Monday, February 27, 2006

Computer Is Delayed And More Remake Blues

Yes my friends my super duper high end pc has been delayed at least two weeks due to a malfunctioning power supply.

The good news is that they are going to upgrade the motherboard to the upgraded version of the one that I originally purchased....on their dime! How can you say no to that?

However my second monitor and software will arrive on Friday!!!!

So I'm going to have to wait for at least two more weeks to play with my new and shiny toy.

It is going to be a LONG two weeks!!!!

Now I have to bring out my torch and wave it in the direction of Hollywood. I have read where the rights to Friday The 13th have been bought in order to be REMADE!!!! WHY!?!?!?!

Now I have to rant some. I was a fan of the film series. It was groundbreaking and in its day defined a generation of films and film fans. Friday The 13th has been so parodied and has forever linked the hockey mask with psychotic killer with a machete in the realms of pop culture.

Yes Halloween was good but for my money Friday defined horror for me as a kid. Nightmare on Elm Street was too campy and I really didn't like the one liners with any death scene. I mean come on, Arnold did that in every movie why does a real supernatural killer have to do that? The killer is doing what he is supposed to do but what really torques me is that they have all copied that gag from James Bond!!!!

AARRGGHHHH!!!!

When Bond caps someone he CAN one line all he wants because he is the king of cool. License to kill while drinking a vodka martini! Yeah! That deserves a one liner because anything less would be paltry!!!!

When Freddy slashes his way through helpless teens that is what he was designed to do! Knock it off with the one liner. Now you have to be asking yourself WHAT does this have to do with Friday?

Jason Vorhees NEVER one lined it. A machete between the eyes and you are done. He walks on to the next teen who is have a morality crisis in need of a painful chastisement. The kids could run a marathon at sprinting speeds and Jason would walk and still meet them with a lawn tool of some sort and deliver justice to some kid you didn't like and YOU ROOTED FOR JASON TO DO IT!!!!

Now all of this applies to the good Friday's. The first one is classic and Jason wasn't even the killer, it was actually a very good mystery thriller. The second had hillbilly psycho Jason after the mom bought it in the first one. Then Friday in 3D and the amazing Final Chapter!!!! All extremely good!!!! The fifth one gave the viewing audience a nice dodge and then they started to fall off in quality.

I didn't care for the rest. They were all self parodies after that. Freddy vs. Jason though had its moments and I did enjoy parts of it even though it wasn't a real part of the series.

Now all of this is going to be ruined with a REMAKE!!!! A stupid REMAKE!!!!

Can no one out there come up with a better idea....I mean can no one who is financing movies come up with a better idea?!?!?!

Networking Party

Yesterday was my partner Chris's networking party for getting together and trying to explore similar interests for people who just didn't have a place to turn.

Well what happened wasn't what wasn't quite intended after Chris and I talked afterwards. The intent was for more along the filmmaking lines and the result was more musical.

There were lots of people who wanted to play their instruments and sing but practically no one was there for filmmaking. So the result left me wanting while it was very good for the musicians in the area.

In other news I have ordered a twin monitor to the one I just purchased. I have read where two monitors would be very helpful for the new Adobe suite I purchased! More workspace means more productivity which means the next project will benefit from it! That means I'm happy with it!

Hopefully I will be receiving the new PC late this week!

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Software Purchase Overview!!!!

Here is the purchase that has got me so excited that I can barely sleep lately!!!!

Adobe Production Stuido Premium which includes After Effects 7.0, Premiere Pro 2.0, Photoshop CS2, Encore DVD 2.0, Audition 2.0, and Illustrator CS2!!!!

With this suite of products coupled with the new PC that will be shipped soon there will be so much that a struggling indie such as myself will be able to do. That is why this is such an important addition to this fight.

With practice I'll be able to take an idea, film what I need and develop the rest with the right tools!!!!

Yes I am stretching my geek muscles since I have been looking at lightsaber formulas!!!!

Who wouldn't want to be involved in a lightsaber duel to the cinematic death?

Friday, February 24, 2006

Software Purchased!!!!

Last night I won the auction for the Adobe software suite!!!!

This will enable me to do EVERYTHING required in post production to put together the next project in a timely fashion!!!!

I'm very excited about this and wasn't able to sleep much last night because of the excitement!!!!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

New Monitor Has Arrived!!!!

