How to Do Halloween for Grown-Ups When You’re Broke as Hell!

Okay…It’s the night before trick or treat…You’re between paydays and a lot of you love using October 31st as a way to let off steam once a year, act totally stupid and still have good reason for it. Before anyone asks, NO I’m not going to do Halloween. I’ve been sick with bronchitis so I’ll leave the festivities to the lot of you. It will be much more comical if I do. It’s more fun to watch the adults get drunk and act totally juvenile than it is to take part when with my luck, the weather will totally suck and make my bronchitis worse.

Now remember…EVEN if you’re broke as hell, this will work but you need 3-4 essential ingredients.

1. A sheet.  Doesn’t matter what color. You can use teal, purple, white, whatever…It’ll work.

2. Paper towel rolls–and if your ass is flat broke, ask your relatives for theirs! Tell ’em it’s for a kid’s project. That way you’re off the hook–unless you get arrested for the  OTHER variation of the costume if there is a wardrobe malfunction.

3.  A wire or ring of yarn big enough to fit around (NOT OVER) you’re head. You’re not going as a KKK grand wizard or a fake lynching victim! If you do it and you get your ass kicked and it ends up in the papers, I will laugh my head off at you!

4. A pair of flip-flops or sandals.

Two variations that are optional:  Construction paper and/or a guitar.

Now if you’re using a teal or green sheet–use the paper towel rolls and that ring to make a statue of liberty costume. Use your imagination and the construction paper for the torch.

If you use white, you can claim to be Julius Caesar carrying a scroll (only requires one roll)–or you can carry a guitar and  pretend you’re going to smash it, in which case you dressed as John Blutarsky…IF you don’t know who the hell that is, watch “Animal House”. Most from the era will never forget that show.

If female, the Statue of Liberty one would work–just use two sheets in case it’s cold as hell.

For a purple sheet, use gold paint and paint the leaves on the ring gold…Put some fake vampire blood on your hands and tell ’em you are “Pontius Pilate”.

Whatever you do, don’t go as Jesus. He wouldn’t do that. Besides, the cops might mistake you for an escaped mental patient. In fact if you decide not to celebrate it at all, then you’re not as insane as some of us are that allow the kid in us to come out once a year.  I once dressed up in a potato sack dress as a barefoot and pregnant bride. I had the straw hat, veil, etc..AND the blacked-out tooth. However it’s more expensive and time-consuming to sew the bloody things together. I paid a friend to do that.

Like I said earlier…THIS is what you do if you’re an adult wanting to play crazy tomorrow night and you’re broke as hell!

Happy Halloween!

Samantha’s Diary… ***Some DS Fan Fiction I’m playing with***

As a little girl, I remained in a Boston private school for girls, thanks to the generosity of Roger Collins and Elizabeth Stoddard.  They have been like surrogate parents to me in my absence from Collinsport for years. Roger always said that I wasn’t facing reality by avoiding going “home”.  But which place was or is home? Is it the house where my mother, Claudette tortured me for the first seven years of my existence, or Collinwood, which was my shelter from many of her storms?

Then there was that place in the mausoleum.  Willie doesn’t even know of it, I think.  I would sneak into there and dream I had a guardian angel watching over me there.  At least I knew my mother would never set foot in the cemetery.  I remember dreaming about that faceless dark angel with a calming voice.  He’d carry me through the woods, teaching me about the birds and trees and such and the sun always shone there. In short, this entity was the phantom father I created in my mind, I suppose.  At least the shrink says as much to me.   I’ve written many songs about filling that gaping hole in my memories as well as my chest.

I somehow learned to write with penmanship from a time gone by. I won awards for it and I still prefer my quill to a fountain pen. I mastered math in my head long before I had access to a calculator.  A large part of me wants to return, and another side of me totally dreads this.  I keep having dreams of a duel, people dying, voices calling my name, and for what purpose? The worst ones are of me drowning in another time and place when I was still quite young, a long dress weighing me down as if it were a ship’s anchor, and something cracking my skull and knocking me out after struggling to come back to the surface.  I always manage to wake up shaking and sweating after those. I fear water so much! Why me? Did my mother damage me so much that I cannot tell what is reality from fantasy any longer?  I’m wondering if the dreams are symbolic.  Whatever. It doesn’t matter at this point.

I know it is time to return to Collinsport.  Elizabeth and Maggie have begged me for months.  I suppose it is time to revisit the grave of the child I once was, and can never be again.  Sometimes an infected wound must be thoroughly drained and cleaned before it can heal.  Hopefully it will not leave a scar that is too noticeable.  At least it is what the one familiar male voice says to me in those damned dreams I have every night as of late.

