Best Google Search Used to Find My Blog

"a quote to show that sir andrew and sir toby create are good frineds in twelfth night?"

Thank you for this, Google Analytics. Copy-pasted for the record, did not touch the spelling. Special. Now I want to go enter random words into Google to see what leads me back here…hmmm.

And I thought I was lost and confused...

I don't have a whole lot to say today and was planning (am still) to tinker with my blog formatting (I am still new at this, I don't speak html, and I don't love el blogo yet). Then I was bored and surfing the web and I saw something I felt merited blog postage.

So, my current day job contract is up at the end of the coming week (anyone hiring?) and, as a result, I am hunting for new opportunities. In the course of investigations I have, of course, been through the classifieds, and what should I come across but multiple posting with titles like "Serious actor launching career" or "Actress/Model seeking work." I click on them because I am intrigued. I refuse to link to them because I am appalled.

Basically, they are all the same thing: several bad photographs (some semi-nude, almost all suggestive) of people who look like they haven't got a clue, an email address, a list of their skills and "training," and links for websites, resumes, etc. So I follow a few of them because I really want to know who thinks that posting on classifieds is going to get them a "serious" acting job. Some have taken acting classes, it seems, but not necessarily from reputable teachers/schools. And whoever told one girl that she needed to list her measurements on her resume should be banned from advising all aspiring actresses in the future.

It is so easy to be taken advantage of in this industry. And I don't know whether people chose to post this information in the classifieds on their own or if someone suggested it (I am not under the impression that anyone has ever gotten a real acting job like this, please correct me if I'm wrong), but it's kind of pathetic. And mostly sad because, well, it doesn't seem like these people have any idea about how to get the ball rolling (and I say that as someone who is frequently also at a loss). I don't even know what else to say, I wasn't aware that people did this.

This isn't, obviously, a well thought out post...more of a ramble, really. But, I guess my point is, don't we all, in this community as well as others, have a responsibility to help along the next generation? To mentor those who haven't yet accomplished what we have so they don't wind up deluding themselves or looking silly? I believe so. And while I haven't come that far, I certainly have tried to help those I can (and my little protege is doing quite well on her theatre school audition tour). And I am always looking for someone to show me the way...So, if you are in a position of some power or if you know anything at all, get out there and share the wealth. So people don't post crazy things in classifieds and so I don't lose my mind.

Take five to use your brain, please.

First an actor accidentally slits his own throat, now a director shoots another actor in the head during rehearsal. Are we all so busy that we can't take five minutes to CHECK OUR PROPS??? Even a prop weapon is a weapon and taking the few minutes to check that things are as they should be with it might save someone's life. Just saying.

Why Won't "Reality" Television Die?

MTV has just announced that they have 16 new reality shows in the works. 16?! Apparently ratings have slipped (or tumbled) causing them to rethink their programming choices to hold on to that coveted youth demographic.


But, here's the thing, I am not an effing demographic. And I, frankly, cannot deal with anymore mindless MTV drivel being paraded around like content. Nor do we need anymore Speidis or Hiltons, people with no real talents who are famous for nothing. We're not talking about the competition shows, either, like American Idol or So You Think You Can Dance? or Top Chef or whatever else where the contestants actually have to do something (not that those are all good shows, but at least they have to do something other than shop and party). We're talking about The Hills or Real Housewives or any other show that follows random people around with cameras and attempts to sell it as "reality" after editing it down to 22 episodes that resemble poorly scripted melodramas. And it isn't a documentary even if it has the production values of one; very little of it, if any, nowadays is at all enlightening or insightful. Newsflash: this kind of programming is no more "reality" than scripted television, this just means they don't have to pay writers. Which is why it continues to exist: "Reality" television is cheaper to produce. Plain and simple. Rebel, I say!

And, meanwhile, it is contributing to the dumbing down of my generation. Plus, it takes away jobs from our creative classes--writers. directors, actors, etc. Is mindlessness really what we need in the world right now? Or couldn't we argue that this is the kind of thing that helped get us to where we are now (big, messy, undeclared war, global recession, tanking economy, bickering politicians, etc)? We need some intelligence on our screens and some responsibility from those giant corporate networks. Or we need to turn the TVs off, which is still not the right route to go because there is some interesting work being done there. Maybe we all need to take a step back and reassess our values.

And this is my rant for today.

Battle of the Titans??

Apparently, Fox has picked up the film rights to How To Talk to Girls, the self-help book written by a 9 year old. Cute, but really? Is there a movie there? Actually, it could be really good if it falls into the right hands...And that kid has definitely paid for his future university education. Lucky little bugger.

But more importantly, it was Ellen who helped to launch this kid to super-stardom. Could her powers now be rivaling those of the big Queen O??? Ponder that over your lunch break.

Out of the Mouths of Babes...and Onto the Bestseller List

Alec Greven, 9, wrote a book entitled How To Talk to Girls. It started out as a school essay, which he then sold at the school book fair for $3 a copy. This somehow caught the attention of Ellen Degeneres and the kid managed to snag a book deal with Harper Collins. Now it is selling on Amazon. And there's an article in the Star. You have to admire the fact that he took a suggestion from a teacher--that he be an observer--and ran with it.

My favourite quote is:

"Girls win most of the arguments and have most of the power. If you know that now, things might be easier."

A child wise beyond his years...

Coming Soon: Beer

Apparently two Cineplex Odeons in Toronto are going to start serving alcohol. It will be available only in specific screenings/theatres where everyone must be of legal age. This move is part of a pilot program that ends next November. While I certainly think there are some movies out there that would be much better viewed with a few beers, I'm pretty sure this puts film about on par with major sporting events. Although it would be wrong to classify everything Hollywood releases as film. More here.