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January 31, 2005
Every Frickin' Time
I swear, it's uncanny.
EVERY frickin' time I watch Joan of Arcadia, I cry.
So, unlike the rest of my TiVo'ed life (wherein I watch three or four episodes of one show all at once, rather than keeping up with weekly schedules [yes, this makes avoiding spoilers tough, but it's how I like to watch TV, dammit]), with this show, I have to watch ONE at a time. And then I need therapy for a few weeks (read: Family Guy, King of the Hill, and Real World/Road Rules Challenge) before I can watch another episode.
Damn, the Kleenex stock must rise every Friday night with this show.
HOW DO THEY DO IT?
Posted by bonnie at 10:49 PM
We Love Keith's New Manager
As I type this, Keith is reading for a role on a kick-ass series.
Think that could work?
I do! I do!
Go get 'em, baby!
Posted by bonnie at 3:20 PM
Two Reasons To Smile
1. Best Week Ever declares that "gay has jumped the shark" and will no longer be cool on TV. I swear that show makes me laugh out loud, even when Faith isn't doing brilliant commentary.
2. I found a few of Thwok's mice! They're under the freeeeekin' fridge. Praises be! Now, what was I doing down there? Don't ask.
But I'm laughing now. That's a good.
Posted by bonnie at 1:04 AM
January 30, 2005
Chicken Soup for the Whole Shebang
Y'know what makes me feel better when I'm blue? I just found out.
Transcribing an interview with Cold Case's Danny Pino. What an inspiring story and wonderful reminder of what's so right about this world!
(contented) *sigh*
I'm so happy to be working on this amazing book. Wow. It's really good. Already. I'm inspired. Gotta remember that work feeds my soul.
Posted by bonnie at 11:53 PM
Tests of Will and Other Annoying Stuff
Enjoying Enduring loads of tests of will these days.
Challenges. Emotional and physical. Some mental. I'm growing tired.
Opportunities to practice NOT being right. Again and again. Luckily, it does get easier to surrender and to recognize the need to do so sooner.
Wondering what I'm healing from deep within by facing all of this at once. Constantly trusting it's all for the best to go through this, no matter how it hurts.
*sigh*
Trying. Trying to NOT try. That's called surrender, right?
Posted by bonnie at 5:31 PM
January 29, 2005
Show Your Support
Awesome site to read the letters of support from the industry for the casting directors' movement toward unionization...
...and post your own support.
Big meeting with the AMPTP on Tuesday, followed by a mandatory casting director meeting to discuss resolution or job action. Stay tuned!
Posted by bonnie at 1:38 PM
Bad Kitty!
Grr. Bad kitty! Opened the window to find a screen somewhat like this.
Bad kitty!
Posted by bonnie at 1:25 PM
January 27, 2005
Quiz for the LOST
Okay, so I don't really *get* the show (and I suspect they are all dead and living through their own personal heavens and hells; a reveal I will NOT enjoy, if it pans out), but I loves me a good quiz.
All that for loving 90210? C'mon!
Posted by bonnie at 7:35 PM
Certified Geek
Found this. My certification to use (without supervision) the Apple IIe at Josephine Wells Elementary School.
I believe this would've been 'round 1981 or 1982.
I have a version scanned at 600 dpi that's way too big to post here, but if you want to make out the hard-to-read parts, I can send that one to you via email, I s'pose. Basically, it says I'm certified in the care and use of the school microcomputer. COMPUTER LICENSE across the top. Mimeographed and laminated, baby!
Tee hee. I encourage everyone to find the first proof of his or her computer geekery. And no, a PhD in IT doesn't count! ;)
Bonus points if you too signed your name with some sort of symbol like those cool arrows (fewer points for a heart used to dot the letter I, but that's still acceptable). Tee hee.
Posted by bonnie at 3:17 PM
January 26, 2005
Why Is This Food?
I love a good, big salad. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.
But lately, I've been spending more and more time picking little weeds out of my food.
Granted, this may not be a weed to someone else, but c'mon... THIS one:
...you HAVE to admit that's a weed!
Now, if this salad stuff tasted sweet and crunchy and yummy, I'd not even bring it up!
But the fact that these weeds not only LOOK like weeds but TASTE like weeds, well, that means I'll "go fishing" every time I order a bowl of greens 'round here.
And no, I'm not all about the Iceberg. I actually *do* like variety in my lettuce. But please, folks... hold the weeds!
Posted by bonnie at 9:16 PM
More Casting Director Ink
Excerpts from Lights. Industrial action! from The Economist.
Is Hollywood...about to indulge in a hardball labour dispute? America's 500-or-so casting directors and associates--the unsung people-brokers who select actors for a film's director or producer--are threatening to strike if the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) refuses to grant them union recognition and health and pension benefits.
