bgirlla

It's been a long time, been a long time....

2009-07-31T01:07:48Z

LJ is telling me it's been 15 weeks since I posted. Oops! So, that means I last posted right when hiatus began? Wow, it's been a while. I'll have to go back and see what the last thing was that I actually wrote about, so I don't repeat myself.

Also, I've been watching tv pilots of late, so I'll be posting my reviews of what's worth watching (and what's not) soon, so watch this space.

And hopefully it won't be another fifteen weeks!

Paley Festival

2009-04-12T00:24:50Z

Yeah, so I had my production schedule shifted AFTER I bought my Paley tix. I've got extras for Dr. Horrible (which I now can't go to...SOB!), Dollhouse and The Big Bang Theory. If anyone knows someone who wants them, lemme know. I only paid $35 each for mine (they're Level II), so that's about $15 cheaper than if you aren't a member and buying them now.

Oscar Nominees-The Quest thus far

2009-02-19T20:48:05Z

Last year, when I was laid off, I saw everything that was nominated for an Oscar except for four of the foreign film nominations. And I did my will wins and should wins, and more of my should wins won last year. I was curious to know if that was because people saw more of the films because of the strike. So I've tried to see as much this year as possible too, just to compare. I lucked out in being able to see a lot of stuff on screeners, which save me tons of time.

Ironically, I don't really care that much about the Oscars, but I have to say, I do find it fun to see things like the shorts. In bold are what I've seen thus far:

ACTOR, LEADING

Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor”
Frank Langella in “Frost/Nixon”
Sean Penn in “Milk”
Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case
of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler”

BEST PICTURE

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

ACTOR, SUPPORTING

Josh Brolin in “Milk”
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Doubt”
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”
Michael Shannon in
“Revolutionary Road”

SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
“La Maison en Petits Cubes”
“Lavatory - Lovestory”
“Oktapodi”
“Presto”
“This Way Up”

ACTRESS, LEADING
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”
Melissa Leo in “Frozen River”
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Kate Winslet in “The Reader”

SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION

“Auf der Strecke (On the Line)”
“Manon on the Asphalt”
“New Boy”
“The Pig”
“Spielzeugland (Toyland)”

ACTRESS, SUPPORTING

Amy Adams in “Doubt”
Penélope Cruz in
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Viola Davis in “Doubt”
Taraji P. Henson in “The Curious Case
of Benjamin Button”
Marisa Tomei in “The Wrestler”

SOUND EDITING

“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

ANIMATED FEATURE

“Bolt”
“Kung-Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”

SOUND MIXING

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”

ART DIRECTION

“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Revolutionary Road”

VISUAL EFFECTS

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Iron Man”

CINEMATOGRAPHY

“Changeling”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Doubt”
“Frost/Nixon”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

COSTUME DESIGN

“Australia”
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Duchess”
“Milk”
“Revolutionary Road”

SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL

“Frozen River”
“Happy-Go-Lucky”
“In Bruges”
“Milk”
“WALL-E”

DIRECTING

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“The Garden”
“Man on Wire”
“Trouble the Water”

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

“The Conscience of Nhem En”
“The Final Inch”
“Smile Pinki”
“The Witness - From the Balcony of
Room 306”

FILM EDITING

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“The Class”
“Departures”
“Revanche”
“Waltz with Bashir”

MAKEUP

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

ORIGINAL SCORE

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Defiance”
“Milk”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

ORIGINAL SONG
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
“Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire”
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”

Am half-way through watching "The Dutchess" on video on demand, and am picking up Changeling on DVD tonight. Hoping to see a screener of Defiance before Sunday. And we're going to see "Doubt" on Saturday, because last Saturday the showing we tried to go to was sold out. Not as many as last year, but still not too bad considering my schedule.

I :heart: Joss Whedon

2009-02-10T23:14:16Z

From a TV Guide interview with Tahmoh Penikett:

Talking about a scene from Dollhouse: "Joss Whedon, the show's creator, considered the scene...his patriotic duty. 'Tahmoh with his shirt off,' Whedon cracks, 'I do what I can to help out America."

Yo-Yo Ma Rules!

2009-01-20T16:08:03Z

"You're gonna open your mouth and lift houses off the ground. Whole houses, clear off the ground..."

