Chapter 85 - January 15, 2013

"Importation or exportation of drugs is punishable by death. Have a nice flight." That's what my boarding pass said. This is when I was taking a plane, a small plane, in Panang. In Malaysia. It was a time when I lived in Australia. It was sad because many Australians were hanged for drugs. They always had public service announcements on TV. Anyway, I went off on a bit of a tangent.

Hi everybody. Welcome to another week. I had my friend read me my previous blog and I came down a little heavy on the doctors I think. You know, they did save my life, huh. It's really not right to put them down. I just get frustrated. It's been about 3 to 4 years now. I get a little restless. I just want to be better - right now. I am getting better. It's just not fast enough. Hell, just this morning I was pulling out some stuff, and I was throwing out some old braces. You know, stuff I used before. It's a sign I'm getting better.

You know, when you're in this state, lying on your back for many years, you tend to think about things. OK, this is going to be my last public service announcement for this week. You tend to think about things, and I was thinking about my trip to Greenland. (See the previous blog about Greenland Chapter 54 - June 13, 2012). Anyway, you know, I was there for about two weeks, filming, and the more I talked to the locals, the more I realized how the Earth really is heating up. I mean, they're starting to plant gardens. It's crazy. And then I had a dream last night. Now, think about this: a small child has a temperature of what? 98.7 degrees? Well, if he heats up to what? 105? His brain starts to bake. That's just a few degrees difference. That's what's happening to our Earth right now. It's heating up a few degrees but it's a huge tipping point. I mean, come on. Look at the storms we're having. It's crazy. My friend in Australia called me. It's been over 100 degrees for a week. Here it's the middle of January and it's almost 60 degrees outside. Crazy. Anyway, sorry to bore you with all that stuff, but if you don't believe in global warming now, you're an idiot.

Sorry, I'm just a little feisty today. As if you couldn't tell. It's so bizarre. I can feel where they held my head down from surgery. I guess I have some nerve damage around my head, around my face. It's kind of like wearing a full facial motorcycle helmet that's way too small for you. Very tight and very unpleasant. I've been like this for about 3 years, but some days it's stronger than others. I may as well tell you my full condition now, cause it's a good benchmark for me to look back at. The right side of my body is still compromised, but getting better. I now have probably 75% feeling in my hands and my feet. My speaking is getting a little better, but my voice still cracks. I sound like I'm going through puberty again. Maybe I am! My vision is still shaky and double, but it seems to be getting better. Overall, there's improvement, but it's just not fast enough. I have to be patient.

My friend here went through some of my old books, my old journals. It triggered memory of a dream I had last night, except when I woke up, I thought, "Well that was a nice visit with my parents. I'm looking forward to driving home and having a quick surf before sunset." And then reality sets in. I'm gonna include some photos of the house as I was building. It was my dream house. But, you know what, nothing lasts forever. It will always be my dream house though.

You know, I think I'll tell some random stories, things that happened to me in the past. These are things I would think about as I was lying on my back in the hospital.

I used to travel to Australia first class all the time. It was great. I used to buy mileage from certain people. It was legal, but the airlines didn't honor the tickets. If they caught you buying mileage they would rip up the tickets. Well, this happened to me. I got to the airport. They said, "Oh, Mr. Nice. We've been expecting you." I said, "What? Another bottle of champagne?" They said, "No, can I see your tickets please?" I handed the ticket agent my first class tickets. She smiled and ripped them up. I kind of freaked out. She said, "these are no good. If you'd like to buy some tickets to Australia, you're more than welcome. It's $6000. Please get to the back of the line." Well, I freaked out even more. I said, I'll be right back. I called the guy who I bought the tickets from and we kind of straightened everything out. I got 2 economy tickets to Australia. I didn't have to pay anything more. It's all a whole other story.

After my first divorce, I really didn't know what to do. I thought, well, I gotta get a place to live. So I got a great loft in New York. People in my industry were starting to talk. I got a divorce from a woman. I got a loft on Christopher Street in New York. I got a roommate, a French man. You got the picture. But, no, I'm straight. It was interesting though, having a roommate, after being married. It's a little adjustment. Interesting, but actually, a big adjustment. Boy have I got some stories, but I won't go into that.

