Now that I have a bit more time on my hands, I have discovered a few shows that I missed the first time around: the dramatic comedy Men of a Certain Age, which I will address in a future post, and the gritty urban drama Southland. The folks at TNT—“We know drama”-- rescued this gem from the Leno/NBC one-hour fallout, and for that I am extremely grateful.
Last week Southland launched its second season. In the hours leading up to the premiere, TNT re-ran the entire first seven episodes back to back. Once I started watching, I was immediately hooked. Although it is somewhat familiar territory-- police and detectives fighting gangs and crime-- it feels totally fresh. The newbie is a cute hunk, Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie), a rich kid from Bel Air, whose partner calls him "Richie Rich". There is the cute surfer cop, Officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis), who is always having to cover for her less than competent male partners like Officer Billy Dewey (C. Thomas Howell) and Officer Slug Ferguson (Lenny Schmidt), all the while being called on the carpet by Training Officer Cudlitz who blames her for their screw-ups.
I especially like the fact that all of these characters live in a world of that is far from black and white. They have to reconcile ‘the job’ with constant compromises in their own lives. Detective Salinger (Michael McGrady) is a recovering alcoholic having an affair with a TV reporter. Training Officer John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz) is hiding his sexuality and an addiction to pain pills. Detective Bryant's (Shawn Hatosy)wife smokes pot, and he has a drug sniffing dog. Officer Sherman's walks in on his newly reunited parents as they are smoking pot after we learn about how his dad's earlier drug connections led Ben to becoming a police officer. Detective Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott) is contemplating an affair with a victim's sister. Life is constantly varying shades of gray
Then there is compassionate and dignified performance by Regina King as Detective Lydia Adams. If more law enforcement officers were like Detective Adams, the world would be a better place. I especially liked the way Detective Adams handled the case of the baby found crawling in the street and the case of the man who exposed himself. Season 2's opener gives her multiple story lines: a new partner, the brash and very sexy Detective Rene Cordero (Amaury Nolasco), her continuing relationship with her old partner (Det. Clarke who may not be returning to the force after being shot in the chest by a neighbor at a Memorial Day party) and the case of a missing elderly man.
Kudos to writer/creator Ann Biderman and director Chris Chulack for the thrilling season opener. The great writing, fine cast of actors, and action-paced documentary style feeling make Southland my favorite new police drama. Ask the folks at TNT. Believe me, they know drama.
Amy's Tips: Check out Southland, The Closer, HawthoRNe and Men of a Certain Age on TNT.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Do You Feel Like Dancing?
Another joy of underemployment is finally having the time to pursue your passion. For my sister, Donna, that has always been dancing. We were both dancers as children, and she continued on through college. She was Disco Donna back in the Seventies, dancing at Studio 54 and the Electric Circus when she wasn't rehearsing for a new Broadway show and understudying for A Chorus Line. Donna is the one who got me hooked on the TV series Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance? Two years ago she started taking ballroom dance lessons at the Arthur Murray studio in Sherman Oaks. Now she is dancing in ballroom competitions like the one held last weekend in Los Angeles.
I've seen the changes in my sister since she started dancing again. She is much happier and thinner and looks so much younger than she did a few years ago. Dancing is great exercise, one because it is aerobic, and two, because it is fun... a lot more fun than running on a treadmill. Dancing involves human interaction, a chance to meet and dance with all kinds of people. My sister has built a network of lovely new friends from people she has met while dancing.
Last weekend I joined her at the studio where she and other dancers demonstrated the solo numbers they would be competing with on Sunday. She soared through her Bolero, graceful and sultry at the same time. Other dancers performed a Viennese Waltz, Samba, Cha Cha and Swing. There were varying degrees of ability on display, but the one thing they all had in common was the way their faces lit up as their colleagues and teachers applauded them through their dance.
Studio owner Mario Vitucci urged me to join them again on Wednesdays or Fridays when it feels more of a party atmosphere than a class. He promised next time to save me a dance. Group and private instruction is also available for all types of ballroom & Latin dancing. For more info click here: Arthur Murray Sherman Oaks
Watch Donna's Bolero
Amy's Tip: Dance your booty off and/or dance your time away. Another fun activity for the underemployed.
I've seen the changes in my sister since she started dancing again. She is much happier and thinner and looks so much younger than she did a few years ago. Dancing is great exercise, one because it is aerobic, and two, because it is fun... a lot more fun than running on a treadmill. Dancing involves human interaction, a chance to meet and dance with all kinds of people. My sister has built a network of lovely new friends from people she has met while dancing.
