Saturday, January 27, 2007

Red Sox Fever

Above: Now that the Pats are done...on to the Red Sox!

The above photo is a future Patriots fan in mourning. Zachary was all dressed up in his Patriots garb ready to celebrate. (Even though he calls his Brady shirt his Red Sox shirt) Patriots Superbowl XLI R.I.P.

Click on photos to see larger image

After the disappointing outcome of the Patriots/Indianapolis game last weekend, there was only one thing to do, look forward to the Red Sox. I am not a huge Red Sox fan, but we all know Paul is a diehard fan. After the Patriots loss, I really thought he was going to cry, he's such a passionate New England sports fan. Anyway, to chase away those Patriots blues Paul, Zachary and I went to the San Francisco Giants AT&T Baseball Park to get into the spirit of the upcoming baseball season. The park was open that day for people to explore the park, get autographs from Giants players and just tour the grounds. It was also a great way for people who cannot afford to buy tickets to get a glimpse of what they are missing. Sad but true. Paul already bought a bunch of Giants tickets for the upcoming season, nosebleeds seats, but hey, it ain't the Sox.

Above: Zachary pointing out that Red Sox are still Number one!


The baseball field was dug up and people were restricted to go too many places. We told Zachary he was going to a park so he was looking for the slide, swings and other kids to play with. All he could see was an oversized sandbox that he could not play in. So we all sat in the stands and looked around and prepared ourselves to be fly by night Giants fans. Zachary got into the spirit of things and started making faces at the park, which translated into..."this ain't Fenway!!!" Like father, like son.



Thursday, January 25, 2007

Book Interview


Quick post.... Michelle Vogel (co-author) and I were interviewed this week for our upcoming book, Joan Crawford: An Illustrated Guide to Her Appearances in Film, Radio and Television. Yes, I am going to write out the title of the book ever time I mention it:-P The website that interviewed us is called "The Midnight Palace," it's a partner company to Warner Bros. The questions were great and I don't think my responses were all that bad. Check out the full interview at the link below.

Patrick, thank you for the wonderful picture you took of me.:-) It's all smoke and mirrors baby!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

June 30th 2007



The publisher to my upcoming book, Joan Crawford: An Illustrated Guide to Her Appearances on Film, Radio and Televison ( wow, that's a mouthful) will be released and in stores on June 30th 2007. It was originally scheduled for a spring release, but it was pushed back due to some photography issues. The book is now available for pre-order through amazon.com. Go to the amazon link below to view. I know this book is a bit pricey at $45.00, but I am asking everyone to please buy this book! It's a hardcover 300+ page book with 120 rare photographs. The first run is only scheduled to be 500 copies. If the pre-order sales are good (they are already close to 100 copies pre-ordered) they will up the number of first run copies to be printed. So please, buy the damn book! :-)

The book is now featured on the home page of the Turner Classic Movies Website and on Warner Brothers Midnight Palace Website as well. See links below. I have an interview with both of the websites in the near future.


Click above image to see photo at full size

Click above image to see photo at full size


Ok this is hilarious! The book is featured on a Japanese website! HA! Check out the link below. I knew it would pay off to have Ray Shiao as a friend!:-)


Click above image to see photo at full size
Click here to see the book on Kinokuniya Bookclub

The book is generating great buzz considering it's four months away from being in stores. So buy a damn copy and I will sign it for you:-P See that's worth buying to have my signature!

For a weekly update on the book progress, go to link below to see my "Book Journal" I created on my Joan Crawford website.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Fast Car


On the edge of Noe & Castro Valley is this great park called Dolores Park. The view of the downtown San Francisco skyline is quite impressive. The park is usually packed with people from all walks of life and a ton of dogs. This park has become the park that we walk to when we have Zachary to enjoy the fresh air and the views. Recently, we were walking through Dolores Park and on our way to the jungle gym, I noticed a familiar face coming towards us. She had long dreadlocks, a big white smile, was dressed in a black leather jacket and walking her dog. Her trademark look is very recognizable and I knew who it was right away. Tracy Chapman. I love Tracy Chapman’s music and one of my favorite songs of hers is called "The Promise. I was carrying Zachary and muttering to Paul under my breath, "That's Tracy Chapman, look…look." He immediately recognized her as well and as she passed us she looked at us and gave us a nod and a huge smile. She had the friendliest face and smile I have ever seen. It’s kind of cool to think that Tracy Chapman lives in your neighborhood. So every time we go to Dolores Park, I am having Zachary bring his guitar so he can play it for her, hey maybe she will offer some lessons.:-)






Click on the above picture of Zach to see a bigger view!

Monday, January 15, 2007

Feelin' like New England in SF!


It's been feeling like gold ole New England in San Francisco these days for many reasons. First off, it's been unseasonable cold for the past week. I left all my winter jackets, gloves and hats back home and I am in dire need of warm clothing. When I moved out here, I didn’t think I brought the cold with me. I am just waiting for he snow to start falling! BRRRR!

