Sunday, April 30, 2006

news of the week that was....

brothers and sisters,

Alex had his birthday. The celebration on Friday night at mixville/edendale grill was excellent. I drank too much whiskey.

Work's been difficult as of late. I feel like I'm falling apart a little. My game is off, and I'm feeling the need for a vacation. I haven't had a full week off since spring '05, so hopefully in July I can take a week and head east.

Yesterday, I traded in the wagon for a sedan. I'm now the proud owner (lessee, i guess) of an Audi A4 2.0 Quattro. The car is dolphin gray with a black interior. I know, not the Porsche 911 many of you were expecting. But until I sell the "Untitled Tag Team" project, I'll enjoy my time with this car, which I'm not naming. Were I to name it, it'd be Eeyore. It doesn't get Prius level mileage, but better than my last whip (14mpg in around town stop y go driving). Saving money on gas is going to be nice. Because I'm going to need money for other things.

Like my new insurance policy, which isn't cheap, thanks to living in California. Ouch.

Doing the ADR for "Paralegal" on Wednesday night. Can't wait to finish the film. Barry's mix is good, but I've still got some things I want to work on.... Put in the request to license a Pernice Brothers song.... Hopefully "Paralegal" will get into some festivals....

That's about all for now. - Eric

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

THIS MORNING

last night for dinner: two salmon filets, two sourdough dinner rolls, triple cream brie.
this morning: looking for some metamucil.

LOVE
ALEX

Friday, April 21, 2006

boys night out


neighbor matt, alex, j-win, and i found ourselves at the photo booth. awesome! - eric

Thursday, April 20, 2006

DAN BROWN

Arriving late to the Da Vinci Code party, I feel like strangling myself. I figured that what with the movie coming out and half the world having read it, I should too. E and Vons warned me that it's a terribly written book, but shizz, with chapters that are no longer than a page (chapter 15 lands on page 73), italics that describe what's going on in someone's head (This is my fault!), cliffhanger chapter endings (P.S. find Robert Langdon), expository digressions for the sake of immediate clarity (When she was young,...), and best of all, wowsers like "Unfortunately, time was running out" and "Fog shrouded his thoughts," with all these clunkers as E puts it, I can't believe the book wouldn't be better enjoyed in Cliff Note form. In fact, (I'm sure someone somewhere has already put forth this idea), it seems like Dan Brown wrote the book not to be read, but rather, to be turned into a movie. This makes complete sense to me. Why write well when you can get optioned?

LOVE
ALEX

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

chicken for lunch!

brothers and sisters,
went to zankou for lunch after a work errand (lab screening). quarter white chicken plate. i sort of ran into the office too quickly, and the styrofoam container was on its side in the bag, so when i went to eat my lunch, everything was mixed together, hummus had run over its compartment, as had the tomato/purple pickles... the chicken was fine. why am i even writing about this? was my day so completely boring? well, yeah. maybe it was. but you know, at least it's over. i'm grabbing dinner with paul and his mom tonight at alegria on sunset.

last night for dinner i had a bowl of stuff: a can of kidney beans, 2 scrambled eggs, and a ripped up tortilla. it was even sexier than it sounds. i fell asleep to a symphony of farts, woke up this morning, energized for my 20 minute workout...

had to stick it to a mom-and-pop-run-institution today as part of my job. i have no stomach for sticking it to anyone. but anyhow i did it.

i proposed marriage to u.k. sophie today during a conference call with a-scards. i used "transitioning" in a sentence. i argued that "transitioning" is a word but the ladies seemed a little doubtful. anyway, sophie is coming to l.a. in february '07. i'm putting strategies in place now to wow her (the usual: learning to play saxaphone, getting a tattoo, saving up to rent a stretched-limo-hovercraft, etc.)



i'm tired. going to call it a day. the phone call i'm waiting for doesn't seem to be coming.

alex and i have a plan for this summer, but it's too early to discuss. let me just say, if we pull it off, it's going to be awesome.

the sound mix on my short film "paralegal" is beginning. i am excited. i hope it gets into film festivals and impresses nice single jewish girls the world over.

okay. running away. love, eric

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

10-2

Sure, the Mets beat up on some crapola teams but last night, they took it to their most hated rivals. Pedro's gonna be a #1 stunna this year. If the Mets can take this series against the Braves, then I'm gonna start putting away a dollar a day which by season's end means I should have enough cash to buy a single upperdeck ticket to the World Series. Speaking of upperdecks, who actually knows anyone who's ever done that? (upperdeck: v. trans. to drop a deuce in the toilet water tank of a friend or stranger's bathroom)

LOVE
ALEX

Monday, April 17, 2006

Over 5 years ago....