You know, after going through all this, you realize, you never know where life is going to take you. Hell, I thought I had it all worked out. But, things change I guess. And you have to adapt to the changes. We think we got it all figured out, but you never know what's around the corner. I will say this though, I strongly advise you get a disability insurance. Also, take out life insurance and make sure you do a living will. It's all a bit boring, but hell, I never thought I'd need this stuff. But, it's strongly advisable you get it all. After going through all this, I would get a disability policy that kicks in after 6 months. This will save you some money. And then have a 6 month savings cushion if you can do it. Life insurance is important. If you just get a term policy, that's good enough. And have a point person that will make decisions for you if you can't. That's very important. Research doctors at hospitals now, while you're healthy. Just be prepared, I guess. You never think it will happen to you, but you never know.

Well, that's about it for this week. I look forward to sitting in the cafe one day. You guys go out and have a coffee. Oh, yeah, that reminds me. I was out having a coffee with a friend of mine once. He's an artist. We were in Paris. We were bitching about our agents or something. He said, "Hey mate, have a look over there. I'm not going to bitch anymore." There was a girl drinking an espresso and lighting a cigarette with her feet. She had no arms at all. She was doing everything with her feet. He said, "I'm never going to bitch again." Anyway, think about that. I'll talk to you guys next week. My friend here will include some pictures from my journals and the link to my next project. Have a good one. Love, B. Nice

P.S. I want to say happy birthday to Samantha. I didn't get a chance to say happy birthday last week.

https://mypointofviewproject.wordpress.com/

Chapter 84 - January 12, 2013

Happy Birthday Hudson! Greetings everybody. Welcome to another week in Paradise. Remember I told you I would run to look for locations? Well, I would windsurf as well. I found some great locations windsurfing. One time I was in St. Maarten and had the day off so I thought I'd go for a windsurf. Well, I was screaming along fully powered up, going fast through the waves when I saw another pair of windsurfers coming toward me. As they got closer and closer I realized, Oh my God, they're naked! Bits and pieces were flying everywhere. They went past me and smiled. I thought, Oh my God, I hope they don't fall. Then I looked to my right and there was a guy going down the beach walking his schlong, and just behind him was an outdoor buffet. Everyone was lined up with their plates, naked. It was all a bit too much. The only other time I saw something more mortifying was when I was at the Playboy Mansion. There were naked women in the grotto, but that's a whole other story.

You know, I used to think about things like this all the time when I was in a bad way. Or, you know, when I had to have another MRI. Get my mind off of things.

Oh yeah, I'll go back to windsurfing. Once I was in St. Bart's. I was windsurfing at the end of the runway near the airport. Anyway, I was approaching the end of the runway when I noticed everyone  got up and started running. I thought, what the hell are they running for? Then I looked over and I saw a small plane crash into the runway. It collapsed its landing gear and the propellers chewed up the runway. The plane came to a stop. The door opened, there was a moment of silence, and then all of a sudden, you heard some woman screaming. She jumped out of the plane and started saying something in Spanish and kissed the ground. Everyone else started piling out. Apparently you have to have a special license to land there. Obviously, the pilot of this plane didn't. I never did like small planes.

When I was little, my parents were on the fence. They were trying to decide if I should go on vacation with my little friend. I was in Kindergarten. My parents decided not to send me with my little friend. It's a good thing I didn't go because the whole family got wiped out. The plane crashed. But I remember going to the funeral and seeing two little coffins and two big ones. I thought to myself, my friend's in there? That's when I discovered we don't live forever. Ever since then, I've hated small planes. I've got a video of a plane we took from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas. They left the fuel cap off. It was flapping in the wind. Fuel was going everywhere. One spark and we would have been done. I got a good video of it. I'll share it with you later. Another time happened when I was building my house. The police stopped by. I thought, oh no, what have I done now. Anyway, the police stopped by and said, "Hey, do you mind if we borrow your crane?" (I was using a crane to set some of my timber.) Anyway, they needed the crane to fish a small airplane out of the trees in Montauk. You see, this is why I don't like small planes.

