The Cincinnati Bengals Are Going To The Super Bowl

Thought you would never hear that again A LOT of crazy things had to happen for them to make it. Much of it happening all at the right time. You can credit the Gods or refs calling in our favor at the right time. Whatever it was, this team is charmed. I cannot get into the minutiae of every strange play that seemed to work in the Bengals favor, but the heavens seem to guide them through some really difficult days. We tend to think, they are due. And history can correct itself. And now they're coming to my neck of the woods. How crazy fortuitous is that. After over 30 years the Bengals are coming to Los Angeles. Feel a little bad for them since, their opponent is the Los Angeles Rams. Talk about wild. A host city team actually making a Super Bowl is relatively rare (except for back to back like the Buccaneers winning last year). Now comes the weeks where we make odd speculations. And create storylines to pump up the game itself. Because it isn't enough that they just play. I remember when I was 13 years old and buying into all the fanfare and hullabaloo with that team. Only to be crushed by reality. Why did I care so much as a kid? Hard to say. Hard even to say why I cared so much as an adult. I mean, we don't get a paycheck. But I guess pride is more powerful than we realize. The ability to talk a ton of shit amongst ourselves. There was no way in hell anyone could've predicted the outcome of this season. Bengals v. Rams in this Super Bowl. I am proud of the team. And with years of futility, it did bring a slight tear to my eye to see others celebrate. I saw it here in Los Angeles at the local Bengal bar (yeah, there is one!). And was choked up to see so many people, through years of suffering finally get a tiny bit of glory. Perhaps that is a metaphor for life. We try so hard and fail, but we ultimately prevail. I mean, in terms of just getting through life. Who Dey!

When Your Dad Dies

The Father of a friend of mine had passed away. The man was a loser his entire life. Drug addict and scumbag. A LOT of people who come to Hollywood have similar stories with family members. I am definitely an outlier. My Dad is an amazing dude. Kind and very generous. And, my Mom, though flawed, wasn't the kind of Mom you see today. She also wasn't that Dragon Lady most associated with Asian Moms. Most people istantly believe that if you work in this industry you must hate your parents. I've had arguments with my Mom, specifically, but she's never been a substance abuser or a degenerate loser. Suppose it's a cultural thing. But I've observed a few things that happen when a Father dies. If he is the son, they will still mourn the complex relationships. Some regrets. Obviously wonder if they still don't watch over them For the ones who don't believe in the afterlife...that is the end of life. But, it probably seems like you experienced a car accident. You start to question those things. What happens when you die. And, for Dads and sons, it's a weird one. I mean, for me anyway, I've always looked up to my Dad. It would make sense that he knows the mysteries of the beyond. His wisdom would only extend to the heavens. For others, like my pal, he may start to wonder which elevator his Dad took. The other thing is that, as kids, we always think Dads are impervious to the world. Nothing ever happens to them. I'm sure it is a wakeup call to some when that happens so early. For instance, my college friend's Dad died VERY young in an auto-accident which also took the life of his brother. When you are that young and you lose a Dad, I believe you really wonder what life has in store for you. Guys will toughen up to these events in life. Marriage, watching their kids get married, birth and death. We see the cycle. For my friend who had this REALLY complicated relationship with this Dad which resulted in years of distancing, I can imagine all the lost time due to pride.

Cincinnati Bengals Won A Playoff Game!

