SNL Makes Its Cuts

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/70049401

Now, why would they cut Finesse and Horatio and leave Keenan? Keenan's unfunniness and lack of any kind of versatility has been a thorn in SNL's side, and was the biggest damper to SNL's promising comeback season last year. Now, Chris Parnell I can understand because he's not particular funny or comedically intuitive. And he's been fired from the show before. But I can't believe that they would cut Finesse before Keenan, and leave Keenan as Lorne's token black member. I love SNL and I've been loyal to it for most of my life, but I would bring bland old Tim Meadows back before leaving Keenan on this show. Keenan, how do I put this eloquently...SUCKS.

In other news, good for Seth Meyers taking Tina Fey's place on Weekend Update, though it was pretty clear that he would be her replacement after they announced he was promoted to head writer. The only downside is that he's going to be in fewer skits with Weekend Update being his primary focus.

Set your Tivos... Dane Cook (w/The Killers) hosts SNL's season premiere on Sept. 30th!

The saddest news this week is that Thode is moving Nerd Island to NY for a year. I still refuse to believe it's true, and still have a couple of weeks to believe it's not true. She claims she's only going for a year and I secretly fear that it's going to be more than a year. I just hope she comes back.

I talked to Rie on Sunday and she said that Eric, her husband, is looking for positions in hospitals on the west coast, mainly Seattle and Portland. I'm sure he'll be looking into Ann Arbor, too, since he did most of his work there, and he'll have a good shot at a position there, but it would be amazing to have them on the west coast and only a short flight away. I love Seattle and I've never been to Portland, but I feel like it would be a place I would really like. I just want them closer. That flight to Michigan is long, but I remember how devastated I was when she decided to move to NY for a few years. I was really worried she'd stay there. I think I'm worried about good friends living in NY because 1. It's far. 2. It scares me and therefore, it makes me worry about the safety of my friends. I think I watched too many films set in dark alleys in NY when I was a kid.

We went fishing in the ocean this weekend and I caught a big grouper. Of course, no one has to believe me since I neglected to take any pictures, but we did eat the heck out of that thing...Reggie took half and cooked it in a wine-garlic sauce, and I braised my half in a Szechuan garlic sauce spicy enough to knock your nuts in the dirt. Brian was in Austin for the weekend so we did naughty things like, clean the counters, organize mail and watch the Roomba vacuum its way around the house.

Last week while I was having lunch at a cafe, I watched this uniformed cop, who had been eating at the table next to me, go up to this Persian girl who was really young, about 19-20 years old. He was about 40-something, lanky, bald, and kind of rough looking. She looked like a model in that she was tall, thin, and had one of those unconventional haircuts with straight hair down to below her ears and straight bangs right at her eyebrows. She was eating alone and he goes up to her and says, "I have to ask you..are you Italian?" She's thrown off and shy. She says, no, she's from France but she's Persian. At first I thought, maybe he was just curious for cultural reasons (at least I hoped) but then he pushed on, telling her that she was really beautiful and asking her if she lived around here (that was when things started to get creepy). She was polite and vague, saying she worked in the area. Then he asked her where. She said, a restaurant, and then he asked her which one, making it clear he was digging for information. She told him and he said, oh yeah, I've driven by and have always wanted to go in. Is it good? At this point, he's full on leaning over her and his hand is on my chair, to my chagrin. I look around for the cop he had been sitting with to figure out why this guy wasn't reeling his slimy partner in, but the guy was gone..I figured, they had planned it out beforehand. So he says to her, "well, now I should definitely come in and try it out sometime." She's smiling really uncomfortably and says, oh yeah, let me give you the restaurant's card. So she goes into her wallet to get it, and then he goes into his wallet and pulls out HIS card. They exchange cards and he says, "Call me if you need anything," then leaves.

Okay, I don't know what it was that creeped me out so much about this...that he was a uniformed cop hitting on a girl, or that he was an old uniform cop hitting on a really young girl so aggressively it made her uncomfortable. She held her smile and her eyes watching him intensely until he exited before she put the card under her plate and continued eating. She didn't take it with her when she left. Her awkwardness while he plumbed for where he could find her made me feel really uncomfortable, like I was watching a predator. I really hate guys who use their power to try to seduce young girls whether they welcome that attention or not, and it felt even more slimy because it was a uniformed cop.

On a better note, we went to a club whose theme was Prom Night. We got all dressed up in our prom worse (me in a $3 pink thrift store dress and a can's worth of AquaNet), and boogied down to...80's music. Which was weird since when it was my prom, it was 90's music. Where was Vanilla Ice and Boyz II Men and All 4 One? Yeah, that music was bad, but it would have made it AUTHENTIC. Speaking of, I heard Vanilla Ice is trying to make a comeback...by remixing his only song, Ice Ice Baby.

And by the way, the film is done. We finished the DVDs on Friday, and got everything in in time for Sundance.

Hmm...just saw this guy I used to date. I think he turned 30 this year. I wonder if, when he came out to LA to be an actor or whatever he felt he wanted to pursue that held the key to his fulfillment, if being a manager at Banana Republic at the age of 30 was a part of those plans. I highly doubt it.

