Free Holiday Cheer

If you're like me and you're going to stay in Los Angeles for the holidays because you don't want to give ALL of your money to the airlines, or simply because you're originally from here (you two know who you are), here is a short list of things to do and enjoy for a Merry L.A. Holiday!

1. Enjoy the lack of CARS on the highway!  The holidays are my favorite time of the year in L.A. because everyone goes away to see their family!  Nobody is actually from L.A. anymore, so the ten or so people that are left in L.A. can enjoy the use of the 405 freeway without having to worry about traffic!

2. Enjoy the lack of PEOPLE in L.A.!  If there was anything popular that you wanted to do, now is the time to do it.  There won't be a crowd so you can enjoy yourself, even if you go on a weekend.  I recommend going to the tourist traps, the museums or the fancy night clubs you could never get in to.  This is the one and only time where you can show up to a night club with 10 guys and you might actually get in!

Bull's Eyes

A little eye candy for your desktop wallpaper.

Lamborghini Aventador

Click image for 1920x1200 resolution.  Save and enjoy!

Screenshot captured from Top Gear's review of the Aventador.

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Separation Anxiety

We spend our entire lives working hard to earn money, and the rest of the world works hard to separate us from our hard earned money.  As artists on the rise, you're most likely not pulling down a six figure salary, so why should you part so easily with your cash?

As the holidays are upon us, it's not just the retailers who are working extra hard to separate us from our money.  The "other half" of the art/entertainment industry is hard at work too; the half that thrives off of aspiring artists.

I'll speak from an actor's point of view since that's what I'm most familiar with.  The first things that are pushed on an actor are acting/improv/on-camera/audition classes and headshots; all with the promise of launching your lucrative acting career.  You can't be successful if you don't "invest" in yourself, they say.

Mixed Messages

A large part of our job as artists is to decipher, interpret and then deliver what the client wants.  A client could be a director, an art gallery owner, someone who commissioned you for creative work or even the audience that you love to perform for.  Figuring out what people want often isn't easy.  Many times, they don't even know what they are looking for, "but when they see it, they'll know".

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard that line before and how I think it's an excuse on their end so they don't have to effectively communicate to you what they're looking for.  You may get lucky sometimes and get an explanation of what they want, but it's often a contradictory mish-mash of adjectives that don't make any sense.

I've collected quite a few examples from audition notices that are quite humorous and down-right confusing.  Allow me to share some of my favorites with you, with my thoughts/comments in bold.