A young man rocks the mic...

p.s. doctor's office on friday... the verdict: 70% chance it's a massive pimple; 30% chance it's a skin infection.... if it gets worse, i go back. mind you, this didn't look like a pimple. it looked like death growing on my face. fortunately, it wasn't.

p.p.s. no relation.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

"unmatched euphoria"....

the "Celestine Prophecy Movie" Trailer made me guffaw.

Alex, A-Ross, M-Lawrs went to see the Dodgers play against the S.F. Giants last night. Barry "Me, Steroids? That's Ridiculous" Bonds got booed. Alex and I stood in line, no joke, for 45 minutes waiting to buy beer and hot dogs (dodger dogs are equal parts beef, pork, miscellaneous, which all adds up to: delicious). What was the hold-up? Every single person ahead of us was ordering french fries. My feeling is, if you can't cook the french fries fast enough to keep the lines moving, don't make french fries. The guy behind us was hitting on girls, talking about how his dayjob is driving around Los Feliz, Glendale and Eagle Rock, and busting kids for skipping school. A truant officer! How cool is that? He says, "I drive up when I see some kids, and I'm like 'you guys wanna party?' and I act like I'm their friend. then I bust them!"

Speaking of jobs, some dad a couple rows in front of us had a bunch of kids with him, and was wearing a t-shirt which read "the only job i need is a blowjob". when alex pointed this out, i laughed so hard at the inappropriateness of the shirt, that i gave myself a massive headache.

That's all, Eric

Friday, April 14, 2006

CASSAVETES

I caught a double feature the other night at the New Beverly: LOVE STREAMS & HUSBANDS. I had a quasi erection of the heart on the drive back home. These two remarkable films---LOVE STREAMS seen for the first time; HUSBANDS for the 2nd----sorta reinvigorated my faith in the possibility of an independent vision in the movies. They remind me of what matters in the movies, of what lasts: not story, not structure, not change, but behavior, the wildness of lived-in experience, and the beauty of the image. Some think Cassavetes' work is difficult, a bore but an interesting one at that. I hate to be the hater here but if you think Cassavetes is only all right, then I'm sorry, we can't be friends. Plus, eat a dick. (Eric and I have decided that "eat a dick" is just about the greatest.)
Tonight, a few of us are gonna catch MLaw's sketch comedy show. She's hilarious.
On another note, it's the bomb diggity weekend for all you believers out there. Rejoice brothers and sisters rejoice!

LOVE
ALEX

P.S. I've already cast my ballot: David Wright MVP.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

rock the pesach! and i just can't stop!

brothers and sisters,
i had a clayuda today for lunch. i hope that doesn't count as leavened bread. it feels weird not being home for passover. next year, i think i'm gonna take a couple days off and go.
this is a nice article about Komasa, a sushi place Alex and I go to, from time to time, in little tokyo.
sitting in my office, rocking out to the most rocking mix ever, eric

p.s. going to see a doctor tomorrow about the mysterious maroon splotch on my face. i've gotten myself all worried about it. hopefully they won't have to amputate my cheek. 'cause that'd be gross.

p.p.s. i wonder if neighbor matt is hoping that the baby spiders growing in my face turn out to be tarantulas. he hearts tarantulas.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

red in the face....

brothers and sisters,
since friday, i've had a growing bruise-like red mark on my cheek. it's irritated. over the phone, my dad says it sounds like a bug bite. in any case, it hurts, and i totally hope it's not baby spiders growing in my face. 'cause that'd be gross. and mostly devoid of humor.

so the quick recap of jorge's bachelor party:
saturday morning, 5am EST, I land in Ft. Lauderdale. I jump into a cab, not knowing it's going to cost me 80 DOLLARS.

6am - I wake up P-Getz, J-Blue, and Adrien at their Miami Beach Hotel. We joke around. P-Getz and Adrien can't fall back asleep, so we jump in the rental car and head to Little Havana / Calle Ocho for some cuban sandwiches at Versailles. They were excellent a year ago. But this Saturday, completely blah. Totally bland and boring and forgettable. I felt like a jerk for encouraging the drive to eat something mediocre and flavorless. the coffee is excellent, by the way.

11am - I've missed Friday night's debauchery. It sounds gross (lots of making out with sleazy girls at The Shore Club). We head over to a marina and get on a pontoon boat (described to me earlier as a catamaran; this is no catamaran). 26 guys and 2 loser girls from the night before come on the boat. 55 bucks per person for a 3 hour tour with Captain Andy. Lots of beer and crappy mixed drinks. I actually enjoy the boat-ride. I get some sun. Great chatting with Jorge and Javier. Trying to play poker on a shaky boat doesn't go so well. The bachelor party as a collective unit is really rowdy.

