Here’s hoping everyone had a safe and healthy Christmas and that when the ball drops tonight at midnight you are eating and drinking something fantastic with someone you truly love. Hell, you ain’t even gotta love them that much if the food is good…know what I’m saying?

Anyway, in the true spirit of the season, wanted to share Greta’s latest Evite photo adventure with you. Uncle Ryan shot this pic a couple weeks back and if you click here, you can use it as an Evite tonight! So, have at it all you last minute party planners, and remember, even if you don’t use Greta’s baby new year Evite this time, there’s always next year. Happy New Year, amigos!

If you’re anything like us, today is gonna be kinda crazy. Christine will be baking till she drops, Greta and the cats will continue terrorizing our Christmas tree and I will do my best to stamp and address the mountain of unsent Christmas cards on our kitchen table. I know, I know…kinda late in coming, but they will get to you before New Years, so, I say that still totally counts!

But while our cards will be late, our warm wishes for y’all are anything but. So, in the spirit of the season, please enjoy these pics of Greta’s first visit with Santa Claus. As you can see, they really hit it off…for like, ten seconds. Ah, well…there’s always next year. Happy holidays, amigos!

With that old turncoat, Senator Joe Lieberman doing everything he can to derail genuine health care reform in the Senate this week, I’m starting to think that maybe Al Gore “losing” in 200o wasn’t such a bad thing. I mean, seriously, can you imagine having someone like Lieberman in the White House? Yikes…

Not only does Lieberman regularly line his campaign coffers with big insurance cash, but his own wife, Hadassah, until recently worked at Hill & Knowlton, a major DC lobby shop. True, Mrs. Lieberman never officially registered as a lobbyist, but she did serve as Senior Counselor in their health care and pharmaceuticals practice. Yep, you heard me…health care and pharmaceuticals. Hmmm…kinda makes you wonder.

But even if all that other stuff wasn’t true, Lieberman has been showboating and holding health care reform hostage in the senate for so long that it was only a matter of time before he was parodied with sock puppets by our crafty friends at MoveOn.org. And, come on, who doesn’t love a good sock puppet parody?

So, check out the video, call Congress and the White House to make yourself heard, and spread the word far and wide…Joe Lieberman socks!!

Longtime readers are probably sick of hearing us rave about how cool the Unique L.A. independent design show is, but for the rest of you, please trust me when I tell you that Unique L.A. rocks, yo! This weekend will mark our third trip to the show and if history holds true, we are sure to come home with loads of groovy stuff and tons of great ideas for projects of our own.

Most of Greta’s favorite outfits and toys — not to mention a good chunk of the super cool artwork in her nursery! — were purchased at the last two shows and though we came home with dozens of bags, the prices at Unique L.A. are beyond cheap. Seriously, there are deals to be had here, amigos. And best of all, you’re supporting local artists and designers instead of, you know, Target and shit.

So, if you’re looking for art, clothing, home goods, jewelry, hell, even just some rocking-good food, Unique L.A. is the place to be this weekend. We’ll be there all day Sunday, so, if you see us foraging through the sale bins at Misha Lulu, by all means, stop and help us. Seriously. The more hands, the better!

Unique L.A. is being held today and Sunday, December 5th & 6th, at the California Market Center in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. For directions, hours, parking, vendor and ticket information, please visit the Unique L.A. homesite here.

With the 2009 award-season already in full swing and the movies Christine and I have seen this fall essentially boiled down to two — “Precious” and “The Road”, which we are seeing tonight — we were both thrilled to learn that the super cool Pacific Theaters at The Americana in Glendale are now offering Monday Morning Mommy Movies!

The rules are pretty simple. Every Monday at 11:00AM, parents of any gender — I guess Daddy and Me Mondays didn’t have the same ring to it! — can bring their babies/toddlers and any older kids they want, to see a new release movie in an actual theater (!) without the fear of bothering other viewers. I mean, when the seats are packed with screaming babies, who’s gonna complain, right?

Needless to say, as soon as we heard about it, Christine and I were hooked. The problem is the movies they have been picking kinda sucked. Yes, the theater picks the movies. And honestly, that is my only complaint with the program. I mean, ain’t nobody going to see a movie on Monday morning EXCEPT sleep-deprived parents of young children, so, why not let us have the run of the joint for that first showing? Kinda stupid if you ask me.

Anyway, when the Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” hit theaters a couple of weeks back — and more importantly, was selected as a Mommy and Me movie! — Christine and I packed Greta in the car and headed to the Americana. We sat in the fourth or fifth row back with our friends Chris and Jess and their new baby girl, Lily, and lemme tell ya, we had a blast!

Sure we were surrounded by strollers and diaper bags and shit, but, since most of the parents were sitting on the floor in the handicapped section behind us, we pretty much had the entire row to ourselves. Greta got to crawl around the seats a little, Christine and Jess could spread out to nurse, it was the next best thing to watching a movie at home.

