Hello, gentle viewers! It's been sooooooooo long! I hope everyone is doing well after the holiday madhouse that I'm sure turned most of your lives into a topsy-turvy change of seasons. I know it definitely did so for me! One thing about the holidays, they may not always be the most fun, but once you see one drunk friend after another, they're definitely the most entertaining.
So here's what's happening in my neck of the woods. I have a friend of mine that's really REALLY starting to annoy me, I have recently gotten a new job and am working in a call center for Verizon Wireless(which I absolutely LOVE). So, that's been me for the last few months. Between work and other things in my life, I haven't really had the time to do much. I have, however, had the time to think up a plan. A wonderful plan! Shall I tell you guys about it? I think I shall!
I don't know if you guys have realized this or not, but I am somewhat of a Buffy fanatic. I love the series, the music, and I think the show had some of the smartest writing within the history of television. All this being said, here's my plan...(pause for dramatic effect)...I have decided upon doing an audio version of the show starring some of the biggest fans of the show! One of the main reasons that I had decided to do was because I have the opportunity to jump in on some stage projects for the show which I am really excited about! I figured that upon playing these parts(and yes I actually have different parts throughout different seasons), it would help me as far as interacting lines with others. I can quote the show forwards and backwards, but interactions a different story.
What do I want from you guys? Here's my thoughts: As I've already told you, I want to do an audio of the series. All 144 episodes in a podcast type format. The parts of Joyce, Drusilla, Darla, Tara, Giles, and Faith are cast already. I'm still in need of a Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Kendra, Spike, Riley(GAG), Oz, Master, Glory, Adam, Prof. Walsh, Snyder, Princ. Flutie, Mayor, Luke, Dawn, the diffent Potentials for Season 7, Angel, and tons of other extras parts! Here's what I'm proposing. I'd like to hold auditions, either via Skype, GTalk or some other audio platform. If your acting skills aren't the best of the best, don't worry about it. This is for fun. Just audition if you want to take part in it. Acting skills aren't really a neccessity as long as you can do some inflection in your voice! :o) You guys can either shoot me an email, reply to/DM me on Twitter(@tholmes86), send me a message on Facebook, or just leave a some comments on the blog. I do want some feedback on this one as to if you guys like the idea or not so leave some comments! I'm hoping this will be a blast for everyone that takes part!
Also, just wanted to give you guys a heads up, I am presently scouting out some different locations in Atlanta, GA and the surrounding areas to hold a showing of BUFFY: ONCE MORE WITH FEELING for Halloween this year. Planning on doing it ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW style...everyone come dressed as one of the characters from the show and there will be call back lines! Much like the OMWF sing-a-long in Texas if any of you guys went to it. If so, I bet I saw you there! :o) So that's definitely something for ya'll to gear up for as well! It shall be a rolicking success! :o)
I guess I'm all tapped out today! See you guys on he next go around and take care of yourselves! :o)
Showing posts with label Buffy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buffy. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Tale of the Outraged Director
Hiya, guys! It's been a while! I hope everything is going great with everybody! Spiffy even! :o)
I wasn't really certain what to blog about, or even if I was going to, until my new pal Val kinda screamed, BLOG! at me via the Twitterwaves! Buckle up, kiddies! For those of you that have read the bloggage before, as always, it's gonna be a bumpy ride with plenty of rib crackin' fun!
I figure I shall tell you a tale. A tale of my youth when I was just a silly young thing about 700 or so...wait...that wasn't me. That was Anya(gotta love the Buffy references)! Where was I? Ah, yes! I was somewhere around the ripe old age of 16. Usually, when my stories begin with my age, you can about bet that it's going to be about a theatrical experience. Well, guess what? This one's no different. This one may not be so much theatrical as the events surrounding the theatrics. You've heard the story of THE ALABAMA DENNY'S. You've heard the tale of THE DRUNKEN ACTRESS OF LES MIS, but for your reading pleasure, or demise, not sure which yet, you shall hear, THE TALE OF THE OUTRAGED DIRECTOR. As I was saying, I was 16. Everyone caught up now? Good.
Sixteen was a pretty fun age for me. I'd spent a month during the summer with a friend of mine in California, and hi-jinks always ensued when we were together. Still do. After I had to come back to Georgia, I was kinda down. I always hate to leave LA. Anyway, I came back and was working at a local bookstore at the time. I'd been employed there since the previous year and I'd asked the owner if there was anyway I could take my month off. He was always real good to work with me about things like that. I'll never find another manager like him. I'd had to have a certain type of schedule to fit around my acting. Anyway, I started back at work and then the next week it was auditions galore. A friend of mine and I, yet another one I tended to get into trouble with, were audition partners.
For those of you unfamiliar with theater audition etiquette, I shall take a moment to fill you in. In a cold reading, which is typically the first step in an open audition, you sit in this circle of people, some of whom you've never worked with before, and read these parts, yielding expressive voices, when you've only had about three minutes to review the character you're reading for. After separating the sheep from the goats, so to speak, the director decides who he'd like to audition.
My friend Chris and I used to feed off of one another's acting. We'd been improv partners for probably close to six years by that point in time, and it was automatic for me to say something, being completely dramatic, and for him to just pick up another character part in tandem with my own. We could keep up a good ruse for HOURS! Naturally, he's going to be the person I pick to audition with for the couple audition section, right?
I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up. The second step is a solo audition. Since I did musical theater, this typically called for a spoken monologue and a solo song choice. Well, I, being the Buffy obssessed individual that I was at the time, chose to do Buffy's "Men With Your Sales" monologue from RESTLESS. I had absolutely no idea that the director, a very handsome gay male, absolutely loved Buffy. I mean, LOVED Buffy.
I began delivering the monologue and I hear this...ya know...I'm not real sure what you'd call it. It was a cross between a squeal and a shriek. A very disturbing sound. He'd recognized it automatically. Well, I was so stunned by his outburst, and yes, I KNOW a trained thespian is supposed to be able to continue no matter what happens, but you didn't hear this sound! Chris, being the awesome friend that he was, yells at me from somewhere offstage, "I SHOWED UP EARLY SO I GOT TO BE COWBOY GUY!" which got an eyeroll from me, but it made me able to find my place and attempt to take back over.
