shanenickerson.com

odds and ends

I resisted adding a Typekey Authentication or CAPTCHA to the comments section of my site for a long time. Personally, I enjoy being able to leave comments without retyping a twisted up, nonsensical word like "PERMG" or "zz5pwy" however the spammers were winning the war and I decided to finally relent. I apologize for the extra step, but as most of you know from your own experience, deleting spam every few hours sucks ass. Yay for CAPTCHA.

NPD

I think it would be neat if one day a year, it was socially and culturally acceptable to say whatever you really believed about someone to their face. It could be like National Purge Day or National Truth Day or National Straight-Up Day. Maybe Paula Abdul could provide the soundtrack with her song. I dream of this day, not because I've got all this pent up bile to loose upon friends and enemies, but because I think it would do us all painful good to hear the things that everyone is thinking and too afraid to say. I know I could benefit from a day like this. The possibilities are limitless. You could tell someone anything on that one day each year. Things like:

"You know what, you talk too much about shit no one cares about."

"You should really get all new clothes."

"Hey Figbert? All of us dread your horrible breath."

"You are in the wrong business. It's obvious to everyone but you."

"I hate it that you kiss everyone you hug on the lips, and so do all of the people you kiss and hug."

"You should stop wearing Capezios."

Stuff like that. It would have to be stuff that people could correct; in other words, no mean comments just for the sake of being mean. Like:

"You are a fucking retard."

That would not be acceptable. At first I thought it could be in the form of anonymous Hallmark cards, but my fear is that then it would just turn into a day of being mean. Instead, I think it would have to be on a "Quid Pro Quo" basis (I'll help you catch him, Clarice). Much like gift giving on other holidays, friends and acquaintances would be expected to tell each other one thing the other should know. It could be a formal exchange:

Person 1: "Hey Tom."
Person 2: "Hey Casper."
Casper: "Happy Purge Day."
Tom: "You too!"
Casper: "You want to go first?"
Tom: "No, you can. I'm still deciding which one to tell you."
Casper: [nervous laugh] Ah. Okay. Um...No one likes your art.
Tom: [holding back tears] Thank you. I appreciate your honesty.
Casper: We think you're awesome though, you just suck at painting.
Tom: Good to know. Ready for yours?
Casper: [inhales/exhales] Ready.
Tom: "We all know you're bald. Lose the rug."
Casper: [instinctively puts hand to head] Wha? But I'm...what do you mean?

[beat]

Casper: [defeated] Thanks. I appreciate your honesty, too.

They hug.

See? It hurts, but it feels good. Instead of harboring the guilt of knowing what's wrong with someone's game, you can get in there like a good coach and alter the behavior before it becomes a lifelong habit. Oh, to live in a society not so afraid of interaction and truth!

Of course, there would be drawbacks. Some fool would certainly make up lies to friends, simply to get out of telling the truth. Others would set up "pacts" to not tell each other anything too hurtful. Still others would go into seclusion on Purge Day to avoid being confronted with the reality they refuse to see.

"Lorenzo, you smell. Most of the time."

You know, stuff like that.

Until then, I suppose I will continue lying to my friends with my encouraging words after bad shows/performances/exhibits/weddings, and they will do the same for me. I will pretend to love their new girlfriend or cat and lie to their face when they ask me what's wrong with them over three or four beers. It's the least I can do to keep the friendships intact.

National Purge Day.

Come on! How cathartic would that be?

Maybe someday.

gone to vegas

(originally uploaded by ShaneNickerson).

Or at least, this guy has. Ah, the joy of owning your own business.

Although not quite as exciting as Sin City, I am pretty excited about a poker tournament I'm playing in later this evening. It's a home game with a pretty big field of players, including lots of old friends. As much as I enjoy cards, there's nothing quite like playing a home poker game with friends. It may be the best way to play.

as if on queue...

