Mike St. James is taking over

I just noticed this funny little quirk this morning and I thought I'd point it out.

If you go to youtube.com and search for "elect david smith", his ad will come to the top. Click on that (see MSJ in action), and you'll find in the list of related links just under David Smith's second ad the teaser to another of MSJ's films called "David". We love you youtube!

I'm such a Fool!

My Foolish Adventure started when I called in to my favorite webcast Fellowship of Fools to complain.

I wanted to listen last night and once again the Fates were working against me. The common assumption is that the problem lies within the tired, old grinding gears of my computer. Personally, I suspect an ex-boyfriend of mine is working at Talkshoe.com and sabbotaging my efforts. (I'm watching you, Joey!)

Long story short, Charlie just got me chatting. Don't we all know how very loquacious I am? (Uh, yeah you do because you're reading my blog.) Before you know what has happened, the other hosts Brian & Anthony have joined and there we were... an orgy of, well, fools! It was such a blast! I'm not as well-versed in the video game genre as these gents (the best I can do for mortal combat is grind out a throaty "Get over here!"--member that?), but I think I held my own when we dished on movies.

So, what do I hear this morning?

I have had 4 emails asking if you are going to be on next week. So you appear to have a fan base……. I told all of them that I would ask and that you are always welcome on the show

Twee! I'm popular. I'd by lying if I said I wasn't wickedly proud of myself. Chatting it up with 4 men live in front of the whole world and trying not to look like an ass while they're discussing DC Comic characters and Grand Theft Auto is no walk in the park. Somehow I must have been convincing. Or maybe it was my sexy, sultry, southern girl voice? Eh?

So, what do you say? Should I call back? Make another guest appearance? To hear my first dip in the pool, check it out here, Episode 23!

Would you buy coffee from this man?

Would you buy coffee from this man? Of course you would! The photos from the Java Quest shoot turned out great, didn't they? This is such an exciting project. The rest of the filming is to be done late next week.

I heard that they did part of the photo shoot in the studio and the rest was done at the zoo. The actors climbed into the exhibit and became part of the exhibit themselves when the zoo visitors began taking pictures of them, pictures of the photographer taking pictures of them... you know how these things work. People are interesting. Nonetheless, it pleased the hell out of MSJ. (If you know him, you'll understand.)

Allegedly the rest of the filming will be split between 3 locations: the studio, the zoo again, and the gas station. I'm especially excited for the zoo filming because I heard a rumor that the actors will be going into the elephant exhibit. I hope I get to be on set that day.... can you imagine? This project has been so much fun! I can't wait to do the rest. My scene will be, of course, filmed at the gas station. I wish I could shout "woohoo", but I just don't have it in me. What can I say? I'm still thrilled to be a part of this project. So far working with Mike has been kinda nice.

And now for the place where the rubber hits the road. Would you want to have the same coffee this man is having? Can he convince you that he has searched near and far for the best coffee in the world? And gone to great lengths to bring it to you? Or maybe you'd just like to sit down and have a nice cupa' joe with the guy? All the folks at Kwik Fill are hoping you'll say yes to Mike St. James and his Java Quest coffee. Mmmm...

The lovely actress in the photos is Alison Cook. She's an aspiring actress/college student at Penn State.

Can I just say "I told you so"?

Insurance matters! Take for instance singer/songwriter/actress/teacher Michele Seidman. Mike St. James and I just worked with her on his latest commercial. She has been suffering from an injury that has caused her chronic pain and because she is without insurance, there is little the surgeons are willing to do for her. If you haven't already seen the commercial, check it out here. http://youtube. com/watch?v=T7-h22-L4lM [EDIT: These links aren't working? Go figure? You can go to youtube.com and search "elect david smith" to pull them up] (Michele is the blond woman.) Michele's story, in her own words, is particularly poinient in light of what has happened in the last week.

