Rosenblog

Crush

2008-03-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

Justice - DVNO

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This is a new video for DVNO, from Justice's symbolically titled debut album. I am not usually a fan of animated videos, but this one is pretty amazing, and also very meta (which many of you know I am quite the fan of). I believe that most of the graphics are old logos and images from tv and film. I recognize one former HBO graphic and one former FOX Home Video logo. I guess I'm just dorky enough to recognize what this 'is', but not quite so to recognize each individual logo. Enjoy.

Respeck

2008-02-29T05:28:00.000-08:00

I am pretty sure these kids are onto something.

Behind the Scenes

2008-02-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

This is some video shot on set of the Blu and Exile video I shot in January. I didn't shoot this, someone else did. Whoever it was they must have been standing close to me, because you can hear me yelling 'Action' and 'Cut'

On the list of the worst most horrible sounds in the universe: my own voice.

Spike+Kanye

2008-02-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

I saw this yesterday, and didn't quite know what to make of it. Then today I found out the new Kanye West video for 'Flashing Lights' (the best song by miles from Graduation) was directed by Spike Jonze. I honestly don't really know what to think of it. I think I love it. It's not for MTV, it's not really for TV in general, it's just a badass artfully done clip. What it has to do with the song I don't know, but you have the love the balls out attitude.

Enjoy.

One Year Ago....

2008-02-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

I don't care what happens in today's game. I really don't. But no matter what does, nothing will ever be as exciting as this:

Ahh the memoris

Apple Bomb

2008-01-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

I got a nice bite taken out of my ass by Apple today. I went and bought myself one of those snazzy new iPods with video. Yes, I guess I'm a bit behind the times, but mine still is black and white and doesn't include album covers. Excuuuuuuuse me, I didn't know that I had an electronic device from the stone age. In any event, I brought it home, hoping to put my music on it, as well as my directing work (see buttons on the right!). Well little did I know that Apple had a nice surprise waiting for me.

Yep, you guessed it, my Apple iPod is not compatible with my Apple computer. I guess 3 years old makes my computer too old to wipe it's own ass and tie it's own shoes, because as a nice operator told me, I need to get a new operating system if I want to use my iPod. Yeah, I have to spend an ADDITIONAL $150 on top of the $350 I spent on the iPod just to make it work.

I don't even know what to say. My friend Andrew thinks this warrants a Justin Long commercial. Andrew thinks he is pretty funny, but he has an iPhone.

So I can return it tomorrow, and I will. And they will only charge me 10% because I opened the box. Thanks Steve Jobs. Asshole.

C-O-U-R.......Are you going to the mall later?

2008-01-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

In other news, someone very special has been doing something very nice for me while I've been in California.

Acceptance

2008-01-17T10:17:00.000-08:00

I write a lot of treatments for music videos, and at this point in my budding career, most of them are rejected. On the occasion that my idea does get rejected, my first thought it always to wonder what the winning idea is. Luckily for me, I usually get to find out. Such is the case with the newly released video for Brooklyn band Les Savy Fav. I love their album and wrote them an unsolicited treatment for the song 'What Would Wolves Do?', my favorite from their new album. I had a few interactions with them, and they were very nice and very responsive and they really liked the idea, however it turned out they already had an animator who was deep into working on a video.

I have had this happen more times than not, and unfortunately, more times than not the video turns out lame. While I feel that my concept fits the song a little better, this video is certainly very enjoyable. Plus I was not that broken up, as I am sure I'll get to use the treatment at some point anyway. Enjoy.

This is how I chill

2008-01-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite one of these

An Outlet For My Unhealthy Sports Addiction

2008-01-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

I started writing for a Chicago sports related blog recently, and to all of our surprise, it has really taken off. I know what many of you are saying, 'Aaron, you aren't from Chicago'. Well, I don't have the time nor the desire to explain to you that growing up the son of two native Chicagoans in Sacramento, a town with only one major sports team, forced me to pay attention to Chicago sports. Ok? I don't have the time to talk about it. Just know that besides the Kings, my sports allegiances reside just to the (North)West of Lake Michigan. So check it out if you have the time at work. I know that most of you do.

Luol's Dong

Return of Spare Time

2008-01-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Wow. It has been a really long time. No excuses, only a new look and some new stuff to talk about. I have been busy on a few projects. Lot's of big news coming up. I'll try and stay up on this, assuming anyone cares.

Blu and Exile-Blu Colla Worker
Music Video coming very soon.

Never too busy for failure

2007-08-14T20:28:00.000-07:00

Things have been slow on the creative front, Aaron has to pay bills. Of course my 17 hour days and 7 day weeks don't stop me from watching my beloved North Siders climb to the top of the NL Central, only to give it back to the overachieving Brewers the next day. They are now in a 9-12 skid over the last 21 games as our pitchers have forgotten how to pitch, and our offense has floated with the wind out of Wrigley. It is painful and sad, and it makes me wish I didn't like baseball.

At least I can say that our season isn't collapsing because of a high profile free agent acquisition. Yeesh, that must hurt.

Wes is Back

2007-07-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

I really do love Wes Anderson, but doesn't it look like he is turning out to be a one trick pony?

Things The Darjeeling Limited has in common with every other Wes Anderson film...which can be determined from the trailer

-Dysfunctional family
-Absent father
-One family member trying to mend a broken home
-Dry dialogue
-Long dolly shots
-Symmetrical frame
-Hyperbolic production design
-Indeterminate time period, but a period piece none the less
-That one shot with everyone in the frame, organized so that everyone is looking towards the camera.
-Slow motion on that one shot with an obscure 60's British rock song

Christ even the posters are starting to look the same.

Come on, Wes. You were the future of American cinema. Don't let us down on #5.

Validation

2007-07-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

These people have now seen my name in print on their computers

The Moment You Have All Been Waiting For

2007-07-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

Also, please visit my site for a fancy flash version, and visit Hella for updates on them.

Also, tell your friends. Especially those in high places. Leave comments in the...uh...comments.

Patience: No Longer Just A Song By Guns N Roses

2007-07-02T09:51:00.000-07:00

I know, I know many of you are wondering where the new fantastic superstatic, wondertastical Hella music video is. Some of you are wondering if it exists. Some of you are wondering if I even make music videos, and if my name is actually Aaron. Let me put your queries to rest.

Yes it exists, yes my name is Aaron, and fuck off its on it's way. Technology is a bitch and sometimes uploading genius takes more time than anticipated. Those who have seen the video are rendered speechless, thoughtless, and (on rare occasion) brainless. Just look at some of the reviews:

I can't get it to work. I hear music, but there is no video. Is there supposed to be a picture?
-My mom

I couldn't get the sound to work, but the picture looked good. Your credit card bill arrived. We need to have a talk.
-My dad

I mean, it's really good. I don't really like the song, but I think I can appreciate how cool the video is.
-My girlfriend

It looks super sweet, and we are really stoked.
-Hella guitar player Spencer Seim

Obviously the only review that even matters is the last one, and since my parents have trouble resetting the clock on the oven, I am not even sure why I sent them something as complicated as sound and picture coming out of their internet machine. So hold your horses, it is worth the wait.