Last weekend I joined her at the studio where she and other dancers demonstrated the solo numbers they would be competing with on Sunday. She soared through her Bolero, graceful and sultry at the same time. Other dancers performed a Viennese Waltz, Samba, Cha Cha and Swing. There were varying degrees of ability on display, but the one thing they all had in common was the way their faces lit up as their colleagues and teachers applauded them through their dance.
Studio owner Mario Vitucci urged me to join them again on Wednesdays or Fridays when it feels more of a party atmosphere than a class. He promised next time to save me a dance. Group and private instruction is also available for all types of ballroom & Latin dancing. For more info click here: Arthur Murray Sherman Oaks
Watch Donna's Bolero
Amy's Tip: Dance your booty off and/or dance your time away. Another fun activity for the underemployed.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Go for the Gold
One of the benefits of our current depression is that the price of gold hovers around one thousand dollars an ounce. You've seen those ads on TV and in your newspaper. Friends of mine have reported selling their gold to jewelers and at private Tupperware-like parties. I sought out gold in all the nooks and crannies of my home. After a thorough search I turned up at least 10 items that appeared to be gold. How can you tell if it is real?
Reaching out into the universe of assembled knowledge, I consulted the oracle of Google and various posts told me that if it sticks to a magnet it is not gold (but just so you know, not everything that doesn't stick to a magnet is gold. Or the suggestion that if you scratch gold against a piece of unglazed ceramic it leaves a gold mark; if it is not gold, it will leave a black mark. But then you have to damage the item to prove that it is good, which doesn't make much sense to me. And you've heard of gold paint, right? Other more accurate tests involve nitric acid and displacement measurements in a test tube. The commonly used phrase, "to pass the acid test" comes from the nitric acid test for real gold.
There are varying degrees of gold that buyers will accept, ranging from 10k up to 24k. 10 karat is commonly used in dental fillings. Jewelry over 10K usually bears a karat mark, but sometimes there is no karat sign. The fact that there is no karat mark does not mean that the item is not gold. Gold prices are based on 24 karat or pure gold. Lesser karats are discounted proportionately. 18k is 75% pure gold. 14K is 58.3%, and so on. When you sell your gold the buyer will further discount the price by adding fees to assay and refine it. These fees usually range from 10-20%.
I looked at the little pile of gold I had assembled on my desk. I used to have a lot more gold jewelry, most of which was stolen during a 1980's home invasion in New York. What little I still have holds more sentimental value than anything else. The calendar charm Nana wore on her bracelet with a tiny ruby on my date of birth, an oval pin with my initials that I received at my bat mitzvah, a pair of Dad's cuff links, a vintage gold or gold plated cigarette lighter that had belonged to my Papa, various chains, knotted and broken, a lump of gold with a diamond mounted on it-- a piece of art made from my mother's engagement ring, and my great grandmother's pink gold ring that still I wear to this day. I struggled with the thought of selling my memories. Maybe I could part with the broken chains and the lump of gold that was once a ring, but the other items still held too much emotional value and I wasn't ready to part with them for money... yet.
Don't forget to take this month's survey and sign up for automatic updates.
Reaching out into the universe of assembled knowledge, I consulted the oracle of Google and various posts told me that if it sticks to a magnet it is not gold (but just so you know, not everything that doesn't stick to a magnet is gold. Or the suggestion that if you scratch gold against a piece of unglazed ceramic it leaves a gold mark; if it is not gold, it will leave a black mark. But then you have to damage the item to prove that it is good, which doesn't make much sense to me. And you've heard of gold paint, right? Other more accurate tests involve nitric acid and displacement measurements in a test tube. The commonly used phrase, "to pass the acid test" comes from the nitric acid test for real gold.
There are varying degrees of gold that buyers will accept, ranging from 10k up to 24k. 10 karat is commonly used in dental fillings. Jewelry over 10K usually bears a karat mark, but sometimes there is no karat sign. The fact that there is no karat mark does not mean that the item is not gold. Gold prices are based on 24 karat or pure gold. Lesser karats are discounted proportionately. 18k is 75% pure gold. 14K is 58.3%, and so on. When you sell your gold the buyer will further discount the price by adding fees to assay and refine it. These fees usually range from 10-20%.
