Saw The Lovely Bones.  A good story ruined by the director’s excessive use of computerized production design.

#59 not going to happen. Too little time, too little desire.

Merry Christmas.  Kids are growing up fast.  Everyone got what they wanted as usual.  Xmas eve dinner was great.  Xmas breakfast was comforting.  Now it’s time for the traditional xmas nap.  Here are a few more pics from last night.

Santa made an appearance at the annual Youmans Christmas Eve Party.  Good times as usual.

#21 Done. Having read Hemingway’s first novel, I figured I should read his last one as well. The Old Man in the Sea is proof that character trumps story.  To recap, the other four classic novels read this year were The Big Sleep, Tropic of Cancer, Slaughterhouse Five and The Sun Also Rises.

Took Brittany to see Avatar because Sonia is allergic to Sci-fi movies. The story was a well executed version of a story we have seen many times before.  The way it was told through the 3D cinematography and production design was a game changer.  This is a seminal moment in movie making.

Brought back something nasty from Chicago. It’s bed for me.

#10 done.  I started a six week push up routine in early July but have kept it going despite hating it.  I’ve been able to do eighty push ups at one time despite the fact that I seem to weigh more every time I try.

#29 Done. Found Snow. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Touched down in Chitown.  Made a pit stop at Gene and Judes for a couple of dawgs.  Fantastic.  The hour plus in traffic, not so much.

#6 Done.  But far from actually being done. I started working on my first novel, 27, a few weeks ago.  Hopefully I’ll a first draft by this time next year.

#96 Incomplete.  The Newport Beach Xmas boat parade is this weekend, but we’ll be in Chicago gettin’ our cold on.

#23 Done. Tried Eva Longoria and Todd English’s, Beso, in Hollywood.  Neither of us were disappointed.  2009 was the year of the restaurant.  And although we sunk way more money into our stomachs than any financial would advise, we’d do it again.

#99 Done.  We’ve given a bunch to ourselves this year, so it’s probably wise to take a break and give a little back to others.  So we gave a little christmas cheer to a family through the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital’s Holidays From The Heart.

#19 in progress.  Wrote a post about my great grandmother’s family, The Pellissiers. Click the picture to read.

Good gangster flick. Used to live down the block from the Biography theatre in Chicago where Dillinger was killed after watching Manhattan Melodrama with Clark Gabel.  I saw Something About Mary in the same theatre.

Saw this movie with five other people who were either luke warm or didn’t like it.  It was a movie about melancholy.  I liked it.

#97 Incomplete. This was the one goal that was way out of my control.  And other than being on the Amazing Race I have no desire to be on a game show.  This won’t be on next year’s list.

She’s only three games into the season, but it’s cool to see Brit has cracked the top ten in Southern California for total points.  With that said, it’s still sloppy soccer.

Montclair is 2-0 after winning just one game last year.  Brit scored twice today, but man do I miss watching club.

#46 Incomplete. Not going to happen by the 31st. Next year.

Netflixed the documentary, The Carter.  Not much to take away from it.

#38 Done. Hosted a party.  Great turnout (about fifty), great food and drink, and good times all around.

Netflixed Funny People and found it moderately funny.

#62 incomplete.  Although we spent many days at the beach this year, Newport was not one of them.  It’s be unseasonably warm this month, but not warm enough to make this one happen.

November Recap. November was a family month.  Aside from Thanksgiving, we had a family reunion outside of Seattle to celebrate my sister’s and brother-in-law’s marriage. November was also the month my little girl took her soccer game to the next level and helped secure a championship for her club team.  High School soccer is going to be buzz kill. What’s done… #25. Headed to…

I meant to take a picture at Brittany’s first high school soccer game, but I was too busy ranting and raving about how lousy the team and coaches are.

#80 Incomplete.  The first official incomplete of the year.  Time ran out and it’s not like we’re really missing much with this year’s team.

It’s beginning to look a lot like….

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

Bove’s Theorem: The remaining work to finish in order to reach your goal increases as the deadline approaches. Forty three goals to go with only five weeks to do them in.  Yeah.

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…

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…

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

After the first six games of the season, Brit’s team was 3-3 and facing the prospect of breaking up.  One more loss and their season and team was done.  But rather than pack it in , the girls pulled together and won the next seven games and allowed just two goals while scoring twenty five to claim a share of first place.  That brings…

#61 Done. Took the kids to see Snoqualmie Falls in Washington.  It used to be the first stop we made as kids on the way over to my aunt’s house in Roslyn. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

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…

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.