Well, so far, it has been an interesting year, starting with my friend, Don Coscarelli, debuting his new film, John Dies At The End, at Austin ‘s SXSW festival. I attended with Stuntman/actor Bob Ivy and his fiancee Larissa, who turned out to be a wonderful woman, born and raised in Kiev. This was her first American festival, and she was amazed at the crowds roaming the venues at 2 a.m. “What do these people do for a living? Don ‘t they ever sleep?” Filmmaker Drew Thomas and journalist Joe O’Connell were in our group also. I ran into several old friends at the screening–Humorist Owen Edgerton, Producer/Director Lane Law, and my pal, Zack Carlson, who is a head Honcho at the Alamo Theater, where our event was taking place.

Don’s film was a huge success with the audience. Standing ovation. We stayed for the Q and A…by the time I got home it was 4 a.m. All in all, it was worth it.

Claude Devereaux, wife of famed director Richard Rush, called from L.A. and asked if I could find a place for her friend, Severine, to stay, as she was coming to town for the fest, but all hotels were booked. I managed to find her a room at Drew Thomas’s new pad, which seemed to be just what she wanted…privacy, and a home-like atmosphere. Severine was imersed in the music parts of the fest, but still managed to break free for an intimate lunch and chat. She is a wonderful young lady, newly arrived from France. We bonded over stories of dogs, lost and found, good food and music, and the California weather we were missing out on.

Finished doing the narration for “Death On The Toilet,” an imaginative and heartwarming story by author Robert Stikmanz. His compatriot Amanda Kimberly did the engineering, Rob’s bro, Mark, did the edit. Final product is now out and available from his company, Confabule.