I Tour The TWA Hotel.

The lady next to me on the plane yesterday smelled like she ate a bowl of grandmas for breakfast.

I prefer the plane itself have that throwback feel. When I walked out of the JetBlue terminal at LAX, I came upon a great sight: the long-shuttered TWA terminal was now the newly- reopened TWA Hotel. Here’s an extensive photo gallery:

The time-warp begins with a simple choice…

…which leads to a tunnel that has the feel of the teleportation device in Stargate.

Look familiar? Just the other day I re-watched Catch Me If You Can. Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio in the tunnel.

The desk of Jack Frye, TWA president from 1934-1947, complete with a glass of scotch. Simpler times.

The lobby features 60s TWA fleet automobiles and a giant, old-school, constantly-clacking split-flap departure board.

You can sip cocktails in the Lockheed jet parked outside the hotel.

The cockpit of the jet is almost too accurate, including original, pumped-in traffic-controller recordings over a loudspeaker. I love when no detail is spared. I so want to stay here.

Gone Vacationing.

I told a server I’m going to New York this weekend, so when I left, she said, “Have a good time in New York!’ and I said “You too!” So, long story short, she’s coming to New York with me.

Alright, she’s not. But I am headed back east. An extra-long Labor Day weekend to see my mom, my little brother, my other little brother (Ollie, the dog), and a couple Yankee games. It’s what my union brothers ultimately wanted 100 years ago when they violently fought for this holiday. Thanks, guys. Happy weekend.

Best Dressed.

When I pass, all I ask is to be buried with a walkie talkie, just in case.

On a film set, the entire crew gets to wear nifty walkie talkies with mics clipped to their shirts. You hear the code “10-1” spoken into them pretty often. 10-1 is walkie-talkie talk for needing to take a pee. It’s a nice way to avoid divulging too much information.

That’s why my favorite shirt from my recent shoot was “10-2 Happens.” Simple, profound. 10-2 does happen. It’s a part of life that can’t be prevented. Everybody poops. That’s a big 10-4.

Matt’s Book Club.

Never judge a book by its cover. Besides, you’re on Instagram all day and don’t even read books. Despite the slick cover,

Chris Kattan’s new book never mentions monkeys. (Except for his character Mr. Peepers, which was very monkey-like.) I would’ve bought this book for myself, because I like Chris and all things SNL-related, but my brother beat me to it, giving it to me for my birthday.

He gifted it to me a few days before the book made headlines for a chapter about Lorne Michaels asking Chris to sleep with director Amy Heckerling to keep her happy as they shot A Night at the Roxbury.

The headlines were out of context. In the book, Chris recounted being told by Lorne that Amy had a crush and him, and Chris was pleasantly surprised. They started secretly dating. The real drama occurred after they finished shooting. Because Chris kept the relationship hidden from his co-star/best friend Will Ferrell, Will lost trust in Chris, and refused to return his calls. Back at SNL, Will finally pulled Chris aside and said that while there wouldn’t be a problem with them working together, their friendship was over.

This is a very quick read – which is rare for me and my only-on-the-elliptical reading habit. Chris has led an interesting life. His dad was a Groundling and an actor as well, who appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Chris broke his neck doing a prat-fall during an SNL sketch, and then, afraid he’d lose his job, he risked paralysis by refusing to tell anyone or see a doctor about it. Eventually he did, and needed five separate surgeries. He became hooked on pain pills and cocaine.

Very good book. I recommend it.

Sunday In The Ballpark.

I’m at my most athletic when I’m running up stadium stairs to buy more nachos.

Yesterday was a perfect day at the stadium. My friend Rob (second from left), was in town with his son Marty (all the way on left), whose tenth birthday was yesterday. Our Yankees were also in town, so I grabbed my nephew, whose birthday is in two weeks (and who is unfortunately a Dodgers fan), and we all went to the game.

The Yankees won and played really well. We ate lots of junk and had seats in the shade on an extra hot day, plus this surreal LA experience:

A forest fire beyond left field, which started during the game, and forced residents in Eagle Rock to evacuate. I hope everyone there is okay. And happy birthday, boys.

R,I.P., Ripped Friend.

The reason I’ve decided to replace my old messenger bag with a fancy new one is so that I look more classy and professional carrying nothing but snacks to wherever I go.

Actually, the old bag has had it. It’s splitting its seams in several places beyond repair. While my new Peak bag is entirely groovy, I’ll miss my old one. It’s been everywhere with me. It was at my side in India, China, Brazil, Costa Rica and the Philippines. It was with me at the Cannes Film Festival, and when I flew home for my dad’s funeral. It was sitting at my feet on my flight to Philadelphia last year when I found out I booked a role on a soap opera.

The new Peak messenger bag is killer – so thoughtfully designed and light as air. I didn’t realize it wasn’t just my laptop weighing down my shoulder all these years; my Victorinox bag was made of old, heavy, early 2000s canvas. Bulky and obsolete. Once again, an overdue lesson learned. Indulge me while I quote myself, from my blog after my first visit to the brand new Yankee Stadium:

“Seeing the old stadium across the street made me feel like I was at my new, hot young girlfriend’s place, peeking through the curtains at my ex-wife’s house. Sure, the missus and I had a lot of good times, but she’s old and smelly now.”

The Motliest Crew

Hey, wilderness reality show person who is about to freeze to death with no hope in sight: maybe just cuddle up with the crew filming you.

I love film crews. It doesn’t matter how early my call time is or how little sleep I’ve gotten – when I pull up and the guys are busy unloading trucks and setting up a shot, I am instantly energized.

The crew of this film worked their asses off. Pictured with me above are Joe Carroll, production coordinator, and Steven Luna, second assistant director. They kept me happy and focused every day. Steven always knew where I was supposed to be, and what wardrobe I was supposed to be wearing. Joe, in addition to overseeing an obscene amount of details, busted my balls constantly for free.

There’s nothing like being on a set. You bond instantly with everyone involved. It becomes your community. You're there to make something great, and even better, you’re there for the hang. I missed these guys the second I was driving home after being wrapped. This is what I want to do with my life. These are the people I want to spend it with. See you soon, guys.