April 23, 2010

Facebook's New Social Plug-Ins

Originally posted at Facebook.

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Dear everyone,

I know you'll see the Social Plug-Ins (i.e., LIKE buttons outside of Facebook) that Facebook is now offering as a cool new feature. "Neat! I'm on your IMDb page and there's a Facebook LIKE button. I'll click it, because I like you!"

Noooooooo. Step away from the mouse. Read this. And then decide.

First: I am no conspiracy theorist. Not by a longshot. I am not paranoid. When people get all up in arms about websites sharing their personal information, I want to smack them because they're flying into a panic about information THEY have provided being shared, and that just means they don't read the flippin' TOS before THINKING about telling the world they love yoga or dogs or chocolate. So, when you read my words, know I'm not into fear mongering. In fact, I hate that. I don't want to stir up a panic. I just want to be sure folks KNOW what they're doing before they give away the keys to the castle.

Second: I am a PhD dropout, all but dissertation, in Instructional Technology. I spent years in service of combating technophobia. I have a passion for reading the nitty-gritty details and distilling things that other folks gloss over (or don't even read, before clicking AGREE) into one simple, bottom line. So, that's what I'm going to try and do here.

Now--for some context--here are a few articles written by others about the Facebook LIKE button and what it means to us, since Facebook won't tell us, simply. (Wait, why won't Facebook do that? Oh, because last month, every FB user got an update in their inbox letting them know that FB would no longer be sending out changes to TOS. That if we WANTED to be kept abreast of changes that affected our terms in using this site, we would have to become a fan of the FB Site Governance Page http://facebook.com/fbsitegovernance and seek out the updates for ourselves. They rolled out THAT change before rolling out THESE changes, because they didn't want THESE changes so very well-publicized while still in the development phase. With good reason. They're creepy.)

http://www.pcworld.com/article/194818/why_i_like_really_dislike_facebooks_like_button.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/04/22/DI2010042205706.html

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/04/facebook-could-turn-web-likes-into-ad-dollars.ars

http://www.pcworld.com/article/194500/facebooks_like_button_what_we_know_so_far.html

So, we've all opted in to this LIKE thing (Social Plug-Ins) just by being on Facebook. We don't get the option of saying no up front. We're in it, and we have to go through a few not-uncomplicated steps to get OUT of this (and we have to use militant observation of future additions to the approved plug-ins area of our privacy settings to be sure we turn OFF the new ones Facebook will add regularly, before they take our info and give it out all over the web).

Let me break this down.

You see someone's IMDb page and there's a Facebook LIKE button on this non-Facebook site (same is true for Pandora and Yelp, etc., as of now). You say, "I like you. I'll click LIKE."

You've just given Facebook permission to share all of YOUR information AND ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS' DATA to not just IMDb, but Pandora, and Yelp, and any future site with whom Facebook contracts the LIKE button placement.

Here's how to block Social Plug-Ins, right now:

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=17090

Go to your Account (top right of any page) --> Privacy Settings --> Applications and Websites --> Instant Personalization --> Uncheck "Allow..." --> Confirm.

That's the first step.

To block what your friends can share about you, go to Privacy Settings --> Applications and Websites --> What your friends can share about you, and uncheck EVERYTHING.

That's the second step.

Next, you have to INDIVIDUALLY block the apps that Facebook whitelists for Social Plug-Ins EVEN if you have disallowed this setting.

AND, any time you slip up and click LIKE on an outside site, you've just RE-ALLOWED Facebook to share all of your--and your friends'--info, all over the web. Yup. Every time. The only way your friends can't share your info through THEIR social plug-ins is to BLOCK the app, and then to NOT slip up and hit LIKE outside of Facebook, which would reverse your previous setting automatically.

So, how to block the individual apps that Facebook has whitelisted so far (and remember, you'll have to check back and keep doing this, as new sites will be added regularly). Go here: http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=17105 -- Each of the currently authorized partner sites is listed. Open each of their pages (fan pages--see why Facebook will NEVER turn off the nonstop spamming of fan page "become a fan" or, now, "like this" requests at Facebook for this stuff? It's advertiser driven and they will not turn off an advertiser's ability to get their page in front of you again and again and again) and click Block Application. Those apps will now show up in your blocked applications list (which I highly recommend you update, regularly, as there may be some fun meme you wanted to be a part of, but now you're over it and your information is still being fed through to them, their partners, their customers, all of it, per TOS to which YOU agreed--so don't complain, just BLOCK that stuff).

To keep an eye on that list, go to Privacy Settings --> Applications and Websites --> What you share, click LEARN MORE, click the "this page" link at the bottom of that page, and then go through EVERY area of that page by using the drop-down menu at the top right of the table (default stop: Recently Used) and see what you are letting Facebook share about you, EVERYWHERE. Any you don't like? FIRST choose Edit Settings for each app, then uncheck and turn to "me only" on anything that rubs you the wrong way, save those settings, and then click the X in the table to kill it off altogether. But definitely change the settings to "locked down" first, because if you delete while OPEN, your info is still theirs.

Got all that?

Lemmeknow if you have questions. And please, feel free to share this all over FB. :) I've made it visible to EVERYONE (even though the rest of my FB page is locked down to friends only), so you can pass it along.

Yes, I love Facebook and I'm grateful to them for existing and allowing me to connect with people I otherwise could never see on a regular basis, and to connect more deeply with people I may never get to know so well otherwise. I love it. I do. But this latest surrender of our information--without full disclosure--is icky. Plain and simple. ICKY. So, I recommend going with a conservative approach to how we're letting our info be used FIRST and then slowly begin to let some info out, when we learn what of this new level of access is good for us and what is bad, bad, bad.

Thanks for reading! Happy Facebooking! :)

3:17pm 4/23/10 -- Update from Nicholas Sayaan: You may also find this interesting, re: fb allowing apps to cache personal data forever ever (forever ever?), forever ever. http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_to_delete_facebook_applications_and_why_you_should.php Thanks, Nick!

4pm-ish 4/23/10 -- Update from BenWhitehair: RT @Twitter_Tips: Your Mom's Guide to Those Facebook Changes, and How to Block Them: http://gigaom.com/2010/04/22/your-moms-guide-to-those-facebook-changes-and-how-to-block-them Thanks, Ben!

5:15pm 4/23/10 -- Update from Marci Liroff: More FB privacy shite. http://gawker.com/5522433/how-to-restore-your-privacy-on-facebook Thanks, Marci!

11:50am 4/24/10 -- Update from Alexis Adair via Jana Perrone DeLuna "This dovetails nicely with Bonnie's note. I found it especially interesting that insurance companies are taking notice. If they're raising premiums, it means there's a solid, proven, numerical correlation. Combine this with the current FB un-privacy changes, and it's not hard to imagine someone or group creating apps for the sole purpose of getting access to enough information to rob you blind, or worse. Stalkers-R-Us, anyone?" http://daol.aol.com/articles/never-say-this-on-facebook-or-twitter Thanks, Alexis!

5:20pm 4/24/10 -- Update from Keith Johnson: "Here's some articles worth reading about Facebook's retarded attempts to do shit without our knowledge and consent." From CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31322_3-20003185-256.html and from the Electronic Frontier Foundation: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/04/facebook-further-reduces-control-over-personal-information Thanks, Keith!

12:19pm 4/28/10 -- Update from Sarah Levin: More fb info... 1.5 Million Facebook Profiles Hacked And Up For Sale | Triona's Tech Tips http://www.guidryconsulting.com/techtips/2010/04/1-5-million-facebook-profiles-hacked-and-up-for-sale Thanks, Sarah!

4:02pm 4/28/10 -- Update from Ellen Ginsburg: Senator Schumer & some other Senators are coming out against Facebook's privacy changes! here's a link to one of the recent articles, in case you didn't see it yet and want to read it. Senators' letter to Facebook - Politico Staff - POLITICO.com http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0410/36406.html Thanks, Ellen!

7am 4/29/10 -- Update from Jeff Greenstein: A timeline of Facebook's eroding privacy policy. http://w2.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/04/facebook-timeline Thanks, Jeff!

12:19pm 4/29/10 -- Update from Masasa Moyo: Hi Bonnie, Here's some more food for your ire. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/04/report-facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-doesnt-believe-in-privacy Thanks, Masasa!

10:55pm 5/1/10 -- Update from Jonathan Latroy: I saw an article/blog entry earlier about the invasiveness of the new "community pages": http://facebookiswatchingyou.blogspot.com/2010/04/your-status-on-facebook-might-be-going.html Thanks, Jonathan!

5:53pm 5/5/10 -- Update from Marci Liroff: Aargh! I LURVE the community here on Facebook, but I'm getting pretty weary/wary of the privacy and security issues and how it seems to change on a daily basis. http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/04/six-reasons-to-hate.html and http://eu.techcrunch.com/2010/05/05/video-major-facebook-security-hole-lets-you-view-your-friends-live-chats and http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/04/six-reasons-to-hate.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/technology/internet/06facebook.html Thanks, Marci!

Posted by bonnie at 2:43 PM | Comments (0)

September 8, 2009

Snow Leopard/MS Entourage/Address Book NIGHTMARE

Hi Everyone,

Bear with me. I'm posting this at my blog, in a note at Facebook, in the tech forum at Apple's site, and that means it's going to be a nice, long read to get everyone up to speed in case there's a kind soul out there who can help with this ridiculousity. Keith is also taking a print-out of this whole thing to the Genius Bar tomorrow. Our last hope.

I'll be copying and pasting some info from previous accounts, in case the back-story is helpful. First, a post from a Yahoo Group I manage, where I was trying to get suggestions for contacts management software when Entourage was having issues of data loss (May 2009). It seems we were able to fix the problem with some good old-fashioned database repair and restore. That was all well and good... 'til Snow Leopard came along. Right now, I'd like to find that little kitty and kick it in the crotch.

Happy reading and thanks in advance for ANY help you might be able to provide!

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May 21, 2009:

Hi HHHers,

Okay, so I need some really wonderful contacts-management software. Here's my criteria:

- runs on Mac
- syncs b/w iPhone and Microsoft Entourage
- manages over 11K contact files (and growing)
- doesn't duplicate files, re-label fields, drop category designation, or lose contact history when synced

Basically, I've been using Microsoft Entourage since 1999. I have, organically, built my contact database using the Entourage "address book" feature for a decade. (This does NOT include contacts via my column, the showcase, or any other contact made via one of my Gmail addresses. I let Gmail deal with those, as they're "low frequency of contact" compared to the files in my master database. No, I do not currently run a commercial mailing list, nor am I looking to do so. So, I'm not looking for "Constant Contact" or something like that. I do *have* a mailing list via Yahoo Group and let it manage that list. This is JUST my contact list of casting colleagues, agents, managers, publicists, actors, writers, directors, producers, showrunners, etc. Yes. Really.) Every contact is color-coded by category. Entourage links our history of correspondence (this is spotty at best). I have cool "rules" set up in Entourage to route mail--based on contact category and mail history--into appropriate inboxes, prioritized accordingly.

(I'm showing y'all a bit of the "behind the curtain" on how I'm so productive b/c it's relevant to the tech question I have. I have lots of "helps" to knowing how to prioritize, when too much has come in and I only have a few moments to deal with things.)

So, as I've migrated my handheld devices from Palm (2000) to Visor (2002) to Treo (2004) to Blackberry (2006) to iPhone (2007), it's largely been because each new device does a better job of MAINTAINING the integrity of my Entourage database, when I sync the device to my computer.

Problem is, we've NOW reached a point (somewhere around 10,930 contacts, it appears) where *Entourage* is dropping files. It's losing contacts. I had a meeting on Monday and came home from it and added five new manager friends to the database. They all work with someone who was already in my database, so I took her card and duplicated it (for the company name, address, and main number) and then edited each card to include their names, direct lines, email addresses, birthdays, whatever else came up during our meeting for the NOTES section, etc.

Yesterday, I noticed that all new files were missing. AND a filmmaker's file I had *updated* in the past 24 hours was now missing. So I did a little spot check of recently updated and/or created files and they were ALL gone. Entourage has gotten "full" from what I can tell. [9/8/09 NOTE! It has since been established that nothing was "full," but that my Microsoft Entourage database was corrupted and unstable. We performed a series of rebuilds and stopped subsequent data loss from occurring and have been mostly stable since May of 2009 on this issue.] I'm nervous to create new files if they're just going to go away. I'm even MORE nervous about the erosion of existing files I may not be actively using, as I'd not notice they're gone 'til LONG after I'd done a sync to my iPhone, thereby losing the "old" version altogether.

(Yes, we've done the whole Entourage support site, listserv, power-users Q&A thing at this point. Nada.)

Without going into the details of the glitches any deeper, I'll get to the point of this email.

It's become clear that my consumer-level database for contacts management (Entourage) is no longer sufficient. Since my contacts will only continue to grow, this isn't something I want to patch. I want to know what PROFESSIONAL-LEVEL software is in use out there for contacts management that will allow an import from Entourage (Note: If I import from iPhone, the categories and mail history from the past decade will be LOST and NOTES will be truncated. That is unacceptable.); that will allow for regular syncing between Entourage (which I will continue to use for mail from my computer) and iPhone (which I will continue to use for mail from my hand); and that WON'T lose, duplicate, mis-label, or otherwise hiccup (within reason, of course. I know that no software is perfect) my data when I sync.

NO, "Address Book" and "Mail" that are native to Mac will not work. "Thunderbird" has already been dismissed as an option. I do not want to maintain a separate Excel or Access or File Maker Pro database of contacts that cannot be ACTIVELY synced with incoming mail both at my iPhone and on my Mac. In case you've read this far and don't already know, "Entourage" is the Mac version of "Outlook." And no, I will not be switching to a PC. Ever. Nothing personal. I can take a PC apart and put it back together again blindfolded. I have great fondness for those machines. I prefer a Mac. Thank you. :)

Okay... so...

Any suggestions?

Yes, I could Google. But Google is going to tell me what designers want me to know about their product. I'm looking to hear from people who USE the products out there and who have the same number of contacts that I do (and roughly the same criteria for success of data management that I do) so that before I plunk down a few hundy, I know I'm getting something that's going to rock my world. :) Basically, I'm a consumer who has become a small business. Growing pains. I need to move up but am not sure to what.

Please pass along to your awesome geeky friends. :) I appreciate any ideas you might like to share.

Keep rockin', Hollywood Happy Hour!

-Bon.

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September 8, 2009:

Just popping in to say that the decision this weekend to go to Mail, Address Book, and iCal came from Snow Leopard seeming to kill off more of Entourage's ability to play nice on my 'puter. So, since I was going to open my mind to ANY other software (after having been so married to Entourage, back in my post from May), I asked a friend who sweetly suggested I leave Entourage for "anything else" what he might recommend. My post to him:

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September 4, 5:52pm:

Greg, what would you suggest I use instead? I'm all ears. I've surveyed MANY tech gurus (revealing to them exactly the extent of my needs: 11K+ contacts, over ten years of stored appointments--each meticulously linked to contacts, notes, project files, related information, categories) and no one can come up with data management (for contacts and appointments) as powerful as Entourage.

I would LOVE to use something else. But EVERYTHING else that has been suggested to me isn't for "power users." It's for people with like a few hundred (up to 3000) contacts and no need to have files linked back to one another within and across categories like I have them.

It's a key to my efficiency that this data works this way (even with the holes in the database, since I push it beyond the way Microsoft intended for a consumer-level user), so I'd be totally open to hearing other options. Just haven't heard any that come close to giving me what I need.

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September 8, 2009:

Me again. At this point, a friend suggested some law firm software that links cases to witness lists and other handy categories and cross-purposing that seems interesting. Of course, I have to call the software provider (Abacus) for a quote, and I'm not feeling like that much of a small business, here. I'm feeling like a PERSON who just happens to be running a small business. But I'm getting it. I'm going to have to spend some money here. And for the right solution, I will. But first, to get my data stable. :)

Here's the chronology on that. This is long. Thank you in advance for reading. :)

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August 31st: Installed Snow Leopard. Knew the Entourage database was unstable (see above), but felt the upgrade was safe, after repairing/backing up the database.

September 1st 7:15pm: Noticed Entourage messages were no longer searchable by keyword.

September 1st 11:45pm: Did Entourage database rebuild/replace, permissions repair, reset sync services. Now able to search Entourage messages via keyword.

September 4th 3pm: Entourage and Word stopped working. Spinning pinwheel of death upon every click within either program.

September 4th 5:27pm: Full reinstall of Microsoft Office seems to have fixed the problem. Successfully using Word and Entourage. Print to PDF in Word still occasionally causes a crash.

September 4th 11:35pm: Sync of Entourage calendar to iPhone calendar. Successful after three attempts (resetting sync history was the key). No sync of Entourage contacts to iPhone's Address Book (as I only do this once every two weeks or so, because it's hugely time consuming). Note: I *always* have Entourage overwrite iPhone, on these syncs, because syncing without overwriting yields duplicates and data loss, historically. Notice for the first time something called Mingler, eating up 99.9% of the CPU in Activity Monitor.

September 5th 10:43pm: I have 8142 duplicate entries in my contact file in Entourage. I kill them off.

September 5th 11:11pm: I have 3713 duplicate entries in my contact file in Entourage and Microsoft Sync Services crashes and reports. I attempt to sync my calendar on iPhone. No luck. I don't push it. Obviously, something's getting wonky.

September 6th: Contacts in Entourage (11,212 contacts when healthy) began reproducing themselves regularly. I killed off the dupes as they populated. Took screen captures along the way (I have 18 screen caps from between 11:01am and 7:10pm). Mingler seemed to be the big hog in the Activity Monitor, a process we've not seen until installing Snow Leopard. Also had reports of Microsoft Sync Services and Address Book Sync using 97% and 95% of the CPU, respectively. At one point (3:33pm), two Microsoft Sync Services were functioning at once, each using 77% of the CPU. Choosing to *wait* to delete dupes seemed to have no impact on whether more would be created. Each few moments, after Microsoft Sync Services would crash/report, there'd be a new round of dupes counting up in the bottom left corner of my Entourage contacts pane. This was all day September 6th. Screen captures taken throughout the day. Another eight screen caps taken after midnight on 9/7, 'til 1:53am. Greatest number of dupes at 12:18am (21,155 additional contacts).

September 7th 12:31am: Attempted to send an email to someone who has been in my address book at Entourage for years. He's missing. Uh-oh. Data loss. That's the one thing that's unacceptable. I can deal with duplication of data. Data loss? No.

September 7th 12:35am: Decided Entourage just wouldn't survive in Snow Leopard and committed to making the move to Address Book, iCal, and Mail (NOT ideal, for my needs--believe me, this is NOT what I want to use, at all. The linked contacts, the categories, the rules, the decade-plus of meticulously organized information in Entourage is NOT something I'm happy to lose, in exchange for a lovely "LUMP" of contact information not color coded, not categorized, not labeled as robustly as Entourage allowed, not linked to all prior communication and projects, etc. NOT happy. But it seems a necessary evil at this point) in order to avoid data loss and further database duplication. Hoping a native software set would be more stable for the data. Contact duplications got up to over 58,000 in Entourage. Attempted sync Entourage calendar to iPhone. Unsuccessful. Decided to not attempt an iPhone sync of *any* kind until things are more stable with the contacts. Created a PDF of contacts changed in the past 30 days at Entourage, as those would be the only ones in need of updating, should I have to revert to the last-synced iPhone version of the Entourage contacts file (11,212 contacts).

September 7th: Eleven hours of migration from Entourage to Address Book, iCal, and Mail. (2:27pm, closed Entourage hopefully for the last time. Settings: NO sync, Work Offline, in case need to relaunch.) Bringing over, one at a time, custom mailboxes, mail rules, signatures. Resetting appointments in iCal, changing alarms, To Do items, notes. Asked Address Book to merge duplicate contact files, as it reported finding 30,000 of them. Merge of data (repeated this process several times, until Address Book got down to 11,900 or so contacts, which was "close enough" for me to clean up by hand) caused many of the contact files to reproduce data from WITHIN themselves. Example: NOTES section of a contact was repeated over 100 times in more than a few contacts that were not duplicated in whole. Spot check revealed many instances of relabeled data in Address Book (all correct labels in Entourage were reset in Address Book, even though we've been syncing to iPhone by way of Address Book since November 2007 with no problem). Contacts I had "killed off" in Entourage still existed in Address Book (like, people who have passed away). Still, this clean-up didn't seem too overwhelming, so I began deleting duplicate entries and cleaning up duplicated NOTES fields within individual contacts. Trying to embrace this new software I'm not happy about using, because anything is better than data loss.

