The Misfits

What do you get when you have two of Hollywoods biggest stars from the "golden age" in their last movie together? I mean their last movies period.

A parade of lost souls. Part western and part car wreck, on and off the screen. Three men fall in love with the same woman, written by Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe's husband at the time.

Starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Eli Wallach. This was Gable and Monroe's last movie while Clift would film three more I believe before dieing.

This was a collision of the personal lives of these stars on the screen. When Eli Wallach talks about how he spent time in the war, designing his house but it never looked right until Rosyln came there. He says she has the gift of life. He toasts, "Here's to your life Roslyn, I hope it goes on forever", you know he is talking right to Monroe.

He actually seems to be tapping into something that was surrounding Marilyn, the tragic air about her. Her tumultous life. He seemed to know that she would be dead shortly afterwards and to live all she can right now.

You see Montgomery Clift as the hard drinking, hard living, screwed up apotime of the Hollywood star. He plays Perce however it just doesn't feel like he is playing a character, it is more like he is going to therapy on screen. Like he is baring his soul for all to see. You can read any biography about him to see all of the many many stories about him, who knows how many are true, maybe all maybe none.

Not that Eli Wallach isn't a tremendous star in his own right but this movie just wasn't about him as much as it is Clark Gable. The biggest star of the golden age. Bigger than life in every way. He defined living big. He was struggling finding roles after being the massive star of Mutiny on the Bounty, Gone with the Wind, and It Happened One Night (In which he won an Oscar).

This movie stands alone as the last movie featuring big albeit aging stars, signalling the end of an era. It really isn't about the story on the screen. Not at all, it is about the stars on the screen. The story is irrelevant and fleeting but the stars remain forever.

A Busy Day: Goodbye Weezy!!!!

First of all I had to go to work today, then get all of the ingredients for the drinks tonight.
I emailed Weezy and asked if she could go to the grocery store to get some of the ingredients we needed while I went to the liquor store at lunch.

Now that I'm home I am packing up all of the bottles in a box to take to Weezy's going away party and her last episode of Drinkbusters tonight AFTER going to the rehearsals which is a full two act run through.

Then onto the task of replacing our dear Weezy as she heads off to LA to pursue her dreams. It will be a wonderful experience for her and we are all behind her!!!! It isn't like she can use Drinkbusters on her resume or anything but she has been a pleasure and a blast to have around the set. She has always been very happy to try any drink that crossed our kitchen and invent her own and have fun every second of the way!!!!

I am proud to call her my friend!

I'm going to miss her and even though this chapter of the Drinkbusters is going to close tonight we are preparing to open a brand new chapter in Drinkbuster's history!!!!

Drinkbusters 2x1 Is Up!!!!

Yes my friends here is the link

Have a good time with this one!!!!

Stupid Cold Weather Stupid Diesel

Yeah....I'm home today because my diesel won't start. It HATES cold weather and since it is in the mid 20's right now it isn't starting.

This is a hazard I guess but usually it is very reliable when it is 30 and above.

Yes I keep the block heater plugged in and yes I keep a battery charger on it all night to keep the electrical system warm but sometimes that just isn't enough. I do know that if the glow plug controller was working and I didn't have to use starting fluid right now that it would be running however it isn't and now its not.

Well I have plenty of leave time so it isn't a big deal other than I was wanting to save some more up. Well I now have the time today to edit the last Drinkbusters and get it posted.

Lady In The Water

A surprisingly happy movie.

I'm Hungry

I believe tonight would be a good night to head down to the pub at six and get some supper before rehearsals tonight.

The second act went relatively smooth. It was the entire act and 90% off book. All but the last two scenes went smoothly. Tonight I believe is act I in its entirety.

I am looking at the temperature right now and it is 35 out. I think we are headed into another cold snap after being about 60 yesterday. Since I am going to get supper tonight I don't have time to watch Lady in the Water. I am looking forward to this movie though.

I've heard mixed things about it but it sounds like it was marketed wrongly. We'll see I guess.
I am starting to become a bigger fan of Paul Giamatti, he is a pretty diverse talent. Bryce Dallas Howard is seemingly starting to become a very accomplished actress as well.

I am in the mood for something much lighter than M. I think I will be putting Open Season or Chicken Little at the top of my queue next....

M

This was in every way very much ahead of its time. This is a very powerful movie dealing with a very dark subject matter.

It is even a disturbing movie for these times. When Peter Lorre is pleading to a citizen's court that he can't help himself I hear the pleas of Andrea Yates, the woman who drowned her five children in Texas that it wasn't her fault. I hear the plea of Joseph Duncan who kidnapped and murdered children, it wasn't his fault.

No, there is no violence in this movie, it isn't scary in the least. It is a character drama, a portrayal of a sexual deviant that is just heart stopping. It shows the paranoia that Atlanta went through with the Atlanta child murders but only 50 years ahead of that time and in Germany.

This movie is very relevant today, probably far more relevant today than it has ever been before which is a very sad commentary on our society as a whole. I am sure that Fritz Lang thought that his movie would raise the awareness enough to end the problem once and for all or at least that there would be a cure for this behavior by 2007.

No, no cure outside of either locking them up forever or killing them. My compassion is nearly limitless for those oppressed, down trodden, helpless, or beaten up and kicked around but does it extend to a confessed child murderer? I'd say it does as long as that compassion is for the society that has been wronged. For the family of the victim. If the offender is in pain then we should do what it takes to alleviate that pain, preferably via a needle.

Coffee Card Heaven!!!!

Yes my friends it is true, the quick shop I get my coffee at has returned the coffee cards I so dearly miss and a source of simple pleasure for your humble writer.

I had to have been smiling very big when the lady at the counter told me to hold on for a second and that she had something for me! She always waits on me in the mornings and made sure I had a fresh card when I had my free cup.

The rehearsal went very well last night. The actors will be off book for act II tonight. It should be interesting!

The documentary is still rolling along nicely.

I have received two more movies from Netflix today which is a day earlier than the email estimate.

M and The Lady In The Water.

I am a Peter Lorre fan so M should be a very good experience of a movie that was decades ahead of its time. It deals with a child murderer and was filmed in 1931. Pretty disturbing material considering the date.

Super Sunday Victory!!!!

Here is what happened at the Super Bowl party!

First we did the square picky game where we buy squares that correspond to the score. Then no one has the square that wins each quarter until the fourth quarter so all the money carried over which I correctly picked!!!!

With this win I brought home just over a hundred dollars and so I tipped the host of the party ten bucks because he had such a nice spread.

As for the game, well like I said before I really didn't have a dog in the fight but I was going for the Bears UNTIL it became apparent that I had a chance at the money then I was rooting for whatever scoring needed to happen to net me the pot:)

I get home after a very nice time to find I Love New York on TV....man I feel like I need a shower....

Super Bowl Sunday!!!!

Who will win?

The Colts are favored and will probably pull away late in the game if they wear down the Bear's D but I really feel that if the Bears can get a few special team big plays then they will be victorious.

So my pick is the Bears. I really don't have a dog in this fight so I am really hoping for a good and close game!

So if you have any money at all....put it on the Colts and give the points.

Peyton Manning could very well win a big game and not become the next Dan Marino. Manning will likely own every single record in the book by the time he retires and is a shoe in Hall of Famer already but if he has no ring....well then I'm sure that deep down he would exchange the records for a championship.

I know I would.

Just have fun today, enjoy the game and the commercials!!!!

A Piece Of Heaven

I was watching Kingdom of Heaven again today after The Bad Sleep Well.

There is a part of this movie that is very appealing to me. Balian has inherited his father's land in the Holy Land. A thousand acres of dusty nothing.

Out of this wilderness he builds something nice. They dig for water. Irrigate the crops. Forge an oasis out of the desert. I confess it is just a fantasy of mine. Yeah, long term readers of my blog will recognize the similarities between this and my post about the song "Please Come To Boston".

The setting is different but the sentiment is the same.

An isolated cabin in the mountains. A place to hide from the world with a loved one. Someplace that even on the coldest mountain night it is warm inside.

A place where the square footage is a place where nothing else exists except you and her, where all is right with the world and what isn't doesn't exist.

Yeah it is a hedonistic fantasy of self indulgence, truly it is.

Simplicity doesn't counter that.

OUCH!!!!

I don't know why but I had a headache all last night while sleeping.
I got up around 5 a.m. and took some aspirin.

I know it wasn't alcohol. I only had one drink and that was before 7 p.m. I felt pretty decent most of the evening at rehearsals except for my stomach. I had some spicy food and it really was starting to bother me after a while which is very unusual.

Spicy foods really don't bother me at all, in fact I enjoy them immensely since they don't hurt me. I don't know what the problem seems to be, I've had two headaches this past week and anyone who knows me has probably heard me tell them that when I was younger that I was prone to migraines. I used to have one nearly every day but the past few years I rarely get them anymore.

As I type this I still feel the headache. It is a dull ache now. I had a couple of cups of coffee and will take a hot shower. That usually helps relieve the ache.

Now I bring all of this up to tie it into a movie I am watching now.
The Bad Sleep Well.

This is Akira Kurosawa's version of Hamlet starring of course Toshiro Mifune. The setting is the corrupt corporate landscape of post war Japan. Steeped in corporate intrigue as Mifune's Nishi character sets about to avenge the death of his father.

This is a film noir, shot with strange reaching angles and lots of shadows. The plot is complex and twisting after a lingering opening sequence that reminded me of the Godfather's opening wedding scene.

Mifune is magnificent as usual, Kurosawa's direction is stellar, this isn't a masterpiece but it is a solid and enjoyable movie as the layers are slowly peeled away revealing the real plot.

Its Friday And Cold!

I'm kind of looking forward to today anyway.

I don't know why but I am. Rehearsals went pretty good last night but one of the actors is refusing to listen to Catina's direction on her character.

