Don's Blog - June 2012

Bus Monitor Bullying & indiegogo.com

Thursday June 28, 2012

This is an amazing story to me.  By now, we’ve all heard the story of Karen Klein, the bus monitor who was bullied in New York.  The video of the bullying went viral and virtually everyone in the country with Internet access or a TV saw it.  It was sad.  It broke your heart.  And, rightfully, it made many of us mad.

So here’s the thing, how do you help or fix something like that?  Well, one guy had an idea.  A man named Max Sidorov got on the fundraising web site, indiegogo.com, and tried to raise $5000 for Ms. Klein in order to send her on vacation.  Not just any vacation, a vacation of her dreams. 

For those of you who do not know indiegogo.com, it is a web site many of us filmmakers use to raise funds for our projects.  It allows anyone with an idea or a dream or a cause to set up a fundraising page in order to make those ideas, dreams or causes a reality.

So, Mr. Sidorov set up this fund raising campaign and thankfully received a tremendous response.

How tremendous a response you ask?  As of this writing a WHOPPING $665,760.00 have been raised!!!!  AND, there are still 22 days left for folks to contribute

Hats off to Mr. Sidorov for organizing the fund raising, but also hats off to the 30,647 people who to date contributed to this fund.  An act of kindness like this can restore anyone’s faith in the human condition!   

Here’s the link to the donation page, another few kindhearted people and this number can reach and surpass a cool million!

http://www.indiegogo.com/loveforkarenhklein?a=795530



Accused - The Movie

Friday June 15, 2012

This is exciting!  After many months, our film Accused is finished and we are in the process of submitting to film festivals.  On the submission list so far are Austin, Sundance and Mill Valley (my hometown film fest). 

This was a student project at Saddleback College and many people worked hard throughout the production.  

Accused is the story of a young woman who is attacked on a deserted highway by a hitchhiker.  Abandoned and left to fend for herself she is picked up by a kind couple who take her to a local diner to get help.  Once at the diner the young woman spots her attacker.  Along with the patrons of the diner, a mob-mentality ensues and the young woman becomes the judge and jury.  But, does she have the right guy?


The story was the idea of our director, Marcus Casian.  Together, Marcus and I wrote and produced the script.  We had an outstanding crew including Cinematographer Graham Robbins, 1st Assistant Director Andrew Beemis and Production Designer Stephanie Silverman.  Many more worked behind the scenes and you can find them listed at www.imdb.com

The cast was mostly picked at a casting call we held in Hollywood and features (L to R) Ryan Conklin, Sarah Humphries, Jason Heymann, Rachael Farrokh, Scotty McChandler, Jennifer Lynn O’Hara, Joseph H. Johnson and Lewis Baker.
Accused was filmed on location at The Great Park in Irvine, CA and at a diner called “A Little Moore” in Leucadia, CA.

Soon you will be able to find more details at our future web site www.accusedthemovie.com

Fingers crossed for a screening near you, soon.

Matt Cain’s No-No! And The Kiss!

Thursday June 14, 2012

First, Matt Cain’s spectacular performance last night was more than a no-hitter, it was a Perfect Game.  For those who don’t know, a Perfect Game means that no one even got to first base against him.  No hits, no walks, no errors, no catcher’s interference, nothing.  The door to first base?  It was locked.  In the history of Major League Baseball, there had only been 21 Perfect Games, now 22.

I loved his wife’s reaction, you could read her lips, “Holy F***in’ S**t!”  She must be a Batman and Robin fan.  But then, when they brought her into the dugout and the reporter encouraged Matt to greet his wife?  I haven’t seen a kiss that awkward since ... well .... I gotta go back to Al and Tipper Gore’s kiss at the 2004 Democratic Convention.


The Giants have had no-hitters before, legends Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry each threw one.  Ed Halicki threw one in 1975.  Halicki was very tall, and his nickname was “the jolly green giant,” hence that performance was known as “Ho-ho’s No-no.” In 1976, one of my all-time favorite Giants, John ‘The Count” Montefusco, threw his.  And then, it was 33 years later when Jonathan Sanchez threw one in 2009.  Sanchez is now with the Royals.