Quick Note to Friday Night Lights Fans

2009-01-09T14:47:53Z

If you have your Tivo season pass for FNL set to "first-run only" you need to change it to reruns and first-runs. FNL wasn't showing up in my To Do List, and I realized that Tivo is considering the NBC showings to be reruns. Once I made the change, it showed up.

Oh the weather outside is frightful

2008-12-18T22:02:37Z

Actually, today it's not here in Southern California. It's chilly, but the sun is out, after days of rain and cold (and me not having working heat until Tuesday afternoon!).

However, I'm obsessed with the weather in Cleveland.

Specifically with the weather in Cleveland on Monday. Because we have to change planes in Cleveland. And if we have problems or miss our connection, I'm concerned about actually being able to get to where my parents live. Maybe I should see how long of a drive it is from Cleveland, just in case.

I haven't been home in a year and a half. My twelve-year-old niece is now three inches taller than me. My nephew looks more and more like his Dad. Changes I missed seeing because I couldn't get home to visit for various reasons.

So I'm plotting and planning so that I actually make it home for Christmas, in more than just my dreams.

When you see this, quote Leo McGarry

2008-12-17T19:00:40Z

This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep. He can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out. [beat] As long as I got a job, you got a job, you understand?"

The reason I picked this one is because when I went to "An Evening with John Wells" a few years ago, when Martin Sheen got up to talk, he talked about when John Spencer got sick and needed surgery a few years before he died. And he went out of the state to have it done, because he didn't want anyone to know because he was afraid of what it would do to his career. Before he did it, he was talking to Martin and Martin told him to tell John Wells, that he could trust him. And when John Spencer did, John Wells basically expressed the same sentiment, that John Spencer would always have his job on The West Wing for as long as he wanted it as long as John Wells was in charge.

Be our guest, Be our guest

2008-12-09T21:57:21Z

We've had some cool guest stars on our shows of late. Some I can talk about, because they're out there on the internets already, some I can't yet.
I usually don't read the scripts before, so sometimes I don't even know who the guests are and am surprised when I get to to the table read. Such was the case a few weeks ago, when I went down to stage, looked up and found myself staring straight at Michael Trucco (Anders on BSG). He...is hot. Which I'm sure you're thinking "No duh!" But even really hot guys don't necessarily inspire that reaction when you actually see them in person. Michael Trucco certainly did though. I missed the taping of the episode because it was the boyo's birthday that night, but I did get to see the run throughs. There are some weeks I really love my job. :)

We had James Earl Jones a few weeks ago as well. And we have a wickedly funny guest star who I can't say yet since I don't know if it's public knowledge or not.

After tonight we'll be wrapped on both shows. The writers will still be working, but it does make the schedule a little easier. And, hopefully, it means that I'll get out of the office a little bit earlier. I've got Christmas cookies that aren't going to bake themselves!

Week o'fun continues

2008-12-08T20:30:12Z

So we got some rockin' awesome holiday gifties on Friday. We got jackets from the producers (which I knew, because I helped bag them) and we all got iPod Touchs from the cast. Sweet! Then we had our party after taping the last show before the break. Lots of fun, and our writers sponsor a raffle. Everyone's name is entered, and they draw for each prize. The prizes were gift cards for various places, in pretty substantial amounts. And then the writers make it even more fun by making jokes (usually at each other's expense) and adding cash to the prize. Totally fun to watch, and I was particularly thrilled to see two of our p.a.'s win, not just because they don't make much money, because also because they both are really sweet people.

I, however, wasn't feeling any sort of excitement or anticipation because I never win stuff like that. I just don't have that kind of luck. I'm the person who, if there are ten prizes and eleven people, I'm the one who doesn't win. Which, you know, is okay, because I'm lucky in other aspects of my life. Well, I actually won on Friday night! $500 in gift cards to Nordstroms, and $700 in cash. I'm seriously considering French kissing all the writers, even Susan. ;)

So I was incredibly psyched about that. And my KitchenAid mixer arrived on Friday,and I finally got to play with it last night. I love it! That thing is seriously awesome.

