In April, I started my own writing group called Free Write NYC. Basically, we're a writing support group for those who have writers block or just a swift kick in the pants to get things done. I did this because I too need a swift kick in the pants and I also figured that it would help get me in shape for the marathon that is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Things have been going well so far: we've had 3 meetings and everyone I've met is just fantastic (we also have 60+ members as of this writing!) But that's not the point of the story.

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a representative from NYC Midnight who wanted to give me a heads up on a writing contest they were holding. The contest was called "Tweet Me a Story" with the basic idea being for each contestant to write up to 3 stories at a max. of 140 CHARACTERS each (including spaces & punctuation). This sounded like a fun idea so I decided to do it (and passed it on to the group as well so that they would hopefully participate).

The day of the contest (Wed. the 27th) I received an email telling me what group I was in (this was an international contest and there were a LOT of applicants) and what word I was supposed to use. To clarify, each group was given a specific word that had to be included in their 140 char. story. My word was "Dive". Only having 5 hrs. to complete the objective, I set to work. The result was good...was it good enough? I have no idea. But is was damn fun.

It is interesting to try to squeeze an intriguing story into such a small space. My method for tackling this was to do my best to include a beginning, middle, and end so most of my stories ended up being 3 sentences long. Another thing was that most of them ended up being relatively "dark" in tone. I think this comes from a sub-conscience desire to make the story interesting and that's usually the first place that people go. Funny takes a little too much time to set-up.

Overall, it was a fun little challenge and I hope my stories do well and make it to the finals. If not, I'm not worried...I had a good time and I feel that, though it is on the opposite side of the spectrum from NaNoWriMo, it's still good practice for writing within constraints. I'll keep everyone posted on how my stories end up doing!

I recently signed up for a service called Triond, wherein you compose articles on whatever you want, submit it to Triond and then they place it on sites where it fits best. Then, based off # of views and ads on the site, they send you a cut of the money (not very much but hey, money is money).
Being out of work and constantly blogging, I decided this would be a good time to take this up: My movie review blog, The Reel Skinny, is doing quite well and, if I make articles for that, why not share my movie views elsewhere and possible get some cash? So I began to write an article and then my brain froze up...I couldn't get what I wanted to say out onto the damn screen. I tried several ways around it, to make things flow the way they usually do but it just wasn't happening. I can't tell you how frustrated I am right now. Maybe I secretly have no interest in the topic I am trying to write about? I dunno, I suppose it's a possibility. Right now, I think I just have too many distractions. I'm gonna put this off till tomorrow (I hate doing that) and hopefully I'll be in a better state of mind to write it then. I'll keep you posted!

*note: You didn't think it was just a one day gig did you?  Oh my friend, you are sadly mistaken.  Here is my journal from day 2 (again, names have been changed) or, in the words of the immortal Meatloaf, "Back into Hell".

-  Well, I"m back on set.  on the plus side, I now have a table to write on.  On the bad side, I'm going to be here for 12 hours and will be making only $35.  Sad face.  I had a very serious struggle of deciding whether or not to come while walking down here.  It's always when I get close to my destination that I start to question if I should go or not, never when I'm right at home.
   Like most extra gigs I've done, all of us were herded into a crowded room and left to fend for ourselves until someone comes to get us.  All is not too bleak however: we do have windows looking out upon the East River.  All of us will probably end up pressing our faces to the glass and wishing that we were as free as those gangster's floating in the river, sleeping with the fishes.  Mmm...sleep....
   As I arrived at the "cattle pen", I found my friend from the other day at the back of the room.  I slowly made my way past the crowded tables, only to find that his table had only 2 chairs, both of which were occupied.  I said hello, put my stuff down and looked about for a free chair.  The table next to this one had 3 empty chairs.  I asked the whole table, "Are these chairs taken?"
   A girl, pretty but vapid, spoke for the rest of the group.  Shaking her head, she said, "yeah.  There are 2 more people coming," in a semi-snotty voice.  I checked my calculations again.  1 chair...2 chairs...3 chairs.  I looked back at her and just stared, hoping the ridiculousness of what she had said would sink in.  After a pause, it seemed to as she said, "You know what?  Go ahead and take it, we'll figure something out," in the same tone an Aunt uses when letting her nephew take a cookie before dinner and asking him not to tell his parents.

- I have one new nickname to throw onto the pile:

Poland Spring - So named because she's of Eastern European origin and, like the country, nobody cares what she has to say, much to her chagrin.  She is tall and shapely, with long blond hair and VERY Nordic features.  She sits in the corner in self-exile, glaring out over everybody.  When a P.A. came by and put orange slices & coffee on the table (and that was breakfast folks...this was a QUALITY production) she kept asking, in a progressively louder and whinier voice whether this was breakfast.  In her desperation to be heard, she failed to notice that the P.A. had a com-wire in one ear and a telephone handset in the other, the latter of which he was talking into.  Needless to say, he didn't hear her and left.  She hasn't touched the fruit or the coffee since, possibly out of spite (of course, when the Germans attack, she'll wish she had that extra pick-me-up).
   Next, Hildy, the contact for all of us, came down and asked who was a vegetarian.  Poland Spring raised her had in the far corner.  However, her shirt matched the bricks so perhaps Hildy didn't see.  P.S. starts to spaz out and stands up, saying "Here!  Me!  Here!  I'm a vegetarian!!!" repeatedly until Hildy gave her an annoyed, "Gotcha" and left.  My friend turned to me and whispered, "She's a hot mess".  I don't think I could have put it better myself.

- One thing I have noticed is that the Japanese extras are keeping themselves separate from the rest of us.  I'm not sur if they're "featured" and need to be kept on deck or what, but currently the room appears like it's divided between New York Subway Patrons and The Winners Of A Tokyo Cos-Play Contest. I saw a small Japanese  woman walk by in a nurse's uniform.  I wasn't sure if I had unwittingly signed up for a porn film or a Japanese slasher flick.  Frankly, that's still up in the air for me.

- I just spent an hour clapping.  Not the whole time, mind you, but a good portion of it.  I can't imagine how this could take 12 hours to film since all that we, the extras, are doing is sitting there clapping and watching stuff. What I hope is that we'll actually get out of here a lot earlier.

- Our "wrangler" is a man who speaks very little English and has a very quiet voice.  He may as well be reading a Spanish-English dictionary and translating as he goes along.  I think he just told us that we have 15 min. to pig feet.  Well...I suppose that's something to look forward to.

