One of the things I will miss about Los Angeles is the unparalleled experience of watching a movie at the Arclight Cinema in Hollywood. No where else are you guaranteed to see a celebrity skulking about (my sightings inlcude Drew Barrymore, Howard Hesseman, and Curtis Hanson); get assigned seating dead center; and enjoy a bucket of gourmet caramel corn with a shot of Jack Daniels at a first-run screening. Last night, dodging the torrential rains, Daniel Lee and myself took in There Will Be Blood by Paul Thomas Anderson. I’ll admit that I have liked every movie this guy makes, including Magnolia. But this time, he knocked it out of the park. Easily one of the best films I have ever seen, with the most haunting, powerful Daniel Day Lewis giving another incredible performance. Like Ian McShane of Deadwood, with his masterpiece of a frontier madman, Al Swearingen, Day Lewis commands with a mere look of his eyes and a guttural growl that comes from the mid-west by way of the Irish coast. Both he and McShane manage to convey the essence of the early American male rife with a ferocious ingenuity and a knack for survival at any cost. A truly amazing film.

My boy did it! Iowa! If you didn’t get a chance to see his speech – here’s a link to the video. Strong, confident, intelligent, and speaking the truth – what if we had a President like that? I promise not to make this an Obama-centric blog, but I’ve been hoping for this for the past three and a half years, ever since his speech at the Convention in ’04. So I really can’t contain myself. In other news, we had a great time in Ohio, with Mother Nature delivering a beautiful snowstorm on our last two days. Mother Nichols and family delivered an additional 10 pounds to my waistline. Ummmm…popcorn balls.

There’s a 30% chance of a wintery-mix here in Ohio. Perfect time for a movie marathon and for taking a break from thinking about jobs and the move to Manhattan. Also, congratulations to the four (4!) couples who have gotten engaged after attending our wedding. It’s going to be a great New Year.

So I realized that I never posted about the Obama event. That same week I went to see Bjork, attended some holiday parties, and caught a vicious stomach flu – so now as I have a little downtime (with a second end of year cold), I thought I would finally put this up (thanks to LAist for the pic). Keep in mind that this was my first experience at a full blown political event. The most disappointing thing, other than the awful choice of The Goo Goo Dolls as crowd warmers and the pathetic usher who insisted that we sit on the far corner of an otherwise empty balcony, was that if you’re someone like me, who is invested and following the candidate, you don’t really get anything new out of the experience. It’s cool to be in the same room, but it’s the same old stump speech almost word for word that you could watch on youtube for free. Obama is a good speaker and he has what sounds like real conviction behind his words. I think he’s wrong on gay marriage, his immigration stance is vague at best, and I’m not sure that healthcare plan is going to work, but he’s still the only candidate that I can really get excited about imagining in the White House. Edwards has his points, but if I hear about his dad and that mill one more time…jeez I get it already.

Barack Obama. I’m not sure why people are so unwilling to believe in the power of hope. Maybe because we’ve become cynical. Maybe we can’t remember what it means. Maybe when the towers fell, it destroyed that connective tissue of optimism that bonded us and defined our national character. When Barack Obama speaks, I feel that belief in something greater restored. Tomorrow we’re going to see him at the Gibson. I’ve never paid money to see a politician, and likely never will again, but this is a unique moment. And I am hopeful that it is his moment.

Someday I will learn to never say things like “California? Oh no, the one thing I am not doing is ever, ever moving to Los Angeles.” Guaranteed, within 6 months, I’m at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset having a “blended”. In fact exactly 6 months ago, I was getting my suit fitted in the sweltering crush of Manhattan, swearing that there was no way I was ever, ever going to move to New York. No Way. True to form, in just three short months, and after 10 years with mountains, surf, and often fog-enshrouded sunshine, I make the move back to sleet, regglar coffees, and hard-on-the-ear accents that bend Merry Christmas into Murray Krizmus.

I sometimes miss San Francisco. This blog really takes me back: 340 Brannan Blog. Thanks the handsome man, John K for sending this to me, at the suggestion of Mr. Wolanske. Enjoy!

I know a lot of you who read this are HUGE Big & Rich-ophiles so you’ll be happy to know that my own wife had the pleasure of learning all about celebrity mishaps first hand, while working on the not-to-be missed Country Music reality series, Gone Country! hosted by at least one of the Messers Large and Richard. I couldn’t be more proud of my lil’ lady. So tune in and see her handywork on yet another milestone in the new Golden Age of Television. Writer’s strike you just keep on going, the rest of us have G-o-o-o-o-o-ne Country!

Just got back from Paris! I was sent on a voyage of discovery courtesy of the fine folks at the French Cultural Services, Los Angeles. I was sent to scope out some possible projects to bring back to the land of smoke and plastic, but sadly the train strike was just getting underway, which meant a decrease in the amount of meetings I could attend. I give high marks to the amazing programmers at the Centres Pompidou. They got us in to see Emmanuelle Huynh’s performance in their Grande Salle. An amazing dance that was followed by days of strong coffee, cigarette smoke, bread, and lots of walking. Took me back to RISD days. Heading out to get a Christmas Tree today to kick this holiday business into high gear.

On the occasion of my 32nd year, over the next couple of days, I’m going to list 32 things that are rockin me noggin.

Wiki-Racing. Ren Weschler clued me into this. Apparently huge at Brown. Pick two things, then race another person to see how quickly you can get from say Humanure to Elizabeth Taylor. Hint – think carbon!
Sirius Radio. Sounds worse that normal radio. What’s the point?
I understand comic book aging as I now have two gray hairs growing in exactly the same place on opposite sides of my head. Reed Richards here I come.
Plaid pants never go out of style…for long.
The rest soon…