Hate To Say it but I Told You So

So I was scrolling on yahoo the other day when low and behold an article came up and I almost spit my hot cup of happiness a la Dunkins all over my macbook.  The title "6 Reasons Actresses Over 40 are Hotter Than Ever in Hollywood"  I was thinking "WOW finally someone in the entertainment industry is using their coconut"!  

I have always said that age is just simply irrelevant to talent.  If someone is 16 it does not make them more talented than someone who is 50.  In fact one could argue that if anything the 50 year old is more talented than the 16 year old because they have had that many more years to work on their craft.

As a female pursuing a career in entertainment for what seems like forever, I have had my fair share of run ins with people who are obsessed with numbers.  Which is simply ignorant.  All that matters is if you are legal to do the job you might be applying for and if you have the talent and or qualification for that position.  Not just in entertainment, but in all aspects of our every day life I see people who are discriminated against simply because of the day they were born.  There are people in their 60's who have given up looking for a job simply because they get so discouraged after being passed over for younger candidates for so long.

People are all different.  We all have been born with our own unique talents and abilities and not one of us on this planet is the same.  Personally I think that is something to be celebrated.  Aging is inevitable, everyone is going to get to be 40, 50, or even a-gasp 65 one day.... even my little buddy Rebecca Black and yes even Justin Beiber.  Everyone ages differently especially based on lifestyle.  I'm Greek so I'm not worried, I've got the olive oil in my genes to keep me well preserved. ;o)

The question should be, does this person have the qualifications for the position they are going for?  Whether it is in entertainment or for a regular job.  If it is entertainment the question should be can this person sing, act or whatever it happens to be for, and are they marketable, do they look the part?  For a regular job same thing, does this person have the skills and knowledge to perform this job, period?  No one can control what opportunities they have had or not had in their life.  Just because someone has not yet had a legitimate proper "opportunity" does not mean they are not talented.  It just means it is not their time yet.

I say kudos to the actresses featured in this article and also to the millions of other people in the world out there who at some point in their life have had to battle age bias. This article is vindication that my theory is correct, "Age is irrelevant to talent" . 

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D
www.avaaston.com

Fireworks Scrapped

You've got to be kidding me!

When I read this on my Yahoo homepage recently the words screaming in my coconut were "Whatchutalkingaboutwillis?!"  Seriously...  I actually almost spit my Dunkin's hot cup of happiness all over macbook when I read it.  We have resorted to canceling Fireworks on Military bases to save money, really?

OK it's no big secret that Greek Girl rolls to right side of the political isle but this should be a no brainer for anyone using their brain on either side of the isle.  HELLO our men and women in uniform are the reason we are free to think, be and speak freely.  They serve at home and abroad in countries across the globe in conditions that most of us wouldn't last five minutes in.  Yet we can't find any other place to make cuts to our budget than to cut the one thing that represents that freedom to the people who are standing up to keep us free on the day that represents Freedom?

Houston I think we have a problem.  The king on his throne in DC has no problem shutting down tours to the White House to make a political point, yet at the same time could not find anywhere to cut any money from the $100 Million trip to Africa?  It's common sense people, simple math at the most elementary form 2 + 2 = 4.  In order to cut a budget you need to make actual cuts.  Cutting from one place and then continuing to spend uncontrollably adding extravagances to other places will not change the math in the end.

So while all this finger pointing goes on the people who do the most are getting short changed and on the most important day, of all times.  Independence Day is sacred to our History as a Nation.  It's not about the sales and the barbecues, it's about Freedom, Liberty, and Independence.  An experiment called America that was once and although being stressed to her limits still is the last great beacon for Liberty and Freedom from Tyranny in the entire world.  While the media slug it out for their guy our men and women in uniform will be left standing there to an empty sky.

I find this so sad... where is the reverence, the respect, the honor for the job they do?  Sure we can get sponsors to put on a great Macy's Fireworks display and concert to be televised across the nation.  Yet where are these same sponsors to put on fireworks displays at the bases who are getting the cuts?  Just wondering...

