(the cat is the cool one)

hollywood is hard, don’t let anyone tell you differently. all those people with stories about catching a dazzling lucky break – peel back the layers of that story, and see how many factors went into it. i guarantee they knew someone who knew someone that took a chance and instead of going through all the motions, gave a friend a job. and that’s on top of working their asses off. i hate to burst your bubble, but gisele was a model before she was ‘discovered’ in a mcdonald’s.

i’m well aware it seems like there are a lot of idiotic people out there, just waiting for someone to hand them their dreams, and all you have to do is be the one smart person who actually understands that success takes work. while it may be true that there are a lot of brainless bimbos, there are also a surprising number of intelligent, talented and hard-working people out here who are fighting tooth and nail for the same opportunities.

it sucks to be on the bottom of the food chain, no matter where you are. especially when the cat knows she’s better than you, too.

i’ve been in LA for a while now, trying to get work in a notoriously exclusive industry, during the worst economic times of my existence. gosh, i’m smart. and weirdly, no one walked up to me on the street or called me at home to offer me a seven-figure executive job as soon as i moved here, even though i, Claire Koonce, actually graduated from college. what strange people! maybe they don’t have my google voice number…

well, never fear, they in Hollywood have realized their mistake. i start training next week as a lowly assistant, for a job i will hopefully be able to keep after the new year. perhaps now i’ll be able to start paying off the debts zooey racked up with all her fancy parties.

my best romantic encounters in LA

with everything that’s going on with the home-and-job front, zooey’s vlog has been reduced to a blog. rants are available in THE BACK CORNER, and feel free to submit topics. i’ll be updating as often as inspiration strikes.

zooey and i have decided to start a video blog. it will be available on youtube, as i have no computer skills whatsoever to put them on this site, but i hope you’ll leave comments here as well. the idea is that in thirty seconds or less, i’ll give you my opinion (you know you want it) on any topic you suggest. any person, place, thing or idea–if i don’t know it, i’ll take the time to look it up, form an uneducated opinion, and spout off about it. hopefully we’ll have the first of these videos in a couple days.

So “Heartstrings,” featuring Brian Lewis, is now on youtube.

Part 1 is Preludio from Eclectic Suite, written by Michael McLean and arranged by Tim Rogers–it’s my attempt to make violin look cool.

Part 2 is Earth, written by Michael McLean and performed by Brian with the London Symphony Orchestra–it’s a narrative involving Brian-the-performer’s relationship to Sara SanMiguel (Lita Taracena), a young college student whose story unfolds with the music.

Hope you like it! I hope it tugs at your ‘heartstrings’… har-har….har-har…

So this is my new site, and as you can see it’s under construction. I hope to have it slicked up in the near future, but I really have no idea what I’m doing. Bear with me and one day, this will look really cool.