Ellswood Hollyworth

Look what I got in the mail!

2011-03-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

Becky has recently gone on a gluten free diet and decided to surprise me with some of her homemade GF treats. I don't eat a lot of sweets and normally when I'm craving something sweet I eat some raisins. Well for the next week or so I will be chowing down on lemon squares, oatmeal spice cookies, coconut bars, and pumpkin cookies!!! How cool is that?

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Update

2010-11-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a few months. I thought I'd give a quick update on what's happening. I wrote two screenplays over the summer. The first is an animated feature comparable to Kung Fu Panda (at least I hope) about Santa's security team called The North Pole Secret Service. I entered it in a contest put on by The Scriptwriter's Network in Hollywood and it was one of five that made it to the second round. My excitement was short lived since it didn't move on. I had my old roommate Hubbel read it and he gave me some good feedback ("coverage" or "notes" in film lingo). My ward mission leader who graduated from UCLA's Master's screenwriting program is going to help me with the rewrite.

The second is a teen romance with a X-Men/mutant twist. The one I am writing now, my 5th screenplay, is a modern-day retelling of Smeagol, Gollum and the ring with a little bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Picture of Dorian Gray. I am currently on page 42.

Once I'm finished with a few of these suckers I will start pounding the pavement. According to the pros I need to have three totally completed and 7 more ready to pitch. Fun stuff!

Happy Mother's Day mom!

2010-05-10T01:11:00.000-07:00

Dear mom,

You were the best mom in the world. I am realizing that more and more everyday. I miss you a lot! I wish you were still here. I especially wish you were here for Julie, Becky, Emilee, and dad. But I trust that you are here for all of us in spirit helping in ways that we are not aware. I am sorry for not liking our house in Yuma because it was the smallest one on the street. Thank you for trying to make the move to Yuma better for us by buying the ping pong table, the badminton set, and the volleyball net and ball. It's little things like that I remember and that I miss. I wish I could hand this letter to you personally. But maybe there's Internet in heaven and you can login and read this on my blog. I love you mom!

With all my love,
Jarom

Exiled from Universal Studios!

2010-05-09T16:37:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I was booted, banished, and exiled from the Universal Studios lot and told never to return and if I did I would be arrested. I went there to attend a screenwriting class on the studio lot. At the guard house they asked for my drivers license for clearance. While she was checking I asked if she had seen Steven Spielberg recently. Spielberg is known for sneaking onto the Universal lot and so that is always my friendly conversation starter. I usually ask if other people have tried to sneak on the grounds like he did but I didn't get the chance because she closed the door. I waited there for about 10 minutes. I thought maybe they were calling the White House for permission. However they were calling the big cheese instead. I was asked to pull forward and park to the side. Another security guard asked me why I asked about Steven Spielberg. I told him he was my favorite director. He asked if there was another time in the past where I had asked about Spielberg. I hesitated not knowing what he was referring to and totally caught off guard. He said, "be honest, be honest." I then said yes there was another time where I was trying to find out how to get letter to him. At the time security informed me that it was impossible to get a letter to him because all mail stopped at the mail room. They answered my query so I went on my way. But that was 6 months ago and I wondered how they knew about that. The security guard told me that they had asked me to leave before and would ask again but this time to never return and if I did I would be arrested. I don't remember them ever asking me to leave before. They took mugshots, got all my information and had me sign a paper saying I agreed to never return. I then left. I'm still confused as to exactly what I did that would cause that kind of reaction. I didn't know asking about a celebrity was against the law.

One thing I know is that security personnel are not the brightest people in the world. I speak from experience. I have more experience as a security guard than anything else. I work with career security guards. Most of them do not have a college education. They get in to security at a young age and never leave due to a wide variety of reasons. One is that they enjoy it, are good at it and don't want to leave. Other reasons maybe laziness, lack of education, or they just aren't smart enough to do anything else. For some sad sacks security work is a simply a means to an end while they chase a dream:) I know I'm making generalizations and maybe they aren't universally accurate (no pun intended) but in my personal experience they are. Like I said I'm speaking from experience. My point being is that I have a theory as to the why and the what for of the experience heretofore mentioned. First off the security guards were simply doing their job. When there is a potential threat it is their job to prevent, control, and contain that threat. I was or am seen as a threat and was promptly taken care of. Security guards like action and most of the time there is not much action so when action comes along they are all over it. These guys were probably bored and wanted something to do. It's all a scare tactic. We do it all the time. No big deal.

