It never ends

So after getting back from vacation I've been fuilly swamped. We bought a small house back in P-Town (that's Petaluma for all you who don't know)so we've been trying to move and it's not easy. The new pad is VERY small and we have a ton of crap. Well, I have a ton of small, knicky-knacky stuff that I like having around. But it's been packed up and in our garage at the rental and now, our new place has an office for me (read: a closet on the patio) so I want to get the stuff I want to add to the decor.

People think I'm always trying to be a child because I keep lots of childish things around. Wind-up toys, fast food figures, posters, action figures, models, etc. Truth be told, that stuff makes me feel comfortable and inspired to work. I don't know why, but it does. I want my office to be a place where I can actually get off my ass and get back to work on some things I want to pursue.

Plus I have tons of books I need to keep handy for school (and for more inspiration) and a bunch of equipment. The dirty little secret is, we never really unpacked from the last move. So, we're having a garage sale this weekend and need to prepare plus, clean the old house and in order to do that, we kind of need to unpack, pick through and repack. Then UNPACK this time. Fun stuff.

I frigging HATE moving so I've been bitchy. But we're getting settled and soon I hope to get back to the blog and 3-4 reviews, etc. Just wanted to do a lil update....

Primitive as can be.

I just got home from 6 days in lovely Lake Tahoe with my family. It's pretty much our first family vacation since the baby arrived and although I'm not much for hanging out pool or lakeside, I was excited to just get away. Normally when I travel, I bring the laptop but this time, I didn't. I wanted to get away from "interacting" on the internet for a week and see what it was like. By interacting, I mean my habit of websurfing and chiming in on several film related blogs and message boards. None of that for a week. Nada.

I did have my iPhone so I could get email and check the main pages on Film Threat, ESPN and some sites that aggregate movie news. Other than that, I was Robinson Crusoe on Wi-Fi Island. Wanna know what I missed out on? Not a f-ing thing. I swear, I've been home and settled for 3 hours and have now checked all my regular sites and realized I missed NOTHING. Seriously. Not a thing. After the first 2 days where I had to remind myself I couldn't go tune out on the net, I was fine.

Instead over the course of the vacation I swam once and drank alot of beer. I also read a 600 page book (Stephen King's "Duma Key"...more on that some other time) and slept intermittently throughout the day. The one drawback of the house was that there was 3 kids counting mine and they were all up early. Somehow the house had absolutely nothing between the floor boards upstairs and the ceiling downstairs. It was frigging loud. Plus I was placed in a single bed the first 3 nights then a single air-bed the last 4. Nighttime sleeping wasn't happening.

Plus I had tons of crazy dreams which always happens when I get creatively backed up. My mind starts letting out these insane plots and dreams like the pressure gauge on a steamer. While I enjoyed the dreams, I realize I need to get to work on something again. I also realized I am incredibly...lazy. I wasn't always and I refuse to let the "I have a kid now" excuse slip in because that's not an excuse or even a reason. I'm just downright lazy and I don't know why. Ever since I took that monster load of classes, worked, commuted and awaited the baby, I've been toast. But dude, that was like, 6 months ago. It is now officially time to get my ass in gear. I have a new screenplay I want to write and an adaptation of a short story I want to make a film out of. Plus, there's an awesome idea for a new five a.m. video just sitting there.

Time to get to work.

Busy X5

CineVegas was a blast! Saw some good films, had a ton of fun and didn't see daylight for 5 days. Then as soon as I got back, it's been non-stop work. But today is June 26 which means 8 more days till the 4th of July which is one of my favorite get up and go Ike Reilly songs so...take it, Ike!

8 More Days Till The 4th of July

This Thursday...

I'll be going to CineVegas. I expect it will be alot like this:


Last year, it looked like this:
http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=videos&Id=1147&play=2

Bubble living.

Here's some quick, random highlights about being a kid in the 70's. I'm talking personal ones, not like....bell bottoms and tupperware and pop culture.

1. Riding in the back of my parents truck everywhere.

2. My dad taking me for short rides on his motorcycle...sans helmets.

3. The day I grew the balls to climb up the high-dive at the local pool and not go back down because I was too scared. I jumped. It was awesome.

I'm sure there's others, but I saw something today that reminded me of these things and of a point I wanted to make.

