Never Seen the Shining

Everybody has their own unique cultural blind spot. Stuff that falls in the blind spot that everyone else has been exposed to, yet for some reason, you never did.

As I blogged a while back, The Great Gatsby was in my literary blind spot - one of those books that everyone says, "I can't believe you've never read that!" Of course, everyone also has blind spots for music and television shows.

Recently on Facebook, my friend Brian admitted to never having seen Dr Zhivago. My impulse was to gasp! - before I realized that his Zhivago is my Shining. It's in that cultural blind spot. Movies I'm embarrassed to admit I've never seen.

So here's my filmic blind spot (also known as its other name, the Netflix Queue). A lot of Best Picture winners. Movies that most of you have seen and love - some of which will cause you to gasp!. Note that I didn't list foreign films, since there're way too many I haven't seen (curse the prolific likes of Kurosawa, Truffaut, etc) - and most of the films are 1960 and after. My blind spot-

The Departed
Brokeback Mountain
Shakespeare in Love
Fight Club
Dances With Wolves
Lethal Weapon
This is Spinal Tap
Scarface
Ordinary People
The Shining
Reds
American Graffiti
Taxi Driver
Blazing Saddles
Psycho (pretty much all Hitchcock films)
Spartacus
Cool Hand Luke
Dr. No
12 Angry Men
Sunset Blvd

Now that you're done gasping! at the films I've never seen, what films are in your blind spot?

An MKT Halloween

Humor me for a moment. Because nine years ago, a little band had their first public performance at a Halloween party in San Diego.

The band was MKT. The Monkey Kicking Turtle.

Now before I reminisce about the Halloween party, you're probably wondering about the name. Basically we had no name for our band. Then our frequently intoxicated/frequently insane bass player, Joe, said that we should come up with some completely random nonsensical name. "Something like Monkey Chicken and Turtle."

We misunderstood him and thought he said "Monkey Kicking Turtle" - the name stuck.

Alfred played lead guitar and vocals, Joe was the bassist, Beave was the drummer. I jedi mind-tricked them into making me rhythm guitar and vocals. Later Mark joined as a guitarist and vocalist. Our buddy Dan Santat did our CD cover, featuring a yin/yang type logo with a monkey and turtle kicking each other. Because depending on how you looked at it, the title could either be a monkey kicking a turtle, or a turtle that kicks monkeys.

We played what we thought of as an alternative rock sound, with a heavy blues influence. But then Joe derided our sound as "gratuitous pop" - and again, the name stuck. Nearly all the songs were written by Alfred - and anyone who's heard his songs knows what a gifted songwriter he is. Plus we did a few covers of the Violent Femmes, the Pogues, the Cure, the Ramones, the Clash, Wilson Pickett. I actually co-wrote one song with Alfred and Beave that I'm actually quite proud of. Still sometimes play that one when no one's looking or listening.

Anyways, MKT played for a few years in San Diego, then broke up for all the usual reasons bands break up, reformed as an acoustic coffee shop band, then re-united for one big last show at Porter's Pub in 2001. Then Alfred moved away to join the New York music scene (his new project is called The Smells of North America - check it out on MySpace).

But now back to our first show - the 1998 Halloween party thrown at Chris & Beave's house. The highlight of the night was at the end of our set, when everyone was good and drunk, and we decided to do an unrehearsed, barely sober cover of "The Monster Mash." I had a print out of the lyrics and got Mark and Shannon out of the crowd to sing them. Alfred did an amazing guitar solo, I sang a little bit of back-up vocals (the "oooo" part), and that's Mark doing a killer impression of famous Czech Dale Stuzka.

And here it is. A low-quality bootleg recorded on audio cassette. Not the greatest completely unrehearsed barely-sober performance ever, but it was a lot of fun.

Listen (mp3)

Maybe you had to be there...

Hits from the Dojo

So I've been taking martial arts for ten months now. I'm having fun and I've learned quite a bit that I didn't know before. I was going to post a picture of my ribs after last night's practice, but instead, I'd like to share these nuggets of wisdom, gained from ten months of study.

