Devil in the White City - pictures

As promised, here are some pictures from the shoot.


(Perfectly creepy!)


Don't I make a lovely hooker? (obviously you won't see the hater fountain in the film... it's amazing what the right angle of a camera does)

A fellow whore.

Look at that lovely 19th century hair!

The train station scene. Luckily the Museum of Science and Industry has a real train on display. We shot this after the museum had closed.

And that's a wrap (for now)

So everything went great on the H.H. Holmes film. I'm exhausted now after two really long days. (I also realize even more how much I hate working at a desk.) The producers really liked me and said they'd try to keep me busy in the future. Having never done 1800's hair styles, I was really proud of the work I did. I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

Tuesday I did styling for a pretty big cast and then did the typical production work of sitting and waiting to do another style or powder another nose. It's weird how exhausting that can be.

Wednesday I didn't stop at all. The cast was about twice the size, 16-20 plus people and if I wasn't doing hair, I was in a scene. Who knows how much you'll actually see me in the final production, but there's a decent chance you'll see me a couple times. One scene was in the actual brothel, another where I was flirting and practically making out with a "gentleman" on the street in the background of another scene. In the third, I was just a regular, upper class woman just walking around shopping in Chicago.

Though it won't be done until August, you can already tell it's going to be really cool. Everything was done as authentic to the time period as possible. It was a lot of fun, I ate too many cookies, made great connections, some good tips on how to get work with other production companies and get to do it all again in June!

Thanks for all the good words and support!

Mo

I'm such a whore

Update on the National Geographic film, "Murder and Madness in the White City..."

I'm being cast as one of the women in the brothel! I'm so excited. It was seriously the part I was hoping to play.
It just means I have to get up extra early on Wednesday to do my own hair for the shoot. Oh well, who needs sleep? Not this 'woman of the night'.


We also had our first rehearsal with CCC. It went really well. I was impressed, for a group of at least 20, there really wasn't a stinker in there. I think it's going to be fun, talented company to be a part of.

-Mo

I Got More Gigs Than Quagmire

Things are really moving in the hair and makeup world. This weekend I was part of the crew for a film contest called the 48hr Film Project. It's nice to finally see connections pay off. I had submitted for the gig through craigslist. Before I even met up with the producer to show her my portfolio, I had the job. Turns out I did the styling for the co-producer's headshots. She gave me such great reviews that I got the job immediately. With this project, teams of filmmakers come together and literally have 48 hours to complete a 5 minute film. They are given a phrase, genre and character and have to write, shoot and edit the entire thing in 2 days. Needless to say it was a bit chaotic. Still, it was a blast, very professional and I met some great people. The producer has done work for the Discovery channel as well as stuff for Nascar, independent films and even films for Second City. Her husband, the director, also has some legit work under his belt. I was very fortunate because they loved me and have promised to bring me in for other more lucrative projects in the future. So, if you're in Chicago tomorrow, there will be a screening of “Brown Dwarf Spectral Features in the Near Infrared" (ArsonPlus Entertainment, Jaque Archer-producer) at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema. Yeah weird title... yeah, weird film.

I got word back on "Murder Madness in the White City," the Bill Kurtis Production and National Geographic documentary about the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and America's First Serial Killer H.H. Holmes. I'm being hired as the hair and makeup stylist for the shoot! They've guaranteed 3, possibly 5 days of work and finally I get paid! Plus they're still going to let me act in it as long as there's time after I finish the rest of the casts' makeup. If it's anything like the music video or recent film I did, there will be plenty of time since it's mostly about sitting around and waiting. I'm so excited I could pee! Hopefully this leads to more. Not more peeing, more stylist and acting jobs.

Things are going so well, that I'm officially starting to look for part time jobs to help subsidize. I definately can't do all these gigs plus keep a full time job.

Giggity, giggity!

- Mo

Happy Birthday Corey!!!

36 Years ago a wonderful human being was born. Happy Birthday Corey... you silly, silly man.

Wanna know what sucks?

Riding your bike to a show at 8:30pm and not realizing how cold it is until you're a quarter of the way there and it's too late to turn back. Did you know it takes longer to ride going against the wind? It's also hard to brake when your hands are frozen.

Want to know what sucks more?
Riding home at 10:30pm in the pouring rain. We both got stuck in this situation riding home from different places last night. Each pedal rotation becoming increasingly harder as our jeans were weighed down by cold, cold rain. It's also not so easy to see when rain is dripping from your helmet and splashing up from your wheel. We walked in the door like wet dogs. Wet dogs that needed a nice cup of hot chocolate to make it all better.

Success!

This weekend was productive and (finally) sucessful.

I spent Saturday styling and attending a friends wedding - lots of fun! The wedding was in Hammond, IN about an hour away from us, so we just stayed in a hotel out there. Corey and my friend's boyfriend enjoyed pointing out who was from the city and who was a local to Indiana... trust me, it was easy to tell.

We came home Sunday morning and needed to rush back out for a couple of auditions, later to get back home for a bridal trial. The plan was just to take the train, but it was so gorgeous out that we quickly aired up the tires in our bikes and enjoyed riding to the auditions and then a late lunch. It was so nice, plus great exercise though my ass is bruised today. I think I need a new seat.

Best part of the day besides finally enjoying some fresh air and decent weather? We got cast from one of the auditions! Corey and I are now both a part of the Chicago Comedy Company. It's a short form improv company actually located in Schaumburg. I wouldn't normally want to drive to the suburbs for regular shows, but the theater is under new ownership. It's now run by Lillie Frances. She brings some serious cred to the place, she's been a regular name in the improv world for quite some time, having taught and improvised at iO, Second City and throughout Chicago. Besides being some regular stage time with CCC, it actually pays... what? Crazy, I know. Plus, there will be corporate workshops etc. Hopefully with Lillie's connections and talent this will be a success.

Now it's Monday, I'm back to work and my insides are crawling. I hate working for someone, I hate working for here. I just want to be back outside on my bike.

- Mo

Pimpin'

I know Pete's going to give me a hard time if I don't post something soon, soooo...
Here's what's up: Things are hectic as always. Lots of auditions coming up... I hate saying that because I'm afraid it'll jinx it, but oh well. I'll just leave it at that and not risk anything by saying who the auditions are for.

