Apr 18 2010
Guess what! Your favorite movie, Road Trip 2: Beer Pong, is now airing on TBS…in the wee, wee hours of the morning. But they changed the title to Road Trip 2: Get Your Pong On, because beer is the devil, even on cable.
You can sign up for an email reminder to watch or Tivo the movie, which the Dept. of Shameless Promotion tells me may have an influence on how TBS continues to run it. Go here to sign up.
Apr 13 2010
I think there might be a few Lexingtonians reading the blog, so as the mayoral race there ratchets up, I want to share my personal story with one of the candidates, and ask that you give him your support.
I left Lexington after college and took a job in North Carolina. I met great people, had great experiences, learned a lot, but needed to come home closer to family and friends. Fortunately, Arthur Rouse at Video Editing Services was willing to hire me, and one of the first projects he put me on was an assignment to document Gray Construction’s remodel of the Wolf Wile department store building into its new company home. They wanted to “walk in their customers moccasins,” and experience what their clients feel in designing and building a new home. Jim Gray was at the forefront of that decision, and was my key contact at the company. Over the several years it took for that project to develop and conclude, Jim became a mentor to me, became invested in my growth and dreams, and inspired me to pursue my career in film. I was just a contractor from across the street, but he saw promise and encouraged it. His support goes well beyond what I can quickly detail here, but suffice it to say — I might not have become a filmmaker without him. He wrote letters of recommendation, made arrangements for me to visit different film schools, and allowed my wife and me to use his new building for a going away party when I decided on USC. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He remains an invaluable resource in my life — a friend, but more like a sage. Call him Obi-Wan to my Luke.
Jim has that kind of influence on everyone with whom he works. He’s a highly-educated forward thinker, a CEO of one America’s largest construction firms, and yet he has dedicated himself in his work as Vice Mayor to making Lexington better, and to helping anyone and everyone he can — as he did with me. As he has with countless others.
Jim lives downtown. He kept his company downtown. He’s pro-business, pro-growth, but environmentally concerned. He believes Lexington can grow responsibly — grow smartly. Overcoming the loss of his father at a young age, and struggling with his brothers to rescue and sustain the company, Jim has a tireless work ethic, and is dedicated to his family. A product of Vanderbilt and Harvard, Jim knows the value of education, cherishes it, and will do all he can to ensure Lexington’s children receive the very best the city can offer.
When you meet him, Jim looks you dead in the eye, shakes your hand warmly — with the strength of a construction company’s CEO — and asks how you are doing. That’s not just a greeting. He wants to know. For a man as busy as he is, he listens — if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be where he is today. There is warmth and sincerity in his smile, and a down-home Glasgow twinkle in his eye. He’s as Kentucky as it gets, but he’s been around the world, seen and learned, and has the perspective our town needs.
I know Jim is the right man for this job. A Lexington where Jim Gray is mayor, is a Lexington I’d move back to in a heartbeat. Please support him. If you’re unsure, do the research. Get to know him. Listen. Then share your concerns, and Jim will listen to you. You won’t be disappointed.
Apr 05 2010
Not wanting us to have to spend Easter without any family, Mom-Mom came to visit us for 10 days around the Easter holiday. She brought with her lots of Easter activities for Sophie – including coloring eggs, making an Easter bunny bag and learning Easter songs.
Easter Sunday began with Sophie hunting for her baskets – she seemed very pleased with her new book, underwear and candy but doesn’t want to take off her new Elmo pajamas. We then hosted a small brunch for the Dempseys & Perdue/Okanos and finished off the day with a trip to the park where Sophie kicked the soccer ball and we all walked off a bit of the Easter candies we’d consumed throughout the weekend.
Thank you Mom-Mom for visiting and making these memories with us.
Apr 05 2010
Spending a week in Venice, FL to visit Nana & Opa was quite a treat. We were able to enjoy lots of time chatting (Sophie had a full emersion in the German language), take walks on the beach, visit the Sarasota Animal Park (and hold an aligator) and Myaka State Park.
One tradition that I think every Grandmother enjoys teaching her Granddaughter is baking a cake. And cake baking Nana & Sophie did!! It was so fun for me to sit back and just watch them interact and share this special time together.
A final treat of the trip was getting to see my Aunt Moni and Uncle Peter who had come to town for a visit of their own but changed their plans so they could enjoy one dinner with us before we left to come back to LA.
Thank you Nana & Opa for your time, your treats and most of all – the wonderful memories for Sophie and us!!
