#12 - Back from the Dead

I'm writing from Goshen, Indiana, land of my forebears, sort of. On Main Street the buildings' facades highlight the respective years of their completion - 1878, 1873, etc. Looking north from my second cousin's cafe, I can see the still-perfect dome of the county building in the center of the town square, completed also in 18-something or other. On one corner of the square, across the street from Goshen's original bank, is a small, armored building erected, armed and manned in the 1930s to protect against John Dillinger's legendary crime spree.

The only mar on this town-scape is the old, amazingly classic movie theatre which has been converted into a church. A church. A stinking church. This, of course, amounts to sacrilege for those of us who subscribe to the religion of cinema. Speaking of cinema and my hometown, "Lonesome Jim", starring Casey Affleck and Liv Tyler, was shot here a few years ago. That and being the "Cruising Capital of the World" in the 70s and 80s are Goshen's only real claims to fame. Haha!

Wow, it's amazing to think that a whole two months has gone by since my last post. I'm not sure why I didn't write. A lot of stuff has happened, which I'll list out I suppose. Hmm. Most recently I shot a little bank commercial which will air in South Florida and Arkansas, did a couple web-site commercials, one for tequila (I know, funny, right?) and the other for a paper shredder. I'm lucky in that some of these spots play like comedic shorts and they happen to pay the rent. I'll share some copy if I get ahold of it.

I did a short film for director Ben Lumpkin called "Full Service", starring Ravi Batista, Erin Breen and myself. It was a wild ride about a married couple breaking out of a bad slump with the help of some very extreme circumstances. It payed really well for a short film and was great experience overrall. Ben's looking to submit it to festivals after the New Year - I'll keep you updated.

I've had a couple of really good theatre auditions lately and may be getting into a show after the new year. Looking forward to some quality stage work, after a couple rough shows last year. I'll let you know about that when it happens.

The Covenant Coffee project is through development and we're about to start pitching venture capital people with a new trailer and fabulous PPM, so send me your tired, your rich, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, so that I may lift my lamp beside the golden door... and put their money to work for us. Also, we're having a fund-raising event on Dec. 19th, so put it on your calendars.

Beyond that, I have a root canal scheduled next week in between rehearsals for another short film. Oh, I got involved with a new excercise phenomenon called yogging or jogging - I think the j is silent :). Haha, I know, joke poached from Anchorman. Anyway, up until two months ago, I made vociferous fun of running. Now I'm trying to outfit myself to do it in freezing weather. Bizarre. Makes me wonder what else might like if I try it.

Ciao! And Happy Thanksgiving everyone!