Christian Concert!

My wife and I went to see Jeremy Camp at Magic Mountain a few weeks ago. It was a little bit of work getting the tickets. Here's what I had to do: First of all, the concert free with park admission, however you would need to get seating passes to be guaranteed a seat and they were passing them out at noon that Saturday. The concert was at 9pm that evening and my wife works till 6pm on Saturdays. Having purchased the tickets online (which was a two for one when ordered online) I made the one hour drive up by myself to the park. It's a funny feeling walking into a park by yourself. So I stand in line for the seating passes. I later find out you can pay extra for VIP seating. So I get that and drive back, pick up my wife from work. The VIP seats were literally feet away from the stage, as you might be able to tell from the picture above.

We were very impressed by the concert. It was a very worshipful experience. Not to mention the wonderful job that the band did. We always look forward to seeing Jeremy Camp when he's in southern California.

Click and Give

If you didn't already know, a lot of money is made on the internet. No, this is not a pitch for a "get rich quick" scam. When you "Google" on the internet money is generated when you click certain links. Have you ever wondered if that money could be given to your favorite charity? I know, I know, generosity runs thin these days. I say this looking in the mirror. GoodSearch makes it very easy to be generous. Maybe this could be the beginning of more magnanimous things to come.

Shooting My First LA Movie

"Icarus is Smiling" written and directed by Gil Ben-Haroch is a story about five high schoolers participating in a remote experiment attempting to make them smarter. I play Jimmy, a computer nerd. We've been shooting the last few weeks in Tarzana, CA utilizing the Columbia College Hollywood campus. In my opinion, Ben-Haroch, who hails from Israel, is doing an amazing job capturing every moment. He, by the way, moved to LA at the age of 15 and occasionally can be overheard speaking Hebrew to his crew. Stay posted for more updates on the movie.

iPhone Happiness

It's been about a month since the iPhone 3G and the 2.0 iPhone software update was released. And, thankfully, it hasn't been about of month of iPhone problems, although, it has been about a month since my last post. It's funny how you set out to do something regularly like working out only to find that after an initial spurt it blogging may not be a daily thing. I'm sure that's disappointing news to the countless readers of this blog.

Anyway, after the three hour wait to activate my iPhone with the 2.0 software update, it has been nothing but sheer joy playing with the apps. Granted, there are some things still wanting, like cut and paste and an NES emulator. I can tell you, though, that having 2.0 on my iPhone makes it feel like new.

My favorite app is Pandora where you can discover new music based on music you already love. It's part of the Music Genome Project which tags the "DNA" of just about every song out there. I was impressed by the Pandora engine and equally excited to find new music that I've never heard of. Check it out at www.pandora.com.

I'm still unsure whether or not I need the GPS and 3G in the new iPhone, but after dropping my iPhone for the first time the other day and getting a little (but much of an eyesore) dent in the aluminum casing, the idea of a new iPhone is starting to grow on me. Yeah, I could get a case for my present iPhone. There's just no case out there that I've seen that doesn't make it bulky.

iPhone Buzz Turned Into Buzzkill

Well, I WAS going to the Apple Store to drink in the excitement. But guess what I decided to do first? Update my iPhone to 2.0. Bad move. At first I thought it would be a short delay. But after almost 3 hours and a very shiny paperweight; not to mention no phone communications, the frustration has mounted to a point of utter madness. Ok, Ok, a smart approach would have been to realize that millions of people globally would be trying to update their iPhones, but come on, Apple! You mean to tell me that you don't have the server support for this update or even the thought of needing it? Don't get me wrong, when Apple products work I'm singing their praises. Right not it's very hard to think of any positive thoughts about this company. Here's an idea: take the profits from Wall•e and buy a better new product rollout department.

Too bad. I was really looking forward to putting up a blog about the new iPhone. I was going to take pictures, too! Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

Faith Restored!

Remember the tomato scare a month or so ago? Well, I took my wife to the Veggie Grill and sure enough was in bed all day the next day. It made us pretty gun shy about going back. Wait a minute...You haven't heard of the Veggie Grill? Ok, let's back up a bit. I kinda painted a bad picture for you but let me say that every time before we loved it. As you can surmise from the name this place grills veggies. No meat. We're not vegetarians, but have developed a deep appreciation for vegetarian meals. I guess you can say it's like meatless fast food that's actually healthy and good for you. Oh yeah, the food tastes great! The menu mainly consists of burgers and salads. My favorite is the Santa Fe Crispy Chickin' with a side of sweet potato fries. The portions are very generous.

So back to my story. So we were scared of going back. Yet knowing that it was a tomato issue and not a Veggie Grill issue we went back today. Besides, we were very hungry. (It was about 3pm and we haven't had lunch) We drove up, parked and walked in stomachs growling. As we sank our teeth into the juicy burgers and savored each spicy mayo dipped sweet potato fry all thought of the evil tomatoes vanished and all that was left were empty plates and full stomaches. Our faith in the Veggie Grill has been restored!