Originally I thought it was the mention of Spielberg that raised the red flag but I have a feeling it was my name. I theorize that they have had me on a watch list ever since October. They were waiting for me. They probably assumed I was using the screenwriting class as a guise to infiltrate the studio lot and find Spielberg. That is false. Not now nor then do I think that would accomplish anything. So there you have it I am on the Universal Studios most wanted list. Fun times in the land of fruits and nuts (me being one of the nuts.)

Scout Snow Camping Trip

2010-05-06T16:17:00.001-07:00

I went on a camping trip with the boy scouts in our ward. It was at Barton Flats on the way to Big Bear. The great thing about living in LA is you get to spend a lot more time in the car than the average human. It took us four hours to get there when it should have been more like two. But we left at exactly the wrong time: Friday 4pm.

I didn't have any snow shoes or boots so I just wore my sneaks with three pairs of socks. My feet froze. I helped the boys make the fire and it was killing me to watch them. I wanted so bad to do it for them because they were taking so long. I realized that building a fire is not something you are born with but a skill you must learn. I've made many fires in my youth as a boy scout and I guess I took it for granted. So I forced myself to let them do it. They needed the experience not me. We found that eucalyptus wood makes the worst fire wood. It doesn't burn easily, stinks, and puts off a lot of smoke. FYI. I did sleep pretty good with the help of a drug called Sleep Aid and a -5 degree mummy bag.

The next day we had a killer snowball fight and dug a snow cave. You can play the game "Where's Jarom?" with these four pictures.

Stake Youth Auction

2010-03-08T17:05:00.001-08:00

We had an auction for the youth in the LA stake for their various activities and such. It was funny to see all the stuff being auctioned off. Front row Lakers tickets x2 went for $500. Chelsie Hightower from Dancing with the Stars is in the singles ward and she donated tickets. A lot of high fashion stuff from Burberry junk to a Louis Vuitton bag. My personal favorite was to have Larry King record your outgoing phone message. Imagine getting my voicemail in the signature Larry King voice "Hello this is Larry King, Jarom Ellsworth is not here right now but if you leave a message he will call you as soon as he can..." It went for $110. (His wife is in the ward.)

There is a landmark hot dog joint in Hollywood called Pinks Hotdogs. It always has a long line even at 1am. I have always wanted to go but never wanted to wait in line. One of the youth donated himself to stand in line for you. At the end of the night they raised $10,000.

Million Dollar Baby

2010-02-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

I wrote this to explain why I liked the movie Million Dollar Baby. I posted it on my MySpace account but I deleted my account so I wanted to make it available again to the public at large.

If you haven't seen the movie and plan on it, DO NOT READ THIS! It will spoil the movie.  First of all Million Dollar Baby is not about the death of Maggie. It’s about the death of Frankie. But you say Frankie did not die. Yes he did, I will explain.  

"If there's magic in boxing, its the magic of fighting battles beyond endurance, beyond cracked rips, ruptured kidneys and detached retinas. It's the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you."  

Million Dollar Baby is a fairy tale about a man in search of redemption. Here is a quick synopsis of the movie by Brandon Valentine. "Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) is a long-time boxing trainer and gym owner, who in an attempt to both find answers to his questions and help ease his guilt and pain from his estrangement with his own daughter, attends Mass services daily. After losing his prized fighter to another, more go-getting, trainer, Frankie soon encounters a 31 year-old female boxer named Maggie (Hillary Swank), who wants him to take her under his wing. Frankie initially balks at the idea of training a girl, but after much persistence and dedication from Maggie, and some convincing from his long-time pal, Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris (Morgan Freeman), Frankie eventually agrees to train the girl. From then on, Frankie works with Maggie, the poor Southern-born waitress with an ambitious attitude, on her uphill climb to superstardom. In the process, an undividable bond forms between the three."  

Maggie is injured in a boxing match and paralyzed. As a quadriplegic, she tries to take her own life but the Doctors prevent her. She pleads with Frankie to do it for her but he refuses. Frankie tires of seeing her suffer so he talks to his Priest.   The Priest says, "Frankie I've seen you at mass almost everyday for 20 years, the only person that comes to church that much is the kind that can't forgive himself for something. Whatever sins you carry is nothing compared to this, forget about God, or heaven and hell, if you do this thing, you'll be lost somewhere so deep you'll never find yourself again."  