Upon beating the Las Vegas Raiders (still sounds weird), the Bengals organization celebrated its first playoff win in...uh...31 years. Quite embarrassing. To put into perspective... I had just gotten my driver's license. I am 46 now. Also, "The Simpsons" had just premiered on Fox. Was Fox even a t.v. station yet? Then...they won another. They took the Tennessee Titans to the brink... ...and won. I don't put that much faith that they will make it further. HOWEVER, that does not mean I don't have hope. You have to remember that I am conditioned for a great deal of disappointment. That isn't to say I am not proud of the franchise and happy for the city. My friends and I quietly celebrate because...as a Bengals fan, we are always wondering about when the next shoe is about to drop. They are playing the Kansas City Chiefs for the chance to play in the Super Bowl. Which would change the dynamics of the franchise. Again. I love this team behind Joe Burrow. He is a normal dude who just wins. And that hasn't been seen in Cincinnati for a while. A lot of the blame falls on the ownership, whom I considered always subpar. It is a family business and fear if I mention his name here, it will jinx their chances. Look, this team has already done SO much for the city. And obviously it will be disappointing if they aren't the Super Bowl champs. But I am already impressed with their accomplishments. Particularly since every single media pundit didn't have Cincy winning 4 games let alone the entire thing. That's the wild thing about pro sports, I guess. It got me thinking that...superstars aren't born that way. They are made. This would mean a ton of notoriety for the city. More exceptional athletes would take the city seriously. This all means press coverage for that town. Which means more money. I don't think Burrow cares much about that stuff. I think, when you get to be my age, just being remembered is already a big deal. For him, he'd easily be considered for a lot of accolades. The man who pulled Cincinnati from the pro football ashes, for one. There were a lot of crushing defeats yesterday. The Buffalo Bills had just lost to the Chiefs. And that game was incredible. A shootout to end the Wild Card weekend. Go and see the incredible highlights if it interest you. The Bills and us share a lot in common. A ton of futility and no Super Bowl wins. They suffer a little longer. The anticipation of these things come down to the fact that there can only be one. It is a team sport but it is also a representation of pride. And no one knows pride more than tigers.

Terrorism Attack At Synagogue

Media and our justice department refuse to announce that a Islamic terrorist (is there any other kind) held hostage Jews in a synagogue before he was killed and everyone held hostage survived. Not so much that they bury the story but moreso that they re-direct the information so it seems like it wasn't done by a Muslim. So many people on the Left decide to do even more coverup by telling Americans to watch for anti-Muslim sentiment when the news comes out. This terrorist was attempting to leverage the release of a convicted Muslim terrorist. Who hates Jews so much, she didn't want Jewish lawyers to defend her. You know who hates Jews? Democrats. You know who supports Democrats? Jews. And you thought they were smart. What they really know is that Democrats are the richest people in the world. Go ahead and do your own research. Therefore, Jews gravitate towards the Left. I know, anti-Semetic for me to say. Probably not as anti-Semitic as...say...holding a synagogue hostage. The Left are sad clowns. Call it what it is. By the way, when was the last time a Jewish person in America held anyone hostage? I rest my case.

Fauci Is A Dipshit Shill For Big Pharma

Do you guys remember when we all distrusted big pharma? Yeah, that's what Tony Fauci represents. And it sickens me (literally) to say this fucking guy is the going to be the face of evil in about 10 years. He has weaponized media and big tech to attack and dis-credit HIGHLY credit epidemiologist such as Dr. Robert Malone. And continue to do so. Why? The arrogant sack of shit says he is science. Seriously. And then be plays the victim when he is questioned in front of COngress. What a fucking pussy. Never answers a question and has been wrong since the beginning. To do damage control, they made a documentary about this snakeoil salesman. National Geographic to be clear. With a score of 80% by critics and 2% by audience you now know who we are against. Media can do what it wants, the people are beginning to wise up against this arrogrance. Let me repeat...he has NOT been right ONCE during the entire pandemic. Lockdowns don't work. Face masks don't work. Vaccines don't work. And there are still some really stupid people who believe this asshole. Or wait...the media who support his asshole. And they think you're dumb. Check the data and facts from reputable people. Why do you think they are stifling people who are asking questions? Pfizer has been sued repeatedly over bribery of doctors. And ever since the other fraud Joe Biden got into the office of the President of The United States, he was been empowered to squash any other question in regards to his actions. He is solely responsible for the deaths. Near a million. Idiot Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York is responsible for 25 thousand of those deaths. So between these two Leftist morons, they have wiped out a stadium of people. Yet his protection by this garbage administration saddled with money from big pharma keeps them floating. The idiot Lefties probably defensively ask YOU if they were wrong why are they still given a platform to speak. Hey Stupid, it's because they want to continue to fool your dumbass. Jesus. Wake the fuck up people. Natural immunity works. Especially these asshole Lefties in Cali. Remember when you believed in natural healing. You cowards fled for the hills when your social betters forced you to. Or bullied you to. Fucking pussies.

