Marquette blew a 17 point lead to lose by one to FSU in the championship game of the Old Spice Classic.  Despite the heartbreaker, the Warriors impressive run to the championship game raised my expectations for this year’s team which will only add to my misery when they lose.

Once again, Vegas exceeded expectations.  We leave with more money than we came with.

#25 Done. A conversation about Vegas over Thanksgiving dinner lit a fire in us, so we woke up at 5am and hit the road.

Happy Turkey Day

Happy 19th Birthday, Devin! Your Backstreet Boys’ days seem like just yesterday.

For you, Ona.

#86 done. It only took about ten years, but finally had my Dad, Georgeanne, George & Rosie over a proper Puerto Rican meal.

#23 in progress. Tried Umami, a Japanese burger joint in Los Feliz. Looks much better than it tastes.  Laurel Burger is still the winner.

So anyway, last night I banged my left hand hard enough for it to swell up over the knuckles by the time I woke up.  However, I’m not sure if it’s broken because the Urgent Care I went to has an infinity for irony and won’t be able to get around to looking at the x-rays until Monday. Fortunately I have a copy of the x-rays in my procession, but when I look at them I see fractures all over the place, so I think I’m doing something wrong.  How did I hurt myself, you ask? I’d rather not say, but I’ll give you three choices to guess from.  A. I was trying to break the long distance record of walking on one’s hands. B. Fought two bank robbers while depositing a Cheesehead option check. C. Banged it against the chair next to me at the Lakers’ game while trying to dislodge my stuck sports coat.

Caught a Lakers game with my dad.  Saw Kobe Bryant surpass Kareem Abdul Jabbar in 2nd most points scored as a Laker.

Watched the Soloist as I nursed the gaping hole in my mouth from this morning’s wisdom tooth extraction. I have three more impacted teeth that need to be pulled, but I’m in no rush.  As for the movie… Okay.

It’s that time of year again, where every Marquette game I watch has the potential of inducing a heart attack.  This season will be particularly painful as we are picked to finish 12th in the Big East and expected to miss making the NCAA Tournament.  But that’s what the beer is for.

#5 in progress.  Since graduating film school in 2000, Hollywood has become a virtual black hole for originality. Out of the top 50 grossing movies of the decade, only 9 were based on original properties.  And 5 of those 9 were animated Pixar movies.  But what about the critically acclaimed movies, you ask? Surly the Academy values originality over box office receipts. But, unfortunately that is not the case as just 7 of the 45 Best Picture Nominees of the decade thus far were based on original works.

#21 in progress. Finished Hemingway’s first novel, The Sun Also Rises.  All character and minimal plot.  He did it well.

My nephew Dylan did an amazing job staying uncharacteristically still for the duration of the ceremony in which his parents’ renewed their wedding vows.  It was a touching ceremony and great weekend with the entire family.

In Seattle for the weekend.

I wrote a script a while back called, The Messenger.  The story followed a 20-something-year-old bike messenger in NYC who picks up a package that a dirty cop will stop at nothing to prevent him from delivering it.

I read in the trades of a similar story being sold today.  Here’s the logline: Premium Rush is a story that follows a 20-something-year-old bike messenger who somehow gets involved in a chase across New York City. And we’re not just talking about a little chase but big budget William Friedkin-style action sequences. Apparently a dirty cop is “desperate to get his hands” on an envelope the messenger received from Columbia University.

Oh well.

Because we’re not a family of soldiers. Veteran’s Day has always been a holiday without a face.  But the older I get, the better I understand and appreciate the sacrifices made for me and mine.  So, in honor of my friend, Kyle, who is off fighting to keep us safe, happy Veteran’s Day.

#43 done. Stylin’ and profilin’.