I guess I'll just tell some random stories. One time I was location scouting in Hawaii. I was so bored. Another house to look at. Often we would use real estate agents to look at property. Well, anyway, I was looking at this house and the woman who was a real estate agent started trying to sell the house to me. I was intrigued. I said, "This is a beautiful space. What are the taxes like?" And she started telling me about the taxes. I said, "My partner and I..." I grabbed the art director. I said, "My partner and I have a small child. What are the schools like?" Well, the art director looked at me like I was an alien. He didn't know what the hell was going on. I said, "Just go along with it." We almost bought a house together. Anyway, one other time I was location scouting we came across a really cool plantation in Hawaii. It was an old plantation. Built around the rain forest. Pretty wild to see because the plantation was shut down. It was about to be turned into a golf course. But you know what happened? Eventually, nature takes it back because the same thing happened just down the road, and the volcano took it all back, back to square one. The volcano took the whole golf course. It's kind of like me right now. I'm back to square one. Having to learn how to do everything all over again.

Remember I'm doing this blog to help people that have some sort of Traumatic Brain Injury. Did you know that one in six people are affected by some form of neurological damage. One in six. Pretty wild. I think if we don't stop texting each other in the car, that number will go up to like one in three. You guys have got to spread the word. Get people to stop driving while texting. You should see the stuff I saw. It would freak you out. Anyway, that's enough of my public service message.

I went to see my neurologist this week, cause remember, I had a seizure a few weeks back. Well, as I was listening to her talk, all I heard was, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." Remember in Peanuts when the teacher is talking to Charlie Brown, all you hear is "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." I'm at the stage where even they don't know what to say. So it's just the same shit over and over again. So it's time to repair yourself. You know, you get to a point where you kind of have to do that. Not rely on them, but rely on yourself. I'm at that point right now. You know, no one can do it but yourself. Sorry to get deep on you, but hey, that's the way it is right now. I'm getting better. It's just a lot of work and a lot of time.

My friend here is going to include some cartoons I did in the past. I used to keep a record of my life in cartoon form. They were pretty much my journals. I hope you enjoy them. My friend here will also include a link to my next project. You know in 1979 I ran across America. It was a big challenge. It eventually landed me in the Guinness Book of World Records. Now I'm going to go back the other direction in a car and take pictures. In my state it's a big challenge as well. I guess they were both big challenges in their own way. I'll let you know more about the trip later. Have a good week. Love, B. Nice.

https://mypointofviewproject.wordpress.com/

Chapter 83 - January 3, 2013

Do you want to get married again? OK. Do you want to go to Australia? OK. Hey, it's nice here in Australia. Do you want to stay? OK. That was from my first marriage. I ended up staying there for 10 years. It was a great place to live. I loved it there. It was a great place for a young photographer to start. You know, the magazines had no money so they would do a deal with a resort. For example, I went to an island off Australia. What the magazine did was they would provide a space for free advertising in exchange for travel, accommodations, food, etc. It was a win/win situation for everyone. We got a great location and the resort got good advertising. Anyway, I was on this island and we got done eating at a local restaurant. There was an apple on a plate on a round table. There was a spotlight on the apple. It was like a shrine. It was a special apple because they normally didn't allow fresh fruit on the island. It had to clear special customs. Anyway, as we were leaving, the model, in her infinite wisdom, grabbed the apple and bit into it. Well you'd think the girl bit into a small child's arm. The whole restaurant went crazy. The rest of the shoot was so bizarre. Everywhere we went we were greeted with half hearted smiles and as we turned our backs, they'd whisper and point at us. Even more bizarre, every few hours or so, a bus of mentally challenged people would drive by, whisper and point at us. And then we went to a house to shoot. The owner of the house had a pit that went down into the darkness. He said he would go down there and because of the optics, and because the pit was so deep, he would see stars. He said, with a half hearted smile, "Do you want to come down and see?" Needless to say, it was a bizarre trip. But, you know, that's one reason why I loved working in Australia. You would go to places you would never imagine going. I went on some great location shoots.

I did some things that make me not sleep at night now. One time I was on Bondi Beach. I had to shoot swimwear. I was with one of Australia's top models. I ran into a friend who ran the local surf club. I said, "Hey mate. Let's take the girl out in one of the boats." I was such a young idiot. The boats are huge. The waves were huge. I said to her, "Do you mind going in the boat?" She said, "OK." We could have died. It was crazy. But you know, the shots were great.

