Concrete Box

Crazy Idea # 147: The glass-roof house

2008-06-06T10:03:00.002-05:00

I have a lot of crazy ideas early in the morning. daydreams mostly. I figured it might be fun to write them up and post them for your enjoyment/feedback. Just so you know, these are just crazy ideas I’ve had, I have no intention of actually doing any of them.

Crazy Idea # 147: The glass-roof house

Find a trailer home in an isolated area like on the edge of the city or in the middle of a corn field.

Aqure several used glass doors.

Apply caulk around the edges of glass where the glass meets the frame.

Re-enforce the glass by welding a bar accross the middle.

Mask off the glass and paint the metal frame ane reenforcement bar.

Wait until the end of Tornado season.

Erect a large tent over the house.

Remove the old roof.

Add a frame for the new roof: a grid of several 2x4s with larger pieces of wood across the ridge and around the edges.

Glue felt to the areas of the 2x4 grid that will come in contact with the doors.

Lay the doors into the grid, screwing/glueing them down.

Add a second layer of glass doors over the first, again using felt to eleminate noise from the two doors rubing against each other.

Use liberal amounts of caulk and/or expanding foam to seal up any cracks around the doors.

Lay down a second grid of 2x4s on top of the doors to hold them down. and ad a finishing touch.

Seal up any remaining cracks and paint all the exposed wood.

Remove the tent.

Project complete.

Uses for the glass-roof house:

Indoor marajuia farm with very little overhead (use natural sunlight instead of expensive and attention-attracting electic light) Of course this is highly illegal and when you get caught you’ll be sent to Federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison. Please don’t take this seriously.

Indoor farm for legal plants: Tomatoes, peppers, etc. (Obviously a much more viable use, though not as profitable, but profitable nontheless.)

A sunny winter getaway.

An enviromentally-friendly house. (Watch for an upcoming Crazy Idea post where I write about my crazy idea for an off-the-grid, self-sustaning house.

New post

2008-04-26T10:37:00.003-05:00

I've added a new post to my new blog. I think I'm going to use this new one more often. I like the presentation better—it's much easier to add photos.

I'm also going to make my blog posts less personal and more professional. I'm going to take more time in writing them. Hopefully they'll be good enough to get a job sometime in the future. Feedback would be helpful.

I've created a new website in Apple's iWeb.

2008-04-14T10:04:00.003-05:00

My New Website

I've know I've announced this before to a select few, but I've made some major changes recently. At first I created it as a quick online portfolio. I started tinkering with it because I didn't really like the way iWeb created the navigation bar (an automatic process). It was helpful at first but I really wanted more control over it, so I created my own navigation system. Then I added a blog and a photo album page.

I'm not sure where this leaves Concretebox. I haven't decided what kind of blogging I'll be doing on the new site. Right now I feel like keeping it professional, I hope to use this site to get a job in the future.

Oh, I haven't thought of a name for it yet, so if you have any suggestions let me know!

SIUC

2008-03-29T16:32:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking strongly about returning to college. It's a bit of an intimidating prospect. I'm 26, quite a bit older than most college students. At the same time though, I'm not that much older than most seniors.

I'm in Carbondale now visiting the campus. I'm really impressed, except for the fact that I missed the tour of the Art and Design college.

Tuition is another thing that's a bit of a worry. One the one hand it's going to be money well spent, and I was thinking buying a car very recently that would cost about as much.

I want to become a better, more hire-able designer, and I like the outdoor activities available at this end of the state. Ultimately thought the motivation is increased earning potential.

2008-03-19T08:21:00.001-05:00

I just typed in a google/blogger word varification that was eight characters long. At what point does it become rediculas? Suddenly I feel like the characters on Lost, pushing the button every 108 minutes.

Competing Fantasies

2008-03-04T11:38:00.000-06:00

I’ve had this fantasy of living in Chicago. I’ve never lived in a big city before. There is a certain level of “toughness” associated with living in a big city. If I could survive there, I could survive anywhere. There is also an appeal to living on a smaller scale, no yard to mow, no sidewalks to shovel.

My plan would be to apply for jobs there, then after getting one, selling the house in Champaign and buying a small condo in the city. I would sell the car and would rely on the CTA. This will save me money by not having to pay for parking, insurance and fuel. More importantly I’d be a better environmentalist.

I feel though that just like in Champaign, any job I can get without a bachelor’s will barely pay for my living expenses. I may be living in an exciting new city, but without any disposable income to enjoy it with. This brings me to my other, competing fantasy.

I want to make more money. I don’t feel I can do that without becoming a better graphic designer, and more importantly without having a bachelor’s. I could apply to the U of I but I feel like leaving Champaign. I want to escape the cold, snowy weather. For a while I considered applying for schools in Florida and other southern states. I don’t want to pay out-of-state tuition. That’s why I’m showing interest in SIUC again.

SIUC offers a Communication Design degree. From the trends I’ve seen and read about, a print-only designer is becoming a thing of the past. If I am going to succeed I need to have skills in all forms of media.

In this scenario buy a house in Carbondale, get a few roommates and maybe a part-time job. I don’t want work to distract me from concentrating on my education. I go over-the-top with the quality of my work. I get involved in clubs and socialize with other students. I seek out internships and study abroad programs. I would enter my work in contests. The campus is also close to many outdoor recreation spots. I would love to visit those too.

Paying tuition is the biggest barrier to this fantasy. I would apply for scholarships and grants but I’m sure I’ll have to take out student loans. I’d graduate owing tens of thousands of dollars, but at least I’d have increased earning power, a better education and a much better portfolio.

Look at this thing I did

2008-02-22T11:49:00.003-06:00

I've been studying the newest version of the Apple iLife suite of multimedia applications. I just finished an exercise on creating a short video using iMovie. It's not the most creative thing ever but it's something I accomplished nevertheless.

If I won the Lottery I think I would still work

2008-02-11T10:39:00.000-06:00

I wouldn't want to work full time though, no more than 30 hours a week. I would want to take a lot of time off too, maybe 10 weeks of vacation a year.

I'd buy the house I live in now from my parents, but I wouldn't live there. I'd buy a house in the country. I'd try to make it as independent as possible, solar panels, propane, septic.

I'd buy a fleet of new cars too. A Prius for most of my driving, a big, four-wheel drive truck for when the roads are bad or I need to haul something or tow something and a hot little sports car for the warm, sunny summer days. I'd also want a snowmobile and a bigger motorcycle. I'd park them all in my barn. I'd build a sun room, maybe just and old greenhouse with regular household furniture in it.

"Winning the Lottery is the new American Dream"

UI = UnInterested

2008-02-08T11:00:00.000-06:00

I've decided to give up on trying to get a free bachelor's degree from the U of I. There are several reasons.

Best case scenario: I take once class each semester, including summer semester, and I graduate in five years. I hope I'm not still living here in five years. Worst case scenario: U of I doesn't honor the credits for gen-eds I earned at Parkland (very likely), and it takes more than five years.

Also I felt like I was treated like a bum walking in off the street, not a student. I tried to get advice as to what classes I should take from several sources. Everyone either ignored me or suggested I quit my job, become a full-time student and go $20,000 in dept like everyone else.

A few more reasons: I went to two sessions of a class before I found out I couldn't register for it. I felt out of place. I didn't like it. Additionally, working nights leaves very little time for a social life, I didn't want classes or classwork getting the way of what little social life I had. Getting to class was a bitch too. I just don't feel like committing a lot of my time, energy and money (tuition was free but books and fees weren't) to something that may not pay off anyway.

I'm not giving up on my education or furthering my career.

I have ordered several books about the Graphic and Web Design software I use. I intend to increase my skills in all areas, especially web design and development. I've been browsing job postings on the internet. It seems fewer and fewer people are interested in someone solely for print work. I plan to spend the next several months building a killer portfolio and expanding my web skills.

In November I will have two years in at IlliniMedia. I feel that's the minimum amount of time required for a good resume history. After that I'll start looking for other jobs. Right now I'm considering moving far away for a job. I've lived in the Midwest my whole life. I think I'd like to live somewhere warmer.

Oh Mandy...

2007-12-23T10:10:00.000-06:00

So I've been dating this girl named Mandy for about three weeks now. I'm totally in love with her. She loves me too. That's an awesome feeling.

We met on match.com, but had known each other from when we both worked at the Savoy16 movie theater, way back in 1999. I had a crush on her at the time, but she was dating some guy. She told me recently that she had a crush on me too.

We have the same tastes in music and movies and TV. She knows a lot more about local music, which is something I want to explore more. We're in similar stages in our lives and careers. It's been fun spending time together. Sometimes we go out on dates and sometimes we just relax at home. We're planning on doing New Year's together.

This has been a really good December for me! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

James Hamilton, University of Illinois student

2007-12-22T17:18:00.000-06:00

I've been accepted to the Spring 2008 term at the University of Illinois, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

I'll be a non-degree seeking student going part time. After a few semesters I can re-apply and become a degree seeking student part time. Eventually, I'll be able to graduate with a Bachelor's degree. As long as I work for Illinimedia, my tuition will be zero. I will only have to pay for books and fees.

I haven't decided what I want to get my degree in. I expect I'm halfway to a degree in Graphic Design, since that's what I studied at Parkland. I'm not sure I want to try the UofI's GD program though, from people I know in it, it's really though. I'm also not sure I want to be a graphic designer anymore.

I'm also considering creative writing and speech communications. I've done some writing and I enjoy it. I figured if I studied something I enjoy I'd get good grades. I also thought I could get a job as an editor anywhere in the country while I work on becoming a famous author.

Daytime

2007-12-18T07:35:00.000-06:00

I'm sipping coffee next the sliding glass door. The snow outside is thick and heavy, bright white. The daylight coming into the kitchen is full and bright. I recently cleaned the kitchen floor, the light bounces off it as well.

It's rare I'm inspired to write a poem, but there you go. It's a strange sensation being up this early. Even stranger is the fact that I'm alert, awake and happy. I won't make it to work my 8am, but maybe 8:30. That's still better than most people at my company, who roll in a few minutes after 9. The sensations of getting up early and being at work before 3:30 in the afternoon are exciting and new. Since starting at IlliniMedia just over a year ago, I've only been up this early a few times. I had come to expect that I wouldn't be able to go back to a 8-5 job, but right now, I feel I can. A friend once wrote "My future's so bright..." under a photo of him wearing sunglasses. Today, as I see the sun rise, I feel my future is bright too, as bright as the untouched snow outside my kitchen window.

2007-12-11T01:46:00.000-06:00

She likes me too!

2007-12-09T02:48:00.000-06:00

Well, I really, really, really like her. (Sorry JavaJunkee, it's not you (but I like you too))

2007-12-07T10:16:00.000-06:00

I couldn't possibly be in love already, could I?

xbox live

2007-11-17T01:11:00.000-06:00

I just got xbox live. I really like it. I'm going to have to try a game other than halo3, though. (If you'd like to Friend me on Xbox Live, my GamerTag is "MotorBikeGeek"

It doesn't seem like I've done much recently. At work most of my time is spent watching DVDs or surfing the net. I get up, eat breakfast, walk the dog, workout, eat some more, do dishes or laundry, then go to work, come back watch more DVDs and go to bed.

I did make some progress on my motorcycle today. It hasn't started since the middle of October. I'm hoping I've determined the problem, an electrical part called the Pulse Generator. I ordered a replacement from Sportland. It was about $50.00. With my luck it will arrive the day I return to work.

I have some time off for thanksgiving. I took an extra day off to make this a four-day weekend. Without the bike to work on I guess I'll have to clean out the garage. Anyone know where I can order a dumpster? :->

I found an HD-DVD player on eBay for about $150.00. I'm interested to see if it's all it's cracked up to be.

Dating

2007-10-28T21:47:00.000-05:00

I don't know about this online dating thing. I can't justify paying money for the privilege of emailing someone. I’ve looked at (and have profiles on) Match.com, Singlesnet, and Chemistry.com. A friend got me interested in a site called OkCupid; I'll end up using it more than any of the others because it’s totally free. I might try sneaking my blog address into my profiles on the other sites, maybe then if someone wanted to contact me, I wouldn’t have to pay a monthly fee just to chat with someone.

Offline, I feel like I’ve made great progress meeting new people. I want to a party with lots of people I didn’t know. At first I was a bit uncomfortable, but after a while, I just got up and joined someone dancing. I danced with a few ladies, and I also chatted up some new people.

