Hi Diddle Dee, An Actor's Life For Me?

It's happened again. This performing thing. Since virtually all theater geeks start out on the stage, and I'm a theater geek (Broadway Musical Theater Geek, no less), it seems inevitable that I'd wind up singing (well, lip-syncing) and dancing (yes, me dancing) in a musical. It's not unprecedented, but certainly surprising, given that I moved to L.A. to write films, that I'd be playing Iceman (Val Kilmer - that's me on the left, a little more butch than usual) in a short musical spoof of TOP GUN. It'll be a trailer for the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, directed by David Quantic and scored & choreographed by a gaggle of talented guys. It's truly a hoot. No doubt inspired by this gay recut of the original TOP GUN's trailer here...

This week I've been editing clips of my lovely and talented gf for her reel, but it occurs to me, that I could probably string together a few hysterical bits for my reel, if I had one. And this would now be the featured clip, as I'm one of the "stars." OK, writing that just makes me crack up. I'm sure I was like the 4th or 5th choice, considering I'm uncoordinated and there is quite a lot of dancing going on - behind me, to make me look good. So nice of those very talented and trained triple threats to back a ham like me.

As I told the director, I'm just happy to support queer film, esp anything musical. I haven't been such a goof since... since... playing an uncoordinated dancing dyke in LESBIANS: the music video.

How appropriate that I worked at NewFest, then Outfest, and will be seen onscreen at Seattle L&G FF. I'm just doing the queer film circuit again, in a manner of speaking. I'll post screening/viewing info when it becomes available.

Temblor

OK, so I was sitting here at my computer trying to do some rewrites. OK, so I was sitting here researching making a homemade in-car camera-mount. OK, so I was watching car-mounted video online. OK, so I was sitting here at my computer when my first real L.A. earthquake rolled through, shoving my chair around the office and nearly bonking my head with a falling lamp. Blaaaaaa!!!

Like any good geek, I logged on to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program and found that I'd just experienced a 4.5 local magnitude shock from an epicenter about 25 miles away in Chatsworth.

Now, I lived through a much more violent 5.5 quake in Hiroshima, Japan back in 1989, that literally shook me out of bed and buckled the local roads. (OK, so it didn't help that I was still slightly drunk from the opening night party a few hours prior...) It was then that I swore never to move to a geographically unstable part of the world, so, of course I set up house in Los Angeles. Not that New York City was such a disaster-free zone, esp considering the flooded subways and Brooklyn Tornado this week...

I'm just saying, in an already not-my-favorite day, capping it off with an earthquake just before bed does not add to the favorability factor. Makes me glad I was paranoid about assembling an emergency preparedness kit. I know it's only the transplanted East Coasters who do it, much to the non-challance and slight dismay of native Angelenos, but I think it's money well-spent for a little peace of mind.

And now I'm off to try and get some shaky sleep.