I'm in the process
of getting a permanent crown (my 11 year old bond was
browning pretty intensely) and the process is
pretty... well, awesome to me and repulsive to
everyone else. I'm gonna do a full entry on it when
it's done as the timeline for this tooth is pretty
intense. For now you get to look at the nasty thing
ever, what happens when you drill a tooth down to a
nub and it sits like that for a few days.
HOLY SHIT. No
wonder my mom cried when I initially snapped it in
half as a kid. I now have a brown, dead, meth tooth.
Isn't that... AWESOME? I mean, I have a
temporary to cover that up, but fuck that! I've had
more fun taking the temporary out and screwin' with
people in the past week. HA. Of course, I had to
make a video...
2) Brush Your
Teeth
The funny thing
is? Everyone thought this was fake when
I uploaded it a few days ago. I'm sure it'll be a
bit more repulsive when they realize it wasn't.
I have no idea why I think grossing people out is
so funny (the nail scene from the documentary comes to
mind) I think I just like all emotional reactions
in entertainment. You know? Make you laugh, make you
cry, make you shudder in horror... it's all fun to me.
I just like being moved one way or another when
I experience art and enjoy returning the favor.
<shrugs>
3) Flavor of the
Month
Herman Cain?
Suuuuuuuure. Like it or not Republicans, it's Romney.
I've said it's Romney since 2008 when I was
hangin' around him at the Obama/McCain debates. If the
Barbie company made a presidential candidate, it would
look like Romney. He looks like a president, sounds
like a president and honestly? He can totally win.
That's why he'll get it. Republicans want Obama out so
bad, they just don't give a shit who it is... and they
secretly know the super-crazies can't win a general
election. The most centrist of the whackos is gonna
get the nomination.
4) Open a
Book
The cries from the
right wing before Obama was president and now? Are
identical. Even though nothing they said would happen
before, ever did. Isn't that strange? I like to think
I was so adamently against Bush (the only
president I have EVER had that type of issue
with) because of actual things that happened.
There's not a whole lot of wiggle room with Iraq, ya
know? That actually happened. Not a whole lot of
wiggle room with Katrina, that actually happened. The
right wing painted the most liberal socialist picture
of Obama they could before... and he did NONE of that
shit. To my surprise and many Democrats' surprise. If
anyone should be pissed it's the left-wing
progressives. Obama has been so goddamned centrist I
believe he's a few bills away from being a very good
Republican president. From his handling of foreign
affairs, military actions, to unfreakingbelieveably
big tax cuts, to the least amount of new spending of
any president in generations... uhm, if you're a
conservative and you're angry with Obama? You may want
to do some research. Now, if you're a liberal and
you're angry with Obama? I hear you. He did take the
center route to get things done to the behest of a
progressive agenda. I would also argue that after
the 2010 elections? There was no other route to take.
You can only play the hand you're dealt and the
American people handed him a Republican House.
<shrugs> Considering that? He accomplished a
ridiculous amount in his first 2 years and it's so
mind-numbingly even and balanced there's really
fuck-all you can say against it...
...yet the right
continues to act like that isn't true. My roomate Jon
who isn't really into politics, but hears a little
here and there actually believed that Obama let the
Bush tax-cuts expire. Now, I guess you could say
he's just not paying attention very well... but if you
listen to the right? You would think he did a
zillion (totally legit number - lol) things
that he never did. They act like Obamacare is,
as Obama himself said, "A Bolshevik plot". Which
(in that amazing moment where he stood in front of the
Republicans at that event in early 2010) he went onto
say was going to hurt their ability to GOVERN. He was
right. 'Cause look what happened when they got into
power? They couldn't GOVERN. Because they made things
attached to Obama so EVIL, that when it came time to
actually compromise and get things done? They
couldn't. Their consituency demanded intolerance to
the EVIL. You have a media that is stirring up people
into these black and white corners and we're all GREY.
Obamacare is the 1993 REPUBLICAN counter to Clinton's
attempt at healthcare. Yet in order to win political
favor they painted it as death panels and government
spending (the CBO scored it as actually LOWERING the
debt over 10 years because of costs saved). None of
what the right is saying is actually
true.
