July 2, 2007
Three Geeky Things
1. Last night I made a really yummy Zucchini Gratin. YUM!
2. Self-Management for Actors is apparently huge in China.
3. My new best friend is an iPhone (no, it's not mine; yes, I'm still another couple of years away from splurging on another expensive toy, but MAN is it cool).
Posted by bonnie at 1:49 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 10, 2007
Hee! Look at me!
This was cute. Jonathan showed me how to do it.
I'm so easily amused. And yes, you totally know I'm wearing jeans on the red carpet. Duh.
Back to work. Big casting meeting in 11.5 hours. Woo! Stay tuned. Breakdown afoot.
Posted by bonnie at 12:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 4, 2007
Well now!
That's pretty dang cool! Lookee this!
Thanks for reading, y'all! Yippee!
Posted by bonnie at 11:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 27, 2007
Dear, sweet waitress at Beechwood.
Yes. I am over 21.
Thank you for asking.
*giggle*
Posted by bonnie at 11:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 23, 2007
What are my Gmail Sponsored Links telling me?
Um... I know I've been making out with Keith a lot in public lately, but this sponsored link in my Gmail account has me a little weirded out.
Sponsored Link
Cuddle Party Los Angeles - www.cuddlela.com - Check out this amazing way to get touch needs met, expectation-free.
Apparently, there's an event down on the 3rd Street Promenade tomorrow. Who's with me?
Posted by bonnie at 11:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 7, 2007
And the winner is...
Ed!
I'm home from happy hour (er... hour. Yeah) and I have comments in holding as follows:
Cliff: 43 minutes ago
Jennie: 2 hours, 37 minutes ago
Susan Jones: 5 hours, 31 minutes ago
Julie: 5 hours, 39 minutes ago
drc: 5 hours, 48 minutes ago
Ed R: 6 hours ago
Go, Ed! Well-earned. Thanks for stalking me. ;) Hee! (I kid, I kid. Thanks for the love, all of you!)
Posted by bonnie at 1:27 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 6, 2007
The next comment made...
will be #3000 at the BonBlogs.
Who's it gonna be?
(All comments on moderation 'til I get home from happy hour, so you can't find out who's first before I do. Heh heh. I'm such a geek.)
Posted by bonnie at 7:03 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
January 25, 2007
First Shot at Money Stuff
Okay, we've had a movie date (and while I loved Casino Royale, I think that five hours is far too long for a movie).
What? It wasn't five hours? Are you sure?
Anyway, the trip to the MAC store helped soothe my patience (and I love my new lipgloss). And now I'm going to work on our corporate taxes for 2006. I assume this will take several weeks, so if I don't come up for any kind of air anytime soon, please send for help.
I cannot believe I'm even attempting this first "stacking of receipts into categories" stage without booze.
Posted by bonnie at 8:16 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 23, 2007
Too much? Too little? Just right?
I lunched today with two actors who read my blog.
One thinks I don't update my blog enough.
One thinks I update my blog too frequently to keep up with as it is.
Who is right? Do you need more BonBlogging? Less?
Operators are standing by.
Posted by bonnie at 10:52 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
January 22, 2007
Vote for Julie-O!
The lovely Julie-O (longtime member of the Cricket Feet Publishing Proofer Patrol) is a finalist in the Gadget Candy poll. Look for "Miss O'Gadget" and cast your vote. Why?
Look at the contents of her purse!
I think I need a bigger bag... or a new Apple iPhone so I can consolidate my electronics!
1) Canon PowerShot A430 Digital Camera in red case (case only shown - camera took this photo)
2) Curel Hand cream
3) Eyeglasses in brown case
4) Blackberry 8700c (work cell phone) with belt clip
5) Sweater defuzz machine
6) Car charger plug w/USB port (works with Palm, both iPods, Blackberry, and Jabra headset)
7) iPod 3G 10GB (for work mix to plug into speakers)
8) iPod Shuffle 2G (for gym)
9) Sony-Ericsson T68i (personal cell phone) in black leather phone thong
10) Palm Tungsten E (with black leather case, not shown)
11) iPod earphones in round zipper case
12) iPod Auxiliary cable to plug into car stereo
13) iPod Shuffle DLO PowerBug with USB cable
14) Jabra headset USB power cable (works with USB port on computer or with car charger)
15) Jabra BT500 Bluetooth Headset (works with both Blackberry and T68i phones)
16) Olympus WS-300M Digital Voice recorder (with grey felt bag)
17) Business Card case (contains two different type of business cards)
18) Antique Silver Cigarette Case (contains ciggies and lighter)
19) Wallet (red - contains cash, credit cards, ID, insurance cards, auto registration documents)
20) Comb
21) Keys (included on keyring are various store club card dongles and Public Library card)
22) Nail file
23) Purple mesh Makeup bag w/powder, lipstick, Visene eye drops, Aleve pain meds
24) Gum
25) Stuffed Lobster toy that squeaks (for keeping me occupied whilst I'm in traffic)
(Not shown -- black hairband, tin of Smith's Rosebud Salve, 2 ball point pens, Blistex lip balm, and a small LED flashlight)
C'mon, that girl DESERVES this prize!!!!
Posted by bonnie at 11:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 16, 2007
Learning Curve
So, I have this new toy. (And it would seem I now have something in common with LL Cool J.)
After EIGHT YEARS on Palm OS (most of that time on something made by Handspring, may it rest in peace), I decided it was time to join the BlackBerry revolution and retire the SixHundy (which was the object of ridicule three years ago: "Dude! That is such a huge phone!" -- to which I would reply: "Dude! But it is such a small computer"), mainly because I've been losing contacts through the sync process between the Treo and Entourage on my Mac.
So, I'm not entirely convinced that I'm a total convert (this may turn out to be like those hazy years in the late '90s when I bought a Compaq after ten years on a Mac -- and after which I would run back into the Apple's warm embrace), but I have been enjoying the delight of my near-8000 contacts being *almost* totally and completely synced up between TEN email accounts on both my laptop and handheld. THIS is good.
And LOOK at this CUTE case I just ordered!!! It's PINK! Hee!
Anyway... *ahem*
Despite the cricked neck (oh, and thanks for the vibes on that, y'all. I've decided tomorrow noon is THE END of this mess. I will it so), I've been trying to focus on how to use my new toy. I had forgotten about the learning curve involved with such things. And where the heck are all of the online forums for BlackBerry users? I used to be able to Google a phrase about my Palm Pilot and find a hundred useful discussion threads going on.
Is learning how to set up a mail filter in my BlackBerry inbox classified information?
Ah well, I'll continue to Google 'til my last Vicodin kicks in. I am inspired to learn that I might be able to manage my many Casting Wikis using my handheld. That's pretty dang exciting.
===========
7:35pm update: Ooh, joy! Oh, rapture! I have found three really great online sources for info. A fantastic discussion forum, a BlackBerry Wiki (y'know THAT turns me on), and this is where I can edit my email filters and signature file. Yippee! Loves me some Google!
Posted by bonnie at 6:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 9, 2007
Dear TiVo,
I have a request for enhanced service.
It's not enough that I can give a thumbs up to a show. I need to be able to give a qualified thumbs up. Like, always tape 90210, but only The Brenda Years.
Yeah. Call it the "jump the shark" button. Like, I want you to always grab Roseanne, but only the early seasons when the show was funny. Pretty much after Becky's hair got butched by Rosie IRL in the dressing room, you can stop taping those.
Thanks,
-Bon.
(whose nose is still bloody)
Posted by bonnie at 4:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 29, 2006
Your Opinions, Please
Like most well-intentioned folks on the planet, I started out this year putting all of my receipts and banking statements directly into Quick Books or whatever the hell kind of imperfect software we bought after having worked SO DAMN HARD on taxes in early 2006 and resolving, "Never again!" to the "playing catch-up" routine with corporate finances, come tax time.
Cut to December 29th... I think I have imported online banking statements twice in 2006 (but I have print-outs to fill in the rest, of course) and that corporate tax deadline of March 15th is coming faster than I'd like, especially with as much casting work as I already have laid out for first quarter 2007.
So...
Do I *bother* putting all of this crap into the software or just do the old-fashioned pen-and-paper version that has worked so well (but that takes maddeningly longer to do each year, as you'd expect from a growing corporation)? I mean, I can see spending something like THREE STRAIGHT DAYS (and those are three straight Bonnie days with very little sleep) inputting data and then STILL having to do two weeks of my pen-and-paper stuff if the software sucks as much as I think it does.
*sigh*
When do I get to have one of those accountants to whose office you show up with boxes of receipts and a check for services (rather than one to whose office I have to show up with everything WAY organized)?
*stomp* *pout*
Posted by bonnie at 8:29 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 17, 2006
More Casting Numbers
Oh, I just love crunching the numbers. Now, you know this is all Actor Mind Taffy, so don't overthink any of this. Just enjoy and observe.
• 51% of the taped preread sessions will not be viewed again (producers were there for prereads in the room, so they decided right then who they needed to see again)
• 49% of the taped prereads will go up on the server for producers to review and discuss, as we cut the list down further
• 20% of the actors we scheduled for auditions didn't show up (this is actually a really low percentage, among casting directors in Los Angeles)
• 48% of the actors who did not show up were unconfirmed no-shows
• 32% of the actors who did not show up left a message to say they couldn't make it
• 20% of the actors who did not show up were confirmed no-show, no-call (now blacklisted) types
We had one crasher.
The breakdown went out one month ago today. We have had 7804 electronic submissions from 384 different agents or managers, have seen 254 actors in person (including name actor meetings), and have cast three roles (yippee)! Of those three cast actors, two were submitted and one was a straight offer with no pitch. Ten actors have put auditions on tape from out of town (so far. I'm expecting a bunch of tapes Monday). Before beginning live auditions, we reviewed 588 demo reels online.
Okay, now the really geeky stuff.
Of the actors we saw at prereads, 75% use staples to attach their headshots and resumés, 12% do NOT attach them, 6% print the resumés onto the backs of the headshots, 3% glue them on, and another 2% brought no resumé at all (just a photo). Only eight actors didn't bring a headshot at all! Word's getting out!
About 3% of actors don't have contact information on their headshots and resumés. And 72% of actors trim their resumés to the size of their headshots. Only 13% of actors have horizontal headshots (another 8% do that cool horizontal on the vertical style I love so much). Color headshots came in at a whopping 92%.
Any questions?
Posted by bonnie at 2:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 7, 2006
Two Things (Maybe Three)
The Roomba needs training...
...(it's like a Furbie... it requires a little coaching).
We're big geeks, because Santa brought me a Roomba and Keith a credit card-strength cross-cut shredder. Seriously. We're all about the romance.
I totally won. And everyone who agrees with Keith lives overseas. Or is Canadian. Same diff. Free books at HHH. Whoop! (Fun bag-filling party with the Lovely Laura Lock tonight, BTW.)
Posted by bonnie at 10:31 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 6, 2006
Opinions Please
I'm not going to tell you whose opinion is which in this situation (consider it like the ants vs. fleas debate that I totally won three years ago).
I have five copies of Self-Management for Actors that came back undeliverable, when we tried to mail them to people ages ago. They're autographed TO those people (casting directors, contributors, etc.).
Keith and I do not agree with one another on whether it would be appropriate to leave them out on a "freebies" table at Hollywood Happy Hour on Monday, so that anyone who wants 'em can have 'em, even though they were originally intended for other people.
Your opinion?
Posted by bonnie at 12:56 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
November 25, 2006
Broken Windows and Blue Men
So, if you've been keeping up with the numbers for Broken Windows submissions, you'll like this update.
As of Saturday the 25th at 7:30pm:
UNVIEWED.....VIEWED.....SELECTED.....SCHEDULED.....CALLBACK.....ROLE
12.....509.....279.....0.....0.....SARA
3.....70.....118.....0.....0.....TEDDY
4.....199.....105.....0.....0.....KATIE
15.....430.....263.....0.....0.....NATE
7.....202.....177.....0.....0.....BETH
10.....414.....201.....0.....0.....AMY
13.....428.....274.....0.....0.....WALT
3.....223.....107.....0.....0.....DJ
2.....1.....57.....0.....0.....BRIAN
11.....540.....244.....0.....0.....JOEY
7.....211.....150.....0.....0.....STEVE
1.....33.....54.....0.....0.....MARY
4.....93.....112.....0.....0.....DORI
0.....97.....89.....0.....0.....BENNIE
9.....895.....289.....0.....0.....WAITRESS
2.....14.....16.....0.....0.....WOMAN HIT BY CAR
0.....52.....39.....0.....0.....TEENAGED BOY
All of the numbers added together equal the total submissions. (I'll let y'all do the math.) Hee!
Anyway, that's submissions after one week and one day. Including days like Thanksgiving and "everyone is out of town" weekends. Pretty impressive. This is a big project. We have formal offers out to "name" actors on a couple of role. The pitches have been really dang cool. I'm excited.
I am LOVING the PBS special on Blue Man Group (Inside the Tube). I saw them in their original venue off-off Broadway in 1996 and I still can't imagine what their show must be like in such a large presentation (the theatre I went to had about 75 seats).
Anyway, migraine hell seems to be about over. I've done a lot of sleeping to try and recover from it. Still feel like I've been hit by a bus, but I guess I've felt much worse many times before. But coming that close to a "real" migraine for the first time in two years is scary stuff. Hate hate HATE that I had to miss Thanksgiving, but what'r'ya'gonna'do? When a migraine starts up, you hit the cold, dark, quiet room and stay put.
*sigh*
Back to work! Ooh! COPS is on! Yippee!
Posted by bonnie at 7:51 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 8, 2006
I Want a Roomba for a Wrong Reason
I really want a Roomba.
I've wanted one for at least a year and a half now, but I think I've now realized WHY I want one.
It's like a socially approved method of torture for the animals.
That's gotta be worth the couple hundred bucks, right? (Click here for a great example/puppy-torture video.)
Posted by bonnie at 11:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 3, 2006
Jury Duty Again!
So, longtime readers of the BonBlogs will recall that I turned my last experience with jury duty into a little journal, exploring the intricacies of baffling human behavior.
Well, just got my summons for service starting 11 December, four years or so after my last trip. Not bad, really. I think it's no big deal, since I can do one of my jobs (writing) just as easily while waiting in a jury pool. As long as they let me bring in a notepad and a pen, I'm earning money somehow.
Last time, I was downtown (but we lived in the Hollywood Hills, so it wasn't too far, really). And when Keith got called to serve earlier this year, he had to go downtown (and was pissed, seeing as we had moved ALL THE WAY OUT TO THE BEACH. Seriously, we're so effin' spoiled. Going east of the 405 is like making a day trip. It's obnoxious how 310-snobby we've become). Anyway, this time, I'm set for a court by LAX, and that's like right down the street! Woo!
I'm actually pretty stoked about doing jury duty at a new venue. But I'm a dork. I used to look forward to fluoride treatments at the dentist. *shrug* The fact that I am a dork isn't news. I know.
Posted by bonnie at 1:02 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
October 22, 2006
The Duck?
I know someone at MTV must've realized this, because there are NEW flags and logos that don't look like this.
Didn't the first version of the MTV The Duel flag look like it said The Duck? Yes. I think it did. Quack, quack.
Oh, and can someone in Texas please vote like mad for Tiffany? We need some clicks in that big-ass state. 31 watermelons.
Posted by bonnie at 11:41 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 2, 2006
Hee!
How much do I love my sister in law?
So much!
Lookee what she sent me!! Hello Kitty PEZ, baby! Heeeeee! Thanks, Liz. you rule!
Posted by bonnie at 5:55 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 28, 2006
Email Down
Just wanted to say that if you've sent an email to me (or Keith or anyone else we've given addresses to) at any of the CricketFeet.com email addresses (or HollywoodHappyHour.com addresses or FaithSalie.com addresses) since 3:20pm today, I've not received it.
And they have no idea whether I WILL receive it when the servers are brought back online. Lovely, huh?
Their live chat was so dang helpful... "If you didn't receive any emails when the server is brought back online, please contact our admin for resending." What?!? How will I know whether I didn't receive an email if the person who sent it thinks it got to me (since they put out NO error messages or anything)? Am I supposed to send an email to everyone who MIGHT have sent me an email today, letting them know I didn't get it?
Brilliant.
Yes, I did contact those MOST LIKELY to be making contact to ask them to CC my GMail email account for now... but son of a BITCH, when will this crud be over? Bleh! Technology. Bleh! Oh well... at least I'm getting caught up on mail I'm SENDING (since my ability to send mail hasn't been compromised... of course no one had better reply anytime soon). Grr.
Vent over. Life is otherwise 100% good. (Oh, and I could watch Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip like constantly. Not since season one of Nip/Tuck have I been so in love with a show that I want to watch it again the INSTANT the credits roll.)
Posted by bonnie at 11:01 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 22, 2006
When Andy Dick Arrives, It's Time To Go
Maybe everyone else in Hollywood knows this, but I'm pretty new to The Big Hollywood Private Party thing. So, you have to understand, when Keith and I arrived at the Stone Rose and my name was *actually* on the list, I was already thrilled and amazed. (No, it's not that I thought Jessica was "just being nice" -- heck, she'd invited me even before I'd interviewed her -- it's just the usual nervous doing something new for the first time thing.) But there are pretty much always random famous people at industry parties.
First up, Greg Grunberg. We'd been at the party for about an hour. We'd done the cool schmooze with most of the film's stars and crew members, plus a few of Jessica's best friends (all of whom were really thrilled with the article I had written) and a couple of actors she's hoping to have "break out" with my help (hey... if I can help, GREAT! I'll try). We'd had a couple of cocktails and a few nibbles of the yummy food they kept putting out, and found a great little spot to sit on the awesome patio. Soon, another couple leaned over, introduced themselves (I think we all joked about the shrimp or something), and when Greg came over to join them, he was introduced to us as well. Shake hands, all cool, blah blah blah. So, he's not really involved with this project but he knows the people. Same as me at this point, right? Right. No weirdness.
And then there's Kevin Sorbo. Kevin Sorbo? Really? Hmm. Well, that's kind of cool. I can't figure what his attachment to this group might be (nor is it any of my business to do so, really), but he's enjoying himself and people are enjoying him, so I figure maybe there's some other project in the works and that's just how this town works. Or, heck, maybe people are just friends with famous people and invite them like anyone else. It's just that it's a little odd somehow. And it shouldn't be (and it isn't, when I know the celeb... but it's weird when I don't).
So when Alfonso Ribeiro shows up, it's getting a little late. We've now had more than a few cocktails, Keith has told "the luckiest man in the world" story, my DVD cover has been autographed by a half-dozen members of the cast (and Jessica, of course), and I've been pegged as "and guest" in a handful of photos by random photographers. Fair enough. Alfonso is working the room. Keith approaches him to remind him that we know people in common (Alfonso directed an episode of a TV show our friend starred in, and we went to a taping, blah blah blah) and it's clear the man has women on his mind (and Keith's in his way). Very funny watching someone who shouldn't have to work at it having to REALLY work at it (it's like being at a college bar at last call and seeing the BMOC doing whatever it takes to go home with someone... even though he should be able to go home with anyone anytime anyway, right?).
Enter Andy Dick. Now something happens. Most of the crowd has gone by now. The servers are clearing off the tables to make room for these enormous cotton candy platters and other yummy dessert items. Everyone is hugging Jessica and her publicist goodnight and saying thank you and congrats. Most importantly: The tab has been closed. It's like Andy Dick walks in and The National Anthem plays on an old-timey TV station (sign-off 'til morning). But it gets louder, more frenetic, and bizarrely more "Hollywood" all of a sudden. I feel like I'm at a rave. Still, I head over to Andy to ask whether his recent emails to the director of a film I'm casting are actually coming from him (and I should be approaching him about doing the project) or not. "Yeah, I don't really DO the online thing. If she's hearing from 'me' through MySpace or something, it's my web guy, not me." (Note to self: Never have someone think they're hearing from "me" when it's really "my people" doing the correspondence. At least be true in that respect.)
So, maybe the rest of the world knows that when Andy Dick arrives, it's time to go. I learned it for myself on Monday. So, we left the Stick It DVD party and went to Dan Tana's, where I spent the rest of the night groping my friends, slamming too many free drinks, and talking about Oliver Freaking Stone.
(And, apparently, where I lowered my tolerance to the point that, come Wednesday morning, I was laid out with some sort of flu that I'm still fighting. Bleh. Oh well... well-earned, I s'pose.)
Posted by bonnie at 4:21 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
September 8, 2006
Our Celebrity Faces
This is cool.
Posted by bonnie at 4:39 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 4, 2006
My Old Boyfriend Is Better Than My New Boyfriend
Look at the cool wall Chip has in his house.
Why won't Keith let me do this here? *stomp* *pout*
Posted by bonnie at 12:24 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 2, 2006
Explain this:
My husband spent $100 on a book. It arrived today. He carefully cut into the package. Removed the book. Looked at it lovingly. Thumbed through it. (All of this took about 90 seconds.)
He then put the book back into the box and taped it back up.
"Sending it back?" I asked.
"Nope."
He labeled the box "Champions 25th Anniversary Edition" and put it up on a very high shelf.
"You don't even want to take a picture of it?" I asked.
"Nope."
Ooooookay.
Posted by bonnie at 1:32 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 1, 2006
Happy September
As Keith and I went for our walk last night, he mentioned that yesterday was Maria Montessori's birthday.
So, happy birthday to the woman responsible for the way my brain works and the many, many, MANY hours I spent in detention once I left her program for public school.
Posted by bonnie at 4:18 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 31, 2006
Kids Today
Or... "How I Know I'm Old."
We live across the street from a school.
And 99% of the time, that's cool. But there's this week or two right after the new school year begins during which I get that I'm way old now.
It's before the kids are beaten into submission by the teachers and their rules. It's while they still believe that they own the planet (and, c'mon... they do). And it's when the last bell of the day sounds... and they (the newly-licensed children with their newly-gifted cars) hop in and REV everything there is to rev.
And it's loud here for about a half-hour.
Where is my cane?
Posted by bonnie at 3:14 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 23, 2006
Two for Two
We've bought lottery tickets the past two rounds. We've won both times. Granted, it was $3 on the last one, $2 on this one, but that's still a pretty good little winning streak, as far as I'm concerned. I like the win... even the little win.
Posted by bonnie at 3:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 22, 2006
All Your Snakes Are Belong To Us
So, after visiting Chip's entry (with a clip of THE LINE from Snakes on a Plane), I went to YouTube to see if I could find a clip with the type of audience reaction WE experienced, here in Hollywood. Y'know, with people jumping to their feet, screaming with delight... and I mean a hundred or so folks doing that at once.
What I found instead was this clip... which I adore. Seriously awesome.
Posted by bonnie at 5:17 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
August 19, 2006
I Give Up
I've blogged about this before. I have nearly 10,000 contacts in my Entourage and I can now (somewhat) sync those up to my Palm Pilot, but I lose all sorts of labels and can only have ONE street address, birthdays don't get merged into my calendar anymore, etc. So, it's not perfect. It's more like a backup than a dual-platform tool anymore.
After reading a post on Lifehacker about syncing data, I revisited my address book issues and imported all of my contacts into a new Gmail account. Which I now cannot use. Yup. There are so many contacts that the Gmail server times out when I try to open any one of them... oh, and all of the information was imported into the NOTES field, with the exception of the primary email address, on each of these nearly 10,000 contacts I imported. Way to go, Google.
I've read the comments at that Lifehacker post and I've looked at the links readers have provided there. Nothing is clicking for me.
HOW CAN I BE THE ONLY PERSON ON THE PLANET WITH AN ENORMOUS ADDRESS BOOK WHO CANNOT SEEM TO FIND A SIMPLE WAY TO SYNC MY DATA?
