Moving Headshots

Here's a new (or fairly new) "resource" for actors --primarily in use at the ONLY casting source for Los Angeles-based commercial casting, LACasting.com.

I'm posting my friend David's review and link to the service below ...

However, here's what I've heard about the usefulness (or uselessness) of this service ...
From a very reliable commercial casting source (who has been polling other commercial casting directors) ...

Imagine a big chess or checker board filled with the "thumbnails" of actors' digital headshots.
That's what the casting directors see when they pull up submissions of actors online/at LA Casting.
So, that seems "busy" enough with a whole screen full of mini headshots, eh?
Now, imagine that each one of those boxes/squares is MOVING???
Can you picture how seasick or dizzy one would get seeing page after page of that???

So, that's what the current report is from those on the casting end ...
Gives 'em motion sickness.

However, if you're a resourceful actor, constantly looking for that cutting edge marketing tool ...
My friend, David, has always been one of those ... has a good dayjob that allows him to spend a bit extra on such things as well ...
Here's a couple of links regarding his take on it:

• David's Moving Headshot Link
  
• David's Review of Moving Headshots
  

Interesting idea, new(-ish) marketing tool, etc. ? ... yes.
Practical? ... no.

But you decide.

Chris out.

Color Headshots

Ooooops!
Haven't blogged in over a week ... thanks to GuruStu for the reminders (and for reading my journal/blog). Gotta keep true to the "Daily" part of this actor journal!

Ahhhhh life ... that's what's been happening ... what's that saying? Something about something being like a bus and another one will be along any minute? Well, we only get ONE life, but what's that saying again? "Opportunities?" Anyone? Comment with the saying/quotation that you know ...

So, I have my first COLOR HEADSHOT photo session today!

I am excited 'cuz I am sure it will bring my acting career to the next level.

A lot of old school actors/purists have resisted making this 21st century transition.
(I've been one of those ...) But, with online casting (esp. LA Casting) the digital color thumbnails and online photos will definitely be the best way to go.

I will blog what I've heard about "Moving Headshots" later on ... (and the feedback is NOT positive ... and kind of funny as to why that is ... )

Colorize me, baby!

Chris out.

The WB ... Land of the Beautiful People

So, the WB Network has been heavily promoting their new season in strategically placed half-hour "promotional" shows ...

Yes, in a guilty-pleasure moment, I tuned into one ... and I was mesmerized!
Their shows are filled with the most BEAUTIFUL, untalented and forgettable [Caucasian] actors anywhere!
The 'recognizable' names are mostly B- and C- List, has-been, or never-was actors, but, of course, they are all beautiful!

Soap Operas or Daytime Dramas (the PC term) make no secrets about their beautiful, but marginally-talented populace. But has the WB "tricked" us into thinking these are legit nighttime dramas with cutting-edge storylines?

Who cares? I LOVE these stunningly gorgeous, barely-able-to-act people who all have totally forgettable 3-name names ? Chad Michael Miller ... Brooke McNally Cohen ... ??? Huh?
I don't know their real names ... again, I don't care ...

They're all gorgeous and young ...

I want to live there! WB Shows ... the world of beautiful, young, angst-ridden people!

Chris out.

When SMART people do STUPID things ...

I have a few scars on my body ...
They look like exactly what they are: burns from an iron.
Nope, I wasn't abused by a starch-obsessed mother ("No, mama, don't!!!" screamed Penny. Any Janet Jackson fans recognize that reference?)

Yep, I tried to do a few minor "touch ups" without the hassle of removing the actual garment ... a cuff there, a collar here ... OUCH! Muthaf*#@&*sonofa%*^!!!

Recently, I had two neckties I liked for my GoodRestaurantJob uniform. Got a couple of food/grease stains on 'em ... thought I could just throw them in the washing machine? ... nope, ruined!

Actually, the lesson learned from that was simple enough ... ya can't wash ties in a washing machine ... didn't know? Now I know ...

I like how my buddy, GuruStu, distinguished that as IGNORANCE vs. condemning myself as an uncorrectable, stupid moron. He said that ignorance can be changed, stupidity cannot ...

