More with Danny Nero of Firefly fame.  This photo is him in a costume from the flashback scene of the Battle of Du-Khang from “The Message.”

D: You contributed heavily to Firefly Still Flying, a book detailing interviews with cast, crew, and writers that includes unpublished stories and extensive set photos.  Your photos seem to be the bulk of the image portion of the book.  Were you the set amateur “camera guy”?  Do you take a lot of photos on all your sets?  Did the producers not have any issue with that?

Danny: I don’t think I’ve ever taken so many pictures on a set as I did with Firefly but so many other cast and crew did as well. There is kind of an understanding that you won’t ever do anything with the pictures that would embarrass anyone or be a spoiler. Joss had me shoot one of the electricians riding a crane with a light that moved quickly to simulate Serenity doing a tricky space maneuver because he thought it looked cool. It was all cool for me!

D: What are your thoughts on the show itself?  Are you yourself a fan?

Danny: I was and am still a fan of the show. There are always the what ifs and if onlys when a good show doesn’t make it. It sure wasn’t for lack of trying! My only regret was not finding enough shade when we went out to Sable Ranch for  Jaynestown. Three long days in that sun lowered my resistance to that evil little virus lurking in so many of us and I ended up with a light but still painful case of shingles. Big Ouch!

D: You also worked with Joss on Angel.  How was that show to work on?

Danny: I got the job standing-in on Angel from the original DP, Herb Davis.  We had met on “Brimstone”, another ill-fated Fox show that had a pretty good fan base.  I stood in for the lead actor Peter Horton and it was my first trip into the supernatural world.

(Angel image courtesy of the womens t shirt category)

I thought it was a great premise and we all felt that the show had a very good chance of making it. The network had other ideas however and I believe we just did 11 or 12 episodes. The show did require all of us to work quite a few all-nighters and that takes a little getting used to. You might begin the week with a 7am call but by Friday you had a 5pm call and it  became “Fraturday” very quickly. That leaves you with a short weekend. It was good training for our next series “Angel”. So we left Warner Bros and Paramount was our new home.

So you have the conversation started, reached the two minute point, and she hasn’t maced you yet.  Kudos.  Now what are you going to talk about?

Again, the main thing should be her.  You need to seem honestly interested in her (and, to be honest, actually be interested in her).  However, if she is somewhat reserved you will have to find some things to talk to her about.

One of the best things you can do to keep a conversation moving is give her a compliment of some kind.  However, be aware there are good compliments and bad compliments.  Most women are more or less looking for a reason to get rid of guys bugging them and the first thing you say that they can choose to interpret negatively is their rip cord and for the most part they will pull it.

So, as always, I will start with what NOT to compliment her on.

1.  Any part of her body, especially breasts, legs, or more or less any part thereof.  Even something as innocuous seeming as her hands is a huge land mine.  Women are for the most part massively insecure about a lot of stuff you wouldn’t believe, and something as innocent as “Your hands are very slender and clever looking” can easily trigger her pathetic self contempt for her skinny fingers.  Also, mentioning any part of her body that can be interpreted as a sexual turn on (and for most guys, that can be any part of her body) will put you permanently into the creep category.  Stay away.

2.  Most of her clothing.  There are a few exceptions to this, but most women use clothing to hide the things they feel insecure about and mentioning it will only reminding them about it.  Also, complimenting a woman on her dress is an open invitation to throw out a “Does this dress make me look fat” trap for which there is no good answer.

3.  Any observed perception of what you think her religion, politics, or other agenda may be.  This is all fodder for the first and second date.  Don’t mess around with it.

Ok, so what can you safety compliment her on?  Here are a few items.

1.  A very general appreciation about her looks if she looks dressed up.  “You look fabulous.”  Don’t get into specific items.

2.  Shoes.  Women love shoes (I have a theory on this, but won’t get into it today).  They seem to love compliments about their shoes, especially if it looks a little different from what every else is wearing.  In my experience, if a woman is wearing boots of some kind (especially if they are unusual color boots or have tassels or something hanging off them) she is fishing for compliments on her footwear.  Don’t disappoint her.

3.  Jewelry.  This is another category of things women wear to get compliments.  Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings are all open to comment.  HOWEVER, if she is wearing a pendant that is combined with a really plunging neckline and some good cleavage comment on her earrings.

Hey, Diana.  Nice bracelets!

(image courtesy of the comic book t shirts)

4.  Handbag.  This is a weird one, in that some women love handbags and will literally spend thousands of dollars on a single bag whereas others don’t really care much at all and throw their stuff into whatever sack they have lying around.  However, in general the smaller the bag, the more worth of a compliment.  Also, it is worth your time to go to a high end department store and learn what the logo’s of the higher end bags looks likes and compliment her on her bag by name (“Is that a Prada bag?”).  If a woman is carrying around a $3500 handbag she is most likely so desperate for a compliment on it your comment will feel like the first breath of air after being trapped under the ice, if you know what I mean.

5.  Hair.  Women spend a lot of time on their hair, and for the most part appreciate a good compliment on it.  Color (as long as it’s not gray) comments are generally well received if it is obviously an artificial color (“Your hair has the coolest green highlights”) but stay away if it looks like she is attempting to look natural, even if it is painfully obviously not her natural color.

6.  Any apparent ability she has, especially if it something “fun”.  Tell her she is a great dancer, runner, drinker, or whatever (“Wow, you can really hold your own on these Jager shots”).  Everyone loves being noticed for some kind of ability.

That’s some good guidelines.  As always, remember that things are all situational, and keep in mind that two minute rule.

T shirts, that is.  I was saying at DundraCon that my goal was 300 different shirts on our site, and as of last night we are at 301.  I am very excited.

Played a great game of Warhammer last night against a guy from Belgium.  I am playing a list I call “the Brown Submarine.”  Basically it is purposely weak in order to get some really soft games round one and two of any tournament and win through soft points.  Of course that requires that I upgrade the paint considerably, but I am working on it in whatever free time I have (almost none).  I also enjoy playing it in that I have to work really hard to win.  It is a thinking man’s army.

Anyway, back to the t shirt grind.  I am happy to say my women’s t shirt section has grown fivefold, from one to five including this gem from my movie t shirt section.  I will be expanding my selection as my budget allows.  That being said, I have another six new men’s shirts to work on today.

Anyway, looking forward to a good weekend.  I have a few things going on for a change.  I’ll talk about terrain day next post.