September 7th 11pm through 1:30am September 8th: processes started stalling out. Activity Monitor showed all three--Address Book, iCal, and Mail--not responding. I did a force-quit of each. Rebooted my machine. Upon restart and relaunch of Address Book, I was appalled to discover over 62,000 contacts, many with that reproduced content in their NOTES field. Awesome. Time for bed. There is no way I understand this. We're not syncing anything. Syncing is turned off at Microsoft Entourage and Microsoft Sync Services shouldn't even launch anymore. Ever. I've not attempted a sync with my iPhone--and will not, 'til we're stable--while this is happening and that means a piece of software that is not syncing over AIR or MobileMe (I don't have a MobileMe account; I sync through iTunes) is simply reproducing its contents... for fun?

September 8th 8am: Address Book stable at 62,617 contacts. I had gotten it down to 11,500 or so before 11pm on 9/7.

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September 9th: We will go to the Genius Bar. Still not happy to have spent all of this time migrating only to have the data issues persist in native software. Definitely, I need something more powerful and robust for managing my information, but first I need it all to settle down and stabilize so I can get it moved over to wherever this new place is. Any suggestions--it's like I'm right back in May, asking this question again--for amazing contacts and appointments management and email, I'd love to hear it! Thanks. :)

Black MacBook 13.5" Intel Core-2 Duo, 4GB RAM, OS 10.6, iPhone 3G 16GB

Posted by bonnie at 11:54 AM | Comments (6)

July 5, 2009

Why did you unfriend me, Bon?

Ah... the time has finally come. My friends list is full and Facebook has a cap and I'm moving the content that has previously been "friends only" (my vids and notes about the industry and any casting-related scoop I might have to share) over to my fan page, which has no cap on the number of folks who choose to visit.

So.

Why not just stick to whatever number of friends I currently have? Well, that's kind of impossible. I keep meeting people. And I like to get to know them in a way that Facebook facilitates. I like to see what the rest of their lives might be like, what their lives outside of whatever little space in which we intersect looks like. So, because I was so open in accepting friendships as they came in (including businesses, causes, wannabes), I'm now going through and plucking out the businesses, the causes, the wannabes. Please, all of y'all, feel free to be my fan. The more the merrier! Facebook creates no cap for fans. Yay!

There are also other reasons that real, live, otherwise awesome friends in my real life may be "de-friended." (De-friended? Un-friended? Do we have an official word, yet?) What are those reasons?

Well, the main thing that'll get you gone--and fast--is spam-tagging me.

Look I get why it happens. Actors want to be sure I see info about a play or a showcase or a TV appearance or a screening or a new set of headshots or a new edit on a demo reel. But think it through. I have nearly 5000 friends on the Facebook thingy. Actors I've never met think we're friends because they read my column every week or have been reading my books for seven years or whatever. I love that folks feel we're really, truly friends, but you can only imagine the VOLUME of spam-tagging I get, for every:

show
screening
stand-up comedy night
showcase
appearance on an episode of TV
new set of headshots
demo reel edit

...and on and on and on.

Can't imagine? I know. You don't mind tagging because it only happens every now and then. Okay. Do the math. Take whatever number of friends you have and multiply that number by whatever number it would take to get to nearly 5000 friends. (Yes, it's my own fault. I'm open and I like actors and I make myself available to people I've never physically met. My choice. You're right. Hence the creation of criteria to unfriend people being set in the first place.) Still... do the math and think about how many tags you'd get, if you upped your volume by that much and had a job that caused folks to want to get stuff on your radar. Paul Russell talked about it a bit in a column to which I linked in my column recently. Again, I don't hate that! I love it. In a one-on-one message. A wall post. An event invitation. Something nice and low-maintenance and non-POKE-like.

So, when those of us who have too many friends are TAGGED in something we're not even a part of, it means we get pelted with email notification of every reply that gets put on that note or photo album or vid until we race to the page and un-tag ourselves (the act of which also notifies the actor we've seen the note, which usually invites a follow-up of, "So, what'd you think of my new headshots?" and so on).

Thing is, most of us--especially the types who will open our pages up to actors on Facebook--are so actor-friendly that we'll answer an email, reply to a note on the wall, RSVP to an event, etc. We're generally HAPPY to! But TAGGING is for tagging people who are in the note, photo, or vid. So, using tagging otherwise is spam-tagging (driving traffic) and I find it offensive and abusive.

Yes, I could turn off email notification of comments, but if I do that, that means I turn off ALL of them. And I don't want to do that. I want to receive the notifications that are relevant to me. Not someone's cousin commenting on the same note in which I was spam-tagged. If you want to be sure I see your note, rather than tagging me in it, how's about you just send me a nice little message like this:

"Hey Bon. Just posted a note you might be interested in. Thanks for the support!"

And I guarantee you, that is a zillion times better than being spam-tagged. :) I know no one is using spam-tagging maliciously. Just thoughtlessly. :) Now you know. And next time you'll shoot someone a message! Yay! And while we're on the subject of messages...

When you send a message to more than one person at a time at the Facebook, please encourage your friends to do the one-on-one replies like, "Hey, what's up?" and your replies like, "Not much, buddy. We should hang out," and their replies like, "Cool. Come to my show," and so on to just you, the individual.

There's a handy REPLY link right under the profile name of the person for direct replies. Look for it. You're in your inbox, looking at a message sent to more than one person. You see the first message. There's the word Reply right there. Click it. Don't just type in the box and hit the huge, blue, Send To All button. (And yes, I know if you're visiting Facebook on your phone, you can't exercise that option. All the more reason for the person composing the message to do the responsible thing and say, "This is going to a group. Please reply directly to me if you have a reply," so the person tempted to reply via Facebook Mobile thinks, "Ooh. This is going to go to everyone. Better compose a new message or go write on his wall instead of just hitting SEND.")

Yes, it's a Facebook design flaw that when you send messages to multiple people, all of us get your one-on-one chats, and email notifications of each message... and it's annoying. And, again, if you have nearly 5000 friends, you see how this could get out of hand. And how it, then, becomes criteria for the above-mentioned unfriending. :) Now you know. So, until Facebook fixes that (which their help page says they have no intention of "fixing," since they see it as a "feature"), please either encourage DIRECT replies or omit delicate flowers like me from the "mass mailings" so I don't have to experience the party line thing. :) Or understand the unfriending.

Another reason I may have unfriended you is that you were mean. Or negative. Or otherwise unpleasant to have on my screen. I thought long and hard about this one, because I really do like to keep tabs on what happens in my friends' lives, and sometimes that does include the bad and the ugly. But when someone who was a not-close-friend (at best) in high school--someone I've not seen in over 20 years--posts something snarky and inappropriate in the comments thread of a conversation I have happening with other folks, I begin to ask myself why we're even connected. When someone who was actually a very close friend in college, but who has had a major life change and now wants to spout political and religious diatribes on my wall goes on a posting frenzy, I begin to ask myself why I'm supplying a venue for these posts that I find offensive, no matter how close we once were.

But I felt bad simply pulling the plug on these folks since, well, I did actually know them, right? And then it hit me. Hang on! Who says Facebook is about fair? My own brother declined my friend request! It's not like there's a rule that just because you know someone, you have to include them in your life (online or otherwise). Awesome! An epiphany! I can--simply because you don't add to my level of general happiness in my online life--choose to remove you from my Facebook world. Oh, joy! Oh, rapture! Such a breakthrough. It's not about being fair or having rules about inclusiveness that allow for everyone to be welcome. You make me happy? I like having you around. You make me bummed out? You're off my grid. Life's too short! Awesome. I'm over worrying that people are going to bitch about how mean I am, unfriending 'em or declining requests. I have learned that there is no amount of "fixing things" that can be done in order to keep people who are prone to complain about you from complaining about you. So, have at it! My Facebook space is my space. (Well, not MySpace. But you know.) :) And I want to have fun while I'm there. Stress-causers are getting their walking papers.

Ooh, I may do this in real life too!

Happy better Internet practices, everyone. (Oh and for the love of all that is holy, can I take a moment to remind everyone to use BCC again? Since it doesn't seem to matter how much that request gets made? Yeah. I know. Never-ending battle. *sigh* Ah well... t'was worth a shot.) Thanks, y'all!

Posted by bonnie at 4:47 PM | Comments (2)

November 11, 2008

How much for that doggy in the window?

Teeeeee!

Keith snapped this outside the Borders at Sunset and Vine.

I love it!

PS--12 of 12 is tomorrow and mine will be posted late. Doing a panel discussion with fellow casting directors Patrick Baca, Wendy O'Brien, and Paul Weber (moderated by Gabrielle Carteris--yes, Andrea Zuckerman. I am beside myself with glee), so will post all of the TwitPic/Twittered photos into my blog pretty late tomorrow night.

PPS--Thank you to my Marine hubby for serving our country (and looking so fine in his Dress Blues. Yummy)!

Posted by bonnie at 1:05 PM | Comments (5)

September 27, 2008

Losing My Virginity (Again)

Okay, so I felt like a 27-year-old virgin in the whole joining the Facebook thing. I mean, almost everyone I know did it first and talked about it, and they all made it sound great. (But it's not the whole "40-year-old virgin" thing because, hello, at least I've known about Facebook forever and have chosen to stay away from it much in the same way I stayed away from the MySpace forever because, dammit, I was already on the Friendster and now I was already on the Twitter and for the love of GAWD, how many connections does a Bonnie need?)

Anyway, it had reached critical mass. I was hearing pretty much every day that I should be on the Facebook. That I should get on that, tap into my audience (because having 50K hits per week on my column apparently isn't enough communing with the masses), and then we had our Bluelines Proofer Patrol Party for the third edition of Self-Management for Actors and I was told about the FAN PAGE thingy and decided that would be cool. (Thank you, Rose.)

So fine. I did it. I finally did it. I held out for ever and ever for the man of my dreams and then realized I probably wasn't going to meet him before I was too old to enjoy the ride and I finally gave in to the Facebook and it was fine. Fine, fine, fine. Good first time. Nothing too wildly beyond expectations. Nothing Earth-shattering. Now I get it. Okay. Good. Check that one off. Okay.

BUT!

NO ONE TOLD ME THAT THE FACEBOOK WAS CRACK.

I'm sorry, but I think it's only the responsible thing to do to follow, "Oh! You're not on the Facebook? You really should be," with a, "And it's totally crack, so be ready to be addicted on your first hit. You will not be able to turn away. You will search out everyone you've ever known. The 'friend suggester' will be uncannily accurate. You will mind your own business and be sought out by people you've forgotten existed. You will play Scrabble (only it isn't really Scrabble. It's more like Boggle and therefore it's called Scramble, and either way, you won't be able to stop). You will be offered plants and toys and karma. You will be given flair and little green things and invitations to bite and be bitten. You will also be offered advice from the Facebook regulars about how much of the above you should accept." But no one will tell you whether deleting a poke is a good or bad idea. No one will explain what happens if you deny a friend request. And no one can make sense of the whole "upload photos to a gallery at a fan page and suddenly it all shows up in your profile page" thingy... especially when the whole reason you created both was to keep the both separate. (Damn tags.)

No one will tell you why it is that you NEED to update your status several times a day and why it is that you wear like a badge of honor the fact that you went 20 whole hours without visiting the site--not even from your mobile device! THAT'S HUGE!!

So, as much as I enjoyed "getting it over with" and losing my virginity and getting what it was all about and finally being in on the whole thing and thinking I've absolutely done the right thing by having held out for as long as I did (Yay, me!) and then finally caving in before I was so damn old that I couldn't appreciate the dang thing (Bigger yay, me!), I just wish any one of the five HUNDRED people who said, "You need to be on the Facebook" could've told me that it would completely and totally change my life in terms of swooping up loads of hours I already didn't have to donate... just to beat my damn top Scramble score.

Facebook, I hate you more than I've ever loved the MySpace. And I'm not just saying that because the MySpace version of this blog post will strip out the Facebook links and call them "suspicious for phishing." Egad, how that "banned at the other place" vibe makes me want you that much more!

You've not just taken my virginity, Facebook, you've made me need you several times every day. You greedy, greedy HOT bastard. Oh, how I love being seen with you!

Posted by bonnie at 2:19 AM | Comments (5)

July 15, 2008

Wii! Wii Fit! Birffday Goodness!

So, we've been looking for a Wii/Wii Fit bundle for a couple of months now. Everywhere has been sold out, but Keith randomly popped into a local toy store today and, lo and behold, there it was!

He calls me up and says, "Are we still go for takeoff on buying a Wii/Wii Fit bundle? I have one in my hands. It's $600."

To which I replied, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEEEE! Yay!"

And he brought it right home, set it up while I Twittered about it, and then I worked out and played for HOURS.

I'm totally addicted to this thing! Who knew???? It's FUN!

(Now, I didn't like its original "fitness age" for me--49--but I sure as shit loved the "fitness age" it gave me after an hour of working out! 30, baby! 30!!!! YEAH!)

So, apparently, a little computer voice that sounds like WALL-E and the ability to earn points to unlock new games by doing well, plus rankings and feedback on how to stand correctly during yoga poses, how to catch hulahoops around my neck, and how to dance along with the other Mii's in a step class is all I needed to get truly motivated. ;)

Hee!

I mean...

Wii!

Posted by bonnie at 9:52 PM | Comments (2)

March 29, 2008

Hot Saturday Night

So, we had big plans.

There was a movie. Then dinner. Then a comedy show.

Long date. Big Saturday night out. Very cool (and well-earned).

Then today, Keith says, "Aw, crap, I have rehearsal!"

And instead of going out on my own or asking for arm candy to accompany me, I decide to stay in and fold laundry, download missing artwork for the mashups in my iTunes, and figure out what the latest--but not too ridiculously high-end--WYSIWYG webpage composer shareware (Or is it all called Open Source now?) is, since I can no longer use SeaMonkey since Keith had to rebuild Sid at the Mac Genius Bar for FIVE HOURS on Thursday (another story for another time).

Oh, such the Hollywood hot life!

Jealous?

Posted by bonnie at 7:01 PM | Comments (2)

March 15, 2008

Déjà Vu!

Remember about three years ago when I was OBSESSED with finding the damn touch-up paint for my car?

And then I finally just broke down and bought some more?

Yeah, well, here we are again. After having left my 1990 Mazda Miata touch-up paint OUT! On the entertainment center! Every day! For over two years! So I would always know where it was! And never lose it again!, I had to go and fix a hole.

And damn if I can find the effin' touch-up paint I bought in 2005 to replace the touch-up paint I bought in 1989.

And the rainy and windy winter has caused a need to touch up a couple of spots on the TicTac.

And SONOFABITCH, I have to buy that shit again.

And I'm still obsessed, knowing I could tear this house apart and find TWO bottles of touch-up paint for my Miata... if I just had the time.

*grumble* *grumble* *obsession* *grumble*

So...

I break down and buy the stuff again. (It's all of six bucks, so why do I care (beyond the obsession), right?) And it arrives on Thursday afternoon.

Guess what Keith finds today while throwing out computer equipment in anticipation of the arrival of his new 8-Core Mac Pro.

Yup. One of the two aforementioned bottles of Miata Touch-Up Paint.

Sonofabitch.

Posted by bonnie at 10:22 PM | Comments (3)

February 16, 2008

Mortified

And it's all Mercury Retrograde's fault.

(Well, that's not true. I'll take some of the blame, as I certainly know well enough by now that I'm to double-check and triple-check everything communicated to me during Mercury Retrograde.)

Okay, so on the 5th, I agreed to speak at the Musical Theatre Competitions of America event at Fullerton College today. I was told I could have 1pm or 2pm, and I chose 2pm. Even put it on my calendar.

Twice.

Had received two follow-up emails from the coordinator going over things like parking and day-of cell phone numbers for emergencies... and flagged those emails to print out today, before hopping in the car for our drive to Fullerton ('round 12:30pm or so, to get there a little early).

Guess what time my talk was? 12:30pm.

Guess what time I realized that? 12:10pm, when I printed out the emails we'd need in the car on the drive over to Fullerton for "my 2pm talk."

Son of a FUCK!

I am mortified and bummed and pissed and all that other good stuff.

Good one, Mercury Retrograde. I thought I was going to escape your wrath this time out, as I've been soooooo on top of everything these few weeks (and not without a huge expense of energy, patience, diplomacy, and grace). Nicely played, waiting 'til your last hours to be sure I got a good ass-kicking.

Now, go away. Thank you.

Posted by bonnie at 1:22 PM | Comments (2)

January 28, 2008

Candidate Match (with Bobbleheads!)

So, that was fun! ;)

I saw on the morning news a "Candidate Match" generator thingy, so I went and plugged in my opinions on issues and found out who the computer says I should vote for.

And then I went and got bobbleheads for my computer-generated top three! :) Hee!

JOHN EDWARDS:

Get this widget!

HILLARY CLINTON:

Get this widget!

BARACK OBAMA:

Get this widget!

And then, just because it was so dang cute, I had to get a little bobbling-HUCKABEE:

Get this widget!

Seriously! Mouse over his little head! Heeeeeee!

I'm so easily amused.

Posted by bonnie at 7:54 AM | Comments (2)

January 19, 2008

Easy 15-Step Method for Importing Your "Juno" Soundtrack CD into iTunes

1. Buy Juno soundtrack on CD rather than downloading from Rhino Records' website because you want to qualify for "Super Saver" shipping when ordering your husband's early birthday present (Family Guy's "Blue Harvest" episode special collectors' edition).

2. Pop Juno soundtrack CD into your Mac Sid's CD drive and watch iTunes launch, run a quick scan, show a brief glimpse of a dialogue box that includes things like "gathering artwork and liner notes," and then no longer recognize the CD.

3. Visit your desktop to try clicking on the CD from its icon. Find no icon representing said CD on desktop.

4. Have husband pop CD into the CD drive on his old Linux box.

5. Have husband launch something called "Sound Juicer."

6. Learn husband cannot extract as MP3 due to lack of MP3 encoder on Linux box.

7. Have husband extract as something called "FLAC" format.

8. Have husband FTP FLAC files to his Mac (The Chicklet).

9. Have husband open FLAC files using something called "Toast."

10. Have husband export FLAC files as .MP4 files.

11. Launch Fetch from Sid and connect to husband's Mac (The Chicklet).

12. FTP self .MP4 files.

13. Drag individual .MP4 files into iTunes.

14. Get artwork and other bullshit from the iTunes store.

15. Have a nice day.

Happy early birthday, honey.

Posted by bonnie at 8:33 PM | Comments (1)

January 14, 2008

Can I Just Say?

I am so looking forward to the end of this silliness.

That's right. There's only one more chance for you to wear your goofy New Year Glasses, folks. God bless you, 2010. Can't wait.

In other news, I'm in that annoying stage of the illness (seriously, there's this Hollywood Crud going around like crazy) that is no longer feeling like I'm sick yet I am incapable of speaking without going into a ten-minute coughing fit. It's lovely. I'm coughing more than I'm not coughing... and it's just that dry, nothing cough. Keeps me from getting any sleep. And well, that's just delightful. For everyone.

What else? Made cast offers on two roles today, which is always fun. One is to an "OMG HUGE" celeb and the other is to, well, an also pretty huge celeb type and that offer has already been met with an, "extremely excited" response. The fact that both of these offers are coming off pitches is huge. Oh, I love my job!

Gotta get this throat in order. Wanna meet with Blake and do Tuesdays@9 tomorrow, have to be better in time for SAG CAP on Wednesday, and we shoot two test scenes for the showcase web-series on Thursday. Not un-busy. STOP COUGHING!

That is all.

Posted by bonnie at 8:45 PM | Comments (0)

January 1, 2008

Help me understand this, please.

Now, I've not done much "office time" in my working life. (Some. Enough. Believe me; enough. Rolling around on a plastic pad behind a desk gives me hives.)

But I've never seen one of these. (Still haven't in real life. Just saw it while perusing porn. ("porn" = "the Staples catalogue") And it seemed odd.)

I mean, I understand needing a tape dispenser. We have one. But with TWO rolls of tape? (One Scotch Transparent, one Scotch Magic, per the photo in the catalogue.) Because sometimes you need both types of tape within a very limited span of time and having to reach farther away than an inch would mean crisis in your office?

Just wondering.

PS--Goooooooooooooooo DAWGS!!

Posted by bonnie at 6:19 PM | Comments (4)

December 19, 2007

A-ha!

So, here's what happens when it rains in Southern California.

(Well, when your phone box crap lives outside.)

(Exposed.)

(To the elements.)

You have no phone for 40 hours. (But you have DSL and TiVo connectivity, proving it's not a line-inside-the-house issue.)

Hee!

I have to say, I enjoyed the break.

Let it rain again, baby! :)

Posted by bonnie at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2007

You'd Think.

You would think that I would enjoy a day in which my phone is out of service (seriously. "Ringing busy" to callers and no dialtone here, although we have TiVo and DSL connectivity).

That I'd love the calm. The quiet. Goes with the rain, right?

Instead, I'm anxious that I'm missing some key calls regarding... well... a few new deals I have brewing (yup, it's true. I'm gonna EP a movie in 2008).

Enjoy the quiet, Bon.