With this in mind, Frankie does it anyway. It’s the last and final act of a man desperately seeking redemption. In taking Maggie’s life, he is taking his own. He pays the ultimate price for someone he loves. John 15:13 "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Frankie sacrifices himself for someone who is more than a friend Maggie is like a daughter. In a letter written to Frankie’s daughter, Scrap says, "Frankie never came back at all, Frankie didn't leave a note, and nobody knew where he went, I'd hope he'd gone to find you, to ask you one more time to forgive him, but maybe he didn't have anything left in his heart. I'd just hope he found some place where he could find a little peace, a place set in the cedars and oak trees, somewhere between no where and goodbye, but that's probably wishful thinking, no matter where he is I thought you should know what kind of man your father really was." Frankie knows he has lost his soul, so in a sense he goes off to die. The very last scene we see him sitting in the same café where Maggie had taken him for the best lemon pie, which Frankie referred to as "heaven."  

But we can't forget the return of Dangerous Dillard. Danger is a skinny weakling with no talent to speak of. Earlier in the film, he is dropped off near the gym by his sister’s boyfriend who then leaves and never comes back. Danger, like the rest of the characters in the movie, has no one. He talks big and says he is going to beat the Motor City Cobra to become the Welter Weight Champion of the World. One of the guys training at the gym beats Danger up pretty bad. The hurt is more emotional and Danger disappears. He does not return until the very end. Scrap narrates, "...a ghost came through the door. 'I got to thinking what you said Mr. Grant.’ ‘And what was that Danger?’ ‘Anybody can lose one fight.’ ‘That's the truth, go ahead and put your clothes on, you missed a lot of training.’ ‘Will do Mr. Grant, sure thing.'" The return of Danger symbolizes a rebirth and completes the circle of the story. The movie does a full revolution. With death we have birth and with birth we have life.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

I went to Yuma for Christmas. It was fun hanging out with Emilee and Becky and their families and of course El Don Bryan. Here are some pics at a big park in Yuma.

At church Jeb was the hymn book coordinator for our row. He collected all the hymn books on the row and stacked them up on the chair next to him. When it came time to sing he handed each of us our hymn books already turned to the correct page. When the song was over he collected the hymn books again. I liked having a hymnal coordinator.

I took some pictures of old Yuma on the way home.

Old Yuma 2009

Dad and I went to see Avatar but it was sold out. We went by the river, which borders Mexico, on the way home. Every thing is gated and fenced off. It teed us off that we couldn't get down to our old swimming and fishing holes. We finally found a spot and it even had a trail that lead down to the river. The Border Patrol agents routinely drag a sled made from old tires on the road to cover up old tracks and create a fresh bed for new ones. I don't remember what was said but dad got me into the mood to cause some mischief. Before getting out of the truck I told dad to carry me on his back down to the river. One set of footprints going down to the river, two sets of prints coming up. We even made tracks that looked like we climbed out of the river. I went walking down the road while crazy dad spun some brodies, donuts, or whatever you want to call them. He picked me up down the road. As I was getting into the truck I looked up and saw a tower with cameras, a radar and other hi tech gadgetry.

I thought Oh crap we are dead. I pointed the tower out to dad and then looked around for a green and white. Sure enough just up the road I see a border patrol bronco cruising our way. I jumped in and we took off. He followed us down the road. When another agent showed up, the first turned on his lights and pulled us over. They ran our drivers licenses and asked a few questions. At the end they said the way we got out of the truck was a little weird. I felt like I was 14 and hanging out with the Welker boys again. The only difference is we didn't have any weapons drawn on us.

Video from the ET 2 Rally

2009-12-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

Click here to watch the video.

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The ET 2 Adventure Continues

2009-11-30T02:50:00.000-08:00

Last week I went to CAA (Creative Artists Agency) to talk to Spielberg's agent, Richard Lovett. I walked in and talked to the receptionist. She said I needed an appointment first. She gave me the phone number to the main switchboard. I stepped out and made the phone call. They transferred me to his office. His assistant told me he doesn't take unsolicited meetings which I already knew. She transferred me to special services where no one picked up. I figure it's just a way to get rid of people like me. I called her back and asked if I could send a letter. She said for legal reasons he can't read anything. The picture is of the building in Century City where CAA is located.

Today I talked to Keith Atkinson, the Southern California LDS Public Affairs director who's office is located on the temple grounds. I asked if he knew Jerry Molen. He said he did and would get some contact info for me. FYI Jerry Molen is LDS and produced several Spielberg movies including Schindler's List for which he won an Oscar. He also produced The Other Side of Heaven. He is currently living in Montana. This could be pretty big but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Rally at Universal Studios

2009-11-10T03:54:00.001-08:00

For those of you wondering, I did actually go through with the rally. Joe and Sam flew down from Seattle. It was their 10th anniversary so they fit in Disneyland and Magic Mt. Emilee and Cody drove up from San Diego and dad came up from Mexico. I had about 30 people participate. A lot of people were wondering what the heck was going on. I had a few bikes with baskets. I bought a red hoodie for everyone that showed up. I thought it was fun and went well.

