Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Some great Craig "Late Late Show" Ferguson lines about Halloween

"TV's" Craig Ferguson of the Late Late Show was on a roll about Halloween last night on TV.
He had a couple of good points in his jokes.

1) "I don't get Halloween at all. You scare people... and then demand things from them. That's... extortion!"

2) "We don't really 'do' Halloween where I come from. I'm from Scotland. We have all the ghosts and haunted castles, so for us it's no big deal. We thought "The Addams Family" was a documentary."

3) Craig was talking about going to the Playboy Mansion for a Halloween party, and all he had for a "costume" was his actual kilt. So he wore it and everyone thought "What a great costume."
One girl came up and asked him, "What do you have undearneath?"
Craig responded, "On a good day... lipstick."

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

Having cancer sucks....

I had recently mentioned in my previous blog that I had gone to San Diego Comic Con, and gotten sick there. Well, I'm here to tell you finally what really happened...

I started with a sore throat when I got to San Diego. What I didn't know was that this was the beginning signs of something more drastic than simply strep throat or pharyngitis (which I had been diagnosed as having).

On Fri., July 29, I had gone to my doctor's for another visit, and a random blood test. I had been hoping to fly to Los Angeles the next day and then come back that night. Friday afternoon, I got a very distressed phone call from my doctor begging me to not get on the airplane in the morning or, I would "not come home, ever". How true that could have been. I was checked into the hospital immediately that Fri. evening and felt myself physically sinking lower. It turned out that I had almost NO white blood cells, NO platelets (that help your blood clot), and was getting anemic And my blood count was dropping by the hour. Literally, I was dying as I stood.

For three days, no one could figure out what was wrong with me. They kept me pumped with antibiotics and transfusions. On Saturday morning, I seriously did not think I would make it through the following Monday. They were worried about my getting a fever, infection, or starting to bleed out. Well, as it happened, I did get a slight fever, and my nose started bleeding for over two days. As I write this, it has slowed down. I was a bit scared, to put it honestly. But worse, I had a few very close friends who were even more traumatized by what they heard. No one could believe that someone like myself, Mr. Get-Up-And-Go, who lived active and overworked, could ever get so sick, and so suddenly.

They took a bone marrow biopsy (no fun stroll in the park, I tell you), and finally found out what happened to me by this Monday, Aug. 1. It turned out that I had Leukemia. But they were not sure what type yet. I was given a 75% chance of recovery - meaning that it could recur, or cause other cancers later. On Tues. Aug. 2, they had it figured out. I have a subset of AML Leukemia called Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia.

Now, here's where the clincher, and the fun part begins. Of course, I would now have a new chapter to my life's adventures. It turns out that I have a form of Leukemia that (as my doctor told me) "If you had to have any form of Leukemia, this would be the one you want to have." It is a very rare type, and happens to be the easiest to treat. AND... has a 90% cure rate (meaning, no coming back). Also, it is not inherited, so I can still have kids later with no fear of transmission... provided I make it through.

They are trying to control my bleeding currently, and I am already being treated. Another strange portion of the story... instead of bombarding me with two or more major forms of chemotherapy, it is treated with ONE chemo drug cocktail (a rather milder form) for eight days, and... a derivative of Vitamin A. Still a cocktail, but not nearly as bad. I may or may not still lose my hair, but whatever.

So here I sit in the hospital for the next four weeks hoping that it all works and my recovery is healthy. I have a pretty good mindset that it will all work out. I've got way too much to do out there to call it quits yet.

I just wanted to let everyone know what's been going on with me. And to those of you who got my rather cryptic emails about going to the hospital, I am not dead yet, but only had some scares along the way in the past few days. Now I am chipper, upbeat, and ready to have my ass kicked a bit so that I can kick ass back and get this beat, and get back out there with everyone.

Wish me luck and I appreciate all the well-wishing's, prayers, and thoughts.

See you soon!

PS... I will be checking my emails as well so that I don't just sit around bored.
(For more on what happens, check my other blog - Leuk I Am Your Cancer

Thursday, July 21, 2005

San Diego Comic Con adventures - 2005

Some of you might have wondered if I'd disappeared.
Indeed, to some (most) I may have, but for a short while only.

I had gone to the San Diego Comic Con International for about a week. And what did I get upon my return? Ill. Nice.

What was once a comic book geek-fest, is now the world's largest comic / film / literary / fine arts / pop-culture convention. I've been attending it for 15 years now, and just gets bigger and better. What makes this trip more worthwhile is the group of people I go with.

