Yummy Yummy Ramen in Me Tummy!

Just a quick little thing to throw out how awesome this ramen place is. Mind you I have no idea what it's called. Just ask me where it is and I shall take you. I wasn't blown away when I had the sushi once, but the ramen there is fucking stellar.

It is a quaint little place with cool tables and shit. Who cares as long as the food is good! So without further ado, here are a couple pics from Sunday's lunch with Brown.


You start with some yummy chicken dumplings.


...And you finish with some ramen. I think that's pork, tofu and onions inside! That shit is amazing!

So ya, don't be retarded like us and order an appetizer. Sure it was good, but there is no way you can eat an appetizer and a bowl of ramen at this place. The ramen is fucking huge and tasty.

That's all. Just wanted to brag about a great meal.

My Perfect Day and There Was No Drinking!!!

How can I have a perfect day without alcohol? If you asked then you get a shiny star and a cookie. Well, I have given up booze until my birthday and then after that I intend to go on a very controlled drinking regiment. Controlled meaning barely existent. I need to clean up my body and get back to dropping those 15 lbs. So with the no drinking thing I need to make the best out of life (as sad as that may be) and it turns out that I have been able to so far.

The whole day started at a bright and early 10 am (fuck off... that's early for a Saturday). I had a double feature to make out in West LA at my favorite little theater... The Landmark.



Here's a fun side note. From now on you will see tons of photos I will be taking with my little point and shoot digital camera. I decided that I need to focus on my shot composition more so I am just starting to dick around and shoot everything I experience. Mind you a lot of these will suck as I am no photographer (that's what I have awesome DP Dan for) and most people get annoyed waiting for me to shoot everything so a lot of times I have to rush it.

Anyways, back on subject. I grab my little girly out of my bed and we head down there to make the first of our 2 movies for the day "Snow Angels". We get there an accidental hour early (I like to anticipate traffic) and get to wander around everyone's second favorite chain bookstore Barnes & Noble. It is there that I delve into the good old "4 Dummies" books and discover that maybe I should move my shit over to Wordpress. More on that as it breaks.

So finally my great friend (and fellow Betty blogger) Rob decides to stumble into the theater a nice 2.36 mins before the first film of the day starts. Anyways, "Snow Angels" was a revelation. Truly another fantastic film from director extraordinaire David Gordon Green. Sam Rockwell will rip your heart out. I promise. This is a must see. Anyways, after the film Green gave a nice brief Q & A that was nothing to revealing, but I still love to be in the same room as great talent. For some reason (perhaps my inability to function the camera properly) none of my pics of the Q & A turned out, but that might be a good thing as he is a funny looking chappy. If you want to read more on my thought on this flick you can read my review of it on Betty.

After the flick we had a cool 2 hours to kill before the next one so we headed down to what Rob claims is the best burger in L.A., Apple Pan. I'll toss out the order of the meal so that you can decide.


Fries came out first. Very tasty for being so thick.


Followed by a frosty beverage with a cool but totally impractical cup. I think more of the drink ended up in my lap than in my mouth. Kitsch like that is totally worth it. (P.S. That was Caroline's Root Beer, I thought it looked more interesting than me Diet Coke you will see right...).


...Now!!! The full meal. See the Diet Coke doesn't have the same charm.

So it breaks down like this. You walk into the place and you have to play musical chairs. It is just one huge bar with no one taking names. You gotta fight for your seats. I actually had to threaten to rape an older lady so she would stop eyeballing the seats that I wanted. (Note: I say fight for your seats due to its dramatic impact. It was a fairly simple and cordial process minus making people feel like they better move their asses and get the fuck out of there. Oh and I didn't actually threaten rape, I actually took her behind the dumpster and made her dreams a reality). All in all, it may not have been the best burger in L.A., but without thinking about it too much I can't think of a better burger in the city. Go there for the feeling you are still in the days of yonder and for the food it's damn good, but remember to bring cash as it is cash only.

So it was time to go back to the theater as the time for "Paranoid Park" was nigh. and check out the flick after a brief stop off at the Barnes & Noble to actually buy the Wordpress for Dummies book. Change is imminent... I promise you that.

For the next 80 minutes I sat at the edge of my seat watching a dude walk around. Yes, you read that right, a dude walking around for 80 minutes is basically what the film was. Minus maybe 10 minutes of skateboarding. So I guess he doesn't just walk, he also skates around. What a blessed world we live in with so many means of transportation to be documented in the narrative form. If you aren't familiar with the latest style Gus Van Sant has been utilizing, it basically is a series of films where people just walk around. Not much happens, but a lot happens. Honestly, if you aren't prepared for this you may just end up bored out of your fucking mind. In the end, I actually really enjoyed "Paranoid Park". I pretty much hated "Elephant" the first time I saw it, but after having his new meditative style jell for me in this film, I really want to go revisit "Elephant". The film had so many elements that were absolutely fantastic. From Christopher Doyle's cinematography (he's one of my favorite D.P.'s), to the fantastic sound design, use of music, and pretty strong turn by the non-professional cast. I loved the mood and the emotions. I loved being sent into the mind of the protagonist. I almost feel as though Van Sant did a better job putting me in the mind of a character then Schnabel did with last year's "Diving Bell & The Butterfly".