- While we were sitting in the audience, the main cast came out.  The lead actor is an older Japanese man who looks familiar but i can't quite place him.  As soon as he stepped on the stage, a lot of the actors began to applaud for him as if he had just turned water into wine (or I suppose in his case, Sake).  This is something I've notice in my time her in the city:  the extreme willingness by some people to kiss ass.  I'm sure the man is a wonderful actor but, in my opinion, there is no need to show you appreciate him in such a manner.  He is here to work, just like the rest of us, and I sure didn't see the main cast clapping for us.  It slows the process down and, in the end, their applause just reeks of false intentions.  I think he knew it too.  he was kind and gave a wave but went right back to focusing on his work.  Good for him.

- Cauc. Swan is back.  I think I saw her swallow a cookie whole.  Possibly feeding her young later?

- The main actors onstage are comprise of 4 women and 3 men.  The women are each dressed up as a nurse, a schoolgirl, a bride and one in a leopard-print dress.  This was accurately described by my friend as "A stage full of fantasies".

- The main actress, a young Japanese woman who, you can tell, has appeared in a number of Japanese films and is used to the "Star Treatment" was kept apart from the other stage actors.  During this time, she drank water and, believe it or not, talked to her feet.  What was she saying?  I like to think it was something along the lines of: "Every time I stand up, you try to get away from me...but I always catch you!" in a Sing-Song voice.  She's either extremely method (as lng as her character is a Paranoid Schizo. with fears of her feet leaving her) or is actually a paranoid schizo with fears of her feet leaving her.

- It is now 1:00 p.m.  Only 9 more hours to go...<sigh>

- The man at the table across from me, for some reason, is making balloon animals!  He just got done making a VERY elaborate monkey, complete with a bunch of bananas in his right hand.  It is REALLY cool.

- OK, so here is an update to the balloon man story:  A woman (we'll call her Helium due to her squeaky voice...and her gas) stole the monkey (B*&%$) and proceeded to ask Balloons for another animal.  She went back to her table of women (among which are Cauc. Swan as well as Tomato Top, J. Edgar Hoover and Ting-Tong Macadangdang.  Take from those nicknames what you will).  Balloons, along with Scrooge & Beanpole, begin to giggle amongst themselves and proceed to make red balloon corsages for each of the ladies at the table.  Then Scrooge, the bravest (and surprisingly generous) one, shyly goes over and gives them their gifts and scuttles back to the boy's table, red-faced and chuckling.  I expected there to be punch in the corner and Purple Rain to start blaring from the radio.  So far, no one has had to be separated because of dancing to close together.

- It's 4:14.  People are tired and hungry.  I have a feeling there's going to be a riot.

- 5:00, chow time.  For about 100 people (background, cast & crew) there were 5 trays worth of food.  Background is pushed out of the way by the order of "Crew eats first".  Each crew member piled heaps of food on their tray, leaving only salad for the background cast.  My friend & I foresaw this and left to get our own food.  I ended up going to CVS and getting jerky, pita chips & Pepsi.  So, once I get paid, I'll have a net gain of $24.  And I wonder why I don't do background work more often.  We have been shuffled, herded, yelled at and left only rabbit food after 7 hours of being here.  The only chill person (aside from the main cast) is the director but he has a lot of other things to worry about.  This sucks.

And that, friends is the last entry.  We ended up shooting until 10:30. Overall, not the worst experience I've ever had but it should prove illuminating to those who think that movies are all glitz and glamour.  In reality, the act of making a movie (for the cast anyway) involves a lot of sitting around and been given contradicting orders by 3 different P.A.s, all of whom don't want to get yelled at and get angry with you when you ask if you're supposed to do this over that.  Worth it if you''re getting paid enough but if you ever want to be a background extra, understand this: it is truly a labour of love.

*note:  This is a reprint of an entry from my personal journal.  Original entry date was 3/9/09.  I just thought it was funny and I'm sure all of my actor friends can relate in some sense.

Right now, I'm sitting on the N train at Ditmars, waiting to leave for background extra work in the movie "******** *******".  I'm a bit nervous, but excited overall.  Audition-wise, things haven't really been going my way and the majority of it has been my fault.  While I would prefer a "real" acting challenge, this is just a step to getting back into the swing of things.

The scene is outdoors in the "winter".  We've been told to wear clothes for an outing to the theater in the winter.  i chose to wear black shoes & slacks, with a nice sweater and my black leather jacket.  I was a bit worried that we would have to wear layers (when I booked the job, it was about 60 degrees  outside), but things have cooled down a bit so it shouldn't be too bad.

For the 4-5 hour hoot, they're paying $25 cash, about $6 an hr. just to stand around.  That's fine, I could use the money.  The problem will arise during Thursday's shoot, a 12-hr slog paying just $35.  Sure, they provide lunch & dinner, but it still doesn't seem like we're making enough that day.  Oh well...baby steps I suppose.

- Things are running behind schedule.  Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised...every film I've done has been behind schedule.  I hope, however, they pick up the pace; currently, I'm sitting in a theater lobby with several other people, all of us biding our time until the cast & director show up from the other shoot location.

- I'm bored.  I've decided to give nicknames to  some of the more interesting people around me.  They are as follows:

• Buttons - A woman introduced to me as "Sophia Loren [name of hot, caffeinated drink]".  I wonder if the first 2 names are real or a part of that whole "The Secret/ Positive Thinking" thing.  As opposed to everyone else, Buttons arrived with...whatelse?...a felt board full of buttons of all shapes and colors.  I wonder if she was asked to bring them or if she's just hocking her wares.  If it's the latter, I suppose I can't blame her for trying to make money.  Her voice is airy and soft; that, combined with her long coat, colorful scarf and, of course, the name combine to give off the strong whiff of an "Artiste".  I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to lead a warm-up later.
• Pinky - So named because of his pink sweater, Pinky is a pretty normal guy, save for his metal briefcase and shifty eyes.  He is unsettling to say the least.  I need to be ready to pounce at a moment's notice.  Steady, Patrick...steady...
• Cauc. Swan - Short for "Caucasian Mrs. Swan", Cauc. Swan is the typical tall & bony New York actress: old looking but most likely younger than she looks, having acquired wrinkles & stress lines from years of auditioning and trying to "Make It".  Her voice is high & nasal with a thick Brooklyn accent.  I'm sure she has plenty of stories involving Sardies, Rock Hudson, and the phrase "He never called and I never saw that watch again."
• Airships - Airships is a larger young woman.   She is named after the two zeppelin-like objects that appear to be racing towards the ground beneath her power suit.  She's a "lifer", sharing "On-Set" stories with her two friends and lamenting the fact that she wasn't seen for the lead role.  Half of the stories told so far involved her utter contempt for children who act, claiming that no matter where she went on set, they constantly got in her way.  Poor girl.  The hard life of a background extra.