I am so pissed off at Palm Desktop for losing its way. It really was the PERFECT solution for me for so so so so long. Damn Handspring corporate buyout and priority shift to "smart phone" BS rather than what I use my Treo to do: ORGANIZE MY LIFE. I DON'T CARE ABOUT RINGTONES!! I DON'T USE IT AS A PHONE!
Ugh.
So, anyway.
One of the major flaws I've found in Entourage, since using it as my primary source for contact information (as much as I hate having to look someone up on my computer instead of on my handheld if I want to see ALL of their contact info... grumble grumble) is that it will LOSE email addresses. The email addresses will show up in the preview pane that lists ALL contacts, but when the selected address is in the individual preview pane, the email address is MISSING. And, therefore, when I sync Entourage to my Palm (with Entourage overwriting Palm's CONTACTS file), I lose email addresses in my Palm... which I use for EMAIL ALL THE TIME!
Only when I open the individual contact file in Entourage in a new window does the email address magically reappear on the contact's page... and I have to resave the contact in order for that "change" (a change that occurs by OPENING a contact???) to "hold"... but then some other contact loses ITS address in the preview pane... and I'm guessing that's because I've reached the technical limit to the number of email addresses the damn program can hold in its brain at once.
GREAT.
So now what?
I am soooooo over this! Ugh!
PS--I should mention that the reason it's a problem that addresses "drop out" of the preview pane version of Entourage is that when an email comes in from a contact whose address has "dropped out," the message gets marked as junk and goes to my spam filter. And when I go to "add sender to contacts," Entourage can't seem to notice the person already has a contact file and CREATES A NEW ONE. Duplicates are oh so much fun when one is dealing with a kazillion contacts. Also, the contact file LOSES the link to message history (which I really do love using, when I'm trying to find where on Earth I've filed my last exchange with an agent with whom I'm working on three different projects).
Posted by bonnie at 4:56 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 15, 2006
T-Minus 67 Hours
It's almost time.
*Serious epiphany post to come about how much like SLJ I am and how Babes McPhee made me realize that on Saturday.
Assorted sources for the above-displayed brilliant artwork (in no proper order): here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and especially here.
Posted by bonnie at 3:00 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
August 9, 2006
Here's What a Geek I Am
I waited up to see (like watching Daylight Savings Time hit) the MySpace rollover.
Exhibits A and B (screen captures 25 seconds apart) here:
Yes, really, I thought something magical would happen when the place hit 100,000,000 members.
Please, really, scroll down to the next blog entry to see something MUCH more interesting. And, really, if you want to think I have a brain of my own, come back another time, when I've blogged something of substance (HEY! It could happen).
Posted by bonnie at 5:50 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Surreal Life
Who needs a VH-1 show called The Surreal Life when you can show up to your month-later birthday dinner after-party and meet up with La Lohan in the same place where Ms. Dunst showed up on your birthday and somehow--in this room--be the belle of the ball? Surreal indeed.
Snakes on a Plane screening at 10pm on the 17th. Email Keith if you want to join in. Woo!
PS--I would be really, really GOOD at Big Brother. Keith, on the other hand, would be really, really good at The Amazing Race.
PPS--You're doing the 12 of 12 Saturday, yes?
Posted by bonnie at 1:45 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
July 15, 2006
I love you...
...you 12,000 BTUs of happy.
I really really do.
Posted by bonnie at 11:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 4, 2006
Snakes? on a Plane
I had a dream last night that I went to see Snakes on a Plane and there were no snakes. NONE. Not one snake in the entire movie.
What is THAT about?
Posted by bonnie at 10:05 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
July 1, 2006
Best Anniversary Present EVER
Now, the trip to La Costa Resort and Spa was pretty dang amazing, as anniversary presents go. But, c'mon... can you BEAT THIS?!?
No. You cannot.
Monkeyboy David presented me (okay, okay... "us") with this wonderful gift from his family.
Are you kidding me? The COOLEST interpretation of the PAPER anniversary EVER. Rockstar.
Posted by bonnie at 11:30 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 26, 2006
Toodles!
We're out. (I'll miss you, MySpace.)
Little bit of this and a little bit of that.
If you drive by our place and see something like this, that's okay.
That's part of why we changed the timing of our trip. Woo!
When we return, casting begins on three new short films for the folks who brought you the award-winning Queen of Cactus Cove and 2 Dogs Inside. Breakdown goes out on "The Project" July 5th, followed shortly by the long-awaited breakdown for the brilliant feature film How I Lost My Mind and Killed Someone on July 10th. Yippee! It's on, y'all!
Posted by bonnie at 3:02 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Cooooool.
Lightning storm in Santa Monica! Coooooooool.
12 minutes later: And there's the rain. Cooooooool.
Posted by bonnie at 12:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2006
Okay, FINE!
Because there is only so much peer pressure a gal can take, I finally joined the effin' MySpace place.
Twice.
I'm at Bonnie Gillespie as me and at Self-Management for Actors as my product. Add me, friend me, kudos me, have your way with me. Whatever it is that y'all do at that place that's too cool for me.
Posted by bonnie at 10:29 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
June 15, 2006
Radio Silence
Well...
Looks like Earthlink decided to reroute our DSL from Covad's trunk through Verizon's.
Looks like we'll be offline while they make this change.
Looks like we found this out when, at 9pm today, the wireless went down... and I couldn't piggyback on our neighbor's wireless... or our other neighbor's wireless. And then Keith called Earthlink and was told the above.
"When did you notify us of this?"
"Well, we learned about it May 10th."
"And you were going to tell us when?"
"Um... let me patch you through to customer service."
(recorded voice, listing customer service business hours... which are not now)
And that's that.
We'll be down for "a minimum of three days" while this change is made.
Three days. No Internet. No notice.
GREAT.
I'm taking this as a sign that I'm only allowed to do as much Internetting as my handheld will let me do. So, there ya go.
In GOOD news of the day, the HBFF panel was rockstar (and how much did I love getting to meet and chat with Ernie Hudson and Steve Harris... yummy) AND it's the beginning of a new era (or the end of a block that was placed on an existing era's pattern). Y'see... after over three years of having my name in a certain trade paper every week, my name was FORBIDDEN in its pages (in fact, I was removed from stories on which I was a source, during "the dark period"). Well, my beloved Jackie slipped me through in this week's column. And tomorrow, I'm being interviewed as a source (officially) on a story by another reporter there. I just love how it all comes around... eventually.
*giggle*
And The Mighty Quinn is here. We've already played Hello Kitty Uno about a dozen times, watched a hundred cartoons, and made fun of "Dad's hairy chest." Life is good.
Posted by bonnie at 10:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 4, 2006
Pretend You Teach Art
And if you teach Art, your goal in life is to put this image in front of as many kiddos as possible.
No, it's not me being all 6.6.06 or anything. It's all about Snakes on a mofo plane. Word.
Still only one page into my screenplay BUT way far ahead in my (so unexpected) network deals, so that's a better balance. ;) Yo.
Posted by bonnie at 12:20 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 1, 2006
Wheezing?
When the TiVo makes a sound...
like it's wheezing
...and you can hear it over the show you're watching, that's not good, right?
Fun surprizes in the mail this week: Sahale Snacks from Kirstin (you are TOO cute!!) and lovely books from Pamela's sister plus a DVD we'll watch before long. Yay! Mail is fun! Even if it is slow. Thanks, lovely ladies! Y'all rock!
Note: I'll be MIA for a few weeks now (will try to post here and there) as I begin the 14-Day Screenplay Challenge (I put a little progress bar on the bottom left of this page--I'll try to keep it updated) and complete casting on two SAG short films. And... Quinn is on the way SOON. Yay! Y'all be good. Post comments. XXOO
Posted by bonnie at 11:52 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
Could you use that in a sentence please?
As I upload demo reels to the Cricket Feet Casting server for the director of Salvation, Texas to watch (sort of pre-prereads), I have the Scripps National Spelling Bee on ESPN.
I am mesmerized. (Did I spell that right?)
PS--What do the casting associate for the number one most-watched TV show on the planet and an up-and-coming indie film casting director talk about over dinner? Milk-enduced projectile vomit, Snakes on a Plane, the Pinehaven Mental Institution fire on DOOL, and Stick It (the best movie EVER), of course. Thanks, Keith. I like your new girlfriend. She's way cool.
Posted by bonnie at 11:38 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
May 26, 2006
Best and Worst Movies Ever
Next to Stick It, which is just totally the best movie ever, there is what will certainly be the BEST movie ever-ever, coming out in a couple of months. But first, I'll talk about the worst movie ever.
That'd be X-Men 3. Yes, Keith and I went to the midnight showing, thinking this movie would rock as hard as the first or second... and dammit to hell if that wasn't just a big ol' ball of suck! I mean, EVERY actor I cared a bit about watching got like a total of four minutes of screen time. Fine, fine, fine to bring on the newbies, but PLEASE could Sir Ian at least try NOT to do the schmacting thing? Could we get more than a SECOND of The Piano girl? And when Halle Berry has a "me-off" with a mirror image actor... well... no, there was way too much Halle on screen, really. Nowhere NEAR enough Hugh Jackman, though. But that's a given. Oh, and can anyone see Famke as anything other than her character on Nip/Tuck? Oh well... at least the WORST actor from the first two films was dead early on.
But there was a glimpse--just before the worst movie--of what surely will be the BEST movie EVER EVER... and that's Snakes on a (Mother Fucking) Plane. Without question, this film has the most pre-opening-weekend buzz of any film EVER. Bless the blogs. Bless the concept. Bless the TITLE. I mean, c'mon!!! Greatness!
Now, about two months ago, the brilliant Sassy McLassie sent me this link, where I first learned of Snakes on a (Mother Fucking) Plane. Without question, this was going to be a gorgeous film, just based on such entries.
But now that I've seen the ACTUAL trailer just before midnight in a dark room full of comic book junkies and virgins, I know for sure this WILL be the best movie EVER EVER EVER.
In fact, as we walked home from the theatre, the most FREQUENT topic of conversation among the leaving-the-theatre types was NOT the bad movie we'd just seen. No, no... it was Snakes on a (Mother Fucking) Plane. Ahhhhhh, life is good. Hollywood takes care of us, even when we are sure we don't love such film candy. And my goodness, if you DIDN'T know how badly you NEEDED a film like this in your life, you simply haven't been paying attention.
Posted by bonnie at 2:49 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
May 25, 2006
WikiWiki YahYahYah
Heeeeee!
Sorry I haven't been around the blogs lately. I have a new toy. And I'm not sharing 'til it's out of Alpha.
Heeeeee!
Je suis Lady OCD.
Posted by bonnie at 8:32 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 13, 2006
Mollie Sue, I miss you.
While I'm working on this week's column, I have the VH-1 America's Next Top Model marathon on.
Y'all so got it wrong. I mean, I do love the bottom three for all of their (many) flaws, but Mollie Sue was your GIRL. For real!
Okay, back to work!
Posted by bonnie at 2:08 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
May 11, 2006
Tomorrow is the 12th
And while Chip's Day in the Life Challenge was way cool* (even though I did it on time but posted it way late), the master of the genre is Chad Darnell, whose "12 of 12" rocks hard.
Got this by way of KiKi, who says I must participate this month. We shall see. My 12th is scheduled to be pretty dang boring, but maybe someone will want to see me looking at headshots, taking pitch calls from agents on The Masquerade, folding laundry, writing this week's column, and watching BH: 90210--the Brenda years on the telly.
* Worst challenge ever. Just sayin'.
PS--New photo on the left in honor of Quinn's next visit to La-La Land. Woo! That's us at "the wedding," note me holding Keith's ring in my hand... that's what Quinn had brought to me before the hug. Aww.
Posted by bonnie at 9:16 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Gifts
So, in honor of my mom's b'day, my hubby's mom's estate has bought us an air conditioner.
And the email came today, letting us know it had shipped. 12,000 BTUs, baby. There is hope.
PS--I totally get that it's only hot enough to even NEED an air conditioner like three days PER YEAR, but I also know that I'm totally DOWN for the count without the a/c on those days and that's enough to spend a few hundy. Just sayin'.
Posted by bonnie at 7:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 10, 2006
Ever have
a ten-day period in which
or is it just me?
Posted by bonnie at 3:33 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
May 9, 2006
Some people
must seriously look like this at the end of a typical "fight" on the Internet.
Man. Life's too short. Go outside, freakshow!
Posted by bonnie at 2:32 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
May 8, 2006
I don't care about...
There. I said it.
Posted by bonnie at 12:26 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
April 29, 2006
Stop! Don't touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult!
Gun safety with Jason Priestly and Eddie the Eagle?
How did I miss this?!? Thanks, TV Squad. Y'all rock.
Posted by bonnie at 3:11 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
April 27, 2006
This has got to be a joke.
Nabbed from Shouting into the Wind.
| You Should Be a Joke Writer |
 Whether you're spouting off zingers, comebacks, or jokes about life... You usually can keep a crowd laughing, and you have plenty of material. You have the makings of a great comedian - or comedic writer. |
Oh, and I know that this will be two entries in a row in which I send folks to WWdN, but you seriously need to read this post and remember that the best way to prove you ARE somebody is to be calm, normal, and not batshit crazy paranoid a-hole jaggoff actor-types.
PS--T-minus 17 hours 'til I see the best movie ever. (Oh, and is it odd that the next I'm-so-excited-about-it movie on my list is Wordplay?)
PPS--Anyone ever set up a rather large, non-private Wiki before? Any advice? Thankee muchee in advancee.
Posted by bonnie at 6:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 22, 2006
Word
Seriously.
Word.
Posted by bonnie at 11:26 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Best Seven Words EVER
For reals.
To view the trailer, click here. For just the BEST moment in the trailer (and, I'm betting, in the whole movie), click here.
Who's in for a Friday movie date? Like... lunchtime on the Promenade? Word.
Posted by bonnie at 7:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 11, 2006
Okay, seriously.
This is where it becomes clear that I do nothing but post articles about stuffs that shouldn't be happening.
< Ali> Word < / Ali >
Posted by bonnie at 3:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 7, 2006
Magoogahpahpah
We see a lot of odd stuffs in our 'hood. But the guy who comes in the wee hours and poops in the yard between our building and the building between us and Wilshire has now been named Magoogahpahpah.
I said to Keith, "I can't post this. It makes me look bad." And he said, "Say I said it. It's okay if I'm an asshole."
And, well... I guess he's right. We've learned (this week, especially) that actors can be assholes. Bless 'em. They still earn scale.
Posted by bonnie at 10:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 4, 2006
Is It Just Me?
Or does everyone still do the "A-B-C-D-E-F-G..." twist of the stem before biting into a yummy apple, using the letter of "break off" as an indicator of the initial of future spouse? I mean, I've been married for ten months now (almost) and I still twist the stem off to find out who I'll marry. This morning: G is the magic letter. Sorry, Keith.
Okay, so this is going to be a way catchupy post. There is so much going on.
Apparently, my talk at SAG was pretty rockstar. Now, I've done a lot of talks at a lot of places for a lot of actors. They're always good. (That's not me being obnoxiously over-confident, it's just true. I'm a generally fantastic public speaker.) But this one was just pegged-to-the-wall perfect on about every level. No idea why, but the group assembled (170 RSVPs, plus waitlist) was just READY to laugh. READY to learn. READY to be inspired by something I said at some point. It was really awesome.
I started my time on Miracle Mile with a lovely solo dinner at Marie Callender's: a tuna melt 86 all bread-type stuff and a glass of Ferrari-Carano. Yum! My waiter saw me reading (and annotating) a script and asked about it. Natch, he's an actor and will be submitting on the film I'm currently casting (which is not the script I was reading at dinner). That's always fun. That's twice in two nights I've chatted up a waiter type about coming in for something I'm casting. It's LA, right?
Well, one of the items on my plate at dinner that I didn't eat AT dinner was a lovely little red apple. I just had it for a wee-hours snack. Yum!
Okay, so... I didn't want to scoop KiKi about our IRL meeting (and dinner with Keith and KiKi's PAM), but he's blogged about it now so I can say: WHEEEEEEEEEEEE! It was so cool! And he TOTALLY wore one of the red shirts (still not sure which one). We really were all over each other with giggles and comments and crosstalk and tangents. He's right, it'll be even better when we meet up again and have a little more focused energy on... well... just about anything. ;) Focus was just NOT our priority. What fun!
Y'know what else is fun? Receiving an email from the director of one film I cast, who was in Florida for the film festival screening and Q&A for said film. She also happened to catch screenings of other films at the festival, including another film I cast. She didn't know it was a film I cast until my name came up in the final credits, at which point she said, "Of course. Another great Bonnie Gillespie cast." And she emailed me to say so. What fun! Maybe I'm competent as a casting director after all. Yay!
Okay, back to work. Oh, but first, a comment I made over at an actors' web board that was met with much love and applause:
If you play the odds, there's no reason to attempt this career.< Ali >Word.< / Ali >
If you live your dreams, there's no reason NOT to give it a shot.
If you like to analyze your chances... well... that's actor mind taffy, plain and simple.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Posted by bonnie at 6:14 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
March 30, 2006
Wanna Feel Like a Failure?
Just kidding. I know you don't. But if you want to see what other folks have accomplished by the time they reached your age, check out this site that Stumble Upon sent me to this morning.
At age 35:All in all, I'd say I'm doing okay. ;)
Based on a nightmarish dream, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Russian ambassador Aleksandr Borosovich Kurakin introduced the practice of serving meals in courses.
Frederic William Herschel, an English astronomer, invented the contact lens.
American sprinter Evelyn Ashford won her final Olympic gold medal at age 35, old for a sprinter.
Amedeo Avogadro developed Avogadro's hypothesis.
Law School professor Anita Hill charged that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas made indecent remarks to her.
Margie Profet proposed a new theory of menstruation which claims that menstruation protects against infection and won a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin achieved his life's ambition at age 35 and wondered, what do you do after that?
Mozart stopped composing and started, well, you know.
And you?
Posted by bonnie at 6:33 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 29, 2006
Burning Question...
Which "red effing shirt" will KiKi wear in 110.5 hours when we meet IRL for the first time?
And, will our first utterance be "wheeeeeeeee" or "yaaaaaaaaaay" or "eeeeeeeeeeekk" or "yippeeeeeeeee" or "aaaaaaackkkkk"?
Place yer bets, blog readers!
PS--What I wear, what PAM wears, and what Keith wears are of far less importance, yo.
Posted by bonnie at 3:00 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 20, 2006
When Comments Are Broken...
...leave me a voicemail. On my blog! FOR REALS!
I just signed up for Odeo. Scroll to the place on my left menu bar and click on "Send Me an Odeo." Assuming you're cool with letting Odeo access your computer's microphone (via Flash), you'll be able to record a voicemail for me, with no software, no account, no nothin'!
Cool, huh?
Thanks to LifeHacker for pointing out the how-to on Digital Inspiration. It's way cool, from what I can tell. Yippee!
===========
added to the post because comments are broken again:
Well, Ellen, nothing has come through my new Odeo inbox from you yet. :( I'll keep checking. And thank you for STICKIN' IT TO THE MAN and doing something fun during work! ;)
You rock! I'll let you know if/when it comes through. Thanks for trying it!
Posted by bonnie at 5:08 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Okay, that's it...
I think I've figured it out.
Comments break just after 11 hours. Case in point: Ed was able to comment at 2:04am on a post made at 3:08pm and I was NOT able to comment in reply to Ed's comment at 2:44am.
So, that's not quite 12 hours... or could it be the number of comments? Does that equal "full" in the MovableType-universe?
I'm so cornfused.
Well, anyway.
This is what I was going to say, in reply to your 2:04am comment, Sir Ed:
Yup. My "SixHundy." I've loved it for over two years now. People say, "Wow. That's a big phone." And I reply, "Yeah, but it's a TINY computer."PS--Isn't The Shield an effin' kickass show? Man, I'm lovin' the season one marathon on Spike(notLee)TV.Love it.
I've posted blog entries from it several times. It rocks.
And yeah, it cost too much, but considering how every-every-every day I use it, it's worth it.
Posted by bonnie at 2:49 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 19, 2006
Yes. Comments Are Broken.
No. I don't know why.
They work, and I don't do anything to monkey with the settings and then they're broken and I go change a couple of settings and sometimes they start working, sometimes they don't.
I have no idea what is going on. Maybe Mercury is inflicting its Retrograde motion on me by getting me to spend LESS time on my blog and MORE time on anything else.
Thank you for the emails letting me know about the broken comments, as I'd never know otherwise. *sigh* Oh well... maybe we should start a second blog called "comments on bon's entries" over at blogspot. Naaaah. Mercury does go direct here in a few days. Phew!
OMG! Kiki's comments are broken too!! What is going ON!?!???
Posted by bonnie at 2:58 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
March 18, 2006
Early Screening
Very excited! I'm on my way to pick up my hot date (Jesse Luke Dunn, star of Chandler Hall) and we'll head over to Venice in my cute little car. Why?
To attend the world premiere screening of Chandler Hall at the Other Venice Film Festival.
Yippee! Screenings are fun! Dates with cute boys are fun!
PS--Keith has dates today too, so don't feel sad for him. ;)
PPS--Nelson, kick ass tomorrow in the marathon!
PPPS--Welcome, StumbleUpon visitors! And thanks, SilverSurfer for the thumb's up!
Posted by bonnie at 8:25 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
March 17, 2006
Dates With Men Who Aren't My Husband
Okay, so I have a goodly number of dates coming up with boys/men who aren't the boy/man I'm married to. And suddenly the former Marine is bristling and marking his territory.
Now, I love the guy, but I'm wondering if perhaps I shouldn't have given him my blog address. Not because I don't love him and all... but because, MAN do boys get all territorial. I mean, I'm talking about something that happened 20 years ago (see IkIk's comments--AKA my secret blog entry pages--for details), planning a morning movie with a future superstar I cast in a film (yes, he's wonderful--he's like one of the few actors on the planet who GETS that the coolest date you can ever take to your film's world premiere is the casting director who put you in that movie), eagerly hopping up and down about my future date with IkIk and his MAP (hellooooo, Keith... just because I met YOU online does not mean that I'm going to marry EVERY boy I meet online EVER), and simply enjoying my job which involves finding actors of BOTH GENDERS very attractive and castable. And how is that threatening?
Ah, well... I guess I'll get it right back in my face when he books the gig on a series in which he must kiss some vapid see-you-next-Tuesday on camera and I get to not only hear about it but watch it on infinite reruns. Lucky, lucky me.
Jodi, are you happy now? See! We DO have the issues! ;)
Oh! BTW, I believe the comments are broken... like the first morning.
I keep getting emails from folks telling me they're trying to comment. So, well... I've tried (again) to adjust the settings and I hope I'm making it easier for y'all to comment (but not making it so that I'm spammed relentlessly through fake comments and trackbacks). *sigh* Yo, Texas Sarah, I am soooooo ready to hire you as my assistant. For reals. Maybe you could fix the comment thing. Or at least field the ones that come through to about ten different email addresses. OH! BTW, I recently deleted EIGHT different email addresses I used to have. That's deep.
PS--Biggest piss-in-my-pants laugh I've had today (other than during My Name Is Earl, which was simply brilliant tonight) came from reading the recent exchange between Def Jam Becca MC, PAM, Urp, Erik, and me at KiKi's/IkIk's blog. I swear, I'd love to get through a whole post without talking about my NBF(F) Erik, but I just can't. Damn. Coco hooked me up but good. Again.
Yes, this post is light on the links (and has no photo). That happens when you have a job-job to finish before sunrise. God bless the survival job! No matter how Hollywood you get. ;)
PPS--I think I'm going to start doing what EriK does (dammit! I mentioned him again!! I must be soooo in love!!!!!!) and reply to comments IN the comments. Not only will that make my comment count rise, but it'll make my replies more public and perhaps more (egad) interesting.
