The resurrection of a Bakersfield-Hollywood blog I gave up. I had a blog on another site, but it was one of those pay-to-use fiascos. I never liked using it, and I was way too busy driving back and forth from Bakersfield to Hollywood and LA and the big fat desert; and no one believed who I was. Didn't matter. I was doing it for me. But then recently I was contacted by N.L. Belardes. He found my site and asked me to start posting again because the content, he said, was important. Well, I realized that maybe I let everyone down by not telling the whole story... In the end I had just ignored everyone and secluded myself on my Hollywood island. I was so busy when I was posting before, acting, scouting, driving...but I have some time now. I'm searching for a new script. Something that fits me and how I feel.

I suppose I should start back at the beginning...

Posts from June 14th, 2004:

06:12 pm In the Valley: day 1
Today I set foot in that valley, far south of the Hollywood skyline; where popular culture meets sentimental conservatism. That's scrub oak scratching the belly of a palm tree. This is the scouting trip I promised I would take. The script is in hand: Fusion Suit is what the director calls it. Today I ate in a diner and thought about where the main character would launch into a monologue. "Take me to Vegas" he would say at the end of it and stuff a fat bite of pancakes into his mouth. That would lead over the Mojave, toward destruction.

06:32 pm A Bakersfield Hotel
The hotel lobby had country music. The McDonald's nearby had country music. The fine dining had country music. Earlier we had come over the grapevine and headed toward a small town up in the Taft hills, but turned around when told about diners along the North edge of the Kern River. I have to go for a jog. People say this is the dirtiest air in America. Even the lower Kern River is dark here. The people here basque in the heat of the nearby sand and dunk their heads in the murky water.  ¶ 1:08 PM