I'm also currently doing a 4 week run with an improv group called Statim at the Playground Theater. Good ol' improv, only with an electric bass and a snare drum. Pretty fun actually.

A couple other new opportunities came up for me. One is a potential teaching gig. Basically I would do a seminar of sorts for new young models and actors. I'd give hair and makeup tips. It's for a company that produces model and acting magazines, so it could lead to some great connections. I wouldn't be able to quit my job or anything, it's just a summer gig - twice a month, but still could be really cool.
I've also been asked to do some extra work in a National Geographic show, produced by Bill Curtis' production company. I'm pretty excited about that one. It doesn't pay much and I'd have to miss work because of the daytime shooting schedule, but who cares? It would be awesome! My goal is to seek out Bill Curtis and get him to say funny stuff, because he has the best voice. I'll find out more details today, but hopefully they also need a hair and makeup person...I'm always pimping!

I'm also working on a few different writing projects, some my own, others with Corey and other friends. More details of those will come up soon. Maybe that's why my blog isn't the most intellectually stimulating piece of literature. All my brain power is going elsewhere... sorry.

- Mo

So Mo did her update, I'll put mine here, too. I'm currently in rehearsals for a couple of improv shows I was cast in through a group called Theater Momentum. One show is called "Moniker" and it explores how one person's life is affected by the nicknames they are given. We're still working out the form, but it's coming along. It's looking like we'll be getting 2 different nicknames for the same person and playing out their life in parallel universes and seeing how the different nicknames color the same world otherwise. Interesting idea. Fun cast, too. It's a nice mix of experienced and new improvisers. There's enough experience to keep the things moving along, but enough fresh attitudes to remind you that this shit is fun when you let it.

The other show is called "Missed Connections", and I may have touched on this in an earlier post, but the show explores the people behind those "Missed Connections" postings on places like craigslist.org and such. It's a great concept, as those "ads" range from hilarious to absurd to sad and depressing to adorable to desperate to pathetic. It's very character and emotion driven and the cast for this show is fantastic, too. I'm really looking forward to these shows. They'll be running on Wednesday nights from June 6 to August 1, with no show on July 4. I'll be sure to post more when it gets closer to opening.

Other that that, a few auditions here and there, and doing some writing projects with some friends. Both Mo and I are looking to expand our writing skills and are looking towards maybe taking some classes to that end, too. We shall see. I just want the weather to get nicer so I can start riding my bike to rehearsals again. Seriously? It's late April and it's still coat weather? This is ridic. Come on already.

- Corey

The Stuntman

We spent this weekend in Rock Island at the annual Gilda's Club benefit at ComedySportz. As usual, Pete and Josh met up with us (missed you Nikki).
The shows, the food and the company were all great as usual. Pretty much what we've come to expect in Rock Island. What we didn't expect was that we'd encounter "THE STUNTMAN."

Friday night started out normally. Great show, then had some dinner at the Blue Cat and then met some up with some folks for beers and trivia. The four of us then decided to finish the night with some drinks at the bar across the street from our hotel. It's a great dive bar with super cheap beers and complimentary peanuts where you can throw the shells on the floor. (I know, that's nothing special, but I enjoy it). Josh was at the jukebox picking out some songs, when some guy befriended him. He was just some happy-go-lucky drunk, about our age and though Josh tried to politely ignore him, the guy wouldn't leave him alone.

At one point he yells across the room for Josh to come sing with him. Apparently, this dude has selected the most beautiful song in the world on the jukebox and it was imperative that he have Josh join him. Well, none of us knew the song, but I'll tell you, songs about whores really are beautiful.

A short time later, we thought the guy had forgotten about us, but Josh's hold on him apparently couldn't be shaken. The guy brought us a pitcher of beer. OK, that was very nice and drunk of him. And we continued with our conversation.
We were interrupted yet again when he came over with a salt shaker, a shot of tequila and a lime.
"Have you guys ever seen The Stuntman?" He then proceeds to pour out some salt onto the table and line it up with a credit card. He then snorts the salt with a rolled up dollar bill, drinks the shot and then... wait for it... squeezes the lime in his eye. IN HIS EYE!!!!

We were all stunned. What was wrong with this idiot? "I've done this 57 times now!" We're still not sure if he's done the stuntman 57 times or stupid stunts like this 57 times.

Next he tells me not to worry because he had a glass eye. I didn't believe him, so he pried open his lid and showed me his eyeball, which of course was not glass. "You're a 36C aren't ya?" He proudly proclaimed that he didn't really have a glass eye, but wanted an excuse to check out my boobs. I wanted to be offended, but just burst out laughing. It takes a lot of balls to do that to a girl who's surrounded by three guys.

And then he bought us another pitcher. You're the man, drunk guy. The STUNT-man, that is. Thanks for the memories.

And the Madrid good luck continues

That's right folks, the trend of the Madrid's being lotto winners has continued (see earlier post). I'm not even joking!!!!! Given that two members of my family on separate occassions had won the lottery (one for $50,000, one for $1 Million) we figured we needed to buy a ticket too.
So this weekend we bought our first lottery tickets ever (well I bought it because it's the Madrids that are lucky, not necessarily the Rittmasters) - three of them spending a total of $3. We had no clue what we were doing, but eventually figured it out. And boy did it pay off. Checked our winnings last night and... We won, we won, we won!!!!
Our total? Get ready for this..... $3.

Whoo Hoo!

Don't worry. I won't let this change me. I'm still the same Monique I've always been and though Corey has a few splurges planned, he will still be the down to earth guy we all know and love.

I'm in a movie! Take that Corey

Corey's not the only one that's in cool videos. Actually, he's in this movie too a little, but you know how editing goes.
Anyways...

From the guys that brought you, "In the Sheets" our friends Nick, Dan and Chris entered yet another Vidiocy. Vidiocy is an iO competition in which you draw the title of your movie and have only 31 days to complete a 10 minute or less video
I'm a constantly impressed by the work these guys do, not just with compelling stories, but quality work of their movies. We were thrilled to help out by being extras in their latest project which took 2nd place!

Fashion Sense

To see all of their movies, click here

I Want My MTV

Check this out. Here's the video for the Blackpool Lights song "Empty Tank" that I appear in and Mo did the hair and makeup for. It's bad to end sentences with prepositions, I know, but there's no time to sweat that when you're rocking out!

