hi!

The most challenging thing about having my weekly article going at iFanboy is that it cuts into the amount of time I have to write my own stuff here. Apologies.

Anyway, I didn’t get anything back from my awesome-ass audition that I had a few weeks ago. I am okay with it, but I will admit to being a but more bummed that usual. No matter, there will be more, eventually. I actually auditioned for an independent film earlier this week and am supposed to hear back one way or the other by the end of the week. That audition was a lot of fun--the filmmakers are from Sweden, and since I have been to Sweden, we talked about...Sweden. I had a blast, it was fun, life is good.

I am in a good mood, though I have every right to be cranky. My day is opening and closing with meetings, and I just have been getting hit HARD from allergies this week. I am constantly yawning, constantly fighting off sleep. It’s just strange. I had a good acting class last night, my teacher gave me a nice comedic scene that I was able to bite into, which is is always nice. Comedy is my biggest strength, so most of the scenes I get tend to be more dramatic, just to let me stretch a bit. But last night was a nice return to form, holding for laughs, trying to time a line so it builds right on top of the laughter, making them laugh harder, etc. When you are doing comedy in front of a crowd, you are almost in two places at once; you are performing your character and doing the work, but you are also listening to the audience and adjusting your performance to fit within their reaction. It’s fun, but if you mess up, oh man, if you mess up, it just becomes a trainwreck. I actually had a nice roll of laughter going and I went just a half-second too early with the followup line and I knew, as I was saying the first syllable of the sentence, that I had mistimed it. You just feel the audience having to stutter down their laughter a bit to make sure they hear the next line.

No matter. It’s a gift to get a chance to tweak these things anyway.

I am having a good time configuring my iphone--I got the software update early and have been playing wtih applications; very cool so far. I will be writing a little review on the Norton forums later this week or early next.

The iFanboy articles have been really challenging as of late. I have been really trying to do something different with my pieces, and am getting some really good feedback. This week’s piece might have been a bit of an overall misfire, if one were to judge by the (lack of) comments, but it’s cool, I am still learning what works and what is too much (actually, I take that back--there are more comments today). But, as they say, too much is never enough, and if I can get people to have different kinds of discussions about comics, then all is good. It’s a great opportunity and a lot more work than I ever imagined (800-1400 words a week is a lot), but it is making me a better writer, I think..I hope.

All right--told you this would be short.

I have been in a really good mood all day. I saw the LA premiere of American Teen last night. My friend Jordan produced it and another friend Greg was the field producer and I just loved it. It's been getting a lot of play and I think it's going to be a big hit when it opens nationwide. I couldn't be more excited for them. If you haven't already checked the trailer, do so, asap. Super fun. Makes me really happy I am not a teenager in this day and age!

It was a great night, a band called Sunny Day Sets Fire played before the movie (they are pretty fun, check the link) and then the teens that appeared in the film said hello and then we watched the movie under the stars, with the cheering crowds from the nearby Tom Petty concert leaking into our heads every once in awhile. There were several hundred people in the audience and we all just went bonkers throughout the film, groaning, cheering and laughing throughout. Then we went to the after party at a terrific bar called Delancey and hung out with the producers and the cast until 2...really fun night. I am quite tired but whatever, it was an absolutely epic night.

The audition, by the way, went extremely well. It was a pretty intense audition, in a way, because in just a day's time, I had become very...close to the character. I don't really know how to else to explain it. I had dug in deep on an emotional level and I really wanted this character to exist, you know? It reminded me of how I feel when I am writing the screenplay I am slogging through: I like those characters, I want them to succeed. My character's last line is a plea, a totally silly plea (from the audience's point of view, it's a laugh line), but it's extremely heartfelt, it's all the character wants, it's totally and utterly what he needs. In my head and heart, I added some coloring to the effect that his/my plea was to exist, to let me be the one to bring him to life. Crazy, I know, but that's how it works, that's all I can do, is to use everything that I have to bring to the role to bring the character to life. After the first reading, the casting director told me a I had a great grasp of the character and the gave me two little adjustments (increasing the emotionality of two lines) and we did it again. But I had done the work--she recognized that I understood the character, that I had made him my own. And that's all you can ask for in an audition, that's all you can do, is bring the character to life in the way only you can do it.

I have not heard anything, I have no idea what will happen, but I know I hit all the notes that I worked on with my coach, that I had delivered what I intended. I had done my best, and, in the end, that's all you can do. Your best is all you have to give.

Old New York headshot. Black and white, natch.

Had interesting morning. I am going for a pre-read, which is basically an audition for an audition. It's what happens when you don't have a lot of theatrical credits but you have enough going on and solid enough representation for a casting director to spend some time with you. This is pre-read is for a series regular role on a fairly high profile (in LA, at least) pilot that has a few notable names and the part is one of those parts that an actor like me is well suited for. Not huge, but fun, and, if done consistently well, the kind that you can (slowly) build a career with. I am sure there are lots of people going for it, but again, it's about commitment and hope, not about expectations and anyway, I'm not writing about the part, I'm writing about the coach that I saw this morning.

I have been having a good time and keeping my chops up with my weekly acting class, which has been terrifically effective in getting me to relax and get out of the way so I can do the actual work. It has provided me with a vast array of experiences so I when I get to certain kinds of auditions and meetings, I won't be all nervous and freaky. It's a great tool for a working actor, and, as such, is inherently different than the more "classical" acting classes, where character and motivations and intentions and actions are discussed, analyzed and sculpted, all from the actor's own experience and history. The coach I had early this morning (before work!) was very much the kind of teacher that I was used to seeing long ago, before I came to New York, so I admit, it was really an adjustment. I was even at times finding myself resistant to some of the questions we were going over, like when trying to figure out what I wanted from this line or what my action was going to be for that line. But I had done it before, right? This was my entire acting experience for years before I came to LA, so I found myself settling and really working on the various beats.

It was really exhilarating. Acting is trippy because you are asked to feel and say things in ways that are so specific that you do these mental and emotional backflips trying to incorporate the intentions. I know, this sounds all touchy feely, but, that's exactly it, right? Touching parts of your experience, feeling what's going on, and then letting that work inhabit the moment you are portraying. It was hard, to the point there would be times when I would get a little direction, and my brain would just go into overdrive while I stared into space. It's like my Mac when the fans start coming on. It doesn't move, but it gets really hot and then the fans come on, whiirrrrrr, and you know something is happening.

The end result of my session is an audition that will be much more interesting to watch, much more grounded in life, and should add an angle, a series of colors, to someone that could be just regarded as "strange co-worker of main character." It was intense, but it felt so damn good to work in this way again. I had forgotten about how analyzing a script really is like being an emotional conductor, trying to bring all these elements into harmony, to make sure they build, peak, and fade just at the right time to make the scene really hum.

We'll see how it goes. What's good is that I am ready for this audition in a way that goes beyond technique, beyond comfort, beyond commodity. Now I just have to trust the training and let all this just come to focus this evening for my audience of one.

