Up the rear

As the song goes..."mama said there'd be days like this..."

My day got off to a glorious start up in the hills on Sepulveda. I stopped at the red light on my usual 45-minute drive to work. However, as I sat awaiting the light change at the head of the intersection listening to Kevin and Bean, I hear a screeching behind me. The screeching was followed by a thud and me lurching forward in my car. That's right, boys and girls, I was rear ended...and not in the good way. The culprit was a guy in a big beige Ford truck. We pulled over to the side of the road, inspected the damage, and exchanged insurance info. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and my car still runs fine. I now have this big dent in my rear bumper. I immediately called up the insurance company and entered the wonderful world of voice menu hell...YAY...It's not as bad as it sounds, but I just don't need this hassle on top of the madness I've been having at work.

I can't really go into detail about the non-Whammy related big project, but that project has been the source of the roller-coasterness of this week and especially today. The project culminates with a big presentation on Saturday (my birthday of all days). And as of midnight, it looks like things are gonna shape up all right. Knock on wood...

On top of this other project, I've been trying to keep as close to Whammy as possible. We met up with Todd today to run through some of the new stuff we're doing particularly the new jackpot space we're starting this season. Tomorrow, we go into the studio to do a rehearsal. Have I mentioned how I can't wait for tomorrow morning?? :-) The new season is literally around the corner as Tuesday is our first tape date of the Whammy's second season. YAY!

And it looks like I've gotten another early b-day television present. This one's from from ABC...Yes, it's ANOTHER special about Michael Jackson. Whereas Dateline is devoting an hour to Jacko, ABC has TWO HOURS of prime time dedicated to my favorite celebrity oddball. Huzzah!

Finally, an apology to any of you who've tried to E-mail or IM me this week but aren't getting quick replies from me. Bear with me this week as I get this big project finished...Things will reach some level of normalcy after Saturday!

Quickies

This week has been hell at work. I've been busy balancing two big projects, one of which is the new season of "Whammy." As a result, I've been spending many late hours at the office with very little time to spare posting stuff here...Just some quickie thoughts...

- I've got a whole load of pics to post up on the the site in the next few weeks, including a few from the trip to D-Land Sunday. You'll get to see my roommate Ted freaking out on the ferris wheel at California Adventure. >:-)

- Can't wait for Friday...We're gonna do a rehearsal with Todd for Whammy in the studio. I'm quite eager to see the set and board modifications in person...

- The McRib is back at McDonald's...YAYYYY!

That's all I've got left in me...I'm headed to bed...More to come this weekend...

What kickoff?

Don't really have time to put up a whole post here...Spent most of Sunday at Disneyland and California Adventure with Ted, Drew, and Ryan. We figured that there'd be a smaller crowd there today because of the Super Bowl. We were right. :-D Pics to come...but for now I'd like to introduce you to....



MANDELTON JOHN!!!

To Nell and back...

As you all probably have heard or read, Nell Carter is dead. :-/ Like most everybody, I remember her from years watching "Gimme a Break" (Lauri Hendler, where have you gone??). But I actually have a very, very, very small connection with Nell. When I was a contestant on "Match Game," she was one of the panelists. Of all the celebs on that episode, she and Vicki were the two who were the nicest and most talkative to the contestants during the breaks. Nell was also one of the celebs whom I matched during the main game! I know, I know, it's a silly little memory, but that whole "Match Game" experience is one I'll never forget and Nell was a part of it. And she was one of the reasons it was a lot of fun. I raise my water bottle to you, Nell...Here's to that memorable day and years upon years of entertainment...

Long day at work today, but I managed to get out in time to hang out with Drew for dinner. Afterwards, we stopped by the local bookstore. While we were there, he shopped for a birthday card for a friend of ours. Now, what does this have to do with me? Well, I don't know why, but lately (especially with the number of friends having birthday recently), birthday card shopping brings me anxiety. When I shop for birthday cards, I find myself in the greeting card section of the Sav-on or Rite-Aid pulling out cards and reading them thinking, "This is the one..." to only put it back on rack seconds later thinking, "There's gotta be something better." This process goes on for at least 15 minutes before I find one that I really like. Fortunately, Drew found the card before I entered my vicious cycle of greeting card overthinking. :-)

Lastly..."The Gong Show" is probably my favorite Chuck Barris show....

