Frakkingfrakker's profile on TV.com

Just Friends by FrakkingFrakker

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:05:21 PDT

I have a friend. She's a girl...well, a young woman. We've been friends since Junior High. It is rumored we've known each other longer, I cannot confirm or deny that.

We dated for one year in high school. It didn't end well and it should have ended much sooner than it did.

Nowadays we're good friends. We go out to eat dinner from time to time. We go to the movies frequently. Maybe about once a year we go see a show on Broadway. We speak on the phone frequently. We're colleagues. We work on shows together a lot. She is my lifeline for information with one theatre company, and I serve that purpose for her with another.

It is a very symbiotic relationship. It is not romantic at all...

I guess I should get used to people thinking we're dating, telling us that we should be dating, and actually thinking we're married. I'm not used to it....and it still bothers me. I learned recently that my friend was introduced to a co-worker by another co-worker as "Ralph's Woman." ... I'm a little annoyed by that.

As I said, I suppose I need to get over it. We're not dating and we won't be dating ever again. When people ask me why not, the simple answer (which I don't find offensive and I'm pretty sure she feels the same way) is "That Boat has sailed." It keeps either one of us from having to go back through the hardships and stories and blaming that might dredge up. We tried it, it didn't work. And yes, i understand that we've grown and matured, but so has our relationship and it really works the way it is and I don't want to change. I don't feel any desire to change that either.

Why is this so hard for people to understand? I know there's the old adage that men and women can't be "just friends"...that romance/sex will always get involved. I can see that being something that pulls us apart eventually, but it wouldn't be our doing. it would be the doing of others who mistake us for a married couple.

Seriously, I heard from a parent at a show once that she (the mother) had been dying to meet me. Her child had told her that "[my friend]'s Husband" was a really funny guy.

This just goes on to prove my fourth rule. Perception is everything. But to change perception, I would have to lose a friend. I'm not sure it's worth it...but I don't like what people are perceiving.

Bring Me You Finest Meats and Cheeses. by FrakkingFrakker

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 04:32:00 PDT

My friends and I swear that was a line in something...from something. Anybody know? Thanks.

(can't talk today, got a script to read and then I need to drive my state from Stem to Stern. Catch you later!)

~FF

STOP SMOKING NOW (topics can't be entirely in uppercase) by FrakkingFrakker

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:39:35 PDT

Yeah, I'm gonna get up on my high horse for a few minutes. It's been a while since I've done that, I figured it was time.

The mother of a friend of mine is dying. She has lung cancer. She's been a smoker most of her life. She's in her early fifties. The family has been told she won't make it to Thanksgiving. She's taken a horrible turn this week and probably won't make it to Halloween at this point.

Saying that she is just a friend's mother isn't giving her the credit she's due. She was a dance teacher for most of her life at different schools in this area and in a neighboring state where she moved in 2001. She started at least three performance groups for young boys and girls that traveled to many events and festivals entertaining thousands of people. There is someone like her in your community, I know it.

During her time with these groups she worked with and encouraged many young boys and girls. She loved them all, and we in turn loved and respected her. I was part of one of her groups for ten years.

There was a party last year for her, to honor her and raise money for The American Cancer Society. It was a well attended affair, from room to decorations to catering to the items in the silent auction everything was donated by people she had taught and cared for. Generations of people who had been part of her groups were there. Family and friends amassed over all those years attended to celebrate life and encourage a strong willed person to fight this deadly disaease.

I looked back this week at my life and thought about her place in it. I would be a completely different person today if it weren't for her. I wouldn't have my job at the 600 seat theatre and because of that, I doubt I'd be working with my number 2 company. I wouldn't have spent 13 years with the ballet company...but more than that, there was a realization I made while working in her dance group, a life lesson learned that has completely altered the way I life and work. I can't promise I wouldn't have had that life lesson without her, but I don't doubt it would have come later and in a less forgiving atmosphere. I know that it is because of her I have a greater understanding of who I am.

