All's Well...

Hey there all...
Well I am back from Toronto and my sister's surgery and I am please to report that things are progressing quite nicely. When I left this afternoon she was still in the ICU but they were hoping to move her up to her room sometime tomorrow morning. The procedure itself seemed to go very well... although her surgeon was a complete dick (and has been each of the three times we have met with him) after the surgery. All I can say is that he better have some skills with a knife because he has zero when it comes to dealing with people. Anyways... the biggest difference between this surgery and the one she had 8 years ago is the amount of pain medication they allowed her to have. Last time she was completely awake and aware of everything within 2 hours of leaving the OR. Needless to say, that was not a very pleasant experience for her. This time they gave her something to sleep the entire day of surgery and most of the night so she was never really awake while they had the respirator on her (which is the WORST). So I talked with her for a little bit today and she looked great. She was in good spirits but sill a little groggy from all of the drugs which is to be expected. Thanks to all who sent their well wishes as they were greatly appreciated.

Well I'm out for the evening but I wanted to leave you with something fun. One of my fav sites EVER Wrestlecrap.com has posted my article on "Santa's Slay"! You can see it by clicking HERE. Yep, I'm famous.... but it's the kind of fame that only an uber geek can appreciated. To quote Mod, "how embarrassing".

nite!

The Waiting Game

Well I'm still here in Canada... I have really plunged into my first winter in two years head first. I had to dig little car out of a giant snowbank this morning. I can't tell you how much I have missed shoveling snow... *SIGH*
I leave Hamilton tomorrow to drive down to London (where I grew up) to pick up my sister and then we leave for Toronto at an ungodly hour in order to get there by 8:00am. Ick, Ick, Ick!!!
I must say that my sister is holding up great! The worst part is always the waiting before the big event. She has said that she just wants it to be over, and I can't blame her. I get completely bent out of shape waiting for things to happen... I'm usually very patient person but when I know something big is comming up I am a wreck. I get so nervous before I get on an airplane, before a big move or even before the bar exam, but these are nothing compaired to what it must be like waiting for your open heart surgery. Like I have said many times before, she is the strongest person I have ever known.
Also, this my be my last post for the week as I won't have internet access in the hotel room. I know you all will miss me so... ok maybe not.
Anways, if you get a chance, sometime Thrusday if you could say a little prayer, send some good energy or even just some happy thoughts over to Toronto for my sister it would be greatly appreciated.
Talk to you all soon...

O'Canada

Well this is my first international post on my Blog. Right now, I am in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada... otherwise know as the coldest Mother F*$@'n place on earth! I know I have become a weather wimp but this is just insane!!! I drove through two different "White-Out" storms getting here, and now is just cold as hell! Yes, Hamilton is a long way from Anaheim. OK... Enough bitching.
So I had my interviews this week... One went well, the other not so much. My first interview was in St. Johns, Michigan on Wednesday. St. Johns is a little nothing of a two about 20 min north of Lansing and to say that they are a little small minded there is being polite. Near the end of the interview the partner I was interviewing with actually said, "You seem really cultured and intelligent person, and I really don't think you would fit in living and working in such a small town." OK, so it has nothing to do with my abilities as a lawyer, or my work experience, but rather you don't like be because I have actually lived in a big city? Well screw you! He was so closed minded that it actually made me sick. So Screw You St. Johns!!! I don't want to have anything to do with your bitch-ass city anyway!!! By the time I walked out of the interview I was just fuming. Can I help the fact that I actually got out and lived life? That I went places? That I know that Denny's is not fine dining? Well, at least the job paid practically nothing. I'm so much better off for not working there it's not even funny.
My second interview went much better... it's working for a small personal injury firm in Southfield, MI. It's close to Detroit and so that is a real selling point because apparently I can only live in big cities... The good news though is that they offered me the job! It dosen't pay very well but it is a place to start. Now I have to figure out a place to live for next to nothing, but I'll take care of that next weekend, after my sisters surgery.
Well I'm outta here...
nite

Back In The M.I.C.H.