- On further inspection, Buttons' buttons are actually earrings.  I don't care.  I'm still calling her Buttons.

- 11:58 - We've finally moved from sitting inside to standing outside.  It's cold.

- 12:30 - 4 hours of waiting & 15 min. of acting = $25.  Like a lot of background work, the main part of the whole experience for peopel is the social aspect.  I'm no good at small talk so it really wasn't that much fun.  I did, however, make friends with a guy who I chuckled with for the majority of the "shoot".  We shared a lot of good laughs and passed the time by pretending that a nearby window that had a large "X" marked across it in blue tape meant that someone would be thrown through it at some point of the night.  We also discussed who we wanted that person to be out of everyone working there.
Some highlights I didn't mention before:

• Food was provided.  By food, I mean 100 cal. packs of Hostess cupcakes, Cheetos, and little bottles of water.  Needless to say, I've been holding in a fart for the past 2.5 hrs.
• Some one brought in a golden retriever.  I found this odd and feared for the dog's life, considering that he was currently on the set of an Asian film.  Oddly enough, I went to the bathrom and when I came back, the dog was gone.  On the table, however, was a box filled to the brim with crisp, golden cookies...sadly, they were delicious.
• One of the actors got close to me and I realized that he was one sip away from "Falling Down Drunk".  He kept talking about bears & chocolate and he had this high pitched tittering laugh, the kind normally reserved for maniacs and that fake laugh some girls have when they try to convince you they're not "in it" for the money.  I don't think I'm going to sleep well tonight.
• The main guy that I talked to (I really should learn his name, as I'll be seeing him again on Thurs.) and I decided that Sly Stallone & Peter from HEROES (Milo Ventimiglia) must have gone to the Palsey School of Acting.  Ha!

- One more thing that I forgot to mention:  My new friend and I both caught the E train uptown to 42nd st.  While there, a homeless man with headphones sat in the corner and kept saying (to no one in particular), "F*&%#ts...coming on my train and looking at men and s*&%.  Don't look at me, I only like the p*^@#$.  I get it every night.  Everynight, I run the train!"  Then his tone got really sad as he said (again, to no one in particular), "Why aren't you guys looking at me?  I'm F*&$^&' HOT!"  And that was all one thought.  Apparently the sex lives of the homeless are far more interesting than I had previously thought. 

I tend to plan everything out and then immediately proceed to freak over the detailed planning I did and end up not doing the thing I had planned to do. I'm a work in progress, what can I say?

As weird as it sounds, I feel "written" out.  For the longest time I complained about how I never got any writing done (I'm sure I posted something about it in a previous entry).  Now...well, it seems like I'm doing every kind of writing but the kind I want to do. 

The first type that I've been doing is blogging, both here and on my movie review page, The Reel Skinny.  I love movies and I love doing the blog & podcast.  As far as my personal blog goes, I've sort of let that suffer, posting minor tidbits here and there or having my blip.fm auto-post what music I'm listening to (which I'm sure looks like a completely random selection...which, now that I think of it, is).  I really want to get back to my personal blog on a regular basis but I've sort of replaced that with my Molskine notebook I take with me.  It's great: I can write whenever the mood strikes me, which is usually in the oddest places.  I think what I should do is transfer what I write in my notebook to my blog (or at least the interesting entries).

Not only that, but I've started my own writing group called Free Write NYC.  It was an idea that grew out of my original frustration over my lack of writing.  So, I decided to form a sort of "support group" for writers, a place where people would be motivated to write and help to encourage the other members through ideas and feedback.  We've had 2 meetings so far and they've gone really well.  I won't lie, the attendance hasn't been what I'd hoped but I'm always kind of an optimist going into these types of projects.  I shouldn't be disappointed; the people who have shown up are wonderful and I think that, through them, this group will grow and turn into something wonderful.  Aside from FWNYC being another part of my thrusting myself into the social pipeline, it really is just another excuse to get me to bear down and write some fiction, to put some of the ideas that are in my head down onto paper.  Hey, whatever works, right?