Another time, I was in Sydney, around Fleet Week. They had an aircraft carrier full of sailors. I happened to be shooting that day, and I saw the aircraft carrier and I thought, what a great location. So I asked the captain if I could shoot there. And he said, yeah no problem. The captain let us use his cabin for hair and makeup. The hairdresser, his hair dryer broke, so the captain said, "No problem," and he called up some electrical technician. The guy spent hours on the hair dryer trying to get it to work. Then I looked down on his shirt. He was a nuclear technician. He worked on nuclear weapons. The guy couldn't even fix a hair dryer.

Anyway, I used to love to adapt to situations that just came up. Sometimes it worked out. Sometimes it didn't. I guess it's kind of like the way things are now. You have to learn how to adapt.

This week has kind of been a bummer. You see, I have a chest cold. It seems anytime you get something like a cold, it affects you 10 fold. It really brings you down, but, you know, you gotta stay positive. Get your mind off it. My friend here asked me if there are any stories from Aspen. I'll tell you one story. My girlfriend at the time, she came along on the photo shoot. We stayed at an amazing resort. Little did I know, my room was haunted. I don't know if you believe in this stuff, but after what happened, I can tell you, I believe in it now. She was taking a shower, and the pocket door in the bathroom slammed shut. She was washing her hair in the shower. Her legs were outside the shower and the door to the shower slammed shut on her leg. She said, "What are you doing?!" I said, "What are you talking about. I'm in here, in the other room." It freaked her out. Freaked me out too. Then I thought, it's just the wind. Then as I was going to sleep, the door to the bathroom slammed shut again. There was no wind outside. Just another day in my life. Never a dull moment.

P.S. I forgot to say I dedicate this blog to my friend in western Australia. It must be plenty hot there. High Summer and all. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi.

Talk to you guys next week. Love, B. Nice

Chapter 82 - December 27, 2012

It's pretty bad when you go to your local emergency room and the staff says, "Hi Brian!" Hi everybody. Kind of a bummer, but I had a seizure last week. It's one reason why I didn't blog with you last week. That, and it was Christmas. Anyway, everything's OK. A seizure is kind of like a reboot. I talked a little bit about it before,  but things like stress can bring on a seizure. I'm under a lot of family stress. Anyway, it's kind of like dropping a computer. It'll reboot and reorganize. It's weird going through a seizure, cause I don't remember anything. One minute I'm on my yoga mat with my therapist, the next moment, I'm in the emergency room at the hospital. I didn't remember anything. Probably a good thing.

One thing that might be really helpful to someone is my mother carries a prescription for Valium. It's in a syringe form and it's administered as a suppository. Kind of gross, but it'll be very helpful. Anyway, ask your doctor about this. It can be very helpful. It shortened my seizure and helps me.

We also had a great Christmas. Some friends came by. I saw a lot of my family. It was a great day. You know, I'm kind of tired of talking about my condition. Let's tell a few stories.

My friend here included some cartoons of Capetown. They are from a commercial photographic shoot I did. I remember one day we got done shooting early, so I went for a run. Not a good idea unless you know where you're going. Anyway, I ended up in an area that wasn't so good. Especially for a skinny white kid with long blond hair. I guess you'd refer to me as "Cream puff." Anyway, I got lost and next thing you know, some guy starts chasing me. It was a good work out. I managed to find the hotel. I didn't run after that. But running was a great way to find locations. I used to do it all the time. I found great spots for my shoots. I remember one time I got done running, I went down to the bar at the hotel to grab a beer and it was in the Bahamas. The light was fantastic. How convenient. We ended up everyday, at the end of the day, at the bar on the beach. Oh, yeah, there was great music too. Anyway, it was a good spot to shoot. I wouldn't have found it unless I went for a run.

