folklorefanatic: (Default)

Come on, Mrs. Clinton. I just…I think so much has been said already, but there’s one really apt post that addresses you and says all of the things I want to say. I think it would be redundant of me to reiterate them when someone else has already phrased them so eloquently, so here you go:

The Curvature - Dear Hillary Clinton

If I've enlightened, inspired or enslaved your mind, please consider buying me a tea. Hell, just buy me one anyway. I'm still poor.

Originally published at Folklore Fanatic. You can comment here or there.

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Karnythia talked about the way in which Women of Color view acts of chivalry today. The gist of her insightful post, at least in my humble opinion, is that WoC are rarely, if ever, afforded the kind of Princess and Pedestal treatment from white men that many white women find degrading and insulting — things like men holding out chaires for women, insisting to pay the check or walk her home, and yes, calling a woman a “sweetie.” Juxtaposing this, Men of Color are taught to be ever-respectful of all women, that an offer of assistance or protection does not automatically question a woman’s ability to take care of herself but shows repect and solidarity instead.

For the most part, women of color, especially black women in the U.S.A., never benefitted from the ideals of chivalric love continued past medieval times and into the Enlightenment Period. They never experienced the pampering and idealizing of “Republican Motherhood” during the Nineteenth Century that leaves a bad taste in white women’s mouths. They have been taught to be self-reliant, because most of the time, white men have treated WoC as objects, not as people. They have had to rely on men of color to play any chivalrous roles available. Women of color are far more likely to see chivalry as a sign of respect and politeness than as condescension or assertion of control.

It may not be a perfect world, but we all work with what we have, and since the playing field is so different between white women and women of color, it’s no surprise that Karnythia took a lot of flak for pointing these truths out. Some white females cannot seem to accept that ‘OMG! Chivalry isn’t always sexist!’, or at least there are differing opinions as to what constitutes sexism in the PoC community.

Discrimination doesn’t happen in a vacuum. More often than not, there are multiple prejudices at work in any given problematic situation.

Here are my two different responses at her cross-posts:

First, at the LJ Feminist Community:

I know this has already been said, but I wanted to add my two cents:

1. It’s the effect, not the intent, that matters. In this case, Obama realized that what he said, although totally innocent in his mind, could be hurtful or demeaning to women, and he made a effort to correct his behavior.

2. Men are inherently going to be sexist at times, just like white people are racist sometimes and don’t even know it. Stuff happens. It’s what you do in reaction to a problem that defines your position. Obama swiftly called up the reporter and apologized. I have a feeling he’s going to be a lot more cautious about what he says to female strangers in the future.

3. We don’t know his motivations, but we do know that he’s trying to better himself. As I’m not inside Obama’s head, I can’t say whether it’s the realization that he may have bad habits that might hurt others or the fact that everything he does is being recorded at all times that ultimately drives him, but hopefully his behavior will continue to improve.

4. Everyone should hold open the damn door for everyone. Doors are heavy, and they like to hit you in the face.

5. I am perfectly okay with anti-door discrimination.

Then on her blog post (emphasis added):

I call people ‘hon’ all of the time. So it [meaning 'sweetie'] was sexist. He bloody apologized, and he did so before the woman complained to him. THAT’S what’s important here. He didn’t become defensive and insist he did nothing wrong; he said he was sorry immediately and learned from the experience.

There’s a learning curve in the Obama camp, something that the Clinton camp is sorely lacking at this point.

This whole subject has me wondering if my Dad behaves differently towards women at his office (there are few) vs. women in public. Of course, now that he has less hair and has paled slightly since I was a child, he probably looks less threatening. But I think he said a couple of months ago that he still would debate offering to help a white woman alone in a park if some white man was harassing her, because he wouldn’t want to end up shot.

The MoC catch-22 of chivalry with a gun at your back reminds me of that line from “Mrs. Robinson”: Any way you look at this you lose.

