It was a good evening.
I believe it is national poetry month so the Gaslight Theater held poetry night where it was an open forum to read your own poetry or from another poet.
The theater was packed and a great time was had by all.
Afterwards we headed to Panevino's for eating and drinking. One person happened to have a bit too much to drink and made a general jerk of himself. He has no societal skills and alcohol doesn't help them any. In fact it tends to make him much worse to be around.
Sometimes I feel for the guy, he seems to have been an extremely sheltered person but he doesn't get it when he is being a massive jerk and everyone is trying to politely tell him to settle down.
He complains, gives unending advice, and is much louder than anyone around.
So, everyone tries to get away or pawn him off on someone else.
Other than that it was a great evening and more filmmaking contacts were made!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
So Far So Good!
The only big surprise to me has been Matt Leinart falling down to the tenth overall spot to Arizona.
Vince Young going at three wasn't a huge surprise since he should fit in well with the Titan's system and he will have the Steve McNair mentor factor going for him.
Props to the Jets for taking D'Brickashaw Ferguson over any of the QBs available. Ferguson is just a monster tackle who will be a day one starter and help keep Chad Pennington on his feet and throwing.
While watching the draft today I have collected almost two hundred dollars in poker winnings. I'm practicing with a new style of play for me and using a lot more aggression. It has resulted in more winning hands and being in the money in every tournament I've played in so far.
I'm going to keep with it for a while until I can work the bugs out of it. I believe that my tight playing style will benefit me the most in tournaments but the aggressive style will be for when I change playing gears to keep people from getting a read on me. I intentionally brought horrible cards to the river to see that I would stick with junk and that brought me more calls when I had a made hand which resulted in chip leader and in control. It also had a interesting side effect in that more people folded their blinds to me when I had junk cards.
Vince Young going at three wasn't a huge surprise since he should fit in well with the Titan's system and he will have the Steve McNair mentor factor going for him.
Props to the Jets for taking D'Brickashaw Ferguson over any of the QBs available. Ferguson is just a monster tackle who will be a day one starter and help keep Chad Pennington on his feet and throwing.
While watching the draft today I have collected almost two hundred dollars in poker winnings. I'm practicing with a new style of play for me and using a lot more aggression. It has resulted in more winning hands and being in the money in every tournament I've played in so far.
I'm going to keep with it for a while until I can work the bugs out of it. I believe that my tight playing style will benefit me the most in tournaments but the aggressive style will be for when I change playing gears to keep people from getting a read on me. I intentionally brought horrible cards to the river to see that I would stick with junk and that brought me more calls when I had a made hand which resulted in chip leader and in control. It also had a interesting side effect in that more people folded their blinds to me when I had junk cards.
NFL DRAFT DAY!!!!
One of the best days in the NFL starts in a few short hours!
Who trades what pick for what pick, when will X go and who should pick him, and most importantly who blew their pick on X!?
It is a great day even though it rained all day yesterday and looks like it will rain a lot of today because it is great football weather! Yeah I know it is April and that the season is months away but today is a day that makes you crave watching a game! After all of the shifting goes on with the players and seeing what rookies have a huge effect on the team, it is cause for conversations for the next few months!
It is just a great day!
Tonight there is poetry night at the Gaslight Theater where Chris will be reading a couple of his poems and I plan on going to support him. John will be there and maybe I can get some footage of him for the doc project.
Who trades what pick for what pick, when will X go and who should pick him, and most importantly who blew their pick on X!?
It is a great day even though it rained all day yesterday and looks like it will rain a lot of today because it is great football weather! Yeah I know it is April and that the season is months away but today is a day that makes you crave watching a game! After all of the shifting goes on with the players and seeing what rookies have a huge effect on the team, it is cause for conversations for the next few months!
It is just a great day!
Tonight there is poetry night at the Gaslight Theater where Chris will be reading a couple of his poems and I plan on going to support him. John will be there and maybe I can get some footage of him for the doc project.
Friday, April 28, 2006
The Documentary Has Begun
Upon John's return home last night from Korea, I was there with my camera and a fresh tape to capture it. John is my Trekkiesque subject. What do they call Battlestar Galactica Fans like they call Star Trek Fans?
I'm sure by the time this is over with there will be a good term.
I'm excited about this since I actually get to pick up a camera again and get to work.
Going to be a busy weekend, the NFL draft starts tomorrow as well as the Storm season starting tonight. In between those few things I'm going to be filming John with his production.
Should be interesting!
I'm sure by the time this is over with there will be a good term.
I'm excited about this since I actually get to pick up a camera again and get to work.
Going to be a busy weekend, the NFL draft starts tomorrow as well as the Storm season starting tonight. In between those few things I'm going to be filming John with his production.
Should be interesting!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Co-Worker Run Down
For those of you who have spent time on my blog you have probably read a few posts about my job and my co-workers like Mr. Hyde and my adventure with Bub in a much earlier but funny post.
I thought I would give you a rundown of the cast of characters I work with. I'm going to change the names so that I will know who they are and to protect any kind of privacy they have.
So first up is Picky Eater. He is the leadman of our shop. He eats nothing but the following: Ham, Cheese (including Cheetos), Vienna Sausages (including patty sausages and sausage pizza), Hot Dogs, Rib Eyes, Chicken Strips(including chicken wings but ONLY from Hooters), and Pepsi or Coors Light. That is it. Nothing else. No cake, donuts,
foreign foods including Chinese, Mexicanese, Frenchese, Japanese, Canadianese, or anything else that sounds vaguely not from America. He is hard headed and generally complains about being broke about 1-2 days after payday. Picky Eater is a good guy but he has his quirks that most everyone has, they are just specific to him. He will never try anything new.
Next is Inc.
He runs a business from our shop and works his salvage yard/body shop and ALWAYS has a plan to make new career out of something. To give you an idea of what Inc. has thought of lately and by lately I mean the past few weeks there have been such ideas as moving to Branson and buying a hotel to inventing a huge BBQ grill that looks like a (Insert fenders/hood assembly that is available in his salvage yard) and towing it to (X destination to clean up on cooking for people).
Inc. has more ideas than I could count on how to make a living doing something else but amazingly NEVER acts on any of them. His wife is currently about ready to take a course at the local vo-tec for accounting which will soon throw a huge wrench into my life. How so? Here is the story behind that.
His wife has been on workman's comp for about three years now due to a back injury at work. She can't vacuum without it hurting. So w/c is going to pay for her to learn a trade or skill which is good. I'm all for that. The problem comes up when I tell you that she home schools their three daughters and Inc. has his father in law working at his body shop during the day. To hear Inc. talk about him is a hysterical array of stories that could fill a blog in itself. So suffice it to say that Inc. doesn't want his daughters acting like his father in law. So the daughters would be at home alone since wifey isn't home to school them. So Inc. is going to have to exchange places with Captain Insaneo or Gambler Painterette from the night shift which means I will then have to work with one of them on days....sigh....36 years to retirement.
I have written about Captain Insaneo before so I'll skip him and move to Gambler Painterette. She can paint but usually only with a brush, give her a paint gun and it goes to total confusion from there on. She can work hard but those skills are very limited. It isn't like she doesn't have years on the job, she is coming up on about 9 years and her skills are dismal at best. She has zero leave since she calls in every time she has 8 hours to take off. I can't blame her since being around Captain Insaneo would drive me to the same behavior. I know that if she were to change with Inc. to days from nights I would be stuck with twice the work load. She goes to the Indian Casinos every chance she gets to play the abundant amount of slot machines and generally is broke about 3-4 days after payday. I can't fault her for playing the lottery since I am in her lottery pool, we all dream of hitting the jackpot and quitting, however I am realistic enough to believe that I probably should have a retirement account or two just in case we don't. The lottery is Plan A for her.
Next up we have Physical Feature. He picks up one physical feature of everyone he meets and from then on calls them that. For example there is a woman who happens to have a beauty mark, she is henceforth Wart Woman. He comes to our shop every morning to get the latest scandal involving our shop and asks where Picky Eater is since the scandal usually involves him getting in trouble with Mr. Hyde. If Picky Eater isn't around he will ask us if he is pooping and is always concerned about the toilet habits of everyone else for some bizarre reason.
Then we come to the 192 boys. They are the second half of our shop and generally work on the aircraft themselves as a whole instead of the parts like our shop does. There are five of them and we will start with Vainity. He is married to a rich wife and is so anal about everything that he once spent weeks polishing a transmission by hand. He wears a toupee that EVERYONE knows about and yet is surprised when someone notices it. Vanity complains about his wife because she tells him what he has to do with his money which goes to the mortgage, utilities, and insurance. He is allowed a small amount for gas and beer money from each paycheck. She doesn't work and never has and yet there is a pre-nup so he gets NOTHING if he ever divorces her. So he is all kinds of trapped.