Cool ... so now I know: no ties in the washer, don't iron clothes while wearing them ...

= )

Oh, and on another "Duh!" moment, last night's episode of Jeopardy! had a question about GoodRestaurantJob ... and I freakin' got it WRONG! Answer: "Opened by the Overtons, this restaurant is named after a famous dessert and is known for its large menu and giant portions."

I heard the "giant portions" part so I blurted out, "What is Claim Jumper?"
No!

Mr. Jennings got it wrong, too (his response was 'Big Boy,' contestant 2 got the name close, but no cigar, contestant 3 got it right). I was left feeling stupid once again ... it's only the restaurant I work for??? I KNOW who the Overtons are! I have studied the "large menu" ... I schlep out the "giant portions" everyday!

However, I DID know the final Jeopardy question (which all three contestants got wrong).

You see ... I'm smart ... I just do stupid things from time-to-time ...

Chris out.

Life's short ... and then you ...

We are all aware of the inevitable ...
No one yet has figured out how to cheat the BIG one (maybe the "taxes" one --sort of ? ... but they usually get caught anyway).

So, I was struck by an article in USC's Daily Trojan the other day (I was down at their Dental School for a long-overdue dental health appointment).
It was about a freshman who was killed in a car accident on the way from his home in Northern California down to campus in Los Angeles ... ready to start his college career. His parents and grandmother were with him, but he was the only one killed? The article didn't give details about how he was killed, just that it involved a flat tire ...

Most of the article focussed on the difference he made for other students in his senior high school class.

The "unsaid" or subtext of the article was just how sad, ironic, unfortunate, etc. that a student with such promise, literally on his way to a new beginning, had his life end before he got there?
Not from something stupid or terribly freakish ... just from something random, accidental, unfortunate ...

The great secret is that no one knows the exact MOMENT they will die ...

Hopefully, we will all be on our way to something new and exciting when it happens?

Chris out.

Life Needs to be a Little "Miserable" ...

... at least, once in a while ...

I was talking to my sister (who is pleased as punch to be here in L.A.) and she mentioned that I'd been doing a lot of "whining" about my life recently. That I am taking care of the things I NEED to take care of, but that I spend a lot of time complaining about those things before, during, and after I take care of them?

She said that I also seemed to be envious of our Dad, who is retired now, and who is "blissfully ignorant" of all things pending and imperative ...
He doesn't care, and he doesn't care that he doesn't care!
Ahhhhhhh ... no stress ...
(But in reality, he is completely checked out of life?)

So, my sister quoted one thing to get me to "quit my whinging" ...
It was something her ex-boyfriend from high school told her recently (yes, they are still in touch) ...
He said, "If your life isn't MISERABLE at least once in a while, then you're not REALLY living."

So, those times that life seems miserable, or that you seem to be being tested by the cosmos, God, etc. are those times when you get to take a life-pulse and check to see that,
"Yup, I'm LIVING!"

Like that quote from my favorite movie,
"The Shawshank Redemption" ...
"... get busy LIVING, or get busy DYING ... "

Chris out.

Double Labor on LABOR Day?

Nope ... not the "good" kind: double overtime rate on a holiday ...

Just wanted to say that I survived another "double-double" on the traditional end-of-summer holiday ...

I worked a L O N G (and fairly busy) lunch shift at GoodRestaurantJob and then immediately rushed over to do a crazy dinner shift at SuckyRestaurantJob.

I'm tired ... my feet's is tired ...

Happy Labor Day!

I definitely LABORED! (All this is for my acting career ... really, it is!)

Chris out.

Re-"ENERGIZE" Me!

No matter how you slice it, helping someone move is a bitch.
I'm wicked tired, but glad that I got my sis' into her new digs ...

Also, I am looking at a very L O N G Labor Day work weekend. Doin' a long dinner shift tonight at "GoodRestaurantJob," followed by a double both at "SuckyRestaurantJob" (lunch) and "GoodRestaurantJob" (another long dinner shift) on Sunday night ... then a long lunch shift "GoodRJ" on Labor Day Monday ... whew!!!

However, it doesn't take much to get re-energized, re-invigorated, revitalized, etc.