So my final words on this? I would have been insulted. I would have probably made a snarky comment for my news report, too. But I also would have accepted a personal apology, which some feminist bloggers seem unable or unwilling to do.

To the Hillary supporters: Look. I’m not trying to minimize the crap that has happened to her during this camaign. It pisses me the hell off, too. Please don’t confuse a rebuttal of the blind outrage that I see over “Sweetiegate” as a dismissal of concerns over sexism. I was so disgusted at the mainstream media’s treatment of her leading up to Super Tuesday that I foamed at the mouth and cheered as the pundits threw up their hands and looked like idiots, the stupid paid shills. I am, however, turned off by Clinton’s efforts to taint Obama’s candidacy in order to better her own campaign. Her unwillingness to apologize when she does something wrong is HUGELY problematic to me.

Both Senators need to tell their PR people and supporters to calm the hell down and stop saying stupid things in their names. Six months ago, Democrats had this election served to them on a silver platter. How did we manage to turn it down for a brass tack?

Whose fault is that? Can we lay all of the blame at the feet of the candidates and John McCain, or does part of the problem lie with us?

Originally published at The Multiracial Muse. You can comment here or there.

folklorefanatic: (Default)

I love and respect polar bears. I think it’s extremely sad that conservatives and Michael Crichton choose to think that the ice caps are cooling so that we can drill in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge and continue to not care what happens to the planet they are leaving for their kids.

The real news, though? The polar bears, along with that chain of islands at sea level in Polynesia and several other habitats dangling precariously on the edge of oblivion may have been doomed since before we were born. They are not the only cultures, animals and land masses at risk.

You see, unlike the ozone hole and our regulation of chlorofluorocarbons, the effects of global warming are not immediate, so neither can the cure be immediate. With CFCs, the effects on the ozone layer were alarming, rapid in growth, and undeniably disastrous. We introduced CFCs in the 1930s. By the 1970s, we knew there were serious problems, and by 1985, we knew there was an ozone hole in the Antarctic that exposed Australia during certain times of the year. People were dying of skin cancer, mostly melanoma; it is still not advisable to go outdoors in Australia without skin protection from the sun, especially during certain seasons. To make a long story short, although global warming may lessen the effects of our restrictions on CFCs, scientists freaked out, governments listened and heard what would happen if we suddenly found ourselves with no ozone layer, and we got off our collective butts and banned widespread use of CFCs. If all goes as planned*, the hole over Antarctica will close around 2050, and ozone levels will return to 1980 levels by 2068. Not great, but not bad, either. Better than every living thing on earth frying from solar radiation.

With greenhouse gases, the effect is much slower to the human eye. Industrial cities like Manchester, UK were spewing out blankets of sulphur dioxide, soot and smoke by the 1830s. The textile industry started employing machinery back in the 18th century; by 1811 the changes were so drastic that they forced weavers out of work and spawned the Luddite protestors, who tried to destroy the factories that had cost them their jobs. Health conditions in major metropolitan areas were so poor by the late 19th century that dense smog clouds of death were called pea-soupers when they settled on London. There are reports dating back as early as 1306, when King Edward briefly banned coal consumption in England, about the terrible air quality that coal burning created. In 1661, smog was so bad in London that it blackened iron, ruined clothing and sent citizens into hacking fits. Still, the damage were are experiencing today is mostly the after-effects of the unchecked excesses of the 19th century. Yes, what our great-great-great-great grandparents did has come back to haunt us. What we’re releasing into the atmosphere now won’t stop warming the planet until anywhere from 80 to 225 years into the future.

The point is: were we to shut off every car, kill every power plant and close every factory on earth – in other words, instantaneously revert back to an agrarian, pre-industrial world – the consequences of our production of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and all the other pollutants would continue to warm the planet for another century at the very least.

Obviously, we aren’t even close to doing that. As a consequence, ocean levels will rise, enough to obliterate not just Miami and New Orleans, but large swatches of island chains and cultures as well.