So, this nice lady was attending a baseball game at Dodger Stadium and when Todd Helton (from the visiting Rockies) swung his bat, it hit a ball and shattered. The bat went into the stands and hit her in the jaw. Ouch. Bummer. So now some yayhoo at Yahoo is jumping on board with what has thus far just been scuttlebutt about banning maple bats. Oh yeah, Helton's bat was maple which alot of players are using now because it "feels harder." O.kaaaaay. Anyway, here's the guys article here and it features just sad photos of the lady with her jaw bandaged up:



What bugs me (amongst other things) is how up in arms the writer and the ladies attorney are that the Dodgers won't cover her medical bills. People...right on your ticket it says if you get hurt from a bat or ball, the stadium and club aren't liable. They also announce it at the beginning of the game. I mean, the Dodger organization is total scum (go Giants!) but the whole injury by bat and ball is covered and they are totally right in saying "uhh...pay attention and duck next time." Again, not to be cold...buuut....as fast as MLB is you have plenty of time to duck/put up hands/push a guy in front of you/etc if something flies off the field. Go to a hockey game and track a puck when it leaves the ice. That's fast. Baseball-if you're actually watching the game-allots time for you to move if something comes your way. Or, catch it. You gotta be paying attention though. (Hint. Hint.)

I had an argument earlier this baseball season because all the base coaches in Major League Baseball have to wear silly helmets now because a coach...ONE COACH...one coach in how many years...got cracked in the head with a foul ball and died. So now everyone has to wear a helmet. Sure, it will keep them safer but I thought America was the land of freedom and choice? Well, I feel that a bunch of sorry sack liberals have done their best to ruin that in the name of "safety" and "equal opportunity" and "my best interests."

I don't mean to draw a line in the sand but I feel like it's the lefties who get on the "equal rights" bandwagon and ruin a somewhat harmful activity for everyone. Like...my mentions above of high dives, pick up truck beds and helmet free motorcycle rides. I mean really. Can't people make up their own minds on if they want to wear a helmet or ride in the back of a truck? Shouldn't every kid/teen decide "yes. I want to climb the high dive ladder before everyone in the public pool, gain all eyes on me...and JUMP." Some people don't dig that and that's totally, totally fine. But what happened to options?? What happened to choices?? I know it's weird reading a rant that doesn't accuse the right-wing of something, but I feel like the right wing are submissive to "the law" and just take whatever they're told to do and do it. "Vote Bush?" O.K...don't beat me. "Wear a helmet even though you'd rather just be dead if you crash your hog at 80 MPH? O.K...just don't ticket me." It just fees to me (and I could be wrong) that most changed laws or new ideas about keeping us "safe" come from injured liberals looking to make a buck. Conservatives just kinda "take it" but liberals wanna get paid and ruin it for everyone.

I guess from working with kids my whole life, I'm sensitive to the fact that most every adult has to have things "their" way. Like...if a field trip is scheduled and their kid is in summer school, I should reschedule the entire trip. Never mind the other 50 signed up kids who aren't in summer school...just you and your kid should be adjusted for, right?

Wrong.

In closing, when I was in high school some freaky girl who had a boyfriend who was a 30 year old biker (I'm NOT kidding) did a whole thing in our "speech" class about how it's un-American to make people wear seatbelts. At the time, we all railed against her but now, I think she's right. When does "for your own good" become fascism? When it's deemed "too" pornographic? The movies are TOO violent? Strange religious sects are too stange? Strong alcohol makes weak people do stupid stuff??

This whole potential banning of maple bats plus all the other "helpful" things our government has done just worries me to no end. Aren't we allowed to be free because our freedom allows us and helps us make the right choices for ourselves and our families? Do we need our hands held? I say...no. Bring back the high dives and summer nights riding in the bed of a pickup truck!!!

My March song.

March is probably my favorite month...next to October. I've always loved October cuz the weather here's always superb. Plus, it's my bday and Story's bday too...plus Halloween. But March is so fresh and sunny, yet rainy. plus, I get to go to SXSW every year.

Before I headed out to SXSW, I had some much chronicled Steve Poltz shows around here and I got both his new albums about a month before I headed to Austin. His song "Rains" reminds me of my daughter...plus, it's a way cool song. One night when I wouldn't leave Steve and his band alone at SXSW, I finally had the nerve to tell Poltzy that that song is about my daughter (which is a cheeeesy ass thing to say and I should know better, but I was drunk, tired and really missing my family) on my way out of their showcase. He stopped when I said it (and if you can get Steve Poltz to stop...for anything...you've accomplished something) and he said, "It is. It is about your daughter." But he said it in a way that was both funny and serious. Like, we both knew it wasn't but maybe I needed to hear that it was...or something. I dunno. I love that guy.

So, here's the video for Steve Poltz and the Cynics' Song "Rains." I hope you like goofballs and hamsters:



FYI...."Street Fighters Face" is my favorite song off the new record and here's Poltz doing that one as well as my third favorite song on the album:

http://www.kpbs.org/blogs2/index.php/culturelust/comments/steve_poltz/

Mmm hmm.

Keith Olberman is a bad ass and he's totally right here. Hillary is out of control and must go!!