Today I watched a little something called Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party, a highly staged evening with, you guessed it, character actor Stephen Tobolowsky. If that name doesn't ring any bells, that is okay. I needed some schooling when I was introduced to his podcast, The Tobolowsky files. You've seen him in a million films and probably haven't realized it. Such is the life of a working character actor who is, by all means, very successful, but perhaps not as famous.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Spring Cleaning, or How I Plan To Slowly Drive Myself Insane
First things first.
I love the mess out of this. And then some.
On to business.
I love the mess out of this. And then some.
On to business.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
For the starving artist
Starving for a little respect, artist buddies? Are you feeling like you're being pigeonholed into a group classified by some as lazy, self absorbed and totally disposable? Yeah, me too. It doesn't help when people are trying to cut out the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities because they are "frivolous".
It truly is a shame when people have no clue how much of their life, their choices, their work, their faith, etc etc etc has been influenced by the art they have been exposed to in their lives.
It truly is a shame when people have no clue how much of their life, their choices, their work, their faith, etc etc etc has been influenced by the art they have been exposed to in their lives.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Obsession in the House (of mouse)
It started last week when my trusty old netflix dvd arrived. I waited until that evening and then I put in Watcher in the Woods. Mike passed out half way through, and Dobby glared up at me from across the room, wondering why the hell wasn't I feeding him for the 7th time that day. The film was more or less how I remembered it; Bette Davis was old and creepy, Lynn-Holly Johnson was terrible*, but so damn cute in that great 70's tomboy way; and I realized, once again, that (spoiler) the watcher wasn't a ghost, but a being from another dimension. Holy shit!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Glitter, Sketch Pads and Self Promotion
It is always so glorious to see actual comedians host this show- it brings about a feel of classic SNL, the one long before they were doing their best to make prepubescent star-tarts funny.
Plus, it's fucking Zach Galifianakis. Please watch before they take the video down (or go here, where the video should stay up longer)
Lastly, I have created a public twitter account to correspond to my blog. I know, it's a little much- but I promise to only post funny things, music things and more funny things.
Plus, it's fucking Zach Galifianakis. Please watch before they take the video down (or go here, where the video should stay up longer)
Lastly, I have created a public twitter account to correspond to my blog. I know, it's a little much- but I promise to only post funny things, music things and more funny things.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Self inflicted torture and how it's supposed to make me better
Like most actresses (apologies in advance for a massive generalization), I am somewhat obsessed with my body and my mental health. Of course, who isn't?
A few of my friends recently started a diet that has, according to them, changed their lives and made them feel a million times better. It is called the candida diet, which is worth the google- although be warned, once you start looking it up, it is a bit like falling down the rabbit hole. It is a diet that mostly has to do with yeast and good vs bad bacteria and so on and so forth.
A few of my friends recently started a diet that has, according to them, changed their lives and made them feel a million times better. It is called the candida diet, which is worth the google- although be warned, once you start looking it up, it is a bit like falling down the rabbit hole. It is a diet that mostly has to do with yeast and good vs bad bacteria and so on and so forth.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Why I'm staying Red
Back in 2007, I started a lie that has become harder and harder to shake- that I was a red head.
By lie, I mean I bleached the shit out of my hair and then dyed it over and over and over again. Since then I've had periods of letting it go back to it's natural brown, once every woman and their mother/aunt/sister/niece/trixie best friend who saw this or this and thought "Damn it, I wanna be a red head too!".
And while those young, sexypants ladies are all good reasons to want to capture the natural lustiness of a true ginger, I've attached my reasons to a few different women.
Women that I idolize, that I adore and that one day I hope allow me to gain entrance into their glorious society of talented divas, via my (fake) hair color.*
By lie, I mean I bleached the shit out of my hair and then dyed it over and over and over again. Since then I've had periods of letting it go back to it's natural brown, once every woman and their mother/aunt/sister/niece/trixie best friend who saw this or this and thought "Damn it, I wanna be a red head too!".
And while those young, sexypants ladies are all good reasons to want to capture the natural lustiness of a true ginger, I've attached my reasons to a few different women.
Women that I idolize, that I adore and that one day I hope allow me to gain entrance into their glorious society of talented divas, via my (fake) hair color.*
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sunday Funday
PBR in the fridge, bean dip in the oven, Jessica on the couch with time to kill.
You're welcome.
