Retail: The Show Must Go On

There are many things happening in my life that I could be sharing with all of you, but because they are all happening, I don't have time.

Working...too...much....

Dealing with cranky-bah-humbug-holiday-hating customers.

And also with men who have NO IDEA what they are supposed to be buying and therefore need A LOT of help as well as everything wrapped. It's extremely amusing listening to them try to describe their girlfriend/wife/daughter/sister/mother's size. "My girlfriend is about 5'8", and she's thin, but not emaciated thin, you know.....She's very leggy."

OK, how about a pretty silk slip with lace edges? Here's the small, do you think she looks like a small?

"Maybe a medium...she can exchange it, right?"

Also, something I never thought about when I took this job is how often I have to model things for men. I tried on a robe the other day so this guy could get an idea of the size. I've also had to stop wearing necklaces for the time being because I'm constantly slipping one on for a look. Sometimes I'll be helping someone else when I'll hear either Deirdre or Annette say my name. I look over to see them standing with a man staring intently at my body, and I know that they've just asked, "Is she about Julia's size? Because then you should go with the small."

It does hurt a bit when I'm asked, "What size would you wear?" and I say "small" and they come back with, "Really? Oh well then, my wife/girlfriend will definitely take the small. Does it come in extra small?"

Thanks.

Anyway, this isn't why I came on here. There will be time for this later, when I have time.

I really just wanted to post this video which I finished weeks ago and never shared with anyone.

This is about the death of Superman. Basically, he died, Luthor stole some genetic material and cloned himself a morally skewed Superman, and then the real Superman came back to life sporting a mullet and a new black costume to take him down. Enjoy.

(Oh, and it starts out quiet, so you might have to turn up your sound.)

Don't Blame Me...

This is the post you feared. I did warn you though, and then I left a very long gap for you to decide whether or not to continue reading my sporadic posts. So whatever happens next is out of my hands.

I present to you "Blame It On the Crew of the Enterprise" my first video using clips from ST:TNG.

A little background:
I wanted my first video to be a serious and dramatic look at the dynamic between Data and his evil brother Lore. To that end, I began shopping for the perfect piece of music which could showcase their turbulent and rather complicated relationship. Something that would speak to the fact that Data is, essentially, an orphan and the only android in the whole of the universe, until he discovers Lore, the prototype that came before Data and was dismantled because he was deemed a failure. Because he's EVIL. If that doesn't make for nice dramatic tension, I don't know what does.

Anyway, I couldn't find what I was looking for exactly, but decided to start work with a song that was almost right. It was going OK, I suppose, but in the meantime I was listening to this song on my iPod and kept thinking it would make a hilarious video.

"But no!" I protested, "I want my first ST vid to be SERIOUS!"

Still, the song persisted. Reluctantly, I sat down and started work.

It ended up being the most difficult video I've made yet (and took about a month) , but I think it turned out really well.

So here they are: the crew of the Enterprise.

*A note on the song,
It's by Mika who, when looking up information about him, is noted for having been influenced by everyone from Elton John to ABBA to Rufus Wainwright to musical theatre. In other words, it's weird. Just go with it.

Blame It On the Crew of the Enterprise

Going On

A week ago, Jenna came to visit. Wait, maybe it was more than a week ago...time goes so fast! Anyway, whenever it was, she came to visit and it was great! However, the first words out of her mouth when she saw me were, "So, you never finished your comic-con story."

OK, maybe they weren't the first words out of her mouth, but it was pretty close.

Here's the sad thing: it's mostly written, it's just not finished. Still.

Here's the bad thing: it may never be finished because I can barely remember what happened last week, let alone February.

Here's the good thing: I actually don't feel all that guilty about it.

Maybe that's only a good thing for me... Oh well.

I'm going to blame the weather. We keep getting small glimpses of Spring, but it still refuses to be sprung! IT'S MID-APRIL, PEOPLE! WHY IS IT 40 DEGREES OUT?

I am so sick of my boots and winter coat, that I want to vomit every time I look at them.

