Monday morning.

The New York Giants are Super Bowl Champs. THAT'S RIGHT. Who would have thought? I'm doing a little basking and gloating this morning. I'm also kind of hungover. We put together a party for two last night that included enough food and drink for a party of 6. So I did a lot of eating and drinking. If you had asked me 5 or 6 weeks ago if I thought the Giants would even be PLAYING in the Super Bowl, I would have said "Highly Unlikely." Then again, this is exactly what happened in 2007. So I would never say never. I knew it was possible and when the Giants knocked off the Cowboys for the 2nd time (while we were on our honeymoon) and edged them out to win the NFC and secure a spot in the playoffs, I had a feeling we might be looking at a repeat.

And how good does it feel to watch the Giants beat the PATRIOTS? It feels f####ing AWESOME.

I think a screen shot of today's New York Post cover might in order?




BOOM!

Now we can finally take down our Christmas tree (and go on a DIET)

I love how EVERY year they try to say that this was "The Most Exciting Super Bowl Ever!" They say that EVERY YEAR now.  I mean, hey, I LOVE my Giants, but that game certainly wasn't the most exciting. It was fun... and fantastic that we won, but NOT the most exciting. The Giants/Patriots Super Bowl at the end of the 2007 season was, in MY opinion, one of the most exciting, mostly because it was such a HUGE upset.

The HALFTIME show last night was actually pretty good. I thought. I'm not one to care too much about Madonna, but her halftime show was quite the visual experience. There were a ton of cool shots and angles. The lighting was amazing. I really enjoyed it. The MUSIC? Meh.

The ADS. There were a few ads that I really liked. Everybody has their own favorites for their own reasons. EVERYBODY loves an ad with a quirky DOG or cute baby, but now that almost EVERY ad has one or the other, I lose interest... and I lose a little respect for the brand that just resorts to some played out MEME. It's kind of a cop out. My favorite was the Budweiser "Prohibition" ad. I felt like I was watching a scene from a movie. I thought it was a great idea, well executed. It was funny, poignant, emotional and had historical significance. I didn't really care for the follow up Budweiser ads. I didnt really care for the Doritos ads. David Beckham? Whatever. Wasn't feeling the Pepsi Elton John spot. The Chevy Apocalypse spot was cool. The Clint Eastwood commercial was pretty good, just because it was Clint Eastwood. I liked the Hyundai "Rocky Theme" ad. Kristen was in the kitchen putting snacks together and started laughing at that one, even though she couldn't see the commercial. The Honda "Ferris Beuller" spot was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I had been following some of the pre-game buzz on that one all week and people were praising it... and then trashing it. I thought it turned out pretty good. The Seinfeld vs. Leno commercial was "Oh-kay." Hard not to like Jerry Seinfeld. The Volkswagon St. Bernard ad was "cute" and "fun." If I HAD to vote for a commercial with a DOG, I would pick that one.

What was the ad with the hipster geeky office guy who walks up on a gorgeous woman in black and red, then she gets up in is face and starts talking all sexy? Then it turns out to be an illusion?

FIAT!! I liked that FIAT commercial. Surprised nobody mentioned that one.

and what about DAVID JOHNSON? Pizza Hut Contest winner DAVID JOHNSON?




I have to say this was one of my favorite Super Bowl commercials. They ran it early, but I was impressed. Dope beat. Mad skills. GO David Johnson! Go Pizza Hut!

Anyway, I could write all day about Pizza, the Super Bowl, David Johnson, Eli Manning, the New York Giants, beating the patriots, hating the Patriots, hating the Red Sox, blah blah blah.... but it's time to move on.

More important things to deal with now.

(I had a great interview on Friday, but we can get into that later)

I told Kristen that we were going to focus on the ARTS. No more sports for a while. We are going to visit galleries, museums, go see a few bands, do YOGA... take another trip to WINE COUNTRY... stuff like that.

The Yankees take on the Rays in Tampa Bay on Friday April 6th to start the 2012 season.

