This collection of entries is from September 2003.
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
AF1
Dubya was in town today, so since I had some errands to run I thought I'd swing by O'Hare and see if I can get a glimpse of the most kickass, coolest plane on the planet. It was parked near the old military side of the field, but there's no way in hell you could get close to it (just as it should be). Still, I had to see it, even from a distance (Remote Parking G was the best vantage point). The C-5 advance plane was there as well (big-ass plane!).
posted at 01:39 PM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Monday, September 29, 2003
Nuts
We've lived in our house for 19 years. The neighborhood still looks "relatively" new because we just don't have a lot of large trees. The developer and village did a pretty crappy job of acquiring and planting the trees in very poor soil. We've gone through two trees in the front of our house alone due to the bad soil. At least we have this great Ash we got from my cousin and a hawthorne that has grown quite well since we had some landscaping done over a decade ago.
Over the past few years we realized that the trees must be getting larger - we finally have squirrels in the neighborhood. With the weather turning so cold (50's during the day, 30's at night), the squirrels have been very active.
I went out to get the mail today and there he was - a squirrel was in the middle of our lawn with a nut tucked under his left arm. Cutest and silliest damn thing I've seen in a while.
posted at 03:41 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Jerry's gone
Not surprised. Not surprised at all.
White Sox General Manager Kenny Williams relieved manager Jerry Manuel of his duties today.
My life clock has stopped. My baseball season has come to an end. My team is now without a manager and who knows who will still be part of the team when they report to Spring Training in less than 5 months.
*sigh*
posted at 02:10 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Sunday, September 28, 2003
WHAT THE... !!!!???!!!
Carol & I were sitting on the couch this morning. She was running a load of laundry in the washer. She got up to go out to the garage (long story - she was going outside to see if the Sunday Chicago Tribune ever got delivered) when she found out that the utility room was flooded with water and this black junk all over. We killed the washer and then tried to clean-up. We didn't hear a single thing that could have pointed us to what could have happened. The black stuff looks like... lint. It's like the washer burped and coughed-up a hairball or something. Nothing is blocked, nothing is loose. Carol ran the washer without a load to see if it would happen again. It didn't. Then she ran a couple of loads. Nothing happened.
We don't get it. All we know is that it was pretty damn gross.
posted at 10:42 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Dinner with our bestest budsBarry & Buffy drove out to our house tonight for dinner and just talk. We haven't seen them in quite a while. They just got back from Las Vegas and we had to year about the trip and what's new in our favorite city. I, of course, had to tell them that if they'd looked up in the sky at about 8:20 in the morning on Thursday, they would have seen me on my way to Los Angeles. We talked all evening. We missed them a lot. We'll see them again on Thursday when we go to see Eddie Izzard, and Barry & I will be together this weekend as we go up to Wisconsin for a guys weekend.
I did, however, have to endure ever so politely watching the Cubs clinch the National League Central Division Championship. My boys are out of it and here was my arch enemy making it into the post season. Well, good job boys. I've got this really weird feeling that they could actually get through the NLDS. I'm not sure if I can handle this. Die Hard Cub Fans have a tendency to be a bit mean and pompous when it comes to their team's superiority. It's going to be a long off-season...
posted at 10:08 PM | Link | Friends § |
LAX-ORDTerminal 7 at LAX. The Hertz shuttle bus driver was nice for so frickin' early in the morning.
read more of this entry »
Airport Security wasn't bad at all. Not as good as O'Hare, but there's hardly anybody in line, so it's a cake walk. I'm through the line at 5:45am for my 7am flight (United 102). That's a long time to kill. I decide to try and find a bottle of Coke for the trip. Nobody that's open are selling soda. Just water. And it's not cold either. Water is better than nothing. Eventually, after a lot of people watching, it's time to go.
My seat is 31B. Great, a center seat... except no one takes the window! Whoo Hoo! Sweet. It's foggy outside again. Hard to see anything while taxiing. We take off from 25R and we can't see a thing. We pop out on top of the fog/clouds and I never see Los Angeles again. As we head west, the clouds dissipate. We fly right over Las Vegas and you can see and identify everything. We get served a egg-ham-cheese croissant and get The Italian Job as a film (edited, of course). I'm am so friggin' exhausted, but I can't sleep a wink. I instead listen to the movie and Air Traffic Control on Audio Channel 9. We take the Bradford 3 into Chicago and land on 22R at 12:48pm, flying right over the Allstate Arena. Carol was waiting for me in baggage claim, even though I didn't check any bags. (Hey, we needed a place to meet.) Well, I'm back home again. I am happy to be home, but happy to have made the trip. I'm happy to see old family ties and I'm happy to have been able to take a few hours for myself.
I'd do this again in a heartbeat. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 01:47 PM | Link | Travel § |
Oh, that was a short night...Ooooooh, craaaaap...
I went to bed around 1am. I just got up at 4:45am...
Well, at least the sleep was solid and deep. It's still black outside. Time to get dressed, checkout, and turn in the car at the airport...
posted at 05:04 AM | Link | Travel § |
Oh, this is a long day...I left Universal and got on the 101 West. That's when I saw the sign for Highland and decided that I needed to get off and see what Hollywood and Highland looked like.
read more of this entry »
I get off the Hollywood Freeway and pass the Hollywood Bowl. There's a show tonight, and it looks like it getting out. A sign says James Brown and Macy Gray, but it's hard to tell by the people leaving. The area doesn't look the same as it was the last time I saw it about 16 years ago. I come up toward Hollywood Boulevard and see the entrance to the new parking garage. My family and Carol & I have stayed at the hotel here, but that was decades ago. The whole corner is just so different now. In fact, I'm lost in a maze of stores and restaurants and levels and plazas. I finally got outside and went across the street to take some pictures of the facility. The area on a Friday night is still not the greatest place to be. I was hoping that it would have gotten, um, "cleaned up" a bit. Still, the amount of people walking down Highland from the Bowl and the amount of people outside make the place hopping.
I grab my pictures and get back in the car. I zig-zag down Highland, Santa Monica and La Cienega to I-10 to get to the Airport. The clubs in West Hollywood look like they were jumpin'.
Anyway, I get to the parking garage at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza at the airport at 12:12 in the morning. The room is really quite nice and again, I'd stay here again. They have high speed internet access through an RJ-45 cable... but it's been too long of a day and I'm really exhausted.
I really pushed it today. I wish I had at least another day. But, I'm not out here for a vacation - I'm out here for my family... I just happened to have taken a few hours here and there for me. I'm finally eating my honey baked ham sandwhich. Yum. It hits the spot...
I've got to get to sleep... I'm going home in a few hours... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 12:37 AM | Link | Travel § |
Friday, September 26, 2003
"A Foreign Affair" THEME
read more of this entry »
I left Montclair/Chino and tried my damnedest to get to Burbank by 5:30. But that's over 25 miles away, and it's a Friday rush hour in Los Angeles. The traffic is horrendous and I decided to override "Wendy" (That's what I called my Hertz Neverlost GPS Navigation system) and found a route that had no traffic. I programmed the wrong end point, though. I'm heading to Universal Studios, but I didn't want the main gate. I needed to go in the back way, and enter at Barnham Blvd. and Lakeside Plaza Drive.
I made it at 6pm and park in a special lot after I clear the security at the gate. I have to walk through a metal detector in the middle of the parking lot. I'm at a studio again, and again I can't take any photos. I hate that. I get to stand around and wait. I don't mind. Really. It's a gorgeous evening. The sun is setting, there's a slight breeze and it feels good just to stand around. I'm still in my suit from the funeral today. I had hoped I had enough time to check into the hotel and change before I came here, but there was no way in hell that was going to work out that way. The girls in front of me in line are eating dinner from In-n-Out Burger. That's when I realize that I didn't eat my honey baked ham sandwich during the drive.
There's a bunch of yellow signs everywhere that say "Paramount" and "Enterprise". I wonder if there's something shooting here today?
Two white shuttle buses pull up that have the Paramount Pictures logos on them. We board the buses and head over to Stage 42 at Universal.
I'm here to be in the audience for NBC's new show Coupling. It's a direct rip-off of the BBC version of Coupling (that's shown here on BBC America), which is actually a rip-off of Friends.