Things I've Learned through Martial Arts

1. You will get hit. For some reason, before I started, I knew that I would get to hit other people, but I totally spaced on the fact that other people would get to hit me.

2. Early on, you're going to be terrible at defense. So you're going to get hit a lot. Often. Repeatedly. With sticks.

3. Getting beaten up? It sucks. Because it hurts.

4. Your pride will take a hit as you struggle to get better. Alas, the blow to your pride will not hurt nearly as much as the blows to your head, arms, and body.

5. Getting hit in the ribs with a bamboo sword is incredibly painful.

6. The only thing more painful than getting hit in the ribs with a bamboo sword? Getting hit AGAIN in the exact same spot a few minutes later.

7. When sparring, don't drop your weapon. Not only do you lose half a point in scoring, it makes you look like an idiot.

8. When sparring, it's a bad sign when your opponent is laughing. It means he's having way too much fun pummelling you.

9. Don't stress. Everyone started at the exact same spot you are in, so they all know how you're feeling. And despite them smacking you around, they're rooting for you to get better. So just relax, try and get better, and have fun.

10. Whatever you do, don't cry in the dojo. Wait til you're in your car driving home.

Matt and Justice League Unlimited #37

Matt & Justice League Unlimited #37

Testing to see if this "post from flickr" thing works. If it worked, you should now be seeing a photograph of Matt Wayne, writer of Justice League Unlimited #37. Matt was generous enough to autograph a copy for me last week.

It's available on Ebay now. Bid early, bid often...

The Good Old Hockey Game

Played in a fun ice hockey game Friday night in Burbank. I don't know how best to tell the story, so I'm going to let the two sides of my ego - GOOD EUGENE and EVIL EUGENE - tell the story. Take it away guys.

GOOD EUGENE: Thanks. Nice to be here.

EVIL EUGENE: @#$# it. What up, losers?

GOOD EUGENE: So I played in an ice hockey game Friday night. Not a lot of players were able to make it.

EVIL EUGENE: I showed up just in time to save the day.

GOOD EUGENE: Actually, I was late and barely made it in time. Which no one seemed to mind, because there were only seven skaters total. Lots of ice time for everybody - we all got REALLY tired and we fell behind early.

EVIL EUGENE: Then I grabbed the rebound in the center of the crease, held onto it with people all over me, didn't panic, drifted a long step to the right out of the goalie's reach, and then SHELFED it where he couldn't reach it. Goal scorer's patience. Pure Eugene.

GOOD EUGENE: Actually, Lenny did all the work, skating and stick-handling. Everyone went to him as he shot it. The goalie stopped the shot and poked it towards me, but the puck kept going. In a state of pure panic, I was standing in front of an empty net and saw the puck drifting away. I screamed, "Oh @#$#!" and lunged, barely able to keep the puck from getting away and barely wristed it past the goalie's glove.

EVIL EUGENE: I liked my version better.

Anyways, we're down 2-1 entering the third. After a quick turnover, I drive to the front of the net. A teammate digs the puck out against the left boards and flings it through the slot. I spin, stick out my stick, and backhand deflect the puck - it hits the inside of the right post and in. CLANK! Tie game. And Eugene's just getting started.

GOOD EUGENE: Um, actually, I was trying to STOP the puck with my backhand - but the pass came so hard that I lost control of it. It deflected off my backhand and fluttered slowly towards the goalpost. It hit the right goalpost, bounced off the back of the goalie's left skate, and then barely over the line. The one ref was laughing at me, telling me that he'd never seen slower shot than that one. It counted, but it was total luck.

EVIL EUGENE: Again, I prefer my version.

Anyways, it's tied 2-2, third period. I'm against the left side of the boards forechecking when a teammate manages to pop the puck loose in the left face-off circle. I grab the puck and step forward towards the net - a teammate streaks to the center and the defenseman stops, wanting to cut off the pass. I step into the slot, stick handle once to freeze the goalie, and then RIP a wicked wrist shot - high glove side, up and over, CLANK off the post, and IN. We're up 3-2. EUGENE HAT TRICK.

