Happy Birthday Chuck

Hey Everyone it's my Step Dad Chuck's birthday. Happy Birthday Chuck.

Work, Work, Work

Well nothing much going on. I've been working from 8am to 11pm all week. Only got one week left and six episodes to complete.

Proud to be a Browncoat!!

THIS IS WHY I LOVE THE CREATORS/STARS/EVERYONE ASSOCIATED WITH FIREFLY AND SERENITY....

There was a Firefly/Serenity Con called Flanvention II this past weekend. I was luckly enough to enjoy Flanvention I last years but this year wasn't able to get tickets. This is a small (500 only) con. Cost anywhere from $400 to $1200 for tickets. Well there was rumbling the last few weeks about it being cancelled due to financial problems, but they mangaged to find a loan and the con was on... well up till this past Thursday. The con starts on Friday and they offically cancelled the con Thursday afternoon. Well since the rumbleing began a few weeks ago the SoCal and NoCal Browncoat groups started to plan a back up plan for those who were left high and dry. Here is an article of what happend next.. it's an amazing story. I'm so proud to call myself a BROWNCOAT.

Why we love the Firefly/Serenity crew

Updated... See, last year a group called Booster Events held this massive Firefly/Serenity convention in California last year called "Flanvention." A lot of the cast shows up, there were panels and dinners and photo shoots and whatnot, membership was limited, and it was a lot of fun, a way for fans of the cancelled-too-soon show and because-we-demanded-it movie to talk to their favorite stars. This year's hotly anticipated event sold out months ago and it's happening this weekend, right now.

Or it would be. The organizers cancelled it. On Thursday.

There were some worries this would happen, after Nathan ("Mal") Fillion idly mentioned on his MySpace page a few weeks ago that he had yet to hear from the organizers about it. There was a brief outcry from fans, things were seemingly cleared up, all was shakily well. Then about two weeks ago the organizers announced the con might not go on due to financial difficulties. To the 500 people who paid hundreds of dollars for tickets (and, in some cases, thousands of dollars for lifetime memberships, since Booster Events does other cons throughout the year for other cult-favorite franchises) this was a huge slap in the face. Outraged fans made their voices heard before the organizers came back a few days later to say they got a loan and all was, again, well.

Then they cancelled it this week, after people around the world were already on their planes and in their cars and on their way. To say that the Firefly fan community (known as Browncoats) was staggered would be an understatement.

As stunned and betrayed fans began to arrive the California Browncoats jumped up to meet the frantic challenge of organizing a convention during, you know, the actual convention. Fans settled in to party among themselves anyway, mutter dark things about Booster Events, and make the best of it of the newly formed Browncoat Backup Bash.

Then the stars started showing up.

Adam "Jayne" Baldwin showed up Thursday night, knowing the con was cancelled and fans were left hanging. He hung around chatting with fans for hours and mentioned others would probably show up.

Friday Nathan "Mal" Fillion, Alan "Wash" Tudyk, Mark "Badger" Sheppard, Jonathan "Dead Guy From 'The Message'" Woodward, and Christina "Saffron" Hendricks came by for autographs and pictures and mainly just to say hi. Without appearance fees or the autograph cash that usually get stars to show up, they came anyway. Alan Tudyk wan't even supposed to be at the event due to prior commitments, and he came anyway. They knew their fans had been shafted and they stepped up to make it worthwhile. Fillion brought a box full of Firefly memorabilia and other personal loot and started passing it out to fans who had come from Australia, the UK and other far-off places

By Saturday morning the emergency organizers had received $4500 in PayPal donations from fans around the world who had donated to help out their less-fortunate compatriots. Multiverse, an MMORPG gaming platform company that announced last week they had the license to create a multi-player Firefly game, paid for buses to move the fans and crew to a secret, undisclosed location to convene in private. There were Q and As from various companies announcing new merchandise, a talk from Greg Edmondson (the man responsible for the music from the show), a musical performance from fan favorite group The Bedlam Bards, and appearances by many of the stars already mentioned plus Michael "Niska" Fairman, Ron "Book" Glass, and Morena "Inara" Baccarin, none of whom were originally scheduled. Even Michael Muhney from "Veronica Mars," who was supposed to run the charity auction planned for Sunday, showed up to hang.

Saturday night the whole mess moved to the new restaurant owned by Claire ("Glorificus" from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and her husband, which isn't due to open for another couple of weeks, and for a time this betrayed, ripped-off, and let-down group of fans who had come hoping to get a few autographs and a fleeting word were suddenly partying with the stars at the hottest secret nightspot in Hollywood. If they liked these actors before it's going to border on worship now, deservedly so.

Me, over the last few days I've cycled from "Wish I could go" to "Whew, glad I didn't go" to "Man! I wish I'd went!" Just shows you shouldn't underestimate a group of people defined by their ability to pull victory out of crushing defeat...

Another Christmas Party

This time we went to Chris and Mark's Game Night/Christmas Party. We use to attend the monthly game night every month for years.. but since we got the dog we have been visiting less and less. Both Harry and I really miss seeing everyone and playing games so we are making more of an effort to make as many of the monthly events. This was another fun game night... good friends and fun games, can't ask for me.

