I’ve read some Blogs. I have some thoughts. I’m very excited.
First, though, I’ll scattershoot, just to let y’all in on what’s going on up in here.
The Book: Got the whole effin’ thing indexed and did the TOC, added acknowledgements, web resources, LIC/CIP page, and proofed the design of the back cover. It is really… really… really almost done. I pulled an all-nighter (no big whoop) last night to get the page numbers verified on all index entries, and then was too wired and fired to fall asleep even for a little bit. I tried, but I was just too fitfully energetic over actually being THIS CLOSE to the end product of all of this work.
The Man: Keith is working on The Learning Channel’s “Scene of the Crime.” It’s in its second season, starting in December, and he’s going to (new news) be in TWO of the first six episodes. They dig him so much that they asked him to do another role in a second episode, and that one shoots tomorrow. He’s already put in a week on the set and he’s having a blast. His play closed last weekend. His first LA stage show. He has another play in the works, plus shooting on two films in the next couple of weeks. No… no one in this town has ever seen anything like this. It’s just effin’ amazing.
The Paper: Doing better with the powers-that-be lately. I think my attitude adjustment really helped. I just decided to NOT work my ass off so much. Make them come after me sometimes instead of over-providing more than enough information and then getting pissed when they ignore it and disregard my worth. Just interviewed SEVEN casting directors for the new Fall TV Season issue. Shows: American Dreams, Everwood, Good Morning Miami, MDs, Odyssey 5, Presidio Med, and Push, Nevada. That’s going to be a kick-ass issue and I’m pretty dang proud of scoring some of those interviews. Got a call from the associate publisher today. A happy, happy man.
The Management Company: Very scaled back from the big push in late June. I’m much happier for that right now. We’ll gear back up in October, and I already have a stack of submissions (headshots and resumés) from actors who want me to represent them. That’s kind of fun. The pain in the ass of management wheels, deals, and character breakdowns for every film, TV show, commercial, music video, and corporate hoo-hah is just a little overwhelming, still. We’ll see if that gears up to full speed.
The Publishing Company: I’ve now had a casting director and a monologue writer ask if we’ll publish their books. Could be that THIS is the focus I’d rather have… we shall see. I’ve been answering actor questions on the Career Chat forum of Back Stage West’s site, plus on The Actor’s Bone. I’ve been asked to start doing that on a site called Actor Point, and I think I will try to do that too. Oh… and we’re corporate sponsors for a new short film festival. Woo hoo!
D: She’s on vacation (still). She left the day after our “healing” phone call for a month-long trek across the country and back. She’s taking this one last month of disability before going back to work in September. She’ll still have reconstructive surgery and implants ahead of her, but she’s delaying that quite a bit, just for her own sanity.
The Body: Contemplating going on the Atkins diet. Saw the Dateline NBC show where one of their correspondants has lost 50 lbs. in the four years he’s been on it and blah blah blah. No real passion about diving into it… but I do like the idea of that nice, fast, 14-day induction period where you drop like 10 lbs. That would get me geared up about just about anything more moderate. We’ll see. No decisions yet… though I am looking at what that cool George Foreman Grill my cousin Joni sent me can do. 😉 Actually, the more I think about Atkins, the scareder I get. I’m kind of freaking out about doing something that radically different from what I do every day now. Also, wondering if I’m just setting myself up for yet another food plan thing by which to be disillusioned. Sigh… don’t know. I feel as though I’ll be going back on my overarching commitment to myself to just be gentle with and good to myself. Why can’t I just love me and the skin I’m in?
The Wedding: Toying with the idea of marrying at the stroke of midnight on the New Year… anyone planning a Vegas trip for that time of year?
The Kitties: Still crazy. Salema has really come out of her shell (even more). She’s just a hussy and that’s so much fun to see happening (always fun to see a hussy realize her true self). Archie is Archie. Fat and happy.
The Weather: Unseasonably low temps, which is just delightful. Love love love the cooler weather. Local news teams described it as “winter-like” today. God, I love LA.
The Random Thought: I miss music. I haven’t listened to music in a really long time and I think that’s just really sad.
What Else? Oh… my fingernails have FINALLY recovered from the hell that was acrylics for Sissa’s wedding. They are lovely once again, which makes me really happy. It’s the little things, really. Painted them ice blue tonight. Reminds me of 1996. Ah…
Okay… as I watch Fletch on Starz, I shall respond to Blogs. Yay!
Boston Amy: Yay! You read my Blogs! I too wonder if Sean ever saw Reign of Fire and, if so, what he thought of it. Hmm… how can I make you famous? Well, I’m not sure really. I just told Keith, a year ago, “Come to LA and I’ll make you famous,” and, well… just look at him now! So, if you’re bored, come on down (said in my best Bob Barker voice) and we’ll see what we can do. As for living with (and off) me ’til the fame kicks in… I don’t see why not… you like a couch and PB&J and cats, right? Peace Corps sounds good. What’s the deal with that? I’m sorry about the whole “working with the morally bankrupt” thing. That sucks. Have you read Barbara Sher’s books? She wrote I Could Do Anything, If I Only Knew What it Was and Wishcraft. Those were both really good for helping me figure out what I wanted to do when I knew I HAD to stop working at Athens Academy.
Big Mike: Yay! You read my Blogs! Milk in Korean just really looks like what milk should be called, y’know? Ooyoo… that’s just perfect! “Keeping Sara in Frosted Flakes” is a great name for a band, don’t you think?
