Erica From the Toyota Commerical (real person or actress) - The Answer!

Hey Folks,

So recently I turn on the TV and I see this Toyota Commercial - with this girl. This Girl named Erica. This girl named Erica, that I know!

So immediately I check out her facebook to just double check. to Go leave a wall comment, but I'm greeted by a barrage of people congratulating her on the commercial (and the car). So I write her an email and congratulate her.

For all of you that are curious - this is all for real.

Toyota up and gave Erica a Corolla. She didn't know it was going to happen, she wasn't hired by Toyota. She is a pastry chef. Her website The Chocolate House is here
There's also a Facebook page for The Chocolate House

However she is actually also an aspiring actress. But not a working actress (well till now, kind of). So in a way both things are true. Here's a picture I took of her a few years back.

I recently talked her in to getting more online. You can now also find her on:
Twitter - http://twitter.com/PastryErica
Dailybooth - http://dailybooth.com/PastryErica

Stay Strong,
-SamProof

Get Ready to Get Gone.

Hey Folks,

This is my novel. This is Gone.

I've been talking about it here and there for 3 years now. And in the meantime it's been sitting there gathering dust.

I grew up in a time before the complete internet saturation that we have now. In my youth people had dreams like being a Blockbuster celebrity, a Super Model, a Best Selling Author. Something that the globe would respect.

I've always held to the dream that I would be a Steven King, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams. That I would have a shelf in Borders and Barns & Nobels right next to Annie Proulx or whatever smaller flavor of the month has snuck on to the spot.

So when POD and Self Publishing options became readily available on the internet I shunned them (a lot).

As the internet has taken over the idea of Niche Celebrity has become prominent.

And I'm sitting here wondering what's worse? Not seeing my childhood dream taken to completion, or having my book not even be read by a single person.

I think the fear one might have of the former, is that this is their only shot.
That if they put it out there and it's not instantly a giant success, then they've failed.

I know that 'Gone' will not be the end of my attempts, will not be the last book I write or put out there. So if it fails, if it doesn't become an over night sensation, I'll live through it.

So What Happens Now?

Now, I put it out there.

I'm giving myself one month to get my shit together. To research the different POD companies, the Self publishers, send query letters out to small publishers, literary agents, anyone... and then I make a choice and go forward with publishing Gone .

As my friends

I ask that you hold me to it.

We all know I'm as ADD as the next guy and tomorrow something shiny will distract me.

But this is the biggest dream I have, get my book on the shelves, and this is the first step.

• So ask me how things are going.
• Tweet me links to POD sites
• Post blogs about my efforts
• encourage me, cheer me on, be a part of this journey with me.
• tell me what you want to see while I'm doing this

Just writing this, I get that shiver in my spine and a pulse in my eyes.

I know this is what I must do, I know the outcome I want.
It's just finding the path to that place that I'm lost on.
So Now I'm going as far in to the woods as I can, because that's the only way to find your way out.

Stay Strong,

-SamProof

My 3 Goals for 2010

Hey Folks,

A while back I was tagged by my favorite Dane @JulieOfSuburbia To do my top ten list of things I wanted to do in 2010.

Click the pic for the list

It's only 3 months in and I'm re evaluating the list. A lot of the things have been nipped and tucked. Some of the names have changed to protect the innocent and interestingly enough something haven't changed at all.

For starters #1 - Produce my 8 episode web series Hat Trick (this link does nothing yet)

I'm not going to go over the whole list and it's nips and tucks.

I'm narrowing my focus to 3 things

Not that I don't plan to do the other things. But sometimes You need to tell yourself to focus

From now on, beyond all the Fiestamovement stuff I do and talk about - my main goals are this:

1) Expand on Video Fight Club
2) Produce the Webseries Hat Trick
3) Publish my Novel 'Gone'

I've rallied against POD/Self Publishing in the past, and now I'm going to throw everything I've said out the window and see if I can make it work.

I'll be exploring companies with a new eye, picking one very soon and publishing my book.

I plan to also provide a version to download to Kindle, etc.