Bruce's Tree Trimming Party

Sunday afternoon Harry and I went over to our good friend Bruce's place. He has recently moved into this new apartment and was having a apartment warming/tree trimming party. His apartment was great, he found a great place in Hollywood at the reasonable price. The party was fun and we met a bunch of his great friends. It was a awesome way to start off the Christmas party season.

World AIDS Day

Around forty million people are living with HIV throughout the world - and that number increases in every region every day.

World AIDS Day, December 1 is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV and AIDS. This year it's up to you, me and us to stop the spread of HIV and end prejudice. But not only this year, this is an on going fight and will continue till a cure if found.

Remember those we have lost, love those who are still with us and help prevent this from happening to your loved ones.

Cabin Weekend

After Thanksgiving Day... Harry, Daisy and I went up to my Mom's Cabin with our friends John and Moises. It was cold.. cold but no snow. It was a very relaxing weekend. Played games, watched DVD's and took walks around the lake. A nice way to unwind from the craziness of the city.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving Harry and I went to my cousin Renee and her family's house up in Hidden Hills. This is my Dad's, half brothers daughter. This was our first Thanksgiving with them. It was a lot of fun. The food was great and the company was fun. It's only been a year and a half since I found my Dad's side of the family but they have taken us into there family like we have been there all along.

Save the Cheerleader, Save the World

The Ninth episode of Hereos aired, it was hyped up to be the big Save the Cheerleader, Save the World episode. And I have to say it was a great episode but way over hyped. Online, people are 50/50 about it. Most people loved it but alot are upset that it was so over hyped and when it finally aired and didn't really explain anything they felt it was a let down. I agree that it was way too hyped up but I didn't find it a let down at all. It was another awesome episode. It answered some questions while asking new ones. We got to see some Hereos come together and battle the evil super villian. All in all are cool chapter in this on going series.

Christmas Shopping

I love this time of year.. Harry and I went out for our second shopping adventure. We hit Bed, Bath and Beyond, Media City Burbank Mall, Target, Michaels, Best Buy and had lunch at Outback Steak House. The shopping spree started off slowly but by the end of the day we bought quite a few gifts for family and friends. And an added extra special surprise KOST 103.5 is now playing Christmas music so we got to enjoy some holiday music will in the car. All in all a great day.

New Harry Potter Movie Poster

Hey Guys.. here is a new poster for the upcoming Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This is the fifth book/movie. The poster is pretty cool, they are calling it a teaser poster.

Another Outing with my "Little"

Today Nico and I went out to lunch then watched a movie. We saw the new animated show Flushed Away. It was a very cute movie. It offical says it's an hour and 24 mintues but felt like it was a little over an hour. Nico had some restless energy and kept moving around in his seat and I figured he was just bored, but when the movie was over he said that he really enjoyed it and we continued to talk about it on the ride home.

Here is the synopsis of Flushed Away: Beneath the streets of London, Roddy St. James is a pampered pet mouse who thinks he's got it made. But when a sewer rat named Sid the definition of low life comes spewing out of the sink and decides it's his turn to enjoy the lap of luxury, Roddy schemes to rid himself of the pest by luring him into the loo for a dip in the whirlpool. Roddy's plan backfires when he inadvertently winds up being the one flushed away into the bustling world down below. Underground, Roddy discovers a vast metropolis, where he meets Rita, a street-wise rat who is on a mission of her own. If Roddy is going to get home, he and Rita will need to escape the clutches of the villainous Toad, who royally despises all rodents and has dispatched two hapless henchrats, Spike and Whitey, as well as his cousin that dreaded mercenary, Le Frog to see that Roddy and Rita are iced, literally.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday!!!!

It's a good day to be Blue

I did my job yesterday and voted like a good American. And like most american's we sent a message to our Commander in Chief that we aren't too happy with him, well I was never happy with him but now it looks like America has wised up and joined in. Democrates take back the house and it's a tie in the Senate with all eyes on Virgina who will decide the majority in the Senate.. keeping fingers crossed. And if that wasn't all great news this morning I get into work and a co-worker of mine came up to me and said.. did you hear Donald Rumsfeld resigned. I mean could this get any better. It's a good day to be Blue...

Sometimes it's so hard...

Sometimes it's so hard to control the inner fanboy in me. As many of you know I am a huge, huge fan of the new TV series Hereos. My current job is at the Sunset Gower Studio and my office just happens to be under the sound stage to where they film Heroes. Everyday I walk past the outside set of an upcoming scene. Everyday I see my new favorite actors walk, talking and sitting around like everyday people. And everyday I have to control my inner fanboy from blurting out as I pass by them.. I love Heroes.. I love your character.. Can I get an autograph.. Can I get a picture, but of course I can not do that since I am a professional.

Many of you know that I don't get star struck, but when it comes to my cult shows like Star Trek, Heroes, Buffy, Firefly, Star Wars or Harry Potter I get all fanboyish.

