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Dr Seuss - now on Google

The Greatest Google Homepage design Yet., originally uploaded by Hal Lublin.

Ok, so this old, but the Morse Code graphic on Google today made me think of this.

Enjoy!

My Wife is Working a Charity Event!

My goodly wife posted the following on her blog - I thought it merited reposting here - Team in Training is an amazing orgaization; if you're in the L.A. area on Sunday, why not come and support for a few hours?

From Jennifer:

Hello Friends...
I'm volunteering as the red carpet photographer for an Oscar viewing, fundraising party for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this coming Sunday, February 22nd, from 4-6 p.m. There will be lots of great raffles, prizes, and of course you can donate to LLS and get a professional photo as a keepsake, see flyer below. If you're free, come out and have a great time!
Location: V Lounge, 2020 Wilshire, Santa Monica, 4-6 p.m.
Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart

Almost four years ago, I went to see my friend Kate Hahn in a monologue show at Second City out here in Los Angeles. The show was called Cheap Boxed Chocolates, and was a series of character pieces themed around Valentine's Day. Kate, who in addition to being a great writer is also a great performer, and was hilarious as expected. But then I saw a performer who took my breath away. Her performance was hilarious, quirky, and even though she was played a manic character cake with makeup streaked by tears, you could see how beautiful she was.

When the show ended, I asked Kate about her, and found out her name was Jennifer. I had an instant crush.

A month later, the two of us wound up in a sketch comedy group together - we started flirting, although I didn't think in a million years that a girl as beautiful, smart and talented as Jennifer would even think about dating me - fortunately, our friend Ben Acker was willing to help out and make up for my crippling bashfulness; we were soon on our first date, became inseperable, fell in love, and on October 21, 2007, Jennifer did me the honor of becoming my wife.

Today is her birthday, and to think that on her birthday just four years ago we were complete strangers is crazy, because now I can't imagine life without her.

I love you sweetheart - happy birthday.

Singing the Praises of Web 2.0

I found this fascinating quote today:

You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing If I didn’t already like Hubspot because of Twitter Grader ( an ego check for Twitter users) I would have to love them for this little video lamenting the dilemma of marketers who are caught between the paradigm of their companies and the desire of consumers to have permission based (in Seth Godin’s terms) or Inbound (in Hubspot’s language) Marketing.Singing the Praises of Web 2.0, Dec 2008

You should read the whole article.

A Fine Monday in October

The sun is out, the weather is mild, and I've been up since 6:30 working.

I love days like this.





Bookmark this on Delicious

For great printing services in the Los Angeles Area

I just had a fine lunch with my friend and colleague Danny Bensimon of Venice Printing and Artist George Kleiman. In addition to great food, I had the opportunity to sit and talk business with two knowledgeable and experienced guys. I highly recommend both of them for all of your art and printing needs.

For those of you with OCD: rejoice!

I have found a website for every person who wonders just how clean their favorite restaurants REALLY are. Of course, this may not be you, but even if it isn't, I would wager that you know a person who wants and needs this service.

Go forth, to http://www.cleanscores.com/ and learn the ugly/beautiful truth about your local eateries.

You're welcome.

Hal Lublin, Holy Man.

Two very dear friends of mine have given me the honor of officiating their wedding. This is what you have to do when you don't have the time to go study at Yeshiva.

Is this real?

"Barack Obama promises to cut taxes for 95% of Americans, but 53% of Americans actually think Obama will raise their taxes. This site uses data from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center to determine whether or not you will receive an Obama Tax Cut."

If this is true, it's pretty cool, unless you are very rich. And from what I've seen, this is real stuff, not campaign fluff. Click the "read more" to try the program out yourself...

read more | digg story

Life as Usual

The last two weeks have been nothing short of bizarre as Jenn and I settle back into L.A. Life keeps marching on, and things here are actually better than they've been in a year in several ways, but I can't seem to really enjoy it. I'm still kind of in a daze, but it has made me more productive in an odd way. Everything is somehow stained.

You know you're still deep into the grieving process when Mummy 3 makes you tear up. Hell, you know you're in bad shape when you go to see Mummy 3.

More hot mics, please!

This is what happens when your sound guy falls asleep at the wheel...

Hillary Clinton's 2008 Democratic National Convention Speech

It does my heart good to see some unity after what transpired over the first half of 2008.

read more | digg story

Thank you

To everyone who has read my previous entry, and to all of those who have called and written and texted and twittered and used all other forms of communication to express their condolences and give their support, thank you. This is a very difficult process, but the knowledge that we have great friends and family lets us know not only how loved we are, but how loved my Mother was, and how much she meant to everyone.

I'll soon return to more entertaining entries, but for now, please know how much all of you mean to me, and how comforting you've been.

On the pain of loss

My mother passed away almost two weeks ago. It was an embolism, which struck without warning, as embolisms do. No tearful goodbye on a death bed, no time to brace myself, Just a day earlier I had seen my mother via a skype conversation. She showed me the bandage from her recent foot surgery, and had a smile plastered on her face that I will remember as the dominant theme of her life: no matter what hardships she endured, what challenges she faced, she held herself with a dignity and a positivity that couldn't help but inspire everyone she knew, whether they were lifelong friends or someone she had met during a chance encounter. She was my source of strength for so many years, and during a tragedy like this, she is the one I would have turned to for solace or a talk.