I was planning on taking back over anyway, until the director shouted at Chris, "Shut up, you oversized government experiment! You're ruining the best piece of pop culture in any world that's ever been created!" and yes, he was talking about Riley, but it left Chris stunned.
The director composed himself from his mental breakdown and said, in a very calm and serene voice, from the yell that had rang through the theater, "Continue, Miss Holmes." So I began again, making it all the way through the short monologue and into my song, FULL OF GRACE. Buffy nut. Remember?
I basically knew I had the part in the bag if the awe in the director's eye was anything to go off of. Any part I wanted for that matter. Chris auditioned, and the director loved him too, so we'd both made it through to the team audition. Most of the time, during a team audition, you typically drag someone to the audition that isn't planning on having a part in the play. It's hard to audition with another actor because you have to worry about one overshadowing the other, and then the director doesn't see the potential in the other person. Chris and I balance pretty well, so it wasn't really a problem.
We did an excerpt from a Rowan Atkinson skit called FATAL BEATINGS in which a teacher is explaining to a very upset father that his son has been beaten to death by said teacher. Very funny skit! After that came the duo song number and we performed PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. We both got the parts we wanted and all was hugs and puppies...except for this one minor problem. This girl that the cast began calling Margoat behind her back.
The girl's hair might have been bleached blonde, but her brain was the real deal. I mean this girl could tell you anything about what color clashed with what, but ask her the capital of Georgia, her home state, and you'll wait a year before she comes up with Buckhead...and no that isn't right. She makes a grape look intelligent. Margoat, bless her heart, had a penchant for wearing white. All white. No one ever knew why. We'd finally had it with her one day. She thought she knew better than any of the other cast members what we were doing wrong with our parts if we had any issues.
Chris and I, the troublemakers of the group, devised a scheme to shut Margoat up. We'd put our heads together and decided that the next rehearsal, when Margoat came in wearing her signature whiteness, that we, along with three other cast mates, would bring our supersoakers...filled with purple grape juice as a manner of payback, so we went into the costume room two days later. There's no modesty in theater, you all change together. Hence the reason we were all in the room waitng for her.
There were somewhere around 8 excited cast members in the room, 5 of us with SupersoakerXP water guns filled with grapey goodness. It was dark on stage as there were no stage lights on, meaning the costume room offstage was dark as well. The door opened, and Chris yelled, "NOW!" We fired before the lights even came on, only seing the outline of our outraged target.
After emptying our guns all over the figure in the door, Tyler, another Supersoaker wielder, realized that the screams and shouts were coming from a very feminine sounding man. Chris flipped the light switch on and saw a now purple clad, irate director standing before him. It turned out Greg, director man, had somewhere he had to be and was about to call everyone to let them know we weren't rehearsing.
It just so happened that since he was going somewhere special, he'd felt the need to buy a brand new Ralph Lauren Polo baby blue linen suit. Parts of it were still blue, but I really don't think he appreciated the tye-dyed effect we'd given the ensemble. That could have been him pointing at the door and saying, "Go." in a deathly cold voice after yelling at the entire room for 15 minutes tipping me off though. Sigh. Guess we'll never know if he was really angry.
Rehearsal resumed the next week, and the incident was never spoken of again. The production was a success, and Greg stopped directing right after that...wonder why? Hmmm.
Till next time, guys! :o)
I wasn't really certain what to blog about, or even if I was going to, until my new pal Val kinda screamed, BLOG! at me via the Twitterwaves! Buckle up, kiddies! For those of you that have read the bloggage before, as always, it's gonna be a bumpy ride with plenty of rib crackin' fun!
I figure I shall tell you a tale. A tale of my youth when I was just a silly young thing about 700 or so...wait...that wasn't me. That was Anya(gotta love the Buffy references)! Where was I? Ah, yes! I was somewhere around the ripe old age of 16. Usually, when my stories begin with my age, you can about bet that it's going to be about a theatrical experience. Well, guess what? This one's no different. This one may not be so much theatrical as the events surrounding the theatrics. You've heard the story of THE ALABAMA DENNY'S. You've heard the tale of THE DRUNKEN ACTRESS OF LES MIS, but for your reading pleasure, or demise, not sure which yet, you shall hear, THE TALE OF THE OUTRAGED DIRECTOR. As I was saying, I was 16. Everyone caught up now? Good.
Sixteen was a pretty fun age for me. I'd spent a month during the summer with a friend of mine in California, and hi-jinks always ensued when we were together. Still do. After I had to come back to Georgia, I was kinda down. I always hate to leave LA. Anyway, I came back and was working at a local bookstore at the time. I'd been employed there since the previous year and I'd asked the owner if there was anyway I could take my month off. He was always real good to work with me about things like that. I'll never find another manager like him. I'd had to have a certain type of schedule to fit around my acting. Anyway, I started back at work and then the next week it was auditions galore. A friend of mine and I, yet another one I tended to get into trouble with, were audition partners.
For those of you unfamiliar with theater audition etiquette, I shall take a moment to fill you in. In a cold reading, which is typically the first step in an open audition, you sit in this circle of people, some of whom you've never worked with before, and read these parts, yielding expressive voices, when you've only had about three minutes to review the character you're reading for. After separating the sheep from the goats, so to speak, the director decides who he'd like to audition.
My friend Chris and I used to feed off of one another's acting. We'd been improv partners for probably close to six years by that point in time, and it was automatic for me to say something, being completely dramatic, and for him to just pick up another character part in tandem with my own. We could keep up a good ruse for HOURS! Naturally, he's going to be the person I pick to audition with for the couple audition section, right?
I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up. The second step is a solo audition. Since I did musical theater, this typically called for a spoken monologue and a solo song choice. Well, I, being the Buffy obssessed individual that I was at the time, chose to do Buffy's "Men With Your Sales" monologue from RESTLESS. I had absolutely no idea that the director, a very handsome gay male, absolutely loved Buffy. I mean, LOVED Buffy.
