Hi Everyone,
So I saw, the book, The Filthy Truth, at last year’s Word on the Street and I had to have it. This is the book I was reading, referring to in my last blog. I think it is a great read. This is why.
For anyone who thinks they know me (sic), they would think that I would not like, or perhaps even hate, Andrew (Dice) Clay otherwise known as The Dice Man, or simply Dice. If anyone did, I would like to take this opportunity to say that I have always liked, or perhaps even loved, Andrew (Dice) Clay. This is what I mean.
Throughout my teenage years, I heard snippets of Dice’s comedy routine. At first I was taken aback. It wasn’t because of the language. Nor was it his attire. Seeing Dice in a black leather jacket with spikes, tight black T-Shirt with black jeans, or better yet, black leather pants, black leather boots and black fingerless gloves grabbed my attention. Mmmmm few men can wear a black T-shirt without looking like Johnny Bravo even with a different hair colour. (And yes, I love Johnny Bravo!) But there was more to my attraction to Dice than that.
It was his ability to manipulate the truth with something so simple, and innocent, as the nursery rhymes the majority of us grew up on. No other comedian had ever done that. If another comedian thought to, they didn’t dare to. But Dice did. He is still cocky. He is still confident. He is and always will be a comedic genius! For anyone who doesn’t already know, Andrew (Dice) Clay not only broke records, he set records and broke them too! As I said, he is and always will be a comedic genius. And he can act!
Unfortunately many people could not separate Dice the character, the person onstage, the comedian, from Andrew (Dice) Clay the person. Once someone started a bandwagon everyone who thought they were “someone” jumped on, and if circumstances allowed, created one of their own. One bandwagon led to another and another. When I read the beginnings of Dice’s troubles, in his book, The Filthy Truth, I began drawing parallels with Marshall Mathers III aka Eminem, aka Slim Shady, and how the public treated him.
Without even choosing to educate themselves, some (supposedly educated) people (sic) began not only forming (unwanted) opinions, but also expressing them to anyone, who they believed needed to be educated on Eminem, just as they did with The Dice Man. Anytime I hear anyone comment about anyone, place or thing, the source says it all. For all the channels, programs, media, in all of their (anti-) social forms have shared opinions. Few are positive.
Why do people repeat things without a (first or) second thought? My guess is that boring people are bored and parroting negative and useless information makes them feel smart. Maybe they even feel important. Other theories could and would clutter my mind, this blog, but I am choosing not to.
Instead of having gossip and chicken-little syndrome-like comments go in one ear and out the other, (like they should) people allow “things” to roll around the (empty) space between their ears until it all of the dust is picked up. A few good salespeople, with a bit of grey matter, spread “their (twisted) word” like they are the only evangelist in the solar system with a captivated and growing audience of Earth!
I don’t know about anyone reading this blog, but I’m pretty sure I’ve stepped in puddles deeper than people who have nothing better to do with any amount of their time, than to believe the first thing that goes in their good ear. I am serious. I want to be around people with the depth of the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean—not a puddle! Even if it is knee deep.
But people are people. They will believe what they want, when they want, (I have a few theories on that too) and nothing stops them from being them.
Even before the media became (anti-) social, people had a way of demonizing The Dice Man. If he wasn’t a strong individual who earned the respect and trust of millions of people, he probably wouldn’t have been given an opportunity to have a comeback. But he is. And he did.
While the media was becoming (anti-) social, Eminem barely survived—at first. I am of the belief that The Dice Man’s experience sent Eminem’s PR team into crisis mode and they hired a turn-around expert or two. Someone saw what could happen to a promising career and recognized his talents by spreading the word of his back-story before he too was shelved. If anyone didn’t get the last sentence, please read, The Filthy Truth, by Andrew (Dice) Clay with David Ritz. I highly recommend it.
Here are a few filthy truths that I feel like sharing. The first is that the 2015 Word on the Street was a HUGE let down. Even at the end of the day, booths weren’t lowering their prices. I guess they are in the business of schlepping books, not selling them. Or they are in it for the exercise.
About a month later, I saw a sign for a semi-annual library book sale. Not only did I find enough books to strategically fill a medium (to large) sized box, that was overflowing, but I also got to negotiate the price. It was amazing! I rediscovered a few unused muscles that day. Man that box was heavy.
The second is that people are always going to gossip and spread “their (twisted) word”. People talk about me so much one would think I am almost famous.
If anyone didn’t like today’s blog, the filthy truth is that I (just) don’t care! The title of my next blog will raise more than a few eyebrows though.
Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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