I went back out by myself on Thursday and Friday with a big 8 foot by 10 foot sign. On Thursday I was on the same side of the street as the studios. A security guard came and told me to go to the other side of the street. He had a no questions asked attitude. I was a little offended. I was on the sidewalk. What were they worried about? Anyway the sign was so big I couldn't carry it because of all the people in the crosswalk. I couldn't see much and didn't want to hit anybody so I drug it behind me and people went around it.

A passerby told me Spielberg is in Sweden right now. He also told me I was in the wrong place. He said Spielberg's offices are on the other side of the studio. On Friday another passerby told me to go to the Barham gate (which is on the other side of the studio) because his friend worked for Amblin and that is where he entered the studio at. So next week I will be at the Barham gate with my big sign.

Pictures from the rally at http://thereturn2.com

This is the place!

2009-10-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 24, 2009 Universal Studios!

The Return 2012

2009-09-28T22:31:00.001-07:00

My ET blog is up and running. Check it out.

http://thereturn2012.blogspot.com

Tracting in Beverly Hills

2009-07-17T17:07:00.000-07:00

I just went on splits with the missionaries, tracting in Beverly Hills. There were a ton of Starline tour vans and others taking pictures. I didn't think much of it considering the area. At one of the gates the lady asked if it was a religious message we were sharing. We said yes. She replied, "Do you know where you are?" Then some dude in the driveway yelled, "You're at the Playboy Mansion!" It was the back gate.

Birthdays are like weiners.

2009-05-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

I know its late but better late than never. Thanks everyone for your cards, phone calls, text messages, DVD, etc.

Is this not the funniest card? Thanks Sam.

Next time you speak in church...

2009-04-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

I gave a talk in sacrament meeting a couple of weeks ago. I was asked to speak on "the worth of souls" (I am a ward missionary) and was not given a time limit. There was only one other speaker so I figured I had a good 20 minutes. I wrote the whole thing out and figured it was probably about 20 minutes worth of material.

I was the first to speak. I don't remember what time I started so even though I was watching the clock it wasn't doing a whole lot of good since I really didn't know exactly when to finish. Well I got wrapped up in the moment and time really flew by. I was almost finished when some old guy in the congregation looked at me and tapped his watch quite forcefully with an annoyed look on his face. I looked at the clock and wondered where all the time went. (That seems to be a theme in my life.) I hurried and finished and sat down. I was embarrassed because I knew I had taken way too much time. The other speaker was an RM giving his homecoming speech and he had lots of family in town. So I felt even worse.

When I heard the counselor in the Bishopric say they were going to skip the intermediate hymn and move on to the last speaker I sunk my head in shame. We ended up getting out 10 minutes late!!! Afterward I apologized to the Bishopric and the Stake President who happened to be there. They were nice and told me not to worry about it. One of the counselors in the Bishopric who was sitting closest to the pulpit asked me if I felt him tapping on my shoe. I didn't feel a thing. He was tapping on my shoe to get me to stop talking! I was pretty dang embarrassed. You can put me in the same category as the 95+ year olds who are senile and who have lost all awareness of time years ago. HELLO!

Next time I give a talk in sacrament I am not asking for a time limit but a deadline.

Tracting with the fearless Elder Ellett

2009-03-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday night I went on splits with the missionaries. We went tracting. I was okay with going tracting until they told me we were going to West Hollywood. That's when I got a little worried. For those of you who don't know, West Hollywood is very gay. I am pretty sure 95% of the people who protested at the temple last November are from West Hollywood. So I went knocking doors with Elder Ellett from Loa, Utah. One important piece of information: Elder Ellett has only one arm. Surprisingly the tracting went well. People were courteous and polite. They weren't interested but no one slammed the door in our faces. An Iranian Jewish guy named Jacob with brothers named Abraham, Isaac and Joseph told us it was too late to be out knocking on doors. So we went up to Sunset Blvd and started street contacting. Yes this is the famous Sunset Blvd with all the clubs, music venues, and scandalous billboards.

This is when Elder Ellett really impressed me. He was totally fearless! He talked to anybody and everybody. He stopped people while they were smoking outside of clubs (you can't smoke indoors in California). He stopped joggers, he stopped a girl who was listening to her iPod and had to take out the ear buds to hear him, and he loved bus stops because as he said, "they couldn't go anywhere." The funniest part was when he contacted people in front of Hustler! Sorry no picture. So on the way back to meet up with the other guys I asked Elder Ellett how he lost his arm. He said he fell off a truck when he was four years old. He told me I could read about it online. He didn't have time to give any details. So I went home and googled "Ellett" (I didn't ask him his first name). This is what I found.