Tonight's episode is called "A Foreign Affair" (but the BBC version was called "The Girl with Two Breasts"... I wonder if they're using the same scripts???)
Allan Murray is the warm-up, and for the first time in my life, I actually get picked on a few times, interviewed by Allan, get a t-shirt, get tickets to the Laugh Factory (where he's performing tomorrow night) and I even get some quiet kudos for doing a good job laughing and reacting. Cool.
We get to watch the pilot episode of the show, since it was just on last night and we may not have seen it (I was eating Jack in the Box watching CSI - sorry). The cast is introduced and we start shooting.
Now, this is were it starts to get difficult.
Each scene is shot. The audience is good, the actors are OK, and the script just feels like it needs work. There's a large huddle that happens in front of me after each scene is shot, where there is hardly any major changes made. The scene is then reshot. Almost every scene that we see during the course of the evening is shot three times. It's really difficult as an audience to even try to laugh naturally after seeing the same thing three times in a row. I feel bad for the cast. It almost feels like the life is being sucked-out of the show. The cast is really pretty good. The show is getting scathing reviews, but it's more about the reheated "translated" scripts that seem to almost not work on American television. The original BBC series is a scream and somehow doesn't "translate" well to American prime-time audiences.
The curtain calls come at around 10:15pm and I'm back at my car by 10:25. It's time to get some sleep. It's been a long day. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:25 PM | Link | Travel § |
Good Bye, Uncle Babe
I'm dressed and on the road at 7:27am, out amidst the fog again. I drive to Montclair. What a lovely little town. Clean, nice. The church, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, is this nice, small mission-style church. Children were going to school as I pulled into the parking lot.
read more of this entry »
I quietly make my way into the church. I'm trying to be as nondescript as possible, but slowly people are starting to recognize me, even though I may not have seen them in quite a while. I meet my cousin Karen who looks exactly the same as I remember her from my childhood. She's the only person that - in my mind's eye - never changed. Weird. Then my cousin Mark the kid I traveled to California with back in the 60's. He doesn't look the same, but I see the boy in the face of the man in front of me. He finally introduces me to his sister Laurie, who I haven't seen in decades. She too doesn't look the same but I see the kid in the lady in front of me. She looks at me and has no recollection of me at all until Mark whispers a few words to her: "Beam me up". The electric smile comes to her face and she gives me a big hug. Laurie had wheeled in Aunt Mary. She's in a wheelchair now, and I can hardly recognize her.
The family slowly gathers. There's a bulletin board full of photos of Uncle Frank and Aunt Mary's life (or, as we all call them here , Babe and May). I notice a box on the table in the vestibule, next to the picture.
That's when I realize that it's Uncle Babe. In the box. The label says he was cremated on th 12th. Uncle Babe is gathered up, along with a US Flag for his military service and we go inside.
Mark has a eulogy prepared, and it's long and complete and I learn more about the uncle that I thought I knew. Then we had a full Catholic funeral mass.
After mass, we gathered all out front again. We all drove a mile or two into Chino to a Marie Callender's that opened early just for us. It was the site of their 50th anniversary not so long ago.
After lunch, we went over to Mary's brother's condo, to socialize, drink, eat, and watch old 8mm film transfered to videotape. Uncle Babe was never without his camera. Laurie had the film transfered, and it now fills two 2-hour videotapes. It was a wonderful, sweet trip down memory lane.
I didn't know there was going to be a dinner to end the day. I had made plans to be in Burbank (again) by 5:30-6:00 tonight. I had over 30 miles to get there in Friday afternoon rush hour traffic.
I didn't want to leave. I wish I didn't set this up, but my time out here is very limited. Laurie made me a sandwich to eat on the way, along with some cookies.
I slowly say my goodbyes. It's been years since I've seen some of these people, and I don't know if I will ever see any of them again. I hope that's not the case, but life takes odd twists and turns. Most of these people live out here and it's not like I visit California very often at all.
It's hard leaving family, even if it's extended family. I have done what I've been sent out here to do.
It's 4:20 and I slowly walk to my car. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:22 PM | Link | Family § |
No Friday Five
Time for another Friday Five... but this week, there is no a href="http://fridayfive.org/" target="_blank">Friday Five - they're taking a week off (which is good since I, too, am off in southern California!)
posted at 05:46 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Survivor: Pearl Islands - Episode 2 THEME
To Quit or Not to Quit
read more of this entry »
More pirate antics this week and it feels good! We've got a "Pirate's Booty" buried in each camp, with information coming only if you win reward challenges. Oh, and if you win a team reward challenge, you get to plunder the other team's camp for one object! Cool! It's too bad that Drake keeps winning and Morgan has nothing of value to pillage! So, after so many failures, Morgan kicks out Ryan Shoulders, the 23-year-old produce clerk from Clarksville, Tennessee, in a 5-2 vote (even though Osten, the most buff male of the Morgan tribe can't take it after just a few days on the island and wants to quit - or get voted off).
More later... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:07 PM | Link | Survivor § |
PlacentiaWell, I'm finally at my hotel in Placentia - a Holiday Inn Express. Since I'm trying to do this trip "on the cheap" for my mom, I needed a cheap place to stay. My sister Diane said she'd recommend the Holiday Inn Express and I have to concur. This is a very nice facility, complete wit a continental breakfast in the morning. It's clean and looks pretty new. If this is what the chain is like, I'd highly recommend them.
So, now I have to find some place to eat and settle down for the evening. Placentia doesn't seem to have that big of a choice for food. In fact, all I saw was a Jack In The Box, which I wouldn't mind going to so that I can get my Jack In The Box taco fix.
I'm still going to have at least a 17 mile drive in the morning to get to Montclair. I may have found something closer, but may not have been cheaper or cleaner.
I need a taco... Survivor is coming on in a little while...
posted at 06:40 PM | Link | Travel § |
Warner Brothers StudiosIt's 9:30am and I pull off of Olive into the parking structure that's also gate 3 for Warner Brothers Studios.
I'm here to do what Carol & I did the last time we were out here - take the Warner Brothers Studios VIP Tour. But, this time, instead of a tour that takes about 2-2½ hours, I'm going to do the Warner Brothers Studios Deluxe VIP Tour and take about double the time. I am soooo excited about this. My sister Diane and Melinda were just here a few weeks ago taking the regular VIP tour, and when I found out they had this Deluxe tour, I had to sign up for that.
Look,if you enjoy movies and/or television, and want to see what a real working studio is like (no trams, no fake or staged productions), you must do this tour.
There's a nice waiting area on the first floor of the parking structure. At about 10:00am, a gentlemen comes around to walk us across the street to go into the main gate - Gate 2. We had to go through a metal detector, and then get on an extended golf cart for the trip across the lot to the tour offices.
read more of this entry »
The tour office is not anything like it was back in the 80's, when they only had two tours a day out of a dark, dingy office. Now there's a huge waiting room with costumes and props from ER, Drew Carey, West Wing, Smallville and Gilmore Girls. There's also a little store (but this being Warner Brothers, it looks like stuff that was in the old Warner Brothers Studio Stores).
At 10:30, we are called into a small theater to watch a quick video about the studios and listen to the rules and regulations about the tour. Then one of the tour guides -
Dean Ricca - calls out three names. It's me and 2 ladies from Atlanta. The three of us are going to be on the Deluxe tour! Cool! The small, intimate group should allow us to do some pretty neat things!
One of the major rules - photography is extremely restricted. Movie people are possessive about copyrighted material. Our stuff will be locked-up in our golf cart and we'll only be able to bring them out at specific places. Nuts.
All of the tour groups get into stretched gold carts. Dean has a little gift for us - our own bottle of water for the day. Our first stop is at the Warner Brothers Museum. Its a really nice small museum that has a lot of costumes and props in it. - Like an entire George Clooney area (with costumes from Ocean's Eleven like George's tuxedo, Julia Roberts' gold gown and Brad Pitt's ugly shirt and jacket, his Batman cowl, his costume from The Perfect Storm... hey, did you know they're making Ocean's Twelve?), the Time Machine from The Time Machine (apparently, the thing was pretty dangerous when it was in operation with all of the spinning panels on it. They had to make a 15 foot safety area around it and no one was allowed inside that area otherwise they could get severely injured), the laptops from You've Got Mail, costumes from The Matrix and Christopher Reeve's Superman, a fake Haley Joel Osment and a "David" box from Artificial Intelligence: AI, and the crucifix from The Exorcist (creepy).
