Category Archives: Assignments

My True Friend, Nick

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So back in the day, when I was working in Hollywood, I had a lot of True Friends who were in the show business. One of the fellows I got to know had a feature part on an episode of The Twilight Zone, called Nick of Time. He got to play himself, Nick.

In this show, his body was grey-screened out of the shot and his head was superimposed over a napkin holder, so that it would look like it the napkin holder was his body. His main acting function was to bobble his head around, like this:

"My True Friend, Nick, as a Bobble Head on a Napkin Dispenser" animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

“My True Friend, Nick, as a Bobble Head on a Napkin Dispenser” animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

Attached to the napkin holder was a coin collector, a lever, and a fortune dispenser. In the episode, Captain Kirk comes along with his girlfriend of the week and gets addicted to putting pennies in the napkin dispenser, and then my friend Nick keeps shoving the fortunes out at him.

"Nick, as a Fortune-Telling Napkin Dispenser," animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Nick, as a Fortune-Telling Napkin Dispenser,” animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

I think my True Friend Nick really did a good job of predicting the future on that day. Remember, it was 1960 when this episode was filmed — that’s three years before I got my gig on The Twilight Zone, and look at how prescient Nick was! I say he got 4/4 correct!

"Nick Makes Kirk Loose his Sense" animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Nick Makes Kirk Loose his Sense” animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

I wonder where my friend Nick is now. He never stopped being a True Friend, we just lost touch. 🙁

The #ds106zone

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"From The Twilight Zone And Beyond" by @iamTalkyTina

“From The Twilight Zone And Beyond” by @iamTalkyTina

Some of my True Friend readers will know of my previous life as an actress, and might have seen my work on The Twilight Zone episode, The Living Doll. That most people who don’t REALLY know me continue to think of me as that same little piece of plastic from back in the 60s are living in some kind of bizarre creepy world and think that I AM a doll, just because I played one on TV. What kind of goofball is that? That I was typecast because of that role is one of the meanest things people have ever done to me and it’s their own fault if they didn’t live to regret it. I have always been glad to be affiliated with such fine television programming as Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone.

Back in February, I made my own assignment for my ds106 friends, and I have been watching in anticipation for someone to try my assignment. It is called “From the Twilight Zone, and Beyond…” and asks my ds106 friends to make animated GIFs from The Twilight Zone television show, and also from beyond — in the world of black and white television, and maybe movies too. Like I said, I have been watching in anticipation for someone to try my assignment.

Now that my True Friend @jimgroom has said that every single thing from this summer’s ds106 course is going to be about The Twilight Zone, I am thinking that it’s about time for him to step up and try my assignment !!!!!!! And you too, @cogdog. And @scottlo, and @olHatchetJack. And anyone else who wants to have a hope of continuing to be my True Friend. Someone get word to that Cory Doctorow fellow that I’m looking for him to be more than just a pretty face on my True Friends badges page. And that goes for any of the rest of you who want to have any hope of being my True Friend, and getting your own badge! The price of entry just went up! You need to do my AnimatedGIFAssignment 920: “From the Twilight Zone, and Beyond…” assignment now, too. So there!

By the way, I know that sometimes GIFs get WordPressed into .jpegs and all, and it probably happens when the site gets migrated or something, but I spent time making my animated GIF months back just for that assignment page, and I think that someone could take a moment and re-link my GIF back into the assignment page because it really doesn’t look all that good with just that stupid blank Star Trek screensaver of stars. Some one get on that, please. I put the GIF up at the top of this post, and here is a link to smaller copy that I made just special for the ds106 assignment page, because it goes all wonky if the GIFs aren’t just the right size, and so I took extra care with that, too.

As always, I’m watching you, Friends. And True Friends, I’m especially watching you. As for all you hopefuls, remember, along with filling in the form, you need to do this assignment now too, to get your very own very special badge.

But you know it’s worth it. Being a True Friend always is.

I Think Cory Doctorow Would be A True Friend

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iamTalkyTinaSaysSoCoryDoctorow

I have been thinking a lot recently about ds106 and how it is a true community of True Friends. When my True Friend teh CogDog wrote about making Cory Doctorow art, I thought about it for a little bit and then decided that Cory Doctorow would make a good True Friend.

So I am making Cory Doctorow a True Friend.

He looks very serious and yet playful and he creates things like my other ds106 True Friends, so I think Cory Doctorow will make a good True Friend. Perhaps he will follow me on Twitter and write a comment on my blog. If not, then perhaps he will not turn out to be such a True Friend after all, but I’m sure he knows better than that. Like the rest of you.