I might not be a big music star yet, but if I were I would surely be putting on a big show for our men and women in uniform with Fireworks!  In the meantime I offer what I have.  Inspired by ignorant comments from Bill Press and Daniel Tosh saying the Anthem was "embarrassing and un-singable" among other things;  my good buddy Alfonzo Rachel (click to learn about Zo here) asked me to do a special version of our National Anthem with him.

To all of our men and women in uniform past present and future, Thank You for your service.  In my humble Greek Girl opinion you are a National Treasure!  Please know that although there may be mixed messages coming from the top, we the American People still value and appreciate your sacrifice more than words can say.
Have a safe, fun and blessed 4th of July, and please don't forget to say "Thank You" to a Service Member.

Blessings, Love & Music ~

Ava :D
www.avaaston.com

Pizza By The Slice

Picture this, last year during Easter week I'm sitting there drinking a hot cup of happiness brewed fresh from my new Keurig machine as I was getting my day going.  The checkbook was balanced, workout was done and I was all ready to start the day. So I'm just sitting there updating my Facebook, googling this and stumbling upon that when all of a sudden Yahoo tells me where to find the country’s best pizza.  All I could think was, “Is it true?  Can the country's best pizza be right here in my own backyard?... 

Just then my iPhone rang snapping me out of my pizza daze and it’s my manager Mr. Bricks.  But this time he’s not calling to ramble on about McRib's being back again.  To my surprise he is actually calling to tell me I need to get my Greek butt in gear because I have an audition in an hour.

Perfect I’m thinking, I’ll slide on by and grab a slice of the country's "best pizza" right after my audition.  So I grabbed my sweetie, laced up my sneakers and together we set out on a mission.  We were super excited.  See when it comes to pizza by the slice it’s something of a tradition or almost a religious experience for us.  In a way it’s like a perpetual Easter Egg hunt.  We go around all over the place searching high and low in every town we travel to, in order to find the best slice.

In my noggin nothing quite compares to a fresh hot slice washed down by an iced cup of happiness followed by a little chocolate treat.  Being that it was right around Easter we were already in the egg-hunt mode and we were off.

So we hurried off to my audition as fast as we could because we were both about to digest our spleens.  I race inside and flash my Greek baby-blues and flip my golden locks.  (Yes I booked it – hello people… Cystex Cranberry).  Then as fast as could be I was back in the car on 21^st and 5^th ave in NYC.  My sweetie had already entered the location of the Pizza-Joint that was proclaimed to be the “best slice in NY” into his iPhone GPS.  We drove right past what up until then we had considered the best pizza in the city, the one we had always gone to.  We felt a little kick in the heart as though we were about to cheat on them.

We raced uptown on 8^th ave, then right on 57^th and a quick left into Central Park to cut down on time.  Dodging people on bikes and skates buggies and pigeons we came to 110^th street just before stopping outside “Presidential Pizza before making a halting stop and almost ran down a meter maid while doing so.  “What are we getting?” I asked.  Without blinking he said, “The usual.  The only way to truly know if the pizza is as good is to go with a good old fashioned slice of plain.”

I stroll up to the counter, “Give me two slices of plain,” I say.  I was probably bouncing like a little kid in a candy store with a grin from ear to ear as I said it I was so hungry.  Then the man slides me two pieces on some paper plates.  I dab off some of the grease with a napkin so I won’t drip on my outfit or my sneakers.  Then I sprinkle them with oregano just before leaving to join my sweetie waiting in the car.  I hand a slice to him and we both revel for a few seconds in the joy of knowing we are about to eat the holy grail of all pizza.  We both simultaneously chomp down and I'm thinking  “Good Grief - I want to die"… not because it was good but because it was the worst piece of pizza pie I had ever had.  Then about the same time we both say "this pizza is Gross!" It was like chewing on a piece of cardboard.  There wasn't enough sauce, and the cheese was like rubber.  The iced coffee and Cadbury eggs were going to have to save the day, and save the day they did.