Since the AMPTP represents the big studios and, by extension, big corporations such as General Electric and Viacom, it might seem an unequal contest--except that the Casting Society of America (CSA), representing 368 of the casting directors, has the backing of the 1.4m-strong, much feared International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The Teamsters represent some 4,100 studio drivers, location managers and location scouts, and their refusal to cross picket lines would be hard to ignore. In other words, the AMPTP has a bit of a headache....
Even so, the studios are not about to admit defeat. In an informal meeting with the CSA last week, the AMPTP offered to provide health and pension benefits ("the studios are very sympathetic," says one studio insider), but remained adamantly opposed to unionisation.
Yet virtually every other group in Hollywood, from scriptwriters to costume designers, belongs to a guild or union that negotiates working conditions. Moreover, as the CSA pointed out late last week in an advertisement in the trade press, "almost all other groups, including actors, directors, writers, drivers, location managers, production office co-ordinators, grips, electricians, editors, costumers and craft services" receive health insurance and a pension plan. Steve Dayan, of the Los Angeles Teamsters, says bluntly: "Forget the legal issues. Morally and ethically the studios should be taking care of these people." The studios may be ready to agree benefits, he says, but without a union to protect them, how can the casting directors be sure that the agreements will be kept?
BTW, we (casting directors) have a mandatory meeting next week. That can't be a good sign, eh?
Posted by bonnie at 6:27 PM
Airhead
So, I keep thinking I'm feeling like this after I eat due to some sort of serotonin issue, but I have--today--begun feeling like this regardless of food consumption.
And I don't like it.
I can't write for any long period of time due to how spaced out I get.
I can only sleep for short naps, as I'm just full-on dizzy, which isn't a fun state for horizontal beings.
*sigh*
Well, at least we got three new book interviews done today. Effin' awesome. We're almost finished! Eeeeeeeek!
Of course, this means I need to bring my brain back into focus VERY SOON so that I can write the damn thing!
Oh, and coming off the pill has triggered puberty, it seems. I am breaking out all over. Ugh.
Bodies are weird. So's brain chemistry. I'm ready to normalize. When do I get to have that happen?
Posted by bonnie at 2:54 AM
January 24, 2005
Big Nom Day
No, silly. Not the Oscar nominations. That's tomorrow. TODAY is the BIG day.
It's Happy Razzie Time.
And, of course, I am rooting for Dubya in the Best Actor race. However, when I noticed the final nominee in the list (and that BODY of work), I had to laugh. Aloud. A lot.
WORST ACTOR, 2004 Ben Affleck: JERSEY GIRL and SURVIVING CHRISTMAS
George W. Bush: FAHRENHEIT 9/11
Vin Diesel: CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
Colin Farrell: ALEXANDER
Ben Stiller: ALONG CAME POLLY, ANCHORMAN, DODGEBALL, ENVY, and STARSKY & HUTCH
Damn those Razzie guys are funny.
Posted by bonnie at 3:09 PM
January 23, 2005
Tonight's the Night
Remember that job that took me out of town for a few weeks last year? Well... the resulting show airs tonight on E!
Yup. There's my boss, Wayne. ;) Looking forward to seeing how the final show came out.
As for my contribution, the ONE and ONLY cast member from my two-city recruiting is the one they're calling "The Country Girl."
Sarah Darling is so much more than that, though. You'll see.
Anyway, I'm eager to see whether they used any of the footage E! shot of the casting process or if it goes straight to the "show" in Vegas. Should be interesting. I did notice on Larry King Live (thanks, Suesie, for the head's up), they did use clips from our Atlanta location (of auditioning actors). You can see the comedy/tragedy masks on the wall behind auditioners at that location (and the Molyneux logo on the wall at the Nashville location).
I'm excited. This will be the first TV casting gig of mine to hit the air since Paradise Hotel, they eye-candiest of Fox's reality shows. Hee hee.
Posted by bonnie at 2:57 PM
January 22, 2005
How To Live Hard and Age Well
Recently saw a photo that disturbed me. A lot.
(2005) 
(1993)Yes. That's Adam Duritz. What a difference 12 years can make!
Here. Lemme show yah how it's done, dear.
(2005) 
(1977)Yeah. That'd be Billy Idol after 28 years of time passes. And... um... yeah... (excuse me) ...still totally doable.
You, Adam? Not so much.
Although...
Maybe Adam just needs a couple decades more to REALLY be hot again. Did Billy have an awkward phase?
Hm. Deep thoughts while watching I Love the '90s, Part Deux and wondering why the Santa Monica post office decided to stamp all of my (non-)incoming mail "ATTEMPTED; NOT KNOWN." Nice.
Posted by bonnie at 6:36 PM
January 21, 2005
Friday Night Items
Item One:
Awesome friend-for-21-years goes in for the lead in a pilot. Exec prod? Awesome other friend-for-19-years. What do they talk about? Me. How do I know? Phone call. "Just wanted to let you know how much you are loved in this town."