That’s what it comes down to for me: my ancestral home in the Caribbean? It may be a vacation spot for you, but to me, that’s MY HISTORY. That’s where my grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents were born. They grew up there, they lived there, and they died there. They’re buried there, and the headstones still extant after the decades of hurricanes now face eradication from a rising sea.

You think losing a city is bad? Try losing an entire civilization.

People will say, “But that’s not my fault!” or worse, “I can’t do anything about it. It’s too late!” They’re wrong. You can, and you should.

I’ll tell you one way to significantly reduce your carbon footprint right now, and it has nothing to do with your car.

Ditch your gas-powered landscaping tools. That small home lawnmower emits more CO2 into the atmosphere in one hour of mowing than eight new cars driving at 55 mph on the highway for the same amount of time. Leaf-blowers and gas-guzzling hedge trimmers are even worse. What’s more, they directly contribute to ground-level smog.

Garden equipment emits high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides, producing a surprising three to five per cent of Canada’s air pollution. To a lesser extent, garden machinery also produces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) that lead to climate change.

A typical, older 3.5 horsepower lawnmower engine can emit the same amount of VOCs in an hour as a new car driven 313 miles!

Use electric equipment; although it may cost more initially, it will save you money, because power is cheaper than gasoline. Better yet, use what gardeners have used for decades: push reel mowers, pruning shears, and a good old-fashioned rake. Your body will thank you for the exercise, our earth will thank you for cutting down on that 30 percent chunk of fossil fuel emissions from landscaping tools, and I will thank you for keeping the tides at bay.

Originally published at The Multiracial Muse. You can comment here or there.

folklorefanatic: (Default)

I’ll be your hostess, because as of right now, there’s no one else here. ;)

When I saw ‘the shadows,’ I mean in the ever-changing, mutable world of life as a multiracial person. There are several factors that may influence my opinions on racism, feminism/womanism, classism, etc:

1. I’m an American.
2. I’m a family historian. That means that documentation may mean more to me than it does to you, and that I may pay attention to controversial subjects (like the one-drop-rule) and try to talk about them in an academic context depending on the subject.
3. My mother is white. Her known family has been white for at least ten generations (as far as I can tell). I don’t just mean white. I mean Whitey McWhite. I can trace her ancestors back to the first Pilgrims, Revolutionary War Patriots, the Carolingian royal lines in Europe, Chaucer, Charlemagne, the early British kings…you get the point.
4. My father is multiracial. It’s very difficult to ascertain all of the origins of his family, because he’s from the Caribbean, which means that it’s extremely difficult to trace his ancestry back once you reach the servant/slave lines. One grandfather was Amerindian and white, one was black, one grandmother was white, and one was multiracial.
5. My brother’s facial features look more Anglo-Saxon than mine do, but his skin is VERY slightly tanner than mine. I have very pale, porcelain-meets-olive skin, probably exacerbated by the fact that I only go outside two weeks out of the year. I’m paler than my mother. My father could look any number of things except white. He’s been coded as Arab before several times, but that’s only because he doesn’t have a five-inch ‘fro anymore.
6. My first cousins, my brother and me are the first people in my father’s family who can pass as white in most parts of the United States.

Originally published at The Multiracial Muse. You can comment here or there.

folklorefanatic: (Default)

While I’m choking on the allergens and pollutants from our coal plants here in PA and can’t do any productive work, I just thought I’d share a few links at the Washington Post that I found depressing and upsetting interesting.

Knowing that people think you are somewhow less-than-human is one thing. It’s not fun, but it’s a daily fact of life.

Reading that there are bigots actually willing to go on record with their prejudices in front of both white and black campaign canvassers is quite another.

Highlights include:

Victoria Switzer, a retired social studies teacher, was on phone-bank duty one night during the Pennsylvania primary campaign. One night was all she could take: “It wasn’t pretty.” She made 60 calls to prospective voters in Susquehanna County, her home county, which is 98 percent white. The responses were dispiriting. One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn’t possibly vote for Obama and concluded: “Hang that darky from a tree!”

