it's been awhile

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.

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.

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...

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?

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

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...

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.