(Namaste)

We are going out. Over to a friends house for a little party in the rolling hills of Silverlake. JJ is throwing a house warming party. The house we are warming is the house that Colin, Abby, John, Maki, Adrienne, Ciel, Kristen and I (and Cate, Karla and a few assorted other buddies... one or two degrees removed before us) all lived. JJ was sort of the landlord. Then he moved in and fixed the place up. He also put in a pool and a hot tub. I don't think I'm going to get in the hot tub. Not bringing a bathing suit to the party. In FEBRUARY. That would be weird. Even if it is Southern California. Anyway, I'm pretty much dressed and ready. Drinking a Vodka Soda that my sweet sexy wife made for me before she started putting on her make up. That's what she's doing right now. Putting on her make-up. I'm not wearing any make up. THAT would be weird. Pandora is pumping out the hits in the background. I've got my cell phone (Droid) hooked up to some speakers over there. THE FLAME by The Black Keys is playing right now. Good song. Kristen says this is one of her favorites. I'm not sure if she means favorite songs all time? Or does she mean it's her favorite Black Keys song? I can't call out and ask her because the music is too loud.

Loud is good.

I had no idea it was Groundhog Day. When I crawled out of my hole in the ground this morning, it didnt even OCCUR to me to look at my shadow. I live in Southern California, so the next 6 weeks will likely bring a load of sunshine no matter what Punxsutawney Phil foresees.

Out of respect, I hit the social networking scene to see what this morning was like for those poor shivering souls on the East Coast. Subsequently, a "Twitter" friend just "tweeted" me an article about Groundhog Day from INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY MEDIA NETWORK (ICTMN):

GROUNDHOG DAY'S NATIVE AMERICAN ROOTS: What does Groundhog Day have to do with Native American language and history? And how did Punxsutawney Phil, the now famous groundhog millions look to for weather predictions, end up in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania?

Read more:http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/02/groundhog-day%E2%80%99s-native-american-roots-95391 http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/02/02/groundhog-day%e2%80%99s-native-american-roots-95391#ixzz1lFSRdy94

Yes, that's all fine and good, but since I'm still pretty geeked up and ready for Super Bowl Sunday, I thoroughly enjoyed the cover of the New York Post and their wonderfully unique take on this day of reckoning....



Happy POUNDHOG Day.... bitches.

(I love the Post)