GOOD EUGENE: Um, that one's actually accurate. The third goal was pretty cool. I let myself celebrate that one.

EVIL EUGENE: But the game's still close. It's 4-3, still in the third, when Lenny steals the puck and breaks down the right side. I drive to the front on my off-wing, turning it into a two-on-one break. Lenny centers it - I stop the puck and then do a Michael Camalleri-style kneeling slapshot. Hard shot goes against the grain and SLAMS past the goalie, low glove side. Goal #4! Eugene on fire.

GOOD EUGENE: Yeah. In actuality, I couldn't stop the puck cleanly on my backhand - so I ended up stopping my skating. Since I was at a complete standstill with all my momentum buckling me forward, I just put my head down and slapshot it, just before I fell to the ice. I had no idea where I shot it - it just happened to go in.

EVIL EUGENE: You know, Good Eugene? You're really annoying. I did score 4 goals! Against a previous undefeated team! And I picked up a nasty high sticking penalty!

GOOD EUGENE: You mean when the stick accidentally rode up that guy's arm and hit his helmet? That penalty was an accident - just like three of the four goals.

EVIL EUGENE: Says you.

GOOD EUGENE: Which is you.

EVIL EUGENE: Shaddup. I scored four goals. I'm going to tell everybody on earth about it.

GOOD EUGENE: You do that. Since it's never ever going to happen again.

EVIL EUGENE: I hate you, Good Eugene.

GOOD EUGENE: You and me both.

EVIL EUGENE: I'm so going to punch you in the stomach when you're asleep...

Samba De Eugene

Things are getting back to normal in San Diego - my family's back in their home, and friends are getting back to their homes. But, man, if only there was something that could help pull me out of this bleh feeling from the past week. Something that could pierce through the smokey skies and fill me with glee.

Then today, Sega announced that they're releasing SAMBA DE AMIGO for the Nintendo Wii.



Needless to say, I'm geeked.

Sega released the original two Samba De Amigo games for the Sega Dreamcast almost ten years ago - it was a rhythm game that required a set of wired maracas. In the game, you'd have to shake the maracas accurately and in rhythm to the beats of catchy upbeat songs by the likes of Reel Big Fish and Ricky Martin. The game featured wild colors, graphics, and this great south-of-the-border party vibe to it.

And the mascot. Was a smiling MONKEY. With MARACAS.

Now the problem with the game was that the maraca controllers were expensive, and after all that shaking, they would eventually break. I would still be playing mine, except that one of the two expensive maracas controllers broke. "Shake it. Don't break it. Took some Chinese laborer guy nine months to make it."

But with the Nintendo Wii, you won't have to buy expensive extra controllers - you'll presumably just use the regular motion sensor controllers. Oh man. Just looking at that monkey holding a Wii controller makes me happy.

SAMBA! OLE OLE OLE!

October 2007 Music Diary

That time of the month again, where I report what iTunes tells me that I'm listening to most this month.

Bleed It Out - Linkin Park
Thrash Unreal - Against Me!
The World to Me - David Gray
Timebomb - Beck
Misery Business - Paramore
Stronger - Kanye West
House of Cards - Radiohead
Jigsaw Falling Into Place - Radiohead
Journey From A To B - Badly Drawn Boy
Stay (Faraway, So Close) - Craig Armstrong, featuring Bono
Talk On - Ocean Colour Scene
Shake It - Metro Station
Pictures of You - The Last Goodnight

Bleed It Out has been the top song this month. I've actually been working on something that required me to think scary and angry - this track always did the trick.

Thrash Unreal is getting a lot of play on KROQ - catchy tune. David Gray gets no play on American radio, which is too bad, since his stuff is always great.

Beck, Paramore, and Kanye West got more radio play last month than this month - but this month is when I actually got around to buying the tracks and playing the heck out of them.

For those who're interested, I paid $6 for the new Radiohead album. It felt like the price that I'd pay where I'd be happy even if I didn't like the album. No such worry - the album is terrific.