Then we have My Life Ended When Vietnam Ended or Bad Temper for short. Bad Temper hasn't been laid for at least three decades. He is always mad and when he isn't mad you just don't know what will make him mad. When he is mad he refuses to talk to you. No kidding. Vanity once tried to set him up on a date with a waitress who actually wanted to go out with Bad Temper and it made him so mad he didn't talk to Vanity for SIX MONTHS!!!! I have nearly gotten into a fist fight with Bad Temper myself. Bad Temper is 6'4 and pushing 280 but he is about 20 years older and I think I could have taken him. What did I do? Well Bad Temper paints very slow and once we were painting a T-38 which is a fairly large aircraft for this base. We divide the aircraft into halves lengthwise. Well he paints so slowly that I was done with my side by the time he was at the wings which means he was getting dry overspray all over my shiny side making it look dull and gritty. So I thought I would help him out and go around the nose of the aircraft and meet him on his side. That really made him furious! He then proceeded to threaten me in which case I proceeded to get up and take it outside before another co-worker stepped between us and broke it up. Bad Temper later apologized and we have been fairly good since other than his extremely bizarre behavior.
There are two normal guys so I won't even mention them. But then there is Bob. he talks with a Mickey Mouse voice and is ALWAYS talking about penis. He is married but everyone feels that he is in the closet. He is in his mid-50's and always has an excuse for why he can't do something: Too hot, too cold, not my job, not my turn (which it is never his turn), too windy, too calm. Ask him to do anything and you will get one of those responses. No one likes Bob. He will never do anything but will be the first one to tell you how to do it since he knows everything. Ask anyone around a question and Bob will be the first to answer it especially if you aren't talking to Bob. He can get a better deal on anything than you got, he knows someone who got a better deal than you and you always spent too much money on practically everything you bought. He will drive across town for gas that is 1 cent cheaper. Being around Bob just plain sucks like it does to be around Mr. Hyde or Captain Insaneo.
Now those are the regulars at my job but I do not exaggerate when I tell you that nearly everyone is like that where I work. There are normal people and we tend to stick together. I know I have my quirks as well and document them all here for everyone to read and laugh at, like the fact that I just typed this huge post with a medicated cat on my lap.
I thought I would give you a rundown of the cast of characters I work with. I'm going to change the names so that I will know who they are and to protect any kind of privacy they have.
So first up is Picky Eater. He is the leadman of our shop. He eats nothing but the following: Ham, Cheese (including Cheetos), Vienna Sausages (including patty sausages and sausage pizza), Hot Dogs, Rib Eyes, Chicken Strips(including chicken wings but ONLY from Hooters), and Pepsi or Coors Light. That is it. Nothing else. No cake, donuts,
foreign foods including Chinese, Mexicanese, Frenchese, Japanese, Canadianese, or anything else that sounds vaguely not from America. He is hard headed and generally complains about being broke about 1-2 days after payday. Picky Eater is a good guy but he has his quirks that most everyone has, they are just specific to him. He will never try anything new.
Next is Inc.
He runs a business from our shop and works his salvage yard/body shop and ALWAYS has a plan to make new career out of something. To give you an idea of what Inc. has thought of lately and by lately I mean the past few weeks there have been such ideas as moving to Branson and buying a hotel to inventing a huge BBQ grill that looks like a (Insert fenders/hood assembly that is available in his salvage yard) and towing it to (X destination to clean up on cooking for people).
Inc. has more ideas than I could count on how to make a living doing something else but amazingly NEVER acts on any of them. His wife is currently about ready to take a course at the local vo-tec for accounting which will soon throw a huge wrench into my life. How so? Here is the story behind that.
His wife has been on workman's comp for about three years now due to a back injury at work. She can't vacuum without it hurting. So w/c is going to pay for her to learn a trade or skill which is good. I'm all for that. The problem comes up when I tell you that she home schools their three daughters and Inc. has his father in law working at his body shop during the day. To hear Inc. talk about him is a hysterical array of stories that could fill a blog in itself. So suffice it to say that Inc. doesn't want his daughters acting like his father in law. So the daughters would be at home alone since wifey isn't home to school them. So Inc. is going to have to exchange places with Captain Insaneo or Gambler Painterette from the night shift which means I will then have to work with one of them on days....sigh....36 years to retirement.
I have written about Captain Insaneo before so I'll skip him and move to Gambler Painterette. She can paint but usually only with a brush, give her a paint gun and it goes to total confusion from there on. She can work hard but those skills are very limited. It isn't like she doesn't have years on the job, she is coming up on about 9 years and her skills are dismal at best. She has zero leave since she calls in every time she has 8 hours to take off. I can't blame her since being around Captain Insaneo would drive me to the same behavior. I know that if she were to change with Inc. to days from nights I would be stuck with twice the work load. She goes to the Indian Casinos every chance she gets to play the abundant amount of slot machines and generally is broke about 3-4 days after payday. I can't fault her for playing the lottery since I am in her lottery pool, we all dream of hitting the jackpot and quitting, however I am realistic enough to believe that I probably should have a retirement account or two just in case we don't. The lottery is Plan A for her.
Next up we have Physical Feature. He picks up one physical feature of everyone he meets and from then on calls them that. For example there is a woman who happens to have a beauty mark, she is henceforth Wart Woman. He comes to our shop every morning to get the latest scandal involving our shop and asks where Picky Eater is since the scandal usually involves him getting in trouble with Mr. Hyde. If Picky Eater isn't around he will ask us if he is pooping and is always concerned about the toilet habits of everyone else for some bizarre reason.
Then we come to the 192 boys. They are the second half of our shop and generally work on the aircraft themselves as a whole instead of the parts like our shop does. There are five of them and we will start with Vainity. He is married to a rich wife and is so anal about everything that he once spent weeks polishing a transmission by hand. He wears a toupee that EVERYONE knows about and yet is surprised when someone notices it. Vanity complains about his wife because she tells him what he has to do with his money which goes to the mortgage, utilities, and insurance. He is allowed a small amount for gas and beer money from each paycheck. She doesn't work and never has and yet there is a pre-nup so he gets NOTHING if he ever divorces her. So he is all kinds of trapped.
Then we have My Life Ended When Vietnam Ended or Bad Temper for short. Bad Temper hasn't been laid for at least three decades. He is always mad and when he isn't mad you just don't know what will make him mad. When he is mad he refuses to talk to you. No kidding. Vanity once tried to set him up on a date with a waitress who actually wanted to go out with Bad Temper and it made him so mad he didn't talk to Vanity for SIX MONTHS!!!! I have nearly gotten into a fist fight with Bad Temper myself. Bad Temper is 6'4 and pushing 280 but he is about 20 years older and I think I could have taken him. What did I do? Well Bad Temper paints very slow and once we were painting a T-38 which is a fairly large aircraft for this base. We divide the aircraft into halves lengthwise. Well he paints so slowly that I was done with my side by the time he was at the wings which means he was getting dry overspray all over my shiny side making it look dull and gritty. So I thought I would help him out and go around the nose of the aircraft and meet him on his side. That really made him furious! He then proceeded to threaten me in which case I proceeded to get up and take it outside before another co-worker stepped between us and broke it up. Bad Temper later apologized and we have been fairly good since other than his extremely bizarre behavior.
There are two normal guys so I won't even mention them. But then there is Bob. he talks with a Mickey Mouse voice and is ALWAYS talking about penis. He is married but everyone feels that he is in the closet. He is in his mid-50's and always has an excuse for why he can't do something: Too hot, too cold, not my job, not my turn (which it is never his turn), too windy, too calm. Ask him to do anything and you will get one of those responses. No one likes Bob. He will never do anything but will be the first one to tell you how to do it since he knows everything. Ask anyone around a question and Bob will be the first to answer it especially if you aren't talking to Bob. He can get a better deal on anything than you got, he knows someone who got a better deal than you and you always spent too much money on practically everything you bought. He will drive across town for gas that is 1 cent cheaper. Being around Bob just plain sucks like it does to be around Mr. Hyde or Captain Insaneo.
Now those are the regulars at my job but I do not exaggerate when I tell you that nearly everyone is like that where I work. There are normal people and we tend to stick together. I know I have my quirks as well and document them all here for everyone to read and laugh at, like the fact that I just typed this huge post with a medicated cat on my lap.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Overnight
On the advice of John, my friend and the Director of the Battlestar Fanfilm I watched Overnight tonight. John told me about it in an email the other night and it just happened to be at the bargain bin of a local store so thinking it was a nice bit of synchronicity I bought it for a few bucks.