LOVE THAT.
Item Two:
Day one of Pilates feels like light yoga. Day two of Pilates feels like rack torture. And it's a delicious feeling! Thing is... it continues to feel like that ALL DAY LONG. Wow. Cool.
Item Three:
There is no three.
Item Four:
Aunt Cindy bought Thwok four of these when we moved to Santa Monica. They have all been hidden after hours and hours and hours of play. We're just so glad she loves them. Loves loves LOVES playing fetch with them. Tosses them up in the air for herself and bats them down with a paw, pounces on them, then carries them away in her mouth. Aww. Sweet. So... Keith bought her another five of these for Thanksgiving (or so). They have all been hidden after hours and hours and hours of play. We're glad she loves them... but where the hell have NINE of these things gone? Keith bought her ANOTHER set of these things (a dozen this time) before he left for NoCal. I'm NOT giving them ALL to her. Two so far. Where are they? With the other nine. Somewhere.
WHERE THE HELL IS SHE HIDING THESE THINGS?
And when on earth will we find them? Or will we?
Item Five:
Another rockstar interview for the book today. And the super-secret one we're not talking about until after it is DONE is really super-effin'-fantastic on sooooooo many levels.
I. Am. Loving. 2005.
Eeeeeeeeeeee!
Posted by bonnie at 11:46 PM
Brr.
Okay, so after a week of 80-degree-temps, I'm sitting in my apartment and suddenly (WAY suddenly), I'm FREEZING.
I look outside and what do I see? NOTHING. The fog has rolled in from the ocean down the way and--holy crap--it's just COLD.
Check out the Pier Cam to watch it roll on in!
Cool.
Posted by bonnie at 3:49 PM
January 20, 2005
Extra-Bloggy Today
So, I'm just writing it all up, eh?
Last night, Keith and I had a romantic date at PF Chang's. They have a gluten-free menu. Holy bejeebus, was that food GOOD! I had no idea gluten-free could taste SO good! Nice job, PF Chang's. I've written a letter. Gotta support those good people who take care of us with a smile.
Meanwhile, I keep getting inadvertent gluten. Grr. Mild headaches, as I have a very quick reaction to the gluten, so I can make sure to "fix it" with lots of water before the symptoms get out of hand.
Ah... and while Keith is at a pro basketball game (and will be courtside, if you want to tune to TNT to see him with his sister), I have successfully done my Pilates for the night. Woo hoo!
Every little bit, baby!
Posted by bonnie at 7:23 PM
Geek Chic
Ugh. Here we go again.
Since installing a significant amount of software we'll need for putting together the current book, I've noticed Camino slowing down and crapping out. Yes, I started using Camino after having quickly bailed on Firefox (for no other reason than the fact that I couldn't (in a single click) import all of my Safari (the browser that had started crapping out on me previously) bookmarks, passwords, and settings).
*sigh*
So, it seems Firefox *will* let me import from Camino, and now that Camino is sucking, Firefox is the way.
Love. It.
So, I decide to go get the ultra-cool Thunderbird (which I saw in action at Gary's office yesterday--during a ROCKSTAR 2.5 hr. mtg.) for my mail. After MUCH searching of the forums and such, I find that I *can* (though not so easily) import my settings from Entourage... but--should I choose to make this leap to Thunderbird--that will be the end of my ever-randomly-cycling signature file.
And anyone who has ever received email from me KNOWS how much I love those ever-randomly-cycling signature file quotes!
I guess I'll stick with Entourage and wait to see Thunderbird's next release. Perhaps they'll take care of me then.
Sooooo geeky.
Posted by bonnie at 3:00 PM
Well, Hell. A Quiz
I know how happy this will make Kris! ;)
Nabbed from Chip.
20 Questions to a Better Sense of Humor
Sunny/Dark: 7/10
drY/Gross: 3/10
Traditional/Offbeat: 5/10
Active/Passive: 7/10
You are a DYT--Dark Dry Traditional. This makes you a Cynic.
You're a realist. You'll take the piss out of anything, and do it with style and a skinny gray tie. You find humor in the mundane. When the mundane is thousands of working class families watching their retirement savings get snarfed by unpunished white collar bandits, that REALLY gets the larfs.
You bring humor with you, and can flip over any situation to find the tender funny underbelly.
Incidentally, you're better equipped than anyone else to shake off the bad things happen to you. Mysterious lump? You've seen scarier lumps in your garlic cheesey grits. It seems like nothing makes you truly happy, but nothing really upsets you, either.
Your comic sensibility was more in tune with the eighties. But cross your fingers--another coupla years of Bush and maybe we'll work up a nice Reagan-era national bitterness again. A sardonic orange cat will once again rule the newsprint, and Springsteen'll write more righteous Jersey retro-cock-rock anthems for the progressive pols of 2024 to cold gank. What's past is prologue!