Michele's injurys have gotten much worse and she needs immediate medical care. To that effect, there will be a medical benefit held this Thursday 4/27. I've copied and pasted the details below. Anyone who is in the area should come by and show your support to Michele. She's an integral part of the acting community of Wilmington. MSJ and I hope to see you there!

Medical Fundraiser, BANDS CONFIRMED and RAFFLE INFO BELOW:

Freezer Door (Charlotte NC)
http://www.
myspace.

com/freezerdoorband
http://www.
freezerdoor.

net/
PRODUCED BY JIMM MOSHER AND ALAN GROSSMAN "Unique" is the first word that comes to mind to describe FREEZER DOOR, one of music's newest faces leaving their mark on the industry. Their self titled single, Freezer Door, is drawing rave reviews from fans and critics alike. The band's blend of pop, rock, and soul culminates into a fresh new sound missing in much of today's music.

Celebrate Mike St. James; Save the Earth

Please note that there is a semicolon in the title of this blog, not a comma. I don't really want to imply that by partying with MSJ you're going to become environmentally responsible. Or maybe I do...

Today is MSJ's birthday. And what a lucky man to be born on Earth Day! Everyone is positive and forward thinking and optimistic when we look at the beauty of nature around us, AND they're eating cake in your honor. How can you go wrong with that?

And, MSJ is a rather green guy. When he's not acting, he runs his own business in the construction industry (a notoriously environmentally unfriendly segment of our economy), but he manages to do it in as green of a way as possible. He has been known to recycle thousands of pounds of cardboard. His company contributes financially to environmental causes. And, MSJ has been known to plant a few trees from time to time. Our home has gone green to the degree that we purchase low-energy appliances, we unplug our appliances when not in use, and we recycle... oh boy, do we recycle! I'm a maniac. Me and girls have volunteered for park and shoreline cleanups while MSJ is out filming. We take care of our planet.

So, that makes this one of our favorite days of the year. We celebrate the wonderful life of our favorite man. Then, we get a chance to think about what work we'll do in the next year towards making our earth a lovelier place to live.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE ST. JAMES!!

May 6th gets a little closer every day

By precisely 24 hours, as a matter of fact.

The commercial we filmed with David Smith, candidate for NC Insurance Commissioner has been released. Here is the link. (The woman with the unkempt hair and motherly hips? That's me. The adorable little girl in yellow? That my littlest one. She's ASJ2.)

There are a lot of things I want to blather about, so I'm going to get the business of my business out of the way first. I come from a long line of politically active, out-spoken, and shockingly beautiful people. (see how I slipped that in there? eh?)

I have to say, for the record, please make a wise decision about our Insurance Commissioner. To people with families, insurance matters. To people with illnesses, insurance matters. To people with chronic and painful debilities, insurance matters. Please care. Apathy is the cancer of democracy. Stay interested, stay educated, stay involved.

I think it's fairly obvious who will get MSJ's vote, as well as my own. But I emphasize to you that the only way to make a good choice is to make an educated choice. "Anonymous" posted again (the same or a new person, I don't know; but I welcome them back) with some great information. I encourage all of my readers to see what s/he had to say in the comments under "I've Been Schooled by Anonymous".

Now I have to go make MSJ brownies or something. I'm not supposed to talk politics here, so I'll have to do something to smooth this over. I just can't help myself! It's like an illness. Political Garrulousness.

I need a date. Unbelievable.

Here is exactly the point at which the inauspicious intersects my otherwise glorious life.

David the film will be screened this Friday night in Wilmington, along with some other films, at a Filcker Films Society event. Mike St. James will be in PA Friday night just finishing his photo shoot for a commercial. At first I thought, Hey! I'll just take our little ASJ for a mother-daughter night out. She is, after all, in the film. But then I learned what I should have known in the first place: not all of the films being shown are appropriate for kids.

