It looks like, for the third time in the past 4 years, I'll be moving again come November 1st. I hate moving. Hate it. There are few things I hate more than moving. In fact, the Yankees and soggy cereal rank only distant second to the horrid act of taking all of my stuff from this place, putting it into a truck and then moving it and unoading it at that place.
Added to that fact is this: I really like the apartment I live in now. But the rent went up and the roommate is moving in with his girlfriend, so I think it's time to move on. I didn't want to do the whole roommate search and take a chance on an unknown entity (I've done that before with disastrous results) and don't really feel like the added expenses living on my own would bring.
I was invited to get a place with my roommate and his girlfriend but I vetoed that idea quickly. That would just be...odd. I don't care how big the place is and how evenly the rent is split, inevitably it would come down to me living at their place. My friend Tim had a line on a very cool place in Sherman Oaks...more of a house than an apartment, back patio, fireplace...and less than what I pay now. So I think it's worth it.
I just really hate moving.
I'm also debating the merits of cable vs. DirecTV...so if anyone has any info on which is better, cheaper or any preferences, let me know.
I just got my new 30gb iPhoto iPod...and we loves it!!
I was always hesitant to pick one up as I didn't think I would use it much. I had a CD player in my car that played MP3 cds and I was on my computer when I was home a lot and had a ton of MP3s burned there so I didn't think spending the money on the iPod would be such a great investment.
I was wrong.
I use it all the time now and, since I am a total dinosaur and still have a *gasp* tape player in my car (it's right next to the Betamax and 8 tracks...if I could just hook up the turntable so I could play my 78s) I just plug the iPod into the adapter and I have my entire music collection at my fingertips for the hellish LA commutes.
The most amusing thing about the whole iPod phenomenon is the size of the hard drives. I purchased the 30 gig one thinking it might be a touch small for the amount of music I have but that it would certainly be enough for some storage. Apparently, I'm not quite the music aficionado I believe myself to be as I have over half my CDs stored and I've only filled a third of hard drive. And already, that is probably WAY more music than I will ever listen to (I believe it amounts to close to a week of music nonstop). But I keep adding albums and songs and MP3s in like some obsessive completist who, even though I know I'll probably never listen to that Breeders CD much, (and have only listened to it a few times since purchase) MUST have it on my iPod.
You never know when you'll get a craving to hear "Cannonball" while you're bumper to bumper on the 405.
So as I left off yesterday, I was on a jury selection panel. Before I go into that I want to talk about a man who would become my arch nemesis for the day. A man I would come to know only through the codename: Skunkhead (hey, I had to amuse myself some way)
I'm sitting in the packed Jury Assembly Room and my name is called to turn in my summons. So I get up, walk to the front of the room to drop it off and as I return there is a man sitting in my seat with a steely glare on his face. This man was Skunkhead.
The reason this poor unknown man became the focus of my attention was for the simple reason that he had, on his head, what appeared to be a giant skunk. I know in some cultures these are also known as wigs, hair pieces or even toupe, but this was no simple covering for a balding pate. This was a work of art. Quite literally it looked as if someone took a motorcycle helmet and glued hair to it. It was a pompadour and the hair had a thickness that was worthy of Stalin! It was like the proverbial train wreck as I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I tried to focus on my book, but my eyes would always gravitate towards it as if that monstrosity of a wig was the Death Star; my eyes the poor Millenium Falcon, helpless in it's Tractor Beam.
I'll never understand what makes a man do this to himself. It's not like they're fooling anyone. The aged face and hair of a much younger man is a dead giveaway in itself, let alone you have a giant Mustelidae sitting on your head (that's the family that skunks belong to; I had to look it up). Wouldn't it be better to show some humility and save some dignity and just go bald. Shave your head man! It's in fashion these days!
So I get called into the courtroom with 35 other people and the case is about a trucker who was injured unloading a truck. He was trying to get money from his employers to take care of the issue. Now, having just gone through a workmen's comp case myself at the day job, I thought "this is my ticket!" The judge asked if anyone had anything in their life that could cause a bias towards one side or the other. I raised my hand and told my tale, figuring that it would earn me a dismissal as soon as the words left my mouth...
So I get called onto the actual Jury Panel. I was the third person called to the panel! THIRD. What the hell do I have to do to get out of this? The judge asks us all questions about who we are, what we do for work (when I said I was working tech support currently but for the 10 years previous was a professional standup comic, it drew a laugh)...etc. Before the lawyers could make their challenges, the judge dismissed us, asking us to return the next day at 9:30 AM. Thankfully, upon getting to the courthouse on Wed. morning we were called in and told the case settled. All of the jurors actually erupted into applause, causing the judge to comment "um, I think that's the first time I've ever heard a settlement get that kind of response."
So at 10:30 AM I was a free man once again! I think I would enjoy sitting on a jury and to see what an actual trial is like, but they make it so difficult to do so. There's no pay or reimbursement for it for most people (especially in Los Angeles where a large portion of people work as "independent contractors") and the trials can drag on and on and on.
I did meet some interesting people, though. I met a cool dude who did FX works for films, and even worked on the last two Lord of the Rings movies which I found fascinating. One guy on the panel was a VP at Showtime. This one girl came up to me on the second day and said "you're the actor, right? Did you ever do a wine commercial?" So yes, I got recognized for the Estancia commercial I did back in May. That cracked me up. And was very cool and flattering.
But Skunkhead will haunt me for the rest of my life. The plaintiff in the case had this amazingly bushy and coiffed handlebar mustache. Give this guy a striped shirt and find three others like him and you'd have one kickass Barbershop Quartet. I should have enlisted him to take on Skunkhead in a battle of the ridiculous hair.