I'll tell some random stories. I said it before, but I'll say it again, when you're in a state like this, it's good to think about stories to keep your mind preoccupied. When you're like this, it's easy to freak out. People often ask me, what's it like, how you are. I often tell them, it's kind of like being really wasted. Kind of like how you would feel just before you pass out. Luckily, I had a lot of training in this area. Hey, some people pay a lot of money to feel like this. As long as you go with the flow, it's OK. Sorry, I went off on a bit of a tangent there, but I'll tell a few stories.

I used to stay with a friend of mine in Australia. He was a really good windsurfer. He said, "The wind's blowing really strong from the south. Let's go to Bondi Beach and windsurf in the waves." We went down there, made it past the shore break, went out into the open ocean. He was well far in front of me. I followed him like a young idiot out to sea. All of a sudden, I see him turn and come back towards me hauling ass. He said, "Go back, go back! Sharks. Big sharks!" as he went past me. I thought Oh my god. So I turned around as carefully as I could, but everywhere I looked I imagined fins. I was kind of freaking out. Anyway, I started heading back to shore. It's really difficult to hit a certain spot when you're on a windsurfer. Especially when you're afraid of being eaten. Anyway, I managed to get back to the beach. It was tough. I got beaten up by the waves pretty bad. Anyway, I got back to shore. I got washed up on the shoreline. I was throwing up saltwater. I was a mess. My friend came over to me, he said, "Did you see the big shark?" I looked up at him, I said, "No." He said, "Yeah, that's because there weren't any. That's to get back at you for the fake spider you put in my bed." The bastard got me. We were always playing tricks on each other.

That reminds me of another shark story. I was photographing a model jumping off a boat into the ocean. I was shooting swimwear. I was on the bottom of the ocean wearing a scuba outfit photographing the model as she jumped in the water. The shots were pretty cool and working out great. All of a sudden, I didn't see the model anymore. There was a big noise on the boat. I thought, "What's going on?" and then that big noise got louder and louder. I looked around and just behind me was a huge shark just checking me out. Well, I was a little scared to say the least. I slowly made my way to a big coral head and tucked myself into the coral. The shark came over, checked me out and swam away. I stayed in my spot for a while, and finally came up to the boat. Didn't say anything. Grabbed a beer from the cooler and just said, "OK, let's go home." I had to check my wetsuit after that. That's for sure. What a way to end the day.

My friend here asked me if I had any other shark stories. I've got so many. One time I was in Australia. I was just learning how to windsurf. I pulled up in my 4 wheel drive Jeep while my friends were standing around at the beach. One guy had a pair of binoculars out. They were looking out to sea where we windsurf. I walked over and sat on my board and sail and then walked over to them. I said, "What are you guys looking at?" they were all looking out to sea. The guy with the binocular kept looking out to sea. He said, "Mate, there's a shark feeding on something out where we're about to go." I said "Oh." I turned around, got my board, put it on top of my car, rolled up my sail, put everything away and went home to have a beer.

My friend here will include some cartoons from the past. I don't know if I explained, but these are cartoons I did when I could draw. I hope you enjoy them. She will include the link to my next project. Talk to you next week. Love, B. Nice

https://mypointofviewproject.wordpress.com/

Chapter 81 - December 18, 2012

Olaf the Wonder Cat. My friend here asked me, "Who is Olaf?" (See previous Blog.) Olaf was my friend's cat. He used to torture me on a regular basis when I would visit my friend in Paris. He's a good friend. He made the mistake of saying, "When you come to Paris, look me up." Little did he know, I went to Paris the following week. I looked him up. I looked him up. I think I called the guy every day. I didn't know anyone else to call. Anyway, it was fun hanging out with him. One time he got a big job for a big magazine. Oh yeah, he's a photographer. Anyway, he got a big job, and he said to me, "Will you be the assistant?" I said, "Sure, no problem." But the guy was so damn excited, he showed up for the job without his cmaera. I brought the cameras to him and we all had a great shoot.

No good deed goes unpunished. Sorry to be a bummer, but it's kind of true. I stopped recommending models because of the following stories. I got booked to do a fashion shoot in the Bahamas. They didn't have a model. I said, "I know the perfecct girl for the job." Well, they booked her. She was perfect for the job. But the first day was terrible. I said to her, "What's going on? You seem so distant." She said to me, "I just found out I'm pregnant." I thought...great. Well, is that good or bad? She was totally freaked out. She didn't know what to think of it all. She just stood there like a rock for all the pictures. Needless to say, I never worked for that magazine again. Another time I recommended a girl for a big commercial shoot. We were in Puerto Rico. The girl was not there. She had a vacant look on her face the whole time. I said to her, "Are you all right? What's wrong?" She said, "I just found out my brother died." It was eerie. All the film, it looked like she was looking right through you. One of the scariest things I've ever seen.