You might like David Letterman, or maybe stay up to see if Conan has another "Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage."
Of the 3215 people who have taken this quiz, 10.5% are this type.
Your Active humor score of 7/10 means you are ju-u-ust right. You're probably pretty popular--a walking social lubricant. You know how to take someone from on edge to relaxed, and from relaxed to larfing. You're kind of like an episode of Arrested Development. That show is good. Anyway. Rave on, funny one.
That reminds me.
Favorite joke at All Ivy Comedy at the Improv Tuesday night?
From Eric Esoja (sp?): Donald Rumsfeld is just pissed that the tsunami killed more people in a day than his administration has in four years. He's pissed about the WMD (WAVE of mass-distruction).
Effin' brilliant.
Posted by bonnie at 1:03 PM
Silly/Sweet Kitty
Thwok misses Keith too.
She decided to go into the cabinet under the sink in the bathroom and I decided to let her play. She came out COVERED in Keith's shaving cream. Now she smells like a freshly-shaved Keith (and she did NOT like having the shaving cream cleaned off... but I guess she'd hate licking it off even more). It's like she wanted to make me say, "Awwwww."
It worked.
Posted by bonnie at 12:38 PM
Industry Support
More support. This time, from Woody Allen.
Casting Directors are certainly as integral to the success of a film as the Costume Designers, Editors, Location Managers, etc. They are responsible for the one element that holds audiences in thrall more than any other... the cast. How can they not be afforded the health and retirement benefits the rest of the community enjoys? I support their unionization effort.
Rock on, Woody.
Posted by bonnie at 10:43 AM
January 19, 2005
He's Leaving
So, this morning, Keith brings out his suitcase and puts it on the living room floor.
I start mock wailing.
HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?!? NO! NO! NO!
I finally feel what the cats must feel, when they see luggage. And, sure enough, Keith leaves to run errands and the kitties are all over his suitcase.
IF I STAY ON TOP OF THIS THING, YOU CAN'T PACK IT AND YOU CAN'T LEAVE US.
Yes. I think I will try that.
*sigh*
Or, I guess I'll just miss Keith for the few days he's in NoCal and get some major work done.
Yeah. That's more like it. ;)
Posted by bonnie at 11:56 AM
January 17, 2005
CD Unionization Support
Cool support from Mike Nichols.
I was shocked to hear that Casting Directors aren't provided with the basic benefits that many others receive automatically. So many casting directors have worked tirelessly over the years to provide the best acting ensembles for our films and TV shows. It makes no sense that they be treated any differently than any other key crew members. I support their unionization effort.
I knew I liked that dude.
Posted by bonnie at 3:59 PM
Future Post Test for Chip
Okay, Chip. Here's a test.
It's REALLY 7:26am. I'm telling MT to post this at 7:44am. How's that? Lemmeknow if I did it right/whether it works/if it matters. ;)
Posted by bonnie at 7:44 AM
Reflections on the Golden Globes
Ah, the joys of TiVo and watching, commercial-free, in the wee hours! THAT's the solution to stupid tape-delayed broadcasts! Woo hoo!
1. Claire Danes, EAT SOMETHING. Jesus!
2. Gooo, Greer Shephard! Way to rock that hot dress, Nip/Tuck EP-momma!
3. No three. Not now, not ever.
4. Gorgeous dress, Teri Hatcher. I think you may have put your bizarre days as Radio Shack whack job behind you. Ah yes, you won. Surely, that means you're forgiven.
5. Very cool to see awards take place on TV in a space we've been many times (for the CSA Artios Awards). Speaking of which, the casting unionization effort folks asked us to tell anyone we knew who was going to the awards to please mention their solidarity for the casting director unionization effort on the red carpet or at the acceptance mic. Didn't notice any of that. Oh... wait! There's a "thank you" to Phyllis Huffman by Hilary Swank. That was nice. (Hey, even a thank you is big news, to casting directors.)
6. Jamie Foxx, if I didn't love you before (which I did), I sure as hell love you now. 'nuff said.
7. Nice job by Star Jones-marriedname on E! this time. Much better than her Emmy gig. (Oh, and was E! doing the hardcore promotion on The Entertainer or what?!? Woo hoo!) Kathy Griffin? Seriously. You HAVE to go away. And Eva? You may be America's Next Top Model, but you need a good on-camera class before anyone hands you a mic again. Ever.
8. In what hotel do these stars stay, when they speak of having come from the hotel? I know they get in limos to be dropped off at the Beverly Hills Hilton... aren't they just staying there? Ah. Who knows? Oh, and Kathryn Eastwood... wow. BAD dress for you.
9. Jason Bateman won the "best spouse" award with his shout-out to his wife and how she makes his life better than anything showbiz could ever provide. (Think she coulda cracked a smile of appreciation, maybe?) Mariska Hargitay won the "make Bon bawl" award with the outpouring of love to her dad, who came with.