In a letter to the editor published in a local paper, Tunkhannock Borough Mayor Norm Ball explained his support of Hillary Clinton this way: “Barack Hussein Obama and all of his talk will do nothing for our country. There is so much that people don’t know about his upbringing in the Muslim world. His stepfather was a radical Muslim and the ranting of his minister against the white America, you can’t convince me that some of that didn’t rub off on him.

“No, I want a president that will salute our flag, and put their hand on the Bible when they take the oath of office.”

Karen Seifert, a volunteer from New York, was outside of the largest polling location in Lackawanna County, Pa., on primary day when she was pressed by a Clinton volunteer to explain her backing of Obama. “I trust him,” Seifert replied. According to Seifert, the woman pointed to Obama’s face on Seifert’s T-shirt and said: “He’s a half-breed and he’s a Muslim. How can you trust that?”

If you have a really strong stomach and a lot of spare time, you can read through the 3300+ comments on the article, many of them racist and nonsensical, others defensive of Obama because he’s half-white and they believe in ‘color-blindness.’ Oh, yeay.

Other posts and analysis of interest:

Transcript: Election 2008: Racist Incidents Rattle Obama Backers

Dark Side of the Campaign

Opinion: Misogyny I Won’t Miss

Oh, and McCain says, “Not to worry! When I’m President, almost all of our troops will be home by 2013!

…Um, yeah. NO.

The one bright spot today was that California’s Supreme Court overturned the gay marriage ban there because it relegated GBLT couples to “second-class citizenship.” Schwarzenegger has vowed to veto any challenges to the ruling, which is probably the most honorable position he’s taken on anything, ever. Pretty damn cool. I’m liking California more and more every day.

If I've enlightened, inspired or enslaved your mind, please consider buying me a tea. Hell, just buy me one anyway. I'm still poor.

Originally published at Folklore Fanatic. You can comment here or there.

folklorefanatic: (Default)
While I'm choking on the allergens and pollutants from our coal plants here in PA and can't do any productive work, I just thought I'd share a few links at the Washington Post that I found depressing and upsetting interesting.

Knowing that people think you are somewhow less-than-human is one thing. It's not fun, but it's a daily fact of life.

Reading that there are bigots actually willing to go on record with their prejudices in front of both white and black campaign canvassers is quite another.

Highlights include:

Victoria Switzer, a retired social studies teacher, was on phone-bank duty one night during the Pennsylvania primary campaign. One night was all she could take: "It wasn't pretty." She made 60 calls to prospective voters in Susquehanna County, her home county, which is 98 percent white. The responses were dispiriting. One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn't possibly vote for Obama and concluded: "Hang that darky from a tree!"

In a letter to the editor published in a local paper, Tunkhannock Borough Mayor Norm Ball explained his support of Hillary Clinton this way: "Barack Hussein Obama and all of his talk will do nothing for our country. There is so much that people don't know about his upbringing in the Muslim world. His stepfather was a radical Muslim and the ranting of his minister against the white America, you can't convince me that some of that didn't rub off on him.

"No, I want a president that will salute our flag, and put their hand on the Bible when they take the oath of office."

Karen Seifert, a volunteer from New York, was outside of the largest polling location in Lackawanna County, Pa., on primary day when she was pressed by a Clinton volunteer to explain her backing of Obama. "I trust him," Seifert replied. According to Seifert, the woman pointed to Obama's face on Seifert's T-shirt and said: "He's a half-breed and he's a Muslim. How can you trust that?"


If you have a really strong stomach and a lot of spare time, you can read through the 3300+ comments on the article, many of them racist and nonsensical, others defensive of Obama because he's half-white and they believe in 'color-blindness.' Oh, yeay.