The 2nd floor of the museum is all from Harry Potter, like Hagrid's outfit with sling for baby Harry when he delivered him to the Dursley's, boxes and boxes of wands, Dobby the house elf, the set of Harry's room under the stairs, a petrified Hermione when she was in the hospital (spooky!), and Quidditch costumes and the carrying case for the balls and snitch. They had a "working" Sorting Hat that a security guy would place on your head to sort you into the different houses.
We left the golf cart at the museum and the rest of the regular tour people and walked down a street (are these things called "streets"?) to the Eastwood Scoring Stage. This is where scoring is done for productions. (yes, it's named after that Eastwood). It's a gorgeous, wooden stage. Acoustically, it was dead in there - not a single echo or reflection from anything. They were setting up for a recording session. Dean thought it could have been for Matrix Revolutions, even though it's going to be out in just weeks. Did you know that the musicians that play on these soundtracks don't get the sheet music until they sit down to record the piece?
We walked next door to Dubbing rooms 3 & 4. Because it's a working studio, Warner Brothers rents out facilities to anyone. Today, people from Disney were in house to do sound editing on the Saturday morning cartoon The Adventures of Lilo & Stitch. Since we were such a small group, the engineers sat around and talked with us for a while. Then, one of them took us to the "back room" (since the group was small), to show us the equipment used for editing. They're finally starting to edit all digitally, using swappable hard drives. But they still have to keep old analog equipment (including old film audio equipment) because the booming international markets are having studios re-edit existing productions for dubbed versions. They also had an "ISDN Room" which, from a technology perspective isn't that impressive, but from a production value perspective sure is. In the other dubbing room, techs were editing an episode of Third Watch. The ISDN Room allows the editing to be done in Los Angeles while the cast and crew are filming in New York. They use it to view the edits as well as doing ADR work with the actors (ADR is Additional Dialog Recording, or "looping").
We walk back to our golf cart and Dean takes us around the studio property. We can see a lot of construction going on inside a few of the stages. We pass by the ER stage. It's all buttoned-up, but I see a few women walking around in scrubs outside. All of the active stages have tons of trailers outside of them for the actors. They're all from the same company: Star Waggons. Why is it spelled that way? Why, it's because the owner is Lyle Waggoner from the old Carol Burnett Show.
We pull up to Stage 17. Dean has a master key to all of the stages and we go in. It's dark and it takes time to adjust to the light. We walk up some stairs and we're sitting in an audience area for The Drew Carey Show. They're not in production today, but it gives us a chance to sit and talk about a typical weekly sitcom production. The sets are all lined up in a row in front of the audience, with (from right to left) the backyard, Drew's kitchen Drew's living room, Winfred-Louder, and The Warsaw.
We walk next door to Stage 14. Now we're in a hour drama (actually "dramedy") Gilmore Girls. This stage only has all of the new sets that for Yale. Normally, sets are made with paint that looks like wood, or paint that looks like wood flooring, linoleum, or paving. In these sets, it's all real. That's because they want to make sure the look is correct (so that Yale approves!). These are gorgeous sets - hallways, classrooms, dorm rooms, cafeteria (with real pads of butter that seem to be melting...). We get to see how "wild" walls work - the ability to fly a wall out of the way to allow cameras behind to get a different perspective of a set.
Back to the cart and we visit Stage 16 - the largest movie soundstage in the US. We're outside because the doors are open and set construction is going on inside for a new movie with Keanu Reeves called Constantine. The stage is over 75' tall and it has a 25' deep tank in the floor (The Perfect Storm was shot inside here). The stage wasn't always this high. It was a normal studio, but years ago (for reasons I cannot remember exactly) they decided to make it bigger. They had people with hand jacks at every major load-bearing point around the periphery. They had 4 drummers, one in each corner of the building. They started a slow drum beat, and on each beat each person ratcheted their hand jack. When the entire structure moved up 6 inches, they threw in a railroad tie. The kept doing this until it was over 25' off the ground. Then new load bearing walls were built underneath. There was still an inch or two difference between the new walls and the base of the old stage walls, so they brought in huge slabs of ice to put between the two and removed the jacks. As the ice melted, the stage settled on to the new walls!
Back into the cart and we ride all the way across the property. Dean is giddy as he tells us we're going to Transportation since he knows the people there. We walk into a building that is a very large garage and auto/truck repair place for the studio. We walk through a chain link gate and there in front of us is a large group of cars. Dean goes over to one and throws the cover off of it. It's the General Lee from The Dukes of Hazzard. It's an original and it's in working order. There's another one next to it, but it's being used for parts - the last one available for parts. Next to them are two limos under tarps. The taps have the Presidential Seal on them - yes, they're limos for The West Wing. There's a DC Police car and escort motorcycles as well. Then there's a vehicle under canvas that looks pretty damn big. It's a bit wider than normal but it must be close to 30 feet long. It seems to go up in the back, like wings. Dean pulls the cover off - it's the friggin' Batmobile!!!! This is the last one (from Batman & Robin). It's huge. The tires are custom - the tread is the bat logo. Unfortunately, it's not street legal.
We walk over to the prop department and look at tons of furniture in a 4 story building. Set designers were walking through looking for items and tagging them to use for their own productions. Every once in a while you pass a piece of furniture that is so unique and it seems so familiar and yet you can't figure out what it's from. There's a pair of lamps that were listed as "Tiffany-style" that were used in one of the Batman movies. After they were hung, one of the art people took a good look at them and actually find a real Tiffany mark on them, They're no longer available for rental.
It's already 1pm and it's time for lunch. We jump in the cart and ride over to the Studio Commissary. We have passes for a complimentary lunch, so we head inside. The facility has only been open for 3 weeks. It's a gorgeous facility (as commissaries go), with many "stations" inside. The most popular one is "Paquito Mas" which is a mexican food chain, which is not included in our complimentary lunch. We all go to the Pasta bar and I get some Penne with a Tomato & Garlic sauce. Damn, that was good. I'm impressed. As we're sitting at a table having lunch,
Sherry Stringfield came through the line. She looked great, and looked shorter and thinner in real life than on TV (could be the white coat she always has to wear). After lunch we saw Jon Cryer walking into the Commissary.
Dean has been working the radio. He's trying to get permission from a production company to gain access to a set. We start driving around the lot when the radio crackles to life. We are given clearance. We head across the lot to Stage 23. It looks like just another soundstage... until we turn the corner on the back side. The exterior of the stage is... the side portico to the White House. We're going to see the set for THE WEST WING! Outside are the Star Waggons for the stars. There are 2 Jamaican flags flying over Dulé Hill's trailer, and a flamingo wind whirligig thing over Allison Janney's trailer (remember - her character's Secret Service code name is "Flamingo"). There's also a basketball hoop and a huge deck with chairs and tables for R&R time.
We walk into the "White House". The set is dark. The cast and crew are at another facility shooting scenes inside the Air Force One set. This side entrance is alongside C.J. Cregg's office.. We step into CJ's office. There's no goldfish on the desk, but everything else is there, including briefing notes on the desk as well as "while you were out" phone messages from Josh. Dean points out something we saw at the Gilmore Girls set. All of the windows on the set can pivot. This allows the crew to tilt the windows ever so slightly to make sure the reflections doesn't show a crew or anything off-set. Take a look next time you watch the show - you'll see windows just slightly out of "flush".
We walk into Josh's office. Dean tells us a story of a congressman who visited the set and actually saw his name on the blackboard in Josh's office as voting "Nay" against some bill going through the house. In a twisted piece of reality, the congressman actually erased his name and put it on the "Yea" side, Then he proceeded to write a message on a yellow legal pad to the character Josh telling him why he changed his vote.
We walk through the bullpen, past Donna's office. The entire set all fits together so that you can have those long "pedaconferences" done in all one shot. Wow. We go into the Roosevelt Room. Apparently the real Roosevelt Room doesn't have all these french-style door in it. When real White House staff people visit, they always ask why there's all those people walking around outside the doors. I guess either they never see them or they just don't have the people walking around in the real place. The Mural Room is across the hall. This room doesn't exist in the real White House, but was built for The American President. (Did you know that these are the same sets?) We see how the sets are lit using what look like spheres like paper lanterns. It diffuses the light for effect. Also, the set tops actually have a ceiling of muslin or canvas on top of them - something we haven't seen on any other set.