He was on the cover of The New Era in February 2008 here is the link to the story.
New Era article

The Porter Ellett Story

The following link is from Good Morning America
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=4377838

He was also on The Today Show.

The following is from CNN.

One Armed Basketball Player - video powered by Metacafe

Missionaries don't come any better than Elder Ellett.

Craigslist Rideshare

2009-02-06T02:04:00.000-08:00

A few days before I was planning to come to AZ for Patricka's wedding the check engine light came on. A coworker found oil in the radiator and told me not to drive the car. I looked into flying, taking the train, Greyhound, and I put an ad on Craigslist rideshare. The best option was looking like Greyhound and I was not looking forward to that. But then some dude named Leaf responded to my add on Craigslist. He was on his way from the Bay area heading to Tucson. He dropped off another rider near my area and picked me up at my apt. Six hours and $20 later I was in Mesa. You can't beat that.
I stayed with Julie and Ted's friends. I got in at around 5am and couldn't go to sleep. I looked at my watch at 5:45am and fell asleep sometime after that. I woke up at 8 am to go take pictures and video for Patricka but they weren't there nor was anyone else. After awhile they showed up. Pat asked me to walk around with Patricia's parents who speak no English and I speak no Portuguese. I was sure happy when Emilee arrived on scene.

Catch up

2009-02-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

I figure it's time to update the blog. Over Christmas I hung out with Julie, Ted and family. We went to Universal Studios on Tuesday before Christmas and Sea World on Friday. I drove down to San Diego on Christmas night and stayed with them that night in Emilee and Cody's apt so I wouldn't have to drive in the morning traffic. A quick note: M and Cody have the coolest toilet. It is one of those ones that doesn't work by gravity from the water in the tank but by some insanely powerful suction that if you're not careful when flushing it will pull you down with it. It is frickin awesome!
Sea World was pretty cool. They started the Shamu show out by thanking the troops. I was pleasantly surprised because you just don't hear people thanking troops in LA. That night we went to the Christmas Shamu show and they sang Christmas carols, not just any carols but the Christ centered ones. And then they had the whole audience stand up and sing Joy to the World. I was blown away. I just didn't think that would happen in California.
The next four pictures I think are pretty funny. I put Joe on his back in the stroller and left him in the middle of the sidewalk. I went back and sat down by Ted and the boys while Julie was in the bathroom with Emma. We sat there and watched people's reactions to this unclaimed kid. The guy in the black sweater turned around and saw Joe in the stroller on his back. He rushed over to help but saw that Joe was laughing. The guy looked around and saw us laughing and realized it was a joke.

The following pics are some favorites.

I was watching Emma while everyone else went on a ride. While we were waiting we went into a souvenir shop. Emma made all the employees laugh because she was so excited about all the stuff.

In the following pictures you will see that Ted spent a lot of time making sure everyone stayed dry. He got to the Shamu Christmas show really early and got 2nd row seats in the center.

Hunting with Ted in Africa!

2008-12-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

My bro in law Ted took Uncle Harold and I hunting over Thanksgiving break. It was AWESOME! Our first stop was in Kenya. We saw a ton of wildlife. We were going for a couple of Greater Kudu and this lion came out of nowhere and attacked. Luckily we were still in the Land Rover and were able to make it out of there. I forgot my camera so I took a couple with my cell phone. I got one good one of the king of jungle taking it to the Kudu. As you can see the kudu in front was freaked out and ended up out running us in the Rover. That fat zebra was in his own world. He's lucky because it could have been him next but the other lions taking up the rear decided to help take down the kudu. Too bad the resolution on the pics are crap. The weather was great probably in the 70's the whole time we were there. And as you can see from the sky we had lots of sun. A real good time was had by all. Won't you agree Harold?

LAPD & the Protest at the LA Temple

2008-11-19T04:44:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures taken by the Public Affairs director showing our support from the LAPD.

This picture is on the temple grounds right next to the Visitor's Center.

The picture below is at the main gate of the temple.