As a matter of fact, one of the films is about the art of orgasm. Really? I mean... really? As much as I'm sure to enjoy being educated by a bunch of 19 & 20-year-olds on an activity I've been practicing since they were in elementary school.... really?? Furthermore, we're to be screening short films. Short films. That tells me that these kids don't actually understand the art of the orgasm. But I digress.

I can't go with MSJ. I can't go with ASJ. I don't really want to go alone. But this is the first screening of the film. I wouldn't miss it for the world!

So, while MSJ gets to travel out of town and golf with the A-man, I'm stuck at home without a date. So, will you go with me?

Do you ever feel like you're chasing your own tail?

Delays, delays!

The trip to New York is still on hold, but we're keeping our fingers crossed that it will come around soon - very soon, as a matter of fact, because Mike St. James' schedule is getting tighter and tighter.

The filming of the Indiana-Jones-esque commercials has been delayed by about 10 days. It will now film the first of May. (There is no accounting for the plans of these production companies, but they still want it to drop June 1st.) However, MSJ still has to travel north for the still shots. He'll have one full day of photoshoot with the illustrious Ed Bernik this Friday. As much as I'd love to post one of the pictures here for all to see, I doubt I'll be able to. They'll probably be under lock & key & copyright until the whole thing drops. After that I'll have to steal some bandwidth off their site. (Don't worry, Kwik Fill. I would never do that.)

The conflict is that MSJ was supposed to start filming his scenes for the Raven Rock pilot on May 1st. He's going to have to do a song and dance to pull all of this together. But if there has ever been a man alive who could charm his way out of a sticky spot, it's Mike St. James.

In addition, business for MSJ's "day job" has really picked up. He has a lot of work scheduled for the rest of this month and throughout May. So, it looks like 60 hour work weeks for my dear husband at least until mid-June.

I've been schooled by Anonymous

Well I absolutely hate being flippant about politics but I went and behaved that way anyway. I take my vote very seriously. I've been known to spend hours in front of my computer researching candidates and calling their offices to ask questions. When I make a decision, I know it's the right one for me. (How is all of this relevant to being an Actor's Wife? I tie it in beautifully. You'll see.)

We've been talking about Insurance Commissioners here and I'd like to emphasize that this is an important race. It's the sort of position that we tend to shrug about and say, "Not a congressman? Whatever will do." Not so, good people! Not only does this department regulate insurance companies (a nasty, but necessary task), it has a tremendous amount of influence on our auto and health insurance. One key task is to make sure our insurance costs remain affordable and one of the ways this office accomplishes that goal is to investigate and prosecute insurance fraud, a dastardly crime for which perpetrators should be hung by their thumbs. (That's my word of advice to the next Commish.)

In the beautiful interest of our freedom of choice, I'm going to mention that David Smith is not our only choice for Insurance Commissioner in NC. As an anonymous poster just informed us, Wayne Goodwin is also running. The incumbent is Jim Long but it's not entirely clear to me if he's running for re-election or not. (His campaign site says 2004, so I'm guessing not?)

www.uselections.com is usually a great resource to find out who is running and it provides links to the candidates' sites so you can get more information. Unfortunately, it isn't currently listing anyone other than the incumbent. So, if you're a candidate for Insurance Commissioner (I'm talking to you, David & Wayne!) get your information put on this site. Make it easy for voters, will you?

Now what does all of this have to do with Acting in North Carolina? A whole hell of a lot, I can tell you. It is near impossible for non-union people working "in the arts" to get affordable insurance. Sure, I could insure my whole family for incomplete coverage with a high deductible for around $2000/month. We'd have to move into a small apartment and sell one of our cars, but... we could do it. North Carolina is a right to work state making union protection harder to come by. For non-SAG actors, insurance is but a dream. That makes this election particularly important to the entire acting community in Wilmington. I urge all of the actors and filmmakers to carefully examine the stances of each candidate. Choose the one who will help us insure our families. That way, the next time you're doing your own stunts (non-union, yo) and you accidentally take a bad hit to the nose, you can actually afford to go to the doctor and get it re-set.

