2011 Inspiration - The Oscars

After the Oscars, I always get into a bit of a frenzy. Seeing my heroes and a few underdogs win is a big boost in my creative thought pattern. This happens every year - so why haven't I done anything about it?

2011 is different, I feel. I had a great creative brainstorm with LB this weekend and I've been working on a mixed media costume, art thing for a certain event in May that will remain nameless until the time has come. But what of my short films? What of my editing? What of...it?

Yes, what of it indeed. Two years ago, W&B and I made a short and sent it to Sundance. It wasn't accepted but that's not the point. Where did the wind in the sails go? What happened to all that steam? I understand W&B are busy with their docs and other projects and I'm busy with work but that's no excuse for me to not pick up a camera. Why the fuck not? With all the stuff Joseph Gordon-Levitt is doing with HitRecord.org, why am I not getting more creative? I guess I'm not that great of a storyteller. My stories aren't compelling enough anymore. W did a number on my segment for our short film and I realized that I'm kinda boring. She knew just the right stuff to inject and make it a million times better. But all that aside, what's holding me back? Fear? Creativity? Ideas or lack thereof? Resources? Idea stealers? Am I ever going to get a solid crew? I want to work with W&B again but scheduling is so tough... If I don't have W&B, I'm a one-woman-crew. I haven't really worked with anyone else (except for the wonderful JD, DLM and TT in college) and I trust the crew at work (J and B are awesome) but what's holding me back? I don't know. Maybe I'll just run around and film everything - alá Thierry Guetta (but better and more organized). Maybe I'll take my half-baked ideas and actually bring them to life - good or bad. I'll make anything and everything. Provocative or plain and simple.
That mindset is working for the nameless project in May (even though I've only made 1 video with a modest 20 views) but whatever - it's a start, right?

I mean, if this guy can win an Oscar (for Best Live-Action Short 2011)...

I can get off my lazy ass and DO SOMETHING

Wow - that sounds rude. I'm sure God of Love is a wonderful short and very deserving of its Oscar. What I meant to say is that homeboy above looks all nerdy and awkward and scatterbrained and stuff - which is kinda like me - so why the hell not make a freakin' movie already?!

Sounds like a plan. This year's motto: Don't just talk about it, DO IT!

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

NOH8 Atlanta - The photos!

It was around 10pm on Saturday, January 15, 2011. I just so happened to be on Facebook when I saw that the OMFG Atlanta crew had posted an even with a NOH8 photo attached to it. I was intrigued, so I clicked on it and to my surprise, it was an event for the Atlanta NOH8 photo shoot that was happening the very next day! *gasp!*
I had been waiting FOREVER for Adam Bouska and crew to come to the Dirty South and do their famed NOH8 shoots. FOR-EH-VER. I even tried to convince my step-sister to got to the NYC one to represent our Moms. (She couldn't go because it was too short notice - Sorry!) So when I saw that Bouska and crew would be in town, all my Sunday plans flew out the window! (Sorry S.S.!)

My old man offered to drive me down and I convinced him to leave the house super early so that we wouldn't be there all day (which we were anyway) and it was total chaos! 30 minutes after we arrived, people started pouring in! It was amazing! Waiting around was kind of boring and I kind of wish my old man had something else to do instead of wait around for me...

I waited patiently to get my temporary face tattoo (and got cut in front of by "VIPs" numerous times) and I quietly waited to get photographed. I think I was being checked out by a few ladies - which was nice, I'll admit - and I saw a whole hell of a lot of cute boys! *_* There was also a group of nuns that were pretty much the highlight of the whole thing!


(Here they are getting tattooed and interviewed)


After my group was called, I patiently waited in yet another line that barely moved. BUT we got to see Real housewife of Atlanta Cynthia and her husband Peter - who snuck away like they were huge celebrities or something...got held up by more "VIPs" (that seemed to be the theme, unfortunately) and finally, it was time!
I waited my turn, taking off my glasses and tucked them in my purse. Then I had a few thoughts of how to make my photo better: I should've brought my protest sign that I made a few years back that read "Let my two Moms get married!", "I should've borrowed those handcuffs on the table back there...", "I should've done drag queen makeup instead", etc...

Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I was there alone, representing my Moms and that was good enough.

I walked across the white paper, threw my purse down and followed gentle Adam's directions while he complimented me on my hair. Good thing I had just dyed it that morning!


That particular colour incarnation is Manic Panic Hot Hot Pink over older Manic Panic Pillarbox Red. It's currently Splat Fetish Pink...And my makeup choice was obviously a purple smoky eye - Spirit Day + Gay Pride!

I followed his directions while he shot a maximum of 10 shots and then...sadly, it was all over. I ripped the duct tape off my mouth, thanked Adam for the opportunity and was on my merry way.

Overall, I had a good time. I definitely saw some ATLiens I had never seen before so it was nice. But the best thing about it all is that I have something else to add to my growing collection of support for my Moms. I'm still waiting for the day that they plan their wedding!

Check out the NOH8 gallery HERE

Check out Mark and Stephanie (from OMFG Atlanta) HERE

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Revisited: Ashley - Top Chef of my Heart!!

Commenter Annie recently brought this video clip to my attention:


Thirty Days Artist Series: Ashley Merriman from Thirty Days NY on Vimeo.

It's the glorious Ashley Merriman from Top Chef Vegas (and her beautiful girlfriend) as part of the Thirty Days Artist Series.
I love it! It's well shot and well put together. I'm sad I didn't know about this soon but better late than never, right?!
Enjoy!




You know I just had to screen cap her beautiful face!

Happy Friday, fellow Ashley lovers!

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Freak outs, Playboy and Oompa Loompas! Oh my!

