Category Archives: Uncategorized

I realize that I haven't had daily posts and that some of my posts have been less than thought out or complete. I've been spreading my thoughts a little too thin as I gear all of our current projects up.

That being said, Rene & my annual trip to the Sundance Film Festival is coming up & even though we are going to be very busy seeing movies, going to parties & networking I am committed to both LIVE TWEETING & on-site blogging – probably more Mobile Blogs than written on the computer blogs. Pictures will come as they come, & if I'm really focused I'll pop up a video blog or two!

In the mean time I'm still going to make an effort to blog for the few days between now & then & to answer the people who have been asking, no the Sundance Beard project is dead. It'll have to wait until next year.

See you tomorrow!

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I'm sitting in the editing bay, not even really editing, just converting videos to new file types.

It's a pain in the ass!

Editing always feels like it's going to be easy: you shoot something, you have a vision of what you want it to look like in your head when it's all done & so it should be easy to just take the shots & put them in the right order, right?

No! And I'm not even talking about the art of editing, it is definitely more complex than just sticking shots together, I can appreciate the art & the amount of time it requires – you go into the process expecting that – but the technology! Gah! It is SO frustrating & almost guarantees to double your required work time!

The only reason I have time to write this right now is because the machine goofed & I had to restart the program.

I'm also grouchy because I'm hungry. I should probably eat before I attack the machine.

See you tomorrow!

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Today has been a very full day. Got a lot done. Now I'm tired and I'm lazy and I'm blogging from bed. Jersey Shore is on and I'm surprisingly involved.

I think it's funny that I can only enjoy shows like Jersey when I'm exhausted, but when I am I love them! Is it that I try to over think these shows when I'm fully awake…

…Sorry I got distracted by drunk fighting. Anyhow, I'm going to take the dog for a walk and hit the sack.

See you tomorrow!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I'll keep it short, I have an audition tomorrow so Sundance Beard is getting shaved.

Even Rene is sad about it.

I'll post pictures tomorrow.

I'm going to let it grow out again, but this has been about 6 weeks of growth & there's no way that I'll be able to get to this length again before the festival.

I better book this commercial tomorrow!

See you tomorrow!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

I have a zit on the tip of my nose.

It sits on the bottom under the tip and it looks like the kind of zit that you get in the throws of puberty.

I'm not a fan.

I'm also incredibly distracted by it. There's so much more that I should be writing about, that I would like to write about, that I've ignored in favor of other things that I made a priority so it's strange that the topic that makes me come back to the world of blogging is something as mundane as a zit.

I guess it also helps that I have a small amount of time to kill and nothing else that I can accomplish in it. I really should get more diligent about creating writing time. I've been feeling really creative lately but haven't taken the time to utilize it in the more productive ways and so I guess I'm putting that out there publicly so that I feel more compelled to make a change.

Gotta run to a meeting.

See you tomorrow!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Ever since August Rene & I have constantly been on the go. Between work, other work, the dog, family, shows & work we just don't have a lot of free time. We choose it, so it's hard to say that it is a complaint, but when you are so used to "going" all the time it is easy to forget what real free time is like & it makes you all the more miss it when you expect to have free time & it is suddenly used up.

Take today, for example. I had nowhere I was scheduled to be for the first time in 9 weeks. I had grand plans to finish unpacking, do laundry, work on a couple budgets & create some forms for the movie we're working on. It was going to be a work day, but a casual work day without the pressure of having to be anywhere by a particular time.

The morning was mostly on track, I did get to unpack a bit, Dean & I moved some furniture, the dog & I were able to play & I got to enjoy my coffee as I read the news…

.Then I had to go to the post office.

Then I had to go to the bank.

Then I had to go back home.

Then to the mall.

Then to the post office again.

My day of "nowhere to be" became a day of "lots of places to be". I'm really looking forward to a day when I really have no plans, but I'm over the moon happy that a day like that probably isn't in the cards for a while.

See you tomorrow!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Anything worth doing is worth & requires some risk. There is no way around that. Playing it safe leads to less than extraordinary results, if it leads to any results at all. It's a lesson that is not taught in school. In fact they teach the exact opposite, they train you to get a simple, safe job that, while not satisfying, will, in theory, remain stable.

