musings of a west coast transplant

it's been awhile

2008-06-07T19:31:00.000-07:00

so it's been awhile since i've posted here, but really i just want to start reaching out.

to all you Hillary supporters.

man, this year has been crazy, 16 months of campaigning for a primary? unheard of. and when it came down to it, we had two exceptional candidates who stuck through every controversy and hard hits that were traded back and forth. and they both ran until the final minutes when a nominee was decided in South Dakota.

And i know of a lot of people now who are saying they won't vote for Sen. barack Obama. They're upset that Sen. Clinton not winning, that somehow the election was stolen from her. Or even worse, some people have said they'll vote for Sen. McCain instead.

That's not reasonable at all. Essentially, to "stick it" to Sen. Obama, you'd vote for someone who is more than likely different from a number of your views just to show your anger?

Well look, I've voted in every election since 2000 (every. single. one.) and it's been rare that my candidate has ever won. But does that mean I'll stop supporting my party (even though i did leave it for a few months)? If Hillary would have won, and even if I felt like it had been stolen from Sen. Obama, I would still vote for HIllary in the fall, and why?

Because the option of voting for Sen. McCain goes against all of my political beliefs. the John McCain of 2008 is a different man from the John McCain of 2000, who I would have voted for if he had clinched the nomination.

Voting for John McCain means voting for issues that are contrary to my own: Continuing a war in Iraq (though I do believe it can't end quickly), a weak policy towards the crumbling economy, a person who is not willing to talk to everyone, even our enemies. We live in a global economy. Not in a global economy minus a few nations.

And finally, listen to him speak. Listen to Sen. Obama speak. Yes, true, rhetoric does not translate to governing power. But truly listen to his speeches.

He's excited.

He's excited because he knows we're excited.

He's excited because he knows that deep down inside, all Americans are good people who are just as anxious to make a good impression on the world again.

To lead in the world.
To be respected.
To live up to the ideals and aspirations of our forefathers.

I don't expect some sore Hillary supporters to just jump ship easily, but I do ask that you give him a shot. Visit his website, look at his stances on issues. And just think if voting for John McCain, or not voting at all is what Hillary would want. If you were truly a supporter of hers, you'd want to accomplish all the things she laid out over the campaign trail. And though she's not in the race anymore, I can guarantee she'll be working with Barack over the coming months and years to accomplish all those goals.

So yeah, I hope that we can all come together, and work towards the goal of putting a Democrat back in the White House, and work towards a better America. The one we all remember and hope to be again.

More on this later.

disgusting. revolting. atrocity.

2008-03-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

My response is at the bottom.
From cnn:

Clinton noted Sunday pledged delegates can still vote for whomever they choose.

(CNN) — In a new interview, Hillary Clinton again seems to raise the prospect that "pledged" delegates - those awarded based on election results - might still be considered up for grabs..

"There are elected delegates, caucus delegates and superdelegates, all for different reasons, and they're all equal in their ability to cast their vote for whomever they choose," she told Newsweek in an interview published Sunday. "Even elected and caucus delegates are not required to stay with whomever they are pledged to."

After a similar reference earlier this year drew sharp criticism from Obama supporters, the Clinton campaign said that they had not been planning to try to actively convince the Illinois senator's pledged delegates to switch sides, and would not do so in the future.

Barack Obama leads Clinton among all Democratic delegates, 1,527 to 1,428, in the latest CNN count. Among pledged delegates, Obama leads Clinton 1,328 to 1,190.

+++++
So essentially, Hillary thinks that the delegates should vote for who they think would make the better presidential nominee.

in other words, you shouldn't vote. Nope, because Hillary doesn't think your vote matters, since you probably don't know the right choice anyway, right?

disgusting. subverting the will of the voters?

who still wants this person as your nominee?

hillary, please step down.

2008-02-25T15:58:00.001-08:00

from the cnn political ticker:

On a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon, Clinton Communications Director Howard Wolfson maintained Barack Obama is running a negative campaign, and said the press largely praises him for doing so.

“I think it is true that every time the Obama campaign in this campaign has attacked Sen. Clinton in the worst kind of personal ways, attacked her veracity, attacked her credibility, said that she would say or do anything to get elected, the press has largely applauded him," Wolfson said.

[ [ Oh, Wolfson, do you mean the same thing Hillary has done to Barack in every single debate? All she does is attack his credibility. His 'experience'. And as far as saying anything to get elected? You signed a contract saying you would not campaign in MI and FL, and that those delegates would not count...until you're losing. Now you're on a mission to get them seated in order to bring you back up in the numbers. Sounds like you're doing quite a bit of all that ] ]

And continuing...