Not just standing "Idol"-y by

Well...unless you're talking about Monday. I had the day off on Monday. Spent the morning channel surfing...it got the point where Ted and I were watching "Mandarin Drama" on cable. Nothing like watching a poor Chinese girl being beaten with an oddly shaped bamboo stick by her mom only to see the two of them hugging aftewards. After the beating, there were a series of odd commericals, one being for a local dentist. While that in itself isn't so weird, it was the fact that the commercial consisted of photos of really bad teeth (one of them looked like silver fangs!!!) that really disturbed us. And while I'm watching this, I'm thinking to myself...this is airing at 12:30 PM. What if some poor sap at home happens to be eating lunch when this commercial pops on. Eeek...

We then switched over to the Food Network where the hosts of a show were making "tailgate party" desserts. These desserts fit for a football game party included...white chocolate popcorn balls with rainbow sprinkles and handmade chocolate cup cakes. I challenge any of you to find somebody at a Super Bowl party next weekend who's serving white chocolate popcorn balls with freakin' rainbow sprinkles!

At about this time, Ted's friend Adam dropped by and we went out to lunch at the Acapulco. Then later that evening, I went to a friend's birthday dinner. That was really cool. I saw a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a while, so it was a great opportunity to play catch up. Plus, I have a new restaurant to add to the favorites list.

Tonight and last night was "American Idol" night at the house. We had a bunch of friends come over to watch the big premiere shows. It's amazing how tone deaf people are and how clueless people are about their tone deafness. And it looks like Shack is back covering the show on Television Without Pity. Can't wait to see his full recaps...He's usually spot on with them.

Things are going full steam work-wise. I've been working on a couple of projects, one of which is the new season of "Whammy." There's something in the works for "Whammy" next season that if all goes according to plan should please some of the die-hard "Press Your Luck" fans out there. In fact, it's something that you could say has been almost two decades in the making. I'll just leave it at that for now...It's just one of many things that's really making me look forward to getting back to studio in a couple of weeks.

Jacked

"Kangaroo Jack" was the number one movie of the weekend?!? WHAT?!?! I kid you not. This article says it all. I think I'm going to write a movie about a dancing marmoset. Maybe, that's how I'll make my first million...oy...

In spite of the rise of the rapping kangaroo, the weekend has been fun. Yesterday, I went to my friend David's for his big birthday party. Lots of people from the game show gang there. Even Matt and Brian flew in to L.A. from their respective homes. I even saw a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in YEARS. Hell, the last time I saw him was when I was living in Glendale. After the b-day bash, I came back home just in time to watch the "Trading Spaces" Vegas episode (complete with the live reveal...tape-delayed for the West Coast). We had a few people over to watch that. Hildy Santo-Tomas, as always, delivered with a weird, multi-colored homage to a painting she found in London. Her stuff is so bad even *I* can tell it sucks! But, the two couples seemed to like what they got.

The "real" world

Got to spend the afternoon at an industry luncheon yesterday. It was the HRTS's panel discussion about "reality television." There were lots of big names on the panel...Mark Burnett, Simon Cowell, Paul Smith, Mike Fleiss, the list goes on. Trista from "The Bachelorette" was there as well as Brian Heidik, the big winner from "Survivor: Thailand" (who looked like he had stepped off the set of "Miami Vice"). Anderson Cooper was the moderator. (YAY!) It was an interesting mix in the audience as well. Lots of representative from the various production companies and networks. Coincidentally, our company's table was near Game Show Network's table. I got a chance to meet Mark L. Walberg and Graham Elwood. I also saw Marc Summers there and Chris Harrison. Neat stuff...

It's funny...I was looking through the guestbook today and somebody said, "Post more often!" I would, but aside from work, there really hasn't been too much I've been up to this week. I do have some random TV thoughts...

- I've got my picks for "The Bachelorette"...I'm rooting for Rob and Ryan.

- The bonus round from "Cram" cracks me up...

- When I saw 44 midgets pulling a plane competing against an elephant pulling a plane, I thought I had seen it all...until I read this article. Yes, that's right...it's a FULL hour of "Dateline: NBC" dedicated to Michael Jackson's face. God bless you Stone Phillips!

What else...what else...One of the benefits of having this silly web page is that it's gotten me back in touch with a lot of friends from college and high school. In fact, today I reunited with my friend Ed from high school. He found my webpage through another friend from high school. We got in touch with each other and lo and behold, I found out that he lives just a few blocks away from me. On top of that, he worked on a show with one of my best friends. Geez, what a small world....

