Do you wish to post? Da!

Quiet week. Had some downtime waiting to hear back on stuff, so I used it to attack a spec project of mine. Hope I actually finish this one. For some reason, every spec project I've started in 2007 has ended up by the wayside.

Thom "Love & Capes" Zahler was a house guest this week. The weather was great while he was here, but the day after he left town, its been pouring bucketloads of rain. Coincidence? I think the rain may be chasing him. Heads-up Midwest - the rain's headed your way.

What else to tell you? Oh, I'm now reading the new Eric Lax book, "Conversations with Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking." Highly highly recommended.

And one last observation. I was online doing some research into a future vacation. Not any time soon, but one of those "if money were no object" kind of trips. So as I'm reading up on Russia - stuff like getting a visa into the country, entering the country by plane/train/boat through St. Petersburg, etc - I find some discussion about public safety in St. Petersburg, specifically about a white supremacist incident a few years ago. A St. Petersburg resident opined that it was an isolated incident and that it certainly shouldn't cause someone to be afraid.

That thoughtful and well-written post was followed by a long, rambling, nearly-nonsensical post from another St. Petersburg resident, griping about race relations in the city but declaring that the city wasn't all that dangerous.

Something about that last post bothered me. I couldn't put my finger on it, so I re-read the last post a few times before it hit me. It was written by someone from St. Petersburg, Florida, who hadn't noticed that this was a Russian forum.

It probably says something that the person in Russia could write better than the person from Florida. But I wonder if the Floridian ever recognized their mistake? Or heaven help us, maybe they're booking train tickets from Florida to Finland as we speak.

Back to work on my spec. Have a good weekend everybody!

Evil Pharmaceutical Companies

Plenty of people hate the pharmaceutical companies. Some legitimate reasons, some absurd reasons. And there are serious weighty issues involved, mostly involving things like drug price controls, public safety issues, how much money they put towards R&D. Can we create new drugs without the profit-seeking capitalistic element? Serious weighty issues.

All a smoke screen. The real reason to hate the evil pharmaceutical companies? The STUPID names for the drugs they make.

I've been on Claritin since back before it became available over the counter, and it's been my allergy medication of choice for a few years now. But a few months ago, my doctor recommended that I try something different and wrote me a prescription for another allergy medication. This medication I'm on has a three syllable name.

And I can't remember the name of it.

So anytime someone asks me what I'm taking for my allergies, I always end up answering, I used to take Claritin, but now I'm taking Viagra for my allergies.

Pause.

No no no! I'm not taking that! It's something else! It's this new thing. It's Levitra. NO NO NO! Wait! Stop laughing! I'm not dysfunctional in that way! I'm not lying! It's the truth! I'm 100% effective! The new drug I'm taking. It's... it's...

This hasn't happened just once. This has happened a few times. Every time I have to remember this new allergy medication, I always answer with one of the two famous E.D. drugs that they're always advertising on television.

[Side rant. Every Sunday, they're always playing Viagra ads during my NFL games - and the new Viagra ads are cringe-worthy in their awfulness. And their homo-eroticism. A bunch of guys in one remote place with no women anywhere, singing passionately about their E.D. drugs? I suppose the previous commercial with the old guy throwing the football through the tire was too subtle?!?]

Anyways, despite what I may have accidentally told you, I'm taking ALLEGRA for my allergies. Not Viagra. Not Levitra.

Allegra.

Okay, you can stop laughing now. Please?

November Music Diary

Here it is - what iTunes tells me that I'm listening to most this month.

Valerie - Mark Ronson (feat. Amy Winehouse)
It Means Nothing - Stereophonics
Hurricane - Athlete
The Night Sky - Keane
Under Pressure - Keane
Ain't No Party - Orson

Mark Ronson and Stereophonics don't get enough airplay on this side of the Atlantic. Their new tunes are terrific.

I'd never heard of Athlete before - the new tune in the UK is good, but I dug through the iTunes store and like this older song of theirs better.

Keane put out another charity project for Warchild. Some great Keane stuff has been for Warchild.

And thanks to the record companies for making me jump through a zillion hoops to get my hands on the track from the new Orson album. I would've preferred to, I dunno, click on a button in iTunes - but hey, what do I know? You record companies seem to know what you're doing...

Nothing says "FUN Friends" like...

Kids DVDs
Originally uploaded by eugeneson

Can't take credit for this. It was like this when I got there at Sears - I just had to take a picture of it with my camera phone.

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Mine was uneventful - just jammed myself with a lot of turkey, uploaded some more pictures to Flickr, and then fell asleep early.