This is quite possibly one of my favorite stories to tell. So, it's EARLY January of '05 and I, accompanied by my mother, am visiting New York City to audition for several acting conservatories. It was our last day in the city and I had just had an excellent audition at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (where I ended up attending school). To celebrate, my mother and I decided that we would go out to eat at Ruth's Chris Steak House (awesome) and maybe catch a movie afterward. Of course, not knowing New York so well, we had no idea where the movie theater's were.
I should mention that for our stay, we were staying at the W Hotel in Times Square, a very über trendy hotel. You walk into the glass encased room on the ground floor with water pouring down upon the ceiling and walls, almost like you're in the middle of a blue-lit waterfall. Then you proceed to take the elevator to the 7th floor, where the lobby is. Once in the lobby (which is really more of a lobby/bar as the two flow pretty nicely into one another), you are inundated with pulsing techno music and constantly feel underdressed no matter what it is you're wearing. I half-expected for a large man to come up to me and tell me to leave.
Anyway, we make our way down to the lobby from our room and find the concierge, a very well dressed metro-sexual at a long black table with a small laptop in front of him. I approached and asked him if he could tell us where the nearest movie theater is to which he replied, in the most annoyed tone I've ever heard from someone "No. I'm not gonna tell you where the movie theater's are! This is New York City for God's sake, why don't you go see a broadway show?!". I informed him that we had already seen one the night before and everything else tonight was sold out.
"Which show do you want to see?"
"WICKED!", my mom says from behind me. The man picks up his cell phone and talks in hushed tones to someone on the other line, surprising because C&C Music Factory was blaring from the speakers and I didn't think the person on the other line would be able to hear him. Finally he turned back to us.
"I have 2 tickets to WICKED for tonight, $245 each". I sighed, leaned over the table and gently shut his phone for him. He sighed back, secretly upset that he wasn't going to be getting a small kickback from the ridiculous ticket prices he had wanted us to pay. "Ok, fine. I'll tell you what," he said as he glanced over to the bar area," There are 2 celebrities in the bar tonight. If you can tell me who they are, I'll tell you where the movie theater's are." Now this has just gotten ridiculous. Nobody in there right mind would have taken this man's crap after all of this. However, my mother and I are from the midwest and...well...we're a patient people.
My mother pats me on the shoulder and says, "Well honey, this is all yours," and quietly steps back. I take a look into the bar and do a quick, annoyed scan and see no one I recognize. I relate this to the man who rolls his eyes and points out a woman in a black dress.
"You don't recognize her?!" He said. I shook my head. "She's on TV!". I looked again, the shook my head once more. "Ugh...ok, fine...do you see that man at the bar with the goatee?" I looked and saw who he was talking about. "The man that he's talking to is a famous movie star." Looking back, all I saw was the back of some dude's head.
"Look, I don't know who it is," I said, my frustration rising.
The ass with the computer starts typing, pulling up this man's IMDB page but not letting me look. He begins listing off our mystery guest's movie credits, none of which I've EVER heard of (and I'm REALLY good at movie trivia). Finally, after several tries, he says, exasperated, "Oh Jesus Christ, he's the star of '24'!" I looked once more at the back of this man's head and thought "Huh...that does look like Keifer Sutherland's neck and back of head."
Now, personally, I'm not one to chase celebrities. I think it's cool if I see one out in public, but I realize that they are people who live in New York and as a person who lives in New York, you tend to not want to be bothered by ANYONE. So I WOULD have been content to just seen the back of his head and go on my merry way. HOWEVER, our primly dressed friend had other ideas. As I had turned my head to examine Keifer, the concierge and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper and suddenly grabbed my hand, saying excitedly, "Come on, we're gonna go meet him!". So here I am, being dragged through a bar to go meet a celebrity who is enjoying their day off while my mom is back at the desk having a good old laugh. Finally, this man plants me right in front of Keifer and his friend and says, "Mr. Sutherland, this is Patrick! He's a really big fan of yours and wanted me to introduce him to you." Then, the man promptly left to return to his desk, leaving me standing there with pen and paper held limply in each hand in front of Jack Bauer.
Lucky for me, Keifer Sutherland is a REALLY nice guy. "Hey Patrick, how are you doing?!" He said warmly, shaking my hand and introducing me to his friend (whom I later found out was Rocco from the TV show where the guy opened his own restaurant. I never watched it but acted impressed. He was pretty cool.) To make a long story short ("Too late"), I ended up chatting with the two of them for about 10 minutes. I even told him I had auditioned and he talked to me about the acting business for a bit! Finally, I figured that, since I have this pen and paper, I may as well see if I can get his autograph. So I asked and he graciously agreed. I thanked him for his time and quickly walked back to my mom and dragged her out of the building to go to dinner. We had a good laugh about it afterwards.
One of my first New York experiences and it left me with a great story to tell and an autograph saying "To Patrick, all the best in your future endeavors. -Keifer". It was a great trip. BTW, we ended up going to see "Meet The Fockers". So...MOST of the trip was great.

The Phoenix...because Phoenix's (Phoeni?) are AWESOME! I don't feel I need to explain myself further.

-Before I write down anything else that's in my head, I want to take the this time to acknowledge the passing of a friend, Lance Cpl. Julian Brennan, who was killed by a roadside bomb last weekend in Afghanistan. Now I won't pretend that Julian and I were best buds, but we would hang out on occasion and from what I knew of him, he was one the nicest, most upstanding people I've ever met. Always gracious and quick with a joke, it truly is rare to have someone like him in your life, in any capacity.



I met Julian while attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and every now and then, some other friends and I would head over to his house to play board and card games. Being actors (and guys), most of the talk tended to involve insulting each other and trying to top the other guy's insult. Julian was always a master of this and it was very rare that we could beat him. Knowing where I met him and what he wanted for a career it was all the more surprising to all of us that he wanted to join the marines. Given the political bent of New York City and well as the war's unpopularity, it was something that none of us expected. But Julian knew what he wanted to do and for that, no one can judge him. He was a man with the most honorable intentions.
All too often, for those of us without sons and daughters in the armed services, war seems to be "over there", in the back of our minds and never at the forefront. We can become desensitized to it through constant news coverage as well as the back and forth bickering over the correctness of the war and "what our troops TRULY want", not to mention matters of failing economies and domestic issues. And the unfortunate thing is, it usually takes the death of someone we know to snap us back to attention, to see the cruel reality of everything that is happening in our world. And for my part, I feel sick inside over the fact that I ever forgot that.
My heart goes out to Julian's family and his wife, Bettina (whom I also know from school). My prayers and thoughts are with you in this difficult time. And thank you all for sharing Julian with us! I can honestly say that our lives are that much better for our time with him.

-It's odd to think that the last time I wrote on my blog, we had an entirely different President. So much can change in 2 weeks! About 11 days ago, President Obama was sworn in at a ceremony that was very nice and worthy of the momentous event that it was. Here are some of my favorite moments from the broadcast:
>The picture of VP Joe Biden making the world's best "Who Farted?" face during Aretha Franklin's vocal performance (in all honesty, the sun was shining in his eyes...but the timing couldn't have been funnier!)
>Justice Roberts mucking up the Oath of Office. Come on, dude, you have ONE thing to do today. You could even carry note cards with you, I'm sure no one would have minded!
>The Benediction. As Jon Stewart said, "Was that not the cutest Civil Rights leader you've ever seen?"
>CNN's crack commentary regarding the Satellite Image of the 2 Mil. + people at the event: "They look like ants!"
As I've said before, I do my best to remain politically neutral (Your move, Fox news...) but since the inauguration, I never expected to see so many people ready to pounce on every little flub that happens in Obama's 1st 100 days. "Is he really President because the oath was flubbed?", "Is he really President cause the 2nd oath wasn't said on a Bible?" Was it REALLY that slow of a news day? What kind of dumb questions are these? Understandably, those on the right, watching the media tear up George Bush for the past 8 years, are eager for their turn in the sun. But the questions asked during his presidency ran along the lines of mishandling of emergency responses, initiating a war based on faulty intelligence, etc. Not quite the same. My advice is to give Obama's presidency a bit more time to acquire dirty secrets before you try to dig them up. Or, you could do what what I think everyone should do, whether you love him or hate him: accept that he's the President, accept that you won't always agree with him but that is the way our democracy works, and let's all try to find some common ground and work to make this country great again.

