DadJack.com Blog

Are you ready?  The costume shop next to CRN has been crazy.  I don’t want Halloween to come… Because as soon as it passes we’ll be in full holiday mode.  At my house Halloween pretty much starts tomorrow, Lucy has her school parade, then it is off to Line 6 with Angie and Ethan for some in office trick or treating, while I am at The CRN holding court over our in house costume contest.  (Which all are welcome to attend, with or without costume! click here to find the address)

Tomorrow on the podcast we have Jamie Kennedy and Greg Giraldo… Always fun to have guests on the pod.

I have been seriously neglecting my caffeine intake the last couple days… I know this because I had a big headache.  I can go a day or two with not too much, but anything over that and the head hurts, so I’m sitting at Panera right now with a large ice tea.  Since they opened the Art Institute next door Panera is mainly overrun with young twenties on their laptops, portfolios at their sides.  I hide on the patio… Where I fit in better, and it gives me way more to look at.  When I sat there was a man sitting across from me, he looked roughly my age, he too was typing away on his laptop.  A car pulled up to the curb, more correctly a minivan, and sat there for a moment, the man typed and the car sat.  This went on for about 2 minutes, then the window rolled down and “Chris!” was shouted from the van…  It startled the man (Who we now know as Chris), he was so enthralled in his work he hadn’t noticed his wife had arrived to pick him up. ( this happens a lot right here, being right across from the subway and the bus hub, people camp out on the patio and wait for their rides)  All of this really doesn’t matter, because the part that struck me happened right after he grabbed his stuff and jumped up.  As Chris opened the door to get into the car you could hear an excited “Daddy!” come from the backseat.  Every parent knows that sound, that high pitched, energized, one word exclamation that truly comes from the heart.  That little girl was so excited to see “Daddy”, the woman more annoyed that “Chris” didn’t notice she had pulled up right away.  I know for me, that after not seeing the kids for awhile it is great to hear that sound from the backseat…  Do I wish that tiny explosion of joy happened everytime I opened my door?  Without a doubt, but you take what you can get.

I know I mentioned it last blog, but next week I’ll be heading over to the Hotel Cafe to see State Shirt (Ethan) play after the CRN show, hope to get a chance to hang with some of you there!

He played three rounds of beer pong before being removed.  Seems harmless enough.  One lucky girl.  Lou Dobbs attacked, where was Tomas?  These kids are scum.  Let me guess, he was pale and thin.  I move out and Mickey moves in!  Talk about bad parking.

On a side note, when you sit out on the streets of North Hollywood long enough you realize it is full of crazy people… present company included!

Rock On, Jack

Kate Gosselin is on Ellen right now… What a horrible, horrible person. She is just like her ex-husband, a fame whore who would do anything for publicity… They’re the Balloon Family, but with a series. I feel sorry for all 11 of those kids (Kates 8 and the balloon 3).  Jon is getting slammed by his girlfriend… quick someone film it and put it on TLC!  I have personally boycotted the Ed Hardy brand because the owner is friends with that douche.

Lucy and Bing are going to be excited, Ice Age 3 came out on video this week… They loved the dinosaur babies in this one.

Went and got my Halloween candy today…  Not sure if any kids come through my building, but I’m going to leave some candy out just in case.

Stretch’s ear is still all messed up… But the pain medicine is working, so that’s good.  Hope he feels better soon!

I went to the staff meeting at the CRN today, which was very cool.  They really want to win, which is a great shift from being at places that did everything to lose.

We were just talking about this on the pod.  Bad boy Arnold.  Singer attacked by coyotes.  Forget snow days, kids now get swine flu days. Walmart has the best deals for the living and the dead.  Quick, get Stretch a fork.  Porn shirt.  Good garage sale find.  The meat hands stretch spoke of on the pod.  Happy National Chocolate Day!

Rock On, Jack

It will be in the 40’s tonight in Los Angeles, It is really the first cold night of this fall.  There is something very lonely about the cold.  The distant voices and sounds of the city are muffled by closed windows, people borrow inside leaving the sidewalks empty and the darkness just seems darker.  Last year at this time I was in the middle of my divorce, working construction and living on my sisters couch.  The nights were just as cold, but I was not alone, my sister was there, Ethan, my Mom, and the dogs would wander out to my spot on the sofa to see if I had left any granola bar shrapnel.  Tonight, when the chill sets in, I will be alone in my small apartment, on the same couch, wrapped in Lucy’s princess blanket making my own warmth.  It is strange how the same place can be both  prison and home… depending on who is there with you.