Found the Badly Drawn Boy track in the iTunes music store - came out last year, but never heard it til now because they're selling a new "acoustic" version of the song.

Craig Armstrong is one of the best unheard of composers on the planet. He did the fantastic orchestral score for the Love Actually soundtrack. Apparently he also did this fun orchestral version of U2's Stay (Faraway, So Close) with Bono.

This is is the time of the month where I rave about Pandora. It found me this great old track by Ocean Colour Scene.

This is where I rave about the free iTunes song of the week. Both Shake It and Pictures of You were free - and they're both terrific.

Trying to keep it light-hearted

After watching the news non-stop and still stressing about my friends and family, a few thoughts that will probably get me sent straight to hell...

-Am I the only one who thought they were calling it the "Buckwheat" fire? Until they put the name "buckweed" on the screen, I kept hearing, "Nookin pa Nub in all the wrong places, Nookin pa Nub..."

-When I was a kid, I'd see those cartoon scenes with women wearing veils, and I never got the alluring appeal of a woman hiding her face... until now. Several of the female reporters doing live remotes last night had masks on covering their nose and mouth - and it was awesome. AWE. SOME. Oh sure, the reporter may LOOK hot from the eyes, but if I've learned anything from cartoons, most of them are horrible-looking under the veil/mask...

-Speaking of which, did ya notice the reporters doing the live reports, who looked well-groomed and rested yesterday? They look hideous today. And it's awesome. Take that, good-looking people!

-They've announced that FEMA is coming. Oh, thank god.

-Watching that super cool water-dropping helicopter with the big tube, hovering over bodies of water and sucking up water without having to land. Though, I'd hate to be a guy who looks out on his backyard and sees some helicopter sucking his swimming pool dry. "Hey! Come back with my pool!"

-I'm really glad that Channel 9 news is broadcasting in high definition. Because it'd be a crime against nature to see meteorologist Jackie Johnson in anything less. Call me, Jackie. Thanks.

fire update

Still watching the news. It's hard to get accurate reports of where the flames are, but from what we can tell, the fire is still basically one street away from my family's house. Hopefully the winds don't shift westward again.

When the family was evacuated in 2003, they checked on their house by using the "answering machine trick". You call the phone number, and if the answering machine picks up, then you know your house is still standing. Unfortunately, this time, the answering machine isn't picking up - but reports say that the whole area has lost power.

Thankfully I don't have anything due work-wise. It'd be hard to concentrate with all this going on.

Hate stupid fires

I've got a lot of friends and family in San Diego who've had to evacuate because of the wild fires. At the moment, the Witch fire has burned 145,000 acres, is 0% contained, and is burning half a mile away from my family's house in Poway.

When I was living in San Diego four years ago, I got woken up by a phone call on a Sunday morning from a friend, who was calling all his friends who lived in the path of the wildfires. And I remember thinking, "Why is he doing this? I live in the middle of a concrete city. My house can't burn."

Of course, he was right - the fires were being whipped out of control by Santa Ana winds, they'd jumped the 15 freeway, and were five miles from my house. The sky was thick with smoke and ashes, family and friends were evacuating from their neighborhoods. It's a really strange feeling rushing through your house to start loading your car with computers, valuables, photographs, autographed comic books, etc.

Heh - autographed comic books. I'm such a nerd.

Anyways, the fire ended up not reaching our house and we never went anywhere. But just having to deal with wild fires was incredibly annoying.

Hate. Stupid. Fires.

Nothing to see here

Sorry. Still swamped until at least Monday. Talk amongst yourselves.

But don't talk about the L.A. Kings. The Kings make me cry.

When Email Attacks

Do you prefer "email" or "e-mail"? I always preferred e-mail, but at
my old job working for an email company, we were told the correct
term is email without the dash. But I digress.

Sorry about the sudden lack of blog activity. I had a great weekend
with no work... then on Monday, I discovered that my email had gone
down Thursday evening. I actually had work that I should've done
over the weekend, but I didn't get my emails until Monday.

So the past few days, I've been catching up. More blogging when
things slow down.

