This was a special Thanksgiving for me. I spent it with a wonderful woman who’s become very special to me. And we pulled out all the stops for the meal, although we didn’t have anyone else over for dinner. Yup, that means leftovers all weekend.

This was the first year I cooked a real turkey. In previous years, tofurkey would substitute or I’d end up at a friend’s table. So this year I got to experience the truth about preparing a turkey dinner.

Preparing a whole turkey isn’t a pretty sight. It’s squishy and bloody, and it has moments of pure “EW!” involved. But I think it’s a good thing, having to deal with the blood and entrails- I think that the mere act of preparing a thanksgiving dinner forces one to consider the realities of life. In our modern world of prepackaged convenience foods we’re increasingly cut off from the truth of our appetites. Life feeds on death, and that’s how it always has been. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just a thing.

So when you do eat, I think it’s good to- once in a while- say a silent ‘Thank You’ to the creature your burger or meatloaf used to be. Preparing our turkey meal was an excellent reminder to me, to be more thankful.

And speaking of being thankful- this has been an interesting year for me, and I’ve gotten the opportunity to do lots of amazing film, video, and web projects with some very cool people.

This has also been the year I became a real working director. That’s so awesome, and I sometimes can’t believe I get paid to do something I love. Despite the fact that the projects are generally low budget affairs, I have a great time and I love hearing my clients’ reactions when they see my work- it is very gratifying.

I’m thankful for the good- and the good people- in my life. I have an amazing family and some truly outstanding friends. This year a lot of you got to step up and help me through some rough stuff- and I thank you for that. You know who you are. Thank you.

And yes, what I am most thankful for this year is meeting the woman I spent this Thanksgiving with. She’s incredible.

Robert Altman died last night. The old coot was truly a talented director, and he was one of the few people in Hollywood I looked up to. He’s one of the reasons I got into making movies.

I’ve always loved Altman’s dedication to his vision- unlike a lot of insecure directors, Altman knew what he wanted and he wasn’t afraid to make movies his way. Sure, he directed a lot of clunkers along with his list of massively successful movies. But every one of his films had heart. He was a rare man in Hollywood who wasn’t afraid to make movies that would force his audience to think and feel differently. The guy had guts.

If you haven’t seen an Altman movie in a while, click here to see the list of his films on IMDB. I’m sure there’s at least 2 of them which you have not yet seen that’ll surprise you and make you glad you have NetFlix.

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