The blogger taking a quick self-pic requested awhile back for a stand-in role; alas, I was not chosen.
Yet again the other day I did a background actor (aka “extra”) job on an enormous hit show (which I won’t mention because I’ll never work in this townagain if I do).
And yet once again when I was there on set I was paired with a nice older lady who’d be my “wife” for the day.
This has happened (this kind of pairing) on numerous jobs. The expectation that you’d be part of a heterosexual couple. And along with that, the implicit denial that there’d ever be homosexual couples (as in, it would be just as easy for the AD troops to pair up same-sex extras as it is to pair up opposite-sex ones) in the background of any scene.
I can’t really blame the often famous and lavishly decorated writers/producers/creators of these shows, who often may even have significant LGBT characters or romances in the principal storylines.
It’s usually the ADs (assistant directors) who devise the background blocking, if any, and put the extras at their locations in the set and give them actions to do. Most of these are guys (some women too, but mostly men) in their 20s who probably can work 18 hours straight without complaining; perhaps these pairings are the most expeditious or what they think their bosses would want. Surely, say, if the “location” were a hospital emergency room waiting area, there’d be groupings of all varieties, including gay couples or families. Keep all medicines away cialis without prescriptions from children and pets. It has been done to make ED treatment cialis on line feasible for those, who have issues in swallowing hard tablet and capsules. Take 1 buying viagra online around 1 hour (60) prior minutes sexual action. The company values your privacy; thus, the company upholds your confidentiality at all times. unica-web.com viagra uk
Right? I still remember my favorite remark during pairing-up, when on one show I was coupled with a nice looking woman about half my age. “You got a young one,” this (older) lady said to me, with a sly, heavily mascara’d wink. You’re right, honey, I did! Next time, let’s try a young guy with dark eyes and some stubble. Then we’d be talking.
Of course, most executives can write! They wouldn’t have arrived in the “C” suite otherwise. But here are some reasons they don’t, can’t, or shouldn’t write:
There’s no time: Harry, a great former boss, used to tell me he was “putting out fires” all day. I thought he was joking till I arrived in a similar position. Putting out fires, all day long. Really.
You have a company bias — which can be political, such as a desire or requirement to please someone else inside the company (like your own boss), or it could simply be a reluctance to address an unpopular perception that exists within the company culture.
Interruptions! Constant, unending interruptions, which make a piece of writing: 1) take forever to draft and 2) end up disjointed and tone deaf, if, indeed, it makes any sense at all.
Writing is an entirely different “skill set!” Writers are often introspective, introverted, enjoy working alone and are comfortable that way. Executives are often more extroverted personalities who thrive on teamwork and hate having to sit by themselves and work on something lonely — like a crucial piece of writing!
Other obligations at the workplace, such as meetings, whether in person, conference calls, Skype calls, etc. Not only time consuming, but distracting.
Writing involves research as well as the actual writing. That, of course, can make the time requirement doubly troubling, making it even more of a chore.
Good executives thrive on diversity and points of view — and your personality, your way of saying things, is probably already writ large on the company culture. Perhaps it’s time for a new direction or a breath of fresh prose air?
Executives can lose the essential skill. Writing is a craft which requires practice. The more you practice, the better you get. And the opposite is also true, the less you write, the rustier you get at it and the more difficult it becomes!
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Solutions:
You need a writer, someone whose primary job is that specific function, whether this person be on staff or freelance.
With all the changes in our economy, the writing function is outsourced more and more. And, from a pure quality standpoint, it often makes sense to bring someone in from the outside anyway, to provide that fresh look, that unique point of view.
Cost-effective: Your project is all the freelance writer is doing – writing that specific piece you have an urgent deadline for.
Even if you, as the executive, need to put your stamp on a final version, it’s so much more efficient to be presented with a solid draft to minimally edit, complete and on the day you asked for it. Right?
What I’m reading, watching, thinking: an insight into the Arnold brainwork. This is number three of an occasional series.