Aw, hell... what do I know? Maybe comments will be broken for me too and that'll just suck beyond all. But at least I'll know the comments are broken earlier. Maybe.
PPPS--Am I the only one on the planet who believes having a MySpace account is completely unnecessary? Or am I missing something?
PPPPS--OMG, I tried so hard to make a comment to the post below about KiKi's foot. I reset the settings and nothing worked. Dammit!!!!!!!!!! So, here's what I said, since I really tried to comment in comments and now no one can comment in comments, it seems.
----------
Okay, here's my first shot at posting replies within my own comments. Wish me luck!
Nini--so so so so glad the book finally arrived. Do you really think it's sexier than the book you received layst year? Oooooh, I'm just so happy! Miss you. Love you. Please move to elay soon.
Ed, I would never tattoo my foot, but I am a big fan of writing on myself with a Sharpie, so be ready to see photos of that nature after KiKi and I meet in person and write on each other.
Since I'm big ol' gluten free, there's very little of the Outback foods I can have, but they did take care of me, somehow. It was yummy.
KiKi, I had to crop. I HAD to. I simply had to assume that some of my readers wouldn't clink to your blog in order to see your comments about your own Brit-Spears-grocery-store-feet experience, and, well, I had to cover, just to be sure.
And, yes, we have a very specific-earlier-than-your-PAM-shows-up meeting time. Yay! We shall have a time. No doubt!
This was my first time commenting on my own comments. I hope it works.
----------
Ha ha, punkassbon. It didn't work.
Back to the post.
Anyway...
Please pretend this post was interesting.
Posted by bonnie at 1:38 AM | Comments (21) | TrackBack
March 16, 2006
Copyright... right on!
Man, if copyright law had been explained in comic book form when I was in J-school, I might've really enjoyed my CommLaw class a whole heck of a lot more.
Duke's "text" on the subject is brilliant. I still don't understand it all, but I sure enjoyed looking it all over a bunch more this way.
Posted by bonnie at 5:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A New Thing
So, I totally forgot about this, but in the spirit of my NBF KiKi and his Year of New Things, I made a note of a new thing I did while in San Diego.
Ready? This is actually very exciting. The new thing I did while in San D (or, at least the new thing I NOTED doing while in San D) was... *drumroll, please* eat at Outback Steakhouse.
Exciting, no?
PS--Thwok is back on her trip of licking all of the glue stuff off the unsealed envelopes around here. What IS that?!?
PPS--Holy crap, that was fast. I just put the word out that my SAG LifeRaft Seminar was up for RSVPs before we left for the SAG CAP event. While there, I learned that we already had 75 RSVPs. Now... the event is FULL. We had 160 at last year's event. Yikes! And... cool.
Posted by bonnie at 5:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 15, 2006
Woo hoo!
So, I love today. Not only do I have a date set with my NBF* KiKi** and his PAM*** for next month, I was treated to a half-hour long high-speed chase LIVE on KCAL-9.
The best part: this one came within 18 blocks of the Gillespie-Johnson household. Heeeeee! I am such a geek!
*New Best Friend
**EriK
***PunkAss Mom
PS--Are comments broken? Ames says so. :( I'll try to monkey with a setting (again) and see if it helps.
Posted by bonnie at 2:53 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 14, 2006
Back from San D. Time for 90210!
Hi y'all! I'm back! And what was waiting for me when I returned? A stack of 90210 trivia from Halacious P. Woo hoo! Hal challenged me due to my comment in my last post about wanting to cross the border and smuggle drugs back, ala 90210.
Hmmm....I watched a bunch-o-90210 (proudly, as a matter of fact) back in the day, and I don't recall a drug smuggling caper like that.
Dude, please. Don't EVEN try and out-90210 me. Dylan smuggled drugs back from Mexico twice, using a different girl as a mule each time, stashing the heroin into the base of a fertility statue that he bought for each of the gals (Kelly and Gina). Later, when Dylan was (again) clean, he and Kelly went back to Mexico to smuggle prescription drugs for Matt's schizophrenic wife, who could no longer get her "good drugs" in the US, b/c they were killing her.
Nevertheless, allow me to sort of tag you and test your 90210 trivia knowledge:
Yay! Love that!
1. Which 90210 character was the first to meet Dylan, and what happened to them? (Hint, it wasn't Brenda).
Kelly. In kindergarten. They ended up making out in the series finale, leaving us with hope that they may end up together after all.
2. Which "Mamas and the Papas" member and her daughter made separate appearances on 90210, and who did they play?
Trick question. Michelle Phillips played Abby, Val's mom, on several episodes. Her daughter never appeared on the show, but her stepdaughter, Mackenzie Phillips, did. She played a drug counselor during an intervention on behalf of Dylan, who had fallen off the wagon (again).
Well done, Hal!
4. What kind of car did Brandon drive to school on his and Brenda's first day at West Beverly (Hint: It wasn't Mondale).
Only in the pilot, Brandon drove a brown POS two-door hatchback thingy. I don't know cars well enough to know exactly what it was, but I know that when Brandon and Brenda got out of the car on their first day at West Bev, they discussed needing an increase in their allowance.
Also in the pilot, the Walsh house was a different exterior (two-story brick middle-America looking house) but the same interior that would be used throughout the series.
Also in the pilot, the twins (and their peers) were juniors in high school (and the school had valet parking). When the series got picked up, they magically became sophomores (at a school that no longer had valet parking), to give them more years of the series based in high school. AND! Brandon DANCED in the pilot. After that, he began his policy of never dancing. Additionally, they brought in the Dylan character for the series. He must've been absent from West Bev for the couple of weeks covered in the two-hour pilot, considering that he had been in school with Kelly for ten years by then.
While I'm listing... also in the pilot, Mrs. Teasley (vice principal) was nowhere to be found although, early in the first season, the actress who played Mrs. T was a researcher at UCLA by a different name, where the Walsh kids participated in a twin study.
The actress who played Mrs. T wasn't the only actor to play two roles over the course of the series. Randy Spelling was a fellow "Beverly Hills Beach Club" employee in the first summer season. Later, he was introduced as one of Steve's half-brothers. The future "Stuart Carson" (Brenda's fiancé) was once a bellhop in Palm Springs who helped put Brenda up in a broom closet when she couldn't find the hotel Dylan was staying in. And, the future "Camille" (Donna's business partner and David's girlfriend) was first on the show as a lesbian with whom Steve and Brandon inadvertently double dated.
Of course, there were also a few roles for which we saw two actors cast. Both Dylan's dad and Kelly's dad were played by two different men, each. Donna's mom and Kelly's mom were each played by two different women. Erica (Dylan's half-sister) was played by two different girls. And Andrea Zuckerman's grandmother was at least two different actresses, if not three.
5. How many members of the Walsh family were still part of the cast when the show finally ended its run in 2000?
Brandon Walsh made a final appearance in the last episode via videotaped messages to the bride and groom, but Jason Priestley was only in the credits as a producer by that season. None of the actors who played members of the Walsh family were in the series regular credits by season ten. Jason Priestly was in the credits both as producer and "very special guest appearance" in that last episode, but I'd say the answer to the question, technically, is zero.
6. What line did Valerie use to pick up Dylan?
Hmm. I seem to recall it being something about a pool cue and, "Are you going to use that thing?" He had it up on her shoulder, I believe.
7. What nickname did Nat's brother call him?
Ooh! I don't know!!!!!! Good stump, Hal! Wow! I seriously don't know the answer to this one! Well done!
8. What fictional TV show did Steve's mom star in?
The Hartley House.
9. What was the name of the son on said show?
Chucky.
10. Which Melrose Place character did Kelly have an unhealthy crush on?
Jake.
11. What did Brandon's opponent in the student body presidential election call him?
The chancellor's lackey.
Anything else? ;) Hee! This was fun! Thanks, Hal!
It's good to be home. YAY!
Posted by bonnie at 5:54 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 8, 2006
C'mon People, Represent!
Seriously. I am fascinated by the fact that someone who is 10,375 miles away from me has visited my blog this week. FASCINATED.
So, it's not that I'm thinking I SHOULD have visitors from (well, anywhere at all, really) South America, but I do find it odd that I've had visitors from pretty much everywhere else since installing the ol' ClustrMap so I have to wonder...
Where y'all at?
(Good lord the lengths I will go to to avoid finishing corp. taxes. Ugh.)
Posted by bonnie at 4:17 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 7, 2006
New Favorite Thing
Yes, I realize I title a lot of blog entries, "New Favorite Thing." Can't help it. I'm fickle like that and I frequently have new favorite things. I think that's a wonderful quality. But on to the cool new thing.
I have new animals in the house!
Not only did sis-in-law Liz come to LA for Keith's big birthday weekend, throw a suprise '80s party for him and Shon, and bring me a Pilates circle for way cool workouts, she also brought me a family of shrimp. A family of shrimp who live in a hermetically sealed ecosystem that is color coordinated for our cubby-filled office.
OMG, this is so so so so the coolest thing I've ever seen! Little red shrimp-folk are swimming around in this lovely glass container, occassionally stopping to sleep on branches of one plant, then heading over to another for feeding and pooping. There is no need to feed, change the water for, or otherwise take care of these creatures. And they live for YEARS!!!!!!!!! I think Liz said that Galen's have been kicking for like ten years or something. I can't even imagine that! It's just so cool!
Truly, I am a fan of the odd. And this is WAY up my alley. So, when you come over to visit me now, you'll not only see crazy kitties (one of whom has taken to chasing her tail for a half-hour a night atop the cubbies--guess which one) and the redecorated office structure/system, you'll also meet the modern day seamonkeys! MUNKEYS!!!!!! Yay! Thanks, Liz! You rule!
Posted by bonnie at 3:04 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 2, 2006
How To Make Me Happy for Three Bucks
Buy me something way geeky, way useful, and way cheap. You'll have my heart forever.
See, people love their iPods. They even dress like them for Halloween. So cool.
Well, I got my first iPod (a Shuffle) as a present when we had the whole Zed's Dead fiasco last month. While Keith was at the Apple Store wiping clean my computer's brain, he saw Shuffles on sale for under a hundred bucks and, well, there ya go. My first iPod. I'm late to the party, but I always manage to show up.
Now, most folks already know about this. Apple's lawyers feel the need to warn you against eating the iPod. Some people even write poetry about it. So, of course, when the time came to name the iPod, I chose the only logical name I could think of. DO NOT EAT IPOD.
So, where does the "three dollar gift can make me so happy" thing come in? Well, Keith bought a three dollar cable that does two things. It allows me to plug my iPod into my car stereo's auxilary jack. Awesome. Good. Commercial free music... all of my favorites. Makes for good driving. We love that.
But here's the best thing this cable will do for me. Stand back technophobes, we're goin' analog here. This cable will allow me to take my mix-tapes from decades ago (and since then) and IMPORT THE MUSIC INTO MY IPOD! I will be able to take music that was originally on a 45 or LP record and then put on a cassette tape (and played in my car stereo [tape deck version] no fewer than three thousand times, I'm sure) and DIGITIZE IT so that I can have it in my iPod and then in my car stereo [CD version] all over again!
As I told my dear online friend and iPod lover KiKi in a recent comment exchange, there is plenty of room for failure (inconsistent levels, bad sound, pops, hisses, and crackled tape), but I DON'T CARE! I'm so excited to get some of my mix-tapes back into my "system."
It's been so long since I've put a cassette into a tape deck (stupid Keith replaced my car stereo [when it died in 2003] with one that has a CD player instead of a cassette deck. HELLOOOOO! I DRIVE A SIXTEEN-AND-A-HALF-YEAR-OLD TWO-SEATER ROADSTER THAT HOPS AT EVERY PEBBLE IN THE ROAD. WHAT DO I WANT WITH A CD PLAYER? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH ALL OF THESE BOOKS ON TAPE?!? Ugh! Men!) that I don't even know if those lonely mix-tapes will even still roll. But man, we're gonna try to make it happen. And I may just even scan in all of the hand-written-with-love liner notes from those homemade-with-love cassettes. Oh, I am sooooo looking forward to this project.
Suddenly, I am absolutely positively aware of how I will successfully avoid doing our corporate taxes on time. Yup. I have a much more important project stretched out before me.
Posted by bonnie at 4:27 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 28, 2006
G'nite
Looks like I'm not the only one who didn't sleep last night.
I happen to really like this episode-naming-pattern post over at TV Squad.
And this. A bunch of ol' white guys sitting in front of Chip's initials. Yes, one of them is Darren Star.
I think I will attempt sleep now, seeing as I have a big ol' couple o' busy-ass days stretched out here in front of me, one of which begins in about three hours. Happy faT to the Uesday. All of my audition sides are now officially über-organized. Yes... I will do anything to avoid starting on taxes. Ugh!
PS--on Friday, someone who lives in my house will be 40. Hint: it's KEITH. Oh, wait. That's not a very good hint, is it? Hmm... okay, I'll see if I can come up with a better hint after I get some sleep. *zzzz*
Posted by bonnie at 8:00 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 27, 2006
Two Days of Driving
Well, actually it's two days of guest-speaking, but there's also the driving to get there.
That's from mi casa to Moorpark College. It's way far. Way. But it's not the far I dislike. It's the traffic. I'm going super early and taking my iPod and a script I'm supposed to have read by now, in case I'm so ahead of traffic that I have to park and chill 'til showtime.
And that's from mi casa to UCLA. Dude. I could walk in as much time as it'll take for me to drive to Moorpark. Oh don't worry... I WON'T... but I could. ;)
If you want to receive emails about when I'm out and speaking and such, sign up for the Cricket Feet mailing list and you'll be all set. OH! By the way... WOW! Am I getting a buttload of email about this (and last) week's column! Woo! Controversy, baby! Woo! LOVE IT! BRING IT ON, BITCHCAKES!
Finally, had to share this (from a blog that scooped this info off another blog):
Avoid message boards unless you have a major dilemma. A lot of the people on message boards have serious complications and they will inevitably scare you to death.*giggle* Totally out of context, I really like that. I've been limiting my message board time lately and I'm definitely healthier for it.
Enjoy the rain! Be safe! Rainy days and Mondays always get me off (no, that is not a typo). I LOVE 'EM!
Posted by bonnie at 6:45 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 23, 2006
Embracing Inefficiency
Before I really get into the meat of this post, let me begin by saying this: I am giving myself three gifts, as a part of composing this apologia.^1 I will take a long time to compose this post. It's too important to rush through. After that, I will finish a long overdue email to the greatness that is Nate (who is giving and caring, and who has a HAWT wife). Finally, I will post a similarly long overdue series of comments about 90210 and other important issues of our day to my NBF's blog. These are my gifts to me and I deserve them. If it should come to pass that I am too exhausted after writing this to do those other things, those things will come FIRST after sleep. Yes, that's before work. Period.
Now, on to the post wherein I describe how embracing inefficiency has vastly improved my life. Warning: This shall be a long read, should you dare to read it all, yo.
Zed's Dead, Baby. Zed's Dead.
Well, y'know my computer crashed not too long ago. I see this experience as the forcing of a hard reset on MY operating system. Sure, I had the recent backup of many of my active files, but things I would never think about backing up became "new issues," as I rebuilt. As I began only loading software onto my computer AS I NEEDED IT, I realized that I was keeping around a whole mess of software I never used. Why? Did I think I might, someday, go back to something that only launches on OS9 when I've been using OSX exclusively for several years now? Much as I hung onto that AuthorWare Manual for years beyond its relevance or Charlsie kept a set of encyclopedias from when the solar system didn't include Pluto, I had become a packrat for relics in the software realm. And not just software! My goodness, there were all manner of things living on my computer that, when forced to reassemble the damn thing, I realized were not at all necessary.
Am I crushed that my dozens of bookmarks to handy lists on gluten-free foods are suddenly gone? Crushed? No. Bummed. Mildly. And it's a big Internets. I'm sure I'll finds 'em all again. Or not.
What about all of those posts I had bookmarked? Things I was going to reply to "someday" on message boards or at Yahoo groups? Man, maybe it's like that sweater at the back of your closet. You haven't worn it in three years? You ain't gonna start wearing it this season, sister!
So, just as I packed up bags and bags and bags of clothes for clothes-swaps with dear friends (and off to Goodwill with the rest of them) at the time of our move to Santa Monica, I see my computer's crash as a bit of closet-cleaning.
Is it inefficient to begin paying the bills and then to suddenly realize that I no longer have the bookmarks, logins, or passwords to any of my accounts? Sure. But y'know what? None of that stuff "went away." It's still out there. I just have to find it. And until I have the time to bother with that, I'll pull out the good ol' fashioned checkbook and pretend I'm a husband from the '50s, in the den chewing on my pipe with my brandy after dinner, telling my wife to scamper off, as I'm doing "men's business" and taking care of the family.
Lost phone numbers? So what! Y'know, I couldn't find a phone number for a producer who wants to hire me to cast a film (and who has been trying to reach me for days). BIG EFFIN' DEAL. Y'know what I finally did, after *almost* panicking that this guy's number could NOT be Googled, figured out from our Caller ID, or found in any stored email exchange (much less on any scrap of paper somewhere in the house)? I called the people who referred him and THEY gave me his number. Holy cow! There are ways to do things that have roots in very sensible, old-school behaviors. Totally inefficient to spend ten minutes on the phone with someone to whom I otherwise have little business to relay (And in the middle of a work day!) just to get a phone number that AN EFFICIENT BONNIE WOULD BE ABLE TO FIND, right? Sure. But we had a great chat and may have advanced ANOTHER project in the process. Pff! Bless my inefficiency and the rebuilding of the computer's brain.
"Getting to Empty" Isn't for Everyone. Especially me.
Now, my lovely friend and mentor CoCo has written about GTD and this bizarrely elusive "getting to empty" concept. This reminds me of a book I bought when I was beginning recovery for my decade-long prescription drug addiction. It was called "Step Zero" or something like that (and no, I'm not looking it up and linking to it because I don't remember that that's what it was called and I don't think I ever really read the whole thing anyway). I seem to recall something about the theory that you cannot even begin your recovery (at Step One, ala so many 12-step programs) until you've completed Step Zero. This isn't the same as reaching Rock Bottom, though they do seem to happen within moments of one another.
Every time I read posts on GTD and 43 Folders and all of those other things that would normally make an organizational nut like me as happy as being given a bottomless shopping cart in an office supply store, I get frustrated that I'm not more excited about it all. I think I've figured out why: I've not reached Rock Bottom with my GTD-related issues. And why would I? I am amazingly skilled at getting things done when left to my own devices. Why would I rebel against a system that already works (and quite well, thank you) just so that I could begin again, using a system created for those who find their "order" more in "chaos" than my "chaos" even ever becomes?
So, in honor of the fact that I have no plan to reach Step Zero on this issue, I embrace the inefficiency of MY system. It may not be so very quantifiable and definable as to spawn its own cult (although some would say that ONE of my "systems" has, in fact, done exactly that), but I am not here to inspire anyone on how to be as organized as I am. Nor do I need to aspire to be as organized as someone else, if it means I have to "get to empty" in order to do that. Why throw out what works in order to start over with something that may or may not work as well for me? Embracing the inefficiency of my "system" is a better step, anyway.
So Long, Multitasking, You Unhealthy Bitch.
Another way in which I am embracing inefficiency is in working against my Cancer-the-crab-like tendencies. As any good astrologer will tell you, Cancers not only love love love LOVE their own space, their cozy little homes, and their creature-comforts, they also carry everything around with them in their very efficient all-in-one shell suitcase. Yup. Totally me. But I wasn't always like this. My family loves to tell the story of my fascination with bath time (not mine, my brother's). When I, a toddler, would hear the water running in our one full bathroom's bathtub, I'd stop whatever I was doing, runrunrunrunrun into my bedroom, throw open the toy box, grab a favorite doll or stuffed animal in each hand, and then runrunrunrunrun into the bathroom, tossing each into the tub. My brother (an adult home from college for the weekend) would have started the water running and gone back upstairs to gather his clothes, shaving kit, etc. Meanwhile, as the water inched up in the tub, I would runrunrunrunrun back and forth, back and forth, two little hands clutching Lambie Pie or Bearie, legs going runrunrunrunrun, eventually filling the tub with a population of dozens of animals and toys, which would result in my brother's cry, "MUH-THURRRRR!!! She did it again!" At which point, I would plop down on the floor of the bathroom and laughlaughlaughlaughlaugh until I was forced to leave the room so that he could drain the tub, scoop out the toys, and begin his process again.
Nowadays, I couldn't imagine making so many trips. Not for any amount of laughter or silliness or (gasp!) even productivity. I am efficient, dammit! I make ONE trip, and I always make sure I've planned it just so. When I run errands, I have my route mapped out so that I am using the best roads at the best times, getting parking at the best spots, moving with the flow of activity rather than against it, and making as few left turns as possible. If I have three loads of bags to carry up from the car, I will--oh yes, I will, and don't you think I won't do it--manage to get ALL three loads of bags attached to my body SOMEHOW and all of the "stuff" WILL get inside at the same time. This makes Keith crazy. He totally doesn't understand it.
Well, in having a VERY willing-to-make-many-trips partner, I've developed a "queen of all that I survey" personality. I spend my days high atop the Couch Catalina and when I need a refilled water bottle, my Keith goes and gets it for me. When I am hungry, my Keith brings me food that he has lovingly prepared for me, the certified kitchenphobe. When I am finished eating, my Keith takes my plate away. "Hand me the phone, honey." "Can you get that fax for me?" I've even taught him to do the things that I always did for my mother, growing up (anyone who was raised southern will know this one). As you get up to get yourself something, you ask, "Do you need anything?" Yup. My Royal Subjects serve me quite well. Never do I need to cross a room to get a drink at the bar. I have become a total Queen of Sloth, only rising from my throne when my bladder or bowels require I visit the other one.
No more! I realized that I could DOUBLE, no, even TRIPLE my in-house level of activity and break this sedentary lifestyle up a bit simply by filling up my own damn water bottle, "bussing my own table," and otherwise doing a very childlike-glee-inducing thing from my own life: one hand = one item, as many trips as possible, and runrunrunrunrun. I AM LOVING THIS INEFFICIENCY! Oh my, there is so much movement to be HAD, if we just think of ONE thing we need to do at a time.
Who the HELL knew that multitasking, combined with very seriously-busy-ness and a live-in enabler, could make a person UNHEALTHY?!?
Streamlining Email.
Another bit of progress in my campaign to embrace inefficiency has to do with something I read, well, over at 43 Folders, b'gosh! Now, I'll say that many of the tips suggested in more comprehensive intimidating articles on the subject have LONG been in place in my Entourage. Comes with having so many email addresses and so many different clients, projects, and 7500 contacts in my address book. So, items like system rules I've created for email routing and in-box traffic control, color coding for easy reference, messages automatically linked to contacts for retrieval after they've been archived, and a hard-archive system for older-than-a-year stuff were already in place. In the past year (when my inbox went from 1000 un-dealt-with-but-replies-are-due messages to 2000, and now, to 4801 [and yes, that's an inbox that has several subdirectories whose messages I'm NOT counting AND one which gets archived and deleted from REGULARLY]), I began using the flag (and "flagged" folder) for certain messages, immediately filing messages that didn't require a reply but that needed to exist locally for potential future reference, and deleting ANYTHING I printed out or saved to a project file elsewhere on my system.
It's only since reading this quick article and surviving my Zed's Dead computer fiasco that I changed the interval of auto-check from eight minutes to 28 minutes (and I'm toying with the idea of going to 68 minutes next). I also began deleting with more reckless (and non-OCD/fairness-based) criteria. I used to think, if I deleted an email that came in today that met X criteria, I should also apply that "filter" to yesterday's mail.^2 That sort of thinking forced me to keep emails I otherwise KNEW I should just toss, seeing as: "It's not fair to the email I kept from yesterday for me to toss this one today. Who am I to decide whose email is of more value than another's?" Who? I'M THE ONE RUNNING THIS G4, BABY, THAT'S WHO!
