Wow...I just started this blog 2 months ago and I have already let a month and a half go without posting a blog.  It's not because I don't have any material...I just haven't gotten around to posting them.  Which is funny, considering I don't have a full time job.  I think that's actually my downfall.  I perform pretty well when I have a list of tasks and strict schedule to follow.  I do even better if I have to do many of those tasks at once...alas, I haven't had that problem recently.  I promise (and I use the word "promise" loosely) to post more frequently in the future.

For now I just wanted to wish my readers a happy Rosh Hashana and happy new year.

In the coming days/weeks look for updates about my criss-crossing trip across the US in August; videos and pictures from trips, Jack, and HOMP movie nights; and inside info on my future and what's in store next (I know you are dying to find out!)

As many of you know, I spent the first 12 days of August on the east coast awaiting the birth of my nephew, who was almost two weeks late.  With so much time to kill I decided to take a 5-day trip up to NY to do some competitive analysis for HOMP.  I went with my friends Allison and Lissa to the Brooklyn Bridge, which has a regular Thursday night movie.  This week's movie was Pleasantville.  I have seen this a few times and enjoyed it (plus Reese Witherspoon is in it), so I was looking forward to seeing how the presentation in Brooklyn would compare to HOMP.

This was the third different city I've had the opportunity to experience a large outdoor movie viewing.  The other two are Screen on the Green in Washington, D.C. and Cinespia Film Series at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.  Here is a quick little comparison of the three locations:

Backdrop: DC - Right next to the Washington Monument, with views of the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, and the White House.  Hard to beat... NY - The Brooklyn Bridge with lights from Manhattan coming across the water.  Also agreat spot. LA - The movie is projected on the side of a mausoleum.  The backdrop isn't thatgreat...but seeing a movie in a cemetery creates a cool ambiance. Crowd: DC - Not that impressive.  A lot more of a transient group, with people coming and going regularly throughout the movie. NY - The smallest crowd of the three locations, but people seemed pretty into the movie.

LA - I think probably the best crowd, with people both really into the movie but also very aware that the pre-movie picnic is just as important to set the mood.  Huge downfall though is managing the crowd. You have to show up well in advance and stand in line, or sit in a line of cars to get in, as opposed to the other spots that are pretty open until the start of the movie.

Weather:
DC and NY - The threat of rain is always there.  In fact, during Pleasantville it started to rain with about 5 minutes left in the movie.  A large amount of the crowd started topack up and leave, while some devoted groups stayed (we were one of them).  Then with about 2 minutes left though,the rain got really strong and they actually stopped the movie.  Obviously, you can see how having to stop a movie at the end can really take away from the whole experience. 
LA - It's Los Angeles...I think we all know how great the weather is...

Miscellaneous:
DC - The first large regular outdoor movie night I experienced and the original inspiration for HOMP.
NY - Despite the great backdrop, it did have a semi-amateur feel to it.  They had some technical problems starting the movie (I'm not the only one!) and the first screen we saw was the DVD menu page, as if they had just rented the movie from Blockbuster earlier that day.
LA - The one movie I've been to so far was introduced by Drew Barrymore.

All three locations had some really great positives to them that I have or will be incorporating into HOMP, but let's be honest, none of them really compare to HOMP. HOMP obviously has the best crowd, enjoys the benefit of LA's weather, a personal touch to the previews, a complimentary cocktail hour, and at your seatbar service during the movie!

Baby Simpson!

In other news, I am an uncle!  Jack Aidan Simpson was born on August 11, 2008 at 3:11 pm at George Washington University Hospital. Little Jack was 12 days late, but now that he's here there's no holding him back.  I will have more on him in my next entry, but for now here's a picture of us each wearing our UCLA shirts! (in case you can't read it, his says, "Future Graduate - UCLA")

I stare danger in the face and laugh...
I break the law on a daily basis...
I am a rebel...