The moral of the story... you can't always believe everything you read on the internet.  Sure it was muckery to go on a wild goose chase to eat what in my humble opinion was the worst slice of pizza I have ever had, but at the end of the day if that's the worst thing that happened, I'm doing pretty good.  I'm happy, healthy, I have a sweetie, four fur~babies, and a heavenly father who loves me so much that he sent his only son to die for me.  Yeah, it's Easter Sunday, he is Risen and that means for me - life is pretty darn good.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Trending Now

Sara Jessica Parker channeling her "Inner Red Riding Hiding".

This just in....  Breaking news - Extra Extra - Today's trending topics among other very important information....  Apparently Victoria Beckham was photographed wearing "ballet flats" and not her trademark stiletto high heels, (huuuh gasp the horror).  Jennifer Aniston was seen wearing the same bikini not for one season, but for two years in a row now - huh... gasp ~ How can that be?  

In other breaking news Kim Kardashian's shelved music video (if we can call it that) was leaked onto the internet.  Daryl Hannah arrested at Pipeline Protest outside the White House, shocking... couldn't she just have been more sweet like Suzanne Somers and gone on to write books & hawk stuff everywhere on QVC? just sayin.  OK if you have even a smidge of a brain cell in your head you have to be thinking the same thing this Greek Girl is thinking, "Seriously...  THIS is News?!?"

Hold the Presses - She wore it more than once.

Have we as a society become this shallow?  Honestly, do any of us care what bikini Jennifer Aniston wears? (well anyone besides Mr. Bricks that is) Sure, we all enjoy the moments while standing in the grocery store line where we learn what it's like growing up Jolie-Pitt, but really we have some seriously pressing issues going on and most people are blind to it.

Here is what should be trending:

1. Over 40 people died from Hurricane Irene & Vermont is devastated
2. FEMA is out of money (geeze I can't imagine why)
3. 9/11 has no clergy allowed?  Hello?  Anyone else think this is just stupid?
4. Jason Statham has a movie coming out with DeNiro soon (not one but 2 of my favorite actors, hello!!)
5. There may be a cure for cancer on the horizon, (for real look it up)
6. Why does the Abercrombie & Fitch Jr. store have thong undies for little girls (that is so wrong on so many levels)
7. Ava Aston is in the studio working on some new tunes (selfish plug)
8. China, Egypt, North Korea, Lybia... uh Hello! Plenty of concerns there.
9. Why is the Jersey Shore still on TV (let alone why it was ever on TV?)
10. Rebecca Black - - oh wait never mind.

At least Brad Pitt & Kate Winslet are trending for having rescued people, not for what they were wearing, eating, dating and so on.  All I'm saying, is people wonder why we (Americans) are scoffed at and made fun of by other nations.  The majority of the items that are "trending" or on the front page of Yahoo are so silly and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  I know I am one for being positive, speaking positive, thinking positive, and seeing the good in people and in things.  However burring your head in the sand and choosing to focus on and to promote these pretty things as "news worthy" to me, well it just makes my noggin hurt.  I mean really, what was Sarah Jessica Parker thinking wearing that dress anyways? ;D

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox
www.avaaston.com

Celebrity Tattoos

Angelina Jolie, Celebrity Tattoo Pioneer?...

Inked, marked, tatted, whatever you choose to call it.  It seems like there's a lot of celebs running around getting tattoos these days.  According to my trusty Yahoo news headlines Leann Rimes & Reese Witherspoon are the latest ladies to get "inked" for love.  For those of you who may be wondering, yes the Greek Girl does have a tattoo.  Now before you go getting your pantaloons all in a wad, relax - no it doesn't say "mom", "dad" and no it is not the name of some long lost love named Brad.  (Good Gravy, give the Greek Girl some credit).  My tattoo is on my ankle, is small and quite unique ~ although it is about someone I love... my tattoo is of (cue drumroll).... Eric Cartman from Southpark.

