Let me give you a little backstory here. Two of my short films were selected for the Great Plains Theatre Conference, held here in Omaha, Nebraska.

In case you were wondering “what are films doing in a theatre conference?” let me assure you that they have a film section. Among the special guests attending this conference were Edward Albee, Patricia Neal (of Breakfast at Tiffany’s fame), and Rachel Jacobson, founder of Film Streams.

If you thought I was getting lazy about writing, and thus were including more photos, you were right. This post is no exception. It’s not all laziness though. Visuals can tell a story just as well as, if not better, than words. See how well film school has taught me?

Here is Mr. Albee himself. Proving that even Pulitzer Prize winning authors are just like us, this was taken right after he walked out of the men’s restroom. My first instinct was to take it as he was walking out, the stiff armed bathroom man on the sign in the background, but then thought better. I’m glad that my respectful and polite instincts won out over my paparazzi instincts…I think.

I know what you’re thinking. No, it’s not just some aging man in light jeans and faded leather and suede. Yes, it has Husker red accents. But it really is him. I swear. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.

I am seriously trustworthy and, as many of my L.A. friends can attest, pretty skilled at spotting and identifying celebrities. I have the credentials. I’ll provide references. I have witnesses.

But who needs all of that? I don’t need to prove anything to you. I’m asking you to trust me. It’s him. No more discussion.

Jamie and Erin, being the wonderful, supportive sisters that they are, came with me for the entire day. Here they are right before they were going to show my films. The excitement and tension was getting to them.

That evening, there was a gala for the conference, where they would hand out awards. It was a real classy affair. Catered, free bar, pianist, tuxedos, the whole nine yards.

As you can see, we chose to dress down for the occasion. Here is Erin on the red carpet.

Me in training for the Oscars.

Oh, and ice sculptures. How classy are ice sculptures? Erin and a penguin, who are very in vogue in films these days.

These Nebraskans are really on top of it.

Mr. Albee’s place at our table.

This night has inspired me to write a play: “Waiting for Albee.”

Erin and I sat at the furthest table from the stage in a corner. This was not only to further signal us as the weirdos who were way younger than anyone else there and underdressed or to elicit stares saying, “Are you even supposed to be here?”, but mostly to provide ease for a quick and early escape from the affair (plus we had a lacrosse championship to go to…see below).

So they started announcing the film winners first, and right as they started to announce the short film winners a large gust of wind blew in the tent, knocking down a large plant nearly on top of Erin, who was startled and started to laugh. I also found it funny that a large plant fell nearly on us, but then could not hear who they were saying, so I started to tell Erin I couldn’t hear and she continued to laugh as others at our table and around us shot annoyed and confused looks in our direction.

Erin quieted down enough for me to hear my name called for second place. I got up, again prompting confused looks from our neighbors. “Take that, I belong here! And I’m a winner!” I wanted to cry. Instead I smiled and made my long way to the stage.

This is Erin’s reaction to my second place finish. She thought I deserved better. She’s got my back.

This was taken today. I tried to re-create my moment of glory with my little sculpted prize. How cute is it?

Great Plains, here we come! Next year we are gunning for greatness, a family dynasty of Midwestern awards. The grand prize in film and playwriting. We will take it all!

Photos taken in the Sculpture Garden in Omaha (located in the Passageway). We are posing by our respective Astrological signs.

The two photos below are not their appropriate signs. We just wanted to see them make those faces.

Warning: PG-13 image below, may be unsuitable for children…or people of any age, for that matter.

Alternate Post Title: LAX: Not only an airport

We are very excited, the woman behind us is not. We were cheering for the same team, so one of us was wrong. My bet’s on us.

You should be able to infer the story from the photos, but to give you more details, this is what I did last Friday and Saturday night (photos taken on Saturday). This is a lacrosse game. This is the Midwest. This is Millard West High School beating Creighton Prep High School for the Championship 7-6. This is my life. It was quite an exciting game, actually. Erin and I attended to cheer on the Wildcats, and to support and cheer on Sean, Erin’s lacrosse-playing boyfriend (notice Erin’s jersey attire). Congrats Wildcats! Go Lacrosse!

Has anyone else heard Cat Power singing on a commercial for Journey Diamonds? I just came in the room with a TV on to hear her distinctive voice and see a woman spitting up a diamond in bed. I have made it sound much more exciting than it is.

Addendum: I just saw it again, and she doesn’t regurgitate the diamond, she finds a diamond necklace around her neck and looks at it (her husband put it on her as she was sleeping…apparently, the touch of a diamond is enough to wake a woman up…looking alert, refreshed, healthy and with a soft glow).

Last night I attended the first public opening of Slowdown (Bright Eyes played a somewhat secret, more private show on Thursday night) and here are some photos:

See how excited Sean and Erin are to check it out?