...and that is what this disease is denying people. Because she can no longer teach, because she can no longer work with children....there will be people out there who didn't have the chances and opportunities I had. They won't get that life lesson they need and deserve. They won't have that encouragement. The won't have Mrs. D in their life to help them things.

...But what if she hadn't smoked? Sure I can't promise that some other disease wouldn't be taking her. You can fate and free will this to death if you really want. For me the facts are clear. She smoked and now she's dying of lung cancer. And when she dies the world will lose someone great.

Greatness doesn't always mean you have to stand on a world stage and change the world. Greatness can come from simple things. It comes from the lives you touch, the people you help, the smiles you create on the faces of people you know and people you don't know. Anyone can be great, and she was...is.

But soon, she won't be great anymore. She will be dead and it will be because of lung cancer and that will be because she smoked. And all the great things she had yet to do will be gone. She won't get to be the grandmother of two beautiful grandkids (one born in July.) She won't see her son married. She won't see her daughter finally grow into the woman she once was. She'll miss the great things her "kids" have yet to do...

...she will miss it all because she smoked. She will miss it all.

So, I simply ask you, if you are a smoker, What will you miss?

~FF

My Top 5 Changes. by FrakkingFrakker

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:22:43 PDT

As a responsible individual, I need to now post a blog about the top five things I would like to see changed/changed back on Tvdotcom. That was part of the deal with the Blackout and I am happy to oblige.

First, let me state that I am not completely against the changes. There are some things I like. After a friend helped me through a small issue with the blog, I now have all te blog abilities I used to have (so far as I am aware.)...So, I'm not a complete hater.

...but the following is a list of grievances.

1. I don't like the new template. It's too clinical and white. That is a problem for me.

2. The support pages are not changed yet and this causes issues. How do I get back from the preferences page when I open it up and it usurps the current page, but does not give me option to go back to the main page? Why is that and the mail (I think) still in the old template? Those are issues. Also, as far as that is concerned they've altered the size of certain images but those sizes are not reflected in the preferences pages, which still label the old sizes which will give you flicted images.

3, I would like to see more than three or four tracked blogs in my list. I think that's just ridiculous. An connected to that, isn't this "my feed" stuff on the opposite side just a repetition of that with less information (no blog title?) I'd rather them devote more space and slots to listing users and new blog titles then just telling me that my friends have posted new blogs.

Okay... I have to admit I haven't done much more with the site since the change over than try to blog and fail...then posted comments a few times. So, I haven't been to the forums or tried to contribute or even work with the one in que. (I'm a bad editor.) So, what I'm saying is that I don't have two more complaints at this time...no...no that's not true.

4. The home page is really frakking confusing. The main page of the site is just confusing to me now. Perhaps I'll get used to it, but I don't like it. Maybe this goes back to the whole layout/template issue from number one. that I don't like it in general without the specific problem with the white. It just feels so...blah. No character to it....but the main page just doesn't put the "important" information in a reasonable manner. ..or at least not for me.

I don't have a fifth at this time. I'll save it for later when I find something. I've been busy and haven't had a whole lot of time to explore, but I will soon and I'll bring that one up again.

Frankly, I didn't have any problem with the old site. I quite liked it. If going back is an option, then I'd vote for that.

Again, note that I'm not completely unhappy with this new version, it's just not right yet. Fair enough?

Okay... thank you for reading.

~FF

and... blackout. by FrakkingFrakker

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:26:02 PDT

I have decided to participate in the blackout. I agree with a lot of what I've heard from people. You'll notice I haven't blogged since the change and not for want of topic or time. The changes have just zapped my desire to be here and to blog and that's wrong. So I go.

If you want more information on the Blackout visit http://www.tv.com/users/Glenn11523/profile.php?tag=page_nav;summary

You'll have to cut and paste, sorry. Thank you. I'll see you on the other side in better times.