John wanted to see it with Chris and I and I can't think of a better documentary for filmmakers to see who are just starting out and I look forward to the three of us sitting down and watching this cautionary tale.
Overnight is the rags to riches to rags story of Troy Duffy, the Writer and Director of The Boondock Saints. Troy Duffy was wrote the script for the film and it caught fire and then it caught the interest of Harvey Weinstein then the owner of Miramax. Harvey bought the script for a million dollars, bought the bar that Duffy worked at as a gift and pulled strings to get Duffy's band a contract.
Now first let me say that Boondock Saints was actually a brilliant indie film and I enjoyed it very much.
However the ego of Troy Duffy killed any chance of any career he might have ever had. He is arrogant and a prick through every single frame of this documentary. Even though the doc seems to tell the story of success going to his head I tend to believe that Troy Duffy was probably just as arrogant and as big a prick when he was a broke nobody. Success had nothing to do with this guy's attitude.
For the sake of any future career I might have, you all have my personal permission to pull me off to the side and tell me I'm being a Duffy if I exhibit any of this behavior. Believe me I'll understand what you are saying and immediately straighten up.
He had a lot of the attitude that I find so repulsive of shows like Project Greenlight. The winning contestant seems to be only content when they are complaining about something not going right and causing a lot of unnecessary drama for themselves and others.
What doesn't get done is what I believe I would do and that is not leave the office until the filming commenced. Then after filming wrapped for the day I'd go back and do what needed to be done to make sure everything ran smoothly the next day. In short I'd make the most of that opportunity by being who I am and that is being a workhorse of a filmmaker while hopefully not developing a Troy Duffy sized ego.
He had it all. He actually felt that he deserved to be where he was because he got lucky and someone liked his script. He continually blamed everyone around him in the harshest of terms when things didn't go the way he wanted them to go and making it very clear that no one deserved anything but he did.
Actually my friends, if you see me acting in this manner please deck me. Remind me that I should be counting my blessings instead of being a self centered moron and that I need to work harder instead of talking louder.
Now I would like to tell you how I am dealing with my creative drought. I resorted to ordering a Creative Hypno CD. Hopefully by listening to this CD something will break lose and my creative streak will start up again and I'll be the writing machine I know I that I am deep down. That the ideas will flow like lube at a Duke Lacrosse party.
John wanted to see it with Chris and I and I can't think of a better documentary for filmmakers to see who are just starting out and I look forward to the three of us sitting down and watching this cautionary tale.
Overnight is the rags to riches to rags story of Troy Duffy, the Writer and Director of The Boondock Saints. Troy Duffy was wrote the script for the film and it caught fire and then it caught the interest of Harvey Weinstein then the owner of Miramax. Harvey bought the script for a million dollars, bought the bar that Duffy worked at as a gift and pulled strings to get Duffy's band a contract.
Now first let me say that Boondock Saints was actually a brilliant indie film and I enjoyed it very much.
However the ego of Troy Duffy killed any chance of any career he might have ever had. He is arrogant and a prick through every single frame of this documentary. Even though the doc seems to tell the story of success going to his head I tend to believe that Troy Duffy was probably just as arrogant and as big a prick when he was a broke nobody. Success had nothing to do with this guy's attitude.
For the sake of any future career I might have, you all have my personal permission to pull me off to the side and tell me I'm being a Duffy if I exhibit any of this behavior. Believe me I'll understand what you are saying and immediately straighten up.
He had a lot of the attitude that I find so repulsive of shows like Project Greenlight. The winning contestant seems to be only content when they are complaining about something not going right and causing a lot of unnecessary drama for themselves and others.
What doesn't get done is what I believe I would do and that is not leave the office until the filming commenced. Then after filming wrapped for the day I'd go back and do what needed to be done to make sure everything ran smoothly the next day. In short I'd make the most of that opportunity by being who I am and that is being a workhorse of a filmmaker while hopefully not developing a Troy Duffy sized ego.
He had it all. He actually felt that he deserved to be where he was because he got lucky and someone liked his script. He continually blamed everyone around him in the harshest of terms when things didn't go the way he wanted them to go and making it very clear that no one deserved anything but he did.
Actually my friends, if you see me acting in this manner please deck me. Remind me that I should be counting my blessings instead of being a self centered moron and that I need to work harder instead of talking louder.
Now I would like to tell you how I am dealing with my creative drought. I resorted to ordering a Creative Hypno CD. Hopefully by listening to this CD something will break lose and my creative streak will start up again and I'll be the writing machine I know I that I am deep down. That the ideas will flow like lube at a Duke Lacrosse party.
Monday, April 24, 2006
A New Documentary
Well here is what is going to happen this week.
Thursday evening I am going to start a new documentary. It is for the fanfilm I posted about earlier. The subject will be the Writer/Director of the fanfilm, John Rogers. Now why would anyone want to do a doc on something like that?
Well first of all John asked me to capture the behind the scenes footage for an eventual DVD of the film.
Second John is a Battlestar Fanatic and I find that level of commitment to a show really interesting. I mean I have never lived in a town where I could see a real life Trekkie before so John is about as close as I can get....well to a real life Trekkie.
Third I love documentaries. They offer a glimpse of the life of someone or a subject that is interesting to the Director and they feel others would appreciate as well.
Fourth I need a project and this one starts Thursday with John's arrival back to town from his tour of duty in Korea. He assembled a whole team to work on this fanfilm from Korea and that is impressive.
Most important this is a chance to finish a great series that never had the send off it deserved as John would say. This is something many have dreamed of for years and in the universe of fanfilms this should be one of the best out of any genre!
I am looking forward to this and more importantly I am looking forward to being a part of something that the Scifi fans will enjoy watching as I document my friend and his struggle to get this fanfilm made!
Thursday evening I am going to start a new documentary. It is for the fanfilm I posted about earlier. The subject will be the Writer/Director of the fanfilm, John Rogers. Now why would anyone want to do a doc on something like that?
Well first of all John asked me to capture the behind the scenes footage for an eventual DVD of the film.
Second John is a Battlestar Fanatic and I find that level of commitment to a show really interesting. I mean I have never lived in a town where I could see a real life Trekkie before so John is about as close as I can get....well to a real life Trekkie.
Third I love documentaries. They offer a glimpse of the life of someone or a subject that is interesting to the Director and they feel others would appreciate as well.
Fourth I need a project and this one starts Thursday with John's arrival back to town from his tour of duty in Korea. He assembled a whole team to work on this fanfilm from Korea and that is impressive.
Most important this is a chance to finish a great series that never had the send off it deserved as John would say. This is something many have dreamed of for years and in the universe of fanfilms this should be one of the best out of any genre!
I am looking forward to this and more importantly I am looking forward to being a part of something that the Scifi fans will enjoy watching as I document my friend and his struggle to get this fanfilm made!
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Yesterday Was A Good Day
First of all I had like three phone calls out of the blue from people I had been waiting to hear from.
That was nice.
One of the calls was from Chris who said that we could finally get together and talk his script over, so we met about a half hour later, scripts in hand to discuss. I think we have a tenative timeline for production and went over the potential problems for now. Of course you really don't know what problems you are going to encounter until production is in full swing but you can try to anticipate them and do your best to plan for the unexpected.
So after a couple of hours of talking I think we have a decent handle on his project. Shooting for now is scheduled to begin in the Fall while auditions, rehearsals, etc. will begin about eight weeks earlier.
So now, with a cat in my lap, I am writing to tell you that I watched most of season 2 of Lost yesterday. What a great show! When you are able to watch a show like Lost back to back to back it makes it that much better. Lost is mostly a continuity show like 24 and benefits from marathon viewing.
Lost has gotten better. The first season was incredible and had me watching until I couldn't stay up anymore even though I wanted to see what was going to happen next. The second was so much better than the first and expanded without explaining too much.
I believe there are only a handful of episodes left this season so it won't be long until the DVD set is out which I'll jump on that day!
Next weekend is going to be pretty busy with the NFL Draft, the return of John from the Battlestar Galactica Fanfilm that I will be working on very soon, and just general weekend activities.
I believe that the twenty extra copies of Locker will be finished early this week and I'll be sending them out to more potential distrubutors.
That was nice.
One of the calls was from Chris who said that we could finally get together and talk his script over, so we met about a half hour later, scripts in hand to discuss. I think we have a tenative timeline for production and went over the potential problems for now. Of course you really don't know what problems you are going to encounter until production is in full swing but you can try to anticipate them and do your best to plan for the unexpected.
So after a couple of hours of talking I think we have a decent handle on his project. Shooting for now is scheduled to begin in the Fall while auditions, rehearsals, etc. will begin about eight weeks earlier.
