Crazytown

OPERATION SANTA

This post pairs perfectly with Amy Grant's "Grown-Up Christmas List"
By Melissa Presti (Book Publisher) 

Buddy the elf once said "the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear" and not only was he wrong, he was a horrible singer. On the other hand, Amy Grant is AMAZING.

06 - Grown-Up Christmas List

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is obviously through presents, as long as your ratio sways toward giving more gifts to others than to yourself. We all know how it goes when you're out Christmas shopping: buy one gift for someone else and buy two for yourself. Just switch that around and you're all good.

In the spirit of giving, I decided to participate in Operation Santa, which celebrates it's 100th Anniversary this year. The concept is simple: the United States Postal Service responds to "Dear Santa" letters that come in by the thousands from all over the country. Families and children in need of a little extra help to make Christmas special are reaching out to you and me.

This holiday program is known nationwide as "Letters to Santa" and here you can find the closest participating USPS office near you. The James A. Farley post office on the corner of 34th street and 8th avenue headquarters the largest Operation Santa, and responds to more than 500,000 letters every year! You can fill out a form here in advance, bring an ID, and you will be given a stack of letters to read through and choose who you'd like to sponsor. (Tip: if the address on your ID does not match your current address, bring a piece of mail to confirm).

Plenty of letters will express grand desires for an X-box or iPad, and I assume these kids think Santa is a magical millionaire. But many will ask for basic items and I guarantee you'll find one that fits whatever you are capable of giving.

After fulfilling the wishes of the letter writer, you simply return to the post office with the gifts wrapped and boxed and pay for the shipping (identification numbers ensure anonymity between both parties). The program runs from now through Christmas Eve!

 

MELISSA PRESTI works in book publishing at Penguin Group (USA). www.us.penguingroup.com
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FOLLOW UP: YOUR "SMASH" RESTAURANT GUIDE (VOL. 2)

By Gregory Jacobs-Roseman 

Last week I brought back my Smash restaurant guide after I had received many emails asking me about a scene in a certain dining room with some fabulous wallpaper. Unfortunately I couldn’t place it, and asked the readers of Crazytown to help me identify this restaurant:

And boy did you guys come through! A reader named Miriam was the first to write me and place the restaurant as Caravaggio on 74th and Madison. And how right she is! So there you have it ladies and gents, if you want to see the face-paper in person, head on over to the Upper East Side. I may make a reservation myself very soon.

GREGORY JACOBS-ROSEMAN is a composer/lyricist and theatrical sound designer currently developing Save The Date: A New Musical Comedy. www.gregjr.com
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ARE WE NETFLIX'S BITCH?

The trials and tribulations of capitalism and DVD rentals.
By Kevin Michael Murphy($9.99 1 DVD/Unlimited Streaming User)

So, I've been in a few long term relationships in my life.  As a child, I was with "John's Video," a family owned joint filled with VHS tapes that charged extra if you didn't rewind.  A few years later in my pre-teens, I broke up with John's for my first taste of corporate movie rentals: RKO Video.  As a teen, RKO skipped town one night while I was sleeping, but before I could mourn the loss, I was quickly swept off my feet by the blue and yellow lights propositioning me to "make it a Blockbuster night."  This was perhaps my longest and most adult relationship, but college and grad school came and went, I moved to the big city, and while I loved Blockbuster, I wasn't "in love" with Blockbuster.  

That's when I met Netflix. I thought I had met the movie rental service of my dreams.  For years, Netflix and I were in a domestic partnership.

Marriage between a video rental service and a man is not yet legal in NY State.

Netflix would live with me for weeks or months at a time, sitting on my DVD player, and keeping me warm at night.  Then Netflix moved in permanently with its promise of "unlimited instant streaming."  I was in love.

Then it all went sour...

and not in the happy "Magic to Do," "join us, leave your cheese to sour" kind of way

HOW I WAS SCAMMED OUT OF $3000

I've decided to take a break from my pop culture top 5/10 lists today and get a little personal. Today is a very big day for me. I officially paid off every cent of an internet scam I got caught up in about 5 years ago that cost me $3000.
By Pam Quinn (Writer)
This is an extremely embarrassing situation that happened to me, but I feel it necessary to come out with the story in hopes that it may warn someone who was naive as I was. 

Several years ago, when I first moved to New York City from California, I was scammed out some money from a "potential roommate" I met off of Craigslist. I was new to the city and some guy who was living with at the time in Williamsburg, had decided to move out early without allowing us enough time to prepare a replacement. I panicked and immediately posted an ad on craigslist for the abandoned bedroom. I was having a lot of trouble finding someone to fill the space and was losing time. The first of the month was around the corner and I didn't know what I was going to do. Then I received an email from a girl who was overseas in London. 

      "Hey Pam, I'm interested in your room for rent. I live in London and am planning a move to NYC. Am very excited and by         your description, the room looks perfect for me! I, unfortunately won't be able to actually get to New York until the first, but         am willing to send you three months rent up front."

HOW TO AVOID "THAT ROLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MINE!" MOMENTS

Never think "I would have been perfect, if only I could have gotten an audition," again.
By Jenny Donoghue

An inspirational lady named Dallas Travers came highly recommended by an actor friend. I checked out her website and signed up for her mailing list, because I am all about staying informed.

In a recent blog, "An Easy Solution To The Audition Waiting Game", she shared the story of Vera Farmiga, who landed her role in The Departed by sending an audition tape direct to Scorsese. The blog links to an interview with Farmiga where she describes how she sends video auditions for roles she wants while living with goats in Upstate New York.

(Farmiga, just chilling provocatively in her bed in black and white, as one does. I don't see her goats...)

I so want to believe this could work. It would be amazing to potentially audition for absolutely anything you want, even if your agent can't get you in the room, or you are agent-less.

Wonderful as it sounds, I'm not saying don't-try-this-at-home, but I'm suspicious of the likelihood of Vera's bold move translating to real-world success for the majority of actors.

Firstly, I question whether a Casting Director on a high level feature film would watch an unsolicited video submission. Not to mention, Farmiga sent her tape to the director. Scorsese doesn't seem the type to freely hand out his personal address, and I highly doubt it would have reached him in time, or even been passed on at all through his management.

In Vera's case, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that she already had several big feature film credits under her belt as well as being a People-Treat-Me-Better-Because-Of-It Level of Attractive...

MAIL: CHECK SARA (PALIN?)

I'm thinking of rewriting it...

Dear Ryan - A group of my high school students are preparing your number for Thespian Competition. One of them suggested that the story could be the Ballad of Sarah Palin - she was a prom queen you betcha! Thought you might get a chuckle out of that.

Karen B.
Pinellas County Center for the Arts