5-”Help me help you”…? Help me F YOU!

4-Less SLACKING, More HACKING

3-It won’t be solved by us

2-We’ll get it LATER

1-Less Blah Blah, MORE HA HA!

On a whim, Laughing Planet central became the City of Angels for a week when I got lured down to LA by old friends. And not just because the forecast looks like this- 70/47 Sunny

By chance I ended up with Herb at Sony studios for his father-in-law’s party for his retirement as President of Sony Pictures. Now if that doesn’t count as a proper LA soiree! Sitting in on Herb’s new show, “Super Big Product Fun Show”, which debuts on G4 next month gave me a nice glimpse into the inner workings of TV land. They really just have more people with more years doing show biz work. And more fancy toys. And lots more money. But other than THAT…

The script continues to refine as we strive to make this baby as amusing as possible. We hope no one ever confuses us for the Snoring Planet. Herb’s take on the project has always been clear. “If we can make just ONE PERSON laugh, then we are totally screwed.”

This counts as exciting news. Our latest rough draft of the movie contains narration & hence is 84% funnier than the previous DVD. This new gem is tantalizingly close to what our finished product will look like. As our musical prodigy, Hamilton continues to create the score, and the story/script coagulates, this thing is feeling more like an “are we there yet?” reality all the time. Thank Santa the holidays are officially over so we can all get back to work!

Funny hats? Noisemakers? Dick Clark? Puh-leeze. This year I enjoyed the most memorable New Year’s Eve of my life. The blur of parties, hoopla or even a Grateful Dead show doesn’t compare to the event which brought in my 2008. And I had not the foggiest idea when midnight passed.

A friend from Sacramento lives in the Sierra foothills at an intentional community with roots in Native American teachings. For 9 years running they have held a ritual sweat lodge on Dec. 31. Fire, hot rocks, and water felt much better than my memories of big crowds, booze and hangovers. Starry skies overhead and reverent spirits on the ground were all the fireworks we needed…besides the firekeeper working the huge bonfire & hauling hot stones into the lodge, of course. The only balls dropping were when the men hit the floor of the lodge for our 2-hour cooking.

Incantations, prayer, purification & detoxification filled the hours from 8 PM to 1 AM. Hot herbal steam trumps fake fog indoors at an organized event meant to show a profit. As it turned out, I was 1 of only 2 people to “double dip” in both of the evening’s sweats. Yet somehow when I weighed myself today the scale claimed I’m tipping 195, by far the most in my life. Guess I didn’t quite sweat my balls off after all. Time for a new year’s resolution to not be such a sedentary editing nerd?

As for the current mayhem swirling about the making of “The Laughing Planet”?

No sweat.