"Hey! Look what Zog do!"

One of the great things about vacation was losing all track of time. The downside of that is when you let an important date slide. So Happy Belated Birthday, Tim Herzog.

Zog is my oldest friend, and no I do not mean he is old. I mean I have known him longer than anyone else outside my family. My memory is we met when we were 4 years old, but my brothers tell me it was later than that (although given what they do not remember from our childhood, they could very well be wrong). I know it was before 1st grade. We went through most of grade school and all of high school together.

Smarter than smart, he was the guy everyone wanted to cheat off of in Chemistry and Calculus classes and now he has his Ph D in chemistry. (I dropped Chem 1/2 way through the year and never touched Calculus so I never had the chance to cheat off of him. Just sayin'.) Top notch bass player with a love of jazz, he is currently living in Utah with his wife and 2 daughters. (Of whom, I have no pictures. Just sayin'.)

Would love to get him and his family back into the civilized world (yeah, Zog, I just dissed your state; whatcha gonna do?), but until then Happy Birthday, Zog.

Back from vacation...

...and a great vacation it was, too. Since I finished the Duo pitch package, there was not a single deadline hanging over my head so it was a completely stress free week. A day trip to Bainbridge Island with Todd and Raechelle, and an overnight trip to Portland to see one of David's baseball games were interspersed with a whole lot of lounging around in the sun, reading books and watching movies. The week ended on a high note with the combination 40th birthday party for Todd and me on Saturday, with lots of family and friends.

Had to end, of course, but even going back to work today did not dim my mood. There is plenty of work ahead though. Have to start planning our pre-production phase so we can hit the ground running once Duo is financed, get The Ties pitch package up and running, get the Ordinary Angels production bible in shape and then read through Trish's book and Jenni's script. And all of that should help me get my mind off of turning 40 at the end of July.... I hope.

Picture below is Todd and me getting toasted/roasted at the birthday bash.

Here's the pitch

At long last, the Duo pitch is completed. This afternoon has been a mixture of pride in a job well done and giddiness at coming one giant step closer to getting this made. And if I am allowed a moment of pride on this I think it is damn good. This was a monster chore over the last 7 months and at times I a) never thought I would finish, and b) never wanted to look at it ever again. So it was good to get an immediate call from writer/director Todd with thanks and congratulations. Always good to have your collegues appreciate your work. It is in the hands of the first of the potential financiers, so now we see if we can bring this thing home. I feel like a real flippin' movie producer right now... which seems like a great way to start our vacation.

Brothers and sister

Tom made a comment on the Happy Birthday post not remembering the punch in the face. I was going to reply in comments but decided to turn this into a post and explain it a bit better. And I would like to point out that Tom did not remember hanging me from a hook on the back patio until sister Katie backed me up a few years back, so.... ya' know.

Anyway, it was back in Spokane at the house on Waverly Place in the upstairs bathroom. I was in grade school and Tom was either in the 7th or 8th grade (he's three years older than me for those who don't know). We were having a fight over some thing or another. He insulted me and I lost it - as I often do in an argument - and yelled some idiot nonsense about backing it up (which by the by I never do, but a brother can get under the skin). I put up my fists and Tom took one swing and hit me smack in my left eye. I took a step back; we looked at each other for a minute; he walked away. Later that day he mocked me for losing the fight and I tried to salvage my pride by saying he was the one who walked away. Ha!

Two points in telling this story. One is that I do not remember what the fight was about but there is every chance I deserved the hit. Two is that it doesn't matter. The fact is I have great siblings. We had plenty of fights when we were kids and we did plenty of rotten stuff to one another, but that was when we were kids. As adults, my brothers and sister have never been anything but great to me. Supportive in the rough times, sharing in the good times and always there to keep me grounded. They're good friends and when I bring up stories like this it is to laugh at how different it was.

So Mike, Tom and Katie, here's to you. Thanks. And it gives me a great excuse to post this picture of the whole clan (minus Madeline and David) from a couple of weeks ago.