I had breakfast with a friend and her kids on Saturday morning, and I got birthday prezzies!!! And then Saturday night we went to see AC/DC. Here's a picture I took with my iPhone from our seats:

Good show. Came in this morning to our holiday gifts for the other show. AND baked treats from my old boss as a belated birthday present. Which is funny, because last night I made cupcakes just to be able to play with the KitchenAid mixer. I'll make icing for those tonight so the boyo can take them into work tomorrow. Because I don't need that many baked goods in my house! Plus our holiday party for the other show is tomorrow night, so, you know, more food. And then one of the women I ended up walking with the second day of the Avon Walk is in town for business on Thursday, so we're meeting up for dinner.

Thank God the boyo decided he didn't want to go to his office holiday party this year. I seriously don't think I can keep eating like this!

A Very Happy Birthday Indeed

2008-12-04T22:10:34Z

Thank you to everyone for the good birthday wishes. I had a really great day. Because of something I had to do for work, I got the opportunity to meet Leonard Nimoy yesterday. Which, for those who know me well, know was a HUGE deal to me. I'm a huge Star Trek geek, and I used to have the biggest crush on Spock. So it was a singular thrill.

Got really yummy chocolate cake at the office and then the boyo took me out to dinner to one of our favorite Italian places. Came home, shared the last piece of yummy cake with the boyo whilst enjoying a glass of wine from Blackjack Winery, which I love, Love, LOVE.

My parents got me the 10th anniversary edition of Sports Night, and they got me two of the cast iron pans that I wanted and the scrubber for them. My sister and her family got me a gift card to Burke Williams (yeah, spa!) and the boyo got me a KitchenAid Mixer!!!!!!!! The color he got me (Green Apple) wasn't in stock, so they ordered it and it should be here no later than Monday. Which in a way worked out better, because I've been ~~whining~~ asking for one for YEARS. Seriously, I even told him marry me or not, I was getting my KitchenAid mixer somehow. And I'm sure I would have realized what it was as soon as I saw the box. They gave him a little card to give me, so it was a small box and I had no clue. Plus now I have a few days of looking forward to it getting here. I'm going to pick out some accessories and put them on my list for Christmas. Am pretty sure I can get the boyo to buy me the ice cream attachment, since he loves ice cream. I'm so, so excited, I can't even begin to tell you. And I told him that now, of course, we'll be designing the color scheme of the kitchen in our future house we'll buy someday around the KitchenAid mixer.

Can you tell I'm a little excited about it? :)

We have our holiday party for one show this Friday, for the other show next Tuesday and I've got AC/DC tickets in between. And then my bday party on the 13th. So a week o'fun!

It's the end of the world as we know it....

2008-12-02T22:19:45Z

Okay, it's not the end of the world, but, today is the end of my thirties. I turn the big 4-0 tomorrow.

And I feel...fine.

I have to confess, I still walk around a little surprised that I don't feel older than I do. And while there are definitely things in my life, like my career, that I wish were a little further along the path than they are, at least I'm moving towards them. And if I don't get there, at least I tried. And then I'll try something else.

My family is all healthy. I have a wonderful person to share my life with. The cats are crazy and I really wish they'd stop waking me up at 6 a.m., but they're pretty wonderful. I really don't have any complaints.

Of course, I don't look my age. And I still don't have to dye my hair. And the boyo is only 28. I'm pretty sure all these things make the big birthday a lot easier to swallow.

It does feel a little weird to realize I will no longer "be in my 30s" after today though.

So now the big question, does my being 40 with a 28 year-old boyfriend officially make me a cougar? ;)

'Tis the season

2008-11-17T23:45:27Z

Of course, it would be easier to start getting into the holiday spirit if my car wasn't telling me that it was 80 degrees outside at 9:16 this morning. Or if that smell of wood burning in the air wasn't, you know, people's houses burning to the ground.

The boyo's birthday present arrived today. Thankfully. I was starting to get a little worried. His birthday isn't until next week, but the U.S. Post Office seems to have it in for me lately. So I'm happy it arrived. Now I just need to hide it until next Tuesday.

The weather and the smoke from the fires are killing my allergies. And having cats running across your head at 5:30 in the morning does not make it easy to sleep.

Is it Thanksgiving yet?

PG Porn

2008-11-11T21:53:01Z

From the Gunn brothers, starring Nathan Fillion. No nudity, no sex, just deliberate bad acting:

http://www.spike.com/video/pg-porn-pg-porn/3041858

Who wants to come help me bathe cats?