10. What is Peter Bart doing sitting with Oliver Platt? Weird.
Other quick hits: Oh, and I now love Eva Longoria and Emmy Rossum!
Eva is FUN! And, since I've never watched her show, I'm guessing I'm late getting on that bus.
As for Emmy, she's just classy and lovely and wonderful!
Go Shatner!
Are Kimmel and Silverman at prom or what? Precious!
My crush on Javier Bardem has not lessened. *sigh*
Congrats to the amazing Alysia Reiner and her friends in Sideways. Fun seeing her photo in WireImage!
Oh, and am I the only one bothered by Patricia Arquette's teeth?
Non-Golden Globes Stuff
I'm still really feeling withdrawal symptoms. Ugh. Sleeping a lot more than usual. Feeling awful about agreeing to go to shows and showcases and staged readings and then having to back out due to feeling so cruddy. I know, I know, I'm supposed to listen to my body and take care of myself while I'm transitioning out of stuff, but I just hate disappointing people. I think I need to work on that. Why does it matter, in the end?
Augh. I know. It doesn't. I just make it matter. Silly.
I got some gluten somewhere in the past couple of days. WAY sick over that. It's amazing how quickly that illness comes on, once you've gotten something out of your system and then have it. Ick. Yuck. Don't love it.
Eh. Whatareyagonnado? Just keep doin' what works, baby. That's all I can live right now.
Posted by bonnie at 4:28 AM
January 15, 2005
Secret TV Ritual
Okay, so I have my not-so-secret TV rituals (I only recently outed myself about the Indy 500), and then there's this one...
Yes. The American Kennel Club's Dog Show. Yes. I know I'm not a dog person. I don't get it either.
*sigh*
The pug was robbed! Damn TOY group!
Posted by bonnie at 5:38 PM
Yankee or Dixie?
From the greatness of Suesie:
89% Dixie. Did you have any Confederate ancestors?
Um, duh.
I'm just surprised the issue of ORANGE didn't come up in that quiz. I've actually been told that my pronunciation of that word is a dead giveaway of my Hotlanta roots.
Posted by bonnie at 12:36 PM
January 14, 2005
"Casting Directors To Seek Benefits" (LA Times)
Excellent article about the casting director unionization effort in today's LA Times. Excellent!
Nice work, Mary McNamara. Thank you.
...each has assembled the talent for films and television shows without receiving the benefits--health insurance, a pension fund, timely payment, consistent working conditions--secured for virtually every other employee of a film or television show, from the director to the on-set caterer.
...AMPTP President Nick Counter has refused to recognize Teamsters representation of the group; casting directors, he has said, are independent contractors rather than employees...
Teamsters argue that casting directors are no more independent contactors than are costume designers or production designers or cinematographers, all of whom have union contracts.
"The SAG Awards has an ensemble award," says [Ronnie] Yeskel..."and rarely do you hear an actor or director thank the casting director. But who do you think put those ensembles together? The director? No."
"I laugh when I read about the 'amazing cast' some director has assembled," adds [April] Webster. "I think, really, when exactly did [the director] do that?"
Awesome coverage.
Posted by bonnie at 11:02 AM
January 13, 2005
Vanity, Thy Name Is Local TV Newscaster
Why?
Why the hairdye, boys?
Why the comb-overs?
Why the hairdye on the eyebrows?
Why the toupees?
Why the plugs?
Why the wigs?
Is it really that hard to do the news as a man in Los Angeles?
*sigh*
It's just so dang silly.
Posted by bonnie at 1:22 PM
New Gigs
On Tuesday, Keith, Shauna, Kendall, and I went to speak to a group of students from Atlanta Workshop Players (my teen-years' acting school) who have come out for pilot season. The event was at ACME (which it seems Sweeney has recently sold) and it was rockstar good. Lots of fun.
While there, Lynn Stallings (school owner and my childhood acting coach), hired me to come back to Hotlanta to teach at the AWP Summer Camp. Of course, I fondly recall my days as an attendee of camp in 1985 and a camp counselor just before I moved to LA in 1993. What fun to go back 20 years after my first time at AWP Camp and teach Self-Management for Actors!
I'll have a "class" ready by then as I'm teaching in March at LMU and (thanks to the greatness that is Jane Edith Wilson) I might be teaching the same sort of course at The Acting Corps before long.
Yes, I'm still also developing the showcase for professional actors (I've already scored our director) and Blake and I have gotten another two interviews done for Acting Qs: Conversations with Working Actors. We're seriously almost done with interviews. And the buzz is already pretty amazing.
Received today an offer to cast another staged reading for a feature film. Looks like a hoot of a project and the referral is from way high-up in my list of cool people I've worked with thus far. I can't believe I've not even been casting for two years yet. Wow. Anyway, yes... I'll be taking this next project on too. I just love what I do so dang much.