Another day of rage. Another moment on stage. Welcome one welcome all. To my magical morning page. Welcome to my Freestyle stream of consciousness writing exercise... Goodness gracious spacious skies. My morning. My mission. Number 1,421,008... The Super Bowl Edition. That's right. In a few more days the big dance goes down. Hopefully Bill Belichik and his baby boy Bobby Brady go down too. Few things would make me happier. Everybody is planning their party. Preparing their football finale feast. No Super Bowl parties for me. Oh, we will feast. We definitely gonna be eatn and drinking, but I cant go anywhere and watch this game. THis is going to be INTENSE. The Giants are getting ready to deliver a BEAT DOWN of Epic Proportions. No parties for me. I'm WAY too connected to the outcome of this game. I love the Giants. I grew up 15 minutes from Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands. The Giants wo the Superbowl when I was a senior in high school and they shocked the world and ruined the Patriots perfect season back in 2007. That Super Bowl was particularly bittersweet for me because I had recently relocated from New York City to Los Angeles. I moved to the west coast on September of that year and by the time January rolled around, I was feeling pretty home-sick. I didnt have the money to head East for the holidays, so I spent Christmas here in California... all by myself, holed up in a little apartment on Hoover Street... pulling for my Giants. So that playoff and Super Bowl run back in 2007 was immensely meaningful. I was actually brought to tears. It was about more than football for me. So, here we are again... and I'm all in. I'm emotionally connected...I HATE the Patriots with a passion and I'm crazy superstitious. CRAY CRAY Y'all!!! Kristen and I have watched each playoff game from the privavcy of our place, sitting here on our couch. The Giants have pulled out a win each time. Ive worn the same outfit for each playoff game. I will damn sure be wearing that outfit on Sunday. When we came back from our honeymoon, Kristen had planned to take down our Christmas tree. She postponed that project so we could spend that Sunday focusing on the NFC wild card playoff game. When the Giants beat the Falcons that day, I was forced to put a mandatory hold on the dismantling of that tree, noting that the Giants had also beat the Jets AND the Cowboys... TWICE, while that tree proudly stood watch in our little living room. So the tree stays. WE won't be wearing any Giants gear during the game, because that, of course, is bad luck. We have PLENTY of gear, and I'll be wearing it all week. Just not during game time. NO way. I cant guarantee I'd be the most pleasant or gracious guest if I went to someone's Super Bowl party either. First of all, I will be screaming, stomping, yelling, cursing and I HOPE TO GOD... cheering. Second of all, If I'm in the room with PATRIOTS fan, fuggedabouttit, they are going to hear it from me. I will be that persons worst nightmare. Unless you are a born and raised New Englander, you should just pull for the better team. I mean, really, The PATRIOTS? Seriosuly. Belichik is a cheater. A DOCUMENTED cheater. So if you want to get behind that old sourpuss and support someone like that, be my guest. Wes Welker is a creepy little troll by the way. Trust me, you don't want me at your house on Sunday. GO GIANTS. On a lighter note, YESTERDAY, I ended up working a little security detail for Neil Patrick Harris on behalf of M&M's. He was there making an appearance to help unveil the new "Ms Brown" character at The Grove in LA. I had been working for M&M's all week in a field marketing capacity, prepping consumers for the big event on Monday (Yesterday). NPH showed up. he was introduced and made his announcement. He introduced the new character and they dropped the curtain. Then the madness ensued. The crowds moved in a proceeded to squeeze the space around him. That's when one of the Ad agency reps grabbed me and another guy and told us that she needed us to shadow him and help him exit from the crowd and get to his car. So that's what I did. While Neil Patrick Harris moved around and did a handful of interviews, I was right next to him, waiting for the signal to start carving an evacuation route. I'm sure you will be able to see me off to the side in some of those clips. I'm wearing my big hipster white sunglasses. I look very LA. NPH was actually a really nice guy. When we finally got him away from the crowd and back to his ride, he thanked us and gave us all a handshake. Oh wait, another weird Hollywood moment, while we were walking him to the car, we happened to run into Richard Kind, oddly enough. Richard Kind is an actor who can be seen currently in HBO's new series LUCK, which, coincidentally, I watched the series premiere of last night (I kind of liked it, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to commit). ANYWAY, we are walking through the parking garage with NPH and HEY, it's Richard Kind. They stop and say hello. Give each other a big hug. Neil Patrick Harris tells Richard Kind that he wants him to do his show. Richard kind asks Neil Patrick Harris what he is doing here. Richard Kind is wearing a polo shirt and shorts with white tube socks pulled up to his knees. NPH is wearing a suit and tie. NPH tells Richard Kind that he was at the Grove promoting M&M's, unveiling "Ms. Brown." Richard KInd looks around at all of us standing there, observing their little interaction and he says "Really? I actually do that every night." Everyone laughed. The two actors hugged, shook hands and went about their business. NPH was there making a scheduled (PAID) appearance. I think Richard Kind was just there to buy socks. Some sort of shopping. You'd be amazed at how many celebrities I saw this past week walking around at The Grove. I saw DOLPH Lundgren, WEIRD Al Yankovich, Milo Ventimiglia (Peter from HEROES), Ryan Hurst (from S.O.A and "Remember the Titans"). Those were just some of the folks I saw kicking around the mall. I also watched a couple of "Extra" episodes. They were shooting everyday live with Mario Lopez and Maria Menounos. EXTRA had Jessica Alba and Tori Spelling visiting as guests of the show. Now that the M&M's gig is up. I'm moving on. I'm in major FREELANCE mode right now. No longer serving SOLIXIR. No more standing around at Whole Foods pouring samples into plastic cups. I'm combing the classifieds. Pushing my resume, picking up gigs, preparing for another corporate video shoot (conference call today with one of my clients actually). Working on my own personal projects. Finishing up a couple short film scripts I've been carving and cultivating over the past year. Hoping to start pre-production on THOSE puppies and bring those bitches to life in 2012. My first year as a married man. Married life is great so far. Doesn't feel any different actually. I'm still as madly in love with my wife as I was BEFORE we got married. I'm not feeling great about the fact that I'm out hitting the pavement, looking for work and trying make ends meet as we begin our journey as husband and wife, but I know that we will prevail. I know we can do anything and everything we want to do. Everything happens for a reason and when you are on the right path, doors will open.