Wearing a scarf!

Paul and I went out to a really tasty Sushi bar to meet some of my past Arnold coworkers and current coworkers this past Saturday night! It was great to see some familiar faces and share some laughs. Great food and great people, it was truly a great time.

Left to Right: Jen, Chris, Paul, Neil, Mo & Carolyn

Paul was prepared when he moved out here that he would lose the excitement of going to a local bar and watching a Red Sox or a Pats game and cheering with the crowd. Well, it felt like home going to a local bar to watch the Pats game this Sunday. Paul was all excited to go to this bar two miles away from where we live called, The Connecticut Yankee. I was not as excited to go, but I reluctantly went. When we arrived I started to walk in the other direction when I saw the crowd that was stumbling out of the bar, but Paul dragged me inside the bar. Right when we walked into the bar it felt like we were in a South Boston bar. Everyone had Pats jerseys on, missing teeth and I swore I could even hear the Boston accent! All that was missing was Clisham!



The place was packed when we arrived for the second half of the Pats game but we did manage to find a table in the back room. The back room had a large TV and a wide variety of people and this loud obnoxious waitress that was literally throwing food and drinks at people. Scary. I do have to say it was a great time watching the Pats game with a bunch of true Pats fans, especially after that amazing win! The bar was bouncing off the walls after the Pats stole the game away from the San Diego Chargers.


Check out the website for the Connecticut Yankee below:


So even though we are both thousand of miles away from Boston, it felt like we were right in the middle of the city of Boston this weekend with the weather, Boston friends and a fun sports bar filled with loud obnoxious Pats fans! Go Pats!!!

Friday, January 12, 2007

Sister Act III



Currently I am taking a religion class in school, it's required otherwise I would not be taking this class. I am not the most religious person and I have strong opinions about religion that I have expressed in my class. I strongly feel that out of all the religions in the world, not one religion holds all the answers and is 100% correct. I was raised by my grandparents to believe in the Catholic religion and my mother was a practicing Jehovah Witness, couldn’t be more of a contrast, one celebrates Christmas the other doesn’t etc. Anyway, I don’t consider myself to be either religion. Back to the point of this post. A friend of Paul’s and mine from Boston moved out to San Francisco last month, James White. He was on our bowling team back in Boston and played in the softball league, he's a barrel of laughs. He also loves to sing and is part of the choir that was featured in the new movie, "The Pursuit of Happiness." James invited Paul, Zach and me to church this past Sunday. I warned him the walls might catch on fire and crumble to the ground if I walked into a church. He assured me it was the most accepting church AND he was going to be singing a solo. How could I miss that!?

Yes, that's James White singin' at church!


The church is in the Tenderloin in San Francisco. The Tenderloin is an interesting place. I have nerve seen so many homeless people in my life in this neighborhood. I was holding onto Zachary for dear life, it was really a sad site to see the vast amount of homeless people strewn around the streets like discarded trash. Very very sad. In the middle of all this was the church that James invited us to. I could here the clapping and singing from the street as we made our way into the building. The church was packed! Zachary's eyes were like saucers as he scoped the crowd; I have to say I was probably feeling the same reaction as Zach. After being in for a short time one of the members of the choir started talking about acceptance and how this church accepts everyone no matter who you are or what you believe in gay, straight, black, white, transgender, green or blue, you are all welcome. I was not expecting to hear that at a church. He also said we are all here to believe in something, make a change, be a better person and love one another. Made sense to me! After his speech, which I was impressed with, James White flew out onto the stage like he was the star of Sister Act III and started to belt out a gospel tune like Ms. Patti Labelle! The entire crowd was on their feet and James noticed us up on the balcony watching him and he threw us a smile and a wave. We all had a great time clapping and singing. I was pleasantly surprised at how I felt after leaving this church. It was a feeling of happiness that this large mix of people all came together under one roof, joined hands and got along. If that's what "church" is all about than you will find me there every Sunday.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Happy Birthday Deborah!!


Happy Birthday to my partner in crime John Gregorie aka Deborah Cox! Hope you get a nice dinner, a big birthday cake and lots of spankin's from Mr. Grindle, well the first two can come from Grindle, but go elsewhere for the spankin's!!! See you soon!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Sunday, January 7, 2007

Go Dance at a Farmer's Market



This past Sunday I had my first bout being homesick. I have not felt down and out in a long long time, but I was pretty sad on Sunday. It's really hard to break away from that mode of being so comfortable and relaxed and throw yourself into a situation where you lose that comfort and some of your confidence. In a month or so from now, I am sure I will have forgotten these feelings but it's a bit overwhelming right now. The saving grace about being out in San Francisco, of course, is Paul and Zachary. Paul is an amazing person that I am very lucky to have in my life. He's really in tune with my feeling and who I am and he knew that something was bothering me and rather than smother me with questions, he let me have some alone time which was very helpful. Zachary is growing so much and he makes me laugh and smile. Words cannot express how much I appreciate having him in my life. He already has such an amazing sense of humor and he’s very creative with making up games to play. The funny thing, he’s teaching me so much about life and myself, he has been the best teacher I have ever had and he is only three years old!