2008-11-07T23:31:57Z

So, it turns out that Ogo did not, in fact, have mites, but does, in fact, have ringworm. Which is not, in fact, a worm, but a fungus. A fungus he was so nice as to give Tip. And me. On my face. Luckily it was just one little spot, looked like a dry patch and not the plague and is now almost gone.

But...the vet wants us to give both kitties lym dips twice a week for SIX WEEKS! This process involves putting drops in their eyes to protect them, then bathing them with a shampoo that you have to leave on them for ten minutes, and THEN pouring the lym dip over them. Which will stain your clothes if you get it on you. And also apparently smells not a little like rotten eggs. And you can't rinse it off, you have to let it dry on the cat. Without the cat licking it off, so you need to put a cone on them until it dries. And apparently it stains white cats (temporarily), so Ogo will probably be yellow for the next six weeks.

And did I mention we have to do both cats, twice a week, for six weeks?

And I need to clean my whole house, bleaching everything that can be bleached, and vacuuming everything that can be vacuumed and dusting with Swiffers everything that can be dusted.

So those are my fun plans for the weekend.

We'll see how it goes. I realize this is the best approach to eliminating the ringworm from the cats and from the environment, but it might not be feasible. Tip isn't the easist cat to deal with. If it's just too hard we may just need to go the topical creme route and deal with extra cleaning and whatnot until everyone is better.

Great Day in the Morning!!!

2008-11-05T19:09:00Z

Yeah, I'll stop using the West Wing quotes soon. But they just seem appropriate at this moment in time.

So last night I was at the office until a little after six. And pretty much from 3:30 on I was sitting here hitting refresh on the electoral map like a lab rat trying to get a pellet. When I left, I had the boyo call me when he got home so that he could update me on what was going on. And at the point where Obama reached 200, we were doing the math and we realized he'd won it. That once the polls had closed in the west, it was over. We actually had to head back over to the valley to go to the birthday bash of one of our writers. And I was like "We need to get there before eight, they're going to call it as soon as the polls close." Dan thought they'd wait a little while, but I didn't think so.

So we were at a restaurant full of folks watching the tvs that had been set up around. You should have heard the clapping and cheering when it came up on the screen. It was just craziness. I was in tears during Obama's speech, and frankly, I still keep getting a little verklempt when I think about it too much.

President-elect Obama. It has a nice ring to it.

The Line

2008-11-04T22:31:59Z

So here's the picture I took with my iPhone when I first got in line to vote this morning:

The entrance to the auditorium where you vote is hidden behind the trees. And there were two lines, because there were two different precincts voting at this location.

Democracy in Action.

An Instrument of Good

2008-11-04T20:26:29Z

"...we do an immense thing. We have to say what we feel. That government, no matter what its failures are in the past, and in times to come, for that matter, that government can be a place where people come together and where no one gets left behind. No one...gets left behind, an instrument of good. " Toby Ziegler, The West Wing

I voted today. After standing in line for two hours. TWO HOURS! It was awesome. Not the actual standing, but that there were so many people voting. Especially a lot of young people. I think everyone should exercise their right to vote. One of the reasons I went to the polls today instead of doing mail-in is that I actually like going. There's something about it. Though we have ink vote cards, and I do miss the old voting booths where you pulled the curtain and had levers to pull. Ink vote cards takes a little bit of the romance out of it if you ask me. :)

One of our writers is having his birthday bash tonight. He figured we could all celebrate or mourn together (there are very few conservatives in the entertainment industry). So that should be fun.

Off to watch last night's Jon Stewart to help calm my nerves.

Mea Culpa

2008-11-03T20:13:29Z

So, I hadn't realized I'd gotten so much up on my soapbox last night when I wrote the previous post. I've locked it, so if you didn't read it, you have no clue what I'm talking about. But for those who did, just so you all know, that post was in no way aimed at anyone specific. I hope I didn't offend anyone, and if I did, my apologies. I'd just spent an hour talking to my dad, and I was venting.

I really need it to be Wednesday now.

Everyone has a right to choose

2008-10-31T17:30:27Z

Copy this sentence into your LiveJournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow.

I'm not married, but because my partner has a penis, we can if and when we want to. And everyone should have a right to make that decision for themselves.