Okay - let me eat my fucking words about BGC. Last night's episode started losing me but Lauren provoking Char (aka OCD: Operation Char's Demise) was amazing! First with the car (Nikki's plan but whatevs) then with with the phone. Holy shit, that was amazing. What really put the icing on that cake was the mattress over the balcony. That was truly priceless.

But before I can declare my insane love for Lauren, can we please talk about Jennifer? I'm with what Tanisha was saying during the after show: "Who the fuck do you think you are?" And, since we're talking about the after show, can we please talk about how Lauren called Char out on how Char was using people to do her dirty work, especially the new chick and Char was looking like, "I would never!" but at the end of the after show she admitted to using Jennifer as a pawn in Char's game. What in the actual fuck, Char? Lauren brought up a good point: Char says, "Been there, done that" and Lauren says she hasn't and she needs to in order to really learn from her experiences. I get that and respect that. But I think it's messed up that Char would want to come into the BGC house and try to "run it" with her "year of experience" when she's the WORST instigator or them all. I mean, let it go! She's still hanging on to the fact that Nikki and Lauren went on stage with Natalie Nunn (another BGC fave) and bad-mouthed them. Get over it! That was forever ago and you just need to let it go.

Okay - back to Jennifer. What in the hell?


I don't understand how she has done things with Playboy. I know that makes me sound like a jerk but come on, really? I don't get it. I was too distracted by Ashley!
At first, I didn't really like Ashley since she started all that crazy ass shit when she invited her disrespectful friends over but she seems like she's mellowing out (in BGC terms). She totally dominated that Playboy test shoot and if it were up to me, I would've picked her and Kori.


I give up - every time I try to express my disgust for Jennifer, I get distracted by the other Bad Girls. How awesome was it when Lauren straight up hung up on Jennifer during the after show? Ah-mazing! Tanisha looked like she was all on Lauren's side. She was certainly NOT going to put up with Char's shenanigans, that's for damn sure. I think after Lauren wailed on Char, Char should really calm down. I mean, what's so important about "running" the BGC house? WHAT? Nothing, Char. You just want to look like the baddest bitch up in there but really you just look like a bully. A childish, immature bully.


The only thing Char is doing is making herself look like a maniac who needs some kind of attention/validation from others. Where is your mother, Char? Where is your father? Did nobody love you when you were growing up? I'm only slightly concerned.
Let me just say that I'm really looking forward to next week's episode of more Bad Girl shenanigans - and I hope Hurricane Char gets downgraded to a light drizzle sometime soon. It's getting old...

I will say this, though: my views still stand about the societal view of pitting women against women. I don't like what it is that makes us women feel like we have to be in a constant popularity contest. I feel it. I've felt it all my life and it's weird because with as much unity as I feel can happen, I feel that animal instinct of having to be the one on top - the winner, the first, the BEST. And I can't really shut it off. It makes me sad, really. But what I notice about BGC is that they take a bunch of girls from different backgrounds and throw them all into this house of craziness. The girls all have one thing in common too: they all "run" whatever group they're in back home, all their friends and family hype them up by telling them they're the best, prettiest, most beautiful, etc, and that breeds an unhealthy, violent environment. I know I don't have to watch this show but it's interesting to see the dynamics of younger women. I didn't go to a "regular" college so I didn't have the "college experience" of living in dorms and being constantly surrounded by an excess of estrogen so I feel as though I'm sort of a late bloomer when it comes to things like this. This is interesting to me. It's like seeing some sort of crazy, bizarro sorority house breaking down. It makes me wonder...

Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Photos from I Love BGC Tumblr

BGC 6 - Who runs the BGC house? Who cares...

This season of Bad Girls Club is making me bored. I hate to say it but it's true. Sydney was really the only one I enjoyed but what the other girls were saying about her is kinda true: she really does complain a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Especially in the last episode she was in when they went to San Francisco. She was a real sour puss - not just because of all the unnecessary tension in the house but because of her boyfriend.
Yeah, that's right, her boyfriend.
I don't know if it's Oxygen's editing or what but one minute she's on the phone with her boyfriend telling him he's the only one for her and how she wants to make it work and blah blah blah "you're my boo" etc etc. So when they're in San Fran, cut to Sydney making out with some guy.
The reason I think she left soon after was because I think she was using BGC as a way to "exlpore" certain "areas" of her life and then come back to a warm body when it was over and done with but the only problem with that plan is those pesky cameras that catch everything and I think she got scared because she had already been caught with 2 guys on camera and she just wanted to save herself from further explanation. Oh well.


Now that Sydney has gone, it looks as though Hurricane Char has turned her sights to a more delicate victim: Lauren. Why?! Gee, I don't know. I guess maybe I thought Char was more mature than this but I thought terribly, terribly wrong. Char is the oldest in the house so why is she making it look like bullying is okay? That's awful. Just because Lauren doesn't want to "follow" you doesn't make her a target. Char really needs to get over herself. I had really high hopes for her because of her age and maturity but I am horribly mistaken. I still stand behind Lauren though!


Hopefully I'll be able to sit through all of Monday's new episode since I skipped out on last Monday's. I know this might not be possible, since it is BGC after all, but I want them to stop fighting - even if it's just for one episode - and just be civil to one another. That's all. At this point, it's all petty shit that's driving everyone crazy. I understand that it's the dynamics of so much estrogen in one place and the cultural and societal beliefs than pit women against each other in every kind of situation but I just hope that one day they can stop fighting and respect each other as equals. No one is behind anyone (*cough*CHAR*cough*) - we're all equal.
Yeah, but I think today's episode is when Char yells, "DON'T DISRESPECT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO MY MOTHER" at Lauren. Hurricane Char has rolled in...

Honestly, I think Char will get what's coming to her...


Love and kisses,
Katzi
S.L.Y.A.S.D.I.

Char photo from What Tee Says