This year was a good batch of friends for sure. Some are even on MySpace. Of course, when you get any number of people crammed into a hotel room - to keep costs lower - you find out quickly about everyone's quirks, habits, and opinions. But, that's what keeps it all interesting.

What was I doing there? Different things, mostly networking. I went down with a couple of friends, and several models to help promote a T-shirt company named Dirty Little Tees. The girls dressed up in the hottie-wear and walked around the (almost 1/8 mile long) convention center filled with what seemed to be around 150,000 people, getting everyone to come to the booth and spend money.

Why girls? Simple. Never underestimate the financial power of a horny 14-year-old boy with allowance money in his pocket... especially when a pretty girl smiles at him.

The booth aside, we all networked with several companies, artists, and film-makers for future possible jobs. I apparently had earned a friendly reputation with the catch-phrase "Hey folks, it's that guy with all the girls! Give him a big hand and follow him around." Well, I could think of worse things said in passing.

The convention itself was fun, albeit a bit mellower than usual.

So... the Good News / Bad News portion of my trip...

Positives -
* Stayed at Embassy Suites - 2 room suites with all the amenities (kitchenette, fridge, microwave, 3 beds, and more). Free breakfasts cooked to order, and all the booze you can drink (FREE!) during a 2-hour happy hour.
* Staying in a suite with a couple of friends, and a variety of models. Yeah, don't that suck. HA HA!! OK, granted, most had serious boyfriends... but a guy can embellish on the settings, can't he?
* Meeting more celebs and fantastically creative, artistic, and ambitious people in one area than one could imagine.
* Getting paid to be there. (Always nice, even if it wasn't much.)

Negatives -
* Apparently I got sick with a sore throat from the second day I got there. I also don't usually sleep much, and even less during this trip... so the equivalence was almost 4 days with no sleep, on a potential illness brewing.
* Hearing flapping noises from the front tire on the way home (with a 500 mile drive coming up) - luckily only one mile away from home. Finding out that my front tire was about to blow. Took that bad boy off immediately.
* Adventure-Man Phil, puts on the donut spare tire and drives back almost 500 miles. But wait... this is the second time that I have driven that distance on the same donut tire (this happened 2 years ago also). AND I was doing about 70 - 80 mph (yeah, yeah, I'm a bit nuts).
* Upon getting home, and feeling like absolute crap, finding out that I have pharyngitis and possible strep throat (and somehow no one else got sick). So, I've been back for a few days, feeling like crap, wishing I would feel better so that I can go through my bags of new stuff, and contact information.
Bold
Alrighty... there was the extended version of my last couple of weeks. Stay tuned for more tales later.

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Well here's a good "Howdy Do" to me in the morning...

This is a Yahoo message that I got this morning from a known MySpacer friend of mine.

xte****:
Good Morning Sunshineeeeeeeeeeee lol
dammit, i stepped in cat shit! lol

That was the entire message.

Always good information to share with someone.
It certainly inspired me to have a wonderful and productive day.
On the other hand... I wish that I had slept more than two hours.
I'm tired and bitchy... but, amused none the less.

Art imitates life - My oral surgery... bloody hell!! I'm going to miss an "Angel" episode!

Another chapter in the Aventurous Life of Phil - April 2005:
The trip to the Dentist ending in a game of Slice & Dice -

On Monday, April 25th, I went to my dentist to finish the job of putting a crown in (actually two, apparently).

Simple enough, one might think (unless your squeamish).
But no, as she is poking and prodding around in my food-hole, she realizes that I have issues. No, not as in personal mental issues, but something more insidious (that means serious). I need some serious surgery, and, like, now! Before any infections can set in.

Presto! I am scheduled for Wednesday, April 27th - two days later.
No time like the present, they say.

Wednesday comes around, and I am watching an episode of "Angel" on TNT, the great drama re-run network.
"Angel" for those of you uninitiated, is about a vampire of the same name... who has a soul. Get it? Good.

This episode concerns a woman who wants to become like him. In a fit of outrage, Angel forces her to drink blood by pouring it down her throat. At this point, I have to leave to make my appointment time. (And if you know me, I'm almost never on time... except this time.)

I get to the dentist and it's wham-bam! Right down to it. I'm settled in, injected with foul-tasting anesthetic, and promptly started upon with the scalpel.

