Anna Nicole Smith

I just wanted to say that this was such a tragic life lost. Whether you were a fan or not, you can not argue that this celebrity had her share of "trials" and tribulations; loss of a son, court battles, weight gain and loss, drug use, lawsuits. I can only hope that now she is in a better place and is clear of all of her demons. Born Vicki Lynn Hogan, she will always be remembered, both respected and vilafied, as Anna Nicole Smith. A statement made by her estranged sister, Donna, probably sums everything up the best:

"On behalf of the Hogan Family, we are saddened and heartbroken by my sister's death. No matter what our differences have been over the years, Anna was still our blood and she will be missed terribly. She was a woman who was determined to get out of her small town in Texas and make a name for herself. She became an international star and she was a good mother to Daniel; there is no doubt that her son loved her. They lived out of each other's pockets while he was alive and now they can finally be together again in Heaven."

Anna Nicole Smith
November 28th, 1967 - February 8th, 2007

Killing Time At Work

I am usually sitting at my desk sweating over whether I should analyze the whole state of California for additional members to bring onto 1-800-DENTIST or should I take my 15 minute break and walk over to Starbucks for a Frappaccino. Today, I decided to go through all my past emails and find some other way to kill time before my boss pops his head over my cubicle. Some games, some fun links, some great ways to forget about work for a while.

Photograph Superman (my high score is 160)
Countdown - This is fun if you have a laptop and a talker next to you on a plane
Treat Your Mother Right - Mr. T at his finest
White Christmas - Video Holiday Card
Dueling Banjos - "Family Guy" Style
Light to Unite - Bristol-Myers-Squibb is donating $1 for every candle which is lit on their web site, up to $100,000. The funds raised will be given to The National AIDS Fund, which is one of America's largest philanthropic organizations dedicated to eliminating HIV/AIDS as a major health and social problem.
Ding, Fries Are Done - No explanation needed
George W Bush's Best Speeches

Was It Really a "Super" Bowl?

I stood there, like I always do when I watch a sporting event on the tube. I have always wondered why I purchased the sofa and love seat, two pieces of furniture that get no use when the TV Gods decide to broadcast my team over the airwaves. This particular event, the Super Bowl, was to be watched elsewhere. I just hope that no offence would be taken by the lack of my derriere on any kind of fabric.

The kickoff started off the game and within 24 seconds, the Bears had already scored. What was going on? Did the Bears hear my cries of joy? I would soon find out that they did not. While I was enjoying the one, and only, great play that Chicago brought to this rain-soaked field in Florida, that is when they began.

I have to say that before I was adopted into my wife's fan club of Chicago Bear fanatics, I was a Browns fan. Yes, I know, and thank you for your sympathy. So, the only reason for me to ever set foot into a Super Bowl party was to check out the cute and expensive commercials that would only air this one time. While everyone would be talking about football ("Did you just see that play?", "That was pure luck.", "Where are the beers?"), that is when I would focus on the commercials. This year was a little different since I had a reason to talk during the commercials myself. I did seem to glance out the corner of my eye and pull my ear a little closer to the television for a couple of them, but alas, it was futile. I would have to wait till after the game and search the Internet for some, if not all, of them.

Yes, the game was up and down with emotions of jubilee and disappointment (my Bears were up 7-6, then 14-6, 14-13, 14-16, 17-22, 17-29). However, with all of the crying of a team losing, there were those little tears that streamed across my face that were forced out from the laughter of 30 second spots, for who could resist lions having a conversation about carne asada and Ricardo Montalban? Bless you, Taco Bell...bless you. Now if only I could sit down and relax.

A Working Actor's Lament (Chapter 54)

A Lake Full Of Tears

Once again, we received another email that could be construde as Spam. I am beginning to feel numb over the emails I receive from film festivals these days. Here is the latest:

"Dear Filmmaker,

I can't believe it's already the deadline for my least favorite job ever, sending out E-mails letting filmmakers know that their films were not selected for The Lake County Film Festival.

After hearing from filmmakers that brief is beautiful, let me just say that there are a lot of very well done films that we didn't have room for. It seems the minimum quality of submissions has gone up substantially.

I also wanted to mention that we are working on multiple events during the course of the year, so you may be hearing from us again.

Also, especially for short films, you may hear from us next year if we have a program that we think you might fit in. Several films submitted last year went back out to screeners this year (a few ended up making it in).

Thanks so much for submitting.

-- Nat
Lake County Film Festival

So that makes "Lucidity's" record 2 for 11 (18%) for acceptance into film festivals. Still well above the 4% that I was quoted, but I would love the number to start heading in the opposite direction. As always, I will keep you posted on other festivals we hear from.