Category Archives: The Basics

Something has breached my bio security system.  It started two days ago.  Crampy sour stomach, major muscle ache and chills.  Slept all afternoon yesterday.  I think I’m on the mend.  I hate feeling sick. (Who doesn’t?)

Going to force myself to jog and go to work.

At least it seems to be going away whatever it is.
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Just got back from my jog.  Was running past a neighbor’s house.  He was out having coffee with his dogs in the yard.  One of them came running at me across the road while I was jogging.  It was barking and nipping at my ankles while I was trying not to trample over it.  I looked up at the neighbor and he was chuckling saying “He he he…sorry.” 

What an asshole.

Ray told me that the guy is frequently out there and the dog does that all the time.  Next time I’m running and I accidentally stomp on little the dog’s neck I’ll say the same thing.
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On a positive note: It’s the Friday before a three-day weekend!!  Ray and I are going to have some visitors from Phoenix and I’m really looking forward to pool lounging, good food and adult beverages.  Where’s my camera?

Owen Wilson tried to kill himself and the public is up in arms.  Why would a rich talented successful man do that?  I’ll tell you why; he’s probably a freak. 

I performed grunt work doing mostly accounting in film & television for years.  I have been on projects with Uma, Winona, Gwyneth, Tim Robbins and Ben Stiller and I gotta tell ya–freaks.  Borderline personality disorder freaks.  When Ms. Winona got busted for shoplifting several years ago I screamed out “I told you!”

Ray sums it up best; I was telling him how strange Winona was on the set of The Crucible and how I was disappointed because she seemed so cool and down-to-earth in interviews.  Ray just simply said “They’re actors.”

I admit, I’m not one to talk.  I’m a recovering actor myself.  I fell off the wagon a few months ago and emceed a live charity event but I’m better now.  One day at a time.

Yesterday USA Today ran an article about Damage Control for Fallen Stars.  Not only is the media constantly reporting on the bad behavior of marginally talented people, they’re summarizing it in a comprehensive full-paged article with photos and graphs.  This is our news?!  Who ever got the idea the public gives a shit about these D-list Hollywood personalities?

I read there was some concern that Owen’s suicide attempt may prompt others to make copycat attempts.  I think that’s a great idea.  Seriously, has anyone seen anything about Anna Nicole Smith since she popped just one pill too many?  It’s like she magically went away.  The kid is with her biological father and free from growing up with a whack-nut drugged out mother flopping it around like some accessory.

Here is a list of entertainers who should go away:

Britney Spears (Just think how much better off the kids will be.)
Isaiah Washington (I don’t care if he called someone a faggot, he just wouldn’t shut up about it.)
Lindsey Lohan (Do we need a reason?)
Paris Hilton (She’s off the list.  Looks like she’s been humbled by a stint in the slammer.)
Nicole Ritchie (OK, she’s preggers.  Have the kid and then split.  Remember, think of the kids.)
Ann Coulter (Hey, why not?)
Michael Jackson (Do you want the whole list or just the top ten?)
Tom Cruise (I was surprised how long he held it together before he cracked.)

In some ways I have to give these people wiggle room.  I can’t fully blame them for their over exposure.  In typical American fashion, we took something good like the news and capitalized on it creating a demand for a constant feed that grew so big the actual news itself wasn’t happening as fast as Bitney’s dog could shit on a $6000 dress.

It’s completely out of character for me to wish bad on anyone but I am so sick of hearing about these people.  You see a lot of interviews where celebs whine about “the pressure” and how it’s hard to be in their shoes.  Actually, I’m sure it is–but that’s why they get paid big bucks and get to be idolized by millions.  It pisses me off that we all have to behave but Ms. Spears and be a total freak and still be in the spotlight.   If I were gorgeous, rich and famous, I would be so thankful to the Universe and terrified that any bad behavior would come back and bite my Karmic ass.  Let’s make nice-nice so it all keeps coming.

On a lighter note, an untimely death is just the thing to reinvigorate a fading career.  Britney could release a retrospective of her greatest hit.  Lifetime television could run Isaiah Washington’s one guest starring episode of Touched by an Angel in heavy rotation and perhaps then we could all get back to the real news; Leona Helmsley’s dog inherits 12 million bucks.

A couple of days ago, I started tracking my Lopaka Lounge blog using Google Analytics.  I really didn’t expect to see much traffic going to my site and at this point it’s too early to assess all the data because there really isn’t any.  This morning, I got quite a surprise when I checked my site visits.  People were visiting from the US, Spain, Switzerland and Germany!

Hello world!

It just amazes me that I’m sitting in my little home in the Middle of Nowhere, Arizona and someone from Switzerland can see the same view out my window from the photo I posted a few days ago.  Our world keeps getting smaller and smaller. 

