I detest Jason Clarke.

Actor from Australia. I'm repulsed by him. Wonder why? I think it's his looks. That's rude to say but he frightens me. He looks as though he's always in costume. In make up or prosthetics. Scary.

Separated at Birth? Hailee Steinfeld and Sydney Penny.

Steinfeld plays the title role in the True Grit remake, starring along Jeff Bridges (the Coen Brothers said their version was more a retelling of the book and not a remake of the original which starred John Wayne...whatever). Penny starred in one of my favorite Clint Eastwood film, Pale Rider.

"PREACHER?!?!"

I snicker at my goddaughter's travails.

When Gwyneth gets scolded she's easily embarrassed, runs off to her room wailing and slams the door. I realize her parents shutter at this, but her Nino (Mexican for "godfather") gets a kick out of that.

No...you shush, Keith O.

I just heard Keith Olbermann has left MSNBC (or that MSNBC decided not to renew Olbermann's contract). Sorry, I was convalescing and "out of it" for a few weeks.

Seems like KO has been KO'd. Good. Bye, bye Keith. Dick.

I like to listen to the sounds of the gibbon.

My brother sent me this link a month ago. I was playing it just now for my goddaughter in Cali. I like to listen to the sounds of the gibbon.

TGIF! presents...Robbie Williams' "Angels".

Can't say as this song didn't cross my mind a few times after my recent retina surgery...

"Billy Balfoor Wants An Apology" rehearsals in Sydney!

Steve Warwick (sitting) and Chris Turner rehearse "Billy Balfoor Wants An Apology", my 10-minute short which runs February 16-20 at Newtown Theatre in Sydney, Australia as part of Short & Sweet/Sydney, The Biggest Little Play Festival in the World.

"BBWAA" is the third act of the full-length play, "How To Kill A Boy". Fifteen years after Laird Clazerbak took up temporary residence at the home of Billy Balfoor ("the most eviliest boy on the planet") and his mother, Billy somehow manages to track Laird down, kidnap and hold him bound and gagged in an abandoned warehouse. Why? Revenge - but all Billy really wants is an apology. Who’s gonna bend first? Warwick and Turner play Laird and Billy (respectively).

For more information on the play, click here. Click here for more details on Short & Sweet/Sydney.

This dude is doing our movie poster.

Award-winning artist, Doug Tomich, created the above movie posters, among others. And we've got him for PASSER LE SEL S’IL VOUS PLAÎT. Is that kick ass or what? Click here for the skinny on our film.

"For No Sake of Posterity"

For No Sake of Posterity

plunged into sights unseen
a foggy day sets in LA town
sub-conscious, conscious visions
fleeting, wafting into black
desperation. suffocation. congestion. self-annihilation?
fuck patience. fuck virtues.
i pity me.
“go away, bad dream!”
i need to put the bubble in the
jar – for no sake of posterity

Without beating this story like a dead horse, I blew out the retina in my only good eye January 11th while in Los Angeles shooting the short film, PASSER LE SEL S’IL VOUS PLAÎT, adapted from my short play, “Pass the Salt, Please.”. I had the smarts to walk into the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA on the 12th and say, "I believe something's wrong", and was rushed into surgery - which, according to Doc McCannell and Doc Hu – went superbly. However, I’m grounded in Cali until the gas bubble in my eye dissipates, or at the earliest, January 28.

Thus began my convalescence following post-retina re-attachment surgery – first at the home of my director-friend, Tatjana, near Beverly Hills, and then (where I’m currently at), at the foothills of the Angeles Forest in Tujunga at the home of my goddaughter (Donovan & Maria’s).

During those first recuperative days, I'd often go sit on Tat’s porch. Since I needed to keep my head positioned down 50 minutes out of every hour (and sleep on my stomach) for the first three days (this was reduced to 30 minutes for the next five days), I had to switch things up any way I could think of. Tat was snapping pictures of her son one day and I called her over and asked her to take some pics of me – one or two days post-surgery – with the intention of preserving some record of the state of my present physical and mental well being. These photos are testament to the living hell I endured, as is the above poem.

Photography by Tatjana Najdanovic © 2011

First day of shooting "Pass the Salt, Please." film.

SHERMAN OAKS, CA. Emmy winner and Irish Film & Television Award winner Fionnula Flanagan (Waking Ned Devine, The Others, Some Mother's Son, Ulysses, Lost) and Academy Award nominee and NSFC Award winner Seymour Cassel (far left, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Faces, The Royal Tenenbaums, Indecent Proposal, Minnie and Moskowitz, Tin Men) on the set of the short film, PASSER LE SEL S’IL VOUS PLAÎT, an adaptation of my award-winning, 10-minute play, "Pass the Salt, Please.". Directed by Tatjana Najdanovic, Director of Photography Matt Boyd, and executively produced by actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Rhada Mitchell.