A Little Surprise

Well driving back from our first Christmas shopping I noticed that someone had written on my back window, it's dirty and I saw some letters. It was faint and I couldn't really make it out. But when we got home I looked close and noticed that someone wrote FAGS on my back window. I'm not sure when or where this happened. At first it upset me because this is the first time I've been attacked for being gay, but then I realized that there was nothing I could do. I don't know who or when it happened and I can't go around worrying about things like this. But this was an eye opening experience.

It Has Begun....

Today was our offical first day of Christmas shopping. Neither of us really had a clue on what we were going to buy everyone but we decided to just go out and see if anything caught our eye. After five and a half hours of shopping we managed to find a few gifts for family members. Not bad for our first outing. I love this time of the year!!!!

Whimsic Alley

Today I went to one of my favorite stores that I hardly ever visit just because I can't do some major damage ($$$) there. It's a place called Whimsic Alley and it's a Harry Potter store. It's set up like a Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter books and movies. You have sections where they sell uniforms and robes, wands, fantasy books, fantasy items, Toys, Costumes, and candies. They even have sections for non-Harry Potter stuff like Nightmare before Christmas, Narnia, Simpsons and Family Guy. It's an awesome story and I went with my buddy Christopher because they were having a half off after Halloween sale and I wanted a full Harry Potter outfit and rode. My sweet Harry said he would buy those for me for Christmas so I went and picked up a robe, sweater vest, scarf and quidditch sweater for Christmas presents for me. And yes I plan on wearing the outfit to book and movie openings as well as for comic con and halloween.

Harry's Toothache

Harry has had some toothaches the past few months but always said they weren't that bad and that he doens't want to go to the dentist. Well on the 31st he IM'd me at work and asked if I could make and appointment to see a dentist. I know this must be bad if he wanted to see a dentist. So I made and emergency appointment with a dentist that Harry found online that knocks you out to do the work. I went to work for a few hours then took an extended lunch so I could take Harry to the dentist. After about three and half hours Harry came home with one less tooth and I went back to work. All's well that ends well.

Halloween a Bust

Well both Harry and I were suppose to go to my friend Christopher's place for a Halloween party on Saturday night Oct. 28th, but with my roller blading mishap I managed to tweak my back and really wasn't up for going out. On Halloween night Oct. 31st Harry and I were suppose to go to our friend Tom's place for some cheesy horror movies. But this time Harry's had a major toothache and wasn't really in the mood for a party. So this Halloween pretty much was a bust... oh well there's always next year.

Second "little" brother outing

Today I had my second little brother hang out. We went to Balboa Park. We first started with feeding the ducks which he really liked. Second was bike riding and since my bike tires were flat I had to roller blade with some really old roller blades. He was a beginner when it came to biking so I tried to help him as much as I could without killing myself being on roller blades. He hit a fence once but was doing pretty good until we hit a slight hill. He couldn't slow down so I tried to jump and help but releazed that I was no help since I was rolling backwards and into some bushes. He managed to stay up and made it down the hill but I did some great balancing tumbling act and managed to tweak my back a bit. After that I was done roller blading. We decided to walk around the park a little and he saw that there were paddle boats and wanted to ride. We had to walk all the way around the lake to get to them. While we did that we played some kick ball. We get to the paddle boat office and he says he wants to do a full hour. I tell him that we can do a half hour and if he want's to continue then we can extend it. Luckily I did that, because no more then ten minutes paddling around the lake he tells me that he is not feeling well and wants to go back. We paddle back and I tell him that it's time for lunch so we start the long walk back to the jeep. As we are walking back he tells me that he has to go to the bathroom, I tell him "oh that's fine thereb are bathrooms here" well come to find out that my "little" doesn't like to go to the bathroom #2 anywhere but home and he had to go for the past two hours and if he could just go home instead of lunch. So I took him home and only spent about 2 1/2 hours with him. The outing started out fun but ended abrubtly. Our next outing is going to be a movie outing.

Our new Refrigerator

Well here it is.. our new Refrigerator... it's a beauty.

Car repairs

Well I took my Jeep to Midas to have the brakes checked and I know by the sound they were making that it wasn't going to be cheap. I left it there and walked to work and a few hours later the guy called and gave me the bad news. Both back brakes are fine.. but the two front brake pads and brake rotars needed to be replaced and they also wanted to flush out my brake fluid. When it comes to places like this you never know if they are really telling you the turth or not but since I haven't not dealt with my brakes since I have had the Jeep (over a year) I figure it wouldn't hurt to take care of it now. So I paid $500.00 to have my brakes fixed... man this was an expensive weekend.

Wall of Serenity

I got these awesome pictures of the Firefly/Serenity Characters last year and they have been sitting up in my toy room for the longest time. They were an odd 10x10 and I couldn't find frames and they cost to me much money to not be protected. I finally found 10x10 frames on Ebay and bought them for a fair amount. I got the frames and they were great but they forgot to give me the glass for them so that took another week or so to get that and after months and months of waiting I finally was able to put up these beautiful pictures.

