Merry Christmas

It was an exciting Christmas season at our house this year, truly a Christmas of firsts.

Our first attempt at outdoor Christmas lights. I was so excited to be one of the pretty light up houses!

It was the first time we had a Christmas party. People actually came, and not just my Mom and Dad!

It was the first time we opened presents as a family at our house instead of at Mom & Dad's:

And wowee-zowee talk about grown up Christmas. John & hosted what I call "Big Christmas," the dinner with my mom's side of the family. We had about 30 people show up and it went great!

His Dark Materials: A Recommendation Rather Than a Review

Over at the The Fabulous Life of Lopez, I noticed Jaimie's been reviewing the books she reads. I loved the idea because I always like hearing about the books other people read. (Even if it's the kind of thing I'd never read myself, you know know like nearly everything John reads)

So I decided I would review the latest book I've read. Although really I listened to it rather than technically reading it,and really it's a trilogy rather than a single book, and really I'm not going to review a whole heck of a lot because three books is a lot to talk about and the best part of the series is the surprises.

I decided to read His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman after John and I saw the movie based on the first book, The Golden Compass. Initially, we only saw the movie because of all the hype about Pullman being an atheist. We thought it was worth seeing just because so many people didn't want us to see it. If all you see is the movie, even if all you read is book one, the hype won't make sense. The movie itself doesn't have any anti-Christian themes. The book doesn't either, unless maybe you are a super hard-core Jesus freak and then you're used to being offended, right?

Book two has a fair amount of blasphemy. There are several passages that will make you realize why groups were protesting the film's debut. By book three we are in a full-blown interdimensional war on god. If you aren't easily offended by this sort of thing, Pullman's ballsy jab at Christian theology is really pretty amusing (in a oh-no-he-didn't kind of way).

The books are part fantasy, part science fiction. We follow Lyra and her demon (an animal manifestation of a person's soul) Pan on their quest to uncover the mystery of Dust. By way of big surprise number one, we learn that Lyra's world is not the only world. There are 1,000s of worlds and a handful of explorers have discovered various ways to travel between them.

Honestly, I can't remember what happened in which book. By the end they all blend together. The overarching story is so predominant that you'll want to the read the whole thing. The best thing about the series is there are three of them, so you can drag it out for a bit. It's definitely one of those books you are sad to see end.

I'm purposely dancing around the story line. I really think that the slow plot reveal makes the series. The universe Pullman creates is entertaining enough to keep you happy until you figure it all out. There are scholars and pirates, talking bear warriors and witches, ghosts and angels. By the end you think nothing else will surprise you but it does. Each book has some pretty big shockers (the movie was a big departure after about 2/3, so the ending hasn't been given away).

There's Only Ever One Bonnie

A couple months back I was auditioning for The Cover of Life. It seemed half the women there shared a name. There were Sarahs, and Michelles, and probably a few more I can't remember now. There were enough that when it got to my turn to introduce myself, someone asked "So where's the other Bonnie?"

I quickly corrected her. "There's only ever one Bonnie." And it's true.

When I was little, I was sometimes jealous of the Melissas and Jessicas. It was like they were born into a special club. Like Heathers the movie, only without the suicide-murder-cover-up. The closest I ever came to a name buddy was a brief friendship with a new girl named Julie Maxwell. We were dubbed Cain's Coffee and Maxwell House, which is really not too bad when it comes to name mocking.

By high school I realized how convenient it is to be the only one in a class of 600 with your name. It actually simplifies a lot. When you are talking about Bonnie, it's me, always me.

I have met a few Bonnies, mostly grandmas. But I've never really known another Bonnie. I occassionally have people tell me they know another Bonnie, but our paths never seem to cross. Honestly, I prefer it that way. Once, a Bonnie applied for a job in our office. I told HR they absolutely were not allowed to hire her, because There's Only Ever One Bonnie.

Meet Kate Miller from the Neck Up

Opening night for The Cover of Life is now less than 3 weeks away. Things are really coming together; I'm so excited to a part of this one. We're going off-book (no more scripts for rehearsals) today. I've been doing my research on 40s-era hair and makeup. Below are some shots of my hair and makeup test run.

I introduce to you, Kate Miller (from the neck up).

Happy Homecoming: A Photo Blog

Homecoming 2008 came and went. John was out of town for the weekend so Sarah and my buddy Victor hit Walk Around with me. It was a blast as always, house decs, fair food and tons of pokes. What's not to love.Orange Never Dies was the first dec we saw. They did great with their theme, but I'm not really sure what it had to do with the overall theme Generation Cowboy. Note the crowd; this was taken before Walk-Around had even officially began.