And you know who
is to blame for this? Obama. He stopped campaigning
once he was sworn in (until last month) and let the
Republicans drive the narrative while he focused on
governing. In today's world? You never stop
campaigning. Sad, but true. May be a fatal re-election
mistake, and we'll see. The Republicans are brilliant
politicians though. And the corporate media is easily
the biggest threat to our freedoms. Without a
doubt.
5) Occupy Wall
Street
Impossible to
mention this without mentioning how the corporate
media is telling this story. Thankfully, the internet
seems to be fueling it pretty well. The whole 99%
thing needs very little explanation. It does however
need a point. And other than being pissed at the
banks, I'm not sure what they want done. What I will
never understand however, is how this can be painted
as a "liberal" movement. At what point do people stop
two party thinking? How far does it have to go? How
big do the banks have to get? 4 or 5 companies own
nearly EVERYTHING now. The lack of regulations on the
banks is criminal. If we're gonna bail them out (which
I was fine with, it was a loan, the government
MADE money on that), there has to be
regulations on what they do with the money. Has to be.
We can't bail them out and then have them sit on the
money, pay the CEOs millions in "bonuses" and never
ever lend. The economy will stall. But you can
honestly thank Bush for that one. His last big moment
for riding off into the sunset. Again, no problem with
the bailout - smart move - but zero restrictions on
it? Dumb.
This is something
that affects all of us. Every possible denomination,
skin color, political affiliation. Listening to Fox
News paint the movement as liberal? Is dangerous to
your health. Think.
6) If you're not
rich, we'll take your money
Now this is the
shit that started the Occupy Wall Street movement.
These goddamn bank fees are insane. The rules of
banking before were simple. In fact, Schoolhouse Rock
did songs about it. It's simple:
-The banks pay
you a little bit of money, if you keep your money
in their bank, they loan it to people at a higher
rate, they make money, you make a little money.
Voila.
-In the 80s
(blame Reagan or the Democratic Congress, makes no
difference - it happened) they deregulated the
banks. Big time. Little by little the regulations
disappeared.
-By the middle
of the first decade of this century, these lack of
regulations lead to the stupidest loans ever. You
don't pay the interest, or you pay half of this the
first month, more the second, whatever you want the
third... or if you have a heartbeat and you can
"state" your assets or job you get a million
dollars, etc. That shit blew the fuck up. Economy
meltdown, depression. We bail them out.
-But they're
worried about loaning money now, it's not a good
risk. So they figure instead of that? They'll just
CHARGE you to keep your money in their bank. Charge
you. The $5 charge to even have a debit card was
apparently the last straw which started the media
spotlight on Occupy Wall Street. I spoke to my
banker guy (who is really cool) and he said they
brought 'em all in and explained that this is all
in an effort to get people used to the idea of
paying for the "Service" of banking. What,
the, fuck.
It makes me want
to buy guns, and put my money in a mattress. I'm
kidding (kind of) but what it did do, was make Talya
and I get rid of every single account (except one
shared one) so we could avoid all this shit. Citibank
mailed her and said starting in November she had to
have a $6000 AVERAGE DAILY BALANCE or she
was charged $15 a month. Mother. Fucker. What? They
already had the $1500 Average/$10 fee bullshit, and
now they're going to this? Literally saying: "If
you're not rich, we will take your money." Now, tell
me Occupy Wall Street is "liberal".
7) The Golden
Crash
In a stunning turn
of events, yet not the least bit shocking as a
participant of "The Journey", HBO shutdown their
entire in-house Casting Department, thus destroying my
"in" there. As you may remember, not much of an "in"
as unfortunately there were ulterior motives to the
meeting. In fact, that entry is locked isn't it? Hmmm.
Well, sumbitch. Don't know what to say now. Let's just
say that if you were HBO and you got wind of
what seemed like was going on through that department?
You would've fired the shit out of them. So, although
shocking that it actually happened and so quickly? It
sounds about right for this story. I really do smile
at that. It was a longshot anyway, so it's not like
Friedman getting fired from CBS and losing Up &
Adam, but it's another notch on one helluva belt. Fo
sho.