I looked at the little pile of gold I had assembled on my desk. I used to have a lot more gold jewelry, most of which was stolen during a 1980's home invasion in New York. What little I still have holds more sentimental value than anything else. The calendar charm Nana wore on her bracelet with a tiny ruby on my date of birth, an oval pin with my initials that I received at my bat mitzvah, a pair of Dad's cuff links, a vintage gold or gold plated cigarette lighter that had belonged to my Papa, various chains, knotted and broken, a lump of gold with a diamond mounted on it-- a piece of art made from my mother's engagement ring, and my great grandmother's pink gold ring that still I wear to this day. I struggled with the thought of selling my memories. Maybe I could part with the broken chains and the lump of gold that was once a ring, but the other items still held too much emotional value and I wasn't ready to part with them for money... yet.
Don't forget to take this month's survey and sign up for automatic updates.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Keeping in Contact
One of the first things you should do when you are unemployed or underemployed is update your address book. Now depending on which generation you are from, your address book is either on your phone, your email program, Outlook, Access or some other sales or marketing database. For my mother and grandmother it was an actual address book with a torn cover and worn pages and everything written out in longhand. Once a year my Nana would go through the book and cross out the names of the people who had died. Yes, there were babies to be added, and husbands, and wives, and sometimes a brief story to accompany the name.
I realized that it was time to update my electronic address book and my Nana's telephone number was no longer needed, unless they have figured out how to do call forwarding to heaven. She's been gone for ten years but I hesitated a moment before pressing the delete key. I deleted almost all of my great aunts and uncles, and many of my friends. Along the way I found a few contacts who I hadn't spoken to in years, and decided to give them a call. I spent the day catching up with old friends and putting the word out.
When was the last time you updated your contacts? How often do you back them up? Do you even know how to backup your Outlook file? These are a few questions you can ask yourself while you cull your contacts for new leads.
Last year, when I bought my iPhone, I discovered Apple's MobileMe. At first, I was in love. MobileMe updates my contact files on all my devices automatically, so that if I add a number to my iPhone contacts or an appointment to my Calendar, it is automatically updated in Outlook on both my computers, and vice versa. It is a great time saver. The only downside is that MobileMe charges a yearly license fee of $99. Now that I am underemployed, I decided to explore if there are other options that can do the same thing for free.
It appears that Google, is developing a product called Google Sync, a free application in the beta test stage. It works with Google Apps to synchronize email and databases. I haven't figured out a way to make it work without Google Apps, which is definitely more program than I need at the moment. If any of my readers have another solution that they can suggest, please let me know.
Next Post: Go for the Gold
I realized that it was time to update my electronic address book and my Nana's telephone number was no longer needed, unless they have figured out how to do call forwarding to heaven. She's been gone for ten years but I hesitated a moment before pressing the delete key. I deleted almost all of my great aunts and uncles, and many of my friends. Along the way I found a few contacts who I hadn't spoken to in years, and decided to give them a call. I spent the day catching up with old friends and putting the word out.
When was the last time you updated your contacts? How often do you back them up? Do you even know how to backup your Outlook file? These are a few questions you can ask yourself while you cull your contacts for new leads.
Last year, when I bought my iPhone, I discovered Apple's MobileMe. At first, I was in love. MobileMe updates my contact files on all my devices automatically, so that if I add a number to my iPhone contacts or an appointment to my Calendar, it is automatically updated in Outlook on both my computers, and vice versa. It is a great time saver. The only downside is that MobileMe charges a yearly license fee of $99. Now that I am underemployed, I decided to explore if there are other options that can do the same thing for free.
It appears that Google, is developing a product called Google Sync, a free application in the beta test stage. It works with Google Apps to synchronize email and databases. I haven't figured out a way to make it work without Google Apps, which is definitely more program than I need at the moment. If any of my readers have another solution that they can suggest, please let me know.
Next Post: Go for the Gold
Friday, March 5, 2010
More Ways to Make Money Cleaning Your Home
We live in an age of downloadable content. Apple's iTunes has replaced the need to store and maintain large collections of CDs and albums. Devices exist to convert your LPs and cassettes to iTunes as well. Once you have downloaded all your media to iTunes, and made at least one iTunes library backup, do you really need all those pieces of vinyl and plastic? I have several cabinets of albums dating back to the seventies, cassettes from the eighties, and CDs from the nineties. Call me sentimental, the only format I have been able to toss were my 8-track cassettes. About three years ago I started downloading all my music. I haven't made the transition to downloading movies yet, because of speed and storage limitations, but the technology is improving every day, so it is only a matter of time.
