On October 15th, over 6000 bloggers will participate in Blog Action Day, to raise awareness for environmental issues. I’ve pledged to join in and post about an environmental issue that day, but I figured, hey, why not start early?

I’ve been away from the blog for a few weeks now, since work’s been crazy, but I’ve also been busy making some big changes in my life. I decided to start living more intentionally, simplifying and rethinking everything I eat, buy, own, and so on, so I can create the eco-friendly, financially resourceful, meaningful life I’d like to have. I’ll be posting about some of these changes from now until October 15th.

In the beginning of September, I moved from a rented room in a West LA house to a studio apartment in the Miracle Mile area. At the time, I chose the place because it was one of the few places I could afford on my own, but I’m glad I made the decision to live here. The people are friendly, the building’s got character, and my windows look out on beautiful trees and a quiet street. After years of living in the “suburbs” of LA, I’m finally in a semi-urban neighborhood, and it’s fantastic.

The parking? Not so good… which brings me to my point: I walk a lot now. With parking several blocks away, and pretty much everything I need in walking distance, I’ve started walking to the grocery store, post office, dry cleaners, Starbucks (yes), farmer’s market, and video store. I can park the car on Friday or Saturday and leave it ’til Monday.

I find that I’m a bit less stressed, my jeans are a little looser, and I’ve slowed the pace of my weekends (and, hopefully soon, my weekdays). Next weekend, I might even walk over to LACMA and cross it off my 101 list. How’s that for progress?

(Thanks to Marnie for taking the photo…)

A week ago, I took a trip to the Herzog Winery in Oxnard, with my friends, Marnie and Joel. (Yes! Wine tasting with a boy!) We tasted wine, enjoyed an amazing lunch at the winery’s kosher restaurant, and ended up buying quite a few bottles.

I was pretty surprised at the winery’s large selection. Since Joel’s a wine club member, we tasted some pretty nice reserve wines, and for the first time in my life, I actually preferred the “dessert” wines over the others. I highly recommend stopping by this winery if you’re in the area.

Lesson learned, though… Next time, I don’t want to be the designated driver!

If you’re in LA this week, run - don’t walk - to see The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters at the Nuart in West LA while it’s still showing. I just got home from the 7:30pm (packed house) screening and director/producer Q&A, and… Wow!

If you like gaming. If you don’t like gaming. If you’ve never even heard of the game Donkey Kong, you’ll likely agree that this is one of the most riveting documentaries of the past few years. What starts off as a quirky, kitschy, funny story of obsessive gamers, turns into a fight to the finish that left us all rooting for the underdog. I haven’t seen a better character study in quite some time.

Seriously. Just go.

Note: The picture above is one my dad took on Saturday. It does not show any bocce action.

I flew up to San Francisco last weekend to help celebrate my cousin Mace’s birthday in Golden Gate Park. With the fog and chill, it felt like November, but the picnicking was fine. Even better… I learned how to play bocce ball.

My cousin’s friends took me under their wing and taught me the basics of bocce, which seemed pretty similar to horseshoes. (OK, so we may have fudged some of the rules a bit. It was still fun). My partner and I lost terribly, but it didn’t matter. Bocce’s one of those competitive games that just aren’t that competitive. I can’t wait to play again, though!

Best of all, my bocce companions also introduced me to the fantastic world of Yacht Rock. How have I never heard of this? Will they ever make more episodes? Please?

Christopher Guest, Dan Finnerty, and IT. Gotta love it. (via Very Short List)

Alcatraz Listeners
Originally uploaded by nightpost.

After a weekend of visiting family in San Francisco, I took a trip with my friend CJ to check out Alcatraz…

What a heck of a place! It was a lot sunnier than I imagined. Compared to Kilmainham Gaol in Ireland, it was like a vacation resort. Of course, it was overcast and windy in mid-June, so I’m guessing it wasn’t such a pleasant place to live in the winter.

I was also surprised at how small the prison was… only about 3 cell blocks wide, plus the dining room, library, and administration areas. It always looks so much bigger in the movies.

Overall, it was a fine day.

Yes, it’s been a month since I posted. Sorry for the vacation.

Via Metroblogging, a nice clip of Mr. Wizard on David Letterman.

We’ll miss you!

This weekend I finished watching the original film version of “Don’t Drink the Water,” the last movie on my list of Woody Allen films to see. Thus, I present to you…

My Top Five Six Favorite Woody Allen Films:

1. Deconstructing Harry - As much as I hate Robin Williams, his segments in this film made me laugh so hard I cried.
2. Bananas - Classic, slapstick Woody Allen. Plus, it’s always at my local library, so I can watch it over and over again for free.
3. Don’t Drink the Water (1994-TV Movie) - Quick-paced dialogue, great “situation comedy,” all-around funny film
4. Annie Hall - Everyone’s favorite. I’ve probably seen this more than any other Woody Allen film, besides “Sleeper.”
5. Sleeper - The first Woody Allen film I clearly remember seeing as a kid. Great slapstick. This one’s good to watch with a crowd.
6. Sweet and Lowdown - Just barely out of my top 5, this is a good Woody Allen film for non-fans. Great performance by Sean Penn, and of course, fantastic music.

Tonight, I finally made it through a DVD I’ve had from Netflix since November of last year. (Yes, about 6 months… I know…)

With that DVD completed, I’ve now got one film left until I’ve seen all of the films Woody Allen wrote or directed, with the exception of the titles mentioned below. If you’ve got copies of any of the missing works in DVD, VHS, mp4, or any other format, I’d love the chance to see them. Otherwise, I’m considering this one complete after the final film has been seen.

The final film, ordered on VHS from Amazon, is the 1969 feature “Don’t Drink the Water.” It should arrive within the next week, and then I’ll post my top 5 W.A. films list.

Here’s what I’m missing:

Shorts:

• “Count Mercury Goes to the Suburbs” (1997-Short)
• “Somebody or the Rise and Fall of Philosophy” (1989-Short)

Films:

• “Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You” (1970-Film)**
• “The Laughmaker” (1962-TV or Film?)

TV:

• “Sounds From a Town I Love” (2001-TV)
• “Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story” (1971-TV)
• “The Kraft Music Hall: Woody Allen Special” (1969-TV)
• “The Sid Caesar Show” (1963-TV)
• “Candid Camera” (1960-TV)
• “The Garry Moore Show” (1958-TV)
• “Stanley” (1956-TV)
• “Caesar’s Hour” (1954-TV)
• “The Colgate Comedy Hour” (1950-TV)

** By the way, if you’ve got a copy of “Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You,” please don’t tell me. It’s the sequel to a film I hated, and I’ve heard it’s even worse. I’m allowed to skip one film, right?