"I think he has run against her as the status quo, he has essentially called her divisive, he has called her untruthful, he has questioned her credibility, he has said she will do and say anything to get elected," Wolfson also said. " If that's not negative, I don't know what negative is."

[ [ 1.) Howard, she is the status quo. And talking about being divisive? I think that's a perfectly legitimate point. Hillary does nothing but demonize the Republican party, and a huge percentage of them absolutely hate her from when Bill was in office. And talking about being divisive in another way. Here is something HIllary said recently at a rally in Ohio...] ]

Speaking to a crowd at Rhode Island College, Clinton said, "None of the problems we face will be easily solved," and then went on to mock Obama's message of unity.

“Now, I could stand up here and say, ‘Let’s just get everybody together. Let’s get unified,'" Clinton said to laughter of the crowd.

"The skies will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect,” she said dryly as the crowd erupted.

[ [ Wow Hillary. Just mock the first politician in forever for wanting to bring all Americans together to get this country back on track. You know, Barack never said it would easy, and he makes a note of that in almost every one of his rallies. He notes that it will be a hard challenge, but by coming together as Americans with a need for change, we can make it work. But shouldn't you know that? I mean you have everyone paying attention to his speeches in order to find out examples of "plagiarism".

Which reminds me Hill, CNN found out that you had lifted whole lines from speeches John Edwards gave this campaign, oh and some lines from Bill's speeches in 1992.

But yeah, bringing America together for change, that's something to get nasty about Hillary. Maybe this is why you're losing in the polls. Maybe this is why even Republicans are flocking to Barack.

Maybe this is why, during the South Carolina debates, John Edwards said "When the voices of change speak up, the status quo *pointing ot Hillary* lashes out."

Maybe you need to step down, and let us have politics free of harsh words, and instead let them be words of hope, words of change, and words that will lead us into a better world, and a brighter future. ]]

So...

2008-02-20T20:41:00.000-08:00

so tonight, i'm at my favorite 5 star dining establishment in the valley...Sharky's on burbank, and I'm waiting for my most excellent burrito to be served when I take notice of a couple sitting about two tables away to my left. She is muttering something to He, and from the tone of it, you can tell She's not happy.

so like any other self-respecting writer and people watcher, I take notice.

Then I hear "go, go up there and wait for it", it being their food, apparently the 5 minutes She's been waiting on a fairly busy night are too much for her to bear.

So, He goes. Sullen. Defeated. He's waiting for the delivery that will make his night that much more bearable. Then. He sits down.

Of course, I take notice now because I'm expecting a prompt bitch slap from She. but no, She huffs and puffs, and stands up by herself and almost bumps into the one cook who is brining them their food.

She nastily asks. "what was taking so long"
Cook says "Fish burritos take longer to cook"

So, looking like an idiot, She sits down.
Dear God, you'd think She had a giant tumor and was seconds away from death and that burrito was some new found cure for cancer.

Next, on my way home from that lovely experience (burrito = pretty awesome), I stop in walgreens in order t pick up a few things for NoHo Apt. And as I'm waiting in line, I notice another person that can't wait.

Loudspeaker - "Ding Dong, A Customer Needs Assistance In The Baby Aisle."

Hmm. That's new.

Two seconds later. "Ding Dong. A Customer Needs Assistance In the Baby Aisle"

Yeah. We get it.

This went on, three more times. Even the automated voice sounded like it was getting pissed off.

I almost expected to look into the baby department and see some woman on her back with a baby crawling out of her. I mean, it seemed that urgent.

But no. Turns out she had a question about diapers.

Diapers.

Seriously? Are you kidding me? You keep pressing a call button because you have a question about Diapers? Did the packaging not answer the questions for you?

Ugh. Anyway. Point being here kids. We all need to just relax, calm down, and enjoy life. We'll all get to do what we want to do, but stressing over the small things definitely do not help.

Unless, of course, that fish burrito really is the cure for cancer.

So the question is, who do I endorse?

2008-02-02T11:25:00.001-08:00

You know, this entire primary season and before, I had really been struggling about who to vote for. The dems had eight candidates to start, but who was really worth my vote?

In the end I think I was nearing John Edwards. Not only did I find him to be the only one not finger pointing and arguing in the debates, but he wanted to talk straight up politics and issues. He was also the person most neglected by the media because he wasn't one of two historic candidates, seeing as he's a southern white man.