My new monitor has arrived today which means that I am now only waiting on my PC and whatever software package I plan on buying.

I am leaning towards the Adobe Suite right now.

Chris and I are meeting to night to discuss our camera needs so things are moving ahead right now!

Locker, well here is the latest on Locker!

The DVDs are printed up, I have thirty of them, the problem is that they are blank right now. Soon they will have the low budget Hitchcockian goodness that is Locker on them and FINALLY I will be able to ship them out!!!!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Lightning Strikes Nebraska!

Yes my friends you can't escape the news that a group of meat packers in Nebraska has won the largest multi-state lottery in history. It wasn't one of my groups but it was a group like mine.

They had played for a long time. They worked in a job similar to my job. Most of all they believed that it could happen, like me and my two groups.

I'm sure that Saturday night was amazing for this group of people and every day until they came forward. Now that they have been introduced publicly you can bet that everyone who has EVER known one of these people will soon contact them. Complete strangers will give the most heart rending stories, some are probably even true, to get a piece of what these people have won.

I honestly to this day, after playing nearly five years, do not know what I would do if this happened to me and one of my powerball pools.

Anyone who knows me knows how gullible I can be and how I would fall for nearly every hard luck story that came across my path.

Yeah, I'd be broke quickly I'm sure.....but I would probably feel good about it.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Captain Insaneo Kept Me From Buying Bacon!!!!

That is Captain Insane with a pronounced O at the end. I'm sure that every one of you know a Captain Insaneo. He also works at my place. And he is insane!

He has worked where I work nearly as long as I have minus a year or so. This man has a sound effect for every single action he has. Every possession he owns has a sound effect and he knows them all....and shares them in abundance with us at work.

Fortunately for me he works nights and I only have a half hour with him. His co-worker on nights however isn't so lucky. She is on high blood pressure medicine and anti depressants....and I'm sure she needs them!

Captain Insaneo rattles non stop about NOTHING, EVER! He can go for literally HOURS and say nothing. He will follow you if you try to get away. He will trap you in a room by yourself and leave you to ponder the afterlife after about thirty seconds.

Captain Insaneo once stuck his hand under a running lawn mower to see if the blade was turning.

Captain Insaneo once had surgery on his elbow and kept moving it while saying, "Man, it hurts when I do that!" and KEPT MOVING IT and kept repeating it for HOURS!!!!

Captain Insaneo usually trades off his vehicles after repairing them, he trades them for junk and takes a loss. Rinse, repeat. He traded off every vehicle he owns for a daily driver for his wife and himself, a travel trailer, a boat, and a motorcycle he has had for a week for a 1999 Harley Sportster. He has insurance on it however he doesn't have the title....its owner is in jail.

Captain Insaneo was once on some pain medication that didn't agree with him and he would call the shop at 8:30 in the morning and try to talk to whatever poor sucker was unlucky enough to answer the phone at that time. So we would pawn the phone off to whoever was present at the time and LEAVE. He would then proceed to call the big boss and give him advice....for at least a half hour per day. He was nearly fired after this episode because he would fight with the supervisors and everyone around him. His wife surprised him by taking him to the doctor for a drug test!!!! He promptly responded by making an appointment for his wife to have a drug test!!!!

He was soon after taken off of the medication and returned to his normal insane self.

Captain Insaneo bounces off of the walls with his hyper activity and hyper talk, along with his sound effects. He always comes up with a saying such as the classics:
"Hot Dog, Hamburger!"
"Far Out, Solid, and Groovy!"
"Uden Uden!" (one of the sounds of a engine makes in his world, it now represents an answer in the affrimitive or slang for Captain Insaneo himself)
and a cackling laugh that if you see me and say do the laugh, I'll oblige you along with a couple of imitations.

My co-workers and I have all become very good at our Captain Insaneo imitations, he represents a source of entertainment in a warped way.

So there I was in the grocery store buying some food. I had the eggs and started to head over to the section where the bacon was when I spied Captain Insaneo!!!! He was there with his wife in the bacon section! I got out of that part of the store without him seeing me and thought that if I ran around the other part of the store for ten minutes he would be gone and I could then bet my bacon.

Nope. I did that. He was still at that section! It is a small section but ten minutes later he WAS STILL THERE WITH HIS WIFE!!!!

I said forget it and checked out, it just wasn't worth it.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Daytona Day!!!!

