Blinded by the... Lite-Beer Girls

Beauty can be a beast, sometimes.

Now... it's a particularly well-kept secret that the entertainment and advertising industries can, at times, be somewhat superficial. I pause here while you gasp, clutch your hands to your bosom in disbelief, and perhaps swoon upon a fainting couch or two.

**........**

You okay now? Need I fetch the smelling salts?

I know. This is not a well-known fact but, gentle reader, it is true. "Looks" occasionally trump "talent" in the casting process. Unbelievable.

Okay, okay, enough funnin' with ya. But, as most regular blog readers here at TNG know, I am an actress. Have been for some time. And, no, I'm not jaded, nor am I jealous of other, prettier actresses - er - most of the time. Heh. At least, I try not to be. I will, however, admit to the odd twinge now and then, especially when I'm sitting in a waiting lounge at a casting house - where I'm about to audition for the part described as "quirky best-friend type; a little on the nerdy side, 'real' person not 'model' pretty, should have excellent sense of comic timing"... while in the studio next door, they're auditioning girls for a beer commercial.

It's kinda funny, actually. The "quirky" girls on one bank of chairs, sitting there, watching (with varying degrees of wry facial expressions) the parade of lovely, leggy, youth-dewy beasties in belt-length "skirts" and six inch heels stalk precariously past on their way to be judged entirely on their looks. And I sometimes feel a little sad. "Of course you do," some will say. "You are not even from the same species as these ethereal creatures." "You are a wee crawly troll-girl by comparison. Of course you feel sad." "They are incandescent - you are quirky. You have every right to feel --

Okay okay! I get your point.

But no. The sad-feeling isn't for me. You see, I usually wander over to the cork-boards and check out the breakdowns for the various spots being auditioned for. And the "character" descriptions for the beer commercials are usually something like "dorky guys try to get it on with three models in club wear."

Personally? I'll take "quirky, nerdy, excellent sense of comic timing" over "model in club wear" as a character description any day. And it's not intellectual snobbery making me say that. I've been in this business long enough to be pretty secure with my own particular strengths. The thing is, I've chatted with these girls at the auditions and, on a one-to-one ratio, they're not any less intellligent than the "quirky nerd girls" in my camp. Some, granted, are dumb as a boot. But some of them have killer wit.

Thing is, they rarely get to show it off. Because, even though I'm not necessarily smarter or funnier than some of these girls, I'm the one who gets to act like it. Partially because I'm not a six-foot tall size 0. Hollywood case-in-point - I'm pretty sure (no pun intended) that Megan Fox wouldn't have gotten an audition for the part of "Ugly Betty".

Now, you know, I'm not exactly expecting the girls of America's Next Top Model to cry me a river anytime soon. I just think that, at times, being blindingly beautiful can just be blinding.

Now. Enough of my profound ruminations. Head on over to the side-bar (if you don't already know the rules) and leave your comments here to enter the Super-Awesome Novel Girls Blogoversary Contest-o-rama-rama!!! Do it, Beautiful!

Quote me!

I'm late . . . again. I'm thinking back to all the free time I used to have and I never even appreciated it. In fact, because I'm simply not a planner (instead I'm a crammer) I'm paying for every single stressful second. My spare minutes are gone, over, finished. Goodbye relaxation and hello craziness.

But isn't this a wonderful problem to have? I have waited for this two-week-countdown for much too long. In fact, I dreamed up the title to my upcoming book, Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter, just about 14 years ago. It's a mighty fine feeling to see my dream finally coming true. It's a beautiful thing!

And since Jillian's topic is about beauty, I've scoured the internet for some of my favorite quotes on the subject.

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart." ~Kahlil Gibran

"Our hearts are drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see." ~George W. Russell

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." ~ Confucius

"Do I love you because you're beautiful,
Or are you beautiful because I love you?"
~Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Cinderella

The most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time is the look upon my son's face while he's playing the piano. With his eyes closed and his head tilted to the side, he gets lost in the melody as his fingers travel effortlessly across the keys. His face exudes peace and joy. And that's beautiful to a mother's heart. Especially after the unrest he has endured these last few weeks.

As for me - The fairest form of beauty is that of a kind and forgiving heart. Feel free to quote me on that one!

Thanks to everyone who entered our contest last week--and don't worry, you're all still entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Keep the comments up and we'll announce the winner at the end of the month!

Be sure to leave a comment this week to win a signed ARC of Jillian's new book: THE LIFE OF GLASS. I'm jealous that Maureen has been able to read it already. There's no doubt in my mind that it's fabulous. We all know by now the Jillian girl can write.

So, do you have a favorite quote about beauty? If so, comment and quote away!