In no time, I am suddenly reliving the very scene I just left from "Angel".
I am now forced to drink an onslaught of blood... my own... right down my throat! Perhaps the "Angel" episode was a sick look into what was about to happen to me. Thrilling, to say the least.

But wait... there's more... Sensing my twitchy behavior within my chair, my dentist informs me, very non-chalantly, that, "There is nothing in your mouth that you cannot swallow. So go ahead."

At this point a thought came to mind, followed later by another...
1) What if I do not WANT to swallow the viscous red liquid flowing freely down into my gullet?
2) What about the surgical tools jammed into my yap? Are THEY OK to swallow? Technically, she did mention that anything within the confines of my jaws was "OK to swallow".

There is a further thought to this situation... The idea of someone suggesting that whatever is "in your mouth is OK to swallow", seems to be something that mostly guys are famous for saying to unsuspecting girls. Usually in high school, before common sense sets in.

Was this my doctor's way of getting back at me for being a male? Forcing me to swallow something, that was created by my own body, but that neither taste, nor texture, nor desire made me wish to do so. Interesting theorems. Yes, some of you do worry that I over-think too much. Perhaps I do. I like it. You should too. Someone has to ponder these odd problems out. Stay tuned for further adventures...

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

I've been robbed!! But... in a good way??

My life is always interesting. Even when bad, negative things happen to me... it almost always ends up for a good reason, or a good outcome.

Last night, I was shopping for groceries at Safeway.
I put my carry-along with my wallet and everything up on the roof of my car... and promptly forget about it as I leave the premises. Not until noon today do I realize that, "SHIT! My wallet is gone!"

Of course no one has turned it into Safeway's management - which is fine as there was no money in it. BUT... I hated to lose business contact phone numbers (not too many).

I call my bank first to let them know that my bank Debit / Credit card was lost and supposedly stolen. I explain very quickly, but very carefully, that ALL my forms of ID were in there - Driver's license, my ID, bank card, passport, medical card, and everything... Gone!!

The bank guy on the phone says, "Can I have your bank card number please?"
"NO!!" I tell him... "But you can call the guy who stole it and ask HIM."

He then asks me for my other information and we continue.

He looks up my information and asks me when I made my last bank transaction. I told him... last night at the Safeway store. And that I made a deposit the day before for $65.

He thinks for minute... then comes the funny part...
He tells me that I now have a Credit of $114. in my bank.

I said, "Do you mean someone STOLE $114. from my account."
He says, "No. Someone just put $114. INTO your account."
I then tell him... "In that case, I like this thief and want him to continue to use my card."
HA HA!!!

The bank guy takes me seriously and doesn't say anything else. I then remind him that I am calling to cancel my bank card and to get a new one. He doesn't seem to understand why.

I explain that I do not want someone ELSE shopping with my money.
He agrees.

He tells me that he will send my new bank card to my bank near me, and that I can pick it up this Friday.
Sounds good.

He then tells me, "You will need to bring 2 forms of ID with you."
I think for a moment and ask him, "Did you and I just have a conversation about what was stolen?"
He says, "Yes."
I said, "Then you will remember that I just told you ALL my IDs are stolen. Every one of them... all licenses and cards."
Bank guy thinks and asks, "Do you have a driver's license?"
Me, "NO!!"
Bank guy, "How about a birth certificate?"
Me, "NO!!!"
Bank guy, "Do you have any other forms of ID?"
I say, "What do you not understand about the words 'ALL MY IDS' are stolen?"
He then says, "OK, well then you can just go in and talk to the bank manager, and she can probably help you and give you your new bank card."

Argh! The stupidity of humankind.


An addendum to this story: It turned out that the bank dork on the phone (and yes, sitting in a chair in a far-away country), could not read the data correctly. It turned out to be a deposit that I had made myself, about a week previously, which for some reason posted to my account late. But bank dork read it as a brand new bank posting. Nice.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Mark Ryden's art kicks ass

A note for art fans...

If you haven't checked out the bizarre, disturbing, yet strangely captivating art of Mark Ryden...
do so immediately.

Awesome work. http://www.markryden.com

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Hate bad movies? Try acting in one...

It's venting time...

So I'd been working with this group who are doing a TV series that they are hoping to sell.
(Being Veronica Craven and “In The Cellar.”)