I began delivering the monologue and I hear this...ya know...I'm not real sure what you'd call it. It was a cross between a squeal and a shriek. A very disturbing sound. He'd recognized it automatically. Well, I was so stunned by his outburst, and yes, I KNOW a trained thespian is supposed to be able to continue no matter what happens, but you didn't hear this sound! Chris, being the awesome friend that he was, yells at me from somewhere offstage, "I SHOWED UP EARLY SO I GOT TO BE COWBOY GUY!" which got an eyeroll from me, but it made me able to find my place and attempt to take back over.
I was planning on taking back over anyway, until the director shouted at Chris, "Shut up, you oversized government experiment! You're ruining the best piece of pop culture in any world that's ever been created!" and yes, he was talking about Riley, but it left Chris stunned.
The director composed himself from his mental breakdown and said, in a very calm and serene voice, from the yell that had rang through the theater, "Continue, Miss Holmes." So I began again, making it all the way through the short monologue and into my song, FULL OF GRACE. Buffy nut. Remember?
I basically knew I had the part in the bag if the awe in the director's eye was anything to go off of. Any part I wanted for that matter. Chris auditioned, and the director loved him too, so we'd both made it through to the team audition. Most of the time, during a team audition, you typically drag someone to the audition that isn't planning on having a part in the play. It's hard to audition with another actor because you have to worry about one overshadowing the other, and then the director doesn't see the potential in the other person. Chris and I balance pretty well, so it wasn't really a problem.
We did an excerpt from a Rowan Atkinson skit called FATAL BEATINGS in which a teacher is explaining to a very upset father that his son has been beaten to death by said teacher. Very funny skit! After that came the duo song number and we performed PAST THE POINT OF NO RETURN from PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. We both got the parts we wanted and all was hugs and puppies...except for this one minor problem. This girl that the cast began calling Margoat behind her back.
The girl's hair might have been bleached blonde, but her brain was the real deal. I mean this girl could tell you anything about what color clashed with what, but ask her the capital of Georgia, her home state, and you'll wait a year before she comes up with Buckhead...and no that isn't right. She makes a grape look intelligent. Margoat, bless her heart, had a penchant for wearing white. All white. No one ever knew why. We'd finally had it with her one day. She thought she knew better than any of the other cast members what we were doing wrong with our parts if we had any issues.
Chris and I, the troublemakers of the group, devised a scheme to shut Margoat up. We'd put our heads together and decided that the next rehearsal, when Margoat came in wearing her signature whiteness, that we, along with three other cast mates, would bring our supersoakers...filled with purple grape juice as a manner of payback, so we went into the costume room two days later. There's no modesty in theater, you all change together. Hence the reason we were all in the room waitng for her.
There were somewhere around 8 excited cast members in the room, 5 of us with SupersoakerXP water guns filled with grapey goodness. It was dark on stage as there were no stage lights on, meaning the costume room offstage was dark as well. The door opened, and Chris yelled, "NOW!" We fired before the lights even came on, only seing the outline of our outraged target.
After emptying our guns all over the figure in the door, Tyler, another Supersoaker wielder, realized that the screams and shouts were coming from a very feminine sounding man. Chris flipped the light switch on and saw a now purple clad, irate director standing before him. It turned out Greg, director man, had somewhere he had to be and was about to call everyone to let them know we weren't rehearsing.
It just so happened that since he was going somewhere special, he'd felt the need to buy a brand new Ralph Lauren Polo baby blue linen suit. Parts of it were still blue, but I really don't think he appreciated the tye-dyed effect we'd given the ensemble. That could have been him pointing at the door and saying, "Go." in a deathly cold voice after yelling at the entire room for 15 minutes tipping me off though. Sigh. Guess we'll never know if he was really angry.
Rehearsal resumed the next week, and the incident was never spoken of again. The production was a success, and Greg stopped directing right after that...wonder why? Hmmm.
Till next time, guys! :o)
Friday, May 14, 2010
What Else is New?
Hi guys! So.... I was watching Buffy. What else is new, right? Actually it's been a pretty good while since I'd watched an episode. I had started rewatching them about 4 weeks ago to do some Buffy quotes back and forth with a pal of mine, seeing as they still air the show where she lives. I had decided I was going to start in at the episode she was at, just to refresh my mind on the quotes, because I don't look them up... I feel like it's cheating, and that may be the Buffy trivia champ in me talking. I have most of the scripts memorized oddly enough. I think I made it through one episode before things in life started going wonky... you know how that goes.
Anyway. Moving right along. I was watching Buffy, only watched the episode HUSH last night, well... actually, around 3ish this morning. Let me just say, NOT an episode to watch before you go to sleep. Not scary, just weird dreams of wrinkly old dudes trying to cut your heart out and you "can't even shout". Anyhowzers, watched the episode, and thought to myself, during the seen where Giles is explaining who the Gentlemen are, you know the one, I thought, well... who ARE the Gentlemen! So, the researcher in me got to wondering if it was simply a tale created from Joss Whedon's exquisite imagination, or if they were REALLY fairy tale monsters.