No, YOU Tube it

2007-06-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

I used to love YouTube. I thought it was merely a good idea at first; given that anyone could post anyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifthing at any time. Then when I realized that it would be the future of the music video industry, I embraced it with the love that can only be shared between father and son, mother and daughter, priest and alter boy. Soon though, it got bogged down with nonsense. The curse started to outweigh the gift, as people started posting stuff like this:

Really? You really want people to see this on the internet? Nothing says, 'I rule' like a white kid 'ghostriding' his sister's bike through his gated subdivision. Maybe if it included that same white kid ghostriding his sister's bike through downtown Cincinnati, it would be more interesting. Racial strife is always interesting.
In any event, the same geniuses who put up videos like must be in charge of uploading, because after two tries to put up my Hella video (which looks gorgeous in quicktime, by the way), the quality didn't look much better than that of Chad riding his sister's bike down the streets of the Babbling Brook complex. I am currently on the lookout for another site where I can upload my site. Any suggestions?

Something very exciting is coming very soon

2007-06-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Very soon...

Deferment

2007-06-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

I saw Judd Apatow's winning comedy Knocked Up this past weekend. With expectations as high as can be, I sat down in the theatre ready for the first original movie of the summer, and was not disappointed by any part of the film. It actually managed to exceed many of my expectations; shocking as so many of the hyped films released during the summer leave much to be desired. I was so excited, in fact, that I was all set to come home and write a review of the film for all 6 of my readers to enjoy. Then I stumbled across my friend Andrew Dignan's self described contrarian take on the film. I then realized that no matter how much of my writing prowess I mustered, no amount of Strunk and White consultation would deliver a better written review. Although I disagree with many of the points that Andrew makes, I cannot help but send you curious readers to his article, if only to see what intelligent film commentary looks like. I respect all of Andrew's opinions (yeah, I'm diplomatic like that) even when they are contrary to mine (Miami Vice and Thank You for Smoking). Read and enjoy his writing, and understand why as long as I am able to make films, I will never ask his opinion of anything I create. I just don't think I could take that kind of intelligent constructive criticism.

Potentially Dangerous

2007-06-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Some of you are lucky enough to have attended a !!! concert with me. If you have, then you know that they are the only band in the world who manages to drag me out on the dance floor without the aid of alcohol. Not only do they get me to dance, but they get me to dance like a maniac. When presented with the music of !!! (live or recorded) my dance skills are undeniable. They make Carlton look like Michael Jackson, Christopher Walken like Stephen Hawking, Grandmaster Flash like Pimpbot 5000. Keep this in mind as I go on to explain my last few days.

It started with a typical pickup day at work. I actually got off work early, picked up a van which I would drive the next morning, and parked it in Greenpoint near the venue (conveniently located literally around the corner from Lauren's apt). After a shower (completely in vein) at home, I went back up to Greenpoint and attended the show. I did all of this, knowing full well that I had to be AT work at 4:30AM. Yes, AT work, which meant that I had to be up at 3:30 at the latest.

Of course the show was legendary. !!! tore down the former Polish nightclub Studio B and ripped the final show of their tour. The show ended at around 12:45, and I went quickly back to Lauren's place, took another shower (3rd of the day) and was in bed and asleep by 1:30, leaving me 3 hours to sleep. Which I did, before getting dressed, in a van and driving with 15 other people an hour in a half into New Jersey. The day was relatively short and I was able to get home pretty early. Which was a good thing considering I had to be AT work at....2:30AM the next night/day.

So here I sit, having worked a full 10 hour day by 11:00AM and my sleep deprivation and severe exhaustion was all capped off by a thrilling show by Sacramento's finest.

I also heard I missed a spectacular showing by King James in Detroit last night. Too bad I missed the only good game of the playoffs.

Thoughts From My Cousin's Wedding

2007-05-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

I was in Chicago over Memorial Day for my cousin Kate's wedding. It was a wonderful weekend, I got to see a lot of family and spend time in my favorite American city. Here is a smattering of thoughts from the weekend.

-Chicago has gorgeous weather all the way through the end of May, except when it dumps rain. Which happens every day.

-There is nothing more frustrating than staying up until 130AM watching the Cubs blow a 3 run lead in Los Angeles, after acquiring that lead in the 7th inning.

-There is nothing more frustrating than the Cubs losing the 3rd game of the series by walking the bases loaded, then hitting Juan Pierre, thus bringing in the game winning run.

-There is nothing more frustrating than the Chicago Cubs

-My family is wonderful, and I love spending time with them. Ok, some of them.

-My father does the best 'Dad At The Bar Mitzvah' dance. The contest is over.

-I actually heard the words, 'poop in the refrigerator', in that order, during the best man speech while 400 people were eating the main course.

-It is possible to eat too much 4 days in a row.

-Sometimes touristy things are a lot of fun, like the Chicago Architectural Boat Tour through the Chicago River. Highly recommended.

-It is an odd feeling to know for a fact that you have now been to the nicest wedding you will ever attend.

-Despite the beautiful newlywed couple, relatives seeing each other for the first time in months, and any number of small talk topics, nothing was more discussed than the S&M convention taking place in Chicago.

-It is possible to have a classy wedding and still serve macaroni and cheese.

-I am thrilled to now be back in New York City for more than 2 weeks after nearly a month of travelling (famous last words).

Hella is almost done, and I might be starting in on some milk money work for the summer. You will now be updated weekly on the minutia in my life.

My Mother Will Not Enjoy This Film

2007-05-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Jay's roommate found this and felt the need to interrupt our editing session. I am glad he did. This is real family fun right here. I might head down to the local school and kidnap some kids to bring to this movie. I think all children need to know that this is what happens when you take steroids. This, or you become rich.

Guy Behind the Guy

2007-05-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Would you believe me if I told you that both of these guys have girlfriends? I didn't think so.

This photo was taken almost exactly 5 years ago today, on the closing night of the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. If you can believe it, that's me on the right. I had just spent 6 months living in Spain and made the trip up north bringing with me my excitement to meet new people and my gorgeous flowing mane of hair. On the left is Jay Bender; a guy I met at the festival, a movie geek from upstate New York with whom I found I had a lot in common. It turned out to be a fortunate meeting for the both of us, because years later, Jay has become my editor and has cut all of my projects (psst..look over here------>). For Jay I have become....uh....well he's cut all my projects. My presence in his house is a gift.

When I showed up at Jay's place in Sherman Oaks on Tuesday night to begin editing the Hella video, I was nervous about the results. It had nothing to do with Jay's ability, which have been well documented in various niche trade magazines and non-televised award shows, but more with the serious possibility that I had not done a good enough job shooting the video. Given that this is my first video for a band on a record label, my first video for a band with a real following, and my first video that I am positive will get press and lots of views, I was a little scared. I have to say, as well, that as I drove home at 5:00AM on Wednesday morning after spending 6 hours studying the footage, I didn't feel much better. Well around 5:00PM yesterday, all of that changed. We are about half way done cutting, and the video is so much more than I imagined it could be. Thanks in part to Spencer, Josh, Zach and Aaron's ability to improvise (under my strict guidance, of course), the video is funny, strange, at times scary and very enjoyable. Jay's ability to find those moments, put them where they need to be, and show me all available options is truly priceless (which is good, because he's not getting paid).

If this video is a success, which I really think it will be, Jay will have been an enormous part of it. Many times I think that filmmakers want to take all the credit themselves. I like to do that as well, but this time I just can't.

Jay is also a director himself. Check out his handiwork here.

Finally, A Reason to Thank The Lord

2007-05-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

I try to stay away from politics and religion here, but I think it is safe to say that the world is now a much better place.