I have a confession to make...

Tonight, I got to meet Chuckie-Baby himself...Chuck Barris! I went to his book-signing for the re-release of "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" at the Barnes and Noble in Santa Monica. There was quite the crowd there. Things started out with Chuck talking about about the book and the movie. He then fielded some questions from the crowd. A couple of the people in the crowd were former "Gong Show" contestants. One of those "former" contestants was stand-up comedian Robert Schimmel. After the Q & A, we all got in line to start the book signing and picture taking. When I got to the book signing table I got to introduce myself and talk with Chuck a bit. He seems like such a nice guy. I even got a chance to get a pic with him:



If there's one thing I sensed after his Q & A session and with talking with him at the table, he seems like a man who is at peace with himself. During the Q & A, he touched upon the criticism he got from critics and viewers at the height of the "Gong Show" and how it really got to him. He seemed so appreciative to everybody who showed up at the signing. It was pretty neat...

I can't really think of anything clever for this line...

It's been such a hodge-podge of a weekend that my neurons couldn't fire up a clever title for this blog. Oh well...

Friday, we had a run-through for "Whammy!" It was very successful and the meeting afterwards was quite successful. It was a reunion of sorts. Todd was there. I hadn't seen him since the wrap party from last season, so it was great catching up with him. And a bunch of the execs from GSN showed up as well. Even though we're only just a few weeks away from our first taping of the new season, I'm still quite anxious to get back in the studio. I can't wait to see how the game plays for real with the new wrinkle we're adding to the big board.

Later that evening, I got together with Drew and Eddie for dinner for Eddie's last night in town (not to be confused with Steven's Last Night in Town <-- My gratuitous Ben Folds reference of the month). After dinner, we hung out for a bit, played some games and watched some game shows Drew had stored on the TiVo.

Yesterday was a big day of sorts. Saturday afternoon, I checked out a taping of "Let's Make a Deal." I'm not going to give too much away about the show, but the one thing I'll say which I really liked is that there's a respect for the original show. Monty was there in the studio and from what I hear, he's still very involved with the production of the show. At one point, he was standing right behind me. Plus, there are a couple of other game show vets involved with the show, a few of which I've actually worked with on other game show productions. They're even using the classic logo! The deals are very reminiscent of the old deals and the set is gorgeous. The elements and geography are essentially same as the original set but with a classier feel to them. The format and game hasn't been touched. There are a series of deals that culminate with the Big Deal of the Day. It's just been expanded to an hour. The show has three models and a sidekick. The sidekick isn't an unknown. In fact he should be a familiar name to TV viewers, especially late-night cable viewers. And the contestants are all dressed in costumes. It was funny...I was having lunch at the Arby's next door before I went to the studio and a woman dressed up in a ladybug costume entered. Then, when I left the studio after the show, I saw a line of people in costumes crossing the street at the intersection of Sunset and Bronson. "Let's Make a Deal" is indeed back...According to the warmup person, the show is scheduled to debut in March on Saturday nights. A big thanks to the production staff of "Deal" for letting me hanging out there!

I then returned home to find the living room reorganized. (I swear...Ted and Larry need to get on an episode of Trading Spaces). Then, Drew, Matt, Ted, Larry, and I hung out for a bit. Ken and Gigi dropped by shortly after Drew and I came back to the house. And after everybody trickled out, Nathan came over and we grabbed a bite of dinner before we headed to The Abbey in West Hollywood to meet up with Gary and Mike. It was super crowded there, but fortunately we got there before the long line to get in started forming. Tony B. also happened to be there and that began a string of "This is Your Life" moments for the other guys as they started seeing people from their pasts. We milled around and tried to chit-chat amongst the din of people yammering and techno music blaring. After a couple of hours, I had to call it quits and head home. Frankly, it wasn't the most fun time I've had there.

Did the "errands" thing today...Got my hair cut. Nothing too new except for the fact that the stylist I had asked me if I "do anything" to my hair after it's cut and when I said "yes," he had me gel my own hair. He put a big honking pile of gel. I actually like the fact that he had me take care of it myself. I never quite am pleased when the stylist does the gelling for me. When that happens, I always have to readjust it, or it's done in such a way that while it looks good, I'm never able to replicate it the next day. In any case, there was so much gel in my hair that when it dried, I ended up having "crispy hair." Ever have the "crispy hair" after a bit too much gel? I dunno, I always end up playing with my hair when it's crispy. Geez, why do I ramble like this...