For example, I returned home this afternoon to find two messages from my dear friend "Tin Tin" (that's his nickname) who has returned to L.A. from the East Coast. He never gives me or any of his other Hollywood buddies much notice (I don't think he even knows himself when he's coming back?)

Anyhoo, I am soooooooo excited that he's back in town that, in fact, this weekend/upcoming week doesn't nearly seem like it will be so long and tiring?

I'm excited about seeing him and catching up AND I am excited about the games we're going to create around our acting careers! Instantly thinking of a new future to live into ...

Like "... and we can do this and do that and try this and maybe try on that one ... "

He's pumped to take his Hollywood career to the next level ... and SO AM I !!!

See, it sometimes only takes one phone call/conversation to make a long, tiring weekend seem shorter and more exciting, filled with possibilities !!!

Chris out.

Fitting it ALL in ...

Wow ...
I don't know how some people do it?

Today's my day off, but I'm helping my sister move into her new apartment ... which will be an all-day adventure ... hope I get a dinner at Hometown Buffet out of it (we are sooooooo "ghetto!")

But, seriously, being an actor in Hollywood demands a lot of time, attention, focus, etc.
Glancing through the daily "casting information" this morning, there are some fun co-star roles I'd like to be submitted for ... but no time to do the self-submit, or call the agent or manager?
I have a print audition this morning before picking up the u-haul truck with my sis ...

Another server wanted me to help her out by picking up a dinner shift at "GoodRestaurantJob" ... I could use the money, but won't be done with the move-in by then.

Another actor friend wants to do a lunch/dinner career-planning meeting today because we both (technically) have the day off?

I need to help my buddy, Boise, with his commercial workshop workbook (major overhaul) in time for next weekend's class.

My scene partner has moved on 'cuz I haven't had time to rehearse for class (and WHEN will I have time to find and work on a new monologue???)

"CALGON ... take me away!!!" (Anyone remember that old commercial tagline?)

Sheesh ... I guess it's not just an actor's life ... it's LIFE ?

I'll fit in as much as I can ... somehow ...

Chris out.

The Power of "Suggestion"

Declare it.
Speak it.

Ya know those times when you are actually BOLD enough to say out loud what you want (and not just as a wish or a "wouldn't it be nice if ...")?

Like the times when you really want to talk to someone you're attracted to, but not quite brave enough ... so, instead you go the route of THEY are going to talk to ME! They will !

Well, that happened to me last night ... at a roller rink of all places?!
Of course, you do have several opportunities 'cuz you keep going around and around ...

Anyway, I thought it, spoke it, declared it ... and, behold, it happened!

Neat, huh?

Now, let's start using that magic for my dream career and my dream life ...

Woo hoo! Here we go ... !!!

Chris out.

A Job That Makes a Difference?

So, I'm on my way home from Dayjob 1 today (got Dayjob 2 in the evening) and I got cut off by a "Parking Enforcement Vehicle" (aka "Meter Maid Car") ...

They proceeded to dart in-and-out of traffic hurriedly on their way somewhere (GuruStu has some interesting observations about that in his Lifewatch blogs ...)
And I began wondering, "Just where on earth is a meter maid in such a hurry to get to?"

Recently, I heard some friends/co-workers talking about how they actually "hiss" or "boo" at them if they're driving by and see them giving out a ticket ... The other night someone was telling me about an expensive ticket he got 'cuz he didn't park "head in" somewhere that was designated as such?

I said, "Instead of booing or honking at a meter maid if I pass one issuing a ticket, I'd yell out, 'HEY! Get a job that makes a difference!'"

Thinking about that, I can't really see how their job makes any real difference in the world?
... just constant anguish to those coming back to their cars to find that dreaded, expensive piece of paper under their wiper blade?

Do I have a job that makes a difference?
I am in two service jobs right now ... I help people get their beverages, meals, ranch dressing, whatever ...
Hoping to get a fair gratuity in return?

As an actor, I hope to use my talents to move, touch, inspire people ... ?

It's good to have a job that makes a difference for people ...
Better yet, how 'bout a LIFE that makes a difference?

Chris out.