Prop 8 Protests at the Los Angeles Temple pics

2008-11-08T19:51:00.000-08:00

During the day on Thursday the protestors surrounded the temple grounds. We had LAPD, SWAT, and LA Fire Dept. inside the temple grounds. There was word that the protesters were going to burn the temple down. So extra measure was taken. The SWAT team was in full riot gear and were hiding in the bushes and trees. In pics and video you can see that the police formed a barricade around the gates. My favorite part was our volunteer temple protectors. A large group of Polynesians came up to help out. I noticed on the news that the protesters had put a bunch of signs and posters on the fence of the temple but when I got to the temple they were all gone. I wondered where they all went. Later I found out that the polynesians had walked through the crowd and tore all the signs down. I think that is the greatest thing! Every sign was gone. Who is going to stop a bunch of pissed off polynesians?

The following are pictures from the day.

Prop 8

And these are some short videos that the head engineer took.

Prop 8 Protests at the Los Angeles Temple

2008-11-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

On Thursday there were 2,000 to 3,000 people protesting in Westwood at the LA Temple. I did not get there until 9pm so I missed all the fun. When I got to the temple there were about 30 LAPD cop cars inside the temple grounds lined up waiting for action. By the time I took these pictures a lot of the cop cars had left.

These next few pics are from the top of the temple taken about midnight. The thousands who were there earlier are now obviously gone.

Prop 8 Protests in West Hollywood

2008-11-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday night I decided to take the bus to the temple. I like to observe the different characters in this crazy city. I need to start wearing a hidden video camera on my person. Wednesday night I really wished I had one. So I'm on the bus cruising down Santa Monica Blvd. The police have the road blocked at Fairfax. So the bus driver goes south to Melrose and then west a few blocks and then heads north again on Crescent Heights back up to Santa Monica Blvd. The bus driver was thinking he had passed the traffic jam. We approach the intersection of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Blvd and there is a large crowd of people. The bus driver can't turn around so he proceeds. The crowd has traffic stopped in every direction. When they see the bus moving through they attack the bus. A hundred or more people were hitting, pounding, screaming, rocking the bus, etc. They broke out a window, tore off the wiper blades and broke the mirrors off. One guy put his motor cycle in front of the bus and the bus driver rolled up on it. No damage was done but it was declared as an accident so the bus driver could not go anywhere until police arrived. Fire and police arrived and dispersed the angry crowd. Most everyone on the bus got off but I waited thinking it would only be a few minutes and the bus would be on its way. After a half hour the driver informs us that he can't go anywhere. He gives the remaining passengers a token and we exit. By this time the crowd has moved on. I start walking west to get out of the gridlocked protest zone in order to catch another bus. The very next bus stop I notice some of the other passengers from the bus that we were just on waiting for the bus. One girl recognized me and asked where I was going. I told her we needed to get out of the gridlock protest zone because no bus is going to make it through the congestion to this bus stop. As I was explaining I looked up and saw a bus coming. I was shocked. I thought how did that bus make it? I was thankful that the girl stopped me because otherwise I would have kept walking and missed that bus. The following pics are from my cell phone. Not very good but better than nothing.

So I'm on the bus and we make it through Beverly Hills and Century City no problem. When the bus gets to Beverly Glen I notice large crowds of people heading toward the temple. The bus stop for the temple is a block before the temple. I exit the bus right in front of a large crowd. I walk a nice brisk pace to stay well ahead of them. After witnessing the anger and hostility of the crowd a few minutes before I'm a little bit nervous. I call the temple radio phone for security and tell them about the crowd and not to lock me out. When I get to Manning and turn the corner out of the sight of the crowd I start hauling serious A--. LAPD is at the main gate in the process of getting everything under lockdown. The crowd came and made a bunch of noise but the big event is yet to come.

More on Prop 8

2008-11-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

On Saturday my ward rallied at the intersection of Vermont and Melrose near the on-ramp to the 101 freeway. There wasn't much of a turnout but I think its pretty good for our ward. That intersection is extremely busy. We had more positive response than negative. Our stake president joined us which was way cool. He's a total awesome dude! Even though our ward rally was scanty it is good to know that pretty much every ward in California did something that day. Afterwards another person from my ward and I joined the Wilshire Ward at the intersection of Western and Pico. The Huntington Park stake (Spanish) gathered at the USC game. I wanted to join them but had to work. It would have been fun because USC is very liberal. It would have been cool to see the Spanish people united under the same cause.

PS Check out the road in disrepair in the last picture. Typical of LA. They try to keep up on it but when you have 900 billion cars on the streets it can easily get out of hand.