The Indiana Jones dec was next. Who doesn't love Indie? Victor and I thought the stadium front with "Temple of Boone" was particularly clever. Too bad the mine train never worked. That would have put them in my top picks.

It was so crowded I didn't even notice the Fain Family was in my shot. Hi Lisa!!

The 80s-themed dec was a huge hit with everyone. Victor and I both put it in our top 3, and Sarah's crew all loved it too. They don't even remember the 80s! Nor do the kids who put this together. But, it was great just the same. The Polaroid picture of Old Central slid in and out of the camera, there was a moving Tetris game, and 80s music played the whole time.

I decided this one was my favorite. Not only did it have the Library, which really put it over the top for me, but also it was by far the prettiest one. Sarah and I snuck around back and touched it. Hey it's not like we're Greek; we don't know what pomp feels like!

Some other decs had moving books, but this one was by far the best execution of the concept.


Pick number 2 (in the very unofficial Bonnie-poll): Dr. Seuss! How could you go wrong with that We loved the turtles with pistols firing. Go Pokes!

My First Media Interview for "The Cover of Life"

If you haven't heard, I've been cast in the Stillwater Town and Gown's latest production, The Cover of Life. It's written by R.T. Robinson and directed by Kevin Worley. I'll be playing Life reporter Kate Miller. We open on November 13, maybe I'll see you there.

My title is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Joyce Cox, one of the regulars at the theater, is putting together an article for the local papers. She emailed the whole cast and asked a few questions. Here are her questions and my responses. Consider it a There's Only Ever One Bonnie exclusive.

1. What will the audience find "special" about this play?"
   The script is amazing. Not many people have heard of the play, but everyone I know who has read it loved it instantly. The characters are great; each one has its own story.
2. The set is in the round...Is being this close to an audience difficult or rewarding?
   I try to tune out the audience. It’s easy to do on traditional stage because you can’t see anyone with the house lights down. In our theater it takes some concentration to ignore them.
3. How have you approached your character?
   We can really only know what the author gives us in the script, but I’ve spent a lot of time pondering Kate. I’m trying to fill in the blanks so she’s a whole person to me, not just a couple hours of dialog.
4. Does your character "change" during the show...if so, how?
   Most of the characters change. There is a shift in how they see themselves and their acceptance or rejection of how others see them.
5. What is the most difficult thing for you as an actor to get across to the audience...how are you going to try to do this?
   I hope for the duration of the play, the audience won’t see Bonnie playing Kate. I want them to just see Kate. This is especially hard when you know so many people in the audience. I’m not sure how I do that, really. I guess when you’re in character you think more about how the character feels than what they are actually saying. I don’t think I’m much like Kate, so that helps separate how I would behave from how Kate would.

PRSA-OKC Advocates Clean & Fair Campaign Communication

Just one example of why PRSA-OKC rocks. Today, we received this from our fearless leader, Danielle Walker, APR.

I wanted to let you know about an exciting initiative that the Oklahoma City Chapter, Public Relations Society of America, is undertaking.

PRSA-OKC is taking part in a national effort to challenge local political campaigns to agree to uphold the highest standards of ethical practice in every facet of their campaign communications. This dovetails with the PRSA national office's challenge to the McCain and Obama campaigns, which launched last month. PRSA formally requested that campaign communications directors Robert Gibbs (Obama for America) and Jill Hazelbaker (John McCain 2008) sign a pledge obligating them to abide by the PRSA Code of Ethics in their campaign communications. Specific guidelines relevant to campaign communications policies under the PRSA Code include: being honest and accurate in all communications, acting promptly to correct erroneous communications, investigating the truthfulness and accuracy of information released on behalf of those represented, and avoiding deceptive practices.

On the local level, today our chapter is sending letters to campaigns for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, U.S. House and U.S. Senate, asking them to take a pledge to commit to the principles of the PRSA Code of Ethics in these last weeks before the elections. We have also distributed to the local media an OpEd article regarding our challenge to Oklahoma's candidates to make a formal commitment to accurate, truthful and respectful discourse.

The OpEd article also communicates that PRSA-OKC is responsible for representing, educating, setting standards of excellence and upholding a stringent code of ethics for not only our members, but the public relations profession within our state. In that role, PRSA-OKC is committed to advancing ethical communications practices and the free flow of accurate and truthful information. These principles not only guide our members and the profession, but also support fundamental rights of free speech and the public good.

Many thanks to you all for what you do each and every day in upholding the standards and ethics of our profession.