Modeling

Well, this is awkward, but on Saturday I was a model. Before I get into the story of the photo shoot, let me start by saying that modeling is certainly something I've never considered as a career. But hey, try everything once, right? It all started because I wanted a cheap head shot that I could use in case I wanted to audition for any acting roles... like, um, as an extra in The Hobbit. Before I realized that the complicated working visa situation meant that the filmmakers would primarily be casting Kiwis as extras for The Hobbit, I felt that I couldn't let the opportunity pass by without trying. So I went about finding out how to get a free head shot. A site called modelmayhem.com helps models and photographers find each other for projects in their area, and I read on a message board that it was a good way to get a professional head shot if you don't want to pay an average $100. In exchange for the head shot, you model for the photographer in a Time For agreement (you get a few pictures to compensate for your time and the photographer gets to add to his/her portfolio).

A lot of the work on modelmayhem strikes me as desperate. I'll never understand why some women are so willing to be photographed in scantily-clad, provocative poses, showing everything they've got. I mean, good for them to be so bold, but we all have an ass and boobs. Why is there the need to advertise them to the world? But I digress. A local photographer contacted me, and his portfolio was artistic and competent, so I agreed to a TF shoot.

My wonderful friend Tanya came along and we met in a public place (I still had a knife in my purse just in case but the photographer doesn't need to know that). Poor Tanya wound up being our pack mule and carried all my changes of clothes, shoes, coat, etc., and got roped into being the photographer's assistant, helping him by holding the reflectors needed to get the necessary lighting. She's such a good sport and curious that she had a lot of fun. I've always loved that about you, Tanya! :)

To be honest, I thought the outfit he picked for me first was kinda cheesy. Black boots, black hat, and a white, strapless dress. I posed in an 1800s set-up by steam trains, water towers, and old buildings, and oddly enough, was sore from the poses. You have to contort your body to look like an "S" and when I told the photographer that I wasn't exactly comfortable, he said "If you're in pain, you're doing it right."

Yeah, those are my riding boots -- Durangos -- complete with authentically bowed-legs from genes and growing up on the back of a horse.

I was supposed to look at the train without turning my head...

I have new respect for models. Especially because I'm sure most of my shots turned out horribly thanks to my pained expressions and stiff stances. But apparently we looked professional enough to gather some attention. I hadn't noticed, but a train had just let off a bunch of tourists, and a rather rotund, polite man approached and asked the photographer if his friends from India could take pictures with his model. "You're asking the wrong person," the photographer replied, and I told them that I didn't mind and posed with each. Maybe one of the lads is in movies and I'll get calls from Bollywood soon... Ha.

A witch with a "fan"

After that location, I put on a dress I wasn't fond of (and thus didn't mind ruining) and we headed into the redwoods for some forest shots. It was rather cold and the sunlight was unpredictable, but I had fun climbing in trees.


My favorite part, however, was when I dragged myself through the mud to get dirty, then posed like Smeagol/Gollum in the hollow of a burned-out redwood. Of course, those were the shots the photographer said I probably wouldn't get a copy of, but it was fun to finally do a pose with some narrative dynamics.

Smeagol with Gollum in the reflection

Afterward, I washed up as best I could (...with water from another puddle) then we took some head shots by some trees. By then it was going on 4 hours and I was more than ready to go home. Unfortunately, I have a habit of wearing my thoughts on my face, and you can see my annoyance in some of the pictures. Oops!

This one's a sample from the photographer... hopefully it's okay that I'm sharing it

I don't have any of the finished pictures yet, but the ones I'm posting are a few that Tanya took while we set up and shot. Modeling is definitely not for me. I didn't mind having my picture taken (I mean, all I had to do was stand there, even though it was sometimes painful) but I'm not fond of looking at the pictures afterward. So it's a little embarrassing to share them... but by nature, blogs are vain and self-absorbed, which means it's no secret that I can be both at times, so I don't know what my qualms are about.

Oh, come on. No comments on my last post about Star-ving? Seriously, people, check it out!

