I’ll try to pick up the blogging here again soon!

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First of all, I now have two movies listed on my IMDB page. I’m on my way, y’all! Related to that, the movie Half Empty is starting to ramp up and we’re going to be rehearsing in January and then filming will begin in February. I’ve been asked to pull double-duty and work as a PA on the project as well, I’ve decided to do it. So I’ll be on set for most of the shooting days, even when I’m not in the scenes. I’ll be documenting the behind the scenes kind of shiz for the movie blog and stuff.

I’m not sure why, all of a sudden, but I’ve decided to audition for a short film shooting in January. My audition is tomorrow. The people behind the film have worked on some pretty great things, so if I get it I think it could be pretty cool.

In February I’m going to go on a cruise with Kim Ruehl. It’s called Cayamo and it’s this cruise that leaves Miami, heads down to Belize, stops in Mexico and makes its way back to Miami, but the big deal about the cruise is the lineup. It’s all a bout music on Cayamo, and the number of amazing artists on the cruise is just nutz. Because of what Kim does, we’re getting this incredible discount and I just couldn’t pass up the experience. I got my tickets to Miami tonight.

My sister Amy will be having her first baby in March, and I volunteered to go down and help her out. I’ll be in San Diego for two weeks right after I get back from the cruise. Her husband will be busy with work, and they will have just refinished their home, so things are going to be crazy. I’m hoping I can be a big help there.

The General is just awesome. She’s just amazing at what she does and I’m in awe of her work ethic and drive. It’s pretty cool to watch her grind away at her special side-projects.

The holidays are in full swing! I’m loving it! I’m gathering all the stocking stuffers and wrapping all the presents, and making hot buttered rum. Yes! I’m also looking forward to the annual Caroling with Carollani event held some day before Christmas. The looks on the people’s faces is heartwarming and priceless.

Adam and his girlfriend are coming up for a visit, and I’m hoping to entice him into staying with us for a night or two while he’s here. I’m quite excited about that.

I’ve been skiing twice this year already at Crystal Mountain, and both times were superb conditions. The extra long drive is totally worth it. There’s never any wait for the lifts, and the runs are so long and fun. I am, however, looking forward to when The Summit is all open and running, because it sure is close. I can’t wait until I’m not completely sore the day after skiing.

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Happy birthday! Today the Sun returns to the position it was in when you were born.

As would seem appropriate with this transit, today is a day of new beginnings, and the influences you feel today will affect the entire year to come. However, this does not mean that the whole year will be disappointing if today doesn’t work out exactly as planned. You are receiving a new impulse from the energy center within you, as symbolized by the Sun. Therefore any new venture that you start at this time will ride the crest of this new energy and will very likely come to an acceptable conclusion. Whatever you do or begin today will bear the stamp of your individuality more than anything else. This is the day to assert yourself anew.

Thank you astro.com! Thank you to all my friends and family that have wished me a good birthday! Thank you to my wonderful girlfriend for making it such a great birthday weekend, she’s the best part of everything.

I got word from my director, Andrew Finnigan, that my name is now up on IMDB! What a great and timely birthday surprise! Now I’m so so official.

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It’s coming on Christmas

They’re cutting down trees

They’re putting up reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace

Man, I love that song. It’s just so quintessential Joni Mitchell for me. It’s just so soft and sad, but kind of hopeful and sentimental. The only video of her singing it I could find was on todou, which is a japanese site and god only knows what their buttons say, so I couldn’t embed it for you.  Heh.

I love Christmas time, or Yuletide for you middle english-ers out there. I really do, I love the music, I love the cold, I love caroling with friends and loved ones, I love the food, the drinks, I love the warmth strangers have for each other, the colors… I love it all. The house is decorated, the lights are up, I’m all set.

I wrapped a few presents today, and I stuffed Butch’s stocking because she doesn’t know any better.  The tree has been drinking a gallon of water every few days already, that thing is thirstay!

My interest in books has returned with the cold weather and I love curling up on the couch next to the Christmas tree in front of the fireplace and just devouring chapter after chapter. Tis the season for knitting and reading. I want to learn how to knit a hat this year.

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We went to the Wildrose the night before Thanksgiving and had a couple drinks with some friends we hadn’t seen in a long while. Some karaoke was sung, but not by me. I ran into a few people I hadn’t expected to see, and got to catch up with some folks.  It was a fun night.

We were up surprisingly early the next morning, which turned out to be a blessing, because poor Laura was cooking nearly all day long with only a short reprieve while the pumpkin pies were baking.  My jobs were acorn squash, green bean casserole, and hot buttered rum.  I’ll just say it: I think I might make the best hot buttered rum known to mankind. I also make a decent casserole and squash, but I shine in all things cider.  Laura’s turkey turned out great, her potatoes are always to die for, the stuffing was amazing, and so on! Logan brought over the most delicious sweet potato pie I’ve ever had before they had to go up north for a more family affair.

Laurie and Beka came over with their own array of delicious holiday dishes. My favorite was Beka’s little croissant-looking cookies, but Laurie made an amazing lemon meringue pie.  There were some other great dishes, but I zeroed in on the sweets, heh.

We had waaaay too much food for just four people, but it was a meal to remember. After dinner the others went down to watch the game on tv, but I opted for a less football-y option upstairs.  At halftime we all packed our guts a bit tighter with some pie, and after the game we played Trivial Pursuit: Pop Culture Edition. Laurie won. I sabotaged myself with my big mouth, but I wasn’t even close to winning.

On Saturday we went to the Dunshee House and picked ourselves out the best tree ever.  It’s adorable and has been making the house smell absolutely amazing. Yesterday we trimmed the tree while sipping some spiked eggnog and listening to my new favorite Pandora station: Swingin’ Christmas.