Catalina with El Don Bryan

2008-09-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

I spent Friday of Labor Day weekend in Catalina with dad. The night before was total HELL for me trying to go to sleep. I got into bed after taking a sleep aid tablet at 1am. I tossed and turned for maybe 45 minutes and then took another tablet. I dozed off for about ten minutes and then dad started to snore. I got up and told him to turn on his machine. Still could not sleep. An hour after that I took a third tablet. By this time it is 3am and the alarm is set for 6am. All I wanted was 4 hours of sleep or 3. Sometime between 3 and 4am I dozed off and then woke up again refreshed after a few minutes. I think it was dad's machine that woke me up but I don't know. My roommate was gone so I went into his room at around 4 am. I'm not sure when I got to sleep but 6am came really fast. Normally my most productive time is between 2 and 5am. I forced myself up and into the shower. The traffic going south to Long Beach wasn't bad so we made it with time to spare. We took the Catalina Express ferry to Avalon.

Wrigley Memorial (chewing gum, Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field) and Botanical Gardens

The trip was a blast except for feeling dead tired. We rented some bikes, checked out the sights, snorkeled, and slept on the beach (grass). There are no beaches in Catalina.

Check out the rest of the photos.

Earthquake

2008-07-29T16:19:00.000-07:00

Just in case you are wondering. I did feel the earthquake. It wasn't that strong but was strong enough to wake me up. It felt like someone was shaking my bed. A desk lamp fell over but that's it. It lasted maybe 10 seconds. I immediately heard a bunch of dogs barking outside followed by loud chatter from the neighbors. The best way to describe it would be an earthjiggle instead of an earthquake.

Batmobile and Batcycle

2008-07-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

They had these on display at the Arclight/Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. Click on the picture to view the other pictures.

Batmobile and Batcycle

MoFash 08

2008-07-12T03:38:00.000-07:00

The Santa Monica and Los Angeles Stakes put on a modest fashion show as a stake young women's activity. Only in LA!

Erin Fox (BYU film classmate) and I did the following two videos.

Watch the longer version here.

Shorter version here.

Or you can just watch the longer version below.

Seattle May 2008 Day 1

2008-05-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

First off, thanks Jason and Lisa for the ticket to Seattle. It was a great time. Too bad I didn't get to go to Kinnewick. Maybe next time.
I had a really long first day. On Thursday I slept till 5pm. I stayed up all night. Caught a ride to LAX at 7am. I got into Seattle around noon. We spent the day at the zoo. I was feeling it by the end of the day. I think I made it to 29 hours before I crashed. The 24 hour days happen a couple of times a month so I'm used to it.
The best part was seeing all the nieces and nephews. I love being the favorite uncle!

On the way to the zoo. Ahoo, Gunner and Scottie with the killer shades.

Pat these pictures are for you. I knew you would be disappointed if I went to a zoo and didn't take any pictures of animals. (Which I almost did).

Ahoo and Nathanael at the African Safari exhibit.

Nathanael and Gunner with Ben 10 watch (for shape shifting).

This is my favorite picture. Samantha told us a story of when Tess got lost at the science center. She told the employee her name was Ahoo and they announced over the intercom for the parents of Ahoo to come get her. Samantha didn't hear it because she didn't know Tess had changed her name to Ahoo. While I was there she changed her name to Yanna (Yaw-na). I kept calling her Ahoo but she wouldn't have it. "My name is Yanna!"

Kate the lion.

Scottie the tiger.

Ethan is figuring out what he's going to turn into next.

Easy E, E.Z.E., Eazy E in da house!

Nathanael didn't want to leave the zoo.

Betsy's birthday.

Seattle day 2

2008-05-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

Joe's graduation from Seattle University School of Law was on Saturday May 17 in 90 degree weather. We moved up into the shade along with pretty much everyone else. Joe got heat exhaustion from not being able to move and being in the black robe.

We ate at Bahama Breeze which was really good food. The kids stayed home with baby sitters.

Seattle Day 3

2008-05-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we took a quick trip to Lake Wilderness.

Dad you know I had to put this picture in. Maybe it will help motivate you.

Just like any baby at this age, Betsy put everything in her mouth.

El Don is out.

Seattle Day 4: Mt. Rainier and Gunner's Game

2008-05-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Mt. Rainier on Monday. The road was closed so we stopped at a picnic area.

Gunner was the last one to bat and as the last batter you run as far as you can because the inning is over whether or not you're safe or out. So Gunner rounds first and is on his way to 2nd base but the 2nd basemen already had the ball and was waiting for him. That didn't stop Gunner. He ran way out into the outfield with the 2nd basemen on his tail. He practically ran all over the field trying to stay safe.

Eyes on the ball.

This is him running back in from the outfield to 2nd base.

3rd base

Look at Gunner, now look at home plate. He was not going to get tagged out. He had everybody laughing.

Seattle Day 5: Museum of Flight

2008-05-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

We went to the Museum of Flight and I didn't take very many pictures. I got caught up in the early days of space exploration.