Another long wait between posts. I apologize but I have good reasons, really. Good raisins, too.

I was at WWDC all last week (see photos here), which ran the gamut of emotional and physical responses: excitement, frustration, confusion and exhaustion. It was a good conference as far as I could tell (I attended quite a few sessions but much of my day was spent in meetings), but the best times were outside of the conference, spent with all of the many great friends I have back in my hometown.

I will be posting an article about WWDC over in the Norton blogsite and you probably either already know what happened there or just don't care. Suffice to say that the iPhone is rapidly becoming a legitimate technology platform and I think it's appropriate to say that the transition that this iPhone is a part of (if not helping define) is a big one. It will be very interesting to see what features we assume from technology in the next five years.

- I am a guest host on this week's iFanboy podcast. It was a lot of fun, and one of those items I was very happy to check off in my "life's to do list". I had started listening to the podcast several years ago and always thought it would be fun to be on the show, and now I can say, it was an absolute blast to do it. It was a real pleasure and the feedback has been very positive so far. It's a lot of prep work, getting ready for the show, I had to get a headset to use with Skype (for sound quality) and set up my desk so I could easily access the books we were discussing, my notes, water, coffee, chat windows...it was like doing a radio show, which, of course, makes sense. The thing about the show is that it's usually pretty entertaining even if you don't know anything about comics, since there are aspects to the conversation that everyone can relate to (characters, stories, art, etc). This was another "live" event that I really couldn't truly prep for (not unlike the stuff I had to do in Vegas), so I am relieved it went well.

It also underscores my belief that you truly achieve any goal you have if you make a consistent effort to achieve said goal. Now, sure, I didn't write out "Be on iFanboy" one day, but I did want to get more involved, to the point that getting on the show would definitely become an option. And, now, it's happened. Of course, now I am writing a weekly article for them, which I did not plan at all--but it got me a chance to be on the show. And, again, while I could control some aspects toward this goal (enthusiastic participation, making sure to keep in touch, etc, etc), the TIMING was not in my control at all. If I had any expectation of "being on the podcast by xx years," none of this would have happened. I know, I sound like a broken record, but life is all about living the moment and not trying to fulfill expectations (yours or others).

- Speaking of real time activities, I gotta admit that writing regularly is quite a challenge. I had a crazy time last week when I had both an article for iFanboy, a new story summary, the first 10 pages of my screenplay and my inciting incident due on Tuesday. Now, of course, I am to fault completely--I procrastinated like crazy, but that's how I am used to dealing with writing deadlines: I get the topics/scenes/sections figured out in my head, and then I sit down and write it out. That's how I got through college--all of my papers were first drafts, technically--and it worked out fine. And life is not all that different now, come to think of it. When I was in college I had homework and papers due all the time, but was in rehearsals until 11 almost every night of the week, so doing it my head was my only recourse, really.

Maybe it is more difficult because I don't have that crazy structure that made me so nuts back then. Whatever--I did all the work that I needed to do, and so far, so good. What is...stressful? interesting? just...different? about writing NOW is that there is nothing for me to refer to--everything I am writing is from my own head. I am being asked to take a topic, aim my brain at it, and then transform that chaos into text and pictures. Which is a challenge, let me tell you! It's a great challenge, but I can see why "real" writers make a schedule--if I had any kind of discipline, I would be getting up at 6am each morning and just get it done before I went to work. I might have to do just that, actually--the screenplay is going to be at least 100 more pages, right? It took me over an hour to get the first 10 done...that's at least 10 more hours...yikes...scary.

But it's all new--all of this is new, and I haven't been challenged like this in awhile. I am definitely growing creatively, which feels really good.

- I made quite a few Father's Day calls yesterday. It was nice. It's really quite an experience to watch my oldest friends become parents. Trips me out like crazy.

- We won't talk about acting right now. Nothing to talk about.

- Saw some great old cars at The Grove a few weeks ago. Check the photos here.

Have a good week!

Hey there!

Just wanted to let you know that my first article for iFanboy.com is up. I gotta say, I was really nervous about the whole thing. I mean, I was really, really flattered to be asked but honestly, I had no idea what I was going to talk about, week after week. (I still don't, really.) But it's a great opportunity and I'll just continue to write as long as they'll have me.

Of course, now I just have to get my Norton blog updated...I think I will probably do a series of entries during WWDC up in San Francisco, which should be a fun time. I will be twittering any fun stuff during the Keynote, so swing by a few times next week to see if I have any cool news from the show.

Other than that, things are fine. I had a really good on camera class on Monday; it was nice to get a chance to rehearse a few times and do a few takes for the scene, rather than just the one take that we tend to do in my "normal" class (though that is tremendously useful, arguably more useful to be better at that single take, when it comes to getting an actual job). I had to book out for next week which is always a bit frustrating, but honestly, there is just not a lot of work out there right now, at least for me, I guess.

On the political side, I am super stoked on Obama's speech last night. I was listening to his speech last night on the way home and it was truly inspiring to hear the crowd go absolutely bonkers. I haven't heard applause and cheering like that for a politician like that in a very long time...if ever, to be honest. It's gonna be fun to watch.

All right--I gotta run.

(ps - I’m using Rapidweaver 4.0 for the site now, and it’s a really great improvement. There’s a lot of delay when I type, which is annoying but that’ll get fixed.)

Yikes, Monday already. Monday in June. 2008.

Everyone I know is kind of freaking out about the whole “June” thing. I can’t believe it at all, to be honest. But whatever, it’s here and we might as well get used to it.

Had a good weekend and now I am tired out. I went down to San Diego to speak at a conference--sounds cooler than it was, but it was cool--so Whit and I had a good time driving down and hanging out in downtown San Diego.

This is Whit doing a very good impression of her sister. Check out the new sweatshirt. It’s lined and is mighty nice.

It was nice to get out of the city, even if only for a night. We stayed at this very odd resort/convention center named Town and Country and got a good taste of what life must have been like in the 50s. The place was just...old, you know? Just stuck in time. It was interesting to be rushing all around irritated that the year was approaching half over rather quickly then ending up here, which seemed like a movie set..it was just crazy, check out the link for some pics.

Then I had to go to work a table at the gift lobby for the MTV 2008 Movie awards. This was a really strange experience and really, I mean, really, it was a glimpse into the part of the entertainment industry that made me feel just...odd, I guess. Basically, we were one of many tables set up on the roof of this very swank hotel in the middle of West Hollywood. We would hang out to talk about our products (I was inbetween a very cool headset and a neat smart pen) to anyone that would come by. Kinda like a trade show, but if the person coming up to you was wearing a certain necklace, then they were apparently a celebrity and could just take whatever they wanted--as long as we got a picture of the celebrity holding the product. Once the picture was taken, it could be use to market said product.

It's one thing to know about this kind of thing, it's another thing to actually see it in action. Now, let's be clear--I had a fine time, and the people that I did meet were actually very cool about it. I mean, of course they were, right? They were getting all this free stuff for nothing! But still, you could tell the cooler celebs knew just how silly this was, which is why I think they were so nice. Our table was probably the most interesting at the event--we had cool gadgets and stuff that was way more useful than yet another energy drink--so we had some fun conversations and everything, but still...

