Posts Tagged ‘Work’
Better Be Home Soon
Everyone’s losing their job. If not, they’re loathing it. Mine’s like Whack-a-Mole or Missile Command or a California wildfire; I resolve one issue, and another pops up, or falls from the sky, or catches fire. You get the idea. Still, even at the end of a Tuesday that feels like a Thursday, at the end…
Read MoreShooting U2
Frankly, my mind had been blown nearly half a dozen times already, and that was before I waltzed past the well-guarded barricades outside the Somerville Theater and bumped into U2 sound checking “Magnificent” just a few feet in front of me. First, there was getting tapped for the trip to begin with. It happened like…
Read MoreInfinity Is A Great Place To Start
Thirteen years at MTV News, and finally I get my close up! Ok, so it was a two-shot, but still. I knew today was special from the moment I forced myself from my warm sheets: my pre-order of U2’s “No Line On The Horizon” was waiting on iTunes. I spent the few minutes it took…
Read MoreHollywood Forever
The afternoon before I left for Los Angeles, I walked into my boss’ offices for our weekly meeting. He was turned away from the door, staring at his laptop, captivated by a music video. “Do you know these guys?” he asked. Quick cuts and violent camera movement showed a masked group of lean, totooed, scrappy…
Read MoreLive From 2009 Oscar Red Carpet!
There was something oddly normal about standing there in the shadow of The Kodak Theater tonight as Hollywood’s most-celebrated walked Oscar red carpet. Maybe it was the light; the typically sun-dappled, Technicolor California sky was choked with clouds. Maybe it was that I’ve done a few of these before (see also Grammys, VMAs, etc). Or…
Read MoreWho Watches The Watchmen?
I’m popping Excedrin like they’re M&Ms. Worse, I’m washing down my beloved acetaminophen, aspirin and caffeine concoction with a thirteen dollar beer. Aaaaaaaaah, Los Angeles. I landed thirty-two hours ago, and drove straight to the Pacific Design Center where we were taping our movie show, “Spoilers.” Episode two features the cast of “Watchmen,” including Billy…
Read MoreLive From The 2009 Grammy Awards!
Well, kind of. It’s been three years since I last walked the Grammy red carpet. Of course, truth is that I walked the carpet (which was Heineken green, as I recall) well in advance of the actual celebrities. The rest of the night, I was working across the street in a corrugated aluminum trailer. We…
Read MoreWhen I Look At The Stars
The trick to growing up, I think, is retaining enthusiasm. I’m not talking about relinquishing one’s critical faculties, I’m talking about retaining an appreciation of all things. We live in a soundbite-fueled, 24-hour, wide-screen, Technicolor Gotcha! Culture. Mean girls, hipsters, red carpet takedowns, partisan bickering, magazine snarking — it all adds up to something awful.…
Read MoreI Am A Leaver
I’m a knucklehead. I flew to Los Angeles Monday morning for a series of movie studio meetings. No, I’m not going to be in a major motion picture, or contribute a song to a soundtrack. And no, I haven’t found financial backing for “Mister Rogers & Me.” Nah, it’s a work thing. As in, The…
Read MoreInaugural Snapshot, Part II
Union Station, Washington, DC. Amtrak Gate K. Passengers on Northeast Regional 178 are packed together struggling to board. Everyone is exhausted, weary of long lines, hung over, and eager to get home from the Inauguration. A quiet voice squeaks above the fray. “Ellen McQuarry? Ellen McQuarry?” Seconds later, further down the queue, another rings out,…
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