The NFL Is Slavery

Colin Kaepernick came out with a docu-something about how the NFL is a slave market. I've been saying this for years. Shortly before the actual draft, they do weigh ins and call out stats. They atually stand on a scale and they call out the weight! I saw this process once and realized, you may as well be working with cattle. BUT, the same could be said about beauty contest. That is, before men were able to compete with women. Transgenders and so forth. It's quite funny that biological men who transitioned to female are now dominating all. And that is because of the overly woke crowd. I wonder who they are pandering to. A lot of critics to Kaepernick seem to take the stance that if you are paid millions you have no ground to stand on. In other words, many of the public would gladly be treated like cattle to get that money. How sad. It doesn't take away from the de-humanizing way players are treated. I mean, can we not do that in private? I think it is a spectacle sport so, therefore, everything has to be built up into a show. Look, White people and Black people play in the NFL. It is predominantly Black which is why we see this type of outrage. Though, we also have to define what "slavery" means in modern times. To me, slavery is a place in which anyone would sacrifice their dignity for a reward. That sounds pretty broad, but I often wonder about Hollywood. In my day, we certainly sacrificed a LOT of dignity to work in this field. A co-worker had said, accurately, that the reason why is because people want to work in movies. So, the demand far outweighs the need. It is competitive in that sense. Would you label it "slavery."? In some cases...yes. As a production assistant you are paid pittance (if at all) to do all the grunt work. The logic is that you have to "pay your dues" and that learning is your reward. Though, most learn the school of hard knocks. And are belittled in the process. If you have pride, most of this won't sit well. Never sat well with me. And I don't recall ever being screamed at the way I see portrayed in movies about the industry. But, it's also why I didn't climb that ladder. Much like the NFL, which is a pro sport of breaking down a player and re-building and picking from the best of the best, the movie industry tended to function the same. Creative best of the best, to be clear. Most people suffer a great deal to get a paycheck that sustains their lifestyle which affords them time to follow a dream...of some kind. Most don't. They see the reality. In the case of the NFL, a lot of them realize too late into their lives that this is all they were built for. I mean, by the time you finish college and get drafted you're already invested this much time and struggle...you tend to shut your mouth and go with the flow. People often wondered by Andrew Luck, a Indianapolis Colt quarterback, left the game. I suspect he saw the long term damage the game does to a person's body and abandoned it. He may have other interests as well. But, he wanted to get off the plantation that was breaking his back. If we're to draw comparisons, sometimes people need to leave the movie business before it breaks their spirit.

Georgia Bulldogs Win The National Championship For College Football

Congratulations to the college football champs beating the Alabama Crimson Tide. I knew something was bad when Alabama seemed lazy against the Cincinnati Bearcats. BUT, Alabama had beaten Georgia late in the season and was most likely favored to win it all. I was surprised to hear that Georgia hadn't won a championship since 1980. I was 5 years old at the time. Some could argue that there was no playoff scenario back then, so it seems they truly won one back then rather than this odd bracket of judges who choose. Or that some teams backed into the playoffs since everyone else lost...such as the Bearcats. Honestly, I know very little about the SEC. They seem to have, at least, one team in the playoffs every year. To be frank, college football is starting to have parity. Any team can shock another team on any given day. Perhaps that was their reasoning to include Cincinnati. The result seemed lackluster. Not sure if having a Cinderella team pop the powerhouses gained any new fans. Or any bigger ratings. Hard to say. Cincinnati isn't a big city, nor big into putting money into sports. But it yields interesting pro players, Travis Kelce, of the Kansas City Chiefs to name one. Alabama and Georgia always have players go into the NFL. The question is how many from each team. College football has become a minor league team before they reach the majors. I was thinking about this today...perhaps it's my aging...but football seems dumb. When I look at it from afar, here are a coordination of humanity moving in some formation to move...a football. I know the comparison has been made, but you think about the gladiators of Roman times. We are spectators who are watching man's physicality on display. It's barbaric in a sense which, I suppose, adds to the thrill. Something about the idea of a small ball being fought over now seems silly to me. To be honest, I hadn't really watched that many games this year. May seem like it on social media, but it doesn't seem to bring me the same joy as when I was young. I didn't watch the Championship game. Felt like it would be a chore. Perhaps it's also that I have more important things to do with 3 to 4 hours of my day. It now feels wasted if I zone out in front of a television. I do still take pride in the teams I grew up with and have loyalty towards. I think it's more for a city that has suffered many sports setbacks. Similar to the Chicago Cubs suffering weird fates to prevent them from glory. Football is our history though too. We like to crunch the numbers and bicker about stats. We also like to take ownership of players. Like collecting G.I. Joes. I do also like to watch young people succeed. In an odd way, football marks our age. Much like our children growing up do. Like, we recall watching a player when he was in college, go into pros and then retire and we think "wow, I remember him from college." This happens more and more (obviously) as you grow older. Players seem to be like family. I'm sure there's a psychology as to why we watch football. And I'm sure it addresses the primal nature of it. Any way, congrats to the Bulldogs for pulling out an underdog victory since Blondie was number 1 on the Billboard charts.