There should have been another no-hitter yesterday.  R. A. Dickey threw a “one-hitter” for the Mets.  During the game, David Wright made an error at third, but the official scorer gave it hit.  The official scorer must have been in the bathroom at the time and didn’t have access to instant replay.  Official scoring in the Major Leagues is embarrassing and it needs to be addressed by the commissioner’s office, but that is a topic for another blog.  This one is about pitching and the seemingly sudden increase in no-hitters.

This is going to be a steroid rant so be prepared. 

Since 1901, there have been 276 no-hitters, that’s roughly 2.4 per year and this year is not done yet.  In the steroid era, 1985 to 2005, there were only 41 no-nos or 2 per year.  Since the Mitchell report was released in December of 2007, starting with the 2008 season, we have had 18 no-nos or 4.1 a season … that’s double the amount, although with a smaller sample size.

This shift in dominance to pitching became obvious to us fantasy baseball geeks following 2010 when there were 6 no-hitters, including two perfect games.  We took that theory into the 2011 season and used it to win our Fantasy baseball league, loading up on true (no steroid) power hitters and knowing that mediocre pitching would be good enough.  It’s working this year too.

It just really shows you how much steroids have changed the game.


Remember the excitement of McGwire and Sosa chasing the steroid-less Roger Maris single season home run mark?  Steroids driven.  What p****s me off about that?  There will never be another race for the single season homerun mark unless there is another performance enhancing drug that the three-toed sloths of the commissioner’s office take their sweet time determining if it is bad for baseball. 

And don’t get me started about Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens.  I’m a Giants fan and what Bonds did made me ashamed to be a Giants fan.  Bonds is now considered to be baseball’s all-time homerun leader.  Steroids.  No player ever had his hat size DOUBLE during the course of their career either.  But it’s not just the steroids with Bonds, it’s also the general lack of hustle he showed, specifically popping the ball up and not running to first base.  Pete Rose would never do that, neither would Mike Trout.  And, the Rocket?  I have a lot of Roger Clemens baseball cards that I spent a lot of money on in the hopes that they would be worth a lot more money down the road.  They won’t.  I’ll be lucky to break even.  Thank you Roger and thank you steroids.

Wow, did I just free associate myself off topic, or what? 

Congrats Matt Cain!  I was a pitcher and I know what goes on inside a pitchers mind.


When did you realize you had a no-hitter?  Really Amy G.?  That’s the question?  The answer on TV is always, “well I wasn’t really thinking about it.”  The true answer is, “I know from the very first pitch.  And when someone gets on base, I know that the perfect game is gone, and when someone gets a hit, I know that the no-hitter is gone, and when someone steps on the plate, I know the shutout is gone.”  Any pitcher that tells you otherwise is lying. 

And, that’s why I love Matt Cain.  He was honest about it.  He told you the truth.  He knew all the way.  He was perfect … except for that kiss. 


Note to Matt and Chelsea, maybe you two should practice that kiss so you are ready for the next time … I mean, learn something from Al and Tipper.

Journey, The US Festival, Motley Crue & Singing Out Loud

Wednesday June 13, 2012

My roommate Ronnie, and I are going to see Journey next month.   I can’t wait.  They’re playing with Pat Benatar and Loverboy!  I love those bands, know all the songs, know all the words, I’ll be singing every song, OUT LOUD!  It will be memorable!  AND, they’re playing in Devore, at the same location where the US Festival was held back in the 80’s. 

Yes, I was at the US Festival.  One day, 1983.  Went with my friends Greg O’Donnell, Bill Stone and Bill’s friend John.  John drove us from Marin.  We left after a party at my house at midnight, drove the whole night, got breakfast at a Bob’s Big Boy, which I had never been to before, and then went to the Festival.

It was heavy metal day, or head banger’s day, or hesher's day, depending on what part of the world you are from. Quiet Riot, Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osborne, Triumph, Scorpions and Van Halen.

It was the kind of day that gave you blistered eardrums and blistered sunburned shoulders, but you didn’t care, you were rockin’ out and having fun.  Babes everywhere.  The worst smelling port-a-potties.  Not enough drinkable water, but plenty of overpriced beers.  Every 15 minutes or so, they would spray the audience with a fire hose just to keep us cool.  It was like the incubator for Coachella.   