My results? The "Can't Even Shout" tune, set to "Master of the House" from Les Miserables, is an actual jump rope song that children used to skip rope to! Kinda freaked me out a little... almost like the "Lizzie Borden" rhyme. Creepy. Anyway, there are some parallels with HUSH and another fairytale. If Disney didn't swap and switch the fairytales up to make them kid friendly, basically what you'd have is a Saturday night horror matinee in a literary binding. After looking through a series of different websites, all of which I Googled anything that would lead to the Gentlemen. I finally remembered an old book of my grandmother's I had that was an original copy of Grimms Fairytales... well, not the German version, the after it was translated version. I kept seeing references to a story, in my online research, called The Seven Brothers. If you count the Gentlemen on the show, there are seven of them, hence the reason for needing seven hearts. I finally grabbed the copy of Grimms Fairytales that I had. I probably looked very much like Giles on the series when the realization struck him that he'd seen them before. I grabbed the book, flipped to the Table of Contents, and there, among the yellowed pages and black lettering, staring straight back at me... THE SEVEN BROTHERS. So, I did what any good detective with the last name of Holmes would do. I read it. :o)
The story, was about a poor couple that had 7 sons, and, since humans can never be pleased with what they already have, they wanted a daughter. They finally had a little girl, and she was a sickly little thing. When she was older, the father sent one of the boys to get some water from a spring, and the others decided to go along. Apparently, they took too long for the father's liking and he wished that they were changed into birds(upon researching, some translations say ravens, some translations say cows.) Mine only said BIRDS, so I'm going with birds. So, pops makes this wish, and suddenly all these birds start flying around his head. He's saddened by his mouth speaking before his brain thought. Apparently, back then, all you had to do was wish and it came true... hmmm... I wish I had a million dollars. Ah, well, it was worth a shot. Back to the story. So, dear old dad turned out to be Daddy Dearest. They took care of the birds, and the sister grew up really pretty and healthy. She overheard the townspeople saying one day how pretty she was, but what a shame it was about her brother, which, up until this point, she'd completely forgot she had. She goes to this woman that was supposedly the town witch. She tells the sister that she must stay totally silent for 24 hours to change her brothers back to their natural form. So to ensure that she does, the sister asks the witch to take away her voice... UH OH! Gee... Little Mermaid much? So, the voice is gone, and the sister goes back to the house, which is oddly enough no longer inhabited by her parents, not specified as to why not. She lets the birds out of the cage, and here is where the Grimms version differ from all the rest of the translation. The witch sneaks in, changes the brothers into creatures(again not specified what kind), gets two of them to hold down the sister while the witch cuts out the poor girl's heart as the remaining brothers look on smiling.
So see? Similarities, but I liked Joss' version a lot better. Plus... to make the silence last longer that five minutes, it was just a genius episode. Not as good as ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, which will ALWAYS be my favorite, but I LOVE HUSH! It was just creative. My opinion, it set the bar pretty high for a series on a network that, at the time, few people had even heard of. I need Joss' mind!
Here's to an exciting blog adventure on the next go around guys! :o) Catch ya'll later, and take care!
Anyway. Moving right along. I was watching Buffy, only watched the episode HUSH last night, well... actually, around 3ish this morning. Let me just say, NOT an episode to watch before you go to sleep. Not scary, just weird dreams of wrinkly old dudes trying to cut your heart out and you "can't even shout". Anyhowzers, watched the episode, and thought to myself, during the seen where Giles is explaining who the Gentlemen are, you know the one, I thought, well... who ARE the Gentlemen! So, the researcher in me got to wondering if it was simply a tale created from Joss Whedon's exquisite imagination, or if they were REALLY fairy tale monsters.
My results? The "Can't Even Shout" tune, set to "Master of the House" from Les Miserables, is an actual jump rope song that children used to skip rope to! Kinda freaked me out a little... almost like the "Lizzie Borden" rhyme. Creepy. Anyway, there are some parallels with HUSH and another fairytale. If Disney didn't swap and switch the fairytales up to make them kid friendly, basically what you'd have is a Saturday night horror matinee in a literary binding. After looking through a series of different websites, all of which I Googled anything that would lead to the Gentlemen. I finally remembered an old book of my grandmother's I had that was an original copy of Grimms Fairytales... well, not the German version, the after it was translated version. I kept seeing references to a story, in my online research, called The Seven Brothers. If you count the Gentlemen on the show, there are seven of them, hence the reason for needing seven hearts. I finally grabbed the copy of Grimms Fairytales that I had. I probably looked very much like Giles on the series when the realization struck him that he'd seen them before. I grabbed the book, flipped to the Table of Contents, and there, among the yellowed pages and black lettering, staring straight back at me... THE SEVEN BROTHERS. So, I did what any good detective with the last name of Holmes would do. I read it. :o)
The story, was about a poor couple that had 7 sons, and, since humans can never be pleased with what they already have, they wanted a daughter. They finally had a little girl, and she was a sickly little thing. When she was older, the father sent one of the boys to get some water from a spring, and the others decided to go along. Apparently, they took too long for the father's liking and he wished that they were changed into birds(upon researching, some translations say ravens, some translations say cows.) Mine only said BIRDS, so I'm going with birds. So, pops makes this wish, and suddenly all these birds start flying around his head. He's saddened by his mouth speaking before his brain thought. Apparently, back then, all you had to do was wish and it came true... hmmm... I wish I had a million dollars. Ah, well, it was worth a shot. Back to the story. So, dear old dad turned out to be Daddy Dearest. They took care of the birds, and the sister grew up really pretty and healthy. She overheard the townspeople saying one day how pretty she was, but what a shame it was about her brother, which, up until this point, she'd completely forgot she had. She goes to this woman that was supposedly the town witch. She tells the sister that she must stay totally silent for 24 hours to change her brothers back to their natural form. So to ensure that she does, the sister asks the witch to take away her voice... UH OH! Gee... Little Mermaid much? So, the voice is gone, and the sister goes back to the house, which is oddly enough no longer inhabited by her parents, not specified as to why not. She lets the birds out of the cage, and here is where the Grimms version differ from all the rest of the translation. The witch sneaks in, changes the brothers into creatures(again not specified what kind), gets two of them to hold down the sister while the witch cuts out the poor girl's heart as the remaining brothers look on smiling.
So see? Similarities, but I liked Joss' version a lot better. Plus... to make the silence last longer that five minutes, it was just a genius episode. Not as good as ONCE MORE WITH FEELING, which will ALWAYS be my favorite, but I LOVE HUSH! It was just creative. My opinion, it set the bar pretty high for a series on a network that, at the time, few people had even heard of. I need Joss' mind!
Here's to an exciting blog adventure on the next go around guys! :o) Catch ya'll later, and take care!
Monday, April 12, 2010
OH MY TUMMY!!!!!!!
Hey, guys! I tell you... honest to GOODNESS, my tummy has never hurt so bad in my LIFE! I have laughed so much today, I threw myself into an asthma attack! I needed the laughter. It was splendifurkle! It all started with my pal Jenny B! Apparently, we're both haunted, no, not haunted, PLAGUED by Dora the Explorer and Deigo! Sidebar... Dora gets a full title and Deigo is just Deigo... like Cher, or Madonna... what's up with that? Hmmm... ANYWAY! We are both plagued by these two little kiddie shows. They may be entertaining for the kiddies, but they kinda make you, as an adult, want to ram your head through a brick wall... repeatedly. Just sayin'! I have LAUGHED at the situations we seem to get locked into with these... characters!
