The Voices in Frank's Head

Pecha Kucha Night in Detroit The tenth installment of Pecha Kucha Night will be on Friday, October 11 at the historic Doubletree Suites in downtown Detroit. This is an excellent opportunity to see what some of the best creative minds in Michigan have been up to. If you, or someone that you know, would like to present at PKN X then please submit a 300 word summary of your work along with some sample image of it to pkndetroit [at] gmail [dot] com no later than October 23.

I originally posted about this over on my neighborhood blog , but I wanted to mention it here as well on my personal one. I thought I would take you behind the scenes on my day job. I run a video production company and we were in Ypsilanti this past weekend to create a pilot for a reality television show called Club Cantina . We'll pitch the show to the various television networks. If that doesn't work, it is still has some great opportunities for an internet based show as well. I'll post more about the show later. For now, though, I wanted to give you a behind the scenes look at life on the set.

A woman walked up to my Mom the other day, she told me. "I don't know if you remember me, Mrs. Nemecek," this woman said to my Mom. "I used to teach your son, Frank, in Sunday school." "I'm not sure how to take that," my Mom reportedly replied. "Why is that?" "Well, if you remember my son from having him in your classroom one day a week more than thirty years ago, that can only mean one of two things: either he was a very helpful and exceptionally well-behaved student or he was a serious pain in your butt." "And, as his mother," my Mom continued, "I think we can rule out the first option." Ah - a mother's love.

Have you ever had this sudden desire to do something, even though you can't explain exactly why  you're doing it? Well, that's what happened to me last night. I had this sudden desire to submit an updated version of my screenplay for The Roswell Chronicles  to the Toronto International Film Festival . It will be in their screenplay competition as a feature length science-fiction film. I didn't have any plans to submit the film when I woke up yesterday. I was doing something completely different with my life when I had a sudden desire to visit WithoutABox.com . Once there, I saw that TIFF was accepting screenplays for consideration and that yesterday was the deadline for regular submissions. At that point, I simply got hit with this desire to submit The Roswell Chronicles  that quite overwhelming. Anyway, I ended up submitting my script just a couple of hours before their deadline. Now, I wait to find out where it will go from here. Thankfully, I have several...

I met this new woman over the weekend. At one point, she said to me, "I feel I should warn you up-front that I'm bipolar." Of course, I was disappointed to learn later in the evening that this did not mean that she worked at two strip clubs.

I saw the illustration below on a friend's Facebook page and I had to steal it. I would like to thank whoever it was that invented the right mouse click; this person has given me so much.

I'm about to head off to my New Year's Eve celebrations. However, I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone who reads this blog (now almost a hundred or so people every day) a Happy New Years! I'll be back with more next year.

Happy Halloween I just want to say that one of the lamest things anyone can do on Halloween is come to a Halloween party dressed in a "costume" of whatever it is that you do Monday through Friday. Lame. Lame. Lame.

The U.S. Air Force lost control of one-ninth of this nation's nuclear missiles this past weekend. Luckily, everything is fixed now and there was never a danger to the American public. All I can say about this is, "Wow! I thought I was having a crappy day at my job." Failure Shuts Down Squadron of Nuclear Missiles - Marc Ambinder - Politics - The Atlantic

April Put the Fire Out Once upon a time, as in just a few of years ago, the options of a young woman were very, very limited when it came to Halloween costumes. She could be a slutty nurse, a slutty schoolgirl, or - if she wanted to push the envelope and risk the eternal damnation of her immortal soul - she could even be a slutty witch. Thankfully, those dark days are behind us. A young woman can literally be anything that she wants to be for Halloween. She can, for example, be a slutty firewoman - putting out blazes while setting a young man's heart afire. She can be a slutty referee - and tell a young man exactly whether or not his pass was going to be complete. For those who yearn for a return to the simple days of the 1980s, a young woman in 2010 can even be a slutty Ghostbuster and protect gentlemen everywhere from the paranormal. Beth Rules Your Pass "Complete" Yes, gone are the days of limited options for young women. She can select any profession or pas...

I've been feeling a bit under the weather for most of this weekend with a horrible sinus headache and lots of congestion. I had to work on Saturday. However, I spent most of my remaining time at home in bed. Benadryl Is For Wimps One of my friends finally suggested that I try some of horseradish sauce from Srodek's in nearby Hamtramck. None of the over the counter stuff had worked for me. I decided to give it a try. To say that this stuff has a kick to it is, without a doubt, a horrible understatement. I generally prefer spicy food, but this stuff kicked my butt. At first, I couldn't even handle swallowing it. I involuntarily spit it back out. However, and this is the important part, I could feel a difference in my congestion just from the instant that it was in my mouth so I tried it again with a series of smaller doses. I eventually had one teaspoon of it on some pierogies. Once I was done coughing and sneezing and my eyes stopped watering, I soon felt almost...