And best of all, the movie itself rocked! The music, the dancing, the sheer enormity of the staging, the King of Pop in fighting form…there wasn’t a slow moment in the entire movie and more than anything, it makes you realize how freaking awesome that concert would have been. Wow, so sad…

Anyway, the girls seemed to dig the movie, with Greta even grooving a bit to “Wanna be Starting Something” — which I played into the ground this summer on our iPod! — and the older kids were seriously rocking out. There was one little African-American kid with this gigantic Afro who was dancing up and down the aisles the whole movie…it was so awesome!

So, kudos to Pacific Theaters for starting up such a cool program to begin with. And lest you think the Americana is the only place to see a Monday Morning Mommy Movie, think again. The screenings are held at Pacific Theaters all across the Southland, so, check it out!

Oh yeah, and if you wanna spread out on the floor with your wee one, I recommend you get there really early because those “seats” were snapped up by 10:30. At least that’s what Chris and Jess told us when we rolled in at 11:05…

OK, I know it seems like I’m posting a lot of Greta-centric stuff lately, but after uploading some super cute Halloween pics onto our sister blog, I figured I had to share a couple here too. As you can see, the baby Princess Leia costume will have to wait till next year…

To see more Greta-in-baby-chicken-suit-costume pics, check out Planet Greta or our Flickr photostream today. And, once again, Happy Halloween!

With a pre-Halloween party last weekend, tons of candy-giving-out on tap for this weekend and Christine gearing up to make some of her traditionally-badass Halloween cupcakes, this week has pretty much flown by. So, in case I miss the opportunity to tell you all on the actual date…Happy Halloween, amigos!

And in honor of Greta’s first Halloween on the planet I decided to share this hilarious video I shot of her a couple weeks back at our local Target.

Though she laughed and smiled at most of the ghoulie stuff on display, as you can see, the poor thing did not know what to make of that creepy witch. Yikes…I hope she fares better with those spooky laughing Santas come Christmas!

You’ve probably already heard the sad news by now, but despite a valiant effort by the Penske Automotive Group it looks like our beloved Saturn Motors has finally reached the end of the road. Is it weird that Christine and I were almost in tears when we heard the news? Maybe, but who cares. We loved and will continue to love every single Saturn we’ve ever leased or owned…

And as the very proud owners of a 2004 Saturn Ion named Mr. Sark and a 2009 Hybrid Vue we recently christened,  Chenbot, we can very safely say that Saturn was the coolest, most forward-thinking car company ever.

Long live the great and mighty spirit of Saturn Motors!

OK…I know we promised not to bore you guys with baby news all the time once we launched our sister (or is it daughter?) blog, Planet Greta, into orbit. But, I’m sorry, when your baby girl starts crawling, you kinda wanna spread the word!

So, without further ado, we give you the HD video world premiere of Greta crawling across the living room floor last Wednesday night in her pajama top and a diaper. Yep, that was what she chose to wear for her crawling debut, I guess the pajama bottoms were slowing her down or something.

And while I swore I’d never let “my baby” run around the house in just a diaper, once Greta tore off those pants — something she really loves to do these days! — she was moving so fast we barely had enough time to  pause “Glee” and grab the camera, let alone re-pants her. Oy!

Either way, enjoy the show…

Just when we thought religious discrimination was a thing of the past, the UK press is reporting that one of the founders of the International Church of Jediism, Daniel Morgan Jones (23), was forcibly ejected from a Tesco supermarket in North Wales for refusing to remove his hood — which he wears at all time for religious reasons — while shopping.

According to Jones, who also goes by his Jedi name, Morda Hehol, the Jedi doctrine explicitly states that a Jedi Knight “must wear a hood up in any public place of a large audience.” I don’t know how large the “audience” was at that grocery store, but Jones claims that Tesco security violated his “religious rights” by asking him to remove his hood.

Making matters even worse was the fact that a Muslim woman in a veil was allowed to shop freely while Jones was shown the door. “I walked past a Muslim lady in a veil…surely the same rules should apply to everyone” Jones griped later.

Still reeling from the experience, Jones is considering legal action, but in the meantime advises other UK Jedi to boycott Tesco stores, hoping to make the grocery chain “feel the Force“. OMG, so awesome!

But the real kicker here was the reaction from Tesco’s corporate office. Responding to the Jedi dust up this afternoon, Tesco released a statement saying, and I quote: “He hasn’t been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood.” Ooo, snap! Take that Morda Hehol!

Funnier still was Tesco’s closing statement: “If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they’ll miss lots of special offers.” Ha! Hilarious! Break out my Anakin costume, sweetie, we’re going to Tesco!

Christine and I usually visit San Francisco at least once a year for her work and every time we go, one of the first places we hit is the super cool Ferry Building Marketplace at the end of Market Street.

Housed inside the beautiful shell of the historic Ferry Building (which opened it’s doors in 1898), the marketplace can best be described as a gigantic indoor farmer’s market. With offices upstairs, the bustling lower level is home to some of the tastiest gourmet grub in the city.

Artisanal cheeses, chocolates, meats, tea, coffee, breads…there is nothing you can’t find at this place and if you are lucky enough to come on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday between the hours of 10:00AM and 2:00PM, you’ll find a real life farmer’s market camped outside the building as well. And, man alive, is that place amazing!