Watched IDES OF MARCH last night. Thought it was pretty good. DARK. Interesting juxtaposition in the current political climate. Clooney was good. Could have been sleazier.... somehow. Would have like to see more sleaze... from Clooney and from the character. Clooney is pretty clean... so dirty don't come easy for that guy. Gosling was good. I like Ryan Gosling. Wondering when he is going to start joining the Oscar conversation. Paul Giamatti was good, although his "showcase" moment was a BIT gratuitous. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was good, but I expected a TINY bit more. All in all, it was a pretty good film.

Speaking of FILMS. Ive currently seen only ONE of this years BEST PICTURE nominees. I've seen THE ARTIST. Which was hmmm...oh-KAY. I wasnt blown away. I had been reading weeks worth of raves on Facebook as many of my friends were going to see it and coming back all smitten and giggly. To tell you the truth I was kind of BORED. I love the concept and the movie has its charms, but I wasn't quite as CHARMED by THE ARTIST as others seem to be.

I want to see THE TREE OF LIFE. I KNOW, its supposed to be a bizarre assortment of family drama and dinosaurs, but Ive been intrigued by this film since it started getting buzz back in May because audiences were BOOING at Cannes. BOOING? What could this film possibly be doing to deserve an outright BOO from a theater audience? I gotta see this. Sadly, I havent had the chance to see it. But I will.

THE HELP? No thanks. I can already tell it's FULL of cliche's and formulaic behavior.

THE DESCENDANTS. I'm sure it's good. BEST PICTURE? Come on. It's a George Clooney family drama. Is it really going to be that far from UP IN THE AIR? I'll catch it on HBO someday.

MONEYBALL. I'm ashamed to say I havent seen it yet. Everyone says its good. God knows I love baseball. Skeptical as to how MOVED I might be by Brad Pitt.

WAR HORSE. I would actually like to see it.... but it's the whole HORSE thing. My wife will NOT put herself in a position to see horses get hurt or find harm in any way, shape or form. So she is officially OUT on that one. I think I will have to rent the DVD and watch it by myself.

HUGO? I'm curious, but skeptical. Scorsese seems to be getting stroked lately... A LOT. Many HONORARY mentions and nominations for Marty these days. You know? Like "THANKS, Marty, for a lifetime of BRILLIANT and INCREDIBLE films. ALL of which were UNDER rated and never fully appreciated. We have snubbed you SO many times, that we will hereby nominate EVERYTHING you do, from now... until the end of time. You're awesome" So HUGO. Is it animated? Or is it not? I dont really do cartoons.

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE. I'm sure it's good. The 9/11 stuff might hit a little close to home for me. I still have a hard time watching stuff about 9/11. Thats one I will have to rent. Probably watch by myself.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS? What is that? No clue.

Wait one more thing that I really gotta see....

ROOM 237 is a documentary that looks into 5 Theories About Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." Currently screening at Sundance. Unless Sundnace is done. Is Sundance done? Anyway. ROOM 237 screened at Sundance. Whenever the hell THAT was.

NYTIMES.COM: "Cracking the Code in 'Heeeere's Johnny!'" http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/movies/room-237-documentary-with-theories-about-the-shining.html

INDIEWIRE.COM: Stanley Kubrick's 1980 Stephen King adaptation "The Shining" endures for many reasons -- from its supremely horrific mood to the technical feats used to create it. However, the lively voices in "Room 237" take that admiration to an entirely new plane of awareness. A search for deeper meanings in Kubrick's movie, Rodney Ascher's film is a brilliant collage of interviews with academics and other experts in the art of textual analysis. http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-5-wackiest-theories-about-the-shining-from-the-analytical-doc-room-237#


(Wow. THE SHINING. Probably one of the scariest films of all-time)

Fun photo filter makes for a pretty purple picnic....

OH.... EM... GEE!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL.




As POORLY as the second half of the season played out for the New York Giants this year, I would have NEVER guessed that they would be going to the Super Bowl. The last few weeks have held an uncanny resemblance to their Super Bowl run of 2007. I'm freakin PUMPED. There is no other team I'd rather play in the Super Bowl. There is no other team that I would enjoy stomping and pounding into the earh more than the Patriots. The Giants are hot and they've got a shot. A GOOD shot... of taking that trophy home.