Poltergeist and Wil Wheaton

After reading Wil Wheaton's Blog ( for those who don't know he played Wesley Crusher from Star Trek The Next Generation ), he mentioned that he was a huge fan of Poltergeist and that it was playing at a local theater in South Pasadena at Midnight. I have only seen Poltergeist in the Drive in back in 82 when it came out and thought it would be great to see it again in a movie theater. So my friend Bruce, Harry and I went to see this classic horror movie. Not many people were there about 30 or so and I expect many more but it was a lot of fun. An extra surprise was that Wil Wheaton and his wife sat right in front of us. Both Bruce and I held back our geeky fanboy reaction and enjoyed the movie. I was so tired but it was well worth it... great fun.

When it Rains it Pours

Well today has not been a great day. Woke up and had breakfast with my friend Christopher. Planned on relaxing all day. Breakfast went great and as I was driving home I noticed that my brakes were making noise. My brakes have been sqeaking the past few weeks but now they are starting to grind (that's not good). So now my weekend was going to be spent getting my brakes fixed. I get home and go and ge a soda and realize that our fridge is not working.. yep.. the fride died last night sometime and everything has been slowly defrosting. So Harry and I went to Best Buy to buy a new fridge and since I was going to buy a new one I wanted a side by side one with water and ice in the door. We found a decent Wirlpool for $900 but on sale for $799.00 so we got that one but since it was past 7pm they can't deliever it till Monday. So we are trying to rescue our frozen foods and hope we can keep them semi cold till then. And if that wasn't bad enough I was hanging some pictures up and standing on the side of the couch and guess what.. it cracked and broke. So one side of our couch in now broken. So this nice relaxing weekend turned into a money pit. And just when I had enough money to put some into my saving.. guess I should be happy that I have the money to buy a new fridge and brakes.. the couch is going to have to wait.

New Motto

Save the Cheerleader.... Save the World

No Season Two of Gene Simmons For Me

I just got an email informing me that my services were not going to be required for Season Two of Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Seems that the new Co-Ep of the show is going to bring his "own" Post Production Supervisor. I don't know why.. but I had a feeling I wasn't going to be asked back if there was a second season.. not sure why. Oh well.. life goes on. I'm here at Curl Girls until the end of Dec. and then I'll move on to bigger and better.

"Little" Outing

Entry for October 15, 2006 - "Little" Outing

Well today was my first outing with my new "little" brother Nico, he's 8. The funny thing is his older brother also got a new "Big" brother the same day and we both got there at the same time to pick up our "little’s".

Nico and I went to Sherman Oaks Castle Park. He loves golf and video games so I thought this would be the perfect place. We played two rounds of miniature golf, and he isn't bad. He got the only hole in one shot of the day. After golf we went inside and played a few video games, we played some ice hockey and then a two player X-men fighting game. We decided to take a break from video games and had some lunch. I got a burger and fries and he wanted pizza. You could buy it by the slice so I asked for one slice for him.. but he said he wanted two. I knew there was no way he was going to eat two slice, they were pretty big slices, but I also knew he didn't get breakfast. Well I was right.. he ate half a slice and wanted to take the rest home. Oh well .. now I know how much food to get him while we are out. After lunch we decided to play games that would give up tickets, you get enough tickets and you can redeem them for small prizes. We played and played and amassed about 465 tickets. So Nico had fun spending all of them and of course got a bunch on small toys and tootsie rolls. It was a fun time and a great first outing.

New "little" Brother

Hey Everyone.. once again I am a "Big Brother" After my previous little brother moved to Idaho in August I have been waiting patiently to be re-assigned to another little brother. Well today I met with a possible "little" named Nico. He is 8 years old and into your typical 8 year old stuff. And since I'm a big kid myself, we hit off right away and both mother and child liked me so we made it official. So now I have a new "little" brother named Nico. Our first meeting is this coming Sunday... can't wait.

TV season so far

Well it's been a few weeks since the new TV season has started. I have really tried to limit myself on how much TV I am watching. Many years ago I was up to about 35 hours a week and the past few years I have widdled it down less and less. Last year with all the good sci fi on TV it went back up a bit, but this year I am once again trying to slim down.

I don't watch any network shows on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

Sunday I watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Amazing Race, Simpsons and Family Guy. Those are all continuations from last year, nothing new.

Monday is Heroes and Studio 60 both of these are new shows and Heroes is by far my favorite new show this season. If you aren't watching it.. you're missing out on some great TV, it's about ordinary people with extraordinary powers. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is okay, it's an Aaron Sorkin show, and I loved The West Wing so I thought I would give it a try. It's a good show but if I missed an episode I wouldn't be that upset.. unlike missing Heroes I would bend over backwards to find a copy of the episode.

Wednesday is The Biggest Loser, Jericho, Lost and The Nine. The Biggest Loser I have watched the past few years and again if I miss one it's not a huge deal. Jericho is a new series and I'm giving it a chance. It's about a nuclear disaster and the going ons in a small town cut off from everything. The idea is cool but some of the stuff seems very unrealistic, I'm going to give it a few more episodes before I decide to drop it or not. Of course there is Lost, this is its third season and this is one of my favorite TV shows currently on. Only been one episode so far.. but it was pretty good. Another new series that's on after Lost is The Nine. The only reason I'm watching it is because it's on after Lost. The first episode was pretty good but I'm not sure how far they can take it. Again.. it was good enough to make me want to come back for another episode.. but didn't knock me over like Heroes.