Gee. Thanks, MySpace

I received 28 spam friend requests through MySpace yesterday.
TWENTY-EIGHT. And they wonder why we so many of us are ditching
MySpace for Facebook.

More Strike Talk

Interesting bit on Patt Morrison's radio show today on 89.3 KPCC. She discussed the prospect of a writers strike with WGA President Patric Verrone, president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) Nick Counter, and LA Times staff writer Richard Verrier.

You can listen to the show here (Real Player needed). A few thoughts-

-Too bad there's no way to get Verrone and Counter on the air at the same time. I'd love to hear them actually debate each other. Not really productive to hear them argue, but it'd be fun.

-Richard Verrier is the guy at the LA Times who covers a lot of the entertainment news. His writing work is pretty solid, and he comes off pretty smart in the audio clip.

-Real Player? What is this, 1997? C'mon KPCC - it doesn't look good for public radio to still be using Real Player.

2007-2008 NHL Predictions

The NHL season has already started, but I guess it's not too late to post my annual hockey predictions. I was pretty close on the Western Conference last year, only so-so on the Eastern Conference.

This year, the top six teams in each conference seem pretty obvious to me. After that, it's a mad crush for those last two playoff spots in each conference.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings

I'm still waiting for the year where they crash and burn. This isn't the year. They have too much talent at all positions, they're well coached, and as long as he stays healthy, Hasek is a freak in net. And if even one of their younger guys breaks out - maybe a Hudler, Flippula, or Kronwall - I wouldn't be surprised to see them win it all.

2. Anaheim Ducks

I'm sure they'll have a Stanley Cup hangover. But it just goes to show you how stacked they were last year - they can lose their best forward and best defenseman to retirement and they're STILL crazy good. It makes me happy to see the Ducks lose. Unfortunately, I won't be happy enough this year.

3. Colorado Avalanche

I was hoping they'd stay down for a few years. You know, go through one of those rebuilding phases where they stink for a while? Not happening. They've rebuilt on the fly, I love the young forwards, and Ryan Smyth just looked AWESOME in preseason. As long as Budaj doesn't turn into Jose Theodore in net, I see the Avs winning their division.

4. Vancouver Canucks

If you had told me that Roberto Luongo would single-handedly carry Vancouver to victory, I would've had you committed. I still think the Canucks don't have enough offense, but Luongo made me a believer.

5. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are the fashionable pick to win the Conference. And no doubt they'll be good - they have elite talent at forward and goal, and they have a ton of young kids who're stepping up and making plays. Wouldn't surprise me to see them win the Cup. But I just get the feeling that they're one Nabokov injury away from disaster - neither of their backups impress me. And their only off-season improvement was signing Jeremy Roenick. Nuff said.

6. Minnesota Wild

They're going to play stifling (read: BORING AS ALL HECK) defense. Watching paint not dry has more heart-stopping thrills than Wild hockey. But if Demitra and Gaborik stay healthy, with that defense and goaltending, they're a lock for the playoffs. Maybe even the division.

7. Calgary Flames

Does new coach Mike Keenan help or hurt? If it's old-school Philly/Chicago/NY Keenan, he helps - the team has the goaltending and talent to win their division. If it's new-school St Louis/Vancouver/Boston/Florida Keenan, the team is going to crash and burn their way out of the playoffs. Either way, it'll be interesting.

8. Dallas Stars

Everyone - and I mean EVERYONE - is writing off the Stars. They're too old, they didn't do enough during the off-season, etc etc. Sorry, I don't buy it. They have great coaching, an under-rated goaltender, a terrific defense corps. Sure, their forwards look meh, but I'm still afraid of the Stars.

9. Los Angeles Kings

Oh, Eugene's favorite team. They've got great young scoring talent up front and a great mobile defense corps. Can the goaltending of young Bernier hold up? I think it will for most of the year... then Bernier will flame out at the end and the Kings will miss the playoffs again. Hope I'm wrong, but every time I predict the Kings will self-destruct, I always end up being right.