Afterwards, I had the distinct honor of paying 6 bucks for some frozen yogurt at cum rag Perez Hilton's second favorite cream dispensary Pinkberry (his actual favorite is the bathroom of the gift shop on Hollywood 3 blocks East of Highland). I love me some Pinkberry, but feel ridiculously silly going into the place and having to listen to that shit music and spending so much fucking money on yogurt and fruit.

Later that evening food was required (because you know, burgers, fries, ice cream, etc. isn't enough in this country, so it was off to Z Pizza. I will let the story of our meal be told through pictures.


The antipasti came.


I ate some, but didn't wanna fill my tummy before I could have some pizza.


"You better eat every last bite, buster!"


Fear of her finger forced compliance.


"Hip hip hooray!" My Napoli Pizza arrived!


Boo! Droopy slice! "No I will not eat this droopy pizza."


"You better eat that! You are a growing boy!"


AHA! Maybe some pizza candy will help make this pizza better!


It certainly looks better!


"Yay, it is better! Pizza, you are ordered to enter me tummy!"

So ya, dinner was a delight.

Back to the house so that we could watch another movie. What was the choice???? Oh I'll tell you, "The Lives of Others". I had some ill will towards this flick as it beat out one of my all time favorite films for Best Foreign Language Film, "Pan's Labyrinth". After watching this achievement, the ill will is no more. I still place Pan's in my all time favorite category, one in which this film shall never enter, but I can't deny the craftsmanship and sheer genius that went into this film. It was breathtakingly amazing. I love it so much. It was the perfect film to end the perfect film day to.

So as far as it goes, this day can't get any better right? I mean I had awesome food, spent it with me darling lady and one of my closest friends, I saw 3 incredible films for the first time (2 of which were at my favorite theater), and I got to see a Q&A with one of my favorite directors. Well, it did get better. I'll show you how me lady made it grand.


She did a little sucking.


She did a little riding cowgirl style.


Then she magically transformed into a pretzel!


Then just a little doggie to finish it up!

It was then that she curled up in my arms and we fell asleep with "The West Wing".

The Short Snooze

So after 20 or so minutes (rather short bearing in mind my usual 30-45 minute minimum) of jumping up and down like Willie fucking Coyote, I was able to drag my ass out of bed before 9 am on a Saturday. Why would I do that you may ask? Good thing you asked, cuz you are getting an answer. I am about to swoop my girl out of my bed and fly her ass with me down to one of my favorite theaters West LA's The Landmark for a double feature. First up, David Gordon Green's "Snow Angels" with him doing q & a afterwards. Then after a not so brief intermission, we will be checking out Gus van Sant's "Paranoid Park". I have been waiting to see these for quite a while, especially considering Green is one of my favorite working directors. Anyways, shower time before I get there too late.

My Friday with Hitler

In me lady's words, "Nam nam nam"

Oh, had Pinkberry for the second time today (green tea yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries) and boy is that shit good. I can't believe I am willing to spend 6 bucks on yogurt, but gee willickers if it isn't tasty. It actually does live up to the preppy hype. I nominate Pinkberry for a StuffWhitePeopleLike entry.



I just watched the fantastic "Downfall". Totally and utterly blown away. I had no idea it would be as good as it was especially as there seemed to be no central character for the plot to focus on (unless the downfall of Germany was the central character... kind of like how drugs was the central villain and a character in and of itself in "Requiem"). Sure there was no one's favorite bastard Hitler that got a good amount of screentime, but really there were several characters that all got a fair amount of coverage.

Either way, it was truly a fantastic film. A true achievement. Bruno Ganz, whom I fell in love with in Wim Wender's "Wings of Desire" made a fantastic leap from an angel who just wants to be human to Hitler, a monster with no chance for redemption even if he truly loves the few that are close to him. One point kind of raised in the film I want to let soak in, is the idea that there may have been a fuehrer and a Hitler. In that there was the man that was decent to his loved ones (including his dog) but a true monster when it came to dealing with the world. Whatever, it doesn't really matter. The dude murdered over 6 million people in cold blood (I want to find a number that reflects everyone, not just the Jews, but the Gypsies, the handicapped and the homosexuals) does it really matter if he made sure to tickle Eva's clit or played fetched with Blondi (his dog) every once in a while? At the end of the day, I wish that we could see the version of "The Invasion" that Oliver (German last name that eludes me) made that was too "artsy" for Joel Silver. Anyways, maybe more on this later.