So what am I doing holding on to all my vinyl and CDs? Apart from the obvious advantage regarding album cover artwork and lyrics, there is no need to keep hard copies anymore when your entire music collection can fit on a drive the size of a pack of playing cards. There are second hand vinyl and CD shops in every major city like Second Spin and Amoeba in Los Angeles. At Second Spin, gently used CDs go from $1 -$2, while a Michael Jackson CD can fetch up to $6. It all depends on what the store already has in stock, and what is in demand. If they already have ten Kenny G CDs they probably won't need another one, so don't hesitate to split your collection amongst several stores. Extremely rare items can be sold on EBay or other web-based sites. Having a yard sale is another way to dispose of CDs, albums and tapes. Even if you only sell them for fifty cents or a dollar, this can add up to a nice chunk of money for sizable collections.
Just remember to back up your music library. And then make a backup of the backup. I recently learned this lesson after my last computer crashed. Fortunately, I had most of the collection backed up onto an external hard drive. I ended up losing two recent music downloads, Viva la Vida by Coldplay (not one of their best) and Epiphany by Chrisette Michel (OMG. She is amazing.)
The Apple Store's policy is that it is the customer's responsibility to create a backup of anything purchased from their site. If you need to download it again, you pay again. I hope they will rethink this policy, as many software developers did to accommodate users with computer and hard drive crashes, and owners who migrated from older to newer technologies. I also hope that Apple creates a better way of transferring music back and forth between devices. My entire music collection may fit on my computer, but it won’t fit on my iPhone. It would be great of there were a better way to select which songs or artists or even formats are stored on what device because you know the devices are going to change again and again.
New software and services are springing up to assist you with storing your digital media. Online Storage Solutions is just one of the latest services making it easier to store and transfer your music. Soon, I expect to see large capacity wireless storage drives with the ability to stream music & video to every PC, flat screen and cell phone in the home. For those of you who have already made the transition from hard copy newspapers to reading multiple newspapers online, and for those who have already transferred all your CDs to iTunes, the transition to video storage devices won't be a difficult one. The hard part is letting go of all your stuff. If you are able to do so, you might be able to get some money for all that media stuff filling your home. At least enough to buy groceries for a week or two. In today’s world, that can be very helpful.
Upcoming: Go for the Gold
Check out Chrisette Michel's song I'm Leaving on You Tube.
Check out Online Storage Solutions for $19 a year.
Enjoy!
So what am I doing holding on to all my vinyl and CDs? Apart from the obvious advantage regarding album cover artwork and lyrics, there is no need to keep hard copies anymore when your entire music collection can fit on a drive the size of a pack of playing cards. There are second hand vinyl and CD shops in every major city like Second Spin and Amoeba in Los Angeles. At Second Spin, gently used CDs go from $1 -$2, while a Michael Jackson CD can fetch up to $6. It all depends on what the store already has in stock, and what is in demand. If they already have ten Kenny G CDs they probably won't need another one, so don't hesitate to split your collection amongst several stores. Extremely rare items can be sold on EBay or other web-based sites. Having a yard sale is another way to dispose of CDs, albums and tapes. Even if you only sell them for fifty cents or a dollar, this can add up to a nice chunk of money for sizable collections.
Just remember to back up your music library. And then make a backup of the backup. I recently learned this lesson after my last computer crashed. Fortunately, I had most of the collection backed up onto an external hard drive. I ended up losing two recent music downloads, Viva la Vida by Coldplay (not one of their best) and Epiphany by Chrisette Michel (OMG. She is amazing.)
The Apple Store's policy is that it is the customer's responsibility to create a backup of anything purchased from their site. If you need to download it again, you pay again. I hope they will rethink this policy, as many software developers did to accommodate users with computer and hard drive crashes, and owners who migrated from older to newer technologies. I also hope that Apple creates a better way of transferring music back and forth between devices. My entire music collection may fit on my computer, but it won’t fit on my iPhone. It would be great of there were a better way to select which songs or artists or even formats are stored on what device because you know the devices are going to change again and again.
New software and services are springing up to assist you with storing your digital media. Online Storage Solutions is just one of the latest services making it easier to store and transfer your music. Soon, I expect to see large capacity wireless storage drives with the ability to stream music & video to every PC, flat screen and cell phone in the home. For those of you who have already made the transition from hard copy newspapers to reading multiple newspapers online, and for those who have already transferred all your CDs to iTunes, the transition to video storage devices won't be a difficult one. The hard part is letting go of all your stuff. If you are able to do so, you might be able to get some money for all that media stuff filling your home. At least enough to buy groceries for a week or two. In today’s world, that can be very helpful.
Upcoming: Go for the Gold
Check out Chrisette Michel's song I'm Leaving on You Tube.