My ink... this is how I roll :D

OK, why Eric Cartman you my be thinking to yourself?  I'll tell you why, because he's cute, and he makes me laugh.  Ever since I saw my first episode I was hooked.  There is just something about Eric that makes me laugh myself silly.  If I were a cartoon I'd probably date him (wait a minute I am a cartoon "Ava the Diva" & that's a blog I already wrote).  My mom has a special made birthday cake made for me every year of him.  Disclaimer, remember I love the show Southpark, do I think it is a show for kids? No...  It's a grown up cartoon that makes fun of everything and shows us how silly we can actually be at times about life.

I decided to put on my detective hat to find out how many celebrities have tattoos.  Is it just Rock Stars and Wrestlers or what?  So since the list would go on forever, I decided to put together the following random list of celebs who you may or may not have known are inked:

Dwayne Johnson aka "The Rock"
Christina Aguilera
Justin Bieber (didn't even know he was old enough to get a tattoo - even with parents permission, isn't there a law about that? well if not there should be - just sayin)
Rihanna
David Beckham
Angelina Jolie (times a bakers dozen - again just sayin)
Mike Tyson (now what the heck was he thinking on that one, seriously... that thing is like something you do when you loose a bet in a frat house initiation)
Charlize Theron
Johnny Depp
Lady Gaga
Heidi Klum
Eminen
50 Cent
Pink

As I said, this list is long and could go on and on, but you get my drift.  Why so much ink, one might ask.  I think it is because most actors/musicians are pretty passionate people and need an expressive outlet.  Some would say we artists have a tendency to go to extremes.  Yeah I guess that could be said.

I'm just glad I didn't choose to tat up some name I might grow to never want to see again somewhere that would be impossible to miss.  I for one am very glad I opted for a teeny little homage to one of my very favorite guys ~ Eric Cartman.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox
www.avaaston.com

Another Hollywood Remake

If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It...

So was it just me or was anyone else sitting there saying to themselves "They're going to what, whatchutalkinboutwillis?!?!" When Yahoo splashed the news tidbit about Dirty Dancing being remade. This is again a case of a situation causing the Greek Girl to temporarily loose her filter. Seriously, note to Hollywood: STOP remaking movies and start finding original screenplays.

My only issue with this is that it doesn't "need" to be remade.  There is an old saying, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Ah hello? Bueller, Bueller?  Anyone?  Is Hollywood listening?  For crying out loud there was talk about remaking Ferris Bueller and even The Breakfast Club.  Like I said, I get the idea of doing a remake, but at least do it from something from 50 years ago or at least a movie that in it's first go-round was not so hot.

So what is my point?  As an avid filmgoer and an actor I love to watch new movies. Nothing is better than watching a new story never before seen be told and unfold before your eyes.  Who wants to watch the new version of Grease or Dirty Dancing?  We know the story,  we know what happens,  we know how it ends, period.  There are tons of amazing screenwriters and screenplays just waiting to be made.  Is it so hard to think outside of the box and make an actual "original" movie vs. the "Hollywood formula" remake with the same 10 actors in it?

Okay, here are some movies I think are okay being remade:

• Anything with Charlie Chaplin
• Any silent movie
• Three Stooges (in production now)
• Little Rascals
• Mr. Ed

Here are others that just cannot be remade (at least until they are 50 years old):

• Dirty Dancing
• Grease
• The Outsiders
• The Breakfast Club (they'll just ruin it with arbitrary nudity and crass language)
• Rocky (any of them)
• E.T.
• Jaws
• Ghost Busters
• Back to the Future

You get my drift as this list can go on for infinity.  The point is it gets old seeing movies over and over as a remake with the same 10-15 actors.  Time for some originality Mr. Demille.

Blessings, Love & Music,
Ava xox

www.avaaston.com