- Corey

Festival Wrap-up

Well the big Der Monkenpickle reunion has come and gone. And it ranks up there as one of my top-5 weekends of all-time. Just so much fun to hang with hilarious and talented old friends, get to schmooze with other really talented and hilarious people, and put on crazy fun shows for frenzied crowds. It's hard to top that. Some highlights of the weekend, in no particular order:

- the scene from Friday night's show that began with an awesomely staged golf cart chase and culminated with the four of us hovering over a dude in the front row.
- the BBQ Tour: Thursday night at Gates, Friday night at Bryant's, Saturday night at Oklahoma Joe's. I think my heart just stopped.
- Jeremy's new nickname "Old Bullets"
- the song Jason improvised at Bar Natasha
- Ed ending the entire festival on a cartoon-esque take to the crowd
- the classroom scene in Saturday night's show where we threw in a bunch of references to an old sketch from back in the day.

There are more, but I have to stop or this post will just be one long string of bullet points. Overall I just had so much fun, and I was amazed by how easily the four of us fell back into that comfort level of performing with each other, especially since it had been so long since we'd been on stage together. I'm really grateful to the KCIF committee for coordinating this reunion. It was 99% perfect. The only way it could have been better was if Eric could have been there, too, but I can't blame him. The opportunity to go to Asia and perform with Cirque is obviously more important, so I can't blame him. If he had been able to make it, both Jason and I had the idea that we would perform one of our old sketches to close out our sets. Ironically, we were both thinking of the same sketch. But it just didn't feel right to do that without Eric.

Regardless, it was just so much fun to hang out, joke around, giving each other a hard time, and just geniunely enjoying spending time with some old friends. I feel truly proud to have been a part of this group and really lucky to get to recapture a small taste of the old glory days. I'll try and post pictures later.

I need a nap.

- Corey

*** UPDATE *** - There are a ton of photos from the festival which can be found online here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/professorchrisgo/sets/72157600028955117/

All photos were all taken by Chris, the official festival photojournalist. There are pictures from both the local acts weekends as well as the national acts weekend. Great stuff here by Chris

Good News, Bad News

Good News -
* Corey actually got cast in two of the shows he auditioned for! Life is about to get hectic again with rehearsals.

* I've got an interview with a talent agent tomorrow(they were looking for Hispanic people) and an audition for Woman's singing showcase tonight. Cross your fingers for me!

* My name is getting spread around The Knot to brides who want their hair and makeup done for their weddings. I've already booked two through there and have another two or three quotes out there. Cha Ching!

* We're going home for the KC Improv Festival and this weekend should be a blast!

* Apparently Madrids get lucky. I just found out my Grandfather's sister won $50,000 in the New Mexico lottery in November and then his other brother just won 1 Million dollars in the California lottery! I'm gonna buy my ticket tonight.

Bad News -
* I auditioned for the same shows that Corey did. I got nothing.

* Now Corey has to admit I'm Hispanic. If I get the vocal showcase, he'll also have to admit I'm a woman.

* I'm getting booked with big wedding parties and need an assistant. Corey is not willing to learn how to curl hair.

* Going back to KC means having to deal with the likes of the DuPonts.

* We didn't have the foresight to invite my new millionaire relatives to our wedding.

Fun Stuff

OK, so this post is long overdue. We've been busy, so sue us. In the interest of getting this posted quicker, I'll be using the time-honored tradition of bullet points! Here we go, in no real particular order:

- We went to the KU game. Me, Monique and my cousin Anne went to the Jayhawks second round game at the United Center. Anne and I were able to get some sweet, below-face-value tickets from a dude outside the arena last Friday night so we all saw the Kentucky game in person on Sunday! It was a ton of fun. There was a nice big KU contingent in attendence, and doing the "Rock Chalk" chant at the end was pretty sweet. We had a great time at the game. KU played fantastic. In fact, the only complaint that Mo and Anne had were that the KU cheerleaders were pretty lame compared to the Kentucky cheerleaders. What was I thinking? Taking girls to a basketball game. My bad. Fun True Fact: This was the first time Anne had ever seen KU play live! Fun False Fact: Monique scored 4 points and had 1 assist in 3 minutes of mop-up time.

- We have blinds. Mo's dad was in town and we were able to take advantage of his expertise. Now, we are like actual adults and have windows with actual blinds purchased from an actual Home Depot. Fun True Fact: We used to have towels covering the windows. Fun False Fact: Spongebob towels.

- I have been cast in a show. I auditioned for a group called Theater Momentum. They're casting for 3 improvised showcases that will be happening this summer. It was a unified audition for all three directors and I was actually called back for 2 of the shows. The initial audition was Tuesday. Callbacks for a show titled "Missed Connections" was Wednesday and callbacks for "Moniker" were Thursday. While I was in the callback for "Moniker" I got a message on my cell phone offering me the part in "Missed Connections". So that's cool. I'm not entirely sure what the show will be like, other than it explores those Missed Connections type postings on craigslist and such. Rehearsals start next week and the show runs for 8 weeks starting in June. I'll keep you posted when I know more. I'm still waiting to hear about callbacks on the 3rd showcase, so we'll see.
Fun True Fact: The director of "Missed Connections" is named Cholley. Fun False Fact: Even though the show is entirely improvised, it has a script written by John Malkovich.

OK, that's all I got for now. KC Improv Festival is coming up next week. I'm looking forward to that. KU is now in the Elite 8. We play UCLA on Saturday at 6pm CT. Don't nobody call during that.

- Corey

Update: It's so Upgreat, so don't Uphate

So here's the latest happenings: Corey just got back from a quick trip to KC to do a little Jew-prov over the weekend. For me, Saturday was jam packed with hair clients. I didn't realize that don't have the stamina I used to for standing all day long without breaks. I'm sure I'll build it up again, but it's not fun after a full week of also working at the first job. On the plus side, I did got to spend Saturday evening with Dan Walsh. He was in town for work, so we were able to meet up for dinner. It just reminds me what good friends we have back in KC. I miss you all and I wish we could just move you all here.

I picked Corey up from the airport at 11:30pm Sunday and poor thing just hasn't had a chance for a full night's sleep since. And it's not even what you think. First the late flight in from KC, then last night Blackpool Lights arrived in town again. There are 5 boys sleeping in our little condo right now. Tonight they play a concert here in town opening up for the Ataris. They'll stay with us again this evening and then head out early tomorrow (Wednesday)morning.