High on Soda

2007-10-09T19:12:00.000-05:00

Water in my building is out today because of nearby construction on a water main. I examined by choice of beverages in the vending machines. $1.25 for 20oz of water, soda or orange juice. Seventy-five cents for a 12oz can of Coke products or 60¢ for a 12oz can of Pepsi products. I spent the big bucks and got water. About two hours later I was thirsty again but didn’t quite have enough to “splurge” on another water. I got a soda.

The intake of soda was a shock to my system, you see, I've started to change my diet. I'm eating six times a day and cutting a lot of calories and fat. I'm eating more whole grains, fruits and veggies. I'm cut way down on soda. I used to drink 2-3 cans of soda a day. Now I go two or three days without having one.

Since I started this change last Thursday I've noticed how cheep and easy it is to eat high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie foods. I’ve never paid much attention to the Nutrition labels on the stuff I eat. Even when I did look at that info I didn’t understand it.

Another disturbing revelation is how much fat and calories I’ve been eating. If you’re in the mood, I suggest checking out Fatcalories.com. It lists Nutrition info for the most popular fast food joints. Next time I order fast food, I’ll order off the kid’s menu!

The College Application Essay

2007-09-07T11:10:00.001-05:00

Here's what I came up with to answer the College Application's "Essay" question, "State the reasons for requesting non-degree enrollment."

I am applying as a part-time non-degree seeking student because I feel it is the best way for me to continue my education while meeting my financial and family obligations. I plan to become a degree-seeking student at a later date. I hope to graduate from The University of Illinois with a bachelor’s degree.

I feel that completing my education is a prerequisite for my ultimate goal of starting a family. I fear that without the advantages of a university education and a bachelor’s degree I will be unable to provide for my future family.

I cannot attend the University of Illinois full time because my current financial obligations require I work a full-time job. Additionally, given that my employer provides a tuition waver as part of my salary I feel it would be foolish to not take advantage of this opportunity.

I feel it is best for my education and my future if I am admitted to The University of Illinois as a part-time, non-degree seeking student for the Spring 2008 term.

So, what do you think?

college application

2007-09-06T13:03:00.000-05:00

I have the application for becoming a part-time, non-degree seeking student at UI and the form to get my tuition waived. I'm gunna start on it now.

Daydreams

2007-09-04T11:21:00.000-05:00

Traveling the country
So I’ve been daydreaming a lot lately about what I’m gunna do with my life. One such daydream included selling my house and many of my possessions and buying a class A motor home. I would travel the country for a year or more, working odd jobs wherever I stopped. This daydream also included a wife. That’s a daydream on to it’s self. As much as I think I would like a girlfriend and untimely a wife, I haven’t made an effort to meet someone. These other daydreams are possible, but not right away. At least I can make an effort to get out more, the meet someone. I guess I just need to get of the fear.

Returning to College
Now for another daydream. I was thinking about moving to Carbondale, buying a house there and going back to SIU full time. In this daydream I didn’t have a job, I had roommates I charged more their share of the rent to cover my expenses. Sometimes I don’t have a car in this daydream. I went back to studding Radio/Television. I spend weekends going to the Shawnee National Forest, camping, hiking, canoeing.

Buying a Sports Car
I also daydream of a new car. I’ve done the research and I think the best choice for me to obsess about is the Mazda RX-8. It’s a sporty car with a practical twist, a full size rear seat. Never mind that a used one is $18,000-$20,000, in my daydream it doesn’t matter.

The daydreams and fantasies have been coming for a while now and never stop. I guess I’ll keep plugging away and writing about it.

news-august 28

2007-08-29T01:53:00.000-05:00

I went to the doctor the other day. I've been having this nagging cough for about four weeks now. He took some blood and had me get a chest x-ray. I have a return appointment with him Thursday.

I was not offered the Creative Director job at Illini Media. I was however promised that my job will take on more creative duties as time goes on.

I've been watching Stargate SG1 season 10 on DVD and enjoying it. I've also been reading Larry Doyle's "I love you, Beth Cooper." It is very funny. I suggest them both.

monday weekend plans

2007-08-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

It's only the second day of the week and and I already don't want to go to work. I'm thinking of taking a mini-vacation this weekend. I'd like to drive somewhere about 300 miles away, spend the night somewhere and just relax. Any ideas?

Larry Doyle

2007-08-16T09:43:00.000-05:00

Ok, so, I’m more than a little excited that Larry Doyle will be coming to Champaign in September. Who the hell is Larry Doyle you ask? He is a former employee of Illini Media and an Alumi of the University of Illinois. Still what’s the big deal you may ask? This is really exciting for me, he’s a former writer for The Simpsons! Those of know me know I love The Simpsons and secretly dream of being a writer for cartoons. He and many other alumni will be honored at a hall-of-fame event at the Illini Media building in September.

2007-08-15T07:48:00.000-05:00

Good morning chumps and chumpets:

It’s Wednesday, that means I’ll be working late tonight so I’ll go in a noon. It means sending buzz and part of the welcome back edition to the press tonight.

I went in at 930 yesterday, the earliest I’ve been to work in a while. The night before, Monday, was Jon’s going away party at Seven Saints. I left work about a half hour early to attend that. I got home about 8:30.

There are few things I have a deep desire to purchase right now. I new car and a bigger motorcycle are two of them, but neither are realistic right now. I actually found it hard to find anything I really wanted recently. Then I discovered two things that I’ve wanted for a while, I just haven’t ever been compelled to buy them before. Apple’s .mac (that’s pronounced dot mac) service would allow me to sync my work and home computer’s calendars, address books and would allow me to store some files online. Apple’s QuicktimePro, would allow me to make simple edits to videos.

odyssey five

2007-08-12T21:58:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend renting Odyssey Five: the complete series. I recently finished watching it. I am sorry to say it’s one of those canceled sci fi shows. I seem to be interested in a lot of those types of shows: Enterprise, Dark Angel, Space above and beyond. The show is about a group of astronauts sent back in time to save Earth from being destroyed while they cope with reliving the last five years of their lives.

I watched TV all day. I took a nap from 3 to 4pm. I feel really slow. I think all the laziness today has left me feeling hung over. I didn’t walk the dog all last week and I haven’t done a workout in a while. I’m looking forward to getting up early and taking Skippy on a nice long walk. I’m gunna try to find out some more about Gold’s Gym too. Last time I went in there asking for membership info I was turned away. An odd business practice I think.

News

2007-08-09T08:38:00.000-05:00

I got two roommates in the last two weeks. That will help pay the bills. One roommate is living in what was my office, so I have several boxes of office stuff to sort through. I'm looking forward to throwing away a bunch of stuff—old computers, computer books, software, etc.

I visited the doctor the other day when a cough I had wasn't going away. She said I had broncitus and gave me some anti-biotics. We'll see how that goes. It was the first time I saw a doctor in about a year, maybe two. Last time I went was when I was working at publication services. I was was shocked when a month later I received a bill for $300.00. I think Illinimedia has better coverage, but I'm a bit cynical. We'll see if I get any surprise bills next month.

I gave Skippy (my dog) a haircut finally and he looks much better, and there's a LOT LESS dog hair in the house!

I'm decided I'm going to try match.com. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Last but not least, I'm applying for another job at Ilinimedia, Creative Works Manager. I feel it's kind of a longshot but if I get it I'll be working more 9-5 hours.

OK, ONE MORE thing. I've been with Illinimedia almost a year, yesterday the boss called me into her office and said I'd be getting a raise. I did the math and it's about $400 more per month! Horray for me!

My amazing phone.

2007-08-08T10:13:00.001-05:00

I’m pretty happy with my new phone. I’ve had it about a month now. I just yesterday discovered how to reprogram the softkeys to the functions I use. The default settings were of course programed to encourage text messaging and internet use. I also recently discovered I can get google maps on my phone! It’s much faster and easier to use than trying to use the google maps website on my phone.

2007-07-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

Impeach Blago!

Sign this online petition (about as useful as voting) and tell the Illinois House that Blago must go!

welcome to tolono mini-review

2007-07-01T09:14:00.000-05:00

I've been struggling to put my feelings about this movie into words. I think what I want to say is that I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed because despite all the professionalism, high tech equipment, professionals and careful planning, the film still has armature flaws. Some scenes are poorly lit. Characters are shot from far away. The image is fuzzy and hazy.

Despite it's technical flaws, I think it was a good film. The acting was great. The ending was bit confusing, and I felt having a character read from a newspaper to explain to the audience what happened as obvious.

2007-06-26T19:22:00.000-05:00

PANDORA IS DOWN!

CRY HAVOC!

morality questions

2007-06-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

1. So, someone of another race/culture does something you find horrific, but they see as a perfectly acceptable. Indeed what they are doing is not illegal, and most people of their particular culture agree that it is perfectly acceptable. You still find it horrific though. Is it right to try to impose your view onto the other's? Or is it more right to accept that their culture finds such a practice acceptable and respect that.

2. Now imagine the same situation but the other person is in another country. The practice you find horrific is illegal where you live but not in their country. Is it right to interfere or more right to respect their national and cultural boarders?

Motercycle!

2007-06-18T15:16:00.001-05:00

I got my license and I'm ridding my motorcycle a lot now. I ordered a white leather jacket online and expect it to arrive soon. I also ordered an owner's manual. I’m considering buying a windshield and some saddlebags.

Regarding modifications and add-ons, I added a head light modulator the other day. This small, but expensive device, ($127.00) changes the voltage going to the headlight several times a second so the headlight looks like it’s flashing very fast. This is a safety measure, it only works during the day.

Gas mileage so far has been really great! I filled up the two-gallon tank twice since I got it. Right now I'm getting 67mpg.

I plan on changing the oil soon. I don't know when it was last changed. I also feel I should lube the chain. Motorcycle oil is different from regular car engine oil so it's a little harder to come by. I've only found two options in town so far and I'm not too thrilled with either.

MSF course

2007-06-09T21:11:00.001-05:00

I got into a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course. I'll be done Sunday night. WHEN I pass I'll be on my way to getting my Class M licence. I'm way too tired to write now. The class is an hour away, I'm getting up at 5:45am to get ready and get there in time.

2007-06-08T22:38:00.000-05:00

I bought this

No, seriously.

Army guys are missing out

2007-05-27T09:05:00.000-05:00

Female Airman Punished for Threesome Check out the photo they decided to use. :-)

part time college student

2007-05-26T09:35:00.000-05:00

I went to a U of I campus visit program yesterday. I didn’t get quite as much out of it as I had hoped. The program was focused toward prospective freshman. I did enjoy taking the tour though, because I think it gave me some of the more basic info about the university that even as a long-time townie I didn’t know.

The most important part of the trip was the visit with an academic advisor. I explained my situation, I have an Associates and my employer is willing to pay my UI tuition. I also said I wanted to go part-time. The advisor suggested I apply as a non-degree seeking student. I was a little taken back. Don’t non-degree seeking students not get grades or credits? She went on to suggest that I take a few classes and get to know people in the department. Then I would speak with someone within that department about how best to finish my degree.

I’m still going to visit SIU and Iowa State’s Open House programs, just for fun. I haven’t been back to Ames, IA since I moved away 11 years ago.

Purchase

2007-05-21T08:10:00.001-05:00

Remember when I said I wanted to buy a new car. Well I still do, but after crunching the numbers I’ve decided I’m going to wait. I really wanted to get a new car to save on gas. That point quickly became moot when I realized I might save $500 a year on gas, but I’d be paying $400-$500 a month in car payments.

Then there was the financing aspect. In order to get the payments down to something I could live with I’d have to stretch them out over 5-6 years. In the end I’d pay at least $7000 in interest.

Another important factor was that based on a budget I did for myself, I could make payments on the car and save for insurance and pay all my other bills, but I wouldn’t have anything left over.

On a related note, I’ve been doing some big spending lately; another luxury a car payment wouldn’t allow me. I bought a carpet shampooer, only to return it and buy a cordless, electric lawnmower!

Next month I plan another semi-big purchase, I digital camera. It may sound hard to believe, but I’ve never owned a digital camera.

Oh, and groceries, I’m out of everything. I’m drinking my coffee black!

wierd amazon error

2007-05-16T10:21:00.000-05:00

That Time Machine I ordered online is taking forever....

Thinking out loud...

