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.

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.

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 Vegas on a whim and made some moola.  We’re becoming the Bonnie and Clyde of craps.

#43. Bought a new suit.  Hopefully it doesn’t fit this time next year.

#61. Took the fam to see Snoqualmie Falls in Washington.

#86. Finally had my Dad, Georgeanne, George and Rosie over for dinner.

In Progress…

#5. Almost done.

#6. Real close.

#10. Days away from completing the program.

#18. Still going.

#21. Read the Sun Also Rises. One more to go.

#23. Chinois on Main and Umami Burger.

Just a few weeks away from end.

#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

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.