Only now the dreams are getting stronger, and the voices more clear.  No matter how many psych meds the doctors put me on or how many gigs I do just so I can pass out and sleep after the ambien, they are there…They are waiting for me…It’s only the voice of that dark angel that doesn’t torment me.  All he says to me lately is, “Perhaps you should reconsider this endless journey you are on and come visit your family.  You are every bit a Collins now even if not by blood.” he says.   Funny how Roger and Elizabeth keep reminding me that they do  consider me thus.  There I go–talking like he does.  Dammit I am truly done for the night–until those dreams start-up again…

—S.R.T.  April 3, 1990

These Are the Different Types of Villains–Street Perspective…There are “Levels” and Here are a Few of Them…

NOTE:  This was written for fun.  Given that fact, feel free to add your thoughts on it, but this is not meant to make those in academia happy–it is meant purely just to have some sort of amusement about this topic.

The “Bonehead”…This is the type of villain that will steal, lie and cheat and is mainly used as a buffoon or comic relief–like John Astin in “Evil Roy Slade”  or Kirk Douglas in ‘The Villain”.  These are ones that are so bumbling you grow to like them…They just can’t get their stuff right!

The “Asshat”–This is one of those guys that’s like the drill sergeant  “Full Metal Jacket”.  These guys don’t know when to back off even though they are well intended (as in doing their job) and if something bad happens, the hero takes an instant dislike to him/her–and sometimes the viewers are glad if something happens to those characters–like jail time, demotions or even death just because they are such asshats! They either overdo it in the “zealous” faction or they don’t know how to do their job in a way that can benefit other characters. The Coach in “The Breakfast Club” can qualify here–and to me he IS an asshat! He definitely didn’t know how to “teach”. If this “coach” had handled up on these kids this way now, he’d have been put on probation himself. He did mistreat Bender in my book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTeYncx1xmI

The “Conniving Bitch”: –I’ll use movie examples here:  Dame Judith Anderson in “Rebecca”, Bette Davis in “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane” or “Jezabel”…Take your pick.  How about Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction?  Mo’Nique in “Precious”?  Their levels of evil qualify them here–and I had little to NO empathy for them. The same falls true for Farah Fawcett in “Small Sacrifices” and Elizabeth Montgomery’s role in the movie “Amos”.

Glenn Close in 1987’s hit “Fatal Attraction”.

The Jealous Wench:  This is actually ranked right below the “Conniving Bitch”…Just look at Jane Fonda in “Monster in Law“.  Some are a cross between this ranking and the “C.B”–and a good example of this lies in Angelique Bouchard–from the original  “Dark Shadows” or the “Dark Shadows Revival” series.  I didn’t care for Eva Green in the role. I felt that the script for that flick made no sense anyway. It was like watching “Occupy Collinwood”.  If Angelique controlled Collinwood, what the heck did she need Barnabas for? She didn’t. Trying to make her a bit empathetic at the end was a huge mistake. She’s a sociopath as she was portrayed in both the original series and in the ’91 series–sort of like Glenn Close in “Fatal Attraction” and with almost a similar narcissistic quality. In fact, in the original series she stooped to killing her own sister.

The Ones We LOVE to Loathe:  Let’s see…This should be easy because it is definitely like “beauty”–in the eye of the beholder in a sense because these villains wire people up…  J. R. Ewing from “Dallas”.  Not that any of them are saints on “Sons of Anarchy” but Gemma Teller Morrow (Katie Sagal) takes the freaking cake…She plays several sides of a fence…Seriously.  Then there is Robert  Mitchum’s character in “The Night of the Hunter“?  That movie kept us on the edge of our seats. Check out this recent review! Very well done:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jfz9Q0Qblw

The same thing goes for two on the show “Banshee”…There are several “villains” there because most are not upstanding, law-abiding citizens, that’s for sure.  Two of the best villains on here are Rabbit (Ben Cross) and Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thompson).  Even the main characters are villains (Lucas Hood and Ana/Cassie Hopewell)–and it gives new meaning to an old bible verse about “…not one being righteous”  in that town, too.   However,  viewers are going to have empathy for some and total loathing for others and my bet for the honor of this particular title  is on these two characters–Kai Proctor and Rabbit.  Both have some bad ass underlings.

Ulrich Thomsen as “Kai Proctor” on Banshee in the above photo.

However it is hard to classify Ana/Cassie, Lucas Hood or Job as true villains when they are on the run from Rabbit and his lot and have led (for the most part) “quiet” (I am joking here!) lives for 15 years–while Lucas was locked up. It is very  hard to say that Lucas is “quiet” because he did kill some folks.  Again, hard to classify him and Ana.  However I am tempted to put Ana in the “conniving bitch” category because of how she treated her father–Rabbit and lied about who she really is to her hubby.  There is something up with that because he did love his daughter. This is where some will actually empathize with Rabbit.  However others will be baffled as to why Lucas even bothers with her because she really pulls some wicked crap that he should have grown a pair and killed her over in my book. Ah…The joys of true love. What can I say?  I mean, she cuffed him to a bed and left him for Rabbit, for Chrissake! I can say this, he is correct when he tells her that “Carrie” (as in her identity) is a “hiding place”.

Ivana Millicevic (Ana aka “Carrie) and Antony Starr (Lucas Hood) in “Banshee”.