I hope as my friends and followers you'll take a chance on my novel - I've had some amazing feedback on it already. But you're the ones that are going to help me make the jump from Self Publish to National Distribution on Bookstore shelves.

I made this video way too long ago, and lost my momentum. I'm back baby!



Stay Strong,

-SamProof

Ford Race Track?

Hey Folks,

I can't be 100% sure, but I do believe come Saturday morning, I'll be whipping around this sucker.

Stay Strong,

-SamProof

Holding Pattern

Hey Folks,

God I'm kind of just going through the motions this week. I'm like sleepwalking through the days until Friday rolls around.

I almost called off Video Fight Club for the week, because the actress was running late.
Now I'm sitting on some videos I could be editing. I could be setting things up for future projects. Hell I could be doing laundry.

But man I just want to float along until Friday, until I'm in Detroit.

Hell I've still got the spare tire on my car. Not that I've been driving it anywhere, but I wanted to take care of that already.

It's not that I'm not doing things, I'm actually still just as busy as always but I can feel "it" inside me. I want to be a sloth. I want to Sleep the days away and wake up on an East bound plane.

You know something big is coming and it's like "Can I just stop doing this crap already?"

Not that I do crap, I mean sometimes, but don't judge! :)

So here I sit in a holding pattern, waiting to taxi to my destination (both literally and figuratively.) In the meantime I best be running off so I can scarf food and head over to the top story weekly writers meeting.

Stay Strong,

-SamProof

How to Curse a Car Thief

Hey Folks,

In response to my recent car theft, I made this video.



Stay Strong,

-SamProof

Onward Ho! Team NerdProof Plans in action

Hey Folks,

This snowball is rolling along! Everyday seems to be a new barrage of emails and things to fill out, and send back to Ford - And I like it that way.

The moments after I've filled out the paperwork, sent in the pictures, replied to the emails... I'm just sitting there (unless some one steals a wheel off my car, then I'm thinking up creative curses to enchant the thief like "May you find yourself the recipient of an itchy distended spleen" OR "I hope you get Super AIDS" - I learned this from my dear friend Jim Tucker, who has all but disappeared from life.) So I like the momentum of things to do and be done and sent away in to the ether.

Today my inbox looks like this:


Today "this shit, just got real yo"

To start with we got our NDA's which I'll have to sit down with later, print out, skim over, pretend I comprehend, and then sign away my life. I find it pretty ironic to have an NDA for what is essentially a gigantic PR/Social Media campaign.

I think they should probably have a MDA (Mandatory Disclosure Agreement)
I could only guess what those stipulations would be like

• Please disclose the awesomeness of the product (in a postive light)
• Tweet often about the fun the product brings to you
• Dailybooth at least every two days for 4 months pictures of you enjoying the product
• Blog at least once a month how sexually arousing the product makes you feel.

And now here's a picture.

Click here to add a description

I'm still futzing around with the text (fonts, colors, layer styles...) so if you have opinions let me know!


Stay Strong,

-SamProof

A funny thing happened to me on the way home from improv...

Hey Folks,

I've had a weird feeling all day, swear. Mostly I thought it was all the victory food I'd been eating to celebrate.

So tonight after my improv practice I head off to get in my car and drive home. I have stuff to do! I click my bobble and the car chirps to life (interestingly with no sigh of having gone off - usually it'll chirp a certain way if it had been activated. Today, normal).

I do a double take, cause even though I've hit the alarm and it responded, the car doesn't look like mine... then my brain makes the connection - There's a rock where I should have a wheel.

What?!

As my friend Quentin asks:

My Answer : Criminals.

But that's not all, they also took the front wheel cover.

But hey - they left me two lug nuts. So After going back in to our rehearsal space and grabbing Max, and his sisters jack I throw the spare on and can actually make it home. Where I am now.

I don't even know what to do from here. It's not something I'm going to waste on the cops, my insurance won't give two shits about it... so all I can do is wait until morning and go drop more money that I don't have to get a new one (and rim, tire and all).

Awesome. I hope this got you laid ass hat.