I've got my fingers crossed for a showdown on camera.

Before the rehearsal I was getting supper at the pub with Beersnob. I got a club sandwich, fries, a Bud Light, ice tea, and a coffee to go for $3.81!!!!

I used a prize envelope that the pub gave us last weekend. After the 1st of February you had to open it in front of a waitress and you get what was inside. I got ten bucks off of my ticket!!!!

It was like Christmas!!!!

After the rehearsal Catina and I met Chianti, Weezy, and Nick the boy intern at another club in which we relaxed a bit. Everyone chatted and I mostly listened being pretty darn tired at that point.

Going to have to start planning Weezy's last Drinkbusters episode. She is moving on the 17th and I'll miss her.

Snakes On A Dream

Yeah folks I actually watched Snakes on a Plane last night.

As long as you put your brain on pause and don't think about what you are watching, you might enjoy it.

I did balance that movie though with Burden of Dreams. A documentary about the filming of Fitzcarraldo.

This movie is a bit hard to describe so you might go to Amazon.com to look it up however Burden of Dreams is much easier. It is about the monumental construction of this movie and taking a 350 ton steam ship to the top of a mountain in the amazon jungle to be an opera house.

This is how everything can go wrong with a film and the struggle to keep your very own sanity as months and years go by, four years to be exact. To keep the investors from revolting against you, losing your two main actors after a few weeks of shooting, and really holding everything together.

Werner Herzog refused to settle. He was literally burdened with this dream of making this movie Fitzcarraldo.

How do you get that drive? That drive to refuse to give up when the whole world is against you, the weather is against you, the equipment is against you, the crew and cast turn against you, and a steam ship refuses to navigate a mountain?

I don't know. I have searched myself and I know that I can have that kind of drive about a couple of things but that is about it. Everything else has been worn down or away.

I suppose a dream is one of them and yeah....it can be a burden.

Vista Installed!!!!

My PC is now up and running with only one minor hitch.

I went to Staples this morning and picked up the Vista Ultimate upgrade edition and took it home braving the slight snow flurry outside. After arriving safe at home I inserted the 64 bit DVD and it asked me for the product key.

Well I looked all over the box and couldn't find it. I'm not a novice at this stuff and knew it had to be somewhere but all I found is a place where it should be and all that was left was a glued spot where it looked like a product key was supposed to be.

So I called Staples and told them they wouldn't believe me but they did and exchanged the product with another one. I brought it home, installed it and restored my settings, synchronized my two monitors and it works like it should!!!!

It is still snowing though....

Feeling Great!

I feel great today!

First I got up at my normal time after going to bed at around 8:30 last night. Got plenty of sleep and woke up headache free!

Then I checked my checking account and what to my amazement did I see? My tax refund! So I promptly called into work to say I wasn't going to be there so I can go get Vista and upgrade my PC today.

This will be a chore but an enjoyable one.

It is snowing outside which makes it twice as good to be off of work and after ingesting some toast for breakfast I am waiting on Staples to open.

This is going to be a good day my friends:)

A Dull Aching Headache

Pretty much all day has had me in a grumpy mood.

I emailed Catina with the Documentary project and told her that if she could live without me for tonight that I'd appreciate it. She said that I deserved a night off and they would be fine:)

She is really nice!

It is just after seven P.M. and I'm contemplating going to bed right now.

Such is life.

Taxes Are Filed

Well my taxes are filed and I am getting back more than I expected, about twice as much actually!
This will help on some work I have been putting off on my vehicle.

I have to have the glow plug controller replaced, I've been using starting fluid after disconnecting the malfunctioning plugs.

I am expecting my state refund early this week and the federal by the 9th of February.

Tomorrow is Vista day, the long overdue Windows Vista is being released and of course I have to get it because it is new and shiny. I'm a big fan of shiny when it comes to electronics not so much with women.

Jessica Simpson is shiny....blech.
Jessica Biel is not shiny....yum!

See the difference?
What was the point again? OH YEAH....the very important tax refund that will be directly deposited at or less than two weeks!

I Just Love My Guilty Pleasure Of The Surreal Life

I can't help it, I really can't.

This season has been especially spectacular in terms of the celebs dealing with their inadequacies and self absorption.

It is A-List celebs vs. B-List celebs!!!!
They play games to see who stays goes to the B-List part of the house where they live in normal accommodations where as the winners get to stay in much more extravagant conditions and are pampered.

The run down of guests have all been on previous editions and have been brought back for being particularly crazy.
Emmanuel Lewis
Traci Bingham
Ron Jeremy
Vanilla Ice (who is about as unstable as a PC with bad RAM in it)
Brigitte Nielsen (one of the craziest)
Joanie Laurer (again nuttier than a jar of crunchy Peter Pan)
Pepa (one of the most normal ones)
C.C. Deville
Andrea Lowell
and Mini Me (who is about as crazy as it gets as well)

So what is so funny about this? THEY ARE ALL HAS BEENS THEY JUST DON'T KNOW IT!!!!

Come on this is just all out funny, I love this show.

As you have guess already that the real drama isn't in the games themselves it is in the celebs dealing with their lack of notoriety and unwillingness to accept their real life D-List status that is usually enjoyed by local DJs.

Ice Age 2: The Devil's Playground

My last two movies from Netflix were Ice Age 2: The Meltdown which was very enjoyable and fun! There was a short as one of the extras that had me laughing the whole time! That Scrat, what a wild and crazy....whatever he is.

There are a lot of enjoyable moments to go along with the cutting edge animation and clever writing. There are enough moments to keep the adults entertained but enough that kids will love it start to finish. The old Disney ending where something sad happens before it turns into something good is practically gone from animated movies today.

You could have a pretty good day with both Ice Age movies and some popcorn!

The Devil's Playground was a bit more serious. It was a documentary that dealt with the Amish rite of passage tradition of Rumspringa where at the age of 16 you are allowed to do as you wish in the "English" world before either giving it up or joining the Amish church for the rest of your life. That means giving up your clothes, cars, alcohol, vices, and music for the strict but simple and happy life of the farm and family.

It appears from this documentary that most Amish teens go wild at 16 and even though they get a taste of life as we know it around 90% join the church. What really is the foundation of this film is the very tight knit Amish community. You hear that term in so many different ways that honestly just don't apply but in this case it does.

You learn a little about Amish doctrine and life which would make for an incredible documentary but for the most part the Amish don't allow film after joining the church. The Devil's Playground is their term for our world for the lack of a better term. There is a separation between the way you and I see and live our lives and the way the Amish live their lives. Their goal is to live a simple, honest and just life in order to obtain everlasting redemption.

After seeing this documentary it really makes much more sense now that after the Amish schoolhouse shooting tragedy they reacted the way they did as a community by immediately forgiving the widow and treating her just as much of a victim as their own lost children. By inviting her and her children into their community for support. That is uncommon compassion that really is lost on a large part of the population.

You can't go wrong with either of these movies even though they are vastly different in content.

Auditions Were Successful!!!!

From the point of view that most of the parts were filled. With the exception of a couple of parts being contingent upon approaching a couple of actors, every part was filled.

The total turnout was agreed upon that it was a bit disappointing however that is part of trying to do a film project in a small town.

It is a struggle, every single part will be an obstacle to overcome. You can plan better than anyone has ever planned and something will go wrong and THAT is the only thing you can count on. It burns me up to no end when I read about "low budget" filmmakers who complain when they have a couple of hundred people show up to auditions on a film where their budget is in the mid six figures.

Now for the positive! Everyone who was cast has some great acting skills! They are solid and are going to be very happy with their participation in the Fanfilm project!
Our cast is GREAT!!!!

Saw 3: The Illusionist

Well yesterday I received my first four movies from Netflix.
Saw 3
The Illusionist
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
The Devil's Playground

I watched Saw 3 and The Illusionist after work and after filming the rehearsal.

I would say that Saw 3 has followed the horrible trend of putting suffering on screen in creative ways. How many ways can we show someone being killed? Well come see this movie and we will show you new and innovative ways to torture and kill someone!

The franchise was based on a twist ending in the first installment which really could be seen from about twenty minutes into the movie. Saw had lots of exposition, Saw 2 had lots of exposition, and Saw 3 had the same.

So why after seeing the first two movies and despising them did I get Saw 3? Well probably for the same reason I watched the two Matrix sequels. In the hope it would get better I guess. I don't understand the reasoning behind movies such as Hostel and Saw. Perhaps it is a defense mechanism to see some kind of fear that we can actually control in a safe environment in a world seemingly full of chaos.

It was the same horrible fair. From the point of view make up artists I can see where this would be a great project to work on. I actually felt less of a person for watching this movie.

The Illusionist was everything that Saw 3 wasn't.
It was heartfelt, intriguing, and beautifully shot! I don't really want to give away any of the plot because it really should be watched! Paul Giamatti plays a brilliant foil to Edward Norton's love lorn illusionist and Jessica Biel is HOT!

It is a wonderful movie experience and gave me back the humanity I felt I lost watching Saw 3.

The Jessica Debate

Has erupted at work over the past two days.

If you could have one of these women for say a week which one?
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Biel
Jessica Alba

My first preference would be Kari Byron however she isn't a Jessica so I was confined to Simpson, Biel, or Alba.

Well a week is a long time if you have to talk to someone so Simpson is out. I'd have to stick hot forks in my eyes if I had to talk to her for over one minute.

I like a woman who is a bit esoteric and deep so Alba is probably out as well leaving by default Jessica Biel.

She seems like perhaps she can hold a conversation, she might know where most of the states and countries are located, heck she might even know a political figure or two. She appears that she can be a deeper thinker than the other two but then again appearances aren't everything.

Jessica Simpson could have an IQ of 130....well....maybe not. I don't know why Jessica Alba doesn't really appeal a bit more to me but she doesn't. Perhaps she is too young and hasn't been kicked around by life yet.

