twitter or MySpace accounts, for instance?
John Yuan: Facebook. We still use dialup, so MySpace crashes us like a drunken NASCAR driver and Twitter sounds like some sort of meth-head thing.
Wired.com: Did you enjoy working with Jody, Seth Rogen and the rest of the Observe and Report cast and crew?
John Yuan: Absolutely. Everyone was so great during those nine weeks in Albuquerque we still can't believe they paid us to do it.
Matt Yuan: Everyone from the PAs to the producers were an absolute joy to be around. We probably made pests of ourselves, but they were too polite to mention it.
Wired.com: You guys looked quite at ease firing rounds into targets on the shooting range in the movie. Did you feel like you were basically playing yourselves?
Matt Yuan: That's what Jody wanted.
John Yuan: Thank God we were able to give it to him. It'd be pretty damn embarrassing for us to screw that acting job up.
Matt Yuan: So yeah, that's basically us.
Wired.com: Are you guys total movie geeks? What's your favorite kind of movie?
Matt Yuan: Everyone in our family is a film geek, kind of. Our mom brought us to watch all the horror movies. Our dad brought us to watch anything where shit blew up. And our brother got us to watch everything else. So we don't have a favorite type of movie, just favorite examples of particular genres.
Wired.com: You mentioned writing and shooting your own movie. Can you give me some details on that? What was it about? What did each of you do? Was it released theatrically? Where can Wired.com readers get a copy?
John Yuan: We wrote something previously, but someone else footed the bill for it. It was a microbudget (make that "no-budget") straight-to-video zombie flick that was pretty awful, but only because they made us take all the humor out of it and replace it with stuff like killing and blood and gore. We suppose it was pretty naive of us to think that people would rent a zombie flick for the jokes.
Wired.com: Anything exciting happen in the weeks after the premiere? Job opportunities, marriage proposals, etc.?
Matt Yuan: We've had a lot of interest in our screenplays since the premiere, which is nice. Oh, and Wired interviewed us!
John Yuan: And no marriage proposals yet, but I'm pretty sure Cameron Diaz will figure out that neither one of us will stay single forever, so she'd better hurry up and grab one of us while she can!
Wired.com: What's next for you two?
John Yuan: We have a few screenplays out there and maybe there will be some more acting. We're certainly niche actors, but hey, if near-sighted, machine-gun-shooting Chinese twins are the next big thing, we're set!
This was such a funny interview, these guys sound so cool. Best line:
'And our Adonis-like bodies'
Wired.com: After the Observe and Report premiere in Austin during South by Southwest, there was some awestruck talk about your zombie-fighting plan. What is the plan, and what part did it play in your getting hired for the roles?
John Yuan: The plan is to make it to a hardware store near our home. It's a fort, but not an obvious choice like a mall or police station. It has everything we need for short-term survival as well as the tools we'll need to carry the seeds of civilization out of the hellhole that L.A. is going to turn into.
Matt Yuan: We hate to say this, because it's kind of our trump card, but yes — Jody did hire us because of our zombie-survival plan. In fact, our plan has gotten us hired dozens of times.
John Yuan: Well, that and our Adonis-like physiques.
Wired.com: Are you guys widely known as anti-zombie experts? Do you share tactics online, use Twitter to disseminate zombie-fighting tips or anything like that? Are you part of the larger anti-zombie community?
Matt Yuan: Our friends and family know us as anti-zombie experts, but we tend not to talk about it too much online.
John Yuan: When the dead rise, the power's going out. A plan on the internet doesn't do you much good then.
Matt Yuan: So we spread our plan verbally, face-to-face, with people we know we can trust.
John Yuan: Sort of like Johnny Appleseed, but with shotguns.
Wired.com: Did you ever think your knowledge of firearms and zombies would land you a spot in a major movie?
John Yuan: We didn't think so, but we certainly hoped so since yelling, "I told you so!" to the few survivors of the [zombie] aftermath seemed kind of a petty way to get recognition for all of this hard work.
Wired.com: What's in your arsenal? How many weapons do you have, and what's best for killing zombies?
Matt Yuan: We go for practical over tactical, so our arsenal looks like the props room for Escape From New York.
John Yuan: Pipes, chains, bats with rusty nails, mini-chandeliers.
Matt Yuan: As far as what's best for killing zombies, you're never going to get them all. It's just not possible. So the best alternative, really, is just to make friends with really slow, clumsy people.