I'm workin' on it. ;)

Posted by bonnie at 6:30 PM | Comments (1)

November 30, 2007

Just Perfect!

A super-busy week, filled with meetings and events and go, go, go. Loads of wonderful news and lovely people.

Followed by a 36-hour stretch of time when I don't have to leave my frickin' house.

...and it's raining.

...and I can play with Sid and Nancy all the live-long day.

Meet Sid.

Meet Nancy.

(Thanks, Honey. I love you too. And congratulations.)

Posted by bonnie at 3:55 PM | Comments (1)

November 28, 2007

The Ghost of Brenda Future

Okay, so I'm a huge 90210 fan. Huge.

Clearly.

So, this weekend, while I'm watching the best of the best show (ie: 90210--The Brenda Years), there's a commercial for a MOW starring none other than the lovely Shannen Doherty... as someone obviously wearing "age makeup." I mean, she has to have been cast as a ghost of her future or something, right?

Don't believe how bad it is? Click the above photo to see a little movie file I nabbed from the TV (excuse the audio--it's a digital still camera that, surprise, can shoot short little movies. Something I discovered just that moment. Hee!).

Did she piss off hair and makeup? The lighting guys? Everyone? I mean, the MOW looks bad enough... but WOW. She is looking way more than her 36 years (um... I'm 37. I don't have that many wrinkles. Egad! Do I?!? You'd tell me, right?) now.

I'll just focus on the "good ol' days." The Brenda Years. *sigh*

Posted by bonnie at 5:18 PM | Comments (2)

October 5, 2007

Message Board Culture and Etiquette

[Note: This is a repost from the Showfax message board.]

Author: Bonnie Gillespie, Location: Hollywood, Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 10:10pm

(Showfax Bob, please feel free to move this is if you deem it appropriate. I just felt compelled to post this and figured the "Whatever" section might be the least controversial place. If you like it and want to make it a sticky admin post or something, knock yerself out.)

Now, before I launch into some long post about message board culture and etiquette, let me state for the record that I have been a member of many online forums (most of them acting related) for well over a decade and I have also been the admin/moderator of a handful of online forums (most of them acting related).

One of my favorite analogies about the "feel" of a message board comes from something I read a long, long time ago. I've seen it adapted and shared at many, many message boards over the years, but first read it back in the '90s (when I was in grad school for my PhD in Instructional Technology--I am *not* kidding--and studying online communities and their potential as sources of educational exchanges).

"Treat a message board like a cocktail party. If you walk up to a group of people who are already talking, be considerate that you are joining *their* party in progress, and even if the door to the party was wide open, for most first-time visitors, it's not like the party's host has invited you and walked you over to a group to introduce you around. You're coming in on your own and probably want to say a polite hello, introduce yourself, give a little context on why you might feel a certain way about a certain topic, and then jump in and join the debate already in progress."

I mention this because I notice that those who lurk for a while and then post a, "Hi. I'm posting for the first time, here. I've read the posts and I get that you guys have a lot of experience at a bunch of different levels. Here's my question and here's what I've already experienced--so you can get an idea of my starting point and what research I've already attempted," tend to get a much warmer reception, receive much more assistance from the regulars, and--amazingly--receive much more ON-TARGET advice than "others" (see more about "others" below).

Think about it. If you walked into a room where a group of people were talking--even if the debate was heated and emotional--and immediately started sharing your POV without any context, any means of introduction to the group, and a complete sense of expectation that everyone should respect your POV (as if they fully KNOW your previous experience level and "get" you, going in) with NO questions asked, you'd be considered a loon. Yet that happens on message boards EVERY day.

And the advantage really DOES go to the lurker-turned-poster, because he or she GETS the people who are already active members of the community. Those members, on the other hand, have NO context within which to understand that new poster. It's like seeing someone famous in public. You feel like you know them because you've seen their movies, you've read their interviews, you've had them into your home via the TV for years. Yet if you were to just start talking to them with no introduction, no background info, no, "Hi. Big fan. Excuse me a moment. Can I ask you a question," type lead-in--y'know, as if you're VERY intimately aware of who this person is--that would be odd. But it's WORSE if you also EXPECT that person to have an intimate awareness of YOU and where YOU come from and how YOU think.

The "others" I mentioned above are those who post for the first time without giving much context for the regulars to go on.

That--in and of itself--is not a BAD thing. It just causes the quality of early replies to be (at best) not terribly helpful.

But when the inevitable smackdown comes from the "new poster," there is always this indignant attitude of, "Don't you know who I am?!? Don't you know how much experience I have? How DARE you assume that just because this is my first post I don't have dozens of years of experience in the industry and a career you would covet if I actually bothered to post under my real name?"

And that is usually followed by a barrage of, "You guys are a bunch of meanies. You're a group of elitist snobs who are only out for yourselves. If a new poster comes in here and doesn't toe the party line, he or she is attacked and forced to storm off in a huff or prove that he or she can stand up to you mean, mean meanies."

Followed by a prompt exit or (hopefully) an attitude adjustment and a long, productive future on the message board, with a much better understanding of the culture and etiquette--because now he or she is a part of it.

Are we all going to get along?

No.

Even those of us who have been posting on this and other message boards together for YEARS don't all get along.

That's not what this post is about.

It's an attempt to encourage those of you who are posting for the first time (here or anywhere else, really) and who feel attacked or misunderstood or challenged for expressing strong opinions without any sort of context for whether the machismo is merited TO THINK OF THIS LIKE A COCKTAIL PARTY.

Of course, we all want to enjoy our time here. We may want to help others or get help from others. We may want to celebrate one another's accomplishments and enjoy one another's stories and encourage one another when we're on the low side of things.

But there is a bit of culture and etiquette to acknowledge and (hopefully) respect.

Posting without doing a SEARCH of existing posts first is like walking in and screaming, "WHERE IS THE ICE?" when the ice is in the area clearly marked "ice" and there's a sign on one of the other walls pointing to the ice. You've just interrupted a bunch of conversations to ask an easily-answered question (and made yourself look like someone who either can't read signs or can't be bothered to do such a thing--neither of which is a good first impression to make).

Posting as if you know everything about any topic without first sharing a bit about you and your credentials is like walking up to a group of people at the party and insisting you know everything about that topic "because I said so," and you're too cool or too important to be bothered with providing the backup that would get you INSTANT respect. Now... if you've neglected to share your credentials at the beginning of the dialogue, that's okay! You can include a link to your IMDB page or professional website in your PROFILE or within your posts' signatures. Consider that the same thing as at least wearing a nametag when you walk into the party so we know who we're dealing with. Want to check the credentials of those who are already regulars at this party? Check their profile, check their signature block, check previous posts in which they've given a great deal of "back story" on who they are and what their cred is.

Lurking is the same as watching the party from just outside. You can see and hear what's going on, but no one has the advantage of getting to know YOU in the same way. At first, you'll feel very familiar with the partygoers, because you know their style, you get their sense of humor, you know when someone is crossing a line and when that same someone is just teasing an old friend. Don't get mad when you're not given that same sense of "I get you" right away. How could the partygoers "get you" when you've been observing them and they've had no opportunity to observe you? Your sense of humor, your style, your POV are all brand new to the partygoers until you've been around awhile. Help 'em warm up to you by giving a little orientation to YOU before leaping right into the conversations and demanding the same level of respect those who were already conversing have for one another.

Getting a message board smackdown (or even a light reprimand or slap on the wrist) is nothing to make you run away in disgust. Think of it like a host telling you you've parked your car in front of a neighbor's driveway or asking you to use a coaster when you put down your drink. You've come into someone else's party and the host is very graciously providing you with munchies and drinks without asking you to chip in. And if a fellow partygoer is the one to ask you to use a coaster, don't get all huffy thinking that only the host can tell you you've committed a party foul. Just like at any party, having someone who has been there before warn you about parking in a towaway zone or suggesting that you use a coaster before the host freaks out on you is just a, "Hey, you're new to the party" courtesy. Some are more gruff than others in the way they may speak to you. That's life at the party and online.

One of my least favorite message board behaviors is something that is a little more difficult to put into the cocktail party analogy. It's the phenomenon I call "I'm gonna take my toys and go home!" Posters who have contributed to quite a few threads decide at some point that they're DONE with the message board. They're leaving the party. But first they're going to erase all evidence that they were ever there. They delete every post they've made. They trash entire discussions by removing all sense of context that existed when any other poster answered them, because now their original questions are gone. Unless the replying posters have QUOTED their original text, this behavior leaves holes in the "history" of the message board and really disrupts some very good discussions. I guess the best way to bring that to a party analogy would be if the party were a gift exchange and each attendee brought three gifts for the big tub of donations that were going over to the children's hospital later. And before this one poster decides to BOLT on the party, he runs over to the tub and fishes out all of the gifts he brought. Now they are gone. And worse, they were part of a WHOLE that is now somehow lacking. (Basically, it's like tearing pages out of a book that could inform and educate others for years to come. It's a dick move, based wholly in ego, and it's just plain rude.)

Coming in and selling a product or service in your very first post is like showing up uninvited to a party wearing a sandwich board and ringing a bell. You will either be ignored as "that crazy person in the foyer" or asked to leave. If you stay, you will be laughed at by some, ignored by some, and challenged by some. Of course, most shills show up at the doorstep, shout, "Buy my thing," and then run to the next party down the block, so this isn't an issue for most. But for those shills who like to check back and see how their post is doing a little later, this part of the etiquette list is for you. Earn the trust of your potential customers before you crash their party and yell at them, then call them idiots or sad, bitter skeptics for not throwing open their wallets for you.

One of the message boards I ran a few years back had three key "fixes" to problems I saw at other message boards. No non-registered user could lurk. So, basically, we had to know you were AT the party for you to have access to its goodies. Also, I disabled the edit/delete feature so that EVERYONE was accountable for what he or she said--no take-backs. No pretending that it never happened (heck, even here, your original post goes out on the RSS feed, so even after editing and/or deleting, the info is still "out there" for those of us who really geek out). And I required all members to sign up using their REAL names. I noticed at other message boards where this sort of thing was a requirement that the posters were far more respectful of one another when their true identity was known. Very little of the seriously childish, obnoxious message board behavior we see from time to time, when the members of the community were clearly identified.

But, hey, I don't run this message board (and the one I ran with those three "fixes" in place--I don't run anymore. And that should tell you something). Running a message board is a thankless, time-consuming, babysitting-like job for which there isn't enough time or energy in this kid to endure.

Just like hosting a big party, there's a lot of prep, there's a lot of drama among folks who want to get you all up in the business of everyone else who is there, stuff gets broken, and pretty much NO ONE stays to help you clean up when the party is over.

All this to say, please consider this place a fun little cocktail party to which you have open, anonymous access. Observing the general guidelines of its culture and etiquette is of course optional, but it's good to know what the deal is (I hope). Beyond that, saying thank you to our host Showfax Bob is probably the LEAST we can do.

(Psst--hey, Bob? Thank you.)

Posted by bonnie at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2007

CricketFeet.com email outage! Bleh!

Okay, so it seems that the Cricket Feet mail server had some DNS record weirdness between the time stamps of 11:47am on 20 September 2007 and 3:16am 21 September 2007.

So, any mail sent during that stretch of time to any address ending in "cricketfeet.com," "hollywoodhappyhour.com," or "faithsalie.com" never made it. Bonus: No sender received a bounceback of any kind.

So, not only do we not know who *might* have sent us email, but they do not know we didn't receive it. Neat, huh?

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Now... I what? Email anyone who *might* have reached out to say, "Hey, um... didn't get it," or just look like the a-hole who never wrote back to who knows what?

Ugh.

Wondered why I was able to get so much done yesterday. No email!

PS--The BonBlogs currently have 3333 comments. That amuses me. Geek.

Posted by bonnie at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)

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)

May 10, 2007

Hee! Look at me!

This was cute. Jonathan showed me how to do it.

Hee!

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

September 8, 2006

Our Celebrity Faces

This is cool.

Posted by bonnie at 4:39 PM | Comments (3)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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.

God bless the Internet.

Posted by bonnie at 5:17 PM | Comments (5)

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)

August 15, 2006

T-Minus 67 Hours

It's almost time.

Snakes on a Plane opens in Santa Monica in just 67 hours. I'm so excited.

And why is that? I mean, clearly, this movie is going to SUCK.

(I mean, how could it not?)

But you have to go, right?

It's a flippin' MOMENT in history we're witnessing.

And EVERYONE will talk about where they were the first time they saw the film that WILL BE the next Rocky Horror Picture Show.

(Hell, there's already toast.)

They've even been doing a terrorism cross-promotion thingy on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC since last week!

The fans have already created a sequel.

(Or two.)

EVERYONE will be talking about this amazing film. Including me.

The lovelies Susan and Rose will be joining us on the Promenade for the 10pm screening Thursday. (Feel free to join us if there are still tix, which as of this posting there are.)

We shall start out at Barney's Beanery or some other alcohol-serving establishment within staggering walking distance of the theater.

I couldn't be more excited if I were Samuel L. Jackson himself*.

*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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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?!?

Clickee for biggee.

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

May 10, 2006

Ever have

a ten-day period in which

• you are hired to cast two new films
• your husband makes his primetime network SAG co-star debut
• your friend who was due to have surgery instead crashes with you after a day of celebrating her surgery's postponement
• you see THE BEST MOVIE EVER twice in theatres
• an entertainment attorney begins to package you with his producers and screenwriters
• you attend the public screening of two films you've cast in years past
• you're accused of "keeping your gift under wraps" when a new friend who only knows you as a casting director learns others value the fact that you write a weekly column and books
• you do chin puppetry with your new best friend for a mutual friend's daughter (and then build a tent with her in her living room) because being a kid is way more cool than being a grownup any day
• your iPod loses its will to live from having been played way too much in your car
• you are told you "don't get it" on BlogHer when you're almost sure you do, but you choose NOT to FIGHT about it, since that's just way silly (even though you'd love for friends to go post comments about how effin' RIGHT you are)
• your blog gets more hits than ever and you don't know why, since no one famous has been blogged about in weeks, here
• you become NBF w/ a totally swoonable '80s star-turned-producer
• you metaphorically pinch yourself over how cool it is to live your dreams and enjoy the bliss that is just being (and then you literally pinch yourself because... what the hey)
• for the first time in over five years, you're somehow okay with having lost your mom--when usually you're a basket case for the whole first week of May in honor of her memory (and that doesn't mean you're "OKAY" with it, but that you aren't a basket case this time, despite how that reads)
• you get that growing up is a forever endeavor, that love is a verb (not a noun), and that there is nothing wrong with your coolest best friends ever having been introduced to you through wires and a keyboard

or is it just me?

Posted by bonnie at 3:33 AM | Comments (8)

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)

May 8, 2006

I don't care about...

David Blaine.

There. I said it.

Posted by bonnie at 12:26 PM | Comments (9)

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)

April 27, 2006

This has got to be a joke.

Nabbed from Shouting into the Wind.

You Should Be a Joke Writer

You're totally hilarious, and you can find the humor in any situation. 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)

April 22, 2006

Word

Seriously.

Word.

Posted by bonnie at 11:26 PM | Comments (6)

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)

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)

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)

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.
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.

< Ali >Word.< / Ali >

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Posted by bonnie at 6:14 AM | Comments (7)

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:
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.

All in all, I'd say I'm doing okay. ;)

And you?

Posted by bonnie at 6:33 AM | Comments (6)

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)

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)

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."

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.

PS--Isn't The Shield an effin' kickass show? Man, I'm lovin' the season one marathon on Spike(notLee)TV.

Posted by bonnie at 2:49 AM | Comments (6)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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).

3.

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)

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)

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)

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.

Click to enlarge.

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)

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)

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)

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.
Perfection. My worst enemy."

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.

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.
B: Okay.

It used to go like this:

K: C'mon. Let's go for a walk.
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.

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.

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

February 12, 2006

One More Post

And because Rojo told me Leemsy had updated his blog with a quiz, I present this:

Erotic Thriller

You've made your own rules in life - and sometimes that catches up with you. 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

December 9, 2005

Definition of Wrong

*shudder*

When did Carrot Top become a double amputee freakshow steroid case?

Ew. Just ew.

Posted by bonnie at 1:13 AM | Comments (3)

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)

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}}}

Posted by bonnie at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

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)

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'.

Posted by bonnie at 7:17 PM | Comments (0)

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 gains
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.

So, what's the funny?

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

October 24, 2005

Sooo Spooky!

C'mon... y'know you wanna...

Carve your own pumpkin, yo!

Posted by bonnie at 11:00 PM | Comments (2)

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)!

Click to enlarge.

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)

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)

October 20, 2005

Okay, so...

...because I love my sister* (and she says I don't blog enough lately), I am sharing this.

Click to see large.

*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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

PPS--See y'all at the LA International Shorts Fest tomorrow? Panel: 10:45am to 12:45pm, Screening: 8pm. All at the ArcLight. Woo hoo!

Posted by bonnie at 5:35 PM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Traditional and comforting. You focus on living a quality life. You're not easily impressed with novelty. Yet, you easily impress others.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

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

Hey. Busy.

Did I share this with y'all yet?

Click to see the Wal*Mart page.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

July 19, 2005

Quick Quiz

Nabbed from Nini (who has a very cute photo up an entry below the one I've linked).

What's Your HGTV Style?

Posted by bonnie at 2:15 PM

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

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

HBTM

I'm 35.

That is all.

Posted by bonnie at 12:35 AM

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

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!)

from the SAG indie blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 14, 2005

How Cute Are We!

First feedback from an actor interviewed in Acting Qs... none other than the amazing Stephon Fuller:

Click for big.

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!

Posted by bonnie at 7:14 PM

How Excited Am I?

Super-duper excited. Look at the present GSN is getting me for my birthday!

From the press release:

[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. ;)

Posted by bonnie at 12:05 PM

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.)

Posted by bonnie at 5:19 PM

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

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

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

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 obsessed 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

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

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

Really. Odd. Stuff.

on the Internet.

Posted by bonnie at 2:50 AM

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

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

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

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

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 little high. The bartenders in this area are some of the best in the city and they know how to make everything. When some new drink comes out you can bet it came from Chelsea! The only draw back is the entire place is crawling with yuppies. But if you're a yuppie that's probably Okay.

Chelsea 83%
Alphabet City 72%
SoHo/TriBeCa 67%
Upper West Side/Morningside Heights 67%
Hell's Kitchen/Theatre District 61%
Stuyvesant Town 61%
Inwood 56%
Harlem 50%
Kips Bay 50%
El Barrio 45%
China Town 28%
Upper East Side 22%
Financial District/Battery Park 17%
Washington Heights 11%

Which neighborhood in Manhattan is best for you?
created with QuizFarm.com

A note about TriBeCa: I was seriously embarrassed for the mess of people interviewed during the TriBeCa Film Festival who couldn't tell you what "TriBeCa" meant. Worse, even, was that the show doing the story (some Entertainment Tonight-type show) got it wrong, saying, "It's short for the Triangle shape the district makes!"

*thud*

Morons. That takes care of "Tri." You just need to look at your little map to come up with "Be" and "Ca." Sheesh!

Oh, and thanks for all the support and love on the panic attack stuff. I'm doing better. Need some more time. I'm taking it. Yay!

Posted by bonnie at 1:12 PM

May 3, 2005

Many New Things

So... what up, G?

Buttloads. That's what.

Sheesh! I'm seriously blogging now.

Politically incorrect observation #1: There is much more traffic on surface streets these days. Why? Someone who wants less traffic on the freeways is shooting people to get the road to himself. Mission accomplished. We're all taking Wilshire now.

Politically incorrect observation #2: What kind of society do we live in where a fallen child star (Danny Bonaduce) can pull himself together, get clean, get a top-rated radio show, do voiceovers and guest spots on prime time TV regularly, often admit that he had his "major addict" days... and then manage to slide, publicly, back down off that wagon (and saying so, regularly), yet be supported in his work environment... and THEN get ridiculed when he puts himself back in rehab?

I mean, really... if you SAY you're slipping, if you OWN that you are boozing it up... how can ANYONE decide to judge your arse once you do the RIGHT deed, which is signing up for help? Fuck! If they're going to bitch about you, they should do so when you're boozing in front of them and trying to hide it. That's what I expect, when I'm off-wagon-falling. At the very least!

There is no politically incorrect observation number three, as there is never a three (which really should be some other number) based on the reality created by somesuch-whatnot and the good folks there.

Not politically incorrect, but amusing... Chip took this shot at the Twilight Criterium. Oh, how I remember the bliss that was our WUOG Sports Director living in the pace car for that in '95! Ah, memories.

Further not politically incorrect, but perhaps self-aggrandizing, is the observation that I no longer am capable of casting a "small project." It started when the first actor arrived at the audition location today. He said, "This must be some good production company with a healthy budget, to get you on board!" I laughed and said, "Oh, honey... I'm very affordable--I'm still at the beginning of my casting journey and that means I'm doing the same thing actors do, at the beginning of their careers: working cheap and choosing great projects with wonderful people."

