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Well, Melissa and I have just completed our first year in the dry heat of the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. And, right around that milestone, some big things have happened. First off, we just finished moving to our new apartment. We're not very far from the old place, but it's a much nicer unit. We finally have central air and a dishwasher, which is worth the $50 rent increase in and of itself, but overall the whole place just feels less like a tenement than the old place. This building feels like the manager actually cares about it/knows it exists. Nice.
Next, and more importantly, I have a new job. I'm still technically under the umbrella of Carsey Werner, but I am now a Producer's Assistant. Specifically, I'm Matt Berenson's assistant. As such, I am officially obligated to inform you that you should go see The Brothers Solomon on September 7th:
There.
With that out of the way, I'm basically a personal assistant, but without the "go get my laundry" kind of stuff. I handle phone calls and meetings and I read and cover scripts for him. All in all, a pretty awesome gig for someone with as little experience as I have.
So what does one do when faced with life changes? One blogs! Indeed I am a child of my generation- obsessed with technology and arrogant enough to think that people care what I have to say. Please enjoy this public window into my life.
p.s.- This blog was originally posted at eliselzer.blogspot.com Please go there for the latest! |
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Not posting a huge thing, and I know I've been quiet for a long time, but just wanted to say how sad I am that Kurt Vonnegut died today. We've lost a true genius. You'll be missed. May I one day have half the talent that you had. |
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At long last, I have returned! I feel like I've settled in enough to return to the online world and broadcast the news about myself that probably only my wife will read. For those of you completely out of the "Eli" loop, Melissa and I got married on May 20, and moved to Los Angeles in early June. There. Now you're caught up.
Ok, there might be just a little more than that. We moved out here and stayed in Costa Mesa with a family friend for about a week before finding our nice little apartment in North Hollywood. Technically we're in Toluca Woods, but North Hollywood sounds more impressive to out of towners, so that's what I usually tell people. After basically pillaging the local IKEA (thanks to our wedding gift cards), we have a pretty nice setup. I'm especially fond of the HDTV. Was it necessary? No, but being able to see my TV and movies with crystal clarity makes me a better person than you, so I think it was worth it.
I spent a couple of weeks fruitlessly looking for work, and finally signed up with Central Casting, just to get some money flowing in. For those of you not in the industry, Central Casting casts the background actors, also called "Extras," for basically everything shot in LA. As a result, I'm going to be in the opening scene of an episode of Bones and somewhere in an episode of Las Vegas. The Bones shoot was brutal, taking place on location in the middle of a killer heat wave. I think it was about 105 degrees, and I was wearing a wool-lined FBI jacket. Still, it was pretty fun. The guy who plays the curly-haired guy on the show (which I don't watch) was incredibly nice and talked to me for a good twenty minutes between takes. David Boreanaz also seemed pleasant and Emily Deschanel, well....less pleasant. Las Vegas (which I also don't watch) was filmed overnight at the Marriott downtown. There's a steady cam shot in a hotel in Colorado, and I walk right between the actors and the camera. I'll be the blusih blur. The thing I found interesting about the work was that even having the lowest job on the totem pole in television is impressive to people who aren't involved in entertainment. You can walk through the background of a low-rated series (like I did), and people will act like you're the most successful person they know. Man, television has a weird effect on people.
But, like I said, things have settled down significantly. Melissa is working in post-production at The Disney Channel and I just got hired on full time from a temp assignment I had as a Production Assistant with Carsey Werner Distribution. We're not technically a production office anymore, but it's a start. We are assisting the prodcution companies for the new shows Twenty Good Years on NBC and Happy Hour Fox. I can't decide if I like Happy Hour or not, but Twenty Good Years is great. It's basically John Lithgow being John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor being Jeffrey Tambor. A nice combination.
So, that's my reintroductory blog. I'm simulblogging this between Myspace and LiveJournal so check me out at whichever your most comfortable with. Or, check out the other one, just to shake things up a bit. In the coming days and weeks I'll be adding new pictures, and adding videos to MySpace. Should be a lot of fun. Welcome to Eli's blog- The Blog That Renders All Other Information Irrelevant.Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Guster- The Captain |
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Ok, if anyone reading this knows me well off of this site, this is old news to you. It's been about two months and I've just been too lazy to alert the online community. And busy. Christmas is a busy time in the toy business, go figure. So anyway, as of early October (the day the Braves lost their last game of the playoffs), Melissa and I are engaged. Yay! We're getting married at my home on May 20th, and moving to Los Angeles shortly thereafter. I thought I'd be scared, I thought I'd be intimidated, but honestly, I've never been happier. The idea of spending the rest of my life with this woman is just thrilling to me. Sometimes I get giddy thinking about it.