We go through another entrance and there is Charlie's and Deborah Fiderer's desks. There's a painting on the wall of an American flag done in kids hand prints. Apparently there have been a lot of letters asking where someone could get a copy of it. Turns out it's just something that one of the art people put together with their kids.
So, if we're here, that must mean that if we walk through this door we're in... The Oval Office. Oh, this is friggin' cool. Then the three of us just had to do it.
We each took turns sitting in President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet's chair. Sitting on the desk in front of the chair was that small book of the US Constitution. Not a great chair but what an interesting view!
We briefly walk through the door "outside" which is where that long outside corridor outside the White House is, usually where President Bartlet goes outside for a cigarette. The backdrop is actually a photo of the exact views from the same places in the White House. The Clinton administration allowed the crew to come and photograph it. In fact, underneath one of the bushes on the backdrop, you can see Socks the cat!
A guard comes over, saying he has to lock up the set. We quickly walk through the rest of the set. We brush by Leo's office door and we look in toward Toby and Will's office but it's pitch dark - it's the only set with a real acoustical tile ceiling. If you look, you always see the ceiling in the shots around those offices. We pass by that "Visitor's Entrance" lobby, with its marble floors (actually paint) and columns (which are movable) nd the Presidential seal in the floor.
Then, it's back out the portico entrance and we leave the set.
Wow.
We drive off to "The Mill" Here's is were, under one roof, everything is built. Lumber shops, metal shops, plaster molding. It's all here in huge shops. Unfortunately, it's getting later in the day and the shops are pretty empty. The Scenic Art department is here, painting backdrops. It's a huge room that has a 35' drop on either side of the room. This allows the backdrops to be raised or lowered to paint - the painters never have to work on a ladder. We go into the basement to the Large Format Digital Printing shop. Here' instead of painting backdrops, here a large format digital printer prints backdrops and signage. this allows the use of digital images such as accurate photographs to be used. The printer looks like it's at least 10'-12' wide. When the piece is larger than that, a special microwave seamer is used to put multiple pieces together. Today, the printer is spitting out large advertising posters for Elf.
Our next stop is actually an appointment. Somebody wanted to meet us. We go to Costuming and meet Costuming Manager Elaine Maser. She's been doing costuming on productions for quite a while. We go into one of the large "Star" fitting rooms. We sit down and talk for at least 30-45 minutes about costuming and color palettes of productions. She even brought some wacky costumes for us to try on and "play dress-up with". I wound up getting into some Camelot thing (that looked more Moroccan than Camelot). Talk about feeling special, this was it. the head of costuming for Warner Brothers wanted to talk to us. This was so special, two other tour guides joined us so they could get the info as well. Wow.
We went downstairs. Here was the costuming "lockers" for all of the shows in production. We peeked into a few of them. They're about the size of a semi trailer, full of costumes, each group clearly listed for each actor. West Wing has three lockers, one of which is just uniforms. I looked into another locker and saw Mathew Perry's wardrobe - could he be coming back to the West Wing? There's laundry areas down her, too.
We then went into the costume rental area. Each aisle is the length of a football field, 3 racks high with ladders. Everything is sorted into categories. If you need ball gowns, suits, maternity wear, men's fedoras - they're all here, all cataloged and inventoried. Rentals are either single week (this allows music video shoots just to rent for about a week of production) or 12-weeks. (They don't rent to employees for Halloween - Dean asked - though that would be wickedly cool). The end wall that we were standing in front of was all womens shoes, sorted by color, then size. The whole wall. This was a really cool stop. I didn't think I'd enjoy it but I really did. Elaine made us feel "special"
It's off to the back lot now. We have our cameras and everything looks like we can shoot what we want. The main town square area is all dressed-up for what looks like a Fall Festival of some sort for the Gilmore Girls. I think the place is called Stars Hallow (sorry, I don't watch the show). I remember the town square from O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Dean knows I'm from chicago, so he's excited as we go to the next exterior set - it's the exterior of County General Hospital for ER. Specifically, the ambulance bay. But we can't get into the actual ambulance bay area - there is a crew in there working on pyrotechnics for a hoot (hmmm... another explosion in the ER?) Good old Doc Magoo's is gone (it burned down last season), replaced by a convenience store. We go around the back side to a street area that is being set for an episode of The Practice (no pictures here). Next to the street exterior is a studio parking lot. If you look closely, there is a box painted across quite a few parking spaces. Looking at the backside of the sets, It turns out that this parking lot gets re-dressed and it's the helipad on top of County General. (Yes, this is where Romano lost his arm.)
It's time to go back to the tour office. Time? 4:45! It's the longest Deluxe tour they've ever run at 6 hours and 15 minutes. We say our goodbye's to Dean and catch another golf cart back to Gate 2.
OK people, listen up. If you are in the Los Angeles area and can carve out about 5 hours of time and can spend about $95, DO THIS TOUR. You will not be sorry.
Now I'm off to my hotel. I've got at least a 30 mile ride ahead of me... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:46 PM | Link | Travel § |
LA Rush Hour
My flight gets in a little early. I find the men's room for a pit stop and then look for a gift shop to grab something to eat. A large 3 Musketeers bar is exactly what I needed. It's been at least 16 years since I've been here. I'm in Terminal 6 and it looks really run down compared to it's hay day. It's off to Hertz to get a car - I need to get to Burbank.
read more of this entry »
I can't tell you how much of a pleasure it is to have Hertz Number One Gold service, to just jump on a shuttle bus and have a car waiting for you. I love that. I always get a car with the Hertz NeverLost GPS Navigation system (by Magellan). The last trip, we decided to call it "Wendy" (As in NeverLand... gotta be close to NeverLost, right?) Anyway, I always listen to Wendy as she tells me where to go.
I jump on the 405 North at 8:40. It's 22 miles to my destination in Burbank and I am not moving. At all. I'm starting to believe that 22 miles in under 2 hours could be a problem in morning rush hour in LA. As I'm sitting in traffic, I witness a California law that scares the hell out of me. In Illinois, a motorcycle must stay within the lane markers, taking up a space. Out here, motorcycles ride the lane markers in between the lanes. Scared the hell out of me when tow of them passed me when I was standing still.
After a few miles of crawl, I see that there's a car broken down in the left lane of this 5-lane freeway. As soon as I pass, I'm doing over 70mph. Burbank isn't all that far.
I decided to get a 6am flight and get out here just after 8am so that I could have a day to myself. I have an appointment that should take up most of the day and I can't wait to get there. Carol & I were there 16 years ago and I can't wait to see it again. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:46 AM | Link | Travel § |
Uncle Frank
Well, here I am. I've been up for more than 3 hours now. I am sitting in seat 21F on an Airbus A320 which is United Flight 101 from Chicago to Los Angeles, a 4 hour and 14 minute flight for 1,750 miles. I've got to tell you, I never thought I'd be doing this, but I'm feeling good about this. Why am I here? It's because of my Uncle Frank.
read more of this entry »
He died over a week ago. He and his wife Mary moved away from Chicago years ago, first to Brownsville, Texas and then out to California to be near my aunt's family.He's the last of my mom's sibling's to go. My mom has been a bit down about this, as she is now "all alone". I'm not doing anything lately (being unemployed) and my mom - who didn't feel like flying - asked if I would "represent us" at the memorial service. I love traveling, I love flying. So, mom's paying for the trip and here I am somewhere over the midwest eating a Michael Angelo's Egg, Ham & Cheese Panini and watching Bruce Almighty.
Uncle Frank and Aunt Mary (or Babe and May as others call them) hold an unusual spot in my heart. Back in 1967, Aunt Mary took me and her nephew Mark to Los Angeles on a train trip. What a great thing to do, showing a kid America from a Santa Fe El Capitan train. I don't remember why Uncle Frank wasn't with us, but he was with us when we flew to LA in 1969. I only have one picture of him in my old photos - it's him on the pier in Santa Monica.
He was a great guy with kids. A tall man with a deep, booming voice that always drank Pepsi out of a bottle. And here, years later, I find a few more odd parallels with my life - he and Mary never had kids, like Carol & I. He proposed to Mary the first week he met her. So did I with Carol.