Now I have no problem at all with the fact that the two candidates left are different from what we've always had. It's actually a welcome bit of fresh air. Because I mean, lately the white-men-as-presidents haven't been working out to be the best, but come on media. Show us the people who are actually presenting the issues and not arguing and actually showing they want to make a change, instead of arguing about who's going to make the most change, or who has done it so far.

By the way, I hate that god damned word. Stop using it. I'm removing it from my vocabulary since i've heard it six million times since november.

Anyway, even though I thought I would be voting for Mr. Edwards, there was something about that charming young man from Illinois that really grabbed my attention. Most of his politics seemed to be in line with Edwards, and you know what? sometimes I even got chills when I heard his speech. A few weeks ago, I remarked how he started to remind me of Kennedy (and who doesn't like JFK, our last great president). Then I read up on more of his issues and found that yes, maybe this is something who could bring about ch...make a difference in America from the Washington of old.

I think his lack of experience kind of threw me off at first, but then again, the final three all had technically the same amount of national experience.

So when it comes down to Obama and Clinton, I overwhelmingly endorse Obama. I'm still waiting to hear how Hillary is going to follow up her mandated health care. What if I still can't afford health care hillary? Will you tax me or fine me until I do buy it? Until it becomes more than the health care itself?

Combine that issue with the fact that she seems like another warhawk in disguise, hiding her true feelings behind the mask of the democratic party, and you see why I'm endorsing who I've picked.

The sad part is that, I have to fly home on Monday in order for a family issue, and will not be able to vote in California on Super Tuesday (seeing as I am now officially a CA resident).

So, since this is the first ever vote that i will not be able to cast a ballot in since I've turned 18 (yes, all primaries, elections, referendums, etc.) I hope that everyone who is able to vote in the primary, will vote, and turn out for who you truly believe would make the best president. Because I hate that I won't be able to.

p.s. - Just so you know, just because I would have voted for Obama in the primaries does not mean I will definitely be voting for him in the general election. There are still candidates that will pop up for third parties, and who knows, maybe the republican candidate will be a better one (ha.). But i'm not limiting myself to the party I'm registered to.

So come, november, if Mr. Obama wins the Democratic nomination, and I see that he is truly the best candidate (which I am sensing he may be), then he will also garner my national election vote.

big trouble in little utah

2008-01-31T01:52:00.000-08:00

can't really such much else about this story.

from imdb.com:

Operator of "Clean Flix" Store Arrested for Statutory Rape

The operator of the Utah-based Flix Club, which, as part of the Clean Flix chain, drew fire from major studios for removing scenes depicting sex and violence from home videos, has been arrested in Orem, Utah on charges of having sex with underaged girls. According to Orem police, Daniel Thompson also told the girls that his business was actually a cover for a pornography studio and asked them to participate in making a porn movie. The police report also said that they uncovered a "large quantity" of pornography at Thompson's business. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Thompson told the arresting officers that he was unaware that the girls were not of legal age and that the porn movies were for his "personal use." Thompson previously operated the Clean Flix franchise in Orem but shut it down last month after giving away 400 sanitized versions of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The studios, he said at the time, had told him that "if I don't shut down, they would break me."

for everything else in life...

2008-01-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

So here it is, finally yes, the story of my Mastercard commercial. I know, it's been awhile, and I've just been waiting to get all of the details before I say anything about it, but now I know that it might not air until March, and some of you are pretty anxious to hear this story.

That sounds pretty cocky there, Jack.

I know, but just go with it.

+++++

Back in December, we were swamped with work. three of our films were in various stages, and one of them (Queen Sized with Nikki Blonsky). So on a Thursday evening, it's real late, been working for wuite some time, haven't shaved in a few days, and I look like hell. So Andre, my co-worker, and I are riding the elevator down to the garage when two people get on at the second floor, where the casting agency is.

At this point, I'm barely alive, let alone awake, and it isn't for a good two minutes before I realize the woman who got on at the second floor is talking to me. I snap out of my half-trance and say:

me - "Excuse me?"
she - "I said, do you work upstairs?"
me - "...Yeah?"
she - "Are you working tomorrow?"
me - "Yeah...why?
she - "Would you want to audition for a national commercial?"
me - "uh..."
she - "we're casting tomorrow, and I think you'd be great for the part."

I look at Andrew, I laugh.

me - "Yeah?"
she - "it's a national mastercard commercial. You'd just have to wear what you have now, and show up. it'll be easy."

Still kind of in shock.

me - "Sure. Yeah. i'll be there."