Typically, one out of every ten actors says something about my books, my columns, previous casting visits, my online presence, speaking engagements, etc. This time? One out of every TWO.

And.

I can usually count on 30 no-shows out of 150 scheduled appointments. This time? NONE. Not ONE no-show. And I am so terribly sad that some people had to leave, after waiting for so long, and/or that people just waited and waited and waited so more. I ALWAYS HAVE ON-TIME SESSIONS! It really bummed me out to suddenly NOT. But then it occurred to me (and Keith said it out loud) that I'm suddenly not a CD who people think is casting one or two little projects here and there--but I'm someone who people know (in an: "if it's not this project, it's the next" type thing) will soon be casting something else they want to get on my radar for... and they show up. THEY SHOW UP! Even if they aren't confirmed, they show up.

Crap. I've just bumped up a tier. I've steadily increased my day rate for casting indies and I continue to get offers. WTF?? I increased my rate to cut down on the number of projects I got, and it's not happening. Sure enough, it's a sign that I'm right where I'm supposed to be and doing it right.

But now I have to schedule far fewer actors for auditions than I'd like to. That sucks. But, I guess it's a quality problem.

Looking forward to the day when I can hire MCJ (My Cousin Joni) to be my full-time assistant and get loads more work done with the sense of efficiency that only a Virgo can provide.

BTW--I love actors! Everyone rocked today. Amazing, how wonderful and confident so many actors are. I love that. I am such a fan of so many wonderful people!

Posted by bonnie at 8:39 PM

May 1, 2005

Saturation Point

I'm often overwhelmingly busy. Frequently, those who know me ask how it's possible that manage to get it all done (the flippant answer is always, "I don't sleep") and still maintain sanity (the flippant answer is, "What sanity?").

I think, though, today...

I reached a saturation point. I can't do it all. I've tried to be very smart about pacing myself all weekend so that I could somehow make it through everything that had to be done by Monday. I was methodical and clever and even asked for help (which is so unlike me). I knew, with good vibes and process, I could make it.

And I haven't.

And I won't.

Some things are just going to have to be NOT done.

It sucks and I hate it and feel like a failure (even when 95% of everything I had to do is at 85% completion or higher).

But.

I'm not going to do that to myself. I'm not a failure. I'm a workaholic perfectionist with OCD and sometimes it just doesn't all work out.

So there!

Much better.

Posted by bonnie at 7:23 PM

April 30, 2005

Snarky? Me? Nah... Tony Would've Said So!

A quiz zoinked from the greatness that is sm00bs.

You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of. And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

What kind of blogger are you?

Heh.

Posted by bonnie at 12:04 AM

April 27, 2005

Bleecker vs. Bleeker

Oy! You're kidding me!

This is getting really frustrating.

I am pretty sure this street is spelled Bleecker, based on my research. That said, I have been able to find a kajillion places where it's also spelled Bleeker.

And people are VERY sure when they tell me how it's spelled, either way.

As it now stands, the book went to print with Bleecker as the spelling, when an actor mentioned Bleecker in his interview.

Right on? Big mess? No biggie? What? Weigh in, blog-readers. (And could I get away with "B'lker" in the book? Hee hee.)

PS--Have much to say on other issues, but way too busy to blog in detail, at present. Hang in there. There's gooooooood stuff to share. Woo hoo!

Posted by bonnie at 12:57 PM

April 23, 2005

Surreal Moment of the Day: II

My last surreal moment of the day was similarly odd.*

Months ago, a friend of a friend sent me an email and told me he loved my name, wanted to use it in something he was writing, asked if it would be okay.

"Sure!" I said. Then I added something about how she'd better be cool and not victimized or degraded, etc. "Ha ha."

Fast-forward to today: Found the story. Found the character. Found the genre. Yup. Bonnie Gillespie is now a character in an adult tale ("adult" even though the story is set in a high school) of sex and experimentation.

Hee.

* I realize now that the image is a little more upset than I am. I'm more like "mildly amused" and fascinated, with the passage of time.

Posted by bonnie at 3:19 PM

What career will suit your personality?

Nabbed from sm00bs, quiz lives at iVillage.

My results:

You would be very happy in a career that utilised your people skills. You want a career that allows you to stimulate your senses and your mind. Some careers that would be perfect for you are:

* Actor
* Recruitment Consultant
* Politician
* Marketing
* Psychologist
* Religious Minister
* Teacher
* Social Worker
* Human Resources Manager
* Sales
* Lawyer
* Advertising

You are a great leader. You genuinely enjoy being around other people. Your relationships with others are very important to you. You love talking and meeting new people. You are very enthusiastic about work and about all that you do and have in your life.

You know how I loves me some quizzes!

This description is a generalisation. If it rings true, you've found your career type. If it doesn’t, return to the quiz, decide whether you answered truthfully, and not by what you think you should answer. Redo your answers and read your new results.

You would be very happy in a career that utilised your people skills. You want a career that allows you to stimulate your senses and your mind. Some careers that would be perfect for you are:

* Actor
* Recruitment Consultant
* Politician
* Marketing
* Psychologist
* Religious Minister
* Teacher
* Social Worker
* Human Resources Manager
* Sales
* Lawyer
* Advertising

You are a great leader. You genuinely enjoy being around other people. Your relationships with others are very important to you. You love talking and meeting new people. You are very enthusiastic about work and about all that you do and have in your life. You love being the focus of attention. You enjoy a fast pace. You are very socially oriented. Therefore, you are much happier being with others than you are alone. You crave interaction with others.

You are very spontaneous and often act before you think. You are always quick to answer when you are asked a question, even if you aren’t sure of the answer. It is easier for you to improvise as you go along. You enjoy thinking out loud, and are most creative when brainstorming with friends or colleagues. You enjoy being involved in many activities.

You are very easy to read, and often wear your heart on your sleeve. You are never afraid to tell people what you think. You are very empathetic and genuine. You can sometimes be seen as over-emotional or too involved by others. But that is only because you tend to get so involved in the things you do that they become personal.

You want to be adored, loved and appreciated. You like to please others and to make sure people are happy.

You trust what is certain. You only like new ideas if they can be practically applied to the situation. You value what is real. You use your common sense. You like to utilise the skills you have instead of learning new ones. You are very specific and detailed when writing or talking to others. You follow directions well. You like things to be laid out for you to do instead of working them out for yourself. You like decisions to be made. You don’t like leaving things in limbo. You like to know what you are getting into before you commit to something.

You like to focus on the here and now. You enjoy completing projects. It is important for you to achieve and succeed. Therefore, you believe in working hard and playing later. You like to set goals and work towards them.

Posted by bonnie at 1:21 AM

April 22, 2005

So Cool!

So, I read Dan's blog and learn about this way cool thing:

PostSecret. It's art. It's confession. It's mail. I love it.

Posted by bonnie at 2:13 PM

April 19, 2005

So Dang Cool

Okay, so I talked about how cool this thing Chip was doing is, right?

Well, in the, "Ask and ye shall receive" department, Chip delivered. Click here to see the original photo. Click the thumbnail above for a bigger version of comic-Bon-and-Keith (photo taken July 2001, yo).

Posted by bonnie at 6:52 PM

April 14, 2005

Google Me This

Okay, so now I need this kind of help:

Look up the interviewees in the book, the photographers who took photos of them for the book, and the good people involved in frontmatter content (that part's easy: it's me, Blake, and Tom Fontana), to see whether they have official websites.

Post a comment if you want to do such a thing and I'll get you a master list and a deadline.

Also would love someone who loves to find names in manuscripts to go through each interview tagging names for the index in the back. I know that one's a bear, and I'm working on that task too, but I'd love a li'l help from anyone who loves that sort of geeky thing too.

I now see why Courtney said she feels like a private investigator, being a copy editor. I'm actually having mini-celebrations every time I find a typo to fix. It's like, "A-ha! I caught you, you bastid!"

Posted by bonnie at 3:56 PM

March 25, 2005

What a Fun Idea!

Got a random email request from some chick named Bonnie on Friendster...

...that she's starting a Bonnies of CA chapter. Tee hee.

What the hell, right?

BTW--I slept for (get this, Faith) 12 hours. Yes. 12. I guess I needed it, eh? Had a dream with the same themes as the last time I slept. Airport, waiting, being delayed in another city. Hm.

Posted by bonnie at 12:16 AM

March 23, 2005

Hm. That's an Interesting One

Did a little blog-reading prior to starting this all-nighter of rockstar actor-interview transcription (BTW, early feedback is AH. MAY. ZING.) and came across this quickie...

Click for way too big.

...from the greatness of Jodi (congrats on the last day of the job, cutie).

Fun.

Oh, and is it insulting to offer a one-line role to an actor who was up for the lead in the film you just cast? This one-liner would be in the same film and the actor would have to act with the one who got the role that actor was up for. Too much? Need to go with a non-contender? Or is this like, "It's just an honor to be nominated," territory?

Posted by bonnie at 11:37 PM

March 17, 2005

Work Smart, Not Hard

Purchased this...

...after having spent HOURS doing ONE interview transcription today. Ugh. Looked into hiring out transcription services, but I don't have an extra three grand to drop on this project. This will be better.

Posted by bonnie at 11:16 PM

March 15, 2005

Mashup

It would seem that I am not the first person to learn about The Mashup.

When Chip suggested a mashup last month, I assumed it was something he was making up (but still thought it was a way cool idea).

As I was driving home from the chiropractor this morning, listening to the greatness that is Indie 103.1, I heard a mashup by Big Bad Baz of Oasis and The Jackson 5. It rocked. I'm now pondering every possible fun combination of music I've ever heard. DJs are cool.

Posted by bonnie at 1:27 PM

March 13, 2005

Oh, Well...

I tried.

I freed up the restrictions on commenting here a couple of weeks ago and the spammers have overrun my blog to the point of wearing me down.

Again, you will need to sign in through TypeKey to leave a comment. :\ Oh, and when it doesn't like you, log out and log in again. That, and reloading, has always worked for me.

Sorry, gang. I just can't take the constant metaphorical emailed pink meat. I tried.

Posted by bonnie at 5:31 PM

March 9, 2005

Test of Words, the Answer Key

Okay! Now we're talkin'.

Remember the Test of Words? Okay, so the answers are here and I feel vindicated.

The chick with the answers.

So, I missed ONE point on the Intermediate Section (I chose "hard" instead of "difficult," which is a synonym... but the context thing. Okay, I get it. One point for me instead of two on number 14.

On the Expert Section, I missed a point b/c I chose ONE in 36 and 38 instead of choosing BOTH (damn that quote in Animal House from Dean Wormer's wife in the produce section... she steered me wrong). And on 40, I went with both. I understand channel/canal stumped quite a few folks.

Anyway... thrilled to see the answers. Thanks, Red, for putting them up.

Posted by bonnie at 8:35 PM

March 7, 2005

I'm in Love

I was hooked right away, but only now am I truly in love. Real Simple rocks. The greatness of Jodi got us a free gift subscription to it (and Wired, which we also love) a few months ago and I truly adore this damn magazine.

And I think this iPod My Photo thingy is way cool. Very diggable.

Turns out the Showtime free weekend ended before the last ten minutes of Clerks. Bastids.

Posted by bonnie at 5:18 AM

March 6, 2005

Test of Words

Finally broke down and took one of the kazillion quizzes Jodes inflicted upon me.

(I will always break down and take a grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation quiz.)

English Genius You scored 100% Beginner, 93% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 77% Expert!
You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!
Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it! Take the Commonly Confused Words Test!

Now, what the EFF did I mess up?

PS--Congratulations Nelson on finishing the LA Marathon in 4.25 hours! Woo hoo!

Posted by bonnie at 3:09 PM

March 2, 2005

Re: "I hope you're happy, Bonnie..." YES

1. I am told I am an enabler.

2. I dictate delicious Jodi's day.

3. null

4. Jodi gives me a good one...

You scored as Drama nerd.
What's Your High School Stereotype?
created with QuizFarm.com

I'm seriously shocked at how many of our quiz results were the same! Oh, and yes. You and John Cusack can have my baby. Oh... was that not the question?

So... you say you have quizzes in YOUR archives, eh? Heh heh heh.

Posted by bonnie at 3:18 PM

March 1, 2005

37!?!

So, I'm catching up on a few blogs before I go to bed (yes, I'm going to go to bed... I have an early phone date regarding the book) and I come across an entry titled "37" by the greatness that is Jodi and know, before I even begin reading, that she loves 37 for the same reason I do (but that no one ever asks about... except for Ali, who immediately got the reference.

Now you will too, thanks to the quiz I nabbed from the above-referenced Jodes.

You scored as Sadistic Humour. Congratulations, you scored Sadistic Humour. You find the little things in life to be funny, and have a great sense of humour, whether it's stupid or dark. You're probably young, and older people don't understand why it's all so fucking hillarious. Either way, check out: Clerks, Mallrats, Napoleon Dynamite, Wayne's World.
Movie Recommendation.
created with QuizFarm.com

That rocks.

And Empire DID have the better ending! Duh!

Posted by bonnie at 3:55 AM

February 28, 2005

Back on Track

In support of my "visiting forums I don't run" pledge, I hit upon this quiz as a forum visitor and I think it's the perfect "AMEN" to that choice!

What '80s movie are you? Better Off Dead

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Way cool. I want my TWO DOLLARS!

Posted by bonnie at 9:27 PM

February 26, 2005

Love This: Wikipedia

I know I didn't understand this thing when Chip tried to create a SpyNotebook Wiki last year, but I've really come to love Wikipedia now.

And now that I've read the article in this month's Wired on the people behind the Wiki, I am in love that much more (the article is not yet at the site; check back there on Wednesday). Makes me wish I'd stayed in the program to study this as a part of my dissertation.

Just way effin' cool. Good people, geeks. Myself included.

BTW--Keith brought me a chocolate shake when he stopped by earlier (he's at Nelson's tonight). I'm in heaven. I haven't had one in a long time. Way yummy. I'm flying now.

Posted by bonnie at 6:53 PM

February 23, 2005

iTunes Survey

Another list from Chip (and this one's extra geeky, seeing as I don't even own an MP3 player). But I do have iTunes... so here's the survey.

How many total songs? 228
Sort by Song Title: first and last: " " (Classified) (Live) by Man... or Astroman (Treble Revolution Vol. 2 compilation) and "You Do Something To Me" by Sinéad O'Connor (Red, Hot, and Blue compilation)
Sort by Time: shortest and longest: "Distance Equals Rate Times Time" by the Pixies (1:24) and "Cowboys and Angels" by George Michael (7:15)
Sort by Album: first and last: "Classic MTV: Class of 1983" (compilation) and "Viva! La Woman" by Cibo Matto
Sort by Artist: first and last: A Flock of Seagulls and XTC
Top Ten Recently Played: (Here's where you get to see how lame I am and how, after importing ten or eleven CDs (mostly compilations) into iTunes, I pretty much never opened the software again.)
"Head On" by Pixies (2 plays)
"Belong" by REM (2 plays)
"Panic" by Smiths (2 plays)
"Strip" by Adam Ant (1 play)
"Venus" by Bananarama (1 play)
"Carolyn's Fingers" by Cocteau Twins (1 play)
"Sweet Jane" by Cowboy Junkies (1 play)
"A Question of Time" by Depeche Mode (1 play)
"The Puppet" (Live) by Echo and the Bunnyment (1 play)
"We Care a Lot" by Faith No More (1 play)

Yep. I'm that cool. :\

Posted by bonnie at 2:15 AM

February 21, 2005

There Is Nothing Like a Meme

Nabbed from the ever-increasing greatness that is Coco (v. 3.0).

In case there's just not enough "out there" about me...

What do you do? Cast, Write, Speak, Consult, Love.

What are the challenges? Hm. Ever-changing, ever-diminishing. See BonBlogs for details.

How do you overcome them? Writing. Always writing.

What is a typical day like? Oh, that's funny! I sleep some. I write a lot. I open a ton of mail (especially when I'm casting). I spend time online. I host folks in-house for career consultation whatnot. I interview cute famous people for my new book. I tame kitties. I hang out with my TiVo. I go for walks. Y'know.

How do you manage information (email, blogs, etc.)? Hm. I have things bookmarked in Firefox (and in IE for non-Firefox-friendly sites... grr). I use Entourage for all things email (all things other than Gmail, which is my spam-catcher). My main information-management source, of course, is the SixHundy. No question about it... that is an amazing piece of technology. I visit loads of blogs ranging from work-related to social. I watch a LOT of TV. A LOT.

What are your three or five favorite books? What a random range? How about my favorite 37 books? (37 is my favorite number, though no one ever asks me why.) And how about my favorite books from 2000? (Seemed like a benchmark time to list. Eh.) Of course, my favorite-favorite book is Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting, which has changed the life of every person to whom I've given the book, as well as the life of the lovely who gave it to me a couple of years ago. Awesome.

What are your favorite websites/blogs? Oh, goodness. Where do I begin? I start each day with Breakdowns and DaltsGang and Showfax and PARF and WildOgre and Somesuch-Whatnot and of course SpyNotebook. Good lord, I'm all over the place. No favorites. Just surfing.

What tools/technology do you use? I'm on a Mac (the Chicklet, I call it) PowerBook G4 pretty much all day, every day. The SixHundy is my main companion, of course. TiVo feeds me good information, customized. I hard code in HTML for my "job-job" and do NOT own an MP3 player (I know... I'm so retro).

What’s your favorite quote? Live your dreams! If you don't, someone else will!

What is your "secret to success"? Open Valve (see Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting) and honest communication. No drama. Drama costs extra.

What are your greatest accomplishments? Being. Period.

What are your hobbies? Or, how do you break the monotony and stay energized? Writing, painting, drawing, playing with kitties, singing, inventing new drinks (and consuming them), walking to the beach, kissing.

That was fun! Now what?

Posted by bonnie at 9:04 PM

February 19, 2005

Gender Brain

Nabbed from Chip (whose brain is 60% female):

Your Brain is 46.67% Female, 53.33% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Fair enough.

Reminds me of the excellent article I read recently in Wired called "Revenge of the Right Brain".

All good stuff.

Posted by bonnie at 3:54 PM

February 15, 2005

Trouble: Crunchitos

Good news: these things are reeeeeeeeally yummy.

Bad news: these things are reeeeeeeeally yummy. I could eat BAGS at a time. That can't be good.

Posted by bonnie at 12:58 AM

February 14, 2005

I HEART Work

So, this is the image that comes up when you Google the phrase: "love to work hard." (Yes, I was nervous about what might come up. *giggle*)

Anyway, that's what I do. I love to work hard. So, for Valentine's Day, instead of hitting my favorite martini bar, Keith and I are staying home. Working.

I know it sounds really boring, but I truly love how much I got accomplished in casting today (and tomorrow is a big book interview day). Prereads are Wednesday and Thursday which means I have very little time to get the schedule set.

So... no social life, no money spent, no hangover, no big deal. We'll do all of that another night. Oh, and Gimlet Night is Friday... so that's the big "holiday" I'm looking forward to. This time? Pomegranate Mojitos!! Wooooo hooooo!

Coooooooooool. Love my Gimlet Night!

Okay... back to work!

Posted by bonnie at 8:45 PM

February 10, 2005

Enneagrams Are Fun!

Nabbed from the greatness that is the blog of "thank goodness you got a blog" Becca fame:

free enneagram test

Profile Summary for the Enneagram Type One:

Healthy: Extremely principled, always want to be fair, objective, and ethical. Sense of responsibility, personal integrity, and of having a higher purpose often make them teachers and witnesses to the truth.

Average: Dissatisfied with reality, they become high-minded idealists, feeling that it is up to them to improve everything. Afraid of making a mistake. Often workaholics — "anal-compulsive," punctual, pedantic, and fastidious. Highly critical both of self and others.

Unhealthy: Everyone else is wrong: very severe in judgments, while rationalizing own actions. Become obsessive about imperfection and the wrong-doing of others. Generally corresponds to the Obsessive-Compulsive and Depressive personality disorders.

Key Motivations: Want to be right, to strive higher and improve everything, to be consistent with their ideals, to justify themselves, to be beyond criticism so as not to be condemned by anyone.

Examples: Mahatma Gandhi, Hilary Clinton, Al Gore, John Paul II, Sandra Day O'Connor, John Bradshaw, Bill Moyers, Martha Stewart, Ralph Nader, Katherine Hepburn, Harrison Ford, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, George Harrison, Celene Dion, Joan Baez, George Bernard Shaw, Noam Chomsky, Michael Dukakis, Margaret Thatcher, Rudolph Guliani, Jerry Brown, Jane Curtin, Gene Siskel, William F. Buckley, Kenneth Starr, The "Church Lady" (Saturday Night Live), and "Mr. Spock" (Star Trek).

Well all righty then.