10. Edmonton Oilers

It's kinda fashionable to predict that the Oilers will stink, based on how they fell apart at the end of last season due to injuries. Well, they're healthier this year, I'm a big fan of their pick-ups of Pitkanen and Garon, and I still like their young forwards. They won't make the playoffs, but they won't be as bad as people seem to believe.

11. Chicago Blackhawks

Great young defense corps and a stellar goaltender - but they're really young and injury-prone up front. They'll be better this year, better next year, but not there yet.

12. St. Louis Blues

It's kinda fashionable to predict that the Blues will make the playoffs, based on how well they played at the end of last season. Sorry - I'm not buying it. They don't have enough offense, they don't have enough defense, and they don't have enough goaltending. They've got some good young players and a great coach, but they're not a playoff team yet.

13. Nashville Predators

You gotta feel bad for Nashville. They've had some great teams in the past few years, but this year, they're in a no-win situation. When the owner starts chipping away at the team's talent because he wants to lower the payroll before selling the team? Everyone on that team knows that they're only around because they don't cost much. Discount employees are no way to build a winning team.

14. Phoenix Coyotes

The Yotes are pretty bad, but maybe one of their star players will break out. They still have a rock solid defense corps, and I like the goaltenders. I hate to see Gretzky like this.

15. Columbus Blue Jackets

The common complaint about the Blue Jackets is that they've been consistently bad, but not horrible, so they haven't gotten to draft the best players. Well, worry no more. The Blue Jackets will be atrocious this year. They have great coaching, but they've got too many holes at all other positions.

Eastern Conference

1. New York Rangers

Getting either Drury or Gomez would've been awesome. The Rangers got BOTH. The only thing stopping them from walking away with the East is that they don't have a stand-out defenseman. But man, those top 6 forwards in New York? Scary good.

2. Ottawa Senators

Ton of talent, and both Spezza and Heatley are playing for new contracts. If I was looking at a $30 million dollar plus payday? I'd have a great season. The Sens will have a great season... but I'm still bent that they couldn't knock off the Ducks in the finals.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

Too talented to be down for too long. Staal should bounce back now, unless he's done in by the EA Sports cover curse. Plenty of talent up front should let them take the division.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

They'll be great, maybe the second best team in the conference, but they won't catch the Rangers. Crosby and Malkin will put up sick numbers, and if the rest of the team gels, a deep playoff run is a real possibility.

5. New Jersey Devils

Why won't this boring team just go away? And yet they never do. They get stellar goaltending, they play their boring trap defense, they squeeze enough goals out of Elias, and they win a ton of games. No reason to believe it'll stop this year. Devils hockey. It's BO-ring.

6. Buffalo Sabres

Their window has shut - last year was their best chance and they wasted it. They lost their two best forwards to free agency, and now they're hoping that guys like Connolly can step up and replace them. C'mon, Connolly? To replace Briere and Drury? Sorry, you guys are reaching - the Sabres will take a step back.

7. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning have their big three... and not much else. Sure looks like they're spinning their wheels and going nowhere. They should bite the bullet and trade one of them to give them the flexibility to add some other parts. But they won't, their goaltending will be suspect, and the Lightning will waste another year.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs

They were so close to making the playoffs last year. Adding Toskala in net could be enough, but adding Jason Blake and his crazy non-stop motor should push them in. But they're not seriously going to play Blake alongside Sundin, are they? Those two play two diametrically opposite styles of hockey. They'll score goals, but not with each other.

9. Florida Panthers

I love the pick-up of Vokoun, and they have some great pieces. But unless one of their kids really picks it up, they won't have enough to make the playoffs. After all the years of pure suckage, it'd be nice to see something good happen for that team, though.

10. Atlanta Thrashers

I don't get why Atlanta isn't better. By all logic, they have a great coach, two dynamic offensive weapons, a great defenseman, and great goaltending. So why do they play so poorly? I'd love to push this team into the playoffs again, but they just don't seem to show me anything.

11. New York Islanders

Bad - no Smyth, no Blake. Good - no Yashin. It's a wash. They haven't improved while other teams have. Still, Ted Nolan might be the best coach in the league - maybe he squeezes blood out of a turnip like he did last year.