Things were going well, but I sensed that my friends wanted to leave before the show was over.  All I wanted to do was see Van Halen, my favorite band.  I think they were scheduled to come out around 10 PM, but I don’t think they hit the stage until midnight.  When they finally got on, it was clear why it took so long.  DLR, my hero at the time, was hammered.  He was sloppy and having a great time.

Not that I cared, he was livin’ the life.  He was a rock star.  He could do anything he wanted to do, like sing out loud, off key, forget the words, or make-up new ones … and he did.  And, really, I wasn’t disappointed, because I understood. 

My friends though were tired and wanted to leave before Drunken Dave and the Van Halen brothers were done, and since I wasn’t driving, I had no choice.  Now at this point, we’d been up about 36 hours, so driving 8 hours to Marin wasn’t an option. 

We spent the next two hours driving around looking for a hotel.  No vacancy sign after no vacancy sign lit up the Southern California sky.  Finally, we found a Motel 6 with a vacancy and crashed. 

Around noon the next morning, housekeeping forced us out of the motel room and into a Denny’s for breakfast.  While waiting for a table, a girl came in and needed a table for eight for “Crue.”  Now when I say a “girl,” I’m really talking about one of those girls you see at the club, dressed for the club, only in a Denny’s.  She was wearing a halter-top, 6-inch spike heels with Bobbie Sox, and a pair of cut-off jeans that were cut-off into the shape of a G-string.  And yes, “Crue” meant Motley Crue!

So, I’m eating my Superbird across from Tommy Lee, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and 5 girls dressed for the pole.  I don’t know where Vince was, and I didn’t ask.  But even that wasn’t the most memorable part of this road trip.

The most memorable moment, and line of the trip, came from Bill’s friend John, the driver, on the way home.  You see I was the only real head bangin’ fan in the group.  I knew all the songs, all the words, sang them out loud, and loved them.  My friends liked and knew some of the songs, but not like I did.  So, somewhere in the Central Valley, on I-5, in the blistering heat, after eating a Denny’s breakfast, confined to a car with three other guys who hadn’t showered in two days, hearing me sing every song that came up on the US Festival mix tapes I created for the trip, John reached over, turned off the tape deck and said, “DON, IF JUDAS PRIEST WANTED YOU TO SING THE SONG, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE ALBUM!”

I didn’t sing much more on the rest of the trip home.  But, I still get told that from time to time, that’s who I am.  I do it every summer on the fair circuit when I go with my younger friends to see aging rock stars.  I tell them that I’m educating them about past music: Huey Lewis, Berlin, Scandal, Blue Oyster Cult, Deep Purple, America, Three Dog Night … but that’s just an excuse.  I do it so I can sing out loud, and fortunately my roommate does, too.

So, I don’t think I’ll be hearing anyone say that next month, live in Devore, when Steve Perry and I are dueting on “Anyway You Want It,” or when Mike Reno and I are crooning “Everybody’s Workin’ For The Weekend”!

Fan Violence - A Letter to My Unborn Son On This Father’s Day Week

Tuesday June 12, 2012

On September 19th, 2002, during a Chicago White Sox-Kansas City Royals game played on the south side, two “Fans,” a father and his son, jumped onto the field and attacked Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa.  It was an ugly scene and it inspired me to write this in honor of Father’s Day.  I call it, “A Letter To My Unborn Son.”


One day, when you are old enough we will go to a ballgame.
Our favorite team will be playing and we’ll bring our gloves in the hope of catching a foul ball.
It will be the time honored tradition of a father and son at the ballgame.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

We’ll get there early to watch BP.
And, maybe we’ll get some autographs.
I’ll get a beer and you’ll get a coke.
I’ll buy you a pennant and then we’ll get some hotdogs.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

We’ll sit in the bleachers and I’ll have a few beers and you’ll have a few cokes.
I’ll explain the tragedy of artificial turf.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

We’ll yell at the umpire and boo the visiting team.
I’ll have another beer and you’ll have some cotton candy and a malt.
I’ll tell you about the great ones, Mantle and Mays and Aaron and Ryan.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

We’ll root for our home team and buy some new caps.
I’ll have another beer and we’ll take off our shirts and soak up the sun.
I’ll tell you why the National League is better than the American League.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

The clean-up hitter on our team will hit a home run!
I’ll have another beer and you’ll have another coke.
I’ll explain to you why the designated hitter rule sucks.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

We’ll jump onto the field and try to beat the crap out of the opposing team’s first base coach.
We’ll get the crap beat out of us by the opposing team.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

We’ll get taken away, me to “County” and you to “Juvy,” and end up on every news network in America.
Larry King’s people will call, so will Bill O’Reilly’s.
It will be a day you’ll never forget.