I'm loving the daily exercise, gluten-free eating, and whacked-out sleep cycle. It's all good stuff. I'm just taking care of whatever my body says it needs. Have to. We're rebuilding from the inside, it seems. Not loving the vertigo. Not sure I understand it. We're so weird, we chemical beings.
Keith drops 150 headshots off with the new manager in a few hours. He's got a lot going on before heading north for a few days. But, man, what a great way to kick off pilot season!
Ooh, I'm tired. That's an interesting development for this hour. Hm.
Posted by bonnie at 4:57 AM
January 12, 2005
< homer >Droooooool< /homer >
Yeah, Chip. You got that right!
Yeah. That's some hardcore coolness right there. And it's cheaper than my SixHundy. Wow. Count me in.
Posted by bonnie at 8:07 AM
Estrogen Withdrawal?
So, I've been off estrogen for a few days now (after 19 years of daily BCP) and my body is all sorts of outta whack! I guess that's to be expected with any drug leaving the system after soooooo long.
I'm crying every day (but it's that really cute little "Aw... look at that sweet commercial where the kids made something for their folks" kind of crying and it never lasts very long. In fact, right now I'm watching PAX's Cold Turkey in tears. I cry when I watch FitTV's Health Cops too). It would seem that I have monkeyed with my hormones, coming off Loestrin. Go figure.
So, be patient with me, people. I'm all over the map and I have no idea how long it will take for my body to settle into all of the changes I'm throwing at it at once.
Posted by bonnie at 4:46 AM
January 10, 2005
Showcase
You'll recall that I was raving at Hollywood Happy Hour about a wonderful group of actors, led by director Adam Marcus, that will be doing a showcase on Wednesday.
Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to see some of the most talented actors in Hollywood doing a professional showcase for industry guests.
If you've never done an industry showcase--do one!
If you've never seen an industry showcase--see one! Then do one!
I'm always impressed by the number of industry guests I see in attendance at these showcases. Casting directors, agents, managers, directors, producers, publicists all come to scout talent at professional actor showcases... and no one pays them a DIME to be there. This is really about the WORK and the amazing actors who get out there and DO IT.
Obviously, priority seating will go to industry professionals scouting for pilot season. Please feel free to pass this invitation along.
And, to the amazing actors who will be a part of this marvelous showcase, I wish you all the best for continued good work. Break legs!
Posted by bonnie at 3:05 AM
January 9, 2005
GMTY
Well, isn't that a little bit of good news?!?
Old friend Jeff Greenstein (yes, the one who taught me how to play poker in 1987) has a pilot for 2005.
Cooooool.
Go, Jeff! Rock it, darlin'!
Posted by bonnie at 9:52 AM
The Year In Review
Take The First Sentence From The First Post Of Each Month Of 2004. That's Your Year In Review.
Nabbed from:
January 2004: I still definitely have some things to fix in this new Blog setting (now Movable Type) in order to get it all looking like I want it to look.
February 2004: Okay, folks. I need you to weigh in on our travel itinerary for later this month.
March 2004: Oh... you know how we love the photos!!
April 2004: So today is April 1st, traditionally one of my least favorite days.
May 2004: So, ever since the whole "my computer is dead" drama, I've been leaving my computer up and running/sleeping (and open) all the time (since shutting it down could mean having to go through all of that again).
June 2004: If you have kids... you probably already know this. It's new to me.
July 2004: Yep, just got the call a few minutes ago... we've been approved and will be the new residents of cousin Faith's current pad (a kick-ass 2BR seven blocks from the beach in Santa Monica).
August 2004: I have so much to say... but can't seem to keep my eyes open long enough to say any of it.
September 2004: Did any of you use the term "brown bread" to refer to whole wheat bread, growing up?
October 2004: In a few hours I'll be under the knife.
November 2004: Everyone is glad I'm home. Especially me.
December 2004: Today is day #7 for me on CortiSlim (day #6 for Keith). I love it. Seriously. Wow.
Posted by bonnie at 1:32 AM
January 7, 2005
Congratulations to my baby!
Congratulations, Keith!
On a rockstar day (me: career consulting and a power meeting re: the new book; he: manager interview and producer session for a new sitcom), Keith started strong, signing with Abby Casey, one of the kick-assiest talent managers on the planet.
Way to go, honey. I'm so proud of you.
Posted by bonnie at 5:03 PM
HHH Photo-a-Go-Go
First photos from Hollywood Happy Hour.
(Yeah, you need to join the Yahoo Group to see them all.)
Thank you, niecey Ash, for getting the photos up so fast. Woo hoo!
Posted by bonnie at 5:16 AM
January 6, 2005
Didja Feel That?
Earthquake.