Then, today... talking Buffy quotages with my other bud Bits! You guys know me and Buffy. I would have married Joss Whedon if Kai hadn't already had snatched him right out from under my nose! Buffy quotes with Bits are fun! We pick out the most insanely hilarious, and obtuse quotes from whatever show happens to be on that day! Oh the laughs! It's not even the quotes really... it's the discussion that goes on ABOUT the quotes! Bits is frickin' hillarious and doesn't even know it! I believe most of the humor in our chats come from her! I think it opened the door for the rest of the laughter for the day. Put me in a good mood! So HOORAY!
Then there was Sarah B. Where do I start? We started with Buffy comics... yes I admit, I read them. What about it? LOL! Season 8 is just getting very... you fill in the blank with a word that's an antonym for good. Be as creative as you like! The girl had me rolling! We talked about everything from Buffy comics to me driving the riding lawn mower up the tree when I was about 4, and in my Miss America stage. You know... more concentrated on waving to the adoring fans as opposed to paying attention to where you're driving. YEP! Never been one to pay attention. Sarah showed me a "wee worthy" movie, and I'm really hoping I don't have to explain what a wee is! LOL! The best converstaions are when you laugh so hard you can reach into your mind and just barely remember what you've talked about! All of mine have been that way today!
Last but not least, none of my bloggage on laughter would be complete without the mention of one of my newest and dearest friends Watson! She is the QUEEN of laughter! Totally gets my randomness... and I have to admit... I do have times that I skip from one extreme topic to the next and she can follow me! I mean, how many friends can you talk to going from the subject of Buffy and then two words later, go on to discussing church and they totally get what you're saying? We joke all the time about sharing a mind... that in itself is a pretty hillarious picture! Reason being is that good old Watson is more intelligent than I am! Between the chat and all other platforms of communication, there is no easing my aching stomach!
I made a remark to Bits today that I thought I may have cracked a rib from laughing so hard! What a way to break a bone! Heard a remark from Watson today that she may die laughing... what a way to go! Watson always says that the laughter has to keep the stomach muscle toned. You would THINK with the way the sides, lungs, and inards hurt so badly! Now all I have to do is wait for it to firm up!
That about wraps it up for me tonight! Talk with you guys next go around, and I wish you much laughter and tightening of the tummy muscles!
Then, today... talking Buffy quotages with my other bud Bits! You guys know me and Buffy. I would have married Joss Whedon if Kai hadn't already had snatched him right out from under my nose! Buffy quotes with Bits are fun! We pick out the most insanely hilarious, and obtuse quotes from whatever show happens to be on that day! Oh the laughs! It's not even the quotes really... it's the discussion that goes on ABOUT the quotes! Bits is frickin' hillarious and doesn't even know it! I believe most of the humor in our chats come from her! I think it opened the door for the rest of the laughter for the day. Put me in a good mood! So HOORAY!
Then there was Sarah B. Where do I start? We started with Buffy comics... yes I admit, I read them. What about it? LOL! Season 8 is just getting very... you fill in the blank with a word that's an antonym for good. Be as creative as you like! The girl had me rolling! We talked about everything from Buffy comics to me driving the riding lawn mower up the tree when I was about 4, and in my Miss America stage. You know... more concentrated on waving to the adoring fans as opposed to paying attention to where you're driving. YEP! Never been one to pay attention. Sarah showed me a "wee worthy" movie, and I'm really hoping I don't have to explain what a wee is! LOL! The best converstaions are when you laugh so hard you can reach into your mind and just barely remember what you've talked about! All of mine have been that way today!
Last but not least, none of my bloggage on laughter would be complete without the mention of one of my newest and dearest friends Watson! She is the QUEEN of laughter! Totally gets my randomness... and I have to admit... I do have times that I skip from one extreme topic to the next and she can follow me! I mean, how many friends can you talk to going from the subject of Buffy and then two words later, go on to discussing church and they totally get what you're saying? We joke all the time about sharing a mind... that in itself is a pretty hillarious picture! Reason being is that good old Watson is more intelligent than I am! Between the chat and all other platforms of communication, there is no easing my aching stomach!
I made a remark to Bits today that I thought I may have cracked a rib from laughing so hard! What a way to break a bone! Heard a remark from Watson today that she may die laughing... what a way to go! Watson always says that the laughter has to keep the stomach muscle toned. You would THINK with the way the sides, lungs, and inards hurt so badly! Now all I have to do is wait for it to firm up!
That about wraps it up for me tonight! Talk with you guys next go around, and I wish you much laughter and tightening of the tummy muscles!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Beauty of Life
Hey guys! Despite everything going on, I have had the BEST day today I've had in a long time! Everything has just been so calm and peaceful. Started back keeping the kids again today, and I think that helped restore some normalcy. Well... as normal as I CAN be anway! Lots of changes, positive ones, heading my way soon! I'm getting a house! Like to own! So excited! The parental units bought one for me, so I'm pretty siked about that!
Have you guys ever noticed how babies make things in life so much easier to cope with? All evening, things were kind of docile around my best friend, Marla's grandma's house, since the death of her grandpa. Not like depression, but you could just tell everyone was exhausted and nerves were starting to get on edge, and then, Marla's cousin walks in with his baby. Addy just turned a year old, and is walking and saying a few words here and there. She came in today, and the whole room just lit up! She'd come over an hug you or try and give kisses. I got attacked because I was sitting on the floor, right at her level, so naturally she runs full speed ahead and I HAD to act like she'd tackled me, and she just giggled! I LOVE it!
You know how people bring food to the family when someone passes away? There was tons of food! You have to understand Marla's granny before I tell you guys this story. She's hard of hearing, and a lot of times her thought processes don't make a lick of sense, but she's one of those people that you CAN'T NOT love! Our church brings in food, and after everyone has finished eating, she says, "Ya'll can't put all that in my frigidaire! It'll break it down!" We all laughed and she walked on around us and never even heard the 20 some odd people laughing and chortling at her!