Yes, it will be a day you’ll never forget and want to share with your own son one day.

Joe Montana - “The Best I Ever Saw”

Monday June 11, 2012

On this, the birthday of former 49er quarterback Joe Montana; I thought I’d share a few memories I have of watching him play.

I was fortunate enough to be a Niner season ticket holder during the post-Joe Thomas years of the 49ers.  Bill Walsh was hired and put together a team that, using his blueprint, would dominate for about 20 years.  At the center of that blueprint were two players, Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott.  They were two team leaders who guided the Niners to 4 Super Bowl titles.

Walsh’s offense was intricate; it changed football and several teams still use some form of Walsh’s West Coast Offense.  The quarterback of that offense needs to be precise.  He needs to make reads and anticipate where his receivers will be.  He needs to make pinpoint passes.   Niner fans may remember that the Niners had a pretty good quarterback named Jim Plunkett.  Plunkett went on to win two Super Bowls with the Raiders (and it’s a crime that he is not in the Hall of Fame).  But, Plunkett wasn’t the right guy for the West Coast Offense.  Walsh first used Steve DeBerg in the QB role, but he was just keeping the spot warm for a 3rd round draft pick named Montana.


Once Montana took over, he only gave it up for injury (Back Surgery, Concussion, and that nagging arm/shoulder/elbow thing that gave Steve Young his chance).

In 1981, we watched Howard Cosell call him “Little Joey Montana” as he picked apart the Cowboy’s Doomsday Defense during the regular season, then beat the powerful Steelers and even dispatch the hated Rams.  Then came the playoffs where they rolled through the Giants, Cowboys again (The Catch), and into Detroit to eliminate the Bengals for their first Super Bowl.

That was one of many highlights for me.  Others I have in no particular order –
* I was in attendance in January of 1985, when the Niners defeated Miami in Super Bowl 19 at Stanford.  Joe Montana MVP.
* Dispatching the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals with last second bombs to Jerry Rice.
* Running the two-minute drill better than anyone before (Kenny Stabler) or since (John Elway).
* The AWESOME comeback against the Rams on a Thursday night with two 90+ yard catch and runs by John Taylor, and the four-touchdown comeback orchestrated against the Eagles.
* Returning from back surgery in about 7 weeks and beating the Cardinals at Candlestick (I still have my “Joe’s Back” T-shirt).
* The return from the long arm problem, on a Monday night against Barry Sanders and the Lions.  It was the last game of the season, Young played the first half and Montana came in for the second half.  It was an audition, as the Niners were looking to deal Joe and go with Steve Young for the future.  Candlestick was ELECTRIC that night.  Joe moved the team up and down the field like he had never left.  He was flawless.  And we were thankful to have witnessed it.

The detractors to Montana’s greatness have a good argument.  The West Coast offense is quarterback friendly.  It makes good quarterbacks great and bad quarterbacks good.  You really don’t have to look further than Donovan McNabb to prove this.  McNabb was a great QB in the Eagles West Coast Offense, but then struggled in Washington and Minnesota, where they didn’t use the West Coast.  Same story with Kevin Kolb, it’s not happening in Arizona for him.  And true Niner fans will remember the fill-in success of Matt Cavanaugh, Jeff Kemp and Mike Moroski, all who excelled in the West Coast Offense.

That all may be true, but Montana was the perfect QB for that offense.  He had all the tools to run it to perfection.  He was called Joe Cool and Big Sky.  Wayne Walker used to say that he was “cooler than the other side of the pillow” (years before Stuart Scott made that phrase his own on Sportscenter).  But, it was John Madden to who said it best at the Montana retirement party in San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza.  Madden simply said, “he was the best I ever saw.”   I agree.