Delete. Delete. Delete.
Woo!
AND... Merlin Mann is right. There is very little that I miss in the 20 extra minutes of focused time I get, while my system is not sending me emails that interrupt me faster than I can even get started on another task.
When I really want to be productive, I quit out of email altogether or "work offline" so that I can get many replies written without the constant influx of replies to those replies which force me to get further behind on my older, flagged emails. (Remember those days? Before the high-speed Internet connection? When your email life was budgeted by the amount of hours you had left before you reached your account's dial-up limits? More productive, otherwise, right? Thought so!)
I no longer write my column each week with the regular interruption of the email "mail's in" sound. I write my column with my headphones on, iTunes churning happily away, getting up to refill water as needed, and staying mindful of my column's topic, rather than constantly having to stop and get refocused after fielding an email about a casting gig, showcase, or any other non-column-writing issue. Oh, and since doing that, I've been told SEVERAL TIMES that my columns are GREAT. Now, I'm not talking about the standard, "Hey, love your columns," stuff that happens. I'm getting really specific feedback about the quality of my work. And this couldn't be more important right now. If "the deal" goes through, we're talking major syndication, baby. EFFIN' RIGHT! No email is going to interrupt THIS writer today. Oh, hells no!
As for other rules of the email variety, here's one for people who send emails to all of their friends at once without using BCC. These Darwin Award Winners have a special "rule" to which their emails adhere. Those are routed directly into the "Addresses" subfolder. Yup. You have a friend who sends out email without masking the addresses of all recipients? If that email gets to me, I'm keeping your address. Not sure what I'm going to do with it, but it'll either go on MY mailing list or someday, if I'm looking for extra money to buy something really silly, instead of rolling pennies, I'll sell email addresses to Spammers. For whatever reason, I'm keeping these addresses--some people save string--and disregarding whatever the email was about. Ha!
Imperfection Is Gorgeous.
Okay, so another aspect of embracing inefficiency has to do with embracing imperfections. I remember writing a poem in high school called "Perfection." The first two lines were:
"Perfection. My best friend.Yeah, I was way tortured (in a Cure song--not a Smiths song--kind of way). Point is, I've always known that perfection both drives me and tortures me. Part of why I do so many things so very well is because I expect perfection and come pretty dang close to achieving it pretty much most of the time. And... that'd be why I am so very demanding and unforgiving (mostly of myself, but also of others). I have a very low tolerance for imperfection. And that can't be healthy. Life IS imperfect. Humanity IS imperfect. An absolutely lovely reminder of that came to me in the mail this week.
Perfection. My worst enemy."
The amazing, beautiful, wise, and courageous Pamela Jansen is someone I met online, then met in person, then cast in a film. She is featured in the book Fearless Women: Midlife Portraits, which I talked about receiving in a post over at TalentPIMP.com.^3 A few weeks ago, she called to let me know that a special envelope was on its way to me, please look for it. It took awhile, but it finally showed up last week, while I was so sick. It had been a bit damaged in the mail (which I totally understand, lately^4), but I believe the item inside was no worse for the wear. It was (it is) a stunning blue and silver beaded bracelet. Absolutely breathtaking. Perfect for me. In Pamela's letter, she said:
"Don't look too close, 'cause you'll see a few flaws, but then again, you wouldn't know for sure that it's an original."Right on. Inefficiency is imperfect. And, it too, is beautiful.
More Music, Less TV.
Having to start over on my computer (in many aspects, though certainly not entirely, thank the mighty backup drive), I found myself having to re-import all of my CDs into my iTunes. Now, this certainly isn't as important as rediscovering old bookmarks to bank accounts and casting logins, right? Well, maybe it is. See, I had (before the crash) decided to turn off the TV and listen to music. So, that meant getting the music back into my computer for the times when Keith needed to have the TV on or when doing the XML through the TV was otherwise impractical. Of course, I had done a lot of customizing, rating, and artwork/lyrics importing in the years since first setting up my iTunes. This time? Had to start from scratch and there's something really nice about that. I had no time to pick and choose which tracks to import, so I just tossed all of our CDs onto my iTunes and now, as I listen to each song, I go in and give it a rating AS WE GO and, if I don't like that song, I delete it. Totally inefficient to have imported it in the first place, right? Pff! Whatever! I am loving a project that should seem ridiculously tedious. What does that tell ya?
Okay, so what does any of that have to do with the "less TV" part? Well, working from home provides many opportunities to have the TV on simply as background "noise" for the day's events. But y'know, there's a LOT of bad news out there. Even if you keep your TV tuned to "silly" stations and don't tune into local or national or international news, you're still going to get the teasers and previews and headlines that are the most shocking, gruesome, and soul-spiking (Because, of course, that makes the average viewer want to tune in for the whole story, right?) and that, somehow, must seep into your psyche and pollute you. Somewhere.
When I was in college, I was a part of a leadership honor society that was comprised basically of the "movers and the shakers" of UGA's senior class. Now, that's a lot of effin' people, so I get that it's a huge big deal that I was one of the top 40. Well, we first went on a retreat to build as a team, and then we spent the rest of the quarter attending leadership conferences and events all over the state. It was awesome.^5 One of those events was a talk put on by an expert in dealing with "Option Overload." Many of that day's college graduates were facing too many options from which to choose easily and this guy's talk was about the fact we (Americans) bombard ourselves with information and then we try to find someone to blame for our ADD, lack of focus, apathy, and lack of commitment to anything meaningful.
He's the first person I heard advise against watching the evening news. Specifically, he insisted that we NEVER watch the LATE news. His advice went something like this: "Whatever you do right before bed is with you in your early sleep. You fill your head with the thoughts you will work on overnight and these images and issues populate your dreams and impact your depth of rest and your waking state the next day. The LAST thing you need to put yourself through at the end of what may have been a fulfilling day is a 15-minute barrage of negative images, sounds, and up-to-the-second interviews about the impact of those horrific things on the people who experienced them (followed by a bit of weather and sports)." That did it for me! All I've done this time around is up the ante on that philosophy. Awesome.
Manual Correction.
And, finally, I have turned off auto-correct in my software. Yup. I no longer want my software to smarten me up. If I don't know how to spell a word, I want the little squiggly lines underneath to tell me, so that I can LEARN. Rather than having Word or Entourage automatically switch the letters that I transpose, I want to see those flaws, right there in the finished product, so that I can choose to edit (because I see what I did wrong), ask for a suggestion (because I doubt what I meant to type), or show me how it's spelled (because I simply don't know how to spell it). I think this stems from having comment-based dialogue with my NBF KiKi and his PAM (punkass mom). She praises us when we leave our typos in. There is something to be said for that kind of parenting. And as Keith has recently shared, at some point, we get to reparent ourselves to make up for where parenting was well-meaning but misguided (or worse). Inefficient to have to go through and (somewhat) "manually" correct misspellings? Sure. And I love it!
In Closing.
The overall effect of these changes is this: I no longer feel that I have to get it ALL done in order to get ANY of it done. Before, I wouldn't even START on a project unless I knew I could COMPLETE it (or a pre-determined, significant CHUNK of it) within the amount of time I had stretched out before me. Somehow now it's okay to be inefficient: to pull out a stack of headshots for HILMMAKS and not get through it before I have to stop, switch gears, and do something else (perhaps something else more important--gasp!) for a moment. I can put that stack aside (partially sorted) and pick it back up an hour later. Sure, that's inefficient. Sure, I wouldn't have to spend that, oh, 30 seconds reorienting myself before I plunge back in, but so what?!? The fact is, dialogue now goes like this in the Gillespie-Johnson household:
K: C'mon. Let's go for a walk.It used to go like this:
B: Okay.
K: C'mon. Let's go for a walk.Repeat, repeat, repeat. Until finally I'm so fried and/or Keith's so tired that it's just not gonna happen. Oh, and feel free to replace "go for a walk" with "have dinner," "watch this movie and eat popcorn," "fool around," etc.
B: Not now. Gotta finish this breakdown.
*30 minutes later*
K: Finished yet?
B: Yeah, but I need to find out what National Public Television AFTRA Scale is for a one-day shoot when it follows a week of an AEA run of the same show.
K: So... when?
B: I'll letcha know.
I don't see how this embracing inefficiency can possibly be a bad idea for me. I am perhaps the MOST organized person on the planet who can still actually function in society with some manner of skill and charm. Usually people who are as organized and efficient as I am are also quite mad or antisocial, in the Rainman, Se7en, As Good As It Gets, "Is everything in here as it should be, Laura?" kind of way. To step away from some of the self-inflicted MUSTS to my daily routine is to provide a space for more flow, more sunshine, more kisses, more DISCOVERY.
If observing YotL has taught me one thing already, it's that there is nothing you can DO to MAKE the amazing, beautiful, wonderful things happen in your life. All there IS to DO is to SLOW DOWN and SEE THEM. Everything amazing, beautiful, and wonderful is already here: inefficient, flawed, imperfect, and simply gorgeous. All of it.
Notes.
^1. When I took Judith Ortiz Cofer's amazing creative writing master class in grad school (where, by the way, I shared many good times with fellow SpyNotebooker and literary genius, Courtney), one of my assignments was to write an apologia on my life as a writer. [Def: ap·o·lo·gi·a: n a formal, usually written, defense or justification of a belief, theory, or policy (formal).] Basically, this was, "Why I write the way I write and how it is I write at all," written up.
I remember my English 101 class at UGA, fall quarter 1988 (nearly a decade before the Cofer class). First assignment: "Write an essay answering the following question: 'Are you a writer?'" I began timidly. I didn't want to presume I was a writer, even though I had written my first stage play at the age of seven, my first published poem at the age of ten, and had spent the better part of high school writing with the Literary Club and for the paper, yearbook, etc. But I thought that maybe I was, indeed, a writer, so I began my essay: "I write, therefore I am... a writer."
By the time I approached my apologia, I had written a script for The Simpsons, been published in more than a few local and regional newspapers, and had seen quite a few of my poems and short stories make it into fairly well-respected literary journals. I was definitely a writer, by now. But I still approached the apologia with some timidity and I think that's what taught me a connotation for "apologia" that I find appropriate.
Yesterday, I had a phone conversation with my writing partner from my third (and his first) book. He said that he had finally (after having published that book with me, and having since written two screenplays and one pilot spec script) gotten up the nerve to say, "I am a writer," and that he was going to say so at Tuesdays@9 that very evening.
I chose to declare this post on embracing inefficiency an apologia for the same reasons Blake needed to ramp up to calling himself a writer (and for the same reasons that I was okay with calling my Cofer-assigned apologia an apologia): I've not yet mastered this. But I still want to tell you why I'm embracing inefficiency, the ways in which I'm embracing inefficiency, and how it is I'm embracing inefficiency at all. Perhaps someday, I will feel that I have mastered this as much as "they" tell me I should I feel that I have mastered writing.
^2. This is actually how my headshot files got so out of control last year. I believed, if I kept the headshot of an actor I met at a panel discussion in 2003, I had to keep the headshots of ALL of the actors I met at that panel discussion, even if I'd never seen their work, thought their credits sucked, felt they'd personally be too creepy to ever inflict on the population of a set, or knew they lived on another continent. I finally got over that, late last year. It was time to create a home office that would function like a casting office. This was when the wall of cubbies was born and, frankly, when tens of thousands of headshots went into the big bin in the alley. And no, I don't care if it's not fair that I kept ONE actor's headshot from an event but dumped the photos of all of the other actors I met at that event.
Oh, and that little part of me that always said, "But what if someday you NEED that one actor's headshot from 2003? What if you someday WISH you hadn't thrown out that ONE headshot? Doesn't that make it worth keeping them all?" Yeah, I beat that little part of me down in a fight outside, right in the alley next to the big bin with all of the dumped headshots. This was the same week we chose to toss our Yellow Pages. Why did we ever bring them off the stoop and into the house? I don't think I've consulted a paper-based copy of the Yellow Pages in nearly a decade. Yes, it's true, the Internet could go down or 411 might not understand my request for the listing... y'know what? Worth the risk. And if someone whose headshot I dumped suddenly wins an Emmy and I wasn't smart enough to hang onto that photo from years before that actor was discovered? Well, believe me, I have enough of a photographic memory (and sense of sass) that I'm sure I'll say, "Aww! How cool to see that actor getting all of that success. I used to have a headshot...." And then I will MOVE ON. I will NOT cry that I tossed it out. I'm almost sure of that.
^3. If you are not a member of TalentPIMP.com, you can follow this link and enter the promotional code HHH (that stands for Hollywood Happy Hour). You will then have free run of the place for six months. So, just do it. It's way cool. You're welcome.
^4. It seems we got some cruddy envelopes in our order. Y'know, those big, padded envelopes for mailing promo copies of Self-Management for Actors all over the place? Yeah. The number of books I sent out in padded envelopes that arrived empty has risen to NINE (that we know of). Now, someone wanted me to be pissed about this. But here's my theory: Let's imagine that the glue came unstuck and the copy of the book landed on a floor somewhere in a post office. Fine. Let's imagine that the postal worker who finds the book has been looking for a life change. And suddenly there's this book. And this postal worker has always been pretty charismatic and funny and kind of wants to try acting. He reads my book, decides to try out acting, makes his way through the process with some success, and prevents the world from losing any more people to random postal worker shooting rampages. OR! Better still! He goes on to huge successes and thanks me in his Oscar speech for having, without ever having known it, changed his life. Okay, okay, okay, so maybe he sells the book on eBay and someone else who always wanted to try acting ends up with the book at a deep discount since it's on eBay and it's out before you can buy it at Amazon.com or something. And the postal worker uses the money he earned from that sale of something he filched to buy ammo and he ends up being happy because he's living his dreams to own lots of ammo and I somehow helped that along.
It's all good karma, right? Don't you judge me, Earl!
^5. Somewhere, I have an essay that I wrote about one of the team-building experiences I had during the ropes course with Leadership UGA. I'll have to find it and share it, at some point (although I'm sure that would require finding the hard copy and retyping it, since God only knows where it is, electronically... much less whether it would even work on a computer from this lifetime). Anyway, I wrote about the fact that I froze during the ropes course and had to be "talked down" from the top of the first rope ladder, where I had taken one step out onto the high wire and then decided to "become one with the tree." Yes, I knew I could trust my harness, my belay partner, and my helmet. It wasn't rational fear. It was panic. And it gripped me hard. Of course, there were other team-building events that night, and I talked about my fear and others talked about theirs (which most of them had conquered better). The thing is, I didn't KNOW that I had a fear of heights until I was UP THERE. I had no idea!
The next morning, up with the sun, we're off to go rappelling. I am the first one off the mountain. My partner, Lance, looked stunned at my voluntary leap up, racing to get into the harness and start my trip down a 150-ft. vertical wall of granite. At the end of that day, when we did the rest of our team-building events, we were asked to share with the group what it was that we would be left with, after this weekend. Lance said something to the effect of: "Bonnie shocked me. I saw her on the ropes course. She was TERRIFIED. I knew she had unveiled a fear in herself she didn't even know existed and it scared the hell out of her. But the next day, she was the first one off the mountain, catching air like a pro. That taught me that not every fear of heights is the same. And maybe fears that I have about certain things aren't the same as the fears with which I associate them, since they SEEM the same." I laughed (through tears) and said, "Well, that little wire strung between those two trees, 50 feet up, was ITTY-BITTY. That mountain was HUGE! Of course they're different!" Yeah, I know. Leave it to me to make a joke, but in this essay I'm talking about (an essay contributed to a future issue of a short-lived Leadership UGA Alumni Magazine we called "Belay ON!"), I somehow brought it all back around to the fact that with the support of an amazing team, any fear (even one that looks like it should be the same as one that froze you) is conquerable.
Beyond the Notes.
PS--two post-footnotes notes regarding my family at Somesuch-Whatnot.
1. I know there is never a three. But this, being an apologia, follows those rules first, then somesuch's. I'm sure you understand.
2. The whole time I've been writing this, I've been imagining Norm coming over here and posting the first comment: "Nuh-huh." If it weren't so far past his bedtime by the time I finished this effin' thing, I bet he would! *giggle*
Posted by bonnie at 12:29 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
February 22, 2006
Wow
I had a whole big plan stretched out in front of me. Couldn't sleep after having attempted a civil bedtime with Keith just after midnight, so I got out of bed 'round 1:20am and began doing a bit of work (I know, I know) and the rounds at the blogs and such.
Then I made a gluten-free mini-pizza.
And while I worked on it (It's a three-stage process that requires a lot of back-and-forth to the kitchen.), I composed a brilliant entry on one of my new favorite things, which I can't wait to blog about, but which is also pretty involved, therefore composing the entry will take some time. Okay, fine. Fair enough. Let's do that tonight. What a great project!
So, I begin as I always do. I search the Internet for an appropriate image file to put up. That takes awhile. Then I find a few pages I want to be sure to include (link-wise) in the blog, in case readers have questions or want to know what has inspired me so. Fine. Somewhere in there, I finish the prep on the pizza, eat it up, and watch an episode of Sex and the City (Kiki, it is the "I Have Cancer" episode ["The 'Ick' Factor," for the purists among you] and I am crying like I did the first two times I saw it. Such a happy thing, TV.), all while mentally composing this amazing blog entry on how inspired I've become by my new favorite thing.
And then fullbellyitis sets in. A sleeping kitty to my right reminds me that it is really quite late and sleeping feels so nice, especially when you're all curled up to someone warm and loving. So, I miss my husband and our warm bed. I decide to bookmark all of the places I had open in tabs, all set for quick-link-making. I delete the watched episode from my TiVo, post this little nonsense post instead of posting nothing, and head off to brush my teeth and go back to bed.
And by doing this, I am exercising EXACTLY the art I have learned to embrace (and hope to master) and that I cannot wait to share with you all: THE BLISS OF INEFFICIENCY. It has changed my life. And I'm now addicted to inefficiency.
I simply cannot wait to tell you all about it.
G'nite!
Posted by bonnie at 3:16 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 18, 2006
Thanks, SiteMeter!
Bye-bye BlogPatrol. You sucked too hard for too long.
Thanks, SiteMeter, for rocking just as hard, and quickly. Much mo' better!
BTW--still ill. Bleh! Um. How much NyQuil is too much?
Posted by bonnie at 12:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 17, 2006
SuckolaCounter
No one can count how many hits have been here. The ones who count get it wrong and the counter I had is now counting other stuffs.
Bleh.
I'll count manually from here on out.
One.
Two.
What?!?
Yes, I tried to count using the other counter brand and it still didn't work. Bleh bleh bleh. There is nothing I can paste into the MT code and have it count.
Nope nope nope. All sucks. Total suckola. I count nothing.
Grrrrrr.
Posted by bonnie at 9:24 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 16, 2006
Word Cloud
While I'm far more familiar with the brain cloud (greatness), Becca has now turned me on to the word cloud.
This one was created using the most common words from the BonBlogs. Righteous!
I'm getting ever-more-healthy. Slowly. On the road to... well... ville.
Posted by bonnie at 4:09 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 14, 2006
Cool.
Just saw a thing about the Data Dot on the news. It helps you get your stolen computer stuffs back, with micro ID tag-like stuff.
Way cool. Okay, now bed. Or at least sofa with our Toole-brand wedding snuggle blanket and The People's Court.
Posted by bonnie at 1:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 12, 2006
One More Post
And because Rojo told me Leemsy had updated his blog with a quiz, I present this:
| Erotic Thriller |
 Winding a web of deceit comes naturally, and no one really knows the true you. Your best movie matches: Swimming Pool, Unfaithful, The Crush |
And, in honor of the fact that the above quiz-maker chose to ignore the need for subjunctive, I'll share three recent favorite "d'oh!" quotes from celebs. *shudder*
From Corey Feldman: At the height of the Corey sensation, it was very much like being in Beatlemania.
From Shanna Moakler (on prepping to pitch a pilot she wrote): I don't even want to have this meeting. I just want my agent to do her job.
From Anna Nicole Smith: It's a life-alterating experience. It really is.
Yeah. Stay in school, kids. And, actually... SCHOOL? Do better! Thanks.
Posted by bonnie at 2:07 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 8, 2006
Suckola
Wanna know the definition of suckola? I've got it for ya, right here.
7pm Tuesday: Computer (three-month old iBook G4) dies. Won't boot. Gives an error along the lines of "Invalid sibling link" and "underlying task reported failure on exit", and I only get that info by booting to the Tiger CD and attempting to run Disk Utility from the login screen.
Breathe, Bon. It's okay. You backed up everything on Saturday, so if your computer is dead-dead, at least you still have your life up through the 4th.
Well... sort of.
So, the short story is this: computer died. Fried fried fried. Keith was able to run a combination of Disk Warrior, Disk Utility, and Drive Genius on the computer until he could back up my more-recent-than-Saturday data to the external drive. Still couldn't get the computer to boot though. Ever. EVER. We had a brief conversation about what all we should back up, since we have access. "Documents folder should cover everything, right?" Sure! So, there we go.
And today, Keith goes over to the Apple Store and they confirm that Zed's Dead (OMG, I finally have a name for my computer: Zed! Yay!) and blow out its brains so that we can start from scratch.
Keith comes home and we start with system updates and such. There are a lot of those. Fine. Then we install Microsoft Office 2004, then import my documents folder, which includes my Entourage account settings (and tens of thousands of contacts and emails, plus my Palm backup--see earlier posts on that nightmare issue), and attempt to run Entourage. Woo! It works! Cool!
So, I'm not starting from scratch. I do, in fact, have the last email I received yesterday before the crash (from Ed... heh heh).
Okay, so it's now time to install Final Draft. Oops. We didn't deactivate the code on the computer before Apple blew it out, so we can't use our activation code, since the Final Draft database shows that we're already activated. Eff. We have to go to tech support. $2.50/minute. Eff. They're going to tell us it's time to upgrade anyway. That costs money too. Eff. Okay, fine. Not crucial. Just a pain.
Let's move over to installing In Design and the other great stuff from the Adobe Professional Suite. Oops. Keith lost the CDs. When? Oh, just last week when he took them on his casting job, to show off how you CAN edit PDFs. *grumble* *grumble* He SWEARS he put it back in his bag. Okay, then... where are the CDs now? Yeah, that's what I thought. Eff! Can't write a book without In Design. Can't even open the files for the books I've written in the past without it. Eff!
Fine! Let's install Fetch. Oops. Where are my stored user names and passwords for the 20 or so sites to which I FTP on a semi-regular basis? Oops. Keith Googles. "Looks like those live in your LIBRARY." Okay, great. When did we last back that up? Uh... um... er... EFF!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, I need to breathe again. How 'bout let's open up iTunes so that I can at least enjoy my favorite CDs for a bit. EFFFFFFF! Every effin' CD I imported over the past three or four years... all of the rankings I gave the music... all of the work I did to download cover art and categorize crap... all of the data on how often anything had been played (hell, even the CDs that friends brought over and let me put into iTunes, since I couldn't find my copies of the CDs anymore) is all gone gone gone gone gone!!!!!!!!!!!!! EFFFFFF!
Fine!!!! Let's install Firefox. Holy hell, are you effin' kidding me?!? No bookmarks. No saved passwords. No saved user id info, for that matter. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY EFFIN' SITES I VISIT EVERY DAY AND HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE I'VE SET UP A PASSWORD ANYWHERE?!? All of that info lives in my stored password file. Where's that? NOT IN THE DOCUMENTS FOLDER, THAT'S FOR DAMN SURE!
So, as we flash back to that moment at 4am, when we discussed backing up EVERYTHING and chose to just back up the documents folder, since that would be enough, we both just laugh. Because what else can you do, really? You have to laugh. It's just that effin' insane.