You see, I had to go to Los Angeles. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 06:46 AM | Link | Family § |
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
Big Brother 4 - Episode 33 - FINALE THEME
read more of this entry »
Here it is, the final episode of the season. The first segment is about Alison and Jun in the house alone, and how they're feeling after the final eviction. Then we see the jury amd Robert joined then while they were at CBS (aw, no Jury House for Robert). There's a lot of discussion on how the finalists played. This past weekend, the Jury asked a question of each finalist. (The girls were upset that they couldn't see the Jury during the Q&A.) The questions were tough and pointed. The girls twisted and squirmed in their chairs. The jusry didn't feel some of the answers were good, or even accurate or pertinent at times. Then we see the actual voting process - putting the keys of the winner into the box. After the votes were cast, the jury was sequestered again and shown the complete season of the show. (Prior to this, they never saw any Diary Room footage or any footage of private conversations talking about other people). Then, everyone (Jury and others) came together and confronted each other on their issues in the house as a "round table discussion". All of them are shown live with Julie Chen in her little studio outside the house. They pack up, walk across the bridge and go into the house to meet Jun & Ali, who look extremely nervous about having everyone back in the house. Each of the houseguests reveal their votes - Jun wins 6-1. Jun's boyfriend Bob is waiting for her outside the house, while Alison's parents are waiting for her. Everyone leaves the house. Julie interviews the girls, and they are not surprised that they were not congratulated by the jury after the votes were over. Alison gets a message from Donnie... but it's hard to say if it's positive. Julie and all the houseguests (minus Scott, of course, as he is an un-person to the show) say goodbye from the front of the house. The last shot is of the mime eating cookies and milk on the couch inside the house watching the show on the plasma screen...
And so ends Big Brother 4. Though it appears to be a ratings winner this year, I didn't feel the same about the show. In fact, toward the end, based on how the game was played and who was still left in the house, I was disappointed. Oh well, I guess we'll have Big Brother 5 next July... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:04 PM | Link | Reality TV | 1 comment § |
Rehersals for the final show THEME
read more of this entry »
Looks like the crew is rehersing the final exits, greetings, and goodbyes outside the Big Brother house. They're using stand-ins for everyone (with cards hanging around their necks with the houseguest name on them). That usually means that there will be one more rehersal with the actual houseguests later today before the live show. Inside the house, Jun & Ali have been going stir crazy that last few days and the tension of finally being able to get out is rising. Also, it sounds like Alison knows that Jun will win tonight. We'll see. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 01:48 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
It's official. Summer is over.Well, it's Fall. Officially. The weather in Chicago had turned cooler a few days ago. Though it's sunny, the high's have only been near 70. Thursday, the high is supposed to be 59 degrees (though I won't care, since I won't be around! I'll tell you where I am some other time).
So, now I'm expecting to see the leaves start to turn... damn, it's over...
posted at 05:47 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, September 22, 2003
Chicago Blogger MapsWell, bloggers in the Chicago area finally got a directory to be listed by physical location, just like NYC Bloggers or London Bloggers.
And not only that, there are two of them:
Chicago Blogmap - Bloggers by CTA El/Subway stop
Chicago Bloggers - Bloggers by CTA El/Subway stop or Metra stop (for us suburbanites)
posted at 09:11 PM | Link | Blogging § |
Sunday, September 21, 2003
White Sox 4 - Royals 10
read more of this entry »
Oh, my God, does this team suck...
I just can't describe the feelings running through me. Disappointment, yes, but also disgust. Jon Garland only went 2-2/3 innings giving up 7 earned runs on 6 hits, one walk, one strikeout. Scott Schoeneweis came in and pitched 3-1/3 with 2 runs but none earned. Why? We had three errors, two on Tony Graffanino (not like him to do that) and Jose Valentin (seems like it wouldn't be a game without him making an error). Cripes. Jon Adkins finished the game with 3 innings of work. By the time the 8th inning came around, it was time to throw in the towel. Manuel put in the youngsters to get some work - Graffanino moved to short (from 2nd), Aaron Rowand moved from center to right, Aaron Miles was in at 2nd, Armando Rios in left, Willie Harris in center, and Jamie Burke at 1st (I thought he was a catcher?) At least Aaron Rowand got a homer after that, but we were just so far gone that it barely made a dent in the score.
So this was our last Season Ticket game of the year. I may have been giddy about getting an invoice for playoff tickets, but there's no way in hell we'll be here in October.
And thoughts already turn to next April... who on the team will still be there next year???
Damn, I'm upset...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 05:24 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Saturday, September 20, 2003
White Sox 1 - Royals 7
read more of this entry »
Last weeks giddiness, excitement and hope have been replaced by misery and despair. The Sox were swept by the Twins and have fallen 3½ game behind them. It's impossible to catch them as they have an extremely easy schedule to finish the season. I fear hope is lost.
We go to "The Cell" anyway, as it's our last weekend games with the boys. The game started well with Frank Thomas's 41st HR of the year and his 93rd career first-inning HR. But that was all we'd come up with for the game. The offense wasn't there, the defense wasn't there, the pitching wasn't there. Esteban Loaiza, for the 3rd time, misses his chance on getting his 20th win and instead gets his 9th loss in 6 innings of work. We went through 4 pitchers in the 7th. The fans were restless and vocal, booing Billy Koch when he came in. Everyone didn't believe what they were seeing.
I'm disgusted and distraught. I fear that it's over. We're now 4½ games out.
Damn.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:42 PM | Link | White Sox § |
$34.27It's a really crappy feeling when you're unemployed and you see $34.27 is all that's left in your checking account.
posted at 09:41 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, September 19, 2003
Avast me hearties!
Arrrr! Smartly come aboard, Splice the Mainbrace 'till your deadlights turn red to International Talk Like a Pirate Day and Go On The Account! Blimey, no souls pass near here... aye, I may hang the jib, but I have no want to Dance with Jack Ketch... oh and no sprogs allowed on me ship...
We kindle and char and inflame and ignite.
Drink up me 'earties yo ho!
And j'st call me by My Pirate Name - Black William Rackham
Update: Harrr! Avast ye scurvy curr!! is a moblog to post pix of squiffies tryin' to talk like the Brethren of the Coast.
posted at 12:00 PM | Link | Memes § |
Friday 5 - Music
Time for another Friday Five...
1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why? Don't have one since my tastes are all over the place.
2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why? I have no tollerance for any Hip Hop/Rap artist out there. I just despise the genre and I just can't tolerate it.
3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person? See #1. Hard to say if I don't have a favorite.
4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show? Of courser I've been to concerts. Haven't been to one in quite a while (Dixie Chicks being the last one)
5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music? Whoa! Wait a minute! The problem is that I believe the music should not be free for download unless the original artist(s) wanted it that way. That being said, I think the RIAA is way over the line on the prosecution perspective.
As you can tell, though I like music I don't live my life through music.
posted at 12:46 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Survivor: Pearl Islands - Episode 1posted at 08:37 PM | Link | Survivor | 1 comment § |
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Big Brother 4 - Episode 31posted at 09:04 PM | Link | Reality TV | 1 comment § |
Dog medical transport
Diane's dog Chelsea has been a major pert of our extended family for years. Chelsea had a pretty fast-growing tumor pop up on her chest over the past few weeks and it was time to get it surgically removed. The biopsies (yes, plural) were inconclusive so it was time to go in surgically and remove it. This required Chelsea to be taken to an animal surgical center (no quick trip to the vet).
Chelsea's surgery went well, with the doctor saying he was able to get a "good margin" around the tumor. We're all hoping for the best - pathology results won't be back until next week.
It was time to bring Chelsea home and Diane (correctly) thought she probably shouldn't do this alone, so she asked me to help her. How could I turn down Chelsea??? (oops... I mean... "How could I turn down my darling sister?" Yeah that's it...)
So, I drove into the city so we could drive together to the doctor in the northern suburbs.
I am SOOOOOOO glad there was two of us.
read more of this entry »
When Chelsea came out from "the back" at the surgical place, she was fine, but I don't think we were ready for the shock of seeing her. The big black sutures against her shaved pink skin were shocking. The incision was in the shape of a "Y", extending from "shoulder to shoulder" and down her chest. We knew that the incision would be large, but this was way beyond our expectations. The real sutures versus the disolvable sutures probably made it look much worse.