So now, with a cat in my lap, I am writing to tell you that I watched most of season 2 of Lost yesterday. What a great show! When you are able to watch a show like Lost back to back to back it makes it that much better. Lost is mostly a continuity show like 24 and benefits from marathon viewing.
Lost has gotten better. The first season was incredible and had me watching until I couldn't stay up anymore even though I wanted to see what was going to happen next. The second was so much better than the first and expanded without explaining too much.
I believe there are only a handful of episodes left this season so it won't be long until the DVD set is out which I'll jump on that day!
Next weekend is going to be pretty busy with the NFL Draft, the return of John from the Battlestar Galactica Fanfilm that I will be working on very soon, and just general weekend activities.
I believe that the twenty extra copies of Locker will be finished early this week and I'll be sending them out to more potential distrubutors.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
I Had A Great Post In Mind
But I forgot it.
I had it all worked out and it was a good one. I should have written notes down when I was thinking about it.
So since I can't remember it I'll just recap what happened yesterday.
The aircraft that was completely messed up caused a ruckus with Mr. Hyde. Apparently he told the night shift supervisor that he had pulled off part of the Gerbermask and that the paint was dry.
The night shift supervisor never checked to see that Mr. Hyde was lying to him or not. Of course it was a lie since I pulled off all of the Gerbermask myself and none of it was missing nor were there any fingerprints IN THE WET STICKY BLACK PAINT!!!!
So displinary action was threatened against us since the numbers were screwed up AS WE SAID THEY WERE GOING TO BE!!!!
Mr. Hyde was stressed out to the point that he had to go home after lunch. Hopefully he quits.
I decided to stop off at Winner's after work and get a drink. They gave me the bad news that the hotel they are in is closing out the bar and making it an apartment for the management. So Winner's is moving to a out of the way location. So there will be no more stopping off after work for a nice drink with friends.
Well there could be but it is just out of the way and I doubt that everyone would go now.
So I was pretty bummed out about that. So I had another drink and said goodbye to a bad week and hopefully a bad supervisor.
I doubt that will happen though but a guy can dream can't he?
"Surprise guys, Mr. Hyde quit! You can do the happy dance now!"
All of a sudden the days might be brighter, the birds might sing louder, and the grass greener.
Now for the final bit of news in my world, this is link to the final trailer with an added behind the scenes look at the production.
Link
So that wraps up this week my friends and if I remember what I was going to write before I'll be sure to post it!!!!
I had it all worked out and it was a good one. I should have written notes down when I was thinking about it.
So since I can't remember it I'll just recap what happened yesterday.
The aircraft that was completely messed up caused a ruckus with Mr. Hyde. Apparently he told the night shift supervisor that he had pulled off part of the Gerbermask and that the paint was dry.
The night shift supervisor never checked to see that Mr. Hyde was lying to him or not. Of course it was a lie since I pulled off all of the Gerbermask myself and none of it was missing nor were there any fingerprints IN THE WET STICKY BLACK PAINT!!!!
So displinary action was threatened against us since the numbers were screwed up AS WE SAID THEY WERE GOING TO BE!!!!
Mr. Hyde was stressed out to the point that he had to go home after lunch. Hopefully he quits.
I decided to stop off at Winner's after work and get a drink. They gave me the bad news that the hotel they are in is closing out the bar and making it an apartment for the management. So Winner's is moving to a out of the way location. So there will be no more stopping off after work for a nice drink with friends.
Well there could be but it is just out of the way and I doubt that everyone would go now.
So I was pretty bummed out about that. So I had another drink and said goodbye to a bad week and hopefully a bad supervisor.
I doubt that will happen though but a guy can dream can't he?
"Surprise guys, Mr. Hyde quit! You can do the happy dance now!"
All of a sudden the days might be brighter, the birds might sing louder, and the grass greener.
Now for the final bit of news in my world, this is link to the final trailer with an added behind the scenes look at the production.
Link
So that wraps up this week my friends and if I remember what I was going to write before I'll be sure to post it!!!!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
The Stupidity Was At An All Time High Today
Yes my friends it is sad but true.
Just when I thought my job couldn't get any less fulfilling it finds a way to surprise me and kicks me in the groin.
The flagship aircraft I wrote about a short time ago was part of it and here is why. When a new flagship is declared the old one has to be changed back. No big deal right? Well you would think that but we have Mr. Hyde as our supervisor and that makes a world of difference.
We changed the tail to reflect the regular tail numbers and took off the flagship tail flash. To do this the old flash has to be sanded off and repainted. Not a problem so far until we had to put the old numbers back on the jet.
Normally this is a very easy job and it was going very smoothly. We use what is called Gerbermask to mask off the areas we don't want painted. We use a computer to cut the new tail numbers out on the Gerbermask by way of a plotter that has a tiny knife on it. We take the newly cut tail numbers and then can put the complete number on the jet and then peel out the numbers revealing the new paint. We then mask up the whole area that was painted and the only thing that is left is the numbers that we put fresh paint on.
All in all a easy and simple process that we have done for years. Amazingly we know what we are doing.
So after the second coat of black paint....precisely two hours after the second coat that is, Mr. Hyde wants the jet demasked and ready to roll. We explain that the paint is fresh and wet and will cause a huge mess if it is touched.
That doesn't matter to him.
So I don't argue at all and do the best I can despite the diaster that I know will happen. I begin to peel off the Gerbermask and get fresh black paint all over my fingers. The Gerbermask is stretchy and of course covered in fresh black paint so it is quite a process. What happens is when a piece is peeled off it stretches and snaps and usually lands on either the freshly painted numbers to leave a sticky piece of masking material on a sticky number which leaves a huge mess of the numbers.
Now combined with all of my fingerprints that were left on the surface it was a huge mess.
I took a rag and some acetone and tried to wash off all of the fresh paint which didn't help the fresh gray paint much but it looked a little better.
None of that mattered to Mr. Hyde but here is one thing I do know, that jet will be setting in the exact same spot tomorrow morning.
In short there was no reason to do what we did other than Mr. Hyde is a MORON!!!!
The night shift could have done what we did in about 10 minutes and not have had any problems since the paint would have been dry by say 10 PM tonight.
Yeah....36 more years to retirement.
Just when I thought my job couldn't get any less fulfilling it finds a way to surprise me and kicks me in the groin.
The flagship aircraft I wrote about a short time ago was part of it and here is why. When a new flagship is declared the old one has to be changed back. No big deal right? Well you would think that but we have Mr. Hyde as our supervisor and that makes a world of difference.
We changed the tail to reflect the regular tail numbers and took off the flagship tail flash. To do this the old flash has to be sanded off and repainted. Not a problem so far until we had to put the old numbers back on the jet.
Normally this is a very easy job and it was going very smoothly. We use what is called Gerbermask to mask off the areas we don't want painted. We use a computer to cut the new tail numbers out on the Gerbermask by way of a plotter that has a tiny knife on it. We take the newly cut tail numbers and then can put the complete number on the jet and then peel out the numbers revealing the new paint. We then mask up the whole area that was painted and the only thing that is left is the numbers that we put fresh paint on.
All in all a easy and simple process that we have done for years. Amazingly we know what we are doing.
So after the second coat of black paint....precisely two hours after the second coat that is, Mr. Hyde wants the jet demasked and ready to roll. We explain that the paint is fresh and wet and will cause a huge mess if it is touched.
That doesn't matter to him.
So I don't argue at all and do the best I can despite the diaster that I know will happen. I begin to peel off the Gerbermask and get fresh black paint all over my fingers. The Gerbermask is stretchy and of course covered in fresh black paint so it is quite a process. What happens is when a piece is peeled off it stretches and snaps and usually lands on either the freshly painted numbers to leave a sticky piece of masking material on a sticky number which leaves a huge mess of the numbers.
Now combined with all of my fingerprints that were left on the surface it was a huge mess.
I took a rag and some acetone and tried to wash off all of the fresh paint which didn't help the fresh gray paint much but it looked a little better.
None of that mattered to Mr. Hyde but here is one thing I do know, that jet will be setting in the exact same spot tomorrow morning.
In short there was no reason to do what we did other than Mr. Hyde is a MORON!!!!
The night shift could have done what we did in about 10 minutes and not have had any problems since the paint would have been dry by say 10 PM tonight.
Yeah....36 more years to retirement.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Fan Film Trailer Posted!
Here is the link for the trailer of the fan film I will be working on in the near future.
Link
It is impressive to say the least! Very professional and this is just the start of it!
The Director has asked me to shoot some of the scenes and a behind the scenes documentary that shows exactly what will be going into the making of this fan film.