Pretty cool, eh? First day of a 2-day shoot went great. Fionnula and Seymour are wonderful. I've know Seymour for years (just haven't talked to him in years). And I feel like I've known Fionnula forever. Course, she IS from Ireland and you know my love for Ireland and we chatted about her native land and she wants to read more of my plays, blah, blah, blah.

You really don't wanna hear any more Hollywood crap, do you? More pics coming soon!

Funk Soul Bro. West Coast Style.

NFL Wildcard Saturday. The Seahawks (7-9) upset the reigning SB Champ Saints and the Jets upset Indy. We we rooting for the underdogs (since the Vikings and Broncos aren't in the playoffs) and things got a little crazy at the McCann-Glover home in Tujunga. I just let the camera record the spontaneity. That's Jay & Susie and their two boys in the fray.

"Duck! Rabbit!".

Here's a preview of my goddaughter's favorite book, "Duck! Rabbit!", from Chronicle Books. At least, it's her favorite book now. I've read it to her twice already. Written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, "Duck! Rabbit!" is a fun premise and I like the fact that it's not written at a 2-year-old's level like your typical, "See Dick Run" books. Read the New York Times book review.

I think it looks like a rabbit...

Makin' a tent!

Grace (foreground) and goddaughter Gwyneth playing in their "tent" in Tujunga.

Outta the cold and into LA.

Escaping the Wisconsin cool weather and jettin' off to LA tonite for a week. See my goddaughter and her family. Cali friends. Short film, PASSER LE SEL S’IL VOUS PLAÎT in production next week. Based on my short play, "Pass the Salt, Please." Cool.

"O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum..."

She's scared. She knows it's her last night with me - and we're both sad.

Flash mob it ain't (but the MJS's Eugene Kane says don't get excited).

This is a flash mob.

Soooooooo...a hundred teenagers - predominantly black teenages - caused a ruckus at Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa this past Sunday (western suburb of Milwaukee). They knocked down mannequins and merchandise and made all efforts to disrupt mall business. Nine kids were arrested. A gunshot was fired outside the mall around the same time (though it's not clear in the article if it's related to the teen activity in the mall).

This behavior is not a flash mob. Not here. Or NYC. Or Amsterdam. Not anywhere.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane rehashed the event in yesterday's MJS. He states in his "In My Opinion" column that he won't defend any unruly black children (in this case) who ruin people's shopping experiences. That's great, Mr. Kane. Fine. You can stop right there.

Kane (pictured above) goes on to state, "It's too early in 2011 to start getting too excited about this tired old story, which will likely come up again."

In my opinion, Eugene, I'm confused as to WHAT your opinion is.

You took the word "nigger" outta my book, "Huckl Finn"?!?

It's the first (and probably the only time) I'll use that word in a blog post headline. But it's at the heart of a controversial move by NewSouth Books, a publisher in Alabama, to offer younger people and general readers a sanitized version of Mark Twain's classic ("classic" doesn't seem to have enough oompf!), "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

A professor of English at Auburn approached NewSouth with the idea after years of hesitating before reading aloud the racial slur. The NewSouth edition also substitutes the word "indian" for "injun".

As you might imagine, the shit has hit the fan - and that includes opinions from black writers.

Never fear - the original version will always be available. Regardless, it's censorship, plain and simple and a reaction to political correctness gone wacko. Twain's writing and use of language reflect society's racial viewpoints at that time - and that fact can not and should not be altered by a publisher's red pencil. Should we buy up every copy of Edward Sheldon's play, "The Nigger" , because we don't like the title of his play? Where does it end? Modify historical literature? Poetry? When will someone suggest Dickens or Tolkien or the Bible be sanitized because someone is uncomfortable reciting a particular word or phrase or talking about certainn subject matter? Why don't we edit out all the book burning references in "Fahrenheit 451" because we all know book burning isn't cool.

If I get my hands on a copy of NewSouth's edition of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", come to Casa Ircink in the B Section of Greendale if you wanna see a book burning. Bring your own marshmellows.

Huzzah! for John Kavanagh (AZ)! Reword the 14th Amendment now!

Representative John Kavanagh (R-AZ) is leading the way with proposed legislation to re-word the 14th Amendment, which was adopted in 1868 and states that citizenship be applied to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”

For the full New York Times story, click here. You know where I stand.

Paperwhites Narcissus. Part Deux.

My favorite flower. The aroma the paperwhites narcissus emits is splendiferous. Here's what my pot of PN's looked like on December 16th.

And here's what they look like today. They were in bloom on December 31st upon my arrival back to Wisconsin from Iowa. 20 inches high. Sonsabitches grow like a weed.

Bhí Chaill sé, agus tá fáil.

That's Gaelic for, "He was lost, and is found." It's from the Parable of the Prodigal Son. I'm no preacher. Nor am I a holy roller or Jesus freak. I generally keep my religion and religious beliefs to myself, my family or people I know who have similar beliefs. Don't overtly blog about it, except to wish people "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Easter". It's a personal thing...is what I've always thought.

