No jury duty?!

OMG! Can you believe that I didn't get called in to see either Judge LAnce Ito nor Diane Sawyer's faces telling me that I am providing a great service to my community? Well, I did complete a service. I like to call it 'disgruntled brat of LA county.' Others may regard it as a shining sliver of service in an otherwise overcast and bleak world, overrun with mongrels out to eat only bones and bread. Why bread? Why not ask, why mongrels? Hmmmm.....discuss.

So it is Friday and I have been home writing scripts all day long. Let me tell you, after a crazy windstorm blew through LA and knocked down many a power line in LA, it's odd that the next day, the day I choose to stay home and work, is absolutely GORGEOUS! The sun shines, it's warm, and my dog Moose, gets outside to kick some jogger ass. Did I mention he's aggressive and a chihuahua? I like to call him BM for Big Moose or Bowel Movement. You decide.

So what is my insanely attention deficit disorder mind fixated on for these next few seconds? Grindhouse of course! Can I just tell you that when I heard about the over 3 hour long film, I thought, crap. Last time I saw a movie that broke the 3 hour mark was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. Though it was spellbindingly beautiful and an awesome flick, by the 2.5 hour, I started trying to stretch in my chair, and by the end of the movie, i had forgotten how to walk and how to pee. Old age is getting to me. That reminds me, my birthday is soon...April 20th.

So back to Grindhouse, what do i think? I think Tarantino's film 'Death Proof' is a lot better than Rodriguez's. Now granted, Rodriguez created a straight homage to the B zombie movies of yesteryear, but at the same time, when you have two flicks side by side, you have to be able to compare and contrast. And i liked Tarantino's because of the action, dialogue and twists! Now Rodriguez did have some silly funny dialogue moments, and Freddy and Rose did great jobs as the leads in the film, but still...At one point, I got up to get more popcorn.

Is 'Grindhouse' worth $11.75 to see? Well, personally, I don't think you lose anything by seeing it on TV, so you can wait for the video. But if you can find an $8 movie theater, man up, grab your wallet, insert your catheter and get ready to get grossed out and laugh.

Jury Duty

And did I tell you all that I am on jury duty? That's right! an entire week of nothing to do but wait for a recording to tell me if I need to report so I may do my part for society by paying it forward through our judicial system.

And I have made it as far as Thursday without having to go in. Last couple times this happened, I get called in on Friday and sit there, doing absolutely nothing. GAWD! But I did get a 'pep' talk by Judge Lance Ito. yes! the OJ Simpson Judge Ito talked to my group of 400 or so disgruntled citizens who are more interested in being released than serving on a jury. Honestly, I would not mind serving, except many cases last two weeks or more, and being a freelancer, the $15 jury service pays won't really pay for the mortgage if I don't work. :(

Crazy!

more projects on the horizon!

You know what I think is totally odd? Every time I walk to the post office, dry cleaners, or anywhere in my neighborhood in fact, there are soooo many people milling about. Don't they have jobs? Or are they all semi-employed like me? We all know I mill around a lot as well, walking that Kujo dog of mine, running my errands, and waiting to be called for jury duty. Yeah!

I have a couple of projects that will be hitting the air in April. They are both on HGTV. One is 'RV Road Home', which started out as an RV themed project, all about the really cool gadgets in RVs. But it morphed into a show about family fun. It was such a fun shoot though, and being from southern California and always thinking of seeing the country on wheels, with a take-along bathroom, I love the idea of an RV. This premiered last night at 9 pm, but there are 4 episodes, so keep your eyes peeled.

I will also host HGTV's Outdoor Living Special 2007 which premieres April 22 at 9 pm. I love being in primetime! For this show, my co-host, Evan Farmer and I crazy through the Las Vegas Convention center to being you all the cool stuff to make your outdoor area sing- but only public domain songs because no one can afford publishing rights nowadays.

And supposedly tonight is the one-time showing of my interstitials, my first foray into kind of acting with AMC's Date Night event and the movie 'Splash', starring Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah. Yeah, I have to say that I went in to this project as a host, and came out feeling dirty, the kind of dirt a shower and loofah can not match. So I have decided to call it an 'acting' project where the producers forgot to tell me I'd be acting, and did the best job I could. Can I just tell you all that I shot this a little less than a month ago and it went like this:

My agent calls with the good news that I booked this gig. I am told that I will be the host of a dating show, the moderator, if you will, of the conversations being had by those there to date each other. I cancel my vacation to Germany and go for the first day of a 2 day shoot. I get to the set and meet everyone. I am suspicious as there are 4 dudes and me for the afternoon shoot for Splash. Hmmm....my Spidey senses tell me something is up. For some god-forsaken-reason, I think I am a DATER, a person there to pick a date! I call my agent and leave a message. Then I man up and do the shoot, trying to pull my strength from the core of the earth to not piss myself off too much for getting swindled.

The next day, my agent calls and says I am the host, not a dater. He has even verified this with the producer. So I take it upon myself to edumakate him on how there are 4 dudes, and me. And the producers have asked me to choose one. I told them I didn't want to choose one, I didn't want any of them. Or I could pretend these men turned me into a lover of women and I would out myself on TV that afternoon. Think of the drama. both these ideas were dismissed and I hated the project, but I finished it with as much professionalism as I could. I hear it turned out well, but I have to say this project was one of the worst experiences of my career. It has been a while since I have felt so disrespected and disregarded as I did with this one, but oh well. I did my job and that is all I can do. I'll know better for next time!