Busy Busy Busy!!!!

The rehearsals have gone on all week so far and I've been at every one of them for the documentary.

Beersnob's Fanfilm is gearing up with the auditions this Saturday.

So I've had practically no free time except for about two hours after work to relax a bit and grab some supper. I haven't been able to have enough time to edit Drinkbusters yet either.

The Fanfilm is going to be amazing! This is going to be the most technically advanced project this town has ever had!!!! I just know that a lot of people are going to be at the auditions for this and it is going to be amazing!!!!

I know a few people are really looking forward to being a part of this in any capacity as well which means that there is going to be a great cast and crew. I know Beersnob is really starting to feel a little nervous about the process but he will find out that the thinking about it ahead of time is far worse than the actual day when it arrives and he will wind up enjoying every second of it and wonder what in the world he was worried about in the first place.

I know exactly what he is going through so I can relate but once everything started I really didn't have much time to worry anymore and something inside just clicks and you get into leader mode and all is well.

I am looking forward to Saturday SO MUCH! He is going to have so much fun with this!!!!

Netflix

I subscribed to Netflix Tuesday. I've heard many good things about Netflix and thought this could be a fun experiment to possibly see movies I just wouldn't want to spend the money on.

Rest assured I am still going to try my best to adhere to my NO REMAKE policy. If I am all caught up on quality movies though I can't make any promises that a remake from time to time might slip into my queue.

I do have my limits though and I really don't expect to run out of good movies anytime soon.

This should be quite fun and enjoyable!

My first movies should arrive tomorrow.

Rehearsals Are Rolling Along!

Last night the rehearsals and the documentary kept on rolling. The more footage I get the better the finished story will be....or at least that is the theory!

Chianti was kind enough to print off the forms for The Lot contest and drop them by my house yesterday. I frantically filled them out and placed that and the DVD with my hideous intro to Hard Drive Cafe inside. Today they will start the odyssey to Beverly Hills and the contest will begin!

I've decided to take a drastic turn regarding the way I purchase DVDs.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a library of a collection but the fact is that I don't really care for many that are coming out today. I guess it is the same for most theatrical movies right now. There are some that peak my interest but some I could care less about.

There are some I want but just aren't released yet such as The African Queen.

So I have decided to sign up to Netflix. From now on I'll sample before I buy. This is only an experiment at this point and it might only last a month but we'll see how it goes. I have subscribed to the four movies at a time plan.

I do watch a lot of movies so four at a time isn't that much for me. Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to watch more classics. I LOVE most of the movies offered by the Criterion Collection and have several in my library.

Ha....Library. It is more like a money pit! But with the amount of movies I have, I can tell you that it is like having a film school in my living room. I have learned the art of filmmaking with teachers like Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, John Huston, Sam Peckinpah, Frank Capra, and contemporaries like Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg, David Lynch, and the great Ridley Scott.

0-2 In My Super Bowl Prediction

Well today was a great day my friends!

First it was AFC/NFC Championship day and the filming of the next episode of Drinkbusters!

I'll have it up within the next few days!

The Super Bowl is going to be between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts.

Peyton Manning finally won a big game that counted. He has one to go and I believe that it could be for a place in history. He will likely go down owning every record in the book when he retires it is just a matter of how many rings he has when he does.

Will he be Joe Montana or Dan Marino?

It should be a good game and we'll see if the AFC win has inspired Peyton Manning to the greatness that is expected of him.

If you will look at my predictions you will see that I picked the Saints and the Patriots to be in the Super Bowl. Well I couldn't have been more wrong if I had money on the games!

Anyway it was a great time at Beersnob's house and with all of the Drinkbusters in attendance how could you ask for better company?

Bladerunner Drinking Glasses And Filmmaking

If you have ever seen the Scifi Ridley Scott masterpiece then you will recall the scene where Deckard has poured a straight drink into some unique square looking glasses and did his detective work on a photograph.

Well anyway after a small amount of research I found that they are made by a European craftsman and they are about fifty bucks apiece. Not only that but they are hand made and there is a backorder list for them.

So what does this have to do with filmmaking?

I'm not really sure yet because I thought I'd have the answer by the time I got this far....sigh....

Anyway it is snowing out right now but I have all of the supplies for 2x1 of Drinkbusters tomorrow and I can say that after tasting the Applejack that one recipe calls for, it should be very interesting to see the reactions to the martini drink.

Tomorrow should be a BLAST and I'm very much looking forward to this episode!!!!

Half A Day Today

I decided to take half a day off and get some supplies for the next episode of Drinkbusters, pay some bills, and get some new shoes.

Did all that and I'm just relaxing now.

Chianti has printed off the entry forms to enter The Lot for me. I have to confess that this is really starting to get me a little bit excited. This is kind of unusual for me because it is a reality series, especially since I have seen some of the other entries. They are pretty good, no doubt about it.

How will Hard Drive Cafe stack up? I don't know. I suppose that is for the judges to decide.

The competition is pretty strong. If I could make another episode of Hard Drive I'd probably do it but my location is lost for good now since Intercorp went out of business.

I'm going to send in the episode we made and if they aren't completely impressed by Chianti's acting, Dr. Weird's creepy demeanor, and Chris Scheffe's great line then they just have no sense of humor and can't be impressed at all!!!!

Another Contest

My friend Chianti sent me a link to the new reality show The Lot. A show in the vein of American Idol except with film.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I despise reality TV with the exceptions of Flavor of Love and Surreal Life (and now I love New York) Alright so maybe I don't despise reality all the way, I just gravitate to the lowest common denominator and trashy side of it.

The winner gets a million dollar development deal. Not a bad prize at all!!!!

Anyway Chianti sent me the link to this contest and when I got there I remembered that a few months ago I had checked this out and even read the agreement to it to submit a film.

I just didn't seem that interested in it at the time but now, I feel pretty good about it.

I have until February 16 to get the forms filled out and sent in.

I can do that!

Documentary Update

The documentary has been rolling along and we've been getting some incredible footage.

What is more than that is that we got a touching and emotional interview last night that in all honesty was breaking my heart while I was conducting it.

I can't talk about it right now but if Catina and I decide to include it on the documentary then it will move you as well.

Why wouldn't it be on the documentary? Well simply put a documentary as I have described much earlier has a fluid focus. Things change and shift and stories emerge and go away. I hope this one stays in and has a happy ending.

AFC NFC Game Predictions

Yes folks here are my AFC and NFC Championship Games predictions!

First of all the AFC.

We have New England vs. Indianapolis. A match up of two of the best quarterbacks in today's game. The nearly unbeatable Tom Brady matches up with Peyton Manning who just can't win an important game.

Tom Brady, what can you say? The guy knows how to win. He loses most of his team over the past six years, has no big name receivers, has a suspect D, and loses the best clutch kicker in the game today in Adam Vinatieri.
The kicker goes over to Indy so they have the edge there.
The offense might also have a slight edge with Indy because no one can name the New England receiving corps.
The running backs are probably a push.
The D are probably a push as well, I'd say that the New England D is a bit better but they are playing at Indy so that'll give the Indy a slight edge.

I believe the key factor in this game though is that Tom Brady won't choke and Manning will.

Winner: New England Patriots

On the NFC side we have New Orleans vs. Chicago. A dome team is going to the other frozen tundra of Soldier Field so that is an automatic edge to the Bears.
The New Orleans offense is far better than the Chicago O. They can wear down defenses with the double threat of Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister. The receiving corp for the Saints is far better.
On the defensive side of things the Bears have the clear edge here. There isn't a better D left in the playoffs. Special teams too, no doubt.
So the only edge that the Saints have here is heart.
The intangibles are squarely in the Saints column.
If the Saints can catch a couple of breaks they win.

Winner: New Orleans Saints

Super Bowl Winner: I believe in great stories, I really do and New Orleans is that great story but Tom Brady is unbeatable in big games. If the Patriots get to the Super Bowl they win no question.

Wow....

I made it!
I made it all the way through an episode of I Love New York and didn't die!!!!

I did feel like I needed a shower though. Wow it was rough and New York's mom is out and out psychotic.

Alright for those of you who aren't in the know, I Love New York is a spin off of Flavor Of Love.
New York was the biggest drama queen and the most unstable on that show and she was so unstable that she got her own show.

This is really a train wreck of a show....sigh....and it might very well be another guilty pleasure.
I hate myself.....

Prison Vader

The past week and the past couple of days due to the icy conditions outside I have contented myself by watching Prison Break.

This is a pretty decent show. The one thing that wears on you though is its constant use of misdirection. It happens all the time to create the effect of imminent danger.

It is a lot of editing to advance the story. While not a bad way of doing things it seems that as good as the writers are they could avoid the over use of this.

This show is above average compared to most of the other shows in the modern wasteland that is American TV. The premise is good but it seems that it can encounter the same problem as Lost if it goes beyond a handful of seasons.

We'll see how things progress with the show but it seems that the shark jumping could come at any episode now even though the second season isn't complete yet.

One other bit of net only entertainment I have enjoyed recently is Chad Vader. The You Tube production that showcases Chad Vader, the less famous brother, who is in charge of Empire Groceries. This show is amazingly clever and witty.

In fact this is the promise of the net as a form of entertainment. It proves that Hollywood doesn't have to control the purse strings anymore.

Anyone who has a camera and a modicum of editing skills can produce something this good if not better. That ideas aren't limited to those living in California or New York.

If you have a dream, shoot it and put it out there!!!!

The Legend That Is John Titor

Has taken another step into the bizarre and also into the mainstream. Not quite a full foot into the river of the mainstream but it is doing a toe dip now.