Posted by bonnie at 12:42 AM

February 5, 2005

Are You Kidding Me?

While watching the brilliant TV that is The Soup (Dear me, does Kris need to host this show or WHAT?), I see this commercial for this mess:

It seems women who take this particular birth control pill have the blessing of no period for three months at a time. Yes, that's right: quarterly menstrual cycles.

And in the fine print: you most likely will have the same number of total days on your period, it will just all be quarterly. Yeah--that's right--if you would've had four four-day periods, that's a whopping 16 days IN A ROW to look forward to, using this contraceptive.

I'm going to say, uh, NO. *shudder*

Posted by bonnie at 1:31 PM

February 4, 2005

Gotta Love a Quiz

Nabbed from everyone at SpyNotebook.

Take the WHAT INTENTIONAL TORT ARE YOU test at Mewing.net.

I actually cheated. I didn't like getting False Imprisonment. Believe me, if I'm sequestering myself, I do NOT want you with me! ;)

Have fun.

Posted by bonnie at 11:16 PM

February 3, 2005

Tech Crap

Is anyone else having problems getting into Gmail using Firefox today?

Grr. I think my computer is rebelling. Grr.

Posted by bonnie at 2:49 PM

February 1, 2005

Movie Quiz

So, I'm convinced I'm doing TrackBacks wrong, so I'm just going to link to the post itself over at Chip's Spynotebook that has led to this li'l quiz.

1. The last movie you went to see in a theater: Come As You Are screening at the GORGEOUS Silent Movie Theatre. We're friends with the filmmaker and went to this one-night-only event and were very pleased with the film, its cast, and the friends we ran into while at the screening. Good times.

2. The last movie you watched at home: Shallow Hal, when it played (again) on F/X's "DVD on TV" this past weekend.

3. Number of movies you own: Goodness. I'll guess something like 250-300? Not sure.

3a. Last movie you bought: It is my understanding that Keith is buying Ray today in NoCal to watch with his sister and bring home for us. We had already planned to buy it today to help the DVD release start strong in sales. Hollywood geeks!

4. Got Netflix (or a similar service)? Nope.

4a. Next three movies in your queue: N/A.

5. Five movies you adore: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Student Bodies (which, interestingly is now credited to a director [Michael Ritchie, who is the director of my fourth-listed film]; though it's an Alan Smithee film in its on-screen credits... hm... cult following inspires an outing of the actual filmmaker?), The Sure Thing, Fletch, El Mariachi.

6. Your guilty pleasure movie (or genre): Clerks. Yes, I know pretty much every word. Yes, I quote it in my head for no reason. Yes, I'm a huge dork. So be it.

7. Three people to whom you're going to pass these questions and why: Kris (she'd do the quiz even if I didn't ask her to do it... she's OC(D) like that), Nini (I'll get to learn more about my cool new friend that way), and Amy ('cause once she does it, so will everyone on the LiveJournal Circuit--if they haven't already done it).

Posted by bonnie at 6:17 PM

Extraordinarily Narcissistic

For the first time in what seems like YEARS, my fingernails are long and healthy.

They are BEAUTIFUL. And I'm obsessed with looking at them. They're seriously as pretty as they were back in my hand modeling days.

*sigh*

It's the little things, really. Hee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 4:57 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.

You're Shannon. Think about someone other than yourself for a change.

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.

(Clickee for Biggee.)

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

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 20, 2005

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

January 17, 2005

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

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:

Are you Yankee or Dixie?

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 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

January 9, 2005

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:

Ames.

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 6, 2005

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

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

December 31, 2004

Somewhere...

...I was talking about my Pretty In Pink-era outfit for Homecoming 1985.

Well... here 'tis. Enjoy!

Happy New Year, all!

Posted by bonnie at 7:39 PM

One More Down...

Here's the book-writing process:

Contact potential interviewee
Conduct interview
Transcribe skeleton of the interview from notes
Structure questions within the text of the interview
Transcribe word-for-word from the audio tapes
Verify names, dates, locations, roles, productions, details
Edit out redundancy and tighten the general flow
Send first draft to copy editor
Edit per copy editor's notes
Send second draft to copy editor
Final content clean up
Typeset interview and photograph
Send formatted draft to editor for final check
Edit per formatting notes
Final in-house proof
Send files to printer
Proof bluelines from printer
Sign off on production
Promote and market until book ships to warehouse

Okay, so, here's where I do something really geeky like create a chart of where we are in the process on each of the book's chapters.

Oh, and I'm happily accepting offers of eager proofreaders (first dibs to those most awesome proofers who rocked on Self-Management for Actors). Let me hear from yaz.

Posted by bonnie at 5:18 AM

December 30, 2004

Two Things

1. Has anyone tried the flavored toothpastes Crest is making these days? Vanilla? Really? Seems a little weird. Not saying I don't love my Hello Kitty Bubble Gum flavored toothpaste, but that's more like a treat than a toothpaste.

2. Anyone in need of a GMail account, email me. I have six invites up for grabs. Still. Have we now reached a point of saturation with GMail accounts? Do we all have them now?

Posted by bonnie at 2:31 PM

Rituals

10am & 10:30am (KCAL-9) Judge Joe Brown
11am (KCAL-9) Judge Mathis
12pm (KCAL-9) Local News
1pm (KCAL-9) The People's Court
2pm (BBCA-264) The Weakest Link
3pm & 3:30pm (GSN-309) Win Ben Stein's Money
4pm (GSN-309) The Weakest Link (US)

That's when I know I'm keeping my brain busy so that I can cope: I watch court shows and game shows for several hours straight. I guess there are worse coping mechanisms.

*sigh*

So geeky.

Posted by bonnie at 2:11 PM

December 22, 2004

Dateline: 22 December 2004, 2:58am

Eating edamame while watching Sex in the City.

Life, she is good.

Posted by bonnie at 2:58 AM

December 18, 2004

Retribution

Keith says one good 19-year-old photo deserves another. Fine!

Heeeeee! That's me.

Posted by bonnie at 7:49 PM

December 16, 2004

2004 in Questions

Happily nabbed from Aimercat.

1. What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
Move to the 310.
2. Did you keep your 2004 resolutions? Will you make more for 2005?
I make birthday resolutions, rather than Jan. 1 resolutions, so... n/a, really.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Only kitties.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Diane Smyth, Lawrence Parke.
5. What countries did you visit?
Just this one.
6. What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
Sense of peace with my physical existence. Relief and release from chronic pain.
7. What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory and why?
August 17th: Discovered my first grey hair.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Growing as a person. Becoming evermore the person I love being.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Not rebounding quickly enough from the little bumps in the road.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just the usual chronic pain, migraines, blah blah blah.
11. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Keith's; when faced with cruelty, he redefined grace for me.
12. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The hooded cowards who beheaded human beings on-camera for the world to see.
13. Where did most of your money go?
LASIK surgery.
14. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Catalina (our new sofa). I know... I'm a geek.
15. What song will always remind you of 2004?
Bowling for Soup's "1985," ironically.
16. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder?
Far happier. And I was elated this time last year. Just keeps getting better and better.
b) thinner or fatter?
Fatter, methinks. Weigh-in will be after Christmas at my annual exam. Considering I lost 35 pounds in 2003 and gained 50 in 2004... and have lost some of THAT... well... who knows?!?
c) richer or poorer?
Far richer. And I was in good shape this time last year. See "A." Rock on.
17. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Take time off and relax.
18. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Stress about anything.
19. How will you be spending Christmas?
As usual, Orphans' Christmas Dinner with the gang I love so much. We rarely see each other outside of Christmas Dinner, but it's always a highlight of the year. This year, Shelley's house. Yay!
20. Did you fall in love in 2004?
I fall in love daily.
21. What was your favorite TV program?
"Significant Others," of course.
22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't hate. I move on.
23. What was the best book you read?
"Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting," even though it was a 2003 gift. I read and reread and even bought ten copies this year to give to others.
24. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Not a discovery... a renewed love for LIVE Pixies action. Awesome.
25. What did you want and get?
Everything but physical peace.
26. What did you want and not get?
See above.
27. What was your favorite film of this year?
"Ray," though I would say "Big Fish" too... even though I saw it on December 31st of 2003. Awesome films.
28. What did you do on your birthday? How old were you?
Ate chocolate chip pancakes from IHOP. 34.
29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the lottery. And I mean more than the $2 we won.
30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
I don't understand that question.
31. What kept you sane?
Writing. Loving. Friendship. Kitties. Long walks with Keith. Talking everything out, all the time. Faith.
32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
John Edwards. Jon Stewart. John Cusack.
33. What political issue stirred you the most?
My goodness, so many of them. And really, I did everything I could. Why linger?
34. Who did you miss?
My mother, as always.
35. Who was the best new person you met?
Man... that's tough. Chemin Bernard, Abby Casey, Sharon Gardner, Blake Robbins (I'd say Subhash Mandal, but I met him in 2003)... man... a tough one. I love so many people right now!
36. What valuable life lesson did you learn in 2004?
You can never be sick enough to heal the ill. So, be well. Live well. Teach well. Being poor will never erase poverty. Being angry will never erase anger. And the only way to solve a problem is with compassion and grace.
37. What song lyrics sum up your year?
In Heaven
Everything is fine
In Heaven
Everything is fine
In Heaven
Everything is fine
You've got your good thing
And I've got mine

Posted by bonnie at 10:18 PM

December 9, 2004

Controversy!

Okay, so I went to see (for like the 10th time) Jonna's Body, Please Hold the other night. Jonna has this quote in her program that has long been a favorite quote of mine (and yes, you've seen it in my ever-rotating signature file in Cricket Feet emails).

Problem is, Jonna attributes this quote to Anne Hunninghake and I attribute it to Mary Anne Radmacher-Hersey.

So... whose quote is this?

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the
end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow."

Yes, I asked Google about it.

What say you, fellow quote geeks?

PS--Watching Deb and Ash on MTV's Date My Mom RIGHT THIS MINUTE. Holy crap, that's funny stuff! Debra... will your video clip make the hall of fame over there? Heeeeeeee.

Posted by bonnie at 1:33 PM

December 5, 2004

Hee hee

This is geeky.

I am happy because I got to cast a former 90210 recurring guest star in this feature film.

Hee hee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 10:35 PM

December 2, 2004

Bliss on Catalina

"Catalina" is what we named our sofa, since we used the money we were going to use on a romantic getaway to Catalina in order to buy it.

So, now, Keith gets to "take me to Catalina" anytime. ;) Heeeee. We're geeky, I know.

Salema still hasn't come to check it out, Archie FINALLY decided to come sleep on it about an hour ago, and Thwok... seeing as her world is so new... well, she's loved it all day, like I have.

It's seriously such a big, deep, plush couch that I get lost in it. LOVE that! Keith and I cuddled and snuggled and such on it for an hour today. Awesome!

Happy Sofa Day!! ACTUAL photos to come. I have a lot (from lots of stuff) to upload, actually.

Posted by bonnie at 9:57 PM

November 14, 2004

Camino

Scratch the below. I downloaded Firefox then dumped it quickly for Camino. Rock on, Geeks.

Posted by bonnie at 12:59 PM

Firefox

Just read that Firefox 1.0 will make satisfied Safari users happy. So, I'm caving. Wish me luck. I hope I remember all of my passwords and settings for autofill.

Posted by bonnie at 12:30 PM

November 10, 2004

Manipulating the Google Ads

Okay, let's see if this stuff will shift the types of Google ads popping up over ----> there.

(Of course, I know it'll take a LOT of "other" posts to counter-balance all of the Hollywood whatnot in my blog, but I'll try.)

1. We're (Bon + Blake) doing two more interviews for the book today. Did three on Monday. Very cool.

2. We're (Bon + Keith) considering a holiday trip to Catalina. Never been. This was inspired by an industry friend's invitation to Mammoth. Don't ask. ;)

3. There is no three.

4. Kitties are good. Evil. The usual. Thwok still fetches. It's really cool to experience.

5. I've been craving cheese. You know me, right? I DO NOT LIKE CHEESE. What is THAT?!?

6. Casting this current project is really fascinating. Dogma is such a bizarre little genre, from the casting perspective.

7. My favorite pen is the Pilot Varsity Fountain Pen.

8. Yes, I am pimping for Google ads. Again.

9. I'm hoping it's like the kind of thing where when you star on a talk show and say you love a certain product on the air, the company sends you free swag as a thank you. Could that happen? Tee hee. No. I know.

All right! Let's see what that does!

Posted by bonnie at 12:14 PM

October 18, 2004

How Many?

How many episodes of Law & Order can you watch in a row before you're over it?

I don't think I've found my number yet.

Posted by bonnie at 8:07 PM

October 17, 2004

Excellent!

Just tried out my new webcam.

Make sure you're on my Yahoo Messenger List if you want to be invited to watch the show in Nashville and Hotlanta. Right... if you want to watch casting over the next couple of weeks, send a "add to friends list" thingy to me on your messenger: CastingQs is my Yahoo handle.

Wooooo hoooo!

Hey, Chip, is there a way to do the little still-shot thingy on my blog's main page like you have? Or do I just need to upload stuff like regular ol' images.

PS--Hired Hannah today. Woo hoo! We are so gonna rock!

Posted by bonnie at 7:45 PM

October 16, 2004

Favorite Newton

It's like it was meant for my new job!

What is your favorite Newton?

Hee hee.

Here's mine. I had to.

Posted by bonnie at 12:46 PM

October 15, 2004

Ãœbergeek

Should I buy one of these so that y'all can be "in on" the casting process while I'm on the road?

Hm.

More to post after I speak at The Actors' Network tonight. I've scheduled a speaking engagement at yourACT Studio in Atlanta, while there. This is just getting so dang cool.

THANK YOU everyone for letting me know you're up for helping out as day players in Nashville and Atlanta. I'll be in touch this weekend (while packing and getting a ton of work done for Roxbury, getting a few Showfax columns written, and continuing publicity work for the casting). Oh, and we have another interview for the book tomorrow. Ack! How am I going to get everything done? Did you know that Google employees' girlfriends get $16/mo. membership to 24 Hour Fitness? I'm so there! Nightswimming, baby!

Gotta go.

Posted by bonnie at 2:41 PM

October 9, 2004

There's more, but first, there's this.

I am Girl Next Door.
Click on the picture below to read more:

Take the 'What Kind of Girl Are You?' quiz at CookingToHookup.com

Posted by bonnie at 1:19 PM

October 6, 2004

Y'know what's fun?

Getting to watch Al Franken's Air America on the Sundance Channel.

Seeing as the radio show is blitzed from all LA radio stations, this is a nice little somesuch.

Thanks, Judy Kerr, for the lowdown during breakfast a couple of weeks ago. I feel much more tuned in now.

Posted by bonnie at 4:27 PM

September 22, 2004

OMG, Happy Just Got Happier

So, I go to the Greek website and read something that just totally blows my mind (b/c I did NOT know about the little tidbit that happened on June 15th, just three weeks before I got--and named--our new kitty). OMG!! This is so very very cool!

The Pixies will headline two Los Angeles concert dates at the newly renovated Greek Theatre on Wednesday, September 22 and Thursday, September 23 as part of their Fall North American concert tour. These will be the Pixies' first L.A. concerts since their performance in 1991, more than a dozen years ago.

Since it kicked off last April, the Pixies' reunion has experienced overwhelming worldwide success. In May, the Pixies co-headlined the first day at the Coachella Valley Festival, and created pure magic in the hot desert for 50,000 fans. On June 15, the band's first new song in more than a dozen years – "Bam Thwok" - was released as an exclusive download via iTunes , becoming the #1 seller on the site's USA, UK, and French charts.

OMG!!!!!!!!!

You're named after a Pixies song, Thwok! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by bonnie at 11:58 AM

September 19, 2004

Avoidance

I am an hour and a half into my three hour AVOID ALL NEWS session. You see, ABC is cruel and has decided to tape delay my precious Emmy Awards, keeping me from seeing the goods 'til 8pm PDT. Grr.

Of course, local news (and the Internet, which lives in a world without place and time) likes to tease coverage of after parties (with clips of stars holding their trophies and smiling) during this period of time while those of us without a live East Coast Feed of ABC that isn't blacked out by the local affiliate must look for something else to do. Chapagne is chilling. I've watched all the pre-show whatnot on E! And y'know what? I DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT YOU GOT EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF THE "SEX AND THE CITY" GALS WHILE I'M STILL WONDERING WHO WILL WIN THEIR CATEGORY!!

So... I'm avoiding media. It's hard.

Posted by bonnie at 6:38 PM

August 28, 2004

Well, that's just sad.

I'm watching I Love the '80s on the kick-ass VH-1 and I see Juliette Lewis, who--I swear--is the other twin to Diane on Big Brother 5. Separated at birth. Wow.

Okay, so here's what's sad.

I'm bummed that BB5 won't be on tonight.

What have I become?

Don't answer that.

Posted by bonnie at 6:21 PM

August 16, 2004

Good Giggly Wiggly!

Tonight the Earthlink DSL came on. HOLY CRAP. If you EVER think you wouldn't miss high-speed Internet if you had to go back to dial-up for a MONTH, believe me, you need to take that test just to find out.

I've actually become LESS online-efficient in the past few weeks. Now that I'm back to zipping around like a maniac, I feel scattered and freed. Like I can roam anywhere untamed.

Watch out, Internet! I'm back!

Posted by bonnie at 11:15 PM

August 11, 2004

Happy Birthday, TicTac!

On this day, fifteen years ago, I showed up at Rick Case Mazda with $5000 and my fingers crossed. I'd been saving for over a year while bartending and attending my first year of college. I had wanted to buy my brother's old BMW but he wanted it paid for in three years, making payments way too high for me to afford. So, I started looking at new cars... and since I'd always loved the RX-7, when I saw the Miata (in a brochure; they hadn't actually brought any to the states yet at the time), I thought, "Oooooh. Pretty!"

Here I was, just-turned 19, thin, stacked, with butt-length curly red hair and a year of college under my belt. I was soooooooo hot for this car. I put it on order (with $500 down, as required) back in early July. They started arriving soon after and mine was due in mid-August. I called or showed up at the dealership every day in August. I was READY for my baby. When 11 August 1989 rolled around, my dealer told me the white Miata "A package" with limited-slip differential that was on the lot was NOT mine. Luckily, the 60-year-old man trading in his "vintage" VW bug was not pleased with the offer for trade in and stormed off the lot. That car was MINE.

The name "TicTac" didn't come about until grad school. By then, the car I'd financed at 12.5% APR (ouch! Love those '80s) had been refinanced and paid off in full and had made a trip to Los Angeles and back (neither time on its own wheels). I'll never forget the day I went into NationsBank (originally C&S) and made the final payment. I got back in the car with my best friend John, who was videotaping the event, and started taking inventory, "This is mine. This is mine. I own this. I own this too!" Oh, so much fun!

This car has protected me from bodily harm while taking on its own damages in several accidents. Bless its little heart. Brought back from the dead in 2000 after the insurance company called it totalled (pff. Don't you EVER tell me a car with $4700 in damages that still has a Blu-Book value of $6500 is totalled!!), the TicTac has purred like a kitten and doesn't complain when I start it up every now and then and then push it hard the way it loves to be pushed.

I still giggle every time I pass a parked car whose car alarm chirps a warning that the throaty exhaust of the mighty TicTac has set off its sensors. LOL It's the little things, really.

Still a favorite photo, from our days in Athens, GA, is from the UGA Homecoming Parade, 1996. The official float of WUOG was the TicTac--equipped with banners, two redheads, and DJ Kitty! That's style, baby!

Ah, my little baby... what a great 15 years we've had!

Oh, and to the two friends I've met more recently in life who share the TicTac's birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dawn and Mitchell. I love you both. The TicTac loves you both too. ;)

Posted by bonnie at 1:19 AM

August 10, 2004

Bye-Bye SixHundy

Bummer. The vibrate/silent ring mode on the SixHundy died last week and, after dealing with some CSRs at Cingular (on the phone and in the store) as well as someone from Palm One in some tiny country somewhere, it has come to this: I will send back my six-month-old SixHundy by Handspring (with that way-cool Handspring logo and a lot of nostalgia for my original Visor all those years ago) and use the new palmOne Treo (written with a capital T on the damn unit itself). It is still, technically, a SixHundy, but I don't know how I feel about being unfaithful to my original treo by using the same name.

Once I can upload photos, I'll share the moment they met (yes, I took a photo of the two of them facing off). The new one is actually lighter and slimmer by a tad. It's still not my original baby.

*sigh*

I'm sure it'll be fine. Just feeling sentimental.

Posted by bonnie at 4:11 PM

August 4, 2004

TiVo Makes Me Late

So, I forget I've paused live TV and think I'm watching in real time and say to myself, "Oh, I have time. I'll leave when this show is over, which will be 11am."

And when you've paused TiVo a few times, that could mean it's more like 11:20am when the show is over. Ah, how can something you love so much make you tardy?