Let's get this week on the road.
*I forgot to add- let's all thank NPR music for the Tiny Desk Concert series, or we would miss awesome new bands like this one .
You're welcome.
Let's get this week on the road.
*I forgot to add- let's all thank NPR music for the Tiny Desk Concert series, or we would miss awesome new bands like this one .
Friday, March 4, 2011
The post in which I become somewhat shallow and summer-minded
When it rains it pours? Apparently so.There is a long and extremely justified rant that I'm sitting on, but in the interest of avoiding excessive drama, I shall begrudgingly don the muzzle. For now. Enough of that mess- this is where I start distracting myself by imagining what I want to buy for the upcoming warm seasons!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The post I should remind myself to read at least once every year
Merciful heavens. You know that time when everything you thought was so gets tossed to the wind and you end up questioning yourself, everything and everyone around you? Plus you get a sinus infection? Please!
While I am doped up, my head is extra loopy, so I'm taking measures to bring it back down to earth again.
Measure one:
Delicious food.
note. Picture may or not be my own. Actually, it is not, but it is reminiscent of what I made this evening.
Measure two: A little reflection never hurts and always grounds floating emotions (confusion, frustration, nervousness, impatience).
A search for knitting patterns landed me on LiveJournal and my old posts. Well, yikes. But there is one post I desperately need to keep in my mental Rolodex of "Things To Keep Me From Flying Off The Handle When I Am Feeling Overwhelmed".
Here we go.(copy/pasted and unedited, for fuck's sake)
I found an old children's book given to me a few years ago by a girl that I didn't really care for. All she did was frustrate me. She grew up in Kenya with her parents who were missionaries, and she was studying to become a pediatrician. I took five minutes to read the entire book, including the inscription from her at the beginning " Dear Jessica, This book made me think of a conversation you, Maggie and I had. I think of this book now whenever I think of you (as well as some other good things)." Of course, its a christian themed fairytale with the message that it is not up to others to evaluate you, because you were created intentionally, without any mistakes...and to always remember that you are special regardless of what others think.
Okay, I'm a douchebag. I mean, this girl was alright. I just thought that maybe she was a demon in disguise because she was slow and overly cheery and made me work twice as hard to make up for the time she wasted looking out of windows and singing instead of doing her job. But all in all, she was a very nice girl. I think we've all known people, where there is really no good reason to dislike them, but you can't help it.
I know now that I allowed my personal frustration determine how I treated this chick half of the time, which was never downright mean - but certainly was not as nice as I should have been.
I do want to be nice to everyone, even the people who get on my last nerve... because it really isn't my place to judge a person's worth. If I expect people to accept me living on my own terms, then I should really be more accepting of others.
It just makes sense.
It also makes sense that I'm not going to let my little cynic make the last judgment on things. Oh for sure, I think you should always acknowledge him and respect his opinion, because a lot of times he keeps you grounded and reminds you to use your common sense, but if I'm going to live without fear of doing the wrong thing, then I need to make sure that he knows his place.
I just want to have balance in my life. Good, bad, stupid, smart, pretty, ugly, wrong, right, light, dark... I want all of that. I don't want to feel like I'm constantly apologizing. I want to feel worthy of all of these things. And I think the way to do that is to realize that everyone is worthy, everyone is deserving.
Its okay to look "ridiculous". What is that anyway? There's no way to play it safe. Not at all. There will always be someone who looks at you and judges.
My thing is...that's okay. My life is what its supposed to be. And it always will be, no matter what decisions I make. Things aren't going to become alright as soon I drop those last ten pounds or pay off my debt or even when I have health insurance through the union. If I'm constantly waiting for that last thing to fall into place before I'm happy with myself, then I will do nothing but beat myself down....
I realize this sound like some crazy cult mantra "love yourself, you are worthy, burn down town hall". No no. I mean it all. I'm trying to keep moving, to not let myself get stuck in a funk, and I think that comes with making peace with the person I am today, not the person I will become.
Now, if a week from now, there is a totally psychotic post, it probably means that I've ran out of the magic E (that's what I've named my effexor. catchy, huh? it sounds totally street). However, I'm working on that. There's nothing I like less than an anxiety attack, or being off the E, simply because you become sick when you miss doses. If that sounds scary, well girl. Let me tell you. It is. I'm not fond of being "dependent" on it, but on the plus side, it really does work quite well most of the time. And guess what?! I accept that part of myself too.