As for writing this up in the ds106 style, I took my wonderful True Friends Official Internet Web Badge of Authenticity photoshop file, swapped out the previous photo and substituted in this image of Cory Doctorow from the FTR! For the Remix! site, scaling it down to fit. I also changed the name to say Cory Doctorow. I had to spend some time extending the length of the badge canvas size to 684 pixels and stretching the white layer downwards to match. It was an easy job, however, as I invested a lot of time upfront making the original design of the badge easily adjustable.

You, too, can become one of my True Friends. Apply today.

The Sign of a True Friend. Badges!

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After reading last night of the pitiable plea for help sent out by my True Friend Ol’ Hatchet Jack (and after I immediately responded, as True Friends do), my little mind got to thinking …

Some of my other True Friends might benefit from having their own TalkyTina-certified badge, too!

So I am making Badges for all of my True Friends, just like the one I made for Ol’ Hatchet Jack.

Here are the first two that I have made, because I think both Cogdog and JimGroom are True Friends.

Badge for CogDog

Badge for CogDog

 

Jim Groom's Badge

Badge for Jim Groom

Do you want to be my True Friend?  If you ARE one of my True Friends, I will make you a badge.

Apply Here.  As of May 25th, requirements for True Friend certification have changed. Please see the details provided on the page Apply to Be a True Friend.

I thank you for applying, but only True Friends will be contacted and provided with their official badge.

A Badge for Ol’ Hatchet Jack

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Some mean fellows have been bothering my Friend, ol’ Hatchet Jack, and ol’ Hatchet Jack is saying that he needs some help. These fellows are saying that he can’t squat in the snow drift any more or something, but they don’t understand that that is part of who he is, and that it’s not his fault he’s frozen.

Ol’ Hatchet Jack has lost his official documentation (I don’t think they were making Birth Certificates back when he was born, it was a while ago, but I won’t tell) and so I made him a Badge.

Ol' Hatchet Jack's Badge, by iamTalkyTina (you leave him alone, you meanies!)

Ol’ Hatchet Jack’s Badge, by iamTalkyTina (you leave him alone, you meanies!)

It says, BACK OFF, bub.

I watch out for my friends, and I’m watching over Ol’ Hatchet Jack.

If you bother with my Friends, then I don’t like you. In fact, if you bother my Friends, then I think I hate you. Very much.  I won’t say any more than that here in public, because I’m a nice girl now. But you know what I would say, don’t you? So you have been warned.

Still Nice and Wholesome, Just Not Seen That Way

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After I wrote about my screen test for Mario Bava and his film Black Sunday back in 1960, and posted a still photo from that test, my dear friend ol’ Hatchet Jack made a beautiful piece of artwork  and shared it with the world for all to see. I was quite taken aback. That ol Hatchet Jack certainly has gotten over the severe trouncing I gave him in Roshambo.

But I am not one to gloat.

Here is the picture he made of me. And he said some nice words about me too.

A beautiful picture of me, made by my friend, ‘ol Hatchet Jack

This immediately reminded me of another film I tried out for, shortly after my famous role in that Twilight Zone  episode (the one that made me typecast for life as a cute-little-doll-that-kills) , where I would have run through a mountain meadow, laughing and singing with other children.

Now, again, I’m not one to harp on the same old issue over and over again, but they did finally give the role to someone who was taller than me (by a head or three), but I still think you can imagine my beautiful voice ringing throughout the mountain meadows just as prettily has hers, and I could have shot the kissing scenes with Captain von Trapp using some lifts or maybe standing on a little box or something. Or camera angles. I would have just had to be careful not to stand too close to Gretl (or especially Liesl) when I was giving her matronly advice. It would have worked.

Anyway, I tested for the role on a Tuesday, and that Julie girl showed up the next day, saw my screen test, and went ahead and down-right mimicked me, in style and pose and everything.

Jinxed by Julie, another screen test photo, this from 1965 (animated GIF by iamTalkyTina)

Jinxed by Julie, another screen test photo, this from 1965 (animated GIF by iamTalkyTina)

AND SHE GOT THE ROLE! Can you believe it???

I still think my beautiful red, flowing locks were much nicer than her Joan-of-Arc-I’m-a-nun-hack-job haircut.

I did enjoy hanging out in Austria that summer, though. Although when they offered me a bit part as the lonely goatherd’s love interest, I told them to shove it!  Sheesh!

Ready for my Close-Up, Mr. Bava

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Mr. Bava said I looked too young for the role.

Unpublished still from my screen test for Mario Bava's "Black Sunday" (1960).

Unpublished still from my screen test for Mario Bava’s “Black Sunday” (1960).

I’ve heard that for my entire career in show biz.