2007-05-15T11:26:00.000-05:00

...I'll start saving every other paycheck at a different bank. I won't even consider it my money unless I can't pay the bills...see if I can survive on half my salary. If I can do that for three years, I'll have enough to buy a new car cash!
...I want to be a writer, or a producer of cartoons...SIU had the best Television production program in the state, maybe I'll reapply there...and I'll get involved in groups and visit the Shawnee National Forest every weekend...and I'll take monthly trips home in my new car...maybe I'll live in the dorms, not have to worry about meals and maintaince, spend my time studying, working out, networking with others, or going on trips...maybe I'll buy a house and get a few roommates.
...I'll apply to the UofI and take one class a semester until I've saved up money for a move to Carbondale. I'll make sure I really want to do this by visiting SIU a few times a year...maybe this summer even.
...Or maybe I won't do any of that, I've started building a home in Champaign. I have lots of stuff, lots of friends here, all my family is here...Then there's Health Insurance and Tuition...

But I'm really just thinking out loud.

2007-05-13T23:58:00.000-05:00

I’m exusted. I was sickened by the smell of my living room after missing Skippy’s pee spots. He got the edge of the TV, which was sitting on an unfinished MDF board, yuck!

I bought a carpet cleaner, a real nice one, not quite top-of-the-line, but nice. That was a major investment, 200 smakeros. I guess I should feel lucky that later that day I made $100 off selling an old scooter that wasn’t even mine.

I moved all the furniture our of the Living room, not much work but difficult considering I was doing it all by myself. This left the rest of the house in complete disorder. The couch is blocking the hall way, and the two other bedrooms are so full of stuff there’s hardly room to turn around.

The room emptied I assembled my new purchase and started cleaning the carpet. It took at lease an hour, maybe two? It was hard work none the less. About the time I finished I discovered that Chris had sold to scooter and the buyer would be coming over to pick it up that day.

I assymboled a hose reel I had purchased the other day while I waited for Chris to arrive with the Title. After the buyer left Chris and I chated until I had to get ready to meet the fam for a Mother’s Day meal.

The meal went off like many others. Mom shared her plans for remodeling the house. The other kids left first and I left and headed for a meeting, Skippy was along for the ride.

After the meeting, Skippy got to meet two other dogs, Pumpkin and Itchy. I got home just before 10pm and had already decided I would run the carpet cleaner over the living room again. The second time I used only water, not cleaner. This time I was more satisfied to get dirty, dirty waste water. It meant that previous runover had lifted and loosened a lot of dirt and scum.

Considering what a pain it was to move the furniture, I think I’ll spend another day on this carpet, get it really clean. I’m totally exusted now. and for the first time in a long while, I have to get up early for work tomorrow. This week I’m doing 9-6.

a litte math, and some other stuff

2007-05-02T10:19:00.000-05:00

Elsinore = Good, Gentlemen Auction House = Good. Hear their music on myspace.

Myspace = only good for listening to music for free.

Facebook = strangely addictive, more fun than friendser, less annoying ads than myspace.

One gas-powered lawn edger - the drive belt = an unedged lawn.

Now, I'm trying to decide if today will be a productive day like everyday so far this week, walking the dog, working out, running errends and doing chores, or if I'll just hold down the couch and watch Star Trek.

This week is the last full week of publishing the DI, next week we have two issues, then were on hiatus for a month! After our one month hiatus we'll start publishing our Summer Edition, which is smaller and only publishes four days a week.

That being said, I'll have some rare daytime hours for a few weeks. I'll be taking time off for a camping trip in May, and I'll have about a week off in June for a trip to Cedar Point and hopefully doing some projects around the house.

bite-sized comedy show

2007-04-28T23:32:00.000-05:00

I just came from the bite-sized comedy show at the illini union. That was really a lot of fun. It was really fuckin' long too, but fun. The comedians and short films were good, well most of them.

hobos and city spending

2007-04-17T23:35:00.000-05:00

There's a story in the DI today that says that the Champaign City Council aproved a $700,000 plan to improve Sixth street between Green and Healey. I find this a bit incredible, that's one block, it's gunna cost $700,000?! Doesn't that seem a bit extreme? I don't know much about city goverment or infastructure but that seems like a lot of money for one block of wider sidewalks.

The story also says that they plan on installing benches. I think that's a bad idea. The hobos loiter on and around the benches that have already been installed. Installing more will only encourse more hobos to set up camp in Campustown. Maybe $700,000 could be spent on a very nice shelter, with very hall walls, for these hobos, instead of leting them harrass people on the street.

misc updates

2007-04-11T07:17:00.000-05:00

I got a dog, his name is Skippy. He is a Dachshund. He likes to lick my face.

I bought a couch, actually a love-seat. It's brand new, a rocking recliner.

I've given up on a military career. I'd still really like to, but if I can't do it honestly and without reservation, I'd rather not do it.

I'm serving jury duty this week. That means I'm up all early, like 7am! I haven't been selected to serve on a jury yet, and I may not. On the plus side, the days were I'm not called are like half-days for me, allowing to do get some stuff done around the house.

I've been watching King of the Hill on DVD the last two or three weeks. I've watched up through the end of season six, the last season to be released on DVD. I think they're broadcasting season 10 now.
I've really enjoyed that show. At first I was a little disinterested because the characters are conservative and "whatnot." I've really grown to love this show, it's different enough from Simpsons and Family Guy without being gross or weird like some Adult Swim shows.

I’m also continuing my Star Trek TNG DVD set. I’m up to disk 14 (of 46). I’m somewhere in the third season, which is when the show stopped being a campy space opera.

Star Trek: TNG season one

2007-03-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

I started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD. I decided that it’s very unlikely I’ll every get my money back from the guy who sold it to me. (I bought it in an eBay auction, it arrived, but it’s an import, not the American version listed.) I’m on the sixth disc of 48. So far I haven’t seen anything that would lead me to believe this isn’t a legit release imported from the Asian market.
That being said, I’m almost finished with the first season. The pilot, “Encounter at Far Point,” was fascinating, but many of the other episodes of this season are laughably bad. The alien planets are so obviously soundstages, the costumes are “wrong,” some character’s make-up is “wrong.” The dialog in this season is so obvious, the characters explain what is happening as if the audience is stupid. For the first half of this season the music is overwhelming, in the second half it becomes more subtle. An enjoyable, if laughable, bonus is this season has a few bloopers that made it the final cut. In one episode, a character reaches to set a wine glass on an off-screen table, but a mysterious hand appears in the corner of the screen and takes it.
All these goofs or mistakes are common in the first season of any show that runs as long as TNG. What’s odd for me is remembering this season is 20 years old! The actors that play children in this season are full grown adults now! Wil Wheaton, who plays the annoying Wesley Crusher, is in is 30s now.

Ambush...

2007-03-09T11:05:00.000-06:00

I have not joined the Army.

If it wasn't for my mother organizing an "ambush," I probably would have. I was really upset with the way I was confronted with my decision to join. My father, who's never shown me any emotion other than anger and rage, called me from Florida and told me he was crying. My brother and sister, who I usually only see if it's a birthday, holiday or something heavy needs to be moved, took time off work to visit me. My mother, who has been an almost-constant prescience in my life, was there too of course, directing the action.

I guess I could be real pissed off that my family ambushed me Thursday afternoon and challenged by decision to join the Army's infantry during wartime. I'm not though. As much as I hate to admit it, I really wasn't giving this decision much thought. I told myself I had thought about it for years, and I have been thinking about the military for years. Dad said I have had this "target fix" on being a warrior-hero soldier busting down doors in Faluja. I admit I have pretty much ignored other options and branches.

Their argument was very convincing, I promised my Dad I wouldn’t sign up Friday like I planned. I kept an appointment at the Army recruiter's office, and shared the news. While they seemed sincere in they’re promise that it was my decision regardless, they did of course give me an argument just as convincing.

The whole ordeal left my head spinning all night. I couldn't concentrate on work, I was feeling depressed and angry. I would have stayed in that mood if it weren't for a student who came to visit me (and the pretty, young, college girl who works for me) and make jokes part of the night.

I was asked by friends and family why I wanted to join. Each time I had a different answer. Honestly, I think I really wanted to join to get out of here, out of my job, out of my house, out of my responsibilities and obligations, and out of myself.

Most of all, and I’ve said this before, I want to do something that matters. I still want to do something that matters, maybe the Coast Guard?

More Army news...

2007-03-05T16:30:00.000-06:00

I started the paperwork. I'll be going to the Chicago MEPs Friday, leaving Champaign at 2am. If I pass the physical, I could be signing a contract Friday afternoon. I'm excited, this is really what I want to do.

update

2007-02-28T01:34:00.000-06:00

The Star Trek TNG DVD deal was too good to be true. It arrived, but it is the "asian release." Some websites claim that there is no such thing as an "asian release," that that is just a cover for bootlegs.

The ebay listing didn't say it was an "asain release," and the box pictured was the standard american version. I haven't cracked the seal on the dvd box yet, hopefully there's a chance I can return it and get my money back. If not, here's hoping it's a really good bootleg, or not a bootleg at all!

2007-02-25T11:57:00.000-06:00

DVDiction

I just bought all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation on DVD. I found it on eBay for less than $300. That’s less than what I spent on DS9 this time last year. BTW, I sold all my seasons of DS9 online and made almost all my money back.

I’ve just about finished my first renter block at That’s Rentertainment. I bought 100 rentals last year for $100.00.

I’ve also found a website, which may or may not be online by the time you read this, www.peekvid.com. This site posts links to TV shows stored on other websites. It’s totally free. The quality’s not great, but hey, it’s free. It’s also likely illegal so it may or may not be online long.

Army had half-day

I’ve also been thinking about the Army again. To be honest, I feel little like I’m crying wolf every time I share that. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Four months ago, after Parkland fired me, I was seriously considering it. I took the ASVAB, filled out an application, and had my photo taken. I almost went up to Chicago for my physical, when I told the recruiter I was considering other braches. I got a call the next day offering me a job at IlliniMedia.

I don’t hate my job, but it has become boring and repetitive. I feel disrespected by some of the students, though that’s no reason to join the Army, as those students will likely be gone in a few weeks. I’ve also grown tired of working with computers to a degree. It seems that things just don’t work sometimes and there’s no solution to it other starting over. The hours are getting annoying too.

Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it’s my lack of meeting attendance, the fact that I haven’t called or seen my sponsor in a while or the fact I haven’t worked a step in a while either. Maybe working these hours, cuts me off from my support group of fellow addicts, and I’m seeking another group to belong to. I don’t belong with the students at work. The other professional staff don’t work as late as I do, usually.

Even writing all those reasons why my judgment might not be clear, I’m still tempted to enlist. I’m tempted by the uniform, the guns, the training in the Georgia mountains. I’m temped by the promise of Officer Candidate School. I’m tempted by the promise of an exciting, if dangerous, adventure overseas. I’m tempted by the ability to one day, later in life to be able to say, “Yea, I was in the Army, I fought for my country.” I also admit there is an appeal in the fantasy, of being able to leave my house, my family, this town, my friends, many of whom have moved on themselves, and runaway.

I also think the Army could be the adventure I haven’t had yet. Some friends went away to college, some left the state, others come here from other countries. I feel like I missed a part of my development into adulthood by never living a great distance from my family, never being truly on my own. Maybe that’s a foolish reason too. I’m really confused, I keep thinking that if I wait a little longer, I’ll be less confused. I’m scared too, I’m scared that I’ll sign up for this adventure but find out it’s very different from the fantasy I’ve formed in my head.

Alternate Reality

I remember being fascinated by the ROTC cadets on sentry at SIU. I wonder what my life would have been like if I had joined ROTC then, instead of that drunken, druggie do-nothing, party frat.

2007-02-14T01:54:00.001-06:00

there's a lot of f*ckin' snow out there!

Oscars

2007-01-29T11:32:00.000-06:00

Best motion picture of the year
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films Production
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
“The Departed” (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Graham King, Producer
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Warner Bros.)
A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
“Little Miss Sunshine” (Fox Searchlight)
A Big Beach/Bona Fide Production
David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub, Producers
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada)
A Granada Production
Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers

They forgot Superman Returns, WTF?!

24 season five

2007-01-28T12:31:00.000-06:00

I watched the entire season yesterday, well almost all of it. I watched eight episodes on Friday, and the remaining 16 episodes Saturday. Season five was good. I really can't give a review since my brain fried out after about the fifth consecutive hour of watching.

Kind of a waste. It's Sunday now and it's back to work. I’m regretting this over-indulgence.

Starting Day Four of being smoke-free

2007-01-09T08:25:00.000-06:00

I've quit and started several times before, but this time was more difficult than others. I don't know why. I made through the first three days though, so we'll see how I do from now on.

response to Jscrilla's post on 12/29

2007-01-01T09:42:00.000-06:00

The meaning of life

I remember as a kid, after I had realized I was going to die someday, laying in bed and being terrified. I felt like I was on a unstoppable train heading at great speed towards the end of the tracks, and there was no way I could get off. As I grew older I indulged in these existentialist ideas, and enjoyed terrorizing myself with the meaninglessness of life.