It's business, right? This is how companies get their products out on the market. They get photos of people using the products in magazines, then the masses will go and get said product. It's just seeing it done so overtly that gave me pause.

Still, it was a good experience--I learned quite a bit just by watching people. The wheels of commerce spinning, right?

The other night, while Whit was with her girlfriends for a Sex and the City party (I love that they had party for a movie and then not go to said movie), I finally got around to watching The Graduate. No, I had never seen it before. Yes, I have been reading all about it in Pictures at a Revolution. And yes, I was totally, completely blown away by it. If you haven't seen it recently, add it to your queue and check it out. From the sound design to the cinematography to Anne Bancroft's insanely great performance (her laughter during their initial flirtation just blew me away, I must have watched that scene five times)...it's just awesome.

I am going to an on camera class tonight, which should be fun. It's good to keep going to different teachers, to work with different people. It's still really slow and I fear that things won't even begin to recover until late this summer. I hope.

My article for ifanboy.com goes up on Wednesday. I'm just writing about comics and life..we'll see how people respond...

talk to you soon.

I got this amazingly cool print (hi-res version here) hanging my cube from Secret Headquarters, a cool comic book store over in Silver Lake, the neighborhood I should be living in. This is a poster of Scott Campbell's artwork for King of Kong, which you must rent/buy if you haven't seen it. Great movie.

Three day weekend! Ovef! I had a really good one, I must say. Whit was at work pretty much the entire time dealing with the very successful Phoenix landing--click the link, very cool mission so far.

Ugh, I started this earlier this week and wasn't able to post it. Been kind of an odd week, bouncing from "life is great" in the morning and then "argh, life is driving me CRAZY!" just a few hours later. Work is good, but one of the products I am working on is causing people headaches, which gives me a migraine. We'll get to the bottom of the problem, but it's hard to deal with when your email program is hogging up 99% of your CPU usage. Frustrating.

Going surfing again tomorrow morning, which will make it twice in one week. The key is to keep sticking with it, I assume. I am looking forward to it, I just want to actually stand up and drift on down, just to figure out that balance. I'll work on the balance stuff tonight during yoga.

Acting is slow and it's really driving everyone I know crazy. Kind in an irritable mood, so I will just post this now..

So, two weeks ago I got home from Vegas and then, the next morning, Whit and I flew down to Zihuatanejo, Mexico for Annie and Andrew's wedding. This wedding was a long time coming, I gotta tell you. While relatively "new" friends, Andrew and Annie (and associated crew) have been a really fun part of my living in Los Angeles. From pool parties at Andrew's place to the Halloween bus parties to seeing Daft Punk, this group is particularly good at raging, I gotta say. Annie had a crazy battle with cancer for most of last year and I am happy to report that it's now pretty much gone--so this wedding was obviously sort of the culmination of a very long, emotional battle. I was able to do a toast at the wedding and remarked that usually when people throw a destination wedding, they can count on about 70% of the invite list not showing up. Pretty much EVERYONE showed up to their wedding; we'd all been looking forward to it like crazy.

Whit hanging out on our balcony

Oddly enough, I had actually been down here before--to DJ our friend Liz and Craig's wedding. I honestly have no idea how this whole wedding DJ thing got started, I gotta admit. I mean, I really like it--nothing is worse than watching a party flail because the music is terrible. I figure if I wasn't playing music I would be judging it, so if I have a chance to contribute and rock the party, well, hey! I'm happy to do it. This summer is really odd, though--I think I have at least 2, possibly 3 more weddings to play at.

Technical interlude:

While I love playing records and all that, I don't do it anymore in wedding situations. I am still using Abelton Live 6 (LE, which is annoying but I'll skip that diatribe) and basically it allows me play songs and samples all at once through a software mixer (it's more complicated, actually way more complicated than that but whatever), all at whatever tempo I choose. This is obviously useful for dancing, so I can seamlessly blend different songs together and not disrupt the dancing with hectic mixing. I only use that for the dancing portion--I use an ever changing series of playlists in iTunes for the reception and dinner parts of the night--which usually lasts anywhere from 2-5 hours, depending on how crazy the crowd is. When done properly, I have two channels of audio going out of the computer (using an iMic USB audio thing) so I can cue up one song in my headphones while another song is playing out to the crowd. This did not work in Mexico but it didn't really matter. In my main display, I have all the songs in various bins, or categories--pop, disco, hip hop, opening, closing, beats, samples, etc and then I just move sort of make a mix of the fly based on what people are grooving to. The initial setup (getting Live to "know" the music, setting up the bins, and other busy work) can take anywhere from 3-40 hours. Now that I have it all setup, I could easily play a full wedding plus at least 6 hours of dancing in about 30 minutes.

Dance people, dance! (thanks, Rachel)

Back to the wedding. First off, Annie and Andrew rocked it. They made it really easy for everyone to get rooms where the wedding was going to be, and since the hotels are all next to each other on the beach, it was really easy for everyone to hang out during the days leading up to and following the wedding. (Most of us got there Friday, the wedding was on Saturday, then most of stayed through Wednesday, so it was really quite amazingly awesome.) We ended up hanging out by the beach or the pool most of the days.

work it!

this is the view from the pool area--that's Andrew in the hat on the left.
(Rachel, you rock with the photos).

We really did have a good time. We ended up staying up late and sleeping really late, like 11:30 and noon style. It was the most sleep I've had in a long time without being interrupted by construction..it was awesome. We ended up going out in the bay really late at night (on the beach) and hanging out with this crazy, crazy bioluminescence -- you would stand there, wave your hand in the water, and it would like up, like the trail of Tinkerbell from Peter Pan. It was outtasight amazing.

The only problematic parts were the ongoing bouts with "The Big D" -- people were getting wiped out with problematic stomachs and that kind of thing. Thankfully, it would usually pass in 24 hours or so. Whit and I got off pretty lucky, but yeah, there was a darker side to paradise, no doubt.

Finally, the DJing went really, really well. I played a drinks set, a dinner set, and then a dance set that lasted probably about 2 hours on the main sound system (complete with crazy lights!), but then we moved down the beach a bit to the after party and I did more mixing for another 2-3 hours, and then just did the play list thing for another hour or so...we closed up shop around 3:45 in the morning! Pretty raging--this crew loves to dance and get down.

Special, mighty and massive shouts out to DJ Dru who was an invaluable help for the music making. We did a little session at work and he was able to work some tracks for me---including digitizing a few records from 1993-1994 that I knew Annie would LOVE from back in the day which indeed brought the house down--and helped me basically get the night going. He's got a few mixes you should check out here--he's a very, very, very good DJ.

Nice, cool! Next stop..Florida.

View from my hotel room at The Venetian in Las Vegas.


View from our hotel room in Zihuatenejo, Mexico


View from the condo in Forida.

