Saturday, March 27, 2010

Cuz I AM a girl, after all.

Okay, here you go.  I submit to you, entirely unapologetically, for MY money, the ten hottest men found on TV today.  I could pretend I don't notice, and that I'm far too evolved to care.  But who the hell do I think I would be fooling?

The shows may still be filming, or they may not.  Either way, you can still find these simply gorgeous humans, listed in absolutely no particular order whatsoever, somewhere among the hundreds of channels.  Happy hunting.  And, gentlemen....consider this an appreciative and heartfelt nod.  Because, the truth is, I could swallow your characters whole.  They're divine!

My humble apologies to the overlooked...

- Josh Duhamel: LAS VEGAS - Danny McCoy
- Jared Padalecki: SUPERNATURAL - Sam Winchester
- Timothy Olyphant: JUSTIFIED - Raylan Givens
- Michael Weatherly: NCIS - Anthony DiNozzo
- Chris O'Donnell: NCIS LA - G. Callen
- David Conrad: GHOST WHISPERER - Jim Clancy
- Simon Baker: THE MENTALIST - Patrick Jane
- Nathan Fillion: CASTLE - Richard Castle
- Joseph Fiennes: FLASH FORWARD - Mark Benford
- James Denton: DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES - Mike Delfino

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The Death of Movie Theaters?

Contrary to popular belief, it won't be the Blockbusters, Netflix & movies-on-demand that kill the American movie theater.  It will be the ever increasing prices.  It was 11:30 am on Veteran's Day.  In an unusual confluence of events, we were all three home and wanting to go see a movie.  Disney's Christmas Carol @ 12:30?  Well, I thought it was still a bit early in the season, but there wasn't exactly a glut of family-friendly films out at the moment, so I was in.  Taking my customary trip through the MovieWatcher's site, I dialed us in for three tickets - two adults and one child.  $45?  Really?  $45 just to get in the door, to watch a 90 minute film?  And that's not even with snacks!

I love movies.  LOVE them, just like my Dad does.  I love the insane, all-consuming volume.  I love the comfy seats, and the fact that I can put the chair arms up and sit cross-legged or with my knees pulled up.  I love the popcorn - even the faux butter that tops it.  I love everything about the experience.  When I was a kid, my parents used to take us to movies with great frequency.  In fact, there was a period when we would see how many nights in a row we could manage.  It does seem like there must have been a lot of great films back then, given that we managed an 8-night streak at one point in the early 70's.  Then again, I was a kid.  What the hell did I know?  I grew up watching movies like Kelly's Heroes, Tora Tora Tora, Gone With the Wind, The Magnificent Seven, Sometimes a Great Notion, every Disney live action film made, and all the Clint Eastwood westerns.

So when I decide NOT to take my family to a film on a lazy Monday afternoon, it's significant. Because I also love sitting at home with my family, with a lovely dinner or bowl of homemade popcorn slathered in butter, and watching movies-on-demand on the 61 inch TV.  And if I have to choose between the two, which I would dearly prefer not to, I will choose home, where a movie costs $1 to $6 for as many folks as I can cram into the living room and the food costs me nothing, where I can pause the movie to run to the restroom after my third glass of water, beer, or whatever else the film calls for, and where I can sit comfortably on my couch with the dog nearby.

Just sayin...

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Sticks and Stones

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." I understand why my mom taught me this when I was a child.  I understand that words are just sounds out of a person's mouth, and should not have the power to hurt me in any way.  I held tightly to this phrase while I was growing up, squeezing it like a worn out blanket.  I believed in it with all my heart, and it carried me through the moments of unkindness that occurred as I grew.  I have repeated them over and over, to hundreds of children in my life.  I have taught them to my own child, tender to the barbs of the sharp tongue.

Why, then, when someone utters two ignorant hurtful words, do I crumble? Mouthed words, directed at me, in a moment of anger. I don't know this person, have never seen her before, and will no doubt never see her again.  Yet they implode me into an endless stream of tears and pain.  I cry until I cannot cry anymore.  The image of her face will not leave me.  It is ugly with anger.  I cannot for a moment imagine that people know what they become....how the face contorts into something fiendish.  It is the very embodiment of "monster."