Another One in the Books

2007-05-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't updated, I have been pretty exhausted. I spent the weekend shooting the Hella video at my parents' house in Sacramento. It was a terrific experience, and the guys were great to work with. I am a bit nervous only because I like them so much and want them to like it. I leave for LA tomorrow to edit with superstar Jay Bender, and once it's done I'll post it. Hit me up in the comments if you want photos.

Low Budget Diary

2007-05-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Producing a low budget music video (or any film, for that matter) is a tough endeavor, especially when some crew members are long distance. On this job, we are shooting in California, with the producer still in New York City until tomorrow night, and the cinematographer about an hour North of Sacto at his parents' house. The band is scattered all over the city, while the de facto leader is on vacation in Canada. All of these things must come together by Friday morning when we begin shooting. We must pinch every available penny that we can, so we are looking for things for free. We need an old bike for a prop, we need a camera, and some memory cards for the camera (memory cards are the new digital video tapes). We also need crew members for free, which is hardest to find. I am ending up asking friends to come out and help, which is great, but most, if not all of them, have never been on a film set before.

Things are starting to get hectic and I am beginning to feel very nervous. I have made a shot list with which I am confident, I have even designed a schedule. Making the schedule is something that, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be responsible for. Given the low budget and the lack of crew members, however, it falls under the umbrella of things I have to do. In any event, I have prepared very well and I am confident with the idea. This happens with me every time I begin to shoot something. I get nervous and feel like I can't figure it out. That anxiety goes away usually the morning of the shoot and I enter this zone and all of a sudden it is lunch on the first day and we have done 10 shots.

On the Secret 6 video I had no idea how I was going to shoot any part of it. I hadn't storyboarded it, I hadn't done any kind of shot list, and I hadn't even thought about a visual style. The only thing I had done was scout locations and figure out where we were going tp shoot. We changed the location for the house the night before we shot there, so I had only looked at it once. Luckily this time I know the location really well (it's my parents' house), and I have a great sense of how I want it to look. I hope things turn out all right, as this is a huge opprotunity for me to shine and have lots of people see it.

Jack Frost

2007-05-05T01:24:00.000-07:00

The man just ripped the pants down and forcefully inserted himself into Conan('s show). What a way to cap off an incredible week of Conan shows in San Francisco. Baron Davis and Jason Richardson even showed up to congratulate themselves once again for completing one of the greatest upsets in sports this side of Sawks/Yanks 2004.

But anyway, Tom Waits rules, so does Conan, the Mavericks do not.

Hella goes this weekend. I will try and update every night after we shoot. Wish me luck, I am nervous as hell.

Coachella 2007-Day 3

2007-05-02T11:03:00.000-07:00

These are my entries I wrote after each day of
Coachella. Some of them are long, so if you get bored, then I'm a lousy writer (definitely possible). The pictures were all taken by yours truly.

Day 3
No fanfare in the morning, no fanfare here. Let’s get into it.

We showed up really early, beating the crowds.

Fair to Midland-I have this good friend from college named Grant. Grant is a drummer, and a good one. In college he was always trying to defend bands like Disturbed, Godsmack, Nickelback, Creed, and the like. Because of this, we started to call all music like this GrantRock. Fair to Midland is GrantRock.

Grizzly Bear-The blogs love Grizzly Bear. Grizzly Bear is fucking boring.

Explosions in the Sky- I was curios about Coachella’s choice to put EITS on the main stage in the middle of the day. Not that Explosions wasn’t able to play to a big crowd from 50 feet in the air, they just shouldn’t be expected to. Well, all of my fears were laid to rest for good as they absolutely rocked what little crowd was there in the blazing sun at 4:00PM. The music was cranked up loud, and they were fantastic.

The Roots-The Roots are a total anomaly in the hip hop world. They play instruments, have socially/politically aware content, and have spectacular live shows. This may explain why they can’t really gain much of an audience in their own demographic, but are huge in the festival circuit. The audiences at festivals appreciate a well polished live show, and the Roots certainly have that. The highlight was undoubtedly an interpretation of Bob Dylan’s Masters of War, which included the music of the Star Spangled Banner. **?uestlove introduced the tuba player by his real name, than saying, 'AKA, Tuba Gooding Jr.'

CSS-I love CSS. They are completely ridiculous, and they’re from Brazil. The singer looks like the love child of Bjork and my friend Lucy, but in a purple shiny onezie. They ended with their hit, ‘Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above 1979’. Nuff said. Also, Paris Hilton was there. Start the clock to demise.

Manu Chao-This guy is the biggest music star from Mexico. He absolutely rocked a crowd that could not wait to see Rage Against the Machine.

Rage Against the Machine-Though most of the kids in the crowd were 10 years old when Rage broke up, it appears that they have learned how to mosh. 60,000 of them doing so can be a bit scary.

So on the way home, after 3 long days on my feet, my ears ringing, my legs burning, my back spasming, this is what I had to endure:

Yeah. That just happened. Amanda and Liz will not be forgiven.

Stats:
Celebrities Seen: 3
Paris Hilton (at CSS)
MTV’s Rob Huebel and Aziz Ansari
Urinations: 2
Defecations: 1
Meals eaten: 1
Bottles of water: 10+
Pair of boxers ruined: 1

Weekend Wrap-up

Most Surprisingly Satisfying Set:
Manu Chao

Most Disappointing Set:
Ghostface

Holy Shit I Am Glad I Went To That:
Peeping Tom

I Was So Tired Before This Set, and Now I Am Soaking Wet But So Happy:
Girl Talk

This Set Rocked, but I Have No Interest in Seeing This Person Again:
Mike Relm

I Danced My Ass Off Despite 100+ Degree Weather:
!!!

I Kind of Wish I had Seen That:
Bjork/LCD Soundsystem/Ratatat

I Went to this Set Beyond Despite Better Judgement, But I Am Glad I Did:
DJ Shadow

Best Overall Set:
!!!

Way to go guys!

Have to rest up for Coachella 2008

Coachella 2007-Day 2

2007-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

These are my entries I wrote after each day of
Coachella. Some of them are long, so if you get bored, then I'm a lousy writer (definitely possible). The pictures were all taken by yours truly.

Day 2 begins with a whimper for Mike

Coachella Day 2
No soiled appliances today, just some fine fine music. I woke up early, at around 930, and immediately felt like I couldn’t get up. My back hurt, my knees hurt, and I suddenly felt as if I had aged 40 years overnight. I almost considered going back to sleep, but I realized that if I did I wouldn’t get up until the late afternoon. I went and got everyone breakfast, and shuttled us out the door by noon. We arrived on the grounds at around 230, and the day formally began. Here are some highlights:

Pharoahe Monch- We only got to see around the 2nd half of Pharoahe’s set, but it was nice to see him back in action. I couldn’t help but notice the swath of white people enjoying a set by the man who famously said, ‘I buttfuck MC’s’. I guess white people just love the hip hop music. ‘Simon Says’ did tear the house down.

Chuck Dukowski Sextet- Only four people, not a sextet. Mike commented that it appeared they had gotten together via Craig’s List. A kid from my Boy Scout days recognized my camp t-shirt and I talked with him for a while. It is wild to see these kids for the first time in 9 years. It reminds me of how old I am.

Hot Chip: These dudes rock. Their music is fantastic, and it is brought to life even more by the fact that they look like the five guys in your PE class who never participated. They are either very fat or very skinny, they all have glasses and their attire is ridiculous but believable. Plus given their age, it looks like they just turned the D&D club into a dorky Devo tribute band, then decided to write original material. They played a fantastic version of ‘And I Was a Boy From School’

We took a small break to eat, and while Peter Bjorn and John played, Aaron Mike and Andrew got some food and a beer. Well, Mike got the beer, I stared at this guy in the beer garden who I swear was on my study abroad program in 2002.

