October-November-December

Here's the update since the last event (finished up my trip beginning of Oct, just now updating). Let's see... Had the crew screening for "A Christmas Carol" on Oct 22. We got a thank you from Robert Zemeckis and his producing partners Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey. Bob and Steve had been present throughout the project, but it was nice to get a personal message from them. What more can I say about the movie? You've seen it, right?? I ended up seeing it in the theatres 4 times, I still want to try to catch it on regular old film, to compare saturation & brightness...
Halloween we went to the Spider Ball, part of the Black Rock Arts Foundation. It was an interesting scene, some highly elaborate and 'adult' costumes. We stayed at the The Mosser Hotel, on 4th St, which was remarkably convenient and especially cheap for the heart of SF. Plus, they have a special package deal with recording studio time! Didn't book that, but maybe some other time...
Bonnie & I got involved with local politics - we were campaign volunteers for Jennifer West for the Emeryville City Council. We fought hard, and she won (not only getting one of the 2 open seats, but finishing as the top vote-getter!). This offers hope that our municipality will put revenues to use providing more services for citizens, and not allow the big-bux developers to buy up power and influence in Emeryville...
We've also become more hands-on supporters of one of our favorite local theatre groups - Ragged Wing. They've even started a 'board of directors', which I will be officially on-board with (Bonnie will continue to help out as her sched allows). Very exciting time, and I think this group has some great things ahead!
Had some visits with friends - Andy Bayley came into town (Oct 17), right after I got my motorcycle back from the shop - he rented a bike & we rode up along Grizzly Peak. John & Laura T were in town (Nov 7) - the first time they've taken a vacation w/out their son (3 years?). Matt Sullivan was in town, around the holidays.
Speaking of visits, we made our now-traditional trek to visit Bonnie's family in Orange County. Always nice to see Annie & Steve, and Jack & Mercy - but this time had a few new twists. One - a time to be thankful for Annie's health after the very serious and scary events in the early summer (she had suffered a brain aneurysm; and survived thanks to the swift action of her husband Steve and the expert hands at Hoag Hospital; and recovered thanks further to the dedicated and hardworking Dr's and nurses, and her own hard work & will) - so, it was quite a cause to celebrate. Plus I got to visit Disneyland for the first time ever! We got to use my free parkhopper passes, (though I forgot to use the card for food & items inside the park)... We were surprised that it was not very crowded! By 1pm, we had gone on almost all the rides we'd set out to ride. Favorite : Indiana Jones - the best motion in the ride, the best design & production values.
Production wise : we got the last major shoot for 'Dreamfish'! This is a short film* project we've been working on for a while, it was originally my story idea, but Tom GIlx has taken it and run w/ it, added a lot of detail & style, and he's done some fantastic editing & even FX work. Looking fwd to helping complete it! I've got another very short scene idea, which is entirely possible to shoot ourselves - but I need to build a full-sized metallic-looking cow sculpture. Anyone care to help out?
We celebrated Bonnie's birthday in December! The two of us had a fantastic night out on the day, indulging in LaLime's. A friend also hosted a small dinner party that weekend, nice personal touch.
Other sundry events having happened : Star Trek exhibit at San Jose Tech Museum; taking a party bus across the Bay to celebrate a neighbor's 65th birthday! 50th Anniversary party of the SF Mime Troupe at YBCA. Tell-Tale Heartbreakers at Red Devil.

Next post, I will unveil my picks for Best Music of 2009! Stay tuned...