Well once again I took part in the filming adventure that is Arkea Productions' Day/Night. This time I participated by doing the makeup, entertaining the zombies by acting as a target for their pine cone throwing games, and being a zombie myself.
Doing the makeup was fun, but it was the first time I've done it without some theater student around to show me the real way to do it, and it was also the first time we didn't have white foundation so hopefully no one will notice that in this footage the zombies are flesh colored instead of white. But really, why should they be white? Either all their bodily function froze (including the rotting thing) and so they look just the same as when they died (plus whatever little wear and tear they've experienced along the way), or they continue the life cycle and so they'd be greenish looking. But white? These aren't zombie ghosts!
Being the target for pine cone throwing practice was not so fun. Apparently something in my genetic makeup or my overall aura is irresistible to those who like to torment others. I've been told that people "just can't help" teasing me. So when the zombies were experiencing down time, they threw pine cones at me from all different sides and angles. Of course being the klutzy oaf I am, there was never any possibility of me catching them, which just made it all the more fun. At least they stopped standing behind the camera dancing and trying to make the actors laugh!
As for my zombie role, well I've already been killed quite a few times for this film. Once David even hit me on the head with his shovel by accident, so I was almost killed for reals. This time I pulled all my hair over my face and hoped no one would pay attention. It's fun being undead!
Part 2 will include more about the aforementioned zombie/pirate and the pine cone throwing boys. Stay tuned.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Worst Week Ever
This week has been full of... interesting events that have arguably made it the worst week ever.
1) I found out that the girl who tricked me into switching apartments in January also neglected to tell me when I moved back in that my fall contract was up for sale, so now I have to move mid August.
2) The most recent of failed job interviews failed because if I'm not interested in working on Sundays, they aren't interested in hiring me.
3) My four year old cousin leaned over to me last night, stroked my cheek, and said, "I feel that you're growing a beard."
4) I got hit on in a very CREEPY way by a guy dressed as some sort of zombie/pirate.
5) I stepped on some glass and it hurt.
There you have it, worst week ever. More about creepy zombie/pirate guys later.
1) I found out that the girl who tricked me into switching apartments in January also neglected to tell me when I moved back in that my fall contract was up for sale, so now I have to move mid August.
2) The most recent of failed job interviews failed because if I'm not interested in working on Sundays, they aren't interested in hiring me.
3) My four year old cousin leaned over to me last night, stroked my cheek, and said, "I feel that you're growing a beard."
4) I got hit on in a very CREEPY way by a guy dressed as some sort of zombie/pirate.
5) I stepped on some glass and it hurt.
There you have it, worst week ever. More about creepy zombie/pirate guys later.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Crazy Dogs Attack Old Lady! You Heard it Here First!
I hate when I'm late for church; not out of guilt, but because I have to do the Walk of Shame: skulking to whatever seat is available during the bishop's announcements while everyone gives you the evil eye. So yesterday it was a moment of pride and joy when I was ready 7 minutes before church started, meaning I would get there about 2 minutes early. That's when it happened. Just as I was looking for my keys and a pen, the doorbell rang (dum dum dum!). I figured somebody had forgotten their keys, or possibly someone needed a ride. I was definitely not expecting the little old lady who was standing at my door. I would place her between 65 and 75 based on the old lady walking shoes, matching shirt/pants outfit, carefully dyed and styled hair, and smeared lipstick. She was very distraught. As I opened the door, the following conversation occurred:
Old Lady - I was taking a walk and two big dogs came at me. They scared me half to death! Should we call the police??
Me - (thinking two things: '"We"? What's this "we" business,' and then 'Thanks universe. I was actually going to be on time today. I wonder, if I just run out to my car really fast, will she follow me? No, I better help her. Maybe I'll get some heavenly brownie points.') Um, sit down, let me get my phone. Were the dogs wearing collars? Had you seen them before?
Old Lady - I don't know, but they scared me half to death. We should get the police.
Me - Well, okay, do you know what number to call? (thinking that based on her insistence about the police she must call them all the time)
Old Lady - No. The man down the street said they run around all the time.
Me - (searching through the phone book for the appropriate number and finally choosing Animal Control) Well what's the address where you found the dogs? (I wrote the address down and waited for the Animal Control folks to pick up.)
Animal Control - Police dispatch, what's your emergency?
Me - Well, there's a lady at my apartment who says she was frightened by some big dogs running loose.
Animal Control - Well... did they attack anyone? Do you have a description of them?
Me - (to the crazy lady) Did they bite you?
Old Lady - No.
Me - What did they look like?
Old Lady - Well, they were big and black. They scared me half to death!
Animal Control - (after I passed this on) Well... I don't have anyone on active duty today so unless the dogs actually attacked someone, we won't be sending anyone out.