Well I am back in Michigan, safe and sound. My flights were OK, still don't like flying but all things considered it was pertty OK. I arrived in Midland to a wonderful greating of freezing rain... yay! Oh how I have missed the lovely Michigan winter weather. NOT! (Yes, I'm working on bringing old Wayne and Garth slang back into style... No Way... WAY!)

This is going to be a really busy week for me... I have an interview in St. Johns (just north of East Lansing) today at 4:00EST. Tomrrow I have an interview in Southfield and then on Friday I get sworn in. After that I'm off to Canada to see Mod (YAY) and then my parents come up to Canada on Tuesday and my sister's surgery is on Thrusday. No rest for the wicked I guess.

OK... I'm watching ESPN Cold Pizza right now and they have been talking about the SI Swimsuit issue for what seems like two days. I know it just came out yesterday... blah, blah, blah... but it just dosen't seem to be that big of a deal anymore. I know the issue is an institution unto itself, but with monthly magazines such as Maxim and FHM offering the same thing 12 issues a year, is this really that big a deal? I always found it kind of a weird thing. As a SI subscriber for almost 10 years it was never really the selling point for the magazine for me. I do remember my swimsuit issue "mysteriously" dissapearing from my mailbox when I lived in the Dorms. I have the same opinion of swimsuit issues as I do with the no skill "Divas" of the WWE... If I wanted to watch porn I'd watch porn... but when I want to watch wrestling/read about sports, I just want my sports.
Well I'm off... wish me luck!

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane...

Well I'm outta here tomorrow morning. Back to the great white north... back to Michigan :( Not that I'm not looking forward to seeing everybody back there, but it marks a return to reality. I have been on basically a two month vacation from everything. I haven't had to worry about anything, I lived in Orange County, I played in the sun, and I got to hang out in Hollywood and DisneyLand. Well that is over and I can't help be a little sad. BTW... did you like my pics of Hollywood that I posted this morning?!?! Hollywood will always have a special place in my heart and I had wanted to get some pics of it before I left but never had a chance. Well I was having dinner with my parents there last night before I went to a movie with my friend Maria, and so I sent my Dad out with the camera to get some pics. He got some good stuff if I do say so myself :)
Well I should probably sign off for the night... I need to pack up my computer and get things ready to leave... which will be in a matter of hours... ugh.
I hate flying... anybody who knows me, knows that I REALLY hate airplanes... I am much, much better than I was a few years ago though. I used to have to load up on Dramamine and liquor to even step foot on the plane... now I just have the Dramamine to relax and the last few times I haven't even had to drink.
So I fly out of LAX at 6:30am PST tomorrow morning and arrive in Midland, MI at 2:30 EST. Needless to say, it will be a friggin long day.
Well I'm off... Next time I post here I'll be doing so in Michigan so you can expect even more typo's.... seeing as I'll be typing with mittens on and all:)
Nite!

The Meca

This has to be one of my fav places in Hollywood. It was the first place I went when I came to California and it still puts me in awe everytime I see it. I have to admit that I have spent a great deal of time just wondering around the footprints in the cement. I've been here dozens of times, but still just get lost in the history of the place. Cool story, when my Dad and I lived just down the street this became our local theater so we would come down here quite often. About once a month they woudl shut down Hollywood for either a movie shoot or red carpet affair or whatever... anyways, we were going to see some moive, I think it was MIB 2, and we noticed that a giant pepsi truck was parked out front and they were shooting something. We asked what movie it was but nobody was talking. We were mostly just annoyed that there was more people traffic than usual so we watched for a min and then went inside. It wasn't until about 6 months later when we saw the "Italian Job" that we realized that we were standing on the set of the car chase scene. Kool stuff :)
This is also the place where you will find everybody from Sponge Bob to Spider-Man walking around. When I first moved there it kind of freaked me out seeing all of the costumed people wondering around, but after awhile I became so used to HollyWeird that I kind of missed the sight of a random Stormtrooper walking down the street.  