Other posts and analysis of interest:

Transcript: Election 2008: Racist Incidents Rattle Obama Backers

Dark Side of the Campaign

Opinion: Misogyny I Won't Miss

Oh, and McCain says, "Not to worry! When I'm President, almost all of our troops will be home by 2013!"

...Um, yeah. NO.

The one bright spot today was that California's Supreme Court overturned the gay marriage ban there because it relegated GBLT couples to "second-class citizenship." Schwarzenegger has vowed to veto any challenges to the ruling, which is probably the most honorable position he's taken on anything, ever. Pretty damn cool. I'm liking California more and more every day.
folklorefanatic: (Default)
Not to mention the way he portrays the SPLC and the ACLU simply because they disagree with his warped views on immigration.

I mean, honestly -- does the man even listen to his own network? Just this morning CNN did a piece on how racism in housing has become a subtle art and that landlords will often let the answering machine pick up prospective callers and try to guess the race of the caller to avoid approving tenants of color without having the government's fairhousing enforcers catch them.

Doesn't sound like a post-racial, ideal America to me, Lou.

This is the first time that I've felt like defending Condi Rice, ever.
folklorefanatic: (voilence)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20080306/pl_bloomberg/ar7wd5nircc&printer=1

My first reaction to this was, "Do you really think Tuesday swing voters were thinking more about race than NAFTA and those stupid red phone commercials?" (I seriously doubt that racists and bigots were planning to vote for Obama and changed their minds in the voting booths. They were already going to vote for someone else. The people who made up their minds at the last minute were the ones who won Texas for Clinton.)

My second thought was, "...Chicago's ethnic enclaves make Baby Jesus sad."
folklorefanatic: (Default)
Normally, I hate macro quizzes. This time, however, my arrogance sheeple tendencies curiosity would not allow otherwise. Please forgive me.


bedroom toys
Powered By Adult Toy


I can haz cookie now, y/y?
folklorefanatic: (Default)
Citizens are sick of pundits telling them "ZOMG IT'S OVER!!!!1!1" and, y'know, don't like being told how to vote based solely on their age, gender, race, or religion. Gee, imagine that!

--Not that I want to make Lou Dobbs happy, mind you, but...I bet Lou Dobbs is really, really happy.
folklorefanatic: (Default)
Thought this was funny. Bet he's regretting that "let's make it 100" comment every day.

folklorefanatic: (Default)
Yep. Title pretty much says it all. I'm assisting Glenn Casale with a production of Beauty & the Beast that goes up in less than 48 hours. I have worked for ten hours on average evey single day of this week, taking notes for a soap opera star turned-Belle Mandy Bruno, Brad Little (aka the Phantom in the PotO National Tour--I'm just now realizing that I have a playbill from when I saw him, twice, in Rochester, NY in 1996), Brian Noonan and a truckload of extremely talented people. Half of the time I'm scared shitless (excuse my language, but there was no proper way to express that and accurately convey my meaning), and half of the time I'm just rushing to keep the pace. Apparently, Glennis impressed at my choice of college and myconcentration in folk & myth, and he just so happens to be taking the script of Camelot, rewriting it to his taste with the permission of the authors/copyright holders, and directing it on a national tour. Lancelot, Arthur & Guinevere, man. They're me. They're my THING, you know? He wants to keep in touch and talk about Malory and T.H. White. I'm wondering if I'm dreaming and going to wake up.

Meanwhile, I had a political discussion with one of the other principals in BatB. He's hilarious onstage, but it was so relieving to talk to someone in theater who understands exactly how important politics are to everything and how underlying messages permeate the smallest personal aspects of our lives, whether we like it or not.


Yes, talking politics among thespians is mostly preaching to the choir, but there's a big difference between merely having an opinion and fighting for one, and that distinction in today's dysfunctional society is a critical one. I;ve met plenty of intelligent, passionate people, many of them artists, who have expressed absolutely no interest in voting because they don't (or didn't) believe that it would affect them. Six years ago, I was the same, and I would have said that was an acceptable opinion.

That was six years ago.


