MOM AND DAD'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE:

The parents were here for a visit last week! Yay!

Hartman was especially thrilled with her week long spoiling. :)


The evening they arrived we had our first adventure: Dinner at Zen Chi in Studio City! If you're ever in Studio City, Zen Chi is a must. The edamame is crazy delicious! I couldn't get Mom to try my black tiger shrimp... Someday, Mom...someday! ;)



The next day we went to Beverly Hills and walked around Rodeo Drive where we did not buy a thousand dollar t-shirt or hundred dollar socks.


I think this is where they shot part of the Beverly Hillbillies opening sequence!




After taking Hollywood and the hills by storm-- we had a special Mothers/Fathers day dinner!

On Friday I took them to Starfleet Academy!

Yeah, okay, it wasn't Starfleet. We went to the J. Paul Getty museum! I've always wanted to ride that tram we always drive by on the 405! That wasn't the primary reason for going, but it certainly wasn't a drawback.


While there we learned way more than we ever wanted to know about 'Clara' the well traveled Rhino. You know how America goes crazy over people like Paris Hilton? Well, in the 1500's the world went crazy over a freaking Rhino... I guess we've evolved... or not. ;)

THEN...THAT EVENING... WE SAID GOODBYE TO:

My beloved Stargate SG1! I loved the series finale. For months now I've avoided Stargate websites, Forums and even Joe Mallozi's blog so as to not get accidentally spoiled on the plot... Then, the day of the finale, I decided to check out google news to see what kind of press SG1 was getting. Guess what. They got Press. And the press dropped plot details left and right! I know, I know, once I looked left and got spoiled why on earth did I look right? I dunno. Darn press! ;)
Oh well, it was a beautiful character episode about *SPOILER ALERT* the crew trapping themselves in a time dialation field to figure out a way to escape impending death from the final blow of an Ori blaster to their ship. I still have that old CCR song stuck in my head. Here's one of my favorite scene's from the ep:



Not to worry, Atlantis has it's 4th season next year and SG1 has 2 movies in the works!


The next morning was KETCHUP DAY! I somehow mangaed to convince Mom to star in my Ketchup commercial for an internet video contest.

I'm very close to uploading it to the internets. Just a few minor tweaks left in the edit bay! I won't spoil you on the plot. I'd love to get feedback from everybody once I upload it!

There will also be a hilliarious blooper posted soon as well! We were all laughing so hard we were crying! Thanks Mom for doing this crazy video!!

Oh yeah, and check out our new camera! The JVC HD-110U! Yeah, baby! This shoot was it's maiden voyage. Very happy with it! Hopefully it's going to get quite the workout in the coming days as I venture into the world of freelance.

Next stop: the La Brea Tar Pits! My Dad has wanted to see the tar pits since he was 10 years old!



You gotta respect the people who volunteer to spend their summers digging in a hot, smelly pit of tar!

Next day, next stop: Universal Studios!

We took the awesome studio tram tour:




After the tour I was nearly eaten by a shark! Luckily, some kid got right in our shot and saved my life by holding the jaws open by a single tooth. Thanks kid. ;)

Would anybody like a quick snacky fish?

Check out Dad's cool hat! He had a person or two come up to him who 'had a story for him'! I had to laugh!

One of the trip highlights was going to see a live taping of the Tonight Show! Since they didn't allow cameras in there, we took a picture of the episode as it aired that night. :)

Thanks for 'Murray' the plant!

One last adventure: SUSHI! You may not believe this, but we actually got Dad to try it! Really! See:

Now you believe, don't you!

See you in September at Alissa's wedding!! Love you!!

Happy Father's Day!! Love you!! See you on Wednesday. :)

THIS AND THAT:

Dave has been photoshop happy lately!


Last weekend was the Star Wars Celebration!

We went on Saturday and stayed for 10 hours! Yes, we are THAT awesome!

We went with our old friend Mark, who met the legendary Admiral Ackbar. Is the Admiral kissing Mark's head?

Our new friend, Meredith, joined us as well. She bought this super cool Pac-Man shirt!

WARNING: NEXT PHOTO IS JUST... WRONG...





Sorry! I know! Just be thankful we didn't take a photo of the guy wearing this costume without any shorts on!

For a more complete geek out session, visit our flickr page!

Hmm... what else has been going on... Oh!

If I ever forget what blog worthy events have happened, all I have to do is check flickr. :) I worked on a sample pilot a couple of weeks ago or so.

It took two twelve hour days to get the 12 minute pilot shot! Very different from what I'm used to in news!

I met my new star wars convention attending friend here on the set! I have a couple of my own mini-productions in the works right now. Details to come!

I had lunch with my friend, Honey, the other day! It was so fun to catch up. She's a good friend from my Bakersfield days. She works in LA now too! Oh, hey, I guess I should explain this picture, huh?

Well, ya see, while we were having lunch:

HONEY: What is that key chain? A jelly bean?
ME: (laughing)
HONEY: What? What is it?

I forgot I was still using it as a key chain. During May I shot a story about 'Neuticles'. What's that? Well... it's, uhm... doggie balls.
'Testicular implants' for neutered dogs. And yes... they also apparently make testicular implant key chains. It's too funny not to use!




I also had a birthday since moving to LA. I share it with my brother-in-law and David Letterman!

I wore THE SHIRT (we made fun of this south beach shirt for years in Miami. We bought it before we moved. memories!)to the party as a joke... except...

I didn't really know anybody at the party. So I was just the wierdo in what appeared to be a Star Trek outfit. In a way.. I think that is even COOLER!

Where no one has gone before...
...with the exception of 2004...