Okay, cool. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think it will be interesting to kind of go through them as a list, trusting each one solely on the notion that someone else loves it enough to try to spread the word about it. It's a good way to try new things that might not otherwise land in front of me. I made a start on the list today:

First of all, Veronica Mars: Season 1, Disc 1 is shipping to me today via Netflix. I should have it by tomorrow. I also added to my queue:

1. MI:5: Season 1
2. Prime Suspect: Season 1
3. Wonderfalls
4. Huff
5. The 4400
6. House: M.D.
7. The Prisoner

There were so many great suggestions. I should note that I've already seen many of the shows that some of you mentioned (like Rome, The Office, and I Should be Dead, among others), but I appreciate all of the suggestions. I plan to check most of them out.

I also bought "Marley & Me," by John Grogan at Costco today. I love Costco. Where else can you go in to buy wet wipes for your toddler and leave with:

1. Four bottles of assorted red wine.
2. Chicken Taquitos.
3. A set of horseshoes.
4. Listerine.
5. Garlic Toast (damn their free samples).
6. Yogurt Burst Cheerios.
7. Patio Furniture.

It's like a civilized bazaar. The Red Sox are on at 4:05 PST, (ever since I ordered the Baseball Package from Dish, I've been watching them almost every day on NESN), so I have about an hour to read some of this book that Magazine Man tells me I'm going to need tissues for. We'll see.

If the book doesn't work out, I can now go play horseshoes in my backyard. Before today? Not an option. Thanks Costco.

backpedaling

Lots of great comments about the horrible headshots of the past. I actually responded to some (for once), and I urge any of you actors out there sitting on embarrassing shots to post them immediately. What's the worst that could happen? :-)

I've been thinking about television and film "cult hits" a lot, since my recent post about Joss Whedon's Firefly and Serenity. As some of you also know, I'm a huge fan of Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica, Shawn Ryan's The Shield, and David Milch's Deadwood. Out of those shows, I bandwagoned on everything except BSG only after the tipping point; after enough people gloated to me about how GREAT their "favorite show of all time" is; after the rest of the world already knew. After some introspection, I realized it's because I'm stubborn and I don't listen. It's the same problem I have with my friends now, when I try to tell them how great BSG is.

me: "You have to watch Battlestar Galactica, just once. It's amazing."
them: "Is that the one with the Robot?"
me: "What? NO."
them: "Didn't it used to have a robot?"
me: "Yeah, in like 1970. Ron Moore re-invented the entire franchise."
them: "Who?"
me: "Ronald D. Moore. He used to write for TNG."
them: "WTF is TNG?"
me: "Star Trek."
them: (eyes glazing over) "Ohhh. Yeah, maybe I'll check it out."
me: "You won't. But you should."
them: "Speaking of awesome shows, have you see Gray's Anatomy?"
me: "You mean ER McBeal? Yeah. Meh."

{AWKWARD BEAT}

them: "I think we're done here."
me: "Me too."

The point is, I think people like to find stuff on their own. You know that weird feeling you get when you've known about a band since they were playing for like ten people in shitty bars, and then all of a sudden they get a huge hit on the radio and the whole world finds them? Instead of feeling validated by your impeccable musical taste, you feel threatened, as if new fans will somehow dilute your love for them and diminish your emotional investment in them that you spent years cultivating. Okay fine, I'm talking about myself. I'm stubborn. I don't like to be a bandwagon fan. I like to find things early and then be the one to tell everyone else how great they are.

Unfortunately, it rarely works out that way. I'm usually behind the curve on great shows out of my own stubbornness to suck it up and accept being the one NOT in the know. Why do I do that?

Anyway, that's where Netflix comes in. Now I can watch an entire series from start to finish, in order, commercial free. It's the way TV should be watched. I also have a chance to go back and watch shows that I refused to watch while they were airing out of my own foolish pertinaciousness.

So now I ask you, kind readers, what shows/books/movies are you passionate about? What do I need to see/read/watch that I might have missed? What are you contantly trying to convince others is worthy of their attention and obsession? As for TV, there are some really obvious ones I already know about.