Some do feel a bit of empathy for Rabbit when a couple of things get revealed–but he’s still gonna be one twisted, sick–well, you get it.  It’s also easy to empathize with Kai over the issues with his father and his upbringing–and that is where it ends with him.  He’s almost as twisted as Rabbit, I think, but in a different way. No, I take it back. Rabbit is NOT as twisted. Watch the scenes Proctor has with his niece and you will know why I say that…

The pic above is a screen shot of Ben Cross as “Rabbit”.

If you have not seen “Banshee” I highly recommend it! It is very well-written and directed,  but it is NOT a family show. There is nudity and such–after all it is Cinemax, so use your brains and put the kiddies to bed first or send ’em to Grandma’s!  After you watch that, come back and tell me which character (NOT CAST MEMBER) you want to kick in the shins! Just remember! Those men and women are ACTING!  It’s the characters we loathe–not the players!   I wonder if Mo’Nique got flak for her role in “Precious” now that I think about it…

I don’t know about the rest of you but when villains fall in the last category above, it just totally rocks! People  LOVE hating villains like these!  I am going to go a little further here.  I think the character of “Mr. Rabbit” is going to be so detested by some that he’ll end up being one of the best TV villains of all time–which would dethrone J.R. Ewing–and believe me, this guy makes J.R. look like a cub scout in comparison!

To give you an idea of how twisted the family tree is–here is one card Carrie/Ana will NEVER send to her father Rabbit–even though there might be a little truth in it:

And I am going to add here that since “Banshee” is the highest rated show Cinemax has ever aired, I think some prime time Emmy nods will come out of this–and if not, someone hasn’t got their head on straight.  This series has some excellent writing in it–so even if you’re not into the nude scenes and such–it is worth watching for the fact that it has plot, organization, innovation and originality.  Those of you anticipating Sons of Anarchy’s new season should tune in to this one in the meantime.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

I look for Hoon Lee, who plays “Job” on here to get a best supporting actor nod too.  Some people tune in to see what stunt he’s going to pull next! He has a lot of scenes in this series that will crack you up, so here is one of them (and it has adult language, so if you’re offended easily, sorry. This cracked me up!) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=3UQdGPp3BDs

As I dive further into the villain topic, I’m sure there are other categories to add later, but these are the main ones and these are meant for a general audience–not the academic one. If I were to go into the “Abrams Book of Literary Terms” it might bore a lot of you to death so I spared you that…However it is a good tool for writers to have on hand.  And a good resource to look at is Chuck Wendig’s “Terrible Minds” blog.  Here is a link to that too–and he’s as blunt as the Banshee writers!

http://www.terribleminds.com/

 

Nana: The Baby Boomers are the “Forgotten Audience” It Seems…

Well–not to sound cliché but “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”  I am really tired of networks cancelling good shows like “Harry’s Law“, “Memphis Beat” and “Cold Case” because of Nielsen ratings.  These ratings are no longer truly representative of what viewers want because they do not adequately get put across to households representing all age groups.

Even Warner Bros. has stated that “…baby boomers tend to not go to theaters, so that is why certain movies get marketed…” HELLO!  Dear Warner Bros: We pay the friggin’ bills half the time! Stop ignoring us all! If WE are at home in rocking chairs, it should be us you’re surveying and not those teens and ‘tweens you keep pandering movies to that aren’t fit for my dog to piss on the fire hydrant in front of the theater over. You know exactly to what I am referring.  Yes, I am mad. Yes, I’m still hormonal. Deal with it.  To you we are the forgotten audience, but like that nagging ringing you get in your ears, we are NOT going away. We don’t have one foot on the grave and another on the banana peel yet.

Think they got that, folks? Even if they see it, it will not matter much…

One of the best movies that could appeal to my age group is “The Life of Pi” and the other is “Lincoln”…There’s 12 months in a year and that is all Hollywood has to offer us?  Well, there is “Armour”, which I think is probably one of the best films of last year, so it deserved its Oscar nod as well! And it’s a French film! Not all baby boomers get into “The Avengers”–but there are those who still do.  Just for the hell of it, I will watch “Cowboys and Aliens” on dvd though.  Granted there are a few family films put out, but the best ones get put out by Pixar (“Brave”) and NOT WB.   The Expendables II is also good. Like the idea of all those actors grouping up for another hurrah!

That brings me to another topic…Why don’t you boneheads keep the older actors and actresses we love and respect working?  I’ll watch a movie that has Muse Watson, Ben Cross, Kathy Bates, Helen Mirren or Judi Dench any day of the week before I’ll watch that freaking “Twilight” you keep trying to get me to buy tickets for–which I won’t.  I’ll watch Hammer Films. At least they KNOW how to make a good horror/suspense flick!  Did any of you young whipper snappers see “The Woman in Black” yet? I suggest you watch it and learn a thing or two after subjecting this lifelong Dark Shadows fan to that abysmal movie that was made in 2012.   Hammer Studios knows how to get the job done right. That has been proven.