She has a shaved patch on the right side of her torso so that has a morphine patch stuck to it. Oh, man... I haven't seen the use of pain patches on a dog before... she must really be in pain...
And sure enough, as Chelsea came out she was quiet. As soon as she saw us, each breath she took had a "squeak" in her voice. She's not comfortable at all. Diane got the instructions on how to treat Chelsea over the next couple of days (no stairs, no playing, warm compresses on the incision, no change in diet, back in 10-14 days to get the sutures out).
We went outside. Diane put Chelsea on the ground so she could have a, um, walk. She walked and peed just fine, but she just looks a little out of it. She's still squeaking. We get back to Diane's SUV. Diane picks-up Chelsea and puts her in the back seat and climbs in. I take the front to drive them home.
Now, dogs - compared to humans - breathe rapidly. She still squeaked with every breath.
For the entire 45 minute trip home.
She really squeaked once when she tried moving around. She also let out the most terrible, sorrowful moan I'd ever heard coming from a dog.
It was a hard drive home.
But, she did make it home. She laid in her bed the entire them I was there. (Diane was kind enough to grill up a burger for each of us and we kicked back and watched some TiVo for a while.) She tried to sleep, but she never fidgeted. She just seemed exhausted. But at least she was quiet. She's probably more comfortable being home.
Hopefully, she'll be just fine. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 01:47 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Now we're in big troubleSo, the answer to the question is no.
I don't know what to do.
posted at 11:35 AM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Monday, September 15, 2003
Drunky dinner
Carol and I had our anniversary dinner tonight at Wildfire in Schaumburg. It's our first time there (we've been to the one downtown a few times and love the place). Well, we found something that looked great and was. The problem was that we both ordered it and we were looped before the appetizers arrived. We each had a Flight of Martinis - a wonderful way to taste their signature drinks. There was a Cosmopolitan (Absolut Citron, Cointreau, cranberry, lime), Green Apple Martini (Vox Vodka, De Kuyper Sour Apple Pucker, Lemonade, Sprite), Wild Raspberry Cosmopolitan (Stoli Raspberry, Triple Sec, cranberry, raspberry syrup), and Lemon Drop (Ketle One Citroen, sour mix, Sprite, sugared rim). Wonderful. Got through appetizers, salad, and barely got through the entrée and had to stop and skip dessert. Too full and too, um, mellow. Great night.
posted at 08:14 PM | Link | Mundane § |
TAR5 Casting THEME
According to Variety, CBS has given exec producers Bertram van Munster and Jerry Bruckheimer the OK to begin casting The Amazing Race 5!!!!
OK, let's make this official...
WANTED
Blogger to join me as Team Blogger to audition for the next Amazing Race. Wife and family not interested. Apply via email.
OK, I realize that's a a loooong shot, but hey, a guy can dream, right? We've got to rush here... applications (including videotape audition) has to be in to CBS by Wednesday, October 8th, 2003 at 5 p.m.
posted at 10:19 AM | Link | Reality TV § |
24
Well, another year as passed. I just wish that we were in better financial shape so we can celebrate this a little better...
September 15, 1979 - 24 years ago - Carol & I were married and we're still together.
Cool.
posted at 08:19 AM | Link | Family | 2 comments § |
Saturday, September 13, 2003
Will work for no closing costsWould a financial institution let a guy who is currently unemployed refinance his mortgage to get his payments substantially lower?
I guess it's time to find out...
posted at 06:02 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday, September 12, 2003
Mime loose in the hoose THEME
read more of this entry »
Imagine the last three houseguests alone in the house. With a mime. For three hours. Lets just say that Ali has issues. Anyway, Robert wins a luxury competition to view a movie in the newly renovated media room (the old Desert bedroom) with a guest. Robert chose Ali. The movie is Runaway Jury (with John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman) which won't be out until next month! And they will be going to the Premiere at the Kodak theater! But for now, they're watching the movie before the public release tonight. While they were in the Desert Room watching the movie, the mime came back (and scared the hell out of Jun who was in the house "alone") and kept Jun company for an hour, while torturing Ali's stuffed animals. He left before the movie ended. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:49 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Friday 5 - Your name
Time for another Friday Five...
1. Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed? Why, yes it is.
2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be? No, I'm OK with it.
3. Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?) I'm a Jr., meaning that I have the same name as my dad.
4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why? I'm neutral about names. I have more feelings about what people name their pets than I do about names of people.
5. Is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com accurate? How or how isn't it? You know what? No, it's not that accurate. It sounds like it makes me out to be stronger than I am. Your name of Michael gives you a clever mind, good business judgment, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation of the finer things of life. You are serious-minded and not inclined to make light of things even in little ways, and in your younger years you had more mature interests than others your age. Home and family mean a great deal to you and it is natural that you should desire the security of a peaceful, settled home environment where you can enjoy the companionship of family and friends. Whatever you set out to accomplish you do your very best to complete in accordance with what you consider to be right. In the home you assume your responsibilities capably, having the self-confidence to form your own opinions and make your own decisions. Others can rely on you; once you have given your word you will do your utmost to fulfil a responsibility. However, there is a tendency to be a little too independent in your thinking and it is difficult for you to accept the help of others when you should.
posted at 08:59 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, September 11, 2003
White Sox 2 - Twins 5
There is ONE thing in my life that makes me feel American - Baseball. If you know me, you know that baseball is truly intertwined in my life, and there's nothing more American - to me - than baseball. So, I drove to Riverside, picked up Janie & Gary and we went to a ball game.
read more of this entry »
It was really hazy today. It was in the low 80's and breezy. We all had a moment of silence - the quietest the park has been in a while. It was all reverent and poignant. I needed to be here.
Alas, the day should have been better. Esteban Loaiza was trying for his 20th win. Frank Thomas got his 40th homer of the season in the first, but our defense just flew apart in the third when Carl Everett had a throwing error that eventually allowed 2 then a third run to score when we actually had two runners trapped between the bases if someone was paying attention, and we're down 4-1. In the 4th, A.J. Pierzynski grounds to Brian Daubach at first who throws to second to get the lead runner Torii Hunter and Jose Valentin attempts to complete the double play by throwing back to first... only nobody is there. Daubach never went back to the bag and Loaiza was trying to get there... it was Valentin's 16th error of the season. Loaiza was never getting strikes over the outside corner of the plate for left-handed batters. It was frustrating him. In the meantime the Sox could never seem to get back into it. By the 8th, it starts to feel like Manuel is throwing in the towel... fresh off the DL and rehab, he brings in Billy Koch - who actually strikes out 2 and gives up a hit. Really, that's not bad. Manuel also brings in Jamie Burke to catch and Aaron Miles pinch hits. Jose Valentin hits what is barely a homerun in the 9th with 2 out, but we never get back in. It's over. Brad Radke pitched a complete game.
The Magic Number is still 17 - we are tied with the Twins for first. It should have been so much better...
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:51 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Jeff's hints THEME
Jeff Probst was on Live with Regis and Kelly this morning talking-up Survivor: Pearl Islands. There really wasn't much he revealed (which is pretty normal for Jeff). Regis asked Jeff "What's been the toughest location?" for Survivor and I always thought the answer was Africa. Jeff's answer confirmed that - sort of as he said "Up until this one, I would say Africa, definitely. It's just stifling." Hmmm... does that mean Jeff is saying that the Pearl Islands could be worse? He reveals that the cast was setup in the fact that they were told that they would have to "do some press" so wear something that they would look good in. Guys had Armani suits, women had sun dresses. So they do the press, but then the show starts... as in the show starts. Some of the women... umm... don't have anything on under their dresses... so everyone starts with what they are wearing. The effect is that it ends up more like as if you were shipwrecked.
read more of this entry »
Now the two interesting quotes are these: "There is one of the greatest lies ever this season. It is a fantastic, horible lie" (referring to a contestant and of course not Jeff). "There is a huge regret that somebody does that has a big impact...". Sounds like maybe somebody thinks someone should get voted-off and doesn't and comes back to bite them?