It seems that there is now a documentary that claims CIA involvement, many interviews, and lots of innuendo. I haven't seen this but if I were a gambling man I'd say that it is a mockumentary that blurs the lines from fact and fiction. Think about it, a documentary on a man who may or may not have ever existed, who claims to be from the future. The doc even has a My Space page! What does that tell you?

It could be a stroke of genius of Blair Witchian proportions!

The story all started back in 2000-01. He made a series of web posts claiming to be from 2036. You can also read my last post about the John Titor story for more details.

This story just doesn't go away. So what is it about this story that isn't just discredited out of hand? I mean this is about someone who just made a series of web posts, I mean who can't do that and claim they are from the future? The fact of the matter is that John Titor, either real of a very elaborate hoax, has a huge esoteric effect if you know where to go on the web.

How much of an underground presence does John Titor have? Well just do a search on You Tube, the next time you are going to watch an episode of Drinkbusters.

You know after typing that sentence about a subject as profound and mysterious, with unlimited threads for discussion and deep conversations such as time travel and then tie it to Drinkbusters about my friends and I who test drinks, I suddenly feel a twinge of inadequacy.

Eh, I'll get over it!

Anyway back to John Titor. If you want to get a good grasp of the mystery go to
www.johntitor.com
www.fasttrackproductions.biz/TimeTravel_0.html

and see for yourself.
Think about this for a second, If time travel is possible in the future couldn't there actually be a time traveler here today? At the moment that time travel is possible then time is no longer relevant to you. You are no longer restrained by time other than by natural aging and even that could be irrelevant if aging is conquered sometime in their future.

So for me personally what is it that intrigues me about this story? Even when common sense is screaming at me that it is a hoax, why do I still keep up with it? I want to believe that John Titor is a real life time traveler.

I want to believe that mankind in the future has harnessed time to create a better world. The possibilities of creating a paradise this side of Heaven would be at hand. It could make man's inhumanity to man a thing of the past.

Sleeting Up A Storm

Outside.

It is 19 degrees right now and there is a lot of icing going on out. The ice is pelting everything and making it generally miserable outside unless you really enjoy cold, icy weather.

I like the snow better.

This gives me the opportunity to fix some hot chocolate and throw in some Irish Cream!

I have plenty of provisions such as ramen noodles and like forty bottles of booze. I'm good!

I had a slight financial mishap this morning that was quickly remedied by Beersnob!
I called a plumber about five weeks ago to take some roots out of the sewer pipe outside. I wrote him a check and I thought it was cashed that following week.

Well it was cashed this morning leaving me with a grand total of .93 cents. Well Beersnob came to the rescue with studio/hanger rent ahead of time! Woohoooo!!!!

So now as tonight sets rehearsal has been canceled so no filming tonight. Monday is a holiday and it should be a cold weekend ahead.

What A Day

Well we have Barry Bonds failing a drug test for amphetamines.
David Beckham signing a five year two hundred fifty million dollar contract.

Two big stories today that each merit their own blog post however I plan on wrapping them both up in one post.

First the disgrace that is Barry Bonds. He is the opposite of everything that is good in sports today. He allegedly asked a team mate for a pick me up and then got into his locker and got the drugs and then was called in for a random drug test.

When made public he immediately blamed his teammate. This is typical Bonds. It didn't matter that what he took was wrong and lets not forget ILLEGAL, it only mattered that it wasn't his fault.

This is just so Bonds. How can anyone like this absolute loser of a baseball player?
He is a disgrace and should be banned forever.

David Beckham, probably the world's most recognizable soccer player and Mr. Posh Spice has had a team invest a lot of hope and money into the idea that soccer can be successful in the US.

The Los Angeles Galaxy has decided to take a thirty one year old soccer player who doesn't even start for his team now and is a little past his prime but has maybe three years left in him. He isn't a top player in the world anymore, from radio reports maybe not even top twenty five.

Now he is the highest paid athlete in America, in fact his is paid more than any TWO combined athletes of any of the major sports.

All of this money and hope has been invested into someone and into a sport that has little to no following in this country. There is no way they will be able to recoup their investment. This deal could possibly destroy or make Major League Soccer.

The bought and paid very handsomely for star power. No one knows any US soccer star. Frankly no one cares. Until there is a home grown soccer star that can do for the MLS what Michael Jordan did for the NBA, what Babe Ruth did for baseball, what Tiger did for the PGA.

That is what the MLS needs if it ever has a chance to make people moderately interested in this sport on these shores.

The Days Keep Rolling

Rolling along and they have actually been brighter lately. Brighter than I have expected.

The documentary is coming along nicely.
The Fanfilm project is coming along as well.
There is a script somewhere in my head that is begging to come out.

There are a lot of puzzle pieces around me right now and I just don't know how they fit together yet but I know they do and I know the picture is going to be worth it when I figure them out.

5th?!?!?!?!

Florida won last night's BCS game, destroying Ohio State 41-14 and finished in first place.
The only UNDEFEATED team finished fifth!!!!

Now that is injustice.

Florida is 13-1 and your champs
Ohio State who got blown out last night is 12-1
LSU who easily beat Notre Dame is 11-2
USC who easily beat Michigan is 11-2
Boise State who beat everyone is 13-0 and NOT the National Champion.

I expected at least a ranking of third. This should outrage the talk show hosts today and be another nail in the coffin of the BCS system. Nail? NO this should be the silk lining!!!!

This is why there needs to be a playoff system. So teams can get a fair shot at playing the big schools and have their fair shot at being the champs.

Now I went to bed last night around ten o'clock. The game was in the third quarter!!!! They need to start these games earlier and finish the bowl season much sooner than a WEEK after the other games!!!!

This past weekend was Wild Card weekend in the NFL and no one cares about college football then. There are so many great NFL stories going on with coaching changes and spectacular plays from the weekend before and not to mention two bowl games that mean NOTHING, the GMAC and International bowls AFTER all of the BCS bowls except the BCS Championship game.

The BCS is stupid and really needs the villagers to band together, fire up the torches, and burn down Castle Von BCS.

The Documentary And You

The documentary is coming along well. Catina agreed to watch a few documentaries with me and we will be planning that soon I hope!

So until that happens I have taken it upon myself to watch one that I've been waiting on seeing since its release from The Criterion Collection.

Harlan County U.S.A.

This is the documentary of the 1973 strike against the Brookside Mine in Harlan County Kentucky. This is a very powerful and moving documentary.
It starts by showing some of the history of the region and how impoverished these people are. You see how hard the lives of these people are. The absolute poverty is astounding.

I really have mixed emotions watching this. First I am a union member and from my experience it encourages a lot of laziness. I have been a union member for over fifteen years and believe me if I had to work for a living again it would be difficult.

We have a genuine Johnny Friendly in charge of our union who weaseled his way into a position in which he can't be voted out anymore. I feel he is corrupt, inept and now he is untouchable by the rank and file. In today's day and age unions aren't as necessary. It is a fact.

Now let me tell you that I believe that the unions had a place in America. Because of what the unions did at one time made a lot of changes in the work place. A lot of laws have been made and changed so that when you go to work you are safer and a lot of that is because of a stand made by a union at one time or another.

Coal mining is a dangerous occupation. In 1973 it was even more dangerous than it is now but there are still tragedies that happen in this country. Look no further than Sago.

So here we are at this documentary that is just over thirty years old now. Who was right in this dispute? We really are never told. We don't know the facts, we aren't privy to the contract that was offered, the previous contract, or any of those kind of facts. It really isn't the point though.

What we see is decidedly from the point of view from the people who suffer. From the coal miners who went on strike and the people who went through the strike in the community that lasted just over a year.

In this case I believe the union did a good thing, this is what unions were supposed to be good for and what they should continue to do. There are rallies to support the striking miners. There is a lot of footage from the picket lines as the striking miners are trying to keep the strike breakers out. The state troopers are brought in to keep the roads open and you bear witness to the violence that starts to happen.

You see the way that the striking miners start to splinter in their resolve and you see the inevitable result as things get out of hand. You see how strong the striking miner's wives band together to support their men and stand on the picket line with them. There are parts of this movie that break my heart.

This is also a polarizing documentary. The striking miners are portrayed as saints and of course the company is portrayed as evil. Where is the actual line? It depends on if you are pro or anti union.

An Amazing Saturday Night!!!!

Yes my friends it was a wonderful evening!!!!

It was just a simple evening watching the Dallas/Seattle game. The wonderful part was there was a lot of people there and everyone had a great time!

The common spirit and fun of the evening is what was so fun. My simple and fumbling attempt to explain it with my humble words won't do it justice at all but suffice it to say it was what I needed right now.

It helped me in the midst of a rough patch at the moment and it was a good game to boot!

The Documentary Is Rolling Along!

So far so good!

I haven't reviewed the footage yet but it is going along well. I had some concerns about how we were going to edit it together but I talked with Catina last night about it and we kicked around some ideas.

I believe this is really going to be better than I thought. The downside is that we can't sell it for any profit since we are going to be taping and including the performances in the documentary. Perhaps a film festival or two might be able to happen though, we shall see.

That is a long ways away right now though.

Practice Compassion

I've watched one of the best movies I have ever seen and I'm not even towards the end of it yet.
The movie is called Red Beard. Another Akira Kurosawa movie.

It is honestly hard to pick his best. His best shows why he is a cinematic master, his worst is far better than most of today's Hollywood dreck. His most recognized masterpiece is Seven Samurai but I believe that is only because more of those people are unfamiliar with any of his other masterpieces.

Ikiru which is one of the most amazing movies you will ever see (and I'd love it if anyone asked to view it with me) is about learning to live. Please revisit my post on Ikiru if you wish to learn more.

Red Beard is about learning compassion for your fellow man. The story is simple, an arrogant young doctor in 19th century Japan is sent to a clinic for the poor. It is run by Red Beard, Dr. Kyojio Niide played by Kurosawa's favorite actor Toshiro Mifune. A stern and brilliant doctor who sees beyond the illness and into the patients spirit and heart.