At this point, I believe I may begin going through my old blog entries (do not ask how many different user names and passwords I had to try just to get into my blog again) to see the things I've linked to in the past, hoping that may begin to ring some bells about the zillions of bookmarks I had and never thought about. If I somehow go missing from a site you're used to seeing me on, please let me know. It could mean I've forgotten how to get there OR that I can't log in anymore.
Have I mentioned my love for pen-and-paper recordkeeping lately?
Son of a BITCH this day is hell!
Bright side: I finally came up with a name for the computer. Zed. Yeah.
Posted by bonnie at 3:56 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
Message From Bonnie
Bon's computer died. If you emailed her since Saturday, please do so again, using her email address that is linked here at the BonBlogs.
Posted by chip at 3:31 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 5, 2006
Food Flashback
Did your school have those fundraiser events where you had to sell candy? In elementary school, I remember we had to sell this line of candies that included a delicious "pillow" of peanut butter, sort of like peanut brittle, but not really. It was like sweet peanut butter inside a crunchy shell of gold sugar, shaped like a puffy square.
Like this.
So, this memory is brought to me by the gift Jonathan brought to our book party last week. It was a cool-ass basket of candy stuffs (most of which is gluten-filled and will be regifted), including a box of Auntie May's Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle. I usually don't like peanut brittle, but this stuff tastes EXACTLY like the yummies that came from the tin of crunchy peanut pillows that I remember BEGGING Mom to let us buy JUST ONE of, each fundraising season.
Yum!
~1 d, 6 h
Posted by bonnie at 11:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
What's Great on TV Today?
Of course I'll tune in for some Super Bowl ads starring MANY of my actor friends (wow, this is like THE YEAR for my buddies' ads), but what's great right now is the VH-1 series 100 Greatest Teen Stars.
LOVE seeing where they all are now. Hee hee. Good stuffs. It'll be on all week.
~21 h
Posted by bonnie at 2:59 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
OMG, Chip So Rocks
He just totally fixed my comments. Wow. Rockstar.
THANKS, CHIP!
~13 h
Posted by bonnie at 6:41 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
No Comment
Yes, I know comments are broken at the Spy Notebook again. Thank you for the head's up, my friends!
I have reported the status to the lovely god of the Spy Notebook and hopefully order will be restored before long.
Will blog something of substance later. Or somesuch.
~12 h
Posted by bonnie at 6:12 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 22, 2006
Cubbie Day
Yay! Office reconfiguration is underway. Our brilliant system for shopping (Keith on location; me here with the Internet to "see" what he's seeing, plus other things to suggest for him; us on the phone; me with measuring tape and existing furniture; he in the store, seeing the set-up they're already showing, in case we need inspiration) looks to have worked pretty well. He did the rounds at Ikea and Office Depot and, after a wee delivery charge (way way way so much cheaper to do a buy-in-store and pay-to-deliver option than to buy online and pay very high shipping [and wait for two weeks vs. having stuffs here tomorrow morning]), we're good to go!
Most excited about my wall of cubbies for actor headshots, demo reels, and active files of scripts and current projects.
Now we just need to find a few of these pretty red cubbie bins for the "loose stuff" so that Thwok doesn't scurry on the things that would be too exciting to knock off and chase around. They were out of red at the store and they're not available online. Trip to Covina coming up!
Yay!
Posted by bonnie at 5:31 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 20, 2006
Rant. Rave.
First the rant. I get the need for the whole word verification thing on blog comments. I really do. But for the love of all that is holy, shouldn't the word (read: the jumble of letters put together and somehow *called* a "word") be, oh, I don't know... readable?
WTF was that supposed to be? Believe me, I tried several things... none of 'em allowed me to comment.
Now the rave. I have a new favorite thing (man, lots of new favorites so far this year). Our Pavillions is selling a new brand of foods called "O Organics." Um... yum. We always have to go to stores not-so-convenient as the right-up-the-alley open-24-hours Pavillions when we're buying my gluten-free goodies (other than produce and basic meats and such). Forget buying any yummy snacks or processed things. Until now.
Okay, way way way yummy: "O Organics Cheese Curls" (white cheddar). Yeah. Good stuffs. Yum.
And with that, I'm to bed.
PS--Sis, want another casting job? I think I have one more for you.
Posted by bonnie at 2:01 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
January 18, 2006
B/c V-day Is Coming...
I defer to the greatness that is Chip on how to celebrate correctly.
Click here to do yourself (*giggle*).
Posted by bonnie at 11:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
I LOVE So Much!!
So, I've spent two solid hours importing my RSS feed links (which were categorized as "RSS feeds" and "Lazy RSS feeds"), plus my good ol' fashioned non-feed blog links and links to things I would NEVER bookmark as feed-food (until NOW, baby) into the greatness that is Rojo. I am so so so so so so so so so happy already. LOVES me some Rojo! It is my new TiVo. Thank you, Beffers!!!!!
And then, the greatness that is Tony emails me a link to this: Seth Green as Chris Griffin reading from Star Jones' new book on the Adam Carolla show. Holy Hell, that's some funny stuff. Wow. I'm just more in love every minute today.
Spent the morning listing and re-listing my categories and subcategories for the new home office "system" (and I cannot WAIT to get this project off the ground), plus fielding calls and emails from producers in--get this--England and NY (plus FOUR more in LA) about upcoming casting needs. AND I officially handed off a project I don't have time for to another amazing casting director, my sister Deb.
Speaking of Deb, it is now time to go. Showcase* production meeting, Keith's audition, then early dinner with sis at the Tana's. Awesome. Lobster time, baby!
* = disclosure to come. Stand by.
Posted by bonnie at 3:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cool New Thing
Because Beffers is so dang smart (and usually right about all things), I have signed up for a free Rojo account.
I think this will make doing my blog-rounds much more efficient. Thanks, Beffers! Thanks, Rojo!
Posted by bonnie at 1:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 14, 2006
A Day in the Life
So, 'member when I couldn't participate in Chip's "A Day in the Life" Challenge? Yeah, well, we finally got a working card reader. Woo hoo!
Since an average day for me is about 30 hours in length, these photos begin at 6:19pm November 1st and end at 11:30pm November 2nd. The above is a photo of my headshot files, which were a big focus of this particular day, seeing as a breakdown for a film I was casting went out around 4pm.
For everyone else's cool challenge photos, visit Chip's blog (which links 'em all).
6:19pm: just over two hours since the breakdown went out and I've received electronic submissions from almost 100 talent agents and managers.
7:20pm: got a cool Canadian TV series on DVD in the mail, Salema is bored, and I'm watching America's Next Top Model season one on VH-1.
8:30pm: Nip/Tuck is on. Awesome.
9:30pm: conference call with the film's director and producer, discussing "name" actors we may want to go after.
10:33pm: pistachio snack break.
11:20pm: casting deal memo (revised) has come in via fax. Thwok loves to guard the fax machine and its droppings. Sometimes she loves to walk on the fax machine and keep faxes from coming through acccurately. She is not the best office assistant.
November 2nd, 12:44am: cantaloupe snack break.
1:11am: brush teeth, check for more grey hairs.
2:20am: Archie, too, is bored.
3:30am: kitty bath break.
4:28am: running three different Internet browsers to review headshots, resumés, and demo reels (some of which I download). Finally ready to get some sleep after I play a few games on the SixHundy.
10:02am: good morning, sunshine! Thwok is on my ass, Archie and Salema are in the "staging area," knowing it's time for wakey, and that means no more sleeping (in this room, anyway). Note all of the scripts on the bottom shelf. Half are projects we've worked on. One fourth are projects our friends have worked on or on which we've considered working and passed. The last fourth are projects we're considering.
11:08am: typical first morning after a breakdown goes out. Eleven new messages since 8:30am.
12:05pm: choosing sides from the script for prereads, on the phone (headset) with an agent, reviewing casting suggestions on the Breakdowns website.
1:20pm: my favorite judge is on. Awesome.
2:30pm: color-coordinating priority submissions, pitches, and wishlist actors from the producers' notes. Yes, 90210 is on.
3:35pm: Keith and Archie (Archie is ALWAYS between).
4:44pm: more of same.
6pm: Keith has returned from Faith's with copies of her new headshots (gorgeous). VH-1 is airing I Love the '80s, which always rocks.
7:15pm: reviewing two more submissions.
8:20pm: same, same, same.
9:44pm: bored yet?
10:11pm: I've been typing so much I've had to put on my wristbrace and ghetto elbow wrap (cut up socks). Analyzing actors' credits, pulling out duplicate submissions, dismissing unqualified or incorrectly submitted actors.
11:30pm: quick shower, then time to leave the house! We're going for a walk. Finally.
Posted by bonnie at 12:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 5, 2006
1000
What the hell? It's as good as any other post to mark 1000 at the SpyNotebook.
It's nominating time over at the Bloggies. I saw posts over at CoCo's and Cliff's blogs about nominating and thought, "Hmm... what the hell!" So, I nominated each of the following favorite blogs AT LEAST ONCE (and NO, I'm not going to tell you in which category I nominated which blog). We'll see how my picks did, come the 20th.
Oh, and if you see blogs I've missed that SURELY should be nominated, check back to previous years' winners. Many of my favorite places have already topped the Bloggies lists. Further, if you're sure I should've nominated *your* blog (but I didn't), consider what turns me on: humor; accuracy; consistent posting; and details like proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If you're not so big on that stuffs but you want to be nominated, heck, go on over and nominate yourself (like I did). C'mon! If you can't say you love your own writing, how can you expect anyone else to do so?
Have fun!
Boblog
BonBlogs
Boom Boom Beautiful
Bored Athenians
Chip's Spynotebook
Communicatrix
Cuts
Dangerous Universe
Flickr
FourFour
Gluten-free Girl
Goin' to the John
How Was Your Day, Dan?
IndieBlog
It's a Talking Sport
LA Observed
Movable Type
Parry Shen
PostSecret
Query Letters I Love
Scenes from a Charmed Life
Seth's Blog
Showfax Roundtable
Sibling of the Groom
Slashdot
The Actors Voice
The Wicked Stage
Things I Find
This Is This
Tiny Baby
Trevor F. Smith: Exterior
Xaatm
Posted by bonnie at 1:26 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 27, 2005
BTW
Has anyone else noticed that the onslaught of holiday cards has become "the annual parade of our favorite botox spots" lately? *shudder*
Posted by bonnie at 9:20 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 26, 2005
Need Geeky Help (Three Items)
1. I want to buy a Karaoke Revolution "game" but I have no PS2, no XBox, no game console of any kind on which to play such. I see that I can buy the Dance Dance Revolution thingy without a console, but it doesn't appear that that's the case for the karaoke games. True? If I *have* to buy a video game console in order to have this karaoke system I want, what shall I buy? Or should I do something I haven't considered (like just buy the non-console dance pad and a separate karaoke system and somehow merge their brains)?
2. The formmail script at the producers.html page of the new Cricket Feet Casting site isn't working. BrYan awesomely helped me debug one element (permissions were off in the CGI-BIN for the formmail.pl script), but now my problem seems to be that I can only fill out the form ONCE (and yes, that's once even if I quit the browser and relaunch to try again) and I know that there's nothing so sophisticated in the script to keep multiple form-filling-out from the same computer type stuff from happening, so something's buggy. I have another version of the page that simply launches a mailto script (and I could use that one), but it leaves too much of the "fill in the form items correctly" issues to Darwin and I think we need to make baby steps first. Any ideas? I can send you error logs and the PL script/mailtemp.txt if you'd like.
3.
4. This one's bigger.... We've already been doing the whole "ask a tech group mailing list" thing, and what they've suggested is pretty good, but before I do it, I want to be SURE I'm not overlooking something simple and better-matched for my needs (it's the whole "Decide on what you want to use for your..." part of the advice that I'm looking for help on. What IS the best software?). Short version of the issue: I haven't synced my Treo in months. Since going to 10.4 on the Chicklet (and then, getting the new iBook, which came running 10.4), I've not been able to sync, which means NOTHING IN MY HANDHELD IS BEING BACKED UP. I'm seriously freaking out. A big, long post (sent to the tech group mailing list) is in the extended entry, below, but mainly I need to know what the BEST choice is for merging my data. I've also posted the best of the responses from the tech list there.
Thanks in advance, my most technologically wonderful friends. I'm officially getting old when I can't do all this keywrap without assistance... and lots of it... but I bow to your brilliance nontheless. Please help me. I'll send you something pretty! I promise!
Okay, so I had a Palm (original recipe) in 1999 and used that with my tangerine iBook (OS9) happily syncing with Palm Desktop as my default (no third-party software for the "important" stuff of CONTACTS, CALENDAR, MEMO PAD, TO DO LIST).
I upgraded to a Handspring Visor in 2000 and continued to sync with both my iBook and my G4 PowerBook (OS 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3) just fine, again using Palm Desktop and no third-party software.
IMPORTANT NOTE: While I was using Entourage for my email correspondence and address book for my computer, I was only ever using Palm Desktop for the CONTACTS, CALENDAR, MEMO PAD, and TO DO LIST). I never needed/wanted my email on my handheld. I never needed/wanted my Entourage address book to match my handheld address book, since I wasn't using my handheld for email. I never used (still don't use) Entourage's calendar, task list, or notes. It never mattered to me that the contacts in my handheld didn't have the most current email address, as I'd never be sending email without launching Entourage on my computer, and that's where the most updated email address would be. It never mattered to me that the contacts in my Entourage didn't have the most current phone number, as I'd never be calling someone without checking my handheld for the most current number.
Enter: upgrade from Handspring Visor to Handspring Treo 600 (original recipe) in January 2004. I was still able to sync my data to the Palm Desktop default in my PowerBook (running 10.3) and, while it was NOW starting to bum me out that I had different contact information in my handheld (from which I could now send email), it wasn't such a big deal that I felt the need to merge my Entourage contacts into the handheld. So, I never did. No biggie. As long as I could backup my handheld to my Palm Desktop and not lose all of the data, I was happy (enough).
In August 2004, I had to get a palmOne Treo 600 to replace my Handspring Treo 600, due to a defect in the "silent/vibrate" mode. I was able to backup the old Treo, put the data on the new Treo using my PowerBook running 10.3, and send back the old Treo. No problem.
Then came the upgrade to 10.4 on my PowerBook.
I was never able to sync or backup again.
Then came the new computer: iBook G4 running 10.4.
Still can't sync or backup.
Basically, I've been living in fear for most of 2005 that something, anything could go wrong with my handheld and suddenly five years of calendar, contacts, memos, and to do list items (all with lovely categories) would just go poof.
I'd really like to exhale.
So, here's (in order of importance) what I'd like to see happen--with your help, of course!
1. ability to sync/backup my handheld (palmOne Treo 600 running no third-party software) to my computer (iBook G4 running 10.4.3) without losing data. Palm Desktop is where all of the data is currently archived on my computer, and if I could just do a good ol' fashioned sync/backup to that, I'd be pleased as punch.
2. optimization of the data in all of the different places on my computer, using the most efficient (yes, even if I have to stop using something the way I've been used to using it for years--I don't fear change... much) method of syncing.
REMINDER: I do not wish to have my emails synced between the handheld and Entourage (which, yes, is my preferred email system on the computer--but, again, I can change to Mail or Thunderbird IF YOU CAN GUARANTEE ME A REALLY COOL RANDOM-SIGNATURE GENERATOR, AS THAT'S LIKE MY FAVORITE THING, OUTSIDE OF BEING ABLE TO SEND/RECEIVE FROM TEN DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS IN ONE WINDOW). No interest, whatsoever, in having my handheld and computer matching, in terms of the emails on them.
I never use a calendar program on my computer.
I never use a to do list on my computer.
I never use a memo pad on my computer.
I use my handheld for all of that. Only.
So, all I want (and again, this is secondary to item number one, above--which is more than sufficient a "fix" for me) is to merge the addresses in my Entourage with those in my handheld WITHOUT HAVING TO THEN REMOVE A ZILLION DUPLICATES. I currently have something like 4000 contacts in my handheld. I have almost 6500 contacts in my Entourage Address Book. Obviously, many of these files are in both places, but they aren't identical listings, by any stretch of the imagination. Ack. Yes... this could get ugly.
Or maybe it already IS ugly?
Yeah... I thought so.
Any thoughts?
And best response I've gotten. But I'm not ready to do it... yet.
1. ability to sync/backup my handheld (palmOne Treo 600 running no third-party software) to my computer (iBook G4 running 10.4.3) without losing data. Palm Desktop is where all of the data is currently archived on my computer, and if I could just do a good ol' fashioned sync/backup to that, I'd be pleased as punch.
As I understand your messages, the Treo and the iBook are NOT in sync and the only up-to-date copy is on the Treo. Is this correct?
If that's the case, I would go to the Palm store (I think that there's still one in Century City near the Apple Store) and buy a Backup Card. Put it into the SD/MMC slot of the Treo and push "Backup" and wait. Nothing needs to be installed on the Treo. This will ensure that, whatever you do subsequently, you should have a solid backup of the Treo's data.
2. optimization of the data in all of the different places on my computer, using the most efficient (yes, even if I have to stop using something the way I've been used to using it for years--I don't fear change... much) method of syncing.
Decide on what you want to use for your contacts, calendar, memos and tasks and export from everything else. Backup the datafile on the application on which you've decided and then import the odd-products-out files. This may take some data manipulation but not much and "no pain, no gain."
REMINDER: I do not wish to have my emails synced between the handheld and Entourage (which, yes, is my preferred email system on the computer--but, again, I can change to Mail or Thunderbird IF YOU CAN GUARANTEE ME A REALLY COOL RANDOM-SIGNATURE GENERATOR, AS THAT'S LIKE MY FAVORITE THING, OUTSIDE OF BEING ABLE TO SEND/RECEIVE FROM TEN DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS IN ONE WINDOW). No interest, whatsoever, in having my handheld and computer matching, in terms of the emails on them.
Mail will do random mail signatures on any account.
I never use a calendar program on my computer.
I never use a to do list on my computer.
I never use a memo pad on my computer.
I use my handheld for all of that. Only.
Yes, but you need something on the Mac to which to sync the data and for storage and manipulation (if needed).
So, all I want (and again, this is secondary to item number one, above--which is more than sufficient a "fix" for me) is to merge the addresses in my Entourage with those in my handheld WITHOUT HAVING TO THEN REMOVE A ZILLION DUPLICATES. I currently have something like 4000 contacts in my handheld. I have almost 6500 contacts in my Entourage Address Book. Obviously, many of these files are in both places, but they aren't identical listings, by any stretch of the imagination. Ack. Yes... this could get ugly.
If Mary Jones on your Treo and Mary Jones on your iBook are the same person but have different information, you will have to go through ALL of the duplicates to decide which to keep as you do the sync. That can be terribly tedious.
Here's how I would do it;
a. Create a copy of the Microsoft User Data folder so that any problems can be reversed. Copy the WHOLE folder. Don't take chances just copying the Main Identity folder.
b. Make a backup of your data files on the Treo as in my reply to Question 1 above.
c. Install the Entourage Conduit and disable the Palm Desktop conduits (Addresses/Contacts, Datebook/Calendar, Memo Pad/Memos, Task/To-Dos).
d. Synchronize the two.
e. Go through all the contacts in Entourage and decide what you want to keep, delete, modify or combine. (With over 10,000 entries, this is going to be an arduous task but it has to be done sometime or both lists will diverge further. It will be much easier on the Mac than the Treo to make the changes.)
f. Sync again but choose Desktop overwrites Handheld in the conduit settings for all Entourage modules.
Or, pay one of us to do it for you (all but the merging of the data) and avoid the aggravation.
Posted by bonnie at 11:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 19, 2005
Problem-Solving for Co-habitants of Different Types
Okay, so Keith and I are very very very very very different in lots of ways.
One of the "fixes" we put into practice this year was regarding our receipts and other money-related paperwork.
BASKETS (not plastics) were the (collective) answer.
Nice, pretty Pier 1 baskets (thanks Deb, for the where-to-buy) placed in several rooms for the emptying out of pockets and whatnot saved the day. As did large envelopes for the car (since so many receipts tend to gather there and end up being "turned in" for accounting purposes... oh, about a year or so too late for a tax write-off of any kind). So, big ups to Keith for having been very, very, very, very, very good about living within the system of the baskets and large envelopes.
Mission accomplished. Well done. Kudos. Rock on. Keep the good stuff comin'.
Posted by bonnie at 11:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 15, 2005
Most Cliché-Filled Paragraph Ever
So, I'm watching this Canadian show my TiVo picked up for me called The Call (see, I have "casting" as a keyword in there, so that I can catch whatever casting-process-filled shows that might air [Yes, I do sometimes get fishin' shows.]) and this actress uses more clichés than I've ever heard in one paragraph and I just had to stop, type it up, and share.
The auditioning process. Ha ha! Something one can never really get a complete handle on. It's always like walking into the unknown. So, it's a bit of a nail-biting experience, every time you go in. I don't want to be overly anxious and count my chickens before they've hatched. I know I have to pound the pavement a little bit more to get back into the industry and get directors more familiar with myself and my work.
Note: extra points for the wrong use of "myself," right Courtney?
Posted by bonnie at 8:11 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 14, 2005
CURSE YOU, EVIL TIVO!!!!!!!
I checked my TiVo this weekend and, sure enough, it was all set to record the "reunion" episode of America's Next Top Model tonight.
Tonight comes... it's like 8pm and I see the red light on, so I know it's doing its business and I can finish doing some work while it tapes the show (so that I can happily speed through commercials).
9pm comes and I excitedly hit the button to watch the episode.
WHAT?!?
Not taped!
And when I go to the little "To Do List" screen it says something about someone changing the status of the season pass--which I SO DID NOT DO!!!!!!!
So...
Who's going to give me a blow-by-blow? I mean, it's gonna bit a bit 'til four-four does it up, right?
(Yes, I have it set to TiVo for next week, but dangit!!!! *stomp* Why do I have to wait?!?)
Grrrrrrrrrr.
Posted by bonnie at 10:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
Stolen from Chip
Books I Plan To Read By The End of 2006
Which incidently is also the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000.
Okay, so this is where I realize I'm not nearly well-read enough. Oh, and that this stuff is most-frequently challenged is WEAK, yo.
PS--Does it help that I watched The Fear Inside layst night while I was finishing my column?
# Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
# Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
# I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
# The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
# The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
# Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
# Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
# Forever by Judy Blume
# Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
# Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
# Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
# My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
# The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
# The Giver by Lois Lowry
# It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
# Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
# A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
# The Color Purple by Alice Walker
# Sex by Madonna
# Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
# The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
# A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
# Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
# Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
# In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
# The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
# The Witches by Roald Dahl
# The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
# Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
# The Goats by Brock Cole
# Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
# Blubber by Judy Blume
# Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
# Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
# We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
# Final Exit by Derek Humphry
# The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
# Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
# The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (didn't read, but Oprah did)
# What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
# To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
# Beloved by Toni Morrison
# The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
# The Pigman by Paul Zindel
# Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
# Deenie by Judy Blume
# Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
# Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
# The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
# Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
# A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
# Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
# Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
# Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
# Cujo by Stephen King (saw the movie; does that count?)
# James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (ditt-tow)
# The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
# Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
# Ordinary People by Judith Guest
# American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
# What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
# Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
# Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
# Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
# Fade by Robert Cormier
# Guess What? by Mem Fox
# The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
# The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
# Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
# Lord of the Flies by William Golding
# Native Son by Richard Wright
# Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday (Ooh, was in a film called Womyn on Top. Does that count?)
# Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
# Jack by A.M. Homes
# Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
# Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
# Carrie by Stephen King (Movie. Blah blah blah.)
# Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (ibid)
# On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
# Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
# Family Secrets by Norma Klein
# Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
# The Dead Zone by Stephen King
# The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
# Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
# Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
# Private Parts by Howard Stern (Movie.)
# Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford (HOW is this "challenged"? B/c peeps can't find the dude? WHAT?!?!)
# Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
# Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
# Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
# Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
# Sex Education by Jenny Davis
# The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
# Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
# How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
# View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
# The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
# The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
# Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Posted by bonnie at 9:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 9, 2005
Definition of Wrong
*shudder*
When did Carrot Top become a double amputee freakshow steroid case?
Ew. Just ew.
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December 4, 2005
Li'l
So, I've had a debate with one of my most-respected, brilliant friends about the "word" li'l. She tells me it's wrong... like ya'll is wrong (sheesh--I shudder to type that so very incorrectly).
Well, I say li'l is correct, simply b/c it displays the use of apostrophes anywhere there are letters removed. Keith says that means the true correct spelling is li'l' (displaying missing letters on two sides of an L).
Just like 'til is the proper use of "until" when shortened, I stand by my li'l.
So does Google. So does Urban Dictionary. No. I don't care that Lil Kim or Lil Bow Wow do it differently. They probably also write "ya'll" and "till" (and say "supposebly"), meaning they lose all respect and therefore don't get a vote in this.
Loose/lose and then/than counts double.
That's all I'm sayin'.
Posted by bonnie at 11:25 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 2, 2005
Happy Dance
Tonight, for the first time in MONTHS, there will be a gathering of the Ladies of the Gimlet. Yippee!
That's right... it's finally time for a Gimlet Night! This time: Cranberry Ginger Cosmos and gluten-free baked goods. Of course, the hours and hours of talking, laughing, and pontificating are standard fare. Heeeeeee! Can't wait to see my best girlfriends!
And...
To get you into the holiday spirit, sister Liz has sent a photo of Luke in a Kings' Xmas cap. Hey--animal lovers, keep Joseph in your warm, loving thoughts. Tomorrow is likely to be his last day here. :( Go in peace, sweet Joe. {{{hugs to the fam}}}
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November 26, 2005
My First PPV Experience
Okay, so I bought my first ever Pay Per View program: Ga. vs. Ga. Tech, which we can't watch on our ABC station due to dumb ol' Stanford. Okay, fine, so I pony up the $20 and open a bottle of wine, figuring, I've paid my money, let's make it a "date night." Keith is glee-filled, watching me giggle about the Dawgs and the silly affection I have for college football... only sometimes.
Five minutes in, we're pleased with our purchase. This is going to be a good game.
And then...
What's this?
COMMERCIALS????? I'm sorry... did I not understand how PPV works?
I PAID for my VIEWING. Why should I have to be subjected to COMMERCIALS when I've already spent money for the show?
Damn Capitalism.
Posted by bonnie at 5:13 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 18, 2005
Good Guy
I knew I always liked that Negroponte guy.
MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte started a project to give $100 laptops to millions of schoolchildren in developing countries. "In Cambodia when the kids brought the laptop home, the parents loved it because it was the brightest light source in the house," he said. "The first English word of every child in that project was 'Google.'"
Bitchin'.
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November 12, 2005
Here's What's Funny to Me
(and, yes, this has something to do with my upbringing and personal connection to numerology and astrology):
Personal Year 8: Attainment and capital gainsSo, what's the funny?
2006 is a number 8 personal year for you. This is your power year, a period when you can make important strides in you life. Coming after a very slow and introspective period (the personal year 7), you may start feeling some stirrings of ambitions. This is a year of big decisions and major achievements. Activity is your keynote now, and you will find yourself very much involved and occupied. Opportunities for advancement and recognition for past and current work is likely to come about during this year. You have things going for you so long as you take advantage and act. It is easy for you to branch out and expand in a businesslike manner. If you are at all inclined, this is the time to exude self-confidence and authority, because others will tend to be receptive to your leadership and control. Your power and status potential is at a peak of the nine years personal epicycle that concludes at the end of the next year.
That'd be the idea that 2005 was "slow and introspective" for me. Certainly, I learned a buttload about who I am in 2005--but really, when do I NOT learn a buttload about who I am? And we're thinking 2006 will be when I have "advancement and recognition" for my work? Wow. That's just effin' rockstar launching upward, IMO.
I was emailing with someone recently and said (re: my value-added service of casting sessions being uploaded to the Cricket Feet server within 12 hours of preread sessions for producers in other cities to evaluate in near-real time), "I went from having cast 12 projects in two years to casting another six in four months, so it's definitely making me a more efficient casting director."
But man, it's a buttload of work. Point is, if we're launching into my POWER year, per numerology... well... should be interesting.
Okay, and... I've been casting my ass off this week. In case you didn't believe me when I mentioned I'd be scarce... well, I've been BUSY! And happily so. I have so many more favorite actors added to my short list.
Finally, I've been asked to "leak" the script for the next feature film I'm casting. This is a seriously wonderful script and the budget is over $2M, so I'm feeling pretty dang happy to be onboard. The goal, in the, "Hey, Bon, leak the script," idea is that folks will begin spreading the word and the pitches will begin before the breakdown goes out. Hey, have you ever doubted that Hollywood is a system? Just wonderin'. Heh heh.
BTW, there's something really really really rockstar fun about having a regular (regular = on a schedule, set your watch by it) call from the "big" agencies to check status. I swear, I don't want to be a star-f**ker and act like that stuff matters, but I've gotta say that level of interaction makes paying the bills a way innovative and different type of endeavor (puns intended).
Posted by bonnie at 1:50 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 5, 2005
Pop Quiz
Because I have no photos to upload (dammit--they're *so* all up in my camera) in honor of Chip's Day in the Life Challenge, I give you this, stolen from PARF:
Let's find out just how clever you really are.
First Question: You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong!
If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!Try not to screw up in the next question.
Second Question: If you overtake the last person, then you are...?
Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?You're not very good at this! Are you?
Third Question: Very tricky math! Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000 Now add 10. What is the total?Did you get 5000?
The correct answer is actually 4100.
Don't believe it? Check with your calculator! Today is definitely not your day. Maybe you will get the last question right?
Fourth Question: Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
Answer: Nunu?
NO! Of course not. Her name is Mary. Read the question again...
Yeah. That's all good fun. Damn, I wish I'd been able to contribute good photos (read: any photos) to the cause.
Good news: had a kick-ass meeting for the film I'm casting AND a rockstar dinner with the leads in a film I cast earlier this year (yeah, they're dating now... I'd say that means I'm pretty damn good at spotting chemistry and casting romantic leads). Yippee!
Posted by bonnie at 12:06 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 2, 2005
So Proud of Myself
I'm seriously proud of myself. Starting at 6:30pm PST yesterday, I began my 24 hours of documentation of "A Day in the Life of Bon" per instructions at Chip's blog.
I remember the results of this challenge (which I did not take on) in February 2003 to be quite delightful and insightful. So, this time, I took it on. And I did gooooood. I took photos of my work, my kitties, my Keith, my phone calls, my headshot files, my cantaloupe-eating, and even my looking for grey hairs in the mirror-ing.
And now it's time to upload.
Guess what.
The card reader for my digital camera doesn't work on *any* version of OSX. Since I got the Chicklet in early 2003, we've been uploading photos using Keith's ancient ThinkPad and then FTPing them to me for sharing from there. That ThinkPad (Stinky) officially died a few weeks ago after a bout with chronic fried-insides-itis. Had I mentioned that? Yeah. So, Keith's on the Chicklet, I'm on the as-yet-unnamed gift from Joseph Montana, and no one can upload photos from the hand-me-down digital camera my dad and SM gave me in December of 2000.
Oh well. My photos were really good. I promise! And I was so damn proud to have finished the assignment, ready to upload, crop, and caption while watching ANTM. Grr. Suckola. Chip, I know you mentioned we could send you the photos for hosting. Does that mean I can snail mail you my 16mb media card for a six-year-old Olympus 1.3mpxl camera?
*snork*
I crack myself up.
Back to casting.
PS--Ask me to tell you all someday (in person, no papertrail) the things I've learned in casting this particular film re: submissions and pitch calls. Quite ethnographically titillating.
Posted by bonnie at 7:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 1, 2005
Two Spynotebookers Rock My World
Well, more than that many, really, but I must specifically say THANK YOU to SpyNotebook's own Hamil and BrYan, for kicking oh-so-much ass. Truly. Worshipful am I!
Oh, and I think I will rise to Chip's Day in the Life Challenge. Prepare to be bored.
Posted by bonnie at 6:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Losing My Touch
This is what happens when an HTML junkie begins to age...
She can't fix code on a page she's been maintaining for over six years. Yup. Something went wonky and I can't fix it. Can't. Don't even have the right headspace for the analysis. I usually can line up an old version of the code and a new version and find exactly where something went wrong and put it back in order. Or AT LEAST I can pull one of Keith's old Java Script books down and figure it out from there. This time? No way.
I'm officially getting too old to code.
Wow.
Meanwhile, still finishing edits on the book and still having a LOT more to do than I'd imagined I would, this close to Mercury going Retrograde. Looks like a new breakdown will go out this week for the first of three films to cast before year-end. And what I really need is some paid time off to get everything organized so that I can actually do all of the things stretched out before me and hire someone to help.
Oh, y'know what hurts? Microwave popcorn bag-induced papercut on the pinky. Yeah. Ow.
Happy November, all!
Posted by bonnie at 2:36 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 30, 2005
My Liver!
Was it a Beavis and Butthead line? God, what a random memory. I don't even think I ever watched more than five minutes of that show, when it was on, but I seem to recall a faked accident and one of the guys clutching his chest, yelling, "My liver! My liver!" The other guy whispered, "Lower!" And he either--can't recall which--dropped his hand to his crotch and said, "My liver! My liver!" or lowered his voice and said it. Hm.
Either way...
I've started a liver cleanse. Have to do that before taking anything for my thyroid. Ugh. I had a few panic attacks, just going over it all. So much stress about mysterious issues of the bod. Very very very odd. Anyway, I'll keep y'all posted. Wish me luck.
While googling for that first image, I found this one, immediately above. It got me to thinking... how common is this practice of cutting out faces of exes in photos? I've never done it. I've never even torn a photo in half for drama. So odd to want to trash the photo to... what? Feel better? Perform a ritual, removing the person from your life more literally? Show the world you're more narcissistic than sentimental? What?
And finally, a quiz. Can YOU tell your programming language creators from your serial killers? Hee! Fun.
Posted by bonnie at 1:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 24, 2005
Sooo Spooky!
C'mon... y'know you wanna...
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October 22, 2005
Ooh, that was a good one!
Nothin' like a nice 3.0 rollin' quake right here in Santa Monica to congratulate Keith on four years in SoCal (tomorrow)!
And because our server lives in Santa Monica, that would make Cricket Feet down. Again. What a great week iPower Web has been having! :\
You're comin' to the party tomorrow, right?
Posted by bonnie at 8:49 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Hey, BrYan
(or any other of my HTML-lovin' friends with a moment to spare), couldja take a look at the code on this page and tell me what I did *this time* to screw it up? Remember last time? Wasn't it fun helping me then?
*sigh*
TIA
Posted by bonnie at 5:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
Okay, so...
...because I love my sister* (and she says I don't blog enough lately), I am sharing this.
*tsk* *tsk*
(Not sure where that came from. Email?)
*=she's not my sister, she's my heavy. Oh, wait... that's not right either. Well, either way... she said I don't blog enough... so, here!
Having been totally inspired by Rob's blog on the subject, I went old school and Gizoogled myself. Here's what came of it: long bio, short bio, imdbo (all PDFs, all funny).
Oh, and just b/c it's funny...
(That one came from the greatness that is BrYan.)
PS--SAG CAP rocked. Loved the actors. 95% amazing. Casting for Two Dogs Inside is rocking hard. Shrinks is doing a half-off weekend, if you use code 008 at this link (and you should). Finally, our top-secret wedding reception is Sunday, 2pm. We're in charge of the hooch, which means you will be well-plied. So come. ¡Por favor!
Posted by bonnie at 11:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 18, 2005
So Easily Amused
Thwok has a new favorite toy.
Packing peanuts.
See, Keith went to our distributor's warehouse today and picked up a box of "damaged returns" (which is silly, b/c they aren't really *damaged* as much as smudged or handled in some way that makes them no longer "sell as new" material), in case we'd like to use the books for giveaways or whatever.
Box has assorted packing peanuts in it, and just enough of a hole in the top for the silver munkey to snake her paw inside and pull out said peanuts and play, play, play, play, play.
I am amused at how she is amused. The elder kitties are just so glad the thunder has stopped. They did not like that. I, on the other hand, LOVED IT, especially when it was so loud (just before the rain began) that the entire schoolyard filled with children across the street erupted in high-pitched screams of terror and excitement. Hee hee hee.
So easily amused.
PS--next entry will be my 888th at SpyNotebook.org. Cool, eh?
Posted by bonnie at 3:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 17, 2005
Two Things
1. Email woes are over. Woo damn hoo! (PS--They're over b/c Keith talked the stupid tech guys THROUGH their system to find the problem. Sheesh!)
2. Happy birthday, Def Jam Becca MC! You rock, celebrity girl! So glad I know you! Remember, tell that hubby to turn OFF the Effin' Fox News and treat you right. ;)
Posted by bonnie at 6:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Glitch
Cricket Feet email is down. If you've tried to reach me since about 10:15pm Sunday, 16 October 2005 using any of the Cricket Feet email accounts, I've never seen the mail... I won't see the mail... and you won't get a bounce-back to let you know I've not received the mail.
Cool, eh?
*grumble*
Best news? No idea when they'll have it fixed. WHO ASKED THEM TO MOVE OUR MX RECORDS TO BEGIN WITH?!?
*grrrrr*
Posted by bonnie at 11:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 11, 2005
Happy Nonaversary!
Tomorrow is our Nonaversary. Yes, we celebrate the day we didn't get married, 12 October 2002. It's always so much fun, since we invented the holiday.
First Nonaversary: stay in bed all day and say, "Thank you for not marrying me."
Second Nonaversary: champagne brunch and pottery painting.
Third Nonaversary: do a series of date nights to make up for the fact we're working on the 12th.
Fourth Nonaversary:
Copperwynd, baby! (Here's what I said after last time.)
And yes, we count the one in 2002 as our First Nonaversary, since we invented it. And yes, we still say, "Thank you for not marrying me," to each other... only now we're married, so we kind of only mean, "Thanks for not marrying me on THAT day."
Hee hee.
Love that edits for THIS book are pretty much where edits for the LAST book were on the last spa vacation.
Tee hee.
Yes, I'm taking work on our honeymoon (but anyone who knows Keith knows, by virtue of the fact that HE's going, I'm taking WORK on my honeymoon anyway), but THIS will be stuff I can do while he's sleeping. *giggle*
Oh, I'm sooooooooo excited! Yippee!
Posted by bonnie at 9:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Who Do You Love?
Okay, peeps-who-love-to-read, which font do you like best?
This is a page with five sample fonts for the new edition of Self-Management for Actors (it's a PDF). Please share your vote for THE FONT YOU WANT for the new book.
I won't tell you which fonts are "winning," just that SMALLER is better, since otherwise I must cut major content. Grr... it's like I'm writing my dissertation all over again (no wonder I dropped out on my PhD)!
Posted by bonnie at 3:25 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
October 9, 2005
Yo, Proofers...
So, I've pulled a major all-weekender and gotten bootyloads of work done on the updates to the new edition of the book (woo damn hoo), and that means it's time to get to the proofing!
I think I've sent invitations to all of the proofer patrol members who re-upped for this edition to join the new let's-keep-it-all-in-one-place Yahoo group. If you're in for the proofing but haven't received your invite, click and join, please. Updates are happening FAST (got that Nonaversary trip coming up).
Yes, five-weeks-to-printer was ambitious. It'll be more like seven. It's gonna be okay... still out just before we sell out of the first edition (by like a dozen copies, if the math works out).
PS--THREE new scripts this week for casting, each with a budget near $2M. Rockstar!
Posted by bonnie at 10:22 PM | TrackBack
October 4, 2005
Don't Judge Me!
Is it wrong?
Is it wrong that I open all of the semi-easily-opened pistachios and leave the too-tightly-encased ones for Keith?
I mean, I am wrist-down dainty.
Posted by bonnie at 11:53 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 28, 2005
See How Joseph Montana Loves Me?
He sent me one of these today.
Sad to say so long to the Chicklet, but Keith's ThinkPad has been fried for a few months, so at least the Chicklet goes to a good lap in the same room.
Haven't come up with a name for the new iBook (and it's way bigger than the Chicklet), but since it has like a gig and a half of RAM and a DVD burner, I guess I can handle the extra heft.
Heeeeeeee. Love new toys! Love Joseph Montana! Love my sister Liz! Love my hubby Keith! Heeeeeeeeeeeeee. NEW CAR SMELL ROCKS!
Posted by bonnie at 11:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Apparently...
all I needed to get to bloggin' was...
a freeekin' heat wave. Keith's dad's thermostat says it's 90 degrees in our apartment. Ugh.
Posted by bonnie at 7:17 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
I Must Be Feeling Better!
Because I'm doing the rounds (reading blogs) and stealing from brilliant people like London Cliff.
That's a good sign.
Five Things I Can And Can't Do (Cliff's answers are way better than mine.)
Five Things I Should Know How To Do And Can't
1. cook (I burn water)
2. play guitar
3.
4. whistle
5. speak the three foreign languages I learned in school
6. say "particularly" correctly
Five Things I Shouldn't Know How To Do But Can
1. write with both hands
2. advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry
3.
4. hit bullseye, every time
5. spot and name every actor I've ever auditioned, when I see him or her on TV in something else
6. full-on background check on anyone without any significant information (SS#, address history, etc.)
Fun, no? ;)
Fun poll results (yeah, I 86'd the poll after getting a whopping 22 votes).
BonBlogs Poll!
Why do you read BonBlogs?
To keep up with your whatnots. 45% 10
To see if you're casting something new. 5% 1
THERE IS NO THREE, EVER! 14% 3
Eh, it's bookmarked. What the Hell? 5% 1
I'm secretly stalking you. 18% 4
You're stalking me and I want to know why. 0% 0
Long-time reader, first-time interacter. 14% 3
Google led me here and I stuck around. No idea why! 0% 0
Reactions to come later. ;)
Posted by bonnie at 5:42 PM | TrackBack
September 23, 2005
IGAR
I seriously have nothing to say.
Still sick. Trying to work on the book's revisions between big sleeps. Watching TV. Being bored.
Octoberfair is back (across the street) and that makes me smile.
Keith is auditioning for a "Disney Dad"-type role (heavy on the goofball). HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LISA! More more more DayQuil... and still, I got a rock!
Posted by bonnie at 1:14 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 21, 2005
*skrawnk*
That's the sound my nose makes.
Book event, good. Kitties (all three), spread out all over me, begging for bed. Keith, on his way to the bed.
Yeah. NyQuil says I'll be going too. *skrawnk*
I'm going to be healthy tomorrow, dammit.
Posted by bonnie at 11:42 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 15, 2005
Hey, Proofer Patrol
Early request of the proofer patrol for the 2nd editon of Self-Management for Actors:
If you are on my proofer patrol and you have the first edition handy, could you be so awesome as to "bunny up" to do one of the following things?
1. Look up every casting director whose name is in the book (you can use the index for help) and find out whether they are now (or no longer) members of the CSA and/or CCDA?
2. Look up every casting director whose name is in the book (again, you can use the index for help) and find out what their most recent credits are (this is an IMDB job)?
3.
4. Visit the sites in the Online Resources section of the book and determine if those sites still exist and, if they do, if the description is accurate?
Holla, helpas! You get copies of the book and my undying love! Oh, and acks in the acks section, of course! Deadline... October 1st, so there's plenty o'time.
Posted by bonnie at 9:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 12, 2005
Reviews
I've reviewed Breaking Bonaduce at Monitoring the Culture.
Thanks to the fun Best Week Ever blog, I found a review that's really cool and geeky. What does it take to destroy a nano?
Hee hee hee hee hee.
Posted by bonnie at 10:01 PM | TrackBack
September 10, 2005
Lists
This is the kind of thing I would do, if I didn't have enough of a list-intensive career as it is.
Things I Find... is a blog that reminds me of the awesome To Do List magazine, which has been defunct for about a year now. I seriously loved that magazine and maybe I'll send the to do list I'd been saving up now that I know they're doing a book version. We'll see. Anyway, these folks need to get together.
Luckily, casting involves lists (and lists of lists), writing a weekly column involves lists, and writing books definitely requires listmainia like none other or else I'd do that kind of thing for fun (and never get any work done).
Why do you suppose lists are so very satisfying to me? Submit your suggestions in list form.
PS--I trimmed my fingernails. Had to. I was having to retype everything lately and it was getting annoying. Bummer, as the long nails looked way hot. Oh well.
Posted by bonnie at 5:35 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 9, 2005
New Favorite TV Channel
You know me. I don't sleep on any "normal" schedule. So, around 4am when I've emptied the TiVo and need to have something on while I work, I now go to Google Current.
This is what I think "reality" TV should be. Really brave, self-produced and submitted POV "pods" with on-screen status bars so you know, going in, how long the pod is and how far along in the story you are.
I first saw a pod about Katrina (and the warnings that came years ahead of time, graphic depictions of land loss, timeline of evacuation and rescue activities, all set to Flood by Jars of Clay*) last week and was hooked.
Last night, I watched for hours... further hooked. THIS is what TV is coming to. Wikipedia-like self-correcting viewer-scored user-submitted pods on everything. So long, CNN. Rock on, Google Current. I'm in.
*Lift me up--when I'm falling
Lift me up--I'm weak and I'm dying
Lift me up--I need you to hold me
Lift me up--and keep me from drowning again...
Posted by bonnie at 1:27 AM | TrackBack
September 4, 2005
Sunday Morning Search Party
Haven't done a search party in awhile, and I'm already ahead of myself in my To Do List this weekend (amazing), so let's have some fun and analyze the words and phrases that brought people here recently.
One on One: Camille Mana: of course! My friend Camille (from Wolfesden days and in Acting Qs) is a series regular now! Woo damn hoo!
Trashelle funny: yes, yes she is. Often in the way that Tara Reid funny or Anna Nicole Smith funny. Although, I must say that Katie out-Trashelled Trashelle last week on Kill Reality. Man, that show was such a great idea!
Bonnie pink: I like that one!
Blake Robbins: The OC: yes, my writing partner booked a recurring character on The OC but I can't tell you what he does. Just know, if you've seen him on everyothershowlately you know what his characters always do. *evil grin*
Tru-Fan Eliza: I think I got on their radar from casting the amazing Shawn Reaves as Kliner in Chandler Hall, but there has been so much turnover in that cast that I'm afraid to ask if he's been shooting lately.
Scout Taylor-Compton MISSING: yeah, a big spike in traffic over that one, as it seemed my blog was the only thing leading people to info, early on in her missing days, before the family went public. What's odd is that my blog drew the attention of (and led to phone calls from) the media... and lots of it. When the NY Daily News calls... well... it's just a little surreal.
girls upset tummy: aww. I have no advice for such. I got some advice for mine, but little of it was gluten-free, and I'd settle for an upset tummy over a migraine any day!
that hot dress: well, if it's one I've had on my bod, it MUST be this one. I mean... come ON! Hot, yo?
Kathy Griffin: ew! Don't look here for her (well, except above, I guess). Deb, I think I thought of someone who elicits in me the Renée Zellweger response you have. It's Kathy "Botox" Griffin. *shudder* (Oh, and upon looking over RZ's IMDB, I have actually seen FOUR movies she was in, but in two of them, she only had one forgettable scene each, so yeah, I guess I really only have seen two of HER movies. Ironic to see the most recent title, considering our Friday night experience.)
Definition: Work In Progress: that's me, baby. That's me.
PS--My nails are so long that I can't type without fat-fingering everything lately. Gluten-free eating has proven sooooo healthy for me. Love it!