But even if you can’t make it for the outdoor farmer’s market, the permanent storefronts inside the Ferry Building will more than satisfy you. We’ve eaten at almost every joint in there and aside from the bland, totally overpriced Mexican food at Mijita, everything we’ve eaten there has been excellent.

That said, we are total creatures of habit and almost always eat at the same two places. First stop is usually Charlie Phan’s Out The Door. Located directly behind Phan’s already-legendary The Slanted Door, Out The Door has some of the best Vietnamese “street food” I’ve ever had. Soups, salads, spring rolls, out-of-this-world Vietnamese coffee, this place is probably one of my favorite restaurants of all time. Seriously good food!

And the meal we had the one time we actually managed to score a dinner reservation at The Slanted Door — which is usually booked months in advance — will go down in the record books as one of the finest meals I’ve ever had. I  kid you not, amigos, I have actually had dreams about their world-famous Chicken Claypot with caramel sauce, chilies and fresh ginger. DELICIOUS!

Our second favorite spot in the Ferry Building is Miette Patisserie home of awesome cookies, pastries and the second-best cupcakes in the city (right behind my all-time favorite, Kara’s Cupcakes!). But cookies and other baked yumminess aside, the thing that keeps Christine and I coming back year after year are Miette’s incredibly tasty Chocolate Pots de Creme. Holy crap, these things will totally change your life!

Served in a tiny glass jar (which you get to keep!) the chocolate pot is like the best pudding you ever had topped with a healthy dollop of dreamy, melt-in-your-mouth, creme fraiche. Yum!

And while we were a little sad to learn that they no longer uses the Miette logo glassware for the pots (which make rad tea light holders back home), as long as the chocolate keeps tasting this good, who really cares what it comes in?

Our two favorite stops aside, this past visit we decided to try something different for lunch. So, at the urging of Grandma Wendy, the four of us jumped into the long line outside Boccalone Salumeria to try their Food-Network-famous mortadella hot dogs. And, lemme tell ya, the sign out front, “tasty salted pig parts”, doesn’t even begin to describe how good this fancy hot dog was.

The sight, the smell, even the sound as it popped in your mouth when you bit into it, this was truly a weiner for the ages…delicious!

My only complaint about the Ferry Building Marketplace is the lack of parking. This was our first time driving to SF with Greta (we’re saving her first airplane trip till January!) and the parking really sucked. The dedicated lot they do have is very small and street parking is a nightmare. And when you do find street parking, it’s metered up the wazoo, so, bring your quarters!

Oh, and one more cool thing. The Ferry Building Marketplace has free WiFi, so, bring your laptop and sit a spell at one of the giant wooden tables facing the bay…the view is incredible!

I know our regular Flickr followers might have already seen most (or all) of these pics online, but, since I never officially blogged about it here, I now bring you back in time to August 1st, 2009, opening day at the groovy new Madame Tussauds Wax Musuem in Hollywood.

Located next to the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd., Madame Tussauds is the newest must-see attraction in a city full of them. And while many Angelenos worried at first about this newer, grander museum slamming the final nail in the coffin of the aging Hollywood Wax Musuem up the street…rest assured, amigos, there is more than enough room for both houses of wax on the boulevard.

For one thing, that old-ass Hollywood Wax Musuem is scary as shit. I mean it, we went at night one time and just about jumped out of our skin in the horror film wing. And though the Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter statue at Tussauds is incredibly unnerving — especially if you stand, Clarice-like, on the marked dot on the floor! — overall, the newer museum is pretty much scare free.

But that’s not to say it doesn’t rock, because, well, it totally does. Not only does Madame Tussauds have the most lifelike statues I’ve seen anywhere, but you also get to do all kinds of goofy stuff with them.

That’s right, every statue at Madame Tussauds is there for the fondling. And while the hair and the eyes are strictly off limits in the touch department, everything else on these statues is fair game…and I do mean everything.

Yikes…my brother and I got so raunchy with that poor Halle Berry statue that I’m surprised she didn’t come to life and slap us silly. But tastelessness aside, touching and posing for endless cheesy pics with the statues is part of what make the experience so cool in the first place.

And if you run out of ideas for pictures, each wing of the museum is equipped with props to help you out. Wanna pose as a “Sister Act” nun with Whoopi Goldberg, grab a habit. Feel like chilling with Butch and Sundance, slap on a cowboy hat. And though I think some of that stuff might get kinda gross and germy over time, on opening day, those props were spotless!

My only complaint is that the bathrooms are located in very weird places. One on the top floor and one on the bottom with nothing in between. I had to take the elevator down to the lower level and exit through the gift shop, then reenter through the main lobby to get to the bathroom from the second floor with Greta.

Even worse than that is the fact that the lower level restrooms have no diaper changing stations for babies…not even the women’s! Lame, huh? I realize that not everyone needs these things, but, come on, you spend a gazillion dollars on this joint and you can’t slap up some changing stations in the can? Please…

But other than that, and the slightly highish price tag — same day adult tickets run $25 a pop! — the musuem is a very cool place to visit. And seeing as they have plenty of room to expand and loads of new figures on the way — I think they added a Michael Jackson right after our visit — the museum should do a pretty killer job of getting people to come back for repeat visits down the road.

