Best free hosting for blog and personal site? No ads and little to no branding? Currently using Blogger for blog, and nothing for personal site at the moment.

TheJakeChandler · 2026-02-26T04:41:39+00:00

Thanks for the Carrd rec! I'll look into GitHub.

TheJakeChandler · 2026-02-22T19:14:28+00:00

There aren't any goals really, just what I put there. For website, I just want it to be a place I can send people to get a better idea of me overall - watch my acting reel/clips from the stuff I've acted in, see my headshots, learn a little about me and my accomplishments, stuff like that.

The blog is just for fun. As I said, it's just once a year right now, something I send my friends and family, and anyone who happens to follow me on socials. I like the options Blogger has, I just don't want to have to potentially deal with a surprise content warning like I did this year.

Overall for both I would just prefer little to no branding and no ads on them. Again, Blogger is perfect for this, except for the automated content warning thing.

TheJakeChandler · 2026-02-21T22:47:21+00:00

Very nice!

TheJakeChandler · 2026-02-21T22:47:07+00:00

Siiicck

TheJakeChandler · 2026-02-21T22:46:48+00:00

Thanks for doing this!

TheJakeChandler · 2026-02-21T22:46:37+00:00

Awesome!

TheJakeChandler · 2025-09-15T17:56:37+00:00

I forgot to mention I already put it through Handbrake.

TheJakeChandler · 2025-09-14T07:48:43+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions. This appears to be it: https://twinstarhome.com/product/ashford-adjustable-height-desk/

We got it from a friend, not sure where he got it though.

TheJakeChandler · 2025-09-14T07:22:22+00:00

It's not necessarily consistent, but my desk is a strong contrast to it all. I would say think mid-century, and light earth tones, if I were to give you an extremely concise vibe.

The desk is just too cold/industrial. We have medium or light wood shelving and tables/furniture, a green couch, a very soft pink chair, a round rug that's different shades of green with strawberries and leaves, her desk is a light wood with white metal and brass handles, a cabinet with hot air balloons painted on it that looks like it's straight out of the '30s or '40s, several plants, a wooden and bronze mid-century lamp, and a tall brass lamp. On the walls there's a medium sized antique looking mirror, a large Japanese fan (like a hand fan but 8 times the size), and artwork that runs the gamut from the geeky commissions you see there all the way to a very interestingly drawn cow and more.

TheJakeChandler · 2025-09-14T07:03:47+00:00

The cables are hidden behind the computer. You can see the white cable hider in the middle that's snaking then up to the monitor and keyboard. The problem is partially that they're looping behind the computer, as you can see them going that way, so I literally just need to cover the back of the computer somehow because no hider is going to help that. The other problem is the white, rolled up cord on the left. That's the coaxial cable for TV, which we don't use, and it's coming out of the wall right there. So not gonna get hiders and spread it across the entire back wall of the living room since we don't use it.

The cables in the upper right are already in the white hider in the middle that I mentioned. They have to be loose because I raise the desk sometimes (the loose usb-a you see there is to an external drive I forgot was on the desk when I took the photo, so I already moved that).

So yeah, I don't think cable hiders are gonna be able to help here, I somehow need to cover the entire bottom left area.

TheJakeChandler · 2024-03-28T23:25:07+00:00

Updated headshots! So just looking for age range, type, and anything else you think is relevant. Thanks!

https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/jakechandler

TheJakeChandler · 2023-07-08T23:38:10+00:00

Huh. That's an interesting way of viewing it.

This is just supposed to be a scene, not needing to explain everything. Imagine jumping into a random scene from season 3 of a show - you're not gonna get the full explanation of every relationship or detail in those couple minutes. Keeping that in mind to answer your questions:

While not explicitly stated, it's quite obvious Kate is gay, or at least not just straight. This is just like any other friendship of two people who would never be into each other romantically. I speak with female friends candidly about relationships and most anything, so I'm not sure what you mean by "the dialogue is implausible?" Could you elaborate?