I wonder how it is we get sidetracked from our lofty plans of youth that in truth, aren't really lofty when time and time again, people throughout history have proven that no personal goal is necessarily too lofty or too ridiculous. I wonder at what point it starts, when that feeling in the back of your head starts tingling, taking over a larger and larger space in your head while you try to convince yourself that it's a temporary situation. I wonder at what point, is the destiny set, that your life becomes completely stagnant even though there are superficial signs of movement. I think it's the point when you give up, when you convince yourself you didn't want those dreams in the first place.

Whenever I've had a job that I hated, I think the turning point when I decided I was going to quit and felt okay about it was when I could wake up one morning, see myself refusing to get up and go to work, and making peace with that feeling. You call in sick that day, to give yourself sometime to see if another part of you fights back and demands that you hang on. When you've convinced ever once of yourself that you are willing to take the consequences of quitting, you make the final, external decision.

I think it's hard for us to declare a rejection of our dreams by saying bluntly, I will not be a dancer; I will not be a writer; I will not be rich and powerful; I will not find someone I truly love, etc. and be okay with that statement and all it implies. Because what we're most afraid of admitting is, I'm afraid to be a dance, I'm afraid to be a writer, I'm afraid to pursue being rich and powerful, I'm afraid to find someone I truly love, etc. Instead, with each day, we let these dreams slide further and further away, until they look sillier and more far-fetched to us than our actual realities. Even if you're talented and have won many awards (ie received validation for the pursuit of a dream), you let other realities seep in that prevent you from a true, focused pursuit until the original pursuit seems to hold no weight in actual reality. When we don't pursue what we really want, I think we kill ourselves little by little each day, until later on down the line, when the window of opportunity has closed, we're bitter at ourselves or the world for pidgeon-holing ourselves in a reality we don't want.

I don't think I wanted to be a director of marketing at a tech firm at 28. But on the other hand, I recognize that it pays me really good money that allows me to finance my filmmaking, in hopes that these initial efforts will attract financiers for the feature projects I want to work on. I also recognize I have to be patient. But on the other hand, I also recognize that at any point, if the money becomes so comfortable that the job becomes an excuse for me to avoid my creative work, that I have to be strong enough to admit I'm off track and force myself to face my fears. I think everyone has a strong reason for why they are afraid to pursue their dreams, and those reasons are universal, yet personal and unique to each individual. Some people spend their lives fighting other people's demons as an excuse to keep from confronting their own, which are the very things standing in front of their path towards their own fulfillment. And I think those people end up blaming other people or lashing out at the external world for what they deep down know is their own weakness and their own fear of their own personal journey. It's a good way to drown yourself, battling fake demons while the real ones pull you down. I think the key to avoiding bitterness later on in life, the key to a future predicament of realizing deep down that you created your own unwanted reality that your stuck with, is to really think about what you want, who you want to be and where you want to go, and stay focused on it. If you find yourself making excuses, figure out if they are out of practicality and prudence, or fear and then deal with them accordingly. I've found that whether your right or wrong, and life is set up for all of us to make plenty of mistakes in order to learn, it's that forward momentum towards something you really want no matter if your current situation is difficult or not that is what leads to fulfillment and leads to a better sense of peace in your own custom reality. Whatever the universe gives us or tries to teach us, I really believe that we all have a strong hand in making our own beds.

This is fantastic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PwpcUawjK0

Also, don't go see Wicker Man. We saw it last Friday and it may be in the top 3 of worst movies I've ever seen. The only decent part is when the audience finally realizes it's awful and collectively laughs AT the film and jeers while Nicolas Cage starts punching and kicking women in the face for no apparent reason. I remember watching Nicolas Cage brutally yet comically (I say comically not because it's funny to beat on women but because it's so poorly and campily done, like a Steven Seagal movie) starts beating these women out of the blue. I remember leaning over to Reggie in disgust and saying, "This director hates women."

And lo and behold, I check the credits after we leave and it's Neil LaBute. Neil LaBute is the only director I can say I honestly hate. He thoroughly offends me, and consistently offends me. All of his movies consistently have a misogynistic theme, the I fear women--> I hate women --> I need to destroy women before they destroy me pattern that is his trademark. I'm, unfortunately, probably not strong enough in my defense of women's rights sometimes, but LaBute is a bad, bad man when it comes to his work and as openminded as I can be about artistic expression, he just seems to spout anger and child-like fear in his movies. There's no art to it but rather, thinly-veiled venom. And he's pretty consistent...the women of his films are either victimized, innocent does, or cruel, manipulative whores. The guy has no respect for women, and his expression of it is that of an angry, rejected adolescent who doesn't seem to know how to deal with his subversive feelings. I just can't watch his movies without feeling disgusted at the artist.

So if you see Wicker Man, don't say I didn't warn you. It would be one of those bad, campy movies that's funny for the wrong reasons but fun to make fun of, except for the fact that the movie takes itself way too seriously to be fun.