One last thing...I love the self-checkout scanners at Ralph's...

*Cough* * Cough * * Ack *

Sorry for the lack of updates here...Work's been nuts and I haven't been totally feeling well this week. I've had a cough all week which I can't seem to shake and Tuesday and Wednesday I sounded like a combination of Bea Arthur, Brenda Vaccaro, and Peter Brady on that "Brady Bunch" episode where he sang "It's Time to Change."

Monday, things started moving into high gear with a lot of things. It's been hella-busy for me all week. I've been especially busy getting things rolling along with the new season of "Whammy!" Since the press release has about us has been posted, I can be a bit less vague about things. As with last season, I've been quite involved with "Whammy!" and with developing some of the new things that you'll see when our new season debuts on March 17th...St. Patrick's Day...(how appropriate, eh?)...I can't wait to get back in the studio next month to start taping the new shows. We've been testing out a few new things including the aformentioned jackpot space which I think (if all goes as planned) will add some new levels of excitement and strategy into the game. It's been quite interesting to see how they've played out in the run-throughs we've had this week. I can't really say too much as to how the new spaces work since we're still sorting out the details but we've made sure that they add to the game without taking away from the structure we've got so far. As to the new Whammy animations, they are GREAT! In addition to the Whammy, there's a new character that pops up in a few of the animations. It's actually quite cute and I'm surprised something like this character wasn't pursued in the original. We are also addressing the issue of the apperance of the gameboard. Again, if all goes as planned, the board will be much easier to read for Season 2. So, all looks good for the next season of "Whammy!"

In addition to "Whammy!," I've been busy with some other projects at the company. Soooo, it's been the wonderful world of spinning plates the past few days.

Earlier this week, I got a chance to hang out more with Doug and Eddie, my friends (and fellow "Price" fans) from D.C. and Florida, respectively. It was really cool getting to know them more and spend some time with them. Actually, this week I've spent more time with them than I usually have in the past. They're great guys who often crack me up. If either of you are reading this, thanks for a fun time!

Tuesday night, I went to see Jude at the Largo with Drew and a few of his friends. They crammed the five of us at this small table. The Largo has REALLY small tables. They barely have space for four people! As always, his set was really good. After the show, we milled about and even got a chance to talk with Jude. That's what I love about the Largo. It's so laid-back and intimate.

Last night, I plopped myself in front of the tube for three straight hours. It was reality-o-rama on the TiVO. Star Search followed by The Bachelorette capped off with Celebrity Mole. I turned off the TV with just one question...What is UP with Arsenio Hall's hair?

Together again

Ain't it good to be together again? I love that song from "Muppets Take Manhattan." It's such an appropriate title for this weekend...

Ted and Larry came back from their trip to Hawaii Saturday morning. Ahh, it's so good to have them back in the house. Soon after I picked them up for the airport, I got ready to head over to CBS TV City to catch the first taping of the million-dollar prime-time "Price is Right" specials. It was awesome. My friends and fellow "Price" fans Eddie and Doug flew into town for the tapings. I got to be stand in as a contestant for the rehearsals of the Showcase Showdown and the Showcase. It was the first time I had ever spun the big wheel. It's pretty heavy! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get the damn thing all the way around. The show that was taped that day was great. There were some minor set modifications for the special. There's even a big flashing $1,000,000 sign that's behind the audience. It reminded me of the old-school game show signs a la "Match Game '7X." The mural was given a nighttime look and the showcase podiums were expanded to fit SIX digits! A big thanks to Roger Dobkowitz and the rest of the "Price" gang for letting me hang out. A LOT of fun! After the taping I headed back home and then met up with a few friends in Burbank soon after for some dinner and gaming.

Today was pretty fun as well. Went to see "Chicago" again! Ted, Larry, Matt, and Ken had never seen it. Sooo, Drew and I join them. Drew also brought along a couple of his friends too. Later in the evening, we all converged at the house to catch up with Ted and Larry. Ted shared some of his souvenirs and pics from the trip he and Larry made to Hawaii. We did all this over some pina coladas and banana daquiris. Mmmmm....God bless Drew and his bartending skills. :-) We played a couple of games before people dispersed to get ready to start the first full week of work for 2003. Oh, and we had a VERY pleasant surprise tonight. We got a visit by our friend Ryan! Ryan had left for Utah last summer. Fortunately, he's returned to L.A. Needless to say, he was sorely missed and we are very to happy see him back in town!

