Today is a nice day to be in Santa Monica, CA. I won’t lie to you, it’s pretty amazing. Here’s a little picture to illustrate.
Monthly Archives:
January 2012
Breakfast Anytime
Posted on January 11, 2012
For the record (and what better record than a blog post?) I love breakfast food. Pretty much anytime of the day or night I will eat it. Toast, eggs, omelets, pancakes, breakfast burritos and everything else that is traditionally thought of as breakfast food I will eat at 3AM on a Thursday.
I also fancy myself as a bit of a food person. As in, I think I know the difference between good food and that which is best served to dogs, pigs or other animals with less discerning palettes.
That said, I’m not a snob about it or am I what is commonly referred to these days as a “foodie.” I just like good food and know it when I see, or rather eat, it.
So, when I come across some really great food I feel like sharing it with others who may appreciate it. That happy circumstance happened to me just today at a place called The Gypsy Den in Santa Ana, CA.
I had what I consider one of the top five breakfast burritos of all time (that’s a picture of it above). And believe me, I’ve eaten quite a few in my day.
If you are ever in Santa Ana or near their other location in Costa Mesa, I highly suggest giving them a try. Oh, and if you get the breakfast burrito, spring for the Avocado inside. Trust me.
You won’t regret it. And hey, the coffee is pretty darn good too.
The Joy of Books
Posted on January 10, 2012I’ve read quite a few books in my time and I still enjoy reading them today. Over the last few years I’ve spent more time reading them digitally on the Kindle or iPad than reading actual, physical, bound bunches of paper.
It’s a trade off. I love physical books but I also love being able to take ten of them on vacation with me in a device a bit larger than one of them. I’m sure there will always be books printed and bound for collectors to purchase. I don’t know if mass market books are long for this world, however.
That makes me kinda sad. To cheer me up, I found this video made by a husband and wife who obviously love books even more that I do.
Enjoy it. I know I did.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKVcQnyEIT8&w=500&h=281]
2012 Update: Balance and Taking More Photos
Posted on January 9, 2012
As I’ve said before, I don’t make resolutions. However, for 2012 I decided to at least make some decisions about how I’m going to do things and how I’m going to live my life.
So far, it’s going well. I’ve managed to be more productive and also managed to enjoy some quality time doing as little as possible. I’m well on the way to achieving that balance I was looking for.
Another thing I would like to do more of in 2012 is take photos. With the iPhone 4S it should be very easy. The camera is great and there are several apps that help to make the pics look cooler. One is Instagram, which is what the pic above is.
I highlighted some of those apps and some of my latest photos in an earlier post. Now that 2012 is here, I’m going to be doing more with these apps and trying to take a few photos each day.
I’ve done this experiment before (taking a photo a day for thirty days I mean) and it seemed to go well. I will try to make it last longer this time around. We’ll see how it goes.
How’s your 2012 going so far?
The Importance of Doing Nothing
Posted on January 8, 2012Unless you use a different calendar than I do (which is possible, I guess) you know today is Sunday. This day is also known as my favorite day of the week. You know this if you read my earlier post on that very subject.
Seeing as this is my favorite day of the week, what am I going to do with it you may wonder? The short answer, for this week at least, is nothing.
I’m a big fan of doing nothing, at least once in awhile. With all that goes on during the days and weeks and months of work, deadlines and life in general, when you have a chance to just sit, watch mindless TV, read a book or comic or write blog posts, I say take it.
I don’t have all that much to do right at the moment, especially today. I have work that needs to be done and deadlines coming up, but right at this moment, today, they are not urgent. I also don’t have any pressing social engagements, things I have to do for Heather or any children to worry about (at least not yet) so none of that is vying for my time today either.
These times don’t come along all that often, but when they do, it’s wrong to just ignore them. Plus, doing nothing has a lot of benefits.
It helps you recharge and get ready for the days and weeks of work ahead. It also helps you unplug from the computer, social media and all that that entails.
And, it helps you discover and explore new things like books you haven’t gotten to, comics you needed to read, all those neglected episodes of Firefly on Netflix or The Wire on HBO Go or any number of other pursuits that seem to always get relegated to “someday soon” due to life’s relentless pressure to do something else.
So, with that in mind, I choose to seize this opportunity and do nothing. It won’t last long, but it doesn’t have to. The trick is just to enjoy it while you can.
Doing nothing is kinda like life that way.
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Two notes for those of you who’ve read this far down.
• Believer, my comic book project at Kickstarter, is doing pretty well after only a couple days. Check it out if you have a minute.
• I will not be going to CES this year for many reasons, but mostly because I just don’t really want to. I’m pretty sure if you asked most of the people at CES they would say they don’t want to be there either. Trust me, it’s not as fun as it seems.
One of My Favorite 70s Conspiracy Movies
Posted on January 6, 2012I’m a big fan of movies. Some of you might already know that. I have a particular fondness for movies from the 70s and in particular, conspiracy/thrillers.
One of my favorites is the Peter Hyams sci-fi conspiracy thriller Capricorn One. It stars James Brolin, Elliott Gould, Sam Waterston, Hal Holbrook, Brenda Vaccaro and O.J. Simpson. In case you’re not familiar (and we could get into a bit of spoiler territory here), it concerns a group of NASA scientists who, along with some astronauts, fake a mission to and landing on Mars.