Link
It is impressive to say the least! Very professional and this is just the start of it!
The Director has asked me to shoot some of the scenes and a behind the scenes documentary that shows exactly what will be going into the making of this fan film.
Hostel: Torture Porn
I decided to watch Hostel today. I have heard a lot about it but from the get go I had a strong hunch it wasn't a scary movie.
Hostel is a feeble attempt to substitute gore for tension. A common trend for today's indie horror filmmakers. There is no substitute for genuine tension filled horror.
Sadly it just doesn't exist anymore. This is an era of shoddy remakes and half baked ideas and it is a waste of film.
Hostel is a sad fantasy about what it would be like to torture a person to death. I admit that the premise is indeed tension packed if you were the victim however this just didn't hit the mark for me. It just turned into essentially a torture porn movie.
I know that Eli Roth can probably do better. With his talent and resources I just feel that it wouldn't be hard to write a little bit of tension into his scripts. I don't see any reason why Roth couldn't direct the next Psycho. No not ANOTHER remake, another movie that has the tension and long lasting value of Hitchcock's original.
Well unless Mr. Roth would like to step aside and let me do it....
Hostel is a feeble attempt to substitute gore for tension. A common trend for today's indie horror filmmakers. There is no substitute for genuine tension filled horror.
Sadly it just doesn't exist anymore. This is an era of shoddy remakes and half baked ideas and it is a waste of film.
Hostel is a sad fantasy about what it would be like to torture a person to death. I admit that the premise is indeed tension packed if you were the victim however this just didn't hit the mark for me. It just turned into essentially a torture porn movie.
I know that Eli Roth can probably do better. With his talent and resources I just feel that it wouldn't be hard to write a little bit of tension into his scripts. I don't see any reason why Roth couldn't direct the next Psycho. No not ANOTHER remake, another movie that has the tension and long lasting value of Hitchcock's original.
Well unless Mr. Roth would like to step aside and let me do it....
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
A Perfect Show
Lately I have been watching The Bob Newhart Show on DVD. I have seen this show when I was a kid as well as many others such as Gilligan's Island, Leave it to Beaver, Dick Van Dyke, of course Andy Griffith, Mary Tyler Moore, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, Ozzie and Harriet, well you get the idea.
It really strikes me that these shows could probably run today and be a moderate success. In the age where insults trump jokes on TV or harsh language is found to be funny to a point, these shows are a testament to good writing and acting.
They are frequently criticised for being to unrealistic now. Never dealing with actual problems such as "Ward, Beaver blew up the Dairy Queen again!", "I'll have a talk with him Honey."
Those are really unfair criticisms since they forget that these shows are NOT REAL LIFE. They are TV and while at one time they may have reflected some people's lives, any maybe still do to a small degree, they are fantasy. They are very enjoyable though and to me show a life I think most people would like to live.
I'm having twenty more copies of Locker made right now to send to distributors and friends.
I know that it has a lot of problems but that if they are interested in it then they can buy the rights and remake it if they wish.
It was written to be made quickly and cheaply and in my very humble and worthless opinion is a better movie than Open Water. With a better writer to add about twenty pages to it it could have potential to be a nice small indie film people would want to see.
Now keep in mind this is coming from the person who has seen this movie and all of its clips about a thousand times and knows every technical problem it has.
Fault me all you wish but please don't fault my actors. They had a very difficult time dealing with the cold while delivering their lines.
It really strikes me that these shows could probably run today and be a moderate success. In the age where insults trump jokes on TV or harsh language is found to be funny to a point, these shows are a testament to good writing and acting.
They are frequently criticised for being to unrealistic now. Never dealing with actual problems such as "Ward, Beaver blew up the Dairy Queen again!", "I'll have a talk with him Honey."
Those are really unfair criticisms since they forget that these shows are NOT REAL LIFE. They are TV and while at one time they may have reflected some people's lives, any maybe still do to a small degree, they are fantasy. They are very enjoyable though and to me show a life I think most people would like to live.
I'm having twenty more copies of Locker made right now to send to distributors and friends.
I know that it has a lot of problems but that if they are interested in it then they can buy the rights and remake it if they wish.
It was written to be made quickly and cheaply and in my very humble and worthless opinion is a better movie than Open Water. With a better writer to add about twenty pages to it it could have potential to be a nice small indie film people would want to see.
Now keep in mind this is coming from the person who has seen this movie and all of its clips about a thousand times and knows every technical problem it has.
Fault me all you wish but please don't fault my actors. They had a very difficult time dealing with the cold while delivering their lines.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
So NoTORIous So Funny!!!!
I confess to have never seen 90210 so I honestly had no idea who Tori Spelling was other than being the daughter of Aaron Spelling who got her the job on 90210.
So there I am watching VH1 after the Sopranos was over since there was little else on and I was trying to put off my writing responsibility.
This show is a brilliant, witty self parody. It is simply amazing in its brand of comedy.
I understand that my brand of comedy isn't usually what everyone enjoys so this show may not be for everyone. It isn't exactly slapstick but it isn't high brow uber comedy either. Comedy is pretty tough to write and rquires a outstanding sense of timing. I can honestly say that editors would probably make the best comedians....or at least make a unfunny comedian funny through the magic of film.
It is smart, self depreciating, and really skewers her presumed lifestyle.
Not only that but she looks kind of hot after all of the work.
NoTORIous fits right in with the celeb-reality block on VH1 since my fascination with has been celebs shows no signs of ebbing and the new season of The Surreal Life is humming right along with its dip into the has been pool.
What can you say about The Surreal Life? Wow, who is the sane one here? I'd probably have to go with Sherman Hemsley or Steve Harwell who was....is....the lead singer for Smashmouth. Remember them? Yeah me neither.
So there I am watching VH1 after the Sopranos was over since there was little else on and I was trying to put off my writing responsibility.
This show is a brilliant, witty self parody. It is simply amazing in its brand of comedy.
I understand that my brand of comedy isn't usually what everyone enjoys so this show may not be for everyone. It isn't exactly slapstick but it isn't high brow uber comedy either. Comedy is pretty tough to write and rquires a outstanding sense of timing. I can honestly say that editors would probably make the best comedians....or at least make a unfunny comedian funny through the magic of film.
It is smart, self depreciating, and really skewers her presumed lifestyle.
Not only that but she looks kind of hot after all of the work.
NoTORIous fits right in with the celeb-reality block on VH1 since my fascination with has been celebs shows no signs of ebbing and the new season of The Surreal Life is humming right along with its dip into the has been pool.
What can you say about The Surreal Life? Wow, who is the sane one here? I'd probably have to go with Sherman Hemsley or Steve Harwell who was....is....the lead singer for Smashmouth. Remember them? Yeah me neither.
Woke Up This Morning And Got Shocked!!!!
Now anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy Coast to Coast AM.
The late night conspiracy radio show that Art Bell used to host and now only does so on the weekends after a series of retirements from radio.
I have gigs of shows in the archive and have been a fan of Art since the Hale-Bopp days, that was years ago my friends.
So recently Ramona Bell, Art's wife of about fifteen years died recently from a asthma attack while they were vacationing about four months ago I believe.
The past few weeks Art has been off the air on the weekends and last night he explained why. He married a 24 year old girl from the Philippines and is now moving there. Well for at least a year he says. He plans on doing his show from Manilla now on the weekends and is selling his house if the right offer comes his way.
Now you might have a knee jerk reaction of a 60 year old man hooks up with a 24 year old girl after the very recent death of his wife is just creepy.
Upon further review I would say "Good for you Art!" I read one time that when a great marriage is broken by death it is not uncommon for the surviving partner to remarry quickly. That partner has come to depend on the good feelings that they are now missing and had for so long.
I can understand how overwhelming lonliness can drive a person to rash decisions and this might be exactly what has happened but it might not be that at all. He might be genuinely happy now with his new wife.
I hope he is.
The late night conspiracy radio show that Art Bell used to host and now only does so on the weekends after a series of retirements from radio.
I have gigs of shows in the archive and have been a fan of Art since the Hale-Bopp days, that was years ago my friends.
So recently Ramona Bell, Art's wife of about fifteen years died recently from a asthma attack while they were vacationing about four months ago I believe.
The past few weeks Art has been off the air on the weekends and last night he explained why. He married a 24 year old girl from the Philippines and is now moving there. Well for at least a year he says. He plans on doing his show from Manilla now on the weekends and is selling his house if the right offer comes his way.
Now you might have a knee jerk reaction of a 60 year old man hooks up with a 24 year old girl after the very recent death of his wife is just creepy.