GO GIANTS! Eli Manning is playing at a very high level and I'm LOVING it. Eli never gets the credit he deserves. Maybe it's because he doesn't have that brash personality. He doesn't ooze Alpha Male. He is so far from Brett Farve and pales in comparison to Pretty Boy Brady. He doesn't have that superstar panache, but right now he is OWNING that ELITE level.

CNN.COM: "Like He Said, Eli Manning is an Elite Quarterback" http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/20/us/elite-eli/index.html

GO GIANTS! Defense is firing on all cylinders. G-Men DO need to get that running game going though. Jacobs and Bradhsaw have been ineffective the past 2 games. That needs to change. Granted the 49ers defense has been in the top 3 all year and are notorious for smothering running backs, but still... ground and pound people. GROUND and POUND.

Ok, I'm starting to feel like I'm writing a sports column. Hey, I'm just a fan... and I love my team.

GO GIANTS!





Held another casting session on Friday for two upcoming projects. As to be expected, met a few really great actors. As to be expected, met a few "INTERESTING" people who make "INTERESTING" choices at an audition... performance-wise and "other" wise. Always makes for good stories. I definitely got my first episode totally wrapped up as far as casting. So I'm feeling good. I have to send out a big THANK YOU to my incredibly helpful Sister-in-Law Colleen who played the part of casting assistant last week and helped me with all the administrative work that goes into fielding submissions and coordinating a casting session. She put so much work into that for me and saved me a TON of time (and a tantrum or two). THANK YOU COLLEEN! GO GIANTS!

Now that Ive filled a few crucial sots with fresh faces, I'll go back through my previous projects and see if I can recruit actors that I've worked with before. While I will always need to reach out and bring in new talent for each project, I love to keep familiar faces in the mix. It's SO hard to find normal, reliable, professional performers WITH TALENT. So when I come across folks like that... and they do a good job for me, I'll do anything and everything to express my gratitude. You gotta reward people for good work.





Speaking of good work, here is another episode from the "Lessons in Ethics" project. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. Great performances all around.




Fran Francis is forced to decide whether covering for a trouble co-worker is worth jeopardizing her own career.

Produced and Directed by James Huffman for Wolters Kluwer Law and Business. Features Heidi Niedermeyer, Deborah Ramaglia, Chuck McCarthy and Carmen Tunis.





And ALAS.... a few samples shots from our wedding photos surfaced this morning. Photographer Jennifer Rau posted a couple of pics on her blog....

http://blog.jenniferrauphotography.com/2012/01/kristen-and-jim-palos-verdes-ca/

January 17th....

I think the world is finally starting to shake off those holiday cobwebs and get the blood pumping properly.

January 17th....

Happy Birthday Holly Gates Huffman, my sister-in-law slash brothers wife. I hope you have a fantastic day that's all about you.

Happy Birthday Kellie Roberts, one of the very talented actresses in my recent Producing/Directing endeavor, the "Lessons in Ethics" Project. Her work in 3 of the episodes is on my top 5 list for best performances in this project.... probably top 5 for all the projects I directed last year. She was great.

("Lessons in Ethics playlist on Youtube >> http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9ED87AE23B1827E4)

AND.... Happy 70th Birthday Muhammad Ali.

Figured I'd give a shout out to "The Greatest." Because he is, and always will be.




January 17th....

Casting starts today for my next project. I'm producing and directing another series of educational videos for WKLB, a leading publishing company and information provider for attorneys, business professionals and law students. The project is titled "A Day In The Life" and it focuses on several attorneys at a mid sized law firm and a specific set of challenges they each experience on a given day.

My trusty and handy casting assistant slash sister-in-law slash Kristens little sister Colleen is helping me all week with the ARDUOUS task of receiving and responding to submissions, coordinating a casting session and eventually filling the 13 new roles in this project with nice, normal, talented, reliable and professional people. MUCH easier said than done.

I've said this before, but as an ACTOR, Ive always spent time analyzing the casting process, from that side of the table. It;s something that every actor does. Thorough analysis and practice in the art of the audition is a vital part of the business and the craft... whether you like it or not. AS AN ACTOR, I have a soft spot for the people that come in and read for me. AS A DIRECTOR, I have a soft spot for actors in general. Working with actors and crafting a scene and a performance through collaboration is my favorite part of directing. AS A PRODUCER.... I kind of hate the whole thing. The casting process. SO annoying. I say that because for every one or two nice, normal, talented, reliable and professional actors submitting for ANY given project, there are TWENTY wackos.

