Too much and not enough.

Too much to listen to, watch, read, drink, snap, practice, backstory and write. Not enough time, sleep, insight, structure, space, truthiness, courtesy, etc. I persist. Sticking my neck out on a spec thing before September’s up. Trying to get another thing off the ground. Entered some sort of up-all-night writing comp because I thought it would be fun. Obviously dementia’s setting in early this year.

Caught a break

Made it to the next round of Page International with N&D, and subsequently dinked the next cut which isn’t much, but I’ll take validation where I can get it.

In other news, the Ghostbusters video game is just about the greatest thing ever. However my love is slightly mitigated because I’ve got the difficulty cranked all the way up, so invariably Ray and Peter are getting possessed and attacking me, and Egon won’t get out of the damn way when whatever giant monster is rampaging so I keep dying trying to save his ass. Janine runs up the long distance bill and Winston just wants some pizza.

The fact that it’s the 25th anniversary of Ghost Busters is kinda weirding me out.  Both flicks are artifacts of my childhood, near and dear to my heart. I’m willing to bet the Real Ghostbusters cartoon modified my DNA at some point and it definitely put a few wrinkles in my brain. But it’s cool to see Ramis out and about doing a ton of PR for the Blu-ray release (and his new flick of course). Not entirely sure how I’m feeling about the talk of a sequel. There’s much potential for disaster, but George Lucas isn’t involved so I have some hope. What would really be great though is if some smart writers out there would diligently spend time and effort creating a new Ghostbusters-esque comedy, different premise, fresh characters…

Oh hey, some of those script meters are actually moving!

The Surgeon General of Beverly Hills!

Best wishes to the illustrious Bruce, on this, the day of his birth. If the movie gods could get you into Ghostbusters 3, I’d sacrifice some various small mammals in thanks, a cat, maybe some rabbits, couple of children, you know whatever was on hand.

In the meantime, I’ll keep rewatching Brisco County Jr. and hoping for a Sam Axe spin-off.

Catching up with myself in 2002.

Accidentally sorted my inbox backwards this morning and found this Jan. 2002 sent item RE: attending a Weezer concert:

You see this all came about because of your stupidity. And don’t play coy with me, I know you. Don’t plead ignorance; it’s not an excuse. You of all people
should know that. It’s not as if it were genetic or anything. Pathetic? Hardly, I think you kid yourself by investing in weak ideals like that. I suppose you
believe Black English should be taught in schools, so whut chu talkin bout Willis?
It’s hard to wrap your mind around it I know, but if you don’t conceed that everything’s possibly just a craps shoot you’ll get nowhere. If you don’t harbor
a concession to the fact that perhaps everything is chaotic and random then what’s your belief worth?
Believing in the only Alternative, why is just as bad as blasphemy, don’t you think? No you didn’t think, and that’s why 6 Men are dead now. You really forced my hand with this one. No alternatives, I had to shoot my way out, and as if Interpol wasn’t already on my back. I’m going to have to shave my eyebrows just to get back into the States. You know how long they
take to grow back right? So for 4 months I’ll be sporting some pencil drawn excuse for eyebrows, all because you got impatient.
I’m a professional so don’t fuck with me again? Do we have an understanding?

Now you have to ask yourself, ‘Am I talking with a crazy person?’ because if it turns out that I really am crazy what’s to stop me from putting 6 lbs of C-4
under your car seat one morning? Do you know what the expansion rate for that grade explosive is? 129 feet per second. Can you run that fast? Do you want to find out?

My brother’s getting out of the big house next Thursday, have to drive up to Joliet to collect him. Busted on a Heist he didn’t even set up and he spends
4 years in the brig. Talk about a bad break. He’s always been the muscle though, the schemes, the planning, that was up to me. It’ll be good to have him
back, even if it is for a while. After that last Trip to Switzerland, whooboy and the explosion, well, he’s been deaf in one ear, but he’s good people ya know?

We’re having a get to at Tab’s pub if you want to come. Down a few beer’s watch the Big game, socialize with unsavory types. I talked to One Eyed Willie and
even though he beat his Parole Officer to death with her own shoe he said he’d try and make it.

I’m in the middle of something fierce right now. Righteous score if I can make ends meet and not get capped in the process. A bit of a pirate operation,
but it’s shiny guns and loud bangs all the way, and I’m running the show. Still working on all the old stuff, scamming, hacking, you know the like.
Realized something though, you can bs your way through it, and
still not be a made guy. And I don’t want to piss the families off or nothing, not hitting Vegas yet, but there’s a while yet before I can be a made guy.
There’s things you got to get through, respect you gotta earn before you get the big spagetti dinner.

Heard you got yourself a new gig. Songbird and all a Nightclub/Casino joint? Nice front, I hope you serve a good single Malt Scotch. How’s that muscle of yours working out? Hard to find good help these days.

Guido’s calling for a toast here. You should come around, we have a great selection of goods you know. High Quality shit I guarentee. Shoulda gotten a hand in the deal last September, you want to talk cash, my wheels got a ticket in the Parking lot tonight, it’s that quick.

Let me know about the party, what scams you’re running in general. Mates eh? It’s hard to find people you trust.

Obviously, my eyebrows grew back.

Five-year constants becoming variables ain’t the way to keep me grounded.

LOST, I want to start by saying I do love you, but I think it’s time we step back and look at where this relationship is going. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the last few years and it’s not really that you or I have changed, it’s just that I need time…

So, I thought it would take a lot more than another ‘reset button’ episode to shake my faith in my favorite television show, but there is this unsettled feeling left in me after last’s night’s season 4 finale. And the looming reminder that there are scant few episodes left to smooth things over.

LOST has always been about the storytelling and characters for me, and even characters I dislike, specifically Jack and Kate, get some intricate facets and backstory to support and expand upon their often insane, selfish actions and I still enjoy watching even though I don’t particularly like these characters. That’s great writing. It’s also something Cuse & Lindelof took the time to emphacize last night in the recap show, that LOST was very much about the characters and their storytelling priorities were to the beloved 815 core survivors and thus have spent the series crafting a meaningful journey for these people.

But that’s just not what I saw. I saw two completely new characters sandwiched into the third act given a power struggle that has apparently dictated most of the crazy stuff we’ve seen. All this really has done is completely undermind the stories of our central characters, making them pawns in this larger conflict.

And that’s just not sitting very well with me at the moment, because it sort of suggests that our Losties could be any smucks that the gods/deities/gate-keepers/whatever Jacob-&-his-rival-are decided to play out their game of backgammon with.

If only Locke were still around, maybe I’d have some faith. Because that was my very favorite thing, that no matter how many times Locke was manipulated and used, he was a man of faith when no one else was, he’d have bad times but eventually return to center, so I always had faith in him. But apparently people who have faith get completely fucked in this show and I was a sap to think otherwise.

So my faith is shaken, I’m feeling manipulated and if I could ask just one thing it’d be to ask Jacob “Is it really going to be alright?” Because I’m lost, you bastards.