Hi you guys. I'm BAaaaccck! I bet you thought you got rid of me. You know me. I'm always living in the past. I'll check in once in a while to keep this blog going.
I was inspired to write again because an old friend wrote to me the other day. He reminded me of something. I was staying at his family house in LA. His family graciously opened their house to me. Anyway, the timing was always weird. I would say, "I'm going to LA, " and he would say, "I'm leaving." Is that a hint or what? Anyway, I would arrive in LA and he would leave for a trip somewhere. I moved into my guest room and every morning I'd go outside in my pajamas with a cup of coffee to get the paper. The neighbors came out the same time to get their paper. The point is, I think I got the whole street talking. My friend would leave, I'd move right in. They would always do a double take when looking at me. It was pretty funny.
My friend was a guy I talked about in previous blogs. Anyway, that's it. I just wanted to share that with you and keep this old blog going. I'll check in from time to time.
Oh, I'll talk a little bit about traumatic brain injury... I forgot what I was going to say. I guess brain surgery will do that to you. I'll talk to you, I don't know when, soon. Love, B. Nice
Chapter 112 - July 30, 2013
Hi you guys. I'm just gonna jump right into it. A few fashion confessions. I used to shoot all the time in Miami. All of the location vans would be lined up outside the hotels. One day I went out, got into the location van, grabbed a coffee, had some breakfast, got the New York Times, sat down, started reading. The models came in with hair and make-up. I said good morning and continued reading. then I looked up and was getting coffee I thought, that's not my assistant. Then looked around. I thought, I don't know any of these people. I said to the van driver, "Who are you working for?" He said, "I don't know. It's some German catalog." I thought, oh my god, I'm in the wrong location van. I quickly got up, got my stuff together, oh, and I grabbed my coffee. It was good coffee. Grabbed the NYTimes and went out to my location van.
Another time I was working in Napa Valley. The producer said that breakfast would be downstairs in a conference room in the morning. Well, I went to the conference room downstairs. There was a great breakfast set up. I thought to myself, this is fantastic. They had blueberry waffles, a nice chef there to make omlettes. You get the picture. It was a great set up. Then people started coming in. I said, "No no, this is a private function. I'm sorry, this is not for you. This is a photoshoot." And then the producer came in and said to me, "Look, you're in the wrong spot. Our breakfast is down the hall on the left." I said, "Ok." I got my stuff together, went to our conference room. Looked at the breakfast. It was box cereal and bad coffee. I thought, this must be the spot. At least they had Captain Crunch.
You know, our shoots did bring us to some amazing houses. It was fun going to new locations and checking out some of the houses. One time I was in Santa Barbara, CA. We were shooting in a big celebrity's house. Anyway, I decided to have a look around. I was shooting outside only, so I looked through the window of the kitchen to see how it was decorated. Well, I looked through the window and it looked like the decorator threw up. It was so tacky. I said to the art director, "Oh my god. You'd think someone famous like this would have at least a little taste. It looked like shit inside. Come and have a look." And then I looked through the window down to the right, there was the famous actor reading. He didn't look too happy.
Another time I was in Hawaii looking at houses. One house I went to was amazing. Apparently, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a house for Marilyn Monroe, but before the house could be built she died. So basically, someone found the plans and built the house. It was pretty cool. It was like a big boat. Not many people can say they saw a house like that. Anyway, it was pretty cool. I got to see some pretty cool stuff.
I guess I'll talk a little bit about Traumatic Brain Injury. These past two weeks, my daughter has been here. I hadn't seen her for like six months, so it's been amazing to hang out with her. It's amazing how quickly kids grow up. She's only 7 now. Just the other day she asked me for my car keys. Just kidding. But it does put a little strain on me. Between her and what I'm going through, it's kind of tough, but I manage.