ML022991

In my day job, that document review project I mentioned before is still going on. Over 2 weeks we distilled 360 boxes (they found more) into over 25,000 pages. Over the past three days I have single handedly reviewed 22,991 of those pages for redactions, privilege claims and documents that are not relevant. Trying to get all of it done by tomorrow and then get all of my other cases cleaned up so we can start our vacation Friday. Thank God we canceled the Gigi project because otherwise I would be going n-v-t-s nuts. (Movie geek points if you recognize the quote.)

In my night job I am this close to finalizing the pitch package. I just have to expand 4 bullet points - romantic comedy, geek chic, local independent music and local independent artists - and explain why they are marketing strengths. Small case of mental blockage around this one, so feel free to pipe in with ideas.

Happy Birthday, Tom!

Older brother Tom's birthday today. Tom who used to hang me from a hook on the patio, gave me my only punch to the eye, and once told me an attractive woman was "way out of [my] league."

Tom who found me a job when I needed one, is always quick to lend a hand moving, and often took me to Mariner games (before he got married and had a built in game partner).

Tom who encouraged me to go to my first play auditions in high school, taught me much of what I know about sports and poker, and has attended just about every play or movie I have ever done.

My favorite Tom story is from a few years back when he, my dad, my other brother Mike and I were in Reno for a weekend. It was late and I sat down at a poker table (pre-Texas Hold 'Em craze so the game was 7 card stud) filled with guys who were either really drunk or literally falling asleep at the table. That was enough of an advantage for me to start winning a fair number of hands. About an hour into it, Tom sits down at the table, too. A couple hands in and I am showing a possible straight but have nothing and start bluffing. Because I had been winning earlier all the other guys folded until it is just Tom and me. He gives me a long hard look and then states, "Screw it! I can't let my little brother bluff me." He calls and beats me with two pair. Could not win another hand that night.

Happy Birthday, Brother. Thanks for everything.

Father's Weekend

Good weekend with family. On Saturday afternoon, we took Trish's dad and mom out to see the Incredible Hulk and then out to lunch. (By the by, Hulk is a good, fun popcorn flick with a couple of great bad guy performances from Tim Roth and Tim Blake Nelson.) Always nice to get time with just the four of us. Plus Trish's dad loves movies and, like me, will get all little kid excited over a good super hero flick. So during lunch we geeked out over some of the best moments in the movie and then somehow switched to quoting Mel Brooks' lines at each other. Good times.

Sunday night was dinner with my family. Brother Tom and Kathryn hosted a backyard barbecue on a perfect day. Joined by Tom's mother-in-law Sung-Ju and Katie's mother-in-law Jerri. Lots of vying for time with Leo, and with both grandmothers there, you had to be pretty aggressive to get any time in with him at all. Sitting down with that extended family really brought home how the ranks of the Heinrich family have swelled over the past 4 years. Long way removed from the five of us sitting down together then getting a phone call from Mike in Portland. And you can see plain as day how much Dad loves it. Good times all around.

Why you should never trust award shows

Trish and I watched the classic All of Me last night. She had never seen it and I don't think I have watched it in the last 20 years. It holds up incredibly well. Steve Martin's physical comedy is second to none, and Lily Tomlin's timing and wit are impeccable as always.

My memory was that the critical acclaim for Martin in this role was deafening, and that some lamented he would not get an Oscar nod since the Oscars don't reward actors in comedies (a travesty in and of itself). So I was surprised to read in the Netflix blurb that Martin and Tomlin received Golden Globe nominations (leads in a comedy or musical), but not awards for these roles.

Who on earth could have beaten them that year? Dudley Moore in Micki + Maude and Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone. I mean.... It's just..... How could.... Ahhh, screw it.

Do yourself a favor and 1) ignore award show winners and losers and 2) go rent All of Me.

The Consitution still stands

A great ruling from the Supreme Court. It is says so much - none of it good - that we have come to the point where the Supreme Court has to decide an issue like this - and in a 5-4 vote no less. But at least we get a decision that does not shred the Constitution. There is hope.

UPDATE: A more in depth look with analysis is here.

