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8:32 PM, Sunday,
November 30th, 2008:
No better way to
end the month than with "Randoms". Thank you to Pat
for inspiring this with a phone call this morning
leading to my first random.
1) Double Sonic
Boom
"Wanna go
see the space shuttle land?" Oh hell yeah I
do... I think. It sounds amazing doesn't it?
Then, if you recall from TV, they land like
planes. So suddenly a 4 hour roundtrip seemed
kinda overkill to watch essentially a plane
land... but there's adventure in it. Paddy
said however that he was able to hear them
from LA sometimes 'cause they make a sonic
boom - so it ought to be very intense right
there...
...yeah,
it was. It's pretty much what it must feel
like to be shot. And from my camera work
you can see that I was indeed caught
off-guard. Cool video, the people around
the base reminded me of the scary
parts of Ohio. Heh. I'm pretty certain we
passed 4 meth labs on our way there. Good
times. :-)
Pat got
some cool pics. I guess... I don't mean
to be an ass, like the sonic booms were cool
- but maybe I'm too used to seeing FANTASTIC
things. I mean, it's cool 'cause that
thing right there - that was in SPACE like 2
minutes before this... uhm - WOW. Yeah...
just WOOOOOWWWW. It was fun going. And you
all get this randomly (somewhat mentally
disabled) picture of Adam talking to
Paddy:
Funny how
depending on when you freeze life, sometimes you're
Corky.
2) We're City
Slickers
So apparently the
trip to see Obama on the first of this month has
turned into my friends and I trying to find things to
do in California that we'd never do alone... but with
a couple buddies seems fun. The winner of course are
you guys 'cause we're media fiends that won't to
document everything. Paddy wants to ride dune buggys
(sp?) I want to jump out of a plane and I'm gonna
try and get someone to do the Inauguration trip with
me. Running with the bulls can't be too far away. Is
this what you do when you hit your 30s?
3)
Inaugurinsane
On the
Inauguration, get a load of what I'm planning on
doing. I'm considering flying in the monday before at
night - taking a cab as close as I can, and just
standing/sitting/camping out there until noon the
following day (I'm sure I won't be the only one doing
this) and then after the inauguration taking another
cab back to the airport and flying home. I could do
the whole thing for under $300. If I can find someone
who'd do it with me I'd certainly go but may attempt
it solo as well. It's gonna be freaking cold though...
feel free to write me and egg me on. :-)
4) Oh My
Gas
$1.85 here and
we're almost always 40 cents higher than back east.
What the fuck. Need I remind you...
I actually ended
up paying $4.59 for regular at one point in May so
this is actually lower than it got - so $1.85
is starting to feel like the twilight zone.
Unfortunately however it means the worldwide economy
is in fucking FREEfall. This is like being happy you
have firewood after your house burned down. Even if
you REALLY needed firewood - this isn't good. It's
gonna bite us all fairly soon.
5) Once
Biten
And literally the
day that occured to me, I was told they were cutting
my hours at work. (sigh). So it looks like by the
start of the new year I will need to find new
employment. :-( Too bad, I like the place but the
only way I could give them such a cheap hourly rate
was because of a 40 hour work week - c'est la vie.
Nothin' to be bummed about really, it's always good
motivation to keep moving.
6) Good
Charlotte
That sounds like a
dog command. LOL. Not meant to be Charlotte, was just
the only positive thing I could think that would go
with your name. So I had dinner with Charlotte last
week (old manager for the newcomers) and it was...
wonderful. I'm not sure why it is so necessary for me
to find common ground with literally every person I
ever meet, but it is. And she cares enough about me
that it is for her as well. However, as you know,
there's a giant pink elephant in the room because of
our professional history and for most people it would
be too much. I threw her a lob in May, she returned it
a couple months later and we were finally able to meet
again. We talked long enough to piss off the wait
staff and will do it again soon I'm sure. And this
time it wasn't Shia LeBoeuf she spotted but Perry
Farrell. She's good at that. :-) Anyway, the elephant
will get smaller as time passes and we'll be able to
enjoy the aspect of our relationship that we always
enjoyed which is simply intelligent conversation.
7) In All my
Years
Speaking of wait
staff. So the waiter brings the bill and he has 3
completely different items on the bill that were
roughly the same price and then hands me a $5 bill and
says - "this will make it even" and walks away. I
looked at Charlotte and started laughing. We look at
the bill and are completely confused - but it seemed
about right. Waiter was probably in his 70s so it
didn't completely seem like a scam, just ineptitude.
Then after he runs the card the total is $17 cheaper
than what we had originally? But not itemized so it
could be a completely different bill? Scruples time
'cause after the shadiness of it all, the temptation
to sign and go is great but we both finally agreed we
had to say something. Then we get the bill back again
- and it's now $4 more than the first time. ($50 then
$33 then $54). What the fuck? In my entire life I've
never seen a more screwy situation. Oh and I realized
I covered just my meal and tip, didn't take into
account tax Charlotte. I owe you a buck. :-) Casa Vega
- go for the math.
8) Lakers will win
70
Speaking of
numbers as a Jordan/Bulls fan it pains me to say it -
but this year's Laker team is so clearly capable of
winning 70 it's almost a foregone conclusion. They
were a Finals team last year without Bynum and won
nearly 60... I'm tellin' you man, they're gonna make a
run for 70 in a big way barring injuries this year.
They're so incredibly deep it's almost unfair. The Pau
gasol trade was a steal last year and made them seem
unfairly stacked but now with Bynum breaking out? This
is gonna be a rollllllllllll. Lebron vs. Kobe in the
Finals. It's gonna happen.