Bruce Willis also knows how to get the job done right.  “Red” proved that.  Watch this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFLX7Pk1Tn4

Just to note: IF Willis makes a part II for this I hope Mr. Cross gets offered a hell of a comedic role!

If you’re not going to keep us happy using the major networks, I hope some enterprising investors come up with a network JUST FOR older audience members that will keep these actors working and put food on the table!   It makes perfect sense to me!   A little innuendo and such doesn’t bother my age group either.  However constantly being bombarded with the “visioning” and “re-visioning” these screenwriters come up with really pissed off my age group in the past few years.  It has gotten to where I prefer live theater to television anymore because the networks keep putting too much trash on them.  The only good shows worth watching are the CSI’s, NCIS’s, Law and Order spin-offs, etc…I could care less about “Reality TV”. I can watch reality for free every day so I don’t want to see it on the television…

I’d rather see a good variety show than Glee any day of the week.  I think one of the best movies that is going to come out in 2013 is going to be “A Common Man” with Sir Ben Kingsley and Ben Cross starring in it.  I’d pay $30 a ticket for that one!  I’d also pay for a ticket to hear Ben Cross sing, but that’s off the subject a bit…However, that man has some pipes on him, folks!  I never knew he could sing until I saw this a few years back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khSVOJF4S3c

I think another good movie coming out is “Monumental” which stars Gary Cairns II, who also stars in “Black Butterflies” with Brad Dourif. “Black Butterflies” is also coming out this year too.  Yes, Gary is younger but he knows how to act and he takes good scripts so I’d pay as much to see him also–and he is a down to Earth, cool guy. I can personally attest to that fact.

“Posey” is another film that everyone who has had Alzheimer’s touch their family or has elderly family members they love dearly should watch this year.  Sally Kirkland is a wonderful actress and she recently snagged the Best Actress Award at the Idyllwild CinemaFest for her role.  Billy DaMota is a man with an excellent heart to put such a film together and I fully support it.  Also having Christopher Pennock in the cast peeks my interest as well!  I’d love to see him get more work this year too! Here is the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWMTBV7sIl0

Alright now…Her majesty “Nana” has spoken.  Have a great week!

Will 2013 Be The Year Hollywood Finally “Gets It”?

As the year comes to a close, I thank god I didn’t stay in the theater for the bad movies that were released this year–with the exception of “Dark Shadows” with Johnny Depp–but that was to be polite since I didn’t buy the ticket.  To me that was the worst one of the year. Sorry to the Depp fans but I’m being honest. I got my money back on two of them. To me, the character of Barnabas Collins did not get nearly the dignity and depth he deserved–and much of that was due to Tim Burton‘s direction (or possibly the lack of it) and a horribly written script by Seth Grahame Smith.  Even though Depp was a producer on this project, I cannot fault him on the acting when it is the director that calls the shots on how a character is to be portrayed.

And here’s an article to back that statement up:  http://entertainment.ca.msn.com/movies/galleries/worst-movies-of-2012

I didn’t even care for “John Carter”, “The Watch” or “That’s My Boy”…”A Thousand Words” was one I knew wasn’t going to do well from the previews too, but–WAIT!!! According to the die-hard “Deppers” on IMDB shouldn’t “judge a movie by the trailer”…

I could not resist that line.  I don’t support an actor or actress out of pure “fanship”…If I did, I’d spend too much money on flops like this. NOW for the best ones because I want to end on a good note.

I say “The Woman in Black” (which is a Hammer film that totally kicks ass!), “Men in Black III“, and the 3D version of “The Life of Pi“, “Argo” and “Flight” were the best of  the year.  If you’re wondering why I didn’t put “Skyfall” on here–it’s because I haven’t seen that one yet, but I’m not big on James Bond flicks either.

That being said, I expect Hammer Films to have a big year for 2013.  I also feel that the short film “Posey” (directed by Billy DaMota), which stars Sally Kirkland and Christopher Pennock,  is going to get a lot of attention in the Indie markets because of the fact that it deals with Alzheimer’s and pays tribute to real victims of the disease by raising money for research,  and another film, “A Common Man” will get director Chandran Rutman a lot of attention–not to mention Sir Ben Kingsley, who stars in this with fellow veteran actor,  Ben Cross. I feel that “A Common Man” will definitely help the Sri Lankan film industry.  I can’t wait to see these two movies as well as any Hammer film that will hopefully get released next year!

Hopefully, Hollywood will finally market to more than the niche markets they’ve pandered too also.  The baby boomers are the ones buying tickets–and they’re buying for the teens and ‘tweens also.  Until they put out better films that meet the expectations of that generation, I expect a lot more Indie films to get a lot more attention than the major releases.  One can only hope that Hollywood will finally “get it”…

 

2013…Another Year of “Reboots”? I Certainly Hope Not…

Alright…I should consider this part III of “The Changing Tide of Movie Viewing”, but this is going to be short.  America is tiring of these “reboots” of classics…To touch some films in a remake is as  horrid as stepping on a grave.  Seriously!  When writers do not stick with original thoughts of the writers who penned the works, they bastardize the entire work.  I can already see what’s coming with this:

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/carrie-underwood-star-nbcs-sound-music-163400631.html

To me this would be like casting Ted Nugent in a “Jesus Christ Superstar” remake…Sorry but this is not a seasoned actress. This is a country singer. This is not going to fare well, but neither did the NBC remake of “The Munsters” or the “Dark Shadows” reboot that came out in theaters this year.  For those who wish to debate the latter–it did NOT do well in the US.  In this country, star power doesn’t always = movie ticket sales.