Right. Where to begin. I thought--I really did--that I would be this roving writer, chronicling my travels each night and during my flights, "blogging it out" like a pro. But I am not a pro, I am guy who goes to bed, reads a book and passes out. A guy who walks on the plane, fastens his seat belt and passes out. A guy who thinks about wriitng in his blog and realizes, "I need to do my screenwriting homework!" (Yes, the class is in full gear and yes, it's not like I need more to do.)

It's like that.



Las Vegas:

There were apparently over 5,000 people who went to my work conference. I knew about 20 of them.

The conference in Las Vegas was actually super fun. I say "actually" because it was a work function and it was in Las Vegas, and, I admit, I don't always connect "fun" to those places. Regardless, it went really well. Apparently the videos I did went over quite well and, well, the live presentation that I was a part of really, really went well. It was the first time in a long time where I was basically responsible for driving a live show forward (I was basically a host/emcee with some comedic interviews sprinkled throughout to make sure the audience was listening, kind of an over the top Russian Jay Leno, truth be told. Okay, here's a pic that was taken during my pre-show, where the audience came in to blaring nationalistic music while I glared at them and sipped vodka.

I did the set, too:

We also saw Ka, which was a really interesting Cirque du Soleil show. It was more of a show than circus, and I must admit it was impressive mostly because the set and stage were crazy. I mean, the cast did a great job with the acrobatics and balancing, but they had this crazy stage on hydraulics that was really just breathtaking--or, correction: it helped create some amazing, breath taking scenes. Let's see..whoa, here's a video, turn down the sound and check it out. We had perfect scenes--rumor has it that one of our co-workers has an American Express Black Card and apparently one of the perks is that Cirque du Soleil saves a block of tickets for Black Card holders just in case. Madness!

The stay in Vegas was busier than I thought it would be and I wasn't able to check in with my friends in Vegas. Whit and I will have to come back and visit...we have at least one event that we should probably check out...


Interlude:

I have been noticing something lately. I get a lot of spam--hundreds and hundreds of emails a month--and they mail is usually confined to some fairly unsurprising themes: male performance pills, vitamins...and that's about it. However, recently, I am getting flooded with "work from home!" and "we'll help with your impending foreclosure!" emails. I guess people are already at home (maybe even packing it up, sadly) and the spammers are figuring the recipients are already home so but so depressed that even the powerful of pills won't improve the situation..

I obviously have a lot more to write, but I figure I won't go for the epic entry right just yet (I gotta eat dinner anyway). However, wish me luck tomorrow, I am actually auditioning for a musical tomorrow. Lead role. We'll see how it goes.

Coming up:
- DJ'ing on the beach!
- Mike sings leads with the local band!
- What's up with my hip flexor?

One of the cool things about living here, and I this is not all limited to LA, but you can drive 2 hours in almost any direction and be in a completely different kind of place. You go a little over 2 hours from LACMA (where we were the weekend with artist and writer Matt Silady, who I am working with on something that's very cool that I cannot talk about right now) you'll be in Pioneertown, which is in the Yucca Valley, on the way to Joshua Tree.

Matt, Whit and I visited the new collection at BCAM and it was really fun to see the new space. So MASSIVE...really too much art to go into now, but it is a beautiful space and it was fun to explore the new site. It's always nice to actually get and GO to a museum, and it was nice to get Matt's perspective on the work as well. Great way to spend the day.

This past weekend was spent in Pioneertown, as I mentioned, for friend Andrew's bachelor party. As you might expect, it was a fun time, sufficiently random and relaxing at the same time. Much bbq, much music..great group of folks from all over the place hanging out under an amazing night sky. It's always amazing (and depressing, in a way) to get out of the city and realize to see how much you are missing with all the light pollution. Ended up taking a bit of tour with some guys around the various towns; it's amazing how much growth is happening out there, it's pretty obvious that change is happening.

Otherwise, not much to report. I've been doing a lot of writing in preparation for this conference in Vegas, which in turn has been good prep for my writing class that starts at the end of the month. Very much battling against the feeling that I should have some stories all ready to go...I don't, but that's just gonna have to be okay...ugh. It's just such an unknown, this class. Exciting but intimidating at the same time.

all great, all good.

I have been thinking a lo about TIME these days, which perhaps is no surprise. Time passes and that's that. It's just been going very, very quickly, as I am sure you are noticing. I remarked to Zak this morning that I feel like I overslept in 2008 and I am about 15-20 minutes late for everything.

As I was falling asleep I was kind of thinking about acting and well, you know, how I fit in with the rest of the community here in LA. There's this young actor on a show that Whit really likes that has a role that's a real career starter. He's pretty good, he's good looking, and he's intelligent (he used to be an accountant, quit to be a model and actor, and now he's got a great series regular role on a primetime show)--and he's 26. I'll be honest--I'm not 26. I don't even want to be 26, but you know, you hear about how LA is obsessed with youth, blah blah blah--and I guess that's true, the extremes are certainly out there with all the plastic surgery and that kind of thing. But it's also just a place where young people gravitate towards, not unlike San Francisco and New York. You just kind of notice it a bit sometimes. I auditioned for a role to be a co-host of a Tech show where I was supposed to be a tech expert who knows how to help businesses with their technical infrastructure, who reads Wired magazine, who knows tech culture and what's happening in the tech world. I was basically auditioning to be me, right? The audition, which was just an interview with legitimately technical questions (what kind of freeware security software is out there? what kind of backup infrastructure should small businesses think about? what kinds of machines would you recommend?) went great--this is my life--but I also knew that they were looking for someone in their late 20s. And I told them that I was not in my late 20s and also told them that they didn't want someone in their late 20s, that they wouldn't know as much as I do. And it's true! I defy the vast majority of actors in LA to setup an office in afternoon. But if I don't get the role, I bet I know why...!

Of course, of course, in many ways, age is an illusion. Charisma, energy and optimism can really shift people's perceptions. But every once in awhile, you think about it, at least in this profession. The flipside, of course, is that as you get older, you tend to reflect on your choices and your history and wonder, "was this right?" It's useless, of course--but those thoughts can sneak into your head as your brain settles into sleep. I thought about it last night, how I have definitely been at the party and showed up at the right time, but I feel sometimes like I was in one room having a great time talking to people, then hearing uproarious laughter in the room next door. Once I finally made it into that room, the joke was over and though the people were still there, things had moved on. But still, the party's great, right? Life is good.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the difference between "hope" and "expectation". I was actuall talking with my mom last night about this and we basically discussed how expectation, as a rule, is an illusion, a situation or reality that basically can never come true as one imagines. Take the typical New Year's Eve dilemma--oftentimes, people will have expectations of the crazy party they finally decided on, or whatever plan they made, and most of the time, it will go differently (better or worse) and the expectation will probably not be fulfilled. However, hope is far more general and a lot more open-ended. You can hope you have a good time, but you are not expecting a good time, and the stakes become lower, more manageable. My mom suggested that expectations, being so much more personally specific, are driven by the ego, which makes a lot of sense. We also discussed this in acting class, where Brian remarked how he thought it was crazy for actors to come into LA expecting to have a career just open up to them with in a year or two, that things would just work out and all would be great. You can hope things work out, but you certainly need to be patient, certainly need to relax with the expectations so your hope can be maintained. I also think that it's been really interesting how Obama has been using the concept of hope to rally his supporters--it's easier for groups of people to agree on hope than expectations.