4.4 in Fontana just moments ago.
One of the joys of staying up all night. The sofa moved... and kept moving. Kitties stirred, a little freaked.
LOVES me some Earthquake Weather! I totally called it at HHH Tuesday night. I said, "As soon as it stops raining, we'll get an earthquake."
Woo hoo! Glad I felt that one! Hope everyone is okay.
Posted by bonnie at 6:41 AM
Big Cry
Oh, my.
So there's an episode of Sex and the City in which Miranda's mother passes away and the gals go to the funeral.
At the moment Carrie joins Miranda and they spy "the boys" who've come to the funeral despite their best attempt to keep them from coming, the voiceover begins:
There's the kind of support you ask for and the kind of support you don't ask for. And then there's the kind that just shows up.
And I bawl and bawl and bawl some more.
Yes, it is the "my mom is dead" thing but it's also the "my boyfriend loves me and would cross the planet to take care of me no matter how much I told him I didn't want him to do so" thing.
So much love.
Posted by bonnie at 4:55 AM
Stealing from Brilliant People
So, I've been retooling the BonBlogs.
I'm taking what I've learned from the TypePad-using-brilliance that is Colleen Wainwright and the every-entry-gets-an-image policy of the coolest-ever moderator of Monitoring the Culture (that would be ex-beau Chip Woods, of course) and making my space of Bloggy Goodness (shoutout to the NinjaMunkey) a little prettier.
So much fun. Thanks, y'all!
Posted by bonnie at 3:31 AM
I Knew We Were Gonna Win!
Yep, this is our year! Sure enough, we won again.
$57,000,000.00?
Nope.
One buck.
We suck!
Yay!
Posted by bonnie at 2:07 AM
Sweet Kitty
This was on the aftercare instruction sheet sent home with Thwok. She's doing great!
Animal Birth Control was great: $45 for the spaying AND healthy kitten shots. We looooove Santa Monica! And we love our no-kitty-having-kitty.
Posted by bonnie at 1:14 AM
January 5, 2005
Kitty Update
Thwok is home, safe and sound. She was released at 11am. She was teetering around all wobbly and such due to the drugs and the dilated eyes (Why would they do that?) but she was happy to recognize some smells.
As directed, we've kept the other cats away from her. Archie has been the hardest one to deter. He would really like to check her out.
*sigh*
I'm so glad she's home and okay. Thank you, everyone, for the good kitty vibes.
Posted by bonnie at 6:17 PM
Little Kitty Vibes
Please send out some good little kitty vibes to Ms. Thwok.
Sweet little girl went to the doc at 6:45am to have her girl-parts tied up. Aw.
Tiny bit of trauma among the adult kitties, as they know what the carrier is for and they didn't enjoy seeing/hearing her being put into it. Since they've "come around," they've not left my side. Aw.
Sweet babies.
Thwok will be home after 1pm. Will report later.
PS--Hollywood Happy Hour effin' rocked! GREAT turnout, wonderful guests, awesome, amazing, fun time! Rockstar!
Posted by bonnie at 8:58 AM
January 3, 2005
Absolutely Breathtaking
The sun is setting a few blocks from here (over that big pool called the Pacific Ocean) and there is a lovely pink-orange-yellow hue to the sky right above the water. Above that, the sky is purple-blue-grey with a haunting storm rolling in. Lightning keeps cracking through the dark sky into the light sky above the water. The wind is picking up.
Simply gorgeous.
Posted by bonnie at 4:54 PM
Holy Crap
This is an amazing article on Celiac Disease. I am truly inspired. It's like reading about my long-misunderstood physical life in ways I'd never imagined possible.
Keith and I spent an hour or more at Whole Foods tonight. Found some wonderful options. I'm delighted by how this transition is going.
I am also sad, since everything I read reminds me of how Mom's health was in the last 30 years of her life. Seems like everything indicates this sort of change in her diet could've vastly improved the quality of her life. *sigh* So, there's emotion in doing this.
There's also a firey passion. I am saving my life here. This is awesome.
Again, the biggest thanks on the planet go to Anna Vocino, Liz Johnson-Stevens, and Colleen Wainwright. These three amazing (and talented and beautiful) ladies have changed my (quality of) life. Truly.
In other news: Thwok has survived her first "cycle" as a woman. More importantly, so have WE. ;) She gets spayed on Wednesday. Wish us all lots of luck with that.
Don't forget, Hollywood Happy Hour is Tuesday. Ack! So excited! It's been far too long, for me! This will be my first test at doing anything social since starting eating gluten-free. I have to have a strategy for success in place. *fingers crossed*
I. Love. My. Life.
Rockstar.
Posted by bonnie at 1:35 AM
January 2, 2005
Oh, and... before I start being wrong...
I must praise the team (mine) that beat the other team (Keith's) in the Outback Bowl.