2pm - Back to the dock.

You know what? I don't need to give you a play by play of the bachelor party. Lemme just say, I think Jorge is great and it was fantastic to celebrate him, but the huge number of people (like 26 guys) made for sort of a crazy binge-drinking mob. it was good hanging with columbia folks and jorge's got nice texas friends, but for some reason, the weekend was a little too hyperactive for me. Sunday was nice, just walking around miami with paul, jake and akhil (and even breakfast with bill (from the Carman 12 days)) but overall, i just didn't have the energy to party like the majority of the dudes there, i guess.

On Sunday night, I had Nobu with Paul at the Shore Club. Not as good as Nobu New York or even Nobu Las Vegas. But it was just nice to sit with a bowl of rice, creamy spicy crab, and some beer, and shoot the breeze. Went to sleep at 1:30am, woke up at 3:30am for my 6am flight back to Los Angeles. I looked like shit yesterday. Am I sick? What's the red mark on my face? Why have I been sad for the past few weeks?

What a lousy post this has been. Life is good, despite feeling exhausted and drained. Paul's moved to L.A., which I can't be more excited about. Meeting with Soundguy Barry tomorrow night to discuss the sound-mix of "Paralegal". And uh, I've actually been writing a lot lately. These are all good things. And Mom & Dad are finally visiting me in L.A. After nearly two years, excited about showing them the smoggy yet wondrous corner of the world I've been living in.

- Eric

P.S. Oh, one funny thing I forgot. Adrien was nice enough to host me and Paul and Jake in his family's South Beach high-rise fancypants condo. On Saturday night, everyone came over for a typical bachelor-party blowout boozefest. Cut to Sunday Afternoon: Paul and I are watching tv at Adrien's, and even 'though we've cleaned up, the place is somewhat destroyed (furniture on its side, full ashtrays, giant bottles of liquor, a kitchen sink full of beer bottles, etc.). There's a knock on the door. Paul answers it. "I didn't know anyone was here", the woman tells Paul. "I'm hoping to show the apartment", she explains. Paul says, "I don't think that's a good idea. We sort of had a party here last night." "Oh, that's fine," she answers.

She walks in with a married couple (who are obviously expecting to see the awesome mega-bucks condo in primo condition, not trashed by partyers). "How's it going?" the middle-aged guy asks me. "Fine," I tell him. "You guys should probably come and see this place when it's clean. It's really nice." "Looks like you guys had a big party," he opines. "You don't even wanna know," is my answer. He laughs and pats me on the shoulder. I open the sliding door so they can see the view. The real estate agent and the middle-aged couple speak in the kitchen for a few minutes, thank us for our time, and then leave. Paul and I laugh pretty hard.

Friday, April 07, 2006

miami

i am going to miami for jorge-jorge's bachelor party. i leave at 9:45 p.m. tonight. p-getz & j-blue will both be attending. hello sunshine, goodbye liver. - Eric

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

YEAH THAT'S FINE

I'm going to the barbershop for a long overdue haircut. I despise getting haircuts. I don't like spending money on haircuts. Foie gras stuffed quail over veal hash, fine. Bucatini with roasted lamb testicles, fine. Paul Smith cream canvas wingtip shoes (w/ red laces), fine. Margiela dyed fabric jacket with silly zippers, fine. But, haircuts, I'm a cheap, reluctant customer. I average about 3-4 haircuts a year and even that seems like too much time and money spent. But, today, I'm going in because I need to look presentable this weekend for my parents' anniversary dinner. This gnarly stupid mullet will not do.

The standard exchange after the barber's finished cutting my hair:
Q.
A. Yeah that's fine.
Q.
A. Yeah really that's fine. Thanks. (eat a dick I hate paying for this!)

LOVE
ALEX

Monday, April 03, 2006

OPENING DAY

Glavy Glav Glavine versus Livan Hernandez. Two veterans on the mound this afternoon to open up the Mets' championship run. I have high hopes for this season. Last year they finished where I thought they would but this year, it's a whole new ballgame. I expect David Wright to blossom into the best 3B in all of baseball and take home the MVP. I expect Pedro to make 35 starts and win 20 games. I expect Wagner to save 40. I expect Beltran to rebound from a poor season. I expect Delgado to continue what he done been doing for a decade now. It's gonna be a great year.