Ah, Friday morning thinking.

I have some cool things happening this weekend, but I am going to keep it a secret. Believe me, if it all works out, it's gonna be very, very cool and actually a nice checkmark in my little "to do in my life" book. Should have something to tell you in a few weeks.


What else? Oh, I am reading Pictures at a Revolution by Mark Harris. It's awesome.

Oh, and my uncle Toby just came out with a new book. He's been getting a lot of press on this. Let's see...the book is called Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories. The press has been incredible. Check out this interview on KQED's Forum and this article from the LA Times Book Review. It's always amazing, really, to reflect on just how amazing a writer he is. It's really been amazing to watch his career and talent and legacy, really, grow as time has gone by. Very inspiring and proof, real proof, that if you just stick to it, you can do what you want.

Okay! two posts at once. I've got a lot of write today so I will end this here. Have a great weekend...

Wow, it's been over a month since I posted onto this. I apologize, this is just embarrassing, really, especially considering that I actually think about posting to this all the time, but it's usually while I am in the car, or shower, or in bed. Ironically, I am actually on a conference call about blogging for my company as I write this.

But, hey, no excuses, I'm a flake. Which is irritating to admit, since I was trying hard not to be a flake these days.

No matter.

A few weeks ago, we went snowboarding! I was up in the Bay Area for a meeting with Apple and then I took the train back up to San Francisco, which I actually haven't done since college. It actually worked out really well--there's a spot where you can transfer to BART, which made things a lot easier. Though the drive with Gary and Tom was long, it was a fun 5 hours...the house that the rest of our crew got (Steph, Kenji, Matt and Jonathan) was massive and it was a pretty great weekend.

Some shots here and here...may I just make a comment about how much room for improvement there is for the iPhone camera? just one comment? there is. A lot. Of room. But the snowboarding went GREAT! I actually hadn't snowboarded in a long time (I would say decade, but that sounds ridiculous), so I took a class with Tom and Gary and it went really well. People kept saying I was going to fall a lot--people kept telling me this, over and over--and sure, I fell, but so what? I certainly got right back up and kept trying. I really enjoyed it and I want to keep going later this year. I was talking with Steph about how the sport was kind of perfect for me. I could be around people, but I wasn't competing against anyone except myself--if competing is the right word. It reminded me of yoga, in a way. Yes, you are enjoying being around a community of people trying to do the same thing, but in the end, it's just you and the mat, or the board, in this case.

here I am, looking for whales...

It's been a busy month, as usual. The pics above are from our whale watching excursion up in Santa Barbara. Pretty fantastic weekend--we saw some whales and everything--it was just nice to get back to normal, to be honest. Whit's feeling a lot better--her stomach is still a bit grouchy at times, but she's back at work and already overwhelmed with social plans, etc. A nice way to start the spring.

There's a reason why people live in Southern California. You get some really nice sunsets. This is up in Malibu.

Aw, such a lovely couple.

Finally:
- work is nuts. Next month is packed with a bachelor party the first weekend, then busy until mid May with a conference in Vegas (where I will be performing--I will get some footage, it's really, really random), a wedding in Mexico (which I am DJ'ing) then a wedding the next weekend in Florida. I am looking forward to the events, but I wish, honestly, this stuff was in LA..the traveling just takes so much time (I know, poor me, but I need to be around for auditions, remember?)...but I am flattered and pleased to be invited and involved...I just would have loved to have some space between the events. I literally get home from Vegas then leave for Mexico the next day, then 1 day after I return from Mexico, we are off to Florida!

- acting has been slow. really slow. While I've had some really solid auditions, I am not booking and I will admit that I am a tad concerned. It's not even about booking a job to get money, really--it's about, well, being worth the time and effort my agents and manager put into my career. It's so odd, that feeling. As you progress and you start getting people on your team, you realize that your success actually impacts more people than just yourself. I never really imagined that happening, I always thought, "well, i will get an agent and they will help me find work"--I never thought about the actual relationship that would develop between myself and my agents (of which I have at least 5, which freaks me out). But it's slow and everyone in my class has commented on it, but I gotta say, if you did a search on my posts for "it's been slow" you would see me complaining about it a lot. Ah, well. It's a process.

Ok, I am gonna pull a fast one and end this post and begin another and upload two posts at once...

I'm posting two entries this time around because I got wildly distracted from my last one--it was getting a little too unwieldy and then by the time I got back to it, life got a lot more interesting.

I am currently waiting in the waiting room while Whit recovers in the recovery room. She had her surgery this morning and it all went great, they removed the fibroid, which, for something that is entirely natural, looked really, really unnatural. We got a picture of it but I guess I won't be able to get it bronzed...

Anyway, so the hard part is basically over, now we just let her sleep. I guess she's going to be staying here for a day or two, which is kind of annoying, but it's for the best. I am pleased that the procedure went by so quickly--the surgery was over in basically 2 hours.

Briefly:

1 - MacWorld was actually kind of cool this year, there was a good amount of enthusiasm. the new products, while not groundbreaking, are solid iterations. It's interesting that apple is charging $20 for iPod touch users but giving the AppleTV update for free. both are significant improvements, not sure how they decided on the $20 fee. And I still hate the 24 hour rental window (you have the rented movie for 30 days, but only 24 hours from the moment you press "play"--it is cool that you can move it from device to device, but wow, itunes...it's becoming it's own operating system now)

2- had a terrific audition for a pilot which I guess is not going anywhere. they changed the character around, so when I went in, I was asked to do something completely different. It was a great experience, and I was happy to show the casting director that I could flip the script on the fly, but I am a bit sad that I couldn't go further with it. I really love the show and really loved the character (or, at least, the one I was working on)...who knows. But at least the casting director saw me in the first place. Just need to be brought back.

3 - This week's theme so far is "my friends are totally awesome". I had a great night in San Francisco with the boys and then even saw some of the girls later. It was a really fun night and while I am always sad to leave my SF crew behind, to come back to such a wonderfully supportive army of LA friends has been a very humbling experience. I have been sending out little email updates regarding Whit's morning and everyone has been really keen to help out, etc. And, of course, the NY crew has been more than into it as well (Ravi, you are more than keeping it real from the International angle). Again, my friends are totally awesome.

4 - Last year at time, I was in Japan. Now I'm in a waiting room in a hospital in Beverly Hills. As I live, the future becomes less and less of a mystery and more of a surprise.

more soon.