This is also a bad thing for you, because I find that my creativity level is directly tied to the changing seasons. Just look at the number of posts in the summer compared to the number in the winter. With every springy day, I get a surge of optimism and the Muses descend from on high to whisper in my ear. Maybe that's it. Maybe Muses can't survive temperatures below 56 degrees. Mid-50's, that's all I'm asking for!! That shouldn't be too difficult for MID-APRIL!

I guess what I'm saying is that you're not getting a very good post until the weather decides to cooperate. Which is why this post is so lacking in good grammar or even good content.

I suck.

Quickly, let me tell you that I'm taking a class called Acting With the Camera, which is incredible. I have been seriously doubting my life choices lately, and was considering moving away from NYC. Now, I am convinced that I want to stay. I'm not finished here yet. (Of course if I can't find an apartment in my budget before July 1, I might have a serious problem, but let's talk about that another time; I'm trying to be optimistic.)

Also, there may be the slightest possibility that I may possibly have the prospect of a guy in my life. Now, before the gasps and cheers begin, let me say that we are JUST FRIENDS right now. We were friends at AMDA, and we've recently gotten back in contact. Nothing to get crazy over.

Seriously.

Finally, while my writing has suffered, my video making has not. I present you with another creation which I made in about 4 hours on Sunday. I usually don't do these in one sitting, but this one just wouldn't let go of me until I finished it.

It's about Nightwing (Dick Grayson) who used to be the first Robin. The song is Going On by Gnarls Barkley. Enjoy.

Accelerate

Please don't throw things. I know I promised to give you the end of my comic-con story, and part of it is already written...I just have to finish it.

Well, you see, I had a birthday, and my Mom came to visit and we did all this fun stuff, and then I had to work a lot because Annette and Deirdre were at trade shows buying new stuff for the store, and then...I really have no excuse. I didn't realize just how hard maintaining this blog would be! And maybe that's poor grammar, but it is 1:42 AM, and I am still not over tonight's episode of the Biggest Loser. (I mean, my GOD! HOW IN THE WORLD DID MANDI GAIN 2 POUNDS??? I've never really liked Mandi because she cries all the time, but I have to say that I was very impressed with the way she sacrificed herself for her sister. It was incredibly inspiring. Of course, the whole show is inspiring, what with Mike giving up the year supply of groceries he won to Aubrey who has a bushel of children and used to need food stamps to feed them. Aubrey is, of course, Mandi's sister, and she always puts others ahead of herself. So much so, that she asked to be voted off this week in place of her sister and had worked out a plan to make this happen, and thought that Mandi was down with the plan, and then Mandi turned around and said, "Let me act like the big sister for once" and threw herself on the sword, and made me start bawling like a baby. Sorry. Tangent. But you can see that it is on my mind still, which is why I'm rambling on and not getting to the point.)

At the end of the day, I haven't finished the comic-con post, but I do have a new video for you instead. It's another Flash video using the song Accelerate by REM. Enjoy. (Oh, and I've posted the lyrics at the bottom, in case you are curious.)
Jules


Sinking fast, the weight chained to my feet
No time to argue with belief
I'm not alone, a thousand others dropping
Faster than me
What put me here?
Nothing to hold on to
Nowhere to brake

Where is the ripcord, the trapdoor, the key?
Where is the cartoon escape-hatch for me?
No time to question the choices I make
I've got to follow another direction

The last thing I remember was climbing up the stairs
I threw the window open in challenge and despair
I don't know what I needed
I needed time
I needed to escape
I saw the future turn
Upside-down and hesitate.

Where is the ripcord, the trapdoor, the key?
Where is the cartoon escape-hatch for me?
No time to question the choices I make
I've got to follow another direction
Accelerate.

The vista I see now is changing
Uncertainty is suffocating
Our hope has never felt so great and
Lit up down
A pounding pulse
To make it go
Make it slow down,
Go.

Where is the ripcord, the trapdoor, the key?
Where is the cartoon escape-hatch for me?
No time to question the choices I make
I've got to follow another direction.

The city's burning, it's like it's ready to explode
Accelerate to make it slow
Make it go
Accelerate to make it slow
Make it go
I'm incomplete
I'm incomplete
I'm incomplete.