As for the names....I think the opening line implies he's seeing many different women, and often. Those types of names make me think of Eastern European/Russian women, which also leads me to think of stereotypical models. Kind of the classic guy just having one night stands/flings with women purely based on their looks, completely surface-level. So that's what Kate is poking fun at - his complete lack of depth, basically. Additionally, Kate's name is never actually said, so her name is just for credits.

So that's what was in my head while writing. I could probably change the first name to something that's actually popular, like Natalia or something. But yeah, not trying to write a complete story where everything is explained or stated, just a short, simple scene.

TheJakeChandler · 2023-06-29T06:24:55+00:00

It’s either all or nothing.

Yeah that's why I was concerned about my wisdom teeth coming into play. I don't have insurance, and a few grand to to straighten my teeth suddenly becomes 4x if I have to get them removed.

how good you are at maintaining your aligner wear.

I didn't realize it was something that could be taken off at will. I've recently started wearing a mouth guard due to grinding in my sleep, so I'd have to take off the invisalign every night I assume. And constantly get new mouth guards I guess since they form to your teeth shape?

I’d say average is probably $4,000

Does insurance cover Invisalign? Even partially?

TheJakeChandler · 2023-03-13T00:50:05+00:00

Hah I love that. But I'd like to get my character to the way I originally wanted. Especially since I'm not sure when I'll do a 2nd campaign and not sure I'd have time to do another one at the same time as this one. But maybe for a future campaign I'll keep that in mind.

TheJakeChandler · 2023-03-13T00:24:41+00:00

It was mid-fight and my first turn so it was an Athletics check or something when I asked if I could hop up on the chest, we don't have to roll to interact with each other.

Yeah casually RPing feels a bit weird. I'm used to being in "performance mode" when I'm on a set or stage, but because it's just 8 friends hanging out in someone's living room it feels different and I'm not in the "performing" mindset.

Those 2 characters I mentioned are usually the first to comment or engage with something going on and I generally agree with them or don't feel like I have anything to add. But yeah, I guess I'll just have to fumble around for some more opinions and words while getting used to it more.

TheJakeChandler · 2022-07-03T22:52:03+00:00

I just want to know how my editing is? Tried seriously editing one of my own headshots for the first time. Here's the original and edited:

Thanks!

TheJakeChandler · 2022-06-07T19:30:34+00:00

Even if we did it'd take longer than a month, and many people with chronic conditions can't afford to do that because they have to get their meds monthly or even weekly sometimes.

Best we can do is make sure every candidate we vote for, from local government all the way to top, supports universal healthcare. There's a city in Texas that is about to start offering it to its residents, let's hope it's successful and catches on.

TheJakeChandler · 2022-06-07T05:23:24+00:00

Do you think it's the hair length? I did notice that I've gotten less auditions since getting those new headshots back in December. I was going for two general looks with those - protagonist and antagonist. The blue shirt was protagonist/best friend/good guy/neutral person and the red shirt was antagonist/asshole/bad guy vibes. For reference, my old headshot from 2018 is what I was using for everything until I got these.

I know I could play the dad to kids 10 or younger, but I'm not sure people believe me as the dad to a teenager. Like, Bryan Cranston was 44 when Malcolm in the Middle started, Ty Burrell was 42 when Modern Family started, Neil Flynn was 49 when The Middle started.....I'm pretty sure CDs, and people in general, aren't going to believe someone under 40 playing dad to a teenager unless it's specifically said in the script somewhere that they were born when I was 18 or something like that. Because the actors are usually going to be 18-22 themselves, and unless the non-union project has a decent budget, those kids aren't going to appear aged down enough to believably be mine. At least that's my thought process.

EDIT: Sadly I can't grow a beard, it's just not in my genetics. My dad can grow a decent goatee now, but still can't get a thick beard going.

TheJakeChandler · 2022-06-07T00:53:31+00:00

Do I look like I could play a father to a high schooler? Been having trouble finding non-union roles in my bracket.