Seriously, AS AN ACTOR, I learn so much from observing the casting process, making note of the wonderful things that certain performers bring in to the room versus the wild array of mistakes that actors make from the initial submission to the correspondence and scheduling of audition times to the crazy behavior that so many bring... unabashed.

AS A PRODUCER, unfortunately, I find myself slowly absorbing and carrying around that same growing disdain for actors that I used to find so troubling and offensive when I was pounding the pavement and auditioning my ass off every day (for years and years). I'm FIGHTING it. I promise. I love actors. I AM an actor. But as a producer/director is definitely TRYING.

Here is a quick tip... as far as submitting yourself for a project on a site such as LAcasting.com....

Even the SLIGHTEST personal touch will motivate me to look at the profile and consider inviting that person to audition. There are SO many profiles to look at and I only have so much time (and patience). Many actors either have agents and managers (BUSH league agents and managers) submitting FOR them. OR actors just submit like crazy for pretty much EVERYTHING and have NO CLUE what they are submitting for. The LAST thing I want to hear from an actor is a some dumb comment like "What's the project?" or "Who is this?" "Can you tell me about the role?"

Hey, YOU submitted your profile for MY project and you dont know what the role is or what the project is? It's even better when the person deals with me like I'm some creep asking them out for a drink.

SO, to avoid all that, I start looking for ANYTHING that might suggest genuine personal interest instead of blind breakdown blasting.

Also, when you step into the room to read... LAID-BACK and LIKEABLE... is always your best bet. WITHOUT trying to hard.... please. LESS IS MORE, thats always very good advice.

Auditions are Friday. I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

I actually auditioned a couple times last week. Yes I did.

One project I'm particularly excited about.... and guess what.... IT'S A PLAY.

I know. THEATER doesn't go over that well in Hollywood, but it's been SO long and I love acting on stage. If the play is well written and the cast and venue are decent, then it could be worthwhile. Plus Kristen has never seen me on stage. It would be cool to have her come see me perform.

I received an email from a friend in New York. She wanted to know if I could send a few good folks down to audition for her friend, who is producing/directing a play in LA this Summer that ran for 6 weeks in New York and did really well. I read the breakdown and read the play and I really like it. So I wrote her back and told her that I would really like to go down and read for one of the roles. She reached out to the director and set me up with an audition.

I think it went well. I felt a solid connection to the character and the writing, which helped a lot. I DID feel very rusty... audition-wise. So I guess we'll see. Since the play doesn't go up until the Summer, they will coming back in March for call-backs. They seemed to indicate that they'd like to see me in March.

Anyway, it's still January 17th.... and Ive got sh## to do....

How about that GIANTS game!!!!!

Here are a couple of episodes from the recently wrapped "Lessons in Ethics" project. Produced, Directed (and co-written) by yours truly, James Huffman for Wolters Kluwer Law Business....

Case #10: Amy and the Conflicted Intern.

Amy is an eager and enthusiastic intern with a bright future. But there is something lurking in her past that might mess it all up.

Features Marjan Salehpour, Josh Spiegel and Mary Carrig.






Case #6: Nathan and the Inadvertent Disclosure

Nathan gets an email that he isn't supposed to see. Seeking advice, he shares his secret with Pamela, which may turn out to be a mistake.

Features Johnno Wilson and Kellie Roberts.

(Make sure you watch this one ALL the way through. I left a little something in there after the credits)

New Year. New Chapter.

Lots of excitement. Warm Fuzzies all around....

So here we are.

I'm a MARRIED MAN. Madly in love with my wife. We had a great wedding. We were fortunate to have my immediate family stay for the week after and spend the Christmas holiday. Christmas was great. Our honeymoon was perfect. Now its onward and upward.

Like many have said before, our wedding went by in a flash. It felt like it was over before it started. We've had so many nice comments from family and friends, all who said it was a great wedding. Sounds good to me. I'll take it. Looking back, I wish I had spent more time, indidually, with our guests. I wish I taken the time to get some snapshots with all the people who were came from far and wide to be there. YES, we had a wedding photographer. We have yet to see the first official wedding photos. I'm sure she covered plenty. But I still feel like I just didnt get enough time with everyone.

