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Steelers. Seahawks. Ford Field. Get juiced, folks, ‘cause Super Bowl 40-something is gonna be a whale of a barn burner. Roethlisberger v. Hasselbeck. It’s a Battle of the Mult-Syllabic QBs in the ultimate parity bowl. Sure, both of these teams have earned it, but where are the superstars? Where is the awesome football of yore? Watch as the capable, but unspectacular Seattle linebackers bite on Roethlisberger play action for an easy score. Look! A Seattle DB committed another pass interference penalty! Holding on the Steelers? No way! The last exciting Super Bowl was… well, who the hell cares? We all want to watch the commercials and try to make the cleverest comments to punctuate the utter stupidity of said commercial.

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As The West Wing winds down its seven-year run, I can’t help but feel like the show is getting undue praise. It never got terrible, people. It got different. It’s like changing jobs or girlfriends – some things are different, but we’re still at work or we’re still getting into the same fights about being on time and relationship responsibilities. If anything, I have been less impressed by season 7 than season 6. Six got off to a great start (even if C.J.’s promotion to chief of staff was, to say the least, fucking unbelievably ridiculous) but then got obnoxious towards the second half when it went all campaigny. Now, though, who cares about the next president? Let Lame Duck Bartlet be Lame Duck Bartlet and quit Jimmy Smitting with my TV show. And, please, showrunners, stop airmailing a Santos win.

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I’m two weeks away from leaving Los Angeles. Not by choice, mind you, but finances being what they are – sorry, I didn’t have enough money in my pocket to adequately complete that thought. Let me say this: to all those wanting to move to Hollywood, have a financial plan firmly in place before the move. Have other skills. A college degree and a jack of all trades-persona are actually the worst things you can have out here. And working for free to gain experience? Nah. Not gonna cut it. The best thing any of us can do is be original. Be our own person. And, for god’s sake, have passion about something. It’s easy to care about ourselves – how we look, how we sound, what others think about us. But that’s not passion. That’s narcissism. Or something like it. Care about what you want to do, and then do it. Lots of people want to act or “Do something in film or television.” I say figure it out. Then, if you decide you want to be a writer… don’t come to LA. Not until you’ve written a lot, or you’re an absolute savant with friends who are already well-positioned in film or television. Not on their way to being well-positioned, mind you. Already there.

Doing what you want with your life is probably the scariest thing you can do with it. But you can only want what you want. Family, community, social mores, private mores, The Moors can all stand in your way, but at the end of the day, you can only want what you want. And, ultimately, only you stand in your way. Unless you’re low on cash, then maybe that can stand in your way, too. But you keep at it, and you get back on the horse, and you make the best out of life.

When you’re young and prone to awkward phrasing, taking chances to make the best out of your life is what I want.

Looking for change in the couch pillows? Not what I want.