You know, everything I say is kind of redundant. I kind of keep repeating myself so I think I might stop this blog on this final chapter. I'll do another blog with my friend here. She'll include my next adventure. (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/my-point-of-view--3 - Feel free to contribute.) But, I think it's about time to put this blog to rest. Just a few things; when times get really tough, I remember what Winston Churchill said, "When you're going through Hell, keep going." Remember what Chuck said to me, "Do what you love." And I remember what my father says to me, "Attain childhood. Life is like a big circle, and follow your intuition." And I remember what my mother says to me, "But you're still alive. Do what you can do." And then, I listen to myself. Life is short. Do what you want to do. Go for it.
Anyway, this is B. Nice signing off. Follow my next adventure, My Point of View. Hopefully it's a round trip. Love, B. Nice
http://mypointofviewproject.wordpress.com
Chapter 111 - July 15, 2013
Hi everybody. I'm gonna call this chapter, "Perverts," and I'm going to dedicate it to my photo assistants, (they're one and the same).
Hi everybody. Welcome to Chapter 111. I was reading the previous blog and we talked a little bit about fashion confessions. Well, since I mentioned the word 'pervert,' I'll tell you this one story. I've a couple stories.
This one time, I was shooting in a house I used to use all the time. The owner was a weird guy. He was there all the time. He actually cut a hole in his wall to watch the models change. Anyway, one of the girls saw the hole and went ballistic. The guy picked the wrong girl to have a perve on. I thought she was gonna beat him up. She basically left the building.
Another time I was working with this beautiful girl. She was beautiful but tough. I mean, the girl once got in a bar fight. Anyway, we were shooting swimwear and my one assistant there kept going on and on about her chest. I had a chat with her and she agreed to play a little trick on him. She said, "Just get ready, put the camera on me, and get ready to shoot." I had no idea what she as getting ready to do. I put the camera on her. She was standing there in a swimsuit. I could see her ask for his glasses. She put them on. Then she asked for the light meter. He came to her. He gave it to her. And then she grabbed his ears and pulled his head into her cleavage. All I saw was his arms flailing, his legs flailing and then she let him stand up. The guy looked like he had been sleeping for a year. Had a big smile and didn't know what the hell was going on. It was pretty funny. I guess you had to be there. So you see what I'm getting at. I'm always around perverts it seems.
On another note, we had a big party at our family house. A lot of my photo assistants came. It was good to see them, and it was good to see all my friends. Good party. I want to share something with you. The party was on Sunday. I kept waking up on Thursday morning, Friday morning, Saturday morning thinking I already had the party. I couldnt' remember who was there. I was confused. I attributed this to old age or brain surgery or a good fucking party. I got so drunk I didn't remember. Then I realized the party hadn't happened yet. It was a good fucking party.
I mentioned before, when you have a traumatic brain injury, it'll affect people differently. we've had another heat wave, and boy the heat and humidity really affects me. I've been going from the bedroom to the kitchen. This one girl emailed me. She said that she had a similar brain injury and she has a hard time breathing. Another guy emailed me said he has extreme vertigo. So I just wanted to reiterate that everyone is affected differently. When the heat happens or high humidity, I also have little mini seizures or the beginning of a seizure. I get like a smelling sensation. Burning rubber. And then it goes away. It only lasts a second or less, but I'm always tired after. Fun right?! Anyway, the medicine seems to work. It keeps big seizures away.
I notice this chapter is 111. I don't know why, but when I had my home, I always would seem to look at the clock at 1:11. It was bizarre. So whenever I hear the words 111, I always think of my home in Montauk. Just a little side note there.
I don't have much else to talk about. My daughter's coming for a 2 week visit. I'm very excited. It will sure be great to hang out with her. That's it for this week. I hope you can check on my project. My friend here will include the link. The party we had with my family was to announce to the local community what I'm doing. I guess it was a launch party. Anyway, my friend here will include the link. Please share it with your friends if you want to. Have a good week. Love, B. Nice
http://igg.me/at/point-of-view
Chapter 110 - July 10, 2013
Let’s see, what was I going to talk about? Oh yeah, I wanted to talk about Traumatic Brain Injury because it’s so hot and humid. Man, this humidity really kicks my ass. It’s difficult to do anything in this weather. When you have a TBI it will affect everyone in a different way. This heat and humidity really kicks my ass.