Watch this.

Perspective on 9/11.

I took Reggie to his first concert at the Hollywood Bowl last week to see Zero 7 w/ Sia. I had bought the tickets because I love Sia's solo album, Colour the Small Ones, but I ended up super disappointed that they didn't play any of Sia's songs from her album, though the one song they did with Jose Gonzalez on vocals was amazing. They left the stage and it was one of those things where it felt like being a kid and showing up at Disneyland to find out that it'd closed down. I had been so psyched about seeing Sia and wanting to hear her songs live, that when they said goodnight and walked off the stage, a part of me wanted it to be some joke.

I didn't know anything about Gotan Project who was the headliner, other than the fact that Jason Bentley from KCRW described them as tango meets electronica. Seriously, their set made up for EVERYTHING.

If you've never heard of the Gotan Project, you need to get involved. Here's a site where you can hear some of their tracks. Mi Confesion is my favorite, a blend of tango, electronica and hip hop. From what I've read, they're 2 guys from Paris and one from Argentina. They were accompanied by an operatic female vocalist, 3 violinists, a cello player, a piano player and a hot bandoneonist (the bandoneon is an instrument like a smaller accordian), and these amazing french-experimental video clips playing in the background. Everyone was decked out in beautiful white suits and white gowns and as far as shows at the Hollywood Bowl go, it was the perfect venue for them to display their elegant and compelling synergy. People were up and dancing everywhere where there was room. Pick up their album, Lunatico, which has been playing nonstop at our house.

Michael was in town all last week. Reggie took him to a supermarket near me to pick up an application. It would be really great if they would hire him, because the place is a 5 minute walk from my house, so he would be able to walk to work and back. I really hope this works out because it would do wonders for his sense of independence and help him work on his personal responsibility. The goal was always to have him move in with me so that he could expand himself towards becoming independent, so this would be the perfect opportunity. I get scared though, worrying about him crossing the street by himself, worried about cars and strangers, and strangers in cars with candy...I think it's really hard for a parent to let go and let their kids be independent. You become so aware of all the bad things that could happen to them. But at the end of the day, I would really like to see how much Michael can mature. He regresses when he's living with my parents so I'm interested in seeing what living with me for a few months while being more or less responsible for himself will do to him.

The film is basically done. We are in the process of getting DVDs made in time for the Sundance deadline. With all the stress and attention required to get this thing done, I feel like I'm not gonna know what to do with myself once this thing is finished. I did have to drop all my classes (business law, Dreamweaver, Photoshop) because they all started last week and I had too much going on with the film and Michael being in town. I bought the books anyway so I hope I can figure everything out on my own.

I had a dream the other night where we were hiking and looking at houses, and saw this HUGE, beautiful house (like the size of a resort hotel). It turned out to belong to Doug Savant (Gay Matt from Melrose place) who invited us in for a tour. We went into the living room (we had to take off our shoes) and I became captivated with this snow globe he had that had real tiny fish that looked like they were made out of glass. I was holding the globe and thinking, rich people have really cool shit. Then he kicked us out because he had to go to work, speeding off in a Mercedes SUV. As we walked away, we passed a Cuban bakery. I said, that chocolate napolean looks good, and Reggie says, "You don't want to waste the calories you just burned on this walk." And then I woke up.

I have no idea what that dream was trying to say. Maybe I predict that Doug will be paid really well on Desperate Housewives? Or maybe I'm getting a little heavy in the love-handles region. Or maybe I want a big house that looks like a resort hotel from the outside. I think my only criteria right now is that I would love a house with a relaxing backyard featuring a pool. And a cabana boy to bring me ice tea while simultaneously fanning me with an imported palm frond.

In other news, I drove by the pumpkin-headed guy from Prison Break. The dude who plays Lincoln. I was stopped at a light on a residential street in Westwood. This Porsche makes a left turn to go in the lane next to me going the opposite direction. As he turns, I see the driver through the open window and I think, that looks like either a Mexican guy, or the dude from Prison Break. It became obvious it was the guy from Prison Break when he saw me looking, smirked, then just as he straightened out in the lane next to me, he looked me in the eye and gunned his engine, taking off. Kind of a big show of, Look At My Penis. Speaking of things that are inadequate, Prison Break makes no sense. It's an awful show. Yet we keep watching it. What is it about this phenomenon, where we keep tuning into a show that makes absolutely no sense? Last week's episode where the brothers hold up the FBI agent with a spray painted water pistol that they painted just MINUTES before...I would like to think an FBI agent would be able to tell the difference between a spray-painted water pistol pointed at his face from point blank range (1. There's no opening for the bullet; 2. You would think there would be paint on the holder's hands; 3. You would be able to smell the paint; 3. A water pistol DOES NOT look like a real gun even if it's painted black if you are within 20 feet of it), yet the show went on like it's entire logic wasn't disugsting hokey. I don't get it, even though my hate for this show doesn't stop me from keeping it on my season manager for my Tivo.

I'm out, like John Travolta.