That got old after a while, and I quit doing it. Lately I’ve shied away from such deep, metaphysical, existentialist debates. I decided that there was no answer to these debates, and even if there was one, finding it wouldn’t accomplish anything. I decided it was a much better use of my time to study the real world around me, at least what I perceive as the real world. I decided the let my doubts about existence go and enjoy a simpler existence. I have enjoyed life much more since then.

The Truth

Jscrilla asked “What is Truth.” I remember asking a friend this questions a few years ago, after Saddam Hussan was captured. I interest in the subjected of Truth is more grounded than I think what Jscrilla was going for. I became interested in journalistic truth. I remember watching action movie where the government fed false news stories to the media to cover up the actions of the film’s hero. It was an interesting plot device in the movie, and I didn’t give it much thought. That is until Saddam was captured. I watched the news coverage the morning the news of his capture came in. I remember within the hour or two of news I watched, several different stories emerged on the details of his capture. I decided then that the only people on Earth who will every truly know the truth of this event were the people who were present at his capture.

I lost some trust in the media that day, and remembered who easy it was for the heroes in the action flick to deceive the media. What bothered me most was not that the media was being dishonest in their reporting, but that they too had been deceived.

Since then I was noticed many stories in the news the remind me of this action flicks’ propaganda. There have been numerous stories of “second-in-commands” or “top leaders” of terrorist groups being captured or killed in the last year. I wonder how many of these stories are completely false?

Then I just go and see what’s on the TV....

Year in Review 2006

2006-12-27T10:13:00.000-06:00

January
• I cancel TiVo, and later cable. I start Netflix.
• I start working on Step Four.
• I establish a firm desire to make a micro-budget film in 2006.

February
• I celebrate my 24th birthday.
• I discover the website www.memory-alpha.org (a Star Trek wiki). Which takes a lot of my free time and influences my desire to write.
• After renting Sliders and Earth2 from Netflix, I decide these old sci-fi shows, from the 1990s, aren’t as cool as I remember them.

March
• My sister Judy turns thirty.
• My brother Jeff turns thirty-four.
• I celebrate two years clean.
• I post on my blog that Netflix a rip-off, after discovering their throttling technique.
• I try a competitor to Netflix, GreenCine, but am not satisfied with it either.
• A girl from work I sorta-kinda had a crush on, moves to Virginia.
• Mom gives me a CD worth $5000. She tells me it was money I had received as gifts as a child and some money I had made with my earliest jobs.
• I buy something I’ve always wanted, a big screen TV.
• I find Star Trek: DS9 seasons 1-7 on eBay for $300. I buy it with my tax refund.

April
• I finish watching DS9 season one.
• I discover Peerflix as an alterative to online rental stores. I post on my blog that I’ll be using it to supplement DVDs I rent from Rentertainment.
• My interest in writing continues with a renewed effort in freewriting.
• I buy and finish the American Dad season one DVD.

May
• I join the crew of the Welcome to Tolono movie, working as a PA. I learn a bit about film making but never feel quite comfortable.
• I begin increased duties in the Art department at PubServ.

June
• I discover Futurama is coming back, in 2007.
• I apply for and am offered a job at Parkland College. I accept the job offer, and give PubServ my two weeks.
• I finish watching Enterprise season four on DVD, crying my eyes out after the emotional finale, “Terra Prime.”

July
• I have my first day at Parkland.
• I watch An Inconvenient Truth, and grow angry at stubborn politicians.
• I travel to St. Louis to buy an electric scooter, an E-max Sport.

August
• I grow frustrated with my business casual wardrobe at Parkland.
• I discover I have very little to fill my time at Parkland, and start taking classes in HTML.

September
• I finish season 5 of DS9.
• I attend my best friend’s wedding as a groomsman and DJ. The event gets me thinking about my love life. I get a little envious, telling everyone that I fell like my life is a sitcom in it's final season (the characters are pairing up).

October
• I get fired from Parkland, due to unacceptable performance. I’m angry at first, but later decide it was for the best, since I was really not happy there.
• In an emotional rebound from Parkland, I consider a career in the military, even taking the ASVAB.
• I finish the last season of DS9, and greave a little.
• I’m offered job at Illinimedia.
• A few days before I start at Illinimedia, I start smoking again.

November
• I start my new job at Illinimedia, watching election results from the newsroom.
• A good friend from PubServ, Kelly Digges leaves Champaign for a job on the west coast.
• I finish Step six.
• I spend over $700 on my car, replacing the master cylinder and fixing the breaks.
• After getting nothing from Peerflix for a while, I decide it’s not a very good option either, and abandon any hope of getting something in the future.
• I email the E-max scooter dealer and ask why I haven’t received my replacement parts yet, they respond that the manufacturer has abandoned the product and no replacement parts are available.

December
• I watch Who Killed the Electric Car, and get angry at evil oil corporations/corrupt politicians/greedy car companies.
• I and several of the professional staff members get iPod shuffles for Christmas from work. We are also treated to lunch and given lots of time off.
• Christmas with the family is again declared way over the top, I receive many lovely gifts I’ve wanted for a while: an air compressor, a shop vac, a garbage disposal, many tools and lots of clothes. My brother’s family asks for scissors and receives the same pair from everyone, getting a total of six pair.
• I get a renewed interest in getting a roommate after becoming financially strapped after the car repairs, unemployment, and Christmas spending.

My goals/wild dreams for 2007
• I want to quit smoking.
• I want to get a roommate to share rent and utility bills.
• I want to start working out.
• I want to get a girlfriend (sort of).
• I want to establish a savings plan for a new car, hopefully buying one in 2008.
• I want to explore the possibility of buying the house from my parents.
• I want to add to the living room, making the TV the center of the room again, and building shelving on either side, with a new couch replacing the recliners.
• I want to paint the garage, and build a replacement for the “Calvin McDaniel drawers.”
• I want to paint the kitchen and add a metal backsplash to the wall behind the sink/stove.
• I want to buy a gas-powered motorcycle for long range, high speed trips.
• I want to make a short film this year (I didn’t get to it in 2006).
• I’m going to try to get to at least Step Ten this year, maybe even step 12.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

2006-12-21T09:01:00.000-06:00

I got an iPod Shuffle for Christmas from work! It was quite the surprise. After a staff meeting, where we watched an important humans resources video—the Christmas episode of The Office—gifts were handed out. The head honcho received a video iPod from “all of us,” and everyone else in the room got an iPod shuffle and a $50 gift certificate to a fancy restaurant.

After the meeting our office Christmas party started at the next-door bar and restaurant. I felt incredibly blessed to have found this job as I ordered my free meal. My office mates started drinking beer and liquor, I stuck to diet coke. I was a little worried someone would ask why I wasn’t drinking, but no one did. They have no idea!

After a few hours of games and secret Santa gifts, work was declared over, even though it was barely 4:30 and I was scheduled till 7. I waited until just after 6pm, when I could take my car out of the lot for free.

Coming home with this amazing experience and the unexpected, expensive gifts, I felt even more blessed to find a Christmas card from a friend down the street and a Christmas letter from a friend across the country. I read these thoughtful notes and remembered another thoughtful note I had gotten the day before—a thank you note I got from a friend who recently got married.

I felt really blessed, but in mere moments I was watching some DVD and veg-ing out. I felt a hint of jealousy, or maybe it was envy, for my friends who have found love and marriage. I even resented one of them or a moment. When I woke up this morning that feeling was gone. I’m glad I can be glad for my friends, and remember the blessings I have today.

Thank you all for the gifts, cards, and letters. They make me feel special. God bless, and Merry Christmas.

Greatest President

2006-12-15T10:47:00.000-06:00

In response to the “Bush might be among greatest presidents” Letter to the Editor of the News-Gazette that Javajunkee emailed me a link to, I have to agree, and disagree.

As strongly as I disagree with the war in Iraq and George Bush’s war-on-terror policies, I have thought that maybe, just maybe the ends will justify the means at some point in the future. I am saddened and angered by the news of continuous death and destruction in Iraq, but I hold out hope that something good will eventually come of it.

It’s impossible to predict how history books in the distant future will portray George W. Bush. The content of E.N. HETHERINGTON’s letter suggest that she/he was writing about what children’s history books will record. It’s no secret that we as a society keep some details about our national heroes from our children. We have decided that some such material is inappropriate for children. E.N. HETHERINGTON’s letter doesn’t mention George Washington’s slave-ownership, Lincoln’s suspension of civil liberties including Habeas Corpus, Woodrow Wilson’s stubbornness, FDR’s paraplegia, the horrific aftermath of Truman dropping the Atomic Bomb, JFK’s infidelity, or Ronald Regan’s senility and Alzheimer’s.

Furthermore, this letter proclaims that only Presidents who faced an unpopular war as a testament to their presidency, qualify as great Presidents. It doesn’t mention Nixon opening relations with China, Jimmy Carter’s futile struggle to change U.S. energy policy and protect the environment (which included installing solar panels on the White House that Regan removed); nor does it mention Clinton’s 8 years of economic prosperity and desperate attempt to improve healthcare. I guess Nixon’s conflict in Cambodia, Carter’s hostage crisis in Iran, and Clinton’s covert search for Osama Bin Laden and mutable humanitarian-based conflicts don’t quality them for the “war club.”

E.N. HETHERINGTON concludes her/his letter by suggesting that Bush should be included in a list of great Presidents, since he too faces an unpopular war. I humbly suggest to E.N. HETHERINGTON that Bush does not belong on this list for several reasons.

With the exception of Washington all these Presidents were elected.

Bush is the only President on this that chose to enter a war he could have avoided.

None of the other Presidents on this list were motivated to war by the money and power that they could gain for themselves and for their business partners.

E.N. HETHERINGTON thought that this list would make the “Bush-haters” happy since they love to hate Bush and can now apply their hate to these Presidents too. I have to say to E.N. HETHERINGTON that what would make me most happy is George Bush being impeached for his crimes, which far exceed “unpopularity.”

hey mom, is this right?

2006-12-13T01:20:00.000-06:00

States I've visited

create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.

Soon to be off the web

2006-12-08T10:57:00.000-06:00

Here's an interesting site full of links to videos of copywrited content, I'm guessing it will be sued off the web soon.

Peekvid

You killed the electric car, apparently

2006-12-06T01:41:00.000-06:00

See this great movie, please! Who Killed the Electric Car?

Now out on DVD.

Sci-fi heroes are always saving the world

2006-11-30T10:55:00.000-06:00

Asteroids, alien invasions, international terrorists, and natural disasters caused by our own super-secret weapons; Bruce Willis and company has saved us from them all. In the movies at least. Heroes in “save the world” flicks usually benefit from billions of dollars of miracle-enabling equipment, or fictional and super-secret technological gadgets. Some flicks depict extremely unlikely scenarios, others have even more unlikely solutions to the impending threat. Even when the long-odds are evened out by gadgetry and secret spaceships, there is still a risk for the heroes. Otherwise it would be a boring movie. At the core of even the wildest sci-fi action flick is the human characters. The desire to continue living shines through the hokiest Deus Ex Machina.

What can we as mere mortals do to save the world? The film-worthy threats of mountain-sized asteroids or technologically-superior alien invaders aren’t something Joe and Jane Smith are likely to face soon. There are far more dangerous threats facing the world, but none look very exciting on film. Global warming, wars for natural resources, and disease are real threats—what if a Bruce Willis type hero could save us from them?

Let’s replace the asteroid in Armageddon with Global warming. We’ll pretend it’s effect on the planet is sudden, and just recently discovered. Imagine the U.S. and other governments uniting and spending billions on a solution. Earth puts all other issues aside until this crisis is averted. Even with our new tools and equipment, the risk of completing the mission is great. Our planet’s experts volunteer anyway. The music swells and a fiery explosion signals that the threat has been destroyed. In this case, a mountain of gas-guzzling SUVs piled up in the desert. Life on Earth is safe again.

It’s not likely that Global warming will ever be seen as such a threat. Even if it were, it’s quite possible that our planet’s governments wouldn’t be willing to cooperate on a solution. The massive costs in dollars and lives lost or changed forever wouldn’t be overcome so quickly either. So in this real-life disaster film, does the human race lose?

