Blog: The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood

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May 5, 2010, 10:12am The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
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May 1, 2010, 12:11am The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
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Mar 20, 2010, 3:48pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
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Nov 19, 2009, 10:55pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
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Shaky Jake Writes Farce.

Aug 30, 2009, 1:07pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
For those of you who enjoyed reading about my real-life adventures in Hollywood, you can now direct yourselves over to my latest blog, Pop Farce , where you can read some fake stories about the happenings in show-biz. Back Again, Shaky Jake
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Leaving Los Angeles.

Aug 4, 2009, 3:08pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
"Don't wait up, we'll be fine. Somehow we might get it right in our finest year. In this moment, while you're breathing. If the future leaves you needing Will you be the one who stayed?" - Better Than Ezra, "Our Finest Year" As I sit here typing this, my final entry in The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood, my heart is weighted down with an overwhelming sadness. Today is the day that I knew was coming since the first day I crossed the California border. Today is the day I leave Los [...]
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Link Text:Aaron Sprinkle - "My Own Chapter"
File Name:Aaron Sprinkle - My Own Chapter.mp3
Link Text:Guster - "So Long"
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Link Text:Matt Nathanson - "Gone"
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Persuing An Idenity Crisis.

Jul 24, 2009, 12:03am The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
"I've got all these thoughts just floating through my brain. They bump and they collide and cause a flurry of confusion. And it's getting on my nerves... ...What's going on? Is this where I belong tonight?" - Motion City Soundtrack - "Where I Belong" Moving to Los Angeles was partly inspired by a desire to grow as a person and find myself. Instead, I seem to have completely lost myself. Or at least, I think that's the case. I can't [...]
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Link Text:Guster - "Manifest Destiny"
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Link Text:Novel - "I Am..."
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Link Text:The Pixies - "Where Is My Mind?"
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Fast Fact #14.

Jul 23, 2009, 11:56pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
T-minus 5 days until we drive back to Iowa and I have yet to pack a single item. It's all part of my plan to make the move more of an adventure.
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15 Hours In Disneyland: An Amusement Challenge.

Jul 21, 2009, 2:33am The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
15 Hours In Disneyland: An Amusement Challenge. "Too much fun? What's that mean? It's like too much money. There's no such thing." - Daryle Singletary - "Too Much Fun" For millions of tourists every year, Disneyland is billed as "the happiest place on earth." Whether you're 2-foot-tall or just too big to fit into your favorite Winger t-shirt, this park of amusement is supposed to put a smile on your face and a skip in your step (and maybe even a Pooh in your backpack). Well, while that may be true to a [...]
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Link Text:Guster - "What You Wish For"
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Link Text:I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business - "The Best Happiness Money Can Buy"
File Name:I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business - The Best Happiness Money Can Buy.mp3
Link Text:Michael Jackson - "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
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Link Text:Modest Mouse - "The Good Times Are Killing Me"
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Link Text:Panic at the Disco - "Nine in the Afternoon"
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Ninja Turtles, Meet Your Sworn Enemy.

Jul 18, 2009, 5:34pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
Ninja Turtles, Meet Your Sworn Enemy. "They're the world's most fearsome fighting team. They're heroes in a half-shell and they're green. When the evil Shredder attacks, These Turtle boys don't cut him no slack!" - TMNT Cartoon Theme Song Hollywood Boulevard is always home to what I politely refer to as "freaks." Dressing up as cartoon characters (and sometimes Jesus), these people clog the sidewalks and make the average tourist feel remarkably uncomfortable. Well, today I got to be a part of the sidewalk [...]
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Link Text:Lily Allen - "Knock 'Em Out"
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Climbing My Personal Mountain. Physically.

Jul 17, 2009, 12:44am The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
"Ain't no mountain high enough..." - The Temptations, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" I'm not sure how I've contained my excitement for as long as I have without spilling it out onto this screen. It is, quite frankly, a miracle by all definitions of the word. (Four. There are four definitions. I looked .) Ladies and gentlemen, this past weekend, specifically on Saturday the 11th, I climbed my mountain. And I don't mean that in the sappy, metaphorical way that means I really just conquered my addiction to drugs and alcohol, [...]
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Link Text:Jane's Addiction - "Mountain Song"
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Link Text:Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Higher Ground"
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Fast Fact #13.

Jul 14, 2009, 12:54am The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
It's so hot in The Valley that you could burst into flames just by thinking of about the inside of an oven for too long.
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Tears of Stone Turn Liquid When Reading One Woman's Deal With God.