This was also Mifune's last movie with Kurosawa. They had a falling out after Red Beard. The Hallmark of Red Beard is many long takes. One take tops the clock at five and a half minutes. While now a long take is almost unheard of for today's viewing audience. Hollywood just doesn't feel that most people have the patience to invest emotion and caring into the characters and tend to tune out if there isn't a quickly edited pace.

You have to work to watch Red Beard, especially if you can't sit still. The rewards though are extremely high. If I could create a film a tiny fraction of this quality I'd be thrilled.

To practice compassion, what does that mean? I heard once that the most compassionate thing you could ever do for a person was to wipe their tears.

There is nothing more intimate or touching than to show someone you understand their pain, you want to ease their suffering and wiping their tears away is a physical demonstration of that.

Step out of your own self, look around you from a different point of view and look to see where you can practice that kind of compassion. Even if it is as simple as holding a door open for someone, it can have meaning to that person. Look around you.

I got a hug today after work and I can tell you it nearly reduced me to a weepy mess because of the compassion that came through that simple yet powerful act.

Back To Work

After my long holiday vacation it is now time to head back to work for a light schedule. I'll be busy today I am sure of that but just three days and then into a weekend!

We will be continuing the doc shoot tonight with another read through at seven. I'm enjoying it a lot!

What A Finish!!!!

Last night in the Fiesta Bowl Boise State University shocked powerhouse Oklahoma and proved once and for all why there should be a playoff system in Division 1A football.

In a wild finish which proved to be one of the best games I have seen in a long time number 9 David knocked off number 7 Goliath. OU kept giving Boise State more rocks to throw with four turnovers however the big dog was still in the fight until the end of overtime.

Boise decided to go for the two point conversion for the victory or the loss in OT. Their D was just spent and worn out from an outstanding performance on the field. They really gave their everything.

To be fair though OU really was in a no win situation. If they beat Boise, well they were supposed to and if they lost well they lost to a nobody who was easy to overlook.

Now then you will have a 13-0 team, a unbeaten and untied team who might not be crowned Champion. It is possible that they could be the only unbeaten team in all of Division 1A college football and STILL not be the Champs.

If Ohio State loses to Florida then every team will have a loss EXCEPT Boise State!!!!

You can bet that the BCS hated to see Boise win. They wanted to see OU run up the score on the tiny school and prove once and for all that the BCS is the best way to do things. What happened though was the best argument for why they play the games and why the championship needs to be settled on the field instead of in the polls in an antique bowl system that has long outlived its purpose.

This is as close to a BCS meltdown as could be hoped for!!!!

I Expect More

In 2007 I expect more from myself as I mentioned in my last post.
To be specific:
I expect myself to be a better friend.
I expect myself to be more kind, caring, compassionate, and generous.
I expect myself to be more patient with those around me.
I expect myself to learn more.
I expect myself to be a better human.
I expect myself to share more and to not leech as much.
I expect to contribute more to my fellow brother and sister.
I expect everyone one of you to have a better 2007 than I plan on having!!!!

Night Of The Meek

New Year's Eve.

For most a night of rowdy parties and a time to celebrate the new year.
For me a time of reflection on the past year. What it also becomes is a time for a new beginning, a time when the old is remembered and discarded for the new and the fresh.

This is the last few hours of 2006 and as I type this it is 2007 in half of the world already. 2006 has been pretty well documented for me in this past year's blog, it has had its good and bad. It has had some very good times and very bad. I guess you can't have one without the other.

I expect better from 2007 though. I expect new beginnings and opportunities. I expect more from myself. I expect myself to quit whining as much and to take more action. I expect to break my own barriers. I simply expect more from myself than what I have given so far.

If you are a regular reader of my blog then you also know that a lot of times my titles have more than one meaning. This is indeed the case this time as well.

Night Of The Meek not only represents your humble writer but it also represents one of the best TV episodes ever written for one of the best shows to ever grace the TV screen.

The Twilight Zone.

Night Of The Meek featured Art Carney as Mr. Henry Corwin. A very down on his luck seasonal Santa Claus on skid row. The episode opens with Mr. Corwin in a bar after a handful of shots and a sandwich. He is due back at the store as his liquid lunch is over with. He laments to the bartender about why there is no real Santa and why children have to go without during the season. He staggers out of the bar and is set upon by two children who proceed to beg him for toys as he embraces them and starts to weep.

Back at the store he arrives to a large line of folks who have been waiting on him and an angry store manager who berates him as a drunk. He sits uncomfortably upon his chair as a pushy mother with an ungrateful kid are thrust upon him. He accommodates the rather large child before falling off of his chair with the kid above him yelling at everyone that Santa is drunk. The mother is very agitated and complains to the manager that she will never spend another penny in the store.

All of this sets up one of the best monologues in TV history as I will endeavor to capture here.
The store manager has just fired Henry Corwin and called him a drunk.

This stops Corwin in his tracks, he turns and approaches Mr. Dundee and proceeds:

Henry Corwin - Thank you very much Mr. Dundee. As to my drinking this is indefensible and you have my abject apologies. I find of late that I have very little choice in the matter of expressing emotions. I can drink or I can weep and drinking is so much more subtle.

Mr. Dundee - Will you please leave!

Henry Corwin - But as for my insubordination I was not rude to the woman! Someone should remind her that Christmas is more than barging up and down department store aisles and pushing people out of the way.

Mr. Dundee - Now Corwin!

Henry Corwin - Someone has to tell her that Christmas is another thing finer than that! Richer. Finer. Truer. And it should come with patience and love. Charity. Compassion. That is what I would have told her if she had given me the chance.

Dundee proceeds to ask him how everyone will live up to these standards.

Henry Corwin - I don't know how to tell you Mr. Dundee. I don't know at all. All I know is that I'm an aging, purposeless relic of another time and I live in a dirty rooming house on a street filled with hungry kids and shabby people where the only thing that comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve is more poverty! You know another reason why I drink Mr. Dundee? So that when I walk down the tenements I can really think it is the North Pole and the children are elves and I'm really Santa Claus bringing them a bag of wondrous gifts for all of them!

I just wish Mr. Dundee just one Christmas....Only ONE....that I could see some of the hopeless ones, and the dreamless ones....just on one Christmas, I'd like to see the meek inherit the Earth, and that is why I drink Mr. Dundee and that is why I weep....

And so that ends one of the best and most overlooked moments in TV history, as Mr. Corwin exits the store and heads down his shabby street filled with shabby and hopeless people.

My friends this post might be a week too late to you but I believe it is appropriate every single day of the year, every year.

A Long Day

Went to my grandmother's 80th b-day party today.

We left around 10 am in two vehicles. It was a card party where everyone brought cards and shared memories. I saw some people that I haven't seen in a few years, specifically my cousins. It was great visiting with them for a while!

So after the party wound down and my brother and his family left for home we cleaned up a bit and headed home ourselves.

About an hour into the journey my brother calls and tells us that he has hit a deer and he is about a half hour ahead of us. They had called the insurance company and they needed a police report. So we waited for the highway patrol to show up to write the report. He showed up and took down the information and wished us well.

The van was drivable but not really over 50 or so and it was missing a headlight now. So we take the lead and start home again at a snail's pace of 50 miles per hour.

So now home and safe I can say that I'm pretty tired but it was a pretty nice day!

Thursday Was Nice!

This week off has been really nice!

Yesterday I had lunch with Chris and last night with Chianti watching a couple of bowl games!

I woke up to the news that Mike Tyson was arrested for a DUI and Saddam will be dead by Sunday. Tyson has become such a tragic figure, he has gone from sports celebrity to pop culture danger sign.

He had everything in the world and a two cent head to go with it. Tragic doesn't even come close to telling this story. Saddam is pretty much the same story except Tyson isn't actually evil as Saddam is. I'll not shed any tears when he is dieing at the end of the rope.

Anyway there isn't much to report today. I watched Wicker Man....again if you are a steady reader of this blog then you know that it wasn't the Nick Cage remake. The 1970's original with Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, and Britt Ekland. It isn't a horror movie in the traditional sense but it probably does qualify as a horror movie classic.

Happy Friday everyone!

Green Screen Testing Today

Beersnob and I went to the hanger today to do some green screen testing for his fanfilm project. We had two actors dress in Battlestar costumes and we played with the lighting against the green screen to get the footage.

We had a good time. Had lunch at DaVinvi's coffee house and chatted about fanfilms in general with the actors.

After a quick wrap up, I headed off to a local video store to see what is new this week on DVD. None of the new releases did anything for me so I picked up the classic movies Wicker Man and Forbidden Planet.

Shortly I'll be headed off to a get together at a local place and have a drink and some supper:)

What a good and simple day!

The Day After

Well world peace has become elusive as if everyone's Christmas wish has gone unanswered.
It was your wish wasn't it? I mean I am sure that it isn't just beauty pageant winners and myself out here asking for the same thing. I haven't met one yet so I am sure that that is a tedious connection at best worthy of My Spacien proportions.

Well regardless it was mine and it appears that so far there is good news this morning, Saddam's last appeal has been heard and denied so within thirty days he will find justice at the end of a rope.

And there is bad news, an earthquake has hit near Taiwan causing another tsunami to head toward the Philippines, two years after the tragic one that hit Sumatra, among other such stories.

Well it is a week off exactly from this point. Yesterday was nice. A good Christmas. I believe I saw A Christmas Story at least four times as a whole and at least three other times in parts, large parts. So that toll is heading higher and higher as my most watched movie.

I got a message from Catina giving me a Thank You for the documentary project. I had given her my camera for the holidays to document some of the household events and she was overjoyed, that gave me the warm and fuzzys. When the whole project comes together you will see where this fits in but right now I can't because the focus might change and it might not be a part of the main story. Documentaries are very fluid as I've written and it might very well change more than once before it is finished.