PSS--My confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement with FOX is still in place from my Paradise Hotel days, so I can't say much, but OMG are the producers LYING in their interviews during Paradise Hotel Revealed on the FOX Reality Channel. Holy bejeebus, are they lying their arses off!! I'll tell you specifically where around May 2006, when I won't get sued for doing so.
Posted by bonnie at 1:52 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 3, 2005
Others Say It Better
There is little to say about the state of natural disaster and speed of government response (vs. fictional WMDs and speed of government knee-jerk) that hasn't been said better* elsewhere. So, I'll just share some sillies.
Build your own church sign (thanks to CoCo, with whom I had an excellent tea date yesterday).
Visit a clever Cooking Monkey (hee hee... munkey), also thanks to CoCo (*she's also one of the ones saying it better).
And cast your votes in the Kitten War, which is simply a rockin' good waste of time, thanks to Ames' link to Cats In Sinks last week.
As for any tales about my brother's visit, those have been shared privately with those who experienced it and today is an official Day of Silence in the Gillespie-Johnson household in an attempt to recover. Thank you to those who joined in the Gas Light karaoke-fest last night. I think, when my brother screamed, "Bitch!" at the top of his lungs at me during my rendition of Piece of My Heart, he meant it as a compliment. *sigh* I am so less broken than I sometimes think I might be. Focusing on the positive, I will just say thank you to the universe for the reminder.
Glad August is over. Glad it's cooler. Glad we raised a buttload of money to send to the Red Cross last night. Glad my brother didn't pee in my wastebasket (thanks again, Keith... for everything).
Yes, the SpyNotebook's Google ads are broken.
Silence is good. Go click on kittens. I know I will.
Posted by bonnie at 6:35 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 26, 2005
I Love You, Joseph Montana!
Oh, Joseph, you are so good to me!
Honestly, there is nothing so fun as opening the door to a care package filled with gluten-free meal kits, Hello Kitty goodies, and loads of love from my favorite good puppy dog!
Thank your momma Liz for doing all of the running around. LOVE this care package!! Yippee!
Oh, and in other news... it's effin' hot, yo.
Posted by bonnie at 4:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 18, 2005
Here's What Sucks
Get obessed with working out.
Find that working out pretty much fixes every other stress in life.
Begin relying on workouts to balance stress.
Get sick.
Wonder if working out while sick is a good idea.
Learn it's probably not.
Have loads of stress and no energy to face the stress, no outlet for the stress, and loads of restlessness over this situation.
Back to bed. Ugh.
Posted by bonnie at 4:55 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 17, 2005
Grammar Police
Why why why why why can't the ad agency create a commercial in which proper grammar is used?
The line in the new Staples back-to-school ad is: "Wouldn't it be nice if there was an easy button for school?"
COME! ON! SUBJUNCTIVE, anyone?!?
Oh, the irony that it's a back-to-school ad! Auuuuugh!!!!
PS--Welcome to LA, Franny. And congrats on nailing your first network TV audition right off the plane and getting a callback within five hours of landing. Rockstar!
Posted by bonnie at 4:47 AM | TrackBack
August 16, 2005
Power Is Sexy
This is true. I find power so effin' sexy. Many women do. *melt*
There is something so gorgeous about the pompous, arrogant, articulate, brilliant posts Keith is making over at the SAG Actor board lately that I just want to throw myself at him.
Oh wait... I can do that! *giggle*
Posted by bonnie at 4:54 PM | TrackBack
August 15, 2005
Upset Tummy :(
I remember my mom saying that I was never as miserable as when I had an upset tummy, as a little girl. I'm definitely in Whiny Bunn* mode right now.
So I took a quiz.
| Cheese Pizza |
 |
That was brought to you by Ali, who took it from Jodes, whose blog I don't visit nearly enough because I feel like a failure since I can't knit. (Kidding, Jodes. I think it's really cool and I'm just jealous.)
I think I have to go to the store now to buy something with bubbles in it. I'm crabby when my tummy is owie. I also apparently type in baby-talk then too.
* When I was a little girl and I would get particularly whiny, my parents would say, "Who are you? You can't be Bonnie Athene! She's a sweet little girl. You must belong to the Bunn family next door. You must be their little girl, Whiny Bunn."
Of course, this was very funny to them until I went over to Mr. and Mrs. Bunn's house one day and asked if I could play with their daughter, Whiny Bunn. That ended that.
Posted by bonnie at 10:59 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Hey. Busy.
Did I share this with y'all yet?
And, it seems that my friend Brad sees this in my future:
Hee hee.
Still editing tape for Teenage Dirtbag producers to watch online in Idaho. Callbacks next week. I'm exhausted. Very busy week, here.
PS--Quite enjoying watching Paradise Hotel (and the post-show interviews) on Fox Reality Channel. What a flashback to my life of May 2003!
PPS--Oh, Greer, I tried to watch your new show but I just can't get past Kyra's bad accent.
Posted by bonnie at 7:31 PM | TrackBack
August 13, 2005
Me in 100 Things
Grabbed from Nini (and it really reminds me of the Go-Go's Girl of a Hundred Lists, which was always a favorite song even before I realized it was pretty much an ode to my OCD).
01 First grade teacher's name: N/A (never went to K, 1st, or 2nd grade--fun fact).
02 Last word you said: "G'nite."
03 Last song you sang: Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine.
04 Last person you hugged: Keith Johnson, of course!
05 Last thing you laughed at: Something on Will & Grace (a Jack line, I'm sure).
06 Last time you said "I don't remember:" Sheesh! I don't remember.
07 Last time you cried watching TV: Tonight at the gym, during the reairing of the World Trade Center towers falling as they did a news story on the release of the 9/11 tapes.
08 What color socks are you wearing? None.
09 What's under your bed? Nothing (it's bad feng shui).
10 What time did you wake up today? Hmm... something like 7am when the phone started ringing.
11 Current taste: Grapefruit juice.
12 Current hair: Red, long, in need of a rinse and trim, wet and piled on top of my head right now, post-shower.
13 Current annoyance: Lack of free time available to do stuff like purge old headshots, organize scripts, return demo reels, and begin work on my next book.
14 Current longing: Hm. Can't come up with anything.
15 Current desktop background: Cool red/yellow swirl thingy from the Mac OS abstract image files.
16 Current worry: That Thwok is not 100% healthy.
17 Current hate: No hate. Ever.
18 Current favorite article of clothing: The Gap shorts I've worn out (and the Tweeds sandals I've broken).
19 Favorite physical feature of the preferred sex: Eyes.
20 Last CD that you listened to: Mix CD from Mike at Roxbury (it's called "La Bonita's 31st Birthday Mix," I think).
21 Favorite place to be: Home.
22 Least favorite place: In traffic.
23 Time you wake up in the morning: Never the same time.
24 If you could play an instrument, what would it be? I'd love to be really good at piano.
25 Favorite color: Silver.
26 Do you believe in an afterlife? Absolutely! That question James Lipton asks about what you want God to say to you when you get to heaven... my answer is: "Welcome back! Ready to go again?"
27 How tall are you? 5'7" (but I'm often accused of being 5'9"--it's the boobs).
28 Current favorite word/saying: "My pleasure!" (I've been hearing myself say this on the phone to agents and managers all week long.)
29 Favorite book: Lovingly, Georgia (although Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting is right up there too.
30 Favorite season: Fall (and, really, it's October in Boston).
31 One person from your past you wish you could go back and talk to: Probably Mom.
32 Where do you want to go for university? Been... several times. If I go back to finish my PhD, it'll probably be at UCLA.
33 What is your career going to be like? Already is... flexible, creative, intense, social, and very fun.
34 How many kids do you want? Maybe one.
35 Said "I love you" and meant it? Every time.
36 Gotten in a fight with your dog/cat/bird/fish? No.
37 Been to New York? Of course!
38 Been to Florida? Of course!
39 Been to California? Present day!
40 Been to Hawaii? God, yes. LOVED it. Can't wait to go back.
41 Been to Mexico? Never.
42 Been to China? Nope.
43 Dreamed something really crazy and then it happened the next day? Of course!
44 Do you have a crush on someone? Of course!
45 What book are you reading now? Self-Management for Actors (for revision purposes... BTW... that's a REALLY good book).
46 Worst feeling in the world? Being misunderstood.
47 What is the last thing you think about when you go to bed at night? What all I have to do starting when I'm next awake.
48 What is the first thing you think about when you wake in the morning? Kisses.
49 How many rings before you answer? When I'm working and expecting calls, I'll pick up on the first ring. When I'm not in the "expecting calls" stage, I *never* pick up. Ever. Hate, hate, hate the phone (oh, so I guess there *is* something I hate, for that one above).
50 Future daughter's name: Grace.
51 Future son's name: Walker.
52 Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Does Archie count?
53 If you could have any job you wanted what would it be? This is it! Except maybe I'd also be exec producing a show (still, that plan is in the works... takes time to build up to that).
54 Wish you were somewhere else? Nope.
55 College plans: Who knows if I'll go back to finish the PhD. Eh, I love school, so I probably will.
56 Piercings: Two.
57 Do you do drugs? Nope.
58 Do you drink? Yep.
59 What kind of Shampoo and Conditioner do you use? Three different kinds: Pantene, Finesse, and Be Long.
60 What are you most scared of? Heights (like on a ropes course--but NOT like rappelling down a mountain. Odd, isn't it?).
61 What clothes do you sleep in? Panties and a tank top.
62 Who is the last person that called you? An agent, making sure I got the tape of his clients he messengered over today.
63 Where do you want to get married? On the beach at sunset.
64 If you could change anything about yourself what would that be? I'd be forever a size 12. That's where my body is happy and that's a good healthy size for me to feel like the goddess I am. (Isn't it weird that, if I could change ANYTHING about myself, it would be my weight? Why not change that I'm obsessed with my body? Yeah... that would be a nice shift too.)
65 Who do you really hate? Oh, all right! If I must... how about high-maintenance people? But really, that's not hate. It's annoyance.
66 Been In Love? Constantly.
67 Are you timely or always late? Perpetually prompt.
68 Do you have a job? Yes. Several. Always.
69 Do you like being around people? I like being around myself the most (Mom taught me early in life to get comfortable with my own company, for which I'm grateful), but when I'm in a social place, I LOVE being a party girl. I'm very good in groups. I work a mean room.
70 Best feeling in the world? Satisfaction over a job well done. Any type of job.
71 Are you for world peace? Sure! In theory. It's just that it exists outside the theoretical that makes it hinky.
72 Are you a health freak? Yep.
73 Do you have a "type" of person you always go after? I used to. It was the artist, creative, tortured intellectual with passion and drive. Brilliant and funny and a bit cynical. Actually, y'know what? I think I still go for that type in all of my friendships and business dealings. Hm.
74 Do you want someone you don't have? Not really. I'm generally pretty satisfied in life.
75 Are you lonely right now? Nope.
76 Ever afraid you'll never get married? Nope. Keith says there are four types of marriage (spiritual, emotional, religious, and civil). Technically, we've been "married" for four years now, just not in all of the various ways recognized by society.
77 Do you want to get married? Not again! ;)
78 Do you want kids? Love having Quinn in my life. Hope to have a child when/if it's meant to be. Not really attached to it either way.
79 Cried today? Yes.
80 Bought something today? Dinner at Baja Fresh.
81 Gotten sick today? Nope.
82 Sang today? Yes.
83 Said I love you today? Of course!
84 Wanted to tell someone you loved them today? If I wanted to, I told them. I never hold back an "I love you."
85 Met someone today? No.
86 Moved on today? Oh, yes. I'm very proud of the way I've handled some issues with grace today.
87 Talked to someone today? Goodness, yes. Many someones, coordinating all of this casting stuff.
88 Had a serious talk today? Yes. Several.
89 Missed someone today? Yes.
90 Hugged someone today? Of course! Hugs are like oxygen!
91 Yelled at someone today? Only in a mock-yell, playing with Keith about his silliness.
92 Dreamed about someone you can't be with today? No.
93 Danced today? No.
94 I.M.ed someone today? Nope.
95 Watched TV today? Yes. And about a hundred demo reels and taped auditions on the computer's screen while editing for uploading.
96 Played dress up today? Only if you count wearing a sarong as "playing dress-up" (which Keith would, since I'm usually in shorts).
97 Left someone a comment today? Of course! I'm a very comment-y blog friend.
98 Sent someone more than five text messages today? I don't think I've sent someone more than five text messages *ever*.
99 Gone to the movies today? Nope. Just worked on casting one.
100 Completed another survey today? Just did, thanks. ;)
Okay... who's next? Ali? Kris? Deb? C'mon... y'know you want to!
Posted by bonnie at 12:08 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
August 12, 2005
Well, finally!
Remember that wine from Sissa's wedding?
I finally opened it tonight!
It's one of those things where she told me to have it right away (like at the reception--where I had a migraine) but I honored it for three solid years, moved it to several different homes, etc.
And then finally, tonight, I had it. Which is fun b/c I'm both enjoying the hooch and honoring my Sissa, wherever she may be.
Oh, my Larry, life is good.
Posted by bonnie at 3:43 AM | TrackBack
August 10, 2005
Letter from the Cosmos
Dear Bon,
I'm sorry I've been such a ginormous pain in the arse for these past couple of weeks.
I know you've tried to remain calm (and keep others calm) in the face of my diva-demands and, usually, you are quite grace-filled when I come by (since you plan for the chaos I cause and always take extra time with everything, showing marvelous levels of patience), but I've just had to toy with you this time around.
Seeing you try to keep your cool when everything is going wrong at once, watching technology fail you, and noticing that communication simply never lands the way it was navigated has been a monkey-filled barrel of shits and giggles. Thanks for the laughs!
Love,
Mercury Retrograde
PS: At one point last week, you said this was the worst of me you could recall and Keith said he'd experienced worse. I must say I truly enjoyed the moment today when he finally said, "Yeah. I'm just hoping to live through this one. It's really bad." That was fun for me. Thank him, wouldja?
Posted by bonnie at 5:26 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
August 9, 2005
Grr.
Because I'm having a grrrrrrrrr day (and Keith won't let me spray his ankles with compressed air), this is how I'm venting.
Meme snarked from Ames (and more of it below)...
LAYER ONE: ON THE OUTSIDE
Name: Bon
Birthdate: 07.11.70 (so cool and reflexive)
Birthplace: Hotlanta
Current Location: Hollywood (in spirit)
Hair Color: red, but in major need of a touch-up.
Righty or Lefty: lefty, except with scissors. It's weird.
LAYER TWO: ON THE INSIDE
Your heritage: Scotch-Irish, Cherokee, Dutch, and about a dozen other whatnots.
Shoes you wore today: the shoes I bought to replace the ones I really love, from Tweeds (RIP).
Your fears: rope courses, closed-off spaces, cotton balls (see standup comedy routine from Comedy Store 2000 for details).
Your perfect pizza: gluten-free (sadly, none exist).
Goal you'd like to achieve: absolute, unconditional self-love (same goal since Corey Allen's acting class at Margie Haber Studios, 1999).
LAYER THREE:
Since there is never a three, the rest of the meme is in the extended entry, should you be interested. ;)
LAYER FOUR: YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW
Your most overused phrase on IM: I don't IM. But when I chat at PARF on Fridays, it's probably LOL.
Your thoughts first waking up: Spoken: "Honey? Come be close!"
Your best physical feature: the rack. Always the rack.
Your bedtime: Huh?
Your most missed memory: plopping my head in my mom's lap, having her stroke my hair and baby-talk me, even at age 29.
LAYER FIVE: YOUR PICK
Pepsi or Coke: as a shareholder, it must be Coke, even though I'll have none of either.
McDonald's or Burger King: neither has good gluten-free choices, so... um... yeah, whatever.
Single or group dates: what's a DATE? Just kidding. Usually Dan Tana's and usually with whatever group of people has gathered. That means, sometimes group dates and sometimes it's just us and heavy-handed drink-pouring Mike.
Adidas or Nike: in honor of the great Mitchell Fink, it must be Adidas (swag is good).
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: rarely, so no opinion.
Chocolate or vanilla: chocolate.
Cappuccino or coffee: neither. I don't do the coffee.
LAYER SIX: DO YOU? or ARE YOU?
Smoke: not anymore.
Cuss: yup. Way too much.
Single: nope.
Have a crush: constantly.
Think you've been in love: perpetually.
Like high school: only sometimes.
Want to get married: in denial. ;)
Believe in yourself: absolutely.
Get motion sickness: yes. Especially in the back seat of a Towncar or in a plane with a hangover.
Think you're attractive: sometimes. Sometimes I'm a goddess like none other. Other times I'm slothzilla. It's part of having a childstar/teen-anorexic brain. Hard to fix.
Think you're a health freak: anytime I'm pegged to one extreme or another, I'm either alcoholic or obsessed with fitness. Depends on the day you catch me. Right now, I'm working out like a maniac and wish I could hit the gym several hours a day. *shrug*
Get along with your parents: who?
Like thunderstorms: miss 'em like crazy!
Play an instrument: probably can plunk out a few notes on just about anything and can read sheet music enough to get by.
LAYER SEVEN: IN THE PAST MONTH
Drank alcohol: yup.
Gone on a date: sure.
been on stage: constantly.
eaten an entire box of Oreos: never!
Eaten sushi: not since going gluten-free. :( Bummer, since I love/miss sushi.
Been dumped: only by the CSA.
Gone skating: no, but I read about it, at Chip's blog, plus others.
Gone skinny dipping: oh, man... it was a year ago, but we did that nightly while house-sitting and LOVED it. We sooooooo need a pool.
Stolen anything: no. I've gotten much better. ;)
LAYER EIGHT: HAVE YOU EVER
Played a game that required removal of clothing: of course.
Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: sure.
Been caught "doing something:" like... sex? Sure. I'm old. It happens. ;)
Been called a tease: just the other day by MCJ!!
Gotten beaten up: yeah, but I usually beat as well as I got beaten. Ask Scott Freeman or Jared Herbst, the boys I beat up back in my school days. ;)
LAYER NINE: GETTING OLDER
Age you hope to be married: 34.
Number of Children: well, there's Quinn, which counts. I'd like to have a girl, but I don't know... we have to be in a really secure financial situation before we bring more kids into the world. Quinn-support and OUR OWN support is plenty, right now.
Describe your dream wedding: I love that this is in "getting older." LOL
How do you want to die: in my sleep, without pain, like Mom did.
What do you want to be when you grow up: always living my dream, whatever that should become.
Where would you most like to visit: there's a major list there, really. Changes regularly. Almost always involves a passport.
LAYER TEN: IN A GAL/GUY
Best eye color: brown
Best hair color: dark brown
Short or long hair: longish
Height: 6'+
Best first date location: very public.
Best first kiss location: lips.
LAYER ELEVEN: IN THE NUMBERS
Number of people I could trust with my life: hm. A few. Hard to quantify. A few, certainly.
Number of CDs I own: ha! In the world of "CD as Casting Director," I'd say only me. ;) In the world of that musical disc... I'd say 300-400, maybe.
Number of piercings: two.
Number of tattoos: two.
Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: oh, goodness, too many. My RSiCopyright services indicate my name is in print pretty effin' regularly, which is kinda cool. Most of the time, it's actually me, and not the Red Cross admin or the Board of Regents member (much less the stripper).
Number of scars on my body: more than a few. I count tattooed-over scars as scars, moles I wish were gone as scars, and being a keloid kid, I'd say I have a goodly number of scars to count. I try not to count. Why quantify pain? I'd rather count the number of happy places.
Well, that was fun. Definitely improved my mood, even for a moment. Now the bed! ;)
Posted by bonnie at 4:01 AM | TrackBack
August 8, 2005
Disturbing
Is anyone else *really* disturbed that Target has started running back to school ads...
using altered lyrics to Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back...
in which little kids are doing the rump-shaking because, "Baby's got back(packs)" and locker mirrors on sale?
*shudder*
Posted by bonnie at 3:07 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
August 3, 2005
Calm Down, Everybody!
All right everybody, seriously. Calm the eff down.
It's *just* Mercury Retrograde. Seriously. Breathe.
Sheesh!
Posted by bonnie at 11:10 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
August 1, 2005
Yummy!
So, a cool actor friend of mine came by today to drop off his taped audition for Teenage Dirtbag (he's in rehearsal tomorrow night and can't make it to the preread) and brought me a bag of organically grown goodies!
I hadn't planned on posting about it, but the tomato I had with dinner was so yummy that I had to brag about my friend's garden (especially after I saw Jocelyn's post about gifts of fruit.
So in developing this post, I realized I had a very important question, because I have no idea how to even approach the figs John brought over. How does one eat a fig? Cut into it and then spoon out the inside? Peel and eat? Simmer with butter? What? I think I've only ever had dried figs or newtoned figs, so I don't know how to begin here.
Posted by bonnie at 9:15 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 31, 2005
Coolness!
Got this email today:
Was loafing doing an extra gig for Malcolm in the Middle last week and someone had your Acting Qs book prominently atop a pile of books on the AD's table in holding all nite. Seemed like a clever mode of getting its name out there. Did not find out whose it was though.
How effin' cool!
Posted by bonnie at 2:32 AM | TrackBack
July 29, 2005
Am I Crazy?
Seriously. Am I?
I've just agreed to NOT schedule prereads for Tuesday tonight. Instead, I shall turn off the computer, get into some "goin' out" duds, and drive to Hollywood to attend Keith's friend's birthday gathering at one of the hippest hotspots in town at 10pm on a Friday during Mercury Retrograde.
Yes. I am crazy. 35 year olds don't do such things!
Posted by bonnie at 9:28 PM | TrackBack
July 28, 2005
Surreal Moment of the Day
(I'm noticing that I seem to have quite a few "Surreal Moments of the Day" when casting.)
While on the phone with an agent...
Agent: "I want you to consider a wonderful actor named Timothy Carhart. He recently did this great little film called The Moor and I know you'd like his work."
Me: "I *cast* The Moor. I *cast* Tim in The Moor. That was one of my first films."
Seriously, I was stunned and am not sure of what I said, exactly.
Agent: "Oh, wow. Listen, Tim is *very* critical. He came in here with the DVD for The Moor and said, 'This is one of the best projects I've done.' He was really proud."
*tear*
Reminds me... I haven't shared the trailer for The Moor yet, have I? Enjoy. It's a 1.9MB .mov file.
Posted by bonnie at 12:22 PM | TrackBack
July 21, 2005
My New Favorite Wine
In case you're interested...
is Ferrari-Carano. This was introduced to me at the rockstar birthday dinner at The Palm (thank you, Bob Brody) and I really do love it.
Almost time to leave for Missouri.
Did I mention the stack of scripts in the "to read" pile? So so so much going on! Have a great weekend, everyone! I'll try to blog from the SixHundy. XXOO
Posted by bonnie at 11:46 PM | TrackBack
Two Things
1. Had to cancel my social plans for the afternoon and evening (dinner with Nelson and a rockin' good time at Fluffy Bunnies before it heads to New York for a run there) due to the fact that I am totally overwhelmed by all that I have to do before leaving town for a few days.
2. Learned that the best way to stay cool in a non-A/C environment when the temperature soars is to soak a tank top in ice-cold water, wring it out, and wear it like a sorority girl on spring break in Daytona Beach. Niiiiiice.
Posted by bonnie at 2:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 19, 2005
Quick Quiz
Nabbed from Nini (who has a very cute photo up an entry below the one I've linked).
Posted by bonnie at 2:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Good News/Bad News
Not in my life... I'm swamped and therefore too busy to evaluate what's happening as good or bad (though it seems all good, upon skimming).
But here's today's news that impressed me as awesome and not-awesome.
Super cool gig for performers without health insurance (just perform for hospitalized patients and receive $40 per performance hour in credit toward your own healthcare).
Health insurance on the barter system--a hospital in Brooklyn is offering free health care to dancers, singers, and actors in exchange for performing for patients.