I loved this from Melissa Etheridge:

"Now, I know my preference of life mate freaks some people out," she added. "Maybe it is just their fear of sex or intimacy. I know that they hold up the bible and say that it's wrong. Fine, let me stand before my creator and take any consequences there might be to living my life in truth and balance with my spirit."

Practically Sorkinesque, don't you think?

No on Prop. 8!

I, wanna rock and roll all night

2008-10-30T18:30:11Z

So the boyo and I have tickets for The Who in November and then AC/DC in December. And we were talking about which "iconic" bands we've already seen,and who we would still like to see. Any suggestions? Off the top of my head, ones I'd still like to see:

Rolling Stones
U2
The Police
Billy Joel
Elton John

We've seen:

ZZ Top
Bruce Springsteen
Van Halen
Bon Jovi
The Eagles
John Fogerty
Bonnie Raitt

I've seen Elvis Costello, but that was in college, so I'm not sure the boyo has. Obviously I've seen a lot of other shows, but I'm just thinking here more of iconic bands/performers.

Who else should I see? For some bands (like AC/DC), I don't have to be a huge fan. I like some of their stuff, but for me, some of these bands I'd love to see once just because they are these seminial bands.

Yo-Yo Ma Rules!

2008-10-28T22:43:37Z

If you missed him on The Colbert Report last night, check him out on Hulu here:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/41137/the-colbert-report-mon-oct-27-2008#s-p1-so-i0

Who knew Yo-Yo Ma was so funny?

Joe the Cellist! Hee!

This, that and the other

2008-10-28T20:20:17Z

So the cats let me sleep until 7 a.m. this morning, so I'm actually feeling all awake and stuff. Although, can someone send the weather a memo and let it know it's almost November, because it's like 90 freakin' degrees outside! I'm really bored with wearing these clothes, I'd like to start wearing sweaters please.

I may need to just resolve myself to the fact that I'm not going to get caught up on stuff until, oh, probably after the holidays. We've got two concerts (The Who and AC/DC), we have both of our birthdays, we've got Thanksgiving and Christmas, natch. We have three work holiday parties, one for his job, one for each of my shows. And I need to bake cookies. Oh, and we're going to Pennsylvania for Christmas. So, yeah. Plus, this morning the kitten was being all sweet and cute, so of course I snuggled with him instead of putting away the hanging laundry that was drying on the rack.

We're no longer racing against the clock on the Tivo, and we might actually make a dent this week, seeing as how most of Fox's shows aren't on this week. And we watch a lot on Fox. They are the evilist of the evil empires, but they do make good television shows.

No idea what to get my sibling for her birthday, and I'm going to have to put that in the mail by the end of the week.

Also, I really need it to be next Wednesday, so that the election is over (hopefully) and I know how it turns out and I can stop being obsessed with it.

Ogo!!!

2008-10-22T00:10:44Z

Not the best picture of him (because he looks kind of startled), but you can see his face and markings pretty well on this one (although not his funny skunk tail):

Is this the end of a great relationship?

2008-10-21T21:16:50Z

Dear Tivo,

When you first came around, I didn't think I needed you. I mean, I'd been getting by for years without you, and my needs were more or less being met. But then, after you came into my life (and my apartment), I feel in love, and didn't know how I had ever lived without you. Then you moved out, and it took a few months (and a birthday gift from my sister) before you came back into my life.

We were happy together for a while. But then I started finding that there were two shows, and, sometimes, three shows I wanted to watch all on at the same time. And so you, my first love, were banished to the bedroom, and a Tivo with greater skills (and a dual tuner) came into my life.

Everything was fine until I went back to work. I have less time for you now, and now, well, I'm not sure you are completely meeting my needs. You are almost completely full, and if I don't watch and delete some things tonight, you will not record the Wednesday night lineup. Frankly, I'm feeling a little bit of pressure from you. I know we have a commitment, and you are keeping up your end of the bargain, faithfully recording all the shows we want to watch. But at the moment I'm just not in the same place as you enough to be able to keep pace. I'm hoping that our current difficulties are only temporary. That soon we'll be able to spend more time together and our relationship will go back to the harmonious, happy one that it has been for the past few years. Otherwise, I'll be honest. I may need to look at other Tivo's. Maybe one with a bit more memory. I don't want to, but if you can no longer meet my needs with the changes in my life recently, well, I'm sorry. But I'm not missing Pushing Daisies.

Love,

Bgirl