Fangoria magazine has some contest for filmmakers to submit a short 15 min. horror film to "win.“ The prize is the winner being included in a DVD-released film. (Whoop-d-doo)

WE, the involved parties, get nothing. No pay, and no rights to sell the film.
Neat. But our TV group decides to participate. The film was to be called, "The Necklace."
From there it got ugly.

I go to San Francisco to shoot the scene I'm in.
I read the script the night before, that the director had written.

I quickly realize that not only does the story really have no focus (other than attempting to be... "oooh spoooky"), but it is totally convoluted without reason. In the first 2 minutes my character goes from stabbing needles in a voodoo doll to being a palm reader to selling an amulet to a guy as an anniversary gift to his wife. I tell him he's going to die, and he's cheated on her.

Oh, and the amulet is a million years old and possessed by a 100,000 priestess from another dimension, which... has been also given to the Eros, the Roman god of Love.

Hmmm... love the continuity.

So... I cut all that crap out of the script which sent the director and lead actor scrambling.

Then came the discussion about how film directing is NOT the same as theatric directing (again, the brilliance of the director). Ohhhhh man! If I had to do it all over again... I wouldn't. Stay tuned for my own film projects coming soon enough this summer...

I should mention, as it turned out, that the ”director“ was actually a film buff who, along with his partner, had never actually made a film before. This was their first attempt, and somehow earned them the right to not take advice from those in the industry, and to be cranky about it.

Stay away from amateurs.

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Swollen, hot, and red (my day wasn't as bad as the other guy's)

So after all my adventures traveling in inclement weather recently... what did I get to remember it all by (no, I mean after all the cool freebies and stuff that I collected)...

I ended up with a majorly swollen leg.
My right leg swelled up twice its size, was bright red, hot to the touch, and felt like it was going to burst out of its skin.
Did I mention the immense pain?

The hospital thought I might have a blood clot and took it very seriously. As it turned out, I had cellulitis (not the fat butt thing), which is an infection of soft tissue. It can be caught in any manner of ways, and is the most common infection.

I sat waiting in the hospital for 8 HOURS - from 2 am until finally being seen and released at 10 am.

The official diagnosis was Cellulitis of the Leg. Done.

As I'm about to leave, I overhear the nurses talk about the next guy who is coming into my room.
"He's been waiting over 12 hours.", one nurse said.
She continued, "Poor guy has Cellulitis of the Penis."
ARGGHHH!!!!

I thought to what my ordeal for the past whole week had been before being seen... and then waiting 8 hours when I couldn't take it anymore. This guy had been sitting there in agony - in a much more tender area - for 12 hours!

Suddenly, my problems just didn't seem so important anymore.
I thought I would just go home and know that I am being treated.


As an added note: I'm driving home and think out loud... That man's penis... swollen to twice its normal size... hot to the touch... feeling like it's going to burst out of its skin. Hmmmm... Don't men pay good money for pills to give the same effect? I'm sure I've seen it advertised on TV.

But the bright red part? I wouldn't want a dog's organ either. Nor the pain involved.
"Oh well." I thought.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Jan. 2005 - Travels galore!

So it's January 2005. I just went to the CES Expo (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.

I got to the Gibson Guitar tent for a private party and performance.

An amazing show featuring 14-year-old guitar virtuoso Nick Sterling - http://www.nicksterling.com.
That was followed by Ike Turner (yes, the wife beater), who did a smoking performance.

Finally it was a treat to see a 90-year-old Les Paul (the creator of the electric guitar and the Les Paul guitar's namesake) perform live.

Hopping onstage was Journey's Neil Schon, to jam with Les and the band.
It was an early birthday party for Les, and he loved to be playing.
Apparently Les suffers from severe arthritis, and still is able to amazingly play, albeit with two fingers.

After that, I went over to LA to shoot photos of singer Challece at the Whisky-A-Go-Go.

Then back to the SF Bay Area to the MacWorld Expo at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, to see what new Macintosh's were coming out.

THEN... the Fancy Foods gourmet foods show, also at the Moscone in SF, to sample some great new goods.

Quite the amount of traveling.
Here's the clincher.. Through my trip down to LA, over to Vegas, back to LA, and back to SF...
I went through the following:
  • 6 snowdrifts
  • 6 rainstorms (one a major thunderstorm)
  • 5 thick fog banks
  • ONE sunny break in a day
  • a flood at the CA/NV border that looked like a major lake
  • and some drizzles.

Don't forget the mudslides, but I didn't get caught in them.

Adventure is my middle name.