And of course, as soon as I start feeling all grown up and stuff, I hear from several of my friends that they're having babies in the near future (congrats ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) pickled_spud!) While I'm thrilled to get married, I am SERIOUSLY not ready for kids. That whole concept freaks me out right now. But best of luck to those of you who are going on that journey, that's totally awesome for you. I guess I'm not totally grown up.
On a totally unrelated note, to anyone who thinks there's a so-called "war on Christmas," well, there's not. So shut the hell up. Saying "Happy Holidays" isn't trying to exclude Christmas, it's trying to include other faiths. I'm sick and tired of hearing about the poor little oppressed Christians. No group that ever made up 80% of our population has ever been oppressed. I love Christmas, and I don't want to see it ruined by a bunch of arrogant pricks that assume everyone celebrates the same holiday as them. This is a time of love, peace, and togetherness; not a bunch of angry bickering over a perceived slight in semantics. When I say Happy Holidays, I'm just trying to be nice. I don't think my Jewish friends (or my Jewish brother) need to be subjected to a Merry Christmas every five seconds so that one group of people can feel superior to everyone else. And on a side note, to the Wal-Mart manager who said that his employees are told to look in peoples' carts to see if they have Christmas or Hannukah items before specifying a holiday- Your method would make a lot more sense if Wal-Mart actually sold anything even remotely related to Hannukah. Not one mennorah, not one dreidel and as far as I can tell, not even a card. I've checked at work. Just one more reason to hate Wal-Mart. And that's my rant.
On a happier note- Happy Birthday Andy! I would have bought you a present if I had known in advance...or at least sent a card. Happy Holidays everyone!Current Mood:  sleepy Current Music: John Denver and the Muppets- A Christmas Together |
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Ok, I know this isn't incredibly satisfying since I haven't written anything in two months, but until I get my ass in gear for a real update, here's a few things I think I think (just like the title of the post, get it?).
1) Fred Armisen (from SNL) is NOT funny. Not even a little.
2) On a similar note, while Horatio Sanz seems like a nice guy, he's in over his head, and not as funny as fat men past.
3) That heavy guy who works with David Spade at Capital One is in half the commercials on the air right now. Nice work if you can get it.
4) My fantasy football team was dead before the season ever started.
5) A billboard for a Lumberjack Festival in Gay, GA (I swear it's true) has made me laugh harder than anything else I've seen in a while.
6) The Braves need to start over their bullpen from scratch.
7) Barbershop music is underrated.
8) Arrested Development is still the funniest show on TV by a wide margin, and anyone who is not watching it should be thrown in prison.
9) Pumpkin Ale is pretty good beer, but I think I should have waited for the season to change more to buy it.
10) Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select Start gets you 30 guys in Contra.
11) I couldn't be happier that the Yankees just lost.
12) Everybody Hates Chris, The Office, and My Name is Earl are all worth watching this year.
13) A History of Violence was an incredible film.
14) I've spent too much time playing Ultimate Spider-Man this past week.
15) The music from Assassins is catchier than it lets on.
16) Lost took a very strange, gutsy turn this season, and still has me hooked. Good job, JJ and Damon!
17) On a related note, am I the only one losing interest in Desperate Housewives? It's bordering on becoming typical soap crap.
18) Monkeys- still funny. Especially when they wash kitties.
19) The Taco Stand in Athens has the best burritos I've had in months.
20) Lists work best in multiples of five, so I should stop now.
Back soon with a real update.Current Mood:  calm Current Music: Assassins 2004 Cast Recording |
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Went to the Green Day concert last night. Long story short, I'm old. I saw Green Day at the Georgia Internatioal Ballroom in 1995, not long after I moved to Atlanta. Looking at last night's crowd, I'd say that most of them were about 3 years old when I was at that concert. Seriously, they started playing songs from Dookie and Melissa and I were suddenly the only one singing along. That album basically ruled my 7th grade life, and a lot of these kids weren't even born yet. I should have been focused on the rockin' concert (and it was rockin', Billie Joe has turned into one hell of a showman), and instead I was wondering if the 12 year olds behind me could see my bald spot (which is a stupid thing to wonder...of course they could). The only people there older than me were the kids' parents. Still, the show kicked ass. It was like a giant political rally against the Bush Administration (though I'm guessing only about 1/4 of the crowd realized it).
I've been working at Mattel for two weeks now, and it looks like with my mileage payments I'll be making almost twice as much as I was at Woodruff. And I'm enjoying myself, which is good.
Next week, I'll be in Chicago, seeing my bro. Today, I got tickets for the Cubs game where they're retiring Ryne Sandberg's number. This is huge for me. This guy was my idol when I was growing up. I still have a ton of baseball cards and Starting Lineups of his. It's like a Braves fan seeing Dale Murphy inducted into the hall, or like Johannes Kepler seeing Tycho Brahe getting a medal from the king (oh yeah, astronomy analogy...I'm such a dork). Seriously, I'm so glad I get to be at Wrigley Field, the Mecca of Baseball, to see my favorite player honored, I can't explain it. Can't wait.