My favorite moment in our wedding was when Kristen and I went back to the bridal cottage right after the ceremony. I had done my best to keep my composure. When I saw her for the first time in her dress, I was awestruck. I took a deep breathe and fought to keep it together. During the ceremony, as I watched Kristen and her Dad walk up together, I was swallowing a lot of emotion there as well. THEN, when we were saying our vows, I was REALLY holding in a LOT of emotion.

After the ceremony, once we stepped into the cottage and were alone for the first time as husband and wife, we immediately grabbed each other and squeezed as hard as we could... and we both started crying. The sun was streaming in through the window and we had ourselves a really special, beautiful moment. All the work, the worry, the time and the money... it brought us right there to that moment. I'll never forget it.





SO... after the dust had settled, and everyone was danced out and departing, we hopped into a town car that was there to take us 5 minutes up the road to the Terranea resort in PV. BUT WAIT...not so fast...

Once we got into the car.... it wouldn't start. Flatline. I jumped out and conferred wit the driver. We stood around and scratched out heads for a few minutes. We asked around for jumper cables, hoping get someone to help us get the car started. Kristen sat in the back seat in her big fluffy wedding dress waiting, while our guests looked on. We eventually got a jump from one of the catering staff members. YES, We made it over to Terranea with plenty of time for after-party cocktails, but for a few minutes there... it was kind of embarrassing.

TO BE FAIR, the people at the limo company were very apologetic. I followed up with an email a few days later. Not to COMPLAIN necessarily, but to let them know what happened. I figured I'd put the ball in their court and see how they respond....

Hi James- I am very sorry that you experienced the embarrassment on Saturday night. I can only imagine that rush of “oh oh” that went from head to toe and back again. Please accept my apologies and extend them to your bride too please. I will be refunding you the charge of $100, as well as extending you a complimentary service in the future. Thank you for taking the time to let let us know about this situation. (Your service was actually covered by an affiliate company and they did not inform us.) Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

Very nice of them.

In the days after the wedding, an assortment of Huffman's, Haryungs and a trio of McNally's, took to the streets and had themselves a little SoCal holiday romp-a-round. In various configurations, we explored and enjoyed the city of Los Angeles together as a family. This part of the plan was particularly important to me. For one, I wanted everyone to stay the week and spend Christmas together, because WHO KNOWS when we we will all be able to do this again as a complete group. Secondly, I really wanted to everyone to have some time to spend with Kristen and get to know her, and vice versa. It would have sucked if my family just came into town for the wedding and flew out a couple days later. I happen to think that my wife is a pretty amazing person with a HUGE heart of gold and I wanted my family to see for themselves. We had a lot of fun that week. We had many big meals together. The kids got to see Disneyland. We hiked to the Hollywood sign. We visited Griffith Observatory and the La Brea Tar PIts. We drove up to Malibu and bounced around on El Matador Beach. We had dinner at Neptunes Net and watched the sunset. Again, perfect....


 


      

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please consider yourselves cordially invited. THE COMPLEX World Premiere goes down on JAN 28th in Hollywood. If you can make it, I would love to see you there. Not only did I co-produce this film but I play the role of douchey super-agent, Chatham Knowby. You and your friends are more than welcome join us. Did I mention we'll have an OPEN BAR after the show?

Chck out the "Public Event" Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/events/228856707190540/






Two friends move to Los Angeles and discover strange goings-on in their new apartment complex. Why's that door glowing? Why do so many of the tenants look alike? Who's that killing everyone? More importantly, where do the cats go? Starring Clay Mckendree, Christy Mele, Josh Spiegel, James Huffman, J.R. nutt, Dan Trabulus, Melanie Camp, and Howard McNair. Written and directed by Josh Spiegel. Based on a story by Josh Spiegel and Christy Mele. Cinematography by Manuel Coronado. Produced by John Gallagher and James Huffman.

Greetings!

Kristen and just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who came out to celebrate our amazing day on December 17th. We had a little rain scare in the early afternoon, but everything turned out beautifully. Our wedding was perfect. We wanted to express our immense love and gratitude to Cathy and Larry Haryung for all they've done to make this wedding as wonderful as it was. We also want to thank everyone for the generous gifts, the thorough stream of well wishes and congratulations and the all the positive energy produced by all the spectacular people that we hold dear.