The new economy has proven that playing it safe is far from being so.

My statement about risk is nowhere near new or revolutionary, but it bears repeating because it is a chronically unlearned lesson. People refuse to take necessary risk.

I'm not talking about irresponsible risk, like unprotected sex or dumping your savings into a get rich scheme, I'm talking about calculated risk. "Looking before you leap" and "taking the leap" do not need to be mutually exclusive cliches.

I know a lot of people with good ideas. Too many of them will not take the first step. There will be plans and discussions and more plans and then more discussion and by the time the idea dies there's been way more talk than any kind of action. Oddly enough this is how most people in Hollywood operate, all talk but no action. Any body can talk, we all do, and we can sound brave and convincing when we do it, but it is meaningless without the action to back it up. Words without deeds are empty and meaningless.

So I ask, as have so many self-help professionals past, present and future, that you take action – just take that first step. The satisfaction is indescribable and will help motivate further action. There's a reason it is clichéd advice and that's because it both works and is so simple. All it takes is beating that little bit of fear that holds you back. Once you get past it there is nothing, literally nothing, you can't do.

Take the first step, each step after is that much easier.

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I take inspiration from a lot of things. Back in my teens & early 20's it mostly sprang from the music I liked.

I was iPoding, that's a verb now, & the shuffle came up on a song that I used to love & now I'm a bit embarrassed to listen to. I won't even name it here because it will invite the ire of people who know me too well, but I remember how it used to really drive me. It made me go back & listen to other songs from the late 90's that, at the time, seemed to sooooo describe my life at the time & now they sound, well let's just say that if that's what my life was then it's no wonder I was drinking all the time.

So now I've been looking at what currently inspires me just to make sure I'm not going to embarrass myself later & it has shown me that inspiration, regardless of how embarrassing it may be, is a really personal thing & doesn't need to make any sense. For example I was totally inspired today by a homeless man who was really grateful that I gave him my left over garlic bread. It might not seem like something to get inspired by, but it totally did the job.

So, to bring this blog to a point, & a close, I want to send my hope to all of you that you find inspiration anywhere you are. It's there if you're open to it & it's worth taking the time to find it.

See you tomorrow!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

If there's one thing that seems to stick in my mind about this year is my trouble with the different computers in my life.

My current trouble, which I hope I'm not bugging you with, is… Actually I have no idea what it is.

All I know is that it's frustrating & annoying!

I have to go teach now, but I'll write again later.

I miss posting regularly.

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

After over 20 years of professional acting you get used to the atmosphere of a waiting room. I remember when I was 8 years old being at a commercial audition and next door they were casting for Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" video. That is the first time I remember seeing guys hitting on girls at an audition & also the same day that I first smelled the stench of desperation. It's a pungent stink that is part of the actor's life.

Now that I have casted things and produced things, even though they weren't blockbusters, I have gained a new perspective that comes along with no longer relying on someone else for your career (although, to be perfectly honest, I am very happy to let someone else help with my career – this is really hard work!). It is easier now to go to auditions without feeling the same tension that I see in other actors in a room.

There are few things as self conscience as an actor, male or female. Will I get hired? Was I funny? Am I making the right choices? The questions never end and if you aren't careful you can drive yourself crazy. As easy as people think the job is the fact remains if being a good actor were easy everybody would do it.

Today I was at a call-back for a commercial. It was a good audition for me, but it was running about an hour behind schedule. Nothing frees an actors insecurities than sitting in a room with 30 other actors that are all your competition for longer than 10 minutes. It was an excellent demonstration of restraint and coping mechanisms. Personally I text and Tweet when I don't have anyone to talk to. Other guys start spouting off their resumes like anyone else cares and I even saw a knife pulled today, no joke! I did not hear the conversation that happened when it was pulled, but it looked to me like he was illustrating a point with a friend of his, of course no one else seemed to know that so a few nerves got frayed. Who brings a knife to an audition?! Talk about "cutting out" the competition! That was supposed to be a joke.

Anyhow, that's my babble for today. I will ramble more again tomorrow.

See you tomorrow!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®