Reading: David Foster Wallace. Hadn’t ever read anything of his before, so I thought I’d start with non-fiction, his book of essays “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which is also the title of the main essay in the book, his take on a Caribbean cruise (taken in the mid-90s).
I was led to the piece by another essay on cruising (the big ship variety, not the gay variety) which I think may have been in Salon.com. Long story short – I did enjoy the essay tremendously. It’s extremely thorough, in the sense that I totally feel I know what going on a cruise would be like in most any aspect you can think of. The essay is also hysterically funny, and the writer makes fantastic use of his own neuroses for the delight of the reader (warning: copious footnotes!). I found it accessible as well, and I do admit to not reading every essay in the book. There’s also a famous one in there on television and its impact on fiction writing. Foster’s thesis is that TV’s had a profound effect on postmodern fiction, but the essay itself I found very hard to follow. Number one, it was written in 1990 so it’s dated (I, for instance, would love to hear Wallace’s take on the internet or its aspects like YouTube or Facebook… or blogs), but also I just found it really, really dense. (And you know, maybe I’m just not smart enough for it, that’s also a distinct possibility).
By the time I was done with that essay wouldn’t you know it but the library wanted the book back. So I didn’t get to read the other essays in the book, some of them on tennis, which interests me . . . not at all. Then again, I really did pick it up for the cruising essay, and I was not disappointed.
I’m kind of fascinated with Wallace ’cause he killed himself a couple of years ago. There were no answers to that in his prose from the 1990s.
Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook”
What I’m Watching: Really, lots of stuff since last report. More on the award hopefuls – I did see Silver Linings Playbook, as well as a few selections from the Palm Springs International Film Festival (see this previous post). Waiting for the second part of the final season of Breaking Bad, and for Downton Abbey, a veritable feast for diva-loving homosexuals (such as myself) and others. I’m hoping the plot of Downton improves from the second season, which I found very soap-opery. From everything I’ve read so far on the season that seems to be the case. And how can the addition of Shirley MacLaine be anything but positive?
most enjoyable Robert DeNiro movie in a long time.
Yes, I can see what the fuss is all about, Jennifer Lawrence!
Bradley Cooper should be contractually obligated to remove shirt in all movies he makes.
It was like sugar in many ways, you got high really quickly but there was nothing lingering, except maybe a headache.
If only mental illness was such a cakewalk! Still, I did enjoy the fantasy of putting all this pain into a strictly ballroomy rom-com.
Thank the Universe it wasn’t “I Heart Huckabees.” I didn’t walk out, but I know people who did.
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What I’m Thinking:
Self-censorship on the blog: I thought, a while back, that since I was looking for employment, it would be wise to try and keep it clean, to keep it as non-political as possible, to not have too strong a viewpoint on anything. Well, I was wrong. Playing it safe did not get me a job, although I’m not sure really being out there would have garnered one either. But basically, playing it safe is just really boring. People want to read strong opinions even if they don’t agree. So I made a mistake with that idea. Henceforth, I’m going to try and be the best “Jim” I can be, whatever that turns out to be. But no trying to anticipate audience reaction.
Politics: Yeah, thrilled that BHO won the second term, but I’m still really, really unhappy that Gitmo is still open, and even less happy with the Drone program. Is it only a matter of time before the Drones police us? Or are they already here?
Jobs: I’ll be doing less background acting this year, as there’s too huge an opportunity cost you must pay to do that kind of work. I would be served better by looking for more lucrative things or even using the time for self-care, at least at this point. Of course, the day after I decide this and end my relationship with the calling service, I’m booked on Mad Men! Go figure.
NOLA sabbatical coming up: I’ve accepted an invitation from my sister and brother-in-law to spend a month in New Orleans (May) to get an actual idea of what it might be like, in some parallel universe, to live there.
Three films I saw at the Palm Springs International Film Festival 2013 with gay male-related content – and my short reactions to them!** There are mild spoilers. Pls. don’t read if you don’t want to be informed.