As far as the big epic sporting events go in today's world I would rank them like this:
Super Bowl
March Madness
Daytona/Bristol
NBA Playoffs
and the remaing two are the other sports of the World Series and the NHL Playoffs.

The Daytona 500 has some of the most white knuckle non stop action that you could ask for in an event. Since the advent of restrictor plate racing which promotes more of a pack driving style on the super speedways, the racing has been closer and more dangerous. Now this isn't a good thing.

In a restrictor plate race there is a bigger chance that "the big one" will happen which is usually a crash that involves five or more cars. It is usually big and loud and wouldn't have happened in a non-restrictor plate race. The restrictor plate is a plate that goes between the carburetor and the intake to restrict the amount of fuel and air that the engine runs on. This cuts back on the horsepower and makes every car basically run the same....and together.

The reason they did this was because the speeds were getting well over 200 miles per hour and there were calls for safer racing at those speeds, this was the fix. To make everyone drive at nearly 200 miles per hour in one pack.

No one really likes it in the NASCAR world but for the fans it does produce a race that is great to watch and is similar to a dangerous chess match with drivers shuffling positions in very tight quarters.

The Daytona 500 is one of the pinnacle sporting events as well as a pinnacle race. It isn't to be missed.

No other sport has their best on display every week in one event. Every week you are going to see every single star that NASCAR has in one race. If you go to a NFL game are you going to see every star? Nope. Can you name any sport where every star competes against each other in every event? Nope.

NASCAR is unique because when you start to watch you just naturally bond with a driver and you tend to be very loyal to that driver and really pull for him.

Sometimes people wonder why NASCAR has become the second most popular sport, why there will be 250,000 people at Daytona today and why millions more will watch it from the comfort of their own homes.

Well watch Daytona today, you'll see for yourself!

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Filmmaking News

I am going to be talking with my filmmaking partner in crime, Chris soon. I proposed the idea of buying a camera jointly so that we will have two matched cameras for the next project.

Two Canon XL1s cameras will allow for a shorter shooting time and two angles that can then be edited together in a faster fashion. Shooting that way will be easier on the actors since we will need less takes to get coverage.

The editing will be easier since the way we have been shoooting is to set up one angle....shoot it.....set up the other angle.....shoot the scene again. No matter how hard you try there are too many differences between the two and are usually unuseable when you try to edit them together.

Now for you out there who are playing along, yes a three camera set up would be better still however one step at a time right now. With three cameras you would be able to get a master shot and two over the shoulder shots at the same time. Now with that set up you could shoot a scene one time which would be much easier on the actors and the shooting schedule would be a breeze.

So yes a three camera set up is best but for now a two camera set up will be what we can get and use.

I also just purchased a new AMD 4800X2 pc with 4 gigs of RAM and a ton of storage space for editing. I have a new monitor coming that will be here early next week and the pc itself will be here by Thursday of next week.

I'm very excited about all of this since it represents the next level of my filmmaking career!!!!

Both of these new upgrades will enable us to create better looking projects in a faster amount of time. Which is another lesson I have learned from Locker.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

My Showercats

Allow me to let you in on some of my morning routine and what happens at my house.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have two cats and one black lab. My lab is a outside dog who inhabits the garage with a nice fleece pillow that my mom made and a heat lamp for those cold evenings. He's a pretty happy doggie who enjoys the occasional treat of smoked ribs and packages of hot dogs.

Yes I spoil him.

Now my cats are the opposite. They are inside cats and brother and sister from the same litter. They are both fixed and if you will recall my post about one of my cats about his teeth they are also well taken care of with the occasional tuna treat.

Now when I get up in the morning they are at my bedroom door, usually scratching at the door and meowing very loudly. I generally see paws slip under the door to get my attention. I keep my door closed because I have plants in my bedroom and a waterbed which isn't very cat proof.

So upon waking up and opening the door the first thing I see is two cats running to their food dish. I feed them and turn on the dryer. I keep my work clothes in the dryer. I then head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and shower. Usually before I can get the toothpaste on the toothbrush, Patch, my female cat is with me. I know she hasn't taken more than a couple of bites of food but there she is. (She is also the loudest at the bedroom door) I turn on the water and by this time Rocket, my male cat is there with me.

They both stay put on the shower mat while I wash and wake up. Occasionally Rocket will jump up on the side of the tub and poke his head around the curtain and meow.