We can’t as individuals mount such a huge undertaking, and such heroism will escape most of us. There is hope however, and it’s not Bruce Willis. You and I can save the world, with one piece of garbage. Don’t toss that soda can out, recycle it. Don’t drive your car half a block when you can walk. Don’t use those plastic grocery bags when a canvas bag will last much longer. Even the giant asteroid in Armageddon is made from lots of small rocks. I can move a couple of small rocks. Together we can move a mountain.

Thank you all for reading, enjoy the show!

Some of you already know I got a new job.

2006-11-22T09:27:00.000-06:00

I’m the Production Coordinator for the local college newspaper. My main duty is to check the pages of tomorrow’s paper for errors before it goes to press. I then process the pages into pdfs and upload them to our press’ servers. This doesn’t take very long, so I have many other duties that all help to keep the paper working. Let me put it this way, all the “work” in the paper: stories, pictures, graphics, design, is done by student workers. I work “behind the scenes,” to make sure the technical and logistical aspects are taken care of. My purpose it to make it easy for the students to concentrate on journalism and design.

I typically come in about 3:30 in the afternoon and make sure there is enough paper in the printer for the night. About 4pm I go downstairs to the Advertising department and check the ads in tomorrow’s paper for accuracy and quality. I don’t do any design work or critique. I’m just making sure what is in the paper is what the client signed off on. About 6pm I take the “flats,” a draft version of tomorrow’s paper with just the ads on it upstairs. I’ll use them that night for one final check against what’s going to press. I also pickup the “dummies” for the day-after-tomorrow’s paper. Dummies are like sketches of the upcoming paper, with the ads roughly sketched onto plain printer paper. I use these to get an idea of what the upcoming edition will look like. Using the dummies, I produce the “shells” for the upcoming issue. Shells are InDesign documents that have all the stuff that’s in every edition of the paper: the name on the front page, the masthead on the second page, etc.. I input placeholders for the ads, change the dates, and input the finished shells into our workgroup database. These shells go back to Advertising the next day where they place the ads and the process starts all over again.

There are also several ongoing projects that I’m partly responsible for. Archiving the paper and all the associated materials (a HUGE project), writing documentation of all my various duties, teaching the students how to improve their designs, and writing detailed nightly reports that the staff can use to improve the workflow.

I really like it. At first I was a little apprehensive about the hours, 3:30pm to 12:30am, but I’ve adjusted quite well. It’s great getting up in the morning and knowing I don’t need to be anywhere for five hours! My hours are flexible too. During college breaks, when the paper isn’t in production, I can come in earlier. Just yesterday I was driving to work and feeling great, because it was the first time in a while I wasn’t dreading going to work. I actually wanted to, I really do enjoy it today. HAZZAH!

iPod Video...

2006-11-21T10:06:00.000-06:00

On read this brief article on CNET Video a no-go on iPods a-go-go

It explains that about 1% of iPod users play video on their iPods. The article then goes on to suggest many reasons why. I would agree with the author that, Video isn’t compatible with the portable nature of iPod. Video requires our full attention to get the most out of it. iPods (and similar devices) are often used to add audio to typical life experiences like walking to work, riding the bus or working out. It’s often impractical or rude to concentrate on a video screen outside the home. Imagine walking down the street and bumping into people or walking in front of cars. Imagine getting to work and instead of working, you switch on your iPod and start watching a video.

I also think that lack of success in this area has a lot to do with the availability of content. I remember several years ago when Sony Watchmans came out. I really wanted one of those tiny, handheld TVs. Until I found out that they sucked. They had awkward folding antenna’s that didn’t pick up anything. More content options are be needed or iPod video.

Currently it’s illegal to convert your copy-protected DVD collection into digital files that can be viewed on and iPod. Moreover, content purchased from Apple will only play on Apple hardware that you own (or authorize, currently limited to five machines, and beware Apple can change their mind at any time). Lastly, most consumers of iPods, I think, have been raised in a big-screen-is-better world, making the iPod or notebook computer screens laughable small.

Tell Us What You Think

2006-11-08T10:47:00.000-06:00

The Champaign County Clerk's Office is accepting feedback on the elections via a blog page.

Here's my two cents:
I think the Tax Referenda on my ballot was wordy, nonsensical, and failed to properly describe the issue. On my ballot there was no mention as to why such a tax increase was suggested, or what the extra funds would be used for. I would have no idea what this referenda was referring to if I hadn't read in-depth pre-election coverage.

I think the wording affected the outcome of this referenda.

From what I understand this tax increase would have resulted in me paying ~$25 more per year in property taxes, and would have used the increased revenue to provide much needed public-aid funds for the poorest-of-the-poor in our county. I think if this information had been on the ballot more people would have voted for it.

I request that future referenda be worded in plan English, and include a description of why the referenda is on the ballot and what (in the case of tax issues) the increased funds would be used for.

Red vs. Blue

2006-11-08T02:56:00.000-06:00

"Just wanted to let you know, the General stopped by, and picked up the flag."

-A line from the web series Red vs. Blue.

I was just thinking of it when recalling the election coverage today. I want to post more on my experience working at the Daily Illini this evening, but I'm too exhausted.

ELECTION DAY

2006-11-07T14:03:00.000-06:00

If you haven't already, go vote. Just and FYI, when I voted there were two interesting Referenda on the ballot. One asked if we should withdrawl our troops from Iraq and another asked if we should impeach President Bush. I'm not offering my opinion on these, just thought some of you might be more interested in voting if you knew these Referenda were on the ballot.

On another note, I'll be spending this evening in a Newsroom. I'm looking forward to it, should be exciting.

I went to a bar yesterday night

2006-11-05T12:15:00.000-06:00

It was my friend Kelly Digges’ last night in Champaign before moving to Washington state to work for Wizards of the Coast (the creators of Magic: the Gathering). He’s a big Magic fan and I can’t imagine a better job for him. He is a great friend and was always there when I needed him most. I don’t think it is untrue to say I love him like a brother, and I’ll miss him. Good luck Kelly!

On another note, I was a little apprehensive about spending time in a pub. I never hung out in bars when I was drinking, and have avoided them for the most part in my recovery. I’ve heard in the program however, that I can do anything if I’m working a program, and I check my motives. My motive was to spend time with and say goodbye to a close friend.

The atmosphere was intimidating at first. Dark, loud bars are imposing places for me to walk into. I felt like everyone there was judging me. I felt as though I was an outsider, that I was an intruder in “their bar.” The feeling subsided when I joined my friend at a table and started a conversation with his other friends, most of which I hadn’t met before that night. I ordered a cup of coffee and other friend ordered a soda. Other than us two, everyone was drinking. From the way they behaved I decided that they were all “normies.”

I knew that drinking like them would be poisoning to me. I didn’t drink, though for a moment I imagined picking up the glass in front of the person next to me. My eyes examined the room though. I glanced at the bottles and glasses behind the bar, remembering a time when the bottles were much closer to me. I got a feeling like I was meeting a former lover after a messy break up. Coincidently, one of Kelly’s friends was a former lover of mine. Kelly didn’t know we knew each other until that night. I kept my distance, glancing at her from across the room and remembering a time when her naked body was close to mine. Breaking back into that naked intimacy would be possible, maybe even easy, but coping with the consequences wouldn’t be. I felt the same about the bottles behind the bar.

I must confess, I felt great as the evening went on. I enjoyed commiserating. We shared our favorite stores about Kelly and how he impacted our lives. We laughed a lot, we poked fun of each other and took a lot of pictures.

At the end of the evening, after we had all said goodbye to our friend, we shared one final moment about Kelly Digges. As I drove home I felt conflicted about the experience. I enjoyed it so much, I want to get that feeling again. Still, I felt uneasy, maybe even guilty about how convertible I was in the bar. Writing this now, I’m a little less interested in returning to a bar. I remember having similar feelings of contentment, without the uneasiness, hanging out with Chris, Jason, Wes, Joe and others like me at the coffee shop.

Freewriting

2006-10-30T22:17:00.000-06:00

The old man offered the money to the young man. The young man took it and handed the old man the needle. The old man took it, but hesitated a moment before putting it in his arm.
“If I die here, because I’m taking a lot, if I die, make sure I’m in my truck and its on fire, because if they find any in my blood or hair, my wife gets nothing.”

The young man, the dope dealer, looked at the old man, and wondered for a moment if he was serious. The old man pushed down the plunger. In the few second of lucidity before the drug reached his brain, he said, “Life insurance…pays double in an accident…worth more dead…” the chemical reached his brain, he wouldn’t speak anything but nonsense for several hours. The old man had left the needle in his arm, the dope dealer very carefully took it out, and put in a box for future use. As the man began to slouch, then move completely onto the floor, the dope dealer counted his money, and left the room.

More Freewriting Samples!

2006-10-30T12:59:00.000-06:00

Have you been outside today!? It's like 70 fuckin degrees! Unfortunately that's also the wind speed :-)

Finish Line or Pit Stop?

2006-10-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

I accepted the job at IlliniMedia. I'm not to happy working 2nd shift, but at least I'll be going to work in the daylight, which is more than I can say for most midwesterners during winter (those working 8am-5pm may see the sun rise after work starts and set before work ends); not that I've spent much time outside these past two weeks.

I'm not sure this is where I want to be, but I think it's a good place to rest, catch my breath and rest for a while. I was looking for an adventure these past two weeks. That's why I was considering the military. Let this be my adventure. The situation reminds me of the stories my dad told me about his life while working as a director for the evening news.

On a side note, check out this list of losers who also worked for IlliniMedia:

Roger Ebert

Dave Eggers

Dan Fogelberg

Hugh Hefner

Robert Novak

Gene Shalit

Who knows, maybe I'll find meaning in this new job. At the very least it will lead to a fuller fridge :-)

2006-10-25T23:38:00.000-05:00

Army: "Want to fly helos? Sure, just do something else in the field for four years then..."

Air Force: "No, it's extremely unlikely you'll be a pilot, what else interests you?"

IlliniMedia: "We'll pay you 28K a year, but you'll have to work 3:30pm to 12:30am."

worthless, unrealistic, garbage

2006-10-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

I’m thinking now my week-long dream to be an Army helicopter pilot might be an unrealistic fantasy. I read the memoirs of Micheal J. Durant, the Army helicopter pilot shot down and held in Somolia. He deceided he want to fly helicopters when he was very young, 14 or something, and joined up stright out of high school. As a bi-lingual intelligence analyst he served for two years before being considered for training to become a helicopter pilot.
At any rate, he and all the pilots he described in the book were dedicated, constant professionals. I’m a lazy slob. I thought I’d start a running rutine to get into shape, I didn’t last more than three days.
In addition to a career in the military I also inquired about finishing my bachlor’s degree, and just looking for more slave-wage laboror jobs. I maybe too hard on myself, in the past year-and-a-half, my ass has been in one chair or another for most of my workdays. There are people who truely work for a slave-wage a lot harder than I do or have.
There’s also a feeling of me being not up to the challenge...like a never finish anything, not even this blog entry.

2006-10-15T11:48:00.000-05:00

HAVOC!

Something that matters

2006-10-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

I told a friend I was considering a career in the military. He looked at me with outrage. He informed me that: No, I didn’t want to enter the military. At least that’s what his tone-of-voice and body language were saying. I was immediately taken back. How dare he tell me what I want.

Other friends have been more supportive. To my surprise my parents offered their support. Another friend said that I must really love America. I thought about it—yeah, I really do love America. The military is something I’ve been thinking about for many years. I’ve been fascinated by military technology since I was a kid.

I haven’t spoken with a recruiter yet. I may find out that I’m not eligible for enlistment because of my medical background. Right now everything is up in the air. I’m keeping my options open.

I do feel a sense of patriotic duty to serve; to participate in the war of my generation. Maybe that’s foolish romanticism or maybe it’s exactly the right thing for me.

2006-10-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

Headlines from the past year, which ones do you remember?

The feds and the media muddy the debate over Internet freedom

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt get together.

Halliburton charged with selling nuclear technology to Iran

Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson break up.

World oceans in extreme danger

American Idol hits an all-time high.

Hunger and homelessness increasing in the United States

The Runaway Bride who didn't.

High-tech genocide in Congo

Martha Stewart is back in town.

Federal whistleblower protection in jeopardy

Brokeback Mountain breaks through.

U.S. Operatives torture detainees to death in Afghanistan and Iraq

Britney Spears. (It just wouldn't be a list without her.)

Pentagon exempt from Freedom of Information Act

MySpace infiltrates our space.

World Bank funds Israel-Palestine wall

Steroids in baseball get pumped up.

Expanded air war in Iraq kills more civilians

The Da Vinci Code ad nauseum.

For more on some of the above stories, visit Censored Stories.