There is a tiny handful of moments that I could imagine ever becoming truly hurtful, ruthless, & venomous, and they generally involve my child.  Any person who ever knowingly endangers her will know the outcome of this transformation.  Any person who ever knowingly endangers any of my loved ones in any way will experience the unturned cheek. A mother's/sister's/child's defense is as daunting a foe as you'll ever encounter.  And while I have been tempted to lash out at strangers who have irritated or inconvenienced me, or who were outright rude to me, I am without exception overcome by my parents' lessons on how to treat others. I find my safe place, far from the eyes and ears of the offending party. Quite frankly, screaming at the top of my lungs in the car has repeatedly proven a wildly cathartic experience. And I would rather the passengers in the passing cars believe me mildly crazy than to leave someone as devastated as I was left to feel.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can eviscerate me in an instant.

I wonder what she was feeling...

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

How Do I Look?

It has been over twelve years since any real interviewing occurred.  Twelve years at one company, where conversations took me to the next step rather than interviews.  In 1997, I was 37 years old - old enough to know that I didn't want to work anywhere that I couldn't be myself.  Going against the tide of mounting warnings around me, I dressed casually but professionally and marched myself through four interviews.  In all of them, I was honest, direct, and wholly myself.  At the end of them, I was hired, beginning a twelve year adventure at Disney, not one moment of which I would ever take back or do over.  What I learned in the interview process was that you can't read everyone, but you can read some, and you should never pretend to be anyone other than you are.
I am now 49 and unemployed for the first time since I walked through those magical doors.  The idea of interviewing fills me with dread.  In an attempt to gently lift myself out of the deepening hollow, I remind myself that there is humor to everything, so there must be some here.  What will this process be like for me NOW? as opposed to 12 1/2 years ago, when I felt, well, a frightful lot younger?  Shall we take a look?

1. Do NOT put on a suit.  Well, in fact, I don't own a suit.  And just as with my last experience, I wouldn't dream of it.  It in no way reflects who I am.  If the suit is a deal breaker, the job shouldn't be mine.  Easy peasy.

2. Unleash your energy.  There is this fear that 49 year olds are just tired and worn out.  Well, in fact I am.  But all of that disappears when I talk about what I love, when my brain and imagination kick in to reflect on the power of learning and knowledge.  I suppose I could go over the top.  Naw, it's not in me to go over the top.  Unleash it I shall.

3. Of paramount importance, and vastly different than my prior experience, by all means let's make sure the nose ring post isn't sticking out of the nose.  I'm clearly going to have to make a decision here - to wear it or not to wear it.  The "common sensors" around me would of course mandate "remove the damn thing."  Heavens, what will it say about you?  What will people think?  Really?  I am quite undecided for the moment. Besides, I'm still terrified that I won't be able to put it back in without stabbing myself unnecessarily.

4. Know what your short-term goals are.  Sure, but I think that short-term is actually a bit more challenging than long term.  Long term, I want to learn as much as I can, and enable the rest of the world to do the same. What the hell are the short-term milestones for this?  And are they relevant to the jobs I'm looking at?  Let's be damned sure they are, missy.  Let's be damned sure they are.

5. Don't show your tattoos.  No prob, unless I decide to wear a sleeveless shirt to meet with these folks with whom I desire to spend many, many years.  Not going to happen.  NOT going to happen.

6. Take some home-baked goodies along for the fine HR folks.  Yeah, I added this one.  I'm thinking nothing makes a statement like bringing something truly tasty that you made yourself.  Pretty much a guarantee that I will continue to bring them over the years to come.

Okay, so the nose ring thing seems to initiate the most debate.  I can handle that.  As for the rest, as the immortal poet, Popeye, used to say...."I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam."  Turns out, I'm pretty much a rock star! xoxox