Posted by bonnie at 11:02 AM

July 19, 2004

Well, thank goodness!

You know you're a blog addict when...

...the server is down for a few days and you find yourself STILL stopping by the site, trying to log in, checking to see if comment posting randomly starts working, etc., every chance you get.

Yeah... online fewer than two hours TOTAL over the last five days, and my "history" in Safari shows 100 reloads of MT/SpyNotebook/BonBlogs. LOL

Phew! Thanks, Chip, for getting us all up and running again before your vacation. You, as always, rock. Have fun at the convention!

Tons of news but no time to share. Much much much too much work to do right now to stop and blog properly. Please forgive me. I'll report fully once I am able.

Oh, and a funny on which to end: how'd I know my blog was back up? I got an email notification when I started up the Chicklet at today's stop home to pack... from some Spam Artist trying to enlarge the penis of every BonBlogs reader. Bless his multiple-blocked-IP-address little heart.

Posted by bonnie at 1:59 PM

July 12, 2004

So... Why Santa Monica?

A couple of reasons.

#1: Seven blocks from the beach. No, I'm not a big sun-bather (a sun allergy will do that to ya), but I used to write my standup routines before class on that strip of grass with shady trees just between my NEW apartment and the ocean itself. Gorgeous! Great sounds, lovely smells, beautiful vibe. The ocean is also where I feel closest to my mother. I really feel her there.

#2: Weather. Notice the "feels like" section of each of these reports (clicking on either will take you to the current-current conditions):

---

---

---

Yeah. That's easy. I'm a weather wimp. That's enough of a difference for me.

As we head into the hottest months of the year, I'm looking forward to living in this wonderful top-floor apartment with windows on THREE sides... cross-breeze, anyone? Yeah. I'm a happy camper.

Now... one quandary: what to rename the sub-title of my Blog. You'll notice it is (and has been) "Bonnie Gillespie writes about the view from inside her brain and points south. Oh, and from Hollywood." That's been true as long as I've had a Blog! So, what do I say now? "Oh, and from Santa Monica," "Oh, and from 90403," "Oh, and from Tinseltown," "Oh, and from La-La Land," "Oh, and from the PCH," "Oh, and from the ocean," "Oh, and from the 310," what???!! Weigh in, people. I only have a couple of weeks to resolve this one!

Back to packing.

Oh! My birthday ROCKED, BTW. Thank you, everyone!!! It was magical!!

Posted by bonnie at 1:06 PM

July 7, 2004

Okay, Kris... here's another one.

20 Questions to a Better Personality

My results:

You are an SEDL--Sober Emotional Destructive Leader. This makes you a dictator. You prefer to control situations, and lack of control makes you physically sick. You feel have responsibility for everyone's welfare, and that you will be blamed when things go wrong. Things do go wrong, and you take it harder than you should.

You rely on the validation and support of others, but you have a secret distrust for people and distaste for their habits and weaknesses that make you keep your distance from them. This makes you very difficult to be with romantically. Still, a level-headed peacemaker can keep you balanced.

Despite your fierce temper and general hot-bloodedness, you have a soft spot for animals and a surprising passion for the arts. Sometimes you would almost rather live by your wits in the wilderness somewhere, if you could bring your books and your sketchbook.

You also have a strange, undeniable sexiness to you. You may go insane.

Well... all righty then.

Posted by bonnie at 3:33 PM

July 3, 2004

When I Should Be Packing...

...I answer silly surveys! Feel free to do the same. ;) I'll pack tomorrow!

Survey One

A - Act Your Age: 33.9
B - Boyfriend: Keith Johnson
C - Chore You Hate: Dishes, vacuuming, taking trash out
D - Dad's Name: Charles
E - Essential Make-Up Item: Cover Girl pressed powder
F - Fave Actress: Faith Salie! (another "F") ;)
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Homeland: Hotlanta (another "H") ;)
I - Instruments You Play: none well
J - Job Title: Author, Casting Director
K - Kid-Like Thing You Still Do: giggle with glee whenever possible
L - Living Arrangements: in transition from a large 1BR in the Hollywood Hills to a 2BR apartment seven blocks from the beach
M - Mom's Name: Charlsie
N - Number of Men You've Slept With: Pff. Taking that number to the grave, my friends!
O - Overnight Hospital Stays: just one (age 3)
P - Phobia: cotton balls (yes, I am serious)
Q - Quote You Like: "Live your dreams. If you don't, someone else will!"
R - Religious Affiliation: open. ;)
S - Siblings: two very-older brothers
T - Time You Wake Up: whenever
U - Unique Habit: have a whole list of 'em at the "Little Known Facts" page of the bonsite. I'll say... only turning volume up or down in increments of five, when numbers are used to measure the volume (but really, that's just the tip of the iceberg. OCD is such a strange beast).
V - Vegetable You Refuse to Eat: It's not a vegetable, but I can't think of a veggie I don't like, so I'll say: the evil mushroom. Ick.
W - Worst Habit: picking at scabs. Ewwwwwwww.
X - X-Rays You've Had: good lord... way too many to recall.
Y - Yummy Food You Make: I burn water, but I can make a GREAT spinach dip!
Z - Zodiac Sign: Cancer (with Libra moon and Libra rising... ooooh!)

Survey Two

LAYER ONE:
...........................................................................
-- Name: Bonnie Athene Gillespie
-- Birth date: 11 July 1970
-- Current Location: Hollywood Hills
-- Hair Color: reddish
-- Height: 5' 7"
-- Righty or Lefty: lefty

LAYER TWO:
...........................................................................
-- Your heritage: mutt (Scottish, Irish, British, Dutch, Cherokee)
-- Your weakness: perfectionism
-- Your perfect pizza: Stouffer's French Bread, with pepperoni
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: Abundance that allows me to take care of my friends and family, create an endowment at my alma mater, take classes, do crafty things, write for fun, travel in style.

LAYER THREE:
............................................................................
-- Your thoughts first waking up: Yay!
-- Your best physical feature: my rack
-- Your bedtime: what's that?
-- Adidas or Nike: Adidas... b/c I know someone. ;)
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Tejava
-- Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
-- Cappuccino or coffee: Chai Latte. No coffee.

LAYER FOUR:
............................................................................
-- Smoke: former smoker
-- Cuss: absofrickinlutely!
-- Sing: as frequently as possible
-- Take a shower everyday: or a bubble bath
-- Ever been in love: all the time
-- Want to go to college: perpetual student. I describe my PhD as in-progress but on hiatus.

LAYER FIVE:
............................................................................
-- Liked high school: It had its moments.
-- Want to get married: Maybe.
-- Believe in yourself: Absolutely.
-- Think you're attractive: Yup.
-- Think you're a health freak: No. I can be. But no.
-- Get along with your parents: Mom's gone.
-- Like thunderstorms: Love them.
-- Play an instrument: None well.

LAYER SIX:
............................................................................
In the 6 past months...
-- Drank alcohol: of course
-- Smoked: um... yeah. I think so.
-- Had Sex: tee hee. Yes.
-- Made Out: awwww yeah. Love that!
-- Gone to the mall: is the Citadel a mall?
-- Eaten sushi: yes
-- Been dumped: by a friend? Yes.
-- Made homemade cookies: never
-- Dyed your hair: nope
-- Stolen anything: yes. And gave it back. ;)

LAYER SEVEN:
............................................................................
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: nope
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: sure
-- Been caught "doing something": such as?
-- Been called a tease: constantly
-- Shop Lifted: no
-- Changed who you were to fit in: absolutely not. Stopped doing that in my 20s.

LAYER EIGHT:
............................................................................
-- Age you hope to be married: when it's right
-- Numbers and Names of Children: Uhm... liking names like Walker (family name) and Mia/Maya type names. Who knows?
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: Just us. Quiet. Lovely.
-- Where you want to go to college: I'd love to go back to the UCLA Writer's Program. I had a blast while I was there before.
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: I don't even understand that question.
-- What country would you most like to visit: Ireland

LAYER NINE:
............................................................................
In a boy... or girl:
-- Best eye color?: grey
-- Best hair color?: dark brown or black
-- Short or long hair?: depends on facial features and style
-- Height: tall
-- Best weight: bigger than I can bench-press
-- Best articles of clothing: well-worn jeans

LAYER TEN:
............................................................................
-- # of people I could trust with my life: eight
-- # of CDs that I own: good lord! Thousands.
-- # of piercings: one in each ear
-- # of tattoos: two
-- # of scars on my body: many
-- # of things in my past that I regret: zero

Survey Three

First best friend: Susan Waters
First real memory of something: Reenacting "The Donny and Marie Show"
First Job: Babysitter
First screen name: bonnieathene
First self purchased album: "Grease" Soundtrack
First funeral: Clay O. Gillespie (grandfather), 1990
First pet: Tabby (A beagle. I wanted a cat.)
First piercing/tattoo: Ears/Left Ankle
First credit card: 1988 (Still paying off that Victoria's Secret bra.)
First enemy: Some kid named Marc at the Montessori School
First big trip: Daytona Beach
First concert: ELO
........................................................................
Last big car ride: Sundance 2002
Last good cry: from laughter at Keith
Last kiss: an hour ago when Keith went to bed
Last movie seen: "The Terminal"
Last beverage drank: ice water
Last food consumed: spinach dip on toast
Last crush: John Cusack (same crush since 1985)
Last phone call: the director of the next film I'm casting
Last TV show watched: Nip/Tuck on TiVo
Last time showered: this morning
Last shoes worn: black strappy sandals
Last CD played: Pixies' "Trompe le Monde"
Last item bought: a round of drinks at Fox & Hound after Pamela's show last weekend

Posted by bonnie at 12:55 AM

June 29, 2004

This is post #400 to the BonBlogs.

And it's being made from a dial-up connection in Marina del Rey, sandwiched between two Chihuahuas (being between them is like bunking with Kate Hepburn--why must they vibrate so?) and with no ability to upload the cute photos of them that live in my digital camera.

Should be back to home and to normal tomorrow night. Meanwhile, please send vibes in the general area of Santa Monica on Wednesday at 5pm. We're having a little meeting that could lead to a really nice quality-of-life upgrade, if it all comes together.

PS--I'm almost 34. Yay! (And I mean that sincerely. This is the first "approach of a birthday" in a couple of years that hasn't had me in a panic attack or rut of somesort. Yay!)

Posted by bonnie at 9:30 PM

June 25, 2004

GMail

Okay, so... I finally signed up for GMail.

Now what?

Posted by bonnie at 1:48 AM

June 21, 2004

Liar on CNN!

Around 5am I watched a bit of CNN's Headline News and saw some guy from Details Magazine (don't bother checking the site... it's useless, as information-sharing goes. No teasers. Nada) talking about the Blackberry (AKA Crackberry) that was changing the way we speak to one another, in society.

Now, of course, I could've written down the guy's name to look him up, but it was 5am, for cryin' out loud and I was certain I'd be able to find out more about this guy from CNN.com or Details.com or something.

Why did I go to sleep at 5:40am knowing I would want to find out more about this guy?

He lied!

Okay, okay... it's not really a lie when you simply have a difference of opinion, but I just thought this guy, working in the field of journalism, should be a little more responsible in his assessment of "the way life is," due to new technology.

The offending remark? People are just going to have to get used to the lack of eye contact during conversations now. We will not stop checking our Blackberries for messages during meetings or meals.

WTF?

I know I'm not Emily Post or anything, but Jeebus, dude! Is it not enough that people drive around carrying on involved phone conversations (and have wrecks while looking up phone numbers), take their laptops around to every coffee shop and juice bar they frequent, and basically cut themselves off from all PERSONAL human interaction for the sake of interacting electronically? You actually want to EXCUSE people from having to make eye contact during one-on-one, face-to-face conversations?

Man... I'm getting more and more Amish every day. HAVE A CONVERSATION! It won't hurt!

Sheesh! I don't just disagree with this guy, I feel the need to text him from my SixHundy to tell him so.

Yes, I know the definition of irony.

Posted by bonnie at 2:24 PM

June 19, 2004

Traffic

Started getting a lot of traffic over here at the BonBlogs, so I decided to do a little snooping to find out why.

Aha!

Seems that LA Observed (very cool blog I'm so happy to have stumbled across) quoted/linked back to my Wolfesden RIP post after seeing me posting about the 'den closing on IDoTVAds.com.

So... hiya, new visitors! And welcome! Hope you enjoy your stay.

Uh... why is it that suddenly I feel the need to be a heck of a lot more interesting and inspiring? Uh-oh.

And, as all good poking-around-on-the-Internet expeditions should, this one ended with me adding even MORE new (to me) sites to my Safari bookmarks. Let's see...

Franklin Avenue (neighbors blogging about their lives and to-do-tah-dahs here in town)
Tagline (cool film blog)
Dateline: Hollywood (satire on this crazy town)
Outside the Box (a way-too-cool-to-be-on-hiatus blog from Variety.com about the swag sent to the daily)

News from "back home" is this: Tiffany (my niece) has landed her first extra role in a feature film (Beauty Shop, shooting in Atlanta)! When we saw her in Athens in February, she talked about wanting to get into acting and I encouraged her to do so, to come to Hollywood... all that stuff that would make her parents mad at me but that I know would secretly thrill everyone (protective aunt taking care of the sweet cheerleader in Hollywood). So... when she text-messaged Keith's phone with the big news today, I wasn't at all surprised.

I'd love to have Tiffany here! She's not *too* far off from the age I was the first time I moved across the country. Hee hee.

Okay... still updating the Shows I've Seen blog, gearing up for Hollywood Happy Hour, preparing my segment for the Hollywood Black Film Festival next week, writing the Showfax weekly column, and putting the finishing touches on the (shh... can't reveal it yet) project with Kim Hardin. Whew! That's a lotta stuffs! No wonder I can't sleep! Tee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 1:21 AM

June 17, 2004

God Bless Elizabeth...

...and her well-crafted art of "doing the Internet."

Seriously, Beffers, you ROCK my world. Eat this, Keith Johnson:

Oh! but you're NOT wrong about the "dining room suit"!

7. A number of things used together, and generally necessary to be united in order to answer their purpose; a number of things ordinarily classed or used together; a set; as, a suit of curtains; a suit of armor; a suit of clothes. "Two rogues in buckram suits."--Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

2. A group of things used together; a set or collection: a suit of sails; a suit of tools.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

From the greatness of Dictionary.com and a much more in-depth searcher than I, Ms. Beffertonian of Pocalla Swamp.

Seriously, THANK YOU. *Phew* Grammar Gods MUST stick together (especially when we're all southern and such). Tee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 12:15 AM

June 16, 2004

So Gratifying...

Hee hee.

You are a GRAMMAR GOD!
If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!
How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

That's so much fun. Tee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 7:20 PM

May 26, 2004

Good Lord, That's Funny

Came across this brilliant template for today's sassy blogger while looking at other blogs linked from Chip's Spynotebook and wondering why it is that people are always moving away from Athens.

Don't tell me... I know why. Different reason than why people are always moving away from Los Angeles, for dang sure... but just as much of it.

Really enjoyed the page 23 exercise Chip posted on the Friendster bulletin board. It's the little things, really. [In case the link doesn't work for whatever odd Friendster reason... here's the deal: open the nearest book to page 23 and type out the fifth sentence into the pass-along posting.]

Back to prepping for the Quinnster. Keith's working his tail off this week doing so so so much industry stuff. I'm so damn proud of him. Truly. Oh... and I SLEPT again! Wow! Loving that!!

Posted by bonnie at 10:01 PM

Website Updates

Finally updated the Cricket Feet website, with major focus to the casting page--and its links to cast photo pages for some of my past projects--and the many photos from recent outings, including this one from the Foxfire a couple of weeks ago.

Yes... this is what nerds do when they go out drinking. They play with the SixHundy. LOL!

Okay, about to switch into high gear with Quinn-mode stuff. So excited! If updates are sparse between now and the 8th or so, that's why. Who knows... I may be very bloggy while Quinn's here.

We shall see!

Posted by bonnie at 6:26 AM

May 14, 2004

Oh, this is fun!

Thanks, Chip. I've only been to 2% of the world, but I've been to 52% of the USA. LOL

Man, I have GOT to get out more. LOL Here's the link to make your maps. Have fun!

Posted by bonnie at 4:18 AM

April 30, 2004

Mac OSX 10.2.6 to 10.3 Upgrade

For those of you who love to read about people's journeys into/out of sanity with computer issues, here's where I detailed my experience in getting my PowerBook G4 back up and running after an 11-hour odessey.

Goals for next week: perhaps buy a new hard drive, definitely partition it (and look into partitioning this existing hard drive... is that possible, this late in the game?), buy DiskWarrior for next time.

Anything else I need to add to my list for taking care of my baby? Anyone?

Other

I slept. Went to bed early and slept 'til just before 5am. Excellent. Cancelled my casting meeting for later today (which turned out to be a good thing for the producer too... proving what my mom always said, "When it's not working out for you to be there, it's not working out for them either. Just ask. You'll learn they're just as relieved as you are about rescheduling." Yup. Sure enough, 100% true). Will head over to Angus' in a few hours and then go to Mitchell Fink's first LA film screening. Can't wait to see him up on the big screen at Raleigh Studios. Awesome. Glad to be a part of his journey. This guy kicks acting ass, baby!

Goal for today: no drugs. No aspirin, no Excedrin, no Benadryl. Nothing. I've taken so much over the past week that my tummy is torn up. And the Mountain Dew hasn't helped (have to high-dose the caffeine when fighting a migraine, y'know). So, today is all about ice water and good foods and an easy-going pace hanging out with Angus. Oh, and Mercury goes Direct today!! Yeeeeee hawww! It's been a TOUGH month with that planetary whatnot!

Made this funny thing at this funny site (the site's not saving mine, for some reason, so I just uploaded it here).

And with that, I start my public day. Headed over to Angus' soon and I plan to be achy and sniffly (allergies beg for Benadryl, y'know) but happy to give my tummy a drug break. Does that make me three of the seven dwarves?

Posted by bonnie at 6:51 AM

April 22, 2004

Aw, man!

We were so set to win the California Lottery tonight. Dammit! And we hear our writer/director is in Boston playing the multi-state. Man, is that the it takes a village to make a movie analogy or what?

Shoot. Was really looking forward to waking up to a couple hundy-thou. Oh, well... that's what I get for considering sleep!

Posted by bonnie at 3:01 AM

April 20, 2004

My New Best Friend

Yep. Keith was right. He said, this morning, "I just read this story about your new best friend on CNN.com trying to keep the world in proper punctuation." OMG, you aren't kidding me! This is soooo my new best friend. No doubt.

Lynne Truss' new book, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, is totally going on my Amazon.com wish list. But it's not that *I* need to read it... I need to force others to read it. People are driving me crazy with their lack of regard for its vs. it's, your vs. you're, and whose vs. who's. What IS it with people?? Didja NOT go to school?

Okay... rant concluded... for now. And I totally worship my new best friend.

Posted by bonnie at 5:38 PM

April 17, 2004

Why is Chip posting to Bonnie's Blog???

Just testing out the new system. If you are reading this, then I'm sure you will be reading posts from Bon very soon.

Posted by bonnie at 7:42 AM

March 19, 2004

At Casa Vega

Posting from Casa Vega... waiting for Eric. Either he's late or I was too late and he bailed.

Eh, I was only 15 minutes late and he's the one coming from OC. I just have NO idea where this show is we're hitting at 8pm.

Wow this place just got really crowded. I need to get faster at my thumb-typing. Do they teach this nowadays in computer class?

Ooh! Eric just walked in! Yay!

Posted by bonnie at 6:26 PM

March 6, 2004

Good TV Day

VH-1 really rocks my world. I got up this morning and started watching I Love the '80s (original recipe), which was followed by the Beverly Hills, 90210 Reunion Show, which was followed by a show called The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments Ever and now I'm watching The Best Week Ever, a show that is new to me.

What a great show! Who needs to watch the suspensful final episode of The Average Joe when you can watch this weekly round up? I remember loving the Reality Show Wrap-Up last year, but it's not on the air anymore. This is better anyway.

Cool!

And, of course, Faith's new show *should* be profiled next week. Yay! We bought the new TV Guide, in which the show is reviewed and cool co-star Brian Palmero has his photo with the blurb!! So very cool!

Photos

The cat that ate the pillow.

The cat with the catnip on the floor.

The boy who turned thirty-great!

It's been a great week!

Posted by bonnie at 2:33 PM

February 23, 2004

For Chip

The first time I recall someone posting wireless, it was when Chip achieved his dream of posting from Waffle House.

I therefore dedicate this post--made from the SixHundy at Waffle House #1570--to Chip, who bravely blazed the trail.

Mmm... good grits!

Posted by bonnie at 3:51 AM

February 19, 2004

At the T-stand

There's something sooo way geeky about posting to my blog from the Sixhundy in Athens.