SpaceShipOne. The first private spacecraft to go into space.

Air Force One

Alaska Airlines pilots near Boeing trying to avoid a strike.

2008-04-27T00:33:00.000-07:00

One awesome car! 100% electric, 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds, 220 miles per charge, body by Lotus, valet mode limits its range, speed, and distance to prevent joyrides, single-occupancy access to all carpool lanes, income tax credit (awaiting new legislation), a luxury car that's fully exempt from the luxury car tax, free parking at charging stations at LAX, no parking meter fees in an increasing number of major metropolitan areas, etc.

Santa Barbara, California (Paradise)

2008-04-19T00:52:00.000-07:00

I hung out with Pat in Santa Barbara last Friday after he finished his conferences on Isoscapes.
This is Pat after a long week.We checked out some tide pools the next morning really early around 11am. Pat is taking pictures of rock barnacles and sea anenomes. He was looking for the surf bird which he has never officially seen.

This is a picture of a street in Santa Barbara which doesn't look like much in the picture but in real life it reminded me so much of a typical Southern California town. I swear I could hear the Beach Boys playing in the background.

This is what all the buildings look like in downtown Santa Barbara: old Spanish mission style.

This is the Santa Barbara Mission.

This is a lavanderia (laundromat).

We found a nice front country hike. It was nice getting out of the city. And of course Pat liked seeing birds.

Pat was on his phone more than half the time either talking to Patricia or dealing with the 2nd rate Windows crap phone that it is. One word: Apple.

On the way home we stopped by Hollywood and Highland to see the hand and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater and the freakshow. Sorry no pics of the freakshow. Maybe Pat got some. But to describe it: Spiderman climbing on the lightpole, Gollum chasing girls and little kids, Sponge Bob, Marilyn and Elvis, etc.

Political Disasters film shoot

2008-03-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

This is a film I worked on for an AFI grad, Zach Horton named Political Disasters. I helped with the casting and was boom operator. I was amazed at the talent he had coming in to audition. One girl came into the audition excited to see her acting teacher from USC trying out for the same movie. One of the main actors is Tim Dekay and has a credit list a mile long. He played Bizarro Jerry in a couple of Seinfield episodes. These are some pics I took on set. The hot girl is Paulie Rojas. The older lady is Barbara Bain who also has a credit list a mile long dating back to 1958.

My run in with the LAPD.

2008-02-25T02:23:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday I was on an outside security round at the temple. I saw a helicopter flying near the area. I took out my flashlight and flashed the helicopter. Note: The lights we use are the same ones used by the LAPD and are extremely bright. The helicopter flew over to me and lit me up with the spotlight. I've had that happen before but they usually move on after a few seconds. Well this guy was not letting up. After a while I waved at him. He kept making passes and each time held the light on me. I reached the grounds building just as the helicopter was turning around to make another pass so I quickly went inside. I stood a couple of feet from the door and waited. He came back and lit up the area outside the door and all over the place. This guy was looking for me and not giving up. He was searching the entire building. I decide to take the tunnel to another set of buildings which include the visitors center. In the visitors center I looked over and could see that the helicopter was still looking for me. I could also see 3 or 4 people walking toward the grounds building. I had closed the gate so I didn't know how they got on the grounds. I looked closer and could see that they were police officers. I thought "I am dead." I looked to the opposite direction toward the temple and saw a few more officers on foot. I had planned on waiting for the helicopter to leave but with all these police officers on the grounds I knew I couldn't. I called the other security guard and told him I stirred up the hornets nest. I exited the building and saw about 7 more officers with weapons drawn on their way to the grounds building. I startled them and they all drew on me. I put my hands in the air and froze. One of them had a shotgun and pointed it at me ready to shoot. The sergeant told me to "come here." I took a step forward and stopped. I was freaked out with that dang shotgun bead on my chest. The sergeant said "come here" again. I took another step and he said it again. I took another step and he said "come here" again but louder. I took another step forward and by this time he was getting irritated and yelled "COME HERE!" So I walked over and they saw that I was a security guard. He asked if I flashed the helicopter and I said yes. He explained that there was a robbery in the area and the suspect fit my description. The pilot thought for sure he had found the guy. They were so disappointed that I was just a security guard. They talked for a minute and then left. There were probably 20 LAPD officers on the grounds.

The next day one of the Temple Presidency said he was glad to see that I had my color back. The Mission President's wife said everybody had told her LA was dangerous but she figured the temple grounds would be safe. I heard it even made it on the news. It caused quite a stir in LA Temple land.