CNN is Garbage

Anyone who still watches this cable channel for news is an idiot. Or needs to be reinforced their idiotic way of life. In other words, Leftist. I don't watch Fox News, in case you fuckers on the Left are wondering. I can't afford cable. Nor do I want to spend money on cable. Because cable, in general, is dead. Sad. Anything Democrats touch, they destroy. Fact. This isn't, and has never been a game plan. To nosedive so fast into concrete you have no time to bail. They can't get close to a million people to watch prime time programming (there are 350 million plus in America). Can't even retain the nodding heads to watch. Only captive audiences at airports and gyms here in L.A. tune in. And that's fucking sad. I don't recall CNN ever being a big part of my life. It's free in Taiwan. Well nearly, I think my cousin told me they pay $12/year on a cable subscription. Figure they might as well indoctrinate the world. But, oh have they fallen. Here's a secret...get rid of Don Lemon, Anderson Cooper and Bryan Stelter. The gay mafia idiots who America can't stand watching and act like flaming retards. They don't report news. They have integrity to truth. It's pretty obvious and more people are catching on. CNN can fix itself. Perhaps it won't. Who cares. Incidentally, when the Black Lives Matter riots were happening, CNN boarded up their windows here in Hollywood. I started laughing. They created a fire and don't want to get any where near the heat. Their "mostly peaceful protest" bullshit came knocking on their door and the cowards built a wall.

Bob Saget

Bob Saget died in a hotel room in Orlando, Florida. I'm not going to speculate, but that never sounds good. But, in regards of what he brought to our culture, I'd have to say...as a late 80's to late 90's t.v. dad he was absolutely memorable and should be in some t.v. Dad Hall of Fame. He played Danny Tanner on the ABC's TGIF "Full House" I recall him being very square. Almost nerdish. But the guy brought a ton of heart to his character. A sweet natured widower who has to raise children. You sympathized with the guy. I always thought of him as the most wholesome guy on television. After the show ended, he really let the other side show. Apparently he'd worked raunchy years before his t.v. stint. As a guy with a nice, wholesome look but said disgusting awful things. That was his angle/schtick. In entertainment, I find it near impossible not to come up with a personality hook. Bob exploited this and gained fame for it. He spent the rest of his career downplaying Danny Tanner. Which is a bit disappointing. It's like you can't succeed in this fucking industry without being edgy. Or debaucherist. That's sad. It reminds me of some actor friends who would say obscene things to get a reaction. I know many people like this. Most do it because they're bored stupid. Others do it to get attention they didn't get as children. It's adolescent for sure. But it's not very clever. I always felt Bob was smarter than that. Perhaps he was. But that doesn't take away from being on the most memorable t.v. show lineup at one time. I really remember him from directing "Dirty Work" The entire movie is corny and features (my favorite comedian of all time) Norm MacDonald (who also passed away recently). Norm didn't express Bob's raunchy level. He mostly was the observer and commentator of it. They should've done a show together. Had Norm not been so hesistant on success. "Dirty Work" may be discovered later as a hidden gem (also featured Artie Lang). It's weird to see so many people who reached a large audience pass away so young. I think it's because we believe they would always be there. Godspeed to you Bob. Thank you for your service to this industry.

Is America Racist?

No it's not. Idiots think so. DANGEROUS idiots want it to be so. America has bigoted people in it. That's it. Most countries do. Some celebrate it. Spain are uber racist. As are Polish (surprising considering the jokes we tell about). And most definitely the Asians. Japanese are the most racist people on the planet. You might think they're kind, demure sweet people. But they hate your guts if you 'aint Japanese. Westerners are fooled because they value pale skin. Yeah, just wait until they skin you and wear it. The other thing is White Americans broke their spirit, so therefore they are subservient to White folk. They tortured the Chinese, so therefore they feel they need to subjugate the Chinese. Except nowawadays China could crush Japan like a peanut shell. But, it is all about class and money. America and Americans show this country is awesome. By the way, guess what media is hiding? The fact that when South Africa was given back to the Blacks it went to total shit. You want to see what reparations does? Really do some research on how fucked South Africa is. Apartheid was horrendous. But, there was a better solution to hand land back. South Africa is a shithole. Due to having pre-subjugated Blacks in charge. But no one here who marched to end Apartheid will take responsibility for this disaster. Instead, the kick it under the carpet. Children do this. They destroy something then when ask, blame others or deny. Fucking lefties.