I believe I am going to fix a third cup of coffee without alcohol. It is sharply cold outside and coffee really tastes good this morning:)

Merry Christmas

Peace on Earth
To You and Your Family
To You All Alone Out There
May You find Love and Warm Company

The Movie I've Seen The Most

It is really a movie you probably wouldn't guess at all. It didn't do well at the box office when it came out but I'd wager that I really have seen this movie more times than any other.

A Christmas Story.

With the TBS 24 Hours of A Christmas Story Marathon every year for the past few years that has probably catapulted this tiny gem of a movie far ahead of movies that I have seen such as Casablanca, Star Wars, Citizen Kane, African Queen and such.

I can't think of any movie that I have seen more than this one. I can't think of any TV show episode that I have seen more than this movie either.

I believe everyone is familiar with the story and probably can relate to it which is probably why the appeal has given A Christmas Story such long legs.

The theme is pretty universal, a young boy is obsessed with getting one gift and goes to great lengths to tell others about what he wants. It just so happens that everyone is seemingly standing in his way.

It is also a good reflection of childhood during this time of year through the eyes of a child. Something many adults have lost site of. In this era of materialism and holiday hustle and bustle it is easy to lose site of what the Spirit of Christmas is all about. I have come to the point of my life where giving is far more enjoyable than getting anything. That actually happened about ten years ago if I was going to put a date on it.

Once you get a taste for giving and how much joy it really brings you, you start to want to do it more often. You start to make it a daily event if you can. You start looking for people to lend a hand to and start seeing how little the paper, ribbons, and bows actually mean.

Now here is the hard part, you also have to be a joyful receiver. When someone else goes gets the giving bug and you wind up on their list, it also is giving them a tremendous amount of joy and if you can't gracefully accept their gift you are denying them the same pleasure you are trying to achieve for yourself through giving.

I admit I am the most difficult person in the world to buy for. For the most part I am capable of taking care of all of my wants and needs. I would rather someone give to a charity than to me but if they want to give me something then I am also a gracious receiver because I know it comes from their heart and they mean it. Be thankful someone is thinking of you, there are a lot of people out there who don't have anyone in their lives during this time of year.

Oh My Head....

Alright here is what I have done for the first time....this morning around 9ish I decided to fix some coffee.

Well there I am putting the Drinkbusters kitchen back in reasonable order and waiting on the coffee pot to finish when I sat the mug down beside the brewing hot pot. I spied the bottle of Rumpleminze that Weezy used last night in her drink recipe. I decided to add a little bit into the mug!

Well the Rumpleminze looked kind of lonely by itself so I added a bit of Irish Cream....and a bit of Kahlua....

Yeah....

Well it tasted SO GOOD that I decided to fix another mug and before long I was buzzing pretty good. Yep I was.

So around 10ish I crawled back into bed having successfully broken the AM drinking barrier. A barrier I am unlikely to ever break again. My day was kind of sluggish from that point forward as I got back up around 11:30.

On the positive side I got the Drinkbusters 1x6 transfered to my PC and have it in a rough edit state. I need to add the title cards and do the green screen keying and I'll have it online!

I dare say I could have had it finished if not for the smashing of the AM drinking barrier.

Tomorrow straight coffee is on the menu, trust me.

The Coolest Friends!!!!

Tonight we filmed the Holiday Episode of Drinkbusters!

It was a bit of an experiment in that I had every member create their own holiday drink and then they tested each other's drinks at the end!

This was all prefaced by a brief Christmas tradition of gift giving in which I was blown away by a personalized Drinkbusters shot glass!!!! What an incredible gift!!!! Here is what is even better though, we had a great time just talking and hanging out!!!!

I really have the coolest friends!!!! I am really grateful for every one of them!!!!

Today seemed like a short day at work. It was our holiday meal. Yesterday was spent smoking three briskets and making the marinade for the pork loin. With all of that done and with the trimmed and quartered pork loin in the fridge in the marinade we were all set for today's feast.

I started the grill around 10, the meal was set to start around 11:30. I put the loin on the grill and about forty five minutes later it was ready to cut up and serve! I ate so much, I hurt for about two hours!

It was a great day my friends. A day full of simple pleasures and joys. I am now off work until the third of January 2007!

Going Well!!!!

So far the filming for the documentary has gone smoothly. There is some very good footage after three nights of shooting.

Last night was the read through of the script where the actors in the play sat around a table and read the entire script, asked questions, and started the getting to know you process.

They are becoming more comfortable with the camera being on them which will open up some doors for sharing the focus of the documentary.

We have nearly five hours of footage as of this point and will probably need about another two hundred hours to make it good!!!!

All systems go!

A Wonderful Era Remembered

I've posted a few times about my childhood, my dad was a truck driver and how I developed a appreciation for classic country music. The Statler Brothers, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Glenn Campbell, Tom T. Hall, Dave Dudley, C.W. McCall (I still get pretty fired up when I hear Convoy or Wolf Creek Pass), and a few others.

Well one of those 8 tracks we listened to a lot when there wasn't a radio station around was from Red Sovine. Red Sovine was THE master of the spoken word song. A genre that has long died and gone away. Jimmy Dean with Big John is a classic, Lorne Greene had a few like Ringo, even Walter Brennen tried his hand at it and Grandpa Jones. Red stood head and shoulders above all of these great artists though.

As old as I am, I still get very misty when I hear Phantom 309, Giddy Up Go, Little Joe, and probably his masterpiece Teddy Bear.

No one before or since Red can do a ballad like he does. His quiet quivering voice can reduce me to wiping my eyes in no time at all. Well that doesn't mean a whole lot, there are lots of things that do that but Red probably is close to the record!

Sometimes I wish that the spoken word song would make a come back. It really is a great art form and it is sad that no one records this style of song anymore. There are so many stories out there to be told. Alan Jackson attempted to bring this kind of song back but it lasted about one song and that was it.

If you can find Teddy Bear out there (which you can since it is now posted on my My Space page) listen, have something to wipe your eyes with just in case.

I'm Out

Of the playoffs in all three leagues ending my Fantasy season.

I can still play for a weekly first place which pays forty dollars but outside of that I'm done. It won't be long before I am starting up my fantasy football homework again.

I will be going to the second night of the auditions for day two of the documentary! This is pretty much groundwork footage so far but it looks like it will be getting very interesting!!!! I'm very excited!

A Good Start!!!!

It was a good start to the documentary project!
All of the actors seemed to not mind the camera as I was switching locations. I got a couple of unguarded moments.

All in all it IS like gold mining. You shoot lots and lots of footage for a documentary and mine the storylines whereas in filmmaking you have a story in front of you and then efficiently shoot as few takes as possible to get what you need to edit that story together.

There is no deadline for this documentary. No set ending either. I have no idea when to stop the film rolling so it will just go until something natural happens that would make a good ending point.

This is going to be an exciting journey!

And So We Begin!!!!

Yes my friends my first project officially kicks off here shortly and I'm thrilled!!!!

I'll report later:)

Drinkbusters 1x5!!!!

My friends Drinkbusters 1x5 is finally up and ready to view. It was done just over a month ago but is a good one nonetheless!

This is the Google video site: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2568210491521846916&hl=en

This is the You Tube site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxB8Ag6rSBk

Hope you enjoy it!!!!

Ouch It Hurts!!!!

Ok American culture has devolved to where anyone with a single digit IQ can not only become ultra successful and bypass a well deserved career of deep fat frying things.

I saw a story this morning where Jessica Simpson had such a difficult time saying her lines in her new project that the producers had to have her fitted for a ear piece so that they could feed her the lines.

Yes in today's world you can get by on looks alone, which is probably why I am a poor blue collar worker who hits a clock in the morning. Yes I am very pro capitalism and this is one of those unfortunate side effects of such a system.

I swear, she is one sneeze away from losing her only working brain cell and is worth more than Africa and India combined!

Somewhere a Hooters is missing their model employee prototype. No it doesn't make me jealous, it gives me hope that someone who can work hard can get ahead and obviously the American Dream is available to everyone. The size of the pie is infinite and welcome to all.

Tomorrow the documentary starts. We are supposed to meet for a pre-audition drink and kick things off with a Vinatieri field goal instead of a Vanderjagt like shank. We have some great groundwork put into place and I am confident that this is going to be a successful endeavor!

Saturday Morning Roast

Last night before I went to bed I put a venison roast in the crock pot.

YUMMY!!!! It made for a very good breakfast and will serve to feed me all weekend with what is leftover will feed the dog quite well!!!!

I put the roast in the crock pot, chopped up enough potatoes to fill up the rest of the pot, added spices, and covered in beer. Use whatever regular beer you can find. Just not a light beer. I generally use Miller High Life or Genuine Draft. It is cheap and adds plenty of flavor to your meal.

This also works well for a beef roast if not a bit better since there is a bit more fat with beef than there is with venison. You just want to use the spices that you are comfortable with. If you want it spicy then go with a bit of chili pepper, if you don't want spicy then use a bit more salt and pepper or get a pack of mixed spices and use that.

If you want a simple to prepare meal that will feed you for a few days or several people that will be very happy with the results, there ya go!

A Great Meeting!!!!

Tonight we had a wonderful meeting about the documentary for a upcoming play.
There are several storylines we decided to pursue but since it is a documentary they very well will likely change.

Documentary shooting is a lot like gold mining. You get a lot of dirt and sift through it to come up with the nuggets that make up the great stories. There really is no agenda with this doc. It has the potential to become very uplifting and inspirational. It also has the potential to become very heartbreaking, that is not likely but there is the potential it could happen.

We start filming on Monday and go until we are finished whenever that could be.