After that we have a quick turn around to get the house in order for my dad and company to come in from KC fom Thursday to Sunday. And do I need to mention that its tournament time? The March Madness has hit Corey in a big way as usual and besides the multiple bracket pools he's participating in, it looks like on Sunday he and his cousin Anne (also a KU alum) will be going to the Jayhawks second round tournament game being played here in Chicago. I'd like to go, too, but will probably have to work, so we'll see.

All this, then we go back to KC at the end of March for the KC Improv Festival (see the big orange button on the right of the page). Apparently, we won't get to stop and catch our breath until April. As tired as we are, I'm mostly okay with that as long as the weather stays nice. The last 3 days have been gorgeous. It put me in such a good mood yesterday that all I could think about all day was going for a walk in the evening. Unfortunately I was hit with a migraine and spent the evening with a tie around my head under a blanket. I'm doing much better now, but I still owe myself a walk.

- Mo

Inconvenient truths

Corey and I have learned a few things about ourselves that aren't necessarily good. Still, it is what it is and we must accept these truths and adapt to them.

Mo - I am apparently 5 years old. Over the last month, I have literally lost one of the gloves from four, yes four sets. Clearly the only way to handle this truth is to buy some yarn and connect the pair of gloves together so that they don't get lost. Once I'm out of the cold safely with both gloves, I will take a big safety pin and attach it to my coat. I am now down to my last pair of thin, oversized set. With spring just around the corner it's pointless to buy new ones, so I will freeze for a few more weeks, but that's the consequences for being careless. That and a time out in the corner.

I've also recently accepted that I am a walking magnet for shit to happen. Yes, I know Corey's the one that fell recently, but somehow that was the universe being altered for that one day. That regular role belongs to me. Yesterday I was waiting for the train to come. I was leaning against a wall at the Belmont el stop and as I got up I hear the distinct sound of leather peeling off of wet paint. It's not like I leaned up against a pole or there were signs up. There was literally one small space, inside an empty frame that probably used to hold a poster or ad. Somehow I found this small area and plastered my back right against it. Ruined my good coat. I was of course upset and apparently distracted because when I got off the train, just a couple stops later, I left my hat on the El. What is going on? Oh yeah, I'm 5 and not old enough to handle the responsibilites of owning winter gear.

Corey - He is apparently blind oh and a little retarded. It's a cliche really. Most wives would tell you that their husbands aren't good at looking for stuff.

"Where's the aspirin?"

"In the cabinet on the left side."

"No it's not..."

and the wife gets up from what ever she was busy doing to go to the cabinet and get the aspirin from the left side, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE. Well, Corey took this to a new level today.
I usually wake up right as he's leaving for work. This morning I woke up to him frantically cussing and looking all around the bedroom. He couldn't find his wallet. I woke up and we continued to tear the house apart, checked his pockets on the clothes he was wearing the night before, looked in his coat and even checked weird places like the fridge, just in case he accidentally put it in there ala a Cosby Show episode (remember when Vanessa left her report in the freezer? Anyone? No? Well, it was a good episode, trust me). The last he remembered having it was at the grocery store the night before, from there he came straight home. We called the store and no one had turned it in. At this point, he was starting to get nauseous. He's also going to be late for work. I'd pretty much given up on getting to work on time myself. So, we headed outside because we figured the only place it could be was in between the car and the house or the store and the car. Of course it snowed again last night, so we swept our feet across the sidewalk, pretty much shoveling the sidewalk looking for this thing. Then we drove to the store, because even though when we called they hadn't seen it, we thought we'd take a look ourselves. At this point Corey was at a "level 5 1/2" on a scale of 1-10 of "i'm going to vomit." We got out of the car and walk up to the front door and suddenly Corey stops. With his hands casually placed in his coat pocket, I see the look on his face and all he does is turn around 180 degrees. "It's in your pocket, isn't it?" And of course it was. All along, it was in his pocket, where he had "looked" several times.

I guess I shouldn't give him a hard time. It's hard having a disabililty and clearly the only way to handle this truth is to get a seeing eye dog or like me, safety pin his wallet to his coat. As a supportive wife I need to encourage him to reach for the stars and that even with his special needs he can be anything he wants, just not on time for work.

- Mo

My first time

First and foremost, Corey's coccyx is feeling much better. Thanks for all your well wishes. It's still bothering him if he sits for a long period of time, but overall he's OK. Of course he couldn't be totally pain free as he went and turned his ankle playing basketball on Saturday. My gimpy husband, with his irritated coccyx limping around on his swollen foot, lovely. Usually I'm the clutzy one.

Anyways...
Last week was super busy with fun, new experiences. I talk about these not to be boastful, but rather because I'm excited about them, since they were a blast and thank God something finally hit.

Chicago is great, and I have so many opportunities here, but along with opportunity comes competition. When it comes to acting, you have to get used to the rejection. You can go on 10 auditions, feel that they all went great (in a perfect world - this never happens in reality, of course) and only get cast for 1 thing, if any. I understand it, I'm prepared for it, but sometimes it can get a little daunting to continue to strive for something that just isn't happening.
Finally, last week I made some progress. Surprisingly, a bunch of stuff all at once. I already told you about the rock album and the music video (more on that next week) for my styling business. Last week I also booked some really cool acting gigs.

First I shot a commercial for HumanaOne Insurance. I'm still unclear if it was a step-commercial, something for them to use internally, or an actual national or local spot, but either way, it was my first. Oh yeah, no more pink hair, had to cover it up. Damn! I only got to keep it for 8 days.

There was no script, basically I was just given a character breakdown. I played a woman in her early 30's (WTF?) looking for independent health insurance. I went in and just talked to the director on camera. Since there was no official script, they asked us (there were a lot of people of various ages and with different storylines and character needs) to talk about our situations. Why did we need insurance, why were we hesitant, etc. I had a chance to watch a couple people before me, so when it came to my turn I was ready. The shoot went perfectly. They LOVED me. Again, not bragging, but man with all the rejection from auditions lately, I just needed something to go well, for my own self-esteem more than anything. Sometimes you just feel it and you know you're "on". I was making them laugh off camera, they loved my character and how I looked on camera. I looked at the whole thing as a way to make contacts for acting AND for styling. I was even hitting it off with the lighting guy who's done a lot of feature work. Everyone on that set ended up with my card in their hand. The director even hinted at actually working with me again as a stylist since he didn't have many hair and makeup contacts, not just losing my card after I left.