(None of this means that I won't take full credit if Mr. Smith wins. If he does, it was surely his rocking ad featuring the St. James family.)

Mr. Insurance Commissioner

Well, he's not exactly Mr. Insurance Commissioner yet. He's not the incumbent. But, you know, I won't be surprised if he wins - especially with great ads like the one we just shot today!

It was great fun, especially for me, the one who is usually left at home writing while Mike St. James is off filming. It was exciting to see him do his thing (I'm not one of those wives who hangs out on set. I'm neither that paranoid nor that pathetic). It was fun to see him all miked up and talking directly to the camera.

Being politically bent (take that how you will), I enjoyed meeting a politician. He's a former attorney and I'm really trying not to hold that against him. Everyone has dark skeletons in their past, yeah? He was actually a very nice, very down-to-earth guy. We took the time during breaks from filming to discuss just how hard it is to get insurance coverage when you're in a position like the St. James family. We're self-employed, neither too rich nor too poor. I think I'll vote for this guy. He was very interested in preventative medicine and finding the cause before an illness becomes a monster - about the time when doctors start treating the symptoms - and, he wants to make sure every kid in NC has health insurance coverage. An ambitious goal, for certain. But I admire that it's his goal because I agree. No child's health should be neglected because parents can't afford insurance. No child should receive substandard care because she does not have insurance.

But there I go getting all political. Let me just tell you what I learned from my experience today. First, who knows what to do with their hands while they're being filmed? It's ridiculous. My hands suddenly felt 5 times their normal size and fire-engine red. And where to look? When you know you're not supposed to look at the camera, but you're told to look in that direction... where? Look at something too close and the audience will wonder what you're looking at. Look at something too far away and you look dreamy.

I'll leave you with an interesting story. I was asked to spend most of the duration of the shoot bending over. Apparently MSJ is not the only one who thinks that this is my best look. (Hotcha!)

Here's a link to the politician's website for you North Carolinians. Make educated choices! www.electdavidsmith.com

An average life

Some of the excitement of the last couple of weeks has past. We're back to our sameold. Mike St. James has done some work for his construction company. I've paid our taxes (blood suckers!). The kids are on break from school. It's so meh, but it's nice to be meh.

Today we took the morning off to shop around Mayfare, an outdoor mall in Wilmington. I picked up a caramel frappuccino at B&N and walked around in my cute green halter trying to get a little sun on my winter-white skin. We hit the library, then got fresh fruit at the market. See? Meh.

This afternoon should be interesting, though. MSJ was cast for a political ad. One particular gentleman is running for the position of North Carolina Insurance Commissioner. MSJ is to play a middle-class husband/father role. (Such a stretch for him! I don't know where he'll draw from to come up with that character!) Somehow or another he squirreled them into letting him bring his own family for the commercial. This will be our youngest daughter's first time being in front of the camera. She's a charming, puckish, saucy little thing and I think she should show very well in acting. Her tendency to be gregarious comes from her father; her ability to be arch is all mama.

As for the politician... I'll meet the gentleman today and if he's nice enough and patient with my kid, well, what more qualification does a man need to be the Insurance Commissioner, I ask you?

Though I am fanatically opinionated about politics (thank my father for that one), I have determined that I will not use this blog as a soapbox from which I will straighten out the political world. That's why I have not mentioned "this particular politician's" name. Nevertheless, I'll probably post the edited commercial here.

For Lulu

Dear Lulu, with all of your searching for the videos lately, I think you might stumble on this page sooner or later. If you find it, this is "hello". I love you, kid. I'll see you soon.

Thanks and no thanks

First of all I want to send a big thanks to Charlie & Lee of Fellowship of Fools. Charlie was very good to our Raven Rock boys and Lee taught me my new favorite phrase. (T--- Bomb!)

