… doused with diesel fuel and burned.  That would be one of the shittiest jobs on the planet.  But … I guess if you're in Vietnam … fighting an unjust war … it'd be alright.

What does that have to do with fucking anything?

Nothing except it was one of the stories "Dave," my driver, told me on the way home from the airport.

America West Airlines is the shittiest airline on the planet.  Whilst on the topic of fucking shit.

Remember my story of Miami to LAX?

Well … pretty much the same from Las Vegas to Burbank.

Never.

Ever.

Again.

"I know, man, we suck.  I wouldn't fly us." – America West Employee.

A fucking supervisor.

The Southwest flight was alright except for the part of flying into a massive storm.

I made it.

I'm happy.

After arriving in Las Vegas and waiting for Chocolate I saw:



Then I saw:



Followed by my Chinese cab driver.  I didn't know the Chinese liked to drive cabs.  This guy was actually quite good:



Honestly … the Venetian … not a bad hotel.  The food was fucking amazing.  The room rocked.  Didn't even leave the property.  Not once.  

In 2.5 days.

Fucking Vegas!

Everyone is a fucking VIP!  What the fuck is that?  The greasier the better. The more decrepit … the better.  The grossest "little man" walked up and said the grossest things to my friend Kim.  Amazing.

I really don't know what is good about that town.

I know what's good!  

I'm not in that fucking town any longer.

So … The whole point was New Years Eve with Ms. Hilton.  My God.  There is so much.    I just wish I could dish it here but … I can't.

Let's just say this … one shouldn't think that one's underage boyfriend can pull off a fake ID with experienced gaming officials.

I did get to hang out with Ice T.  What a cool fucking guy.



The décor at Tao was really fucking cool:









This was the stroke of midnight:



Fucking drunk-ass fucking wanna-be VIP's.  So damn glad there was a rope separating us from the idiots who paid $200 for the privilege of saying, "Dude … I was at Paris Hilton's party" once they got back to New Jersey or Kansas or wherever.

Gonna flame me because you live in aforementioned?

Honestly, I don't fucking care.

Gotta love Paris and her entourage:



And her mini-entourage:



The center girl is one of my favourite people.  Carolyn.  Just fucking cool.

One could only hope to be on this group's list:



They rock.  I mean … one of them shows me his digi and says, "What do you think someone would pay for this shot?"

It was Johnny Depp making pizza for his kids.

Amazing.

Who are they?  They're promoters.  They're celeb-wranglers.  But … they treat me very well and I've known them for forever and a day.

Sometimes.  I'm not a complete uncaring prick.  I promise.

When I was advised by the fucking most horrible fucking airline on the fucking planet that my "plane was experience mechanical difficulties" I noticed the girl next me to fucking losing it.  Instead of launching in an outright tirade on some underpaid fuck … I decided to be a bit more collected.

Marisela.  She was coming back from Aspen – with her Harrod's bags – and had been fucked by American West two days in a row.  Instead of spending New Year's with her attorney-husband America-fucking-West made her spend New Years in the hell-hole that is Las Vegas.

So … I decided to help this girl thru the process.  Her husband asked to talk to me and said, "Dude, you ever need a legal favour, please call me."

Well … I got her bags.  What the fuck she could have had in these bags is be-fucking-yond me.  They were heavy.

I hear she arrived in Burbank safely.

I took the flight right after hers.

I wanted to get this up – seeing as how today is my 3rd dA birthday --  but … a party awaits.

Hmm … a post-production party.

Time to grab the iPod and go.

So … two days passed …

In between … wow … I feel busy but I don't think I really did shit.

I did finally read this thing about Leica.  Did you know that they had their own Schindler's-List-like operation during WW2?  I have never carried my equipment more proudly.  What other camera company had the fucking balls to do something like this?  None that I know of.

Schindler's List is perhaps the only film that moves me in a way … that … well … there's some palpable connection I have to it.  The little red dress – thank you, Mr. Spielberg – is indelibly marked in my brain.  I will always wonder how one man could be some overtly evil in dealing with his fear.  Couldn't you just walk away and think, "Damn I really don't like those Jewish people" rather than doing what he did?  I dunno what goes thru people's heads.

That … and my eighty-something-year-old neighbor Anne.  Replete with the tattoo.  And the stories.  I remember when I happened upon her talking with an older black guy – another neighbor's father – at the pool.  He was an ex-slave.  Imagine … a Holocaust survivor and an ex-slave.  As much as I wanted to hear what they had to say, I left.

The vibe was something that I didn't understand.

Talking about stories … Jeeeee-sus-christ.  The dude that drove me from the airport to my home … Dave.  The Vietnam vet.  "Ever fire a fifty-fucking-cal stoned out of your mind?"

"Dude, she was so fucking hot.  She washed my jeep for two dollars.  We fucked three times that afternoon."

Imagine The Big Lebowski.

Seriously.

He told me that he wasn't infantry; he was a "rock breaker," an engineer.  When he got tired of the shit he was given from one commanding officer he asked another officer for a job, "Sir, I want the shittiest job you have."  The soon-to-be-new-cee-oh said, "I've got one for you."

Dave was now in charge of burning 55 gallon drums of human excrement with diesel fuel.

Because Dave did his job without complaining he got the "kush job" of driving the C.O. around in their new shiny jeep.  

Thinking of totally innocent people being rounded up and exterminated has kinda changed my mood.

It always does.

As does the thought of any injustice.

It almost makes me wish I became an attorney.

But … I think the world is a safer place since I'm not.

I started writing and photo-editing my "thingy" on street photography.

I'm sure someone will call me a Leica-bitch.  But … I don't care.

Most of you know that.

Got all my Sundance assignments in order.  The day I fly back; I shoot that night!

In fact, I'm shooting every day until I get on a plane to Mormon-land.

My assignment editor thought I was perhaps serious when I said I wanted a driver for the Chihuahua and for her to be able to go to a dog spa whilst I worked.

She countered, "I'll get her little pink Uggs for all of her paws."

"She already has them.  What about the driver?"

So … my fingers hurt.

THANK YOU ALL for the amazing comments and well-wishes you left.  I was both inundated and busy as shit over the past week.   I WISH ALL OF YOU A HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

Thank you all again for the comments, devwatches and fav's,  I've now been here in this electronic art community for three years.  So much has happened in those three years.  I've made some of the most amazing friends – both over the computer and, now, in person – through this place.

I'd pay double the price of the subscription.  I would.  I swear.

Hope this finds you all well …

I'll watch my one football game for the year.

Cheers all,
Chris