One last thing before I quit on 2014...

New Year's Eve. Last hours of 2014 here in sunny Manhattan. I am feverishly debating the risks/merits of venturing out to a party in Brooklyn tonight where I might know 1-2 people. That or continue to hide from the world. I hit the gym this morning for one last half-hearted workout of this year. Had lunch with a friend for one last time this year. And now I am listening to my roommate cough up disease outside my bedroom door -- and hearing Times Square tourists blast air-horns outside on the street -- while I contemplate what's the best/worst way to spend the last few hours of this year. There will be girls at this party. Everyone knows that the greatest lasting relationships usually begin at impromptu New Years Eve parties. I know that for the fodder alone, I need to go to this party. I'm just having a hard time turning the corner on this decision.

Here is a GIF I created sometime in the past few months:

AT-AT elephant.

2014 was a loss. It may not have been the worst year but it was, in many ways, the emptiest. Maybe I just needed to fucking lose an entire year like this, to take a breath and take stock.

More and more, I feel like I can't just keep trying to get some big corporation to LET ME make a movie. I need to just start making movies.

I know what I'm capable of doing. I need to make this happen on my own terms.

Here are two more GIFs I created in the past few weeks:



Mother and daughter hitching a ride.

All right, I refuse to torture myself if I decide to not go to this party tonight. On paper, it looks like something I wouldn't do -- which is exactly the sort of thing I gravitate towards. I keep going back and forth on this. It's almost 6pm. If I go, I want to leave by 8 or 9. Trains are going to be a bitch.

I've had more painful years than 2014. Years I've made less money. Years I've gotten my heart and lungs ripped out. This is has been a less turbulent year, but that isn't necessarily good. Getting your ass kicked at least means you're still fighting.

I hate making new year resolutions... but I need to fight harder this year.

Stay safe tonight.


Calvin & She-Hobbes.

Christmas Call with My Dad 2014

Part of having a new phone -- particularly an expensive one -- is enjoying new functionality. Not that using a speakerphone is exactly Star Trek tech but the iPhone 6+'s speakerphone works well enough that I can have these parent chats while I mess around on the internet, which makes it a lot easier.

Which is not to suggest that magically makes a phone call with my dad completely easy.

Excerpts from my Christmas call with my dad this morning...

M:
I just started work on this show. Do you get cable?

D:
Yes.

M:
Do you get Cinemax?

D:
What is that?

M:
CIN-E-MAX...? You know, HBO, Cinemax... [Note: we subscribed to HBO and Cinemax growing up.]

D:
(confused)
No... Dere is too much... I hab Netflix and I don't hab enup time to watch...

M:
Well, anyway, I've been working on the second season of this show on Cinemax called "The Knick".

D:
What is it?

M:
It's called "THE KNICK".

D:
What is it called?

M:
"THE..."

D:
"BA..."?

M:
THE... T-H-E!!!

D:
Oh, "THE"...

M:
(sighs)
"KNICK"...

D:
What...?

M:
The second word is "Knick" -- K-N-I-C-K...

D:
"K-I-N-C-K"...?

M:
NO -- K-N-I-C-K. KNICK!!!

D:
Oh... and what is it about?

M:
It's, uh... it's just about a hospital. You probably wouldn't like it. But it'll keep me busy for a while.

[END EXCERPT]

In addition to not having the greatest grasp of spoken English, my dad is terrible at basic social cues. Case in point, at one of the many dead silent patches we reach, I attempt to wrap up the phone call.

M:
(After long dead silence.) SO ANYWAY, I should let you get back to your breakfast. I just wanted to call and check up on you and wish you a Merry Christmas.

D:
OK.

M:
Have a good day -- and... I'll... talk to you...

D:
Do you hab any girlfriends?

If you missed that, the appropriate thing for him to say at the end would have been something to the effect of, "It was nice talking with you, thanks for calling, Merry Christmas, I love you..." Instead, he offers the classic Christmas sign-off, "Do you have any girlfriends?"

Three times, this happens. It's like the opposite of Call-Blocking. It's Hang-Up-Blocking. If you want to keep talking, then fine -- you could say, "Oh do you have to leave? Do you mind if we talk a little more? It's been a while since we've talked. What's going on in your life?" But he'll just lob out these random questions when I'm trying to wrap it up.

Okay. Merry Christmas, lurkers.

Tyler Perry Presents The Rockettes

Is anyone else underwhelmed by the new Rockettes advertising this year? They're supposed to be lined up and kicking!

This year's poster is too relaxed. It looks like an advert for a Tyler Perry holiday movie about couples and their concerns. Why are we looking at Rockettes sitting down and chatting?

"I Don't Wanna Grow Up"

Tonight, I realized that the iconic "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" Toys R' Us jingle came from the Peter Pan musical.

Fun Facts from this commercial:

1. The first little girl you see is Jenny Lewis (singer-songwriter and childhood star of THE WIZARD) -- who I happen to share a precise birthday with (same date, same year).
2. The kid at 10 seconds is Scott Nemes, who was a prolific child actor in the 80s with roles in TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE and D.C. CAB. Now, he's the production head of Cinemax, which produces the television show THE KNICK, which I'm currently working on.

Updated commercial in the 90s:

The Knick Season 2 Start Date

I have no idea what to expect with this gig, for a number of reasons. That said...

December 1, 2014.

My start date on The Knick Season 2.