Phantom Reflections

Got Dugg - 16,000 Plus Hits!

I had the most amazing thing happen on my new site Real Honest Film. I did a post on Sunday about my father. Since he is a Vietnam Vet we were talking movies and Veterans Day. I asked him for his Top 10 and he gave them to me. I wrote a subsequent post at Real Honest Film.

Then yesterday “Top Ten Veteran’s Day Movie Picks - From a Veteran” exploded. I came back from lunch and saw I had 6,500 hits in one hour. I thought something was wrong. I checked everything, including the Typepad stats and they were spot on. Page views on the post continued to come in at such a fast rate that I thought the site would crash. It didn’t (thanks Typepad). I found that the post became popular at Digg and today is still in the Top 10 in movie posts. My father was flattered, and I was blown away. By the time I went to bed the count was over 16,000.

It was amazing. It was a little post that came out of a phone conversation. It sure was a fun ride. If you haven’t read the post yet, here is the link.

Feed Problems

I had some problems with my RSS feed. It should be fixed now.

'Real Honest Film' RSS Feed

I posted the feed for my new site Real Honest Film. It's on the upper left hand side of Phantom Reflections. It will always have the latest five posts from the new site.

The Big Blog Entry

It's been a crazy month, and I've been away from the blog. Today I'm just gonna post some random thoughts -- kinda like a Larry King column.

Amgen Tour of California
So this guy Jason Donald from team Slipstream (Right... Who, you're asking...) blew the doors off the entire field, including World and National Champs, during the thigh-ripping Prologue up Coit Tower. Only last year's winner, Levi Leipheimer, could beat him, and Levi had to pour it on at full burn to do it. Wow! I have a feeling Jason will have a ProTour contract real soon.

I forgot to set my DVR to record Stage 1, so I missed the massive crash that involved over 80 riders in the finishing circuit. The officials decided to give the field the same time even though they were outside the 3km "crash and stuff" finishing rule. I think it to be a good call. When over 70% of the race is on the ground three miles out in one turn of the finishing circuit, it's a good call.

Garmin Forerunner 305
I got one for my birthday. If you're into cycling, running, or just chasing traffic, you need to get one of these. It's simply amazing. You can upload your data and look at your route on Google Maps, plus analyze splits, average speed, elevation changes, speed on ascents and descents, and instant weather at the time of your workout. Garmin also has the Edge 305 that does the same stuff, but clips to your bike's handlebars. Multisport flunkies like me should opt for the watch-based Forerunner, but you can't use it in the water. One more thing to slap on at the transition.

Writers Writing for Writers
I've always been suspicious of this fact and there's a really good article THAT I CAN'T FIND NOW from over the weekend in the New York Times...or Post...or New Yorker...one of those. It says that poets in America now write to impress other poets. The academic inbreeding and constant need to impress each other has produced sterile and flat poetry that only pleases the pointy heads in academia, while everyone else ignores it. The writer of the article cited Hemingway as being the example that modern poets should go by. He went out and experienced life and then wrote about it -- he didn't experience writing and write about it. Some food for thought...

Depressing Movies
What the hell is up with film these days? It seems that lately all the big celebrated films are dark and depressing. I saw CHILDREN OF MEN at the Arclight in Hollywood last week, and yes, it is a brilliant piece of filmmaking from the standpoint of the art form, but DAMN! They should have had a bowl of Prozac or something for afterward. I mean the homemade caramel popcorn only goes so far. I'm really in need of a movie that makes me cheer. I've heard good things about 300.

24 and HEROES
Two of my favorite shows are on at the same time. The SF world has been analyzing the ratings to see which one is winning the race. It's true that the demographic has some overlap, but both shows attract a diverse audience. I watch 24 live and then watch HEROES later. Sorry, Jack Bauer is the man!

STUDIO 60
The LA Times, Ken Levine, and a whole bunch of people complained about how they didn't like this show so it got changed. It's now more of a romantic comedy. I liked it before. Sure, it wasn't an accurate depiction of a late night show. Sure, the writers' room wasn't realistic, but I didn't care. I liked the quirky ensemble. Now that it's focused down as a romantic comedy, you don't get to see the whole cast. Why does it have to be realistic? It's fiction! It's a show! Despite all this, I still enjoy watching, but not as much as before.

WORLD TRADE CENTER
I finally caught this Oliver Stone movie, and I also read the script. The script had nothing to do with the film. I hate that. You read a script and then what you see on the screen is completely different. Why read the script? Anyway, it was a great film, well acted, well put together, but you have to be ready to watch it. My heart still sinks every time I see the NYC skyline without those towers.

No. 10 Gin from Tanqueray
I got a bottle for my birthday. It's the best gin I've ever had.

Starbucks Coffee
I used to be a hard-core Starbucks junkie back in the day. Their coffee was so strong that you had to drink it with a fork -- ah, and remember the sandy bits of grounds between the teeth...memories... Well, over the past few years it seems that Starbucks drip coffee has gotten weaker and weaker. It's now no more thick and meaty than the metallic tasting crap at Dennys. Their espresso is worse. I've ordered lattes before and couldn't even taste the coffee -- even with four shots! So, as a public service I am hereby posting my coffee chain selections that meet or exceed the fork test:
1. Pete's Coffee - Hell, Lance drinks it!
2. Urth Coffee - LA Area - Organic and Strong
3. Tully's Coffee - Best Espresso Ever, except for Lux in Phoenix
4. Seattle's Best - Besides Tully's, it is

No Blog For You!