Upon further review I would say "Good for you Art!" I read one time that when a great marriage is broken by death it is not uncommon for the surviving partner to remarry quickly. That partner has come to depend on the good feelings that they are now missing and had for so long.
I can understand how overwhelming lonliness can drive a person to rash decisions and this might be exactly what has happened but it might not be that at all. He might be genuinely happy now with his new wife.
I hope he is.
Friday, April 14, 2006
A Rough Week
Yes my friends I am beat.
Things started to go bad when we got the new flagship in the paint hanger to topcoat. Which means to put a brand new paint job on it to make it look all nice and shiny.
After management decided it was in a huge rush....YESTERDAY things started to go wrong of course.
Everything was going smoothly until that point, everything was on schedule and running fine but NO, we can't have that.
We have to have Mr. Hyde running things and micro managing everything so it goes right, since we don't know how to do anything unless he tells us what to do.
Amazing how we go though all these years without him.
So what happens?
Mr. Hyde runs this flagship topcoat, very hands on, and the controls don't balance which means they are too heavy to work on the aircraft. Well DUH!!!! When we don't have the proper amount of time to sand all of the old paint off that is what happens!!!!
Imagine that!!!!
That is just one of the few things that has gone wrong with this job.
So yes, there I am with all of the monkeys with their laser pointers aimed at me while I am trying to be serious.
So this evening at 3:45 I am informed that this control that will not work no matter what has to be repainted!!!! I clock out at 4:15.
I am very upset since I had plans to have a drink with a couple of people after work and now I am going to be working instead of drinking.
What is a guy to do? Well I bite the bullet and do what needs to be done as efficiently as I can since I have to get a certain amount done before leaving. I manage to do a four hour job in just over a hour and a half because I am the best aircraft painter in the world.
So I finish up and clock out. Head to the local watering hole and find that my friends are there waiting on me!!!!
It is nice to have friends after a rough week:)
Things started to go bad when we got the new flagship in the paint hanger to topcoat. Which means to put a brand new paint job on it to make it look all nice and shiny.
After management decided it was in a huge rush....YESTERDAY things started to go wrong of course.
Everything was going smoothly until that point, everything was on schedule and running fine but NO, we can't have that.
We have to have Mr. Hyde running things and micro managing everything so it goes right, since we don't know how to do anything unless he tells us what to do.
Amazing how we go though all these years without him.
So what happens?
Mr. Hyde runs this flagship topcoat, very hands on, and the controls don't balance which means they are too heavy to work on the aircraft. Well DUH!!!! When we don't have the proper amount of time to sand all of the old paint off that is what happens!!!!
Imagine that!!!!
That is just one of the few things that has gone wrong with this job.
So yes, there I am with all of the monkeys with their laser pointers aimed at me while I am trying to be serious.
So this evening at 3:45 I am informed that this control that will not work no matter what has to be repainted!!!! I clock out at 4:15.
I am very upset since I had plans to have a drink with a couple of people after work and now I am going to be working instead of drinking.
What is a guy to do? Well I bite the bullet and do what needs to be done as efficiently as I can since I have to get a certain amount done before leaving. I manage to do a four hour job in just over a hour and a half because I am the best aircraft painter in the world.
So I finish up and clock out. Head to the local watering hole and find that my friends are there waiting on me!!!!
It is nice to have friends after a rough week:)
Thursday, April 13, 2006
If Cats Could Drool
My cat would have been. I took her to the vet yesterday because she was having a flare up of a bladder inflamation.
The vet gave me two weeks worth of pills to give her but he said for the first couple of days she would be drowsy after each pill.
He wasn't kidding! She looked like a stoner. She wasn't asleep but her eyes were half open as she was sprawled out on the back of the couch. She would look at things around her and stare. I had to check her breathing a couple of times and then she would just kind of look at me....and stare. Her eyes never really changed, it was really funny.
I kept anticipating having to take a napkin to her mouth to take care of the drool.
This morning she is herself again but tonight she is going on another drug induced trip.
Oh yeah, Mr. Hyde is worse than ever....still! We have heard from his former immediate supervisor that he believes his actions will get him a faster promotion, we believe his actions will get him unemployed:)
The vet gave me two weeks worth of pills to give her but he said for the first couple of days she would be drowsy after each pill.
He wasn't kidding! She looked like a stoner. She wasn't asleep but her eyes were half open as she was sprawled out on the back of the couch. She would look at things around her and stare. I had to check her breathing a couple of times and then she would just kind of look at me....and stare. Her eyes never really changed, it was really funny.
I kept anticipating having to take a napkin to her mouth to take care of the drool.
This morning she is herself again but tonight she is going on another drug induced trip.
Oh yeah, Mr. Hyde is worse than ever....still! We have heard from his former immediate supervisor that he believes his actions will get him a faster promotion, we believe his actions will get him unemployed:)
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Soprano's: Getting Better
Yes it is another Soprano's post so I know some of you will tune out until you are able to see the show. Catch you all next post:)
The gay mobster....hum....well....I don't know exactly how to post about something so silly. The show is getting much better. You could tell that they had a Godfather theme going on this past episode with the huge wedding used as the stage for all of the background plotlines.
We knew that the guy liked guys but seeing Vito all dressed up and in a hardcore gay biker's bar was just hilarious and really took me out of the storyline. By the season's end he will probably be no more. My prediction is that Chris will probably be gone too. He seems to have a knack for pushing T's buttons a bit too much because of his relation to Carm. Paulie is just flat out crazy now while Sil seems to be taking a backseat to T's return to the big seat. It doesn't seem to bother him too much but he was enjoying his brief taste of power quite a bit. I'm sure he will soon be missing it.
Med is still a hottie.
Chris and I are supposed to meet tonight to kick around his script a bit and talk things over and start the planning stages.
Work was work....I just have to keep telling myself, "36 more years to retirement!"
Yeah, 36 more years......sigh......
The gay mobster....hum....well....I don't know exactly how to post about something so silly. The show is getting much better. You could tell that they had a Godfather theme going on this past episode with the huge wedding used as the stage for all of the background plotlines.
We knew that the guy liked guys but seeing Vito all dressed up and in a hardcore gay biker's bar was just hilarious and really took me out of the storyline. By the season's end he will probably be no more. My prediction is that Chris will probably be gone too. He seems to have a knack for pushing T's buttons a bit too much because of his relation to Carm. Paulie is just flat out crazy now while Sil seems to be taking a backseat to T's return to the big seat. It doesn't seem to bother him too much but he was enjoying his brief taste of power quite a bit. I'm sure he will soon be missing it.
Med is still a hottie.
Chris and I are supposed to meet tonight to kick around his script a bit and talk things over and start the planning stages.
Work was work....I just have to keep telling myself, "36 more years to retirement!"
Yeah, 36 more years......sigh......
Monday, April 10, 2006
Some Writing Accomplished!
However the story just doesn't have a direction yet.
Well it has a direction but not one I really like.
I am writing and writing and writing so hopefully something will break lose creatively and then it will become clear to me. But until then I am going to keep muddling through and something is bound to happen.
It isn't like I'm not trying afterall. I am reading a ton of books which really helps if you want to write. Well it helps me anyway.
I do feel that I have to write around my filmmaking limitations though. If it is a huge special effect I have to write around it. If it has a massive cast, well I have to whittle it down to a size that I feel that can be realistically cast.
If I were in an area of the country where the actors were as plentiful as telemarketers then it wouldn't be a problem. I feel that I might be focusing on my limitations too much though. I know I can shoot green screen and have seen some amazing things done with no money and just hard work. My stories just aren't that spectacular right now though.
I feel I could do something as complex as Primer with a quarter of the budget they had. I just don't have the words in me right now to do something I feel would be good enough to shoot.
Does that make sense?
I am too hard on myself when I write and criticize my writing so much it barely gets written.
But I'm trying to get my horrible writing to the world! I'm trying real hard!
Well it has a direction but not one I really like.
I am writing and writing and writing so hopefully something will break lose creatively and then it will become clear to me. But until then I am going to keep muddling through and something is bound to happen.
It isn't like I'm not trying afterall. I am reading a ton of books which really helps if you want to write. Well it helps me anyway.
I do feel that I have to write around my filmmaking limitations though. If it is a huge special effect I have to write around it. If it has a massive cast, well I have to whittle it down to a size that I feel that can be realistically cast.
If I were in an area of the country where the actors were as plentiful as telemarketers then it wouldn't be a problem. I feel that I might be focusing on my limitations too much though. I know I can shoot green screen and have seen some amazing things done with no money and just hard work. My stories just aren't that spectacular right now though.
I feel I could do something as complex as Primer with a quarter of the budget they had. I just don't have the words in me right now to do something I feel would be good enough to shoot.
Does that make sense?