I'm looking forward to this project very much. It'll be great to get this project going and see where it goes because I really don't know the ending!!!!

Thursday And

It was alright!
One day closer to the weekend and one that I am looking forward to. Well not that I don't look forward to every weekend but this one is a great football weekend:)

I am onto the first round of playoffs in one league and the second round in my money league:) Woohoooo!!!!

It was very nice out today. Warm, a bit windy, but overall nice:) We have set the next date to film Drinkbusters 1X6 which will be a Holiday/Winter drink episode!!!! It will be a lot of fun!!!!

I know I know, I don't even have 1X5 edited yet, I just don't have anyway to power up my camera to do the transfer to my hard drive from the tape. Soon my friends, soon:)

I finished up 24 season 5 last night. It probably was the best season so far. Very good and was lacking the constant perils that really didn't contribute much to the storyline that have plagued past seasons. This had a very strong season long arc which did keep you glued to the series!!!!
I couldn't do this season justice at all in a regular review so I just won't do it. If you see it you will be happy you did!

So I Come Home

To find a package sitting on my doorstep, a black and white cat is perched on top of it and seemingly unafraid of me as I approached.

I quickened my pace and the kitty skittered off around the house.

So I knew I haven't ordered anything I was confused as I picked up the package. So I look at the address and sure enough, Fedex had delivered to the wrong address. So I see that it came from Circuit City and call the number on the address and they are of little help.

I thought maybe they could arrange a truck to come around and pick it up and redeliver the package to the owner. Well no luck and they, yes they did, suggested I keep the merchandise. I said that it wasn't mine and it needs to go to the proper owner.

So I get off of the phone with the Circuit City tech support and to my surprise they wish me a Merry Christmas which actually gave me a smile as it put me into shock! So I decide to just bypass calling Fedex and go directly to the owner himself. So I find his phone number and learn he is working out and is very happy to come by and pick up his box in about an hour.

So I decide to watch a few episodes of 24 season 5 and then I hear a truck pulling up. It is the proper owner and he is simply thrilled!!!! It is really a simple product, a XM satellite radio mount for his inside stereo so he can listen to the satellite radio service in his house. He is massive and has several tattoos to go along with his shaved head and goatee but he is a bit slow in his speech and motions but he is extremely friendly and happy!

All together I am happy I was able to find him and get the property to him as well be wish Merry Christmas by a stranger on the phone!

A unique day:)

2-1

I've secured the fourth and final spot in one of the playoff brackets in a Yahoo league by beating the top ranked team and having one of the top four teams lose. I needed help to get in and I got it.

I'm completely out of the other Yahoo league and dwelling near the bottom of the ladder.

My money league, well I won the first round of the playoffs and won second place overall this week with 74 points!!!! First place had 75 points this week so I was really close! That is alright though, I won twenty dollars!!!!

I had a very good day yesterday! Got back home around 9:30 recovered a bit and went to bed. I feel pretty good this morning! I wish I could have more days like yesterday in fact. I'd make coffee right now but I really don't have a travel mug to take with me to work. I think I'm just going to keep stopping by the quick shop and getting coffee:) I need routine sometimes and that isn't a bad one.

A Good Weekend!!!!

I had a pretty good weekend!!!!
It was nice, peaceful, and just real nice.

Nothing I can really put my finger on and nothing really tangible but it was enjoyed. I've been watching football and the fifth season of 24 which has been very good!

So far in my fantasy leagues I'm 2-1 and I have three players going tonight in my money league. This was the first week of the money league playoffs and I have won my heads up this week so my team is going to advance. If my team scores at least 10 points then I'll be in the running for the weekly money.

I got confirmation on a documentary project will soon be in production that I have been asked to work on. That'll be nice! I love documentaries. They make for some interesting viewing. Yeah I know that is weird for me to say that since I hate reality TV....almost as much as I hate remakes.
Can't stand it but a documentary is so much better. There is usually a great narrative that tells the story the filmmaker has in mind. I'm starting to see a couple of different storylines that this documentary can present.

We are going to meet this week and start to discuss the project. YES I'm excited!!!! This is my passion. This is one of the places I feel comfortable. This is one of the places I feel I have a real purpose and one of the places I feel a measure of happiness. That is one of the reasons I felt so sad that I left Chris's project. Yeah I'm better now and I confess to feeling relieved that I wasn't working on his project.

That is mainly that we do have different styles. Just like you can watch a Hitchcock movie and a Michael Bay movie and tell they have vastly different styles. Chris and I are like that. We have different views on filmmaking and different ways to go about it. Neither is right or wrong, just different.

Anyway I am very much looking forward to this documentary project. I believe that there might just be two to three different subjects to focus on and document.

New Coffee Pot

The Drinkbusters are planning a Holiday Drink episode so since some of the drinks might just involve coffee I decided to purchase a coffee maker last night. I have one already but it is pretty old and I decided to get a new one since they are cheap and it is just better to have.

I doubt if the old one would even work without doing some maintenance and even then I bet the quality of the coffee made wouldn't be that good. So if a hot holiday drink is selected that involves coffee we are now prepared!

Yes there is also another motive. Chianti requested coffee last time we filmed and I couldn't make any that I felt comfortable giving her so I made hot tea instead. So now when we film and Chianti, Weezy, or Beersnob request coffee I can oblige!!!! They are my friends and I take care of them after all!

My vehicle runs smoothly now. I replaced the battery cable ends and added some diesel fuel additive for cold weather starting so it will fire smoothly now. Both batteries are charged up to 100% and the block heater is on. I'm off tomorrow to visit a friend so I have a full tank of fuel as well!!!!

Life is good!!!!

Ikiru

A few years ago I had the privilege of watching this most AMAZING movie. I thought I had written a blog about it but I failed to find one. I showed it to Chris and he still finds this as one of the most profound movies he has ever seen.

Anyone who knows me knows that I cite Akira Kurosawa as one of my favorite directors along with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra.

I could never name a favorite of all time, not even with a gun to my head. Can't do it. They are all great for different reasons. Kurosawa's reason is that he really had a grasp on what it meant to be alive and explored that. From his masterpiece Seven Samurai to Ikiru. In my very humble opinion these should be always mentioned in the same sentence as his masterpieces.

Ikiru is simply about a man who has lived his entire life as a mid level bureaucrat. He learns that his has stomach cancer and has little time left. What results is one of the best performances ever committed to film in Takashi Shimura's Kanji Watanabe. When he is suddenly confronted with his mortality he sees how unfulfilled his life has been. How he has never accomplished anything but shuffling papers.

He starts to search for what it means to live. He tries several traditional routes to find this fulfillment and fails. I can't say more without spoiling this beautiful story.

The way Kurosawa tells this story is very unique. It is told in two parts, one dealing with his search for meaning in his life and the other at his wake told in flashback form. This is a very atmospheric movie and every frame makes you want to search for the meaning in your own life. It makes you crave it. It makes you desire to find and define what meaning is to you. It isn't a happy film, it is quite melancholic, but it isn't a sad film either. It is inspirational. The final scene would move the most cold hearted person to tears as it is one of the most poignant statements ever committed to film. It is beyond my simple words to describe it.

Now why would I write about this movie that I have seen a couple of years ago today? Because it has been brought to my attention that there might be a remake of this magnificent film. Again you all know my policy on remakes. I refuse to even see one if I can help it. Not at the theater, not on DVD, not even on cable on TNT or whenever it will be aired. I refuse.

There are some things that should be considered cinematic blasphemy and remaking this gentle masterpiece is that. Even if it is done well, even if it has every single moment of tenderness and passion, even if it is done with great care, it cannot match the original. It can't be done, NO, it should not be done.

You can't remake Casablanca, Vertigo, or Citizen Kane. Ikiru has nothing to prove to any of these movies even though it is not known outside of the realm of film geeks. Hopefully it won't be remade but if it is then the best anyone can hope for is that it drives people to see the Kurosawa original.

Home Today....Sigh....

I wasn't trying to have a four day weekend but it is going to turn out that way.

I am trying to save my leave up because during the Christmas break we have a unique situation nearly every year where if we take three days of leave we get a full ten days off. It is a great time of year and nearly everyone takes advantage of this.

I have plenty of leave for this but I'd still like to acquire more right now....well for cases like today. I went out to start my vehicle, which as my steady readers know is a diesel, and it barely cranks over. The cold has finally drained the batteries. So I am home today and I'll be going to see a friend on Monday so I asked off for that day early this past week.

So here I am starting a four day weekend:) Last night Chris, Weezy, and I went to Callahan's for supper. It was a great time and we enjoyed each others company quite a bit as we sat and ate. I only had iced tea and Chris really doesn't drink. Weezy had two Irish Coffees which she allowed me to sample. It was very good for a very cold night!!!!

I have to say that I do have a coffee maker but I really haven't used it in many many years as I usually picked up a cup on the way to work. So I just had no use for it but after drinking Weezy's coffee I might change my mind. I have the ingredients to make nearly any drink since I have a well stocked bar for Drinkbusters. I rarely tap into that bar except for the very wintery days and I fixed the Bailey's and Hot Chocolate drink a few times:)

I ran the idea past the Drinkbuster's team to have a Holiday Themed episode and everyone loved the idea! So now Chianti, Beersnob, Weezy, and myself are looking for holiday drinks! I don't know if Irish Coffee qualifies but we'll see, it is pretty tasty!

I'm just not a big drinker anymore, I probably just have to accept that fact.

Well now as my battery charges my two batteries in my vehicle I am here at home and will be researching Holiday drinks!
What a life huh?!?!

SNL

I picked up the first full season of Saturday Night Live recently and have been enjoying it with pleasure!

It is great to see these shows again as they aired. No I'm not old enough to remember the first season as it aired, I believe that I started watching the show around 77. I do remember those shows though and yes I was old enough then. You'd be amazed what I remember about TV from those days.