Funniest part of that shoot was when this older fellow shooting before me was asked to talk about how he wanted good quality insurance, and wasn't looking for a bargain because he's used to high end things, and that he prefers "top shelf" items. I understand that he was trying to go with the flow and use his own words, but the poor guy clearly wasn't comfortable improvising as he ended up saying, "I worked my way up.... I want a steak, not a hamburger and that's why I need health insurance." It was hilarious, David (the lighting guy) and I did our best not to laugh at loud because it sounded like this guy needed insurance because he eats steak. Who knows when I'll get another on film gig like this again, but I'm feeling much better and it'll at least tie me over for a couple more months.

Then on Friday, I woke up at 5:00am to be a on-air character for a "major" Midwest radio show (Another first!). Supposedly, rather than have the actual listeners who write the shock jock crazy emails call in themselves, they hire actors to portray these listeners and of course embellish and trash them up. I had to be on the phone from 5:00am - 10:00am ready to talk at any point. I played a dancer turned prostitute who wanted to give her daughter away to the host or a listener for a few years so she could clean up her life. Really it was some of the most sophisticated work I've ever done. It was crazy, but a lot of fun, I'd probably do it again if given the chance. Of course being a fast paced radio show, I was only on for a couple minutes throughout the whole time. I even got to talk to Ron Jeremy since he was in the studio. The downside besides being up at 5:00am was this: You know how a morning talk radio show is loud with crazy sounds going off and it's repetitive and very ADD? The main reason is of course because people only listen for a short amount of time, usually in their car and the producers want to get as much in as possible. Well imagine listening to that, intently, phone against your ear, actually paying attention because they could say "your name" at any minute.... FOR 5 HOURS! By the time it was done, I was jittery from all the caffeine and my brain felt like it had been scrambled. This probably isn't going to lead to anything big, but it's nice on the resume, and was fun. Besides how else would I have talked to Ron Jeremy. OK, besides the times he's hanging out at our house...I'm talking in a non-professional way people, geez.

-Mo

My Coccyx

My coccyx is killing me.

Wait a second, I should explain. I like to slide. We have hardwood floors and a long hallway and frankly, I like to slide. Don't judge me, you would to if you lived here. While wearing socks, you build up some speed and you just slide. It's fun. Except when your feet go out from under you and you bite it. And you hurt your coccyx.

That's what I did last night. To someone just watching (Monique), I'm sure it was hilarious (she laughed SO hard). For me, well let's just say I have to do a little shifting in my seat at work these days.

I'll be fine, I'm not sitting on one of those donut cushions and I didn't have to go to the emergency room. I can't imagine how they x-ray your coccyx, but that's beside the point. My pride was hurt a little, but overall this truly has been a pain in the ass.

- Corey

Word to the wise...

If you're watching porn, make sure the volume isn't up too loud.

CNN: Sword seized after man mistakes porn for rape

Story Highlights• James Van Iveren says he feels "stupid" after breaking into neighbor's apartment
• Neighbor says Van Iveren held him at sword-point, demanding proof he was alone
• Neighbor says he played part of the pornographic movie for police
• Van Iveren charged with criminal trespass, criminal damage, disorderly conduct

Full story



At least the guys intentions were good. I personally am not a porn watcher, but I thought it was mostly "ooohs, ohhhs" and "yes! yes! yes!" Sounds like the neighbor was watching something pretty violent. I guess to each his own, but was the porn of a woman being raped? Craziness.
It's like this whole story is one gigantic porno. Guy hears someone being raped upstairs, comes to the rescue, whips out his big sword, the police arrive and they all watch the pornographic movie together and.... well you can imagine where this goes. I'm sure at some point a dude stopped in to fix the copy machine, and another showed up to deliver a pizza.

For Those About To Rock

While Corey was visiting many of you in KC, a great opportunity for my hair biz came my way. For the first time, I got to be the stylist for an album cover! The gig was with Aemmp Records. It's the Columbia College run record label. The artist is Amanda Sena. Look her up on myspace or through the link on Aemmp's site.

With it being a not-for-profit company, this obviously wasn't a huge paying deal. However, I was able to make some great connections of people that are working towards being in the industry. I really clicked with everyone, the President of Aemmp, the Artistic Director, the photographer and the artist were all anxious to get my card for future jobs and personal styling. Even the chick who's studio we used is talking about using me for color work later. I went out of my way to look a little rockstar edgy for the shoot so that I'd make an impression on them. Pete, you'll be happy to know my hair has pink streaks through it now.
From what I gather, the label is run by students, but the talent can come from anywhere. My hope is that as they graduate (most of them were seniors) and move on to bigger and better things, they'll keep me in mind for future work. Amanda has apparently performed in many festivals around the country and opened for acts like Jessica Simpson and Alanis Morissette. Hopefully this will mean more connections for me. That or if Amanda makes it big someday maybe she'll hire me again - this time for more $. Who knows, maybe she'll need a back up singer!

Not only will I be listed in the liner notes, but I'll also get to use the pictures for promotional use. I'd love to get to do other album covers and even jump into styling for fashion shoots. This is a great start or at least a good resume builder. The photographer said he'll definately get ahold of me again. He's really going to be focusing on the fashion industry and has good connections in the biz, but doesn't have a lot of stylist connections. Cha Ching! I'll post some of the album pictures when I get them.

Next up... hair and makeup for a music video. What's that you say Mo?
That's right, I get to be the stylist for the new Blackpool Lights video. The same one where Corey will be the only non band member appearing in it! I'll tell you all about it after we shoot in the beginning of March. It's going to be a blast!

-Mo

When Comedians Attack

OK, this is some crazy comedy stuff. Check out this video of Carlos Mencia being called out as a joke stealer by Joe Rogan. If you haven't seen it, it's awesome. Warning, the video is kind of long and there is language that is not safe for work.



I've never thought Mencia was that funny to begin with, and this just tops it all for me. You can read more about the whole sitch on Joe Rogan's website: www.joerogan.net. The backlash that Rogan is no longer welcome at the Comedy Store and was then dropped by his agent is unreal.