It is at this point that I don't know if they understand that I don't actually need to be present near their food dish for them to eat or if they just love me that much but they stay right there with me. When I turn the shower off, push back the curtain, and grab a towel they will usually jump into the tub with me. I kid you not my friends.

When Rocket was more of a kitten he would jump into the tub with me while the shower was on but he stopped that after a few times.

So by the time I have dried off and head to the dryer to get my warm and fluffy clothes my cats follow me and remember their food dish. Now cats are smarter than most people think.

At one time Patch would look at both sides of the food dish and eat from the fullest one. When Rocket was eating and she would walk in she would move Rocket out of the way and eat from the side he was eating from, I guess assuming that his side was fuller.

Well not long ago I saw this and it has happened quite a few times. When Patch isn't around and I'm getting dressed, Rocket will pick the dish that has the least amount of food in it. Patch will usually come in soon after and move him out of his side and Rocket then gladly move to the fuller dish.

It was amazing to see and that is how my mornings usually go at my place!

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Sirius vs. XM In My World Part 3

This is the third update in my quest to explore and find the best satellite radio service. I have again force myself to listen to the Boneyard for who know's what reason and then I had an inspiration!

I decided to head over to XM411 to explore the message boards there to see what long term subscribers have been raving or complaining about! Turns out most of them have the same complaints. Lots of channel flipping. Too obscure. Too eclectic. No classic rock at all.

I'm sorry that my comparison has devolved into a rant against XM music selection however it isn't just me. There are plenty of people on XM 411 who feel the same way, along with two co-workers who won't be renewing their XM subscriptions in their new vehicles and would rather listen to FM.

Now there are lots of good things about XM! I really am enjoying the Opie and Anthony show!
They have been exciting and funny. They aren't as funny as Dan and Scott or Karen Kay were in their peak of interactive uncensored internet comedy shows but they are good and worth listening to! XM is superior in this regard. Without a doubt I would listen to Opie and Anthony as I believe their show is much better than Howard Stern's.

I have read where XM fanboys use excuses like widest possible playlists and to use an Ipod if you are just wanting your favorite songs. What kind of excuses are those?

Personally I believe that both services will survive and evolve over time. There is plenty of room for improvement and I would bet that there will also be talent swaps over the years that will lead to lots of fanboy arguments over who rules.

What is also assured is that both services need to survive. Without competetion satellite radio might as well fold up shop and rent out their satellites to other companies with some use for them.

We as music, talk, comedy, and sports fans are better off with both services thriving and giving us the best possible options for our listening dollars.

With that said, I won't be renewing my XM subscription after this month is up. I am happy with the music selection that Sirius offers and I am more than satisfied with the amount of sports that Sirius has.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Sirius vs. XM In My World Part 2

Well after another day of listening to XM I can say that I enjoyed the parts of the Opie and Anthony show that I heard and I enjoyed the Ron and Fez show that I heard as well. Both shows seem fresher than the Stern show. Since I have never really heard the Stern show before I can just again assume that it is an acquired taste and I don't have it.

This is my opinion as of this day and I will post my thoughts at the end of the paid month as well.

Talk radio, I have to give the edge to Sirius, there were lots of ho hum moments while listening to XM talk shows.

The sports content is no contest at all. Sirius with the NFL exclusively clearly wins this in my world. I have given the MLB channel called "Home Plate" a good shot, however it is still MLB and I have little use for it. Give me football anyday since it is the real national past time!!!!

Music wise, XM SUCKS!!!! Despite the two extra channels that XM has in the Country category, XM content just can't stack up to the Sirius brand.

I feel ripped off like I have bought a CD and there is only one song on there that is worth listening to while the rest is nothing but CD filler. Bland, boring, and just something that is there to justify the price of the service.

If Sirius would add a "Obscure Metal" channel then Sirius would have every musical base covered and still be far superior to XM music wise. You have to keep turning the channel to find something you want to hear. With Sirius it generally stays on one channel all day long with everyone being happy with the content. If XM were in the shop instead of Sirius we would constantly be flipping channels trying to find something good to listen to.

XM is very lacking in this regard so if you want to get XM don't expect to be entertained by the music, they have quality shows with Opie and Anthony that would almost justify the price of the service. I'm not saying that Stern isn't a good entertainer, he just doesn't entertain me.

Give me uncensored, interactive, internet shows anyday!