Oh... just learned an ex-beau's band is playing in town tonight. Is there enough alcohol on the planet to make THAT a good idea? Hell, ex-beau Chip is already on his way over here. Bless Keith's heart.

Posted by bonnie at 1:12 PM

January 31, 2004

Presidential Match Quiz

Hm. This didn't turn out like I thought it would. Hm.

My results in the Presidential Match Quiz.

To take the quiz yourself, click here (choose Q&A). Interesting.

Posted by bonnie at 11:49 AM

January 27, 2004

Cool fun stuff!

First there's this: the Miscast?? Photoshop Contest with my favorite entry, below.

Hee hee.

And then there's this: the Cyborg Name Generator with my results, below.

Hee hee.

And HA HA HA... there's the Law & Order Coloring Book. Hee hee.

And I really like this little game from BrYan. Feel free to repost my repost of his repost.

You've seen it around. Bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now, add countries you've been to at the end.

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming

Washington D.C.

Germany / Spain

Purdy cool. I used to have a wall map mounted on foam core with pins for everywhere I'd been, a different color pin for everywhere I wanted to go, with another color for the place I NEXT wanted to or planned to go. I gave it to Chip when I moved to LA. Along with the bear chairs.

Wanna see the flyer for my upcoming speaking thingy in New York? It's here in PDF form! The basic details are these: Tuesday, February 24th, 5pm, Drama Book Shop, NY! Woo hoo! It's free! Do come!

Also just got some photos from a long-ago HHH, the most recent HHH, and other assorted "finish up this roll of film" type photography. I'll have 'em uploaded and linked later today.

Very very very very happy that Chip got the forums back up and running. Yay!

Oh, and all of the above goodies that came before that BrYan goodie are from the greatness that is Chip. THANKEE! Yay!

Okay... back to work. For now.

Posted by bonnie at 12:33 PM

January 13, 2004

Ants vs. Fleas

Keith and I were having a hot debate. Maybe you folks out there could help us settle it.

What's scarier: ants or fleas?

Without telling you who believes what, let's just say that Keith and I believe the opposite about the fear-inducing qualities that these critters possess.

Fear of Ants: you could just be standing there and then suddenly, your whole foot could be covered in ants. They know how to mobilize and act as a team. They could all get together and carry you off. Amazingly well-organized and good at communicating.

Fear of Fleas: they can suddenly be in one place and then hop away into some unseen place, only to bite and suck and show up somewhere else on another hop. They can live, unchecked, feasting on their hosts and never be caught. Independent and sluethy.

So... weigh in, will ya? I know I'm right about which is the most terror-inducing. Back me up, okay?

Posted by bonnie at 8:07 PM

December 23, 2003

Further Cool Find

Patrick Combs retells the story of how he deposited a non-negotiable check for $95,093.35 and... well, you have to read it for yourself. FASCINATING story.

Posted by bonnie at 3:11 PM

Well, Now

This is just cool as Hell.

Hollywood WebCam

Not sure why I'd never encountered that before.

Came across it as I'm searching for an aerial photo of the BACK of the Y in the HOLLYWOOD sign. I saw a photograph in a coffee table book in the lobby before my meeting yesterday (before the way cool earthquake) in which the graffiti is visible. At the TOP of the West-most branch of the Y is the word (very clearly printed) BONNIE.

Such a good sign, especially going into that "earth-shaking" meeting. LOL

Posted by bonnie at 1:43 PM

December 8, 2003

Ooh... I Want...

I would never spend this kind of money for such a thing, but this is definitely a want:

yeah.

Posted by bonnie at 3:35 AM

December 5, 2003

The End of JenniCam

Rest in peace, JenniCam. You certainly started something. News from SlashDot.

Posted by bonnie at 12:04 PM

November 18, 2003

When Sick... Quiz!

You are SCREAM! Haven't heard of them? That's the
story of your life, underappriciated talent.
You are artistic and creative and carry a very
political edge. You aren't that angry at much
outside of injustice, but that's because you
get all the ladies. If it weren't for the
interest of a few popular kids, you would have
never been able to put out records, but who
cares any ways, right? Laisse-Faire.

WHAT D.C. HARDCORE BAND ARE YOU?
brought to you by Quizilla

Posted by bonnie at 12:07 PM

November 12, 2003

What's Up?

As you may or may not have noticed (from the longer list of archives over there), I've recently moved some of my journals from 1999 and 2000 over to the land of the Blog. Also, I found some of my favorite posts from Wolfesden.net from the days when I wasn't keeping an electronic version of a diary at all and added those in there as well, just to bridge the gap between August 2000 and January 2002. Seems to have done a pretty good job of representing where I was with everything back in those days (except that almost all of the 1999 and 2000 posts are about my weight--that's on purpose--I was undertaking a "Babe2000" quest that I'd agreed to chronicle online with my fellow Babe2000 participants).

Lemme tell ya something I learned this morning: I've become addicted to iced tea. The reason I know that is that I just went through the drive-thru of Del Taco at 6am to get a burrito (99 cents of yummy) and an iced tea. And they hadn't brewed any. Boo hoo! I suddenly realized it wasn't the burrito that sent me out at that hour... it was the TEA. Man! Oh well... good to know. And it's a better addiction than a lot I've endured.

Keith comes home from Sacramento today. Yay! I have missed him a great deal. He's in a marrying mood, after having attended his best friend's wedding while up there. We'll see. I could stand an eloping... we'll see. Stay tuned and such. Who knows? We certainly don't!

Posted by bonnie at 6:49 AM

November 7, 2003

Love the '80s; Love Quizzes

Ah... now THIS is a reason to stay up all night!

I'm now happy and perhaps able to rest. Hee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 4:49 AM

September 21, 2003

Much Better

Today I saw 50+ actors for Consider As True and I'm, again, very impressed with the number of talented people I know. Wow. Humbling experience.

Next, I named nine out of 12 candy bars by their cross-sections. Pretty good, considering I'm currently enjoying a low-carb truffle.

Love casting. Love actors. Love writing. Love seeing people read the written word and bring it to life. Yeah. A lot to love.

Posted by bonnie at 12:16 AM

August 17, 2003

Good and Bad

Good: home, doing the absolute final checks of index page number match up-ness of the book, in the A/C, full belly, Seinfeld on TV, kitties at my feet, Keith sleeping in the next room while I stay up way too late on the night before starting a new job.

Bad: spent the weekend in Joshua Tree--which, in and of itself was delightful: lots of wonderful conversation and food, blissful exchange of computer services for business taxes and kitty love--where it was at least 120 degrees and A/C was considered an "in case of emergencies" amenity. Car overheated the whole drive home, meaning I cooked in the TicTac for three hours after having cooked all weekend in the desert.

Good: TV Guide finally stopped showing up in my mailbox. My subscription ran out in April (a year later than I'd have liked it to do so, but I'd pre-paid) and the effers kept sending the damn thing for nearly 15 weeks more! So, please note: if you ever want to get TV Guide, you can time that subscription renewal with this information.

Bad: I'm still really hot.

Good: got the book's printing almost all the way financed. THANK YOU, people who know who you are. THANK YOU indeed.

Bad: probably won't sleep before starting my new job tomorrow.

Good: new job's paychecks will pay back all book loan money in just a few weeks.

Bad: I have big plans for overhauling the Blogs, linking old posts, silly stuff like that. What a time waster! But OCD will require its completion. I've spent many many many recent hours making sure all of my contacts in the Palm (really not a Palm... it's a Visor) are also in my Entourage... and vice versa (is it vice-versa? vica-versa? vise-versa? What is it? I recently learned that it's not chomping at the bit. It's champing at the bit! Who knew?!?) and of course, I must also make sure that the categories match up... that even though there is no way to email someone with no email address that those poor people also appear in my mail program... and that everything is all backed up, matched up, and lovely. It's already become a huge pain in the ass, as I've had to add three new people to both places, just since getting home from Joshua Tree. And then there's the issue of Syncing the device with an unstable connection.

Damn technology!

Okay, I didn't mean that.

Back to indexing. Moral of the story: despite the long-ness of the "bad" lists, above, the "good" always always always outweighs it all. I am supremely happy and just obnoxiously thrilled with how my life has turned out. That's got to be annoying to others. Pff.

Oh!! That reminds me!!!

Spied in the desert: PFF Bank and Trust. What? How safe is my money in a place called "pff"?

Also spied: High-Desert Sushi. Ew. I can't even imagine.

And finally, a whole bunch of those cliché-shaped cactus guys that look like (if you put a cowboy hat on them) they're playing cops and robbers. Love those "little" joy-filled things!

Now I'm done.

Posted by bonnie at 10:30 PM

July 30, 2003

Okey Dokey, Smokey

I'm considering sprucing up the Blog using some links and anchors and hooks and whatnots... but I have no real idea how it is that people do these things, nor do I have a lot of time to investigate. I may just join one of those pay services (oy) in order to have the cool things. But then that involves paying. Hm.

Last night, we went to see Faith in a screening of NBC's Significant Others, followed by a Q&A with the show creators and the cast. Very cool. I'm excited. This is going to be a huge hit, whether it airs on NBC or Bravo. NBC gets first rights, since their studio is producing it in conjunction with Bravo, but either way, it'll hit the air in January and the world will be a better place for it. Dang funny. It's the kind of show about which you would say, "It's really well-written," except that it's done in improvisational form. So, I guess that means, "It's really well-cast and the actors are all brilliant." Yes. That's true.

Moving forward with the new book this week. Looks like we're going to have to do some fund-raising, though, in order to get it printed. Dangit. But, I guess knowing we've already sold (through pre-orders, at least) more copies than Casting Qs sold in its first six months this year means that really we're asking for investments, rather than donations. I just hate being in debt to anyone, y'know? Sucks. I'm going to have to see about creativity. Ooh... lotto! 40 million, eh?

Tonight is the benefit performance of Our Funniest FEM, again starring Faith, plus a handful of other gals I was able to bring in for auditions during casting of A Dull House. Very exciting! Meanwhile, I'm working like mad on finishing the book before heading back into the office for casting on the Fox show (I declined the job offered for the period between the three-day stint I did last week and the start-up date for the six-week job I've already accepted, starting in August, BTW). Still doing the web work over at Roxbury and working to get Keith on one of these upcoming cop shows. Still doing career consulting here and there. I really love that. It's a delightful experience.

Oh, I must say... major thank you to dear Jamie Caples for all the proofreading work she's doing on the new book. Wow! So very very very helpful. I owe you, sugar.

Speaking of sugar... still on Atkins. Still down 30 pounds. Started a new exercise routine today, which should help me jumpstart another 30-pound loss. *fingers crossed*

The Shorts Fest is still cooking. Thrilled to have a lot of great screeners lined up to help out. Hollywood Happy Hour is still on hiatus. Wow... what else? I feel like I'm catching up on a lot of stuff. Hm.

Okay, that'll do for now. Next time I post, Keith and I will have won the lotto, funded the book and the purchase of my new car, plus start making our plans for the big home purchase. If we don't win, we're still moving forward with all of that... just on a little slower climb. But, it's still movement in that direction. I LOVE my life! Truly!

Posted by bonnie at 1:37 PM

July 17, 2003

Casting

Yup. I've been hired to cast a feature film. I've been going non-stop since booking the job on Tuesday evening. Calling actors, meeting with the crew, scheduling auditions, answering a zillion questions...

This is sooo much fun!

Oh, I did get a little break to have lunch in Marina del Rey with Chip, James, Sara, Susan, and Sean. It was GREAT to see the Athens gang in LA. Of course, Chip promised all sorts of postings by now... and I haven't seen a dang new thing at his Blog. Coolest of cools: I received a two-year-old birthday present. It's a customized keyboard! The letters spell, "Happy Birthday Bonnie!" It so rocks! Thanks, Chip!

Okay. Back to work. Loving it!

Posted by bonnie at 9:44 AM

May 23, 2003

Spoiled

I've gotten spoiled. TiVo did it.

I now will hear things on the radio or even hear bits of conversations and reach for the remote to back it up and hear it again.

I'm so used to working on the computer with the TV on, hearing something I like the sound of, and backing it up to watch what I missed that I now actually think I can do that at all times.

That can't be good.

There's more... will try to not sleep this weekend and catch up. May not need to try to not sleep. That may come naturally. We'll see. Big stuff.

Posted by bonnie at 7:23 PM

May 18, 2003

A Special Day

According to JARUSA, it is my 12,000th day on this fine planet. How did you celebrate?

I took a nap, chose NOT to go to The Matrix with Keith, and did another ten hours of work on Paradise Hotel. It's getting harder (details here), but I still love the job, love the people, love the pay.

Last night's Mr. Personality party at the Barfly was chez chic and tres trendy. I was way too old for the kind of fun others were having, but I had a great time, nonetheless.

12,000 days old is quite "up there," y'know.

I feel like a cad (can a chick be a cad?) for not responding to fellow Spy Notebook types. THANK YOU for the encouragement. Yes, I knew about The Woggles being The WUOGgers in their first year. I'm excited for all the cool things happening in the worlds of married life, job interviews, and continued finding-one's-self quests.

I must pay some bills. Happily, Casting Qs has already paid for itself (on paper... we don't get the money until six months after the sales started; meaning we just got our first check from the distributor last week) and made a nice little profit. Seeing the cover art and promotional material for the second book, Self-Management for Actors, in the distributor's fall catalogue has me quite eager to see it published. Of course... I must write it first. If I keep up this casting thing, that ain't bloody likely.

Interesting twists and turns this li'l life-path takes. Looking forward to seeing where the next 12,000 days take me.

Posted by bonnie at 11:11 PM

May 10, 2003

Glitch

It would seem that HaloScan has bitten the proverbial big one and comments no longer function on my Blogs. Bonus: the lack of the host resolving going on is causing a major lag time in my load (I know... isn't it sexy when I play geek?) and, for that reason, I'm pulling the damn thing from my Blogs.

No more comments. Grr.

Beyond that, I still love my job and I have lots of happy to share, but today is three months since Keith's mom died. Tomorrow would've been my mom's 70th birthday. And... well... tomorrow is that Mother's Day thing. So... I'm going to save my happy for when I'm really really happy and, meanwhile, just kind of sit with these feelings.

But things are good. Trust that. I sure do. ;)

Posted by bonnie at 9:43 PM

April 22, 2003

Aw eff!

Back to Archive problems with Blogger. Poop.

Posted by bonnie at 8:15 PM

Oooh... must have

It's Hello Kitty Tarot! Wow!

Posted by bonnie at 8:12 PM

April 21, 2003

Netscape is the fix!

So, here's the magic trick.

OSX + Haloscan + Blogger + Archives + Internet Explorer = bad bad bad

OSX + Upsaid + BlogSnob + Internet Explorer = good good good

OSX + Haloscan + Blogger + Archives + Netscape 7 = shiny and happy and the feeling of *phew* that comes with debugging and unbugging and bugging out in general.

BonBlogs, v. 1.1, is back.

Now...to add the BlogSnob thingy to the dang thing.

I'll save that for another day of needing procrastination material.

Meanwhile, I have NO idea what to wear tonight! Eeeeek. Such a girl, suddenly!

Posted by bonnie at 8:51 AM

Wow

Well, holy crap, I think I fixed it. And now, I must actually do the work that I've been using, "My Blog's messed up," as an excuse not to do.

Lucky, lucky me! Tee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 4:37 AM

Tweaking

Hm. I seem to have blown out my whole 2003 archive list.

Okay.

I guess my big cool discovery (so far) is that OSX really likes Netscape 7 a whole bunch better than 9.2.2 seemed to.

Oh, and can you believe I actually *bought* Microsoft Office the other day? I got a check for my participation in the Acuvue class action suit and it was the exact amount required for the OSX Microsoft Office upgrade.

Isn't that like that episode of Seinfeld where everything comes out even for him?

Posted by bonnie at 3:34 AM

Debugging

Okay. Netscape seems to have cured the Archiving issue.

Now... on to checking out the Template settings to see if I can figure out what BlogSnob did to my links to HaloScan, the Blogger button, and the whole "show three days' posts" thing. Still intact in my settings, so I must've blown something out of the template when I tweaked BlogSnob code (prior to moving it over to the UpSaid version of my Blog).

Don't mind me. Nerd, dweeb, goob...all pseudonmys for PROCRASTINATOR.

Posted by bonnie at 3:26 AM

Trying Netscape

Okay, so I'm trying out Blogger's interface with Netscape 7 on OSX. What else is a girl to do while procrastinating a major site upgrade for Roxbury and watching Kris on ShopNBC?

Let's see how this goes!

Posted by bonnie at 3:24 AM

April 20, 2003

Yeah...

'Til I figure out the glitch with OSX, Blogger, Haloscan, and archiving, I'm updating over at UpSaid.

Not sure whether I'm staying, but hey... it's the one that's working, for now.

Posted by bonnie at 4:31 AM

April 19, 2003

In with the new?

Looks like there may be something buggy about my use of Blogger and/or Haloscan and the whole archiving process with OSX. That's not fun.

So, just in case I'm about to have to make some changes in the way I Blog, I started up a little thing called an UpSaid account. Any opinions on such a thing? Love to hear 'em.

Also, if you have been craving photographic evidence of Hollywood Happy Hour and the fun we have, you may now visit our HHH Yahoo Group and see the little photo albums from the March 6th and April 3rd events.

So much fun!

Okay, it must be time for bed somewhere. Later,

Posted by bonnie at 8:01 AM

April 17, 2003

Very very very exciting

Keith and I are up at this hour--well, I'm always up at this hour--because 1-Host sucks. Tech support assures us that we have email addresses, but for over 24 hours now, we've received nothing at our Cricket Feet, Hollywood Happy Hour, Casting Qs, or Faith Salie email accounts. And, anyone who has sent anything has also not received back a bounce notice of any kind, alerting them that email did not reach us. Nice.

But here's what's exciting:

There was just a felony stop (Keith says that's the standard lingo) outside our apartment. The cop got over the loudspeaker and ordered the guy to toss his keys out of the car, keep his hands out the window while opening his own car door and then getting out of the car, walking backwards five steps with his hands up and shirt pulled up over his chest, etc.

VERY exciting to hear all of the stuff that we only ever hear on COPS and realize that's all by the book lingo. Tee hee.

Of course, I want to run outside and see. Keith assures me that would be unwise, as this kind of stop often turns into one in which guns are used, since, hey, they're already drawn and such.

But I really really really want to run outside and see!!

No. I stay in and listen, reporting back to Keith, who tells me he's smarter by being farther away from the window than I am--justified of course, by me, in that a bullet couldn't penetrate the window (duh). I tell him, "Ooh! They just had the guy cross his ankles!"

I am so easily amused.

Yes, this is the kind of post, were my mother still alive, I could never make. She'd make me move. Tomorrow.

Posted by bonnie at 2:09 AM

April 14, 2003

TiVo. My New Best Friend

As a reward for surviving the long hours, long days, long weeks required of any reality show casting coordinator, I bought myself a TiVo. It arrived four days after my job ended. I couldn't wait to get it set up!

The deal, in buying it, was that it would have to cost less than $200 to buy, and, based on Keith's research, it was only going to be $5.95/mo. for the service. I figured we at least deserved such an indulgence. I mean, c'mon! We don't even own a microwave and my car is closing in on the ripe old age of 14!

Okay, so, it turns out that the monthly price Keith found was based on having a TiVo/DirecTV satellite receiver combo thingy. We don't have that. So, we pay $13.95/mo.

I'll try not to mind.

Then I learn that we get, for the privilege of subscribing, with no ability to opt-out or anything, the added bonus of an ad masquerading as a service message. When we called the TiVo people, they said, "Oh, that's a part of your service."

My service?

Ugh.

It's been an interesting week in which I've become a little like Norma Rae and quit my job.

And then I turned down another casting coordinator job for NBC's Who Wants To Marry My Dad?.

I also realized that I haven't once journaled about the war going on. It's like, when I show up at the pages of my journal, all I want to talk about is the stress I feel over money or career paths or time management. Or the joy of TiVo.

Or not.

Posted by bonnie at 1:08 AM

April 11, 2003

Effin' Verizon, Effin' Bill Gates

Okay, so, I maintain this site for a small textbook publishing company. I had a cool FormMail script running from the Exam Copy Request page (plus one from the Mailing List page, in addition to scripts on the Search Titles page and the kick-ass shopping cart from the Purchase Titles page).

Well, in-house decides they need more email addresses. Someone contacts Verizon, finds out that email addresses, under our current plan, are $5/mo., per each new address. "But if you upgrade to this fabulous ASP server..."

See where this is going?

So, now I have to redesign the scripts in use so that they work on the ASP server... and I'm guessing that's going to have all sorts of Non-Mac-Friendly and Non-Netscape-Friendly elements to it. Considering the fact that I compose on a Mac, using Netscape (and BB Edit for straight HTML), I am not pleased.