For Black Friday, did my annual shopping trip - but in the afternoon. As always, the $2 laptops are gone and some of the stores look like Mookie threw a trash can through the window, but by 1 pm, the malls are easy to deal with. The crowds are gone, but the hordes of employees are still there, which makes shopping a quick in and out. 95% of my Christmas shopping is DONE.

Oh yes - I couldn't resist, I had to buy two things for myself. Found a DVD boxed set of Dangermouse - seasons 3 and 4. It was so cheap I couldn't resist. I haven't seen the show in nearly twenty years. Like most of my fond childhood memories, it's not as good as I remember it being, but it still has its charm.

The other Merry-Christmas-to-me gift was a Rick Steves guidebook on traveling to Scandinavia. Fingers crossed I'll get to do that trip again someday.

Did I mention that 95% of my Christmas shopping is done? Just checking. Now I wonder if there's any leftover pumpkin pie left...

Today in Hollywood

Eugene, Jim, and Ernie - Fight the Power
Originally uploaded by eugeneson

So a few of us went for a walk today. Lots of writers, actors, directors, teamsters, nurses, etc. Big crowd.

Ran into some great writers - Jack, Drew, Melch, Jim, Ernie, Melody, Doug, Clifford - and chatted with some of the writers from Battlestar Galactica, including Jane Frikkin Espenson. And plenty of celebrities, including Bill Maher, Masi Oka, and Matt Groening.

There's a sense of optimism, with the two sides going back to the negotiating table on Monday, that maybe an agreement can be reached before Christmas. Here's hoping.

Becoming Addicted to Flickr

Christmastime Disneyland Castle
Originally uploaded by eugeneson

Took a quick weekend trip to San Diego to visit family. On the way, stopped at Disneyland to see the new Christmas decorations - which look fantastic.

I've started uploading more pictures to Flickr, and I'm slowly becoming addicted to it. In the next few weeks/months, I want to get all my Europe pictures up there. I'll let you know when that's done.

Lastly, when driving back to town, the fog was the worst that I've ever seen it in Los Angeles... just in time for everyone who has to jam into the airports to travel for Thanksgiving. So to all my friends who are in planes or airports right now, thoughts and prayers. See you when you get back!

We Care-a-Lot

I didn't realize it had started airing, so I didn't get a chance to warn you - I mean, err - let you know that my episode of Care Bears: Adventures in Care-A-Lot was going to air.

That's right. Care Bears. I had an absolute blast writing it. And I did it for the sole purpose of improving my gangsta street cred.

Because nothing says gangsta like Funshine.

Anyways, I found out that it had started airing today, when I had lunch with my friend Larry - who's directing on the show. He introduced me to the supervising producer, who remembered my name from having written an episode. Hopefully because he has a good memory, not because my episode stood out for being particularly heinous to produce.

Then of course, with some of the other staff there, someone asked, "Oh, so what episode did you write?"

Blank. Stare.

I don't think I could've made a worse impression if I had lit up a crack pipe, torn off my clothes, and run out backwards while singing off-key the theme song to the Mary Tyler Moore Show. For the record, I wrote Cheer, There and Everywhere - story edited by the amazing Tom Hart.

If/when my episode re-runs, I'll let you know. Assuming you care.

Zero Punctuation

Finally getting better. Left the house today for the first time in FIVE DAYS. I was complaining about it to a friend via IM, then found out he just spent four days in the hospital.

Then I felt like a wuss for complaining.

Anyways, I've been too sick to do much of anything, except watch this new thing my brother introduced me to - Zero Punctuation. They're video game reviews written and crudely animated by an angry British writer.

Warning - strong language ahoy.

Yay for Writers

First off, I'm SO GEEKED for writers Nicole Dubuc and Matt Wayne. They were just elected to the executive board of IATSE Local 839 - the Animation Guild. May their three-year reign be long... with only occasional bloodshed.

As for Writer's Guild stuff, this is a fun video that's been making the rounds today.

I think I'm Dying. Again.

I'm ill and probably not long for this world. It's probably brain eating amoeba. Maybe that antibiotic-resistant superbug. Maybe even West Nile Virus.

Yeah, I know. It's probably just a cold. But USE YOUR IMAGINATION. Maybe I'm ground zero for the next bubonic plague? I'll try to come up with something funnier once my head and stomach stop spinning.

This Week in Review

Above Cartoon Network
Originally uploaded by eugeneson

Snapped this picture before a meeting at CN. Don't know why I took it - guess I'd just never noticed the American flag flying over the building.

Sorry I haven't blogged this week. Got real busy. A few quick hits.

-Couldn't go to the big WGA rally on Friday, but it looked cool on television.