Today I’m really tired, not just because of the heat and humidity, but I just started water therapy. It was kind of bitter sweet going there because they noted I made a big improvement and they started telling me where I’ve improved. But the difference is so small. I worked so hard all year. I’ve worked hard and just to get the small improvement is frustrating, but at least I’m moving forward. At least I haven’t plateaued or moved backward. I guess it’s a good sign.
You now, when you’re like this, you’re gonna have ups and downs. I mean, I’m improving but I definitely have my off days. I just wish I could get through one meal without biting the inside of my cheek or biting my lip. I yell so much the dog freaks out.
I was going over blogs from the past like blog 108 and I mentioned in the blog that I’ve never gotten in a fight. I’m going to take out my soap box and make a little announcement: If you can avoid it never get in a fight. There was this guy on my floor in the hospital. He was at a local bar. He started talking shit with someone. He picked a fight with the wrong guy. One punch to the head was all it took. It changed his whole life. The guy is a mess. He can hardly talk. But one thing that’s kind of funny is there’s a girl 4 doors down and he keeps screaming at her to shut up. She screams back at him to shut up and then he says, "I’m sorry, I love you." And she goes, “I love you too.” They should get married.
One time I was coming back from a friends house. My friend lived up in Spanish Harlem. Oh yeah, this is the early 80s. Spanish Harlem back then was pretty rough. Anyway, I was walking to work with a nice brief case. A Halliburton briefcase. I walked around the corner and I ran right into a gang. They surrounded me, then some guy stepped forward, must have been the leader. He looked at me and said, "Hey cream puff. What’s in that case?" I looked at him, and I looked at the case, and I looked at him again, and I started running. Man, I ran really fast. It’s amazing how fast you can run when you’re scared. Anyway, I ran from 126th street to 57th street. My friend here asked what was in the case. It was my lunch. A banana and a peanut butter sandwich.
So I got sidetracked there. Anyway, I’ll go back to the water therapy. It’s so important. They really do a good job. I showed up for my water therapy and the people at the rehab hospital said my insurance company rejected water therapy as a form of therapy. The supervisor of the insurance company didn’t recognize it as therapy. It’s not enough that this huge rehabilitation hospital has a huge swimming pool for therapy. I mean come on. Give me a break. It’s enough to drive you crazy, I’ll tell you. If a supervisor would walk in my shoes she’d see how important it is. I mean I’ve made huge strides because of water therapy. It’s really helped me a lot. So when some idiot does not recognize it as a form of therapy, I go ballistic. Sorry about that, I get a little animated. I should be a little more politically correct and gentleman like. What I should say is, what a fucking idiot! Anyway, I won’t go any further. I mean the person is probably just doing his job. It drives me nuts. Thank god my mom was there. She has become an expert at dealing with situations like this. She sprang into action and solved the problem. I got my water therapy and the day went on. Thank goodness for mom. The more I think about it, the more I realize she should write a book. I mean, this has been going on for like 4 years now. She’d be an expert in writing a book. It might help someone.
Anyway, enough about this TBI stuff. I have a few fashion confessions to make.
When I lived in Paris, I was introduced to a man that runs a lab for film. He would process all the film by hand. The guy was a little eccentric. But the results were really good. The only way you could use his lab was through an invitation. I got invited to this lab by the owner. I had to meet him first though. I showed up to the lab. It was a big industrial room with grey floors and a grey wall. There was one light box in the middle of the room and one light bulb hanging down. There were 2 chairs. One for him and one for me. It was all very surreal. He came out of a door wearing a white apron, and asked me to sit down. Well, the interview went well and I was allowed to bring my film in. I think I kind of freaked out my clients because it was very very very expensive. One time I said to him, "Can I see your lab?" And he said to me, "But you’re in my lab." Another time I was in Paris, I went out to dinner by myself. Oh yeah, I went out a lot by myself. Anyway, as I was leaving, I put on my jacket. All the wine bottles for the evening were against the wall. I put on my jacket and knocked over a wine bottle. The first bottle that fell knocked over the next bottle and the third and the forth. Next thing you know, I knocked over about 30 bottles. The owner looked at me. I looked at him, and then I started running. It seems to be a common thing. right?
