Clearing the Air

 

Hey sis,

The next day it was back to the grind, which means back to my new role as a hot-shot mayoral candidate whose gift for oratory wins him fans the world over. 

When I got back from work the paps were waiting, even as I was gardening. 

Ms. Ornelas whipped out her pad.  I don’t know what came over me but I decided, right then and there, to clear the air while I had her as a sounding board. 

“Sebastian, there are rumors of your involvement with the pop star, Lola Belle.”

“I know the rumors are going around because of the video of the two of us dancing at Aquarius.”

“Everyone in Simdom has pretty much seen this tape, if they haven’t they’ve been living under a rock.  Lola Belle is noted for being incredibly reclusive, so for her to be seen in public with you is a monumental deal.  What’s going on?”

“’Tis much ado about nothing, dear,” was my response.

“I can see by the smile on your face that something's making you happy.”
“I can see where you're going with this, and no, I will not bite... I'm just a genuinely sunny and happy person, ask my sister.”
”So, you like gardening?”

“Yes.”
”Anything in particular you like to grow... flowers perhaps?”
”Mainly organic stuff, everything we ate from the time we were born till the time we were teenagers, was made from home grown ingredients.  Mom taught us well to be self sufficient as and when the time is needed.”
“So, no flowers.”
“No.”
“Maybe some special food for a 'special lady'?”
"I cook because I enjoy it, besides, I like to see the enjoyment on folks faces when I cook them their favorite meals.”
"So, has Lola got a special meal that she likes?”
I laughed.  “You'll have to ask her that one.”

Ugh.  If there’s one thing I hate about this life, it’s the constant questions of the paparazzo.

Talk soon.  Love, Bassy

First Post of 2011

Hey sis,

Happy 2011! Did you and Andy and the kids do anything special? I’m sending you this pic, courtesy of those firecrackers you sent me from China.

I went down to the Bay Bridge and let loose. The noise was LOUD!

I was in the business building recording this radio commercial when my boss spotted me. “Sebastian! Sebastian Sunshine!” she called. “I need to speak with you.”

I had to laugh. Sebastian Sunshine, ha!

“Hey Flying Dutchwoman! What’s up?”

“Major crisis! Someone hacked into the main computer at the studio and erased everything, even the script for the ‘Zombies?’ movie.”

“Calm down. Do you know who could have had access to the files?”

“The only people I could think of are myself and Stanley. I will say this, though. Whoever did it did so from a computer not located on the premises.”

“Have you told Stanley?”

“He and Emmy are in Champs Les Sims on their honeymoon –"

“They got married?”

“Yep. Over Christmas. And she’s pregnant.”

“Wow. Have you called the police?”

“They’re completely swamped right now, with the holidays and all. They don’t sit around eating doughnuts like they do in Sunset Valley –"

“Hey,” I teased, “we have our petty thieves in the S.V. too you know.” Then I suggested that she hire a private investigator, someone who’s good with computers, to try to trace the address of the computer that hacked into their files.

“And that isn’t all. I spoke with Silvah Spencer about the other project I’m working on –”

“Oh?”

“I’m in the middle of reading this fabulous book. The main character was this spoiled princess named Syna DeLorean and she was the daughter of the NASA chief, and she got picked to head this mission to the distant planet Zircalon –"

Oh. my. God. I know that book. It’s Aunt Margaret’s. She wrote a lot of science-fiction novels. She wrote in other genres, too, but sci-fi was her favorite. I can’t say I knew her – you did, obviously – she died when I was a baby.

“That’s where I stopped. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.”

I took a deep breath. She can’t possibly be thinking what I’m thinking she’s thinking. No. Silvah Spencer as Syna DeLorean? Seriously? She complained to me about the dearth of good roles for women in cinema, she’d die for this one. Even though I know it would be a big career boost for her, I just can’t see her in the part.

“I was thinking about securing the movie rights. I know she’s deceased, how do I contact her estate?”

I told her she’d have to talk to you about that.

“Your sister?”

“Savannah Plumb. She’s in charge of my Aunt Margaret’s estate.”

Kris looked at me quizzically. “Oh damn! I saw the name ‘Meg Plumb’ on the cover of the book and I didn’t see the connection. You folks are a talented bunch. How many of you are there?"

"A lot." I laughed.

"By the way, I’ve got Savannah’s two books on my very long to-read list.” She gave me a wink as she left.

Looks like you’ve got a new fan, Vanna. ;)

Kristy Verhoeven plays a girl searching for her missing father in “Kelly Keene.”

Kris has more ideas for films than actual movies under her belt. I can only find one movie of hers in the SimSearch database, a detective drama called Kelly Keene (clip above) from 2006. It’s about a girl whose father is murdered and, unhappy with the police, she takes matters into her own hands. She’s billed as “Kristy Verhoeven” and listed as the chief writer, executive producer, and star of the film. Yes that’s her in the red wig. I haven’t actually seen the movie, I think I might check it out, see if it’s on DVD here in Bridgeport.

I decided I needed a drink. Don’t worry, it wasn’t jungle juice or anything like that. Heck, it didn’t even have alcohol in it. It’s pink lemonade, with a special ingredient for energy. I’m gonna need it, especially if Kristin Verhoeven is talking about making a movie out of Aunt Margaret’s book and she’s got Silvah Spencer pegged as the lead. I truly wonder about my boss sometimes.

GTG. More later. Love, Bassy

More Bridgeport gossip–courtesy of Bassy

Hey sis,

I dunno how many people saw this coming.  I guess we all should have seen this coming.

I went to teach an acting class over at the school (yeah, me, teaching an acting class, haha) and I decided to go over to the park for a spell.