Bantha Trax

Now anybody who knows me, knows that I am a total Star Wars geek and Graumans Chinese theater is pretty much the birthplace of all things Star Wars. This was the first place that they had a big opening for the original moive. So needless to say I totally geeked out when I first saw that they had their own footprints out front!!! I've seen a few movies here, most notably I saw Star Wars Episode II here on its opening weekend, which just happend to be the day I moved to Hollywood. And yes, I planned my move out west around the opening of a movie, what, you want to make something of it:) My Dad and I ended up seeing Ep. II twice there. The first time I actually liked it but I think I was still tired from the trip out there and a little overwhelmed that I was actually seeing it at the Chinese Theater. The second time I saw it I was a little less than underwhelmed ("She was Underwhelmed if that's a word, no it's not cuz I looked it up, it's one of the skills I learned in my school"... sorry, just a little Sloan break)  

I'm A Heffalump!

This is the El Capitan theater. Duh :) It's a theter owned by Disney right on Hollywood Blvd. accross from the Kodak Center. They always play the big Disney moive, and have some sort of stage show or something crazy to stay for after the moive. They better have something, tickets are like $20 each! 

CPK

This is one of the coolest resturants I have ever been too. Now that's cool in a tourist type way. First off, it is in the courtyard of the Kodak Center, where they hold the Oscars, so that is pretty cool. What really makes it cool is that the Hollywood sign is framed perfectly when you sit on the patio. This is usually the first place I take anybody who comes to visit me. Aside from the visuals, the food is great! I often have cravings for their Thai Chicken Pizza... yum!  

More Movie Screenings...

I just came back from a screening of “Santa’s Slay” the upcoming Goldberg movie and thought I would share some thoughts. The host of the screening said that we were the first audience to ever see this film but he probably just says that at every showing. The official movie synopsis we were given before the show was as follows:

From producer Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 1&2) comes SANTA’S SLAY a fast paced horror/comedy which casts everybody’s favorite Holiday figure, Santa Clause, in a very different, and sinister, light
It turns out that Santa Claus (WWE Wrestling star Goldberg) is not really the cuddly harmless old fellow that we all know and love. In fact, he’s a devil, and the only thing that has been keeping his bad side in check all this time is a bet he lost with an angel.
Now, this bet has expired, and 1000 years of good cheer will be replaced by Christmas fear. This Christmas will be a violent night of chaos, with Santa bashing his way though town. Local boy Nicholas, his girlfriend Mac and his crazy Grandfather are the only ones who know the truth about Santa, and can save their town and the world.

Yep, the movie was about as inane as it sounds. I have to admit that I am a big fan of B horror/schlock/camp movies so this really appealed to me, but not many of the other people at the screening and certainly not in the focus group I stayed behind to be a part of. I think I was the only one who actually enjoyed it. That being said, the movie served its purpose and for that type of movie it was fairly well executed. I won’t bore you with a full review of the plot and acting but rather focus on Goldberg’s role in the film. What impressed me most was the way the director “protected” Goldberg. His fights were brutal, violent and quick (like any good Goldberg match should be) and his speaking role was limited to one-liners that served a purpose (to either make him seem more intimidating or for a laugh). In many ways he was used better in this film than during his stint in the WWE. Goldberg came off as the unstoppable force that he was during the height of his WCW reign, which is exactly the opposite of what he was around this time last year in the WWE. I also found it funny that they promoted him as a current member of the WWE roster on their propaganda when he hasn’t been on WWE TV for almost a year.
The bottom line is that this role suited him well and his performance was much better than I went in expecting. This is certainly no “Santa With Muscles” Redux, and like I said previously, for the type of movie that it was, it was well done.

Movie Screaming

Well I saw a screening of “Relative Strangers" tonight… here’s the official summary of the movie…

Ron Livingston (Little Black Book), Neve Campbell (Scream 3), Danny DeVito (Be Cool), Kathy Bates (About Schmidt) star in “Relative Strangers”, a new hilarious comedy from the writer of “Meet The Parents.”

On a mission to locate his biological parents, a tightly wound professional (Livingston) is befuddled to find that the couple who conceived him aren't exactly upper-class, in fact they are from the wrong side of the trailer park.