Anyway, that’s about it for this week. I’ll talk to you guys next week. Love, B. Nice
P.S. Don't forget to visit this site about my latest project! http://igg.me/at/point-of-view
Chapter 109 - July 2, 2013
Hi everybody. Welcome to Chapter 109. I'm going to call this chapter "Bugs," and I'm going to dedicate it to my friend, Bugs.
Let's start with my friend, Bugs. I've no idea how he got his name Bugs, but I think it's slang for "crazy." I think it's French for crazy. Anyway, it fits. One of my fondest memories of him is at a ski resort in France. We were in vacation. We were skiing. He stopped at a fence called "Avalanche Area." We stopped, looked at the fence. He lifted the fence, went under it and said, "Come on let's go." So like a young idiot, I followed him. Good skiing. I would follow this guy everywhere. One time we were windsurfing in Hawaii. He just took off towards the horizon. He said, "Come on let's go." We went out to open ocean. It's kind of scary out there. Imagine a wave the size of a house rolling towards you. That's what it's like out there in the open ocean. Anyway, we went back to shore. So, you see what I'm getting at. Yeah, his name is Bugs.
I'll tell you about the other thing I was saying was "Bugs" and that's the insect Bugs. Man, there were a lot of those in Australia. That reminds me. I have to tell you guys one more story about my crazy friend. I was staying at his house and he asked me to help him plant a tree for his wife's birthday. It was going to be a surprise. I said, "Yeah sure, no problem. Just wake me up when you want to get the tree." Well, the tree was being delivered. I heard the sound of an 18 wheeler truck outside my window. I looked out and there was a gigantic tree on a flatbed. I looked at the plates. The guy was from Queensland, and it looked like the truck had been on the road 48 hours. I said to myself, "Man that tree is huge." He came to my door and sheepishly he said, "The tree's here." We went out back and, oh this is the best part of the story. We went out back and the driver said to us, "Well, mate, your tree's here. Where's the crane to plant it." My friend said, "Oy mate, that's not the tree I ordered," and he pulled out a photo to show the driver. I said, "Let me see the photo." I said, "You ordered a tree from a photo? Did you have any indication how old the tree was? Look at what they're wearing." The farmer who had the tree was wearing clothes from the 1970's. Anyway, my friend Bugs had to go up the street to a construction site and borrow a crane to plant the tree. The driver of the truck said, "I'm gonna turn the rig around. YOU AND YOUR SON (ha ha ha) can start digging a hole for it." Anyway, we dug all day. We called all the people we knew to help dig a hole. We just missed a power line. We spent the whole day digging. They lifted the tree over some power lines and into the whole. We filled the whole up just in time for his wife to come home. My friend Bugs said, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Her reaction was, well, "Oh I love it Bugs, but isn't it too big." I exited stage left to the local pub.
Back to the creepy crawly bugs. I forgot to tell you, after we planted the tree, these huge spiders came out of the tree. I guess they wanted to check things out, but they were huge. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you.
Another time that freaked me out was in Manly, Australia. It was a suburb of Sydney. Anyway, one of my friends took out a lease on a storefront property. The store used to be a butcher shop so it had some things in it that had to be sold off. One of these things was 4 foot by 8 foot mirrors. they were all along the wall and very valuable. Anyway, we had the construction workers slowly pry the mirrors from the wall. They slowly would lean them down to the ground. On the first mirror, they lowered the mirror down and it hit the light on the ceiling, the light was swinging back and forth. All of the shadows around us were moving. One of the construction workers stopped the light from swinging, but the shadows on the wall kept moving. One of the workers said, "What's that all about mate? And he had a flashlight and he pointed it at the wall. The wall was filled with cockroaches and palmetto bugs. 4 feet by 8 feet and 2 inches thick. All the bugs freaked out and scattered. Now imagine this - Imagine, 4 big construction workers in shorts and high top boots wearing tank tops looking very macho, but screaming like old ladies and running off into the dark covered in bugs. I went to the pub.