!!!-Jason Goldman chastised me for wanting to see them, given that we are going to see them in New York in May, but I couldn’t resist. Mike, Andrew and I weaseled our way in way up front to be with the kids who dance. I overheard someone behind me talking about Capitol Garage, a small venue in Sacramento (home of, among other things, !!! and me), and when I struck up conversation, it turned out the two girls were the sisters of !!! guitarist/LCD Soundsystem bassist Tyler Pope. Small world. Oh yeah, !!! were amazing, and I haven’t had that much fun at a show in a long time. They had the most energy of any band so far. A great show with a 10 minute finale of ‘Intensify’

Ghostface/Arcade Fire-I wanted to see Ghostface, but it was garbage. I don’t think it was Mr. Coles’ fault, hiphop shows at venues like that are difficult. The sound was terrible and he had a crew of hypemen, which was annoying. Mike and I ate Indian food, Andrew had something Asian. We went over to the beer tent and listened to most of the Arcade Fire’s second Coachella set in 3 years. They were completely solid, as usual. They are a great live band, and even sounded good from about 400 yards away.

Girl Talk-Everyone loves Girl Talk. Party kids love him because he keeps all the songs familiar and never stops. Hipsters love him because it gives them an excuse to dance to all the Top 40 hits they secretly love. Paris Hilton loves him because, well, he’s just hot right now. Unfortunately her presence onstage with him may have signaled his saturation point, but the show was fabulous. Balloons, confetti, kids dancing on stage, all of our favorite hits from yesteryear, and today’s radio mixed together for an amazing party.
Notable Quote: “Are you ready, Coachella? This is the best time of our lives”. If only life were that simple.

Mike Relm-Since I had just seen LCD Soundsystem 2 weeks ago I decided to check out something new, on Dave’s recommendation. Mike Relm is a sort of audio/visual DJ. He scratches well, plays familiar beats and songs and also scratches DVDs for added effect. A favorite skit was the scratching of the notorious ‘Oh face’ routine from ‘Office Space’. Some of the clips he chose didn’t really fit, but it’s originality was great, and the show was very enjoyable.

The Black Keys/The Rapture-Musically, the night closed with these two acts. The Black Keys were great, but I am not sure the venue was right. Their 2 man blues rock would certainly fit a lot better in a dive bar somewhere in the Midwest. Great stuff though, and I am glad I saw them. I also caught the last two songs of The Rapture’s set, which was nice. The crowd had emptied out as the final acts on the main stage grabbed most of the people.

I had to wait out the last 20 minutes of trance DJ Tiesto’s set. It sounded like one song. One long, boring, repetitive song. With keyboards. Annoying.

Day 2 Stats
Celebrities Seen: 3
-Human Giant/UCB comedian Rob Huebel
-Paris Hilton on stage dancing with Girl Talk
-The big guy from Parker Louis Can’t Lose and ER

Urinations: 1
Defecations: 0
Meals: 3
Bottles of Water: 10+

Coachella 2007-Day 1

2007-05-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

These are my entries I wrote after each day of Coachella. Some of them are long, so if you get bored, then I'm a lousy writer (definitely possible). The pictures were all taken by yours truly.

Coachella Day 1: Intro

The adventure began for us long before we entered the Coachella gates. I arrived at the Ontario around midnight and was sort-of-promptly by my good buddy Mike Cassell and we took off on our way to Palm Springs.

I was excited to arrive at the house, but upon entering I discovered something somewhat terrible: not only was there no electricity, but opening the refrigerator revealed that there had not been any for quite some time. An indescribable stench emanated from the fridge. I mean it when I say indescribable; the best I can do is to say that it is something like the inside of a camel’s rectum smothered in rotten peanut butter. Of course, because I was the discoverer of said mess, I was responsible for cleaning it up. But not tonight. The group of us, Mike, Jay, Andrew, Dave, Amanda, and Liz, had a few beers and went to bed around 3:30. Mike and Andrew slept outside, to avoid the hot temperatures, and I slept in all of my clothes in the bed once shared by my grandparents.

Day 1

I woke up around 9:00AM on Friday morning, jived and ready to go for the first of three exhausting days of Coachella. It is always important to remember that a festival like this is a marathon and not a sprint. Enough metaphors. Let’s get down to business. I had a holocaust of a fridge to clean. I got to work with Mike, and we emptied it, and cleaned it. It took me about 2 hours, and it was horrible. The mold, the water, the rotting fruit…I am pretty sure the cure for several diseases were in there, and are now gone. The fridge only smells mildly putrid now, but it will have to do. Thanks, Uncle Barry.

After the fridge incident of 2007, I tried to cleanse myself in the chlorinated waters of my grandmother’s pool, then a shower where I cleaned my hands will steel wool and I was ready for breakfast. We went to a satisfying but expensive meal at the Manhattan deli, and took off for the show.

The drive in was miserable. It appears they are trying to get all 60,000 people into one entrance, and that creates problems. Both Amanda and Liz took multiple naps, and Mike invented some new curse words. The anticipation made it even longer, but we got in around 3:30, just to catch the last 20 minutes of the Tokyo Police Club. At that point it was Mike, Amanda, Liz and myself. After about 5 minutes of TPC (oh yeah, we’re tight like that), Amanda and Liz split to find water. Sissies. It was only 98 degrees that point. In any event, Mike and I began to wander around after Tokyo Police Club, and found ourselves watching a band called the Satellite Party, which we were stunned to see was fronted by Perry Farrell. The band sounded exactly what you would think a Perry Ferrell band would sound like: a bad version of Jane’s Addiction mailing it in. We waited around for that to finish, and watched the LA band the Silversun Pickups with our old college friend Erik Slemon.

Erik enjoys a tasty beverage
They put on an enjoyable enough show. They have two great songs that are catchy, and the rest sounds like low rent Smashing Pumpkins. Not completely memorable, but not a bad way to spend the afternoon. After their show ended, Mike and I realized that we hadn’t eaten anything since 10AM, so we decided to quench our hunger.
Understandably, in the 100+ degree heat, Mike had a hankering for lamb, so we found a proprietor of Greek food. He had a lamb gyro, and I had a veggie gyro. What is a veggie gyro you may ask? It’s a pita with lettuce and tomato. It really filled me up.

Not.

We relaxed in the shade for a bit, and by 6:30 were back at the main stage for the highly overrated set by the highly overrated Arctic Monkeys. Lame. It was either them or Stephen Marley, and after listening to half of a song we were having flashbacks of freshman year of college and returned to the Monkeys. After their set we tried to wait for the beginning of Peaches, but she decided she didn’t want to show up on time so we went to see The Jesus and Mary Chain. The set included two things that did not seem to belong together:

The completely brilliant 80’s song ‘Head On’

Scarlett Johansson singing backup.

Good set, especially for a bunch of old dudes.

The true surprise of the evening came in the form of Mike Patton’s new band Peeping Tom. After a strange introduction by Danny DeVito, the band, including Dan The Automator, took the stage and Patton soon joined, wearing a bullet proof vest. The show was spectacular. Screaming, yelling, swearing, the throwing of obscene gestures…it had everything.