-Went to a recording session this week for something I wrote. I uploaded a few pictures to Flickr. Check 'em out.

-I'm always blown away by how fast and efficient professional voice actors and actresses are. There's no wasted time. In, take, second take, done, out.

-Got to meet Tone Loc. That was kinda cool. I don't know how I'm getting to meet all these rappers lately, but I'm digging it.

-Had a pair of pitch meetings. Both went well, but like all pitch meetings, won't know the results for weeks or months or even years later.

-Found out this week I didn't get a particular writing gig I was up for. Normally losing a writing gig isn't fun, but in this case, I can't complain. They ended up hiring a talented famous successful über-writer. The fact that they even CONSIDERED hiring me instead of him is a huge ego boost.

I just hope to get fewer ego boosts, if you know what I mean.

-Christmas is only 40-something days away. For some reason, that depresses me.

Picket Weirdness

I had no idea that picketing would be such a freak show. Just a few things I saw this week-

-A guy drove by in a black SUV, dressed up as a clown, shouting, "You #@$#-ing commie! Go back to China!"

But dressed up as a clown.

A clown.

Apparently the racist clown union is not down with us.

-A woman stopped her car, jumped out, and gave us a huge bag of cookies. She told us she supported the writers, then said that she could relate to our plight because she worked in the porn industry.

For what it's worth, the cookies were really good. But I wouldn't have eaten them if it hadn't been a sealed bag of cookies.

-There was a guy named "Westside Rental Man" - wearing a giant blue wig, with a shield and cape emblazoned with Westside Rentals. He's apparently a street performer who does advertising for them, so he grabbed a picket sign and joined the picket.

And just when it couldn't get any weirder, it turned out the guy was a veteran of Hollywood labor movements, telling us some story about how he walked the picket line during the 2003 SAG Commercial strike.

-Someone dropped off a huge block of sharp cheddar cheese as a gift to the writers. A HUGE block of cheese.

And it was delicious.

-A guy walked out of the Gower Street exit with blood streaming out of his head. He walked past us, then across the street into the parking structure, and then came back after retrieving something from his car. And he wasn't the only one - there were a couple of extras with head wounds coming in and out of the exit.

You'd think they'd want to wipe the make-up off before heading home, but what do I know.

-There are a LOT of random people stopping to take pictures of the picketers. People would stop, pull over, and just snap pictures of us. USC film students are shooting video. Weird people are sneaking up and trying to surreptiously take pictures from across the street while hiding behind things.

Even a limousine leaving the Paramount lot stopped - the window rolled down and a blonde actress with sunglasses (who I didn't recognize) leaned out to take a picture of me. All this attention is kinda weird.

-A guy walked the picket line on Melrose with a huge sign, "Take Jesus into your life NOW!" The now part was huge. He walked the line with his sign, then wished us luck, before driving away. As he drove away, he honked his horn in support, and told us, "Don't forget what I told you!"

So the clowns aren't down with the writers. But apparently Jesus is walking with us.

My Afternoon Workout

Carrying this sign up and down Melrose, while chanting catchy pro-writer slogans.

And they're warning us to be careful where we walk - apparently earlier today, a picketing writer got hit by a car over in Studio City.

Man, management is being really MEAN...

EDIT: Fixed the picture.

I've moved!

Lake Balboa
Originally uploaded by eugeneson

As some of you know, I live in beautiful and scenic Van Nuys.

Correction. I USED to live in Van Nuys. I now live in the community of Lake Balboa. At least for the moment.

Let me explain. Van Nuys is considered one of the uglier places in Los Angeles, but despite it all, I love Van Nuys. I love its character, I love the eclectic mix of culture, I love how it's the capital of the industry-which-shall-not-be-named-here.

I love the fact that people look at me like I'm joking when I tell them I live in Van Nuys.

But over the years, the west part of Van Nuys has gotten nicer and nicer. And like has happened before in other parts of L.A., as this community started getting better, they developed their own neighborhood identity - partly based on shared middle-class values, partly based on a snobby attitude towards the rest of Van Nuys.

So in 2002, Lake Balboa got permission to become their own community. The city even paid for little signs that read "LAKE BALBOA" and put them up... even though no one had quite decided what exactly were the boundaries of Lake Balboa. They just sort of arbitrarily put up Lake Balboa signs around.

Earlier this year, someone wanted to expand the borders of Lake Balboa. Then they discovered that the creation of Lake Balboa 2002 didn't meet the requirements established in 2006. Don't you just love bureaucracy? Anyways, a compromise just got worked out where Lake Balboa will now be an official community. And lo and behold, without doing anything, I now live in the new community of Lake Balboa.