It was a great long weekend at The Estate.

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After dinner we stopped into Cupcake Royale for a delicious treat. Yum!

Then we skipped over Lake Washington to Bellevue where we went to see Precious at Lincoln Square Cinemas.  We love that theater, because the seats are so plush and they recline, and you can move the armrests up if you want.

The movie was… hard. It was very difficult to watch and so beautifully done. I heard that the cast was great, but I wasn’t prepared for the depths they took themselves to in this film. Wow. Mo’Nique was brilliant at playing someone so awful, so wounded, so sick–and at the end–someone so pitiful that you had to feel bad for her despite yourself.

I had to respect Mariah Carey’s performance as well, there was no chink in the facade of this character. She did amazingly well.

I think what made it so amazing is that Mariah Carey has basically built a career out of an image. An image of “perfection” that prevented us from ever seeing her, the woman. With this character there is none of that [up in lights] Mariah Carey that we have come to believe she is. I honestly didn’t think she had enough soul in her to do something this serious and difficult. I was wrong, she excelled.

But I’m hot for teacher! Both Laura and I were like, helloooooo teacher! It made sense when it turned out Paula Patton’s character was a lesbian. Did you know gaydar worked in film, too? Well it does, and hot damn! Paula Patton could teach me the ABCs anytime.

Then there’s Precious herself, Gabourey Sidibe, who just shined. What a role to take on for someone who wasn’t even pursuing acting. She did take it on, though, and with such commitment and grace. The fantasies dappled in amongst the horror of her life were more real than the awful realities. Congratulations Gabourey!

As sad, and heart wrenching, and difficult this film was to see, it ended on a hopeful note. Small steps that equal big change. I don’t want to give anything away, but wow. Lee Daniels directed a masterpiece of human grief and joy. Hands down one of the finest films of the year.

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It should be said that I am annoyed by Shakira’s warbling to no end, BUT the album is full of fun songs that keep you moving.  Like, I could probably enjoy this album at a party or in a club, but I would never put it on just to listen to by myself.  That thing she does with her voice makes me want to shoot my eardrums out.

I would, however, watch Shakira dance to someone else’s music.  Heh.  She definitely has some sexy moves in those hips.

Shake it, Shakira!

Rihanna’s last album was amazing, so I had high expectations for this one and she’s pretty much delivered.  Very hot.

She ain’t lying about the “Rated R” title, this is an album for big girls.  Rihanna has been growing in leaps and bounds, and her music is keeping up with her.  I love when I can hear an artist’s personal pain in their music, and you can definitely hear it in this one. I wish only the best for Rihanna, and I really hope she can pull herself together and learn from her sad recent past.

I’m loving Lady Gaga.  Did you guys catch her performance at the AMA’s (timestamp 2:50)?  Playing a blazing piano and breaking bottles on it?! Seriously?!! She’s so good at spectacle, but all that aside, she has some serious pipes and song writing abilities to boot.

The more I learn about Gaga, the more I like her.  She can really do no wrong, at this point.  She definitely filled a void in pop music, and how! She comes across as completely vapid in interviews, but I suspect that there might be a little more depth to her that she hides from us.  I guess that’s me just hoping, but even if all she thinks about is clothes and eyelashes, I still adore her.

(If giving away music doesn’t boost my blog stats, I don’t know what will. Heh.)

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They were acting instead of being, and it was gross.  I found myself literally rolling my eyes and shaking my head at the screen.  What a waste of all that money and time, why not just take it a step further and get an honest performance out of them?  Although, maybe those kids aren’t capable of that kind of honest emotion.  I mean, they did a great job, they learned their lines, they acted it out, but… nothing.

It’s frustrating to see that kind of thing, because I’ve got so much in me just waiting to be pulled out and used.  I can’t wait until I get my chance to do something real.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t sour grapes, I think that Kristen Stewart girl was great in Adventureland–a lot more real–and the others, I’m sure they can be great too.  I just don’t think the director pulled it out of them in New Moon.

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It was my first time at Crystal and I loved it! Not all of their lifts are open yet, but it didn’t matter. I never waited in line for a lift and there was plenty of fresh powder to go around. 20 inches of new powder that I floated through over and over again, it was fantastic! Of course, now my legs feel like rubber, but I had a great time.

The weather was perfect. Cold enough to keep the snow nice, but warm enough that my appendages never lost feeling. The sun was out and everything was glistening. It got breezy for a bit at the summit, but once you began the decent the wind was gone.

This view of Mt. Rainier stopped me in my tracks (literally), so I had to take a picture for you. Absolutely gorgeous.

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The storyline of this theater style sitcom/drama is at times so sweet and sensitive that you can hardly stand it, but with the comedy styling of Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester you can barely go a minute without laughing out loud. Glee doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, and it handles them with such grace and humor that it’s impossible to not get invested.  I’m kind of glad they’ve shied away from the storyline between the Glee coach and his wife, because I don’t really care… I want to know everything about the kids!

Lea Michele

The cast is phenomenal.  Every single member of the glee club is an extraordinary artist, but for me… it’s all about Lea Michele as Rachel Berry.  It’s not often that someone so beautiful is overshadowed by her talent.  Even without her good looks, she’s got a voice that would make you want her all to yourself.

In the most recent episode of Glee, Lea Michele and her adorably faggy co-star Chris Colfer as Kurt Hummel, sang the song Defying Gravity from the Broadway musical Wicked. I cannot stop listening to the recordings!  There’s one with just Chris, and then one with just Lea, and then one of them as a duet, and all three are on repeat all the time lately.  They are so effing good that I might die.  If you see me straining myself in song while riding around the streets of Seattle, chances are I’m singing along with Defying Gravity by one or both of these great gleekins.

I can’t wait to see what happens next week!

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