And that's probably the main reason I've resisted going to church all these years. Hundreds of people in church doing everything everyone else is doing. Reciting, praying, kneeling, singing. I spent too much time passing judgement on what I was seeing and less attention on what the priest was saying and why I was there. The last time I went with any regularity was from January - April in 1998 while living in Phoenix. Since then...weddings and funerals. I was lazy - I admit it. I searched high and low for churches in California but none of them did anything for me. I'm particular. It's all about the priest(s). Or the head pastor. My dad has bugged me for years. "You goin' to church?". "You better start." And he's serious. I've never stopped believing in the tenets of my faith (Catholicism). Just lazy and picky, like I mentioned. I rationalize my lack of church-going commitment by getting on a soapbox and extolling the virtues of worshipping God in my own way - in private prayer or in Nature. I believe those to be acceptable ways to carry on my faith - but I need some structure.

So I finally went to church this past Sunday...St. Alphonsus in Greendale, where my dad made his first communion. New church, same school. It was good. I enjoyed the pastor's sermon. I was moved. I even acted on the pastor's message (those of you who know me well will shit when I tell you what I did). Anyway, going back to church made me think about some things:

1) Why do the people who sing in the chorus get communion first? Who do they think they are? “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” Come on, man...

2) These folk who walk into church during the priest’s sermon? Really? The Mass is half over. Why bother? I suppose one could say, “well, they didn’t have to show up at all – they made the effort.” OK – but what if the entire parish took the same attitude?

3) Or the people who leave immediately after communion. Wanna eat but don’t wanna clean up the kitchen, eh? It’s 5 more minutes – you can’t wait?

4) That thing that people do just before the reading of the Gospel. “…according to the Gospel of St. Peter. (They make the sign of the cross on their forehead, lips and chest.) Glory to you, Oh Lord.” What’s with that signing? Everyone does it at the same time. I always thought that was weird. (Not like praying and singing together isn't private or anthing.) My father does a similar thing just before Communion. A one-motion hand movement toward his chest. I think it's old Catholic school, before my time. That I like.

5) That one girl singing in the choir – the one that’s overly-animated and bobbing back and forth – she’s into it, baby. Well – she’s bothering me.

6) I like the end of the pew. Why is it that when I show up early, people who come at the very last minute think I’m just gonna scoot over for them? I don’t think so. Crawl in and sit in the middle, brother.

7) I didn’t take Communion. I was raised that if you miss Mass you have to wait after the first time you go back to receive Holy Communion. Is that rule archaic? I also haven’t been to confession in 20 years. Mmmmm…should I make a reservation?

Hey - no judgements from me, man. Just making observations. And I knew why I was present in church so my attention wasn't diverted. The big question is, "will I go back?" This Sunday I already know I won't (so much for that New Year's good habit, eh?) 'cause I'll be in Los Angeles on the set of my short film - OUR short film (I know Tat, I know. It's your film, really - but my script.).

Cut me some slack. Ya gotta walk before you can run.

Holidays@TheKazar's!

It's turned into a tradition that I high-tail it down to Wheaton, IL every Christmas season for dinner with my best friend from college (Tom Kazar), his wife (Denise), the maid of honor in their wedding (Aurora - I was the best man) and Marco & Betsy. Good wine. Great food. Better company. We worked out at the gym. Got to hang out with Jacob and Joseph (the Kazar boys)....always a pleasure. (Left to right): Betsy & Marco, Denise, Aurora and Tom.

Click on READ MORE! for more shots. I mean pictures - we don't do shots anymore.

Jackie. Labradoodle. She thinks she's a model BUT she doesn't eat my coffee grounds, right Packy?

(Top to bottom): Denise, Aurora & Betsy.

Dinner is ser-ved!

Prime...what is this called again, Tom? Twas good.

Appetizers.

More appetizers.

Hosts Tom and Denise.

The Kazar Christmas tree.

Jenn Sterger's daddy pissed his daughter got no-end of the deal.

Brett Favre. Jenn Sterger. You've all read the news reports. I won't comment 'cause you know I'm a Favre fan and Sterger had no case. She's a gold-digger looking to expound upon her 15 minutes of fame. (And she got no money from Favre, her show on Versus got cancelled and her prospects are most likely slim to none.)

BUT, here's how 45 Americans responded to Mr. Sterger's recent interview with the press (where was Mr. Sterger when this nonsense was playing out all these months? on how his daughter got screwed by the NFL's non-ruling on the Favre-Sterger case (reprinted from Play Through the Absurdity) and how if he ever meets Favre in an alley he's gonna kick his ass.

"Low-brow Americans"? Hmmmm...I think these low-brow Americans hit the nail on the head. SKOL FAVRE! SKOL VIKINGS!