Paul, Zachary and I went to this really cool farmer's market that is right on our street. We bought Zachary this HUGE honey glazed poppy seed muffin, of course he ate only the muffin top, but don't we all only eat the muffin tops? Paul and Zach have been going to this farmer's market since they came out here in September; it's a new Saturday morning ritual. Zachary loved being there and walked around and danced, to music a man was playing on his guitar, without a care in the world. Remember being a child and not having a care in the world, not caring what others thought, no bills or responsibilities. It's a time in our lives that we never really take advantage of because we have no idea what we are in store for as adults. I love watching that carefree nature in Zachary and the happiness that he projects. He's truly the happiest child I have ever seen. I think it's important for people to take some time and dance around and act like you don't have care in the world. Go out and dance at a farmer's market, people might look at you odd, but hey, you can just smile and say you don’t have a care in the world☺

If you have not already read the book “Tuesdays With Morrie,” I highly recommend it.


A young "Morrie" dancing.

Dreamgirls


I love woman with BIG voices, these woman are usually black women that can really belt it out and sing. I love the emotions they send out when they really get into a song. Some of my favorite singers are Mary J Blige, Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin. I have been wanting to see the movie "Dreamgirls" that came out on Christmas Day. The main reason I have wanted to see this film is because of the former American Idol contestant, Jennifer Hudson. The buzz has been that she cannot only sing but act. I went to go see the movie here in San Fran the day after I go there by myself and I do have to say it is one hell of a movie. Jennifer Hudson can sing, she can act and she can bring an entire audience to their feet. I have never been to a movie where after a particular scene in a movie everyone stood up and gave a thunderous applause. It truly was an experience. I am making an early prediction, Jennifer Hudson will not only be nominated for an Oscar but she will WIN the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She truly made me feel so many emotions when watching her on the screen and THAT, in my opinion, is what winning an Oscar is all about. If you have not seen this movie, go see it. Eddie Murphy is fantastic in the film, after a string of bad movies; he redeems himself in this film.

Friday, January 5, 2007

Welcome to San Francisco!

I am here!!!I was worried when I got on the plane to California from Boston because I was carrying some of my prized possessions: my clothes, styling products AND my new iMac computer! So, I was a nervous wreck that they were going to lose my luggage or it was going to get stolen. The flight was great; when all of you come out to visit us, fly Jet Blue. It's well worth the extra cash. I arrived at Oakland airport early, which was great although it was 11:30pm and I was running on East Coast time so it was really 3:30am for me. I ran to the luggage carousal so I could see the luggage as it was being plopped out onto the carousel. When I arrived there were two other flights waiting for their luggage as well so I had no chance of getting a Birdseye view. After waiting a half an hour for the entire luggage to come out, I was the last one standing by the carousel and my luggage and computer were nowhere to be found. Of course, I was irate. Luckily, I didn't have to pull off my weave and gold toofh and get all ugly on everyone. They had special care instructions for my computer and I was thrilled that they took such care in it. As I started to ask about my suitcase, I saw this lady throwing a bag back onto the carousel belt and I noticed it was mine, she had accidentally took my bag. Thank God she retuned it.

HOLD MY WEAVE!!

My first day of work was great! It's an easy drive from Noe Valley to Sausalito. It's pretty much a straight shot to the Golden gate Bridge and then the first exit after the bridge and BAM, I am at work. The first week at work has been great, people are very friendly and the vibe here is great. Check out this picture below that is the view from the office. SICK! I am already being thrown into the New Business madness. I am working on two pitches this month. Let's hope the lucky streak I had at Arnold carries over here. Another eerie sign from above that I am in the right place was watching the agency video. All new employees have to watch this video that shows creative work and what the agency stands for. I popped in the video and the song "We're Going to be Friends" by the White Stripes started to play, the same song that was in my going away photo presentation! I was floored, what a weird coincidence. It made me smile and think about all my friends back in Boston hat I really miss and all the new ones I am going to make here...



Tonight I'll dream while in my bed
when silly thoughts go through my head
about the friends that I have met
and when I wake tomorrow I'll bet
that all of us will walk together again
cause I can tell that we're always going to be friends



New picture of Paul and Zach on the "Rody" post. Click the link below to see new photos!

http://thestreetsofsanfrancisco.blogspot.com/2006/12/rody.html

Monday, January 1, 2007

Happy New Year!

We'll I am off! I fly out in less than four hours. Just wanted to post a really great picture that my best friend Patrick designed! I love it! It made my day:-) I hope everyone has an eventful New Year!