#5 in progress.  If you want to be a writer, screenwriting is an odd medium to pursue. When you turn in your finished screenplay, no one else sees it as finished, but rather as a loose blueprint. Worse yet, the system calls on you to write your most original and engaging stories, not so that they could be made into movies, but to prove to the movie executive that you can write his “brilliant” idea for the next Fast and the Furious installment.  Rather than play that game, I’ve decided to shelve my latest alien abduction spec and concentrate on my Cheeseheads rewrite.  Cheeseheads has been very good to me.  It has been optioned three times for actual money.  It has gotten me hundreds of meetings.  And oddly enough, it even got me a job to write a serious drama based on the true story of a former federal prosecutor who discovered Nazi war criminals were living in the US on the government’s dime.  But despite all that the script has done for me, it has never done what it was intended to do.  Be a movie. So, that is why I will take the next six weeks to rewrite it.  I will rewrite all of the changes I have made throughout the years to appease some studio exec.  I’m finally in a position where I don’t need Hollywood.  This is my movie and I’m going to write and direct it. Oh, and be forewarned, I’m looking for investors.

A celebratory lunch for another win.  Brit scored two more goals, but thought she played terrible.  She was alone in her thinking, but it’s nice to know she has such high standards.

Ah, the NBA.  Sonia and I joined 10,000 strong to see if Iverson would come off of the bench in the Clippers-Grizzlies game.  Turns out he left the team before tip off.  Clippers won… I guess.

Two more goals and a penalty kick for Brit as her team won 4-0. This one gives them control of first place with two games to go.

October Recap…

October was a month of transition. We acted like grown ups and ditched the apartment for a house. But then we acted like kids and dressed up for halloween. I guess that’s the goal. Not letting the scale tip too far to one side.

What’s Done…

#20. In 1998, Sonia and I flew out to LA to find an apartment a couple of months ahead of our move from Chicago to LA so that I could attend film school. The apartment on Benefit St. was the last place we found hours before our flight back. It was a last second find that lasted us almost twelve years. It was a nice place, but we both couldn’t be happier to be out of it and in our new home… Even if it’s only a half of a block down the street.

#37. My brother and his family joined us around the campfire for some marshmallows.

#55. Dressed up like Bonnie and Clyde. We thought we’d have to explain it, but the minute we got out of the car in Hollywood a group of people said, “Hey, Bonnie & Clyde”.

#70. Ate at Cut. Maestros is still the better L.A. steak house.

#100. Acquired an Italian print of the On The Waterfront movie poster for my office.

In Progress…

#6. I’m outlining the story I want to tell. A big hurdle accomplished.

#10. Still rocking the push-ups. My chest and biceps are getting noticeably bigger, but my glutenous diet remains unchanged, so I’m essentially building a bigger frame for the fat.

#18. Still going.

#21. Almost done with Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”. I’m thinking of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” to finish off the year with.

#23. Tried a couple of more Wolfgang Puck restaurants.

#24. Yeah, in space.

By the way, I think I attended as many playoff games as I did regular season games.

Back to November.

Netflixed The Proposition. A gritty, bloody and brutal Australian Western that dwarfs anything Hollywood has made in a long time.

#23 in progress. To celebrate the Evil Empire’s World Series win, Sonia and I gave Wolfgang Puck’s, Chinois on Main, in Santa Monica a try. Based on Jim’s inquiry, we both had the curry lobster with crunchy spinach. Excellent.

Good movie with a good message. Learn to read or you’ll become a Nazi.

Hanging with Sean on a sportscentric monday.

After losing the previous two games against the first place team, Brit’s team dominated in 90 degree heat and are now the co-leaders in the standings. The other team lost their composure in the 2nd half and began racking up some yellow cards with some pretty bruising fouls. Unfortunately, Brit was the recipient of most of them, but took her revenge by scoring. With just three games to go, a move up to Silver is looking more and more likely.

#55 Done.  For the first time in twelve years, Sonia and I dressed up for Halloween (Bonnie & Clyde in case it’s not obvious).  We ventured down to West Hollywood, home of one of the biggest Halloween Parties of the world, and joined some friends to costume watch.   Guys tend to either cross dress or wear cheesy 70’s style mustaches. Girls on the other hand use Halloween as an excuse to wear the sluttiest costume they can find.  There were slutty zombies, slutty nurses, slutty gangsters, slutty maids and slutty Lady GaGas.  There was even a girl dressed as a slutty H1N1 Virus.