Hell, I’d go back for Halle Berry alone!

August is usually kind of an insane month for us as we always seem to be traveling somewhere, but this past month was, as the saying goes, off da hook.

Seriously, family, friends, high school reunions, wax museums, soda tasting parties, road trips all up and down the state, you name it, we did it last month. And now, at long last, we’re home. So, while I eagerly prepare to fill you in on the many strange and wonderful adventures we had this past August, please enjoy this picture of a road-weary Greta in her very well-used car seat.

If there was any doubt as to how crazy busy we’ve been, I think the look on her face says it all. Yikes. Thank God she still digs road trips…

OK, I don’t mean to sound like the annoying new Dad bragging about how smart his daughter is or anything, but Greta has been doing something the past couple of days that really blows both Christine and I away. No, she’s not reading yet and her first novel (or screenplay!) is no doubt months away from completion, but what she has been doing since the Fourth of July is taking her own picture on our Macbook’s Photo Booth application.

For the non-Mac users out there, Photo Booth is a pre-installed program that uses the built-in iSight webcam on your Macbook to take pictures and/or video of you like in a real life photo booth. It’s really kinda awesome.

Anyway, I knew kids dug the program because my niece and nephews fire that thing up every time we visit them. What I didn’t know was that babies would love it too. So one day when Greta was getting a little fussy, I flipped open the Macbook and introduced her to Photo Booth.

And from the minute she saw herself on the screen, she was hooked. Like most babies, Greta is totally in love with her own image right now — seriously, mirrors are her new best friend — but unlike most babies she learned that if you press down on the big white bar on the Macbook’s touchpad, you can actually take your own picture.

That’s right, amigos, every picture you see here was taken by a four month old. Man, I can’t even figure out how to take pictures with Christine’s cell phone and Greta is already the Photo Booth master…Crazy, huh?

On the eve of what I expect will be a pretty rocking memorial to Michael Jackson, Christine, Greta, Ryan, Laura and I climbed into the Vue to do a little MJ memorial tour of our own. First Laura, Greta and I drove to the Staples Center to see the crowds and sign the massive placards they had set up for fans.

But that line was crazy-long, it was hotter than hell, and, well, we did have a baby with us, so, we opted for pictures and a quick drive-by instead.

Later in the day, Christine and Ryan  joined us for a jaunt past the ever-expanding crowds outside the main gates of Forest Lawn, where Jackson is to be buried. That was cool too and we got some nice action shots from the car, but the highlight of our MJ memorial tour was our trip to the Jackson family compound in nearby Encino. Located just a couple of blocks off of Ventura Blvd., this is the house where Michael and the rest of the kids were raised when the family moved to California from Indiana.

Michael mania being what it has been the past couple of days, we weren’t expecting to get very close to the house or the sea of flowers out front, but, just in case, we came bearing a card for the family and a baggie of “Last Call” Jalapeno Popper-flavored Doritos for the Man in the Mirror to enjoy in the afterlife.

Yes, I said Doritos. See, earlier in the day, Laura and I had seen a friend of Michael’s joking on TV about Jackson’s bizarre eating habits. She said something about him being a hard core vegetarian since he was younger, but joked that that didn’t stop him from loving junk food like Doritos, which he enjoyed regularly.

So, when we were mulling over what gift to bring the King of Pop, the half-eaten bag of “Last Call” Doritos seemed like the perfect fit. Christine, of course, was mortified by the idea, but Ryan and I stuck to our guns, labeled the plastic baggie with a message for the King of Pop and headed off to Encino.

But what came next took us all by surprise. I mean, sure, we thought it would be cool to see all the fans and the messages and artwork they created for Jackson, but I don’t think any of us realized how emotional it would be.

Seriously, amigos, it was like Graceland West. For the first time since all this insanity began, we actually realized the true depth of feeling that the world had for this dude. And I know it sounds corny, but there was a real sense of magic outside the family home.

I don’t know if it was the crowd — who were very quiet, friendly and respectful — or the fact that the setting sun cast a dreamy glow over the place, but the whole aura outside the Jackson family compound was really amazing.

I’m sure there will be many memorable moments from the official funeral and memorial service today, but for us, this was it…a truly moving send-off to the once and future King of Pop.

To see more of the scads of Michael Jackson-themed pics I took over the past couple of days, click here. And in the meantime, here’s hoping MJ digs the Doritos as much as we did…

Even though we weren’t lucky enough to score any of the coveted tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial (stupid lottery!) Christine, Greta and I did manage to have a pretty awesome Fourth of July weekend down in sunny Dana Point with my Mom and sister, Courtney.

Great food, cold beer, video games, and lots of fresh, beachy air, it was kind of the perfect weekend. And best of all, Greta was totally cool with her first loud fireworks display. Seriously, the look on her face in the pic above is actually a reaction to the camera flash, not the fireworks.