It’s probably for the best

2006-10-08T22:49:00.000-05:00

It’s probably for the best. I was thinking this past week that I didn’t really like my job. To tell the truth I’ve been depressed since I started the job. I had no friends, little structure, no support (while at work that is), and I felt confined in a small closet-like office with no windows.

Before I took the job I had made an effort to avoid being exposed to advertising. Ads had come to sicken me. Knowing this I began working in advertising. I wanted the money and the benefits, I thought I was moving-up in my career as a graphic designer. I thought I would do this for a while, then find something much more interesting. There were times it was fun and rewarding, but I never felt quite right inside. I saw myself contributing to the visual pollution I had made an effort to avoid.

This feeling grew slowly, until one day I came home, checked the mail box, and as usually there was nothing but ads. I call it land-spam. I took the junk mail out of the box and put it directly in the garbage without reading it. Moments later I took the junk mail back out of the trash and looked at it. I examined it closely. I imagined how it was designed. It was probably composted in InDesign, the photos tweaked in Photoshop. I imagined the designer printing out and I inspected dozens of drafts, making tiny revisions until it was perfect. I imagined it being delivered the print shop, run off a press, collated, stamped, addressed, delivered to the post-office, and finally being stuffed into my mailbox. All that work, and I had tossed it out like garbage.

It didn’t take long for me consider my work destined for garbage cans even before it was conceived. I’m thinking now that it’s about time I did something that matters.

“At least the humble garbage-man knows he works with garbage.”

I was let go

2006-10-06T10:14:00.000-05:00

Or fired, canned, kicked out, terminated. I no longer work at Parkland. I don’t like it, but I was just thinking this week that I didn’t like working there very much either.

I'll post more when I've had time to process it a bit more.

Chris and Emily's Wedding

2006-09-22T07:23:00.000-05:00

My friend got married recently. It was a sereal experience. Below is a link to the photographer's website. The view the pics, click the link and then select "Chris and Emily."

Wedding Photos

Weddings and babies

2006-09-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

I saw my friend married yesterday. It was a unique ceremony. The ceremony was held outside on a sunny Saturday afternoon, in a public park. Guests sat in lawn chairs under the shade of tree. The wedding party stood behind the bride a groom in front of a fountain. There were no tuxedos, no matching bridesmaids dresses. The groomsmen’s outfit reflected the groom’s appreciation for suspenders, “they’re classy,” and his love of flip-flop style sandals. A red and black garter worn on the upper arm give the groomsman an almost mafia-like appearance. Though we could have very easily looked like a barbershop quarteet too.

The ceremony was short, 20 minutes or less. Traditional vows were said, rings exchanged, a prayer or two. The receiving line look about as long as the ceremony, mayber longer. The older and more distantly related friends and family left first. Near the end of the line was another friend who had gotten married last year. They brought with them they’re first child, Daniel.

Watching friends get married and start having babies reminds me of my own adulthood. I have many friends who are not married and are much older. Still, sometimes I fell like I am experiencing the last season of a sitcom. Everyone is pairing up; storylines are being closed. In sitcoms the characters always meet their destiny in the final episode. Often two characters who have loved each other for a long time get married, then the story is over. The characters disappear.

This is reality though, Chris and Emily’s story isn’t over. It’s time to tell an entirely new story.

Congratulations, friends.

"labor" day

2006-09-05T07:01:00.000-05:00

I wouldn’t survive in the utopian world I described in my last post. I said once that I thought I’d be spending my retirement hunting-and-gathering; now I think I’ll spend it in front of the TV. I did get some stuff done this past labor-day weekend. Most of it however was spend idle, watching DVDs. I finished season 5 of DS9, started Season 1 of Batman Beyond, and nearly finished Season eight of Simpson’s.

After a few hours in the recliner my back starts to hurt. Now that takes talent, TV-watching-related injury.

I watched a lot in the past three days. I began thinking though, if I made a list of all the TV on DVD currently that I want to see, how long would it take me to watch? How many years of television would be represented? To give you an idea, the earliest TV on DVD I watched was made in about 1992. I’ve worked my way up from 1992 to about 1997, five years in as many months. I did skip a bit though, I’ll have to go back.

There are too many humans.

2006-08-27T09:15:00.000-05:00

Imagine a world with a human population half what it is now. We’d still be spread out over the entire globe as we are now, there’d just be less of us. If we as a species intentionally tried to reduce our numbers, how would our society change? I suspect that the root cause of all violence is over-population. Thomas Malthus was right.

Sometimes I think that if there were much less of us, we’d have a utopian society. I think of a friend who works in a factory—third shift—he wears down his bones and his soul making some consumer product while the rest of us sleep. In many ways he is a slave, a slave to the consumers who demand the product he makes. If there were a lot less of us, fewer people demanding the product, my friend wouldn’t have to work this demeaning, stressful job just to survive. What would he do? How would someone survive in a world where employment was no longer a priority?

Let’s say my friend has always wanted to paint, but has never had the time or money. He never invested in paints or brushes or canvases. He spend his money on rent, fast-food, and entertainment. In this fictional utopian society, there is no rent, fast-food or entertainment. Brushes, paint and canvases are free for the taking. He can follow his dream. I imagine this because with so few humans demanding such resources, they’ll be really available.

This scenario may work if the population dropped suddenly, like after a nuclear bomb attack. The horrific death-toll and long-term radiation poisoning aside, there would be resources for billions already in production, but only a few million to consume them.

Basicly I’m daydreaming about our world returning to subsistence farming. My history classes taught me that progress was good. Stone tools were better than bone tools, metal better than stone. The industrial revolution and urbanization was better than subsistence farming. I’m not sure I agree. Sometimes I even find myself wishing for the bombs to fall, so we can rebuild a better society, but as a human, I can’t ignore my conscience allowing many to die so a few can live is just wrong. The alternative is birth-control, but can humans practice self-control so diligently?

instead of working...

2006-08-11T10:39:00.000-05:00

I've uploaded some photos of me and my new office. Check it out:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27115821@N00/

Clothing

2006-08-11T07:16:00.000-05:00

Feeling uncomfortable in my business casual clothing, even the brand new shirts I recently bought, I asked a female friend to help me shop.

This may be common knowledge for some, but I had no idea why anyone would need different colors of shoes. Brown shoes, brown belt, brown/kaki color pants and shirt; Black shoes, black belt, dark shirt and pants. This may sound odd, but the idea of color-coordinating my shoes and belt with my shirt and pants was so far out my area of comprehension I was almost offended when it was suggested.

To my cloths shopping is a distasteful chore that should only be done once, perhaps twice a year. In the past I have made every effort the find updated or new versions of the clothing I already own. My priority has been utility. Shirts needed front pockets to hold an ink pen, pants needed cargo pockets to hold my wallet and additional junk. What I think is most challenging about this point in my life is that I may have to let go of that. I’ve been wearing cargo pants for so long, I can’t comprehend of another solution.

Also beyond my comprehension is the store Bacharach. It’s an upscale men’s clothing store in the mall….It’s..an..UPSCALE…men’s clothing store…in the MALL??! The sale price on pants start at $95.00. My female shopping consultant suggested that $30.00 for a Bacharach shirt was a really good price, considering the quality. She attempted to explain: A black shirt from Koal’s $15.00 fades to gray in two or three washes, she suggested that a Bacharach shirt would hold it’s color longer. I’m not convinced, besides, aren’t both shirts are just as quickly destroyed by pizza sauce or mustard?

So I’m stuck, seeking guidance from those who may have made this transition before. My God, how long has it been since I wore a wrist watch?! I can’t sit on my wallet!
How will I be prepared? I only feel prepared when I can hold everything on my person.

I am an island.

2006-07-25T06:43:00.000-05:00

I guess I’ve always been. Number 3 of 3 kids, 7 years younger than the last. Parents were in their 40s when I was born. I’m probibly being self-centered here, but it certinly seems like I’ve been on my own as long as I can remember. That’s not all bad. I think I was raised to be indenpendant, self-sufficent. It’s a moral value of mine to not ask for help. It’s also a defect, pride. I won’t tell someone at work I don’t know what I’m doing because I don’t want to found out as a fraud. I go on pretending I know what I’m doing, and so become the fraud I was afraid of being accused of.

Maybe I’m taking this too far. Maybe it’s just the adjustment to a new work enviroment that’s got me sentamental and lonely. I hope to find someone at Parkland I can identify/socialize with. I really miss my engageing discussings about comic books, star trek, lesser-know historical figures and the many faults and flaws of our nations most-revered heros.

Also I recently bought an electric scooter. More details as they devolop. For now: www.e-max-scooter.com

Just anonymous enough…

2006-07-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

My first day at Parkland. I got up, hit the 7 minute snooze, started the coffee, went back to bed. I didn’t sleep. I got up and went to the bathroom. I went back to bed, but didn’t sleep. The “back up” alarm (on my cell phone) goes off, I got up and set the phone to vibrate. The coffee wasn’t ready; I went back to bed. I just about fell asleep when the snooze alarm went off; the coffee was ready.

I poured myself a big cup. I stepped outside and felt the rain. I sipped the coffee and focused on waking up. I often remember the first 20 minutes of the day as a blur. I compare it to a computer starting up. I hit the power button an it’s technically “on,” but I can’t do anything with it until it runs it startup software. I sip my coffee and stretch my body, running my startup software.

In an hour I’m in a dress shirt and tie, preparing to eat breakfast. I don’t want to risk getting toaster scramble or coffee on my shirt so I try to drape a towel across my chest. If falls down. I learn forward to compensate, and pay attention to my food a drink like I haven’t in a long time. I resist the urge to stay a little longer and search the internet. The coffee and the business cloths make me sweat. I switch to soda for the drive.

I think of the carbon-dioxide coming out my tailpipe as I make the five minute, three mile commute.

It’s just before 7:30am, I park next to the building. I wait in the car a few minutes to collect myself. As I enter I see my reflection in the building’s glass. I’m not quite sure how I feel, silly or professional, confident or overwhelmed. I pass a few other people in the halls. They say hi to me. I am over dressed. I find out later that one person that said hi to me thought I might have been someone of importance to the college’s new president, a representative of an architecture firm or something. Everyone is anticipating changes with the new administration.

For a split second I’m not sure I’m in the right place. I’m moving forward, but I’m not in control of my body, it’s like I’m watching this happen to someone else. I approach the door with my bosses’ name on it and knock. I’m ready to start this thing.

has it been two weeks already?

2006-07-11T22:54:00.000-05:00

I start my new job at Parkland College in a few hours...could you sleep?

I’d say there must be some horrible, horrible catch.

2006-06-28T07:18:00.000-05:00

Hooray for me! I’m a professional Graphic Designer. I got a job in Academia. I’m moving on from my first “real” job to my second “real” job. This is amazing. I had convinced myself that they had offered the position to someone else and would only let me know by mail weeks from now. It was quite a surprise when I got a call on my cell phone during work from the Director of Marketing. She offered me the job, I was speechless. I called her back the next day and accepted, after giving P.S. my two weeks. I shaking and nervous as hell when I handed my two-sentence resignation letter to the boss. I guess I was afraid I being a turncoat, a traitor, or something. Turns out they don’t think of me that way at all, and invited me to come back of things didn’t work out.

The new job offers me more money, more time off, and better benefits. I’ll also have my own office, and a brand-spanking-new PowerMac G-fuckin-5! The work promises to be much more varied than just book production, and offers a limited about of web work too. Maybe I’ll be borrowing Scrilla’s PHP books in the near future.
Another big benefit is it’s Academia, and a Union position. I imagine it’s a Parkland staff union, not a graphic designer union. I’m not exactly sure why being Academia is better than private sector, but Dad seems to think it is. Dad jokes that he “never left college.”

I’ll also have Fridays off in the summer! That’s right, I’ll get paid the same for less work and I only work four days a week! But…during those eight weeks, work starts at 7:30am and goes to 5:00pm, no flextime. Should I practice my InDesign program, or should I practice getting to work at 7:30am?

put this in your sun-times and smoke it!

2006-06-27T07:12:00.000-05:00

Now that Futurama is coming back on the air, I thought I share a little story that only my ubernerd friends will get.

Futurama had two Anthology of Interest episodes, which were clearly the Futurama version of the Simpson’s Halloween episodes. Each episode was broadcast about the same time each year. It’s no secret that the show had a terrible time slot, it was often pre-empted by football. One such time it was pre-tempted was during the first Anthology of Interest episode, only the 2nd half of the show was broadcast.