It was just one of those days today where I got absolutely NOTHING accomplished. It was as unproductive as it could have possibly been. So instead of complaining I'm simply giving up and writing the day off. Hump day was more like suck day and the good news is that there's beer in the fridge waiting to be consumed in front of the TV tonight.

Oh yeah, I forgot. JERICHO is having it's fall finale tonight. I really enjoy this show. Check it out if you have the time.

Bad Writing Days

All writers experience it. They show up uninvited, ready to ruin your day and crush your work into tiny bits of shredded paper waiting patiently for recycling. What are they? They're "Bad Writing Days."

Simply put, "Bad Writing Days" are those 24 hour periods where everything you write is c-r-a-p. The worst part is that you know it's bad as you're typing away, but you can't help yourself. It's all that seems to flow out, so like puke after a night of heavy drinking you let the stink wash across your keyboard as the words cut into your artistic sensibilities, leaving you doubting if you even have the most basic command of the language.

So you try to take a break and exercise. Surely a run would help. No, it doesn't. You try a quick trip to the store to pick up some fruit and more alcohol. No -- nothing. Finally, you give up and hit the delete key, destroying hours of work, but feeling somehow cleansed.

This was my day yesterday. The stuff I put together was so horrid that if the words I wrote were read aloud I firmly believe that they would have ripped a hole in the universe. But thankfully dawn brings a new day and here I am, working on the same passages I tried to finish 24 hours ago. I know I shouldn't complain. It's part of the business, but I thought I'd share it with y'all. Therapy via blog is a good thing...and it's free.

Fox Banished 'Vanished' to the Web

Link: Fox Broadcasting Company: Vanished
Okay, so I wondered Friday evening what happened to VANISHED. Well, Fox buried it on the web. Yup...you heard me. The last four episodes will stream at the Vanished My Space page. A new one will be posted every Friday at 12:01 PST with the finale on December 8th. Note that they are only keeping three available at a time, so make sure you watch if you're interested.

UPDATE: Mac people need not apply. You need a Windows machine. Gee thanks! Luckily I have a Mac Mini running Boot Camp with Windows XP, but for all you PowerPC chip people out there, you're screwed.

I'm A Bad Bad Blogger

Yes, I am a bad blogger. Blogs should be updated regularly and hopefully everyday. I don't have much of an excuse other than apathy and junk like that. I've been doing a bunch of traveling and stuff over the past three weeks, so when it came down to updating this thing...well, the beer won. Beer always wins.

My wife Wendy ran the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. It was a blast! She did awesome and I got to run the 10K with my father. The Marines did a hell of a job organizing the thing and there was always one nearby to answer questions and help out. We watched at the finish for Wendy and got to see the most amazing site. Marines were lined up along the finishing straight encouraging one and all to get across the line. We saw one young Marine propping up a young-lady who looked to be injured. He acted as her right leg so she could make it the last fifty yards and finish. After the finish, there was a bottle neck to get to the water, so several Marines took it upon themselves to grab cases of water and swim upstream, handing them out to tired runners. The whole experience helped deepen my respect for our men and women in uniform.

I attended Screenwriting Expo in LA a few weeks ago and got to see Harlan Ellison interview Ronald D. Moore. It was amazing! After listening to Ron Moore talk I realized that we both value similar things in writing. It helped me understand Battlestar Galactica. BSG is not about the best and the brightest trying to save humanity (like in the original). It's about this old, busted up ship with a dysfunctional crew trying to figure it all out. These ain't the cream of the crop, but society's screw-ups trying to organize, form a government, determine their purpose, and rediscover their humanity. Hell, who wouldn't green light that pitch!

After listening to Ron Moore talk, it was clear that we have a lot of the same values about honor, respect, and personal sacrifice. It had me giving BSG another try, allowing me to look at it from a different angle. Since then I am enjoying the series -- yes, I said it. Mr. Moore changed my mind. He's a great guy and someone I wouldn't mind working with someday.

So, I'm back here at the keyboard pledging to update everyday. With the holidays coming up, I'm sure most of us will be looking for an excuse to get away from the parties, endless small talk, and watching Aunt Mabel gorge herself of turkey flesh at the table. So I promise to have something for you to read, scream, or giggle at everyday. The Holidays are always portrayed as a wonderful time, but as we all know as adults, it's a bunch of running around, buying crap, eating a lot, and avoiding the PC police (Is it Holiday, Christmas, Winter Solstice, Uber Fiesta Funtime?).

Yeah, it's stressful. But it doesn't have to be. My message for how to survive is to determine what the Holidays mean to you -- not your family tradition, society's view, or anything else -- find out what it means to you and live that. Hold onto it. It will get you through. Just don't eat so damn much, work out, and make sure to spike the eggnog heavily.

My Editorial at TrekMovie.com: "Old School"

Link: Editorial: JJ, Don’t Forget About the “Old School” | TrekMovie.com
I wrote an editorial for the Trek Movie Report and it was posted this weekend. Click the link to check it out, and also read through the comments. It sparked some good debate.

EDITORIAL CORRECTION: Galatica Webisode Numbering

Sorry! I screwed up the numbering the last two Galactica webisodes, calling eight seven and nine eight. I have fixed it so it all lines up now. Sorry... I just learned to count past five on Saturday.