In fact, Greta was so comfortable with the fireworks that she actually fell asleep during the show, so, we had to wait till morning to “stage” the festive pics below. And though they weren’t taken on the fourth I gotta say, she looked pretty cute in the American Baby t-shirt that my Mom and Courtney picked up for her.

Mom and Courtney also gave her some groovy stars and stripes socks, but, Greta’s been grabbing at her feet a lot lately and the socks came off way before I could snap a decent pic. So, you’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that they totally made the outfit.

Happy belated Fourth of July, amigos…hope you had a good one too!

Our Facebook friends have already seen some of these pics, but after being away from our blog for way too long, Christine and I wanted to finally fill the rest of you in on where we’ve been…

No, we weren’t off in Fiji with the baby for the past two weeks. We were actually up north helping Christine’s Mom rid herself once and for of the crazy-ass huckster she has called her boyfriend for the past six years. Yep, it’s official, Christine’s Mom finally gave the worthless a-hole the boot. Hooray!

And while internet defamation and slander laws — not to mention a certain chain-smoking weasel’s litigious streak! — won’t permit me from going into too much depth about why she kicked him out. I will say this, it is my opinion that this man is a lying, thieving drug addict who has made sponging off poor, unsuspecting old ladies an art. And I, for one, was more than happy to show that bastard the door!

Yeah, we had some hairy “as-seen-on-COPS” moments — three Sheriff’s deputies came to the house when things got really heated at one point — but Greta and Christine were never involved in any of the major battles and as of yesterday afternoon, the loser was still gone. So, yay for us!

And while I didn’t wanna waste any pics on the man of the hour himself, I hope you’ll cherish the shots of him driving away for the last time as much as we did. I’m not kidding, amigos, I was so happy to see the dude go that I was actually singing to myself as he drove off.

Here’s hoping we never see that worthless piece of shit again…

Saturday marked the 25th birthday of one of our all-time-favorite video games…Tetris! Yep, that crazy-addictive block-stacking insanity has been making our fingers hurt for twenty five years now. Crazy, huh?

I remember first seeing Tetris on my stepmom Wendy’s Gameboy in the late-80’s and thinking: “Wow, what is one boring-ass game…this thing will never catch on!” Hmmm…I guess that shows what I know about gaming.

And even though Christine and our friend James went crazy for Tetris when we first moved to L.A. in the early-90’s, I must admit that my fondness for the game peaked much more recently. Looking to fill up our then-new iPod, Elvis with some cool games and stuff when we first bought it, I downloaded two games: The Sims Bowling, which totally sucks, and, you guessed it…Tetris.

And guess which game I play almost nightly before going to bed? T-E-T-R-I-S! It’s crazy, I know, but there is something so freaking comforting about strategically stacking those stupid blocks over and over again every night. And I can’t even begin to tell you how many times that game has saved my life on punishing airport layovers or insanely-long days on movie sets. Yikes…

So, happy 25th birthday Tetris and many thanks to the mad Russian techie, Alexey Pojitnov, who made all of this possible way back in 1984. History may find more deserving Russians to celebrate, but you’re the king of Kremlin Kool our house, dude!

She may have missed the Writer’s Strike of 2007-2008, but Greta got to stick it to the man anyway this week at her first official protest rally! That’s right, amigos, our little red-shirted cutie joined Mommy and Daddy at the “Hole in the Heart of Hollywood” rally in support of saving the beleaguered Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills.

For those of you who might be unaware of the situation, the MPTF Hospital has been a Hollywood institution since the 1940’s and a place where elderly actors, directors, writers and other film industry veterans can retire among their peers. Set on a sprawling campus in Woodland Hills, the home is now in danger of disappearing forever sometime very soon.

The bigwigs at the Motion Picture and Television Fund are crying poor and saying that in today’s economic climate, they just don’t have the money to keep the home open. But the problem with that claim is that when the families and supporters of keeping the home open approached the MPTF about starting up some possible fundraising efforts, the board declared that no amount of money could keep the home open. Huh?

If the problem is money and you won’t let anyone from arguably one of the most creative communities in the world help you raise it, then what is really going on here? My guess is that the MPTF has already sold the land — which they own outright, by the way! — to some developer and therefore has no real intest in keeping the home open.

But no matter what the back-all shenanigans are here, the situation for the folks still living in the home is dire to say the least. Of the dozens of residents who have already been “removed” from the home, 18 have died within a matter of weeks due to something called “transfer trauma”. WTF, man?!!

These people paid their dues, worked for years in “the biz”, prepaid for their care and are entitled to live out their golden years with their peers. I don’t pretend to know all the details on this one, but what I do know is that if there is a way to keep this place open then we need to do it! If for no other reason than because it is the right thing to do.

I mean, seriously, the motto on the sign out front says it all “Taking Care of Our Own”! So, come on, guys, let’s put the greed aside for a change and get back to the business of doing just that.

For more information on what you can do to help save the home, please visit SavingTheLivesOfOurOwn.org. And to see more pics from Greta’s first protest rally, including many more shots of the celebrity guest speakers, John “Dukes of Hazzard” Schneider and Frances “Titanic” Fisher, click here.