By now it was 9:30, and I was hungry again. Mike, Jay and I got a burrito and listened to Sonic Youth rip through a set while waiting for DJ Shadow. I know many people got angry when I told them I was planning on skipping Bjork for Shadow. Keep in mind, I have seen Bjork several times, and truthfully, if you’ve seen a Bjork show, you’ve seen them all. They are all a little bit different, but she plays the same hits, wears a goofy costume, and has an entire middle school’s worth of girls with sun dresses crying at the sight of their Icelandic queen. For me, Shadow was the way to go.

Despite his short set, he did not disappoint. His video show was great, and the added material he has gives him an even better ability to remix his own tunes live.

It was fantastic. It is now 1:30AM, and I have been on my feet since 1:30PM. I just arrived home and it is 3:15AM. We have to be up in several hours to go back and do it all over again.
Celebrities Seen: 0
Urinations: 1
Defecations: 0
Meals eaten: 2
Bottles of water: 10+
Pair of boxers ruined: 1

And now I leave you

2007-04-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

You like these? I didn't think so. I don't either. Too bad, because I am about to spend a shitload of time in them over the next month. I leave today to fly to California to attend the 2007 Coachella Music Festival. I invited a bunch of my friends, but none of them wanted to come. I am meeting some good people out in Palm Springs and we will be staying at my grandparents' house. I would be lying if I said I wasn't extremely excited. I will try and give an update of who I saw and how they were (maybe in haiku form, if you're lucky), but I don't have internet there, so it will have to wait until I leave.

Following Coachella, I am travelling up to Sacramento to shoot the much anticipated music video for Hella's 'The Things That People Do When They Think No One's Looking'. I will be able to post news and updates and photos when that happens.

After we shoot, I go back to LA to edit the video with my famed editor Jay Bender. He just released a fabulous video for the Albany act The Clay People. When I get permission, I will throw it up here.

After we finish editing I travel back to NYC for 3 days before going to Chicago for my cousin's wedding. I finally return to New York for good on May 30th, just in time to see !!! at Studio B.

It will be nice to be busy on some work again, after some time off. Keep up over at Wasteland, as Wes and I try to update that as much as possible. There could be some news there shortly. Shane is out in LA doing his thing.

Ok, that's about it for now. I will get back to you all, all 4 of you, after Coachella.

I Bet These People Vote Republican

2007-04-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

As first reported by the fine folk(s) over at Deadspin, apparently soccer moms in the middle of the country aren't exactly what we call 'pro-family'.
Sure, I bet they hate the idea of men kissing, and shudder at the thought of birth control, but when it comes to not performing in a soccer game, well those Republican values dictate that leaving your daughter on the side of the highway is perfectly within a family's rights.

Now, if only more of our nation's parents would do this, maybe we could actually compete in the World Cup.

Sactown Royalty

2007-04-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

Lounging at home with my folks and my doggies. A full report will be available once I return to New York. Until then, enjoy the above photo of the Sacramento River

Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007

2007-04-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

I came home from a lovely evening with my friend Amanda to find that my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut, had died in his home in New York. I feel a great sense of sadness at this, as Vonnegut's work, so much more than any other writer, seemed as if it had always spoke directly to me. During my junior year of high school, outside of my required reading for school, I read every single Vonnegut novel. The first one I read was Slaughterhouse-Five, a completely brilliant anti-war satire that I found funnier and more affecting even than Catch-22. I read Slaughterhouse-Five at least once a year, and although I am not exactly the same cynical slightly angry kid I was in high school, I may have to go back and revisit Vonnegut's body of work and try and refresh my memory as to why I loved him so much. To me, he was always the writer equivalent of Robert Altman, who also died last year. If there is any kind of afterlife, I am sure Altman and Vonnegut are having a hell of a time laughing at all of us.

That Didn't Take Long

2007-04-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

It appears my illustrious career as a television executive may be over before it began, making it shorter than Rasheed Wallaces' career as an Atlanta Hawk. DirecTV's Channel 101 seems to have spent their allotted budget for the quarter on purchasing the NBC soap opera Passions, thus leaving them with no money to buy my sweet tv show idea. I guess I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed, or aggravated that I flew all the way across the country for no reason, but to be honest, I never thought anything would happen anyway. It seemed to good to be true, and I guess it was. My partner Brian tells me we may be able to pitch again, but I am certainly not getting my hopes up. Be sure to watch Passions on Channel 101, though. I think it is squeezed in between CD USA and that Myspace TV show. Nothing but quality over at 101.

Can't Stay Away

2007-04-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

Christ I travel a lot. I am back in Los Angeles to meet with DirecTV about something. While I am here I am going to see some old friends, maybe check out a show, some comedy, a movie, the nice weather, beach, blah blah I don't know. I can count the number of times I have slept in my own bed in the past 3 weeks on one hand, provided that hand has 7 fingers. What have I been doing? Nothing much.

But I can't complain much. The weather is great.

You will be updated on this frequently.

2007-04-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have ever been this excited about a French movie before. Ever.

Hell yeah!

2007-04-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

As previously reported over at The Pharmacy HQ, I am back in the music video business. I have booked myself a video for the freakin awesome band Hella, based out of, and shooting in my sweet hometown of Sacramento, CA. Of course this was bound to happen, because they rule, and (obviously) so do I. Wes and Jason and I will be going out to Sacramento next month to create a clip which will surely catapult them to the top of the charts. The indie rock, prog/math rock/noise charts.

Between now and then I will be finishing up the initial part of Wasteland, travelling to LA, back to New York, then out to Palm Springs for Coachella. I will be friggin exhausted, and all that travelling will certainly screw up my sense of time, but it will be great to go home and shoot some film. In fact, just like Hella and me, it will rule.

Things done changed

2007-03-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

Things with me are crazy right now, as Wes and I are shooting the trailer for Wasteland until the 9th of April. Head on over to Wasteland to get updates. I haven't done any yet, but a shitload will be coming soon.

Meet my friend

2007-03-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

That's my friend Dustin freestyling with Matt and Kim.

I think after people watch this, they will claim that Dustin is their friend also. He is really my friend though. Not in the myspace way, where I've heard of him before you, or that I know someone who knows him. No, he is actually my friend. I have his phone number, I have been in his apartment, I know the intersection where he lives in LA, and there is a good chance he will soon become my business partner and we will make lots of money together. So before everyone knows who he is, let me give you the pleasure of introducing you to my friend; Dustin Sussman.

Super Tuesday

2007-03-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Ever since I discovered the Interweb (Thanks, Al Gore!!) and especially eMusic (Thanks, Steve Sprinkel!!), I have changed the ways I procure music. I have always been a music freak. I think I have somewhere around 500 CDs at my home in Sacramento, and maybe 20 here that I have purchased in the nearly 2 years since living in New York. I do, though, have no frigging clue how many albums I have downloaded since introduced to high speed internet my freshman year of college. My parents still had dial up, and I remember in high school, my friend Scott asked me to download a newly released Underworld song and it took me all night. 7 hours for 1 song. Then Napster came along, and it was free and amazing. I downloaded scores of albums, but I usually only did that to get a preview of an album I would buy anyway. I can't think of too many albums I just downloaded without buying.

With eMusic, it made things simple. I could download them, have them immediately and not feel guilty about stealing music. It does, though, leave me feeling that music is a bit disposable. At my most recent count, I have almost 5 gigs of music that I have downloaded legally from eMusic. The problem I have is that I have no jewel cases, no artwork, no liner notes, etc. If my computer goes down, I lose thousands of dollars in music in a heartbeat.