So i show up the next day, not quite knowing what to do as I have no resume, no headshot, no agent. I end up talking to the two owners of the casting agency, the casting agent who asked me to come, and the photographer. For this audition I had to walk around this little studio acting like I was listening to my ipod and rocking out while walking through the city streets.

Seriously.

So I leave, thinking that was fun, nothing is happening though.

Until two days later when I get a phone call telling me I got a callback.

Yeah. For real. And get this. It was at Ridley Scott's Agency.

Yeah, Mr. Blade-Runner-Gladiator-Alien. That one.

That audition didn't go so well, although I found out that out of a few hundred potentials for my part alone, I made it into the final five. Can't really ask for more. And so I didn't get that part.

Then...yes there's more...then I get another call from the casting agent two days later saying that I was up for a part in another mastercard commercial that they were casting. I wouldn't have to audition for this one, it was just down to a decision as to which person they wanted, and she would let me know by the next day.

By the time I walked into work the following morning, I knew that I would be a principal actor in a major national commercial that was shooting on Saturday.

So this commercial is just a bunch of vignettes of people playing catch, and I was cast to play a kind of stoner/slacker (ha) that would be playing catch with a similar looking guy on the beach. And of course, because we were stoners, we couldn't just be playing catch with a regular baseball.
oh no.

I was given a giant orange rubber ball to throw. And we also threw a velcro tennis ball to catch with those velcro pads. We did throw a football, and that went about as well as it could, seeing as how my arm isn't so much a cannon as it is a pop gun.

Oh, and did I mention my trailer? no? Hmmm.

Yeah I had a trailer, with my name on it. I laughed when the AD told me that, but here's the proof:
And that's how it all went down.
Will I get headshots? Maybe.
Representation? Possibly.
Join SAG? Considering. I did get a letter from them saying I had to join if I did another commercial.

I'm just going to wait and see for now. So if you happen to catch a mastercard commercial airing on TV this spring with people playing catch, keep an eye out for me.

This is what is wrong with this country

2008-01-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

From CNN:

As of around 11 a.m., about 140 people had turned out to vote in the Seven Oaks precinct of Lexington County, South Carolina. Some of them, however, complained about phone calls earlier in the week from campaigns.

"It's a little much," said Kay Burns, who said she voted for Sen. John McCain of Arizona because "I like what he stands for."

Others said they voted for Huckabee.

"I like the fact he's a Christian," said voter Stacee Groome.

Kay Burns' husband, Ellus, said he voted for former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee because of his "presentation, maturity and Reaganism." Burns said the most important issues for him are the economy and international relations.
+++++

Anybody guess what's wrong here? Everyone notes who they vote for because of their policies, issues, etc...

Except for good ol' Stacee Groome. She voted for Huckabee because he's a christian.

Well, I'm pretty sure, Stacee, that a lot of the GOP candidates are too.

But if that's the reason why you voted for Huck, I guess I could assume that you'd vote for Hitler, if he came out on Tv and said "Hey, I'm a Christian".

Damn, can people just vote for candidates because they have good policies, and issues, and not because "I like him".

Because the last time that happened, we got Bush for 8 years.

cross country 2007 ( a bit late )

2007-12-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

So I've been saying i would do this forever ago, and here it finally is. Complete with maps, this is the road trip from new jersey to California.

++++++++++

Every time that I start on any trip, road trips in particular, I always get this feeling that i was born in the wrong decade. I feel like roadtripping across the US, is something that should have been experienced in the 40s and 50s, when Route 66 was still alive and running, and Route 40 was just an idea. A time when gas was ridiculously cheap, and you loaded up your Chevy and hit the road. This feeling was probably not helped by the fact that I was reading "On The Road' by Jack Kerouac, someone who i feel would have been a very close friend of mine, had we lived at the same time.

So here is the map for our entire trip.

It is 3,225 miles long, and if we never stopped driving, and had no traffic, it would have taken 51 hours. Now that's a trip.

We passed through 12 states in all.

We also set a goal for ourselves, of not eating at or buying from a single chain. No McDonalds, No Safeway Supermarkets, No Starbucks, etc. 7 days. Most people laughed at it. We accomplished it.

Day 1: New Jersey to Memphis, TN (1076 mi, 17:20)

We were going to sleep Sunday night and start very early Monday morning, but decided leaving at 7pm on Sunday night would work out better, and would give us time to stop a bit on the road to Memphis. As you can see though, this is just about 1/3 of our entire road trip, compacted into one full day. So Chaz takes the wheel first, and I say I'll get some sleep so that I can take over around 12;30 am. But you know that never happens, and the excitement of being on the road again keeps me up. So I take the wheel around 12:30 and Chaz passes out, leaving me alone at the wheel driving through the foggy Appalachian mountains in West Virginia for part of the night. At one point, feeling groggy, I notice that I am about to pass the last rest stop for the next 35 miles. I wave it off, I can handle it, I'll stop at the next one.