Videos

This post is for my youtube subscribers who want to see the videos that were taken down. To my regular readers, please excuse the interruption.


Take It Easy - Batman, Green Lantern, and Superman



Holding Out For the Justice League


Thanks, hope you like them.
ParkerPoyer

Holding Out For the Justice League

Steve. So far we've had coffee and dinner-and-a-movie. We've also talked on the phone, and I haven't hated every second of it. Are these good signs? I don't know; it's so hard to tell with me. I'm trying not to over-analyze it, which is why this entry isn't going to be about Steve. I just wanted to give you an update, 'cause I know all of you are on the edge of you seats.

This entry is really about a new video. I know: "Already?!" What can I say? I just got the urge and went with it. I think this is my finest one yet. It better be, anyway, because I spent half the night finishing it. I just kept saying, "I'm so close to being done, just work a little bit longer..." Pretty soon, it was four o'clock in the morning and I only had five hours before I had to get up and go to work. Oops.
Anyway, I think it's pretty spectacular. Maybe I should look into being an editor. Or someone who puts trailers together...what do you call that person? How do you become that person?
Sigh.
It will be a long week for me. I'm working 9 days in a row, and half of them are full days, so it's a lot of work. I don't mind, really, but it does mean that I have a lot less energy when I get home. Which is why this entry is so pathetic. I really just wanted to get this video up so you could see it. Maybe I'll feel more like writing in the morning. I'm going to try to get up earlier than usual, which means going to bed at an earlier (read: sane) hour.
Goodnight,

Jules

Hawkgirl

Look Ma! A new video!

This is about Hawkgirl, a character that is probably unfamiliar to most of you. So here's the skinny:

She's from a planet called Thanagar, where she was a police officer. Her story is that she was chasing a criminal and got caught in some pseudo-scientific thingamajig which shot her molecules halfway across the universe to Earth. She decided to stick around and fight crime, since she didn't know how to get back home.

That all turned out to be a lie.

She was actually the advance party from her home world, sent there to scout Earth's defenses. See, Thanagar has been at war with these other aliens for hundreds of years, and she was sent to Earth to recon so they could determine how best to protect the Earth from the bad aliens.

This also turned out to be a lie.

That was the story that Hawkgirl was told, but the truth is that she was sent there to learn how best to take over Earth long enough to build a hyperspace bypass which would aid the Thanagarians in their war. Unfortunately, the hyperspace bypass would destroy Earth, thereby upsetting the natives.

Hawkgirl objected to having been used by her own people to betray her new people, so she decided to betray the Thanagarians by helping the Justice League stop their Evil Plan.
However, the Justice League still felt disgruntled and betrayed from the first betrayl, especially Green Lantern, with whom Hawkgirl had recently begun a relationship. Turns out Hawkgirl's got a Hawkman: the commander of the Thanagarian army and mastermind of the Evil Plan. They're betrothed. GL is less than pleased. Hawkgirl is extremely confused, and now, so are you.

Please direct all questions to Bruce Timm.

Or, you could just watch the video.

The Ballad of Bruce Wayne

At last! I have a new video to show you! I slaved over it, so I expect praise that's high in quantity and quality. Just kidding.

Anyway, it was sort of inspired by what is happening in the Batman comics right now, which is a storyline called Batman RIP. It hasn't finished yet, so I don't know if Batman is going to die, but right now he's gone completely round the twist (as my sister would say), and is running around Gotham in a purple suit claiming that he is the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh! Whatever that means. And he's having conversations with dead people, and just generally acting like a loon. Something was leaked at the San Diego Comic-Con that the next storyline in Batman was going to be called Battle for the Cowl, so basically someone OTHER than Bruce Wayne is going to be Batman. Then, after that, (something that was announced, not leaked) will be an arc written by Neil Gaiman, one of the greatest science fiction/horror/fantasy writers of all time, called Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader. It's an exciting time to be a Batman fan.