Check out Online Storage Solutions for $19 a year.
Enjoy!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Pay it Foward
I don't know about the rest of you, but I have been underemployed for over one year now. I choose to use the word underemployed instead of unemployed because I continue to work part time in the film & TV industry. Part time work is better than nothing and usually more lucrative than unemployment. Our industry was hard hit before the recession due to runaway production to states and foreign countries that offer tax credits and rebates. Resourceful state governments in hard hit areas like Michigan, New Mexico and Louisiana enacted tax credit legislation to lure production away from California and they've done a damn good job of it. California's legislature has been incapable of protecting jobs that employ over a quarter of a million workers and suppliers in Los Angeles alone. This week Panavision announced it was having financial difficulties. It's a sorry sign of the state of our industry when the leading camera supplier almost goes belly up. Next thing you know we'll be shooting TV series on our iPhones.
I've adapted to the current situation by working for several employers, a day here a day there, Saturdays, Sundays, whenever work is available. Whereas before I was a full time employee with union benefits and federal and state taxes paid by my employer, now I am a freelance worker with no benefits (my insurance is running out soon) and it is up to me to pay my own taxes. Unfortunately I am not earning enough to make my monthly commitments and pay taxes unless I give up the important things like a roof over my head, my car, medical care or food.
During this past year of underemployment I have learned some survival techniques that have helped me keep my sanity. Over the next month, I'd like to share them with you. Not all of my ideas are money makers, but at least they give me something to do with my time. There are a lot of things that you can do to make the most of your unemployment/underemployment. Cleaning out your closets is one of them. I started with my bedroom closet. I had no idea how many items I had in my closet, clothing that I hadn't worn in years, jewelry, shoes, handbags that I had spent good hard earned money on and rarely used.
I made myself try on every item in my closet. Over the past few years I have lost a considerable amount of weight, so over half the items were way too large for me to wear. I tried having a few pieces taken in, but the tailor charged me nearly as much as the items original cost and a few weeks later they were too large again. I sorted them by sizes and then into piles for each of my friends and family. They were struggling, too. Why should they waste money on new clothes? I outfitted a few friends with suitable business attire and then asked them to clean out their closets and pass on the results to someone else. This pay it forward closet cleaning is something all of us can do. Of course you can donate your used clothes to charity, and some of my rejects ended up as donations, but I enjoyed seeing the smiles on my friends' faces as they tried on my barely used items.
Now some of you are thinking, maybe I should take the tax deduction or sell my stuff on EBay and make some cash. There are people out there who have created rental services for evening wear and high end handbags. Be creative, there are a lot of ways to benefit yourself and others with the items you already have.
Tomorrow: More Ways to Make Money Cleaning Your Home
I've adapted to the current situation by working for several employers, a day here a day there, Saturdays, Sundays, whenever work is available. Whereas before I was a full time employee with union benefits and federal and state taxes paid by my employer, now I am a freelance worker with no benefits (my insurance is running out soon) and it is up to me to pay my own taxes. Unfortunately I am not earning enough to make my monthly commitments and pay taxes unless I give up the important things like a roof over my head, my car, medical care or food.
During this past year of underemployment I have learned some survival techniques that have helped me keep my sanity. Over the next month, I'd like to share them with you. Not all of my ideas are money makers, but at least they give me something to do with my time. There are a lot of things that you can do to make the most of your unemployment/underemployment. Cleaning out your closets is one of them. I started with my bedroom closet. I had no idea how many items I had in my closet, clothing that I hadn't worn in years, jewelry, shoes, handbags that I had spent good hard earned money on and rarely used.
I made myself try on every item in my closet. Over the past few years I have lost a considerable amount of weight, so over half the items were way too large for me to wear. I tried having a few pieces taken in, but the tailor charged me nearly as much as the items original cost and a few weeks later they were too large again. I sorted them by sizes and then into piles for each of my friends and family. They were struggling, too. Why should they waste money on new clothes? I outfitted a few friends with suitable business attire and then asked them to clean out their closets and pass on the results to someone else. This pay it forward closet cleaning is something all of us can do. Of course you can donate your used clothes to charity, and some of my rejects ended up as donations, but I enjoyed seeing the smiles on my friends' faces as they tried on my barely used items.
Now some of you are thinking, maybe I should take the tax deduction or sell my stuff on EBay and make some cash. There are people out there who have created rental services for evening wear and high end handbags. Be creative, there are a lot of ways to benefit yourself and others with the items you already have.
Tomorrow: More Ways to Make Money Cleaning Your Home
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