Thursday is Survivor and CSI. I have seen every season of Survivor and still enjoying it. CSI we tape but haven’t really watched. It's a great series but that was one that we fell behind on and once you get behind it's hard to catch back up.

So that's pretty much it. I watch a few cable shows like Little People, Big World on TLC and Eureka on Sci fi, which just ended. So this TV season there is really only one new show that is a must for me, Heroes. Lost, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Survivor, Amazing Race, Little People, Big World, Simpsons and Family Guy are other returning shows that are a must but everything else I may or may not continue to watch.

WATCH HEROES... Monday 9pm on NBC

Baby Alvino

Our friends Tara and Jack are about to be parents (one week away). They had a baby shower/party on Saturday, it was great fun. These guys are two of the best and sweetest people I know and deserve all the happiest they can get. I wish them all the best and I can't wait to see baby Alvino (Jack Jr. or Bella).

Thrills, Chills and Fender Benders

Harry and I went to Magic Mountain tonight for Gay Night. I have gone almost every year for the past six years or so. Harry and I are huge roller coaster fans but since we got Daisy (our dog) we haven't been able to go. Now that Daisy is a little better about staying home alone and the event was only five hours, we decided to go. It was awesome and so much fun. We manage to ride seven roller coaster in a few hours. Magic Mountain opened a new roller coaster last summer and we have been dying to ride it. Tatsu is a roller coaster where you hang from the track like you are flying. After X (the best roller coaster ever) I didn't think this was going to be all that great. We waited over two hours in line and the excitment grew. We finally got on and it was fun. Towards the end of the ride there is a inverted backwards loop. And all I have to say is OH MY GOD!!!!!

I love roller coaster and have never really been surprised or scared of any of them. Well we were going along and it was fun and then we hit that inverted backwards loop and my heart started to race as we picked up a huge amount of speed and G's. I started to freak out and yell OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD. This had the best drop I have ever felt. I got off this ride and was shaking. IT WAS AWESOME.

After a great night we started to head home and while exiting Magic Mountain and before getting on the freeway there was bumper to bumper traffic. I finally got down the hill and was about to go through the light to the freeway and the person in front of me slammed on her breaks and I did the same but hit a dip in the road and couldn't stop in time and rear ended her. We pulled over in a parking lot where another accident involving three other cars were park and exchanged info. There wasn't much damage to her car and my front right side was dented a bit. So a great night didn't end the way I planed. Now I have to see how much my insurance is going to be raised and I have to see how much it's going to cost me to fix my car. Oh well.. life happens.

It Finally Happened

My brother finally married his long time girlfriend Lora. It was a beautiful wedding, Lora looked fantastic in her wedding dress, so beautiful. Michael was the charming groom greeting guests as they entered. The wedding went off without a hitch. I was one of his groom's men and after the wedding I almost fell down the a few steps while walking out but other than that everything went great. The reception was a blast. Michael's and Lora's friends are wonderful. Fun, crazy and a bit wild. My brother is a huge Star Wars fan and so are his friends. Several of his friends came to the wedding dressed up as Star Wars characters. Beside the ususal first dance and cutting of the cake, we had a light saber limbo. It was a great wedding and reception. I wish them all the best.

Happy Birthday To Me

It's my 36th birthday today. It's been a good birthday. I had a Birthday BBQ with a few friends. We had some hot dogs and hamburgers and watched my favorite romantic comedy Guys and Balls. It was a nice relaxing day.

Filming Heroes outside my office

They are filming a scene from an episode of NBC's new series Heroes right outside my office/edit bays. I saw all these people in the hall way and one of the workers told us that they were shooting a scene pretending they are at FBI headquarters. Greg Grunberg plays a LA cop who can read people's minds and he teams up with an FBI agent.. those are the two principles actors here. It's very cool...

Wedding Rehearsal

Well as some of you may or may not know.. after 12 years of courting, my brother is finally getting married to the lovely Lora. They had planned to get married on my birthday Saturday Sept. 23rd but the reception area wasn't available so they moved it to Sunday Sept. 24th. Of course I am part of the wedding party so I have to be there on Wednesday for the rehearsal. It was alot of fun. My brother has said in the past that he is not nervous about his ceremony, but he was nervous during the rehearsal. I also picked up my tux today, black suit with black shirt, lilac vest and lilac tie. So I have my tux and I know where to stand.. I'm ready for Sunday.

New Job

Well I started my new job today on Curl Girls. It's about 1pm and I'm still waiting for my computer and desk to be dropped off. Getting off to a slow start but the people I have met so far seem pretty cool. The best part is that I'm still working at Sunset Gower Studios, the same place I did Gene Simmons and the even better part is my office along with the edit bays for this new show is under Stage 14 where they are currently shooting HEROES, the new NBC/Scifi/Fantasy TV show that I'm so looking forward to. I've already seen several of the Stars of Heroes. This is going to be a fun job and should take me up to the Christmas holidays.