10 miles in, and I feel like I'm going to fall asleep at the wheel. I try everything to keep myself awake. Windows down, music as loud as possible without waking Chaz. Ha. This does not work well. I somehow make it to the end of the 35 miles, and pull into the rest stop. I pass out in the front seat and we're sleeping at a rest stop (no comments Gallagher) for 2 hours. We finally get back on the road around 6 am and pull into Lexington, KY around 8am. We walked around the town and I could start to feel that we were in the South. We stopped at a little mom-and-pop diner, and ate a greasy southern breakfast out back in an alley which tables. Great people and Great food, and then we were off again to Nashville.

I had really wanted to spend more time in Nashville, seeing the Grand Ole Opry, some museums, and just getting a much better feel for the town, but we didn't have that much time. The first thing we did was head to the top of the hill in town and look down on everyone from the State Capitol Building. After a quick stop looking around the main square of town, we had to hit the road again, as we were expected in Memphis by nightfall.

Route 40 is weird in that, for the most part, you're driving straight through wilderness, or what seems like it, which makes anything that appears look even weirder. Case in point: 3 hours from Memphis, we stop at this weird little gas station in the middle of nowhere. Chaz buys Peanut Brittle (what the hell?) and I deal with an old backwoods Southern woman who has split personalities (a total bitch, and a sweet southern belle). We arrived in Memphis around 6:30pm, 24 hours and 30 minutes after we left New Jersey (Time zones!). We stayed with Chaz's relatives and finally got to sleep after that hellish day of traveling.

Day 2: Memphis, TN

After that ridiculous day of travel, we took a whole day off and explored the town. I don't quite have many pictures developed yet for this part of the trip (I'm slow in getting them developed, and yes I do still shoot on 35mm). Started off the morning playing some lawn ball game, taking in the sun, and then headed to see the home of the king, and wander around Graceland. You know, I'm not the biggest Elvis fan ever, but this was definitely worth the afternoon that we spent there.

For the evening, we hit up B.B. King's Bar on Beale Street (think a toned down version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans). the house band that was playing was amazing, and really set that tone with their dirty blues that we were truly in the South.

Day 3: Memphis, TN to Longview TX (412 mi, 6:36)
This was going to be more of a fun day of driving, since we would only be on the road for technically 7 hours, we were able to stop and see more. Our first stop, and something I've wanted to see for awhile, The President William Jefferson Clinton Museum! It was great to see a lot of memorabilia from his presidency, and it definitely made me a little bit nostalgic for a time when we didn't have an absolute idiot in office. One of the most interesting things in the collection was a breakdown of how the White House prepared to welcome Czech president Vaclav Havel and his wife. From the invitations, to the letters to Lou Reed, asking if he would come and perform for the visitors (Velvet Underground apparently being a huge influence on a much younger Vaclav Havel as he stood up against the Soviets). There was also a walk in re-creation of Clinton's conference room which allowed you to sit in his seat. I could not miss this opportunity. But on the road again young readers!

The next stop was a short stint in Shreveport, Lousiana. This city, and it's sister town across the river Bossier City, are the gambling capitals of this fine state. Not knowing this ahead of time, I have to see it was quite weird to be driving along in the bayous and swamps, and then all of a sudden see bright flashing lights telling me where I can lose all of my money. With this new bit of information, we found a casino that would gladly take our money, and I lost $20 on the slots.

We had set out from the casino in search of a good place to eat for the night, and of course were confronted with a number of chain eateries. The rain had started to come down, and it was hard to navigate through this pretty dark town. Eventually, we stumbled on what looked to be like an old down home cooking sort of restaurant. We got out of the car, into the rain, walked through the muddy unpaved parking lot and into the restaurant...to discover that it was a 5-star, high class place, with a dress code. Imagine how out of place we looked.

After quickly leaving that restaurant, we stumbled upon a bar where we had Po' Boys and watched South Park with the bar tender. Even sat next to someone in the bar who was from Los Angeles. How weird. We left and headed into Longview, TX to rest for the night at Chaz's uncle's house.

Day 4: Longview, TX

What can I say about Day 4? Jet Skis on a beautiful lake. That is, until this thunderstorm rolled in from no where. Jack Kerouac while sitting by the dock. Good ol' BBQ. Relaxation. I'm Pretty sure this is what heaven feels like.