You can cross these off the list:

1. Sopranos
2. Six Feet Under
3. TNG reruns on G4 and Spike
4. LOST
5. Simpsons/Family Guy/Robot Chicken/Adult Swim
6. American Justice/Cold Case Files/Etc.
7. Anything on History Channel

Other than that, whaddya got?

timeline

There comes a time in every actor's career, when he has to do something he really doesn't want to do. Doing so is a necessary evil for every working performer, but I don't know many people who enjoy it. The saving grace is that every single thespian out there must, at several points along the way, make that same, dreaded call.

I refer of course, to scheduling a headshot session with a photographer.

As most of you may know, an actor's calling card; the tool he uses to sell himself to casting directors and producers; the key piece of information necessary to continue the dialogue between performer and "person hiring performer"; is the headshot. It is traditionally an 8"x10" picture, with a resume stapled to the back. Ask any actor at any time if he has a headshot with him and he'll probably pull one out of his bag or run to his car. We go everywhere with our marketing tools. We carry pictures of ourselves. Sounds simple enough.

The rub, as they say, is in obtaining the perfect picture.

I have had my share of awful headshots over the years. I won't bore you with a bunch of horrible scans as proof of my failed attempts, but believe me, it took me a long time to get a picture I was happy with. I look back on some of the old proof sheets and wonder what the hell I was thinking.

OK, I'll show you a few horrible scans:

you can't take the sky from me...

My parents just left town after spending some time here in Los Angeles, so I hadn't the urge (nor the time) to write much while they were here. It's always nice to spend good time with the most important people in your life, and this visit was no exception. It's hard to live so far away from them. Try as I might, my old roots are still firmly planted in New Hampshire, even as these newer ones plunge deeper into Los Angeles each year. They say you can't go home again, but when my parents are in town, it feels like home is visiting me. Anyway, they read my blog so I won't inflate their egos with too many kind words. :-)

I've just finished watching Serenity on DVD, after watching every epidode of Firefly, via Netflix. I know I'm late to the party with this show, but I can't stop thinking about it. The actor in me wonders what it must be like to work on such a series. The writer in me wonders what it is, exactly, that makes a show a cult hit (love). The fanboy in me wonders what it must be like to have both an enormous well of stories to tell and the determination and perseverance to get them told, like Joss Whedon does. The dreamer in me yearns and aches.

Inspiration often comes from unexpected places. Firefly is a series in a fairly short list of television shows that inspires me to keep pushing towards my increasingly hazy goal of succeeding as an actor in this business. I watched it with both a sense of wonder at it's oddly compelling characters and a painful and familiar longing to be a part of something similarly special some day. It's the kind of fuel that led me to Los Angeles, and I felt old familiar gears spinning and firing when I watched it. I feel the old pull of the stage and screen.

No matter where I go or what I try to do that isn't performing, it seems like the bug always tries to track me down.

Well, here I am.

cock and bull

I have thoroughly enjoyed the 40+ short stories sparked by the "Mystery Hotel Meme." I've often wondered, over the years, why this odd picture I found in a mixed bin of antique photos seemed so filled with untapped energy and power. Now, I think I understand why. I've spent five or six years wondering what the story behind the picture was, certain that untold secrets were hidden within its sepia tones. Now I find myelf less interested in the truth of the picture, my thirst for knowledge mostly quenched by the creativity and imaginations of dozens of friends and strangers.

Thanks. I've always felt this picture had a purpose. It's nice to know now what that purpose was.

On another note, if you're looking for something to do this evening and you're on the West side, I have a couple of friends (Michael Weaver and Jason Paige) playing some rock and roll on the piano and guitar over at The Cock and Bull English Pub on Lincoln Blvd. These guys are unbelievably talented. Lately, they've been letting me get up for a set each Friday to sing and play a few songs. Last week I sang some Bon Jovi, some Poison, some Night Ranger and some Journey. You know me...always trying to put the hair back in band.