And in the meantime, que viva los viejos a la casa de MPTF!

Seeing as Saturn’s greedy, ass-backwards parent company, GM, is filing for bankruptcy this morning, I figured now would be the perfect time to blog about our new car. Yep, even though their future is uncertain at best, we decided to stick with the car company that we’ve known and loved for the past thirteen years and bought ourselves another Saturn.

Only this time, we’ve upsized a bit and gone totally green! The 2009 Green Line Saturn Vue isn’t just one of the highest-rated hybrid SUV’s on the road, but it also sexy as all get-out. Heated leather seats, sunroof, OnStar, XM Radio, you name it, and this baby’s got it. And did I mention that it’s a hybrid?

Our salesman at Galpin told us that he has several customers who average 500 miles on a single 18 gallon tank of gas. And while that might not sound impressive for a smaller car like our 2004 Saturn Ion, for a mid-sized SUV, that is downright amazing!

Cooler still is the little green “Eco” light that turns on every time you’re driving on hybrid power. I swear to God, it’s like a freaking video game: “Keep it in the green, keep it in the green!” Awesome! And best of all, the thing rides like a dream and is so roomy and comfortable that even my tall-ass brother swims in the backseat…and that’s with Greta’s carseat taking up the middle seat!

I’m sure some folks think we’re crazy for buying a new car from a company on the skids, but Christine and I both really love everything that Saturn used to stand for. In their free-donuts-in-every-waiting-room glory days, Saturn was like this cool little cult…all about hip, smartly-appointed, American-built small cars that got great gas mileage and didn’t cost an arm and a leg to buy.

So, even though the clowns at GM have done everything they can to destroy all that was great and forward-thinking about the company over the last few years, we decided to support the dream that began when that first Saturn rolled off the assembly line in Spring Hill, Tennessee in 1990, by buying what just might be the last Vue running.

And no matter what eventually becomes of the Saturn brand, our little girl will grow up in the backseat of a rocking hybrid with a bullet-proof warrantee for parts and services for at least seven years…so, que viva los Saturns!

No word yet on future distribution plans, but according to our friends at Boxofficemojo.com, “Not Forgotten” is still pulling in some pretty decent bank. Last time I checked (and I check almost hourly) the per screen average for the movie on only four screens was almost $3,000.00. Not bad for a little movie with almost no marketing, huh?

Even cooler than the numbers the movie has been pulling in have been the audiences themselves. I went to see “Not Forgotten” this past weekend at the Beverly Center 13 with my stepmom Wendy, my sister Courtney and our longtime family friends, Jan, Les and Brooke Wright and the crowd in our theatre seemed to really dig the movie.

Of course, it was a small theatre and we were kinda taking up half the seats in the joint, but still, the rest of the folks in that theatre were very much along for the ride. In fact, a woman and a man who were watching the movie with their elderly mother actually stopped me on my way out to ask me a few questions.

I’m guessing they knew I had something to do with the movie since our whole row cheered every time my name came up in the credits, but either way, once they heard that I had co-written the movie, they were on me like eager fanboys on J.J. Abrams at ComicCon.

Seriously, they were so excited to meet me and have me answer their questions (in person!) that I kept joking with Les that he must have paid them beforehand to make me feel good or something. It was kinda crazy, but totally fun and they were really, really impressed with the movie, so…how could I not enjoy my first real encounter with my “fans”? Ha!

Anyway, I’ll post more details on where “Not Forgotten” will land next when I get them and in the meantime, enjoy the pics from weekend number two in LA.!

Friday night was the Hollywood premiere of my new movie “Not Forgotten” at the Mann’s Chinese and let me tell ya, it rocked! We had an awesome audience, great food and drinks at the after party at The Grill, and best of all, the movie played to packed houses all weekend long. Yay!

No official word on what that means for future distribution plans, but according to the fine folks at BoxOfficeMojo.com, “Not Forgotten” did manage to beat the pants off heavy-hitters like “17 Again”, “Hannah Montana” and even “Wolverine” (again!) on a per screen average, so, I’d say we kicked ass!

Also, I just found out that we will be moving to the Mann Beverly Center 13 on Friday, so, if you missed us last week at the Chinese, check us out this weekend at the Beverly Center by clicking here.

In the meantime, back to the premiere! After mingling with the cast and crew in the lobby, I walked the press line outside the theatre for a few pics and then Christine and I headed upstairs to our sweet-ass leather seats in the VIP section. Yep, I said leather seats, amigos. Honestly, I didn’t even know the Mann’s had a VIP section, but it was awesome.

The funniest thing was that Christine and I — who have both seen the movie a gazillion times — were completely freaked out by the kidnapping stuff this time around. I know it sounds crazy, but we both kept looking at each other like: “Should we call home just to make sure Greta wasn’t taken by Santa Muerte?” Wow, I guess that’s what being a parent is all about, huh? Weird…

Without giving too much away, all I can say is that if any of that spooky shit ever happens to my daughter…I might just go “mental” too. Yikes!