Back in April I got a notice that I would have to do Jury Duty in June. In a stroke of brilliance, I thought I would take a stab and write a letter trying to get out of it due to "financial hardship". Being self employed (the day job I do a few days a week lists me as an independent contractor...ie no insurance, no benefits and certainly no jury duty pay), a trial lasting two weeks or so with no income, well, incoming...I would be hurting.
I wrote the letter, sent it off and fully expected to get out of serving once the "committee-who-oversees-all-that-is-jury-duty" read my case. Surely they would show some compassion and allow me, just this once, to be excused...
...so yesterday I'm sitting in the Jury Assembly Room. No reprieve, no pardon, just a flat out DENIED and rescheduling for the week of Sept 12. The whole thing is a weird process. You get assigned a week where you are basically on call. Every evening you call the number and a recording tells you whether your group number has to report for service the next day. It's like Russian roulette only instead of risking shooting yourself in the head, the stakes are much higher. You risk mind numbing boredom and the possibility of being crammed into a juror's box with some stinky guy one week removed from a sanitarium. I was less nervous making that call to Carrie Fagner in eighth grade to ask her to the dance. She said, "no" and I was humiliated but at least I didn't have to park in Downtown L.A.
Some people spoke of the old system of Jury Duty in L.A. where you actually were assigned two weeks and you had to come to the courthouse EVERY day and sit there. For TWO WEEKS! Fuck that noise, as the kids are wont to say. I've also heard tales of potential jurors calling that cursed number all week and never having to report. I've also heard of the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot and I don't put much credence into those myths either.
I get there at 7:30 and the game begins. Am I going to sit there all day, once again dodging a bullet and sliding through by the skin of my teeth (I've been called for Jury Duty twice in my life. I never made it past the assembly area both times)? Am I going to get called in and have to be on some long ass trial watching as my bank account dwindles? Am I going to, at the very least, get some grist for the mill to write this column?
They were calling off jury panels like it was going out of style. I dodged the first two selections but as the saying goes "third times the charm" they got me on the third. My stomach sank. Shit. I report to Dept. 40 along with 30 other hapless souls and wait. And wait. And wait some more. We sat outside the courtroom for about 45 minutes waiting to be called in. Finally the clerk came out to tell us the case had been resolved and that we were excused. Excused?! I can go home!? This is too good to be true as it was only 11:30 in the morning.
And it was too good to be true. Back to the Assembly Room we trudged, hearts in hand as the disappointment sank in that we were just going to go back in the computer for another selection. I was thinking of shooting myself in the foot or donning a dress ala Klinger so they would just send me home. And no sooner had ass hit seat, my name was called again. Would I be so lucky a second time?
So I'm sitting on the Jury Panel....
I just realized I can probably milk this bad boy for at least two posts. Stay tuned tomorrow for the conclusion as well as the appearance of my arch-nemisis "Skunkhead"
For the past few years it seemed that if you weren't a fan of eavesdropping on "strangers all forced to live together" or some version of a talent show, there was nothing on television for you to watch. Reality TV had taken over and there was nothing we could do about it. It didn't help that audiences turned out in droves to watch these inane shows, but then the glut began. Akin to ABC getting overzealous with the success of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (they put it on THREE nights a week...yeah that won't get old...), everyone scrambled to create the next Survivor or American Idol. Reality television was cheap to produce and people seemed to really dig it. But with so many shows out there a few things were bound to happen: 1) the "reality became a lot less real and a lot more scripted and 2)the shows started to suck and people tuned out.
There were a few shows I have to admit a guilty pleasure in enjoying. The Restaurant & The Ultimate Fighter were two that I liked (the latter which I still watch now in it's second season). But for the most part, I was no fan of reality TV. On top of that, I was even less of a fan of the Q-list celebrities they produced.
Thankfully, it seems that episodics are making a comeback. HBO led the way with shows like Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under as well as newer shows Deadwood and Entourage. FX has The Sheild, Rescue Me, Over There and is starting to roll out half hour comedies that stray from the standard three camera sitcom format. The networks are following suit with Lost, Invasion and even shows like OC.
As a viewer, I'm very pleased as I've started watching actual television shows again. Moreso, as an actor, I'm ecstatic...as there is much more work out there. And really quality work at that. The next year or so should be very exciting in both avenues.
I sit here and watch the news reports and I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that New Orleans is pretty much gone. A major US city, one large enough to support a National Football League franchise, home of two of the most insane parties I've ever seen in Mardi Gras and Jazzfest...gone. Underwater, destroyed, devestated. It's too horrific and mind boggling for me to even understand.
I went to Jazzfest a few years ago and had a blast. New Orleans was the kind of place you could go for a weekend and have the time of your life but it can also get old fast. 3 days are perfect...4, too many. I was fascinated by the history, myths and legends of the French Quarter at the same time I was repulsed by the smells and ubiquitous puddles of vague "liquid" that seemed to be all over Bourbon Street. The city was alive. It had a heartbeat and an energy all it's own. And now, it's gone.
My heart breaks for the people trapped there, the people that lost their homes and families when the levy broke. I'm heartened by all of the people who seem to be helping out. And I'm disgusted at people like Sean Penn who are trying to get a photo op out of the whole deal (Penn allegedly took his boat down there, complete with personal photographer to document his "valiant" efforts). It makes me think back to 9/11 and how the nation really pulled together and you felt a sense of unity. Sure, there's a lot of finger pointing about who didn't do what when and who hates who. But that's just white noise. I prefer to focus on the people who are giving of themselves and helping out.
It's a shame it always takes a disaster for people to look up from their own lives and help others. It'd be nice to see it done, "just because".
I encourage you to give anything you can to the Red Cross. You can click the button below and be taken to their secure donation page.