Jump ahead one year. My fandom of Futurama has become obsessive. I know Anthology of Interest II is scheduled to air tonight. I’m excited. I tune in and…you can guess, football. At this point I go quite insane. Again, half the show, perhaps more, is ignored as football commentators blab on about nonsense. The game was over at 6pm! Well, I get to see the 2nd half of Anthology of Interest II, and as the episode fades out, the Professor, talking about harvesting Leela’s organs, hopefully says, “There’s always next year!”

That line of dialogue meant a lot to me. To me it was the Professor, an extension of the Futurama production staff, telling the fans, “We’re almost certain you wont’ get to see the first half of this episode, just like last year, but there is hope for next year.”

I was already a little emotional…I think I cried.

I could write another post to my blog, or I could watch another episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

2006-06-19T21:24:00.000-05:00

This show was on the air for 7 years. I tuned in occasionally to confirm that, no, I still didn’t like it. It was weird, it was like it was a star trek show that wasn’t suppose to be a star trek show—it’s similar, but It wasn’t part of the family.
I also didn’t like Firefly. Stupid space western, WTF?! “They cancelled Dark Angel for this,” I thought. (actually Dark Angel really sucked in the second year). Like Firefly, Deep Space Nine was ahead of it’s time—for me. There were many’o’fan of those two shows. I reluctant gave Firefly a chance a year after a friend told me I should have. I was just quit cable and started renting DVDs of TV. While waiting for the next DVD to come from Netflix, a second friend suggested a try Firefly. He loaned me Disc one. After the first episode, I watched the next, and then two more. I had finished Disc 1 in one sitting. I turned off the TV, it was late. I whispered to myself, “Dam,” it was really good.
The “Dam,” was my reaction to the realization that such a good show was cancelled, and that I would have to admit how horribly wrong I had been. (It kind of reminded me of falling in love with a girl, then finding out she has a boyfriend, or lives in the Philippians). I imagined at that moment I was Jack Black in High Fidelity, when he tells John Cusak that the really good music was recorded by the mischievous skateboarding shoplifters.
After getting accustomed to the idea of the Space Western, I can to believe that the two genres where the same. They’re both about space, both about the Frontier, about hopes and dreams, about conflict and lawlessness, about standing up for what’s right or simply surviving. The spaceships and robots and computers and aliens, are just like like the trains, horses, Indians, and steam-powered steel machinery.
I was ready to give DS9 a shot. I was ready for something new, I was ready to accept a Star Trek show that had non-federation characters and environments. It’s also a consolation prize for the prematurely cancelled Enterprise.

I could write ten more pages, but I really want to sit back a watch an episode now. BTW, the new Pixar movie—Cars—is really good, go see it.

Beerflix

2006-05-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

The wrap party for the movie I worked on was tonight. In fact it’s still going on. I’ll probably–make that definitely–be asleep before some of those people call it a night. I left after about a half-hour because I feeling a bit uncomfortable. The location was a former Post Office. It’s been converted into a venue for artists of all kinds. Its got the same feeling I imagine a nightclub in a public library might have.

A D.J. blared music across the room and the pungent smell of alcohol drifted through the air. The huge space is empty; everyone is crowed around the booze and food. Maybe I’m claustrophobic, is there a phobia name for fear of dark, load, and crowded places? As I approach a group of people from the crew that I barely know, I begin having nightmarish flashbacks to house parties at college.

I felt very alone, venerable. A feeling of being a fraud, an outsider, an impostor, travels from the last place I felt it—a dank basement in Southern Illinois—300 miles and across four years of time to stop me from making another step. I won’t try to include myself in a group of strangers. Through the loud music I hear my phone ringing. It’s another crewmember, a close friend, and someone like me. By someone like me, I mean where I’m different from everyone else in the room, he is too. I can take the call and retreat away from the group.

We talk briefly, but it’s a cell-to-cell call and the music is still loud even around the corner. I finish the conversation with a generic response, since I didn’t really understand the last thing he said. I did hear him ask me to relay a message to someone at the party. I turn back towards the crowd. I feel better now that I have a reason to be here. I scanned the crowd, but didn’t see the person I was supposed to relay the message to. I do see my supervisor, the one person who knows me best.

Considering we worked less than 30 hours together, she doesn’t really know me at all, however, I’m more comfortable approaching her than anyone else. I had less contact with most everyone there. We speak briefly, I tell her I’m looking to write a five-minute script. She shares that she’ll be looking for work outside of Illinois. The conversation pauses for a split second and she excuses herself to make some phone calls. For a moment I think she is lying to me; looking for an excuse to avoid me. I let that go…sort of…I’m working on it!

With my charge to relay a message nullified by the absence of the person, I decide it’s time to leave. The moment I pivot on the toe of my shoe, I hear a loud, familiar crashing sound behind me. I don’t have to turn around, I know that sound means dinner won’t be ready as soon as previously thought. I make my through the crowd—walking away from the crashed banquet table everyone is slowing shuffling towards. I give in to social pressure and look back. It’s just what I thought, a collapsed table and spilt food. I don’t slow down, the front door is my destination. Outside I pause, and smoke a cigarette. I’ll smoke this and go back in, look for my charge again. I see some other crew members arrive. Neither greats me by name. I’m not surprised, I have a hard time remembering the names of people I’ve worked with for a year. If some guy had worked at my company for a few hours for two or three days, and then disappeared for a while, I wouldn’t remember his name.

I go inside again, make another scan of the room, and see that my target has reappeared. He’s talking with another person, but there is only two of them. I move in and take up a casual party stance next to them. That dank basement feeling is coming back again. I hear their conversation but I’m not listening, something about their tastes in beer. Apparently Blue Moon is on tap tonight. One of them seems worried that one keg won’t be enough. I wait for a pause in their conversation. A pause doesn’t come in a short time, so I blurt out the message. I’ve interrupted, so I have to repeat myself.

I’m ready to leave, I’m not really looking to stick around for food or dancing, and certainly not boozing. I see the Director. I considering asking him a question, a question about who his friends are. I picture the conversation in my head; how he would react if we had a mutual friend, how he would react if he had no idea what I was talking about. I was going to go over there and say it. I wanted to say it!

I got distracted. I begin to wonder if anyone has thought of the irony of serving alcohol at a wrap party for a movie about a 12-step meeting. I decide that the subject matter of the film is about as important to a film crew as the subject matter of a textbook is to a typesetter.

The Director is talking with someone, I’m not good in such social situations and the feeling of the dank basement feeling has fully returned. I turn and leave without saying goodbye to anyone.

I’ve done my part and I’ve gotten something in return. My contribution to the film was exactly what it was supposed to be. The time I spent at the wrap party was exactly the right amount of time. I do feel a twinge of sadness, regret that I couldn’t do more, that I didn’t get contact info from some of my fellow crewmembers.

Movie Crew Post 2

2006-05-07T18:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, I’ve had a full 24 hours to recover from my movie-making experience.

As I posted earlier, I’m working part-time on a professional movie crew. Just to clarify, I’m not being paid, and my job title is P.A. (Production Assistant). Basically I’m on-call to do whatever incidental but critical job (nothing is non-critical) needs to be done. My first day was making phone calls from the office, only about two hours.
Saturday was my chance to get the full movie experience. My day started at 5am, hitting snooze on the alarm only after turning the coffee pot on. I smoked a few cigarettes, got dressed, poured the coffee into two travel mugs and begin my 12 hour day with a 20 minute drive to the set. Once their I was put to work immediately, of all things, making coffee (heh!). At least I knew how to do that. I felt a twinge of pride as I was able to declare that the 60-cup peculator my boss had set up was only hot water, and would only ever be hot water, since she had neglected to put the stem in. That pride didn’t last for long, after craft service was set up, and I was fed, I overheard a disturbing conversation between the Director and the AD. Apparently the Director, was conscious of the fact that we were guests of the location (a church), and as such, no one should be allowed to smoke. “How will I cope with my nicotine addiction now!?” I thought. I relaxed a little when a later conversation clarified that the crew would be allowed to smoke, but the 50 or so extras that were cast that day would not. A sigh of relief.
The extras piled in for a funeral scene, dress in black. I actually spotted an actor from a play I saw recently, Angels in America, in the cast of extras. I thought about telling him he was great in the play, but I just busy running around. Probably better. The extras ate and drank a lot of craft, but they were infinitely patient, and generous with their time.
I didn’t get to see much of the actual filming, my primary job when the camera was rolling was to lock down the set. Which was easy at the church, but became a bit more difficult when the location changed that afternoon to a local park.
That was basically my day. When I wasn’t fetching waters, or purses, I would sit. My God, I never enjoy sitting more! I had thought I would need my heavy-duty work shoes, but sneakers would have been a much better choice. My feet and ankles ached for a while after we were wrapped.
Sure I didn’t get paid, I got up earlier than I do for my paying job, I traveled out of my way, did some menial tasks, spent a lot of time on my feet, and was bored most of the time, just standing in one place, very quietly; but I did get an excellent experience (and food).
I might be tempted to whine that I didn’t get close to the camera, but I feel like I can learn a lot about shooting and editing from books. What I’ve learned from seeing the planning and execution of setting up shots is more valuable than what I could learn from reading a book.

I guess I’m in the movie biz now…

2006-05-05T07:31:00.000-05:00

Last night was my first night working on a profesional movie crew. I guess I’m offically a P.A. (read “hey you…”) now. I called the production cordinator a few times during the day, she wan’t sure if I would be needed that night. I’m not sure, but I got the impression that she was overworked. (Actully, I am sure, she was definatly overworked). I don’t mind that I never got a confirming calling to be there, I showed up anyway. Filming was done for the day, so my job was to prep the “sides” for the following day and contact the actors and crew to let them know when their call times for the next day were. Sides, as I found out, are a minitureized script of scenes being shot just for that day. This probibly could have taken less than an hour if the corrdinators had a finalized call sheet ready, they didn’t. Nothing against them, like I said, I’m sure they had a lot to do. I got the sense that they could use someone dedicated to organizing their files and keeping their computers running. Someone like me!
I did get to show off a little—the AD was having trouble working a Macintosh computer, saving a file to a jump drive. I showed him to do to it. Horray for me! I also got to overhear a conversation about craft services, nothing exciting there; and look over the shoulder of the producer reviewing the day’s footage (that was exciting!).
For all the stress I felt in the room, when the director and producer looked at the footage they had shot, and giggled and cheered like teenagers, excited at how well a shot worked, or a joke played, I really felt the excitement of creation.

interesting night, rough week

2006-05-04T07:06:00.000-05:00

It's only Thursday, but this week has been though at work. Tuesday the art director was out of the offfice, being the only person with both artistic abilties and a command of the English language, I inheritated a lot of work that day. Printer problems made a simple problem more challanging. The Art Director's computer, which I was using, doesn't draw all the elements of the art on screen unless zoomed in really close, which made things more exciting (read "annoying"). And there was more work waiting for me when I returned to the Typesetting side of the building.
Wednesday night was interesting in that my ex-girlfriend and my sister both came over to visit and have dinner, each not knowing the other was coming. I'm glad they hit it off, talking about jobs and doctors and etc. I was kind of upset that my turkey wasn't cooking fast enough. We ate kind of late. I showed off my new big TV to my sister who still hadn't seen it, after playing a clip from Enterprise where the Enterprise is getting it's ass handed to it in a space battle, my sister said, "Wow...I think I'm getting motion sickness."
Tonight I think I start work on a movie being filmed in Tolono. I think because I haven't been contacted by the production cordinator with my final schedule. I said was only avialable after 6pm on weekdays, but if the rest of the crew start filiming at 6am, will there be anything for me to do 12 hours later (other than burn gasoline and wrap audio cables)?

Timmy has a new blog address, www.timmysrants.com, I'll be updating my link list soon.

DVD progress report/my sick time

2006-04-27T08:31:00.000-05:00

I called in sick Tuesday and Wednesday. It was the first time in a long while I’ve called in. I don’t like calling in. It feels like I’m breaking a promise—to be there and to work. Perhaps I’m imbuing my job with more meaning than it actually deserves. I don’t think I’m a wage-slave, but I do recognize that I’m replaceable, that my job is not that important. I’m sure they did fine without me, some may not have noticed I was gone.
I spent most of my day in the easy chair, catching up on DVDs and even playing a video game. I’ve lost a lot of interest in video games, since the XBOX 360 came out I think. I guess all the hype about this new machine, and it’s unreasonable price tag, made me realize that video games are an important enough hobby of mine to spend a lot of money on it. I certainly won’t buy an XBOX360, at least not until the price goes down quite a bit. By then I may not be interested in playing games at all. This brings up a topic I’d like to write about at length some time—the decline in quality of games, movies, and TV. I heard that some companies are losing money because of a decline in interest in such things.