-More importantly (to me anyway), this week my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Evelyn Elizabeth. While I wish I could have been there with the rest of my family to welcome her into the world, I am so happy that she is here! From the pictures I've seen, her adorability factor is through the roof and I can't wait to meet her in person! Here's to hoping that time comes soon!




-Since I last wrote, my girlfriend Katie and I have started our very own movie review podcast!  It was sort of the next logical step for us:  Every monday we go and see movies and the go to dinner and talk about it.  Why not let our friends listen in and offer their opinion?  The basic idea behind it was that most movie reviews tend to be very snobbish and refer to movies that a lot of people (i.e. my family and Katie's family) who don't live in a big city will never be able to see.  Katie and I wanted to give them a sort of no nonsense explanation as to why they should go and see them.
As of this writing we have 3 podcasts down and I'm very happy with the way things turned out.  I have this idea in my head though of us having fans and a big website and lots of emails but so far that hasn't been it.  I love doing this with Katie but I think both of us love the idea of communicating our ideas with a greater audience and it's frustrating we haven't found that yet.  I suppose we just need to give it some time.  If anyone is reading this and interested the podcast is called "The Reel Skinny" and you can subscribe and download it for free from iTunes or from our website, http://reelskinny.podbean.com.  If you do listen, let us know what you think!

Ok that's all for now.  Time for sleep!

So yeah, it's been about 2 weeks since I've posted and, believe me, I have a lot to tell. But right now, it's 12:53 in the morning and papa is tired. But I did want to mention one thing real quick, in case anyone is interested: My lady and I have recently started our very own movie review podcast called The Reel Skinny! It can currently be found at http://reelskinny.com or on iTunes under "reelskinny" (all one word). I also posted an embedded player here for those too lazy to go check the other sites! Anyway, more writing goodness to come later...I need some shuteye.

Well, I suppose that the past few weeks have been a bit of a blur since an abnormal amount of activity has been going on in my life.  Lets get right to the update:

-My most recent show, Radiotheatre's DRACULA, finally closed on Dec. 30th to an absolutely wonderful audience.  One of the interesting things about this production is that, throughout it all, we had a documentary film crew following us about and interviewing us for their film about black-box and independent theatre.  During the interview I gave (I had to cut it short as Steve Spielberg wanted to do lunch), the interviewer asked how it feels now that this show has ended.  And thinking about it during the aftershow party on the 30th, I realized I didn't really feel the way I usually do when a show closes, and I think that lends itself in large part to the show's schedule.  During a normal OFF broadway show, you would have to perform Thursday-Sunday (anywhere from 4-6 shows in a week) for maybe a month or two.  During THIS show, however,  we performed solely on Tuesdays for the first month and then added a few Saturdays and one sunday during the final month.  This basically gave me a week between performances in which I was away from the show and didn't have to think about it.  While I had a great time with the show (the Radiotheatre shows are ALWAYS a lot of fun to do) and loved my cast mates, I think the space between shows really hindered any real cast bonding and cohesion.  So after the show was finished, there was no regret, no sadness.  It was just the end.

-Speaking of Radiotheatre, the show may get picked up by NPR and broadcast nationally.  Not a definite but it would be a LOT of fun to do and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something comes of it!

-A couple of days ago, I went and visited the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, officially the largest cathedral in the WORLD....and it's right here in NYC?!  Weird.  ANYWAY, I've been fortunate enough to be able to travel abroad and visit some of the most famous cathedrals in the world and I have to say - in an unbiased way - that St. John's was my favorite of them all.  I think the main thing that appealed to me is the fact not only is it a place of worship but it also commemorates the achievements of men and women from all walks of life (i.e. they honor great American Writers in one part, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Mark Twain).  All in all, it seems like its not just a place for one specific set of people but one for everybody, no matter what factors separate us.  And it makes me feel good inside that there is a place like that in the world.

-Spiritually, the cathedral left me in awe.   Stepping in there,  it makes you understand how small you actually are in the grand scheme of things.  To give an example, at the center of the church you could comfortably fit the statue of liberty, minus its pedestal.  The roof seems to go on forever.  Every step you take (every move you make...yeah yeah, just get it out of your system now) makes NO sound.  It made me feel very insignificant.  I know this whole thought is very broken, so I'll end it by saying that it was an experience that left me spiritually in awe of the grandness of the world and universe that surrounds us.

-Finally, I start a VoiceOver class tomorrow!  I'm pretty excited and I'm sure I'll have more updates as we get further into the class.  Wish me luck!

 So late last night, in a fit of inspiration I decided to sign up to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short).  The whole purpose is for each participant to crank out a 50,000+ word novel within 30 days.  You're considered a winner if you either: a). Pass the 50,000 word quota within the alloted time frame or b). don't throw yourself out of a window.  My reason for deciding to sign up is that I love writing...I really do. I think a good portion of my time is spent in my head thinking up exciting plot lines and interesting hooks for stories.  My problem is that I have a lack of motivation to get those ideas down on paper and I figured since thousands of people participate in this each year, maybe this will give me to motivation I need to get something out of my head and into the world.
So I filled out the form and set up my own little profile page and was all content and happy with life, trying to figure out how to prepare and what not, when suddenly I looked up and realized:  NaNoWriMo takes place...in November.  So...technically...I have a little less than a YEAR to wait for it to come around again. Which I suppose is not necessarily a bad thing.  It'll give me time to set my affairs in order before I completely shut myself off from the world and ruin my eyes staring at a computer screen.  On the other hand, the excitement I felt last night is now tempered due to the wait.  I just now have to find a way to make myself write in the meantime.  Wish me luck!