I just listened/watched to a few TED talk (I really dug the JJ Abrams one), which is a really nice thing to do while eating a turkey sandwich. It's interesting; I often scoff when I hear people talk about the Internet changing, forever, the whole television thing, but I do find myself using the web to find good stories once in awhile. However, I am at work in a cube, not in my living room and I am not, in anyway, in a relaxed state of mind. I needed to back up and re-watch the Abrams presentation quite a few times, especially when he was referencing something visual). Different screens for different times, I guess. (Related, check out David Lynch ranting on people watching movies on the iPhone.)

Watching the videos from TED made me remember the tech lunches we would have at Razorfish, where we would get so-called movers and shakers to come over and discuss their ideas on technology and the directions it was going. We do that here, but I really miss the broad range of people we would get. Sure, we would get some Linux zealot to tell us the wonders of open source, but I was far more interested in the classical pianist who found inspiration in Flash. Inspiration comes from all over, from all people, from all times of day, I suppose. I was thinking about the whole idea of a technically savvy person growing older: will I continue to care enough about all this or will I need some 12 year old around to help me program some household media device so I can watch the construction of the moonbase from a camera on some astronaut construction worker's visor? Who knows.

Things I am thinking about:

1 - figuring out a way to actively help kids in school; how can I do this?
2 - what am I "missing" in my thought processes that is frustrating my ability to figure out what's "next" for technology? entertainment?
3 - why am I not using my camera?


Actually, I think i am going to start keeping the video camera around, like, in my car, so I can use it on the fly.

Oh, here's what I was thinking about while I was driving:

It seems like everything that has been pretty stable for the past 30 years is facing a pretty dramatic shakeup. Let's see:

- You have the whole national car industry, which was pretty much the Big Deal for the past few decades, totally getting their asses handed to them by Toyota and other companies because of a stunning inability to innovate and make products that people actually want. So everyone's freaking out there.

- You have the whole damn oil situation really freaking out big time because all of a sudden oil is so expensive that it's making everything expensive and really forcing people to think beyond oil, which is great, but it's probably going to be pretty painful because we are living right at the beginning of this massive-scale transition. Exciting times for people who see a future in change, scary times for people who have been through enough change, thank you very much and just want to retire and get some sleep

- There's the whole entertainment industry thing, which is having this wonderful midnight affair with the Writer's Guild Strike, which is really freaking out people in LA, because the already hemorrhaging TV market is bailing now that their Tivo boxes are empty. So, you see the networks makings shows that you just know no one is going to want to watch or they recycle previously made stuff....

Everything is changing, right now. And everyone who cares is trying to figure out how to adapt to these changes. What's crazy is that these are fundamental changes, both industry-wide and worldwide, in many respects. The trick is finding ways to help people manage and enjoy these changes and transitions.

ugh, I wrote this a week ago and totally lost my train of thought. I am going to start a new one now.

(Deeeeeep breath.) I randomly went to CES on Tuesday, which was pretty cool, if only because I have always wanted to go to the show just to check it out. I have some pictures here, but they are not all that good, you can see lots of stuff if you dig around the web a bit. But it was cool, I mean, it's always fun to do something you have always wanted to do, right? But still--if you can afford a TV that is 7' tall, you are probably going to have a separate room with a projector, right? But I guess perhaps this could be used in public spaces...


It's gonna be a crazy month, more crazy than usual. I have an actual pilot audition for an actual series regular on Monday, which is notable because: a) I haven't had one in awhile and b) there are not all that many pilots getting shot because of the Writer's Strike. So, if your brain needs some thoughts at 2:40pm on Monday, just say to your brainverse, "Hey Mike, break a leg, that would be fun if you had a good audition because if you get it you can take me out to dinner and we can make jokes." I am really excited because I am actively leveraging some of the stuff I gleaned from a repeat viewing of Special Thanks to Roy London which lives on my ipod and offers some great items to think about before an audition. I really, really love the character and the script, so I need to just enjoy the process and be grateful to have a chance without projecting too much into the future.

(Very much enjoying the just-purchased Juno soundtrack, by the way.)

What I am trying to with the audition, by the way, is to use the moment of actually being in the office auditioning for the part as the emotional foundation/intent of the actual scene. Like, when I talk about loving my job, I am just going to be basically talking about how I love to audition, how I love the chance to act. It's the same intention, right, and I am not doing any substitution or anything like that. If I am nervous, I will just be nervous, and that's that. why fight it? Acting is reacting, sure, and acting is exposing, yes and above all, acting is about letting go and just living. I am fighting the normal impulse to imagine the moment and to provide an idea of how I want things to go--why add that kind of pressure? Why worry about it, really? The moment will come, it will happen, and then it will pass. That's all I want to have as far as expectations go...it's hard but I gotta try, otherwise, I'm just gonna fall into the same traps that I used to fall in. No more!

On a somewhat related note, Whit's surgery is a week from now, which is also quite a big deal and something that I am trying to prepare myself for without getting too crazy about it. She's probably going to be in the hospital for 2 nights and I assume it will all be quite intense. Rocco asked if I was ready and I was like, "I guess, I have no idea"--I really don't know what is going to happen, so it's actually irrelevant if I am ready or not--it's gonna happen and I will do everything I can to make it easy as possible for her. Doesn't matter, right? Accept the moment and deal.

But in-between those two events, I will be in San Francisco for MacWorld to check out the new announcements, see what my competitors are doing, say hey to friends, talk to a few press folks...should be a good time. It's being cut short due to Whit's surgery, but that's okay. I'm usually done with MacWorld after a day on the floor anyway.

Tech rants/hopes/predictions:

1 - Warner's Blu-Ray announcement sucks; I bought my HD-DVD player (it's a better system, IMHO for a variety of very consumer-friendly reasons) and now I'm stuck waiting for the Blu-Ray folks to come out with a reasonably priced, fully-functional player that's not the PS3 (I have a tendency to get burned by Sony products). None of this matters, of course, given the Internet distribution model that is rapidly becoming a fine alternative to buying discs...

2 - I have no idea what's happening at MacWorld, but I would guess that the an updated AppleTV will come out. If it can play Blu-Ray discs, that would be awesome, I admit. I bet they will introduce that sub-compact flash ram MacBookPro, and I can see them releasing the 16GB iPhone. I assume we'll have to sit through the Office 2008 stuff during the keynote, too.

Okay, let's post this thing.

a pic of a postcard that I made for one of our shows way back when in New York.
We actually did a whole photoshoot down in the in the subway, late at night.
I was on my hands and knees with a dog collar on...

First off, Happy New Year. 2∞8. Hope you and yours had a good break, hope you had a fun new year's and I hope this year is packed with health, joy, growth, peace and all the stuff you need and want.

Ollie's boy Phineas encountering Tiberius, the greatest cat ever.

San Francisco was good, but oddly stressful at times for a variety of reasons. I was super happy to see everyone but the weather was such that I really just wanted to be home, in my apartment. It was weird, really; I loved being with my family and friends but I think stress of the last few months just made me want to hang out and be at home for a week and just stop. But the holidays are not designed to be relaxing, so I guess I'm just complaining. I had a lot fun, though, and I am looking forward to returning for MacWorld in a few weeks.