It was definitely a great day. Light hearted, found out one of Marla's mom's sister feeds her husband dog food... not really. She made the slip up today of saying she'd bought her husband some Beneful as opposed to Benefiber. We had one of those gut busting laughs over that!
Anyhow, guys! I'll be back to babble at ya later! I'm planning on tomorrow being a total Buffyfest before I have to get ready to go with Marla to the funeral home. I have to have something to keep my mind off of the sadness! Who knows? Someone may walk in the room and see me quizzing myself on Buffy trivia! Just to keep my mind off of things! Till we meet in cyber space again guys!
Have you guys ever noticed how babies make things in life so much easier to cope with? All evening, things were kind of docile around my best friend, Marla's grandma's house, since the death of her grandpa. Not like depression, but you could just tell everyone was exhausted and nerves were starting to get on edge, and then, Marla's cousin walks in with his baby. Addy just turned a year old, and is walking and saying a few words here and there. She came in today, and the whole room just lit up! She'd come over an hug you or try and give kisses. I got attacked because I was sitting on the floor, right at her level, so naturally she runs full speed ahead and I HAD to act like she'd tackled me, and she just giggled! I LOVE it!
You know how people bring food to the family when someone passes away? There was tons of food! You have to understand Marla's granny before I tell you guys this story. She's hard of hearing, and a lot of times her thought processes don't make a lick of sense, but she's one of those people that you CAN'T NOT love! Our church brings in food, and after everyone has finished eating, she says, "Ya'll can't put all that in my frigidaire! It'll break it down!" We all laughed and she walked on around us and never even heard the 20 some odd people laughing and chortling at her!
It was definitely a great day. Light hearted, found out one of Marla's mom's sister feeds her husband dog food... not really. She made the slip up today of saying she'd bought her husband some Beneful as opposed to Benefiber. We had one of those gut busting laughs over that!
Anyhow, guys! I'll be back to babble at ya later! I'm planning on tomorrow being a total Buffyfest before I have to get ready to go with Marla to the funeral home. I have to have something to keep my mind off of the sadness! Who knows? Someone may walk in the room and see me quizzing myself on Buffy trivia! Just to keep my mind off of things! Till we meet in cyber space again guys!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Shootin' the Breeze...
Hey guys! Hope everything's going great out ya'll's way. And yes, I just gave ya'll a possessive form. :o) It's been one of those days... NOT IN A BAD WAY! Of the good this time! I've wanted to write today, and just haven't known what to say. Imagine... me... speechless! HA! Apparently, someone sneaked in and placed duct tape over the mouth of my muse, so she's not making so much with the chatty today, but I'm a trouper! I'll plow on through and hope what I say makes at least some semblance of sense!
I was playing some video games tonight, and then had a nice relaxing evening curled up with a book, one of my favorites called "Waltz Into Darkness" by Cornell Woolrich. If you guys haven't read it, I recommend! It's probably about the 6th time I've read it this year. I mean... after you finish "Death's Daughter" and "Cat's Claw" by Amber Benson, what can you do, right? Speaking of which... need to get the word out guys... only have 32 out of 200 reviews for "Cat's Claw" on Amazon for Amber to have to make good on her end of the challenge! Let's get 'er done! Anyway... I was going somewhere with this... oh yeah! So I was reading "Waltz Into Darkness" after the video gameage and just stopped reading and thought, "man I need a life!" Then, I remembered... I was too busy to HAVE a life. I wonder how that works out.
I go so much, all the time, it's like I seem to forget that THAT IS my life! And you know what? I really wouldn't trade it for anything. It's crazy, chaotic sometimes, completely random, and sometimes(to throw in some Buffy quotage) "sucks beyond the telling of it." But the crazy chaotic, random, and, yes, even the bad parts, are so worth the good. Most of you reading this know that I had a friend of mine take her life recently. That has hit me harder than I believe I thought it did originally. I just wonder how someone can come to that point in their life. I mean, I've been to that point, and I know it's easy to get to, but at the end of the day, I can't think of ANYTHING worth missing out on life for.
Okay, enough with the heavy stuff. Let's have some fun. Completely random and totally having nothing to do with this blog, other than it's my self expression, my little cousin, who's four walked into my living room today, and said he wanted to tell me a joke. I'm ALWAYS up for a joke! If you have one, lay it on me! He asked me, "Why did the chicken cross the playground?" And I KNOW I should have known the answer, but I was so dumbstruck that he asked if he could tell me a joke, I said, "I have no idea." He looked at me with the biggest Chesire cat grin you have ever seen, and says... "To get to the other slide." I busted out laughing! Couldn't help it. Yeah, it's a cheesy joke, and yeah it's a kid's joke, but the way he said it and the big grin, was just hillarious! I asked him where he heard that, and he looks at me and said, "From you! 'Member? You know everything!" The child was as serious as a heartattack! Boy, does he have a hard road ahead if he believes that! Christopher, my cousin, is autistic, and I keep him Monday through Thursday. More often than not he tones you out, and you don't think he's paying a bit of attention. Then he pulls something like that up from months before... it just amazes me. I remembered the day I'd told him that joke after a few minutes. He was sitting on the floor coloring a Buffy coloring book page... yes I had the Buffy coloring books... THEY WERE GIFTS! When I told him that joke at the time, he told me that it was "silly", I believe was the term he used. But today, it took on a whole new meaning. That is exactly what I want to try to look for in the bad and messy things of life... the whole new meaning. I love the part in any book or movie when the bad turns into good, and I truly believe that's what happens in life. Throughout all the ups and downs, and bumps and bruises, the bad always turns to good, if you hold on and wait for it.
Those are my random thoughts for the day guys! Hope you enjoyed! All over the place, I know, but that's my charm I guess! Look forward to babbling at you again soon!
OH!!!! And by the way... Buffy trivia went awesomely fantabulous! I'm still the reigning champ, and still have yet to miss a question! Peace out, folks!