I was at the Russell Industrial Center over the weekend. For those readers who aren't from the Detroit area, RIC is a huge (more than 1 million square feet) former auto parts factory parts factory that now provides studio space to roughly 150 artists and houses a multitude of other small businesses. Recycle the Arts Anyway, I was in the studios of one of those artists, when I saw the door at right. Yes, someone has finally built an artist recycler! And I'm so glad that they did. If there's one thing that I simply cannot stand, it's the sight of artists being hauled off to a landfill. I'm fine with stockbrokers, lawyers, and BP executives going into a landfill - but, please - not the artists, too. It just isn't right. I'm not sure exactly how an artist recycler works. However, I'm fairly confident that it involves lots of coffee, a decent amount of cheap beer, and an NEA grant application.

I was at a part last night and saw what, in my opinion, has to be the best iPod docking station ever. Ever. Best iPod Docking Station Ever The lighting is bad - and I took this photo with my Blackberry - so the image quality is certainly not the best. However, you can still see the basics of this set-up. It's a lingerie mannequin that is being used as a iPod docking station. The iPod itself rests comfortably in the panties. From there, there is a cord that connects the iPod to a set of external speakers, which are sitting on an adjacent table. I suppose it would have been even more awesome if the mannequin had been wired internally such that those speakers were instead located inside of the mannequin's breasts. However, I suppose that's a potential upgrade for the next generation model of this invention. There isn't an option for charging an iPod while it's inside of the lingerie docking station. However, I suppose it would be fairly simple to run a cord...

Chanel Ryan is Better than Birthday Cake Today, I am celebrating my 34th birthday. I'm not actually turning 34 today. However, that's the one that I'm celebrating. Pure chronological order can be boring at times. Birthdays, in contrast, should never be boring. As for the photo to the left, that is eternally awesome Chanel Ryan . I think she's better than birthday cake, so I'm posting one of her photos here instead.

I found a pitcher of happiness while I was in Ann Arbor this weekend. Jose Cuervo is my new best friend in the world.

For the first time in years, my email in-box at work is empty . The weekend has officially begun. My weekend begins tonight with 4th Fridays in the Park , a special screening of Whip It starring Drew Barrymore , and some drinking. Tomorrow will be the Ann Arbor Art Fairs and some drinking. Sunday will be church, which will be followed by movies and then some drinking. Hmm....  Does anyone notice a pattern here? Anyway, what are your plans for this weekend?

Over this past weekend, four different people stopped me to tell me that they loved my Santana vs. Pugh video that I did for my neighborhood blog. It was a simple one. I simply showcased how several people in my neighborhood have lawn signs up for both Harvey Santana and Stacy Pugh - who are running against each other for a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. (Yes, they are supporting both of the main candidates in a race where only one of them gets elected. Not sure how that's going to work out.) I guess there's just something special about indecisive voters.

I hate when I'm 3/4 of the way through a film synopsis, only to realize that my script needs yet another re-write because of a major (and highly improbable) cliche in my plot. Why didn't I notice this before? Ladies and gentlemen, you probably won't see me at all this weekend. Update @ 2:08 p.m. At this point, the only thing that is keeping me from slashing my wrists is daydreaming about where I'll go once this project is done. I hear that Wenceslas Square is lovely this time of year. Okay - back to my writing.

I was flipping through this month's issue of GQ . After spending an hour or so ogling Victoria's Secret model  Miranda Kerr , I eventually noticed the various articles. I even noticed the articles that didn't involve Miranda Kerr. But I digress. Anyway, once I was done reading the various articles, I eventually noticed the advertisements. In particular, I noticed all of the ads for cologne. There were a lot of ads for cologne, which isn't all that surprising. This was GQ , of course. The thing that surprised me was how may of them offered a free weekend bag as a gift when purchasing the advertised cologne. Curve. Calvin Klein. Zegna Colonia. If they offered a gift with purchase, it was always a weekend bag. I can't help but feel that this routine of offering a gift with purchase has become rather played out. There are too many people thinking the same thing, over and over again. And fashion should never be that boring or predictable.

It's a Saturday night. I probably should be at the bar, but I feel like I'm on the verge of getting a cold. I'm staying home and reading instead. I found this article about Rima Fakih and her legendary bikini on Newsweek.com. It was written by Christopher Dickey and puts of a lot of things in perspective. Rima Fakih's Bikini Doesn't Say Anything about Her Islam - Newsweek.com