Immediately following the screening there was a super cool party just around the corner at the swanky Hollywood Grill. In keeping with the Tex-Mex setting of the movie, the food was all Mexican — right down to the never-ending bottles of Corona with lime! — and though the chicken tostadas were kinda weird, the carne asada was out-of-this-world fantastic. My brother, Ryan, and I went back for that like, three times. Awesome!

Of course, the company was even better. Although neither Simon Baker or Paz Vega could make the premiere — she’s eight-and-a-half months pregnant and lives in Spain, and Simon is supposedly filming a movie in Australia, although he appeared on both “Regis & Kelly” and “Jimmy Fallon” on Monday night, so, who knows? — the rest of mi buen amigos from the supporting cast were there in spades and we had a blast.

And though there were several cool celebrity sightings — Marion Ross from “Happy Days” came with her son, Jim Meskimen, who is the nicest guy in the world, even if he plays a child molester in our movie! — my favorite had to be Oscar-nominee and 70’s icon, Karen Black.

Miss Black was supposed to appear in an AFI student film of mine, “The Lone Star Letters”, way back in the day and I had always wanted to meet her in person. So, when I saw her noshing on tacos near the bar, I stumbled over. Being the geek that I am, I started with: “Are you Karen Black?” Lame…I know, but I was completely starstruck.

She was beyond cool and of course had no memory of my nerdy student film or why she couldn’t appear in it, but really, who cared at that point…I mean, I was talking about my movie with Karen-freaking-Black, how cool and totally Hollywood is that? Crazy!

Anyway, we all stayed way too late and drank and ate way too much, but, wow, what a party! Thanks to everyone who came to the premiere to party down with us and most of all to those of you who went out and actually paid to see “Not Forgotten” on it’s opening weekend in Los Angeles. My Aunt Linda and Uncle George actually drove down from the Fresno area to see the movie on Sunday afternoon. Wow!

So, thanks again for all the “Not Forgotten” love, amigos. You guys rock!!

When my fellow Pop Culture Nerd (also known as my friend Elyse) heard that “Not Forgotten” was premiering in Los Angeles this weekend, she asked me to do an interview for her blog. Yes, amigos, sometimes people actually interview the co-writer/associate producers on movies too. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, her questions were hilarious and we had a lot of fun, so, muchas gracias to Elyse for the rocking good time…and here’s hoping the buzz from your blog gets a few more seats in theatres this weekend! To read our nerdy interview in it’s entirety, click here.

And to pre-order tickets for “Not Forgotten” this weekend at the Mann’s Chinese in Hollywood of the Mann’s Plant 16 in Van Nuys, please visit the Mann’s website here. From the looks of it, all the afternoon and evening showings on Friday are sold out (yay!) so, get your tickets soon, yo!

Good news, amigos! This weekend, May 2nd and 3rd, 2009, Unique L.A., that super cool ”independent design and gift sale” that rocked our world last December is returning to downtown Los Angeles. Yay!

I never got around to blogging about how awesome this rocking two-day event was, but now that it’s coming around again, I gotta tell ya, Unique L.A. rules! Not only do they feature work from over 230 artists, designers and musicians, but they also feature said artistry at a totally reasonable price!

Last time we came home with bags full of cool baby duds from Misha Lulu, some killer prints for Greta’s nursery from Etsy artist Brigette B., incredibly-cool little burp cloths from Baby Eggi and a pair of free frilly panties from our friend Nic’s kick ass line of fancy panties, Knickerocker. Thanks, Nic!

Actually, Nic and her equally-talented husband, Dan, are the ones who turned us onto Unique L.A. in the first place. When we heard Nic was displaying her wares there last December, we were there in a heartbeat. And while we knew Nic’s stuff was gonna rock, we had no idea how groovy the rest of the show was gonna be.

I mean, seriously, there was some really hip, one-of-a-kind shit on display, and almost all of it was totally affordable. Even cooler was the fact that you got to actually meet the artists who made the stuff since most of them were manning their own booths. Way cool!

So, if you’re in the market for some truly unique art, jewelry, clothing or even music from some swinging local hipsters, check out Unique L.A. this weekend at the California Market Center Penthouse.

For information on tickets (which are a total steal at only $5 per person!) and parking, click here. We’ll be hitting the showroom on Sunday afternoon with the stroller in tow, so, hope to see you there!

Although we didn’t do anything nearly as “green” as we did last year on Earth Day, Christine and I did make sure Greta looked the part yesterday in her rocking green onesie from Old Navy. Yep, earthy brown pants too…if we could keep anything on her feet for more than a few minutes I woulda hooked her up with some crunchy baby Birkenstocks to complete the lil’ hippie ensemble!

Anyway, hope you all had an awesome Earth Day 2009 and have lots of other eco-friendly good deeds planned for the rest of Earth Week. We’re not planting any trees or anything, but we hardly used our new air conditioner at all today, so I say that totally counts!

Enjoy the pics…and, once again, happy Earth Day, amigos!

Last summer, while driving north to visit Christine’s family in Grants Pass, we had the rare pleasure of actually getting off the freeway in the town of Weed, California. Yes, amigos, there is actually a town called Weed and yes, we always laugh and make stupid pot jokes as we pass through.

