Dreams of Daylight

If ever you find yourself being bombarded by street people trying to sell you watches out of their jacket, or headphones that look like they've been pulled out of a garbage, I will provide the following advice. Pull anything from your pockets and try to sell THEM something. Some chapstick, your house keys, a piece of lint. Turning the tables of them makes for a grand time.

I have decided that my next goal, in my personal life, is to find a new apartment within the next 6 months. I am thinking when work picks up again. I am thinking something...above-ground. It's really hard to relate what living in a apartment with virtually no sunlight does to your mood. I dream of one day soon, being able to write a script next to an open window on a nice sunny day. Yeah, that would be nice.

Here is a song I recorded yesterday. I'm happy with it. It's something of a spin on my typical music. I tried to come up with some new sounds and whatnot. I posted it on my myspace and I will supply the link for the utmost convenience of anyone interested.

http://www.myspace.com/moonshinerick

Christmas Tree Massacre

The tradition of the Christmas tree seems so stupid to me, that I HAD to look up the its origins. There are several different accounts of how this senseless tradition start, the most likely: that hardcore Christian Martin Luther started the tradition when he brought into his home a small fir tree to replicate to his children a marvelous sight he witnessed in the woods. He decorated the tree with candles to honor Christ's birth. Mind you: this from a man that bragged about fighting off Satan his "happy songs" and an inkwell. Other theories include many Pagan traditions that somehow became intertwined with Christian tadition. This I also find likely, just look at Easter. I don't know which origin I favor to be true. Both are pretty funny to me.

Anyway, I don't mind if people feel the need to put up a tree in your home and decorate it. It's good, quality family time. But why can't you use a fake tree?? I have family that uses them, and they look pretty damn realistic. And it's much more sensable. You're not cutting down a tree to wrap some lights around it and watch it die and litter your carpet with needles for 3 three weeks, before you promptly toss it outside the day after Christmas. And you're not spending the money every year to buy a new one.

GO FAUX!

People Stew

I don't feel like I have dedicated enough time to introduce the woman who is my land lady. She is an older gal, I'm guessing late 60's. She lives upstairs alone. She screams a lot. I mean a lot. I am quite sure she is part-insane. She had never screamed at/around me, but when I am out of view, she lets it out. It is my belief and others who have encountered her, that she baits people into her house, kills them, seasons them, chops them up and makes a hearty people stew out of them. We also believe she has done this with countless tenants, and my days are numbered. So if one day, you get a call saying I have joined the missing persons list, you need look no further than upstairs. Perhaps I will be boiling with some red potatoes and green beans on the stove, in the refrigerator chilling in disposable Tupperware, or hanging out in the freezer, waiting for a nice rainy dain and some fresh artisan bread.

You Smell Something Burning?

Well, I do say chaps, good day. To breeze by the cold exterior shoot the other day... It was cold. It wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting though. They had a warming van nearby on set, I geared up with some thermal underclothes and when we weren't shooting we were allowed to keep our coats on. Of course after hours and hours, you tend to get cold no matter what. At one point I noticed my arm had a purplish tint to it, another time I noticed my hand, which had been red and only partially functional since the early morning, now had kind of wrinkled up as if it was waterlogged. Yes coldness does weird stuff to the body. There were things that I did to try to keep warm naturally, like pacing, jumping up and down, and lastly doing calf raises. At any rate it was another light dependant day and so we were out by about 330, a simple 8.5 hour day. I'm still not very pleased AFTRA. It's like the cheap Aunt that gets you a card and a Lotto ticket for your birthday. But I got my $1,300 perforated paper membership card and I may as well make use of it.

p.s. the production was a ESPN mini-series called The Bronx is Burning.

No, no, no, from the back!

Well THAT was a bust. Ok so this was the hub-bub bubs. I got a call from casting Friday saying they submitted me for this part in a film called My Sassy Girl. This was how they explained it to me. I was to possibly play a past boyfriend (you like that alliteration?) to the lead female. It was to be shoot in a series of flash backs and it was speaking. But like I said, production was adding these scenes. So I was somewhat hopeful that if I did get the part then perhaps I would be upgraded.

Back to reality. They brought one other guy and me to set early. Set was outside. Central Park. When we arrived to set, the situation was further and more accurately explained to us. They were more interested in the back of out heads than anything else. They had already shot the stunt man for the character and now they needed someone to match him. And so slowly to rotated in clock-wise 360 for the director. Yup. So when it came down to it, they were only interested in haircolor and hairline. Which I did not match. I am not too upset (except for the loss of poss. work) as it was also explained to us that through all the shots, only the back of the actor's head would be scene. WOW!! That's great! What an opportunity. Sit around 10 hours, so the back of my head can be used.
The day otherwise...well, sucked. We were outside for about 9 hours straight. It was cold. No it was COLD. NO it was FUCKING BRRRRR!!!!! No breaks. Well, yeah one 10 minute break, we went into a warm van. No meal, we ended the day with plenty of penalties. I was very ready to go home. And then I got the guised call. The one where you agree to something (in the particular situation:work) and realize immediately you made a mistake. AFTRA sucks. I don't know why I am a member. I don't know why they can't match SAG's base rate. I don't know why I agreed to another day of sitting out in the cold (so soon) and with less clothing (as it it a summer scene.) Tomorrow is destined to suck, suck more than today.

In other news, I am making my life yet a little more creatively hectic with now starting a new spec script and probably writing a short for a pair that intend to make a film. I don't know much about the short, but I am pretty excited/anxious to start my new script. I just don't want to wake up tomorrow is all.

....Oh the other actor that I needed to look similar to was Jesse Bradford.

Shaving for the Greater Good

Well, I'm kind of excited. I got a call today from casting. My headshot was submitted for some featured background for a movie. Usually featured BG doesnt really get me too excited. But this might actually turn into something. They are writing in scenes for this characters that I may play. Casting said there were no lines, which is why I would rank still as BG and not principal. But my hope is that if they are going through the trouble of addending the script and budgeting the extra scenes they must see the content as important, and therefore an upgrade is slightly more likely.

The only thing is that I need to look similar to the other actor for it to make sense in the story. Which I think I do. We both have dark features, similar faces shapes, close in age, same build, and same height. Of course I had to shave my beard off. It was a surprisingly quick and painless procedure this the electric sheers I bought a couple of months ago. Though there was hair everywhere. The last time I shave my beard, I had to cut it down with scissors. It wasn't pretty, let's just say. Lot's of cuts.... So I think I should know by Monday. Yeah, sorry, I'll get more specific later.

Please cross fingers...now!

What Up Hollywood?

What the hell is going on with the Hollywoodies lately?? First Tom Cruise shows us he's crazy time and time again, thenMel Gibson tells the world he hates Jews, then Kramer tells everyone he hates Blacks, then Danny Devito goes onto The View drunk..... Get your shit together huh people!!!

And why every time I turn on the TV is Tyra Banks on??? I don't care if you're hot, I can't stand you Tyra. When you speak it makes my skin crawl. Maybe if the extent of your show was you bouncing around in the million dollar Victoria's Secret bra I would tune in now and then. But seeing you cry your eyes out because you dressed up like a fat person and didn't receive attention makes my eye twitch. Or hearing you promise your audience you're going to give away the single product that gives your beauty, to your audience. Hearing them get all thrilled and then they open their gift bags and its baby oil! What fucking brass you got. BTW, both of those examples I heard on the radio as someone was making fun of her show. Just so you don't get the wrong impression.