State Shirt (aka – Ethan aka – My sisters boyfriend) is playing a show at 10pm on November 5th at the Hotel Cafe, If it’s not past your bedtime, I highly recommend you check it out… He’s really good!

There’s a new Farrell’s opening in The O.C.  I like this trend of old restaurants from our childhood making a comeback!  Like all the new Bob’s Big Boy’s that have opened…  And did I mention that the one at the 5 freeway and Sunland has a lounge!

Don’t forget, If you want to hang with Stretch and Me during our show on Friday just come on down to the CRN studios… We’ll be having a costume contest and performing the show live, it should be fun.

Do you want to read this book?  Another reason dogs rule.  I do I get this Un-Job. Who’s scaring who?   He gets to wisecrack in the showers now.  This is HORRIBLE!  Tweet and win.  Attack dog!

Rock On, Jack

It’s all about Halloween this week!  On the CRN show we have psychic Vicky King , a playboy bunny on Tuesday talking about cigars (Not really Halloween themed, but she does wear a bunny costume) and The First Annual Jack and Stretch Halloween Costume Contest live at our CRN studios on Friday!

Lucy and Bing are so excited to sport their costumes and get some candy…  OK, so am I!

Went for a bike ride yesterday, the weather has been so great.  I rode around Lake Balboa, good bike paths and not too many people.  There were a lot of people on fixed gear bikes, which is cool because it means people are getting back into cycling… but sucked because the people riding them are not very skilled and do not ride safely.

Come quick, there’s a stripper on the bus.  Maybe they were reading my blog?  Roach mouth.  That’s a lot of hummus. More reasons credit cards suck.  Scientology quitter.  More evidence that David Spade is a douche.  Cheater gets fired.  Told you that you can get anything on Ebay.  Is that a snake in your pocket or…

Rock On, Jack

I remember dreading it… Not because of the destination, but because of the time in the car.  My sister and I were in the backseat, my Dad driving and my Mom in the passenger seat.  The Eagles or Chicago or Hall & Oates would come on the radio, we would turn around and look out the back window, or sail our hands in the wind out our windows.  I would always get a little car sick as we traveled that mountain road.  All there was to see out the window was other cars or brush covered hillside… It’s L.A., so no big trees or wildlife to look at.  There was a dump along the way, so every once in a while you could find a large, green truck crawling up a windy road, loaded heavy with the excess of life in the city.  Sometimes I would just lay on the backseat… On my half of course, nothing starts a bigger battle with a sibling than crossing the imaginary wall between you and your sister.  The ultimate destination, my Aunt and Uncles apartment, which was the reward for the in car torture my little 6 year old mind endured.

It’s 32 years later, and that twisty mountain road with nothing but browning native vegetation, has gotten much smaller.  No longer can you watch garbage trucks climb its sides, but you can see the Getty, Skirball Cultural Center, million dollar homes and the car in front of you, the ones behind and those that surround you all going about 20 mph (If you’re lucky).  It is no longer the mysterious route to my relatives in Westwood… It’s the 405 freeway, Sepulveda Pass, and it’s the gateway to my kids.

It was 7:30 am last Wednesday, we had just made the transition from the 101 to the South 405, and it was at it’s regular crawl.  The radio was playing Taylor Swift and I heard a tiny voice singing along, I gazed in the rear view mirror, there sat Lucy, securely strapped into her seat, singing her beautiful little heart out, next to her, Bing, also strapped in place, looking out the window for “buggy cars”… or Mini Coopers… Or Smart Cars… Or Limos… Or PT Cruisers.  There they were, the same age as my sister and me, when we would travel the same road .

I had no way of knowing so many years ago, that someday I would take over the drivers seat, and behind me would sit my two little angels, peering out the windows at the same landscape… Only more developed… And more often (14 times last week).  I wondered if they will one day drive their kids on this freeway, and if so where will they be going?  Will they have pleasant memories of their time on the 405?  Or will it be a constant reminder of their parents divorce, the distance between their two lives, the way over the natural barrier that separates Daddy’s from Mommy’s?

Our lives are like that road, on ramps, off ramps, bumps, accidents, traffic, people passing you, others falling behind…  All we can do is travel it as safely as possible, and hope something good comes on the radio.