Jul 12, 2009, 11:20pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
Tears of Stone Turn Liquid When Reading One Woman's Deal With God. "I'll take fate, I'll take fate on a day by day basis. I will not wait, I will not wait for what the world may not create." - Mieka Pauley, "Fate Day By Day" A lot of people claim to have had a hard life. Their parents scarred them emotionally or they lost a close member of their family at a young age or they become middle-aged un-employees, etc. But very few people (that I know) have had all of those things [...]
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Link Text:Carbon Leaf - "Life Less Ordinary"
File Name:Carbon Leaf - Life Less Ordinary.mp3

Fast Fact #12.

Jul 5, 2009, 4:26pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
Pushing the button at a crosswalk 43 times within a minute does not make the pedestrian crossing light change to "go" any quicker. So stop it.
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John Mayer Re-visited.

Jul 5, 2009, 3:54pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
John Mayer at Hotel Cafe LA
"And if I ever want proof, I find it in you. Yeah, I honestly do. In you I find proof." - Coldplay, "Proof" This past couple of weeks I've been struggling with the fact that the two niftiest moments to have happened to me since I moved out to California-- receiving The People's Eyebrow from The Rock and seeing an impromptu John Mayer concert --are completely without proof. I have no pictures. I have no autographs. I have nothing. ...UNTIL NOW! (Too dramatic? [...]
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Link Text:Ace Enders - "I Told You So"
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Link Text:Motion City Soundtrack - "This Is For Real"
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Like It Or Not, It's Transformers...in IMAX.

Jul 3, 2009, 10:23pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
"Does it feel familiar? Are you comfortable with this?" - Kristeen Young, "Comfort Is Never a Goal" I saw Transformers 2 at Universal Citywalk's IMAX theater last night. It was huge, it was loud, and it was explosive-y. It's pretty much what you expect from every Michael Bay movie, with the sole exception here being that I didn't walk away from the theater having already penned a detailed drawing on how I could turn Bay's major body parts into a stocking cap. I'm still having difficulty accepting the fact that I didn't [...]
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Link Text:Better Than Ezra - "Hollow"
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...And Then There Were Two.

Jun 28, 2009, 3:01pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
"The clock's running down..." - Fountains of Wayne, "All Kinds of Time" The original threesome that made the move to California was broken apart yesterday. Our friend returned to Iowa, leaving only me and my girlfriend to hold down the fort for the remaining two months of our lease. However, the two of us will be cutting our winnings and leaving at the end of July, in one month. One month to go. That leaves a lot of unanswered questions to think about. Have I done [...]
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Link Text:Jack Johnson - "All At Once"
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Link Text:Motion City Soundtrack - "Can't Finish What You Started"
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R.I.P: King of P.O.P.

Jun 25, 2009, 11:17pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
"They lied when they said the good die young." - Anberlin, "Godspeed" It's true, not all of the good ones die young. Some die middle-aged. But Michael Jackson wasn't just one of the "good" ones, he was one of the great ones. Everyone has a favorite Michael Jackson song. And the best part is, no one has to scour their brains to think of it. One millisecond after I'm asked the question, I can respond "Billie Jean." His music had that much of an impact on people even as young [...]
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Link Text:Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean"
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Link Text:Michael Jackson - "Wanna Be Startin' Something"
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Fast Fact #11.

Jun 23, 2009, 9:18pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
The TV show Friends is actually a lot more unique than most people give it credit for. I mean, seriously, could it be any funnier? Well...yeah, I suppose. But it's still a good watch, even after the 4 dozenth viewing.
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A Politically-Charged Rant On Foreigners in America.

Jun 20, 2009, 3:52pm The Hillbilly Takes Hollywood
A Politically-Charged Rant On Foreigners in America. In this blog, you'll usually find me making paragraph-long jokes about celebrities or musing on slightly sentimental topics...but not today. Today I'm tackling something a little more serious biting: foreign people coming to America and pissing me off. WHAT? Yeah, I know, bare with me. Or don't. It's up to you, because you're living in America and have the freedom to click your way to another blog or go peak in on your neighbors next door doing it like coked-up rabbits instead. The choice is yours. If you're still here, I'll issue a straightforward [...]
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Link Text:Anberlin - "Foreign Language"
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Link Text:Better Than Ezra - "American Dream"
File Name:Better Than Ezra - American Dream.mp3
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