Some things are better left UN-made and this is going to be one of those projects…Do these studios get write-offs for the trash they put out or what?!  The only way this trend will stop is to quit giving the kids money to go to the theaters and either boycott sponsors, or simply refuse to watch…Maybe eventually they will get the message.  The only halfway decent shows on TV now are Hawaii 5-0 and Law and order SVU.  And let’s not forget PBS!

And that’s the truth!  *Gives the Edith Ann Raspberry Here!*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJMKupYF14I

 

The Changing World of Movie Viewing Part II

In the first post on this I discussed how actors/actresses are judged by an audience and how a film critic’s views no longer represent the public as much as they do the marketing execs.  They don’t represent the academy, that’s for sure. I will not rehash that here.  I want to discuss another aspect that Hollywood seems to trip  itself over.

Many marketing execs claim that they make films to appeal to teens and ‘tweens because they think that the older audience tends to “stay home”.  The logic is nothing more than a smokescreen to justify how they tend to make a lot of crappy films now.  Why? Because they are marketing the same type of crap to home viewers.  With the exception of a few shows, like “Hardcore Pawn” people are getting really sick of “reality TV“.  The fact of the matter is that many of these shows highlight what is wrong with society rather than what is enjoyable about it.  Some even tend to glamorize behavior that society should never tolerate from anyone for that matter–especially the authorities…For example, take the latest case:  Honey Boo Boo…What parent in their right mind would jeopardize the health of their own child by pumping him/her full of energy drinks and let them gain so much weight just so they can act the way this kid does?  The fact of the matter there is that they feel sorry for the kid and want to kick the parents’ asses, and I think many watch just to see if CPS will knock on their door…

Now back to the point of this post.  IF these execs knew what they were doing, they would market real movies with logical plots and believable story lines AT LEAST to the home viewers since they tell the public that the older audience tends to “stay home”…The bottom line is: They want the kids because they think most have only a two second attention span. Not only is that an insult the entire audience as a whole, but they insulted the entire Academy of Motion pictures with that line of thinking.  Do they really think when deciding for the Oscars that that is the logic of the members of the academy?  Seriously? If so, they should all be fired and replaced.

It seems to me that it is the performers and a handful of  directors and producers who have the real audience and fans in mind.  Both the Academy and the audience want original ideas, innovation, characters that COULD exist, believable story lines and even a little old-fashioned romance from time to time–and even HUMOR–REAL HUMOR–not this crap that always goes back to sexual innuendo either.  The innuendo and such has its place but it should not be on Prime-Time TV. THAT should be reserved for when the kids are in bed.  There is nothing illogical or “archaic” about that.  It is those execs who promote the bull shit that have limited their own potential by buying into their own crappy perception of the world they live in.  IF that were not the case, they wouldn’t be advising stock holders and producers to put money into pictures and TV shows that are not worth a damn.

When shows like “Harry’s Law” and “Memphis Beat” get cancelled, something is definitely wrong.  A network with a wiser CEO should work to get those shows on it.  I’ve got $10 that says with the RIGHT marketing and the RIGHT time slot, those two shows would be runaway hits for investors.

It is also time to stop with the sequels, prequels and remakes (or as some now call them “reboots”) that tend to deviate from original classic shows. NOT one of these has succeeded on TV this year or at the box office.  The only movie doing well in that category this year is “The Expendables 2” because it is a continuation of an ORIGINAL IDEA!   Thank God for Sly Stallone and Dolph Lundgren.  At least those guys have some idea of what an audience really wants…The only other fairly recent film which did well was “Star Trek” (2009).  J. J. Abrams did that one right–regardless of what some think.  He captured the essence of the original characters using new actors and did not deviate from their traits in the least.  That is more than I can say for the  “Dark Shadows” movie that was released this year.  Every reason that movie flopped is in a book written by Tom Laughlin  which you can find here:

http://www.billyjack.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BK9S&Category_Code=BOOKS&Store_Code=BERSERK

And I still say that had the Dark Shadows Revival series went beyond 12 episodes, it would have lasted.  That was one remake that did stick to Dan Curtis’s vision of what he thought his own creation should be.  He always knew what his fans wanted, that’s for sure.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday, everyone! Until next time…

 

A Day in the Hood–the Nanahood…And Some Deep Thinking…

As a grandparent I get a huge kick out of my grandson, Little Kevin…Here’s a new pic:

Is the guy rockin’ or what?!