12. Washington Capitals

Man, I want this team to be good. I want to see Ovechkin tearing it up in the playoffs. Alas, they're still a few players away.

13. Philadelphia Flyers

I love the pick-ups of Briere and Timmonen, but they're not enough to turn around the Flyers in one year. They'll be better, but seeing as how bad they started, that's not saying much.

14. Montreal Canadiens

Brisebois? No seriously. BREEZE-BY? You know you have trouble signing free agents when the only ones you can get are the ones that no one else will touch with ten foot poles. Koivu can't do it alone.

15. Boston Bruins

I see nothing to get excited about here. Unless they manage to get that number one overall pick and draft Tavares next year... and then a few years later, trade him away for peanuts like they did with Joe Thornton.

Santa brings...a strike?

Still busy, but I wanted to get this out there. The WGA sent out their strike authorization ballots this week, and it's gotten the blogosphere going.

The Writer's Guild of America (WGA) contract expires October 31st, and now everyone is talking about a possible writer's strike. I'm one of a bunch of writers whose work isn't covered by the WGA, so even if there's a writer's strike, I'll still be working. In fact, because of the union that covers animation writing, I couldn't strike even if I wanted to. But I'm still following the WGA developments closely, because I have a stake in what the Guild does in terms of animation jurisdiction.

Now if you go online, you basically see two big questions being asked.

1. Will the WGA go on strike?

What am I, Kreskin? I have no idea. But assuming a new contract isn't agreed on by the end of the month, there are three likely scenarios-

-November 1st, writers put down their pens and go on strike. OR-

-Writers continue to work under the expired contract while negotiations continue, then go on strike July 1, 2008 when the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) contract expires. OR-

-November 1st, the studios lock out the writers, preventing them from working until a new contract is agreed upon.

If a strike happens November 1st, it'll do more damage - especially in television, where they'll be stuck having to show reruns right away (boy, you think those Lost and Heroes hiatuses were annoying before? wait til they start running reruns non-stop). But a strike cutting off paychecks through the holidays? Ouch. If a strike happens July 1st, the writers and actors together can bring the town to a grinding halt - but the studios will have time to stockpile a lot of new film and tv projects. No one will even notice that there're strikes until September when new tv shows don't show up.

I have no idea what will happen - but I'll be following it closely.

Now if you go online, there's ALWAYS one other question being asked.

2. Oh oh oh, I'm an amateur writer. Will there be any scab opportunities for me?

And you know, nothing is more impressive to a professional writer who's facing a possible work stoppage,losing his income before the holidays, and possibly causing the end of his career... than some half-wit newbie asking if he can take advantage of this situation.

But I'll answer the question. Hollywood is not, nor has it ever been, amateur hour. Studio executives will not gamble their jobs by handing million-dollar projects to unproven talent. In previous WGA strikes, they have never resorted to non-union replacements. In short, it is extremely unlikely that the studios will be auditioning amateur scabs. Now quit asking me stupid questions and bring me some packets of Arby's sauce.

Okay - back to work. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. I'm here to help.

Quick Hits

-I put on my shoes today... and found them covered in cinnamon and sugar. Sigh...

-Martial arts class is both incredibly fun, and incredibly humbling. Halfway through tonight's class, I actually thought to myself, Why don't I just get myself a 24 Hour Fitness membership?

And there it is in a nutshell. Martial arts is like a gym membership, where the trainers can pull you off the stair-master at any time and kick your @#$.

-My second episode of Ben 10, Ready to Rumble premiered over the weekend. Alas, I didn't know it was going to be on, or else I would've told you. But the episode turned out great. Big props to Alex Soto, Tom Pugsley & Greg Klein, and the amazingly talented crew.

-You know, proper tipping for every day things is hard enough for me. Now I gotta figure out how much to tip Thom Yorke and Radiohead. Honestly, how much do you tip someone who has more money than I ever will?

-I have a pair of longer blog posts I'm working on. One on hockey, the other on the Writer's Guild. Hopefully I'll get to them soon, but at the moment, I have to get back to work.