9)
NINE TIMES
So I got to hang
at Ed Rooney's house yesterday. I don't mean to
be disrespectful to a fellow actor by not calling him
by his name (Jeffrey Jones), but... OK I have no
excuse:
I was at
Jeffrey Jones' house helping Luara move a
couch she bought from him. You may remember
Jeffrey for his role as Principal Ed Rooney
in Ferris Beuhler's Day Off as well as
several films and television shows since.
<rolling eyes> I feel like such snob
saying it like that. I much more enjoy being
the dork that I am and admitting that I was
trying desperately to find a way to work
"NINE TIMES" into a conversation (like
he's never heard THAT before) because
HOLY SHIT he was in Ferris Beuhler's Day
off.
That's the truth
of the matter. It's fun to enjoy movie magic. I'd go
apeshit if I saw Spencer Highbanks walking down
the street. :-)
10) Inside and
Outside the Beltway
Laura's nephew Joe
(the 15 year old who is younger than my Ireland
shirt), is an actor/singer/entertainer and is
certainly surrounded by a family in the business who
support him and want him to succeed. It is a freedom
I've never known and a real eye-opener seeing life
through his eyes for a bit as people were talking
around him. It's everything I've never had... but the
true ability to empathize is understanding that his
situation has it's own pressures. It's taken me every
moment of the past ten years to even meet someone as
generous and connected as Laura - but in that time
I've grown into someone I could never have been had I
had all that at his age. He has all the support and
connections he'll ever need for his talent... but he
also has expectations I never had. I did the
unexpected from a place of angst and knowing
I was meant to do more... if he does the same -
that means NOT being the
actor/singer/entertainer... it's fascinating isn't it?
It's never black and white. I can say that I could be
so far ahead had I just had some help as a teenager
but what's evolved is a hunger that could only come
from that ache of desperation. It remains to be shown
if all that that ache created will pay
off...
11) 360
Degrees
And we're closer
than EVER to finding out. Whew. The blacked out entry
this month has the potential to absolutely blow this
year UP. It's because of that I can't even show the
title or video. However it's a Laura contact that I
will know more about in the next couple of weeks and
there's a possibility that by year's end my career
will be further ahead than ever before. And really, as
the guy put it - it's just help. To quote: "Look what
you've done by yourself, imagine if you had help".
What a wondrous thing to hear and if he can get his
partners to agree the stars will be aligning. Finally.
Seriously. Officially. Here's to December.
12) Murphy was
Sleeping
Speaking
of 360 (oh, that was just the title of the
last one, which will make no sense right now
- ugh, nevermind) Two weeks before the
extended three year warranty on my Xbox 360
was set to expire - I got the three red
lights of death!!! How freaking lucky is
that!!! They repaired it free of charge.
After the 22nd it would've cost me $140. I'm
not sure whether to be happy about this, or
sad that my year's alottment of luck seems to
have been wasted on a videogame console.
LMAO. Seriously, there was a dust blob in my
projector, they sent me a new unit and the
focus ring didn't work on it. <rolling
eyes> Sure seems like something they would
check before sending it out don't you think?
They finally sent me one that worked. Believe
me - if there's bad customer service
experience to be had, I will find it.
:-)
13)
Pragbama
If you were
concerned about Obama before, this month has to have
eased your fears a little. As a moderate I have
to say I'm super-pleased with his careful selection of
cabinet positions and uncanny understanding of what's
necessary at these times. And I'm so glad he finally
told everyone: "I would never be so stupid as to fill
my cabinet with people that know nothing about how to
get things done in Washington, the 'change' comes from
me." He could still end up being a fuck-up like
Carter, but at this point I'm far beyond hoping "my
guy" does well. I'm praying we made the right
choice because we need a leader sooooooooooo bad. Bush
is just... it really seems like he just doesn't want
the job. And hasn't for the last couple years. It's
like that show Donna and I were on earlier this year
"Over Your Head". He seems relieved someone who knows
what they're doing is finally there so he can pet a
turkey and play in the rose garden or some shit. Funny
how a president of 8 years can seem less qualified
than a one-term Senator. Leadership skills are
extraordinary things aren't they?
14) Stryker's
Subpoena
A couple years ago
I did a parody entry/video on a Gay Pornstar named
Jeff Stryker. He was in the midst of suing Kulak's
Woodshed (where I performed in September) for a
zoning variance and it's an ongoing
suit/hearing/variance issue for the past 4 years
believe it or not. Anyway, Jeff (real name Charles
Peyton) proceeded to harass me, threaten me, harass my
family (even writing to the staff at my father's
CHURCH) because I made fun of his action figure with
working genitalia. That and his song "Pop you in the
Pooper". Actually, fuck this entry - read
that one.
It's one of the funniest Journey Entries of all-time.
There's a trial on the 10th and I'm testifying on
behalf of Kulak's woodshed - simply giving an account
of his "cyber terrorism" as they now call it.
Thankfully, I made public record
of every
email and I
can use his own words against him. Apparently he's
done this to several people and they're scared of
testifying against him. I'm not in the least.
Seriously:
I'm not running
from that. Goddamn that's funny. How can you not have
a sense of humor when you release this
mp3
as a single?
15)
TTOTHED
So Tara didn't get
one of the 2 coveted spots on SNL, but they sent
another head writer out the week later to see her
perform. They're looking for writers for the spring.
As I mentioned in last month's entry every single
thing that happens from the audition is a positive
even if it isn't immediately known. We're gonna do a
"Combo Entry" firt thing next year giving you a more
detailed update (her description of the audition is
PRICELESS) and there will be more from Tara
DeFrancisco. No doubt...
...btw (T to the
D).
Alright - 15
Randoms. Giddy-up. Only one more month to go in
probably the hardest of my life. Those even years sure
know how to kick my ass.