Now it's back to the office for eight weeks of pre-production (and, in parallel, eight weeks of pre-production for the other film we're shooting this fall) before heading back to the trenches to shoot, shoot, shoot.

Old stadium on left, new on right, 4 train heading downtown in the foreground.

Old stadium, interior. The seats are gone, chunks of wall are missing, and the field is an uneven, muddy mess.

Our director, cinematographer, first camera assistant and visual effects supervisor, checking out potential shots.

Me, coordinating crew and rocking the hard hat.

Moving the crane from the old stadium to the new.

Looking into the empty new stadium.

Watching the crane shot on monitors.

To celebrate, we had wanted to go away somewhere fun for the weekend. But it's raining torrentially here in New York. And, at least according to forecasts earlier in the week, it should also be pouring in the Hamptons, Miami, New Orleans, Connecticut, and nearly every other fun, two-night destination we could come up with.

In this weather, our living room seems like a comparatively excellent idea.

Two of the pizza spots in New Haven, Sally's and Pepe's, clocked in at numbers 6 and 12, respectively, on the Today Show's (by way of GQ's) top 25 best pizzas around the country.

Tip of the hat to long-time friend and former Sharkbyte colleague Dave Fischer, who not only passed along the article, but also pointed out the disturbingly dead on Sally's review:

6. Sally's Apizza in New Haven, Conn.: White pie with potato
Sally's is ancient, in an old Appalachian way. I can't believe the men's bathroom has been cleaned since 1938, when the pizzeria opened for business. Service was equally dismal. I noticed regulars getting some attention, not so much that they appeared pampered, but the rest of us waited about ninety minutes before our first pies appeared. To me, Sally's should be renamed Sartre's Apizza, home of absurdity and despair. I wasn't there on any particular holiday, April Fools' Day or Halloween, but the somnambulant staff wore weird outfits -- nutsy party hats, outdated ties, Bermuda shorts, and T-shirts (in winter). I wondered if Sally's was the headquarters of a work-release program for the culinarily insane. The customers weren't impressive, either, especially the lady in the booth across from mine, fast asleep. Out of this agonizing ambience appeared a pie of incredible finesse, a tour de force, a white (no tomato sauce) pizza prepared with thinly sliced potatoes cooked to an artful golden brown, a scattering of equally faultless onions, and a masterful touch of rosemary, all perfectly complemented by Sally's crust, a bit denser, chewier, and thinner than the one up the block at the equally fabled Pepe's. By the way, I bet Sinatra got great service when he ate here.

I'm a bigger fan of Pepe's, personally, though the ambiance is, fortunately and unfortunately, pretty much exactly the same.

Which, I've always thought, was a reasonably fashionable alternative to a laptop bag.

Jess, however, thinks otherwise. I'd always written that off as a minor disagreement in taste. At least until last week, when we were out with a fashion designer friend of hers, who literally burst into hysterical laughter at the sight of the bag.

So, in short, I'm now on the search for a replacement.

I already own a Jack Spade messenger bag, which is perfectly suited to weekend jaunts. But it doesn't fit my laptop, and carrying it slung across the chest quickly crushes a pressed suit.

What I'm looking for, then, is a laptop-friendly (in case it matters, a 15" MacBook Pro), work-appropriate bag. Ideally one with handles, and a strap I can wear over just one shoulder when needed. One with room for documents and other odds and ends along with the computer. And, most importantly, one that's suitably fashionable - equal parts British preppy and New England outdoorsy WASP. Or, at least, one that doesn't look like it might best be paired with a pith helmet.

Lazy-web, please let me know.

I'm particularly proud when any of our members take that fitness and put it to good use. Take, for example, Keith Zeier. Keith served in Iraq as a SpecOps Marine. At least until July 17th, 2006, when he was hit by an IED. The explosion took out a sizeable chunk of Keith's quadricep, and he was told he'd never walk again without a cane.

This past weekend, however, Keith did more than just walk. He ran. For 31 straight hours. A 100 mile ultramarathon from Key Largo to Key West. He did it as a fundraiser for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, a non-profit that provides college scholarships to children of fallen special operations personnel, and immediate financial assistance to badly injured special operators. It was a grant from the foundation that allowed his mother to travel to his bedside when he was severely wounded.

By any measure, Keith's run has been a great success - as an example, as an inspiration, and as a real impact on the foundation's bottom line, for which he's raised nearly $48,000. But given the strong cause, and his even stronger effort, I hope you'll consider donating a small amount yourself. And I also hope that you'll watch the short video his support crew put together; if this doesn't get you off your ass, out the door, and on your way to changing the world, I don't know what would.