That being said something crossed my mind the other day…Aging…That’s right…Aging…NO I’m not depressed about turning 50 later this year or anything, but I am concerned as to what would become of me should Alzheimer’s ever touch my life directly.  I had an aunt that suffered from it and it was horrible.

Aside from that, I am an avid movie lover and music lover and I truly hope to instill that in this little man! After all, children are the future are they not?

That being said there is a movie coming out that is on my mind heavily…It is going to be a wonderful film called “Posey”.

Here is the link to the FB page for this movie and please go click “like” and share it…I feel this will be an important picture this year: https://www.facebook.com/Poseythemovie While there, check out those pics! They are outstanding!

This movie stars Sally Kirkland and Christopher Pennock, who is another cool actor that some of you may know from the original Dark Shadows series, where he played Jeb Hawkes! He is  currently working on “The Dresser” at the Actor’s Studio, which will open in LA in early October.   Also, “The Four Horsemen” will start shooting again too! He also says that he’s recording the new Dark Shadows Audiodrama with Kathryn Leigh Scott…”Sebastian Shaw re-emerges in the Funny Farm!” is how he describes this.

However, this movie is probably going to be an important stepping stone in the careers of both Ms. Kirkland and Mr. Pennock.  Alzheimer’s is a horrible disease.  It literally robs us of our loved ones while living–bit by bit.  My grandson’s paternal great-grandmother has a brain disorder that affects her much the same way, and it is truly  a shame. One day she may know my ex-husband  and the next day she may not.  Sometimes she remembers my sons. As to whether or not she will comprehend being a great-grandmother remains to be seen.

I also had an aunt who suffered from Alzheimer’s that didn’t even recognize her husband who could be standing less than 4 feet away from her…I’ll never forget that either. She would put on lipstick, and then 5 minutes later put on more thinking she hadn’t done it yet…She also cursed like a sailor at times, which was sad because she never cursed prior to the onset of the disease.  Slowly it took her from us all.  And then one day I got word that her husband had passed away. She never realized it. Then one day, she was also gone.  Sad…People who have this, die alone even when loved ones are there and they are aware of someone’s presence. They seem to be trapped in their own world, in their own mind.

That is why this movie is important…It is important because one day my family may be faced with putting me into an assisted living facility or a nursing home.  This is the issue faced in the film…The disease is frightening enough for the family members faced with having to care for the victim of this disease, but for the family member who suffers from it–it can be twice as devastating…Here is why the film is important–straight from the Facebook page:

“…The film seeks to examine the seeming hopelessness of the disease and the fear from both the victim and their families, while at the same time finding hope and humor. The film is supported by the Alzheimer’s Association http://www.alz.org/  and a portion of the profits from the film will be donated to help fund research for this devastating illness…”

The film is not yet listed on IMDB but it should be…This could be one of the most important films to début this year.  I also feel that this role could get Ms. Kirkland a much deserved statue for a job well done without even seeing a trailer yet.  Seeing Christopher Pennock play opposite her is going to be a treat for this viewer as well. Now here is the synopsis–again from the Facebook page:

“…POSEY is the story of Linda Flemming, played by Erica Rhodes (A Prairie Home Companion, Killer Eye, Plague Town) who must make the heartbreaking decision to take her grandmother, Posey (Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe Winner Sally Kirkland), to a retirement home. Posey suffers from the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, and in a desperate move to avoid the inevitable, she escapes. While her loved ones desperately search for her, Posey finds herself in the middle of a unique situation…one that will change her outlook on her future profoundly…”

I know that the very fact that someone cares enough to make the movie has changed mine.  I will support this film with all I’ve got and I hope that others will follow suit. Thank you so much for your time.  As I said, this could be one of the most important films to come out this year.

Signing Off for Now…

I am going through a period of self-reflection at this moment.  It is something that I must do on my own.  I will still passionately speak out against school bullying and such and continue posting the “Centuries Under the Moon” blogs as requested.  However, I will not be socializing much as of late. I will not be traveling much until the weather is warmer.

I suppose that I feel bad because I am so blunt when I post things.  I cannot lie and I have to post what I honestly feel at the time my fingers go nuts over the keyboard. Evidently some people that I hang out with have decided that they cannot handle my opinion of life which is this:  It is what you make it.  Your decisions will land you either in a hotbed of bull or they will enable you to grow and branch out.  Those who stand by me will see this, but those who choose not to do so should at least do me the courtesy of telling me what their issue is and we can try to resolve it, or they will find themselves by the wayside in my life.

Once again I have cut three friends off who were very close to me because I overheard them saying things to others that should have been addressed with me.  At least I gave them the courtesy of telling them face to face.  NO, I wasn’t mean about it.  I just said that right now I feel like I’m related to Job and he had three good friends didn’t he? Then again, Job’s three good friends DID tell him what they thought face to face–probably because they felt enough love for the man to express their thoughts–even if they were wrong–if they existed at all, that is–so believe what you will.