8) Film
Festivals
It's weird even
writing it because it feels like you're all watching
the death of Adam as we know it. That uber-productive
guy who believed in everything and pushed and pushed
and pushed. I know I need to do it, and
there are some deadlines in November? But I'm
completely apathetic to all things
documentary-related... and honestly? Career related.
I've been typing the same thing for over a year, but
I type it out of pure astonishment. Who am I? A
guy who came really close to ending it all last year
and is so grateful to be alive he loves every second
he's here. That guy. A guy who would just rather
focus on other people around me whom I love than
spend any time (other than this paragraph) thinking
about me. What a boring goddamn topic I am. LOL.
9)
iSubmit
A $70 iPhone 4 was
too good a deal to pass up and I'm officially back to
the 21st Century: I have texting. Yes, the
man who waited until 2009 to get a texting phone, then
CeBe ate it a few months later so I went back to
my Razr... that man is back. I still feel it's
overkill, I still think I don't NEED it, but
my iPad has changed my life and to have a mini-one to
take with me everywhere? Seems like a good deal to me.
It honestly would've made more sense had they released
them backwards. 'Cause to me? The iPad is the device
to end all devices and the iPhone is a miniature
version of it. Oh well, Jobs probably knew what he was
doing. ;)
10)
Shit.
Oh and I really
didn't mean to be so right on that one. I saw the
TMZ picture of Jobs at the end of August and said on
Facebook: "He won't see Halloween". Uhm, yeah,
shit. I mean, I have personal experience with
that cancer and he went well beyond what anyone
I had ever heard of was able to... but when
I saw his state in that picture, I knew he
had weeks not months to live. Sad. It's all been said
before but I do agree - he was our Einstein, he was
our Edison. He changed our lives forever and we'll
understand that even more in 5 years. This is just the
beginning.
11) Too funny not
to share
Curious to see
what "Palmolive" was up to a year later, I went to her
Facebook page and boy did I get a laugh. She knew
exactly what she was doing here.
HAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
Now, I'm a big fan of re-branding a place (something
I want to do with Disneyland soon because of
"Palmolive"), but the context is crucial to where cute
ends and creepy begins. "Palmolive" went loco,
accused me of giving her cat worms (best instant
message ever) and literally lost it. One of the more
impressive meltdowns I've ever witnessed. Blocked,
ignored (until she heard I got a callback and
then she called to congratulate, ever the opportunist
- seriously, she's a great manager) the whole nine. So
her attention to detail to make it exactly the same is
bizarre. Not only is it the same place and time of
year, etc. She picked out the exact same outfit and
accessories. Out of hundreds of options at that
place. You go back there and it's just rows and rows
of dresses, hats, etc. The only way you're able to
recreate that is having the picture with you and
trying to "make a point". Or she's so crazy she had no
idea. Honestly not sure.
I on the
other hand have helped, say, Ann Walker "rebrand"
Paris in 2009 as the last time she went with her late
husband, it was a bad experience. But we didn't go to
specific places and re-enact them. As another example
I did a New Year's video with Talya that was
reminscent of ones with Jess... but I did them
out of love for BOTH. You know? It was my way
of saying to those watching that Talya was very
special. I was once again domesticated, happy at home,
counting down the seconds of the year with a nice
glass of champagne, settled down. That's kind of an
artsy way to tell a story with symbolism that only the
readers of a full decade would appreciate. The
peacefulness I felt with Jess was something to
celebrate as I was there again...
...this
"Palmolive" shit however makes me want to buy that
poor bastard a beer. Suffice it to say she
HATES me, is vindictive, angry... just all
things negative. So to stage that? Whew. I honest to
goodness just hope they're both OK. Because the
craziness that fills the beginning, middle, and end of
that day is an exhaustion I am light years away from.
12) The Incredible
Story of Us
Remarkably?
Without "Palmolive" there is no Talya. Yes, tomorrow I
will finally tell the story of how Talya and
I met exactly one year ago on October 19th. It's
remarkable how random it was, how much we told each
other we had no interest and a couple months later
realized we were home. Life will continue to have
highs and lows, but when you're home? You go to bed
happy.
