You see, all the really cool bloggers can go, like, 5 weeks without updating, and then just casually stroll back onto their blog like it's no big deal, and just pick up where they left off. And they don't even bring it up, which is why they're so flippin' cool. And stuff.
And then there's the hacks, amateurs, mouth-breathers and slackers like myself. Our way is different. See, we're like those clods that try to sneak into the house without waking anyone up, and end up kicking something, tripping over it, falling through a coffee table... everyone's jarred from sleep, the neighbor's dogs are barking, the lights come on... and there we are, smiling sheepishly, feeling every bit a moron...
Yeah, me and stuff.
That reminds me... every night, Wifey goes to bed early while I stay up until the wee hours. I have to sneak past her peacefully-sleeping form when I head to the bathroom to brush and floss and otherwise prepare myself to collapse in exhaustion into my own bed... I try to be as quiet as possible... usually, with some level of success, in spite of the fact that she's a light sleeper... but, the reason I mention this is that I have an odd habit I need to embarrass myself by sharing. As I leave the master bath, and quietly cross the pitch-black room to the door to exit, I will always make a goofy face at my wife on the way out. It's pitch black, she's asleep, she couldn't see it even if she was awake... but I do it anyways. I put on, for example, a huge, goofy grin and look in her direction, or a scared face, or a comically angry one, or any of a number of others... as though my invisible audience was in the room with night-vision goggles on, and I need to entertain them somehow...
Yeah, another odd foible laid out on the table here, for you to think a smidge less of me for...
Dangling participle. Deal with it.
So I escaped being put on a jury yesterday, by the skin of my teeth. It was a month-long civil trial... I thought for sure I was doomed to be attached, parasite-like, to this trial, throwing my already-busy life into a state of upheaval (I bet you didn't realize California was a state of upheaval!). I won't bore you with all the details, but let me just say that I was "juror #15" when they started the final sifting process. I was moved into the Top 12 after a pair of dismissals, putting me into Seat 3 in the jury box, thus sealing my doom -- or so I thought. The Prosecuting Attorney then promptly "Thanked and excused Mr. Wagner"... I'm like, "Hey, wait, that's me!" You would have been proud of me. I kept cool until I reached the hall outside the courtroom, at which time the Hallelujah Chorus played, and I spun down the hall, arms spread out, like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music...
Hey, I don't mind doing my civic duty and taking the hit when my number comes up for jury duty... but at this time in my life, a month-long trial? No thank you! I tell ya, walking into that hallway and heading for the elevator, I felt like I'd been released from prison due to some clerical error... I high-tailed it out of there before they could change their minds, and send the bailiff out to drag me back in by the scruff of my neck...
The other cool thing about it was that my good friend Yanni D. had somehow managed to get the jury duty summons the same day as me... imagine my surprise when he plopped down into the chair next to mine after orientation, in the lounge! Come on, what are the odds that I'd know anybody else there in the lounge... seriously, that was cool.
OK, enough jury duty stories...
Acting news?
The web series writing duties are consuming my full attention, and about every ounce of my creative energy. I'm loving it, all of it... but it's challenging. Finished one script (a rough draft, anyway) and most of a second, plus have detailed notes about the next four or so... my goal is to have all 12 episode rough drafts done by the end of this month... wish me luck! The trickiest part is filling in the blanks... I gather as much info as I can about characters and where the story is supposed to go, but there are always gaps that need to be filled. I have no choice but to make educated guesses and let them fly! I invariably make many missteps, which the director (Jeff) has to correct. I don't mind much, that's what rewrites are for. Still, my personality is such that I much prefer to get it right the first time. I realize that's unrealistic. Still, there's part of me that always feels like a bit of a failure when I realize I got something wrong, as far as characters, and what they would/wouldn't say and do.
Hey, I'm learning! And like I said, I wouldn't trade this for anything. I'm enjoying it tremendously.
We're still set to begin filming at the end of February. We'll see. One thing (among many) I like about the director is that he hasn't saddled himself with arbitrary deadlines. He wants to make sure it's in a good place before starting.
Plus, it will have jet pilots in it!