Sometimes booking a girl for a job can work to your advantage. I was in Los Angeles working for a Japanese client. They wanted to go out to dinner to a specific place. Well, this specific place needed about a 6 month in advance reservation. I thought great, what am I going to do, but we showed up. I thought what the hell, let's just give it a shot. I showed up and asked for a table for 6. The maitre'd said, "Do you have a reservation?" I said, "No." They looked at me like I was from another planet. All of a sudden, the hostess, she recognized the girl I was with, the model. They knew each other from school. Next thing you know, we're at the VIP seats at the sushi bar. We had a great meal. It was a great night.

I'm a little frustrated right now. Waking up is really difficult. It's hard to go from deep sleep to being awake. It's tough. I guess I'll reflect on what I did this week. It's important to get vertical as often as you can. You know, stand up. I have a thing called a Sure Lift. It helps me stand. It also helps me get onto the floor. On the floor I can do stuff like yoga. Do cobra, etc. I talked a little about that in the previous blog. They're all small and simple things, but they all add up. You gotta stay active. You know, everyone's different. A friend of mine just had brain surgery. She went in on Tuesday, went home on Friday. Amazing. Everyone's different. Everyone's outcome will be different. It was strange. I went to the hospital to see her. It was the same hospital I've been admitted to 3 times. It was strange going there as a visitor. It was kind of funny. We were in the lounge just having a chat. The nurse came in and said time for your medicine. I automatically opened my mouth like a bird. The nurse was talking to my friend.

I'm gonna tell some random stories. When you're in a state like I am right now, it's always good to think of the past. Think of stories or preoccupy your mind with things that are pleasant. Hey, it's better than staring at the wall.

One time I was in Paris. I had just gotten there. I was lucky. I started working right away. Anyway, I was on a photographic shoot with a famous magazine. The whole crew was new to me. The morning went really well. We broke for lunch. A two hour lunch. We sat down at a great restaurant. I said to my assistant, I'm a little nervous. This is all new to me. I don't know anything about wine. The guy handed me a wine list that looked like a weapon. It was huge. Anyway, I said to my assistant, "I don't know what wine to get." He said, "Breean, it's very simple. You're looking in the wrong column. Don't look to the left. Look to the right. Look for a big number. That's the wine to get." He was right. It worked.

I used to love to scare the shit out of my assistants. It's kind of twisted, but funny. One time I was on vacation on a photographic shoot. We hired a big generator to power my lights. Anyway, the generator cut out. My assistant went down to check it out. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, we were shooting at my parents house. Anyway, when my assistant went to fool around with the generator, I thought ah ha! this is the perfect time to get the M-80 fireworks I found in one of my drawers. (An M-80 is a firecracker with a quarter of a stick of dynamite.) Anyway, I lit the M-80 and tossed it under the generator. The reaction was priceless. The guy dove for cover when it exploded.

Another time I actually got in a lot of trouble. I had a fake snake in my bag of tricks. We put it out in the grass. The model I was trying to scare had a phobia of snakes. She ran into the location van and wouldn't come out. I got in a lot of trouble.

I guess I'll end this where I started. I was talking about my friend in Paris. I met him in Australia. A makeup artist friend of mine said, "Will you guys meet up?" She thought it would be helpful for the Parisian guy to meet me. I said, "Sure. No problem, just meet me at the cafe at the end of the beach." Well, I forgot to ask what he looked like. I arrived the next morning where I was supposed to meet him. The whole place was packed with people. Then I noticed at the far end of the cafe, a guy pasty white, dressed in black, long dark hair, wearing dark ray bans, not talking to anyone. I thought ah ha! French photographer!

I'll talk to you guys next week. Remember, stay positive. Love, B. Nice

https://mypointofviewproject.wordpress.com/