New Year's was really, really mellow, like, the most mellow a New Year I've had since I was a kid, really. Whit and I got dinner with the always fantabulous Jen Slimko and then hung out at home. It was really fun--we hadn't really hung out with each other the entire week, so it was nice, really nice. We missed hanging out with our friends in various places in LA, but it sounded like everyone had a pretty mellow time, I think, again, because of the weather.

The day before New Year's was crazy, though...I mean, I had to take my car to the shop for almost $300 worth of work (30k checkup time) and when we went to get a box spring, I went up a bit of a curb and popped Whit's car's tire! Like, the edge on the curb was just sharp, and the end dug right into the side of the tire somehow. I seriously have no idea what happened, but we went up the curb and the tire just started hissing...and was out in about 2 minutes. Then, much to my surprise, I found out (after unpacking the spare and all the tools from the fairly full trunk) that there were wheel locks on the wheels! I guess they put them on when we got the car--I actually had no idea what they were--they were originally in the glovebox--but I realized exactly what they were once I took a good look at the wheel. Basically, each wheel has an extra tricky bolt on it that you can only remove by adding a special adaptor onto the wrench. Of course, I had long since taken this out and left it at home...so we had to repack everything and walk home, look for the thing, then I went (I actually got into some workout clothes and ran) back and did the whole thing over again. Then I got home. Then I took the bus to Santa Monica to get my car. Then it was NYE.

So, yeah--2007 went out kicking and screaming. All is fine now, Whit's got a new tire (thanks to the tire store that was open on January 1) and the car is running fine. Still...a bit much.

Already things are starting to kick in; I've had a voiceover and a commercial audition and work work is making its way back into my head. It was good to get a break, if only for me to realize that yes, I do like my job a lot, and I am excited about what this year will bring. Of course, it's easy to say that when I am already in the office--I still just want to lie in bed and sleep...

okay, let's post this. more to come, more to come. I wish the iPhone would do video, I think I would post more vids up...

where I was last night to see my cousin Patrick Wolff play some jazz with a few folks. I forgot my jacket and scarf last night so I had to come back here and see if they still had them--they did, and I am very happy. Not sure how I forgot it, but I guess that's the way it goes. It was a really great night, Patrick and his friends were really good (I haven't seen Pat play in years, so it was a treat) and it was a nice blend of family and friends. Super fun--I just wish I wasn't so damn sick, I gotta tell you. I am usually good about powering on when feeling ill, but it's hard to heal when you are just basically cold and uncomfortable all the time! I know, I know, what does a guy who spends his days in LA know about cold, but really--I am wearing a jacket, a coat and a scarf! That's gotta mean something, right?

So, I am that guy in the cafe with a small cup of coffee typing away on the computer. Cafe scribbler. I am having a great holiday; Christmas went really well, we had our normal massive family gathering at Toby and Catherine's and it was great to see everyone. It's good to see that everyone's looking healthy and doing well. We used to have these kinds of things all the time when I was a kid, now I basically see my extended family only once or twice, which is kind of depressing. Such is life, I guess.

San Francisco is nice, clear blue skies (quickly growing dark, gonna rain tonight) and I am doing fairly well balancing my time between friends and family, which is the trick. I'm going to be up here for MacWorld in a few weeks anyway. Everyone seems to be doing well...surprised, definitely, that a year has passed. Damn this cafe is cold! What is up with the front door wide open? The cafe is obviously open..it's a funny sight; everyone's in full jackets and hunched over their coffees while some kid pounds away on the piano.

What else? I am supposed to meet up with Oliver for lunch, but I am not sure what the story is. I want to swing by Isotope to hang out with James, then I am going home to my parents' place and just going to read some books and heal up. I woke up with a wicked headache which is retreating, slowly.

I just wanna go to Golden Boy and be warm. I am blowing steam from my mouth.

What else? Not much, I am sort of drifting, here, it's like that when I come to SF, I don't really have a homebase in the city itself, so I tend to bounce from cafe to store to restaurant to store to cafe and to dinner to bar, that kind of thing. I wanted to take a bunch of yoga classes this week but I haven't had the time and I just feel like crap.

Anything else, Mike? You are rambling a bit. Any comments on how everyone seems so young here? No? The seeming resurgence of beards on guys? Rants on traffic and how it's just as bad here as it is in LA and how it's frustrating that the car has been thrust upon us in this here state? how you wanted to see There Will Be Blood but it's not actually playing in San Francisco yet?

maybe later. For now, I will upload this and figure out what the hell is up with Oliver.

well.. I have started this entry about 10 times, and I might as well give it another go.

The real crazy thing about the past two weeks is that I have literally gone nonstop during the weekday. I get in, there's a tornado, and then I leave. I mean, sure, that's I guess how some people work, but one would think that the end of the year would be a bit more of a slower time, when you can chill a bit, but it certainly has not been the case this year. And when I get home, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer, which means I slack on all the personal stuff I want to do, including Christmas shopping, writing in this journal, and editing Whit's band's videos. I am adding a page to the site today with four of the videos from Whit's work party, where their band, The RTG's performed nine songs. Whit did an amazing job, I gotta say. You can find the videos in the RTG's page, above.

Just when I was feeling a bit down, things start turning up. Last week I was invited to read two scripts, which was totally cool. I did two table reads for two very different scripts (one was a kind of family comedy, the other an action comedy), both very good; really fun characters, great pacing...both would make really entertaining movies. I was invited to read a lead character both times and I am pleased to report that the feedback was really good, which was tremendously encouraging. Hmm, perhaps that's not the right word, "encouraging"...gratifying, perhaps? That's better, honestly, because the goal is to really fill out the reading as best as you can emotionally so the writer can get some glimpses of how it might sound during filming, how some of the characters might look during certain moments how the flow would actually...flow. I really tried to read as best as I could, which was made difficult for the first script since I did not have enough time to read through it first and mark it up.

What's good about this is that you are being given the opportunity to add to the initial definition of the story, of the character. The writers can now go back to the script and use what we did as a baseline, which will help them make the appropriate changes. It's kind of a cool responsibility, because up until the readings, the writers have heard the characters in their heads, or just read a few scenes with the other writers to get the kinks out. Both writers brought in some really great actors, really driven actors who all were taking it very seriously and obviously trying to bring as much to the reading as possible. It was very cool and it was quite a cool way to close out the year, to be part of this collaboration. Reminded me of some very good times in New York, and I am stoked I have some folks around who want me to participate in this kind of thing.

Work has been crazy, as usual. We released a product and I have been getting really great responses from people who have actually used the software, but for every one positive piece of feedback, I get 5 intensely negative, fanatically nasty rants about why the software sucks...from people who have never actually even seen the software. I try not to take it personally, but I honestly wish some of the more passionate users out there would give the stuff a chance so they can see that I'm not some dumbass who is making lame crap, but someone who actually cares very deeply about this stuff and whose crew has made something very good, relevant, and effective. Whatever. I deal with this stuff enough in my "other" life, so I will just drop it, but I am looking forward to seeing how the reviews go. It's weird; for better or for worse, this new product is pretty much my fault. I was the one who pushed for a total redesign and for the addition of a completely new additional feature. We could have easily just updated it to work with the new operating system but I felt it was really important to make a full on change, to really draw a line and say "the old stuff is the old stuff, this is the future". We'll see, we'll see. I never expected the work to be so personal but I guess that's good.