Easter approacheth. Gonna have to play a minimalist part in this year's Easter production at church. I'll probably write the script, and then turn the reins over to others to direct/produce/act in it. I'm only one man! I can't do it all! Of course, I usually do have my hand in everything, lol... but, hey, this year, it doesn't look like it's gonna happen that way. We'll see. I anticipate being neck-deep in the web series until further notice.
That reminds me, I need to upload the video of the Christmas play... check back here soon, I'll rip it and upload it in the next day or two... It turned out pretty good, I think. Anyway, if you recall, the Christmas play had only three actors in it, we played The Three Wisemen. It went well, and was well-received, so we're thinking of doing something similar with the Easter play... three female characters only... Mary Magdelene, Martha and Mary (Jesus' mommy)... I can think of plenty to have them say/do in a similarly-structured three-act play... We'll see...
Why didn't someone invent this back in the day, when I used to read real books!?!? Now that I've gone digital, I'll probably never read a "real" book again... yeah, I'm just so new-school like that...
Still finding time to read books, actually. Just finished "Ex-Heroes" by Peter Clines today, which is a genre-blending superhero/zombie novel. It was a good read, but the characters weren't very well developed, and the action a bit predictable. There were some memorable moments, though. Enough to make it worth the ride. There are more volumes in the series, but honestly, I feel no real need to continue. Gonna move on to something else.
Also read The Private Investigator's Handbook, by Chuck Chambers, in an effort to try and learn what law enforcement types do when looking for missing persons. Not much useful info, sadly. The bulk of the book seemed to focus on how to find out if your spouse is cheating on you -- or contrariwise, how to keep your spouse from finding out you are cheating on them. There was also an interesting section on how to "drop off the grid", making it next to impossible for someone to find out details about you and your life. But precious little on missing person's cases -- at least, the type that I would need to write about in the scripts for the web series.
Holy crap, I'm rambling tonight. Bet you didn't miss this, lol...
OK, well, yeah, dropping by for an update. I'm sure I forgot stuff, so I'll hopefully be back on again. And yeah, I'll post the video of the Christmas play...
Adios for now,
Dave the Goof
4 comments:
Hey viral buddy,
Jury duty - I was summonsed TWICE IN THREE MONTHS (Oct & Dec). All told, I've been summonsed about once a year since I was 24 - yet always excused. Drives me crazy
My sisters have husbands that SNORE like an earthquake, but don't they have masks or something like that so you won't wake your wifey? You can still make the face prior to putting on the mask :)
When is your mini-series airing? Looking forward to the Christmas video.
I went back to play Scrabble and our game was cancelled -- and it had only been like 6 days! Does Scrabble close out games after a certain amount of days?
Anyway, good to hear from you.
BA
So good to read your blog again. I feel rather like I've lost track of your life! Sadness. I see you've got your fingers in many pies, though, and that is good. You're too talented to be sitting around doing nothing. ;)
Btw...I think the goofy face habit is sweet...the sort of thing that makes life (and marriage, I guess) something special. Yes, I'm weird that way.
Havah
PS Pick up a real book, man. Sheesh. :p
Beth: You get summonsed that often, and haven't been on a trial yet? Wow, what are the odds of that.
I can't sleep with a mask on, and really I think most of the time my snoring really isn't that bad... but still, whenever I sleep next to my wife, I am literally up dozens of times through the night, afraid I'm snoring. I get no sleep! I can't just relax and sleep anymore... so sleeping separately actually yields better sleep for both of us...
This process of creating this miniseries has been interesting. Choosing to cast the series before any of the scripts were written was a wild choice. On the one hand, having the scripts ready before auditioning would have made things much clearer, as far as what the actors can expect from their roles... but one cool benefit of casting first is that now the characters themselves can be modified to best fit the strengths and quirks of the actors themselves, hopefully resulting in more natural performances. Plus, if a person auditions for a role and he/she doesn't quite fit, but it obviously very skilled, we can add characters. And we've done that.
So, yeah, all that to say, it's hard to get a definite date that we'll start filming, much less when they'll begin airing online. I hope to have 6 scripts finished before we start filming.
When I check Scrabble, it still shows our game. I "nudged" you, so maybe that will help.
Havah: Hopefully I'll be updating often during production, posting photos, etc. And I'm not sure I'd even know what do to with a real book anymore! How does one hold a real book again..?
Dave, I believe you just posted a photo of that on your blog. ;)
Havah
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