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Sirius vs. XM In My World

My friends anyone who knows me knows that I have a Sirius radio. Recently I have decided to give XM a try and stick with the best one. I try to be fair minded and open to change to something better, I think I can objectively pull off a fair compairison of both services now that I am equally invested in both.

I have read enough about XM to wonder if I am missing out on anything with their much deeper playlists and cheaper equipment. Well I bought a small XM receiver car kit for about fifty dollars at Wal-Mart Friday so the experiement begins.

So far I have had a hard time finding a channel that caters to my 80's metal taste. Sirius has Hair Nation which is 80's metal and they have Buzzsaw which is classic rock with the metal edge like AC/DC, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, and Led Zepplin.

I have been listening to the Boneyard which is as close to either of these channels I can come and have heard Leatherwolf, Accept, and Four Horsemen. While not bad bands they have never really achieved the status of metal gods. I have heard Tesla which is a band I love only to find they played Making Magic which is practically a filler song. Out of all of the hits Tesla has had they chose a more obscure song to play. I can say that so far listening to the Boneyard is like gold mining, you are sifting through a lot of mud to get to a nugget of gold that you enjoy.

I am watching the XM player which lists the channels and what is on them and I'm watching the Sirius Backstage site that lists what is playing on Sirius as well. So I am swapping back and forth between the two players when there is something I want to listen to however I am mainly on the XM player since that is the one I'm evaluating and getting a feel for.

Sports wise, well XM has an exclusive on MLB while Sirius has the exclusive on the NFL and NBA. No need to compare here for me since I am neutral at best on the MLB. Both carry plenty of college basketball however Sirius has March Madness. Sirius has the clear victory in this category.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I am also a Country music fan. I really can't complain about the selection that XM has had as I am familiar with some of the more forgotten Country music stars of the 60's and 70's. My Dad was a truck driver during that time and with 8 tracks of the Statler Brothers, Freddy Fender, Johnny Cash, and Conway Twitty I can enjoy these very much. However I have found the same selections on Sirius. So the Country stations are pretty much even. I am more than satisfied with both services in this regard. Actually I might give a slight edge to XM since they have seven country channels to Sirius's five.

Talk Radio is what I love to listen to quite a bit. Now I can tell you that being in a market that has never had Howard Stern I am unfamiliar with his show and the show's dynamics. His move to Sirius wasn't much of a factor to me. I can tell you that after listening to a few shows I'm not that impressed. You can revisit my post about Internet Talk Shows to get a better opinion on this matter. His show is just an acquired taste I haven't acquired. I am looking forward to hearing the Opie and Anthony show so no edge is given here yet. XM has the exclusives on Air America and Fox while Sirius has ABC, NPR, Patriot, Talk Right, and Talk Left. So now matter your political leanings you have plenty to choose from with a slight edge to Sirius for the amount of channels available over XM like my Country music decision.

Both carry Christian talk channels, Women's channels, advice channels, and news channels from American and around the world. So this is basically a draw.

So after a couple of days of listening and unbiased comparision this is how they stack up right now but stay tuned to further updates.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Poker Night

I decided earlier this week to take Friday off and have myself two 3-day weekends in a row! So since I didn't have to show up to work Friday I decided to head down to the Indian Casino Thursday night!

Well this time I wasn't going to play the 3-6 limit game and went to the No Limit 2-5 game. I was a bit nervous this time around though but quickly got rid of my shaking hands when in the first half hour I was up about 30 dollars. The seat to my right bought in at the same time I did and with the same amount, $200, which is the maximum buy in.

He was broke and bought in again at the hour mark for another $200. The person opposite the table from me went broke three times before I was moved from the table to balance both No Limit tables with players.

I had decided to leave at 11P.M. so to set a limit on my playing time, Up, Down, or Even. That gave me about three and a half hours of playing time. Within the first hour and a half I yo-yo'd my stack from about 230-145 dollars but could not sustain any kind of streak. I had some aggressive players who seemed pretty tight however a couple of hands I won really surprised me. Such as the pocket 6's I played and won with Q's on the board and my 6's. There wasn't much betting on that hand so it really wasn't a big pot at all but I was still surprised when I took down the pot.

