I don’t watch American Idol past the auditions. Nothing against the show, it just doesn’t “do it” for me.

Even though I don’t actually watch the show once it actually begins, I revel in the auditions. There is something about the absolute disasters that come onto that screen for an hour that just pulls me in. It’s like a train wreck, you want to look away but you can’t.

There is one thing I have to say though, of all the auditions advice that is given, there is one piece I think the judges should say to everyone attempting to audition when they walk in “No Janice Joplin.”

Janice Joplin is/was amazing, but she is a one in a million. Her voice was truly hers. It was genetic, not something you can imitate. She could scream and sing at the same time and it make it into something people actually want to listen to. But these people coming in to audition can’t do it. And because of this they could be ruining their chances. They may actually be able to sing, but because they want to try and take on a song by Janice, they ruin it.

So people please, just say no to singing Janice. Leave that to her.

Before anyone thinks this means I’m going to be on the sitting side of the big desk once more, think again. I am not going back to teaching at this point in time. Regardless of the current pay increase instated here, even though the idea of those paychecks do make my mouth water a bit.

No, instead I am going back to school as a student. A film acting student that is.

I’ve done stage acting for 23 years and ALL of my training is in that field. I have never had any sort of film training ever.  This acting class, even after one session has really opened my eyes.

First I realized (as I honestly already suspected) I have become complacent in my performance.  Which isn’t much of a surprise after being in the same place for so long.  Also, it’s good to get this “work-out”.  While I’ve exercised my acting skills for years on the stage I am now learning how to use them in a different way.  It’s kind of like being a body builder and deciding to get some cardio in taking an aerobics class.  You are still working a lot of the same muscles, just in a different way.

I am confident I will learn a lot from this class and already enjoying it.  Even though the teacher had me do 25 push-ups and 15 jumping jacks before going out to ad-lib an emotional moments (ah, method actors).

That leads to the movie set.

Last week I had to go to drive about 35 minutes for the last day of shooting for “Homecoming”.  The length of the drive wasn’t a problem at all. After years of having to drive at least an hour and half to get anywhere, half an hour ain’t no thing.

I’ve driven in the mountains. The winding paths of Cloudcroft, going up to Carlsbad Caverns, and the like. But nothing compared to what I was driving today (at least not in my experience).  When driving in the places I stated before, I never really  had to slow down much to take the twists and turns, even with the long, cactus filled drops to my side.  So I figured I knew how to handle windy roads.  On the contrary, not only did the speed limit drop to 20 mph at some of these turns but I would have to go even slower at some points because of how narrow the road actually was in comparison to the size of the car!  Some turns were so sharp it was like making a full, sudden, u-turn.

Regardless, I got there safely and was so grateful for my GPS.  There was no way on earth I would have been able to look down at my print out map.

Driving home was a bit scary as it was around 11pm and this was a country road with very little light and the turns were (obviously) still there. Once again, I got home (um, obviously again, since I am typing this).

While living in New Mexico I used to be shocked how people couldn’t drive and talk on the cell phone at the same time. After driving this I can say “Oh, I get it!” So people, don’t drive and talk on the cell phone. At least on roads like these.

I was on set yesterday for the first day of filming of Kevin Smith’s new film “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and let me tell you, it looks like a really funny film.

Overall it was a great day.  I was there for 12 1/2 hours and tired by the end of the day, but it was a busy one and lots of fun.  I got a pay bump because I was asked not only to use my (mom’s) car but to actually drive it and park it in the shot. So if you go to see the film, look for a silver gray, kind of champagne colored Nissan Maxima. Hopefully it wont’ get cut.

The first day of filming was taking place at the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, PA. This mall is well known to George Romero fans as it was the setting for “Dawn of the Dead”. I don’t remember Mr. Rogers Neighborhood being there in the movie, but it’s there now.  Also, one of the crew was a zombie in the film in ‘78 and he showed me where he was shot and killed. Ah the little things you pick up in this business.

Tomorrow I will be back on set for “Homecoming” starring Mischa Barton. They’re a bit behind schedule, hopefully it has nothing to do with Ms. Mischa’s recent arrest!

That film is set to wrap up at the end of this week.  And next month Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron will be here to start work on “The Road”. They will be holding local auditions as well, so hopefully if there is a part appropriate for me I will be able to audition. One never knows. After all, the car was ready for it’s close up just yesterday!

On August 7th of 2007 we loaded up our cars and started a long trek across the USA to get here.  Tomorrow, January 10th, 2008 we will have officially lived here for six months. Half a year.

Hard to believe really.  It doesn’t seem that long at all.  So much has happened since then and now.  We’re already on our second move. I won’t be surprised if I turn around tomorrow and it’s already Christmas 2008 and we’ll have lived in our new gaff for a year!  Geez, where does the time go?

During part of my Sunday ritual, which consists of laying bed and looking through the Sunday papers coupons, I have noticed a new trend in coupons.

 While there are still coupons for a ten cents off a box of cereal or fifty cents off a can of walrus cleaner I saw that there are more coupons that say things like “A $1.00 off when you buy 3 (or 2 or 4)”.

In other words I have to spend more money on the items to get the discount?  What’s the point? It’s not like clipping coupons used to be. Clip this, buy this, save this. No. Now you have to clip, buy multiple (spending more), save little.

I live close to a modern battlefield.

It’s nearly midnight here and you wouldn’t know it to step outside. In the distance the entire sky is lit up, almost in an eerie glow of pseudo dawn as kilowatts of power pump out artificial light to aid the warriors in their conquest.

As I stood out in the yard, waiting for my dogs to…um…do their business…my ground was illuminated and I could hear the distant battle cries raising up in the night air.  It sent a bit of a shiver down my spine. Heaven forbid the zombie apocalypse started there, on that field, so close to my back gate.  I’ll save those thoughts for another day.

Occasionally I can hear the cannon fire and see sparks burst in the air (no rocket red glare though) and it makes me feel as if we are under attack.  But we’re not, we’re safe.  It’s just the Steelers hosting the Jags at Heinz Stadium again. And from the shouts I was hearing it must be a good game.

How do you think outside the box when you are surrounded by them?

This is something I wrote sometime in 2004 and if I had a blog back then I would have posted it. So I thought I would do it now:

At this very moment I am sitting at a PLC workshop and very bored. I’m listening to a woman sell her philosophy as “the best way to run a school”. What a load of bullocks!

Schools were run effectively before their philosophy was invented and they will continue once their philosophy is gone.

Whenever I hear one of these spiels I can only wonder how long the “basic truths” of their best selling books are going to be around, until the next spin artist come along with more “basic truths” that blow their “basic truths” out of the water.

It always makes me think I should create a philosophy and sell it together with a video and book to make millions.

Happy  New Year!  Hope everyone had a lovely time last night.

It’s a bit of a weird New Years for me.  A new year in a new home and in some ways it was a bit weird to watch the ball drop in the Big Apple and know that it was live and not something that had actually happened two hours earlier.

We sat on the third floor of our home and watched the fireworks downtown. Something I have never before done. It was a lot of fun.

As for resolutions. I don’t make any because I think they’re a waste of time. Either you want to change or you don’t.  It being the start of another year doesn’t make it any more magical.

All I can do is hope that 2008 will be a great year full of happiness and joy. And that I remember to put ‘08 on my checks instead of ‘07.