For the most part growing up we had three channels and our entertainment choices were very limited which is why I went to the theater so much...well except when there was a rated R movie playing that week.

Anyway SNL was a great way to stay up late on a Saturday night and have a few laughs. Yeah a lot of the humor was over my head but it was still funny. The parody commercials, the Star Trek parodies, Don Pardo....well you get the idea.

I've seen about three episodes so far and they are wonderful. Sometimes the jokes work sometimes they don't. There is a lot that appeals to that time frame and the context of that era but there is still some very funny moments! You can start to see the evolution of Andy Kaufman as he gets his first major exposure before Taxi started in 1978.

You get to see some eclectic musical guests and some great hosts. Some of the funniest moments so far has been the Land Shark (a favorite of mine since I was a kid and do remember this character) Jim Henson's Muppets, Jim Belushi's impersonation of Joe Cocker, it is dead on since Cocker sings along side of him as well.

The value of this set will amaze you. It is a set that will put you into the state of mind that you might have forgotten about as you saw these shows the first time around. It'll surely bring back a lot of memories and hopefully those memories were good ones:)

It is great to see the mid 70's styles, clothing, humor, musical, and some of the Weekend Update news stories.

A great ride down memory lane my friends!

3-0 This Week

Yep, in my football leagues I was undefeated, however it really doesn't amount to a lot at this point of the season.

The playoffs are about to start in most leagues, in my money league it is starting this coming week in the free Yahoo leagues I believe it is another week away. I am probably not going to make the E-Town league playoff and I'm way way out of the other free league.

In my money league I don't think I am going to make the playoffs either. We'll see though.

My team has been so sporadic this year that it is hard to predict the performance from week to week. I am way out of the money so I've become a donater this season.

Next season will be better though!

The Joys Of The Season

Sirius started with their Christmas music on Thanksgiving Day this year. Fine with me!
Love holiday music!!!! Can't get enough of it. Sometimes when I find I am down I will get into my MP3 file and pull up some Christmas music.

I always find that I feel better about things afterwards. Sirius has allowed me to hear some songs I either haven't heard in years or new songs that really make an impression.

Being a eclectic music fan I listen to a lot of classic country as many of you readers already know. Well when I heard the Chet Atkins version of Do You Hear What I Hear my heart melted. It is simply one beautiful piece of music. It compares to the Bing Crosby version very well which I consider probably the definitive version.

I've heard all of the classics from Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra to the contemporary artists. On the Roadhouse channel which has been turned into the Country version I've heard many of the songs I grew up listening to like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer from Gene Autry himself!!!!

I know it isn't what the season is about but to me it really brings back good memories and puts me into a state of mind that is always joyful and good. Yeah I do less whining on my blog too.
Love this time of year my friends, love it!

Lazy Days

Yesterday and today are pretty lazy days.
It is still pretty cold out, around 27 as I write this. I went out yesterday and got groceries for a few days so I am set.

It's alright though, yesterday there were some very good college football games on and one more nail in the coffin of the BCS. The consensus number 2 team USC was beaten by unranked UCLA which sets up either a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan or a Ohio State and Florida match up.

Either way it should be a good game however Boise State is undefeated at 12-0 and they are relegated to the Fiesta Bowl to play OU. A undefeated team doesn't get a chance to play for the National Championship. A team that is 12-0!!!!

Give me a sixteen team playoff. That is the solution. A four team would be a baby step in the right direction. What needs to happen though is the abolition of the BCS. When teams can't settle it on the field and who plays is left up to a computer program, well that takes the fun out of the sport and is unfair to the athletes who worked very hard to become undefeated.

What do they get to play for? "We are the Fiesta Bowl Winners....great.....woohoooo.....yep....I'm hungry, where do you want to eat?"
No one is going to remember that or care but they will remember the National Champion.
What I'll remember is a team that has done everything it could do to play for a National Championship and get the very short end of the stick because of a system that is blatantly biased to big schools. They have nothing to gain except a win in a meaningless bowl. If they win then so what? If they lose then they were supposed to lose and have no business playing against the top conferences anyway.

Who loses? Boise State and the fans.
Who wins? The Bowl hosts who have conned the public that their bowl games mean something today.

Happiness....Even A Small Measure

Is seemingly gone today.

A few different reasons but the one I will dwell on here is something simple. One of the simple pleasures for me the past few years has been my coffee card. I have written about it and I know that every morning I get a stamp that leads up to a free cup of coffee every week after five stamps.

Now the quick shop I go to for coffee has done away with the coffee card. One of the simple pleasures that has sustained me over the past few years.

Gone. All gone.

I got my fifth stamp yesterday on the last card they gave out. I used my card this morning for my free cup of coffee and now Monday I won't have a card to get a stamp for. I don't know how such a small thing can give me pleasure but it has and now it is gone.

Yeah, I'm really sad.

Well....

The snow isn't that bad. I think there was so much wind that it kinda blew the snow further South. The roads are icy and hard frozen but being the intrepid explorer that I am....hehehe....I plan on going to work this morning.

I have gone through too much leave already. I didn't want to use up as much as I have the past two weeks which comes down to about twenty two hours including yesterday. The sky is clear so I know the Sun will be out and start to clean off the roads today. Yeah it is cold out, around 20ish but my Suburban has been running for about an hour now so it is all warm inside.

I'm leaving for work fairly soon to give myself enough time to get there. I am sure that the City has been sanding the streets and intersections all night....LOL!!!!

Home Early

Well because we are getting a pretty good sized snow storm work closed early and now I'm home.

It really isn't that bad snow wise but the wind is a killer. So on the way home I bought some chili, pizza, and of course chocolate (regular and hot varieties) to ride out the storm:)

I am sure that tomorrow it will be easier to get around and most of the snow will be on its way to melting. So for now I'm home, warm, and cozy:)

I might spike some of my hot chocolate with some Irish Cream:) That might just make me a bit more cozier:)

Alright....

I'd say that Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder is average. The first one is priceless, this one has its moments.

The London disc is better. It has better questions than the first disc which was shot in Toronto. The Toronto disc seems a tad mean spirited. The stories overall are darker and not quite as witty and funny as the first Evening With Kevin Smith or on the London disc.

I am not sure if Kevin was in a bad mood but the Toronto show just didn't work as well for me.
The London show, much better much funnier and more enjoyable.

Overall I'd say stick with the first Evening. Out right hilarious stories!!!!

An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder

Finally I got my copy I pre-ordered six months ago, signed.

Yeah, finally....one day after release day.

Naw, I am now set for the night!!!! Four hours of questions posed to one of my favorite directors. Kevin Smith is a natural storyteller. He can talk about one question for ten minutes, take it in twenty directions, and hammer home the point at the end while making everyone laugh.

He really is a genius in his own way. He is very unassuming and seems to be a very down to earth guy. He is also is one of those directors who is inspirational in the sense that he is one of the reasons I am a filmmaker. He makes it seem so simple but even in his unassuming state he is a brilliant writer of dialog. He really is. That is his strongest point and he knows it.

If I could write half as well I'd be....well me except just better at writing.

500!!!!

This is my 500th post!!!!
I have looked back over some of my posts and wondered what in the world I was thinking.
I guess it reflected an accurate snapshot of my frame of mind at the time though so I guess that shows progress of sorts.

It shows a lot of ups and downs, a lot of emotional turmoil, and it does show a modicum of growth.

I'd like to say that I have lots of projects in the works but the truth is I don't have anything of my own except for Drinkbusters. The Fanfilm Project is going to be huge though and I am very much looking forward to that!!!!

I'd love to say that I am hard at work writing a script that I know I can shoot but I can't tell you that. I don't. I start writing on an idea, fleshing it out, get twenty or thirty pages into it and the idea dies on the vine.

Maybe writing isn't my strong point. If you have seen Locker and read my blog you might be right in assuming that.

Alright here is a secret, I know that writing is a skill and that if I keep writing this blog I feel my screen writing will get better so I keep doing this. I do enjoy it though, it is a nice vent. Believe me I sort of think about these posts before I write them. Not a lot but there is a small amount of forethought put into them.

I do think that every time I write here I am unconsciously building my writing skill and can soon write a full length script to shoot. Yeah I know. I just need to start writing. I keep trying to figure out a niche that just hasn't had a movie made about it though. Something that will grab some online buzz. Something that will be Blair Witch unique. Blair Witch can't be done again. It just can't. It was a brilliant idea and could only be done one time. A one off. I'd like an idea that is just so unique that it will allow me to quit my job.

Oh yeah there is that too....that is a wonderful reason I write this blog. It helps me deal with my soul crushing job. So in a way my blog is a search for the meaning of happiness. I know I'm not happy at my job, however it has turned into a trap. I get so many perks it is difficult to quit without replacing at least the pay part. I can live without the massive amounts of vacation and copious amounts of federal holidays....yeah I can live....I'm sure....well....we'll see. That is the real trap of the job. They know it sucks so they give you more money every year and more time away from the job!!!! How devious is that?!?!?!

What my job also allows me to do is pursue my filmmaking future!!!! I have put a lot of time and effort into learning the filmmaking process. I can frame nearly any shot and do it efficiently. I can edit and make a story out of it. I can study the classic movies and I can tell what shots were used and why. I am all about film and making a story out of a lot of chopped up shots. I am about making the process fun for the actors and crew. I am all about making something harder on myself if it means that it is easier on cast and crew.

If you have seen my living room and the literally thousands of DVDs laying around it you would know I study movies. It is really hard to actually enjoy a movie for just being a movie without thinking about it and how it can be better.

Alright so this post isn't very focused but again this is my blog and my rules. I've got five hundred posts and in my life that is an accomplishment, a milestone that allows me a small amount of pride.

To make it more amazing I've probably written at least two hundred of them with at least one cat in my lap and like now two.