Now, do I really believe they're going to replace Bruce Wayne? No. Not really. There was a long run back in 1993 where Batman's back was broken, he chose someone to take up the mantle for a while. Of course, the guy he chose went insane and Bruce eventually had to fight to regain the title of Batman, but, hey, it's a tough job, and not everyone is mentally equipped. So there was basically an entire year where Bruce Wayne was not Batman. But a permanent change? I don't think so. The fans would revolt. Anyway, I only wanted to say a little something about it as a preface to the video, but you know me and comics: once I get started, it's hard to shut me up.

The song I used is called the Ballad of Barry Allen by Jim's Big Ego. For those of you who don't know, Barry Allen was/is the Flash. (He died, but recently came back to life. It's all very confusing, so I won't go into it.) I know, I know, it's rather perverse of me to make a video about Batman to a song about the Flash, but the more I listened to the lyrics, the more I thought it fit Bruce more than Barry.

So, without further ado, I give you The Ballad of Bruce Wayne:

Happy Mother's Day!

To Blog or Not to Blog

Not much to say right now. I've spent the morning writing perilously long e-mails, and my fingers are near exhausted. So, I'll just post this video I made instead!

Check it out! (And F. Radcliff, would you mind telling me the actual name of this song? And who sang it. I only know it as Veela. Also, if you want to know the reason behind that other plea for a song title, check out my youtube page, user name: ParkerPoyer. Love you!)

Lazy?

Me, lazy? Never....

OK, it's been a while since I've updated, but that's only 'cause I don't have any news. I haven't heard anything about the callback, and my life continues in much the same way it has done for a while. My visit home was brief, but relaxing (I spent most of it force-feeding a steady diet of Justice League and Batman cartoons to my sister, and massive dorkdom abounded).

And as soon as I got back, I went to work, and worked every day this week because Deirdre was sick.

Still, I did manage to get myself to the comic book shop, and lo and behold, I wasn't there two minutes when another girl walked in! A range of emotions overtook me: excitement, curiosity, jealousy... Wait a minute, I thought I was the token girl of my chosen comic book store! What is this hussy doing here? Gasp! What if she has been coming here longer than I have? Or what if she is here to replace me?

However, there was no need for me to fear. As she picked up a figurine and brought it to the counter she said, "I was in here with my BOYFRIEND, and he pointed this out, so I have to get it for him. 'Cause he's my BOYFRIEND and I'm such a good GIRLFRIEND to my BOYFRIEND."

Ahh, sweet relief. She's a one-timer.

Still, it irked and (dare I say) vexed me something fierce that she couldn't just buy the toy, but had to explain it away. "What this? No no no, this isn't for me...it's for my BOYFRIEND. I would never buy a ridiculous toy for myself, but you know boys, they love this sort of thing, so I guess I'll just have to live with it and then throw it out when we get married and it is time for the purging of all things dorky." Was she really so ashamed of being in a comic book store that she had to justify herself? Why? It was just the clerk and me, which one of us was she trying to impress? And, OK, I don't collect figurines like many comic nerds (except my Wolverine action figure...and Jafar...and Crazy Cat Lady...and my pirates...and that figure of Han Solo that was tragically lost in the hurricane, which I still cry over late at night when everything is quiet and I feel so alone...) but what is so shameful about buying a "toy" for yourself when you're an adult? Why do we all have to be so grown up all the time? Can't we be grown ups and still feed our inner child? Can't I enjoy thought-provoking novels (I really like Identical Strangers, by the way) and comic books without compromising my maturity points?

OK, I feel the subtext is rapidly becoming the text, here, so I'll stop ranting now. You get my point. I just can't help feeling that if more people would look seriously at Batman who does whatever it takes to save lives and stop the bad guys WITHOUT killing them, the world might be a better place. That is always the number one rule for superheros: No Killing. And that is a moral standard that I can really cling to in this world of ever-increasing chaos and violence. You should never descend to the level of the bad guys in order to take them out.

All right, I'm done. No more ranting, I promise.

And now, to lighten the mood, here is a video that I made! Yes, that's right, folks, I have started making videos that I put up on youtube. My computer came with software for editing home movies and I started fiddling around with it. This is the first one I really want to post here, but you can see the other two on youtube under ParkerPoyer, which is my username.