I’d like to thank Clare (dawndancers.com) very very very much for nominating me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award! This is my third time being nominated for this award, and it’s wonderful to know how much others seems to appreciate my blog.
Truthfully, I continue to accept these awards because I love being able to share/promote other talented WordPress bloggers by nominating them. So please take a look at the list of nominations below!!
1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them.
5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.
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Seven Things About G. E. Gallas
I think you’ll learn more than enough about me through the other award posts I’ve made!
Prepared for tomorrow — the first day of my new internship!!!
Wednesday, January 30th
Zest Books Internship, Day #1: Wonderful first day! Having an easy time getting into the flow of everything. Staff is extremely friendly and excited to get to know them better. Get awesome sneak peaks of upcoming titles. Friday, will be working on Tumblr and possibly doing some image research — can’t wait!
Thursday, January 31st
Not ready to announce anything yet, but amazing news (from January 20th) continuing to develop!
Received e-mail from follower Hannah Meiklejohn (bellusmundus.wordpress.com) asking if she could write an article for a magazine about The Poet and the Flea, yay! Excited to learn more details about the article and magazine. (^-^)
Zest Books Internship, Day #2: Worked on historical-themed image research for most of the day, which was mostly a lot of fun! Started working on Zest’s Tumblr (zestbooks.tumblr.com). Ate lunch in nearby park, which is very pleasant and relaxing and will definitely be repeated.
Saturday, February 2nd
Happy Groundhog Day!!
Filled out the rest of Cannes paperwork and made a checklist for what to bring (I’m Going To Cannes!!!).
Went to see Warm Bodies with Wes! Not the most brilliant movie, but adorable and a lot of fun. (︶ω︶)
For those of you watching the new Netflix series House of Cards, I highly recommend watching the original BBC version starring the brilliant Ian Richardson also available on Netflix.
Ran into a neighbor on the bus to work today, and she’d like to hire me to help her with her WordPress. We’ll see what happens… (^-^)
Zest Books Internship, Day #3: Worked on creating prom tips for Zest’s Tumblr as well as a mailing project. Getting to know everyone in the office better — everyone’s super easy to talk to. Took home a copy of Zoo Station to read.
Wow, I adore this new FX show The Americans! Amazing character development and really scary/exciting. Can’t wait for the next episode.
Zest Books Internship, Day #4: Continuing work on Tumblr! Sat at Ann’s desk today — she happens to have a David Bowie paper doll (with multiple outfits) taped to her computer, which brings me endless joy. Got to know fellow intern Olivia a bit better. Extremely excited to proofread/edit the back cover blurb for an upcoming book. Also got to share my opinion on some cover art!
Today’s constant companion: David Bowie!
Saturday, February 9th
Went to see Lewis Black with Wes and the folks! Stomach hurts from laughing so much!
Sunday, February 10th
Finally got to talk with my good friend from high school Tina! Talked on the phone for over 2 hours! (^-^;;)
Worked on TOP SECRET project.
Monday, February 11th
Went downtown today to pick up some more supplies from Britex for The Flea plush toy.
Did a little shopping in preparation for Cannes. A lot more shopping to do in the next few months.
Finished writing responses to Hannah’s questions. Just have to edit a bit and then send them to her.
Worked on TOP SECRET project.
Wednesday, February 13th
Zest Books Internship, Day #5: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Asked to do some brainstorming for book ideas. Ended up walking all the way home today since the bus skipped a lot.
A few days ago, e-mailed the Tate Gallery about information on their William Blake collection. Today, received response with good news. Will talk about this more in upcoming post.
Received e-mail from Hannah! She sent a draft of the article, and it looks really wonderful so far. Just have to answer a couple follow-up questions. \(^-^)/
Zest Books Internship, Day #6: More historical-themed image research and Tumblr. Also, talked about a potential book idea I came up with, and some of the staff seems interested! Next week, will be attending the Teen Advisory Board on Wednesday and a staff meeting on Thursday. Very excited!
Saturday, February 16th
Ordered a beautiful dress to wear at Cannes. I needed a maxi dress for pool parties, etc. and couldn’t find the right one in stores. So I browsed Etsy and found the talented Nicole Lebreux! Not only does Nicole have really fun designs, but also she was extremely helpful in answering my questions. So go ahead and check out her shop!
Went to see a simulcast of the new Met production of Verdi’s Rigoletto. The opera is usually set in the 16th century, but this production cleverly reimagines the story in 1960s Las Vegas. Wonderfully creative and engaging production with incredible singers! Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-zXLKd76fk.
Sunday, February 17th
Worked on some upcoming blog posts.
Date night with Wes!
Etcetera
The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
First Zine: about 6-8 pages of illustrated work in progress.
I can’t believe it’s already been two years since I saw VAMPS in New York City. I made so many great friends in line, and I still communicate with them via Facebook today! –G. E.
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Waiting for Hyde:
Curiosity Killed The Average New Yorker
It was 7 in the morning when a skinny, middle-aged woman in a tracksuit jogged up to us and asked “What are you guys waiting for?”
Carey, one of many fellow fans I had met for the first time that very morning, asked her friend Shannon to hand her the signs. After receiving the pile of lined paper from Shannon, Carey proceeded to display the first page to the skinny woman. In crude Sharpie marker, the sign read:
We are here for VAMPS.