Read the story at WABC* for more info.
And further proof that I was right when I chose NOT to get a MySpace account...
News Corp announced on Monday that it has bought Intermix Media, owner of the popular MySpace.com social networking site, for $580 million.
Yep. That's the evil Fox News Network people, buying up all of the pseudo-Friendster bloggy kids. Have fun with that!
*Eff you, ABC World News Now, for making a story so completely impossible to find on your website. Why, when I see the story on YOUR overnight show and write down the key information that should make it easy to find the show on your website, do I have to resort to checking your many ABC affiliates' websites before finding said story? You RAN the story... you should LINK to it. Grr.
Don't mind me, I just spent a serious half-hour looking for something that should've been available in like 90 seconds and three clicks. Effin' Internet.**
**Not you, Internet. I love you. I'm just mad at the media.
Posted by bonnie at 12:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 11, 2005
This Is Fun
Look at what I got from E! today.
Happy birthday from the gang at E! Online. Hope it's a great one! You also share your birthday with the following celebrities: Lil' Kim, Bonnie Pointer, Bruce McGill, John Henson, Lisa Rinna, Richie Sambora, Sela Ward, Thomas Mitchell
From my own notes:
Also born today: John Quincy Adams, George Eastman, E. B. White, Yul Brynner, and Suzanne Vega.
Hee hee. I'm getting very excited about my lobster birthday dinner. Thanks, Brody. You rock. ;)
And Keith rocked his Big Love producer session. Woo hoo!
Posted by bonnie at 3:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
HBTM
I'm 35.
That is all.
Posted by bonnie at 12:35 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 9, 2005
Where to begin...
Where do you begin when you have so so so so much going on that you can't even begin to STOP and organize thoughts into words (much less organize thoughts into words that accurately represent the non-stop goings-on)? Whew! I am spinning!! LOVE IT... but it's a LOT of swirl. I feel like I'm in the center of a kick-ass Spirograph design with lots of color. It's gorgeous, complex, and thrilling to behold. But, man, is it a lot to wrap my brain around!
We've finished up prereads for Shrinks. Wow. Some of the most amazing (and also some of the most baffling) actors I've seen, for this one. I'm thrilled with the actors we'll be bringing to callbacks (once we are able to cut down even further; we currently have too many actors on our short list). As for what was baffling... well... let's just say I actually WISH there were a Hollywood Blacklist so that I could make sure one actor is on it. *shudder* I have written (for the first time, ever): NEVER AGAIN across a headshot. I'll explain why over drinks somewhere, sometime... later.
Just got back from the Chandler Hall table read (I didn't stay for any of the read itself; just went at the start to get the last two actors to sign off on their SAG contracts and to get *my* final check for casting services). It is so very cool to see all of the actors cast in one place at the same time. Casting directors never really get to do that. We may see two or three together during chemistry checks at callbacks, but it's so neat to see a dozen confident, CAST, happy actors gathering, meeting, ready to begin the journey that will result in a feature film a year from now. Very gratifying.
Happily completing my essay (to go with my application) for joining the CSA. Received a copy of the letter Michael Donovan wrote on my behalf. It made me cry. What a wonderful man! And truly, he has been a mentor for me since the very beginning of this road (heck, even before I had any idea it was a path)! Wonderful letter. Wonderful man.
In fact, Michael was one of the first people Keith called with the good news. Yup. Keith Johnson, just three years after his first acting gig in Los Angeles, has signed with Origin Talent. That's right. THE Origin Talent. That's Origin Talent of JP Manoux, Katie Stuart, Patrick Malone, Susan Wood, Rodney Rowland, Kate Flannery, Christa Campbell, Suzanne Krull, Patrick Bristow, Jf Pryor, Will Wallace, Sean Bell, Rusty Joiner, Lindsay Hollister, Jake Hanover, Jessica Lancaster, and *ahem* Bob Clendenin fame. Awwwwww, yeah! That's a working actor agency, baby!
Fucking rockstar development. Abby Casey is the best manager on the planet and Keith Johnson now has a manager and TWO agents. Kathleen Schultz for print (signed earlier this week), and now Origin frickin' Talent. So so so so so amazing. Just unbelievable and delightful and perfect. Congratulations, my working actor baby. Oh, and break a leg at your THIRD producer callback session for Big Love. Nail it to the fucking wall!
*ahem* Sorry 'bout the f-word all over the place. I'm just really happy.
Okay, so in a week full of amazing developments, I get this email from someone who has read my advice in a new book published by the UGA Alumni Association.
Seems my advice to 2005 UGA grads is on page 35. You can download the whole PDF by clicking that phrase. If you just want to see my passage in If I Only Knew Then..., click here (also PDF, just smaller). I shared advice that was shared by my aunt Jean, back when I was in crisis over my decision to move back to Atlanta and go to grad school. I couldn't believe I was actually considering leaving Hollywood. It was my PLAN. She taught me about Plan A and Plan B... well... read the passage. You'll see. Cool to have already gotten email about it.
And, I sent a note to Aunt Jean to thank her for the advice and to show her the impact it obviously had on me. I'm guessing she doesn't even recall that particular conversation, but it certainly helped me, in those tough early-20s (when you're so sure you know how your life is going to turn out and think it's WRONG to not know (vs. how blissful it is to not know, which you eventually learn)).
I love living in Santa Monica. We're almost at our anniversary here. So blissful. Being so close to the beach, being able to walk everywhere, the cool weather, the friendly people. Ah, people laugh about, "Never wanting to go east of the 405," but Keith tells them I try not to go east of 26th Street! The temperature drops there, when you're coming back from "the rest of LA" to the Westside. It's not just that, though. It's also the vibe. My pulse actually slows at that point. I relax differently. It's awesome.
And while I love my digs... man, doesn't this place look cool?
It's almost that time! I'm really excited about this birthday. It's been an outstanding year.
That's Ash in last weekend's LA Times. (Click it to see the whole article/scan--very large.) Go, girl. You are definitely the breakout star of MTV's The '70s House. Win! Win big!
Okay. If you haven't already, shame on you. And go NOW. Read the brilliance that is (collectively) Colleen Wainwright's "Searches, We Get Searches" blogs. Of course, every bit of her blog is brilliant, but it's the SEARCH stuff that makes me *snork* (snort-laugh). So much, in fact, I asked her to teach me how to track searches to my blog so that I could try to be so funny.
So far... here's what I've got. In seven weeks of tracking, the most interesting searches that have come my way have been (and my lame attempt at comedy follows each):
Eva Longoria Golden Globes (Yes, yes she does. Mmmmmm.)
Greer Shephard dress (She does, too. Probably once or twice every day!)
Miata touch-up paint Miata (That's catchy! I could sing that.)
photo of Kevan Jenson (Hm. I don't have one, but I'll see if I can snap a pic on the SixHundy on Wednesday, if you'd like.)
star caps (Tooth-coverings for famous people? Headgear for celestial bodies? Five-point bullets? Nah... just a bright-orange, garlic-smelling herbal drug thingy.)
How'd I do, Coco? You say the searches will get better with time, right? ;) Hopefully the comedy will too.
Just transition artwork, above. It says my name. Cool, huh?
Okay, so we took a vote in the Gillespie-Johnson household. Best Hunter: Thwok. Sexiest Vixen: Salema. Sweetest Oaf: Archie (although Keith was close on that one... he's not as sweet).
Oh, and Lily, here's my blog!
'Til next time!
(reminders to self: blog about why a special agent from the ATF stopped by on Thursday, the cat that meditates to the Stones, Fantastic 4, and cool sofa repair guys. also look up the date's for Joni's vist, find out if the casting gig in MO and the trip to Tahoe are mutually exclusive, roll out a SMFA seminar press release, and consult the SixHundy for the rest of the scary to do list. that is all. back to work. stop with the blogging and trust that you'll remember all the other shyte you want to write about when the time is there to do so. seriously. go now. now.)
Posted by bonnie at 11:41 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 3, 2005
SAG Indie Rocks
For all the times I've wished the SAG Indie agreements were available online (and not just the wee summaries), I think it's finally happened. (Of course, I'd still love love love to see the TALENT contracts online!)
In fact, they had a fancy big roll-out for the DGA last week. More on that here. Very excited to attend the contract workshop on the 14th. That'll rock.
Great dinner meeting with the producer and director of Shrinks last night, after an amazing day with the PARF gang. Such wonderful kids--and cool parents too. Great weekend, all around.
Happy exhale that my computer isn't dead, despite the fact that all maintenance software tried to tell me it was. Ah. Seems none of that software works on Tiger. Okey doke. Time to buy new software, not buy a new hard drive. Phew!
Have to get a script read, pronto, as there's another casting gig on the horizon, if I decide I like the project. Just a really instant-casting job, though, as they shoot their first scene 7/25. Ack! So much going on. Love it, though.
No sign of that day off. Hm...
Posted by bonnie at 7:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 29, 2005
Amazing Day!
Okay, so last night's callbacks were BEYOND ROCKSTAR (and I do mean BEYOND ROCKSTAR). I've spent the day making offers to talent, negotiating billing (and extras like dressing rooms), and setting up audition sides for the next project I'm casting.
Simply AMAZING day with loads of great phone calls (and, I know... I always hate the phone, so it's kinda weird) and then Keith brings up the mail.
What's there?
Freaks and Geeks, the complete series! This has been on my wishlist forever and Keith ordered it for my birthday. Yay! Early happy birthday Bonnie gift! Woo hoo! I cried. Seriously. I CRIED with joy!
Phone rings. What's that? Oh, cool. I've been hired to cast a short at the American Academy of Art's Indie Filmmaker's Bootcamp at Stephens College! Yup! Thanks to a referral from a manager friend of mine, I'm off to Missouri in late July! Woo hoo!
And... I think today's the day I apply to join the CSA. Yup. Feels like that kind of day.
Next? Nosotros' American Latino Talent Showcase, of course! What better way to celebrate? Woo damn hoo!
Posted by bonnie at 4:35 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 27, 2005
Wondering
Did I share this photo wid'jaz yet?
Yeah. That's me. Pre-curves (AKA "fluff"). Love that Farrah 'do and Pac Man iron-on decal ringer T.
Tee hee.
Posted by bonnie at 1:08 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 25, 2005
Perfect Day!
So, I went to bed late, slept 'til I woke up naturally, did a word puzzle in my jammies, wandered into the living room and found this on AMC:
I challenge any one of you to tune in and NOT smile ear-to-ear the whole time.
Heck, I remember being so excited that they'd made a movie about US (Georgia US) when I was a little kid. Of course, I'd probably never seen an 18-wheeler close-up, but I was sure this was Hollywood loving Georgia and that gave us some sort of credibility as people.
No comment, upon watching as an adult. Heeeeee!
Just the same, I cannot watch a MINUTE of this movie without smiling, laughing, and singing along. What a great day!
Posted by bonnie at 1:29 PM | TrackBack
June 24, 2005
It's Just Damn Funny To Read (RIF)
Reading *is* fundamental! Really!
I come home from a super amazing dinner party with old friends and new (Lily, you have the BEST friends EVER and you *must* hurry back to LA so I can cast you in something) and check up on the blogs.
What's cool, hip, and now?
Chip found some self-heating coffee that scares me a bit.
Jocelyn showed me a photo of like my favorite yummy Chick-fil-A food ever. Damn you, gluten!
And...
Chip found what is probably the best FREE KATIE conspiracy theory article ever!
Question... am I all about Becca's Michael, b/c I quoted Fox News Network?
Okay, seriously need the bed. Director coming over mañana to watch preread selects with me here rather than doing the high-tech thing I spent 20 hours making available for him to view. *sigh* Someday the world will be all the geeks like me.
Posted by bonnie at 11:38 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 22, 2005
Real World Austin
Holy crap, that's a good show.
So, I got home from the SAG LifeRaft talk (which was effin' rockstar) and from taking Keith and Quinn to the airport (Quinn was VERY excited about taking the red-eye home) and found that Kris' boyfriend TiVo had saved Real World: Austin for me. Holy crap, what a good show! I don't remember such an exciting first episode ever.
In other I-love-TV news, I've noticed a whole buncha cool stuff coming up for my summer TV viewing. More on that later.
I've got to tweak the schedule for Thursday's prereads, plus finish the breakdown for Shrinks. Man, I should be sleeping! Oh well...
PS--There is a much more agile version of Archie who lives outside these days. What a panic attack seeing him run through the courtyard tonight gave me! Thought the oaf had escaped Casa Gillespie-Johnson. Nope. Still sleeping, right where we left him. Ha!
Posted by bonnie at 2:25 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
June 15, 2005
Oy, so...
I've crossed everything off my list, plus subbed to every RSS feed (of interest) I could find (though I'm not *quite* sure what that RSS thingy means), and I've sent all of the potential local hires on to the director of the feature film I'm MAINLY casting right now (not finished with everything just yet).
(Yes, I'm having to learn what it is to cast three projects simulatneously and how to decide which is the "leader" in every call I make. Oh, and... I'm reminded that people at this point hire ASSISTANTS, for cryin' out loud!!)
Whut?
View this, this, and... well... there is no three. Judge me now. It's not my fault! AND... if you're free, join us Thursday 7:30pm-ish for a little gathering. Hit me with a comment ASAP if you're free and want to head west for a glass-raising of some sort. SO much to celebrate! And... there's meeting the brilliant, beautiful Q-man!!
Oh, so, I get a call from Keith and learn that Quinn has taken a face-dive into the dock on the way to Catalina. My response, "Can you clean him up?" Answer, "I can clean HIM up better than *I* clean up!" Well, duh! I mean, I love ya, Keith, but we ALL admit that Quinn is parented better than we were! LOL
Such such SUCH a good kid! Kudos to the moms for taking such good care of him! I love how generous, loving, and affectionate that boy is!!
Photos will come! Hang in!
Posted by bonnie at 1:19 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 14, 2005
How Cute Are We!
First feedback from an actor interviewed in Acting Qs... none other than the amazing Stephon Fuller:
What say he?
I am really enjoying the book. While I was on set Saturday, I showed it to the actress I was working with and she started reading it like it was hers. I was hoping to read in the "hurry up and wait" time. It’s pretty addictive. The stories are great!
Yay! Thanks, Stephon! And THANKS for sharing YOUR story!
BTW... the upgrade to Office 2004 (when it has become fried by your effin' Tiger upgrade on a Mac [yeah, laugh it up, folks who love it the once every NEVER that a Mac does something PC-like and craps out]) is basically painless, although it does take about THREE HOURS.
Further BTW... Quinn is learning major strategy in Hello Kitty Uno. Or, well, he WAS. Right now he's in Catalina with his dad. So cool! Me? Casting meeting tomorrow. News to come. Yippee!
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How Excited Am I?
Super-duper excited. Look at the present GSN is getting me for my birthday!
[GSN] has picked up repeats of all seven editions of the show that have aired on CBS, plus rights to the eighth edition of the game, which debuts in the fall, and an option for the ninth and 10th cycles. Episodes will air nightly at 9 p.m. ET, beginning Monday, July 11 with the show's first episode.The conventional wisdom is that because they have serial stories and fans already know the outcome, they won't work as repeats. "The Amazing Race," though, may have an advantage in that regard. Although its popularity has taken off in the past year, its first few seasons didn't capture very big audiences.
That would be me. I didn't start watching TAR until the summer of 2003, when my assistant at the Fox show I was working on told me Keith and I were MADE for that show. Of course, I had to watch. I was soooo sucked in, wishing I'd listened to Chip all along.
No worries. I can start watching next month from the beginning. Yippee!
Gotta go. Have a date to play Hello Kitty Uno with the Q-Man. ;)
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June 13, 2005
Further Updates
And here are today's updates, as of this moment.
I have a script to read, offers to fax, feedback to provide [still dragging feet on this one], bills to pay, books to sign [ended up chatting, instead], books to pack [ditto], books to mail [yeah, yeah, yeah], headshots to open, headshots to sort [still in progress], headshots to purge [I think this one is a forever-in-progress deal], a screen to put back in a window [waits for Keith], three websites to update [ugh. dragging feet], a font to install [actually can no longer use Word. major problems since the Tiger upgrade. Ugh], and dayplayers to enter into the Breakdowns system to email to producers [not urgent].
Wow, and I also did about ten things that weren't on the list. That's fun. Still more to do (always)... but I'm super-intimidated by the items I saw in last month's Real Simple (just got to read it) called "This Clean House." I'll post that insane list later. No WAY I could keep up with THOSE standards. *shudder* I'm supposed to wash my lamp shades every six months?
PS--I love Fight for Fame. Is that wrong? Should I lie? (Ooh, it's probably due to the high number of people in each week's episode that I know. That would explain part of the appeal.)
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June 12, 2005
List Thus Far
Updates to the list thus far:
I have a script to read [read enough to know I'll accept the offer to cast it tomorrow], a column to write, offers to fax [got authorization for dollar amounts on three of them, holding on one more], feedback to provide [this is going to take forever and I always worry I miss something and end up just not doing any, which I hate, since I know it helps the actors to get feedback], bills to pay [that's the very next item, I promise], books to sign [can do that with wine, later], books to pack [ditto], books to mail [pack 'em up for Keith to take after he and Quinn return from NoCal], headshots to open [ugh, that's forever in the making], headshots to sort [this list is still way overwhelming], headshots to purge [I thought I'd gotten so much done today], a screen to put back in a window [waits for Keith], a shower to take, litter to scoop, dishes to wash, three websites to update [coming soon], a font to install [having some bugs with the Tiger upgrade... must research], and dayplayers to enter into the Breakdowns system to email to producers [later].
Holy bejeebus. I thought I'd gotten so much done already. Lists are evil. (No, they're not. I know that.)
PS--I cannot watch ten minutes of television without seeing an actor I know. That's kind of cool.
PPS--It seems I will get to officially make an offer to one of the most talented actors I know tomorrow (and someone I count as a friend) to star in one of the movies I'm casting. I'm so so so so so freakin' excited about this film. Can't wait to make it official!! Rockstar!
Posted by bonnie at 6:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Bored
So, why is it when I have a kazillion things to do (and I am not *even* kidding when I say "kazillion," I really do have THAT MUCH STUFF to do) that I end up bored?
It just makes like no sense. How can I be bored when I have sooooo much to do? And all of it causes me more than a little bit of stress. Hm. Maybe I'm chosing boredom over stress. I guess that makes sense.
The "S" key on my PowerBook has a patch worn through. So, I guess it *is* the most common letter. For me, at least.
See? Bored. And I have a script to read, a column to write, offers to fax, feedback to provide, bills to pay, books to sign, books to pack, books to mail, headshots to open, headshots to sort, headshots to purge, a screen to put back in a window, a shower to take, litter to scoop, dishes to wash, three websites to update, a font to install, and dayplayers to enter into the Breakdowns system to email to producers. All of that needs to happen before Monday morning.
Yeah. And I'm noticing the worn-out "S" key. And making lists of the things I'm not doing. Sunday should be interesting. Look at all of those S-es I typed! Esses? Oh... and I found the first typo in the new book. :\ Page 129. Transposed a period and a close-paren. I'll decide that's in homage to Frances. How 'bout that?
Posted by bonnie at 3:54 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 11, 2005
T-minus 30 Days
I'd better get used to the idea.
Yup. Only 30 days left of 34. :\
Better get going on those New Year's Resolutions (or, rather, what it is I want to take into my new year with me).
Ooh... or update my Amazon Wish List! That's much more fun. Hee hee.
Posted by bonnie at 7:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 8, 2005
Obsession
Have you ever been so totally and completely obsessed with something that you cannot fathom NOT thinking about it, even for a second?
Yeah. I've been obessed with 1990 Mazda Miata touch-up paint.
*sigh*
Not well.
See, when you have a nearly 16-year-old car, you need to touch up the paint in places from time to time. And when you pack to MOVE, you put things like the touch-up paint you bought ON THE SAME DAY YOU BOUGHT THE CAR in one of several boxes that (after the move) may not get completely unpacked--or even ones that may get put deep into a closet for storage, since you haven't needed anything in the boxes for months--and God help you if you think you can begin to find said touch-up paint when you realize there's a little fleck-off going on after the TicTac had a visit to the carwash.
Worse, give up EVER thinking you could find the damn thing, if you just looked ONE MORE TIME inside EVERY FREAKIN' box, drawer, closet, storage unit of EVERY kind... but please do go ahead and LOOK one more time (scratch that... not ONE more time... try a dozen more times). But don't you DARE stop THINKING that you *could* possibly find it, if you just looked ONE more time.
Again.
*sigh*
I told you I was NOT WELL.
Yes. I finally broke down and spent the FIVE BUCKS plus shipping to order the dang thing from a Miata shop online. Do you think *maybe* I could stop obsessing about where the damn thing is now?
Place yer bets, folks!
PS--I realized that the producer callback Keith had today was for the same show he's gone to producers for once before during pilot season. Effin' rockstar!
PPS--Just got home from a great industry thingy hosted by the TMA, Breakdowns, Barefoot Wine, and the Hollywood Reporter for the CBS fall season roll-out (preview, keynote, and panel). Way cool. Awesome giftbags! Swag is goooood.
Posted by bonnie at 12:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 3, 2005
Theory of Car Drama and Showbiz
Okay, so I've always had this theory (and it seems to pan out, according to most actors I've talked to) that if you get a parking ticket while you're at an audition, you will book the gig.
Well, yesterday, Keith's car was towed. And he had a rockstar meeting (over 90 minutes) with an amazing agent, after his rockstar manager hooked him up with a week filled with agency meetings. Have we mentioned how much we love Keith's manager?
So, if a parking ticket during an audition means a booking, I think it's safe to say that a tow-away the morning of an agent meeting means you're going to get signed. We shall see.
In other news, A New Tomorrow is almost fully-cast. I'm doing some offer letters to name actors on Monday for this film *and* for Chandler Hall, based on some wonderful pitches we've gotten since the breakdown went out Wednesday night. Excellent progress.
Quinn and the book arrive next week. I'm teaching four classes next week plus attending an amazing CBS/TMA event. It's just an amazing, kick-ass life. Period.
Posted by bonnie at 11:10 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
May 16, 2005
Y'know...
When you're bored to hell and you've emptied your TiVo,
you begin to learn
that there's some
on the Internet.
Posted by bonnie at 2:50 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 15, 2005
On Bullshit
So 60 Minutes does a piece on the best-seller On Bullshit.
It got me thinking about the term "bullshit." Why did the bull's poop become the most popular in our language? Why not the dog's? The monkey's? The gerbil's? Is their poop of less-importance, when measured up against that of the mighty bull? And if its poop is the more important, more popular, then why does the term mean something is false? Hm.
(Yes, I've added the book itself to my Amazon Wishlist.)
Posted by bonnie at 8:06 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 12, 2005
Internet Shopping
I love shopping online.
In four business days, I shall have some goodies at my door. That's fun.
I swear, I love the hassle-free buy-online life. God bless you, little Internet.
Posted by bonnie at 11:44 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 7, 2005
Geography
Two quizzes from Maria. One from weeks ago that I kept forgetting to put on here. A funny T-shirt spied in NY. Plus a rant and a thank you.
You Belong in London
A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.
What City Do You Belong in?
Nope. Too cold. Too rainy. No London. But thanks.
American Cities That Best Fit You: |
| 75% Los Angeles |
| 65% Honolulu |
| 65% Portland |
| 55% Atlanta |
| 55% Chicago |
Yup. That's about right.
You scored as Chelsea.
Chelsea is an area in Lower Manhattan west of Park Avenue from about 30th Street to about 14th Street which includes the Flatiron District. It's well known as a gay friendly area. It's also really hip and upscale. It's great place to shop for things for the home. If there is some kind of new innovative soap dish out you're bound to find it here. There are a lot of good places to eat... but, the prices can be a