Sometimes I'd rather argue with an extremely authoritarian, young-earth Creationist social conservative than a person who doesn't care about any issue besides gas prices. At least I'd know that no matter how misguided we thought each other to be, we both gave a damn about the past, our present, and other people's futures.


That night, I found out that I had just watch a Law & Order rerun with a familiar name in the guest credits. Bingo. Same guy. I kind of just sat there for a minute. Then I went, "Oh. ...Wow." Then I fell into bed.

Occasionally I type up bits and pieces of my novels on my PDA during breaks and intermissions. It's better than nothing. The progress is definitely slower, though I suppose that can't be helped. The sacrifice is well worth it.

Except, of course in the moments after I've spilled my boss's coffee all over the dance floor. Nice going, idiot. Luckily, he forgot about it five minutes later. :D
folklorefanatic: (Default)
On a completely different subject...

Running an eBay store, even a small, part-time one that doesn't make much money, is a great way to have a garage sale year-round. I've managed to sell things that I would have otherwise thrown away, such as old college magazines, a very used Power Rangers blanket, and spare electronic parts that I found while cleaning for dorm crew. It's an invaluable business tool and a nice supplemental income for many people. However, it can also be a big hassle when people are stupid. I'm not saying that my customers are stupid; in fact, I get a lot of intelligent, kind and friendly clientele because of the stuff I list on the site. Yes, it's a given that there are millions of people on eBay and that a few of them will be a couple of fuses short of a circuit box. No one can avoid that.

What should be avoidable is the massive influx of questions from people who obviously haven't even read the listing of the item that they're writing me about and who will probably not buy the item in question. It's one thing to be German and not have a perfect grasp of English; that disadvantage might make you ask repeat questions that have already been addressed (I'm not sure as to how my answers will be of any help to such a person, since I can't translate them into German, but that's okay).

Just for clarification, the good questions are AWESOME to get. I learn what I've been leaving out of item descriptions, what customers look for that I haven't even *considered* yet, etc.

The bad questions are, not in any particular order:

--"What's the shipping cost to _____?" Keep in mind that I have a shipping calculator for every item ON THE LISTING page and a link to it from the top of the listing as well. I will click the same button to calculate for the customer as he could have done himself, and I will get the same answer (unless I make a mistake in entering the ZIP code). I show people exactly what they will pay beyond the actual price, something many, many smaller merchants do not do for whatever reason until they send their invoices. The shipping cost will not 'magically deflate' if I calculate it for someone. ;)

--"I have __ episodes from the TV show ______. Can I trade them for _______?" This when I have a crystal-clear FAQ at the top of the listing that says am not willing to trade stuff listed unless they're from one particular show. One. Show. I got one of these this morning, one day AFTER putting up the FAQ on this particular listing.

I used to assume that people would read the posted comments in the "Answered Questions" section at the bottom of every listing. I really did. I made my answers public so that the next person wouldn't need to ask the same question. Didn't help at all. In fact, it only made the problem worse. I started getting emails instead, in all caps, sans punctuation: HI INOTICE U R SELLING THAT DVD HERES MY LIST OF STUF 4 TRAD GET BACK 2 ME SOON K THANKS --SK8TRDOM

These were usually followed by a long list of movies and shows that I don't want or need, and even if I did, said person would be the last seller from whom I would buy them.

--"Hi! I see you sell lots of old Barbie clothes and shoes. I have a blonde bendable doll who is not a Barbie (skepticism starts here) with a stamp on her butt that says she is from [insert unknown manufacturer, usually Taiwanese]. She is about [insert height] tall and has a molded body and blinkable eyes. I have tried looking online everywhere (no, she hasn't) with no luck. This doll is unique because [it turns green after leaving it in a metal box for ten years / comes apart / smells like candles / has a beauty spot / used to talk / fits into Ken's outfits / ...]. I was wondering if you could identify it for me (without a picture) and tell me more about it (in other words, write my listing for me) and how much it is worth (so I can make money without doing any of the work). It's a very special doll to me (I stole it from my sister, who got from my aunt, so it MUST be valuable 'cause it's old!). Write back ASAP."

