Happy Birthday Blog

Today's my birthday, and I'm spending it in Hollywood. Go back in time and tell me that a year ago, actually don't, you're gonna get laughed at. I moved out of Bart and Martha's house to make room for Bart's parents and I moved into Ryan Anglin's place, as Ryan's gone for two weeks.

I wish I could remember who it was, but about a year ago I got in a conversation with someone about the thirties, whoever it was was either almost out of their thirties or just in their forties, and I asked them what they thought of their thirties and he said that the thirties were the best, you've finally gotten it figured out, you finally know who you are and can sit back and enjoy life without all the questions and hangups that held you back in your twenties. I've never been so excited for birthday #33 and #34 since I heard that. It's so true, the thirties are terrific. Sure I'll never be the hot young director, I can only now be the hot director. I'll never be the young hot star, I can now only be the star. That used to bother me. Silly, right? Fuckin' twenties.

I've gone through numerous iterations of personality over the years, I changed a lot over the years deliberately because the person I was wasn't directing Waterworld or whatever back then. The more you pick out parts of yourself that you hate, and change based on that, the closer you come to this dead-end where you're merely a list of things you're not, and ultimately you're not anything. Been there.

A couple of years ago I started embracing the person I was years ago, which I had shunned because that guy "didn't get me anywhere." The guy that got his entire Freshman class to buy t-shirts based on a fictional animated basketball team (mom, scan that picture please), the guy that staged a fifty mile an hour chase through Oxford, OH when my friends and I decided to make our own epic Miami Vice movie (video coming soon), the guy that wrote scores of sketches with Matt Larsen in our Freshman dorms for nobody other than ourselves, the guy that worked in a comic store with Fred Mowery. Like Superman in Superman 3 I threw that guy in the car compactor and have been searching for him ever since. Only in my thirties could I embrace all those parts of myself, including his silly desire to movie to L.A.. I may not be where I'm going yet, but I'm thirty-four, and I know exactly who I am. I'll take it.

As I sit in Ryan's apartment in Hollywood, it's just unbelieveable the places I've been and the things I've done, and I haven't done shite yet.

And a big Happy Birthday (18th) to Fremo

and The unknown Blogger (18th)

Walter, the guy that used to run Paradise Comics (20th)

and Dave Whitehouse (17th) who helped form my very first sketch comedy troupe, Not Found In Nature with Roommate Steve and Matt Larsen.

and Mom 2.0, Vicki (15th)

Happy Birthday clustered December Birthdays, I'm so sorry that Christmas took all the piss out of your birthdays too.

I just went down to Birds on Franklin and now am watching Rocky II (watched Rocky I a few weeks ago and I've got III, IV, and V coming to my parents house in Kentucky. Getting prepared to go see VI. And if you don't want to go see Rocky VI, you might want to check out what he's doing over at Aint It Cool he's answering 200 fan questions, and he's got a great sense of humor, pokes a lot of fun at himself. I have to say I like Stallone a lot after reading some of his answers to fan questions. I'm totally going to Rocky Balboa, Rambo IV, Beverly Hills Cop IV, Live Free or Die Hard, Karate Kid V, and Teen Wolf As Well