There's a strange thing that happens when someone so close to you passes away. Vivid moments from the first week of her death flash in my mind like a strobe light, pounding away at me: getting the phone call and the shock and uncontrollable shaking that accompanied it. Selecting a coffin. Losing it over and over again. The viewing. The Funeral, which was beautiful, and yet played out with every cliché of weak legs and eyes blurred by tears that I thought were machinations of television and film. The tsunami of love and support from friends and relatives. Then, there are other things that I cannot remember, like her laugh. A laugh I heard so many times that I took it for granted. The Rabbi mentioned her laugh during the eulogy and countless people talked about it during the course of sitting shiva, and I can't remember it.

I've never felt guiltier about something in my life than I do about forgetting my mother's laugh.

People talk about the 5 stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression & Acceptance, as if they are a slow march towards healing that can be measured as you reach each specific feeling. While I'm sure the concept has validity, I have been experiencing all of these emotions at once, although perhaps the fact that I am overwhelmingly mired in a depression right now means there's a light at the end of the tunnel. However, I still bargain, I still deny, and I still get angry.


In the end, we move on because we have to. You slowly move into line with the rest of the world, and although there is a hole in your heart, you live with the pain, and allow your mind to hold on to what was precious about your relationship so you can draw a vibrant picture for those who never had the pleasure of knowing her. And ultimately, you realize that when you continue with your life, in some bizarre way, you're keeping her alive.

I love you mom.

On the heat

If you read my post from yesterday, you've no doubt gleaned that it's hot in Los Angeles right now. Of course, being a beach dweller I have the advantage of experiencing temperatures that are a good ten degrees lower than those living in L.A. proper; however, I also live in an apartment with high, uncovered windows, direct exposure to sunlight for extended periods of the day, and no central air. We do have an R2D2-sized AC unit, but it is most efficent when you crounch in front of it - we're asking a lot if we want our entire living room cooled.

As I lay in bed this morning, sweating from the heat I had slept through, I found myself wondering: would I rather be too cold or too warm?

First, let me establish that I have experience with both extremes. I've traveled to Israel in the summer, driven through Arizona and Texas with temperatures well into the 100s and lived through my share of heat waves back east. I also attended Syracuse University, whose climate resembles the ice planet Hoth for 7 months of the year. Having compared both situations, I came up with this list of pros and cons for each:

HEAT/SUMMER

Pros:
- Don't have to put on so much damn clothing
- Can swim in an outdoor pool without risk of hypothermia
- Ice Cream now an acceptible substitute for a nutritious lunch
- 4th of July provides a great opportunity to overeat, get drunk AND play with dangerous, flammable objects

Cons:
- Constant sweating causes body odor issues, makes you stick to all leather furniture.
- That one dance song you hate will become a teen anthem, and you will hear it everywhere, since school's out.
- 4 words: Fat People in Swimsuits.
- Disneyland now crowded EVERYDAY.

COLD/WINTER

Pros:
- The ethereal glow of moonlight on fresh fallen snow
- You're SUPPOSED to be fat right now - it's how the body insulates against the cold
- It's ok for adults to wear pajamas - even footies
- Disneyland less crowded during schooldays

Cons:
- The unbearable walk to and from your car when you must park outside
- Shrinkage
- The patch of black ice that YOUR dumb ass will slip on
- It's fucking FREEZING out there!

In the end, I find it really hard to pick one: when it's hot, I wish it were cold; when it's chilly, I long for the heat of summer. I do know this: living in Southern California seriously warps your sense of temperature.

Man...

It's killer hot this morning. I thought I could run for longer than I could, but I haven't been training enough in between the big Sunday runs to be in proper shape, and I'm forcing myself to get on the ball here. Still, it feels good to have worked hard, and as an added bonus Jenn and I found a beautiful path that runs along a cliffside and gives us an unobstructed view of the whole city.

Tonight: up to Valencia to hang with Damian and see The Incredible Hulk. Again.

If you haven't seen Hulk yet, I highly recommend it - this film is far superior to Ang Lee's adaptation a few years back, which completely missed the entire point of the Hulk by giving the property to a director who is not suited to it.

They got it right. Again. I've been remarking to anyone who will listen that I think it's really cool to have two comic book films that are pitch perfect AND part of the same universe.

And for Hulk, you don't have to sit through the credits.

What I'm up to these days.

A short list:

I hunt for work. I worry about work that I was supposed to have but didn't. I get up REALLY early and go to bed before the sun (almost). I apply for several jobs but get no response. I wonder if ANYONE gets work off of Monster. Or Careerbuilder. Or Craigslist (although it has yielded the best results for me). I wonder if my money will run out before my luck. I wonder if I'm just banging my head against the wall. I train for a Marathon and get inspired by people in much more difficult situations than I who deal with life in a more graceful manner than I. I end statements with I. I get let down by childhood icons and pleasantly surprised by icons I barely ever knew. I fall in love with music again while falling out of love with TV. I wait for it to get hot. I hold it in until my brain hurts. I cough uncontrollably. I smile when I look at my sleeping wife. I make myself proud by doing things I've never done before, and disappoint myself by failing when I believe I should succeed. I wait my turn while noticing the line isn't getting any shorter. I read. I raise funds for something wonderful. I believe that people are basically good, despite a thousand examples to the contrary. I am doing OK, all things considered.

I end this blog.

I know, it's been a while...

But I will have some updates and thoughts to share VERY soon - I promise.

Is there anything better...

...than having a clean house with all your laundry put away?

I don't think so either.