Ya Big Dummy

People who come to Hollywood have dreams in their heads. Some just have no other purpose. IF your main goal is to make movies or be in movies, Hollywood is a great bootcamp. You get your ass kicked and if you survive you get to work for us. The key to surviving is not doing dumb things. Too many people come here doing dumb things. The least of all thinking living life at the edge is romantic. It's not. Never has been. Those stories of George Clooney, Michael J. Fox or whomever living in their cars until they were discovered is the exception not the rule. For some odd reason, it seemed to have gained traction. Which is why the homeless community blew up. Also why they make movies to defend it (like "Nomadland"). Oh she CHOSE to be homeless. Okay. Got it. Eye roll. It's not saying you have to live in a bungalow in Brentwood. It just means you have to survive in order to do things. Or make things. Pretty fucking obvious. But too many stupid people want to do stupid stuff. Other thing I see...people who want to come to Hollywood when they already made their films elsewhere. This I don't get. Okay, you made a pretty decent film in your hometown and...now you want to come to Hollywood where it is infinitely more difficult. Okay, I can see you want the challenge. BUT, I never understood that concept of...if you made a flick anywhere, why not keep doing it there? I mean, yeah weather. Perhaps they feel they need to conquer the mountain of Hollywood (which is imploding, by the way...not imploding in terms of staying in business, but in terms of show to business model) I have a reason personally. In my day back in 1998 you HAD to come to L.A. to get anything done. Now there is no reason to come here. Unless you like high rent and homeless. Look at what is in front of you. If you are resourceful, everything you need is right there in front of you.

Being Creative

Ah yes, we get to restart here in 2022. A lot of you out there often ask yourself what it is that allows you to break into the film industry. It's work. Emotional maturity and more work. A lot of people think they put in work but burn out fairly quickly. I think because it is an exhausting endeavor. At least it was when I was shooting. I think a lot of people may find it a bit more social these days. Staying creative and being creative are vastly different. One requires execution. The other, an imagination. As you get older, you tend to get exhausted by "thinking too much." So typically after work you want to crack open a beer and tune out life. As I've said in prior blogs, it is the one who was willing to push through and have a story they MUST tell that survive and succeed. Ron Bass was a lawyer who woke up at 4 AM and wrote scripts until he had to go to work. He co-wrote "Rain Man." If you don't have this level of commitment, it won't work for you. The other thing is, being creative isn't just on the page. If you plan on making movies being creative also means being flexible. I had this conversation yesterday about this. It was about choreography and why it isn't in music videos anymore. To her, she is a trained choreographer and therefore MUST do it a certain way. A trained core of dancers in a music video is impressive. This elevates your production value to immeasurable amounts. She didn't take kindly to me trying to circumvent their skills and just go for a workaround. A workaround is finding a dance corp at some college to come out and have something put on film. Her ears were shut immediately the instant I suggested working around the problem. This is a person who is inflexible and, therefore, does not survive in this business. Yes, the talent I get is not the level she is use to handling. But also her absolute refusal to do anything less may keep her at the high level of talent pool but it negates her from work. Most people hire those who can be creative in problem solving. By the way, I do not disagree with her stance that a professional core is the key. That's a no-brainer. I do disagree that it MUST be polished to a perfect shine. Or at least done by professionals. Her opinion was that you do see the amateurish nature of the project. Yeah. Not wrong. But what if you want that amateurish-ness. See: OK Go videos. Anyway, for me, a lot of creativity comes from doing so much for so little. And the more you can spontaneaously flow the easier your life becomes. I tend to cut enough corners at the right spots (never at the detriment and safety of crew). To get the project done. I sometimes pity those who can't be flexible. Seems why I'm not a Stanley Kubrick enthusiasts. I understand and respect his commitment but I doubt he realized his attempts at getting the most honest and truthful takes came from his abuse. I don't equate creative with being a task master.