While I rack my brain trying to figure out how to transfer my music to a more sturdy source, I think I will be going to the store (Other Music, most likely), and purchasing the actual CDs for SEVERAL releases today. First off is the eagarly anticipated follow up to El-P's stunning debut, I'll Sleep When You're Dead. Great title, it has gotten great reviews, and even has a blog written by the creator. Jay Dee's Ruff Draft album is being released in a special mega-version by the fabulous Stones Throw records. I think I actually downloaded this vinyl-only release while in college. It is on my dad's computer at home, and it is certainly worth having, so I will be throwing my support to the Stones Throw label. My roommate Steve already bought the new Modest Mouse, which is really good. I might also grab the new Ted Leo, but it sure is tempting to get it from eMusic (as I write this, I am downloading the new Panda Bear)(Scroll down).

In the meantime, I have some music to listen to.

Wha happend?

2007-03-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

A long weekend is finally over. The weekend started on Thursday (as opposed to most weekends lately, which start on Monday. Ugh.) with some pretty good basketball. Of course this tournament will always be remembered as the tourney of no upsets. The Duke/VCU game was simply divine, as was the Nevada/Creighton game despite its frustrating outcome. Yesterday some giants fell, like Wisconsin and Texas, but all of my final four teams are still intact. I can still win my league for the first time.
I also had my Fantasy Baseball draft yesterday, which was fun, then boring. I feel good about my picks, some of them might SNAFU my team, but overall I did better than last year.

Ok, enough of that. What is this, a sports blog?

I tried to watch The Black Dahlia with my roommates last night, and it was absolutely fucking horrible. We actually turned it off after 30 minutes and watched Into The Blue. A great movie. Seriously.

This week should be pretty intense for me, Wes comes in Friday and we start shooting Wasteland next Monday. We have quite a bit of work ahead of us, so keep your eyes on the Wasteland blog for news.

Oh yeah, after Fantasy Baseball, I went to the Upright Citizens Brigade for the first time in a really long time, and I was reminded of why I like it so much: It makes me pee myself with laughter. Those people are really funny, and Amy Poehler is pretty effing adorable. I am always on the lookout for her husband, Will Arnett, so I can shower him with praise for having been on the best sitcom in recent memory.

And now for our only feature here at Rosenblog, the Haiku Reviews

Kind of like heaven
Just with more tall guys and beer
My bracket is fucked

Even scenes like this
Don't help this piece of shit film
Box office poison

Holy fucking shit
Alba snorkles in swim suit
Thank God I'm a man

Stat dorks will unite
Who the fuck is Jonny Gomes?
What a waste of $50

I think I'm funny
Then I go see them perform
Christ I suck at life

Oh, so THAT's why

2007-03-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

With the exception of my friend Greg, all non mentally challenged people I know hate Duke. It is easy, it is fun, and let's face it, it was all worth it to see that little kid crying when they lost to then-unranked Maryland 2 years ago. The schaedenfruede has never been better articulated by Mr. Peter Rosenberg, a Maryland grad who managed to kill two birds with one stone in his excellent expose: explain why, in fact Duke sucks, and show beyond a reasonable doubt that Jews can rap.

Out for Madness, will be back in 4 days

2007-03-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

Friends, neighbors, fellow sporting event enthusiasts, this Thursday begins my favorite time of the year. No, they are not giving away free pizza anywhere, it's the start of MARCH MADDNESS!!!!!!

Oh man, I am so excited. Cinderellas, brackets, beer, 12 hours of consecutive television watching, upsets, watching Roy Williams and Mike Krlaiuyshdf;jkj;flkdjf;s lose in early rounds....I cannot freakin wait. That photo up there is from the most exciting game of March Maddness I have ever seen, as Deron Williams finished off a 20 point comeback against Arizona in the Elite 8. If there is a moment half that exciting in this year's tournament, then I will be a happy camper. If not, then I will have wasted 4 days of my life, consumed countless calories in beer form, and eaten way too many pizza slices.

Yes, friends, sometimes being a (unemployed) free lance worker has it's perks.

The RB will return at the conclusion of this weekend's maddness. MADNESS!!!

Also, it is St. Patrick's day, so I will be celebrating my Irish heretige with my similarly Irish friends all weekend. I think I like March more than my own birthday.

Wasteland Blog

2007-03-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

I decided to start up a blog that will chronicle Wes and I as we shoot, edit, and attempt to distribute our new film Wasteland. Instead of bog down the heavy traffic already accumulating here at the Rosenblog, Wes and I will add journal entries, pictures, and movie clips over at the new site.

Click here to check out progress.

Just like SportsCenter, but without the sports highlights.

2007-03-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

After those two little tidbits yesterday, I felt it was time to let my 4 faithful readers in on what has been happening with me lately. I was originally going for a FreeDarko-esque free association with the photos, but then decided against it. Plus I can't even begin to compete with the Darko's way with words. It is simply stunning.

Oh man, have you seen trailers for this movie? It looks horrible. A studio executive must have lost a bet, or his mind or something, because this looks fucking wretched. Tim Allen, John Travolta and Martin Lawrence in the same movie? This movie should have been called Box Office Poison. I bet that Carrott Top movie has more laughs than thi---Wait. Hold on a second. Is that William H. Macey? How the fuck did he get on the poster for this movie? This must be some photoshop job or--What? He is IN the movie? No he isn't. William H. Macey? The Oscar nominated one? The Coen Brothers/Paul Thomas Anderson favorite William H. Macey? Uh. That's bullshit.

Oh, by the way it's the number 1 movie in America. Yeah, millions of people went to see Wild Hogs. Millions. Yes, that is vomit AND feces coming out of your mouth.

In other news, I saw two movies this past weekend, and both of them were quite excellent. The first, David Fincher's Zodiac, I expected to be great. It is part police procedural, part monster movie, part portrait of obsession, and it really is a great film. Fincher lets his actors do their job, and carefully weaves a very complicated story about the in-vain search for San Francisco's Zodiac Killer in the 60's, 70's and 80's. All 3 lead actors (Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr.) give stellar performances, and the supporting cast of Elias Koteas, Donal Logue, Anthony Edwards and the boss from Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead are great. There is even a surprise appearance of Adam Goldberg. I mean, really, who doesn't love Adam Goldberg?

The 2nd film I saw was Craig Brewer's follow up to Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan. I think I can honestly say it surprised the hell out of me with it's quality. Like Hustle and Flow, it also has terrific supporting characters to help out the two leads played by Sam Motherfucking Jackson and Christina 'Eat Something, Girl' Ricci. They are both excellent, as is the increasingly reliable Justin Timberlake. Yes, that Justin Timberlake. I guess my only real complaint is that they didn't revert back to their original title, 'Skanks on a Chain'. This Brewer character really is quite a talent, and he was sure able to avoid that sophomore slump that plagues many emerging filmmakers. Karyn Kusama, I am most definitely looking in your direction.

I also watched the 1st season of the Showtime series Weeds (Yes, I work. Mind your own fucking business). It sucks. Poorly written, poorly conceived, and it wastes the black guy from The 40 Year Old Virgin. The dude barely even curses on the show, let alone tells hilarious dick jokes. Nothing. What a waste. This show seems to be aimed at two groups of people; frat guys, and mid 40's mid life crisisees who want validation that it's cool to smoke pot. Somehow I don't think they are getting that from Kevin Nealon.