Google Analytics is a trip!  It tells you things like where the hits are coming from, what browser they’re on, screen resolution and operating system.  Big Brother is watching you and he knows what setting your monitor is on.  It’s almost like he can see you through the screen…

Hey you!  What are you doing there?  Does your mother know?

Who am I to talk?  If people could see what a person is doing through the screen of their computer monitor, I’d be in a hell of a lot of trouble.

Perhaps I should charge admission.

Once again there was a phenomenon in the night sky and once again I made an attempt to catch it on film.  Most of the time I’m trying to shoot meteor showers as they happen with regularity and are quite visible in the Arizona sky but early this morning there was a total lunar eclipse. 

Ray set the alarm to sound off at 2:00 AM but I was already up positioning my camera to shoot one frame every minute.  This time, I actually was able to get some decent time lapse footage. 

There was some thick cloud cover when I first went outside but it pulled away like a huge sky blanket just in time to start shooting.  Here is a video comprised of two different periods of the eclipse. You can see the white moon turn red and then, after a crossfade, become white again.

I have to say that it was much more of an experience watching it live but I still enjoy trying to capture the experience with my camera.  I am always humbled by the moon and stars.  To look up and see so much out there is a gentle reminder that we are all part of something bigger.

Sort of puts things into perspective doesn’t it?

I just returned from a weekend in SoCal.  It took ’till we got past Phoenix until my eyes stopped burning from the LA smog. 

I grew up in the suburb of Thousand Oaks.  It used to be kind of quaint.  Now it’s like the San Fernando valley but with ample parking (for now).  I have lost touch with SoCal.  I don’t understand it anymore.  Why would anyone want to live there?  It’s so smoggy, full of traffic, dusty and spread out.  Upon driving in, I was amazed how the urban sprawl now starts just past Palm Springs which is about 120 miles from LA.  120 miles of sprawl!!  One Liz Claiborne outlet blended into another.  Were we in Azusa or Van Nuys?  The two-lane highway turned into a multi-lane freeway and the BMW’s began to outnumber every other car with the exception of the occasional Hummer (Asshole! How could you drive that thing?)  No matter how fast you are driving, people are either flying past you or riding your tailgate while chattering away on the phone. 

You never see people walking.

My trips to LA are necessary.  Mother is having surgery and I need to go see her.  Ray’s mother is in her 90’s and not getting any younger so he goes to see her as well.  This is a difficult time for me and my siblings.  It’s the classic role reversal.  We are concerned about our mother and want to take care of her.  She insists that she doesn’t need help and that she’s not ready for this kind of care.  I don’t want to go into detail but I’m sure anyone reading this who has been through it knows what I’m talking about.

The whole weekend was stressful and to make things worse, I blew off meeting up with an aquaintance in Hollywood on Saturday night.  At first I felt really bad about it and later after admitting how much of an ass I was, I tried to explain the circumstances and apologised profusely.  But then he kept going on and on about my bad form and bad karma and how I had issues.  It was total overkill.  I quickly returned to planet Earth and realized that I was dealing with your typical Hollywood all-about-me actor type.  How could I have forgotten?

Ray and I got up early to drive the 8 1/2 hour trip so we could get home at a reasonable hour.  Fortunately for us, Arizona was having one of its fantastic sunsets to remind us why we love it here.  My old friends in Lost Angeles can tease me all they want.  When I get back to Stolen Horseshoe, I know I’m finally home.

No matter how crazy my day is, I always go to bed and wake up to something that puts things back into perspective; an incredible sunrise.  The photo on the right is the view from our studio/office/gym.  Just ahead to the east is the Mule Mountain Range.  That’s where Bisbee is located.  How could anyone be in a bad mood after waking up to a view like that?  I am truly blessed. 

Ray and I are off to Lost Angeles for the weekend.  Out tenent from Montefalco will look after the house and cat.  We’re going to check in on our mothers.  Ray’s mom is closing in on 91 and my 77 year-old mother is soon to have her knee replaced.  It’s about a nine-hour drive which is fairly easy and stress free until you pass Palm Springs. 

Palm Springs is about 120 miles from Lost Angeles. The LA sprawl starts right about there.  It’s disgusting.  Fast food places and outlet malls line the freeway and are visible as far as the eye can see.  The blue sky becomes brown.  The road gets more congested.  In no time, my eyes will be burning and I’ll start to feel ill from the smog.  I can’t believe I grew up there and thought that Hollywood was the place to be.  Blek.

Ray and I always make it a point to leave as early as possible on Sunday in an attempt to get back here by the late afternoon.  That way, we have a teeny-tiny little weekend at Stolen Horseshoe.

Gotta run!