Favorite Gay Romantic Comedies

Just wanted to share with everyone my two favorite gay romantic comedies. I saw Touch of Pink about a year ago on DVD and just fell in love, it's funny, sweet, caring and just a great movie.

Here's a synopsis of Touch of Pink; Alim is an Ismaili Canadian who lives in London, thousands of miles from his family, for one very good reason--he has a boyfriend. His ideal gay life begins to unravel when his mother (Nuru) shows up to find him a proper Muslim girlfriend and convince him to return to Canada for his cousin's extravagant wedding. Nuru was born and raised in Africa. She was fond of watching Doris Day and Cary Grant classic movies, and wanted to be like her. After the death of her husband, Nuru leaves her young son Alim in Africa with her sister and immigrates to Britain, hoping to leave behind her grief and start a new life. Alim is four when she leaves him. Nuru returns after being rejected by the England, and suffering racism. Nuru and her sister Dolly immigrate to Canada with their families and Alim grows up in Toronto. Fast-forward to the present. Nuru is going to attend her nephew Khaled's wedding but feels that she is missing part of herself because of her separation from Alim. She longs for him to marry a nice Ishmali Muslim girl and raise a family in Toronto. She goes to London to convince Alim to come home. What she does not know is that Alim is living with someone in - but that someone is not Muslim, nor a female - but a male Caucasian. Watch as events unravel this mystery for Nuru when she finally gets to meet her son's life-mate.

Harry and I went to see Guys and Balls in the theater. It's in German but has English subtitles. And since Harry is from Austria this was a must for us. We walked out of the theater and both of us were willing to go right back in and watch it again. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Here is a review of Guys and Balls that I really liked; Guys and Balls, another German import, about a star goalie named Ecki who's booted off a "straight" local soccer team after he's caught tongue-wrestling with a guy. This old-fashioned, feel-good flick, which chronicles Ecki's scheme to exact revenge, nabbed a bunch of honors, including a 2005 Outfest LA Audience Award for best feature. Sort of a cross between The Full Monty and Bend it Like Beckham, this sweet, irresistible root-for-the-homo-team story lives up to its clever title. I compare it to The Full Monty not because the guys bare all (sorry, fellas) but because Ecki's revenge plot involves assembling a motley crew of misfits to take on his former soccer team in a big grudge match. Unlike much of queer cinema, which relies on buffed eye candy to gloss over the shortcomings of a film, Guys and Balls has cast normal guys with beer guts, shabby clothes and—gasp!—body hair.

Among Ecki's new teammates are the closeted barfly soccer fanatic, the beautiful Turkish waiter with a crush on Soccer Adonis David Beckham, the wiry soccer whiz who looks like a boy but is really a lesbian, the pair of hunky Brazilians, and the effeminate bookseller who is really straight. Got all that? My favorites are the leather-daddy threesome that Ecki finds at the dungeon-esque Steel Pipe bar. The tender scenes of them snuggled in their black vinyl waterbed together, shot from above, are oddly heartwarming. One of them is actually a real daddy, now divorced, who has a thing or two to prove to his distraught young son. The star of the newly formed gay team, at least in Ecki's eyes, is Sven, the male nurse. The two boys fall head over heels for each other, but complications arise when Sven discovers that Ecki is using the team more for personal vengeance than for the love of the game.

The team finds a coach in an alcoholic, homophobic, has-been soccer star who warms up to the boys after watching their pathetic practice attempts. Predictably, when Ecki reveals that he's gay, his father pretty much disowns him. He finds loving support from his sister, Suzanne. In the do-or-die showdown between the bros and the homos, the stakes are high. Not only is Ecki fighting for respect as a gay man (and, by extension, for all gays) but he's desperate to regain his stature as an athlete, and as a son. Remember, this is Germany where, like much of the entire world besides the U.S., soccer is not just a sport, it's a religion. Will the gays prevail? Will Ecki win back Sven's heart? The climax may not be a surprise, but it's engaging nonetheless. Like a kick-ass soccer match, Guys and Balls wants nothing more than to entertain, and on that level it scores big. Though the screwball comedy is yet another take on a coming out tale in the "I'm gay, so what!" vein, the refreshingly appealing ensemble and richly textured narrative elevate it beyond standard fare. The curly-locked Brückner makes a winning screen debut as the innocent yet determined Ecki. To be sure, the film churns out annoying been-there-done-that gay platitudes, such as when Suzanne says about Sven, "Why the heck does every nice-looking guy have to be gay?" And the logic of actually assembling such a gay team is painfully strained. But, for the most part, these lapses are easy to forgive.

Directed by Sherry Hormann, who reportedly knew nothing about soccer when she signed on, the film boasts lively field action sequences that register as authentic. Unless you're a pro, you'd never know the actors also had no soccer experience and were required to join a training camp to polish their moves before cameras started rolling.