--"I live in the UK but I'm in Italy right now. I was cleaning out my grandmother's closet, and I have a box of old Barbie stuff. Do you want it?" (no pictures, conditon, asking price or description provided, and when you request these, you don't hear back)

--"I want the lawn chair from you Star Traveler set. I know you say on the listing that you'll only sell them as a set, but could I buy just the chair anyway?"

--"Hello. I'm a fan of Lancelot & Guinevere items, so I have those keywords on my favorite search listing. Now I'm getting email notices every time you list something because your store's name is Lance & Gwen. I know you've been in business for a while, but my inbox is filling up and I don't know how to stop it (you mean do something about it, as in, oh, I don't know, -changing- your search criteria in your account? *sarcasm*) Would you please switch your store name. Thank you."
folklorefanatic: (Default)
So, the four show I will be working on as the assistant to the director ( four separate directors) are:

Disney's Beauty & The Beast
Grease
42nd Street
7 Brides For 7 Brothers

I know one of these very very well, and I'm familiar with the soundtrack to the Disney production (or at least part of it, as in "Home"). The CLO is actually producing Bombay Dreams and Spamalot later in the summer, but those are travelling Broadway shows and so we don't get to work with them. I just hope I can score some discount tickets if I'm not sick of the building by then. ;)

So much responsibility. I am *so* freaking out right now (can you hear my teenage 90210 impression?). On the other hand, the film director of The Last Samurai visited Harvard a couple o years ago to show the first premiere of his film, and he said that he started as a director of stage plays in the HRDC anyway, which is pretty much what I would be doing if I could afford the last year of college. There is definitely a tie-in here to exploit, even if we're not talking Chekov, Pinter, Miller or Inge. By exploit, I mean use to the advantage of my performing arts career, of course.

I leave for Paris and London on Wednesday, and I wish I were more prepared and rehearsed in my French. I would have liked to have spending money, fluent conversational skills, and a healthier, thinner body before seeing Paris for the first time, but we can barely afford this little luxury as it is, and I'm only going because my relatives live overseas and my grandmother is very old. Narcolepsy makes active vacations pointless, so I haven't had a true vacation in at least a year. Plus, I normally go the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade in CA in July, and now I won't be able to see my friends in California, so I might as well enjoy something else out of town, right? Must pack. But what?

O.o

Apr. 19th, 2006 05:22 pm
folklorefanatic: (Happy)
I GOT THE INTERNSHIP!!!

I'm the stage director's intern for Pittsburgh's Civic Light Opera this year! I am so excited and scared witless because I didn't think I'd get it. I know everyone says that, but I get passed up for jobs in the business all of the time, and I've had more experience backstage than onstage. They had it narrowed down to two people last week. By then I thought they had passed me over and I was applying for other jobs for the summer. Completely out of the blue. There's one downside (very little pay) that means I'll have to make supplemental income from the net, but I can't pass up the top position.

O.o

Holy crap, I'm terrified--I have to work for Broadway directors for four different shows. BUT STILL! EEEEEE!!!!! *bounces*
folklorefanatic: (Default)
So, back from vacation! Actually, I returned a few days ago, but I've just been so busy working on my eBay business and playing catch-up that I haven't had any time to update.

Progess on various...career...thingies, good and not so good:

I entered the Summer Literary Seminars Russia contest and didn't win, but it was a good experience nonetheless.

I auditioned for Project Runway, which was a disenchanting experience--I actually wrote a full disclosure on the process but it's not edited yet. Hopefully I should have it done soon. The good thing is that it hasn't discouraged me from pursuing fashion in the slightest. ;)

I've made progress on a contest entry I'm going to submit to Dark Recesses Press. I'm having difficulties deciding on which genre (or lack thereof) I want to use to try and obtain an agent; there are so many good agents, but very few of them read all of the genres in which I want to write-- fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mainstream, historical romance, YA. The problem with having so many developed ideas at once is where to spend most of my energy. I have to choose, or nothing will get done.