LOVE
ALEX

Sunday, April 02, 2006

a quitter by any other name....

No, I didn't quit my job. I quit going to improv class. I like UCB and all, but for some reason, was overwhelmed by 2nd level. I felt unfunny and the class felt unproductive. Not 'cause of the teacher, who seemed good and on-the ball. It just seemed like a lot of dudes competing. For whatever reason, I've stopped going to my improv class mid-way through. And I'm not the big guy in "Summer School" who goes to the bathroom for the entire length of the movie, only returning for the final exam. J-Hath, my buddy from Level 101, was in the class with me. And he was really nice about trying to get me to come back. But I held my ground and tries to explain that this Level 2 wasn't working for me, for some reason.

On Thursday night, I saw P-Wortham put on a mostly-one-woman show. P-Wortham was in my college improv group. I met up with Boaz & Mo at the show, two other friends from my 116th and Ivy days. Anyway, I went home so inspired to keep pursuing creative work (screenwriting, the rap game, filmmaking, etc.). The show was (unexpectedly... I mean, this is P-Wortham) incredible, awesome, and hilarious.

Friday, we moved offices. I had to pack everything in my cubicle and filing cabinets into boxes. the day got super busy, and i didn't finish packing 'til 8:30. I went home and fell asleep.

On Saturday, I woke up early, drove to Santa Monica and picked up ice-cream at Cora's coffee shop, which I then delivered to A-Scards, who had just gotten her tonsils out. Maybe you'll read into this and think I did it completely out of kindness. WRONG. I also wanted to blow Adelaide's mind with the awesomeness of Cora's burnt caramel ice cream (the peppermint is also solid, btw). I also brought her dvd's to help in her healing process (Better Off Dead, 40 Year Old Virgin, Coming to America). At noon, I bolted out, and picked up Anne (my friend who's flown to L.A. from Berlin for a film job....) She's going to live with P-Getz, it looks like, when he moves here. First, I drove her to look at an apartment on Beachwood Canyon, shown to us by a Sarah Silverman doppelganger, but not nearly as foul-mouthed. The apartment was strange, dated, and overpriced. The back of the building looked rusted. Then, we drove to Los Feliz and found an amazing apartment. It's expensive, but seems worth it, so P&A our gonna try to get it.... I'm very excited about the idea of having two more friends living in Los Feliz. Today we saw dumpy apartments left and right. Apartments that look fit for people who want to suffer through life. Awful shitty places to live. At one place, the Armenian landlord wouldn't let us on the carpet because it had just been cleaned, so we couldn't even see the place. "You should come back tomorrow and see the bedrooms," he told us. "Each of the bedrooms has mirrors". What the fuck? Since when have mirrors been a huge selling point for anything? "Sir, this car is nice. It even has mirrors so you can see what's behind you." The little house on Hyperion seemed nice, but Hyperion is too busy a street to live on. New Yorkers, living on Hyperion is like an apartment right on 7th avenue. Lots of traffic driving by.

I dropped Anne off at her hotel and went to the new office to start unpacking boxes. I lasted about an hour and then headed home. Where I fell asleep. And now, I'm awake, posting here, just to tell you, even 'though my postings have been infrequent, I haven't quit the blog game. About to jump on the elliptical, imagining that I'm cross-country skiing up the side of Mt. Fuji.

- Eric

P.S. Last night I took Anne to Sushi Komasa in Little Tokyo. It's always pretty good. The bill came. 58 bucks. I offered to pay. I put down four 20's, in hopes they'd break one of the 20's. But they only came back with 2 dollars. I told our aged waitress, "I think I gave you 80 dollars" and she was like, "No, you gave me 3" (as in 3 twenty-dollar bills). I didn't argue, left a tip, and took Anne to Mixville on Rowena for a drink. At Mixville, the valets lost my car. First they tried to give me a sedan, then a Volvo wagon, before they got it right. This isn't the first time in L.A. this has happened. Out for dinner once, they brought me a Porsche (not just any porsche, a silver type-996 turbo). My first reaction was to take it for a spin, and then come back, explaining, "I just realized, this isn't my car), but I went the cowardly route, and complained, "this isn't my car". But it's nice to know that the valets of Los Angeles think I deserve to be driving the top of the line Porsche.

P.P.S. My FLAMING LIPS/OS MUTANTES tickets arrived. Thanks for sending them Ticketmaster. But Ticketmaster, I still hate you. Paul Allen, I know you're a good guy. You love music. Please make Ticketmaster into a company that plays nicely, charges non-ridiculous prices, and prevents scalpers in every way possible from having first dibs on popular tickets.