BTW, if anyone else is interested in signing up for NaNoWriMo, I would highly suggest it.  Its absolutely free, we could be writing buddies and keep each other on track and its just a great experience overall.  You can find more information on their website at: www.nanowrimo.org

 -I logged onto my computer today and clicked on my browser.  After a few seconds, the window popped open and immediately went to my homepage, LiveJournal.  On the front were all sorts of tidbits of information, flooding the screen and causing slight sensory overload.  However, after a quick cursory glance, my eyes were drawn to a small, 5 word sentence in the upper left hand corner of the screen: "3 Weeks Since Last Post".  I sat there for a moment, staring at it...and it sat there staring right back at me.  It was like being in a staring contest with blind man who isn't wearing his dark glasses: it's slightly creepy and you feel, deep down inside you, that he is actually peering into the pit of your soul (sorry if that offends). Basically, it made me feel slightly bad (much like that last comment did) about why I hadn't updated the blog in so long.  I see other people who update their blog on a daily basis.  They manage to keep a dedicated record of their lives.  Why can't I?  
I think the answer finally comes down to a combination of laziness and fear.  Not debilitating, "urinate in a corner" fear, but fear nonetheless.  A fear of failure.  Anyone who knows me understands that I am generally a private person, not one to discuss my private life, feelings, etc.  What you may NOT know is that, generally..I don't share that information with myself either.  I feel it, inside my head but I never get it out.  It just kind of sits in there and festers, like that green blob thing on the Mucinex commercials.  That was the whole reason I started this blog in the first place: as a place to get things off of my chest and to know that, whatever I decide to do with that, the feeling is out there, away from me.  But I fear (ironic, as this is a public blog) judgement by others off of what I write.  I'm a hermit as it is, I wouldn't want to retreat further.  After seeing that small phrase, though, it got me disappointed in myself for not keeping up with what it is I had set out to do.  And that has given me to resolve to try to keep up this blog at least once a week.
Most likely, no one is reading this.  But this is for me anyway.  I always try to make it entertaining for myself and if that appeals to other people, wonderful!  Just understand the reason why, dear reader, should any of my blogs get a bit...how should i put it...emo?  No, that sounds douchy.  Personal.  There we go.  Much better.

-I've come to the conclusion that my favorite type of music is what I would personally dub, "Melodious Chaos".  It is bound by no genre or artist and it is not necessarily a specific way instruments are played. It is more a sensory effect, a feeling that is channeled through the music.  All starts of at quiet and finally, layer upon layer, the piece builds until several distinctly different sounds build to the climax, making an oddly harmonic  jumble.  You may look at that definition and say, "Umm...isn't that...you know...the definition of music, but in a very poorly explained way?"  Poorly explained?  Probably.  But it is its own definition.  To better illustrate my point, here are some examples:

*Xibalba, by Clint Mansell from THE FOUNTAIN soundtrack
*The Unfolding, by Lisa Gerrard
*Take A Bow, by Muse
*Just Like You Imagined, by NIN
*Lucky, by Radiohead
*I Gaer, by Sigur Ros
*Bad, by U2
*Touched, by VAST

If you have heard or decide to listen to them in the future, you'll see what I mean.  I bring this up because I realize that when i listen to this music is the only time when I completely leave it all behind, where everything just stops and my mind fully goes somewhere else.  It is an amazing feeling that I can best describe as "Going to my Happy Place".  It is a much anticipated, much needed release and escape, especially in New York.  If anyone is reading this and can suggest some new stuff, I'm all ears!

-If you know me, you'll know how big of a movie buff I am.  With that said, my lady (a fellow movie buff) and I have been talking about starting our own movie review blog for our friends and whoever else wishes to check in.  Once everything is up and running, more info will be provided.  Stay Tuned!

For those of you not in the "know", every year around this time BACKSTAGE, the leading theatre and film trade publication, rents a space somewhere in mid-town Manhattan and throws an event called ACTORFEST.  This event can be summed up as your basic trade show but for actors and other performers.  Entry into ACTORFEST is free and includes a tote bag and access to the showroom floor where various booths are setup by different organizations so that they can hock their wares.  Along with this, for a fee they offer various panels, workshops, and auditions for TV networks. 

On the outside looking in, this sounds like a terrific idea; acting, after all, can be a risky venture.  The hub of theatre and film here in America is New York City and Los Angeles, respectively, two of the most expensive cities in the world to live in.  Every year around 10,000 new people make their way to New York or Los Angeles with the dream of becoming an actor (more accurately, "A Star").  Around 5% of them will actually be able to support themselves strictly through acting work, leaving 95% of everyone else struggling to make a living as well as pursue their dream. Even with proper training, it is a difficult road as most schools and conservatories neglect teaching their students the fact that acting is a business, leaving many with no idea of where to go or what to do once graduation is past.  With a shortage of projects to go around as it is, compounded with the fact that every year you are facing the challenge of competing with an additional 10,000 people for work that often doesn't pay well yet you need as padding for a resume as well as lack of business know-how, one could understand how it can be a frustrating field to work in.  Why then would it be a bad idea to hold an event where actors can get together and learn more about what options are out there for them to take advantage of and possibly help advance their careers?  The truth is, the IDEA is not a bad one at all.  The resulting product, however, is less than stellar.

I moved to New York in '05 to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.  I signed up for school housing and through New York's EHS program, AADA housed its students at The New Yorker Hotel, an older building located at 34th st. & 8th ave.  The following are some Pro's & Con's about the New Yorker Hotel:

PRO: 
-A great location.  Only 8 blocks from MAJOR Broadway shows and Time Square.  Chipotle  and Quiznos are across the street, along with an AMC Movie Theater.  Madison Square Garden is caddy corner to the building, for those sports nuts out there.
-Free weight room and laundry in the basement.
-A 24-Hr. diner located right in the lobby.
-The 3rd floor bathroom is the nicest bathroom in New York (honestly, I've never been there but I know my friend Kevin loves it, so I thought I'd throw it in.  In fact, he will go out of his way just to use that bathroom.  Seriously.  Just ask him.)
-Halal Pizza, the cheapest and BEST New York-style pizza is just up the street.
-Located next to the A,C,E subway line.

Con: 
-The New Yorker Hotel is the headquarters of the Moonies, followers of the cult of the Revrend Moon.  If you want more info, check out their website.  All I know is that they are crazy and they are EVERYWHERE in that hotel.
-Friends who don't live in the hotel are forced to leave after midnight.
-A 24-hr. diner located right in the lobby (and no, this isn't an editing mistake).
-Small, crappy rooms (on this part, I may be biased as I was forced to live in the hotel's only 3-person room along with my friend Kevin and...another.  It was like forcing 3 grown men to live in an orange-painted Sardine can full of farts and smelly clothes.)
-No privacy (thats really more of a New York con but I'll include it here).
-One small refrigerator, no shelves or closet space.

It wasn't a horrible place to live, but I never relished going back.  Anyway, it was while I was living here and attending school that I first caught wind of ACTORFEST by way of flyer the week before.  Still bright-eyed and full of energy, I decided to go with my friend Jason.