I was playing some video games tonight, and then had a nice relaxing evening curled up with a book, one of my favorites called "Waltz Into Darkness" by Cornell Woolrich. If you guys haven't read it, I recommend! It's probably about the 6th time I've read it this year. I mean... after you finish "Death's Daughter" and "Cat's Claw" by Amber Benson, what can you do, right? Speaking of which... need to get the word out guys... only have 32 out of 200 reviews for "Cat's Claw" on Amazon for Amber to have to make good on her end of the challenge! Let's get 'er done! Anyway... I was going somewhere with this... oh yeah! So I was reading "Waltz Into Darkness" after the video gameage and just stopped reading and thought, "man I need a life!" Then, I remembered... I was too busy to HAVE a life. I wonder how that works out.
I go so much, all the time, it's like I seem to forget that THAT IS my life! And you know what? I really wouldn't trade it for anything. It's crazy, chaotic sometimes, completely random, and sometimes(to throw in some Buffy quotage) "sucks beyond the telling of it." But the crazy chaotic, random, and, yes, even the bad parts, are so worth the good. Most of you reading this know that I had a friend of mine take her life recently. That has hit me harder than I believe I thought it did originally. I just wonder how someone can come to that point in their life. I mean, I've been to that point, and I know it's easy to get to, but at the end of the day, I can't think of ANYTHING worth missing out on life for.
Okay, enough with the heavy stuff. Let's have some fun. Completely random and totally having nothing to do with this blog, other than it's my self expression, my little cousin, who's four walked into my living room today, and said he wanted to tell me a joke. I'm ALWAYS up for a joke! If you have one, lay it on me! He asked me, "Why did the chicken cross the playground?" And I KNOW I should have known the answer, but I was so dumbstruck that he asked if he could tell me a joke, I said, "I have no idea." He looked at me with the biggest Chesire cat grin you have ever seen, and says... "To get to the other slide." I busted out laughing! Couldn't help it. Yeah, it's a cheesy joke, and yeah it's a kid's joke, but the way he said it and the big grin, was just hillarious! I asked him where he heard that, and he looks at me and said, "From you! 'Member? You know everything!" The child was as serious as a heartattack! Boy, does he have a hard road ahead if he believes that! Christopher, my cousin, is autistic, and I keep him Monday through Thursday. More often than not he tones you out, and you don't think he's paying a bit of attention. Then he pulls something like that up from months before... it just amazes me. I remembered the day I'd told him that joke after a few minutes. He was sitting on the floor coloring a Buffy coloring book page... yes I had the Buffy coloring books... THEY WERE GIFTS! When I told him that joke at the time, he told me that it was "silly", I believe was the term he used. But today, it took on a whole new meaning. That is exactly what I want to try to look for in the bad and messy things of life... the whole new meaning. I love the part in any book or movie when the bad turns into good, and I truly believe that's what happens in life. Throughout all the ups and downs, and bumps and bruises, the bad always turns to good, if you hold on and wait for it.
Those are my random thoughts for the day guys! Hope you enjoyed! All over the place, I know, but that's my charm I guess! Look forward to babbling at you again soon!
OH!!!! And by the way... Buffy trivia went awesomely fantabulous! I'm still the reigning champ, and still have yet to miss a question! Peace out, folks!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Life's Lessons
You learn life's lessons through the small things in life. I can think of about twelve right off the top of my head. I shall share them with you now!
12: If you consume too much alcohol.... chances are you're eventually going to either, embarrass the heck out of yourself, or hit the floor. Whichever comes first.
11: Gummy bears take SEVEN YEARS to digest! Just thinking.... WOW!
10: Don't let the bad things in life keep you from the great things in life.
9: Take it from me... don't tell someone to read your blog, even though you totally weren't expecting them to take the time to do so, if you don't really expect them to read your blog!
8: Keep your nose clean... drugs are more trouble than they're worth, and they only keep you satified for a while.
7: It's not a wise idea to Psych 101 someone that you have absoloutely no clue about. Usually, it comes back to bite you in the butt.
6: It's ridiculous to conform to what someone else thinks you should be. Be you.
5: You can learn a lot of valuable life lessons from Buffy! :o)
4: Nowhere in the Bible does it say "cleanliness is next to Godliness", but being clean does have it's benefits!
3: Ladies, if you go to the restroom after a four year old boy has just come out of it, check the toilet seat... the water's cold!
2: Don't judge others.... it's not your place.
1: And my A#1 life lesson..... drumroll please......... If you have a dream in life, aim for it, and then aim a little higher because it will make you happy in the long run!
You can take these of leave them... it won't hurt my feelings either way! Till next time guys!
12: If you consume too much alcohol.... chances are you're eventually going to either, embarrass the heck out of yourself, or hit the floor. Whichever comes first.
11: Gummy bears take SEVEN YEARS to digest! Just thinking.... WOW!
10: Don't let the bad things in life keep you from the great things in life.
9: Take it from me... don't tell someone to read your blog, even though you totally weren't expecting them to take the time to do so, if you don't really expect them to read your blog!
8: Keep your nose clean... drugs are more trouble than they're worth, and they only keep you satified for a while.
7: It's not a wise idea to Psych 101 someone that you have absoloutely no clue about. Usually, it comes back to bite you in the butt.
6: It's ridiculous to conform to what someone else thinks you should be. Be you.
5: You can learn a lot of valuable life lessons from Buffy! :o)
4: Nowhere in the Bible does it say "cleanliness is next to Godliness", but being clean does have it's benefits!
3: Ladies, if you go to the restroom after a four year old boy has just come out of it, check the toilet seat... the water's cold!
2: Don't judge others.... it's not your place.
1: And my A#1 life lesson..... drumroll please......... If you have a dream in life, aim for it, and then aim a little higher because it will make you happy in the long run!
You can take these of leave them... it won't hurt my feelings either way! Till next time guys!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Amber Benson Wows Fans with the Mad People Skills!