I Do
[youtube]http://youtu.be/HzJKp-BX4oo[/youtube]
“I Do” poses the question about what an attractive gay man must do if he’s to stay in the U.S. and get his green card once his visa extension has been denied. An interesting set-up where the man in question, Jack, (David W. Ross) has also been helping a female relative raise a young girl, which is given as the main reason he wants to stay in New York. (Honestly, thoughout the film, I’m thinking, who really would want to stay in such a hateful country with such antiquated rules and with no acknowledgment of GLBT relationships, etc., but I digress – but honey, I would be on the first plane out.)
So Jack marries his lesbian pal (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) who you know best as Meadow Soprano and less best as Turtle’s girlfriend in a season or two of Entourage. Needless to say, there are complications, not the least of which is the appearance of a serious but Euro-handsome Spaniard named Mano. So Jack is left to make some pretty important decisions about his future, and along with “Any Day Now” (below) I think the filmmaker Glenn Gaylord (and Ross as the writer) made the less obvious choice, and I like that. Also, of the three movies, Jack has the least gay-stereotypical day job, in that he’s a hardworking photo-assistant type who longs to be a photographer in his own right, as opposed to (see below) working in a porno shop (Beyond the Walls) or being a drag performer (Any Day Now).
Beyond the Walls
[youtube]http://youtu.be/yT94GR_sYNQ[/youtube]
Okay, I’ve lived this movie. Not literally, but I’ve sure been the one who, at the beginning of a relationship, is not terribly interested, then becomes totally invested once the object of affection moves on. This film, about two gay men in Paris (Matila Malliarakis, Guillaume Gouix) by David Lambert felt real to me. I mean that in the sense that it was authentically about gay male relationships as I’ve known them throughout my life. From the instant, alcohol-fueled attraction, through the fantasmagorical lust phase, through the settling out of whether or not there is actually going to be a possibility of something lasting. To be honest, I really enjoyed that the younger character (Guillaume) seemed to want an older partner (hello, daddy!). Specifics are unique to this film and not my life, thank goodness, as they involve prison and drugs and melted candle wax (ouch). Well worth seeing, I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I did. And, of course, it’s set in Paris, which gives it some at-the-outset romance.
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Any Day Now
[youtube]http://youtu.be/7ghwGOuuNy0[/youtube]
Honestly, I do believe that 50-75% of straight America must think that all gay men possess this marvelous knack for dresses, makeup and drag performing – if the characters you see in gay movie after gay movie are to be believed! I don’t have that talent, but I do know some men in L.A. who do – but out of literally hundreds of acquaintances, I could probably count this bunch on one hand.
Okay. But we do know colorful, feisty characters are good for movies, and so it is with “Any Day Now,” where Alan Cumming plays the aforementioned Rudy. He’s hooked it up with idealistic lawyer Garret Dillahunt, and together they embark on a journey to adopt a neighbor boy with Down’s Syndrome, a boy (Marco) who’s abused by his drug addict mother and her male friends.
I found the movie (which is a period piece set in the late 1970s) tremendously entertaining, the set-up guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings, and I do give credit to the filmmaker Travis Fine who took us in some very unexpected directions.
** what, no snarky comments about these movies? What’s happened to you? Well, full disclosure, I work a temp gig with the Festival, so thought I’d not bite the hand that feeds. Plus, I have nothing but happy things to say about these 3 films. So STFU.
Interesting data! Richard Florida, the author of the “Rise of the Creative Class” books, has this post in the Atlantic Cities site, about where certain cities rate on LGBT Equality Indices – and which include criteria such as non-discrimination, relationship recognition, the municipality as employer, the municipality’s services and programs, the municipality as law enforcement, and the municipality’s relationship with LGBT community.
As might be expected, cities with the highest scores were concentrated on the West Coast and the Northeastern Corridor, those solidly (and thankfully) progressive areas which set the cultural tone for the rest of the country. But – I was delighted to see that the two cities in Wisconsin that I’ve lived in – Milwaukee and Madison – were also high on this list (as was, of course, Chicago).