The event was held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and the exhibition hall was packed.  To be honest, it was a little exciting; there were a few booths showing things I never knew about before, free nick-knacks being given away, raffles, etc.  To me, it felt as if I was FINALLY doing something to further my career and it wasn't until afterwards that I found out about the panels and workshops.  I was disappointed but ultimately felt alright about things and looked forward to going the next year. *

*note: I had been writing for a bit and had decided to take a break;  The break ended up being about a day and a half. Being in a not so depressed state of mind, I will do my best George Forman Grill impression and "cut out the fat" for the rest of the blog (yeah...I know...that was horrible...).  If you've made it this far, Congratulations!  Give yourself 10 points and a pat on the back!  Points may be spent on either a special mention in an upcoming blog, several more pats on the back (full-service), or an all inclusive P-Dizzle Package, which includes a $2 train ride on the lovely NYC metro system to see me, Patrick, and...you know...hang out or something... 

In an attempt to make a long story short, I've gone the last few years and have ultimately ended up becoming more and more disappointed each go.  There are several contributing factors this but really there are only two that are the key issues: Depression over a career that seems to be at a stand still, and a growing sense of becoming jaded with New York.

In the initial year following graduation from AADA, it seemed to me that I was constantly working.  Sure, the shows didn't pay anything, but as I saw it then, it was good for the resume; get some New York credits and get yourself noticed.  However as time went on, the work started to drop off and pretty soon, I was doing maybe 1 show a year (not acceptable).  No matter what show it was that I was doing, I always had fun and enjoyed working with everyone.  But as actors, we would talk (much like other human beings) and it always came out that someone just got done filming a commercial, or was going on tour, where as my lone contribution was always, "Well...I'm going home...it takes me about an hour so...thats kind of like a tour...".  Depression sets in as I begin to wonder what it is that I'm doing wrong that everyone else seems to be doing right;  I question my talent, my drive, etc.  I shut myself off from people and lose contacts, some people I'm sure thinking I'm being rude when in reality, I'm just under the mistaken assumption that I can figure this out out my own.  It's a business built on contacts and who you know and I'm afraid my pride and self-deception has put me at a major disadvantage. It pains me whenever people ask me what it is I'm doing now and I have no answer.  I want something to tell them, anything, but there's nothing there.  And the depression is only enhanced by tall, imposing buildings, which New York just happens to be made up of.  New York is a great place; there are concerts, clubs, as well as a million other things to do and enjoy.  However, in order to enjoy them, I truly believe that you need money and happiness.  For me, money is in short supply, which cuts down on the happiness.  Factor in all of the career issues and hopefully you can understand why I seem to have become the way I am.  I feel trapped by the city, trapped by money, but most of all trapped by my mistakes.  And I don't know how to get out.

So off I go to Actorfest one more time, now with pre-paid admission to a panel, a workshop and an audition for the N Network.  Off I go to the address written down, only to discover once I get there...it's located next door to The New Yorker Hotel.  I attempt to put it out of my mind as I have the audition first.  The audition comes and goes...I did fine but was not as prepared as I could have been, completely defeated myself...and as I exited into the exhibition room, I looked around and my heart sank: there, amongst the crowd of hopefuls were all the same booths that have been there for as long as I can remember.  All of the same people asking me for my email address, for my phone number, to sign up for this raffle or that free lesson.  Absolutely nothing had changed.  And my heart sank.  Here I was  amongst a seemingly ageless and static place, and I realized that nothing has changed for me either.  I decided to walk out right then and there, never to go back.

Life has come full circle.  As I walked past the New Yorker Hotel, the place where I started with such hope, I stopped and tried to look back at how I had arrived to this point, alone in a sea of faceless strangers.  I realize now that I stand at a crossroads, wondering if I should continue or give up on my dream.  And once you come to that point, if you decide to leave it all behind, there's no going back.  I'm scared and afraid of what the future might hold, whatever it is I choose to do.  I can't bear to live like this much longer, depressed and hiding myself away from my problems and the world.  I want my friends back, all of those whom I've alienated and left along the way in my single-minded pursuit of proving myself on my own terms to a business that doesn't work that way.  I'm sorry to those I've hurt and to those I've lost.  I realize now how much of who I am has come from you and I hope the future holds a reconciliation.  I know now I can't do this on my own.  And while I know that I'm the one who has to help myself, I can always use a little help from my friends.

If you have read this far...you must be waiting for a really long download or something. I hope this finds you well.  Drop me a line and let me know how you're doing.  I miss everyone.  I miss life.

Well, in case you've been hiding under a really, really heavy and sound-proofed rock recently, by now you know that Barack Obama was nominated President Elect last night.  This is an election that was hard fought on both sides and talked about on every major news channel during all hours of the day and night and now, finally, its over.  Bloggers everywhere are writing about it, expounding upon their views and cheering or lamenting the outcome for their particular side.  The race is over now and there is nothing new that really needs to be said on the subject.  However, since you've made it this far, I'm going to go ahead and speak my mind on a few things:

 - NBC gets my vote for most ridiculous election night coverage EVER!  In case you missed it,  NBC (headquarters of which is in mid-town Manhattan) turned Rockefeller Center into the "Election Center".  This basically consisted of a few things: 1). They changed the light bulbs that light up the outside of the building so that the left half of the building was lit blue, and the right half was lit red. 2). They placed two window-washing "elevators" against the building, again one on the left and one on the right, each with Obama's name and McCain's name on the outside, respectively.  As the number of electoral votes came in, the elevators would rise up, the number displayed above the candidates name.  Above both elevators, mid-way up the GE building, was a red line with the number 270 next to it.  You can see where this goes from here. 3).  The coup-de-gras was that NBC then turned the ice at the Rockefeller Center skating rink (if you've never been there, just watch ANY movie about New York, I'm sure you can find it) into a map of the U.S.  As results would come in, workers would come out on the ice with either red or blue cutouts of each state and lay it within that states "cut-out".  Then a man with a hose would come and water the edges so that it would freeze and stay (God forbid a state would have to be recalled.  I suppose they would have brought out the NBC Zamboni at that time, driven by Katie Couric begging to be taken back).  And all of this on top of reporters in the "Virtual Election Center", a green screen enabled mind-F*&$ of journalism where computerized images are manipulated by a dude who is constantly waving his finger around.  Was all of this necessary?  What’s wrong with the good old-fashioned "Here’s a map, this is how we're calling it, on to someone else you don't know”?  In my opinion, this is the most ridiculous coverage I've ever seen, only slightly topping that by Fox News, where they lined up midgets with red and blue shirts numbering 1-270 and shot them based on the current number (once Barack hit the 270+ mark, they shot the rest of the Red midgets out of frustration).

