JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Brian Austin Whitney Blog Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Hi Folks,

I hope all of you had and are having a great holiday season. We just had our 4th family get together in 5 days so it's been busy busy busy here. I am looking forward to settling back into my routine and pushing through the rest of this music for Round 2 of the music awards.

We are also starting to plan our travel for 2009 which is tricky as we haven't set a date or location for the awards. Hopefully when Round 2 is done, we can accurately gauge when we'll be ready for the awards. We still need a venue as our venue from the last 2 awards has been sold and closed. I've thought about the Santa Monica Pier perhaps under a tent. I wonder what that would cost? That would be a really fun location.

We'll be starting our Lyric category process soon as well. Last time we did it it was the only category that shrunk in terms of entries and participation. We'll give it one more shot to see if it's something we'll continue beyond 2009.

Football has been on everyone's mind and it's pushed the economy out of the news a bit which is a relief. It's hard to believe that Obama is still not in office.. it seems like ages since the election.

We just watched the movie Tropic Thunder... great premise.. a couple of classic moments.. but failed in the end to live up to the cast or potential. I'd give it 2 out of 4 stars.

Eveeryone have a safe New Year's Eve!

Brian

Hi,Brian!

Glad to hear you are considering Santa Monica

The "tent" concept in the big parking lot next to the Pier has been used by Cirque du Soliel and other international traveling art shows. I'm not sure what the cost is...as this city is becoming more and more congested and poular...but it is worth lookin in to. I remember performing at a place on the pier called Rusty's Surf Ranch...at a JPF Showcase...THAT place is a great venue!!

Happy New Year to you!

Emily

Hi Brian
hugs and Happy New Year to you and Linda (my new facebook friend)...I hope 09 is a great year for you guys ! ! I have 2 movie recommendations for you
1 Slumdog millionaire- current (don't read a thing about it just go) It was a truly great movie our whole family 17 26 45 50 loved
2 Black book - 2006- a German movie I think about the end of WW2
Based on true story and just UNREAL. War has SO many layers !

I went to my tenth High School reunion at the Santa Monica pier in a tent next to the Merry Go Round. It was covered by the 11 PM news (I had graduated from Beverly Hills High School and one of the alumni was married to one of the reporters (that reporter later became a substantially known figure in the national "Entertainment News" scene). That weekend was one of the weirdest weekends for freebies I have ever had. The car rental company rented me a fully equipped red Camaro for close to nothing and my suitcase was twice as full with freebies upon going home as when I went there. I have never had a "fall into my lap" set of circumstances like that before or since.

Joel you great up in Beverly Hills? I always thought you were an east coaster. What are you doing in DC?

Brian

Actually, most of my time has been in California. I didn't grow up in Beverly Hills, I just lived there my last two years of High School and graduated from there. I went to college at Humboldt State U and UC Davis in CA. Following the bouncing Joel from Birth to present: DC area; San Fernando Valley, Long Island New York, LA Area,Long Island, San Fernando Valley,Israel, DC area, Beverly Hills, Northern California Colleges,San Francisco, DC area. My family bounced more in my childhood than almost anyone except Military Families, diplomatic families, and quasi-indigents, none of whose categories suited us.

Why did they bounce around so much? Were they secret agents or something? Traveling with a Circus perhaps? Movie stars?

Brian

My father was a rocket scientist (he was one of the early ones and I believe he might have actually worked with Goddard or shortly thereafter-the rocketry program in this country did not start in the Military, it started with the National Bureau of Standards, where he worked) who went into desk work (including contracting for Navy,the Gemini project for NASA and the Lunar Excursion module for Grummann-a backstory about Grummann I can only discuss privately) several years before I was born when his lab blew up, blowing him out a window, and killing three people (and him many years later from cancer). He was also a frustrated potential doctor who never got a medical degree due to late 30's and early 40's anti-semitism, so he went into chemical engineering but later wrote a well respected doctoral paper documenting the negative effects of even "low" doses of radiation. He was also a genius level investor who ran a small early mutual fund in the 1960's. We had a year and a half in Israel but that didn't work out and I can only discuss that privately. He was working for the Coast Guard consulting on the river cleanup program when he passed on. After he passed on, my mother went back to work after many years as a housewife. Ironically, he berated my mother for smoking but she outlived him by nearly 30 years and she only stopped after the pain of having her chest cut open for triple bypass after a massive heart attack almost 15 years after he passed on

My uncle was a Rocket Scientist out there as well. I wonder if they ever crossed paths? = ) His name was Al LaCroix. (I wrote a little about him when he passed a few years ago in the newsletter). Very interesting family history you have Joel.

Brian