BJ: I once ordered candy from this great Australian catalog (back when I was dating Dominic the Aussie and wanted to surprise him with some faves from home). Musk Lifesavers are the nastiest ANYTHING on the planet. Why anyone would want to put that in their mouth is beyond me. Ick. Tastes like that bad roll-on perfume that I once mistook for my strawberry roll-on lipsmacker. I not only burned my lips with the strong alcohol content but I tasted that fragrance for days. That’s what Musk Lifesavers are like. Don’t get suckered in. Sounds like you had fun in Vegas. Wonky is one of my all-time favorite words ever.
Cash: Hi. Are you out of college yet?
Chip: Congrats on getting Chippernet back up and running. Phew. Oh, I don’t think you read my Blogs. Really. But I keep asking… just in case… why is it that Jane’s link never turns purple like the rest of ours? Why is she special in your heart? And WHAT do the letters (tqzopufcppl) at the top of the Spy Notebook page mean? I know I’ve asked before and I’ve tried to figure it out, but I’m just so lost. Please help me, Obi Wan. You’re my only hope. Oh… that reminds me (for some reason) that my friend Steven was on Beat the Geeks yesterday. He won. He beat the Movie Geek. I think he gets killed in a Troma Films movie now. Very cool. You should go be on that show. Sorry that school has started and it’s already evil. Who got boobies this summer? Remind me who’s in the class of 2003. I know those were some of my kids. 2006… Would I have taught any of them? Maybe they were my 4th graders in the after school program? Hmm. Say hi to daddy for me (is he leaving?). And anyone else who may still remember me anymore.
Courtney: Yay! You read my Blogs! Add me to the list of folks with TMJ. Have you tried one of those night-time mouth guard things? You get it semi-melted in warm water and then mold it to your bite. It keeps you from grinding and clicking in the night. Your dad sending cigars to Joe sounds like something my dad would do. No clue what kind of person I am or anything… just thinking he’s all thoughtful. Ugh. Dads. I agree with you about reparations for slavery descendants. That’s a complicated issue, for sure. Very cool for you that you’re doing weights. Back when I was doing gym workouts I had an idea for those treadmills, bikes, stair-steppers and anything else that they put in front of a bank of television screens. At our gym, they’d started putting mini TVs on these machines and renting out headphones so you could choose your channel, pay them to show you a video, or just listen to music, etc. Well, I decided that what I’d most like to do with that 40 minutes was surf the Internet. So, I came up with this concept to put a keyboard/mouse combo thing where the handle bars for your contraption are. Then, your screen would be the monitor. You could check web-based email and get all of your news and stuff and, if you’re a working type, you’d be getting work done while working out (which was what I needed to do). I would get so impatient thinking of all the things I could be doing while I was “wasting time” working out (hmm… wonder how my ass got so big again) and this just seemed to be such an easy and do-able solution. Heck, they may have done it by now. Last time I was in a gym and thinking of this was three years ago. Anyway… tell me about your Pilates class. I bought Pilates for Dummies recently and haven’t even looked at it yet. I feel shame. But I’ll do it… I love that stuff. Just very NOT eager to start anything right now. Not sure what that’s about. In a funk, I guess… which is weird considering how happy I am, generally, right now. Oh, wow… you mentioned hummingbirds making you smile. My mom’s favorite bird to have visit the feeder at her office window was a hummingbird. So, since she died, I’ve seen more hummingbirds than I’d EVER seen in LA. I’ve decided that they are her, coming to say hello and remind me she’s with me. So, they make me happy too. I especially like them when they park. Oh, Courtney, how much do you charge for editing? The casting director who asked me to publish his book first needs an editor (in a major way). I have to decide if I’m going to publish the book, of course, but I also have to decide whether I’ll make him get it edited elsewhere or pay me to do it (and, if he pays me… how much I should charge… or if it would be worth more to me in the long run to just keep a bigger cut of the book sales). So… what’s the fee structure for that kind of work?
Shelley: I’m mad no one shared sushi. That’s one of the great pleasures of having sushi… sharing. Hmph. Spoilsports! Oh, I am glad to read you “boo, hiss” on milk. I’m not a milk person myself, so that’s cool. The only thing milk is good for is calves. I think I may steal your champagne and carrot cake anniversary feast. That sounds like something I could really enjoy… and maybe Keith would like that too. Yes… let’s try that. Thanks!
Susan: Yay! You read my Blogs! I think we can make you famous too. It’s really all about The Bonnie System, which will be the subject of my next book. Of course, the next book will be called Self-Management for Actors, but I think I’ll still be instructing The Bonnie System (just don’t think that concept will sell as well under that name, for some reason… even though I find it to be very fitting and intriguing).
Tina: Do B vitamins help you relax? They get me all hopped up and racing. I have to be careful, because if I have too much B, I get a blood-too-close-to-the-surface-of-my-skin rash thing. But, if it helps with TMJ and grinding… maybe I should try it. I agree with the crap that is the demise of the cents symbol on the keyboard. Should we take bets on what the next symbol to go will be? It’s kind of like the appendix… the symbol no one uses… hmm… what would that one be? I can’t decide.
Trevor: “It’s foggy and that’s what you do” is the best line ever. Naps are the best. If massage, chiropractic adjustments, and siestas were mandated, there would be no war. I am convinced of that. I loved your note about the house and learning the moods and patterns of one another. Very sweet. Very.
Okay… I guess that’s it for me. Beverly Hills, 90210 is coming on shortly and I have to get ready for my nightly (insomniac special) fix. God bless Aaron Spelling.
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Bon
Back at the Ward: “Are you actually calling me witty and clever? Quick… someone take her temperature! I’m just a schmuck with a computer.” – Katy, The Psycho Ward, 22 May 2001