The New Office

My company moved to a new office this week. It's only 3-4 block from our old place, but that means it's 3-4 blocks closer to the El. That 1/2 a block walk from the train has really been nice in this crappy weather.
So far the place is great. My only complaint is that there's quite a bit of distance between me and the rest of the Marketing team. Since I work for both Sales and Marketing, they have me near the Sales side, even though most of that team is never around. So I'm against the wall, under a vent which creates nice white background noice that drowns out everyone around me and basically I feel like I'm on my own over here. The good part of that (besides not having to hear two girls I used to sit near call each other "pookie" and "punkin" while making their thinly-veiled racist comments, complaining that their boyfriends haven't proposed yet and obnoxiously only do what the other does, as if this were high school) is the privacy and having a wall behind me, making it easier to post blogs like this. The bad part is that it's only adding to the feelings of being lost in the department, which equals not being given more responsibilities, which means not being promotable. I really don't care about climbing the corporate ladder, but I don't want to stay in this salary range forever or in this boredom range forever. In this company, if you don't move up, you don't get paid much more.

So, needless to say, I've talked to some people around here and hopefully some changes will come soon. In the meantime, I'm keeping my eyes and ears out for other opportunities. Apparently my position pays quite a bit more in other companies. It may not be worth leaving until the summer when I'm fully vested in their matching 401K, but that's part of what I'll weigh when the time comes.

In the mean time, not be given more responsibilities means I can spend at least a portion of my day surfing for auditions and styling opportunities. I'd like to use some of my down time to write, but I have total writer's block. I don't even know where to start. Corey and I have talked about writing a show together, but it's hard to stay motivated without a deadline or even specific idea. It's also hard to stay motivated in the house. We never convince ourselves to just stop and write or improvise when it's the two of us at home and the dishes need to be done or the bills need to be paid. There are too many distractions, we definately need a neutral place to work.

We're considering going through the Second City Writing Program. It'd be a significant cost, but could be worth it. Then again, it could be "the man" just trying to bleed us dry with promises, but nothing more than writing assignments? Is it worth the money? We've talked to a couple people, some who really enjoyed it, others who think it's a waste of time and an excuse not to motivate yourself when the creativity and talent is already there. Hmm, I don't know. Feel free to chime in if you have any experience in this area.

-Mo

A Winter Poem

I received the following email today from my mother:

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you.
It was to me and it's very well written. Enjoy!

"WINTER"

A poem by Abigail Elizabeth McIntyre

SHIT!

It's cold!

Have a wonderful day!

Mom

Achoo

Sorry we haven't posted in a while. Things have been somewhat busy these days. Both Monique and I have been a little under the weather. Nothing major, just typical colds, stuffiness and sneezing, that kind of thing. I didn't miss any work, though. God forbid. But not after the last conversation I had with my boss where she mentioned that taking two sick days a year was all that she felt was acceptable. Yes, you read that correctly. Two. A year. I know, right? Ever since that meeting, I've been keeping an eye out for other jobs. I'm specifically asking in any interviews if my direct supervisor will have a clue, and a grasp of reality. Nothing so far, but I'll keep you posted. Anyway, back to my point: we've been a little sick lately, and I made it a point of trying to sneeze around my boss as much as possible. I don't think she's as strong as I am, and I want so badly for her to have to call in sick. Twice.

So I'm doing better now, and I'm glad that I didn't have to take any sick time as I have to take a half day off tomorrow to go on some auditions. One for a commercial and one for a independent film thing that's really more of a pilot for a web-based sitcom, like on YouTube or something. I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, the project looks like it would be a lot of fun, and the character I'm reading for sounds really cool. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Monique's been doing a bunch of auditioning, too. And an eclectic collection of projects, too. An improv group, a musical and a Chekhov play. She's nothing if not diverse, though. Am I right? Who's with me? Show of hands?

And the busy times continue. At the end of this week I'm off to Kansas City for the first of my four trips between now and the end of March. Two are for Schticky Situation shows (Jewish improv), one wedding (Mo's friend Amy), and one KC Improv Festival (the Der Monkenpickle reunion). It's going to be hectic, but should be fun.

I'm watching the Grammys right now, and Queen Latifah and Al Gore just took the stage. Nothing says "finger on the pulse of the world of music" more than Al Gore. Obviously, he's there to present "Best Rock Album". And now that I've seen Al Gore hand a Grammy to Flea, I can die in peace. Complete side note, but when did Will Ferrel become the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Seriously, go do a Google image search of this guy. Here's a head start, his name is Chad Smith. I want this guy to either die in a tragic on-stage incident or accidentally cure AIDS or something, so Ferrell can play him in the movie. It's eerie.

OK, that's all for now. Monique says I don't post on our blog enough, but it's usually because I don't know what to write about. I am open to suggestions, though. Feel free to add a comment and I just might devote an entry to your ideas, suggestions, questions or queries.

- Corey

Super Monday

It is actually negative degrees here in Chicago. It is less than 0 degrees! WTF?! This is crazy, some forecastors say it's even as low as -9, the lowest temperatures in 11 years and that's before the wind chill factor. It definately feels like it as I am bundled up in long underwear, my heaviest sweater, earmuffs, multiple pairs of gloves and a quick hussle in my step to get me out of the cold as quick as possible. It's times like these that I miss Kansas City a little. It gets almost as cold, but the nice thing is you can run out to the car, warm it up and then hop in and stay out of the elements, you don't have to walk four blocks to the El or another four to your office. At least I don't have to scrape my windows before work.

It's not all bad this morning. At least we don't have to walk into an office of overly cheery Bears fans. As Corey says, if I have to be a miserable football fan, everyone else around me should be too. We watched the game last night at some friends' house. It was a nice mixture of people. No one being a ridiculous fanatic. Mostly just eating and laughing at the (none too impressive)commercials.

- Mo

OK, so Corey here now. I wanted to add this hilarious little story for your reading pleasure. So I get an IM from Mo this morning with a question. She's talking to her sister Briette, and Brie wants to know why the crowd was booing one of the Bears players every time he made a play or his name was announced. The player is Muhsin Muhammed, one of the Bears receivers. She was concerned that maybe he had done something bad in the offseason, or worse yet, it was some kind of anti-Muslim or anti-Arab sentiment because of his last name. I had to reassure her, that no, they weren't saying "booooo". His first name is pronounced "moos-een". They were actually saying "mooooooose", his nickname.

