In Tampa, they've got this thing called Guavaween. It happens every Halloween and it's basically an excuse for about 200,000 deviant, twisted individuals to express their personal sexual preferences by dressing up and parading up and down 7th Avenue in Ybor City (the alternative area of Tampa). Everyone wore something black. But that's not very unusual for these people. They think they're from NYC. They're the kind of teens whose lives are perfect and parents are rich. So when they feel that rebellious teen angst, they reject their suburban existence by dying their blond hair black, dressing in all black and living on the seedy side of town and denouncing their parent's wealth. (At least until rent is due.)
When I was first introduced to the concept of Astrology as a kid, I was skeptical. After all, believing that the position of the planets and stars could impact your life in any meaningful way, let alone dictate your daily behavior, seemed...what's the word? Oh, yeah, stupid. But the more I learned about this ancient "science," the more I came to feel that people DID seem to reflect the personality traits predicted by their sign. But how? Finally, I read the book that empirically and scientifically explained how and why Astrology really works.
Mr. Gates is finally leaving Microsoft to dedicate the majority of his remaining years curing malaria and doling out charitable grants through the Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation, the wealthiest foundation in the world. Thanks to illegal, backroom dealings and extortion, Bill built Microsoft from a small software company into a full-fledged monopoly in just 20 short years. During that time, Microsoft made workers pull 80-hour weeks, categorized them as "temporary" and "freelance" to avoid paying medical benefits, and threatened critical employees with lawsuits if they tried to leave. But that's not why I'm mad.
Whilst shooting our above TV spot, as well as another one that will air soon, I got a chance to glimpse that rare creature, the celebrity. Normally a timid creature, the celebrity can be seen only near its natural habitat, Hollywood. West Hollywood, in this case. Our producer had suggested we go to dinner at an old-world Italian place named "Dan Tanna's". (If the name sounds familiar, it's because they used it for the name of the lead character in 70's TV show "Vegas" played by Robert Ulrich.)
Around here, fish are really big. It seems like they grow a lot bigger in the ocean than in freshwater lakes up north. There's 3-feet long fish with huge teeth swimming around in little inlets and canals. Fish with teeth. And people wonder why I don't scuba dive. What did I just tell you? Fish with teeth. It's kind of scary. And the fish aren't even what I worry about. Tampa Bay has the third largest concentration of sharks in the world (after the Great Barrier Reef and someplace in Australia). Yes, you read that correctly. S-H-A-R-K-S. Now, sharks I'm told, have teeth as well. Only big teeth. Really big teeth.