I am too hard on myself when I write and criticize my writing so much it barely gets written.
But I'm trying to get my horrible writing to the world! I'm trying real hard!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Requiem For A Synchronicity!
I had recently mentioned Requiem for a Dream in a post a few days ago as being the most brutal movie I have ever seen.
Well it so happens that tonight on IFC.
After being asked via email a couple of times why this movie is the most brutal I have ever seen I thought I would explain it.
Requiem for a Dream is a movie about broken dreams set in a very stark Coney Island. It details how addictions come to rule your life and ultimately destroy you. Not just physically but mentally and emotionally as happens to every character in this film. The haunting soundtrack sets the mood and is perfect for how they keep expecting things to turn around at any time while going deeper and deeper into despair and wreckage.
This is an amazing movie but you have to be prepared to watch it. You will feel sick by the time it is over. The acting is incredible and you will feel for the characters. You want to help them. You want to take Marion and hold her and tell her it is going to be alright and you feel powerless as she descends into her final destination as an emotional derelict.
You want to take Tyrone and Harry and tell them that the future is going to be fine and feel hurt as they continue to abuse themselves and spin out of control.
You feel for Sara as she starts by wanting to lose a few pounds to be a guest on her favorite TV show and drifts from sanity.
Be careful if you watch Requiem for a Dream, it will shatter you.
Well it so happens that tonight on IFC.
After being asked via email a couple of times why this movie is the most brutal I have ever seen I thought I would explain it.
Requiem for a Dream is a movie about broken dreams set in a very stark Coney Island. It details how addictions come to rule your life and ultimately destroy you. Not just physically but mentally and emotionally as happens to every character in this film. The haunting soundtrack sets the mood and is perfect for how they keep expecting things to turn around at any time while going deeper and deeper into despair and wreckage.
This is an amazing movie but you have to be prepared to watch it. You will feel sick by the time it is over. The acting is incredible and you will feel for the characters. You want to help them. You want to take Marion and hold her and tell her it is going to be alright and you feel powerless as she descends into her final destination as an emotional derelict.
You want to take Tyrone and Harry and tell them that the future is going to be fine and feel hurt as they continue to abuse themselves and spin out of control.
You feel for Sara as she starts by wanting to lose a few pounds to be a guest on her favorite TV show and drifts from sanity.
Be careful if you watch Requiem for a Dream, it will shatter you.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Twist To My Robbery!
You all know about how the robber broke out my sliding glass door and how I had to replace it right?
Well it cost $171.00 total, installed. Below my $250.00 deductable so it was out of my pocket. Well here is what has happened the past week. As I wrote in a earlier post I took second place in the March Madness bracket at work which paid me $85.00.
Now a friend at work comes up to me with a printed piece of paper that had my name on it for a unclaimed property refund. The paper only has less than $100.00 or more than $100.00 on it and does not give exact amounts.
Mine was in excess of $100.00! So I contacted the state office and they sent me the form to fill out and send back to claim my unclaimed property refund!
Between the two my door should be paid for! What a great little twist to this story!
Well it cost $171.00 total, installed. Below my $250.00 deductable so it was out of my pocket. Well here is what has happened the past week. As I wrote in a earlier post I took second place in the March Madness bracket at work which paid me $85.00.
Now a friend at work comes up to me with a printed piece of paper that had my name on it for a unclaimed property refund. The paper only has less than $100.00 or more than $100.00 on it and does not give exact amounts.
Mine was in excess of $100.00! So I contacted the state office and they sent me the form to fill out and send back to claim my unclaimed property refund!
Between the two my door should be paid for! What a great little twist to this story!
Slade And Filmmaking
One of my favorite authors is Michael Slade. Slade is the pen name for what used to be several writers and now is Jay and Rebecca Clarke.
They write horror police procedurals with a twist. Their main characters are the RCMP. Yeppers!
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Slade's books are packed with history and information that offer the backstory for the modern crime. They have a very horror style about them as they deal with serial killers and a branch of the RCMP called Special X. When there is a strange killing Special X are called in to hunt them down.
What is very cool about Slade is his site which has a message board where you can post and where Slade himself and herself (Pink Slade) are very active and engaging or often driving the conversations.
There should be more interactivity like this between the people and those who drive the medium. Kevin Smith is active on his board and site for example.
What you will probably never see is Tom Cruise for example doing this. Why? Other than he has gone all psychotic lately, he realistically probably just doesn't care to be engaged with his fans.
I mention Tom Cruise but you could replace his name with practically anyone else at this point. There just isn't many people out there who want to stay interactive with their fans.
I don't understand why though. Someone has to buy whatever product you are selling so it really should not be a big deal to keep in touch with their fans through such an incredible technology.
Someday if I ever am fortunate enough to have a fan or two believe me that I will be grateful for them and would do my best to keep in touch with them on something simple like a message board.
They write horror police procedurals with a twist. Their main characters are the RCMP. Yeppers!
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Slade's books are packed with history and information that offer the backstory for the modern crime. They have a very horror style about them as they deal with serial killers and a branch of the RCMP called Special X. When there is a strange killing Special X are called in to hunt them down.
What is very cool about Slade is his site which has a message board where you can post and where Slade himself and herself (Pink Slade) are very active and engaging or often driving the conversations.
There should be more interactivity like this between the people and those who drive the medium. Kevin Smith is active on his board and site for example.
What you will probably never see is Tom Cruise for example doing this. Why? Other than he has gone all psychotic lately, he realistically probably just doesn't care to be engaged with his fans.
I mention Tom Cruise but you could replace his name with practically anyone else at this point. There just isn't many people out there who want to stay interactive with their fans.
I don't understand why though. Someone has to buy whatever product you are selling so it really should not be a big deal to keep in touch with their fans through such an incredible technology.
Someday if I ever am fortunate enough to have a fan or two believe me that I will be grateful for them and would do my best to keep in touch with them on something simple like a message board.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Friday Night After A Difficult Week
Well not difficult just frustrating.
What do you do after you have visited the police station three times and given them everything they need to pick up the guy who has robbed you and the guy is still down the street from you?
Well if you are me you want to take the law into your own hands. But I haven't.
I'm really surprised that I haven't. Maybe it is a sign of growing up or maturation?
I don't know. I know I'm still as mad as I was then but so far it hasn't served me in a helpful manner.
When I was younger and more confrontational there is little doubt where I would have been that evening that I found out who it was.
What I do know is that I have my equipment back and am in the middle of reading Chris's script and getting a feel for how he wants it shot. It will be the longest film yet and easily the most challenging.
I have sent out most of the copies of Locker and still have a few reserved for other friends.
At work Mr. Hyde is back and as insane as ever. Mr. Hyde is my nickname for my supervisor. He is the subject of several posts and a few months ago he seemed to have been less hyper, listened more, and tried to let people who have done the exact same boring, life grinding jobs for more years than they care to remember do their jobs.
Keep in mind we are union and don't really do much more than we have to. Over the years we have figured out the easiest and fastest way to do our jobs to maximize the amount of free time while on the clock.
It is safe to say we know how to do what we have done for years. Mr. Hyde believes he can improve upon what has been time tested and deemed a classic way of "working". He does this by irritating everyone around him and by micromanaging and then threatening disciplinary action when other things aren't finished, the very tasks that were originally being worked upon and he pulled said workers off of those tasks to do some task of less importance.
Well for a while Dr. Jeckyll was at work. He seemed to be fairly easy going and trusting that whatever needed to get done was done in a efficient amount of time.
Then Mr. Hyde decided to come back and has wrought havoc this past week. A full blown yelling and insane Mr. Hyde at that! Captain Insaneo has nothing on Mr. Hyde when it comes to being a nut.
Mr. Hyde has been divorced three times and seems to be working on his fourth ex wife already. Keep in mind he is barely thirty if not maybe a year over.
How long he plans on staying Mr. Hyde is anyone's guess but he better get out of Dodge or he will probably be looking for a new job if he continues to rub everyone the wrong way.
What do you do after you have visited the police station three times and given them everything they need to pick up the guy who has robbed you and the guy is still down the street from you?
Well if you are me you want to take the law into your own hands. But I haven't.
I'm really surprised that I haven't. Maybe it is a sign of growing up or maturation?
I don't know. I know I'm still as mad as I was then but so far it hasn't served me in a helpful manner.
When I was younger and more confrontational there is little doubt where I would have been that evening that I found out who it was.
What I do know is that I have my equipment back and am in the middle of reading Chris's script and getting a feel for how he wants it shot. It will be the longest film yet and easily the most challenging.
I have sent out most of the copies of Locker and still have a few reserved for other friends.