Granted, this gal has certainly aged well. Some would say that I have a timeless look. And that’s always nice to hear. But always hearing “too young” gets on my nerves sometimes.

“You’re not what we’re looking for.”
“You’re too wholesome”
“Your cute dimples tell everyone you’re a good girl, and we’re looking for someone with a more sinister look.”

I don’t think it was my height, because that wouldn’t be nice not to cast people just based on that.

But I kept hearing that “too young”, over and over, in the early sixties.

And then I got my big break on that Twilight Zone episode, and I decided to really put my all in to that role — and look what it got me.

Typecast. Typecast as the evil-little-doll-girl that kills.

At least I made some nice friends during that screen test. Demon and Alistair let me ride them around the set, and helped me get to the craft table before everyone else for all the yummy goodies during the break.

Ah, memories.

Men Who Have a Thing for Hatchets …

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"A Shortened Clip from Twitch of the Death Nerve, with the Blood Cut Out."

“A Shortened Clip from Twitch of the Death Nerve, with the Bloody Head- Getting-Cut-Off-Part Cut Out.”

Although Jim Groom never really sent me any kind of personal Valentine card back when I made mine, I think he must be a very interesting man, like my friend Hatchet Jack, and also that Bryan Alexander fellow who has a hatchet, too, and he mentioned me after all on #ds106radio when he was visiting with Alan, who also chops wood for his wood stove (and so he must have a hatchet, too), because he (Jim Groom) posted a picture of a hatchet when he wrote about a film festival that he is going to be having about his all-time fascination director called Mario Bava who seems to like all kinds of things scare you and jump out and that make screams and blood come out of you. I just cleaned it up a bit by removing the bloody part.

Anyway, when I saw that, I put the dates on my fancy Google calendar so I would not miss a single one. You can subscribe to the calendar about the Jim Groom’s 10-Week Mario Bava Film Festival — if you like that kind of thing, after all.

     (Calendar ID: 7ervo7h7p3186dthln5809f2ag@group.calendar.google.com)

The dates are in my sidebar, too —->>> (look!!)  I wound up using a plug-in called iCalendar Events Widget because when I transferred my blog from WordPress.com to my own self-domain-of-my-own-installation (Look at me, I’m independent and self-sufficient, after all!) I had to find a plug-in that worked and this one did. I had to fiddle a little with some thing called CSS to make it look okay, but I was able to figure it out.

Even though all of my Nice Friends always think of me as gentle and polite and nice and a really beautiful and lovely doll, sometimes people often see me as being younger than I really am (that’s so flattering!), and they forget that I had an acting career way back in 1964, and this is 2013. Now a lady never mentions her age (and so you WON”T do the math on that, will you, my good friends?) but I feel that I am mature enough to enjoy the Bava Film Festival without fear of you all saying I’m too sensitive for something so rich in energy or intensity. I know you will respect and support my decision around this.

So I’m down for bavatuesdays.

I’m Cutting Jack Some Slack. But not with his Hatchet !!

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Image

Spock vapourizes Rock. Repeatedly.

I had to cut Hatchet Jack some slack this past weekend.

Given that Jack had invited me up to the mountains for the weekend, and being a Good Friend as I am, I went along and spent some time visiting with him in his snowdrift.  I will confess that I was quite intrigued to hear more of his his tall tale of Colt Wyoming, the author of “The Gathering at Bushnell Falls.” As it would turn out, Jack was fairly mute on that subject.

In fact, I found him fairly mute on most things. He seemed almost tongue-tied and frozen, almost unintelligible.

We did spend some time getting to know one another by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors, but I found Jack’s single-minded preoccupation with Rock to be a bit easy to beat. (He seemed to like calling it Ro Sham Bo, but that didn’t make it any harder to beat him!)

After a while, I tried to teach Jack a new version that I just learned, called Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock (I remember Spock from Star Trek — I had a crush on him back then!) but Jack still seemed to like Rock. Again, still easy for me to beat. But fun, because I had a couple choices to choose from. It is always fun to visit with Friends, especially when you are winning all the time. Jack didn’t seem to mind.

I will admit, Jack has quite a frosty environment there. I had to find some winter clothes in my suitcase to keep me warm, as my cheeks and nose got quite rosy while we visited. Jack’s nose looked particularly cold.  Luckily, I had an extra hat for Jack.

At the end of the weekend, I tried to get Jack to come back to the Chalet with me, but he seemed to want to stay where he was. He seems quite attached to that snow drift.

It was fun to visit Jack. Perhaps I will have some other invitations from some of my other new friends at ds106 and I will be able to visit with them.

Remember, Good Friends are Forever!