Me - (feeling desperate because the old lady expected me to somehow make this right) Can I at least give you the approximate address the dogs were seen? (I gave the info and hung up, then ushered her out the door) Well, they said they'd come by if the dogs keep causing problems. I hope you have a better day!
So I got to church late. Once again, the evil eye was generously passed my way as I found a seat and I wanted so bad to stand up and say, "There was a crazy lady! It wasn't my fault!" But I resisted, and instead am here telling it to you. Beware the monstrous roving dogs, who in reality were probably out to pee and just wanted to play. They'll get ya!
Old Lady - I was taking a walk and two big dogs came at me. They scared me half to death! Should we call the police??
Me - (thinking two things: '"We"? What's this "we" business,' and then 'Thanks universe. I was actually going to be on time today. I wonder, if I just run out to my car really fast, will she follow me? No, I better help her. Maybe I'll get some heavenly brownie points.') Um, sit down, let me get my phone. Were the dogs wearing collars? Had you seen them before?
Old Lady - I don't know, but they scared me half to death. We should get the police.
Me - Well, okay, do you know what number to call? (thinking that based on her insistence about the police she must call them all the time)
Old Lady - No. The man down the street said they run around all the time.
Me - (searching through the phone book for the appropriate number and finally choosing Animal Control) Well what's the address where you found the dogs? (I wrote the address down and waited for the Animal Control folks to pick up.)
Animal Control - Police dispatch, what's your emergency?
Me - Well, there's a lady at my apartment who says she was frightened by some big dogs running loose.
Animal Control - Well... did they attack anyone? Do you have a description of them?
Me - (to the crazy lady) Did they bite you?
Old Lady - No.
Me - What did they look like?
Old Lady - Well, they were big and black. They scared me half to death!
Animal Control - (after I passed this on) Well... I don't have anyone on active duty today so unless the dogs actually attacked someone, we won't be sending anyone out.
Me - (feeling desperate because the old lady expected me to somehow make this right) Can I at least give you the approximate address the dogs were seen? (I gave the info and hung up, then ushered her out the door) Well, they said they'd come by if the dogs keep causing problems. I hope you have a better day!
So I got to church late. Once again, the evil eye was generously passed my way as I found a seat and I wanted so bad to stand up and say, "There was a crazy lady! It wasn't my fault!" But I resisted, and instead am here telling it to you. Beware the monstrous roving dogs, who in reality were probably out to pee and just wanted to play. They'll get ya!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Venting
So last night I was talking to a friend of mine who just needed to vent about the evils she suffers from in her life. After a bit she stopped and asked if it was wrong to vent about her husband/children/job, or if she shouldn't just keep it all inside, and that led to the serious thinking that this post is a result of. I thought up a clever little analogy involving oysters and humans. I know, it's far from perfect but it still works in my mind and this is my blog SO THERE.
If you take a piece of grit and put it inside an oyster, the oyster will turn it and coat it and make it into a beautiful pearl. If, on the other hand, you take that same grit and stick it under the skin of a human it will fester and get really gross and icky. I think that sometimes our inner problems are the same. Occasionally the universe throws us problems that we can internalize, work out for ourselves, and make into pearls. But quite a lot of the time our problems can fester inside and become more serious than if we had just let them out. Anytime you need someone to talk to, I'm here for ya *wink*.
What I guess I'm trying to say is that I'm always glad to listen to issues. I'd rather they get out in the open so they can heal than sit under the surface and seethe into a deeper more serious problem.
If you take a piece of grit and put it inside an oyster, the oyster will turn it and coat it and make it into a beautiful pearl. If, on the other hand, you take that same grit and stick it under the skin of a human it will fester and get really gross and icky. I think that sometimes our inner problems are the same. Occasionally the universe throws us problems that we can internalize, work out for ourselves, and make into pearls. But quite a lot of the time our problems can fester inside and become more serious than if we had just let them out. Anytime you need someone to talk to, I'm here for ya *wink*.
What I guess I'm trying to say is that I'm always glad to listen to issues. I'd rather they get out in the open so they can heal than sit under the surface and seethe into a deeper more serious problem.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Zombie Adventures
So my brother David, the co-creator of the Zooby News Team as well as such short films as Searching for Sasquatch and Uncovering Unicorns, is now co-directing and producing a full length film entitled Day/Night. The idea the movie explores is that one day zombies might actually become a reality. "So?" you might say, "Don't we already have Dawn of the Dead, Shawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, and so forth covering this topic?" Well, yes, but those movies mostly deal with the immediate reaction to a zombie uprising. This movie will deal with surviving for the long term. What happens after the people make it through the zombie swarms to the remote island? How do they survive? Day/Night answers all these questions and more. As always, I am my brother's biggest fan and his willing assistant/slave in this project for whatever he needs. So far that has included smothering my face in liquid latex to be a zombie (tearing off my eyebrows in the process), getting hit on the head with a shovel, driving car loads of people to kingdom come. Today my role was a little more adventurous.