~FF

My SWiF list (illustrated) by FrakkingFrakker

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:25:15 PDT

The following is my list for Boromir Beauty's Sexiest Women in Film contest. We are allowed 25 choices. Get your votes in by Friday people! Blog it or send it to her.

If I remember correctly order doesn't really count, but for me....for my list it does...kind of. The top five on my list get three shots. The rest only one. Sorry gals. I'd still do ya if you asked...but Space is a premium.

My first choice is the beautiful young Krsten Stewart. You may or may not know her yet, but you will. She's about to hit it big in a big way as Bella in the movie Twilight. I saw her first in the film Into the Wild with Emile Hirsch and Hal Holbrook. I've been catching her catalog of films since then biding my time to announce my devotion for he. So...here are three photos of this lovely young lady.

I've been trying to pinpoint what it is about her that I like so much, but so far... I can't put my finger on it. I love it all. She's my ideal. I am looking forward to interviews and articles with her to make sure she's as wonderful a person on the inside as she is on the outside.

My second choice is the quirkly lovely with the awesome name. That's Zoey Deschanel. I'll bet I spelled it wrong, but...seriously, can you spell straight when you see someone as gorgeous as she?

Those eyes are phenomenal. Don't lie. You noticed.

Anne Hathaway makes the third spot, for now. I've been coming to the realization that she actually is pretty hot. I loved her in Get Smart. She was beautiful and funny. She needs to get into more romantic comedies now that she's gotten out of the princess phase. Instead she seems to want to do serious films, I think that'll dry up for her. She's great to look at and laugh with...but,...I've said enough. Let's just look at her...

Her eyes are the winning combination for me.

Fourth on this list, but higher on my list of Hollywood gals I'd marry, is Amy Adams. She just announced an engagement which did hurt her standings with me. I love her talent and her beauty. I'm looking forward to seeing her in DOUBT. Hopefully proving beyond a doubt that she has the staying power.

You'll probably notice later that she has more clothes on than anyone else in these pictures. I think she's got a great body, but it's her energy...and the innocence she projects that really make her sexy. It's a lost quality and she has it in spades.

My fifth pick is probably something I'm going to take a little flack for. I'm sorry I just couldn't find any good pictures of Jena Malone where she actually looks like an adult. I've seen her in some great roles recently, particularly the bad girl in Go-Getter (starring fellow listy Zoey Deschanel.) And she came back to my attention as a hottie after Into the Wild (which also starred my top listed Kristen Stewart.)

Besides the youthful appearance, a good many of the pictures I found had her outdoors (as in all three of the above.) That gives her an Earthiness that is really fitting. She has old soul written all over, but with enough of a twinkle to betray the girl below. It's a great combination.

NUMBER 6: Transformers star Megan Fox. The only reason I'll see Transformers 2!.

NUMBER 7: Natalie Portman would have been number 1 for most of my life. She just doesn't have that draw anymore. If it's possible to loose sexiness, she did. Either that or I grew up and realized I was grading her on a curve.

NUMBER 8: My knowledge of Leslie Bibb is Talledega Nights and Iron Man. I loved her in both roles. Give her the Oscar for Best Supporting Hottie!

NUMBER 9: Still more of a tv star than a movie star (sorry Boromir Beauty)... but with eyes like hers there aren't that many movies stars that can beat her for sexiness. Entrancingly blue.

NUMBER 10: Rose Byrne was probably an unlikely and surprising choice. I first saw her in movies. There's definitely an ephemeral quality about her that is very appealing to me. There's a real kindness and caring in her eyes.

NUMBER 11: The newly minted vampire vixen Anna Paquin. I saw the Piano in the movie theatre a long time ago (when she first made it onto the scene.) I NOTICED her in the X-Men movies and I've enjoyed her since.

NUMBER 12: Keira Knightly. Some people will wonder why she is so low on the list. Those would be the people that don't think she's a little anorexic.