Second I want to thank Joe & Rob of HighfallFilms for sending two of their actors onto my favorite webcast. To recap what Mike St. James & Taylor August said... the cast of Raven Rock is rehearsing and attending combat training all this month. The first day of main production is May 3rd, the pilot is to premiere mid-June. And Brittany Daniels' phone number is for sale on eBay.

Finally, I can't thank the Postal boys enough for not only dropping the big T--- Bomb on my career as a publicist, but for teaching all of us the finer intricacies of American-Russian relations. There was so much about that dynamic that I didn't fully understand before your interview.

On that note: if you missed the show, you can download it from Talkshoe.com or iTunes. The easiest way is to just go to www.fellowshipoffools.com and click the link to the past shows. But BE WARNED! The first 15 minutes are fairly innocent; after that the NC-17 rating kicks in. This show can be used as the quintessential example of what happens where there is no regulatory board over media. (I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm just sayin'.) Of course, some of you will love it because Zach Ward will say what many of us are afraid to admit has even crossed our minds. It was certainly the most out of control showFoF has ever had!

**I just got an update from Fellowship of Fools... there have been 320 downloads so far, and it hasn't even been 12 hours since the show ended! Could the Raven Rock show be a record breaker for Fellowship of Fools?**

No thin patina of pontification here!

Where are you going to be this Thursday night? I'll tell you where!

You're going to be partying with me at www.fellowshipoffools.com! The Fellowship will be giving a brief audience to Mike St. James & Taylor August, both actors on the hot new action/adventure TV pilot Raven Rock. (This show is so hot, the faucet of celebrity favor is wide open.) So, let me tell you why you should listen to Fellowship of Fools tomorrow night at 10:00pm Eastern Time.

1. Everybody's doing it. (Really. They have bazillions of listeners now.)
2. The Fellowship of Fools is no thin patina of pontification covering a gentle stream of inanities. No, these guys have substance. They get real celebrities, brilliant talent, and hillarious characters.
3. Because Mike St. James & Taylor August are actually good friends in real life which means they'll probably tell each other's dirty secrets on the show and, c'mon!, who doesn't love a good dirty secret? (In Touch magazine charges you $2.99. MSJ gives it to you for free!)
4. There will be an audio demonstration of Taylor August showing off his bo staff skills as we listen in to Mike St. James trying to defend himself. It'll be great!
5. They both have Brittany Daniels' phone number and you know all you guys out there want Brittany's number! If you call in and you're nice enough, Mike & Tay just might give it to you. (C'mon, Brittany! Have a sense of humor. Take one for the team!)
6. Charlie Briede, host of Fellowship of Fools, is a real life comic book character. I mean, Taylor August and Kameron King have to "act". Pshaw!, says Charlie! He's actually been made into a Marvel Comic character named Char'lez. I kid you not. You can see a picture of the artwork on his myspace page www.myspace.com/beyondfriday
7. This is the best place you're ever gonna' get an update on Raven Rock. I mean, two hot guys telling you about how they have super powers or fight crime... one is dark and brooding, the other carries a big package, I mean a big gun.
   
8. Martin Scorsese called Mike St. James up and said, "Hey, I'm accepting everyone who friends me on myspace right now. Why don't you and Taylor August do the same thing?" And so they thought they'd take Marty's advice - they'll accept any friend request that comes to them with the mention of Fellowship of Fools.**
9. You can call in to the show! You can ask the celebrities quesitons! For example, you can ask them, "Is it true the two of you left The Actor's Co-op together with nothing but a bag of carrots, then accosted a poor Domino's Pizza employee in the middle of the night in the quest for free ranch?" (There's no need to ask! That story is true! Now you'll have to come up with your own questions. There are no free handouts here, people.)
10. You should listen to Fellowship of Fools because I say so, m'kay?

**Everything in point #8 is true except the part about Martin Scorsese. But I'll bet ya' Mr. Scorsese listens to Fellowship of Fools!