Like in so many things and in so many ways – I was reading earlier today of certain states refusing to implement the Medicaid provisions of The Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare), the states in the South lag far behind in LGBT equality and gay rights indices.
That report, like this one, indicates that most of the old Confederacy retains much of those 19th century values. But even there, there’s signs of change and hope – bigger cities, such as New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa and Miami have better than average LGBT equality scores.
Another thing Richard Florida points out is that for a city to be considered “creative,” as in, will creative people want to live there and contribute to the culture, it’s got to possess the 3 T’s – which are tolerance, talent and technology. Makes sense to me. Oral ED medicine like Fildena pill sildenafil is not recommended in men who get normal erections. This is primarily due to the fact that many online pharmacies phone customers buy sildenafil 100mg when its time to reorder. The Kamagra has developed as a sildenafil online pharmacy high quality treatment at the affordable prices. However, the effectiveness of these oral drugs Kamagra has been an effective http://donssite.com/barn-and-tree-beside-stream.htm levitra brand online solution of men’s erection issue.
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Here’s my first attempt at some (like, 100 words) teaser marketing copy for my new novel, The Forest Dark:
“The Forest Dark” is a quirky, family-of-choice drama about Eden and Noah, middle-aged friends who must find a way to reconcile their unresolved past with an unexpectedly strange present.
In 1984, conservative co-ed Eden von Eiff befriends young gay man Noah Baldock during L.A.’s frenetic Summer Olympic Games. Becoming fast and intimate, Noah offers Eden a solution to an enormous problem — which she can’t, in the end, accept.
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Twenty-five years later, these two boomers struggle to come to grips with the choices they made long ago. They must navigate not only a troubled economy and professional failure, but also control a looming and violent threat to their future.
So, the idea is to entice without giving the whole plot away. I wonder if it’s too vague? What does anyone think? Also, how weird does a story have to be called “quirky?” I don’t want anyone to think it’s about, for instance, anyone named Zooey.
This new book, Late Bloomer Millionaires, demystifies the often-confusing process of retirement investing using the exceptional concept of presenting real-life financial data as the primary case study.*
Married partners Steve Schullo and Dan Robertson began investing for retirement in their mid-30s, only to realize later that the advice received from annuity salesmen and other employer retirement “specialists” was actually costing them dearly. Late Bloomer Millionaires chronicles not only their increasing investment savvy, but the actual ups and downs their real portfolios took in divesting from those teacher annuities, through the delirious tech bubble of the 1990s and on into the housing bubble and subsequent Great Recession of 2008.
Through it all, there are lessons to be learned and these nuggets are clearly communicated to the reader, including an exhaustive list of passive investment strategy portfolios based on Vanguard founder John Bogle’s philosophy of index fund investing.
On the other hand, you ought cheapest levitra to utilize recommended measurements of this solution in light of the fact how busy or occupied one might be in his life. It improves semen volume to enjoy enhanced sexual viagra sale canada pleasure in lovemaking. Medicinal help to improve one’s erection issues are now the talk of the town. buy professional viagra The requirement in the health industry sildenafil soft http://www.midwayfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Midway-Fire-District-5-Yr-Plan-2017-through-2021.pdf is higher than ever before. As Financial Consultant Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP, AIF, said, “more than just a financial book, it’s a heartwarming journey of love, relationship and growth that uses personal finance as the central theme. This is nonfiction at its best and an adventure worth experiencing. By the end you will feel smarter and empowered financially and full of hope that you can do this thing called life…I mean, retirement!”
Late Bloomer Millionaires is for those Baby Boomers who’ve lost retirement savings in the Recession as well as for those who never saved and want to start a program. It’s also the perfect financial guide for someone starting investing at the beginning of their career, who will be able to take the hard-won, candid advice of Schullo & Robertson and not fall into the same traps they eventually overcame.
In addition to explaining in detail how they invested and rolled with the markets, applying lessons learned every time, Schullo & Robertson have specific sections on understanding an employer’s retirement plan as well as a lengthy section on financial consultants, which includes a hypothetical discussion between a 30-year-old newly-minted investor and an ethical fiduciary.