At work Mr. Hyde is back and as insane as ever. Mr. Hyde is my nickname for my supervisor. He is the subject of several posts and a few months ago he seemed to have been less hyper, listened more, and tried to let people who have done the exact same boring, life grinding jobs for more years than they care to remember do their jobs.
Keep in mind we are union and don't really do much more than we have to. Over the years we have figured out the easiest and fastest way to do our jobs to maximize the amount of free time while on the clock.
It is safe to say we know how to do what we have done for years. Mr. Hyde believes he can improve upon what has been time tested and deemed a classic way of "working". He does this by irritating everyone around him and by micromanaging and then threatening disciplinary action when other things aren't finished, the very tasks that were originally being worked upon and he pulled said workers off of those tasks to do some task of less importance.
Well for a while Dr. Jeckyll was at work. He seemed to be fairly easy going and trusting that whatever needed to get done was done in a efficient amount of time.
Then Mr. Hyde decided to come back and has wrought havoc this past week. A full blown yelling and insane Mr. Hyde at that! Captain Insaneo has nothing on Mr. Hyde when it comes to being a nut.
Mr. Hyde has been divorced three times and seems to be working on his fourth ex wife already. Keep in mind he is barely thirty if not maybe a year over.
How long he plans on staying Mr. Hyde is anyone's guess but he better get out of Dodge or he will probably be looking for a new job if he continues to rub everyone the wrong way.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
One Of Those Days
I have been kicking around an idea for my next script.
I was in a very weird mood this morning, like nothing was right. I really felt like nothing was right. It was bad. I did, I felt really bad.
So what do you do when you feel bad and you are kicking around ideas and you feel like I felt?
You try to incorporate it into your ideas. You write it down, especially when your direction seems to have stopped.
I have a hero but he just doesn't have a destination yet. Been working on giving him one.
Saw a movie called Mysterious Skin tonight. A very hard movie to watch. Not as hard to watch as Requiem For A Dream but hard. This movie deals with a very tough subject and how two kids dealt with what happened to them at a young age.
One chose to embrace it and let it define him.
The other one chose to repress it and create an elaborate UFO abduction scenario.
The acting was great. The emotional effect was devastating.
I was in a very weird mood this morning, like nothing was right. I really felt like nothing was right. It was bad. I did, I felt really bad.
So what do you do when you feel bad and you are kicking around ideas and you feel like I felt?
You try to incorporate it into your ideas. You write it down, especially when your direction seems to have stopped.
I have a hero but he just doesn't have a destination yet. Been working on giving him one.
Saw a movie called Mysterious Skin tonight. A very hard movie to watch. Not as hard to watch as Requiem For A Dream but hard. This movie deals with a very tough subject and how two kids dealt with what happened to them at a young age.
One chose to embrace it and let it define him.
The other one chose to repress it and create an elaborate UFO abduction scenario.
The acting was great. The emotional effect was devastating.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Second Place!!!!
Yes you read correctly!
I took second place in the overall points earning me eighty five dollars!!!!
After Florida won second and third place came down to a tie breaker which was the total amount of points scored in the championship game. I was the closest!
I thought I was out of the money for sure and probably finished fourth at best.
What a great surprise that was!
In other news I went back to the police station and reported the return of my camera as well as the description of my neighbor (who amazingly hasn't been home for a few days) that the junk shop had given me.
They said they are going to follow up.
I hope they do.
I took second place in the overall points earning me eighty five dollars!!!!
After Florida won second and third place came down to a tie breaker which was the total amount of points scored in the championship game. I was the closest!
I thought I was out of the money for sure and probably finished fourth at best.
What a great surprise that was!
In other news I went back to the police station and reported the return of my camera as well as the description of my neighbor (who amazingly hasn't been home for a few days) that the junk shop had given me.
They said they are going to follow up.
I hope they do.
Opening Day And UCLA Loses But I Don't Care!
Florida won the national championship last night which pretty much means I won't win any money but I don't care!
I have my camera back and have a meeting with the police tonight after work to tell them what has happened! Baseball is back but eh, who cares?
Balco Barry got booed. Good for the fans! I hope no one shows up in San Francisco anymore to see a game while Balco Barry still dons his spikes. I hope the fans demand that his name be stricken from the record books as well as Mark McGuire's. Everyone who has been found guilty of juicing should be banned from baseball....retroactively. Want to know why I'm not much of a baseball fan anymore, there ya go.
The thing is though that there will be no deep investigation. It would appear that this steroid investigation is nothing but window dressing. The fact is that steroids were good for the game and the owners and commissioner turned a blind eye to the homerun chase of Sosa and McGuire. They knew why all of a sudden there were a ton of homeruns being hit but fans were showing up again after the strike year.
I hope that when this report is finished and keep in mind nothing will be resovled here, that the fans won't take it anymore and revolt. The fans will strike and stop showing up to the games. The fans who have been taken for granted in baseball for as long as it became a huge industry will finally let their voices be known and tell MLB once and for all that they want real reforms in the game. They want Bonds out of the record book and keep Hank Arron's record safe.
Safe from a cheater like Bonds.
I have my camera back and have a meeting with the police tonight after work to tell them what has happened! Baseball is back but eh, who cares?
Balco Barry got booed. Good for the fans! I hope no one shows up in San Francisco anymore to see a game while Balco Barry still dons his spikes. I hope the fans demand that his name be stricken from the record books as well as Mark McGuire's. Everyone who has been found guilty of juicing should be banned from baseball....retroactively. Want to know why I'm not much of a baseball fan anymore, there ya go.
The thing is though that there will be no deep investigation. It would appear that this steroid investigation is nothing but window dressing. The fact is that steroids were good for the game and the owners and commissioner turned a blind eye to the homerun chase of Sosa and McGuire. They knew why all of a sudden there were a ton of homeruns being hit but fans were showing up again after the strike year.
I hope that when this report is finished and keep in mind nothing will be resovled here, that the fans won't take it anymore and revolt. The fans will strike and stop showing up to the games. The fans who have been taken for granted in baseball for as long as it became a huge industry will finally let their voices be known and tell MLB once and for all that they want real reforms in the game. They want Bonds out of the record book and keep Hank Arron's record safe.
Safe from a cheater like Bonds.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Probably Out Of The Money
With LSU losing I am now sure that I probably won't win anything as there were at least two other people who had a championship team playing.
My neighbor has not been home all weekend. I did see his car briefly but he was in and out of his house very quickly.
We shall see what happens tomorrow after the shop owner makes his statement to the police.
Hopefully he will be arrested quickly after the warrant is issued for him.
My neighbor has not been home all weekend. I did see his car briefly but he was in and out of his house very quickly.
We shall see what happens tomorrow after the shop owner makes his statement to the police.
Hopefully he will be arrested quickly after the warrant is issued for him.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Safe And Sound
My neighbor remains unharmed by me and I remain untainted by the stench of violence in this regard.
Monday there will be a statement made to the police. Upon the identification of the suspect a warrant will be issued for his arrest.
Instead of imposing a beat down of epic size upon my intruder I busied myself with Chris, my partner in filmmaking. We decided to go to a movie, eat, and get some coffee.
We saw Stay Alive.
Don't see it, you'll save yourself a headache.
The alcohol before the movie did indeed help with the consumption of that "movie".
How did the filmmakers get this garbage greenlighted and why did I let Chris talk me into seeing it?
Anyway I shall be rooting for LSU and George Mason tonight and hoping that George Mason wins the championship Monday evening.
I had some interesting news Friday at work, other than the recovery of my camera that is.
I am the overall leader in the office pool. If LSU wins I win outright UNLESS Florida wins the championship in which case I tie for second place. This is what the pool official could remember off of the top of his head. There is a possibility of three people in a tie where the championship game points will determine the tiebreaker.
Go LSU!
Monday there will be a statement made to the police. Upon the identification of the suspect a warrant will be issued for his arrest.
Instead of imposing a beat down of epic size upon my intruder I busied myself with Chris, my partner in filmmaking. We decided to go to a movie, eat, and get some coffee.
We saw Stay Alive.
Don't see it, you'll save yourself a headache.
The alcohol before the movie did indeed help with the consumption of that "movie".
How did the filmmakers get this garbage greenlighted and why did I let Chris talk me into seeing it?
Anyway I shall be rooting for LSU and George Mason tonight and hoping that George Mason wins the championship Monday evening.
I had some interesting news Friday at work, other than the recovery of my camera that is.
I am the overall leader in the office pool. If LSU wins I win outright UNLESS Florida wins the championship in which case I tie for second place. This is what the pool official could remember off of the top of his head. There is a possibility of three people in a tie where the championship game points will determine the tiebreaker.
Go LSU!
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