I was at 212 dollars when I was moved to the other table with about 45 minutes left in my playing time. I was in early position when I was dealt A5 suited, which is a hand I just don't play but I wanted to break the ice on the new table and it was a 5 dollar call so it was cheap. I flopped 3,9 of my suit so I had four to the flush and about a 20% chance of making my hand. A caller at the end of the table bet out with a 15 dollar bet and I raised to 30, he called. The Turn brought another diamond to make my flush, he checked to me and I bet another 30 to take down the pot after his fold.

This brought the attention of a older gent two seats to my right who didn't take kindly to a new guy to the game being this aggressive. Which didn't seem very aggressive to me since I had a A5 suited in my hand and normally fold hands like this. Well a few hands later and I might say a couple of wins later I get a A10 suited on the button. I have position now on a mediocre hand.

My stack is sitting about 275 now and I feel a little gamble in me. With my A10 suited it comes around to me with 5 callers and I raise to 10 bucks to stay in. I flop two of my suit so now I have the nut flush draw. The gent two seats to my right gets checked to and bets out 25, I raise to 50 everyone else folds to him who calls my raise.

The Turn is junk and the gent checks to me and I immediately put out a stack of 50 and he stares at me. He shakes his head and folds giving me a much bigger stack now! I heard him telling the gentleman sitting to his left that he thought I was on a flush draw, which I was. But I wasn't going to make it cheap for him to play his pair or at most two pair against my draw. I felt he would fold with the right amount of pressure and I again had about a 18% chance of making my hand so I had a ton of outs and position on him. This wouldn't have happened on the limit table as I would have been called down and possibly beaten on the River.

I was well over 300 now and was working on a nice profit with about 10 minutes left in my playing time. The next hand I have a pocket pair but there is little action and I take down a small pot. I have 361 dollars now, a 161 dollar profit from three hours ago. I thank the gentlemen at the table and take my leave.

A good night of poker!

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Monkey's And Filmmaking

Have you ever seen the commercials for Careerbuilder.com ?

They feature a hard working guy in a office full of monkeys who aren't all that responsible.

They are very funny commercials where it seems that no matter how hard the poor guy works he is always trumped by the monkeys who run the place.

That is how I generally feel when I'm at work. Which leads me to the filmmaking part of my title!

I would think it would be almost a dream job to be able to come up with the comic commercials that make a impression and effect people. It is like telling a thirty second joke where the punchline is something people will talk about later on.

There isn't a lot of difference between a commercial and a feature film other than the obvious differences like length, context, and script. The basics are the basics which are saying what you want to say in a given amount of time.

I mean who wouldn't want to come up with the next "Wassup!" concept or the next "Where's the beef?"

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

I Laughed Very Hard

At what happened today. Let me set the context so you may enjoy as well my friends!

A few months ago we decided to create a new table top for our decal room, a room where we create decals in. Just want to be clear. It is a wood top now that has been sanded and finished to a very fine and glossy shine. It looks nice!

Well today our leadman noticed a spot on the table top. He looks at me and my other co-worker and we both shrug. He rubs it with his finger and it really doesn't come off so he rubs much harder. I notice my co-worker starting to snicker. I look kind of puzzled with my "What is the joke" look at him.

The lead is still rubbing very hard at the spot that just doesn't want to go away.

My other co-worker says, "Smell your finger, maybe that will tell you what it is!"

My lead immediately declares he will NOT smell his finger and not even ten seconds later is sniffing away....

He nearly throws up.

My co-worker bursts out laughing, he can barely contain his glee.

I look at him again and then he says two words....."Kipper Snacks!"

Last Friday he ate kipper snacks in the decal room and it was the rotted juice left on the table that left the spot!!!!

I laughed.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Super Bowl Bonus!!!!

My friends, after reading my last post of my poker losses I am happy to report that after the Super Bowl I was up fifty dollars!

Yes I played Pick The Square, where you buy a square and if the last digit in the score corresponds to your square then you win some money every quarter! I won the jackpot on that! I was very happy!!!!

I did pick Seattle to win the game and I lost but I won so I don't feel badly at all. I didn't have a real emotional attachment to any team, I was just hoping for a good game. The party was a blast thanks to the homecoming of another filmmaking partner in crime.

If Oakland would ever get their act together and stick with a coach for longer than a season or two then I think they could be a contender....someday. I'm not holding my breath though.

Now for some filmmaking news. I am going to have some funds shortly to expand my filmmaking empire, such as it is. I am going to go over some equipment and software to see how best to use said funds very soon.