Day 5: Longview, TX to Santa Fe, NM (769 mi, 12:19)
Starting out early in the morning we hit the road and passed through Dallas in a short while. Now, I do have to say something for people who have never traveled through Texas before: This state is ridiculously boring for the most part. Why, you may ask? Well because for the most part, Texas has large open plains, with nothing much to see. So you'll be driving for about 20 hours and maybe, just maybe you'll have seen a tree.

What must be said about this part of the country, is that with no terrain, when you look up at the sky, it's almost disorienting because it's so huge. Also, storms blow through here quickly, almost without notice, and they tend to be pretty wicked. We stopped for some more BBQ at this great little place in Amarillo, which put us back on Route 40. The place is called Dyer's. You should check it out. if you're not impressed with their amazing BBQ sandwiches, you will at least get amusement from the bathroom sinks that are in the shape of Texas. I'll post a picture of one of these soon.

After we cross into New Mexico, we stop for gas, on Old Route 66 (it runs directly next to Rt. 40 for the most part, and it's really about the size of two cars pressed against each other.) I knelt down and kissed the "Mother Road". It felt good. At this stop, the gas pumps looked as if they were from the 40s. The old mechanized digits on the front, ticking every second that you were pumping gas. We also watched a massive storm form on the horizon. Pretty amazing scenery.

After this short stop we tried to haul it all the way to Santa Fe, and almost didn't make it. On the road through the mountains, we were riding on the E for quite awhile. Luckily a gas station came out of nowhere and saved us. Sante Fe wasn't so much a fun town though. First of all, we did show up pretty late at night to find anything. We were starved, tired, and just wanted some sleep. We found a reasonable motel on a main road and headed in. While moving all of our stuff from the car to an apartment, this Mexican man appeared out of the bushes near our door and quietly walked past us. Just weird to see a man come out of nowhere, in the dark, in a town you don't know. Yeah.

Day 6: Santa Fe, NM to Flagstaff , AZ (383 mi, 5:25)
This part of the trip was fairly uneventful. Leaving Santa fe was pretty amazing. In the early morning light, the mountains around that town look gorgeous. As we moved further along, we hit the Continental Divide by late morning. For those that don't know what this is, the Continental Divide is the diving line in the US where rain that falls to the west of it flows to the Pacific, and rain that falls to the eats heads to the Atlantic. It also has a really kitschy gift shop.

The only stop for the day was at something that I wanted to see on my first cross continental road trip: Meteor Crater. This park is off of Route 40, and is along a winding road that heads far out into the desert plains. Off in the distance, you can see a slightly raised part of land with a building attached to it, and that's about it. So we pull up, and of course there's a pretty ridiculous entrance fee. We also find out that because of the high winds on this day, that we can't walk around the crater's edge, but there is a number of outside observation decks. Stepping outside, we were hit hard with 70mph winds. It was tough to stand still and take photos of this massive crater. It's approximately 1 mile wide, and deep enough that if you put the Washington Monument in the center, its tip would barely reach the top. Taking a look through the binoculars, you could look at the crater floor, and it was odd to see it look like a completely different planet. Now with this picture in mind, try to imagine what this area must have looked like a split second after impact. Everything within a few miles had to have been instantly incinerated. The sound, the force, I can't even imagine what it was like. I think I'd consider it an occasion to wear party hats.

Made of titanium.

Or something that wouldn't burn easily.

So inside, we check out a bit of the displays and such, and then there is this guy. This tour guide. This work of art. he starts giving a big speech about the crater to, let's say, 50 people, which quickly dwindles to about 5, and that's including Chaz and I. He starts talking about this crater as if it was punched into the earth by the Fist of God Himself. You could really tell he loved this place. Oh, and he also told us about the gift shop whenever humanly possible.

Seriously.

He would show us this part of the meteorite (solid metal. only about the size of 4 footballs, but it weighed almost a ton. No lie.) And then he'd pull out a piece of rock from his pocket, no larger than a diamond on a ring, and he'd say.

"kinda like this rock here. Pretty neat, huh? You could get yourself one of these rocks for...for about two dollars in the gift shop downstairs. Sounds pretty good, huh? Hmmm?"

And there'd be silence. This happened at least 10 times. no lie.

We ended up talking with this guy in the gift shop for a few minutes. Turns out he actually lives at the crater! Next to the museum building is basically a set of dorms. That he lives in. He told us how he barely ever gets away from the park and into the closest one-stoplight town. That the burger his friend bought him was the first one he's seen in months.