I accept people as they are.  I don’t try to change them. To me that is the greatest gift one can give to a friend because it is an unconditional form of love.  A part of me loves to make people laugh. I love it when some people make me think–as Lauren Cross has done more than once.  I also love it when people have enough respect to speak their minds.

As for my writing, I free-write.  I speak my mind.  When it comes to mind, and it isn’t spoken, it will pour out through my pen, or the keyboard.  Writing was the only refuge I had growing up.  I used it to take care of business–whether it be creating characters to kill off that reminded me of the bullies I dealt with, or to try to put something positive to reach others–like the writing and the anti-bullying blogs are meant to do.  I will make a video for YouTube very soon as far as the bullying issue.  I had one completed and the bloody computer crashed and wiped out my media.

As I have said before to others, it is better to be proactive than reactive.  Either act or don’t complain about those that are doing nothing because they became complacent with the status-quo.  If you are not part of a solution, you are part of a problem. Period.  We have enough problems in this country to clean up without looking into any other country’s back yard–seriously.

As for the economy, I only have a little sliver–it’s called a paycheck.  I work my fanny off and live from paycheck to paycheck right now because I choose to.  I could go back into corrections–but why do that when working in that field almost turned me into a witch from hell riding a broom with a hemi attached to it?  Seriously. It took a while for me to get back to something close to normal again.

Quite frankly, I would be just peachy if good ol’ Uncle Sam would quit trying to take more of my sliver of the cake (Ben Cross brought this to mind when he made a post over the holidays about the “Fat Cats” paying their fair share…)  When I say sliver, I am talking about making less than $25K a year.  I manage–period.  I may not be among the Hollywood élite, but I am quite content with my little sliver.  That brings me to my next point.  I didn’t understand what the Occupy Movements were about FULLY until a good person named Christopher Pennock took the time and had the patience to point a few things out on his own FB page.  He’s a pretty cool guy…He played Jeb Hawkes on the original Dark Shadows series when I was a kid. Check out both Ben’s and Christopher’s page…Then go check out George Takei‘s page on FB…Now Mr. Takei will blow your mind with his humor, that’s for sure! He makes great points with it.

I will add this about Christopher Pennock though, while there are times he does get upset and go off a bit, he is honest and straight up.  I respect him for that.  Now if my friends I cut off were half the person with grace that he is, they would still be in my social circle. Sad thing is, I’ve known them for years.  This man is 68-years-old, and took rubber bullets and tear gas to fight for what he believes in during these protests. I admire that.  I don’t know of any other actor that braved it lately and he’s had a hip replacement!  Any of you who stand by the protesters should drop in on his page and give him some encouragement.

These protesters are not just out there to protest about the Wall St. “Fat Cats” as they are labelled.  They are also protesting corruption in the government–that government that wants to take more from those that only have a little sliver–no pensions, etc…while the “Fat Cats” still have loopholes. If this offends my friends who have known me for over 25 years that are IN the GOP and I am NOT–sorry it bothers you. It doesn’t bother me.  I have to stand where my conscience can be clear. At least I won’t lose sleep over it.

I also am wondering about this other dilemma I am going through…It is in the form of the question, “Why is it that nobody can ever be content with what they have?”  The Sheryl Crow song says it best, “…It’s not having what you want–It’s wanting what you’ve got.”  from Soak Up the Sun. I am asking that about our government right  now.  They always want more and the people get less. At least that is how it looks from this working class woman’s perspective.

I do not trust politicians regardless of party.  To me it comes down to this formula:  Honest + Politician = Oxymoron .  First you have the “Tea Party” in the GOP…If they take charge, I’m not so sure that they will “turn back the clock” as much as they would STOP the damned thing altogether.  Then you have the far left–which wants to roll out people like biscuit dough and make them all perfect–“one size fits all citizens” of whatever they want to call this nation, order, etc…  Free thinkers will suffer under the absolute rule of either one.  It is as if George Carlin had a point when he said that “The politicians are only there to make you think you have a choice”.   Do we really?  I wonder.

I am certain of one thing. Either party will use the artists and dreamers to their advantage and then toss them by the wayside when finished.  I do not trust them.  Indie is the way to go whether one is a musician or in film, I think. Why?  Those guys are more in tune with the desires of an audience than those with major recording labels and those in Hollywood are.  To me, to not go Indie is too much of a gamble.  Ask any musician who had to let someone else have rights to their music for 30 years…Some retirement plan, right?   I agree that scripts are probably better in the Indie market for the actors and such, too.

Anyway, if you think I’m off base here, then please feel free to tell me. It doesn’t bother me.  All of my life I will be learning and you may be the one to help me make more sense of all this crap going on that we call “life”…Know what I mean?  Feel free to send me a message on FB or email me if you like.  I’ll get to it as soon as I return from my cave.  Tune in whenever…Same bat time…Same bat channel…I’m riding off on the broom now! Goodnight…I close with 4 great links here:

http://www.fizgiggery.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000464385450   “That’s to Mr. Pennock’s page”

https://www.facebook.com/actorbencross

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gary-Cairns-II/33836534032   This guy is one of the coolest guy’s around…And he was in “Mad World”–a movie which really addresses the bullying issue, and that is the issue closest to my heart right now…

 

May 2012 bring all of you blessings!