Sure enough, there’s Devin Ashton with Matthew’s ex-girlfriend, Kaydee Jansing.  The chick he dumped to be with Silvah.  Anyway, the writing was on the wall for ole Dev.  He’d been dating Aria Trill and now he’s dumped Aria to be with this gal.  I can’t say I know either of them that well, except I run into them at work sometimes.

I can’t say I understand the whole serial dating thing well, though dad says when he was with someone, he was with them for awhile before moving on.  He says he didn’t just go through girls like toilet paper like these guys seem to do.  I have to admit I find it a bit odd.  Get to know someone, play with her feelings, and then dump her like yesterday’s garbage.

On top of that, Ms. Jansing put out a statement through the media saying she and Devin were a couple.  Frankly, I think this sort of thing is pointless, unless you want to keep yourself in the public eye.  Me, I prefer handling my business on the down-low, but of course things with Lola got so out of hand, with the video leaking out and all that.  I’ve said time and again that we’re just friends. 

Hey, I have to go shoot a scene, I’ll write more later.

Love, Bassy

Holiday Party

 

Hey sis,

I got to the Prosper Room as soon as I got off work for the staff holiday party. 

The guests filed in to the downtown building with their vehicles.  That bright red sports car belongs, I think, to Silvah Spencer, Matthew Hamming’s girlfriend.

The guests tumbled in as soon as I did, at ten till eleven.  That’s Matthew Hamming in his tux and my boss, Kris Verhoeven, in hers.

They gathered in the party area of the Prosper Room, ordering drinks and shrimp cocktails. 

Meanwhile, Matt’s girlfriend, Silvah, and I shared a dance, where she talked about the dearth of strong female roles in cinema and wanting to win the biggest acting prize there was.  I got the impression she wanted to be known as more than “Matthew Hamming’s latest bit of eye candy.”  I just smiled. 

Meanwhile, I wasn’t expecting Jupiter to come and Lola not to come.  But Lola had a reason – she was out of town performing in Twinbrook.  Twinbrook, of all places. 

Jupiter surprised me by letting loose a few bars of ‘I Would if I Did.’  He looked shy and uncomfortable.  He was struggling with the chords as if he'd schooled himself. I would have loved to have shown him, but he had the whole 'don't you DARE come near me' aura about him. Besides, it's a pride thing, something I'm all too aware of. It would be nice to teach him, but I guess I'll just have to wait.

Talk soon.

Love, Bassy

Wake-up Call

I’m in China now, but I delivered a stern warning to my brother as soon as he got up the next morning.  It’s late at night in Shang Simla while he’s just waking up in Bridgeport so I picked the perfect time to give him a buzz. 

“You’ve got to come clean.”

Of course, what I was talking about was the persistent and insistent rumors of his relationship with pop star Lola Belle. 

“I can’t do this for you, Bassy.  You’ve got to do it.”

He sounded confused.  “What are you talking about?”

“The paparazzi chased me down in China.  During my first news conference every single question they asked was about whether or not you’re hooked up with Lola.”

“You’re in China?  Wha?”

“Yeah, I’m after Pangu’s Axe.”

“Does Andy know?”

“I told him weeks in advance.  He knew about my business trip.”

“Oh.  I see.”

“But I digress.  Bassy, they chased me down in China looking for anything about you and Lola.  You need to come clean about the nature of the relationship, whatever it is.  I really don’t care at this point, you’re a grown man and can do what you want.  If she makes you happy, then I’m happy.”

“We’re just friends.”

“Well, you need to tell that to the media.  Tell your agent to release something, anything about it.  Otherwise this thing is just going to continue to fester.  It’s got legs and the press is running with it.  I heard giggling girls asking about “Lola Belle” in Mandarin.  Her romances are front page news.”

He let out a deep breath.  I hope he does it. 

Love, Bassy #23

Hey sis,

My plants grew nice and tall.  I did what u told me, to fertilize them with either fresh or store-bought material.  Now I have enuf lettuce and tomatoes to make that autumn salad for Jupiter.

That’s Jupiter.  Lola Belle’s adopted son.  I’ve got work to do.

Anyway, Saturday was my day off and I had to go to the bookstore because Ms. Simms was there signing books.  I haven’t read it yet and I’m not going to.  I just basically showed my face there.

That’s the book cover. 

Anyway, that’s not the most interesting thing that happened there, even though the place was packed. 

The Hammster made his first public appearance there with his new girlfriend.

I had heard rumors that they were together but I guess they made their pairing official. 

 

She walked ahead of Matt and then she stood outside the bookstore waiting for me to come out. 

“Hey, Sebastian, what’s up?” Matt said.

“Oh, nothing much, just signing books,” I told him.

“That autobiography thing?  Yeah, that lady wrote one on me too.  I don’t know who her sources are.”

He then introduced me to his red-clad girlfriend, Silvah Spencer.  Personally, Vanna, just between you and me, I think she is scary. 

Gotta go get ready for the studio Christmas party.  Talk more later.

Love, Bassy

Back to Work

 

Hey sis,

I’m back in Bridgeport which means I’m back to the daily grind of work and rehearsals.

Oh yeah, and scripts.  Got another one yesterday, which means I’m up to five to choose from.  And they run the gamut – science fiction, drama, romantic comedy.

I learned how to make key lime pie, Vanna.  Dad used to love having these for breakfast.  I had a craving for one when I woke up so I got up and fixed one.

I got the Christmas tree put up in the house.  It’s not that big, since it’s just me in the house.

Apparently Matthew Hamming has yet another new female on his arm.  I don’t know who she is though, she’s not familiar to me. 

I know you might find it strange that I’m practicing piano in the bathroom, but the acoustics in here are much better than anywhere else in the house.  Plus there’s this amazing view from the window. 

Hey sis, whaddya think of me as a mad scientist?

Love, Bassy