My friend here who's writing this for me said, "Oh at least it wasn't spiders." Then I thought, "Oh, I have a story about spiders." I was on Heron Island with my first wife. We were ready to go to bed when I noticed a huge mulch huntsman spider on the wall.
Well, I threw my shoe at it. It looked at me and ran into the air conditioner. I said, "Well, I'm gonna take care of this guy." I called the front desk. They gave me a can of insect killer which I promptly sprayed into the air conditioner. Well, the spider came out and looked at me like "You bastard, you just sprayed me." I sprayed him again. He looked at me and just ran back into the air conditioner. I thought, "You little shit, I'm gonna get you now." So I sprayed the whole can into the air conditioner. Well, he came out, his friend came out , his other friend came out. The whole family came out. The whole room was filled with hunstman spiders. I ran out of shoes. I changed rooms, needless to say.
Oh man, I could go on and on about stories of insects. I was a little scared of them. You know, things would happen like, you would put on your wet suit to go windsurf and after you put the wet suit on you'd feel some bugs crawling between your skin and the suit. Or you would go to sleep and just as you're drifting off to sleep you'd hear a big cockroach walk across the floor. One time I opened my cupboard door in the kitchen and it looked like I brokeup a party or something. All these palmetto bugs just looked at me. Like I said, I could go on and on, but I promised you, in the teaser, I'd talk about a topless girl.
Well, I was on an editorial job in Martha's Vineyard. The fog rolled in for like a week so the editor decided to relocate to New Mexico. Anyway, we used up all our money on tickets. We had no money left for locations so we did all our photos in places like the hotel parking lot, your local truck stop. That would have been fun except all of our photos were about skin, naked skin. Yup, the girl had to be topless in all the photos, so imagine this - Imagine a family rolling into a hotel parking lot and there's a naked girl standing there. I can hear now, the son going, "Look dad, what's with the naked girl?" And the mom saying, "Don't look at that." Or we were at a truck stop once and there was an old picnic table covered in really cool weathered wood. I told the girl to lie there. so all the truckers saw a naked girl lying on the table. Just another day. The best part of the trip, I think I mentioned before was the editor trying to tell a priest it's OK if a naked girl leans against the church. I could hear her say, "But she's god's creation." Never a dull moment.
Enough of the stories. This week has been tough for me because it's so humid and hot. When you have a traumatic brain injury, some things will really affect you. For example, humidity really affects me. It's hard to describe, but you know how you feel when it's humid. Well, increase that times 100. It's not fun. I did wake up this morning and had a moment of absolute clarity. It was weird. I was looking at my pool table and I thought, well, I'm just gonna stand up, walk over there and play a game. It was a good feeling, but it only lasted a second. Maybe it's a beginning of a pattern. Who knows. The other cool thing was I walk even more fluidly with my Up & Go walker. I was really tired, but the motion of my movements was more fluid. I guess over all, things are getting better. I had a friend over the other day. She was an art director I used to work for. I haven't seen her for about a year now. She noticed a big difference between now and last year. Pretty cool. It's good to get feedback from friends. Kind of like a pat on the back. She's helping me with the launch of my big trip. Here's the link. And keep checking back for updates.
http://mypointofviewproject.wordpress.com
Anyway, that's about it for this week. I hope you guys have a good week. You know, I think there's some more info at www.helpbriannice.com - like my surgeon and the good hospital I went to. Someone emailed me and asked for some more info. Anyway, I hope it helps. I'll talk to you guys next week. Love, B. Nice