Watching Guys and Balls, it's easy to see why films with sports themes are such a hit with gay audiences. It's about the triumph of the underdog, overcoming prejudice, self-discovery, and extracting the hidden joys out of life. And, of course, helping to dissolve the taboo of gays playing sports in a straight world.

Happy Birthday Star Trek

Happy Birthday Star Trek (Sept. 8, 1966)... 40 Great Years and counting.

I can't believe it's been 40 years already. Being 35 Star Trek has always been apart of my life, I don't know a world without Star Trek. I remember sitting in my parents car at a drive in and watching The Motion Picture. I can remember staying up late and watching TOS in syndication and really enjoying it. Then came TNG and it was LOVE. Every week I was pulled into this world of "Star Trek". The stories, the characters, and the underlying themes is what made this show so great. It was escapism at it's best. Whenever I was feeling down or when "real" life was getting to be a bit to much, I could count on Star Trek to bring me back up and always put a smile on my face.

We live in a very sad world at the moment and Star Trek always showed what the human race could achieve. It had a crew that said discrimination was a thing of past; it had a future with no poverty; it had an economy that was driven by progress and achievement, not simple wealth accumulation; it had science as a guiding force, not mysticism or superstition; it had technology as a means to explore, not just make life easier; and, perhaps most importantly, it had a peaceful mission at its core, not one of conquest.

With The Original Series, the Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and finally Enterprise. And along the way 10 motion pictures. I couldn't imagine a world without Star Trek, let's hope for 40 more great years.

Jeep Alarm & Zoom

Well today I took my jeep in to get an alarm installed. I have been wanting to do this since I bought it back in September, but things kept popping up and funds have been unavailable. Well today was the day, I took it in and paid $700.00 to have install very cool alarm. Of course I find out that none of the doors are electrical so they couldn't install the automatic door openers and a few of the extra opinions weren't available. But I did get the perimeter sensor since my Jeep can be topless and I don't want people to be able to grab anything from inside my jeep. So while this was going to take four to five hours to install I decided that I would have lunch with a friend and go to the movies. I wanted to see Superman Returns ( I know I can't believe I haven't seen it yet either), but it wasn't playing anymore so instead I went and saw Zoom with Tim Allen. I thought it was a cute movie. Kind of like Sky High but with less of a story. It seems just when this movie gets going it ends. Also the final battle is about two minutes and resolved way to quickly. I like the idea of the movie just needed more of it.

Job Update

Well it's been one week at the new job and things are going pretty good. The first week was a bit tough because we got the avids in, had to set up my office, phones, internet, computers and such. I started to digitize but since this format and systems were new to me it took some figuring out, but I finally figured out the bugs and started to digitize in the footage. I also had to hire two assistant editors which is always tough, but I think I found two really good people. So this week will be better since I'll have my two assistants finish digitizing everything that's been shot so far and prepare the stringouts for the editors who start next Monday.

My Last Outing with My "Little"

Well today was my last outing with Sean. I thought I had a few more weeks and was planning a big event for our last outing. But today when I picked him up I saw a UHaul in front of his place. I asked him when they were moving and he said Monday, which is two days away. It was too late in the day to try and do something big like I hoped to do so we decided to go to Venice beach. He had mentioned that he wanted a tattoo, and of course he is only 12 and his mom would have killed me so instead I got him a Henna Tattoo, which last two to three weeks. He got a huge dragon on his right arm, it turned out pretty good. We then rented "choopers" 3 wheeled bikes and rode along the beach for about an hour. After the ride he wanted to jump into the ocean for one last time. So I sat on the beach while he played in the water for an hour. It was a fun day but also bitter sweet since it was going to be our last outing. I gave him my numbers and email address and told him if he ever need to talk or if he comes to visit to give me a call. It was only for a short time but I really enjoyed hanging out with my "little" brother.

New Job

Well as Gene Simmons Family Jewels comes to an end (Aug. 18th). I got a phone call today asking if I was interested in workng as Post Production Supervisor for a new TV series for the LOGO network called " Curl Girls" It's a six part series about six lesbian surfer girls, their lives and loves.

Being so busy with my current job I hadn't even started to look for more work so when I got this call I was surprised and pleased. A former co-worker/Producer recommended me, THANKS Leslie. It starts a few weeks into September which is nice because I can take off a few much needed weeks.

I accepted the job which will run until mid November. Then if things go well I will take off the month of December for the Holidays and start a new job in January, possibly Family Jewels season two.

My Show just Premiered

Well the show I have been working on since Jan. finally had it's premiere. Gene Simmons Family Jewels. They aired two episodes back to back. Harry and I went to the premiere party tonight. It was at Gene Simmons' house. It was a lot of fun. It was good to see former co-workers. It was also fun to see Gene and his family in person. I have seen them for the past seven months on TV but never got to see them in person. Gene was a friendly host and came over to a group of us and put his hand on Harry's back and introduced himself to everyone and shook everyones hand. I've seen the house on Video but it doesn't do it justice. It's in the middle of Beverly Hills up a very private driveway, very nice. All in all a great night. Everyone laughed and cheered in the right places. I hope this is popular so there can be a second season.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Well I finally saw Pirates 2 and I really enjoyed it. I knew before hand that this was going to be the middle movie and a third one was being made. So when it ended the way it did, I was not surprised. I think Depp did another great job as Captain Jack Sparrow. The SFX were awesome and there was a ton of action. I don't think this was a complete story though. I think the fact that they knew they were doing another film hurt the story telling in this movie. This series could not end with this movie, there must be a third installment to complete this story.

