I did this fun series which was rife with challenges and so forth but low and behold it is now on DVD in the UK and here's a photo of the cast (minus me) signing at Forbidden Planet in London...Gosh I wish I could have been there. I have great memories of doing the series. I would drive (on the wrong side of the road mind you) to the set (in Bristol) and the snow would pour down and there were horrible lunches of bangers and fries and yet we all laughed a lot and at the end of a long day I went back to my little flat in Bath and felt like we had done something good with very little money.

I suppose that's what artists and performers strive for; a safe environment to express themselves.

I hope that this Holiday all of you "want to be artists" grab your camera bags or copies of plays or songs, or music and sit down at the piano or get the kids together and put on a show. film something, photograph it or cook up a storm!

Let's all endeavor to be creative for a change, step away from the computer and have (in my nephew Max's brilliant words) a "crafternoon"!

ie: go do a puzzle with your Mom this afternoon, collect some leaves, read a book...recite a poem....for Godsakes, guess what? It's fun.

Well I do hope that you all had a lovely Holiday (those of you Yanks in any event) I myself am happy to report a surplus of turkey, sweets and carbs for the next year at least!
I shared some lovely moments with family and cooked up a storm with David. (photos attached)

I have to do a quickie plug for the event I am attending this weekend because Lightspeed folks are good ones. http://www.trektoday.com/content/2009/11/lightspeed-fine-art-charity-benefit/

I promise to finish season 1 of B5 very soon, I'm back at home base now and able to view it so expect something in the next week or so :)

It's slowing down and nearing the end of season 1, watched Babylon Squared and saw all sorts of little things I never would have noticed ie: the beginning of the relationship which was supposed to be between Delenn and Sinclair but then had to be between Delenn and Sheridan instead...the whole "The One" sub plot which also went a little awry due to re casting me thinks.....
I liked the episode (except for the really awful Major or Commander or whatever he was of B4, pass the mustard for that ham baby!) Yes, another mini rant on the guest leads though I must say, the breakfast scene with Ivanova and the boys was pretty lame too so what can I say!? The whole falling asleep to Sinclair's hypnotic smokers growl was just a wee bit unbelievable..:)
The special effects were great, the flying scenes were good except for the rather awkward conversation about dressing in the morning with Garibladi and Sinclair. I nearly expected it to venture into "do you wear it to the right or left Sir? territory but thankfully it did not. Socks??? Yikes, uncomfortable party of one was me whilst I wondered who wrote the episode (surprisingly it was JMS) it felt more like one of our guest writers who sometimes tried too hard to be clever or cute.
I recall a certain director who had clearly never watched the show, telling me to play it more "sexy and coquettish" in my scenes with Sheridan...They nearly had to hold me back from decking him! Which goes to show you that not all episodes are equal and for very good and complicated reasons in some cases...
In any event I am nearly at the end of season 1 so I have posted a heroic-fighting pic as opposed to the usual flat screen with accoutrement.

The image was taken outside of the house around 4pm the other day...a glorious red hot sunset...

Here is the new trailer for Star Hyke and it is also the place where you can buy the boxed set :


http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/11559081/Starhyke-Complete-Series-1-Box-Set/Product.html

That's a UK site and you can also purchase it from Amazon!

If they sell enough DVD's then they will do a second season...I selfishly hope they do because the first season was so much fun to do!

We saw the film "This is it" last night and what a reminder of what a colossal waste MJ's death was. He came across as a professional who spoke succinctly and knew exactly what he wanted but delivered the requests with kindness and love

It was extremely difficult for me to see any signs of drug use, he appeared clear and concise...hard to believe that he was using propofol to sleep (if indeed that is true). He was in clear voice and his moves were strong. It was simply a very, very sad thing to watch. I believe that the O2 concert series would have been one of the most remarkable comebacks in history...what a shame he never had that "high" to go out on.

Above are photos David took of Michael in the 80's.

The trailer is up on IMDB here's the link:

I think Kamal John Iskander did a dynamite job on it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1520958/

enjoy!

x claudia

Well I have only good things to say about these episodes! O'Hare was even good! In Legacies we had a great guest lead, the Minbari warrior fellow (who's British accent led David to ask in all seriousness "are ALL aliens Brits"? I responded with "depends if you're a conspiracy theorist or not..") He was great and his scene with Sinclair at the end where they sort of make up was superb. It was also good because you really couldn't figure out if Delenn is good or evil; a liar or a truth teller...it made me suspicious of her motives throughout the episode which of course leads you to think "Is anyone who they really say they are?" which of course is good TV.

Episodes 18 and 19, the two part Voice in the Wilderness with Drall number 1 (I remembered while we were watching it that when I go down and get hooked into the machine later in the series, we had a new Drall playing the role) was a great ride.

I liked the Garibaldi second story because it makes his character more vulnerable now; he has little to stay "good" for at this point.

The idea of having a veritable volcano below the station is a good ploy as well, makes a comment on the instability of everyone's lives on B5 and the importance of working together (something certain folks on certain TV shows chose to forget, ironically)

It's strange to see Mira in the full makeup because I remember her mostly in the half hair-do and because I know how much she abhorred the prosthetics. I thought everyone was very tight in these episodes, it seems as if we all gained confidence, got into a groove and were working well together. The acting was very good (except I am sorry to say, the gal playing the 14 year old telepath, some of her scenes were cringe worthy but some were okay)

I liked the interaction between Ivanova and Talia as well, it began to take form as an interesting dynamic and once again makes me sad that it didn't get to go where it was supposed to go due to Andrea leaving the show. Oh well, such is life in the ever changing world of television. All in all, a great viewing night and we are almost through season 1!

Here's a fun little look at the behind the scenes of the LOOK shoot. The fellow who shot the video was a featured player that night and he did an interview with writer-director Adam Rifkin.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/10/exclusive-adam-rifkins-new-rrated-showtime-series-look-premieres-in-early-2010-.html

Okay I admit it..I ate about 4 thousand Reece's peanut butter cups and I have the post Halloweenie gut to prove it, yuck! We had a lovely party and David took some great shots of people as they arrived, I have posted a few so you can laugh at us...David and I are from a made up-sword worshipping-middle eastern clan...can you tell? :)

I suppose it's time to start gearing up for Thanksgiving now. I always feel that time really starts to fly right about now with the Holidays and the fears of "where did the year go?" abounding through my head and the days getting darker sooner "Hey, it's 4:30 why is it dark out!?" and all of that "do they really expect Christmas gifts this year?"...so I have a plan: I do this every year. I do not buy Christmas gifts for anyone, period. I figure that my gift to my family is to fly out to Aspen and cook for everyone for the duration of the Holiday. My gift to David is that we both agree that we don't need anything except a new house so let's put our time, money and energy into that and my gift to my friends is a special meal out or at my house or a day out to a Korean bath house or something fun together. Honestly, Christmas is for kids in my mind, adults do not need more soap on a rope, ties, DVD's or any of that stuff, what they need is more time and money and love and home cooked meals! In any event this way of thinking has saved me oodles of head aches and money through out the years and led me to buy unusual things during the year for friends and family and surprise them with the object rather than be forced to come up with a gift just for the sake of sticking something under the tree...

I hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween and "step away from the candy!".

I am reading the book "The Omnivore's Dilemma" right now and it is shocking to say the least, to read about the amount of corn syrup and corn by products we consume in America...no longer are the Mexican's the largest consumers of corn, it is us! It's a good read if you're interested in where your food comes from and why nearly half of everything in the grocery store is derived from corn.