The Civic Light Opera interviewed me for an internship as the assistant to all four of the stage directors for their summer season. For those of you less familiar with the business side of theatre (that would be...everyone, including myself?), the CLO summer internships are some of the most competitive in the country, so I was honored to merely have a serious *chance* at the hardest slot they offer, even if my chances are very slim. I should know the results any day now, and if I don't get the position, I can start job-hunting with abandon. Joy.

Pendant Audio, one of the audio production companies to which I belong, had a casting call for an Indiana Jones serial. I absolutely LOVED the idea, so naturally, I had to audition (at the last minute, as usual). They had more auditionees than for any other serial so far, so I wasn't expecting anything, and to make the process harder, they wanted us to imitate the film voices as closely as possible. The casting results went up today and I got MARION RAVENROOD! The only female part.

This is me bragging. I am PSYCHED. Here I thought my male voices were the only halfway decent ones. O.o

So a red-letter day, to be sure. I hope I can channel that energy into many pages of enticing text.
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One of my projects for my audition was in several stages of construction on Thursday. I want to add some brocade detail to the hem and put in a wire support for the bust so that the fabric is pulled straight, but frankly, I'm more concerned with finishing my audition tape and the other two pieces. Brocade has to be one of the hardest types of fabric to sew in the history of garment construction. I feel like I ought to be using an industrial sewing machine to staple the darn pieces together. Plus, brocades leave strings and frayed edges all over the place, so I have bits of microscopic tinsel and synthetic fiber sticking to EVERYTHING everywhere. I vacuumed once, and my office is already covered in brocade thread again.

I thought I'd post a couple of pictures from last week. They're both 375x500 pixels. Keep in mind that the piece is not finished here--the waist isn't sewn yet, the seams aren't flattened, the collar straps are not attached, etc.

Art Deco Dress )
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Writing:

I want to enter another short story contest by the deadline, and the topic is open (as usual). Sometimes I wish that the guidelines for literary contests were more constraied. I actually work better that way, because while I love going off into my eclectic dreamscapes, they often aren't reachable destinations for competition judges. Plus, it's difficult not to do a genre piece when the rules don't explicitly preclude them (but you KNOW that no sci-fi piece will win the Hemingway Short Story Contest...).

Miss Snark posted a letter from a writer who wanted to figure out the political opinions of his potential agents. Give me a break. Yes, I am leftist and I despise the Bush Regime, but that has absolutely NOTHING to do with choosing an agent to represent my work--or at least it won't when I try to acquire one. You want the best agent for the job, period. My eyes were rolling at *many* of the questions posted on her blog this week. Oi.

Fashion:

Wow, there was an explosion among PR sore losers last night. I'm really not an obsessed fan, at least not of reality tv, but I do love Project Runway, and while there were plenty of nice people chatting, a few livid posters scared the heck out of me. I mean, it's a show. To be blunt, I was 'underwhelmed' with ALL of the runway looks from the moment I saw the snapshots, save for Santino's final dress.

I'll occasionally post snapshots of my recent outfits as I finish them and will have a recap of the audition process once my family returns from Chicago. I'm auditioning there because my grandmother is going downhill again, and we have to pick her up and put her in a nursing home back here in PA. It's a little scary to think that I only have that one shot; we won't be back in time to travel to NYC in case the line is too long (NYC has three days of casting calls). Plus, on the slim chance that I might become a semi-finalist, I have to prepare my callback video BEFORE we leave, because the panelists only give semi-finalists 48 hours to turn around and complie a video audition.

Will post pictures of finished projects as I progress. Stay tuned.
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YESSSSSS!!!

The right person one. The nicest, the most professional, and the best collection. I'm so happy for her.

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