But some good news! I may have a new show on the horizon! I won't jinx it, but let me tell you, I am sooo excited about it!

Life's a crazy ride

Hello all you fun friends.

So life has been passing by at a really fast pace and before I know it, it's the 4705, Year of the Boar.

Well here's the skinny of what's been happening. My sister/roommate and I have been working hard on learning how to have a dog, my new pooch, Moose. And we have been getting through the holidays with the family. I have to say, being a part of a Chinese family that really doesn't celebrate Christmas is a good one.

So good news...I have since hosted a CES special for HGTV. I have been shooting new episodes of 'I Want That Tech Toys' and been working hard shooting 'The Bog Tease' on Reelz Channel. Good times. I have also shot 'Outdoor Living Expo' which will premiere June 9th - I think...

And now the bad news...HGTV's 'I Want That Tech Toys' has now been cancelled. We will be shooting our last episode in June and that's all. Such a shame. I guess HGTV saw tech stuff as too far of a stretch from their home base, but I have to say, it is nice that they gave it a go.

Now off to find some new stuff.

Don't forget to marvel at how awesomely cute my dog Moose is. I am the most horribly proud dog parent now. I am my own worst enemy.

Merry Day after Christmas

Hello my men and women of many holidays: Christmas, Channukah, Kwanzaa and Festivus. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday full of family and food.

As for me, I had some of both and it was lovely celebrating Christmas with my small family and new dog, Moose.

Can I just tell you that as 'unemployed' as I always say I am, I am kept quite busy by the few days of employment I take on...which usually include numerous movie screenings. I know, my life is hard and yes, I realize I am one of the luckiest chiquitas to ever set foot on this earth. And I don't take it for granted. Now let me digress for a second and tell you that I am awaiting free pizza at the office while waiting to shoot 'The Big Tease' for Reelz Channel and it is 15 minutes late! I am starving and about to make a Cheetolicious sandwich. What am I, Britney Spears? I will never look at Cheetos the same way again. Way to ruin a good thing Brit.

Anyhoo, I saw movies on top of movies on top of movies. And then my brain exploded. Luckily I am a highly skilled brain surgeon (Read Puzzle putter-together) and was able to MacGyver some brain together with some scotch tape and paper clips. Good thing I am in the office with a supplies closet. ;)

Back to movies: Children of Men, DreamGirls, Notes on a Scandal, Alpha Dog, Smoking Aces, and...Oceans Eleven. Damn. Since I can write almost endlessly about movies, I will try and keep this short and sweet about what I saw and what is worth your $10. Yo, it takes me several days to earn ten bones, so I am not the type to just go flinging it around at any old movie...

Oceans Eleven - I am a moron for not seeing this sooner. I am sure you all have seen this stellar movie, and honetly 'Oceans Twelve' has nothing on its predescessor.

Children of Men - so much potential here. Like boatloads, which is what they play up as their goal, the boat for 'The Human Project'. Long story short, guy tries to help only pregnant woman who is also an immigrant get from sterile world to a safe ship. There are a number of important messages about immigration, the environment, and radicals as we see them in this film, however I felt the story line lacked just that, depth of storyline. For me, I felt very unfulfilled about what each group was fighting for, how the sterilization came to be, and why. and that my friends is what separates a movie from a matinee venture. The movie is really pretty to look at, and so is Mr. Owen, but I can get two magazines for $10 and those babies don't end in 2 hours.

Smoking Aces - This movie is really a fun, slightly dark comedy written and directed by Joe Carnahan and stars Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, Common, and a slew of other talented actors. The film is a good ol' mobster fightout that starts with a hit being placed on Buddy 'Aces' Israel's head, and all the mercenaries and hitmen come out of the woodwork to get the $1 million prize. FBI try and save him and the mob is trying to kill him. It's an exciting storyline that gets extremely action-packed and gruesome. But still it puts in humor where needed. So I was talking to this one reporter for CNN at the junket and asked him, 'what did you think of the movie' and he said 'well i guess it was all right, but it isn't changing our world.' Wow. Really? Dude, make room for that pulitzer on your desk because man, a mobster movie all about hitting a magician in Tahoe isn't inspiring world change? That should lead of tonight's news. Plus he's staff. Crack team at CNN does it again. Good movie.

DreamGirls - see this movie. Jennifer Hudson steals every scene she is in, and although superficially speaking she isn't as outright gorgeous as Beyonce, she is by far the stunningly beautiful star of DreamGirls.

Notes on A Scandal - A teacher enters into an illicit affair with one of her students. Craziness ensues. See it for the performances by Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett alone. Seriously...

Alpha Dog - Story of Jesse James Hollywood, one of the youngest men on the FBI's Most Wanted until he was recently caught. I am truly on teh fence abotu this one. It is an interesting story, but for me, the characters are so human, that their malicious pre-meditated murder of a 15-year old acquaintence is kind of played down and characters sympathetic in the movie. But maybe that's the point. See why I am on the fence?

Update on my doggie, Moose. I have pictures which I hope to upload tonight. You guys have to check this littel stud out. He's getting better with my Dad, but he is still aggressive towards strangers and men. We're still working with him and watching a lot of The Dog Whisperer. I mean a lot!

anyone going to CES? I'll be there. Stop me and say hi!