After staring at the words for a moment with a confused expression on her face, the skinny woman responded by asking, “What is that?” Carey tucked the first page behind the others to reveal the second sign.
They are a Japanese rock group!
“VAMPS” is the popular side-project band of Japanese rock star Hyde. In Japan, “Hyde” has been a household name for over a decade.
Hyde’s major band, L’Arc~en~Ciel, keeps busy dishing out one hit single after another and playing Tokyo Dome (a venue with more than twice the capacity of Madison Square Garden) for the umpteenth time. This year, the band celebrates its 20th anniversary.
Hyde performing at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.
Although Hyde doesn’t sport fame in the United States equivalent to that of bands like Green Day per se, his fame among American Japanophiles is enough to earn VAMPS a spot in the 2009 Vans Warped Tour and a 2010 World Tour including four concerts across America.
On Saturday, October 9th, I attended VAMPS’s concert at The Roseland Ballroom in New York City.
After reading the second sign with an increasingly confused expression on her face, the skinny woman asked “How long have you all been here?” Carey revealed the third sign.
Yes, we’ve been here ALL DAY.
VAMPS fan Carey and her signs.
My friends thought me insane for heading over to the venue at 5 in the morning. But I knew better. By the time I got to Roseland, there was already a block filled with VAMPS fans standing in line for the 8 p.m. concert.
By “standing,” I mean fans huddled in blankets, sleeping sprawled out on the dog-piss-covered Manhattan sidewalk.
Chatting in line, I could tell that these fans were truly dedicated.
According to Josh (a friendly, chubby VAMPS fan dressed in a kangaroo costume for some unknown reason), some fans had been waiting in line since Wednesday.
Many had come in from Syracuse, Connecticut and the like. Some – such as die-hard fan Mayline – had flown all the way from faraway places – in Mayline’s case, Puerto Rico – just for the concert. Mayline had even lied about a death in the family just to get time off work.
The skinny woman, confused as ever, continued asking questions. And for every question, Carey had a pre-made sign with the corresponding answer. “7 in the morning, and Carey was already an expert at this,” I thought to myself. “Only 13 hours to go.”
Taxi drivers stopped at the light would shout out their windows at us. We would shout back and, once the light turned green, they would drive away still chuckling.
Tourists stood with their cameras snapping pictures of us. Fans in line would retaliate with their own cameras. Upon seeing cameras flashing in their direction, the tourists would flee.
Theater-goers would ask us, “Is this the line for Jersey Boys?” or “Is this the line for Promises, Promises?” They would leave moping about how young people don’t appreciate Broadway anymore.
Sometime during the afternoon, the VAMPS American tour manager came around and handed out flyers with Hyde’s face on them. We figured the flyers would make our lives easier, a visual tool to show curious passersby.
VAMPS World Tour official flyer.
Unfortunately, the flyer just seemed to confuse people more.
Around 5 p.m. and about the gazillionth curious passerby, VAMPS fans in line started getting fed up with all the questions. Down the line, we started hearing people walking past, complaining, “Why didn’t anyone tell me there was a Justin Bieber concert today?”
By that time, the VAMPS line must have already reached the Letterman Show a few blocks up. I can only imagine the kind of hell that part of the line was getting. “What, you’re not here for Letterman? What’s wrong with you?”
After all her questions were answered, the skinny woman seemed disappointed. As she jogged away, she sighed, “Okay then, enjoy yourselves.” She didn’t even stop to read Carey’s last sign:
Thank you for your time!
Perhaps the skinny woman would have been less disappointed if Carey’s first sign had read “Bette Midler.”
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2012: L’Arc~en~Ciel went on to become the first Japanese band to headline Madison Square Garden. The “WORLD TOUR 2012 LIVE at Madison Square Garden” concert DVD will be released December 26th.
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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
Over the course of researching and writing my first full-length screenplay entitled Who is Laurence Harvey? (about the forgotten international film star Laurence Harvey [1928 - 1973]), I developed a bit of a hobby.
“What hobby?” you ask.
Collecting every single last image of Laurence Harvey I can find on the internet, that’s what!!
I currently have over 450 images saved in my Laurence Harvey folder.
Here, I thought I’d share some of my favorite images. These are the images that I hope will one day influence the production/design of this film.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these images!!
(Click on images to enlarge.)
Autographed photo of Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey as Romeo (1954)
Laurence Harvey in “Room at the Top” (1959)
Laurence Harvey in “The Alamo” (1960)
Laurence Harvey and Elizabeth Taylor in “BUtterfield 8″ (1960)
Laurence Harvey in “The Long and The Short and The Tall” (1961)
Laurence Harvey at home.
Laurence Harvey in “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962)
Laurence Harvey and France Nuyen in “A Girl Named Tamiko” (1962)
Laurence Harvey and Sarah Miles in “The Ceremony” (1963)
Laurence Harvey in “Life at the Top” (1965)
Laurence Harvey at the Oscars.
Laurence Harvey and Elizabeth Taylor on the set of “Night Watch” (1973)
For more information about Who is Laurence Harvey?, check out this post. Or visit my homepage.
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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