This guy. Lives. AT. The. Crater.

It explained so much. I wish I had a photo of him. He'd be worth the trip to middle-of-nowhere Arizona. But enough about this guy (though we could discuss him for weeks). On to Flagstaff.

The last time I was in Flagstaff was 2 years ago while on the same road to Los Angeles. Last time, Dan and I didn't have enough time to really do anything (oh we were pretty exhausted too). But Chaz and I made it a point to go out. After we checked in, we asked the guy at the front desk (about our age), about good places to eat and go drinking for the evening. He mentioned this excellent Mexican place (which we went to, and yeah, it was pretty spectacular). Also turns out that he's originally from New Jersey, and even better, He's from Deptford, which is right around the corner from our old college. How weird. It's incidences like this that make traveling and exploring the world so incredible.

After dinner, we head to a bar by getting a cab. Our cabbie was incredible. 20something college guy who talked like a surfer. Hilarious. he drops us off at a bar that he thinks is good and that most of the college kids from Northern Arizona University hang out at. We order these giant liter mugs of beer which ends up causing two college students to chat us up. These two kids were pretty cool and ended up taking us to another bar, which was even more ridiculously packed with college students.

In the end, it was lucky that we had a cab driver that night, because otherwise I'm sure one of us would have a DUI.

Drink tally for the evening for myself:
2 pints of beer
1 liter of beer
2 shots (one was definitely tequila)
1 long island iced tea.

Goodnight Flagstaff.

Day 7: Flagstaff, AZ to Los Angeles, CA (608 mi, 9:37)
Oh man. Finally. The last day, and obviously the one that would feel the longest. We woke up pretty early in order to get to the Grand Canyon early enough. It was just as gorgeous this time as it was when I visited two years ago. Though, now that we were visiting in September, it was a lot less crowded and a lot cooler out, which made the 3 mile long hike a lot easier.

Everyone along the route was really pleasant. Chaz ended up speaking German with some girls on the path. I met someone from Philadelphia. I also heard the Phillies had made it into the playoffs. All around, a nice relaxing hike through this amazing natural wonder.

We had dinner in a neighboring town with a view of the forest and mountains and were back on the way.

So the rest of the route, not gonna lie, was pretty ridiculously boring. Right, Chaz? "True". See? So you're thinking "Yeah right, Jack. Nothing happened on the last 5 hours of your journey."

No. For real. It's desert, and it was night time. And we just wanted to get to Los Angeles real bad, and shower, and relax, and go to sleep.

We got into LA around 1230am on October 1st, 2007 and our first order of business was to go to Swinger's in Hollywood (my favorite diner in this town). And that's what greeted us here. French fries and a lemonade at a place in Hollywood.

Anti-climactic? Sure. But it's not always Point B that is most interesting. It's usually the trip from A to B that you always remember.

Hmmm. You know. I may have taken a long time to write this whole blog, but just think of the tens of minutes you killed reading it.

While you're at it, you might as well leave a message. Don't be lazy or anything.

Oh, so last word of advice: Travel.

Do this trip. You have to. I almost think it should be a requirement for American Citizenship.

Sure, you have to know presidents and our history, and say the Pledge of Allegiance and know our state capitals, etc. But the last part of the checklist should be "Load up your old '55 Chevy and set out across America.'

You shouldn't even be given a license until the moment before you're ready to head out on the road trip. Doing this cross country road trip is essential Americana. You find out what really makes up this country, who we really are, what's really out there, how many different types of people there are, and also how immensely large our country is.

Until then, you'll just have to read about it in books like "On The Road" and hear the truths of what the Mother Road tells us through word.

hollywould?

2007-11-28T00:50:00.000-08:00

it's late at night kids, and i'm exhausted.
but i'ma tell you how it's going to be.

i came to la for one reason: to make movies.
not to make someone else's.

my own.

and i'll be here until i do that.
until i'm not making calls anymore.
calls are being made to me.

until i'm not someone else's bitch.
someone is working under me.

i drove out here with $5000 and no job prospects.
in 10 days we found an apartment.
in the first month i had a job, despite the writers strike.
in the first week of work, the owner asks to see my thesis script.

don't get me wrong, i'm not living the high life yet. i'm still struggling a bit.
but hell, this is a blast.

i'm teetering on the edge of existence(not a ton of money and constantly sick since september - stress they say)

but this is how it's done.

jobbb

2007-11-11T19:04:00.001-08:00

for those who didn't hear: i have a job.

grabbed me a nice production office job right before the writers went on strike.

so i totally lucked out.

california is dying

2007-10-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

hello all.

some of you have recently texted or called me to see if i was all right, considering that half of los angeles county is on fire.

yes i'm fine.

but this is awesome!

no for real, it is an absolute horror and shame that people are losing their homes and many others are getting sick because of the fumes, but good lord, this is a wild world.