I am getting geared up to start my documentary film Wasteland, which kicks off at the end of this month. I think I am going to start a blog for that. Then I will start a blog about the blog. Blog. Blog.

So let's review, in the form of haiku. (I am truly a poet sometimes)

Go see Zodiac
Really long but not boring
No gay cowboy sex

Sam Jackson curses
Character development
The South is dirty

It's plain and simple
I would rather watch myself
Take a big huge dump

Overrated crap
Old people smoke pot, bad jokes
At least the mom's hot

I just couldn't wait on this one.

2007-03-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

Still tired, almost done with the first season of Weeds (what a waste), but this is truly genius. I think that this piece of intellegent and intuitive journalism ranks right up with A Modest Proposal and Altman's Nashville in the canon of brilliant political satire.

I would like to be the first of many to encourage Mr. Bachem Macuno to run for some sort of elected office. The man certainly has a way with words. And obviously, sphincters as well.

I'm sooooooooooo tired

2007-03-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry there have been some cobwebs developing on the Rosenblog, but I have been pretty swamped. Once I get some rest today i will deliver a full report. With pictures! Irrelevant pictures, but hey, you beggers can't be choosers.

Rear entry recommended

2007-02-28T06:23:00.000-08:00

Greene Street nunnery?

Genius Takes Dump, Receives Award

2007-02-26T16:22:00.000-08:00

Not like I give a shit about the Oscars, but I thought I would get my rant on after last night's annual 'Hollywood Masturbates On Itself: ON TV!!!' celebration.

I love Martin Scorsese. I really do. He is a big part of the reason that I wanted to make movies to begin with. I still have the copy of Raging Bull that I taped from HBO when I was 10. It is on a VHS tape with a masking tape label and it is currently being used as a doorstop in my parents house. Whatever, those VHS tapes are durable, nothing is going to happen to the movie. Anywhoo, this man has deserved to have awards thrown at him from moving vehicles for years. Raging Bull, After Hours, Good (fuckin) Fellas, shit even Casino looks good in retrospect. But while I have always wanted to see this:

I can't help thinking about the fact that he received it for his laziest film to date. Bringing out the Dead looks like a masterpiece compared to The Departed. While The Departed certainly joins the ranks of other stinkers like Sideways, Lost In Translation, Chicago, and The English Patient (not to mention Little Miss Sunshine) in the 'Oh well, the New York Times liked it, and it has movie stars, so I guess I think it is brilliant' club, at least those films were competent. They might have been overwrought, pretentious and boring, but they did not have egregious errors that one typically sees in student films.

I feel like I am the only person who noticed, and then was in turn bothered by, the fact that Gimme Shelter WAS IN THE FUCKING MOVIE TWICE!

Scorsese: Let's put Gimme Shelter in this scene.

Editor: But Marty, you opened the movie with that. Why do you want to use it again?

Scorsese: Oh, shit I'm sorry. Is your name Martin Scorsese? Did you used to do coke with Robert De Niro? Did you discover Harvey Keitel and make Ray Liotta a legitimate actor? I guess it was YOUR idea to enter the Copa in one stedicam take. Shit, well why don't I just leave and let YOU finish the movie, huh? What do I know anyway? It isn't like I have been nominated for Oscars or anything? If I want every scene to start and finish with Gimme Shelter, then that's what's going to happen. If I want it to be Jack Nicholson's fucking ringtone, then that's what will happen. You got it, fatty?

Editor: Speaking of which, this movie depends an awful lot on the usage of cell phones. Was that your idea?

Scorsese: If I wasn't senile and incompetent, I would fire you.

Don't even get me started on those accents. Only DiCaprio shows up as a serious performer. Baldwin and Wahlberg make the movie watchable, but only for comedic reasons. Also comedic, watching Matt Damon try and convince himself he isn't a charisma black hole. He must have sold his personality to watch Ben Affleck nail the Alias every week.

But like I said, I don't give a shit.

I'm telling you, I'm going to win an Oscar for this movie? Why are you laughing? What's so funny? What the fuck are you laughing at? What, am I a clown? I'm here to amuse you? I'm here to fuckin amuse you? Who just called me a midget?

Pharmaceuticals now available

2007-02-23T16:53:00.000-08:00

The official website for my company, the Pharmacy, goes live today. Please head over there, check out the work, and leave some comments here at Rosenblog Headquarters about what you think. You will notice I have been nice enough to link all of my work in quicktime over here to the right. Enjoy the new site. 2007 looks to be the year.

Nothing to see here

2007-02-20T15:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry, folks. Nothing new to report. I made my triumphant return to the fridid cold tempurtures of the East Coast, with very little fanfare. I promptly took everything I knew and placed 10th in trivia night at Last Exit last night, which was a crushing blow to my ego. I think the reason I was so upset is that I don't really know anything except mindless trivia, and to realize that I don't even know as much mindless trivia as my teammates or other Brooklynites was frustrating. Maybe next time I will add another smart person to the mix.

Anyone interested?

East Side Story

2007-02-16T22:36:00.000-08:00

I make my long awaited return to Brooklyn this Sunday. I guess, technically I go through Queens first. The scary part of Queens. The parts with race tracks and outdoor subway platforms. The parts where these guys live:

Of course, I can't wait to get home. Why would I want this

when I could get back to this?

Beaches are for guys with self esteem anyway. You know who has high self esteem? Tom Cruise. 70% of all Rosenblog readers associate Tom Cruise with crazy space religions. And buttsex. True story. I read about it on tv one time.

Editor's note:
70% of Rosenblog readers = 1.7 readers. And let me tell you something; Greg and .7 of Josh knows what the fuck he (they) is (are) talking about.

This man must be stopped.

2007-02-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

So in my trolls of the interweb, I have seen a lot of disturbing things. Most of them are courtesy of my friend Shane Conrad, who sends me without argument the most disgusting videos and photos my eyes have ever seen. I've seen all sorts of horrible things. Women being subjugated to awful abuse, George W. Bush quotes, and obscene videos of Peyton Manning winning the Super Bowl. None of this prepared me for this horrible thing I discovered while searching around for Chicago sports news:

Who the fuck does this guy think he is, exactly? First of all, he has the nerve to be named Rosenbloom and not be related to me. Secondly, he had the stones to not ask me, the definitive source of Rosenbloom on the internet, if he could call his blog Rosenblog. Everyone knows where the Rosenblog resides, and what it is. It lives where ever the fuck my computer is located, and it is only the best fucking site written by an amateur filmmaker/avid Chicago/Sacramento/University of Colorado sports fan/Brooklyn, NY resident. So there, Steven Rosenbloom, if that is your real name.

To add insult to incredible incurable injury, it looks like he is a White Sox fan. You know which Chicago residents are White Sox fans? The ones who don't speak English. And my Uncle Barry.

Editor's note: I will not be a frequent leader of the imposter Rosenblog, and will dissect everything this bozo has to say. I hope you're ready, Rosenbloom, you're about to be Peter King-ized.

120 Minutes

2007-02-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight I experienced one of the nastiest parts of LA life. In fact, it was one of the reasons I moved across the country: traffic. I travelled the 27.1 miles from my house in Santa Monica to Glendale to my friend Amanda's house. This trip took over 2 hours, and 4 different freeways. I sat in my car (luckily a hybrid, so I didn't waste much gas), I got an ache in my back, I listened to a sweet mix CD I had made earlier twice, and although I don't have a picture of it, I saw a guy vomit out the passenger side window of a car. In honor of this soul crushing experience, I have composed a list of things that one can do in 2 hours besides travel less than 30 miles in LA rush hour traffic.

