I’m leaving Trader Joe’s this evening, and I was walking behind a mum taking her 3 year old(ish) daughter out to their car.
I had just seen them inside; the cashier had offered stickers to the little girl. She had readily demanded them, and her mum took the time to inform her of the polite way of accepting such a generous offer of free stickers.
Anyway, the mother, like me, had parked across the road from the crowded TJ parking lot. As they reached the sidewalk the mum asked in a super cheery voice:
“Who’s holding my hand as I cross the road?”
“Not me”.
I swear, that’s what came from the 3 year old’s mouth. A very sullen "not me". As I love contrary children to a fault, I thought this was a superb answer, though I can’t say that I think her mum agreed with me.
“Look, it’s either my hand or the cart, which is it?”
When you get into a debate with a 3 year old, I think you’ve already lost.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Nice accent
So, I’m not English. I was raised in New Zealand, so have (currently) a curious mix of a kiwi and U.S Californian accent.
If you’re American, you can think of this as “British”. (If you're not American, then think "mutt".)
In America accents basically work like this; if you have fairish skin and don’t sound (American) southern, New York, Connecticut, or Californian, you are either:
a. Canadian, or,
b. British
If a & b don’t work, then in a pinch you are c. Australian.
That's it. Nice and simple.
This being the case, I wasn’t that surprised to receive a phone call from my agent saying he’d submitted me for a commercial on Thursday. It was an interstitial for Honda during the new season of America’s Next Top Model. They wanted someone to play a photographer, late 20’s through late 30’s, male, “think stereo-typical photographer”, oh, and British.
This was thrown in last minute. “Oh, and British”.
My agent explained to the casting director that I wasn’t “exactly” British, but (I was) from New Zealand.
Submit they said. So he did. And then he called to tell me.
Now, I can do a British accent, don’t get me wrong. But I’m more, “BBC English” or "Avon - from Blake's 7" rather than “lad about London” English.
Which is why my heart sank when I arrived at the audition and I felt as though I’d arrived in Chelsea in London – all the guys there were authentic “lads”. No BBC English in sight, nope, all lad about town, a little bit rough English.
Sigh.
If you’re American, you can think of this as “British”. (If you're not American, then think "mutt".)
In America accents basically work like this; if you have fairish skin and don’t sound (American) southern, New York, Connecticut, or Californian, you are either:
a. Canadian, or,
b. British
If a & b don’t work, then in a pinch you are c. Australian.
That's it. Nice and simple.
This being the case, I wasn’t that surprised to receive a phone call from my agent saying he’d submitted me for a commercial on Thursday. It was an interstitial for Honda during the new season of America’s Next Top Model. They wanted someone to play a photographer, late 20’s through late 30’s, male, “think stereo-typical photographer”, oh, and British.
This was thrown in last minute. “Oh, and British”.
My agent explained to the casting director that I wasn’t “exactly” British, but (I was) from New Zealand.
Submit they said. So he did. And then he called to tell me.
Now, I can do a British accent, don’t get me wrong. But I’m more, “BBC English” or "Avon - from Blake's 7" rather than “lad about London” English.
Which is why my heart sank when I arrived at the audition and I felt as though I’d arrived in Chelsea in London – all the guys there were authentic “lads”. No BBC English in sight, nope, all lad about town, a little bit rough English.
Sigh.
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