My brother's idea is that in the event of a zombie invasion, people will hole up away from the places that were heavily populate deep in the woods/countryside. Not only do they get to hide away from the zombies, but this also means we don't have to try to build any elaborate sets or find abandoned apartments to film in. Today's scene was to be filmed at the entrance of a cave, the cave the survivors are living in, and I was going to be the Camera Girl. Unfortunately there was a cement blockade and a cop car blocking us from driving to the cave, and the stream that was fordable in late winter has now become a raging river. So my brother decided we would come at the cave entrance in a more... vertical fashion, by which I mean that we drove to a lookout directly over the cave mouth and attempted to climb down.
First let me say that I'm not the most athletic of girls, partly because I have asthma and mostly because I'm lazy. But in the name of art (or theater?) I'm willing to try anything. Unfortunately for me, that didn't change the fact that I was wearing Jelly Shoes, that the terrain consisted of both shale and loose dirt rather than convenient stairs or ladder rungs, that the wind was blowing about 70 mph, or that I have absolutely no sense of balance. So rather than skipping merrily down to the cave entrance, I stumbled and huffed my way yards behind my brother and his co-creator/cast member. Finally I caught up to them only to find that the ground had switched from the not-so-ideal loose ground to even worse sheer rock. As it turned out, we were no match for a rock face worn smooth by decades of running water. No problem, right? We turned around and headed due north.
This is where I became a hassle rather than a help. I'm pretty sure after today that if there were zombies, I'd be the first sacrificed to their clutches. But I digress. Once again I quickly fell behind the men, but this time it wasn't because the rocks in my jellies were cutting my toes, it was because the asthma was seizing and clutching my lungs. Or maybe it was because I'm way out of shape. At any rate, long before I reached the top I was convinced I would collapse and be left to join the mysterious skeletal remains I found mingling in the shale. But before I could give up for good, the cheerful calls of my brother pulled me on until I finally made it to the top.
For future reference I'll be glad to help in any way the cast and crew need, unless it involves hiking!
ADDENDUM: Since I'm vain and self important, I wanted to add this quote from another blog (wewatch.wordpress.com) about my participation in the aforementioned zombie movie:
"Susan too–a queen of unyielding support...." Hey, it's not much but it's all about me.
My brother's idea is that in the event of a zombie invasion, people will hole up away from the places that were heavily populate deep in the woods/countryside. Not only do they get to hide away from the zombies, but this also means we don't have to try to build any elaborate sets or find abandoned apartments to film in. Today's scene was to be filmed at the entrance of a cave, the cave the survivors are living in, and I was going to be the Camera Girl. Unfortunately there was a cement blockade and a cop car blocking us from driving to the cave, and the stream that was fordable in late winter has now become a raging river. So my brother decided we would come at the cave entrance in a more... vertical fashion, by which I mean that we drove to a lookout directly over the cave mouth and attempted to climb down.
First let me say that I'm not the most athletic of girls, partly because I have asthma and mostly because I'm lazy. But in the name of art (or theater?) I'm willing to try anything. Unfortunately for me, that didn't change the fact that I was wearing Jelly Shoes, that the terrain consisted of both shale and loose dirt rather than convenient stairs or ladder rungs, that the wind was blowing about 70 mph, or that I have absolutely no sense of balance. So rather than skipping merrily down to the cave entrance, I stumbled and huffed my way yards behind my brother and his co-creator/cast member. Finally I caught up to them only to find that the ground had switched from the not-so-ideal loose ground to even worse sheer rock. As it turned out, we were no match for a rock face worn smooth by decades of running water. No problem, right? We turned around and headed due north.
This is where I became a hassle rather than a help. I'm pretty sure after today that if there were zombies, I'd be the first sacrificed to their clutches. But I digress. Once again I quickly fell behind the men, but this time it wasn't because the rocks in my jellies were cutting my toes, it was because the asthma was seizing and clutching my lungs. Or maybe it was because I'm way out of shape. At any rate, long before I reached the top I was convinced I would collapse and be left to join the mysterious skeletal remains I found mingling in the shale. But before I could give up for good, the cheerful calls of my brother pulled me on until I finally made it to the top.
For future reference I'll be glad to help in any way the cast and crew need, unless it involves hiking!
ADDENDUM: Since I'm vain and self important, I wanted to add this quote from another blog (wewatch.wordpress.com) about my participation in the aforementioned zombie movie:
"Susan too–a queen of unyielding support...." Hey, it's not much but it's all about me.
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