I had a Zoom meeting with a Hollywood producer this morning.
Which is a very cool sentence to type out, but not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. I’d love to say I was pitching the screenplay for my novel to some big-time movie studio, but alas, I was merely interviewing a guy for a CenturyCo newsletter article. And he’s not even the main subject, but instead, a sidebar.
Still: a producer’s a producer, and Sean Covel is no slouch. He’s best known for a little film called Napoleon Dynamite. I first him in 2019, when I worked at Ye Olde Publishing Company. Sean and my former boss are friends, though I have no idea how or why. One day, he dropped off an autographed Napoleon Dynamite poster at the office. I shook his hand and we chatted briefly. Sean’s a South Dakota native and, up until a few months ago, lived in Deadwood. He recently relocated to Boulder, Colorado. Super nice guy. If he ever did want to turn No Time for Kings into a motion picture, I wouldn’t be against the idea.
Just sayin’.
Anyhoo. Sean’s been writing a series of popular children’s books called Porter the Hoarder. There are seven now and counting. The illustrator for the books, Rebecca Swift, lives in Bridgewater, South Dakota and is a CenturyCo customer. She’s the focus of my article. And a very interesting person in her own regard. Rebecca’s a makeup artist who works on feature films and, just for fun, does herself up to look like famous people. Check out her Jack Sparrow!
She’s also a musician who auditioned for American Idol and made it as far as Hollywood Week. Who knew such talent existed in rural South Dakota, amirite? Because Sean grew up in Edgemont, which is also in our service territory, I’m including a sidebar on what that experience was like and how in the heck he managed to bust out of Small Town, USA, and become a movie producer.
I’m telling you: my job does not suck.
The weather, on the other hand? Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of suck. Let’s just say we went from summer to winter in the span of 24 hours. Y’all know how much I love snow, so I was in heaven!
And even though this happens every year—seriously, this is our fourth October in Rapid City, and the fourth October in which it has snowed—it still catches me off guard. Especially this time, because they were forecasting rain in town, with snow confined to the Black Hills.
Tell that to the heavy, wet 3.2″ that covered the ground and nearly destroyed our lilac.
Just last week, it was 90º in Rapid City. Yesterday, it barely got out of the 30s.
Our weather here is nuts.
We ended up with about 2″ of liquid precipitation, which was sorely needed as we’ve been in a drought for a year and a half. Some places in the Hills ended up with close to two feet of snow.
Naturally, it’ll be pushing 70º this weekend, so this was just a brief taste of what is to come.
Brief but welcome. Bring it on!
Mark My Words 
Very cool makeup. I had to look twice to make sure that wasn’t really Johnny Depp. As for crazy weather, I hear you. Maine can be like that as well. Those extra early snow storms are fun and make for great photos.
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I know! I’ve stared at that photo a long time and can’t believe it’s her. There are also pics of her as Donald Trump and a few others, but Captain Jack is by far the best.
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If I had to look in the mirror and see Donald Trump? I’d switch professions…
😈
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I’d smash the mirror!
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Super cool! All of it! Can we read the articles somehow?
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I’ll see if I can link to them once they’re published! Believe it or not, they’re going out the old-fashioned way (printed and mailed), but if there’s an online version I can point you to, I’ll do it.
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Actually, I forgot – we cross-post to our brand journalism site. I’ll share the links next month.
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I hung laundry out to dry today in CANADA but I fear it was the last day for this to occur this year…
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You’re a brave soul. A brave soul who must really love the smell of clothes that have been dried outside in the fresh air!
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I particularly enjoy a reduction in my electricity bill. 🙃
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I am so very envious of your weather! It is hot and as dry as a desiccant pack here in SoCal.
At least line drying one’s clothes is quick and cheap?
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In case nobody told you…DON’T EAT THE AIR.
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Just a day or two we turned from “what a gorgeous autumn” to “brrr” and we’re all wearing jackets now. As for your snow: too soon!
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And yet, right on time for these parts!
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Ugh on that weather. It’s still in the 80’s here and I’m loving it. However, a cool down is headed our way. Sad face.
That’s a great transformation into Jack Sparrow for a woman. The pony beads are cracking me up.
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FWIW, we’re headed back into the 70s on Sunday/Monday. And then back down to the 40s on Tuesday. This is known as roller coaster season in the Black Hills!
(Actually, I just made that up. But it fits.)
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Your job does not suck!
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I count my lucky stars every day!
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Your job does NOT suck.
Napolean Dynamite is one of my favorite movies because apparently, I’m a 12-year-old.
Rebecca’s makeup is amazing—I thought that was Mr. Depp himself.
Snow. WOW. It sure is pretty!
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It’s funny, the first time I watched Napoleon Dynamite, I hated it. But for some reason the catchphrases stuck in my head, so I decided to give it a second chance. And loved it that time. Weird!
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Weird but good!
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Loved the post but baffled by the title? I know nothing of popular culture…
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It’s one of the popular quotes from “Napoleon Dynamite”!
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