NUMBER 13: Mary Louise Parker has become a television star now, but I saw her and fell in love with her in movies like Fried Green Tomatoes.

NUMBER 14: Another one of my left field inclusions. I've only seen one movie with Katherine Waterston, but she was the epitome of sexy in it. Powerful, smart and controlling...she also found an important innocence and wonder in the role.

NUMBER 15: Michelle Monaghan makes my list after Gone Baby Gone. I'm looking forward to her in Eagle Eye and will be renting Made of Honor(both) because of her.

NUMBER 16: Mario Bello has done some amazingly sexy work in films like Coyote Ugly and A History of Violence. Her raw sexual passion in the latter film has solidified her place in my list. No, the cheerleading outfit didn't hurt either.

NUMBER 17: Low on my list is Jessica Alba. Her facial expressions are what work for me, not her body. So, I could have easily supplanted her with Amanda Bynes (and possibly should have.)

NUMBER 18: The first in the group of 3 interchangeables is Ashley Judd. Awesomely beautiful and intelligent.

NUMBER 19: My second interchangeable is Marisa Tomei. Beautifully awesome and intelligent.

NUMBER 20: My third interchangeable is Mira Sorvino. Awesomely Intelligent and beautiful.

I call those ladies my interchangeables because as I was putting this list together...they moved around each other a lot. 20 minutes from now they may all switch places again. in thirty minutes, Jessica Alba could be below them. These three are the women who got me through college...I'm not sure I should say anymore about that.

NUMBER 21: Drew Barrymore...a sentimental favorite.

NUMBER 22: Meg (from Disney's Hercules)/Susan Egan. Animation can be sexy with the right talent behind it.

NUMBER 23: Thandie Newton. New to my list. Just gotta watch her a bit more see if she moves up at all.

NUMBER 24: Bridget Fonda has been on this list since the Hudsucker Proxy.

NUMBER 25: I am using my 25th slot to give Kristen Stewart another vote, because YES, I think she is THAT sexy. (It's been a long list and I wanted to remind you who my number 1 pick was...despite the fact that she is both my icons and my banner now.)

Thank for reading. If you have any complaints or concerns, please notify me first. I'm an understanding sort.

Testing the waters... by FrakkingFrakker

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:09:33 PDT

Things have been getting better as far as me getting in to TV.com . I want to give it a few more test runs before I plow in for real. But... here I am for a few minutes.

I saw Burn After Reading over the weekend. It was alright. J.K. Simmons and David Rasche are the funniest thing in the movie. The ending is priceless. I wish the rest of the movies stacked up to it.

I've been watching a little MacGyver. Not as great as I remember, but then nothing that aired in the 80s is actually as good as I remember it seems.

I've also recently finished watching the first season of NCIS. It was interesting watching the show grow. It definitely explained some things. I was happy to see it and can't wait for season 2, which should be here in about a week.

On that score. I hate Network executives. In this case my beef is with FOX. They moved HOUSE so that it's now up against NCIS. Not content to let both shows live, FOX wants to prove it's superiority by eventually getting NCIS cancelled. I don't know what will happen. I will not be watching HOUSE while NCIS is running new episodes in protest. NCIS is American Idol Proof, but is it Hugh Laurie Proof?... I'd like FOX to fail quick and move HOUSE back to 9:00 time slot which is much better suited for. Greedy network executives should dine in hell.

Thanks. I'll be back soon.

~FF

Another haitus. by FrakkingFrakker

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:12:34 PDT

Hey gang... I'm sure you've noticed my sketchy blogging and even sketchier blopping of late. I've been having tremendous issues on a few fronts with my laptop and this site. The two are not getting along...something must be done. So, I'm working that out. Please forgive me for being not with you all that much. I have things to say and stuff I want to do (including reading your blogs)...it's just been difficult. I've lost today's blog twice (and yes, I wrote it in word first.)

Good Luck...and I'll be back soon.