Wired.com: Why are you so concerned about zombies?
John Yuan: 'Cause we're kind of phobic about being eaten alive?
Wired.com: What was the coolest part about working as actual security guards at Motorola? What was the worst part?
John Yuan: The coolest part was the people. We worked with a great bunch of people at Motorola who knew how ridiculous the whole job was.
Matt Yuan: It was more M*A*S*H than Paul Blart.
John Yuan: And the worst part? The raccoons. If we tried to give them warning tickets, they'd give us rabies. So they got to do whatever they wanted.
Wired.com: How old are you two? Are you identical twins?
Matt Yuan: We're 35 and we've been told we're fraternal twins, but we're only taking the doctor's word for it.
Wired.com: Observe and Report was your first big picture, but you guys ended up lighting up the scenes you're in. Is acting a full-time job for you?
John Yuan: Thanks for the kind words. We actually think Aziz had the best scene in the film, but it's nice to know folks enjoyed our presence. Although acting is great, we are primarily writers — mainly because we're funny-looking, can't sing and can only dance a little.
Wired.com: Please tell me a little about your personal lives. I think Jody said you guys live together.
Matt Yuan: We do live together — rent's cheaper that way.
John Yuan: We're also the only roommates we can trust not to butcher us in our sleep for our kidneys and retinas.
Wired.com: Are either of you married?
Matt Yuan: Hmm.... Let's think about this.... We read comic books, obsess over zombies, and still know the THAC0 of a Level 4 thief from D&D (the first version).... Surprise, surprise! We're still single, ladies!
Wired.com: Do you guys go everywhere together? Any special twin bonding or anything?
Matt Yuan: Everywhere except where pants come off.
John Yuan: That's the line. As far as the twin bonding thing, we don't have telepathy or anything. Just an unspoken language that travels through mind waves alone.
Wired.com: Do you guys do any social networking online? Do you have Facebook, Twitter or MySpace accounts, for instance?
John Yuan: Facebook. We still use dialup, so MySpace crashes us like a drunken NASCAR driver and Twitter sounds like some sort of meth-head thing.
Wired.com: Did you enjoy working with Jody, Seth Rogen and the rest of the Observe and Report cast and crew?
John Yuan: Absolutely. Everyone was so great during those nine weeks in Albuquerque we still can't believe they paid us to do it.
Matt Yuan: Everyone from the PAs to the producers were an absolute joy to be around. We probably made pests of ourselves, but they were too polite to mention it.
Wired.com: You guys looked quite at ease firing rounds into targets on the shooting range in the movie. Did you feel like you were basically playing yourselves?
Matt Yuan: That's what Jody wanted.
John Yuan: Thank God we were able to give it to him. It'd be pretty damn embarrassing for us to screw that acting job up.
Matt Yuan: So yeah, that's basically us.
Wired.com: Are you guys total movie geeks? What's your favorite kind of movie?
Matt Yuan: Everyone in our family is a film geek, kind of. Our mom brought us to watch all the horror movies. Our dad brought us to watch anything where shit blew up. And our brother got us to watch everything else. So we don't have a favorite type of movie, just favorite examples of particular genres.
Wired.com: You mentioned writing and shooting your own movie. Can you give me some details on that? What was it about? What did each of you do? Was it released theatrically? Where can Wired.com readers get a copy?
John Yuan: We wrote something previously, but someone else footed the bill for it. It was a microbudget (make that "no-budget") straight-to-video zombie flick that was pretty awful, but only because they made us take all the humor out of it and replace it with stuff like killing and blood and gore. We suppose it was pretty naive of us to think that people would rent a zombie flick for the jokes.
Wired.com: Anything exciting happen in the weeks after the premiere? Job opportunities, marriage proposals, etc.?
Matt Yuan: We've had a lot of interest in our screenplays since the premiere, which is nice. Oh, and Wired interviewed us!
John Yuan: And no marriage proposals yet, but I'm pretty sure Cameron Diaz will figure out that neither one of us will stay single forever, so she'd better hurry up and grab one of us while she can!
Wired.com: What's next for you two?
John Yuan: We have a few screenplays out there and maybe there will be some more acting. We're certainly niche actors, but hey, if near-sighted, machine-gun-shooting Chinese twins are the next big thing, we're set!
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