On the acting front, all of a sudden, I am busy as ever. Two auditions yesterday; 1 callback (from yesterday), 2 auditions and a voiceover audition today, one audition tomorrow. Uh, what? I haven't gone out more than once a week in 2 weeks! It's great, but really unexpected and kind of crazy making with the week I am having. But we were able to schedule everything all out, so it's fine. My agents are really amazing, it's just crazy how hard they work for me.

I have more entries but I really have to sleep. I just apologize for being so late on this. I wish I just had more time. Perhaps I can write a bit more during the holidays. I have been taking notes on my phone when journal entries come to mind--I've got some good ones--so hopefully the week off will encourage me to invest a bit more time into this. I have been really bad about using the camera (except for the videos I took of the RTG's) but maybe I will bring it up to the city. I dunno. We'll see.

Regardless, hope all is well.

Hollywoodland in the early 1920s

Well, we keep
on trudging. My product went out last week and I gotta admit, it's been kind of crazy watching how people react to it. Some folks are going to hate it no matter what, so I do my best not to take it personally. This time around, I tried really hard to make a product that was low impact and really, really easy to use--we'll see how regular folks react to it. The interviews I have been having with the Mac press and other security publications have been really engaging; it's nice to have thoughtful conversations about security issues on the Mac. (I know, I rarely talk about my work life on this site, but I figure my name is getting out there a bit with the reviews and such and figure I might as well address it a bit.) All I know is that we've made a really solid product and I am pretty proud of it.

Other things? So busy. As you can see above, Whit rocked out at her holiday party. I will have some videos up later this week (I literally have the clips open behind this window)--they are pretty good. We had a great party at Noah's, then a birthday party for Abby (3 years old!)--I guess we're knee deep in "holiday cheer" right now. It's going by so fast!

Actingwise, it's been slow, but, at the same time, things are opening up, too. It's kind of odd. I made enough money acting this year to qualify for SAG health insurance, which is actually kind of cool. I don't need it right now, but it just shows that things have been moving along pretty well. I am doing some table reads of people's scripts this weekend, and I actually even got a nice email reply from a director I really admire. The small things count a lot.

Let's see. I have a magazine interview followed by a full on Internet Radio show right after....should be fun.

Hope all is well.

Wow, what a week. Had a fantastic time in San Francisco during the Thanksgiving, and got back just in time to see Starting Out in the Evening, our friend Andrew's latest film. It's getting incredibly good reviews, and I was stoked to be able to see it on the always-important opening weekend...here's to hoping it gets some legs and opens in other cities. There has been a lot of attention given to Frank Langhella's performance, and I have to say, it really is a fantastically great performance--one of those kinds of roles that can only be fully expressed in film, really. He's so subtle and so...quiet (but focused, and alive in a way I think only those in their twilight (as the character feels himself to be) can be)...you need to see that kind of role done in a dark room, in a movie theater--it's just such a delicate thing. It wouldn't work onstage--you can never be that close--and on TV, well, you would have to see it in a dark room and not be distracted. No matter--it was a triumph, and the calls for an Oscar nomination are not unwarranted. I am so proud of Andrew, I can't tell you. He has been working toward this kind of success for a very long time and, honestly, it inspires me to continue to find ways to enjoy this often (I admit) frustrating pursuit. If you get a chance, check it out.

(click on the poster to see the trailer)

So, I was paging through a magazine today and, as is often the case this time of year, this magazine was telling us who the best entertainers of the year are, who the break out stars are, which of the big names are still relevant, that kind of thing. And, like, okay--look, this is not an ego thing--but really, this profession...it's just so damn random, and articles like this just make it look so easy. I mean, sure, the odds get better the longer you stay focused (for most of us, we hope) but, let's see, I went to class last night, and throughout the night, I saw some very, very good actors do some very, very good work. It's like this in every class. I would say that there are several--more than several--people in my class right now who are just as "entertaining" as any of the people in these magazines, and the other students? They are well on their way. Not to take away anything from the success of my fellow actors, it's just the pedestal that they get put on, well, it must be intimidating for them a bit but it just seems so...I dunno. I mean, next year it will be the same thing, right?

I had written a bunch of stuff but I just deleted it because it was just ridiculous. I was basically just frustrated, which tends to happen this time of year. Forgive how this might sound, but when I look at this stuff, I get frustrated because I know I can do it. I know others who can do it. It's not a competition, I know this...it's not even anything, but I mean, if I were an accountant (nothing wrong with accountants), it's not like I would be surrounded by magazines and shows and "news" telling me how there are so many other accountants that are doing so well, that are pushing accounting to the next level, that are living the accountant life that can see so tantalizing, with all the many exciting accounting gigs they are able to part in. I guess with acting it's just a lot more obvious when you find you are not where you want to be professionally.

No matter. It is working itself out. Every time I watch Chuck I send a message to my manager telling him that I am feeling a tad depressed and he always tells me to not think about it and to enjoy my day and everything that I am doing. Which is good advice, but when I see a show that I just want to be on and contribute to, it's nervewracking.

(I am very much enjoying the iTunes release of Daft Punk's Alive 2007, by the way. While it's not totally surprising since I have the recording of the Coachella set and I was at the actual show, it's still superbly dope.)

On the work side, we shipped three products this week, which is very cool. Most of my team is taking a bit of time off, I am just catching up on some loose ends and looking forward to solid yoga class tonight, then dinner with Allison, who is in town for a conference, and then the weekend.

The picture above is kind of a joke, I am friends with a few members of the production team on this spot that I shot yesterday and I walked to my trailer door to see "Mr. Romo" taped on it. I laughed out loud, I think many an actor has thought about that transition--when do you go from "Mike" to "Mr. Romo"? Box office pull, no doubt.

Good news! I filmed another commercial yesterday--though I should mention that I am basically a featured extra for a skin care commercial that will not be aired in the US or Canada, but if I can get a clip, I will make sure to post it. For the second time in a row, I worked with a "big super star actor"---the person I worked with yesterday is an international super star, been around for many years, and it was really a pleasure to get a chance to meet someone like that, and it was fun just to work, even for a really short time, with a true professional. As with any professional in any kind of job, you just end up learning a tremendous about just by being in the same room with someone like that. Totally relaxed in between takes, then absolutely, incredibly focused during. He (he's a he) also made a point of introducing himself right away and basically put everyone at ease. I feel silly that I am not saying the name, but I gotta wait till the spot comes out, so I will just shut up about it.

Nick, Drue and I just got back from seeing Beowulf in 3-d IMAX, which is apparently the way to see the movie...it's funny to try and compare it to the last movie I saw, No Country for Old Men. It kind of sho