To our Families... our friends... THANK YOU. The past two weeks have been amazing. Everything we had hoped for.

Our Christmas holiday was equally amazing as we had the pleasure of spending quality time with Jerry Huffman, Nancy, Bob and Samantha McNally, my brother Dave, his wife Holly and my nephews Keller, Casey and Marley.

Over the past couple of days, the dearly have departed, and while it was very sad to see everyone go....

WOO HOO... We are WHISTLER BOUND!

HOLD UP! First we are going to check out Vancouver for a couple of days. We actually just got to the L'Hermitage Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. We checked in and met HIPPO the "French 'Black Masked Fawn' Bull Dog with a minimal Parisian attitude and a maximum sense of fashion." He is sort of the hotel mascot.... and he seriously stands there and greets incoming guests.

http://www.lhermitagevancouver.com

Anyway, they upgraded our room... brought us up a complimentary bottle of wine... and showed us how to turn on the FIREPLACE.

So I am signing OFF.... cuz this Honeymoon is ON!!

I, James Huffman, take you, Kristen Haryung, to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst. I will always be there. As I give you my hand to hold So I give you my life to keep. So help me God.

I, Kristen Haryung, take you, James Huffman, to be my husband, my partner in life, my best friend and my one true love. I promise to cherish, trust and honor you. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst. As I give myself to you in marriage, so I give you my life to keep. So help me God.


Our wedding was perfect.... a dream come true.

To everyone who attended, to everyone who made our wedding day possible.... Thank you.

We gettin married!

Like TOMORROW...

Actually... its technically TODAY.

(I need to go to bed)

December 17th 2011 - 4PM - La Venta Inn - Palos Verdes, CA

The ceremony starts at 4PM, the reception takes place at the same location.

796 Vía Del Monte Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=La+Venta+Inn&ll=33.795483,-118.400323&spn=0.009005,0.01929&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&fb=1&gl=us&hq=La+Venta+Inn&hnear=La+Venta+Inn&cid=0,0,15373947256454895889&t=m&z=16&vpsrc=0&iwloc=A

FYI, NO JEANS please. I'm sure we really don't have to tell you that, but in CASE you were unaware, this is a suit and tie affair..

SEE you there!

Four Days? Five Days?

I think I'm beyond counting days. Feels like tomorrow.

Someone just sent me en email asking me if I'm nervous. Its like the HUNDREDTH time someone has asked me if I'm nervous.

I do appreciate the sentiment though. Its funny how people keep asking me if I'm nervous. I am happy to hear from friends as we wind down and get closer to kick-off. I'm also amazed at the piss-poor protocol from some of my closest and dearest.

Seriously, I get a text message today from a friend whom I've known for 2 years, wishing me all the luck, love and happiness I can handle... it was such nice gesture... coming from someone who wasn't even invited. I've been getting calls and emails and texts from so many... and some of my dearest... fuggedaboutitt... they are pretty much absent.... and it's really F%^$#&% lame. That's all I'm going to say about it.

I'm letting it go. I'm not going to focus on the negative. My brother warned about that many months ago... and I still feel like its been the best advice Ive had in a long time. maybe it's because he knows me well enough to know how to carefully place advice that I would need most of all. He warned me:

"No matter what you do, during this whole wedding planning process... people are going to disappoint you. You will be pleasantly surprised by some and extremely disappointed in others. That happens to everyone when they get married. This is one of the biggest and most important moments in your life, but to others, it might be just another Saturday. Weddings always bring out the best and the worst in people. So don't get frustrated. Don't carry negative energy around. Just focus on the positive. Be happy."

Those words have been ringing in my ears for months... and probably will forever.

I'm happy. Happy as %$%#&%$#@%^$!!!!

So... am I nervous? No... not really nervous. I'm anxious to get rolling though. Anxious for everything to fall into place the way we've planned and the way we are hoping. From family arriving and getting settled to the weather to the ceremony, reception, the after party and the brunch. I just want to get ON with it.

(and sort of get it OVER with)

(I mean that in the nicest, most positive way possible)