Well, Friday was blocked drains day. Thrilling eh?
Mr Plumber came along and sent the roller snake down our drains. Getting more exciting, isn't it. Apparently our lovely new low flush bogs which the landlord put in when he ripped out the bathroom (while we were still living here, BTW) doesn't send enough water down the pipes to clear blockages as they build up. Can you stand the adrenalin rush?
Anyway, the day did eventually get much better as C&M came over.
R was a little star and off to bed a happy bunny.
A lovely evening with nice friends, nice food (thanks to the missus) and great chat.
M said that he would give me an intro to Mademoi.
Marvelous!

Well well, Thursday and no mistake.
Littl'un off to playschool (yes, we're bourgeois one day each week) and then I hit the office for the first time in ages.
The girls and Irv are all busy which is jolly good. D had all his books piled up on his side of the office and it looks a little like a small branch of B&N! Blimey. He was winning at 'net poker so he was a happy chappie.
Put Steve's project, VI, up on actorsaccess and, bugger me, if we didn't have 500+ submissions by the evening. Whoa! Steve should be pleased.
The cheques finally arrived by Fedex but they are about a fifth of what I was expecting. Looked at the statement on one of the cheques and it says I should have rec'd a rather large cheque by now but heaven knows where it is right now. Certainly not in my bank account. BTW, BofA SUCK (that's just something I had to get off my chest). Where was I.... ah yes....
Going to shout at them 2mrw as it's now well beyond a joke.
Park in the afternoon with munchkin and had much fun.
Watched 'Curtain Call' (late '90s flick with Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, James Spader and Marcia Gay H) - quite sweet actually. Also saw 'The Interpreter' with Nicole and Sean. Rather good, I think. Intelligent story, well written and superbly delivered by a super cast. Two big tits way up. (God, E&R are lame).
Links for today...
A super special young lady of whom I have no knowledge other than stumbling across her website here.... Nascar (yawn) in the air (thanks for the link, Richard) and, sadly, goodbye to Smash Hits Magazine in the UK. Oh, and very important to mention.... Toto, the Japanese company behind luxury heated toilet seats, is to open a factory in Mexico in a bid to keep up with surging demand in the US.
Deep joy!

Started early again today....
More pee and poop to content with. Potty training is a pain in the arse, and no mistake.
No nappies at night = stuff to clean up in the morning.
Anyway, moving on....
Had my shots for Panama today. Hep A&B, TB and yellow fever = one sore arm. Marvelous! And the cost? $345 to you, old son. I will be aggressively seeking recompense for my expenses.
Seems the ribbon cable I need for M's lappie is going to be very hard to find.
Sony didn't release those spares to the market BUT I did find a PCG-F707... in Yorkshire!! $35 and the whole thing minus the keyboard. Brilliant! Now how to I get it over here (seller won't ship overseas). Prob ask a mate to take delivery of it, carve it up for spares and ship it in a Jiffy bag. Tip top.
Made some calls for M's folder biz today. Maybe a a couple of sales to add to the mix.
Had an invite to watch the 3D dailies for the CC job.
Holy crap, they are incredible!!! And I mean, absolutely incredible!!! Being dailies of course, they are the raw, uncut, uncolourized, from action to cut dailies. No frills, no bells or whistles BUT they are in 3D and (even without sound), they are amazing. Everyone watching was very pleased. J looked fantastic. Must call and tell her tomorrow.
Still no cheque. Being Fed-ex'ed tomorrow apparently.
Thought I'd add a piece today from one of the BBC writers. Not because of the particular context, rather for the memories of Old Blighty it sets off in the old thought library...

In his diary this week, BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell discusses the British Conservatives' search for allies, rituals surrounding the sale of milk in the UK, and the reasons countries have for wanting to join the EU.

MILK RITUAL

There's been a bit of a hoo-ha about saving the British "pinta".

CLICK HERE for background story

British members of the European Parliament say the media have fallen for the oldest trick in the book: a Sunday night press release claiming something awful is about to happen.

Nostalgia (1): The milk float, the nice chap...


Lazy journalists don't bother to check the claims of the news release in case the story is not quite as good as they hope. Especially if it suits their editorial line. Both Labour and Conservatives say they saved the British pint of milk from extinction ages ago and the Parliament is just confirming their decision this week.

But I wonder how many of the journalists and editors who were enthusiastic about this campaign actually get a pint of milk delivered to their doorstep. When I was in England, I did. But I realised at the time this was largely nostalgia. I liked the rumble of the milk float, I liked the milk waiting on the doorstep, the weekly ring on the door from the nice old chap who delivered it, I liked the children rushing to answer the door, and I liked the milkman fumbling for change with his fingerless gloves. It all seemed comforting, continuity from my childhood.

Nostalgia (2): The bottles on the doorstep


But of course it was much more expensive than milk from the supermarket and that's where we got the bulk of our milk, in big plastic containers which in my mind were sold in sizes of "about a bottle's worth", "twice as much" and "who drinks all this stuff?". Whether these were actually pints, litres or the Babylonian double cubit, I neither know nor care. Any other comforting sales rituals from other countries?

Brekkie with the littl'un. Sesame street, LazyTown etc etc.
Went out and tracked down some stuff from RadioShack to try and repair this bloody connector. Spent two hours fiddling with it to no avail. Had to admit defeat and attach a big old external monitor. Not quite so portable now! If it had been my lappie, I would have been screwed - no external hookups.
Found out out that two of our bestest friends are moving back East. Very sad =(. They are so incredibly busy and focused, it didn't surprise me. They're still going to have projects in LA so they'll at least have to come back and visit!
Postponed my j serv too. Not sure when I'll be back up for it.
Filled out forms for my shots visit 2mrw for Cen Amer, deep joy!
Read Luce's script and Y's synopsis for our collab project. Excellent stuff.
Still w8ng for money from production...
note: ccade investment form
Oh, very important - started checking this little subject out

Last day of shooting in LA today.
Woke up at 6.00 for a 6.30 call arrgh!
Started off in the harness and back up over the sea of green!
The harness 'bullets' were set at their lowest setting on my hips so I could go horizontal and flip around!
Shot with the high speed camera so it really whizzed when the camera crew fired it up! 240 frames a second - impressive!
First session was 45 miutes without a break but I could sort of turn over to shift the weight off my hips and inner thighs. This lower setting tires you out faster and I was using a lot of ab and thighs!
If I ever get booked to do wire work again, I will definitely being asking for more dosh. It was very hard work. The effects guys said they would definitely keep me in mind for fkying work and advise clients looking for a mad Brit who coud deliver lines convincingly whilst suspended 10feet up in the air.
Finished off the day up on a platform in front of the greenscreen. I was matching poses with an imaginary 'me' being placed in busy film plates of various exotic locations already shot. Different hats and things in my hands. Funny!
Wrapped and said cheers to everyone on set.
LA shoot done.
Managed to screw M's lappie up whilst trying to repair a hinge. I managed to rip a ribbon connector with a bazillion little tracks. Great. Crap...

Went to the park 'n' stuff today. Chilled.
Also checked out a new rental. Hope it works out. Loads of space and outta here...