As you can see, it’s a pretty interesting premise and had a decent cast, in fact Bob Odenkirk had a small part (I am a big Mr. Show fan). However, this film could not have been more poorly executed. It was way too rushed in the beginning and then slowed down to a crawl towards the middle. It did pick up for the last 25 min, but then ended suddenly without any payoff. None of the characters had any substance to them at all. Not that I expected this to be a character study or something, but I didn’t care at all about any of the characters or anything that happened to them. No sympathy, mostly apathy. And it's not like I don't likes me some stupid movies. In fact in an earlier post I raved about "Eurotrip" and am the proud owner of "Zoolander", "Can't Hardly Wait", and "Brewsters Millions" on DVD, but I need some substance to my stupidity thank you. The only positive thing I could say was that Danny DeVito and Kathy Bates did make a great comedy team and without them there would not have been a movie. I’m usually a fan of Ron Livingston but he was such a non-factor in this movie that his character cold have been played by anybody. I also have a soft spot for Neve Campbell because anybody from Guelph can’t be all that bad :)
Anyways, it received the lowest grade I have ever given to a screening a 2/5. I would have given it a lower grade but it isn’t quite on the same level as “Freddy Got Fingered”.
Anyways, not good but at least it was free.

Things That Make You Go Hummm...

Hey all! Well it’s random thought time again…. Yeah, as if anything on this blog is NOT actually random… HA!

--Isn’t it kind of funny that Paul McCartney was considered the “safe” choice to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. I mean it wasn’t all that long ago that Sir Paul and his three mop topped friends were accused of contributing to the delinquency of our youth. It really makes you wonder… at Super Bowl XXXXIX are we going to see Marilyn Manson and 50 Cent wheel themselves to the field to perform because the artists of that time are considered too extreme?

--Well the NFL sponsors failed me this past Sunday. I thought I had created the ultimate football drinking game. The game goes like this… you take a shot every time you hear the phrase “4 hour erection”. Where were you Viagra? Where were you Ciallis? I only heard the phrase ONCE in the 3 hour program! During the regular season I am guaranteed to have at least on errectyl disjunction advertisement every commercial break because after all, the NFL is “family entertainment”. Oh well… maybe next year.

--Speaking of the Super Bowl commercials… I thought they were a little weak this year. I liked the Mustang ad with the frozen guy in the convertible, I also like the Pepsi ad with P. Diddy. I was however, really disappointed with the Brad Pitt/Heineken ad. I was excited about this because it reunited him with the director from Fight Club (one of my all time fav movies). Well the ad turned out to not only be unimaginative, but actually kind of boring.

--Now I hate to admit it, but I was actually looking forward to the cartoons AFTER the Super Bowl than the actual game itself. Now I’m a big NFL fan but I was really indifferent towards the two teams. I mean it is not like the Lions were actually playing… HA! However, after the game I did have an episode of “The Simpsons” and the debut of “American Dad”. The Simpsons was just great. I love it when they have really random jokes and the Mario/Donkey Kong reference was awesome. Plus, we found out the real name of Comic Book Guy (Jeff Albertson) and the website that he gave is actually real! Check it out at www.dorks-gone-wild.com. Now I am really torn when it comes to American Dad. I really wonder how they are going to write an entire show around what seems to be one joke. Furthermore, I really think what makes a successful show is balance between the major and minor characters. The Simpsons has it in that each member of the family has a strong character and even some of the seemingly minor residents of Springfield are strong enough to carry at least the B story of an episode. The same can be said for the Family Guy, but that doesn’t seem to be the case from the first episode of American Dad. The major problem is that the Dad himself seems to be too powerful of a character that he overshadows everybody else. Now this is just the first episode so I will reserve judgment until I’ve seen at least three more. After all, I’m the one who liked the pilot of “Committed”… I’m an idiot.

Well I’ll leave you this evening with a few parting thoughts….

Movie to Rent:
“Party Monster”
Watched it this afternoon and I can honestly say that I was impressed. I’m not sure if it was that I really wasn’t expecting anything and it turned out to be pretty darn good or the fact that anytime you mix John Stamos and Marilyn Manson with Fez from That 70’s Show and Seth Green you get something good.