Another quick football note for my KC friends: the Chiefs will play at the Bears next season. Obviously I'm going. The date hasn't been announced yet, but I'll most likely define my life's schedule around it once I know. I'll keep you posted, but as soon as we know the exact date of this game, know that you're invited to come up to Chicago that weekend to join me. The more of us in red at Soldier Field the better.

- Corey

Final Cruise Thoughts 2

Besides the towel animals, there were various planned activities.
There was, of course, the formal nights. (Clearly the guy in the background of this picture wasn't enjoying it so much. Is he asleep?)


Especially during the 'at sea' days, there was all sorts of fun activities with which to fill your time. Of course laying out on the deck and catching some sun was always a popular choice. You could also go down the giant slide right on the lido deck or work out in the gym. Yeah right, work out. Hilarious! Never happened once.
For more planned activities you could go to an ice sculpting demo, gamble in the casino or play bingo. Corey even entered the blackjack tournament, but unfortunately we didn't have much luck.




He had more than luck in the sports trivia contest. He had mad skills as he won first place!


One of my favorite 'other activities' type of thing we did was just find a secluded spot on the deck and watch the waves crash into the ship. Out in the middle of the ocean, you really get it when they say that most of the world is covered by water. It's incredible to be surrounded by beautiful deep blue sea, with rainbows bouncing off the water. Sure it's a little cheesy, but honestly it was really cool. We even saw flying fish!

Like I said, this was probably the best vacation either of us have ever taken. It will definitely not be the last cruise we do. Hopefully in a couple years we'll plan our own big group vacation and you'll be invited.

Final Cruise Thoughts 1

Ok, last post about it and then we'll be back to normal life.

We've pretty much covered the basics of ours and any cruise - the ports and the food. The last part is sort of a catch-all.

Every night after dinner when we went back to our room, there were two things waiting for us. 1. The itinerary for the next day, whether it be port info or an "at sea" day and 2. A fun towel animal created by your room steward.
Finally! I got a dog. I will name him Gary.




I asked the room steward for multiple animals because I wanted to have a parade, but he never did. Still I got new ones almost every night!

Oops. Lost a head.





Don't club that seal, Corey!

The Islands: part 3

The last port was St. Maarten. Again, it was absolutely gorgeous. This time we did a lot more shopping from the locals.

We took another "cab" to the downtown district, stopping for pictures of the beautiful view. It's like a postcard!






The downtown area was really cool, there was a mixture of nice jewelry stores and the family-run businesses.










After a couple of hours we split from the group.





We wanted to parasail. Unlike the stingray excursion we'd booked through the cruise, we were told to buy this one ourselves right on the beach where it'd be a lot cheaper. The beach that all the natives recommended was Orient beach. The girls from the group decided not to come with us since St. Maarten is French and Dutch, and that European culture is well represented with nude beaches. Half of the Orient is a nude resort, the other half is topless optional and happens to be the best place to go parasailing. The group wasn't comfortable going there, but I wasn't missing out of this opportunity because of some naked old lady boobs.

As soon as we got there we went directly to the boat that would take us in the sky. It was AMAZING! I thought it was going to be an adrenaline rush, but no, it was the most calming, relaxed feeling ever. We even got to go together and went as high as 700 feet! At one point they brought us around the shore line and we looked down and saw the other 1/2 of the group we were hanging out with on the ship (apparently they didn't mind the topless part, either). I looked down and "wait, is that Debbie? hi!" They were quite surprised to see us too.



Okay - hilarious thing to add here. As we were looking through our pictures that night with the girls, I realized that Corey looks like he's parasailing with a baby. I look tiny! Like mini-me or something! I don't know if it's the angle of my legs combined with the fact that obviously I'm short, but we were cracking up looking at Corey and the midget.















We spent the remainder of the day swimming at Orient beach and soaking in the sun. Like their nakedness, again the smell of weed was pretty out in the open. One guy came over to us so I could look at the jewelry he was selling. He tells Corey, "I also have some peace pipes you can look at." Corey politely checked them out and the dude adds, "I also have some peace I can sell you." Smooth!

The Islands: part 2

After a day at sea, our next stop was St. Thomas. I had been excited about this port for a while because I was told it was the best place to get jewelry. What they didn't tell me was how gorgeous the island was going to be.







Before shopping we wanted to go to a beach. We took a "cab" which is really a bus with no doors to Coki beach. Though St. Thomas is American, they drive on the left side of the street - strange. They also drive really fast, even on the winding narrow turns along the mountainous island. It was a great way to see a lot of the island without paying for a guide, plus we got a roller coaster ride out of it!


In some ways, the beach itself was a typical beach, littered and overpriced food. The water however was nothing typical. You didn't really even need snorkel gear, you could see the fish right below you. This picture was not taken in a pool, the water was really that clear.

We didn't get to enjoy the fragrance of an exotic island as you might think instead we smelled reefer. As you could imagine, they were pretty out in the open about it.


After the beach we went shopping! There are just rows and rows of shops with fine jewelry. It was insane. Most of them were approved vendors by the cruise line. This meant they'd guarantee anything you bought. The fun part was haggling the price down. With everything being duty and tax free we got a great deal on my sapphire necklace. I had taken a jewelry seminar on the ship beforehand to make sure I knew what I was doing. Apparently the darker the stone, the better quality. My blue sapphire is almost black, so hopefully it'll appraise at a decent price. I don't have a great picture of it, but I wore it for the 2nd formal night on the ship. Man does it pop!

The Islands: part 1

One of the best parts about our trip was obviously the islands. We stopped in 3 ports: Nassau, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. They were all gorgeous, average temperature of 90 degrees and crystal clear waters.


1st up: Nassau, Bahamas -
After much debate, we decided to swim with stingrays as our first excursion. The girls we were hanging out with also came with us. Unfortunately our time in Nassau was short, so the excursion took up our whole time there and we didn't get to explore much of the island. That's okay though, we had a great time. We took a ferry boat to a little, and I mean little, island called Pearl Island. The view getting there was gorgeous. On the way, we saw the Atlantis hotel, one of Oprah's homes, as well as some other huge celebrity homes owned by the likes of Tiger Woods, Chuck Norris and Barry Bonds right off the water. Once there, we started by snorkeling. Corey had never gone before and really enjoyed it. The waters were a little choppy, but once we learned to relax and go with the flow, we saw a lot of cool fish.