I know…we’re lame, but as you can see, some of the signage is pretty freaking hilarious. So, in honor of today being April 20th, here are some of our favorite inadvertently-funny highway signs from scenic Weed, California. Enjoy, and, as always, happy 420!

Oh yeah, and in case you were wondering, the town of Weed is named after its founder, pioneer Abner Weed and not the leafy green herb. Sorry to disappoint…

Technically, this momentous “first” took place the week before Easter, but seeing as we’ve had more than a few sleepless nights recently, I’m only just now getting around to blogging about it…sorry! In any case, Greta’s first free food at Denny’s was pretty amazing.

Of course, she didn’t actually eat anything on the menu. But Christine, myself and our friends Mike and Patty sure did and it was great. And better yet, we practically had the whole place to ourselves!

I don’t know if it was the fact that the last ad was hyped so heavily during the Super Bowl or what, but the lines weren’t nearly as long as the last time we schlepped to Denny’s for free grub. Which was fine by us, since this time we came with a stroller!

And though I’m still partial to the Lumberjack Slam or those totally badass Nachos with the fake cheese sauce, I gotta tell you the free Grand Slamwich Christine ordered — I ordered the traditional Grand Slam, which you had to purchase to get the sandwich free — was pretty tasty.

Basically a sandwich version of the Grand Slam, the Grand Slamwich consists of two scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, shaved ham, mayo and American cheese grilled on potato bread with a maple spice spread. I know, sounds like I’m describing heaven, right? Well, it was pretty close, amigos.

Christine found the flavor combo a bit overwhelming, but the couple of bites I had of that larger-than-life concoction were pretty incredible. It’s no Southern Style Chicken Breakfast Bisquit, but it was definitely worth trying at least once.

And though she didn’t eat there, Greta actually woke up and demanded to be taken out of her carseat/stroller for the first time in her short life. Seriously, she has slept soundly at every restaurant we have taken to her so far, but for some reason, she woke up at Denny’s!

I don’t know it’s coded in her DNA or what, but I like to think my girl just knew somehow that this magical place with the red and yellow decor and 24-hour service with a smile was truly something worth waking up for.

Yep, guess that apple didn’t fall very far at all…welcome to the great, wide-world of Denny’s, baby!

Hey, we’re just as excited as everyone else about President Barack Obama’s first trip to Europe as leader of the free world, and the G20 summit thing sounds cool and everything. But the big news in this household is who will be cooking for the Obamas in merry old England.

You guessed it, amigos…our favorite male UK chef, Jamie Oliver, will be doing the honors at this year’s G20 Summit meeting in London. And while the official menu has yet to be announced, rumor is that Oliver is gearing up to serve the President and First Lady a simple meal of Welsh lamb, asparagus and flat bread with a side of English herb (aka wild garlic). Yum…sounds good to me.

And lest you think Oliver will be toiling all alone in that big old kitchen, fear not. Oliver is going to be helped along by a team of his apprentices from his iconic Fifteen Restaurant in London.

For those of you who missed Oliver’s rocking reality series “Jamie’s Kitchen” a couple of years back, Fifteen takes in unemployed, disadvantaged young people from around the country and trains them to be professional chefs. Cool, huh?

No word yet on whether the Obamas will have time to stop by the restaurant proper, but here’s hoping they find some time to chill with Jamie between courses. And though Oliver’s wife, the very pregnant Jules Oliver, will reportedly miss the event as it is taking place on her due date, word on the street is that both she and her husband are huge fans of our new President.

That’s right…even the English loves them some Obama. Rock on, Jamie O!

OK, first she made a splash on Evite with this adorable pic, but now, barely three weeks into the world our baby girl has made her mark in another way. As of late last week, her nursery was featured on the rocking website Unique-baby-gear.com. Yay!

And not only did the fine folks at Unique Baby Gear ask me to write up a brief description of the products featured in Greta’s nursery, but they also entered our nursery design into their nursery theme design contest! Cool, huh? The award isn’t given out until the end of the year, but first prize is a whopping $200 Amazon gift card, so, we’re keeping our fingers crossed…

If you haven’t explored the website for yourself and have a baby on the way you totally should. Hell, even if you don’t have a baby on the way, the site is pretty fun. There are tons of very cool baby gear ideas. And while you’re there, feel free to comment on our page as part of the contest is based on user comments and we could use the votes, yo!

To read my description of how Christine and I cobbled together the design elements for Greta’s funky baby nursery, click here. And to see more pics like those above, check out our Flickr site here. And if you wanna swing by and see Greta’s room for yourself, come on down to Burbank and we’ll hook you up…

OK, I know you’re probably all sick of the baby-centric posts of late, but had to let you know that the Evite image of Greta that my brother Ryan shot a couple of weeks back is now officially live. So, if you’re planning a baby shower, or know anyone who’s planning a baby shower, spread the word, amigos!

To see Greta’s Evite page larger, in all its crazy-cute glory, click here. And thanks again to Ryan for the pic. You seriously rock, hermano!