The view upon entering.

This last photo is of the band Art in Manila. They were really great. The band members consist of Orenda Fink (formerly of Azure Ray; guitar, vocals), Adrianne Verhoeven (formerly of The Anniversary; keys, vocals), Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching, Mayday, Bright Eyes), also on keys, Steve Bartolomei (Mal Madrigal) on guitar, Ryan Fox (The Good Life) on bass, and Corey Broman (Dance Me Pregnant) on drums. You can listen to them here. Their album, “Set the Woods on Fire,” recorded by Joel Petersen of The Faint, will be released by Saddle Creek on August 7th.

There were six bands on the bill: Capgun Coup, Flowers Forever, Now, Archimedes!, Art in Manila, Domestica and Little Brazil for $2. Wish I could’ve seen more. Tonight there are five: Mal Madrigal, The Terminals, Ladyfinger, Bear Country, and Neva Dinova. Wish I could go, but I am babysitting.

I give a hearty congratulations to Saddle Creek and its owners, Jason Kulbel and Robb Nansel. The place was really nice. Spacious, clean, good sound, nice design, lots of seating, nice lighting, a photo booth, videogames, pool, a jukebox, framed band posters on the wall, and some artwork. The opening drew an eclectic crowd, which was nice to see. It’s great that so many people came out to support it. There was also a very nice, laidback vibe (besides the people who came barreling past us, bombarding the photo booth that we were about to enter). Two thumbs up.

Some details I neglected to mention (accompanying photos to come):

Prior to taking the trip, I took my car in and I was told that I had a problem with my transmission and that 75-85% my car would not make it. I exclaimed, “I’ll take that 15% chance!” Lo and behold, my trusty Protege held up. Not only did she hold up, but she drove smoothly and arrived promptly in time to see my sisters graduate.

We did, however, stop somewhere around the border of New Mexico (actually I forget where we stopped, but it was a tiny, hot desert town), and I noticed that the tires looked low. A kind gentleman at the gas station checked the pressure and said they were way under pressure. He added air but then noticed that my two front tires were cracked and dry. So, I got two newer tires (newer than my old ones, but not new). He also pulled a wire out of one tire and inserted two plugs, which look strange but do the job. Problem averted, we were on our way.

I was stopped by a cop in a 75 mph zone while on cruise control. I saw the lights behind me and looked down at the marker: 78 mph. I was not ready to stop. Those lights were not for me. I looked around, no other cars were immediately around me. Shocked and confused, I slowed down and pulled over. The officer stepped up to the passenger side and asked for license and registration. “Was I speeding?” I asked. “Yes. You were going between 76 and 81 miles per hour,” he replied. “I was on cruise control,” I replied, dumbfounded. “On 78,” I replied truthfully, then realizing that I was admitting guilt and that technically that was still speeding. “That’s why I’m going to let you off with a warning,” the cop said. I smiled and he smiled and CB smiled (I think). Did “that’s” refer to my honesty or to the fact that he couldn’t even pinpoint a speed that was slightly above the limit? I like to think it was a combination of the two. He handed me the warning to sign, I signed, gave it to him, he checked it, gave it back to me and then told me, “You can do whatever you want with this.” I put it in my glove compartment for future framing.

We made it in successfully. I rejoiced and fell asleep.

In the morning, I brought my suitcase in only to immediately notice that pieces of cloth debris were piled on top of it like shredded newspaper, leaving a trail as I wheeled it in. This was confusing to me. What the hell was this? I then realized that the debris were shreds of my actual suitcase, shreds from the hole that was now apparent. I opened the top and looked through the hole (about the size of a that was bore into my suitcase, through the outer pocket, through the mesh inner pocket to the main compartment. Part of my piece of chocolate that I bought for some charitable cause was eaten. “Looks like a mouse got in there,” my Grandpa said matter of factly. What? A mouse?

Scary, right?

My suitcase was most definitely in perfect condition when I packed it, so apparently the little mouse culprit weasled its way into my car and then into my suitcase. Unpacking more of my car, I found that it also gnawed its way through the neck of one of my favorite pajama shirts and my tennis racquet bag. No sign of the mouse though. That city mouse may be making new field mice friends by now. Or maybe it is dragging its little body, its tail leaving a dusty trail, across the Arizona desert looking for water or melted candy bars.

Another article on the opening of Slowdown from Omaha online magazine Lazy-i.

The New Yorker summer fiction issue with cover art by Adrian Tomine has some great essays written by great writers such as Miranda July, Jeffrey Eugenides, A.M. Homes, Dave Eggers, Marisa Silver, Gary Shteyngart and others (well, two others…Charles D’Ambrosio and Roger Angell) on their “real-life summer movie memories.” You can read them online.

The issue also features fiction pieces from Ms. July and Denis Johnson and more (not going to name them all this time).