You are currently browsing all entries tagged with 'birthday'

Happy Birthday, Freddie!

  • September 6, 2011 2:31 pm

Yesterday was Freddie Mercury’s birthday. Offender Phil previously wrote about the first British Asian rockstar and his influence on the global rock scene in general. Google honored the great icon with their “Google doodle” on their homepage. Check it out, it’s amazing. Happy Birthday, Freddie!  YouTube Preview Image

We Turn 2 Today!

  • July 9, 2011 12:01 am

Yup, it’s YOMYOMF’s second birthday today, which means we can now do the following:

Enroll in pre-school.

Beat up any asshole-y pre-schoolers ’cause we’re pretty sure we’ll be bigger than them.

Buy alcohol with a fake ID.

Drive a car with a fake Driver’s License.

Use that fake ID and a fake note from a fake doctor to buy medicinal marijuana.

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1,001 Reasons I Love Movies: (#20) John Belushi and Me

  • January 24, 2011 12:45 am

Had he lived, John Belushi would have been 62 today. The star of films like Animal House and The Blues Brothers as well as one of the original Saturday Night Live cast members, Belushi died in 1982 at age 33 from a drug overdose, but he still remains one of the most influential comedians ever. He may have also been the first person to encourage my creativity.

I’m not the type of person who usually meticulously follows rituals or traditions, but there is one that I’ve observed for many years. On my birthday, I check into the bungalow at the Chateau Marmont where Belushi died. It’s usually just for the day and I go there alone to write, reflect and soak in the vibes. There’s nothing morbid about it. It’s just a way for me to honor a man who had a profound affect on my artistic life and to be re-inspired. And Belushi was definitely inspirational. There’s no doubt that my sense of humor was shaped by Belushi’s style of comedy. When I try to be funny in my blogs here, it’s really just my poor attempt to emulate his comedic voice.

I met Belushi when I must’ve been around six-years-old in a classroom setting. I don’t remember much about it and I certainly didn’t know who he was at the time—I was too young and he wasn’t a big star yet. But I remember him being very funny and very encouraging of my creativity (he must have seen some story or drawing I had done in class). He pulled me aside and said that if I had an interest in the arts, I should pursue it. He told me his parents were immigrants like mine (from Albania in his case) and that when he was a kid, he wished someone had encouraged his interest in performing because for the longest time, he thought it was an impossible dream for an immigrant kid like himself. But he wanted me to know that nothing was impossible if you worked hard.  Read more...

Happy 70th, John Lennon!

  • October 9, 2010 12:01 am

Today would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday. In honor of this occasion, wanted to share my favorite Lennon song…”Julia.” Here’s a lovely cover version from Priscilla Ahn:

And the original:

An Open Letter To Korean Parents Celebrating Their Child’s First Birthday

  • August 23, 2010 12:01 am

Dear Parent:

If one or both of you are Korean and your child is about to have his or her first birthday, you’re most likely in the midst of planning a big celebration. In the Korean culture, the first birthday is a major occasion. The Dol or Dol Janchi is important because in the olden days, the infant mortality rate was very high for babies and it was considered a milestone to reach one’s first birthday (the first 100 days were also important) and the special day was marked with a big party.

This tradition still continues and one of the things that happens at this celebration is a ritual called the dol jabi. Here’s how it works–a number of items are left in front of the child and whatever he or she grabs is supposed to predict the baby’s future. Traditionally, items such as a book (to represent a scholarly future), string (long life) or money (wealth) are placed in front of the child. So if the birthday baby chooses the money, for example, he or she is supposed to become rich. More modern items can also be used such as a football (to signify a future athlete), a mouse (future computer genius) or even a movie camera (future filmmaker).

Now I’ve been to a number of dol celebrations recently and while this tradition may be my favorite part of the festivities, there’s one problem with it: It lacks serious drama.

Why? Because every item the baby can pick represents something “positive.” So let’s say that he or she chooses long life over money…is that really a bad thing? Nope, what we need to do is introduce a sense of danger to this ritual to make it more interesting by including items no Korean parent would want their kid to ever choose. Along those lines, here are some suggestions for things that you can include to increase your dol jabi drama…

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My PTSD: Birthdays

  • July 9, 2010 8:26 am

 

The one and only time I ever snuck into my mom’s purse wasn’t to steal money, cigarettes, or even to “experiment,” however innocently, with her lipstick. No, it was to check her driver’s license.

I was ten, and I needed to find out her birthday.  You see, I have a block when it comes to remembering birthdays.

It’s not that I dread getting older – fair or not, we men, in exchange for enlarged prostate glands and limp dick issues, at least get to look “distinguished” as we age. No, my block is about one horrible day when I was nine years old and “forgot” my mom’s birthday. Ever since then, I can’t remember birthdays – friends, family, doesn’t matter – I just can’t. Granted, I know that Elvis and Bowie share the same birthday, but I can’t tell you what day it falls on.  Read more...

We Turn 1 Today!

  • July 9, 2010 12:04 am

That’s right, a year ago on this very date, YOMYOMF was born and the landscape of the internet was forever changed mildly affected. I’ve written about our origins before so I won’t repeat the story again, but a year ago, the original Offenders–Anderson, Elaine, Emmie, Justin, Roger, Sung and myself (plus our webmaster Eric)—sat around a table at our usual hang-out diner in Silver Lake and decided that this would be the day we were finally going to launch. The vow we made at that table over club sandwiches, Diet Coke and pie was to try this blogging thing for at least a year and see where we were at that point and if we wanted to keep YOMYOMF going or give it up. Obviously our blog is still here, but just wanted to give you all a heads up if you try to log on tomorrow and the site is gone.

But before I bid you a fond adieu so I can go off and celebrate our first birthday in the proper way a first birthday should be celebrated—24 hours of non-stop booze, whores and Thrifty ice cream—I leave you with some interesting random trivia about YOMYOMF:

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Happy Birthday, Christopher Reeve!

  • September 25, 2009 1:49 pm

 

supesMan, I’m behind in my work and wasn’t planning on posting any more blogs today, but damnit, today would have been Christopher Reeve’s fifty-seventh birthday and that cannot pass without at least a mention. I’m sure everyone knows the basic story of Reeve’s life as an actor, a humanitarian and how he passed away all too soon, so I’m simply going to tell a quick story about seeing the first Superman movie as a kid and why I probably wouldn’t be blogging here and doing what I’m doing right now had I not.  Read more...