Homework will be involved as well as salivating over equipment I know I won't be able to afford however it is going to be a good time and I hope I will expend the fundage wisely....but I'm not holding my breath on that either.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Locker Update And Good B Movie

The master DVD is in my producer's hands. He is going to make a ISO copy of it and from that you duplicate your DVDs. It is a great day and a great time for me right now.

I'm so excited about the possibilites that this little movie can bring!

Even more than that though is that I can finally fulfill my obligations to my actors who worked very hard in difficult situations to create this movie with me.

I'm very happy about all of this finally coming together after all of the setbacks we have had. Even though I felt like giving up so many times I didn't. This has been a huge learning experience and the next movie, whenever that may be, will go much faster and smoother.

Now my friends yesterday morning I put in a DVD of a movie that was fun, very funny (although not intentionally) and a blast to watch. Godzilla: Final Wars!!!! The last movie to feature Godzilla for supposedly at least a decade.

This movie had the biggest budget of any Godzilla movie and they send him off in a huge battle with just about every monster he has fought in his career.....although I did not see Mecha Godzilla in the mix. There is horrible acting, staggering inconsistencies, and voice overs that are worthy of the best MST3K episode.

All in all a very enjoyable cheesey movie....as long as you remember that it is a cheesey guilty pleasure movie.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

A Poker Day

Yes my friends, I drove about a hour to a Indian Casino to play some poker today. Just a ring game, 3-6 limit to be exact.

I started with 100 dollars and was up to about 130 in about a half hour. Then I won the occasional hand after that. The hand that broke my stack and crippled me was a huge pot. I had KQ suited. I preflop raised and the flop came A,10,10 with a ten in my suit. So now I had a gut shot straight and three to the flush. There were six people in the hand and I raised the pot again and two people folded. The turn came a 4 of clubs (my suit) so now I had a flush draw and a straight draw. I had a ton of outs to make my hand with one card to come.

I raise, everyone folds but one guy who has been regaling us with his tales of all of the casinos he has played in and how much money he has earned. A basic loudmouth who feels he is the best player on the table but isn't thinking about what I could have for some reason. I feel that he doesn't have much or he wouldn't be checking first and letting the guy between us bet it up. He hasn't raised and only called. So now he and I are heads up and I am over half my stack in the pot. I bet six, he raises so I cap it with 12 bucks and now I am down to about 40 bucks in my stack. The pot is huge, well over 130 dollars.

The river comes and I miss my straight and flush, however he checks since he is acting before me. I bet six dollars and he calls. No raise. I turn over my KQ suited and everyone looks at the board sure I had a straight and I say I was on a draw that fell short but had 10's with a King kicker. He turns over pocket 4's. He stayed in all that time with only two pair and the board had the high pair. He won that pot and crippled me and then started in on the stories again.

Everyone was wondering what he was doing calling an aggressive raiser in position with only a small pocket pair.

If it had been a no limit game I would have pushed him out of the hand and made it painful to call me down.

Overall I feel I played well today. I did survive two all-ins to build my short stack to around 40 bucks before committing it all again on a suited Ace Junk.

I kept track of the hands that I folded to see if I made the correct call and after that many hours of playing I would have won only three hands if I had stayed in. I never had trips or a flush and only a small straight all day. I won mostly by forcing others to fold and having a high pair with no straight or flush combinations on the board.

I feel that I am for sure a tournament player though. If I can't pressure people more as in a no limit game then my game just isn't up for low limit poker. I only played most hands while in the big blind, folded a couple of those when raised and I had junk and folded a couple of small blinds as well.

My next trip I feel that I will play the 2-5 no limit game. Yeah it isn't as high stakes but there is a 200 dollar maximum buy in so I will be fine. At least I could put more pressure on someone and force them to consider what I am holding in my hand before they call me with a small pocket pair.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

My DVD Master Copy!!!!

I have it in my hands now!!!!

My producer is sick however. I paid him a visit after obtaining it to find him under the weather. It looks good and I am happy with it. Tomorrow duplication will begin!!!!

I can't wait to mail out the copies!!!!

Wonderful Phone Call!!!!

Yes! The call I was waiting on finally happened!

The production house called me today, just so happens I was at home today instead of work so I was home to get the call!!!!

My DVD is ready to pick up!!!!

There were no problems at all with my camera in the transfer and they said that everything went smoothly and it looks good!!!!

I'm doing the happy dance!!!!