Correct me if I'm wrong (pun intended), but is that Wisconsin player in the background cheering over the Georgia touchdown? Yeah. They sure played that way.
Heh heh heh.
Posted by bonnie at 4:39 AM
The Need To Be Right
I'm really working on this one. It is a personal goal (and a joint goal, since others are helping me achieve it) to let go of the need to be right.
In 2004, I watched my life TRANSFORM as a result of the simple concepts in Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting (a book given to me by cousin Faith, whose life was changed by the same book in 2003). My financial situation improved exponentially, my relationship with Keith evolved to a level I didn't imagine possible, my partnerships in career endeavors became more deeply invested and satisfying, and my attachment to painful events from my past dissolved.
There was one part of my life that, despite ALL of my best efforts, simply would not respond. My body.
So, I decided to do some poking around. Surely, there had to be a book out there that had the recipe for applying what I'd already learned to the one part of my life that wasn't already responding. Indeed, it seems there might be. Un-Dieting looks like the best first step (I know better than to call anything "the answer" at this point).
One of the main elements of this book is a proposal that a lifetime of seldom-controlled body weight (despite the most valiant of efforts and the strongest of will) has nothing to do with calories and everything to do with an obsessive need to be right.
Know anyone around here who has an obsessive need to be right?
Yeah. That'd be me.
It's most definitely at the root of much of my unhappiness (and, now that unhappiness represents a mere fraction of my life compared to the chunk of it I carried around previously, that unhappiness is like a hangnail: tiny, obnoxious, and just painful enough to occasionally turn the whole finger a throbbing red until amputation is a consideration). To imagine that one of my least favorite personality traits could also be responsible for a lifetime of self-hatred over a twisted body image (yes, even at 5'7" and 108 lbs. in 1985, I was certain I was clinically obese) is both terrifying and extraordinarily liberating.
Mostly terrifying.
Who am I, if I'm not always needing to be right? That is SUCH a big part of my personality that I can't even fathom how it will feel to have worked this issue out (or even to have lessened its impact somehow).
Well, having read a bit about this issue (but not as much as I've since read... or still have ahead to read), I became embarrassed beyond belief at my behavior at the McCarthy's Christmas Eve Eve Party. I was cruel, obnoxious, aggressive, and just plain rude... all to be right.
And NO ONE could possibly have cared.
So why is it that, in the safest of environments, I can still find a way to be the most repugnant parts of myself? Isn't that the sort of place where I should feel safe to JUST BE?
I have a lot to learn.
But I also have an absolutely lovely reason to learn--and quickly. Being 80 pounds overweight before the age of 35 (when you had a mother who was an adult-onset diabetic due to her own obesity) is not just a pain in the ass, it's dangerous.
Yes, I'm exercising every day. Yes, I've changed my diet (again). Yes, I'm coming off of my medication (whether I want to or not). And yes, I am now also going to work on everything that is at the root of how I see myself.
If that means I also become a gentler person to others in the process, all the better. And if I'm wrong about everything for the rest of my life? Well, hell... it'll be about damn time.
Posted by bonnie at 3:42 AM
January 1, 2005
Before Sunrise Musings
Okay, so I was asleep by 11pm. Told Keith to wake me up at Midnight for a kiss, because they say whatever you're doing at the stroke of Midnight you'll be doing all year. That was fun, even though I was groggy. Keith had spanked me at Scrabble TWICE before I called it a night. The unfinished bottle of champagne was taken outside for the local homeless to celebrate with.
There were two awesome New Year's Eve parties I skipped. Nelson had a great idea: celebrate the East Coast New Year with a party that starts at 7pm, ends at 10pm PST. That way, everyone is home and safe before the roads get really crazy with drunk drivers. Deb's NYE party was also of the birthday variety. Love my New Year Birthday Baby! Sorry I missed getting to spank you, sweetheart. ;)
Withdrawal is way icky. Upset tummy, swollen hands and feet, aches, odd sleep cycles, and as a bonus: a HUGE sore on my lip. Lovely. No wonder I didn't want to go out last night. Ugh. Keith wanted to order pizza. I told him that I was way supportive of his "normal" diet while I'm doing my new thing, but that *might* be crossing the line with just six days of success under my belt. More ugh. I'm just crabby this morning. Got up at 4am and kept trying to NOT be up yet. That just gets annoying.
Oh, so, as I'm flipping around the DirecTV guide, looking for what to watch, I notice that my lovely Trio is no more. WHAT? Didn't we JUST save Trio from a DirecTV dump in 2003? Why yes, yes we did! WTF?!? Well, the Save Trio email form for DirecTV subscribers remains on the Trio site, but things look pretty grim for the network altogether. Ah. The same dingus-filled corporation that cancelled Faith's brilliant show is at the helm? Well... there ya go.
I'm hungry. *sigh*
Posted by bonnie at 5:25 AM