Another "Little" Outing

Took my "little" brother to the Sherman Oaks Gallery. I still haven't seen Superman or Pirates 2 so I gave him the choice of which ever one he wanted to see. He chose Pirates 2 and we both really enjoyed the movie. After the movie we went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch and had a nice lunch.

Comic Con Day Four

Final Thoughts.... Not as many stars or panels and the horrible mix up with the hotel , but all in all this has been a fun comic con experience. Be sure to check out my website and follow the link to my comic con 2006 pictures.

Sunday is usually a laid back kind of day. It's "Kids day" so I normally don't go to any panels that day and normally finish up buying whatever I want to buy before we head home. But this year I was volunteering at the California Browncoats fan table. From 9:30am to about 1pm it was controlled chaos. It was so much fun meeting fellow fans of Firefly and Serenity. We sold tons of t-shirts, buttons, stickers and so much more. I did very good and didn't buy everything. After working the booth I then strolled around a bit longer and checked out a few things. At about 1:30 I headed upstairs for the Browncoats charity drawing, which I had bought 20 tickets. I sat there for about two hours as they read off ticket number but alas I did not win any of the 123 items. After that I found Tom and we headed back home.

Comic Con Day Three

There wasn't much going on Saturday in regards to the panels, at least not much that I wanted to see. So I planned on spending most of my time down in the dealers room or roaming around taking pictures. But there were two panels that I wanted to see. At 10:30 there was the Lost panel. I have gone to this every year (this being year three) and every year different actors show up to promote this show. This year we had Jorge Garcia (Hurley) and Daniel Dae Kim (Jin). It was a packed house over 5000 people and they talked about the upcoming season but kept very tight lipped. After that panel and in the same room was The Simpson panel. The creative time behind this show came in and discussed several things, the big thing was seeing unfinished clips from the big Simpsons movie coming out next year. Both panels were great

After the panels I picked up some lunch and went back down to the floor where I took tons of picture ( which you can see on my website) and continue to check out all the geeky things. At 8pm there was a special screening of "Done the Impossilbe" it's a fan film about how the fans of Firefly fought to get our beloved but cancelled TV series made into the big damn movie Serenity. When then did dinner and back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

Comic Con Day Two

Friday was my first full day at this years Comic Con and I would have to say that it didn't disappoint me. There were crowds, lines, people in costumes and plenty of geeky things as far as the eye could see. Every year I sit down with the program schedule for each day and make lists of what I want to see and who I want to see. Of course there is always conflicting event happening at the same time so I pick which one I really want to see and have the other ones as back up just in case I can't get into the one I really want to see. There were 12 events/panels that I wanted to see but 0nly three were "must" see.

When the doors opened on the huge dealers room ( about the size of a football field) I started to look at all the goodies. I only needed a few action figures but was also buying some figures for friends that couldn't make to comic con.. so I started to shop. I knew that I had about an hour before I needed to get in line for the Warner Bros presentation. I knew that they weren't going to be showing any new footage from the new Harry Potter so it went from a 'must' see to if I had time panel and once I was on the dealers floor looking at all the cool things I decided that it wasn't so important and skipped it.

Around Noon I knew that I needed to get upstairs and get in line for the one thing that I really have been looking forward too, the screening and panel for Heroes. Heroes is a new TV series that will be premiering on NBC in the fall and they had a special sneak peak at a 70 minutes comic con exclusive cut of the pilot episode. Then the entire cast but two came in and spoke to the crowds of thousands. The pilot was awesome and it was so cool being one of the first people to watch this great new TV series. The cast was funny, charming and taken back by the response from the audience. Eveyone must watch this new TV series.

After the Heroes panel I went back down to the dealers room and continued to go through the crowds of people and shop for items that I needed. About and hour after that my nerves were starting to get frayed. I can only take the crowds for so long and my feet were starting to hurt.. so I decided that is was time for lunch. I went upstairs and found a semi-quiet area and sat down for a much needed rest. After lunch I really didn't want to go back down to the floor so I decided to go to another panel. And so for the next few hours I went to the Star Wars Day: Lucasfilm's Star Wars Spectacular, which really is one big sales pitch for what games are coming out next year, but was still fun. I also went to The Jim Henson Company: Power of the Dark Crystal and found out about some upcoming movies and event from the Jim Henson Company. Now being 7pm I was tired but Tom and I wanted to see if we could get into one more panel, SNL Saturday TV Funhouse. We got in line, which was huge but the room filled up and we couldn't get it. We decided that it was time for dinner and then back to the hotel to rest up for Saturday.