I haven't been to a comedy club in such a long time, it's as though "movie listings" are my brain's default setting. I went to this new comedy club Laugh Lounge (151 Essex Street) on the Lower East Side. It has a really cool, hip bar upstairs and the performance space is downstairs. I went with my buddy, Michael (writer & producer of BAD MEAT) who was going to support his extremely talented stand-up comedian friend, Ben Bailey. The actors performing at Laugh Lounge were all top comics and really hilarious.

And I feel like sharing one of their jokes..."I am so ready for the warm weather, my brain is completely fried, especially at the end of the week. Last Friday, I was on the subway platform waiting for the "C" train and I notice a guy standing on the platform with his hand in the air. He was hailing the subway!! I felt for him, I really did, because I know that as bad I am, I'm not as bad as him. The train pulls up, he looks at me and I said he should take it, he saw it first, I'll wait for the next train."

Last night, I enjoyed some tasty Tapas at El Cid (322 W. 15th St, betwn 8th and 9th Avenues) with my ole friend Bill. After delicious sangria, we decided to stop by a party which he had been invited to at the PM Lounge on 50 Gansevoort Street. It was a fashion party promoting La Perle, an Italian lingerie designer, and La Perle's new line of lingerie. After being surrounded by 6 ft beautiful models and swooning Euro guys, I was pleasantly surprised to see Sturgis from the Vail Film Festival, Terry from the Fleadh Film Festival and NY1's movie reviewer Neil Rosen.

When arriving back to my neighborhood, I had a sudden desire to cleanse my inner self, so I stopped into the local dive bar for a $3 Budweiser. Ahhh, what a relief. Inside the dive; there were a few neighbors, folks from the 'hood, and a former indie filmmaker. So, after an evening of swooning...or watching others swooning in the Meat Packing District, it was so refreshing to hear some real stories and end my night listening to the trials and tribulations of indie filmmaking.

The Reel Roundtable and Magnolia Pictures will be hosting A Tribute to Charles Bukowski on Monday and we'll be screening Bukowski: Born Into This. It's the first comprehensive documentary of this extraordinary man. Following the screening, their will be a Bukowski party across the street at Patio, sign-up at the bar to read your favorite Bukowski poem at the open mic. For more information about the screening, check out the Reel Roundtable's website.

One of the meetings I had today was with a very pleasant and passionate film festival director.

I find that meetings with film festivals are relatively routine; they inquire about the Reel Roundtable, then describe their festival and how thier festival differs from other festivals, they ask for the support of The Reel Roundtable (which we do 100%) and last, I will recommend other film organizations and film companies to contact regarding support for their festival.

At the end of the day; no matter how large or small the festival, I sincerely support the passion of the film festivals and admire all of the hard work which is invested to present such a variety of film programs to audiences all over the world.

The love of film amongst the film festivals is what I see over and over again, which is why there is no such list "Top Ten Film Festivals of Passion".

The plan was to check out a friend's band at the Mercury Lounge (217 E. Houston Street, NY) and then go from there. Stephanie and I went to grab a bite at Kai Kai (78 E. 1st St/ btwn Ave A and 1st Ave) which is a small and charming Thai restaurant, serving great food at dirt-cheap prices.

Then we headed over to the Mercury Lounge to catch Andrew Vladeck and the Spurs (www.andrewvladeck.com). They were pretty good, not bad. Andrew's stage presence is extremely charming and entertaining. After watching Andrew play, we had a most pleasant surprise. The band following Andrew's was an Austin band, The Gourds. Wow! I have declared myself an official Gourds fan!

It was the best live music I've heard in such a long time! They are wonderful, fun, refined and extremely entertaining musicians. I recommend them to all. Their music is adapted from a variety of genres, including; folk, bluegrass, country, Tex-Mex, Cajun, hip-hop and psychedelic, which gives them a very signature Gourds sound. During their three and half hour show, they used the electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass, drums, organ, fiddle and an accordion. If you have an opportunity to see them live, don't hesitate, it's quite an experience.

Aside from their music, the bonus of being at a Gourds show is their audience. The place was packed with wall to wall Alpha, meat-eating, horse-riding, charming Texan cuties.

My friend Van and I went to see the film THIS SO-CALLED DISASTER at the Film Forum last night. After all of the positive reviews this week I couldn't wait to see it. The film was better than I expected. Its title notwithstanding, THIS SO-CALLED DISASTER is anything but. The documentary gives the audience an intimate behind-the-scenes glimpse of top actors making their way through the thier material; sometimes under pressure and sometimes with ease. At the same time, the film offers a survey of the career of Shepard, including stories about his his relationship with his father, whom the play is based on.

It's also extremely worthwhile for audiences and future generations to see the work of a genius and the importance of theatre.

I recommend it!

After listening to so many conversations that end with someone saying "I'll have to put that on my Netflix list", I realized that I have been in Netflix denial. I knew Netflix was a website and its' focus was DVDs, but I never took the time to know the details. After much hesitance, I made the decision to check out this Netflix site and see what exactly is causing this bizarre DVD frenzy.

Went to Netfix,com, blah, blah, blah, $19.95 a month, three DVDs, no late fees....okay, okay I have to admit, I'm impressed. But why the denial? Am I afraid that I'll enjoy this Netflix business? If I were to participate in this Netflix biz, then that would consist of spending even more time on my computer in order to read through yet another program of films, staying home to watch movies and falling behind on my "books to read" list. I realize that this is not an either/ or situation, one can subscribe to Netflix AND go to the movies. But do they?? (excluding the Passion of the Christ audience)

According to Wall Street, Netflix's stock was up 250% this year and Netflix's market value is worth over $2 billion dollars.

Netflix has a catalog of over 18,000 movies and it's definitely a better choice than Blockbuster...but then again, any choice is better than Blockbuster. So, the positive side of this Netflix is that it offers their members an opportunity to continue their interest in watching a wide selection of movies, not to mention, no worries about late fees or commercial interruptions.

So, why would people choose to go to the movies when there are three movies waiting for them at home which have already been chosen and paid for??
Well, I suppose one could ask that same question when referring to either restaurants and Fresh Direct or concerts and downloading mp3s.

What it boils down to is that Netflix is the crack addiction of the movie industry. Netflix sends you movies, gets you hooked and then continues to send DVDs. The DVDs are there and always available, just waiting to be watched.

Is the addiction worth it?