-Drive the 95 miles from Sacramento to San Francisco at almost any time of day.

-Watch and then discuss in depth David O. Russell's comedy Flirting With Disaster

-Watch 2 whole episodes of The Wire, the best show on television.

-Watch the fucking Kings blow an easy road game in fucking New Orleans.

-Teach yourself Photoshop, then use it to comp a picture of your group leader in Israel eating a gross candy thing at the Western Wall.

-Read one entire article in The New Yorker.

-Snort an entire 8 ball of cocaine off of the CD cases of Use Your Illusion 1 and 2, while listening to every song on both of those albums.

-Wake up late on a day off, masturbate, fall back asleep, wake up again, masturbate again.

-Shop for, assemble, bake, and eat that lasagna that everyone loves.

-Play 9 holes at most municipal golf courses.

-Read 1 or 2 pages of a Thomas Pynchon novel, give up, use those pages to wipe your ass.

-Order, eat, defecate a Chipotle burrito.

-Wait for the G train at 3:30AM.

Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Practice? Not a game, not a game...practice!

2007-02-13T10:26:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. This is not a sports blog. Really, it isn't, but I cannot ignore my (sometimes...ok frequent) obession with the sports teams I follow. As reported here first, I attended the wonderful University of Colorado at Boulder (in Boulder). We used to have a scummy coach who liked strippers, but now we have a serious (potentially Mormon) coach who likes practice. And maybe losing games, if you look at last season. In any event I like Dan Hawkins. He seems like a smart guy. He has a pretty serious track record as well. If you look at his old job, the guys he recruited just had an undefeated season. I guarantee you they didn't get that way by skipping out on practice, which brings us to this rather inspiring clip brought to my attention courtesy of the fine folks at Deadspin. Just listen and know that this guy is coaching my team next year. Mack Brown, that pigfucker Bill Callahan, and whatever high school PE teacher is running the Baylor program better watch out. Our guys get an extra week of practice. Fight on...

The Hawk Loves Practice

Weekend in LA-Stop stalking me, Shawn Levy!!

2007-02-12T17:17:00.000-08:00

As Rosenblog readers know, I saw Shawn Levy at breakfast on Friday morning before my pitch meeting. I was eating with Brian in Santa Monica, and Levy walked into the restaurant to meet with Seth Rogan.

You may remember Shawn Levy as director of 'Just Married', 'Cheaper By the Dozen (1 and 2)', 'The Pink Panther', and 'Night at the Museum'. Oh, you didn't see these movies? Guess what? He's a millionaire anyway. How you like them apples?

So anyway, I went to see the play 'Wicked' last night in Hollywood. It was good, I was surprised how much I liked it. Id had singing, dancing, and the little mute kid from Malcolm in the Middle. I get up to go to the bathroom at intermission and who almost knocks me over? Mr. Shawn Levy himself. Now some would say, 'Hey Aaron, you're in Los Angeles, there are celebrities everywhere. They are dropping dead on the sidewalk. Maybe, but in almost 2 years of living in LA, I think I can count on one hand the amount of celebrities I came into contact with. Now you're telling me that in less than 3 days I saw the same bigtime studio director twice?! Clearly he heard I was coming to town, and wanted to glean whatever independent spirit he can to fill the black hole in his chest that once housed his heart, but now houses monetary bills. Sorry, Shawn, you lost all hope when you voluntarily made a movie starring Ashton Kutcher AND Britney Murphy.

I also saw the German film, The Lives of Others. It was great, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Unless, of course, you can't read, because it has subtitles.

Industry Rule # 4,080

2007-02-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

I had my pitch meeting today at Direct TV's massive headquarters in Marina Del Rey. The place is kind of imposing, what with it's 10 huge satellite dishes and armed guard at the gate. Then again if I held the key to the NFL's broadcast signals I would protect that too.

Brian, Dustin and I arrived on time and delivered our pitch to two executives from Channel 101 on Direct TV. One of them is a guy I actually grew up with on the mean streets of Sacramento, and the other was an MTV producer on a now defunct show which pitted jokesters against each other, trying to out zing each other's mothers.

Obviously I have no idea how things went, they seemed to like our idea and asked some good questions, but in the end, left us unsure and a bit confused.

But hey, if nothing else I saw Shawn Levy and Seth Rogan having breakfast this morning. So I have that going for me. Which is nice.

Just so you don't think this is a sports blog

2007-02-08T11:42:00.000-08:00

On occasion I make films. On even more frequent occasions, I watch films. I like documentaries quite a bit. It allows me to go into a film and know for a fact I will not have to deal with lousy writing or asinine surprise endings

See this movie. If I get to make a real documentary, I would want it to be this cool and interesting. And if I did cocaine, well frankly this movie makes me never want to have anything to do with cocaine. Except for the sweet nightclubs, luxury cars, enormous beachside mansions and helicopters. Yeah, that guy had a helicopter. What would you do if you owned a helicopter? I might take it to work. Why not?

One of my favorite things

2007-02-07T16:14:00.000-08:00

I'm bored. Seriously. No meetings today, nowhere really to go without sitting in the (borrowed, hybrid) car for at least 40 minutes, I am just sitting here in these sweet Santa Monica digs waiting around for the Duke/UNC rivalry explosion tonight. What to do while waiting for Dick Vitale to spit, shout, and scream while praising players who wouldn't be able to steal this guy's spot on an NBA team? I go here. All I can say is that I am so happy these guys decided not to take the off season...well, off. Who will cover Matt Millen's drafting of a wide receiver? The rehiring (read, refiring) of Norv Turner? The revisionist Jail House Rock musical number staring the rest of the Cincy Bengals? Good thing I don't have to think about those things. When does the game start?

Waiting

2007-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Our pitch meeting with DirecTV was pushed back from today at 3:00PM to Friday at the same time. I hadn't anticipated all of this time. Maybe I will go get in the car and see how much time I can spend trying to get from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills. The over/under is 1 hour and 37 minutes.

Oh yeah. One more thing.

2007-02-05T23:59:00.000-08:00

I still believe in you, Sexy Rexy. 2008 is the year of the Gunslinger.

They say the West coast is the best coast

2007-02-05T23:52:00.000-08:00

Safely in LA, where I will be until...um...until the tempurture back in New York gets back into the positive numbers in Celcius. My favorite memory from Sunday night's debacle was Udi telling me how cold it was in Chicago. 'Dude, it was below zero...IN FARENHEIT'. Silly Israelis have so much to learn about the English measuring system.

So here I am, about to work on my new TV show idea. I could tell you more, but then I would be killed. And so would you. I am hoping to get some quality time with some family and see some old friends. You know who you are. Holla.

About Cot Damn Time

2007-01-31T08:48:00.001-08:00

Hello. I am Aaron. Some of you know me, others maybe not. Actually, I think at this point, all of you know me. In any event this little diary will be in conjunction with this.
The question I get asked most by my friends and family is, 'What exactly do you DO anyway?' Hopefully this can shed some light on that.

The simple answer to that first question is, I am currently working on a music video for these guys, preapring a documentary on this, and I submitted a treatment to them. I am also going to Los Angeles on Monday to work on a project.

As you can see, I am busy right now, so in the meantime I wanted to leave you with something I did a while back with some friends, that people seem to enjoy.