First Audition!

Just got back from my first audition. Let me qualify that. This is the first audition that really means anything. It also happens to be the first from my new agency Brady, Brannon and Rich (aka BBR). They used to be Talent Group Inc. who, I was pleasantly surprised to find, helped my first coach from Portland, OR, Karen LaVoie get her first commercial job. It was for Taco Bell. A lot of firsts today. Let's hope that a first job for me gets added to that list.

Anyway, on to the gory details. So this audition was for a Ford commercial that will shoot and air in China. It's funny how the casting call felt like asian day. Even more intriguing was how many of these guys knew each other. One of them mentioned just getting a part in Transformers 2. I guess I'm in the right crowd. The key is to be noticed in the crowd.

One actor caught my eye. He wasn't good looking and by the way he carried himself he didn't seem too confident of himself either. Actually he dropped biggest hint when he walked in the room, looked around and said,"I don't have much of a chance. I shouldn't waste my time. I wanted to tell him that he had a unique asian look that sets himself apart from everyone else. The rest of us were the general good looking asian guy. If only he brought some confidence with him, he could make that look work for him. Perhaps you could say that I passed up an opportunity to do something positive for someone else. Lesson learned.

So say a prayer for me that it is in the Lord's good graces to give me this job. I definitely could use the money!

Wall e Recharges to Mac Startup Chime

Only Mac fans out there would have noticed that when Wall e was fully recharged the sound that followed was the startup sound of an Apple Computer! Alright, you got me. I'm a geek. Let's break it down:

I love Macs (not completely geeky).

I took my wife to see Wall e (pretty geeky.)

I got really excited when I heard the Mac startup chime when Wall e recharged. (A true sign of geekness.)

Well, I guess it makes sense since Steve Jobs owns Pixar.

So I thought I'd share the geek side of Erick. That is a personality trait that will not go away nor will I try to hinder it. In fact, it's something I embrace. Go ahead and laugh...

New Blogger

I'd like to welcome myself to the world of blogging. So what would motivate me to start blogging? Exposure. For Erick Custodio the actor, for his businesses Green Tree Studios and Mona Vie. Enough about that. Let's get to the topic I'd like to talk about today.

I went to Mass today at St. Victor's in West Hollywood with my wife and the priest gave a challenging message. He saw a letter to the editor in Vogue magazine (he had nothing else to read in the doctor's waiting room) that had a stern word for the author of a previous article where said author went up to communion at a wedding Mass in order to get a close look at the lace on the wedding party's dresses. If one should respect the wishes that others don't believe in Catholic rituals and traditions the writer of the letter to the editor argues that the least amount of respect should be given to those that do. It makes a lot of sense to me. Although we have freedom (how fitting since we just celebrated Independence Day) that doesn't give us license to do whatever we want.

The priest went on to say that a recently deceased friend of his who was a successful producer shared his disappointment that although he was never afraid of his Catholic beliefs he was always treated as though there was something wrong with him. He adds by mentioning a writer who gives workshops said that there are many catholics in Hollywood and most of them are silent.

And now here comes the challenge. Too long have I been afraid that my Catholic beliefs would hinder my progress in any human endeavor I attempt. Now is the time to lay it all out, coming out of the closet as it were, and let my beliefs truly be a part of my life. Not a hidden secret only to be whispered underground to other catholics who hide in the shadows. Of course that doesn't mean standing on a soapbox on the corner of Sunset and Vine. I'm a Chargers fan but I don't paint my face with a golden bolt in public, if you get what I mean.

Independence Day 08

So we decided to see Wall e yesterday. I have to say that Pixar did it again. When the first trailer came out I must admit that it didn't impress me. "How could a robot shaped like a box be a leading character in a movie and keep the audience in their seats?", I thought at the time. As the ad campaign for the movie continued I, and I'm sure everyone else, started to see the humanity and personality of this robot.

What struck me the most about the movie is a pretty direct message that they were laying out. (Caution: may contain spoilers) First of all, the world had become overrun with waste and garbage that all the humans had to leave the planet and live in space while robots like Wall e clean up. I believe our society has become wasteful and unsanitary and this movie is showing us a possible outcome of this disordered behavior. The other is that the humans living in space have evolved into a race completely reliant on convenience. So much so that their bodies have adapted and turned into obese, boneles organisms. They didn't even know how to walk. I know, I know, this image is quite far fetched, but the message is clear. So much focus on convenience has its side effects.

Those were just two things that I wanted to say about this movie. Not to mention the storyline of Wall e's and Eve's relationship and the rise of the reject robots. I'm looking forward to the DVD release and getting a copy.