Doubts

I think I have said this before, but I love my church. I love the way it encourages people to embrace their doubts, not to stay in one place, but to continually seek new answers. Cases in point. Tonight I met with my life group, and in a meandering conversation we ended up talking about forgiveness. How difficult it is to forgive, can you forigve in the absence of justice, why do we even need it, etc. And somewhere between my first and second beers it struck me how rare this is. How rare it is for a group of men to come together and share their struggles and their doubts with faith and be open about their shortcomings and their striving to do better. And then I come home to Trish and her friend Amy deep in conversation. Amy is struggling to reconcile her fundamentalist upbringing with her current world - "I want to do good because I know it is good not because I have always been told it is good." And I realized what a gift she was giving us by sharing her doubts and her fears.

I wish this was the image more people had of Christ followers. I wish they could see more of the doubts and the struggles and the questions and less of the arrogance and the certainty and the rigidness. The only way to build an authentic community is to engage people on a level with their doubts and fears and not from a place of superiority.

Anyway... here is a picture of me and some of the guys from the group with our beers and our Bibles.

And the Emmy goes to...

...Mike Heinrich. My brother won a regional Emmy award (Public Affairs Special category) for his photography work on the series Living In a Landfill for Channel 12 in Portland. Congratulations, brother. It is well deserved.

Long flippin' week

My day job had me in a document warehouse in Kent all week reviewing 330 boxes of pension data. Not as bad as it sounds since the review room was windowless concrete with fluorescent lights which means I did not have to get depressed watching the rain come down. On Friday I was back in the office trying to pull everything together before turning the documents over to the other side and got bitched at by opposing counsel that I had done it all wrong. I will be glad to see the last of this project.

On top of that, we had some -- a lot of -- drama surrounding the Gigi short and I have to make a tough decision this morning.

But there was plenty of good in the week, too. Trish and I went over to Katie and Jim's to drop off a meal and we got to spend a little time with them and Leo, who is probably even cuter now then earlier this week. Tonight is the long awaited regional Emmy awards. My brother Mike and his wife Tracy will be in town. We will get some good family time tonight and tomorrow and will hopefully have great cause for celebration.

Todd finished the poster for our feature film project, Duo: A Geek Tragedy (picture at the bottom of the post). I know it is just a poster but it really sparked something in me. We are getting very close to being able to pitch this. Of course that means I have to spend this weekend finishing up the marketing piece of the pitch package.

And Trish met with an Ob/Gyn this week. The doc is recommending a number of tests for both of us if Trish is not pregnant. And she will then meet with the two of us to map out a plan for the next year or so. Trish really likes the doc and I am looking forward to meeting her. It just helps having some kind of plan in place... not that it gives us total control over the situation but that we are doing something more than waiting, hoping and being disappointed.

A good week all in all. But considering it started last Saturday with Leo's birth... like I said, long flippin' week.

STIFF reminder

Wanna go see Behind Closed Doors and revel in its awesomeness? Of course you do. Well it plays on Wednesday and you can get screening details and buy tickets in advance here. And if you are up for two movies this week, do not forget to check out the equally awesome Ordinary Angels on Sunday. Advance tickets for that are here.

Here's Leo

As promised, a few photos.

Leo....

The new family...

Gram, Grandad and Leo...

Word is Katie, Jim and Leo are all doing well, if pretty much exhausted. They should be good to go home today. Sweet!

Welcome, Leo Gilbert!

My sister Katie gave birth last night to her first child. Leo Gilbert Masson clocked in at 11:22pm on May 31st weighing 8lbs, 3oz. And as an uncle I know I have to say the following, but nonetheless it is heartfelt: Leo is key-uuuuuuute. Wrinkled hands, big eyes and constantly smacking lips as if he is getting used to this mouth thing.

I wish I could say it was a day of pure celebration, but I would be lying. Those moments holding him in my arms today were bittersweet. It is hard, very hard, not to long. Hard not to wonder when it will be my child that I get to hold in my arms. When it will be Trish lying exhausted, disheveled and radiant in the bed.

And yet.... In the midst of the longing there was a sense of peace. Maybe it is just too hard to focus on negatives looking into the eyes of someone not even a full day old. Or maybe..., maybe Leo showed me my future. If so I am going to have to thank him one day.

If I haven't mentioned already he is amazingly cute. And I will prove it to you after Dad sends the promised pictures.