Aaargh

Head and nose all stuffed...BLEH...

Some last and first thoughts...

Here it is...My first post of 2003!

First some final thoughts on 2002...2002 was such a good year for me. Work has been phenomenal, one of the big highlights being "Whammy." Plus, as 2002 drew to a close, I've finally felt a sense of being established at work. I've made a lot of new friends in addition to the ones I already have. And these new friends (including one particular blue-eyed, Ben Folds-loving, bad-joke telling, fellow game show fanatic) have quickly become my best friends. I'm living in a great place and have the best roommates in the world including one kinda-new roommate thanks to the vacancy in the guest house behind our house. As the past blogs can attest to, I've seen some great shows and we've had some really kick-ass parties. I have no real complaints at all about life in LA right now. I truly feel content. I can proudly say that Los Angeles is my home now and I don't see myself budging from here any time soon...Now, as to what I've been up to lately...

I've had a great first few days back in LA. Monday, I got to see what happens "When Webpages Collide." For the past few months, I've been bouncing e-mails and IMs back and forth with Chris. Chris found my webpage doing a search for "Whammy." Well, he and his boyfriend Doug took a trip down to my neck of the woods this week and Monday, we all got together. I introduced them to some of the locals around here. We did a little game afternoon which included the most draining game of "Trivial Pursuit"....EVER....The 20th Anniversary edition seems to have a love for baseball questions in the orange category. Not only that but during the two-hour trivia fest, TWO (count 'em, TWO!) Japanese baseball questions popped up. Eeek...After the "Trivial Pursuit" game from hell, we went out to dinner...That turned out to be another ordeal. We went to the Grand Lux Cafe at the Beverly Center. There were nine of us. The host informed us that there would be a 25 to 40 minute wait. Well, we wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...40 minutes pass by and the lobby is filled with half the number of people that were there when we arrived. 40 minutes turn into an hour...Still not seated. We send person after person from party to find out what's up. The best we could get was that the one big table that could fit us was still being occupied. We could get free appetizers if we chose to wait. That wasn't quite what we were hoping to hear. We then head across the street to Johnny Rockets whose staff could not have been more accomodating. The only kink was a glass of water falling into my lap. This led to me complaining about my "moist thighs" throughout the night. The wetness would have been bearable if it weren't for the fact that we were sitting outside with the breezy winter LA weather chilling us. We finally got back home at 11 and I said my goodbyes to Chris and Doug. Lots and lots of fun...And pics to come by the weekend...

New Year's Eve...Tuesday was great. I ended up doing more than I expected that day. Took care of some errands in the morning and afternoon and then met up with Drew in the evening to being celebrating the last evening of 2002. We headed up to Santa Clarita to our friend Tony's for his New Year's shindig. There was sooooooooooo much good food there. But that wasn't the only highlight of the party. We also saw a bunch of friends there, a few of which we hadn't seen for weeks. We also played a couple of games as well including everybody's favorite "25 Words or Less." Around 10-ish we headed to West L.A. where we picked up our friend Jesse before we headed back to Drew's place to hang out for the countdown. We did a little Balderdashing before Uncle Dicky (via the miracle of tape delay) led the countdown of the ball dropping in Times Square. Hung out a bit more with Drew and Jesse and watched some tee-wee before we called it a night and I took Jesse home. But alas, that wasn't the end of my evening. I then returned to my neck of the woods and stopped by my friend Chris's for his New Year's Shindig. The ever so-bleached-but-ever-so-cute Kenny was there as well. Caught up with them and stayed there for a couple of hours before I headed to my bed in lovely Toluca Lake adjacent around 4-ish. Ahhh....

2003 got off to a good start. Wednesday, I slept in a bit. I then headed over to Drew's and helped him enter the wonderful world of TiVo. While we were over at Best Buy, I did some more comparison shopping on dish systems. As I start to look things over, it's seeming like Dish Network is the best way to go for the house. They've got a nice 3-room deal for their system. Headed over to 3rd Street in Santa Monica for a really late lunch before we headed back to his place to set up the TiVO. Nothing like that 4-hour initial setup ...