I'm a pretty peaceful girl. My demands aren't that great. I just want art in my life. I just want to act and love my family and friends and to always keep my mind and my heart open.
Follow up by some quality netflix time and- regardless of whether you get cast or not, whether your bills get paid or not, whether your nose is stuffy and your head is swimming, whether you sass and cut those who deserve it (and some who don't)- you, Lady, you are gonna be all right.
While I am doped up, my head is extra loopy, so I'm taking measures to bring it back down to earth again.
Measure one:
Delicious food.
note. Picture may or not be my own. Actually, it is not, but it is reminiscent of what I made this evening.
Measure two: A little reflection never hurts and always grounds floating emotions (confusion, frustration, nervousness, impatience).
A search for knitting patterns landed me on LiveJournal and my old posts. Well, yikes. But there is one post I desperately need to keep in my mental Rolodex of "Things To Keep Me From Flying Off The Handle When I Am Feeling Overwhelmed".
Here we go.(copy/pasted and unedited, for fuck's sake)
I found an old children's book given to me a few years ago by a girl that I didn't really care for. All she did was frustrate me. She grew up in Kenya with her parents who were missionaries, and she was studying to become a pediatrician. I took five minutes to read the entire book, including the inscription from her at the beginning " Dear Jessica, This book made me think of a conversation you, Maggie and I had. I think of this book now whenever I think of you (as well as some other good things)." Of course, its a christian themed fairytale with the message that it is not up to others to evaluate you, because you were created intentionally, without any mistakes...and to always remember that you are special regardless of what others think.
Okay, I'm a douchebag. I mean, this girl was alright. I just thought that maybe she was a demon in disguise because she was slow and overly cheery and made me work twice as hard to make up for the time she wasted looking out of windows and singing instead of doing her job. But all in all, she was a very nice girl. I think we've all known people, where there is really no good reason to dislike them, but you can't help it.
I know now that I allowed my personal frustration determine how I treated this chick half of the time, which was never downright mean - but certainly was not as nice as I should have been.
I do want to be nice to everyone, even the people who get on my last nerve... because it really isn't my place to judge a person's worth. If I expect people to accept me living on my own terms, then I should really be more accepting of others.
It just makes sense.
It also makes sense that I'm not going to let my little cynic make the last judgment on things. Oh for sure, I think you should always acknowledge him and respect his opinion, because a lot of times he keeps you grounded and reminds you to use your common sense, but if I'm going to live without fear of doing the wrong thing, then I need to make sure that he knows his place.
I just want to have balance in my life. Good, bad, stupid, smart, pretty, ugly, wrong, right, light, dark... I want all of that. I don't want to feel like I'm constantly apologizing. I want to feel worthy of all of these things. And I think the way to do that is to realize that everyone is worthy, everyone is deserving.
Its okay to look "ridiculous". What is that anyway? There's no way to play it safe. Not at all. There will always be someone who looks at you and judges.
My thing is...that's okay. My life is what its supposed to be. And it always will be, no matter what decisions I make. Things aren't going to become alright as soon I drop those last ten pounds or pay off my debt or even when I have health insurance through the union. If I'm constantly waiting for that last thing to fall into place before I'm happy with myself, then I will do nothing but beat myself down....
I realize this sound like some crazy cult mantra "love yourself, you are worthy, burn down town hall". No no. I mean it all. I'm trying to keep moving, to not let myself get stuck in a funk, and I think that comes with making peace with the person I am today, not the person I will become.
Now, if a week from now, there is a totally psychotic post, it probably means that I've ran out of the magic E (that's what I've named my effexor. catchy, huh? it sounds totally street). However, I'm working on that. There's nothing I like less than an anxiety attack, or being off the E, simply because you become sick when you miss doses. If that sounds scary, well girl. Let me tell you. It is. I'm not fond of being "dependent" on it, but on the plus side, it really does work quite well most of the time. And guess what?! I accept that part of myself too.
I'm a pretty peaceful girl. My demands aren't that great. I just want art in my life. I just want to act and love my family and friends and to always keep my mind and my heart open.
Follow up by some quality netflix time and- regardless of whether you get cast or not, whether your bills get paid or not, whether your nose is stuffy and your head is swimming, whether you sass and cut those who deserve it (and some who don't)- you, Lady, you are gonna be all right.
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