Written partly as autobiography and partly as how-to, Late Bloomer Millionaires is appropriate for an experienced investor as well as anyone new to the subject, and is especially appropriate for the Baby Boomer and LGBT communities, as well as teachers and female investors. The book incorporates appendices, which include sample portfolio allocations and returns, as well as a helpful glossary.
Well, when you clicked on this and thought you were going to see stars, I bet this is not exactly what you were expecting!
These stars are indeed stenciled into the pavement on Hollywood Boulevard, near the corner of Wilton on the north side of the street. About a mile or so to the east of where those Other Stars are. Until about a decade or so ago, drugs like Sildenafil could be procured from supermarkets and malls under ‘Self Service’ section and today, you need not even step out of the door to do tadalafil online no prescription it. Parents, academicians and experts agree that parenting is one of the most challenging roles of adulthood, says on sale at pharmacy store levitra samples the British Columbia Council for Families (BCCF). Storage The storage to cialis generika http://respitecaresa.org/events/celebration-love-auction-donor-form/ is simple. Warehouses are established to receive the shipments of the pharmaceuticals from manufacturers tadalafil uk http://respitecaresa.org/about-respite-care/najim-w-capation/ and distributors.
I guess I’ve come across most of these, well really, all of them. I was going to say I had no experience with silicone and it’s true there’s none that I know of in my body, but certainly I’ve met many, many women who have lots of it.
So I see these stenciled stars often when I walk to one of the coffeehouses I habitually write in (Sabor y Cultura). I don’t know the artist responsible – if you do let me know and I will credit them here.
Some disgruntled ne-er-do-well – not really, as this pretty much does sum up quite a bit of the entertainment industry ethos in a few short word-associations.
I’m sure loving the graphic of the cracked handmirror and especially the jackboot about to be applied to the Little Person’s head!
If you were to make your own Hollywood Star stencil project, what would the captions be?
Loved to hear that L.A., specifically Hollywood (at the iconic corner of Sunset & Vine) has a new and apparently very fancy Walgreens. Not just any drugstore, they’ve got a juice bar, a coffee bar, fancy schmantzy liquor department (off-limits to some of us) and a frozen yogurt stop.
Best of all, though, is the Eyebrow Bar! I for one, could sure use some Walgreen’s-style help for those increasingly pesky caterpillars that hang out over my eyes. I wish the drugstore lots of luck, certainly better luck than Borders had in that location. If you know any such locksmiths, the situations becomes easy in a lock out circumstances, but one problem with not so known local locksmiths is you may not know it is loaded with nutrients which helps in combating infertility in men. viagra cialis achat If a man is suffering from such diseases can consume American ginseng and notice considerable changes in their sexual life. prices cialis Dermatologists consider this to be the most effective oral medication for ED. order cheap viagra First look at the privacy policy of the website, you are cost of tadalafil shopping with.
It seems like the perfect spot that one of the characters in my new book The Forest Dark would frequent, as Louis Ronald Reagan White lives by night: This store is open 24 hours. Louie loves that and I love that. If everything goes according to plan, the novel should come out in the next couple of months.
A relative said to me the other day that only now, after the passage of one year, is he really coming to grips with what a tragedy this was, and only now beginning to get his head around it.
I suppose that’s how I feel as well, still not really believing I’ll never see her smiling face or hear that deep throaty laugh at a family event or a welcome trip to New Orleans.
In my posts last year, I didn’t talk about cause of death, out of consideration for Alma’s husband and parents. Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re likely someone who knew my niece Alma and already knew then and knows now that she killed herself.
I was going to post something on the order of defining suicide as a selfish act, but then I found this.
I was mainly thinking of the effects of that act on our family, on David, and all Alma’s friends and colleagues down in NOLA, in Milwaukee, everywhere. How devastating it was and continues to be. How there is an almost indescribable sadness and sense of loss, an unending frustration about not being able to fix something, something permanently just out of grasp.
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In the end, I’m not able to. All I can say is
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