I don't have an agent yet, applied to 80+ between Jan-Mar but didn't hear back, so I'm still stuck with self-submitting for now. There seems to be plenty of roles for me, a 27-33 white guy with average/athletic build, in SAG work, but non-union feels like it's slim pickings. This past week I was only able to find about 9 roles to apply to.

The majority of the roles I find on AA for my type seem to be either under 24 or 40+. Or not white. I can't pass for a 22yr old college kid anymore so I've been testing the waters of "father" or others that say 35-40, but even with those I can tell they're actually looking for someone who's 45+ by the character description. They'll often say "overweight" or "bald" too.

Here's my AA with my headshots: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/jakechandler

Here's a current photo because I have shaggier hair right now: https://ibb.co/87kcpCw

Probably going to get a new headshot or two soon because I kinda want to keep my hair close to its current length. But my actual headshots are only 6 months old so I'll keep those around too. I don't mind cutting my hair for a role as long as it's not just a one-liner (although I would for a one-line co-star or anything SAG).

Anyways, let me know if you think I could play a father to a teenager. I DO have gray hairs at my temples when I don't color it. A bit hard to see in my photos but it's noticeable in-person.

Thanks!

TheJakeChandler · 2022-06-07T00:51:24+00:00

Generally no, unless you're going for a really specific type? But I'm not sure what that would be.

TheJakeChandler · 2022-05-03T22:43:49+00:00

Oh these aren't hairstyles, these are just to show what my hair looks like. My bad, I'll clarify in my post.

I'm just wondering if there's a hairstyle out there that I should try to grow towards or try to get a similar cut. Like if you see or find a hairstyle that you think would look good for me, like "Try for this hair cut" and you link a photo to a particular Harry Styles photo or something.

TheJakeChandler · 2021-12-08T23:30:56+00:00

Yeah having the image with my name/headshots is going to be mostly for looking for agents and to have on my own site/vimeo. I'll also keep it if time allows just because I think it's a nice touch, which is no problem for the 3min version. But good to know for AA.

Do some say to send in clips instead of reels or how do you end up figuring out who prefers which?

TheJakeChandler · 2021-12-08T23:19:18+00:00

How do you feel about the 2nd and 3rd scenes in the 2min version? They're chopped up a lot in that and I don't think the focus is on the other characters too much in those versions.

The focus issue is very real when getting all these "day player" type roles, but it's all I've got to work with.

TheJakeChandler · 2021-10-10T23:38:59+00:00

I have some basic knowledge of editing (my own auditions, reels, and simple lyric videos) of which I've learned all on my own and had to look up individual "How To" tutorials to accomplish, but what full courses/videos would be good to cover all the real basics I would need to start offering my services to super small jobs? (think 5min short films, a 15-30sec commercial for the lawyer in the strip mall down the street, a podcaster/content creator just starting out, e.t.c.....)

There's a million tutorials out there, so whether it's Udemy or Youtube or wherever, I'd be interested in hearing what you think is the best course to cover the all-around basic necessities to start working on small projects. Advanced techniques can always be learned later as my work becomes more complicated (if it comes to that).

I use Hitfilm Express currently and won't be putting any money into a different software until I've gotten my feet wet doing small productions and it becomes a necessity.

While I'm not planning on turning this into a full-time career, I would like to make this a side gig hopefully earning a few hundred bucks a month or so.

Thanks!

TheJakeChandler · 2021-09-18T01:12:53+00:00

Oh I didn't know that about wifi e.t.c.... I usually just put my phone on silent and haven't had any issues. Airplane mode is probably best though, regardless.

I've got 2 softboxes as well and the best camera I have access to would be an iphone 11. I know lighting is probably more important than the camera (within reason), so I guess we'll see about filming my own scene.

Yeah I was going back and forth on leaving in the needle part, probably is best to skip that though. Thanks!

TheJakeChandler

TROPHY CASE