 *Update: Ok, so scratch that...CNN actually wins.  Holograms?  Really?

 

-Best part of the day BY FAR was the elderly Jewish lady and the young Hispanic lady in charge of the booth at my voting district exchanging tense, angry words back and forth while smiling at those of us in line as they asked for our names.  Maybe I'll write a short play about it...

 -I'm not a Democrat because I live in New York.  I'm not a Republican because I'm from Missouri.  I don't ascribe to either.  I do my best to sit down, figure out what each candidate is about and then make my choice based on who I think is best fit for the job.  All of that being said, this is the first time that a candidate that I voted for won.  It feels good.  Not in a "My Team Won" type way but it just feels nice to know you had a hand in something historical (and it would have been historic no matter which side won.  I don't want angry emails.)

 -The part that was supposed to go right here was long.  VERY long. It dealt with having a two party system and how a majority of people votes along party lines rather than each candidate’s character, stance and record.  They could be a pro-choice, anti-creationism, republican who contributes several million dollars to the arts and detests war and there would still be a majority of people who would not vote for him based on the fact that he is labeled as "right wing".  It’s foolish of us to do that.  The people the masses hate are the people on the fringe of party politics, the ones who say crazy ass things which in turn get picked up by major news outlets and shown because...lets face it...ass crazy sells.  A wedge is being driven between all of us from both sides and I think we all need to come together if this country is going to get back on track.  Who cares if someone voted McCain or Obama?  Would you like that person less if they chose tacos over a quesadilla?  Pepsi over Coke? Zeppelin over The Who (music elitists can't answer this question)?  Everyone who voted made a choice based off of what is important to him or her.  And part of participating in a democracy is the knowledge that at some point, you will have to make a sacrifice.  Your candidate didn't win, that’s too bad but its no reason to be angry.  Just hope that the person elected does the job to the best of their ability and in the interest of all Americans.  And if you're candidate won, don't gloat.  First of all, it’s unflattering and no one likes a sore winner and second of all, you have to make sacrifices too.  People from Blue states are the same as people from the Red ones.  Its just too bad nobody takes the time to truly figure that out.

 -And this is why I'm hopeful.  It has nothing to do with party politics, and while I'm extremely proud that our country has taken a great stride forward in regards to our long, embarrassing history with racism, it doesn't have anything to do with that either.  I'm hopeful that after years of being divided, maybe now is the time that we can all start to talk again, to realize that the other side isn't as bad as we were told.  That maybe together we can all achieve something better than we ever imagined.  I've believed in this country and in the promise of this country, sometimes with naiveté but always believed in it.  In the past 8 years, those beliefs, that hope, has waned.  And as of yesterday, that pride and that hope came rushing back.  I haven't been this excited for many, many years.  It’s a great time for ALL of us.  Here's to putting politics and differences behind us and coming together to make this country great again.

 New Halloween Memories:  Halloween in New York City is very different from Halloween in the rest of the country.  Halloween in the small town I grew up in consisted of going house to house, ringing doorbells and reciting those famous words, "Where the white women at?!".  Then, when you got weird/angry/enticed looks from the homeowner/friend's grandparent/policeman-woman (see, small town PD's are pretty open-minded too!), you apologize and ask for candy.  They then proceed to tell you in a stern voice "Everyone only gets one" to which you begrudgingly say "mmmkay" in that same dead voice reserved primarily for that moment after a little league game when you were forced to high-five the other team and say "Good game".  You then proceeded to take a piece, quickly shuffle to the back of the group and force your way back up to the front, and take another piece, often with the opposite hand, as if the homeowner would say to themselves "Say, that little kid dressed as a tennis ball sure does look familiar.   Didn't he already get a Snickers?  Wait...this one is using his left-hand.  We don't usually get south-paws on this block...I'm sure its on the up-and-up.  Thank you online degree in Private Detecting for giving me the gift of observance!"  You then proceed to the next house and repeat the ruse until you wake up at 4 in the morning, half-naked in your parent's basement with a stomachache and your face covered in SMARTIES dust.  Times were simpler back then....

In New York, Halloween is less like a holiday and more like a neighborhood watch with "Sexy" witches.  Instead of going house to house (or more appropriately, apartment to crack den), children are paraded from business to business, all of which are open later than usual and with a wide variety of candy.  The upside of this is that the typical "Poisoned Candy" myth is completely avoided through knowing exactly who gave it to you as well as their hours of operation in the event that it ever happened.  The downside of this is that businesses tend to put brochures and flyers in the buckets along with the sweets (i.e. "Everyone take a Fun-Size Twix and list of our lo-fi interest rates!").  With all of these people standing in doorways with buckets and containers, its understandable then that kids may get a bit confused.

I ran out to the grocery store around 5:30 tonight and as I was walking back I saw the following:  An adorable little girl dressed as a princess, hand-in-hand with (presumably) her mother who was dressed as a tiger with massive and low-slung cleavage (role-models in action folks) stopping door to door and collecting all sorts of goodies from various business owners.  Halfway between one door and the next, the mom stops and makes a phone call.  The pause just happens to be right in front of a homeless man who is sitting there, cup outstretched for donations/ interest rate flyers. The princess, her mind on auto-pilot, quietly walks up the homeless man and, assuming he's offering something along the lines of everyone else, sticks her hand into his dirty McDonald's cup and takes some change and then walks back to her mother and puts it in her bucket.  The mother quickly realizes what happens and quietly chastises her daughter, all the while returning the change and adding a few dollars on her own as an apology.  They then begin to walk away when the daughter stops, gets a piece of candy from her bucket and gives it to the homeless man and runs back to her mom.  Quite possibly one of the cutest things I've ever seen, marred only by the fact that the homeless man scratched himself and then said thank you in three distinctly separate voices before returning to his argument with the wall.  From picturesque to business as usual in 2.3 seconds.  Awesome.

 

ALERT: The remake of "House of Wax" will officially be renamed "Paris Hilton and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Movie".

 

Misunderstood Lyric Of The Day: "Bilamos!  Let the rhythm take you over Bilamos!  Yo Quiero Mas Taquitos!  Bilamos!"

 

This is a new blog and one I'm hoping to keep up on a regular basis!  Any comments or questions, feel free to let me know! Exclamation Point!