A clip is shown of the cast on deck of what looks like a 3-masted schooner. Jeff greets them: "Welcome guys to Survivor: Pearl Islands. The game is on. I know everybody here brought their suitcases and I know you got a lot more luggage downstairs, and it's true, in the past, Survivors have been allowed to go through their luggage and pick out a few essential items. You guys won't have that luxury. You're going into this game with the clothes you have on your back." « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:20 AM | Link | Survivor § |
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Big Brother 4 - Episode 29 THEME
read more of this entry »
Well, we see stories about Robert and the women, the first 3 evicted houseguests (Amanda, Michelle, and David), we see Jee arrive at the Jury House (and Dana, even though she's screwing Justin every night (or so we think) STILL looks pissed-off), and we see Alison use the Power of Veto as she takes herself off of nomination for the third time, automatically putting Erika up as a nomination for eviction. As Erika sits down in the orange chair we see a commercial about applications are now being accepted for Big Brother 5. After the break, we see Alison tearfully evict Erika live to her face. DAMN. I didn't want to see that happen. Eventually, it's time for the final Head of Household competition. It's going to be in three parts (The first is tonight, with the winner going to Part 3. Part 2 is probably tomorrow, with the winner going to part 3. The two people in Part 3 battle to win the final HOH). Anyway, just as last year, this will be an endurance challenge where you must hold onto your key. This time, the remaining houseguests are standing on little houses. Not a big deal... for a little while. Then a snow machine kicks-in over the wall, throwing "snow" (or more likely shaved ice) onto the houseguests. Apparently it's coming down in chunks, some larger than your fist and it hurts. The show ends and we are left to find out the results by watching the live feeds on the internet.
Update: Well, this didn't last long - only about an hour and a half. First out was Jun, followed quickly by Robert. Alison wins the first part of the final HOH challenge. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:04 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Oops... I dropped it...
How do you tell somebody that you dropped and broke their satellite? Guess that happened a few days ago at Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, California. the NOAA-N Prime satellite was on a "turn over cart" and was being moved from vertical to horizontal when it, um, fell over. Why did it fall over? Techs from another project came over two days earlier and removed 24 bolts to be used on their "turn over cart" and didn't document it, and then the project techs didn't check to make sure the bolts were actually there since the last time they used it.
posted at 02:20 PM | Link | Space § |
Shine On, Shine On Harvest MoonTonight is a Full Moon, which, since it's the fool moon closest to the start of Fall, make it the Harvest Moon.
posted at 11:45 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Second waveWhat is going on out there? Am I seeing a second wave of the Sobig.F virus? My email is getting flooded with that crap again. I hate viruses that spoof email addresses...
posted at 10:11 AM | Link | Computing § |
Magic Number: 17
OK, folks, look... you have no idea how exciting this is to Chicago baseball fans... New York - you've had your subway series. Big friggin' deal. It's not like the Yankees or Mets have been out of contention for decades, so screw you right now...
The last time the White Sox and the Cubs have both been in First Place in September was...
1906
That's when the Sox beat the Cubs in the World Series. The third World Series.
The last time the Cubs won the World series was 1908. Since then, both clubs have finished behind the league winners by under 10 games together only twice.
Since 1940, both teams had winning records at the end of the season only five times.
This is a big deal!
So, here it is September 10.
White Sox Magic Number: 17
Cubs Magic Number: 19 (or, as the t-shirts say around "The Cell" - 911)
posted at 08:43 AM | Link | White Sox § |
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
The CasinoMark Burnett is allegedly working on a "spinoff" of "The Restaurant" called "The Casino". Yep, imagine a behind the scenes look at at the workings of a casino. He's been in Las Vegas talking to casino owners.
posted at 01:45 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Magic Number: 19
I was reading the sports section of USA Today and saw something that I had forgotten about:
Magic Number: 19
Wow. It's actually there in print. Normally, the Magic Number is something we always chased, but there it was.
It's September.
We're in First Place.
And we have a Magic Number...
posted at 09:10 AM | Link | White Sox § |
Monday, September 08, 2003
Where'd it go????I'm tired. Drained. Don't know why. I'd sit down for 20 minutes and an hour and a half passes. Hours are minutes, minutes are seconds... I can't seem to focus. The brain just seems... fuzzy. You know, lint-filled-like. Like it's been hanging around underneath the bed or something. I know I'm watching TV, but nothing registers - like a microcassette recorder you bring to a meeting to record the procedings so that you don't miss anything, only to find out that it's been sitting there playing because you never held down the record button...
posted at 04:34 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunday, September 07, 2003
White Sox 7 - Indians 3
read more of this entry »
Can you say sweep? Yes, in what seems to be a rarity, the Sox swept the Indians. It was still scary, though. Danny Wright started the game. I'm not a fan of his. He hasn't impressed me as a starter and I wish that we went down to a 4-man rotation than stay at a 5-man with him in the mix. If he's in, he's only going to last a few innings. Today, he lasted 5 giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk, but had 4 strikeouts. We went through 5 other pitchers after that. Scott Schoeneweis wound up with the win when he came in after Scott Sullivan gave up a single, double and a run on a sacrifice fly in the 7th (Kelly Wunsch had the 6th and was flawless. He had more in him and Manuel should have left him in just one more inning.) Frank Thomas smashed a game-winning three-run homer with two outs in the seventh (his 39th).
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:29 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Saturday, September 06, 2003
White Sox 8 - Indians 5
read more of this entry »
We're back at "The Cell" for an early (12:15pm) game against the Indians. What a gorgeous day for baseball - sunny, winds light and variable, around 70 degrees. This weekend the club is celebrating the team of the 1983 "Winning Ugly" White Sox that won the American League West title. Most of the 1983 team was there to throw out the first pitch (actually 1983 Cy Young winner Lamarr Hoyt threw out the first pitch to Carlton Fisk. Way cool.) The 2003 team wore those ugly 1983 uniforms and some of those people didn't look too good!
We started off strong with 4 runs in the 1st. We eventually gave up 5 runs by the 4th, but eventually got back into it, winning 8-5. Esteban Loaiza had 10 strikeouts and got his 19th win. We had homers by Carl Everett and Paul Konerko. Frank Thomas was 0-for-5 with 3 strikeouts leaving 4 on base. Ouch.
(Boxscore) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:44 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Big Brother Final 4 doings THEME
First Robert gets Head of Household. He then nominates Jun & Alison for eviction. Then Alison gets Power of Veto, which means she'll take herself off and Erika will be put in her place. Which means to me that Erika is gone next week.
This show sure got screwed-up this year...
Update: And then Rob gets a T-Mobile phone call from home for the America's Challenge and Allison wins a Luxury Challenge to get a ride in a blimp (but she doesn't like flying) along with Jun (who has motion sickness)...
posted at 07:51 AM | Link | Reality TV § |
Friday, September 05, 2003
Big Deadly Thunder MountainI can get Carol on just about any attraction at any of the Disney parks. She's deathly afraid of some of the more, um, "exciting" rides, but she'll go on them anyway. Why? Her answer: "Walt Disney will not hurt me." She truly believes this. She firmly believes in the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Disney organization.
Having said that, Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad jumped the tracks today and killing a man and injuring 10 other people. The accident took place inside a tunnel section of the ride.
posted at 04:38 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Survivor: Pearl Islands contestant background "problems" THEME
You know, if you show up on a Reality show and you've got some baggage in your personal history, leave it to The Smoking Gun to find out about it. In this case, it is problems with four contestants from Survivor: Pearl Islands.
First, there's Christa Hastie, the 24-year-old computer programmer from Los Angeles. Even though her bio on the CBS website has She was once arrested for a misdemeanor and charged with "disrupting an officer's ability to perform his duties.", what's a bit more questionable are her postings to alt.drugs.hard and alt.drugs newsgroups in the late '90's about methamphetamine wants and uses as well as cocaine.
This is similar to Ryan Shoulders, the 23-year-old produce clerk from Clarksville, Tenn., who also posted messages, this time to the alt.drug.psychedelics newsgroup.
Third is Jon Dalton, the 29-year-old art consultant from Danville, Va., who entered a no contest plea to a DUI count and a charge of driving without insurance.