Our 2nd week on the job here in LA, Dave and I were asked if we wanted to go to Las Vegas and do the Zero Gravity flight with Buzz Aldrin. We were all hmm, i don't know, maybe we should just stay at home in LA without any furniture, television or internet instead...We didn't have to think about that one long! What a treat to meet one of the first men on the moon.

This was not our first Zero G flight. We first boarded G-Force One in 2004 in Ft. Lauderdale. I believe I blogged about it too, so sorry for the re-run!

I wasn't actually on board the flight this time. They have zero gravity trained photogs. I'm glad I was able to experience it in '04 or I would have been one disappointed photog! You may be shocked to hear (and if you are, you don't regularly read this blog) I'm a bit of a space geek. :)

In fact... one of our most outlandish goals in life is to make it into space. Originally, I was shooting for the moon, but y'know, I think I would be satisfied with the curvature of the Earth. For now, this is as close as you can get to that experience.

To see the story CLICK HERE.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! LOVE YOU MOM!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARTMAN!



Hartman is 10 years old this month! Since I don't know the exact date of her birth-- we celebrate her birthday EVERY day in May!

My niece, Cydney, bought Hartman a present with her own money. Her Mom, Pam, asked her who her best friend in the world was-- she answered "Hartman!" Isn't that sweet! :)

Hartman unwraps her gift!

It's a Play-n-Squeak Bumblebee! Now I have to tell you... Hartman is one picky kitty. I bought her a kitty condo once--- she hated it. But she LOVED the box it came in! She usually sticks her nose up at anything that is not a milk ring or twisty tie...

Oh, but wait--

Could it be????---

She LOVES her little bumblebee!

Thanks Cydney!


In other news, Rue McClanahan is my first LA celebrity interview! She's quite witty and very friendly. It was a fun chance to break out some of the toys in my light kit for the interview. BREAKING NEWS:


We interupt this blog to bring you this important announcement: Cydney and Hartman have just been hired to anchor the evening news. :)

Well I'm going to go buy a new couch now. We donated our old couch--dubbed the 'most uncomfortable couch---ever' by, well, pretty much everybody who ever sat on it. My sister-in-law Amy actually says the couch 'hurt her eyes' to look at. I can't seem to find a good picture of it quickly enough. I've gotto go to Ikea! (so excited to live in a city with an Ikea again!)

Two Week Reunion!


Dave and I went to Vegas for a shoot the other day. While there we saw our friend, Joaquin from Miami! He and his friend, Moe, designed these shirts themselves. We think they should sell them on Cafe Press!

What the heck!??


Ooooh, I see. Discount coupons for the Bodies exhibit and the Titanic exhibit. :) We've seen the Bodies exhibit by the way and I highly reccomend it!

In other news... our stuff and my car finally arrived on Saturday! I won't blog about our stuff arriving because I don't want to remember the details decades later about our crappy movers! But the car transport is actually really funny:

It's Saturday, April 21st, 8 AM. The phone rings.
ME: Hello?
ED: Yeah, hi. You got a Ford Focus ta be delivered?
The voice on the other end sounds very much like a character from King of the Hill.
ME: Yes, I do! Will you be delivering today?
ED: Yeah...uhm...I'm in Manhattan Beach. Where dya live?
Where do I live? They've had my car nearly 20 days and the guy doesn't know where I live? Not to mention we don't live in or near Manhattan Beach.
ME: We live at *insert address here*
ED: ...oh... Dag nabbit. How do I get thur from Here?
I end up mapquesting directions for him. It's very simple. He only has to make 4 turns.
An hour later the phone rings...
ME: Hello?
ED: Yeah, I'm all turned around. I took the ** freeway (not the freeway I told him) and exited **. What do I do?
ME: Gosh, I don't know and I'm at the bank right now getting your money so I'm not near a computer.
ED: I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU CAN'T TELL ME HOW TO GET TO WHERE YOU LIVE!
Crazy Eddie became furious. I was a little taken aback by the change in demeanor.
ME: Uhm, well considering I did Mapquest directions for you I would hope you are not upset with me. I just moved to town myself so I don't know where you are.
ED: IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE TO GO THEN YOU DON'T EVER GET YOUR CAR BACK! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST TELL ME!!
ME: Look, you're going to have to turn around, go back the way you came and get on the right freeway. The directions I gave you were very simple.
ED: Lady! I'm 75ft long! I can't just TURN AROUND!! Just TELL ME HOW TO GET THERE!!!
ME: Dude, look, I do not know. You are going to have to pull over and ask someone. Perhaps you might consider investing in a map.
So yes, Crazy Eddie apparently did indeed drive all the way from Florida to California, map free, and without a clue as to where he was going. And he's the type that is completely clueless that it is his responsibility to know where to deliever the car. Eventually, he arrives...
ED: Sorry, I got all turned around!
ME: That's ok.
ED: Yeah, my wife died 4 years ago and it was really tough, but I'm ok now. I didn't work for 4 years, but then my sister acted like my mother and came after me with a baseball bat and told me to get a job, so here I am working again.
I smile and nod my head and will him with my mind to please just get my car off the transport and leave. It seems to be working! He gets my car safely off the transport... but then....
ED: I was a Navy Seal you know. I retired. I got shot in the head too many times. I have a lot of physical damage and..well...mental damage. But I was also a monk for several years and I learned about the energies and stuff. And once you fine start figurin' it out it's amazing! Once you know the energies stuff just works out better than you could have planned.
ME: Oh sure, sure, yeah. Well, here, just hand me that receipt and I'll let you get goin.
ED: Ok, here. Well, good luck with your life here and all.
ME: Thanks, you take care.
ED: Ok. And I hope you get better with your directions!