~FF

The first day of school by FrakkingFrakker

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:26:22 PDT

My nephew had his first day of kindergarten this week. He's five years old and already a bit of a handful (but I knew that was coming at 5.) Handful or not the boy must have been traumatized by the event.

At home he rarely ever has accidents. His first official act at school was to...have an accident. Grammy had to put on her SuperGrammy outfit and save the day.

...and the day was saved until he came home on the bus and the bus driver forgot to drop him off. The bus driver didn't even know he had a kid by that name on the bus!!!!! Frankly, I don't blame the bus driver...okay... I do a little...but obviously someone missed something somewhere. This is not a good thing to happen to a five year old boy on his very first day at school. Not good at all.

Today hs was a little more acclimated, I understand. He didn't throw a fit when they wouldn't let him take his pencil case home.

He also found a friend...an old friend if you can beleive it. One of the girls from his pre-kindergarten cl*a*ss is in his kindergarten cl*a*ss That makes him a happy camper. I wonder if love is in the air...

Have a great day!

Things I shouldn't say... by FrakkingFrakker

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:40:47 PDT

Today's blog, is extremely late. It is also extremely sensitive. I've had a few adventures here lately and I'd like to share. I cannot share names or places, so it becomes a tense game of...something or other.

Sometime recently I worked at a private party. The performer was the son of a very famous singer/songwriter. The son is relatively famous in their own right, though he is no longer performing with the band that made him famous. He was paid very heftily for what ended up being about an hour long show. I was paid significantly less and I was there for nearly 12 hours. I guarauntee I worked harder than he did. I also got accused of making the bass player sick. But I think he was not feeling well already and just needed someone to blame. The room was small and hard to work with. The performers would have preferred being in total darkness. Sometimes it is very hard to get respect for what I do. The performers may want certain things but the audience needs certain other things. If you, as a performer can't be respectful of the wishes of the people who paid...then get off the damn stage. It was a dude's 50th birthday party. If he wanted you to play in a dark room, he'd have bought the CD. Nuff said.

A few weeks ago I worked at a show for a legendary singer. His credits are long, so I'm told. I'd never heard of him. When he was done, I wish I hadn't heard of him. His material was very blue, which is a bit of an odd thing from a performer who is in his early 80s. Nothing else major to report.

A week or so before or after that or around there sometime or other was an up and coming country star. He seemed well enough. They kept pushing their soundcheck back farther and farther and then wanted to skip it entirely so the band could go play basketball. Yeah, that's a great reason to skip an important part of putting a show on.

Another recent show was full of scheduling and timing issues. We were set to load in at 10:00am, but forbidden to do so until the promoter paid in cash. The promoter didn't show up until after 11. The crew was on a four hour call and left before the work was done (since because the promoter was late we ended up with only three hours to do what we need four hours to do.) Sound check was supposed to happen at 3:30 but didn't happen until 6:30. The house was supposed to open at 6:30 but didn't open until 7:15. The Show was supposed to start at 8:pm but started at 8:45 pm. The "bands" were supposed to perform for ten minutes. Some only performed for 2. The Main Act was supposed to appear at 10pm, but he didn't arrive at the venue until 10:15. He went onstage at 10:36 and we pulled the plug at shortly after 11:00...since it was supposed to end at 11 (and if it didn't we'd end up with another crew issue.) There were supposed to be thousands of people there (up to 7 thousand)...there were 200. I guess that's what happens when you sell tickets at 80dollars a pop for a rap show in a small town.

I'll finish off my tale with the story of a concert at a local event with a cover band. They were encouraged to keep playing. Suddenly they stopped covering their initial band (they were a tribute band, I suppose that's the better designation)...and started covering other bands. It was unique for me. They totally went off the reservation and instead of playing 80's rock they started in on some Heavy metal!!!! The audience was so drunk that it didn't matter. Ahh....local color.

Okay...there's your end of the summer concert report.