Remember the Superbowl’s record low ratings this year? What about NBC going from number one to number four? Remember the Oscars this year, all the best picture nominees where low budget box office flops.

With that short digression out of the way, I’ll write a bit about me. Some may know I purchase the entire run of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on DVD, at an extremely reduced price. I’m planning on watching it all, from beginning to end. I just finished Season One, I’m planning on finishing some other series before going on to Season Two. I’m also nearing the end of Enterprise season three. It’s really good. I not sure when I’ll pop for the fourth season, it’s still about $70 on eBay, more at retail. I also think I’m nearing the end of an Anime series I’ve really enjoyed—Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I’ve also started The Wire, but haven’t gotten to disc two yet, it’s good, but I’m not sure it’s a priority yet. There’s Sliders season three, I know, it’s campy sci-fi tripe, but I enjoy it, even if it is painful a times. Speaking of campy sci-fi tripe, I never got to disc 2 of Seaquest DSV, hopefully it will get better. I’m also got American Dad season one on it’s way from Amazon.
There’s a lot of archived TV on DVD available to take up my time, if there are a lot of people like me, picking and choosing their entertainment by the disc rather than paying an outrageous amount for cable or satellite, maybe that’s way the entertainment industry is taking a dive. It’s got to say something, doesn’t it? That I would rather watch 10-year-old TV on DVD than tune in to the garbage being broadcast?

The whole DVD rental debacle…

2006-04-21T09:22:00.000-05:00

Some of you may remember how upset I was when I learned that Netflix routinely slows down the processing of their customer’s DVD rentals. It’s a totally legal, nonetheless deceptive practice to maintain profitability. I wasn’t a very profitable customer, I would watch my DVDs then return them in a day or two. On average I could get 6 rentals a week. This was a fantastic deal considering it only costs $20.00 a month. After I found out about their deceptive practice, I found out an even more frustrating fact. Netflix was sued in California by a group of customers who feel like I do. In an example of how flawed our justice system is, Netflix settled the case, offering the lawyers several million dollars, and the customers who got screwed one month of “free” upgraded service. This happens often enough that is has a name, Coupon Settlements. If screwing the customer and rewarding the lawyers wasn’t insulting enough, any customer who didn’t cancel or downgrade their upgraded membership would be automatically charged the full price of the upgraded membership the following month. In effect, Netflix turned an accusation of false advertising claims and deceptive business practices into a massive up sell to the customers it insulted most. I canceled my membership and I hope if you’re a Netflix customer you will to. (I advise you empty your rental queue and make sure all your DVDs have been acknowledged returned before you cancel. As lying a cheating as this company has proven to be, they may try to charge you for “unreturned” DVDs.)
After Netflix I tried a competitor, GreenCine. They advertised “No Throttling!” I guess I wasn’t the first frustrated Netflix customer to consider a competitor. (Throttling is the name of the practice Netflix used to protect its profits.) I’m convinced that I was never throttled while I was a member of GreenCine, but I was only a member a short time. Netflix didn’t throttle me until a couple of months in. They do offer a more niche selection than Netflix, more independent films and import Anime. They also offer Adult titles, if your into that sort of thing. The biggest disadvantage to GreenCine is that unlike Netflix, GreenCine has only one distribution center—in California. The DVDs I rented traveled a much greater distance, therefore, it wasn’t much faster than a throttled Netflix account. I canceled my membership. I’m waiting to see if they try to charge me an extra months membership fee or try to charge me for an “unreturned” DVD.
I also tried Peerflix. Peerflix is not a DVD rental site. Think of it more like the previously-viewed section at the local video rental store. It’s similar to eBay, in that the products available online are all property of its members, but there’s no bidding. Each DVD or DVD set has a set price, valued in “Peerbux.” It’s cheep and non-committal—there’s no monthly fee, it costs $0.99 per trade, regardless of the number of discs. Shipping costs are the members responsibility, so discs are sent without the bulky cases. It’s not a viable option for renting DVDs, since it doesn’t have a stock of its own. But it’s very good for trading DVDs. I traded 24 Season One, a DVD I watched once and have just had on the shelf for a two years into Terminator 3, (and a few other DVDs), I movie I think I’ll keep for a long time. All the DVDs I receive become my property, I own them. There are disadvantages—new and popular DVDs are in limited supply, all DVDs come from a Peer, not from a company stock, so there’s a risk of ripped off that way. Also I felt a bit venerable mailing off that first DVD, not sure if the recipient would acknowledge that it was received, or that I’d get anything in return. It a good service for what it is, but it’s no rental replacement.
By far the best deal I’ve found is the local, independently owned DVD rental store—That’s Rentertainment. This store is a shoebox in the heart of campus town. It has about 100 VHS and thousands of DVDs. There is a huge selection of TV, Anime, and Sci-Fi. Every time I’ve been there I’ve found something I like. The price is unbeatable—$1.00 per rental; though this price is only good if you pre-pay for your rentals. To get the $1.00 per rental price, I pre-paid for 100 rentals. The prepaid rentals never expire, I’m sure I’ll use them all up. Rentals are good for three days, I visit campus town about twice a week, so I haven’t been late yet. Also, the store as daily specials, Wednesday all DVDs are two-for-one, and apparently that applies to prepaid rentals too, since my first time renting was on a Wednesday, I got two DVDs and I used only one of my prepaid credits. The main disadvantages are that it’s a retail store, there’s no online rental queue. Also it’s in campus town, so parking is limited, and I have to share with the students. This isn’t a problem except for Friday nights, when the shoebox-sized store is stuffed with as many people as a dive bar.
In all, I’m happy with my Peerflix/Rentertainment combo. The only problem is pacing myself, not getting obsessed with renting. I find it easier with this combo; I feel less stress renting this way. With no monthly fees there’s no pressure to watch at a hurried pace. I find time for other activities, I’m not sitting in front of the TV for 20 hours a week. I have time to write long-winded blog posts, and reviews of rental services. I’m even considering writing reviews of the DVDs I’ve seen. Today feel like life is good, and I’ve found an entertainment solution that fits with my lifestyle.

more about a general feeling than a specific event

2006-04-20T07:40:00.000-05:00

I watched about 20 minutes of the news last night. By the time I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I was terrified that the world was coming to an end, or at the very least, an apocalyptic event was about to happen. The news was scary, some of the stories were: high gas prices, expected to get higher, an outbreak of mumps in a local community, apparently mumps is a national concern too, there was also video footage of fans at a football game fighting, in which an innocent bystander, a woman, was knocked over and fell over the stadium wall onto the field. There was no mention of the war in Iraq, but I was of course thinking of it when the thought occurred to me—Malthus was right. Thomas Malthus was a 19th century botanist that suggested that as a species population grows, the competition for resources increases, until the lack of resources to sustain a large population leads to a large, sudden reduction in the population. I think he was referring to plants and animals, but it can be clearly applied to humans. I thought about this and considered that the mortal powers that be in this world know this too, had have conspired to induced a sudden, large reduction in earths human population. The 9/11 attacks, which killed mostly civilians, the attack on the pentagon as comparatively unsuccessful, the war in Iraq, which some estimates say has led to the death of 30,000 Iraqis, the mumps outbreak will kill off anyone without proper medical care, which in the United States means the poor. High gas prices will affect every area of commerce.
But then, just as I was falling asleep, I considered that this has all happened before. Remember last year’s Avian flu? What about the smallpox worry two years ago? The United States was fighting a war in the 70s, same time there was a gas shortage, and increases in price. Perhaps the human race won’t get off so easily as to die quickly in one or several tragic events, perhaps the fate of the human race is to continue, indefinitely, suffering all the while.
Needless to say all this end-of-the-world/eternal-suffering crap got me all sentimental, considering moving on with my life at exponential speed. I thought that maybe waiting for anything was a dangerous waste of time. I thought I should get married, even if its to someone I’m not sure I want to spend the rest of my life with. I thought I should continue smoking, hell, I even considered that using drugs/alcohol was ok, considering the end is near and all…
Alas, rational thought weighed in, I’ve learned its not wise to make such decision in such a state of mind, I’ve also learned to tune in only for the weather forecast—the one thing I should be most concerned about, and the only thing I can plan for, today.

new york or la?

2006-04-18T08:28:00.000-05:00

I’ve been fustrated with the lack of popular culture, meaning TV and movies, set in the midwest, or more pricisely in a city that isn’t huge like New York, L.A. or Chicago. Then I thought that their must be something, maybe I’m just not seeing it because I don’t want to. Or perhaps it exsists but isn’t very popular. Maybe it’s not popular with me. To that end, I’d like everyone who cares to comment, to let me know of any such Film or TV show that takes place in a small or medium sized town. I can think of a few shows with ambigous settings, the short-lived Undeclaired took place at a University, but most of the acction occurred indoors, and as far as I remember, the location was never stated. Perhaps leaving the location unstated is best, rather than saying, “at a midwestern school…at a west coast school…” that way people from other regons who feel like me can apreate it at the same level. The Simpsons is a fine example of a ambigous location, though the location of Springfield is a popular argument among Simpsons fans, its enough for me to see the charcters experience four seasons…just like I do.

teaser

2006-04-13T08:25:00.000-05:00

I wrote last time about how I'm thinking about posting nothing but my freewritting samples on this blog. Here's a small sample.

The old man offered the money to the young man. The young man took it and handed the old man the needle. The old man took it, but hesitated a moment before putting it in his arm.
“If I die here, because I’m taking a lot, if I die, make sure I’m in my truck and its on fire, because if they find any in my blood or hair, my wife gets nothing.”

The young man, the dope dealer, looked at the old man, and wondered for a moment if he was serious. The old man pushed down the plunger. In the few second of lucidity before the drug reached his brain, he said, “Life insurance…pays double in an accident…worth more dead…” the chemical reached his brain, he wouldn’t speak anything but nonsense for several hours. The old man had left the needle in his arm, the dope dealer very carefully took it out, and put it in a box for future use. As the old man began to slouch, then move completely onto the floor, the dope dealer counted his money, and left the room.

James’ silly little free writing website.

2006-04-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

I’ve been blogging infrequently for a while. Sometimes I’d write about my life, how I felt about a particular situation, once or twice posting links to interesting sites. I never got a real satisfaction from it though. Having trouble getting up early lately, I endeavored to get to bed earlier. This effort was quickly negated though, when about 11:30pm last night, I got inspiration for a remake of a cult favorite TV show. I wrote for two hours, never stopping. The words were coming faster than I could type. I was feeling really positive about what I was putting down. I cared about it. That feeling was something that I think was lacking in my blog posts. I’m considering the decision now to refocus my blog into just posting my stories. I public display of random inspiration, in High School English class it was called freewritting.
That’s where I think most of my creative work is lately, a bunch of unfinished, unpollished ideas that come as a result of freewritting. I’m not a writter or an English major, I just have a disire to put the ideas I have in my head onto paper. If for nothing more than to get them out of my head. What I’ve already written runs the gamet from screenplays to encyclopedic entries on fictional conflicts from the Star Trek universe. Right now, my mind is so full of sci fi stories, want to make my own sci fi stories.
I’m a smartass and an intellectual, I want to create something that is smart, sarcastic, sirterical and analitical. One idea I’ve been having for a while is a remake of Shakespeare’s plays—Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. I’m not a fan of Shakespeare language, but his stories. These plays have been redone many times, but to my knowledge never like I envision it. Recent remakes have been set in the present day, replacing Verona with L.A., replacing kingdoms with corporations or replacing swords with guns. Even with these changes these contemporary remakes have stayed faithful to the play’s original dialog. That just doesn’t make sense. When Leonardo DeCaperio as Romeo pulls out a gun and continues to recite Shakespears words, “my sword…” its hard for me to take it seriously. For me, it reminds me that I’m watching a movie. I want to make a contemporary remake that stays true to the spirit of the plays, not the words. I’m not a historian, but I imagine that in Shakespeare’s time, the dialog in the plays was considered comtempoarary, abet poetic.
Romeo and Juliet, in my mind, is suppose to be shocking—the main characters are teenagers, they should be played by real teenagers. The emotional crust of the story—to me—is the sickening image of young kids acting very adult. For me the play is about the tragity of children with poor parents. These kids are slaves to their emotions, acting irationally, their mood swings from meloncoly to murderous rage. If I commit to writing and producing a remake of Romeo and Juliet, I think the greatest challenge would be finding actors that young who can carry to story—and keep the audience’s attention.