Stay Strong,

-SamProof

Comment of the Day - Damn Bro

Hey Folks,

It's always awesome when one of my videos gets featured somewhere or goes viral, becuase the "real people" step up to the plate and decide they need to leave a comment and make their voice heard.

Which is awesome, cause every comment/view just makes that video this much more popular.

Well yesterday this video did just that - and today I was learned a valuable lesson.

Damn bro, I'm immature. and further more, bros rule the world.
In my defense I didn't know there were a bunch of 5 year olds out there paying rent on an apartment and car, paying bills, cooking for themselves and putting in 8 hr days working on things even though they don't have too, cause they don't have a job.

But shit man, if there is a 5 year old doing all that. He's probably too mature to Bro out online.

And furthermore on the furthermore, I wear it as a badge to know, that inspite of my age and responsibilities I've never lost sight of having fun, being silly and just not taking life too seriously.

Cause it's those people that think, there is such a thing as "growing up" that lose their dreams, have bad blood pressure, get heart attacks, treat other people like shit, get embarrassed, get stuck in dead end jobs, get divorced and die alone. So enjoy your very mature life, bro.

Stay Strong,

-SamProof
PS please feel free to reply to this comment of the day here

Whatever

Hey Folks,

So the year is almost up.

Dinosaur jr. : whatever's cool with me : I've been away...

I've been in a really weird place lately. Crazy sleeping patterns have me grumpy and feeling old, and so this isn't going to be the normal chipper, wacky, goofy, funny me you'd expect.

And who knows maybe I'll be serious from here on out. probably not. This will probably blow over

I've never regretted things much, but lately I find myself doing just that. Pondering on my life and wondering, if I shouldn't have stayed in PA. Wondering if I should have tried harder with this ec girlfriend or that one, wondering if maybe I'm being silly committing to an oath I made myself at 20 to keep my dreadlocks forever.

I don't even know what I look like with out them. Hell i could chop em off and grow them back if it's a mistake... right?

I can't take it back today...

Anyway so that's where my mind is. I feel super ADHD lately, as well. I can barely focus on putting on pants.

Pegboy : dangermare : Last song I ever write, Last song I sing tonight, I'm sick of caring...

Don't take this as some kind of depression post. I'm actually here in great spirits writing this. even though I'm grumpy and frustrated.

The thing is, I think I just need to indulge this mood for a bit. put it out there, to get it out of me.

I've noticed of late that I seem to hold things in more then ever. I'm very reclusive an safe in my protective bubble of habits and routines. I'd make some bold ass statement like once a week I'm challenging myself to do something I wouldn't normally do but you know what? fuck that.

Udora : fade away : I'm crumbling as something I don't wanna be

I'll do what I want, maybe trying new things here and there. But the reason we have a protective bubble is to have a place to feel safe and relax.

Thing is, I don't really ever relax. So what's that say?

Anyway - that's enough rambling for me today

Stay Strong,

-SamProof


Band : Song : lyrics

It's gonna be one of Those Months.

Hey Folks,

If you've been following my twitter you already know - my dad isn't doing well.
In fact there's no talk of recovery at this point. My cousin has notified to hospice and he'll be moving there shortly.

I'm heading on out to FL sometime in the next 40 hours - waiting to hear back from my brother before I buy my over priced ticket.

Then in about a week I'm heading down to ComicCon - which should be the most surreal experience of contrast ever.

And in a few weeks after that, I'll be heading back to PA to help my mom out. Again my brother will be there.

This maybe the most time we'll have spent together since we were both living at home.

I don't know when or why the bonds of family ceased to be cohesive, and I don't know that there's really any getting it back at this point. I'm a loner Dottie, a rebel . I used to quote that jokingly, but I guess somewhere along the lines it just sunk in and became a credo.

My bad?

In the face of all this, I'm not really feeling anything particularly "big" - it's more of a numb and a sense of "shouldn't I be feeling something more here"?

I'm disconnected from the whole thing. I'm sure when I get there, things will be different.

So that's where I'm at.

Stay Strong,

-SamProof