Any geeks in the house want to give me a bouncing-ball narration that would make my weekend a little more pleasant? Much appreciated, in advance.

Ugh.

Posted by bonnie at 12:11 PM

April 9, 2003

TiVo gripe:

"It's part of your service."

Okay, so, I have this TiVo, right?

Well, lookee here... day ten or so I start receiving ads on my message/menu screen.

Ignore it and it will go away?

Nope.

Check some box to opt out?

Nope.

Click through the message, view the ad, then have the option to delete (as with viewed messages regarding customer service or lineup changes)?

Nope.

Call the 800 number to say, "Um, if we're paying you $13/mo. for this service, why are you throwing ads at us?"

Ready?

"Oh, it's part of your service."

"I want to opt out. I'm paying you for a service and you're including something I never agreed to receive, something I have no power to delete, and something I cannot keep from coming to my TV message/menu screen."

"It's a part of your service."

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

BAD service, TiVo. Not liking this.

In other news, I did vote to save and dump some shows (thanks Chip), and really I chose to save shows I either like (very few of those) or that cast friends of mine in roles this season, and therefore should be rewarded.

Oh! Congratulations Shelley and Trevor, for getting un-screwed by the landlord. Excellent news!

In other, other news... ugh... the job stuff. So very very very hard.

Okay, so... casting directors have been called and have received a letter from my former boss (distancing from me in true corporately-owned entity fashion) and, lo and behold, they're repairing relationships and deciding to move away from the stand they took with me last week... and do the panel after all. Of course, they say something really nice like, "But only if Bonnie comes back and moderates," and then, when they're told that there is no way that will happen, they go ahead and agree to do the panel just the same.

Politics. Ugh.

Of course it's the casting community that really matters to the publication. I'm a writer. They get 20 resumés a week from people who want my job. I'm totally and completely dispensable, and there is no reason they'd need to patch things up with me in order to have the panel go on.

Honestly--I don't mind not working for the paper anymore. Will I miss the money? Sure. Will I find something else that pays better quickly and not really notice the difference? Most likely.

I forced my boss' hand by making my resignation letter public. I get that. I made that choice and it got me out of what others are calling an "abusive relationship" so that I can now do the work I'm really supposed to do with this notoriety.

I had no other choice. None. I know that. Well, I'm told I did have another choice, but not one that would ever mesh with who I truly am.

I cried last night about all of this. My tears were not tears of regret. Just sadness over the end of a long-term relationship.
---
Bon
The Book... buy now more than ever!
NEW! Cricket Feet Calendar Lemmeknow if you love it.

"In one of my more condescending voices I said, 'It's the Beets. From Doug.' He said, 'Wow, Mr. Woods. You're not as old as I thought you were.' I assured him that I am certainly that old, I just watch a LOT of TV." -- Chip, on SpyNotebook, October 2002

Posted by bonnie at 3:38 PM

January 27, 2003

Something Worth Sharing

Now THIS is a quiz I can live with.

Which OS are You?

Ah... now I can sleep happily.

Oh wait. Sleep? What's that?

More later.

Oops... just added... Cool Age Thingy that my mom would've loved. Just remember, I'm still Jenny from the Block.

Shoot! One more thing. Just as I'm getting really good about drinking my required 100oz. of water a day, I find this article telling me that my water bottles are poisoning me. Really? Who can debunk this so that I don't fear refilling? Anywone? Thanks!

Posted by bonnie at 11:16 PM

January 17, 2003

Fair Warning...Again

Just got word that Lucy (the server this Blog lives on) will be moving this weekend. So... expect some down time and be happy when it's shorter than anyone imagined it would be. I have all the faith in the world in Chip, but Mercury is still in Retrograde... so, there's that.

Lots of lots of lots of lots of news and updates, but most of them will have to wait. I'm going to do some hefty site updates over at the bonsite and on Cricket Feet, but those non-paying things will have to wait for some paying things to get done... and then there's sleep... oh, but I'm not really doing that (thanks, Santa Anas, for returning yet again)!

So, expect news. Expect good news. But first expect delays. Anticipation is a good thing, yes?

Ciao (and yes, first I typed "Chow"). Tee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 5:02 AM

January 12, 2003

God Bless the 80s

And God bless VH-1 for devoting its day to the best decade ever.

Now... where's my opportunity to buy the DVD Box Set of this entire weekend's shows? Drooling like Homer Simpson.

Posted by bonnie at 1:29 PM

January 9, 2003

Photo Essay

I really like the "Day in the Life" Photo Essay Big Mike in Korea created.

Reminds me that I used to think, way back in high school, that I would like to take a Polariod of myself every morning before leaving the house. The idea came about because I was spending a lot of time writing down my outfits when I was in the 9th grade (yes, really... I was the "poor kid wearing hand-me-downs" then and it was very important to me to not look like the poor kid wearing hand-me-downs, so I kept a log of what I wore each day, to try and mix it up a bit and not have a "Tuesday Uniform" thing going on).

I thought, "Wow, wouldn't it be so much easier to do this photographically?" Yes, of course.

Anyway, as I got older, and probably when I was minoring in photography at UGA, I began to explore the idea of a daily photo... just to have a regular essay, an ongoing record, of changes in a life. Never actually did it, though.

As I'm typing this, I recall a find that Chip made: a discovery of this family's photo essay. It's pretty dang amazing (once you get to like 20 years of photos).

Posted by bonnie at 1:50 PM

December 24, 2002

Heads Up

I hear from the greatness that is Chip that our little SpyNotebook may be enduring some growing pains during a little server shuffle. So, regular BonBlogs readers, be prepared that this may not always be around here in the next couple of weeks (I notice, already, that the Archives have gone wonky).

Know I will still be making notes...and will expect you all to catch up on them at a later date. Quiz pending.

Posted by bonnie at 2:32 AM

November 29, 2002

What's Really Important

Quizzes. Duh!

Take the Affliction Test Today!


Which Evil Criminal are You?

Posted by bonnie at 10:44 AM

November 13, 2002

A Request for Assistance

Anyone want to take a look at the Search Function over on Roxbury's website and tell me what's suddenly wrong with the java script code? It was working just fine until about a week ago. All I did was open it up in Netscape Composer, add a new title or two, and upload the puppy (something I've done a hundred times over the past three years). I'm stumped.

Anyone?

Posted by bonnie at 12:08 AM

October 31, 2002

Okay, just did a li'l sprucin' up.

Try out the Comments thingies and let me know how that works for ya, okay?

Yeah, I've been surfin'. What of it?!

Click here for punk kitties.
Click here for a freekin' great race car.
Click here for a Whopper & Fries!

What lesser-known Simpsons character are you?
Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com.

Tee hee. Man, I just have way too much fun on my own.

YES... I'll get back to work, sheesh!

Posted by bonnie at 11:00 PM

What a day!

And the exclamation point is only there because of grammatical correctness, not because I mean it excitedly.

I want to thank Keith for everything he is and apologize for everything I am.

That sucks.

Moving on...

I attended a really neat comedy show last night at the Comedy Union. It was supposed to be some sort of chick night, but somehow there were more men than women on stage. What the heck is that about? Anyway, cousin Faith was brilliant, as usual. A young lady named Christa was phenomenal. She's already gotten in touch with the 15 Minutes of Fem folk about next round. Good. I'm glad she acted on that suggestion. She's got something pretty amazing. Melissa was excellent too, although very blue. Totally wonderful stuff, though.

I have to check the website to see if it's officially announced yet, but FEM is... oh shoot, it's not officially announced yet. Scratch that. Gotta edit. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH Outrageous! I can't wait.

It's tres cool, some of the stuff that's been happening. When the press release went out about the casting director panel I'm hosting next week, I started getting calls from casting directors who want to be involved in future panels. One of them is the head of casting for Oxygen Network. Well, I realized, when we set up our plans to meet next week, that she would LOVE the FEM thing I can't talk about. So, she's coming to check out Faith! Woo hoo! Love how the universe works!

I've decided I'm going to contribute to the online tributes to Faith by creating her official site for her. She was so flattered when I told her about the plan, but honestly, it's just something I feel I MUST do. I mean, c'mon! She just became a "tradable life form" on the official Star Trek trading life-form site, or whatever. That's huge, right?

I guess I've decided I'm too lame to enjoy the Super Hero Generator thingy. I didn't like any of my choices, nor did I understand them. Damn, I'm literal.

We've designed a color postcard to promote the book (scannable ISBN barcode and everything... so very hi-tech). Oh, its blue lines came and went in the last 24 hours. Dammit, if there weren't changes to make AGAIN. I am very sad that I didn't catch EVERY LITTLE THING as I did the last 20 freekin' edits. Of course, last night, Faith gave me a very glass-half-full way to look at it: "Your OCD isn't so in-control of you anymore." That's probably true. There are pluses to being over 30.

What else? Keith got cast in TWO plays last week. One is a holiday play in which he plays some cool city-slicker Santa who sings. Another is "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which, of course, is perfect for him. I'm thrilled that he has so much work under his belt in such a short time in this town. Really amazing.

Y'know that whole "definition of insanity is trying to get different results by doing the same thing over and over again" thing? Well, I've decided that that's the point I've reached with the paper. I keep turning my articles in WAY EARLY and providing more than enough information about the schedule, photo needs, etc., and effin' EVERY week, I get an email from my editor asking where the story is. DUH! IT'S IN YOUR INBOX!! I'm just so "Hoochie Momma!!!" about it. Isn't that what they yelled instead of, "Serenity NOW!" on "Seinfeld." I think that's right.

I wonder what Keith's son is dressing up as tonight. I think he's into some new character I don't know about. Earlier in the year, it was SpongeBob SquarePants, but I think now he's into Johnny somebody. Can't recall who. Last year, he went as Picachu. Adorable.

I miss baseball. Already.

Chip, I loved your Googlism, so I tried it too! Googlism for: bonnie gillespie
bonnie gillespie is excellent
bonnie gillespie is excellent as the john's aggrieved spouse
bonnie gillespie is a regent university
bonnie gillespie is now a regular contributor to backstage west
bonnie gillespie is the plumber's straight

Items one, two, and five are all reviews from the same play: "The Secret Nymph of New Hyde Park," a farce I did in the summer of 2000. Item four is true, and has been since June of 2000. Item three... that ain't me. I never finished my PhD. No regrets.

Chip, how was "Punch-Drunk Love?" I like your DC pics. Are you using PhotoTimeSaviour? Susan looks great! So do you, as always. ;)

David: I SO miss ORT. And Ballard. Gotta miss Ballard. This, that you said, is brilliant: "The fact that Susan and Sean were drinking Pepsi leads me to believe that there was at least one person trying to annoy another. On the positive side, it wasn't in Ottawa." Absolutely ADORE your publishing/editing superhero names. Truly.

Trevor, I'll see what I can do to back-link or whatever. I am SO into your whole "Joe vs. the Volcano" luggage set. I worship that movie. Greatness.

Stephanie W., Tina, I am so into y'all dressing up. LOVE that spirit. Really. Also, I agree on the whole Pilates WITH folks issue. Oh, man, can I tell you how happy I was when Krispy Kreme deemed Southern California worthy of a store. < homer drool>ahhhhhhhh. Krispy Kreme< / homer drool>

Oh, poor Courtney, I am so sorry about the Italian words and the proof! Ack! Having just dealt with my own blue lines, I cannot even IMAGINE facing someone else's and having to hope to catch more the next time through. I was SO happy to just fax the changes (we compromised on FIVE at $15/each, and saved the other few for the second edition) today and SIGN OFF!! Augh! So ready to have it done. I've been sequestered for the past three days. Pet sitting for the five-cat-lady and I chose NOT to take the laptop. Instead, I took the huge box o' goodies for the second book and spent a TON of time doing the initial organization. Still much to do, but getting there!! I realize that the ONLY time I can devote to the second book is the time while the first book is being printed. After it's out, I'm on tour!

Courtney, when you say, "Chicken Pot Pie," over and over again, are you doing it like the character Donnie in "Just Shoot Me?" If not, you MUST become acquainted with this genius character. Just brilliant, and a reason for ME to love saying "Chicken Pot Pie" over and over again.

I love that you're going to town for Chip's b'day. That's so awesome! Absolutely 100% agree on what the best time(s) of the year is/are in Athens. You nailed it. I used the make-your-own-splint thing for my TMJ and teeth-grinding. Didn't break my jaw. Ended up on the floor in the middle of the night a few times. Drat! Hey, use grits for your ants. Seriously. I've seen it work! They eat it and expand and die. They tell each other through their death pheromones and they never come back.

OMG, Big Mike, I almost split my pants laughing over your "I got a ROK." For those of you not in the know, Big Mike is in Korea and that makes that saying/spelling just effin' brilliant! Woo hoo!

I'm sorry I have no advice on the digital camera buying thing. I got mine as a gift from someone who was "upgrading and didn't want to lose money on an eBay sale," so she took the higher write-off from giving it away. I do like it, though. It's an Olympus Camedia thingy. Very nice. D-340-R is the model number. I like it a lot.

A friend from way back (hey, Deb!) said she found it really weird that I "have my whole life" out here on the Internet. I was like, "Huh?" I guess, if you really know me, you know that there is only a FRACTION of my life actually "out there," but if you know me only a little bit, you think, "dear GAWD, how could that woman put so much of herself out there?" I can see that. Still, trust me... this ain't nuthin'!

Oh, for the coolest holiday decorations, check The Wolfesden. It's an actor's board, but dang did Beth make it purdy!

BTW... I know my "Blind Date" episode was really boring, but why the heck could it never be aired, if they could air this evil witch woman's date and this scary "Mercury Man Gets Naked" date I just saw? Ugh. TV.

All righty, I think that be it. Happy Halloweeny, folks! It's soooo spooky! Tee hee!

Posted by bonnie at 6:12 PM

October 13, 2002

Just changed the template.

I think my little font size issue has been eclipsed by the coolness that is this color-changing groove train. Woo hoo!

Posted by bonnie at 5:53 AM

September 20, 2002

Back Again

New quiz! Super cool!

what movie symbolism are you? find out!

Posted by bonnie at 1:06 PM

Once More

Duh... why do I always think of things to say AFTER I "post and publish" my Blog??

Spied Mila Kunis and Wilmer Valderrama of "That '70s Show" during breakfast with Judy and Keith Monday morning. I have now seen, in person, all but ONE of the kids from that show. Once I get a Hyde under my belt, I'll have the whole set!

That didn't read right. Tee hee.

Posted by bonnie at 2:22 AM

I have

absolutely NO idea why the font goes wonky after my first link in my earlier Blog. Weird.

Posted by bonnie at 2:14 AM

September 11, 2002

Ack! How could I forget?

All that Blogging and I forgot to add my quiz results!

What revolution are You?
Made by altern_active

Posted by bonnie at 3:27 PM

July 16, 2002

I have no idea what is happening.

When I did the chalking thing, I lost most (not all) of my little quiz images. Checked the code... single quotes instead of doubles... fixed that... still no images. Reuploaded them to Lucy.

No effin' idea.

I'm tired.

Posted by bonnie at 3:06 AM

I have no idea why I'm doing this...

I have no idea why I'm doing this, but Trevor did it... so I did too.

Google! DayPop! This is my blogchalk: English, United States, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Bonnie, Female, 31-35!

Posted by bonnie at 2:32 AM

July 8, 2002

Hey, Chip

Hey, Chip, why don't you offer me money to read your Blog?



More useless quizzes:

Take the The "What Teen Label Do You Fit Into Most?" Quiz!
by antiperfect

Which John Cusack Are You?

You are Pepe Le Pew!

You are a suave skunk who lives for l'amour. You may not always get the girl (or guy), but there are always many more fish in the sea, no?

Take the What Looney Tunes Character are You? Quiz by contessina_2000@yahoo.com!

That is all.

Posted by bonnie at 11:17 AM

June 9, 2002

More stuff for you to do:

Discover your Ya-Ya Name (I'm Marchioness Weeping Willow).

XXOO

Posted by bonnie at 9:07 PM

June 7, 2002

Okay, so here's how good I am at Blogging:

I take quizzes. More to come!

Which "Saved By The Bell" Character Are You?


Which Golden Girl Are You?

Okay, now you! XXOO Spy Types.

Posted by bonnie at 11:38 PM

February 27, 2002

Keith says we have the technology to do this: Snap Stream. It's like having a TiVo or RePlay TV. I am very, very excited to think we'll join y'all in this world of watching what you want when you want. Wheeeeee.

Posted by bonnie at 6:16 PM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2002

I have no idea...

what this is, but some spy should check it out.

More later.

Posted by bonnie at 11:07 PM

February 3, 2002

Chip... yes, let's put CricketFeet.com on Lucy.

Woo hoo! We already have the domain name(s) -- got .net and .org too. Cricket Feet is what I get when I'm happy: when crickets rub their feet together... happy sounds! Anyway, I'll send you content once I have some. It's our little computer consulting company thingy, so it'll just be a logo and some info on rates and what we do, etc.

I got rid of all of the crap on my Athenstown account. Dear God, I do NOT want my penis enlarged! How did I get on these mailing lists? Anyway, thanks for the Blogger invites. I'll get right on those.

PS - doing Blogger stuff and getting rid of crap email is a good way to get past a panic attack.

Dera: yes... Sunday night is sad night here too. I think it's just the whole wind-down/gear-up thing (and, for me, it's when I would always talk to my Mom -- we talked more than once a week, but always on Sundays). So, PopStars2 is doing the trick right now. The IT Factor on Bravo is also good. Keith and I love Alias, and that should be on soon. Hope that helps.

Okay, Jocelyn, I did it too:

You're George!

Take the Which Beatle Are You? Quiz.

All right... time to check out some Theme Blogging. BTW, cookie or no cookie, I am still having to log in over and over again... BAD "remember me" check box. You lie!

Posted by bonnie at 7:58 PM

Stephanie H.

I so want to see your hats!

Posted by bonnie at 5:42 PM

Chip

(Hey, can you see that I'm posting a new Blog after reading each Spy's new post) I want a P-Zone. Is it any good? Should I order one right now? Is that football match still going on (which might keep my order from arriving within the hour)?

Oh, I went to your Exchange Server yesterday (didn't know it existed until then... due to my own oblivion) and it says I have 19 pages of mail. Dear God, can I delete some of that mess? Keith told me not to, in case it wasn't just to ME, but I'm pretty sure you've got it set up as my own account and I can filter, delete, and whatnot from there, yes? BTW, you are a technological GOD and I am so impressed! Keith has been futzing with his Linux box for two days now and he's only getting an inch into it each time... good progress, but slow. We're still trying to get CricketFeet.com up and running.

How was Applebee's? Did you have anything yummy?

Posted by bonnie at 5:34 PM

January 31, 2002

Where do I even begin again?

Perchance in a word doc? Grrrrr.

Posted by bonnie at 9:36 PM

I am so mad...

at Blogger I could spit tacks! I have been typing a novella for thirty minutes and when I hit Post & Publish... I get this bag o' crap:

You are not currently logged into Blogger. Perhaps your session timed out and didn't get restarted properly. This shouldn't happen, so we've made a note of the event and will investigate it. Feel free to send us any other information that may be useful. Meanwhile, trying signing out and back in. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Inconvenience? Try brilliant drama and prose lost to the underworld! I am so wounded.

Posted by bonnie at 9:36 PM

January 30, 2002

Okay...

Okay... so here's what I LOVE about Blogging... I can hit EDIT and go back and fix my lame-o mistake and look like I know what I'm doing.

Oh joy! Oh rapture!

I think I'll still have wine.

Posted by bonnie at 3:54 PM

In addition...

In addition to all that I'd typed that didn't make it due to my crappy code... AUGH!

Posted by bonnie at 3:49 PM

God dangit!

Excuse that pitiful insert of HTML! AAaaack What a lame-o!

Posted by bonnie at 3:48 PM

January 29, 2002

This is Bonnie

This is Bonnie testing Bonnie's blog.

Posted by bonnie at 8:55 AM

This is chip

This is chip testing Bonnie's blog.

Posted by bonnie at 1:28 AM

February 10, 2001

What was the #1 Single the day you were born?

Mine was "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night.

There's some irony in that, methinks.

This Day In Music

Posted by bonnie at 1:52 PM

August 18, 2000

Updated My Site

Would Like Feedback

Okay, first of all, getting obsessed with updating my website (and eliminating the more *personal* elements - due to WAY more traffic lately than just my fam & friends back home) yields a 4am bedtime. Yawn!

Still, I think I did most of what I wanted to do. Still need to add a bunch of hand modeling and singing stuff, plus get the whole password-protected side coded and uploaded, but, that's for another night. L O N G day of clienting, auditioning, rehearsing, and performing tomorrow, so it's time to sleep.

If you would, please, take a trip over there and LMK your thoughts.

I've registered www.bonniegillespie.com and am just waiting for the pointer thingy to kick in (48 hours)? G'nite!

Posted by bonnie at 3:46 AM