Esthetic/Aesthetic

A Week Without Cable

Somehow cable was never installed into my new apartment, which is surprising considering its a live/work space and the previous tenant was a graphic designer, which as far as I know means computers.  I can't imagine anyone going with dial up anymore.  The reason its a pity to not have cable this week, for me, is I don't get to watch all the press for my show that starts officially Thursday, but sneak peeks on Wednesday.  I have been catching up on the past two seasons of the Footballers Wives instead.  I'm so inspired that if I ever get married I'm so going with a Jane Austen theme, or maybe a Herman Melville theme.....

Too Much to Think About

Between this

and this

my brain doesn't have space for anything else.  September 6th can't come soon enough, by then most of everything will be over and normal life will resume....hopefully.   

Being a Freelancer

is usually more appealing than being on staff somewhere.  And I feel like I've gotten pretty good at scheduling my off days around projects (which is why I get to travel alone and always at the last minute) but I recently signed up to edit a show that is already getting a lot of press despite not having shot a single frame, and although I was apprehensive about leaving a stable job at the most stable company I've ever worked for I thought it was time for a little leap of faith in order to work on a show that people may actually watch (no one watched the last one).  I thought I was being so smart leaving one week of leeway for the pilot I'm working on now (because those things never finish on time) and take one week by myself in Portugal and start bright and early the next day on the next show (I think I'll call it The Gay Fashion Maven's Guide to What is Not What Not To Wear or just The Gay Fashion Maven or maybe just Gayven for fun) but I actually got a "LOL we don't know what's going on with the schedule" and now I'm looking at not working after taking myself on a vacation.  I guess I'll have to stock up on Ramen and update my Netflix queue to keep myself entertained.  Maybe I can find a backgammon friend to spend all day in the park with (maybe the Pinball Champion will still be unemployed, we can be unemployed together). 

Pardon the parentheses. 

Red Hook Advertising

I was working all day with a producer who was drinking all day.  And he wasn't drinking water although he was drinking out of a water bottle.  When he went to go refill it he went to the bathroom, not the kitchen.  My entire room smelled like a bar.  He joked after he went out for a "smoke" and brought me back some Poland Spring from the deli that he put some vodka in it, ha ha.  At the end of the day he told me he was going home to his mothers house, which explained to me why he was chewing on about 5 pieces of gum.  This man was about 55 years old.  It was a very sad and uncomfortable day. 

2 Doors in Brooklyn

When I was in my early 20's and was out every night on the lower east side surrounded by the Z list of New York culture I had fantasies about ending up on Page Six.  Now that I'm in my 30's (31 is staring me down) the equivalent would be making it on the New York Times.  Now, officially I did not make it into the NY Times but the show I just wrapped was on the front page of the Arts section, right next to all the Oscar winners.  (Officially, I must admit that my name did in fact appear on the front page of the NY Times long ago when Metrocards became unlimited and I was quoted as saying something like, "I'm so happy to be able to just pay one price for the whole month because too often I'll walk 40 blocks home rather than pay a fare because I just can't afford it." which was true at the time.  Very true.)

Sometimes Kids Are Cute

I woke up very early this morning and took a walk up to Union and Henry in order to get a proper everything bagel.  Every weekend I try and get one at Le Petit, which would be convenient since its practically right next door, but never fail, they're always out.  It was a lovely gray morning for a long walk, its always surprising to see other people awake on a Sunday morning when I'd typically still be asleep.  I spent part of Saturday at City Stages in order to see in person the kids that are in the show I've been working on the past few months.  Although I started out not really feeling much about the show, I really loved it by the end and I cannot wait for it to start airing so I finally have a show I've worked on that I would actually recommend watching.  The basic premise is that we gave cameras to 20 kids from all over the US and they filmed themselves for about 6 months.  Every one of the kids was distinctly different, yet typically the same.  It was amazing to see all of them in one room running around playing with each other.  It gave me the fuzzies inside.   I've been feeling pretty "over" my career for awhile and it was nice to have a day remind me why I decided to work in television.  Its no longer thrilling to see my name in the credits, but its fun to think that a show I've worked on may be worth spending an hour of your time watching.   

Why Am I Not in Charge of the World?

Say you were given the task of making a whole new show for a network. 

Would you

A - Recreate EXACTLY the last show you did for them, ignoring all the reasons that show no longer airs?

or

B - Try and use some creativity and thought and make something memorable, informative and unique in the hopes that your show would stand out amongst all the other shows with exactly the same premise?

My new hobby

Is to find out if I work with a tranny.  So far my evidence is - I used the bathroom after a girl I work with stepped out and the toilet seat was still up.  To describe her I'd say what makes her mannish is that she is tall and skinny (ie. no hips, no breasts), but she's also very pretty - and not in a "boy trying to look beautiful" way.  I was  thinking that perhaps she just went in to fix herself up, but it was 11AM, so either she forgot to do a self assessment before leaving home or she's very narcissistic.   

All I asked for was some good karma and you've failed me.  Now you all owe me a drink.   

Good Karma

If I get to go to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival I will buy everyone who reads this blog a drink on Friday to celebrate.