New Yorkers talk about how you don't know if you'll get killed on one block or the other by a crazed psychopath, well people here in california have to wonder which way mother nature is going to screw them next.

Last week there was an earthquake (that i slept through) and now, I'm looking out of my window and the entire sky is covered in dark clouds.

oh no. wait. that's the smoke from the fires! for real. it looks like it's going to rain motor oil outside. Then if you throw in periodic mudslides in the winter, and then the drought we're having now which is leaving us on our water reserves, you have Mother Nature's way of screwing California.

And I'm not leaving anytime soon.

I've also found a great article for you to read that really just puts everything in perspective for you: http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=4703528&version=47&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Some of the most interesting quotes:
By day three, the dozen wildfires had burned more than 1,200 homes and businesses, and the destruction may only be the start for the region. With forecasts calling for hotter temperatures and fierce wind gusts, the flames were proving nearly impossible to fight. At least 346,000 homes were evacuated in San Diego County alone, sheriff's officials said. But the total number could be much higher, and state officials were still struggling to estimate how many people had fled.

Since they began Sunday, the fires have burned at least 245,957 acres, or 384 square miles -- an area larger than New York City. As the fires spread, most out of control, smaller blazes were merging into larger, more fearsome ones. Evacuations were being announced in one community after another as firefighters found themselves overwhelmed by gale-force Santa Ana winds, some gusting to 70 mph.

Crazy right? Anywho. Got a car, an apartment, and a job next week. How are all of you?

ahoj! california is sinking

2007-10-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

okay, so it's been a little while since i've been able to update, but that's mostly because there's not too much to update on.

also, without my own internet connection yet, it's hard to be updating about my cross country trip yet, so maybe this weekend when i have some more time, i'll do an incredible update with pictures and maps.

i should have a car by tomorrow. now you may be saying: jack, didn't you say that last week?

yes, yes i did, but things happen, and i didn't get that car, and now i've got another one lined up. i just need some damn wheels, it's unbelievable.

onto our apartment: it is absolutely empty. and large. and echo-y.

also, we're the only white guys in the apartment, so everyone kinda stares at us when we walk into or out of our apartment. which is hilarious in itself. because we're both white.

ridiculously so.

so, internet and cable should be on by tonight. electricity is on. car tomorrow.

a job, gas, and a nice bed are all that's left.

i need to stop sleeping on this inflatable mattress.

COMMENTS!

blah blah blah

2007-10-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

so here i am, with an apartment approved for me, and it still seems like it's taking forever to get into it.

so much more little crap that this person needs for us to move in. i have a slightly not so good feeling about it, but that's being outweighed by the fact that i want a place to call home, even if it is only for 6 months.

ugh.

next is the car. the car is it. the car. i found a 99 honda civic for $4000 which i think is a pretty awesome deal, provided that it wasn't used for submergible practice in the ocean. but we'll see.

then the job. i've been offered a temp job at my old work for 3 months. which would be nice, provided nothing bigger comes along. and hopefully something will.

i might just step outside for a few and go for a walk. it's the usual weather outside today.

sunny. clear. and about 80.

Week 1: in the valley

2007-10-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

So here it is, the end of week one here in Los Angeles.

Yes, I am still technically homeless (as I live with a friend and am currently sharing a studio with 2 people), but it looks as if I will be able to move into a new apartment by tomorrow evening at the earliest.

Snap. So good.

After that, it's a car search, and a job search. Then I can finally stop bleeding money everywhere. Very nice.

So for all of you just tuning in now, this is going to be my new blog. It's not much right now, but I think I like this much more than blogging on myspace. It's easier at least, as I check my gmail about 200 times a day. So I hope you'll continue to read as the weeks and months roll on and the wild and wacky world that is Los Angeles unveils itself further to me.

Maybe it'll even convince some of you to come out and try your luck too. You can't deny the urge.

So that's it for now. When I finally have access at my new place, I'll spend an afternoon posting everything about our cross country road trip, including maps and photos of the amazing time Chaz and I had in making the pilgrimage through the heartland (my second in fact).

Oh yeah, and post some comments here kids.

2007-10-02T03:02:00.001-07:00

my awesome new blog is coming soon...