Miss Yvonne doesn't approve of stealing intellectual property. She would like you to know that she owns all these songs on the original vinyl, but not in MP3 format. The version of "I Don't Know How To Love Him" is not as good as mine, but it was the only one available on the 'Net.
HEY! DON'T ASK TO BE MY FRIEND, PUT ME IN YOUR TOP FRIENDS LIST, AND THEN IGNORE ME! THE INSENSITIVITY AND ILLOGIC OF IT MAKES ME MAD! I DON'T COLLECT FACES HERE, I GATHER FRIENDS!
Well, well...my union forced its members into solidarity with the Writers Guild strike which robbed us of work for 4 months (November - February). Now my union, Screen Actors Guild, had no success in "pre-negotiation" talks AMPTP to avert its own strike, so official negotiations start this week. I am trying to not despair that I will NEVER EVER work again...
GENERAL INTERESTS:
My interests are acting, writing, my pets, my former flower/fruit/vegetable garden and the urban wildlife with which I used to share it, science and the arts, history, stand-up comedy. Play a little piano, guitar, bass, sing a little; whether or not anybody cares to listen is another matter entirely!
THE LAST THING MOST IDIOTS SEE DURING THE RUNNING OF THE BULLS. GO BULL!
The last part of April and most of May is given over to the astrological sign of TAURUS -- _ -- the Bull. You can certainly see how the symbol or "glyph" for the sign came to be, and certainly some obvious qualities of the Bull manifest in persons born under this sign: forcefulness and the ability to get things done despite hardship and obstacles, a tendency to hold his or her ground despite opposition, and fruitfulness of endeavors. A strong Taurus influence imparts a heightened awareness of life's sensual pleasures, a natural romanticism, and a devotion to loved ones, a sense of practicality as well as creativity (but in more traditional ways of expression). Conversely, it can also mean self-indulgence, possessiveness, overt or obnoxious sexual displays, stubbornness, and garish materialism. Taurus-influenced people, and the times when Taurus is featured during the year, are associated with accumulating property and wealth, lavish displays of power and or generosity, cautious decision-making ... on the downside, it is also associated with obvious self-interest, vanity, force, and inflexibility. Taureans can be some of the sexiest, heroic, and talented people in history, and some of the most controlling, greedy, and excessive.
Taurus and Taureans are ruled by the planet Venus, named for the Roman goddess of love and art ("Aphrodite" in Greek mythology). It is in the height of Spring when displays of beauty or sexual desirability are at a peak in Nature, and in many ancient cultures, fecundity of the land and of people is celebrated: all very appropriate.
Some of the most shameful and ignorant displays of machismo occur in late April and in May, including the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona (see the picture above!). A lot of animal torture for fun continues to occur in Hispanic cultures, especially bulls, because they seem fixated on the bull as a personification of all that is penis, and to prove his penis is bigger, well, an hombre meets or masters a bull. And contrary to what people are told, the meat from the agonizingly tortured bulls in the bullring is NOT "given to the poor," it is a lie told to make this barbarism more palatable to tourists so they can feel better about their bloodlust. A much better Hispanic celebration in May is Cinco de Mayo.
My husband.
Intelligent, creative, fun and funny professionals (or dabblers) in the arts and sciences who have their various psychological diagnoses frequently under control; you know, people like me! Notice I used a semi-colon and sarcasm in the same sentence; if you never have, then you're probably not one of those people I'd like to meet. Huh...I did it in THAT sentence too!
Of course, if you're a male and fit the description, so much the better. Extra points if you're over 6 feet tall or from the UK or Ireland! (Wow, that's shameless-----oops, did I type that out loud?)
I would like to spend more than 10 minutes with Alan Rickman. I would love to work with him.
WHAT'S MY EAR CANDY? I like classic rock'n'roll and rhythm'n'blues, doo wop, lush operatic rock, rock with fuller--as opposed to spare--arrangements, classical music (from the bombastic to the tender). In fact, I love to play the thundering classics or bagpipe music when the neighbors blast their (c)rap.
I like simple, eloquent or lush, passionate love songs: lusty ones, painful ones, bittersweet ones, sad ones.
A lot of people are afraid of classical music, but you shouldn't be: a lot of it is pretty cool. So I'm offering two CLASSICAL QUICKIES this time.
THE SWEET AND SENTIMENTAL:
TO A WILD ROSE, NO. 1 from WOODLAND SKETCHES by Edward MacDowell, one of a group of lovely musical meditations on Nature.
THE BOLD AND BOMBASTIC:
ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA (Einleitung) [Thus Spake Zarathustra - Introduction], by Richard Strauss, made more famous by Stanley Kubrick. A S Z is a "symphonic poem" which is what classical music pieces are called when they are based on material other than musical or theatrical. A S Z is a series of musical vignettes meant to aurally illuminate the philosophical treatise of the same name by Friederich Nietzsche. (HA HA, I taught you something else, didn't I?)
Swashbucklers and tear-jerkers and CLEVER comedies (not "sophomoric" ones, which get less and less clever all the time). Cultural and technical inaccuracies can sometimes drive me nuts, though, especially in films with pretensions to historical drama or biography. And what passes for "horror" or "suspense" any more is just tiresome gore: and a pet peeve of mine is calling films about ghouls "zombie" films---get a clue!
CAN YOU SEE THEIR BABY?
Well, when I watch it, it's mostly history, nature, or science docs, or grown-up and clever cartoons with some actual production and/or content values (classic WB toons, Jay Ward factory toons, Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy), Monty Python reruns, Mr. Bean, and the Three Stooges (only the ones with Curly!). The state of prime-time TV is pretty sad: as an actor and writer, I wish it weren't so.
IN ALL THINGS OF NATURE
THERE IS SOMETHING MARVELOUS.
--Aristotle, "Parts of Animals"
Swashbucklers by Alexandre Dumas (Père); classic, plot-heavy erotica; historical fiction. But I've been forced to read so much information for my degrees, I haven't read purely for pleasure in over a decade: another thing I used to enjoy that UCLA's (mis)adminstration has ripped from me.
Brilliant, colorful, protective, passionate people with purpose and conviction. Jesus, who was very cool, progressive in thought and deed, and great fun at parties (Read the book, peeps! He got invited to them everywhere He went and NOT because He was a wimpy drag!); Boudicca, first century Queen of the Iceni Celts; Epaminondas of Thebes, 4th Century BCE Greco-Boeotian thinker, statesman, general; Themistocles a brilliant, outspoken Athenian admiral of the 5th Century BCE; and a few of the ancient grandparents I discovered doing the family history. Abraham Lincoln was pretty special too, and I wish pseudo-historians would quit hanging their "issues" on him.
GOOBER!
and every kid who was ever a dork, a nerd, a dweeb, or a goober and got used to getting creamed
WHEN LIFE IS NUTS, MAKE PEANUT BUTTER