You are currently browsing the archives for January, 2009.
I found this video off my boy, Mousa Kraish youtube site. He played Raja in Finishing the Game, for you FTG fans out there. Anyways, it was a video he did years back. I’m assuming the back story to the video was that his vision was inspired by this song track, Sigur Ros “Untitled 3″. I was truly moved when I saw this. Just take a moment from your busy life or stressful day and enjoy the journey.
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Today was full of run and gun shooting. We were on a tight schedule because we had to get to Boston to catch Rick’s son’s basketball game. There were a bunch of places to visit in Indiana where Rick lived when he moved to America. I can’t remember the other place but one was Warsaw. Its actually perfect because Indiana is where basketball was invented, so why not a better place to live. GO HOOSIERS!
But we first tried to interview Cavs star Lebron James before his shoot around against the Chicago Bulls. I keep thinking to myself, it would probably be the best part of the trip if this happens. Big Ben said wassup. Plus I recognized Sasha. But no one else. We were in a time crunch so Lebron didn’t have “time” for us and we had to move on. But I did see him and that’s one huge dude. If I was in the NBA, I’d hate to guard him.
Results are in, results are in. Well, they’ve been in for a while but I just got home to witness the unraveling of our prize. So, remember that Louisiana Hot Sauce video contest we entered in December. Well here are the results. We got 10TH PLACE! I dunno if that’s necessarily good but we did win a prize. A year supply of hot sauce BOYEEEE!!!! hahaha. Well, I think seeing the 1st place winner might have given a clue to who the target audience was.
We truly want to thank everyone who supported us and helped us spread the word. I hope we will have more projects to share with you soon…very soon. In the mean time, who wants some LOUISIANA HOT SAUCE?
Now that I’m back, I’m gonna crank out these last stories of my trip…hopefully. And since I’m fully rested again, I’ll be sure to make them exciting.
So where was I, oh yes, just went thru racist-ville scary town. We arrive to Chicago the next day at about noonish. Steve, our road manager, was able to redirect the blizzard in Chicago and the bus made it in safely. BUT no one told me it was going to be 10 below!!! HOLY COW! It’s boot camp days all over again marching in the snow. Except the list of things I didn’t bring came more to a realization besides my toothbrush. I didn’t really think to bring gloves or a beanie or even boots for that matter. So as we pulled into the Park Hyatt of Chicago, we had about an hour to settle in, shower, go NOT #1, and try to start shooting while there was still light out.
I found a Walgreens right at the corner of our hotel and I got me some gloves and a Chicago beanie. No boots but hopefully I can survive. As I was purchasing my stuff, the register people saw my camera and asked what I was doing. I told them I was running around Chicago today filming Rick Fox. They laughed at my California, so spoiled life. Luckily, they gave me the advice to buy some hand warmers. They said to put in inside my gloves and my socks. OH BOY, did that advice pay off later.
So our goal for Chicago was to hit up Obama’s house, Grant Park, and whatever else we can squeeze in. First stop, Grant Park, where Obama gave his acceptance speech…4 months late. We open the doors of the van and BOOM, the place is covered in 3 feet of snow. First thought, dude its freezing. Second thought, damn NO BOOTS! and of course to get the best angles and the great footage the crew trek into the middle of the park. Frostbite galore. Heat pack, please save me.
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Or should I say Happy Chinese New Year. It really feels more like the real New Year’s since January has come and gone so fast. With the exception of a couple years ago, Chinese New Year’s always occurs in the months of January or February because its based on the first day of the first lunar month. Confusing huh. At least the world uses the Gregorian calendar and not just USA like all the other measurements we follow.
This year is the year of the Ox. The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. This powerful sign is a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. Ox’s are dependable, calm, and modest. Like their animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in their work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint. Sounds like we need more Ox’s in the world.
Exhaustion is kicking in as I write this. Few hours of sleep a night, long hours of running around in the snow carrying a heavy camera, and just always being alert can make a mind shut down. But I shall make my best attempt to write part 3.
We left Denver with our heads high accomplishing pretty much everything we set out to do. Though our schedule is so jam packed, we luckily are making perfect time to each destination. Chicago is our next stop and with the blizzard warnings, we’ve asked our trusty road manager, Steve Masi, to make the blizzard go away. Steve is a cool cat whose been our the block when it comes to tour managing. He’s done greats like Ziggy Marley and currently The Offspring. So stories comes a plenty when it comes to him. And stories is what we need on long bus rides.
Another interesting way we’ve been passing the time is that Rick has started podcasting from the bus. The podcast actually hasn’t come out yet due to lack of strong internet signals but they have been fun and amusing because Rick interviews the crew (us) and it feels like talk show radio. Of course I share some Navy stories and whatever else sounds interesting but hearing the other crew’s point of view on topics such as politics, music, and women makes the trip go by a bit faster.
We detoured through Kansas I heard to get to Chicago to avoid any huge snow storms and we stopped at another Flying J. Our first Flying J experience was very pleasant where the workers greeted us very humbly and we learned that many musicians and athletes stop here like Linkin Park and Karl Malone. But this Flying J was quite the opposite. Perhaps it was the location, maybe the state, or even the time of day. They were very against our presence there with cameras and quickly shut us down. But no one said we could film outside the Flying J.
As we were about to leave, two buses full of kids pulled in coming back from a concert they had just performed. Rick thought to just play it cool and see if anyone would recognize him. After a handful just walked by, finally a true Laker fan took notice. After that, it was mob city. But Rick being the great samaritan signed shirts and took pictures with them making their bus ride home an unforgetable experience. I especially thought that was pretty awesome because I can always remember way back when I was a young lad myself and saw someone famous but decided to ignore their fans. It does make an impact to a kid when they are young whether you judge celebrities as humble people or just rich, stuck up jerks.
Lastly, on a not so brighter but eye opening note, I mentioned before that the NUMBER ONE RULE ON THE BUS IS NO NUMBER TWO.
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Wow. Whoa. Woohooo. What a Western. Takeshi Miike has been an idol of mine for a long time now. To make a movie that has no other purpose than to satisfy the creative mind and artistic dreams of the director is alright by me. And Takeshi Miike has been doing that for his whole career. You can’t say that you get his stuff, because you never know what you’re going to get. He’s a crazy genius and he’s even getting better. I must say this movie is one of his more logical masterpieces where everything actually works from a 3 act structure. This movie actually falls in a genre that has found its home once again. We can trace this from the Kurosawa Samurai era, which led to the Clint Eastwood Westerns, which spawned the Spaghetti Westerns of the Leone, and now back in its mutated but grand homecoming in Sukyaki Western Django. Takeshi has truly challenged the genre and has made a timeless work of art. If you like samurais and you like Japanese people speaking English, this movie is right up your alley. And if you’re familiar with Takeshi, you’re in for a treat. And with his best performance ever…yes I said ever…Quentin Tarantino has found a place In this reality that suits him.
GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!
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So we arrived in Denver at about 11pm and what do you know, we pull into the Ritz Carlton…wha wha! I guess after busing it for the last few nights and thousands of miles on the road, the Ritz was in order. Of course I assume since its quite the pricey lodgin, I would be bunkin with someone. The audio guy, JR, whose a music producer/band member/audio guy from Baltimore or my boy Jason perhaps. But no, a big, gigantic, king size bed room all to myself. BOO to the YAH!
Our good friend Greg Watanabe from 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors are always doing great sketch comedy. If you never heard of them, boy you are TRULY missing out on something great. These guys are creative, imaginative, and push comedy to the limit, which I love. Here’s their latest video!
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