Hey, guys! Yeah I know; I should find a shorter title for the entry, but deal just this once.... pretty please with a cherry on top? I had the priviledge of sitting in front of my computer most of the day, the part my meds would allow me to, and think up mindless questions to ask Amber Benson. For those of you that don't know her, which she's so awesomely fantastic I can't imagine anyone that didn't, she was mostly known for her role as Tara in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". She's been in plenty of films, mostly sticking to the independant arena and made for TV movies, has had guest spots on TV series such as "Supernatural", "Private Practice", and "Cracker"(on BBC at one point in time), but has now branched out not only into directing, but writing as well, with a flourish, might I add, that I wish I had. Today, she hung out in the Bitten By Books(awesome site!) review chat room, answering questions for her fans, mainy to promote her new book "Cat's Claw", the second in Miss Benson's Calliope Reaper-Jones trilogy. It may be a trilogy anyway, hopefully it'll be more!! There's still so much Callie would be able to get into. I can think of hundreds of things just sitting here thinking about it. Back to the point. Yes, Amber Benson, answering questions. She talked everything from Sweet Valley High, to Christopher Pike, to RL Stine. Hit on the Ghost of Albion series that she co-authored with Christopher Golden, another extremely gifted writer, and a sweet guy. Threw in some talks about Buffy, because as always, inquiring minds want to know.
The thing that stuck with me the most about Amber Benson's Q & A session today is how graceful and personable she was with her fans, but hey, as she is from Alabama(my closest neighbor to the west), that's a Southern girl for ya! She didn't shorten her answers to her fans for the sake of time, and got to at least one of everyone's questions they had asked. I'd be dead tired, which I'm sure she probably is. The five minute Q & As from my parents when I was younger wore me out; I couldn't imagine 12 hours. Yep, I said it. 12 hours answering just about anything our minds came up with, even offered advice, which was very cool.
I suppose I do sing her praises a tad more than most, but you have to understand something, although I watched Buffy, when they brought Tara(Benson) on the show, I was so torn out of the frame by the break up with Oz, I was kinda angry with the whole thing. Then, from her debute episode "Hush", I could tell where Joss Whedon was going to take this new friendship between Willow and Tara. Casting spells.... yeah uh huh! Anyhow, I was a tad irritated at her being replacement gal for Oz, but by the "Family" episode, she won me over a little. Seeing the character's family, much like my own, made me sympathize with her. Yeah, it was a character role, but still, when you go through something personally, you identify more with the character, plus you get to know them week after week and you just get attached. Then, came the turning point for me, maybe a tad bit on the late side of the Buffy series, but at a good time for me. The episode "Tabula Rasa". She leaves Willow after Willow breaks a pretty important promise to her. That hit home. You see the shy, almost scared character that Amber Benson played make a decision to do something so huge and brave. It hit home for me because at the time this relationship came about, I was in a very abusive relationship, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. I had seen her go from this shy girl that would barely lift her head, to this amazingly strong character. I thought, if she could do it, I could do it. Because abuse, whether it be having your memory sucked from you by a forget spell(twice) or being hit pretty much everyday for seven years, is abuse. Both come with broken, empty promises, and things being done to you against your will. So, I drew from Tara's courage, and ran like heck out of that relationship. So, yes, I'll sing Amber Benson's praises till the cows come home! Got a little off subject, but anyway, here's the bottom line, although there are some not very pleasant people to chat with out in Hollywood world, there are still breaths of fresh air out there. So thank you to Amber Benson for being one of those, and making tonight, not only a memorable one, but a fun one! Had a blast hanging out and can't wait for the next CRJ book!
For those of you that haven't heard of them, check 'em out "Death's Daughter" and "Cat's Claw", respectively. Fun and definitely entertaining!!!! Also, pop on over to http://www.bittenbybooks.com/ and give the site a gander! Till next time!
The thing that stuck with me the most about Amber Benson's Q & A session today is how graceful and personable she was with her fans, but hey, as she is from Alabama(my closest neighbor to the west), that's a Southern girl for ya! She didn't shorten her answers to her fans for the sake of time, and got to at least one of everyone's questions they had asked. I'd be dead tired, which I'm sure she probably is. The five minute Q & As from my parents when I was younger wore me out; I couldn't imagine 12 hours. Yep, I said it. 12 hours answering just about anything our minds came up with, even offered advice, which was very cool.
I suppose I do sing her praises a tad more than most, but you have to understand something, although I watched Buffy, when they brought Tara(Benson) on the show, I was so torn out of the frame by the break up with Oz, I was kinda angry with the whole thing. Then, from her debute episode "Hush", I could tell where Joss Whedon was going to take this new friendship between Willow and Tara. Casting spells.... yeah uh huh! Anyhow, I was a tad irritated at her being replacement gal for Oz, but by the "Family" episode, she won me over a little. Seeing the character's family, much like my own, made me sympathize with her. Yeah, it was a character role, but still, when you go through something personally, you identify more with the character, plus you get to know them week after week and you just get attached. Then, came the turning point for me, maybe a tad bit on the late side of the Buffy series, but at a good time for me. The episode "Tabula Rasa". She leaves Willow after Willow breaks a pretty important promise to her. That hit home. You see the shy, almost scared character that Amber Benson played make a decision to do something so huge and brave. It hit home for me because at the time this relationship came about, I was in a very abusive relationship, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. I had seen her go from this shy girl that would barely lift her head, to this amazingly strong character. I thought, if she could do it, I could do it. Because abuse, whether it be having your memory sucked from you by a forget spell(twice) or being hit pretty much everyday for seven years, is abuse. Both come with broken, empty promises, and things being done to you against your will. So, I drew from Tara's courage, and ran like heck out of that relationship. So, yes, I'll sing Amber Benson's praises till the cows come home! Got a little off subject, but anyway, here's the bottom line, although there are some not very pleasant people to chat with out in Hollywood world, there are still breaths of fresh air out there. So thank you to Amber Benson for being one of those, and making tonight, not only a memorable one, but a fun one! Had a blast hanging out and can't wait for the next CRJ book!
For those of you that haven't heard of them, check 'em out "Death's Daughter" and "Cat's Claw", respectively. Fun and definitely entertaining!!!! Also, pop on over to http://www.bittenbybooks.com/ and give the site a gander! Till next time!
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