Then we moved to the other side of the island where we got to swim with the stingray. Our guide CJ "Ya Man!" had a very stereotypically Caribbean fun, relaxed, cool attitude. He was a ton of fun and put anyone's fears at ease by telling them not to think about what happened to Steve. Stingray deaths are EXTREMELY rare. I wasn't nervous at all. Once in the water, it was my goal (one of them) to see a sea turtle which I was told were around. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to show, because most of them were taken with a disposable underwater camera, but it was so cool though. The stingray glided though the water and surprisingly it was really beautiful. CJ caught a little sea turtle and let us see it up close. I also found a huge sea turtle near the bottom of area where we were swimming. We ended the excursion by actually petting and holding a stingray ourselves. They feel like a wet mushroom. So cool. Thanks for the advice everyone.

As we headed back to the ship, we stopped to try some conch fritters (delicious) and get a couple souvenirs. There are little kids everywhere selling tchatchkies. They'd come up to us and ask for a dollar if they sing you a song. How can you resist?

The only bad thing that happened was that I cut my toe, I assume, on a rock at the bottom of the ocean. It bled a lot, but didn't hurt too much. I was mostly concerned with the ugliness of the band-aid on my toe in sandals for the rest of the week. So, we came up with a solution....

No one could tell the difference :)

My Big Fat Eating Cruise

It's been a little over a week since we got back from vacation. Last night, I finally finished unpacking. Normally I'm pretty good about staying on top of things such as working out, waking up at a decent hour, eating well, cleaning etc, but after this trip it was really hard to get back into the swing of things.

I've been trying to figure out the best way to tell you about all about our cruise. There were so many great things about it. I guess I'll just split it up in categories. The first is probably the main reason I've had a hard time getting adjusted to regular life. It's also one of the main staples on a cruise. THE FOOD!


The first thing you have to know about the food on a cruise is the sheer volume of it. Not only are the portions humongous, but it's always available.


There's the casual dining on the Lido deck where we usually ate breakfast. Ahh, bacon in the Bahamas, can't beat that. The Lido deck also has a 24 hour pizza bar and 24 hour soft serve ice cream. Every day, they'd also have a different theme - A Mexican buffet or "Taste of Italy." We ate it all. Seriously.















Most nights we ate diner in the formal dining room. Since the group we were with had been on several cruises, they taught us the right way to order. If you're looking at the menu and can't decide between two appetizers, order both! The steak AND the lobster sound delicious, okay! Need 3 desserts? No one will judge.




This is from the chocolate buffet out on the Lido deck one day. No, that's not sushi, that's delicious heavenly dessert!



The formal dining room also offered a lot of new foods I hadn't tried. If I'm at a restaurant, I won't order something I'm not sure that I'll like because I don't' want to spend the money on it if I don't end up eating it. Since everything was included on the ship, I was adventurous and tried it all.

Surprisingly, escargot is really good. Granted it was soaked in garlic butter and I ate it on some toast, so I probably just loved the butter, but still. I ate snails!





Lobster's not too bad either, though I was nervous about trying it.

Midnight Buffet

One of the most impressive parts about the food was 'The Grand Buffet.' One night only they had a midnight buffet. Just to help you realize the impressiveness of this, they open the buffet 45 minutes early, just for picture taking. It's like something you'd see on Food Network.














The elaborate carvings are all made out of food.

This palm tree is made out of watermelon!










The birds are made out of butternut squash!









It was all ridiculously rich and an overindulgent treat at midnight. Sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night with a faint smell of chocolate in my nostrils.

"THE FOOD" overall favorites

Overall, the whole food experience was amazing.
From the edible sculptures, to trying new foods and the great company, it was so much fun.
















I know quail isn't exotic, but it was new to me. Coochie, coochie, coo - aren't they adorable?!





In the dining room with the girls. Some of you might recognize Anna sitting next to me (my maid of honor and best friend since I was a baby), but these other girls quickly became friends too.

Corey's favorite, almost to a scary point - The Chocolate Melting Cake. I believe he ordered it every night. Also believe me when I say, you do not mess with Corey's Chocolate Melting Cake.












One of the best parts about dinner was our double jointed waiter - Subi. His great Indonesian accent and strange sense of humor made the experience that much better.

...And We're back!

We're home and I just don't understand what this white stuff on the ground is. It doesn't feel good between my toes, it's not warm or have a salty body of water rushing over it. No, it's freezing and wet and icky. The only thing good about coming back to cold snow is that our godlike bronzed bodies are the envy of everyone.

We had a blast on our cruise. Hands down the best vacation either of us have ever taken. I'm sorry we don't have more pictures up yet, don't worry, we'll get more up through out the week. We have over 300 of them to wade through, so it takes some time.

So what did we do? Well, besides eating like kings non-stop, we also snorkled, swam with stingrays (thanks for the advice everyone - it was amazing), parasailed over a nude beach, shopped, haggled and bought a 5, yes, 5 carat sapphire pendant necklace. We relaxed in some of the most gorgeous scenery with the bluest waters you've ever laid eyes upon. We met some really great people. We were with a group of about 25 in all. I knew about 10 or so from when I was a kid, but only Anna, my best friend, very close. Anna lives with 5 other girls, so for most of the trip it was us 6 girls and Corey. He was a total stud. The girls were SOOO much fun. They made something as simple as dinner a blast. We've definately made some lifetime friends. And we'll definately be going on another cruise with them in the future.

Now we're just settling back into real life. I'll be honest, it's rough. I was heading over to the copy machine this morning at work and couldn't find the 24 hour soft serve ice cream maker. Boo.

-Mo

See You, Suckers!

Our life is so hard

We've come across a very difficult decision in our life. If you know us well, you know that we don't do well with making decisions. We leave for Florida tomorrow. As we're finalizing everything, we have to start making decisions about such things as which excusions to book. They strongly encourage you to book anything that's a 'must do' ahead of time to make sure it doesn't fill up. So, which do we do? Swim with the stingray, which includes snorkeling. Or a dolphin encounter, which is not an official 'swim with the dolphin' activity, but is still freakin' dolphins. In either choice we'd get to feed and pet them, though I think the dolphin one is more expensive and in more of a pool or even just a platform type environment versus in an open cove like the stingray would be, but it's still freakin' dolphins. Anyone had experience with either? I think we're leaning towards the stingray. Seriously, what a rough life.