Aug. 25th, 2005 @ 12:14 am
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| » Mine were too good to pass up... |
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Google Meme: type in (using quotes) "[Your Name] is" into google and pick the best 8 to 10 hits.
-Eli is mixing more for European 80's electro house duo Thugfucker
-Eli is two years old, and beginning to eat, finally
-Eli is a self-described 'genderwarrior' who identifies as genderqueer/trans
-ELI is easily connected to Behind-The-Ear (BTE) hearing instruments
-Eli is going to be huge
-Eli's is cool and refreshing with an extra bite of ginger
-ELI is vitally important to the creation of the new leadership cadre
-Eli is over at his friend Max's house
-Eli is PreEmpting Child Abduction
-Eli is very insecure
And one more because it's great:
When Eli is really pissed off, he pees for dramatic-I-will-make-you-suffer-along-with-me effect.
Apparently my name is a fairly common acronym. Who knew?
Thanks to pickled_spud for this one.
Aug. 14th, 2005 @ 10:08 pm
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| » I did it |
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Well, I've done it. I've left my job at Woodruff. Well, technically, I've only turned in my notice so far, but I will be leaving on August 12. I am able to do this because I've been offered a new job with Mattel (who I worked with in college) doing merchandising. Stocking Barbies isn't the most manly thing in the world, but at least there's Hot Wheels and Batman to keep me masculine. And at least I don't have to deal with answering phones anymore. If there's one thing my job has taught me, it is that any idiot can pick up a phone and dial it, and most of them do (of course, in an interview, I'd say that this job has taught me patience and the ability to work under pressure). Still, there are a lot of good people I'll miss here, and it'll suck having to pay for tickets again, but I'll be making a lot more money and probably be a lot happier. Now I can really start saving to finally move. I'm moving on to the future, wish me luck.
Jul. 28th, 2005 @ 06:07 pm
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| » Hot Coffee |
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So, I've been reading about all the politicians who are in an uproar over the "Hot Coffee" mod in the new Grand Theft Auto game. Apparently, if you download something, you can play an unused scene where a lady-friend offers the hero of the game some "hot coffee," and instead goes down on him. Granted, children should not be exposed to this. However....(deep breath) the whole damn point of the game is to steal people's cars and kill everyone you see on the streets, including children and especially cops, not to mention that all most people will do is pick up hookers, screw them, then kill them and take their money back and also not to mention the fact that this game already has animated breasts in it...(annnnd, inhale). So basically, Washington is saying that it's ok to steal, do drugs, and murder as long as you're not getting a little on the side. Now, this game probably should have had an Adults Only rating the whole time, but to give it one because of a hidden sex scene that wasn't intended to be in the game in the first place is just ridiculous. I generally like Hilary Clinton, but I think she's taking the wrong stand here. I mean, what is this woman's problem with oral sex?....
Oh.
Right.
Jul. 24th, 2005 @ 04:01 pm
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| » Angels in America |
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So, last night Melissa and I took in Part 2 of Angels in America (Perestroika) at Onstage Atlanta. We had seen Part 1 (The Millennium Approaches) on Sunday, and quite frankly, we were blown away. Since it is a small theater, our expectations weren't high, even though we knew half the cast. Turns out that Onstage has put on a phenomenal show, well worth the money, even well worth the six hours it took to see the whole thing (and that's saying something). Sure, it has it's problems (the actors playing Joe and Harper are underwhelming), but overall this show is a knockout. Chris Skinner is simply amazing as Prior, and the supporting cast (especially Kim Salome, Jeroy Hannah, Jennifer Bates, and the guy who plays Louis, whose name I don't know- hell, that pretty much makes everyone) make for one hell of a show. Go see it. The audience was far to small for such a great production. OnstageAtlanta.com has all the information you need to order tickets and you need to do it RIGHT NOW. Go on....I'll wait....Did you do it? No??!? Then why the hell are you still here???
Ok, now that you've got tickets, I should mention that I've realized that I spend a lot of time looking and waiting for a reason to quit my job. As if near-poverty pay, horrible hours, and a soul-less job that makes me want to shoot myself in the foot just so I can get a day off weren't enough, I apparently think that there needs to be some personal slight against me to quit this hell hole. God, why can't I just get up the nerve to walk out the door and turn my back on this nightmare? Every inch of me never wants to see this place again, so why can't I just bring myself to do it? Am I that much of a coward? Fuck.
Jul. 16th, 2005 @ 06:08 pm
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