There are a few things I wanted to mention:

We had Elysia Skye on the CRN show last night and I really enjoyed her.  She has a great story, having survived breast cancer at 24, and is now performing a show about it…  if you get a chance check out her site.

One of Stretch and Mine good friends has a new show on CRN!  Angela Lee Sloan, who worked at Star with us, is now hosting “Welcome To The Mommyhood” every Sunday from 10a-11a on CRN.  To kick it all off she’s having a launch party at The Juvenile Shop (13356 Ventura BLVD., Sherman Oaks) this Saturday the 24th from 12-4p… You can win great prizes like: the all new i’coo Pluto stroller, a Svan High Chair, Baby Bjorn stuff, the Miracle Blanket and all kinds of other cool stuff.

My good friend Candy (Tony’s wife from The Tony and Kris Show… The show I worked with in San Diego – Who I loved), is working with a new product that is really cool.  It’s a brand new spa line, Meltology, that She is  a distributor for. It is the next big revolutionary thing in skin care. The premiere launch is smaller in San Diego + LA then national in Jan., Click here to check it out and be on the cutting edge of this new product!  (and I will hopefully have info on the guys new show soon!)

And the last one is a product one of my neighbors (one of the few that I actually like) is working with.  It’s called Exfuze and they claim it’s great, see what you think.

Rock on, Jack

The modem and router are hooked up waiting the arrival of my DSL signal… Which is supposed to happen at 8p.  So, blogging should not be a problem!

Bing (AKA Bowling Girl… AKA Polka Dot Bowling Girl) is obsessed with his bowling shoes that I found for him.  Ebay is a parents dream, you can find anything there, like say brand new toddler size 8 rental bowling shoes, with the little “8″ on the back heel, they rule!

Lucy and I made brownies the other night… I’d say about half the ingredients made it into the bowl, the other half are spread all over my kitchen, but it was fun, so what the heck.

The kids carved pumpkins last night, well kind of, I found these mallet things at Target where you nail plastic pegs into the pumpkin… Kind of like a pumpkin Light Bright.   Way easier for the under 6 crowd!

If you haven’t heard already, our Halloween Party has been canceled… So we’re inviting anyone who wants to come down in costume (or not) to the CRN Studios on Friday the 30th for a costume contest and live broadcast from 8-10p.  There is nothing more spooky than Halloween Eve in Sun-Land.

Wow, new Night Stalker news.  Tomas is going to be upset.  Oh Ya, avoid the chest!  Easy come, easy go.  I already thought this was covered!?!?  Don’t you hate it when your wife shows you up.  Sorry, no nakey time!  Good news dreamers!  Your dog is not green!!!

Rock On, Jack

Sorry I didn’t get to post today… AT&T installed my DSl – at the wrong address!  So now I have to wait until Thursday! And my Ex was sick, so I’m spending extra time with the kids.

We had a fun weekend, we hit two pumpkin patches and a haunted house… We’re getting as much Halloween time as we can out of October.

Hope you had a great weekend! I’ll post more soon.

Rock On, Jack

So it’s really looking like the whole balloon boy thing was a hoax…  What is wrong with people!??!  If I ever use the guise of my children floating helplessly at 8500 feet to pump up my balloon experiments you have my permission to shoot me.

Lots of good stuff going on this weekend!  Too many pumpkin festivals to mention, but Lombardi Ranch in Santa Clarita ,The Fall Harvest Festival at Pierce College in Woodland Hills and The Farmers Market Fall Festival in Los Angeles  are  great ones!  I think the kids and I will check out Environmentaland at Hollywood and Highland at some point this weekend.  Where The Wild Things Are opens this weekend… Although, early reviews say it may be too scary for small children, so I’m going to have to wait to see it.

Supposedly, my DSL gets turned on today… But nothing ever works as planned in this building, so I’m not holding my breath.

Our Halloween party may be on, but if it is, it will be on Friday the 30th… I’ll post as soon as I know.

See, radio people are bad… That’s why I’m glad I’m a podcaster!  Let’s all sue him, just for being him.  I want to make one!  A new group of re-enacters to mock.   Holy crap, this is scary!  Dr. B should start hunting them.  I guess this is good news!?!?  The perfect husband.  I want to go see them.  That’s a lot of tongue. Animal lovers, skip this one.

Have a great weekend! Rock On, Jack