No, I'm not Dos Equis' "The Most Interesting Man in the World"...I'm a cell phone user and licensed California driver.  California has survived its first month of hands free required driving with little incident.  I've only heard of one person I know personally so far who has received a Hands Free ticket.  (Although, I did hear on the news about someone who was pulled over for using his cell phone while driving and turned out to be driving a stolen car...that's kinda funny)

I though, have not made the switch fully.  In fact, I like driving with my phone to my ear now.  It gives me a rush of adrenaline that I have only matched by bungy jumping 440 ft...ok, maybe it's not quite that exciting.  Don't get me wrong.  I use my earpiece most of the time, but I used it before the law came into affect too.  It just makes sense, especially if I am planning on having a long conversation (and you all know how good I am on the phone).  I, personally, don't think my driving is that hampered by my phone use.  Maybe it's because I am used to driving that way, where as (ehem) some of the older population has been driving with phones for only a small fraction of their driving lives.  Often when I swerve around cars after getting annoyed at a driver for going slowly or not paying attention to where they are

going, it is someone from that demographic I see driving the car now in my rear view mirror...either that or a teenage girl more interested in chatting than anything else.  The law does account for half the problem though, as drivers under the age of 18 aren't allowed to drive and use the phone at all!  There is not an equivalent though for older drivers, say over the age of 65 or something.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the law is that only holding the phone up to your ear is explicitly illegal.  The rules surrounding texting, surfing the web, and emailing aren't as clear.  Individuals are allowed to do those things, but police officers who notice this behavior and deem it to be unsafe can, on a case by case basis, issue a hands free ticket.  This kind of baffles me, because it seems so obvious that this behavior is ten times more dangerous than holding a phone to your ear.  It also seems ridiculous that it is up to the officer's own discretion.  I mean, if I'm an officer, what's to stop me from pulling everyone over who's texting and just claiming that the person was driving dangerously?  Or course, none of this has deterred me from my constant texting.  While I am proud to say that I can text at a 90% accuracy level without looking away from the road, even I have to admit that driving with my knee while my hands are typing on my phone can't be the safest thing in the world.  Like I said though, I am a rebel!

Let me end now with something that I think proves two main points, that the older population has problems driving and using the phone at the same time and that California's new hands free laws still doesn't drivers are going to be paying more attention to the road.  The transcript below comes about 2 minutes into a voicemail from my mom (sorry mom) that I received earlier this week:

...because I was getting my hair done...oy oy oy...I went the wrong way...(silence) oy (silence)...bye...(15 seconds of inaudible noise in the background, honk, honk, and click)

FAQs about Hands Free from the DMV's website

When I was a kid my parents used to take me to this little barber shop next to K-Mart for my hair cuts.  I don't remember it that well, but I'm pretty sure this was a pretty classic barber shop.  Then it closed and we started going exclusively to Supercuts...which is anything but classic.  After enduring about 8 years of Supercuts haircuts I finally got my license and was able to go anywhere I wanted.  I was referred to Pete's Barber Shop in Thousand Oaks...now this was a real barber shop; I'm talking red and blue striped pole outside, three old men behind the chairs, Playboys under the register, posters of women in beer ads on the walls, and a haircut for just $8.  The barbers would sit there and talk about sports all day long and make comments about every single woman that walked by the window, regardless of what she looked like  (Interestingly enough, none of the three men behind the chairs were ever Pete...but that's a story for another blog entry).  Alas, after college Thousand Oaks became too far for me to drive.  Now I go to a salon...I have a girl, named T, that does my hair every time.  I have another lady that shampoos my hair first.  And when I'm done, my tip alone is as much as my whole haircut at Pete's used to be...can you say, "sellout"...

Well, here it is!  I'm sure you are all thrilled that this is in existence and I'm sure you'll be on this site everyday checking for updates.  Alas, I don't plan to update that frequently, so I suggest you input your email address in the spot to the right and click on "subscribe".  This will allow you to get an email of any blog I ever post.  That way you don't have to worry about missing anything as each entry will be emailed to you...at which point you can read it, or simply click delete and be done.

Not sure what topics this blog will cover.  Some obvious ones will be Lakers, UCLA, life in Los Angeles, what's on TV this week, Mocha, miscellaneous thoughts I may (or may not) have, and much much more.  I encourage you all to read and feel free to leave comments or privately email me any thoughts you may have.  Any time you have a subject that you think should be addressed, feel free to let me know as well.

At the very least, this will provide me an opportunity to express myself a little about any subject I choose, with or without an audience...but I do hope that you enjoy reading the entries and will be part of my audience.

Let the blogging begin!!!