A random thought I had over a cigarette. In the day of the internet when a candidate like Barak Obama raises so much money from so many sources in so many different increments from an abundance of online donations, is it possible that in the near but distant future that a candidate that is not a part of the two party system could emerge and actually raise enough money to storm Washington and actually incite some real change? Imagine a Martin Luther King, Jr. type figure emerging when the country really has had enough. Someone independent of lobbyists and big business that could put a halt to the plutocracy that we face in this nation... Then again... there is special interest owned Congress that would just shut the guy down. Oh well. It was nice to think something like that could happen while it lasted.

3 Months Later

Three months after I started this thing I am posting my return to blog. I am intending to try and post stuff over here that I am not going to be posting in Betty. Basically, because they do not pertain or because they are from my personal life and frankly not of interest to anyone really. Maybe this time I can actually keep up with this and improve my writing (as that is the intention of keeping this personal one).

Let's see... the days I have spent lately, have been some of the most rewarding of the past year or so as my projects seem to be progressing well and of course that makes me feel rather fulfilled. There are just so many things to work on that it gets a little overwhelming. However, I am starting to get a little better at the time management game. I still contend that if I could cut out school and the day job I would be so much further ahead. Shit, if I had those kind of hours to work on these things I wouldn't have to deal with turning everything that sounds fun down.

Time gets even more filled by the fact that I am dabbling in comic book writing which is something new to me. Although it is not that dissimilar to writing and storyboarding a film, I still get caught up in designing the layout of the pages and what exactly to show. You really have to simplify your shots when telling this story. Plus certain styles of film making I have not yet figured out how to translate to the page (or whether they should be at all). Overall, I think it is going to take a little time to get this new medium down (especially considering that I only started reading comics a little over a year or two ago.

I am ever so surprised at how much joy and fun I am having blogging over on Betty. It is more work than I thought, but I love almost every minute of it. Yesterday, I had to blush a little bit as my favorite comic book writer (someone I would one day love to hire to write a feature film) commented back on a post where I left some pretty fucking brutal comments about his DMZ comic. It happens to be one of my favorite things I have ever read (in comics and literature... fuck off... the story is right up my alley) but I have been detesting the last run of standalone issues. What he took question with is me stating that some of them are straight out of the headlines. He says that that isn't the case, but I disagree. I wish people could just admit they were inspired by something in the real world and felt the need to fictionalize it. I however understand the legal ramifications that may arise if someone that these issues may be based on finds out. Other than that, it is just fun writing about things that I care about. Sometimes I am a gushing super fan... others I can be quite a dick. It's just kind of an odd feeling when you were a dick about a property and the person behind it actually reads the review. Sure I am doing my "job" (I use that term loosely as until you are turning a profit it is merely a hobby... but then again we have no expenses so I guess we are breaking even), but it's still hard to slam something if you live under the assumption that a person put their heart and soul into something and it just didn't work for you. Oh well, I guess if you create things you have to be a big boy and be ready for the criticism. That aside, it is still hard to do sometimes. However, maintaining integrity and not being a blind fan because they may read what you wrote is important. It was truly hard and took a re-write to get my response to his response ready for posting as a lot of it turned into a gushing fan (which isn't bad except that it detracted from my point). Fact is, that is hard because of the love I have for the dude based on DEMO and DMZ. Anyways, moral of the paragraph is that I love writing over there. It doesn't hurt that I am writing with a great friend who is both a fantastic person and writer all rolled into one.

This brings me to a place in life where I lack fulfillment... reading. I have not really been able to sit down and read a book cover to cover in quite a while. Between working on my various projects, comics, the fiance, watching films and TV that I want to see (my first passion), and then adding in films I have to see for the blog (mostly for some upcoming feature that promise to be fun and require a lot of suffering of my own in order to bring the audience hopefully a little pleasure and get us a few more readers) I have had no time to read a book. I have made valiant efforts to start reading Homicide by David Simon and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but both of them failed as soon as they began. Hopefully, in the near future I will have some free moments to fill with something that usually gives me so much satisfaction.

The last, but surely most important part of my life, is beautiful Caroline. My fiance and girl I will be with until the end of time. I could go on about how perfect she is forever, but that will have to wait until another time as I want to get out of the office and I could write about her for hours and hours and hours. I have never found such a perfect match for me and someone I truly want to spend the rest of my life with. Oh and she is a fantastic artist that only seems to be getting better and better as the days go by.

Well, for now, I am logging out. Maybe I can post something here again this evening and then a couple more tomorrow as the day progresses... and then keep on doing it.

Now I need to get home and get my post production test squared away, think of some articles (besides an Imaginationland review and maybe a review of the Zombies board game) for Betty, and get some work done for my productions. Till then... Over and out.

P.S. - That comment really was a thrill even if he didn't thank me for the ridiculously kind words I said beyond the harsh paragraph.