Thunderbolt

One of the reasons I've been so reluctant to add new posts is the spam comments I've been receiving on thunderbolt. I haven't figured out how to delete them, so I guess I'm doing a service for any of my ten readers who are into Asian porn. Enjoy! Yesterday I decided to run 6.5 miles to determine whether I might be able to handle a half marathon in November. I have been thinking about running the Santa Clarita half for a couple of weeks. I need some sort of goal. Lately I've been feeling kind of down about myself and the lack of things happening in my professional career. Suddenly it hit me that maybe what's missing is that physical drive that keeps me motivated to get up every morning to run. Thus, entering a race came to mind. For over a year, now, I have wanted to challenge myself to run a half marathon, and by run I mean not doing a run/walk method. I mean I want to see if I can run without stopping. That's my goal and yesterday when I finished 6.5, which...

Matt’s parents took us to see Huey Lewis and the News in the summer of ’84. Read the rest here.

Working on the latest Basement Song and I've now listened to "Baby" by Justin Bieber over 15 times. The song actually gets better, especially Ludacris' rap in the middle. What have I become?!

Another Saturday at the beach, yesterday. Not much to report except that I'm getting used to the whole "do nothing and listen to the waves" aspect of what the beach experience is supposed to be. I've been reading Lonesome Dove this summer and even though I picked the book up is spurts yesterday, I managed to get through 50 some pages and still retain what I read. The beach up in Carpinteria was CROWDED. I can't recall the last time I've seen that many families hanging out and enjoying the coolness of the water breeze. On the way home we blew a tire on the van. Just like last year's experience with Mom and Dad, the spare had to be put on with traffic speeding by in intervals. It was nerve racking, but there was also this rush of adrenalin that made me feel useful for a change. Luckily I had the experience from last summer to get me through last night's excitement rather quickly. Believe it or not, I didn't slip out any obscenities except for once,...

Why has it become so much harder to get into the groove after returning from vacation. I swear, I left for Ohio feeling stoked about what's on the horizon, then I enjoyed one of the most relaxing week's in a long time, and now that I'm back, I feel like a ten pound weight has been placed around my neck. It's not just work related, I just can't find the energy or motivation to write a single column or story or script idea. It's just the weather, right? It's just that this confounded heat is bearing down and making it hard to even think, right? I hope so.

I've decided to embrace the beach as best as possible. For years I've been indifferent about going to the beach with the family. The sand. The waves. The undertow. The cold water. It just wasn't me. But this year is different. I'm going to take it all in. I'm going to relax in the sand. At some point I may actually go into the ocean (baby steps, people, baby steps) and I'm going to have fun, enjoy being with the kids, take in their laughter and joy. We went up to Carpinteria this morning and met some friends and their families. It was overcast, at first, but the clouds soon burned away. The day was fun, lazy and a superb get away.

This afternoon during the Dodgers broadcast, the great (understatement) Vin Scully took ten minutes to explain the significance of June 6, 1944, "D-Day." I don't know any sports broadcaster who takes time out of the game to give a history lesson, but Sculley is old school. The man has seen the worst in the country and he has certainly seen the best in all of his years as the God of play by play. He's as patriotic as he is poetic and listening to him is one of the best parts of living in Los Angeles. Anyway, the fact that he pointed out what today means and that when we talk about sacrifice in sports or when we call athletes "warriors," we should take a moment to think about what true sacrifice means and what a true warrior looks like. One need only watch the harrowing opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan to understand. Thanks, Vin! Okay, let's get back to the game.