 

The blah blah blah of Writing…Characterization and random thoughts…

Have you ever reached a point to where you just want to kill off every character you put in your own story, much like they did in the “Black Adder” series once?  Well I have…I have heard it all this week…”Send the character over the cataract or make them a bloody messiah!”, “Give your main character a tragic flaw”, etc…etc…etc…

When breathing life into or smothering my characters to death, I do not see the logic in having   “A” tragic flaw rather than several.  I also see no logic for NOT having at least one sardonic bitch in my story be it male or female. I have met men who make better bitches than some of the other females that I encounter anyway.  I also like putting dark wit wherever possible.  Also my “villain”  might be someone people can actually empathize with–much to my mentor’s dismay…She likes villains to be pure a-holes–clearly defined as EVIL.  Why?  In reality you can say Charles Manson is an ultimate villain of sorts. But in reality, was Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton or even Obama?  OR is it a matter of perception only?  It’s just a thought I felt that I should toss about because anyone who has ever been pissed at a politician of either side of the coin can relate to it.  Better yet, are WE our own worst enemies in labeling people as such?  Hmmm…What a question to pose given the political climate of the past 35 years or so…The “villains” I had most empathy for in my lifetime were Barnabas Collins of  “Dark Shadows” (the 1992 version with Ben Cross–it seemed more plausible and realistic) and  Bruce Dern‘s portrayal of  astronaut Freeman Lowell in “Silent Running” (1972).   Quite frankly, I’d really LOVE  to see Mr. Cross and Mr. Dern work together…I know it probably will not happen, but they are both freaking brilliant in their portrayals of any character thrown at them.

I also had a tremendous empathy for Jonathan Frid‘s version of Barnabas…I felt that he was “bullied” by Angelique.  If I had met Lara Parker as a child, I am 100% certain that I would have kicked her in the shins and ran for my dear life! I was a kindergartener that ran home every day to watch the original version!

For those who have never seen “Silent Running” I strongly urge you to watch it.  Here is a damned good clip with Mr. Dern here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji67t8xJF-s

And for those of you who really admire how Ben Cross played Barnabas, here is a clip–which he played pretty damned well, I might add…I used a clip showing the bad side of him too–and after watching it, I certainly wouldn’t want to be on that actor’s shit list! Not that he’d be like this, but that voice alone would definitely command some freaking respect, don’t you think? :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_zoTfRmm9o

Anyway there are times I write purely for my amusement and my version of Dark Shadows is one of those projects…One can tell when they read it, it is much inspired not just by my love of the show, but from movies such as “Spirit of the Beehive”, “Frankenstein”, “Paperhouse”, which is a strange movie but deals with the perspective of child emotions rather well, and I also deal with the perspective of a severely abused child–my main character, who thinks that while Barnabas guided her from his crypt, was only an imaginary friend. Barnabas, however, was meant to guide her in the present time.  Much of their encounters took place prior to her departure from Collinsport at age 8 to attend private school in Boston, per Elizabeth and Roger after they get guardianship of her.

In my version, the child is going to grow up to be the catalyst for resolving all things past and present.  I was really pissed off that Barnabas “declared” his love for Angelique in the end of the ’72 series when in fact, any psychotic bitch that did to a man what she did to him would never have been loved, but rather LOATHED.  To me that was unrealistic and done in haste.

While I am not giving my whole story away, I am going to point out there that I only wrote it because I get pissed off at all the crap that people toss  about with regard to characterization.  To resolve it and answer questions as to HOW Barnabas  knows about certain aspects of technology and historical information in the present, an outside character really has to be used for this. The characters of Willy, Maggie and others are “boxed” in due to the original adaptations of it, so I dug my own “good little girl” in the form of my character from the deepest recesses of the pit of my imagination.  Believe me, given what she has endured at the hands of her crazy bitch mother, the fact that she is actually “good” is amazing–but there are flaws she has…She trusts nobody-really…She keeps to herself even as a celebrity, and she feels that all she experienced was in her imagination.  She fears things that she remembers from time to time.  Her best friend up until she returns to Collinsport (outside of her band) is her dog…Can you fans of the ’92 series guess what I named him?    😀

I will reveal one thing…If anyone plays the part of the ghost of my new character’s dad someday (if I ever get this out there), I hope to hell it’s  Matthew McConaughey because he’d be perfect for that part.  As for the part of younger Barnabas there would have to be two younger people playing him as a boy and a young man, and then an older man to play him at age 50-55 (the namesake) in the present time.  Don’t ask…I won’t tell how that works, but it’s in there 🙂 !  I dug deeper than hell to explain things in a logical light…That time-space continuum that my character has to fix is a bitch to deal with but I finally worked it out…

Now for the big decision…Do I make my characters “messianic” and admirable, make them grey or send them all over the bloody cataract?  Stay tuned…Same bat time! Same bat channel!