My iPod playlist this week:
“Grrl Rock”
Pretend That We’re Dead – L7
Volcano Girls – Veruca Salt
Stutter - Elastica
TKO - Le Tigra
24 – Jem
Supervixen – Garbage
Drop Dead Gorgeous – Republica
Stars – Dubstar
Up Here – Powder

nite...

Road Rage

Good Morning…
I don’t usually update this in the morning but I was exceptionally annoyed so I thought I would vent to the internet world. I just got back home from Irvine and I am totally fighting with everybody on the Highways!!! Driving on the highways regularly in LA and Orange County you sort of get used to people being stupid and if you drive them often enough you can actually feel the rhythm of the traffic. Somedays however, the rhythm is off and then you just want to break out your Nine and start blastin! Today was one of those days. I’m not sure why, but this one guy in his SUV (because EVERYBODY has an SUV out here in CA) starting flashing his headlights at me because I wasn’t going nearly as fast as he thought I should. Listen, on the 91 the speed limit is 65 MPH (that’s about 100 KPH for all you Canadians) and I was doing a conservative 75 MPH (120 KPH) because I actually like to leave proper spacing between myself and the car in front of me. I’ve seen enough accidents out here because of people slamming into one another due to improper spacing and I would prefer not to do that, silly me. Anyways, he was flashing his lights at me and yelling oh so colorful metaphors at me and it just drove me insane!!! This wasn’t the only person that was exceptionally obnoxious to me either… there was just something funky going on, on the highways this morning. I’m sorry, but I plan my life such that I have plenty of time to get where I need to be and I don’t have to drive like I’m playing “Rad Racer”. I couldn’t help but think of one of my fav quotes, “A lack of planning on your part, does not constitute a crisis on mine”.
Now pretty much everybody who drove with me while I was in Law School thought I drove WAY too slow to begin with. Well rest assured that I have sped up considerably during my time on the West Coast, but I still don’t drive like I’m playing a video game. On the O.C. recently they actually did say that “80 is the new 75”, but I’m not quite there yet… but give me a few more months and maybe…

NEWT!!!

This here is my good friend Newt. I'm not exactly sure what kind of lizard he is but we see him and his friends sunning themselves from time to time in the back yard. I don't know if you can tell, but this picutre is turned on its side as he is actually on one of the palm trees. Cute, but real skitish little bugger. 

Skool Daze

Good evening. Well I’m just sitting here watching the 2003 version of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and kind of grossing myself out so I thought that I’d take my mind off the fun loving cannibals of the Loan Star State and post something. Now I usually think that remakes are a bad idea (Psycho is a good example) and This flick isn’t really changing my opinion of this. Part of the appeal of the original TCM was that it was kind of grainy and gritty… almost had a snuff film vibe about it. This one is way too clean. Production values are too high and it is now just another teen horror movie, rather then the OG of slasher flicks.
Which leads me to the topic of this post… why are things that are old always considered better. I was thinking about this lately when I was cleaning out some of my old high school and college notes and materials and looking over some of the books and plays that I studied and wondered why they are still teaching this stuff. I guarantee that schools across the country still have the various plays by Shakespeare and some of the dumbest “classic” literature. Now I did read some good books in my studies… I thoroughly enjoyed “Gate To Woman’s Country” and “A Handmaids Tale”. But those were the exceptions. I guess my main point is why aren’t there more courses studying contemporary art and literature? What makes Shakespeare more worthy of study than say the study of a screenplay by David Mammet? Song lyrics in particular can provide incite into the culture of the time. Whether it is the protests songs of the 60’s, or the hip hop of the 80’s. Chuck D even said that rap music is the CNN of the Ghetto. Remember that just because something is old, doesn’t make it good.
You know, at some point I should really turn a random thought like this into an actual essay and really flesh out some of my ideas. But that sounds way too much like school… HA! Instead, I’m just going to put my thoughts out there for you all to read and then you can respond if you like.
Well I’m off… I have to go watch like 78 episodes of Aqua Teen in order to get the TCM images out of my brain before I go to bed. I’m such a dumbass…
Nite!