The astronauts go along with it until something goes wrong with the spacecraft sent up as part of the fake missions and the entire world ends up thinking they’re dead. So, in order for the conspiracy to keep going they have to be dead. . . for real.
Knowing this, they escape and try to survive long enough to let people know they’re alive and it was all a big hoax. It’s a fun movie and well worth watching. Give it a try.
For fun I’ve included the trailer for the film below. It’s fun to watch trailers made before MTV and before people’s attention spans dropped off to nothing. The editing style is so very different.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLHAKoK35w?rel=0]
My Favorite Day of the Week
Posted on January 6, 2012
Welcome to Friday. I like this day quite a bit. It isn’t my favorite day of the week, however. That honor actually belongs to Sunday.
I know what you’re thinking, why Sunday? Well, Sunday is pretty much the only day I ever sleep in because I don’t really have to do anything. Saturday (and every other day) is always full of plans, work and the like.
Plus, I really like breakfast food and there’s a whole industry devoted to it specifically on Sunday called “Sunday Brunch.” So, Sunday is my favorite day.
Actually, my ideal Sunday goes a bit like this. I sleep late (which for me these days is at least 9AM). Then, I roll outta bed, get ready and head to a favorite brunch spot near the beach. After a nice spot of breakfast I take a nice, long walk by the shore while avoiding any short piers. Pretty simple really.
And yes, I just said I like long walks on the beach. I’m fine with that. It’s a great way to burn a few calories (and get more steps on my FitBit) while also getting some fresh air and taking in some beautiful scenery (including a few bikinis to be sure). In fact, it’s so great, why don’t you like doing it?
For those few hours I’m able to forget (almost) the troubles of the week, running a business, all the deadlines I have coming up and pretty much everything else except having a bit of fun. It’s the next best thing to a vacation and can be done right here in river city.
Give it a try sometime. I’ll bet you end up having a great time too.
I Believe In ‘Believer’
Posted on January 5, 2012
I “borrowed” the title of this post from my friend Joe Dilworth but that’s okay, we’re working on the project (and others) together. What is that project you may ask? Well, I’m pleased to announce we’re launching a brand new comic book publishing initiative and a Kickstarter Campaign to, well, kick things off.
Our first project was written by myself and Joe and is called Believer. It’s a hard-boiled detective thriller with a supernatural twist and combines many of my favorite elements into one fun and exciting story. Plus, in addition to the writing, we’ve got some great art to go with it from Kris Carter.
He really does a terrific job and I look forward to seeing the rest of the pages as they are done. It’s an exciting time to be alive and doing creative things. My sincere wish is to see this as the first of many projects and the start of a larger publishing enterprise.
I feel pretty good about it.
For all the important details on the comic, the Kickstarter campaign and more, head on over to the official Kickstarter page for Believer. Also, and after many years in show business and elsewhere raising funding for projects I still feel funny about saying this, if you do feel like supporting us by making pledge of at any level, I would appreciate it.
Plus, you do get some pretty cool rewards for your support, if I do say so myself. Really, I shouldn’t feel weird about mentioning we’re looking to raise money. After all, if you don’t believe in something you’re doing and are enthusiastic about it, how can expect anyone else to be, right? Right.
Things are going to start happening to me now.
Ass, Cash or Grass
Posted on January 4, 2012Today was one of those long days where I spent the majority of my time doing that stuff I mentioned in a previous post instead of anything particularly creative. In other words, the creative side of my brain had to take a back seat to the practical side.
I don’t mind too much when that happens, even though I bitch about it. I just don’t it when it seems like that’s all I’m doing.
The truth is I do like to help people and at the risk of sounding a touch immodest, I’m pretty good at it. I guess it must fill some need of mine to solve puzzles or something.
It’s probably the same reason I like doing Sudoku. I need to get to the end and I need to know the answers. So, I keep looking for them.
Of course, it isn’t all about helping people and finding answers. I also like paying bills, buying cool toys and generally making a living. So, it’s off to the proverbial salt mines I go.
Don’t feel bad for me though. Even if I have experienced a lot of unpleasant things in the past few years, my life is still pretty good. Plus, there’s a whole bunch of people in the world with far bigger problems than I have so when I feel like bitching, I’m often compelled to keep my pie hole shut and just move on.
Obviously, that didn’t happen this week. These were extraordinary circumstances and I needed to get some stuff out. I don’t know if it will happen again but I don’t want this site to have that kind of focus too often.
I want it to be a happy place. Not the happiest place on Earth (I think that’s already taken anyway), but at least a place where people feel it’s okay to stop over for a bit and not get too bummed out. I don’t think that’s too much to ask and I will do my best to achieve it.
I realize at this juncture it’s tempting to thank me. But please, there’s no need. I do it because I care.
On a somewhat related note, keep an eye out for a new project from me and one of my favorite collaborators. It will be announced this week. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but suffice it to say it’s going to be pretty cool and I’m very proud of how it’s going so far.
Watch this space (and a few other places) for all the details. Until then, I leave you in suspense.
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As sometimes happens, the title of this post has almost nothing to do with the content. My apologies. I will try to do better next time.
And Now For Something A Bit More Uplifting
Posted on January 3, 2012To help make up for the last post which, let’s face it, could have been perceived as a bit of a downer, I present to you something far more uplifting and, dare I say it, cute: Puppy vs. Robot. Enjoy. Once again, no need to thank me.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dneLQY6ZVk?rel=0&w=480&h=360]