Now I read an interesting, well-written article that decried this sort of secession. The author made the point that instead of looking to ditch your old community behind, maybe it'd be better to work together to raise the community standards. And I thought the author made a great point. Maybe this Lake Balboa thing was a bad idea. Maybe it would be better to help the entire community of Van Nuys improve its image. After all, if West Van Nuys can become this wonderful community, full of neighborhood pride, community involvement in schools, churches, neighborhood watches - what's to stop this community power from rising up in the rest of Van Nuys? Maybe we in West and East Van Nuys need to stand together, arm and arm, and overcome together!

Then I read that "Lake Balboa" just increased my home value by $20,000 overnight.

SO LONG, VAN NUYS! Because we Lake Balboans are like that. We like money. It's a shared community thing. You wouldn't understand.

In all seriousness, I'm 100% pro-Lake Balboa. I'll even help build a Berlin-wall type structure from Sherman Way to Victory Blvd to help keep the East Van Nuyers out. Then once the wall is built, we can discuss some sort of guest-pass program so that I can still get my Zankou chicken.

LONG LIVE LAKE BALBOA!

L.A. Hockey Stories

One more quick bit for you. So I played in another hockey game tonight. 2 more goals and an assist for me. I don't know how long this scoring tear will last, but I'm enjoying every moment of it.

On the other team was a girl who's apparently a stuntwoman - and she's a stunt double for Alyssa Milano. This is the second weirdest almost celebrity close-encounter I've experienced since moving to L.A..

The first weirdest is that my daughter's brownie troop leader is the mom to Grammy-award winning rapper and alternative rocker Everlast. Yes, my daughter's girl scout troop leader gave birth to the guy who gave us, "I came to get down, I came to get down, so get out of your seat and jump around!"

Only in Los Angeles.

Apparently there's some sort of strike going on

Every other writer with a blog is talking about the Writer's Guild strike, so I guess I should talk about my feelings on the strike. It's such a huge issue, it's difficult to get all my thoughts down like this and sound coherent without rambling. But my big problem is-

I don't know.

I've been asked how I'm going to be affected by the strike.

I don't know.

I've been asked about the animation issues that the WGA is trying to negotiate jurisdiction over. I've been asked how long the strike is going to last. Who's going to win?

I honestly don't know.

Here's what I do know. I'm still working. None of the animated television work I do is Writers Guild signatory. The WGA wants to cover more animation and has made it a bargaining point in the negotiations. But for the moment, I'm covered by another union which has a no-strike clause.

So it's pretty much business as usual for animated television for kids. Writer Brian Swenlin really put it well - it feels like we're at the kids' table, watching the grown-ups argue at the grown-up table.

While I can't talk about the details, there is a project that I'm up for that could be negatively affected by the strike. I really don't want to lose this project. But I shouldn't feel sorry for myself. At least I get my animation writer paychecks, while my fellow writers face a work-stoppage through the holidays. Heck, a good chunk of Los Angeles will be facing an economic hit thanks to the strike.

As I said above, I don't know. But much like political punditry on tv, I don't really need to be right - I just need an opinion. So here goes-

What are my feelings? I'm behind the writers. Right now, for every $1 million earned on DVDs, the studio gets $998,000, the writer who wrote it gets $2000. The writers have asked that the studios find some way to get by on $996,000 - they've said no. It's 4 CENTS per DVD.

NBC pulled their tv shows off the iTunes store because NBC wanted to charge $4 per show. And the writers have to go on strike to get 4 cents?

How long will it last? I think the strike will go through the holidays. By January, the studios will start worrying about their February sweeps and try to get a deal done. So my best guess? 10 week strike.

Who'll win? Nobody will. The studios will continue to plead poverty, then after the earth is completely scorched, the two sides will pound out a deal. I think the Guild will win on some things, like DVD residuals, internet residuals, and animated feature jurisdiction. I think the Guild will lose on some things, like reality and animated tv jurisdiction.

But I don't know.

On one hand, I'm lucky, I suppose, since I still get to work. On the other hand, my non-WGA paycheck is about 1/5th of what a WGA paycheck is. My non-WGA union has said that it will never strike to improve the working conditions of its writers - the WGA is willing to fight for its writers.

So while I'm not putting down my pen in solidarity with my fellow writers... I kinda wish I was.

Anyways, I guess that's what I think of the writer's strike. We'll see how it goes. Then we'll go to June 2008 when the Screen Actors Guild contract expires and they take their turn on strike, and then we'll go through this all again. At least that's what I think. But like I said-

I don't really know.