Mackenzie's Momma -- Your mom is so lucky to have you as a daughter. What a fighter you are! :) And yes, we did manage to save our sims. Not that it did my Jonas Quinn sim any good. In the span of 24 hours, he was abducted by aliens, impregnated, and turned into a plant (while he was pregnant). None of those things have ever happened to one of my sims before, so I was both in shock and hysterics. Poor Jonas! And you get to meet Corin Nemec? How cool! You should definitely check out Star-ving then. He seems like he's got a great sense of humor. Oh, and about the weather -- as you well know -- it's not usually the fact that the weather is extreme that makes it worth mentioning, in my opinion, but rather the fact that people like you and I don't sit inside and look at it, but have to go out and labor in it, whether it's hail, torrential rain, 104 degrees, etc. ;)

Ronon is Conan and Star-ving

The wild storms seem to have taken a break for a few days. Today we had some sunshine and looking out the window now I see clear, pale blue skies. The change is welcome, though so is the coming rain, which will help alleviate our drought.

I don't have much to say at the moment, and since I've gotten used to inundating my posts with multimedia, I'll share this really embarrassing picture of Teyla from last year's Christmas party:

A bum bum

My sister's computer caught a virus so nasty that it wouldn't even let us get into Windows. Luckily, my dad's a computer whiz and, after working on it for nearly two days, has managed to get rid of some of the virus. So be warned! If he gets it up and running, the first thing I'm doing is putting all her pictures on my external harddrive then backing them up on DVDs... and, hopefully, salvaging our Sims. We spend way too much time with them... But apparently this jerk Russian virus has infected tens of thousands all over the world. It starts by pretending to be an anti-virus program and giving you a message. Don't click and get the hell away if you can, before it downloads itself. Malwarebyte's anti-malware is a good freeware program that helps get rid of these buggers.

Oh. And Clara bit me the other day. The light goes out in the beginning of the video because I was trying to encourage her to squeak so I could have it on record.

Mean Little Pig!

Now for some real news...

Stargate Atlantis star Jason Momoa has been cast as Conan in the new Conan the Barbarian film, which will stick closer to the original Conan stories than the one the governor of California was in before I was born. I for one, am very excited. While I'll admit to having, on several occasions, gotten so sick of Ronon's facial expressions and idiot behavior that I often screamed "Go die already!" at the TV (and on one occasion, tried to tear his picture off my wall) I've been able to keep that rage from reaching the actor who portrays him... I think. Anyway, congratulations, Mr. Momoa! And no, this has nothing to do with our fan films being featured on the front page of his website (bottom right). :)

And he beat out Kellan Lutz of Twilight, too. I actually have no idea who Mr. Lutz is, but he was in Twilight. So SGA won over Twilight. Kinda. So SGA is better. Kinda.

And speaking of Stargate actors moving on to new and better things... a while back I started wondering what ever happened to Corin Nemec (other than when he dressed in drag in Toby Keith's "Beer for my Horses" music video) who played Jonas Quinn, so I Googled his name and discovered the webseries Star-ving.


This show is hilarious, irreverent, and allegedly demented. I didn't quite notice the dementedness at first, but that's probably because I'm so demented that I don't notice demented things. My favorite episode is the second one, Gilbert's Kid. The lines on this show are hilarious. While I love how crazy things are in every episode, my one complaint is that there's so much going on, it detracts from the comedic genius of the dialogue. Note: You can watch the episodes with the swearing cut out on YouTube.

For not having much to say, this sure is a long post! I'm shutting up now.

Wait, almost. Would anyone be interested in reading an excerpt from my book?

ladybozi: You know it, babe! Thanks for the amazing compliment.

Hammy: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts -- it's great to hear from you! While I don't read tons of YA lit, I've greatly enjoyed His Dark Materials, Harry Potter, and am even reading the Inheritance Trilogy. The book I wrote is also YA, so like you, I am greatly discouraged to see stories of so little substance, like Twilight, getting so much attention, when there are so many more stories that have gravity and encourage the broadening of young minds, rather than encouraging obsessive, controlling relationships and the damsel in distress disorder. Please, comment more often! :)

the other Amanda: LOL yes, we deserved that round of applause. I'm glad you liked the art. We were laughing so hard as we drew that I'm surprised we managed to finish each drawing.

Mackenzie's Momma: Totally creepy! And while your comment about if your favorite actor was in the next Twilight running about in a tight shirt you still wouldn't see it in the theater made me laugh... I have to admit... if Johnny Depp were in Twilight, I would see it. Because you know he'd be taking the piss at every opportunity, and only half the audience would know it. I know, you must read my posts about the weather and be like "Um... so? Why are you whining?"

Tracie: Bless your heart -- yes, we're all safe and well, thank you! As for Twilight -- we all have our guilty pleasures. And if my book ever gets published, you're perfectly welcome to read it and point and laugh and write essays about how it's so much worse than Twilight. ;)