Last is Ryan Opray the 31-year-old electrician from Los Gatos, Calif., was arrested and charged with vandalizing the lawns of nine homes in his Los Gatos neighborhood with his Ford F-150.
posted at 02:46 PM | Link | Survivor § |
Reality TV Awards show?The Washington Post is reporting that ABC is going to create an awards show honoring broadcast and cable reality programs. It's supposed to be a two-hour show airing sometime this fall.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. The Emmy's have only an award or two in this area, and that should be fine. A separate show cheapens an already cheap genre. I mean, if you won one of these awards, who the hell would care? At least an Emmy is a "legitimate" award. Would it be for the show or would individual contestants be awarded? They've already said that there would be a "Best Series" as well as reality-appropriate categories such as "Best Twist." I don't know...
posted at 02:40 PM | Link | Reality TV § |
Noisy quiet neighborhood
The neighborhood has been pretty quiet that last few days. there's hardly any traffic flying through the neighborhood because a street is closed at Golf Road. They are finally starting to lay concrete for the eastbound lanes by my house, so nobody can get onto Golf from this side street in the neighborhood. No more late night cruising with the friggin' radio booming or squealing tires as they take the turns too quickly. Of course, every once in a while there's construction noises from Golf Road. It was pretty noisy when they were breaking up the old concrete but it's pretty quiet now. It's actually quite nice. A quiet, suburban neighborhood.
posted at 10:42 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Friday 5 - Housekeeping
Time for another Friday Five...
1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most? Oh, crap - housekeeping!!! OK, look. I'm a male. I'm a guy. I'm also a pig. When it comes to housekeeping, my duties center around garbage - collecting it, bagging it, taking it out to the curb. That's about it. I do it and I don't do it well. The rest of the housekeeping is done by my lovely wife. There, I've said it. I don't do it. I'm sorry. I'm a lazy slob. I have to get that out there for everyone to hear. Yes, I'm a lazy slob, I don't do housework. That being said, this week's Friday Five just isn't going to be good for me, if you know what I mean. OK, thing I hate most? How about taking out the garbage... (God, that's lame...)
2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing? For some reason, I don't mind doing windows (which I rarely do) or - get ready for this - I've enjoyed defrosting a freezer. Go figure.
3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed? Umm... as needed. Yeah, as needed...
4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules? Ummm.... not doing it?
5. What was the last thing you cleaned? The screen on one of our TV sets.
(Boy am I going to get slammed for this...)
posted at 08:54 AM | Link | Friday Five § |
Thursday, September 04, 2003
Lunching by the pool in West HollywoodJust got off the phone with my sister who is lunching by the pool at Asia de Cuba at the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset in West Hollywood. Sounds like she's having a great time. I miss California. I haven't been there in almost 20 years.
posted at 04:28 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Sunning Bunny
I couldn't find Indy again this afternoon. I found her upstairs in the bedroom again. This time she was laying all stretched out in the sun with her nose in the air sniffing the breeze coming in the open window. It was pretty cute and something she's never done. But then again, she's been doing some really odd things lately.
posted at 03:11 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
BirthdaysHappy Birtday wishes go out to my buddy Barry (who took the day off work to do something he loves) and to my sister, who is out in California, driving Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco to L.A. doing a ton of sightseeing along the way. She's always going somewhere on her birthday (which is great for her but weird for family and friends who would like to celebrate with her). Anyway, hope you guys have a good day!
posted at 10:32 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Amish tomato death?This has to be a case of road rage by somebody just not familiar with the area...
Every year, around Labor Day, Amish kids hide in cornfields and toss tomatoes at passing cars as a prank. Well, this time, about 10 people, ages ages 15 to 23 were tossing tomatoes, when one motorist got out of his car and fired three to five rounds into the 7-foot-high corn, killing a 23-year-old. Does tossing tomatoes warrant murder???
posted at 10:18 AM | Link | Current Events | 1 comment § |
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
Big Brother 4 - Episode 26 THEME
read more of this entry »
It's Day 61 in the Big Brother House and oh, what a twisted game this has been... We saw an entire segment on how Robert lies. We saw a segment from the Jury House where we got TOO MUCH INFORMATION about Justin & Dana - <shudder>. Then we had a live Veto Ceremony where Alison uses the Veto on herself, so Jun puts up Robert in her place, all of which doesn't matter at Jee gets voted-off 2-0. In his goodbye message to Jee, Robert says "I'll do it for the Dream Team". Ugh. We found out that the last night of the show is now September 24. It got moved-up because CBS ordered a few more shows and so far the houseguests don't know that they will be in the house a little longer than they thought.
Late this afternoon while I had the live feeds on, I saw aa little goof. The crew didn't go to the "Front of the House" camera (and play that godforsaken them music over and over) during a rehersal for tonight (yes, they actually reherse the live show). They had the camera on in the empty "Desert Room" and the producer was giving instructions to the houseguests over the house P.A. (I didn't get the good parts, but I did get a short piece here as an MP3). I found out that the housegusests, after the eviction, were put into the old Desert Room so the crew could setup the living room for the HOH challenge. So, they do the HOH challenge tonight, which is guessing the answers of questions that were given to the Jury House guests. Erika and Robert tie. The tie breaker question is a math question, with the winner being closest without going over. The question: from the time the exes entered the house until now, how many hours have you been in the house? Erika answers 1440, Robert answers 800. Correct answer: 1434. Erika is over by 6 hours so Robert gets HOH for the week. Crap. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:04 PM | Link | Reality TV | 1 comment § |
Stealth Bunny
You can hear a dog walking around a house.
You may not hear a cat walking around the house unless they meow or purr loudly.
You just can't hear a rabbit roaming around a house.
Indy was just upstairs with me, checking out if I was still here and if there was anything new in the bedroom. There wasn't, but the window was open so there was a nice breeze so she had to stop and stand in the sun, smelling the outside air.
I can't tell you how special a house rabbit is. Let's face it - they're not as smart as dogs or cats. They rarely listen to their humans, and if they don't know you, they may not interact much. But they're sweet and loving and Carol and I have loved our bunnies. Indy is great to have around.
I don't have anything to really say here. It's just that she came upstairs for a visit and she looked too damn cute, so I had to write about it.
posted at 04:25 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
MIKAEL, ÖRTAGÅRD, MÖRKEDAL, FLÄRKE, KRISTER, SIGNUMYou know, I've been wondering for a long time: are all those product names at IKEA real? I mean, to me, they just seem fake. Well, I'm wrong. It turns out that there's actually a scheme to the names! I think I feel a little bit better!
posted at 04:24 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Birds at the Doctor's
I was back in the city today to take my mom to the doctor. Not a big deal I guess, except you see - mom hasn't had a doctor for at least a decade or so. Today was her first visit with what we are hoping to be her new physician. The office was... a little odd. Lots of clown paintings, even clowns as doctors... clown stained glass... a big aquarium (yes, it had a clown fish and a puffer fish...). There was a really cool aviary with a bunch of finches, diamond doves, and a canary. It wasn't a cage - it was more like an aviary. Very cool to watch. Oh, mom's fine. A little high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but she's fine.
posted at 03:47 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, September 01, 2003
September BaseballIt's September. It's Chicago. Historically, this has been a bad month for baseball for us. The Cubs, even if they've shown hope and promise earlier in the season have usually faded by now, or are in the process of fading. The White Sox, if they haven't been contending in the first half of the season, are nowhere to be found, usually prompting fire sales or "white flag" trades.
Welcome to 2003.
As I write this, The Cubs are in third, 1½ games behind division-leading St. Louis and Houston. However, they're at home with only a .500 record at home, and are in the middle of a 5-game series playing St. Louis, so there could be some movement this week. In contention? Possibly.
The White Sox, having the day off, are now in first by 2 games, ahead of both Minnesota & Kansas City. The Sox have 25 games in 27 days coming up, playing 7 against Kansas City and 7 against the Twins, not to mention 5 against the Red Sox and 3 against the Yankees. Hopefully their 43-23 home record will help. In contention? Possibly.
This is rare, folks. If neither team makes it into the post-season, fans will be pissed but they'll eventually chalk it up to the state of baseball in Chicago.
If one of the teams make it, there will be some very ungracious slamming of the other team, their management, and their fans.
If both teams make it, all hell will break loose in this city and God help us all.
I'm giddy....
posted at 08:25 PM | Link | Baseball § |
*nose wiggle*posted at 08:50 AM | Link | Memes | 1 comment § |
|