Taking a three prong approach to documenting our Paris Trip.  The first will be a flickr gallery with some description. The second will be a video montage. And the third will be a short essay.

Despite walking the streets of Paris this morning, we still made it back home to catch Brit’s game.

Snapshot of the Eiffel Tower taken from the top of the Arc De Triumphe.

#23 in Progress.  Eating in “our” neighborhood of Saint Germaine Des Pres. Great food, better ambiance.  Tres’ Bien.

Contemplating #44 at Pere Lachaise cemetery amongst some of Paris’ brightest stars such as Balzac, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Frederic Chopin and Jim Morrison (not French, but visiting).

#6 In Progress. In the neighborhood of St. Germaine Des Pres, I took some time to sit in the cafe where Hemingway sat as a young man.  It was here at the Cafe De Flure, as well as at the Cafe Duex Maggots next door where Hemingway struggled with the idea of writing his first novel.  Hopefully my struggles will go as well as his.

#12 Done. Snapped this picture of Brittany walking toward the school’s entrance as I drove by. She was annoyed.  But, another milestone is complete.

Started the season with a 1-0 loss.  I guess this league won’t be a cakewalk after all.  In other news, my fantasy football team is rollin’.

Bottle Shock tells the story of the events that led up to the Judgment of Paris in 1976, when California wine beat French wine in a blind taste test. Pretty good movie.

Brit finally got her four poster bed, but not without a whole lot of blood, sweat and tears from yours truly.  I look forward to the day that furniture assembly is not cost productive.

She had to wait fourteen years, but Brittany finally got to go shopping to furnish her OWN room.

#21 in progress.  Finished Slaughterhouse Five… So it goes.

#72 Complete. We spent the weekend in the Santa Ynez Valley outside of Solvang following the wine appreciation trail seen in the movie Sideways.  Good times.

Looking for wooden shoes in Solvang.

Number 23 in progress. Eating at AJ Spurs in Buellton, CA.

Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs was the movie that probably most inspired me to try my hand at screenwriting.  Like Reservoir Dogs, Inglorious Basterds is full of great scenes and dialogue.  However, unlike Reservoir Dogs, Basterds lacks a solid core and coherent plot.

Once I saw the trailer for the remake of Pelham 1, 2, 3 I felt taken.  I worked with the producer of Pelham for several months on a script I wrote called, The Hostage.  He loved three ideas in particular about my script.  All three things were in the trailer of his Pelham remake.  Was he “inspired” by those ideas?  I’d say without a doubt, but I needed to see the original before I had a clear take.  Well, I just watch the original and I can say with ninety percent certainty that the producer lifted the big ideas from my script and applied them to his remake. But as they say, ideas are a dime a dozen, it’s the execution that makes a movie.  Getting ripped off is a rite of passage I guess.

August Recap. I’ve been thinking about goal #11 since I took on the job when Devin was in the 2nd grade.  Twelve years later we finally got the job done.  Although a bit traumatic, especially for Sonia, it was a successful hand off.  With that said, I managed to knock eight more goals from the list.

What’s done…

#11. Like I said.

#28. After getting knocked down by a wave or two, I made it out on the open water.

#31. Took in a little Yo-Yo Ma

#48. Bike ride to see the freaks of Venice.

#51. Another toy to stalk my every move.

#58. A damn cold walk across the bridge.

#85. Breakfast in bed.

#94. The perfect San Fran Meal.

And the works in progress…

#10. Six weeks into a 100 pushups work out routine.

#12. Almost there.

#18. Yep.

#23. Of course. Tried Lobster in Santa Monica, Le Petite Four & Chateau Marmont on Sunset,  Takimi & O Bar downtown Los Angeles, Ti Couz in San Francisco, Pinot Bistro in Studio City, The Kogi Truck in Venice and Boa in Las Vegas.

#97. It’s just not going to happen.

On to September.

Just finished the big Fantasy Football draft.  Ours is an auction league, so lots of strategy. I had the winning bid for the first two players on the board (Adrienne Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew), but was broke thereafter. Still, on paper I’m happy with my team.

At Magic Apparel Show in Vegas. Anxious to get back to the craps table.

At Pure Nightclub at Caesar’s Palace.

Cop. Cyndie. Sonia. Elvis.

In Vegas… On Business.  For real.

The hills are on fire again.

One of L.A.’s hottest restaurants at the moment is the roach coach, Kogi Truck. Lines to order the Korean BBQ are sometimes a hundred deep. Luckly we spotted it in Venice before a major line formed. Pretty damn good.

Interesting, but dry.

But it’s dry heat.

Surprised it took me so long to see this.  I really enjoyed it.

#7 not done yet.  Eliminated three credit cards today.  One more and it’s sayonara bad debt.

Took Brittany to see District 9 to keep her distracted from the lingering pain of her morning oral surgery.  I was really looking forward to this one, but overall I was let down.

#11 Complete.  At approximately 12:30p.m. on Sunday, August 23rd 2009, on the corner of Powell and O’Farrell in San Francisco, Sonia, Brittany and I hugged Devin goodbye and wished him luck on the next chapter of his life.  A bittersweet day for all of us.

#85 done. Enjoyed some eggs benedict in bed.

#23 in progress. Met some old high school friends for dinner at this French place in San Francisco’s Mission district. Tres bein.

Moved Devin In.

#94 Finished.  Enjoyed a bowl of calm chowder in a bread bowl at Fisherman’s Wharf where mom used to take Sean and me as kids.

We’ve arrived.

4am at the Donut Shop. Preparing for the drive to San Francisco.

The time has come to shove one of the birdies from the nest. Fly, boy.

Stupid.

Won 3 of 4 to take 2nd place. Brit played great and scored 7 of the 15 goals. Unfortunately we probably lost one of girls to a torn ACL.