…Shawn. He guessed the correct answer to my last blog entry: Lindsay Lohan. That’s right. The girl I dreamed as being a part of the Sith and having dark powers was only a few feet away from me. I didn’t notice any dark-side powered helmets nearby. Just two of her friends, one of which was wayyyy too tan for her own good. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning…


I woke up took the 7:51 AM ”R5” train to the office. I had to get as much done including working through lunch because I’d be leaving at 1 PM. I changed clothes and got a camera ready for my trip. There was a last minute change of mind regarding which shirt I’d wear. I figured I missed the 3:01 PM Amtrak train that I was going to catch since I didn’t leave my place until 3:02 PM. As luck would have it, the train was exactly 14 minutes late and showed up just as I entered 30th Street Terminal. Upon my arrival in NYC, I immediately found a subway map and got onto the Number Two line since it passed the Chelsea area where the theater was located. Turns out I was taking the express train and it passed my stop. I got off at 14th street and took the Number 1 Local. Duh. I get smarter about how to use the NY subway system incrementally. I got out at 23rd street and only had to walk up from 7th Avenue to between 8th and 9th. The Chelsea West Theater had tents set up probably in fear that it would rain again as it had done earlier that morning. I procured my tickets from the Will Call line. Turns out there was another line for radio station winners. I hate it when they involve radio station winners. I know that sounds pompous, but radio station winners dilute the entourages and hangers on and freakos that you normally get to see amongst the others. called up Van after making sure my tickets were inside the envelope. She’s a former co-worker friend of mine from where I’m currently consulting. She taxi’ed her way up to the theater. We went across the street and had a drink while waiting for the theater to open up. Around 6:30 PM we hit the red carpet and walked into the lobby. That was the first time we saw Lohan. We people watched from the lobby until the last possible minute and then went into our theater. I was in for a shock when it turned out they had two screens and we were being directed to the Crappy Second Screen with the shmoes. However, there was an exodus of schmoes as we realized the main theater was only half empty. We got good seats a couple of rows near the back and only had to move once when people with proper tickets arrived. I was more than happy to be out of Theater Number Two, so if I had to give up my seat for someone else it wasn’t a big deal for me. John Singleton introduced all the major players to the film. This is a luxury considering nobody else is going to point out who everyone is when you’re at the after-party and wondering if someone really is who you think. The film started and the movie began immediately. Mark’s assistant E had a nice cameo in one scene and I chanted ”EEEEEEEE!” along with a few other people when he briefly appeared. I enjoyed the film thoroughly. Nothing better than a 70’s style caper complete with great action and a period feel to it. I’d see it again, and I will definitely get the DVD. The after-party was a few blocks away. We took the Paramount provided bus there in lieu of The Walking. There was a small VIP area that I couldn’t get into as I couldn’t find E to hopefully wave myself and Van in. No problem, though, as we had a good time mingling around. I did get a photo of Van with Lohan, although I don’t have the copy (it’s on Van’s camera). We partied til’ 1 AM and then I crashed at Van’s apartment. It was quite small, but the view of the Empire State Building from the window was impressive. I likey the New York City. I sneaked out at 6 AM and took the train back to Philly. I walked my dog and fed him as he’d been waiting 16 hours for my return. I then went back to work and got in just after 10 AM. It was good times all around. I’m totally looking forward to the next Mark Wahlberg big screen spectacular ”The Departed” which should come out near the end of the year. It has Academy Award nominee written all over it. I’m hoping Scorcese finally gets the nod after losing out last year to Clint Eastwood.


Okay, that’s enough about that. More later. If you want to see the photos in an unedited state, you can go here.