It's definitely worth coming by, mainly to see Mike and Jason. They really are amazing, without even trying.

Mystery Hotel Meme

The other entry is getting big, so I thought I'd compile a growing list of all the writers who take on the Mystery Hotel Meme. If you missed the last post, the instructions were simple:

Wil Wheaton e-mailed me and suggested I also turn this into a creative writing meme. I like that idea. Take another look at the largest version of the picture and if you're feeling inspired, write a <300 word entry about it, and then trackback. If we can't crack the mystery, we can invent one.

If possible, write yours before you read the others. We may never find the truth behind this picture, but sometimes fiction is stranger than truth.

1. Otis' Story

2. Peter DeWolf's Story

3. Aaron Engulsrud's story

4. Wil Wheaton's Story

5. Kate Danley's Story

6. Tony Miller's Story

MORE AFTER THE JUMP...

Mystery Hotel (*updated)

Several years ago, I found this picture at a flea market and for some reason, it captivated me. I bought the matted black & white photograph for $1.25, without any information about it. It was simply an old photo in a bin of old photos, unlabeled. I was transfixed by the scene captured by the photographer: Two men stand in the lobby of what appears to be a hotel; they are posed as if they are waiting for guests to check in; the detail in the shot is remarkable, even under a magnifying glass. Here's what I can tell you about the photo, thanks to the help of a small, 8x magnifying photographer's lupe:

-There is no signage (that I can decipher) clearly stating the name of the place, however one of the calendars on the wall is from "THE IOWA STATE TRAVELING MEN'S ASS'N." I couldn't tell you what that means, or even if that necessarily puts this hotel in Iowa.

-Based on the other calendars, the photo was taken on August 2, 1920 at 10:16 in (what I'm assuming was) the morning.

-There are four visible spitoons on the floor.

-"7-20-4" Brand Cigars are for sale in the display case at the front desk. These were Union Made cigars produced in Manchester, NH. They were .10 cents each.

-The two men might be related, but it's hard to tell if the younger man is the son of the older man. Both appear to be employees of the hotel.

-Based on the wear on the floor and the overall look of the accumulated clutter on the front desk, I don't think this picture was celebrating the opening of a new hotel. It looks to be at least twenty or thirty years old by the time this photo was taken.

-There are more clues. Click the thumbnail below to see the notes I added to the scanned photo.

I know some of you are mystery solvers out there. I've been working on this one off and on for about five years. Every time I look at the photo, I scan it for more clues. Anyone think they can solve it?

Any other observations?

Mystery Hotel,
originally uploaded by ShaneNickerson.

Click here for the larger version.

*MEME ALERT

-Wil Wheaton e-mailed me and suggested I also turn this into a creative writing meme. I like that idea. Take another look at the largest version of the picture and if you're feeling inspired, write a <300 word entry about it, and then trackback. If we can't crack the mystery, we can invent one.

1. Otis' Story

2. Peter DeWolf's Story

3. Aaron Engulsrud's story

I'll post developments after the cut....

Google...makes me laugh.

I was just about to post an entry called "Google Jumps the Shark," after seeing this link to "Google Romance" (BETA), but then I remembered the date.

I clicked through and found this press release.

From the release:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 1, 2006 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced the launch of Google Romance™, a new product that offers users both a psychographic matchmaking service and all-expenses-paid dates for couples who agree to experience contextually relevant advertising throughout the course of their evening.

"Our mission, as you might have heard, is to organize the world's information," said Jonathan Rosenberg, Google's senior vice president, product management. "And let's face it: in what area of life is the world's information more disorganized than romance? We thought we could use our search technology to help you find that special someone, then send you on a date and use contextual ads to help you, ya know - close the deal."

I got a good chuckle out of it. It's nice to know that a multi-billion dollar corporation can still have a little fun on April Fool's Day. Take the Tour. It's pretty funny.