The hardest part about being behind on your work is that new stuff is always getting added to it. My bio test is done, now I have my mass comm test next week. I'm behind on my world lit in a big way, and shakespeare is starting to fall behind too.
We did it sketches are "on hold" for now, at least until I can knock at least one school related project out of here. I'm disappointed in that though, because writing the sketches is at least fun.
Speaking of We did it, Bad has been filmed, and I'm a little on the fence about how I feel about it. Really, the only thing I'm not 100% sure on is the new ending, where some song is played and both characters kind of... I guess realize how silly the whole situation is and go home? I think it just depends on how we present the "Dramatic readings of Pop songs" series. Putting them scattered throughout an episode is, I think, the ideal way to do them. I would for sure want some kind of introduction to them though, because it's the type of thing where unless you know what's coming up you probably will just not get it. It would be easy for someone to just think that these are weird sketches with bad/ripped off dialogue unless they know that "oh hey, this is a pop song" before hand.
I think I'd just want to see it done both ways, one with the new ending and one without to see what comes off better. Does the fact that it's Michale Jackson's Bad stand on it's own, or does it need something at the end to let it all settle and actually give it an ending? These are things that, as a writer, I need to consider with my sketches. Is the joke powerful enough to speak for itself or does it need padding around it to strengthen it?
Hopefully I can get caught up a little this weekend. I've got to deal a little with some apartment stuff, I helped film a sketch and I just need to do some homework but after all that I can really relax and maybe catch up on some sleep.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Racist cat is racist.
Ok, so I guess it's time to soapbox a little. I'm really getting pissed the fuck off at how acceptable it's becoming again to be casually racist. This includes homophobia. It seems like I can't turn around without someone making a comment that just honestly crosses the line between maybe being able to play it off as a joke, and being just strait up racist.
What amazes me, is just how much of a hot topic homosexuality is in this country. Prop. 8 passed in California this past november. California actually banned homosexuals from getting married.
California.
When California starts banning rights, all hope is lost. Move to Canada or something 'cause America ain't free anymore.
I think the main problem is that we, myself included, allow these types of things to slide and don't do anything about it. We let our roommates yell "die, you fucking pakies" while playing video games, we let people talk about homosexuals like they're not human and all the while we do nothing about it.
That begs the question though, what CAN we do about it? Even if I talked to my roommate about his problems, he *might* stop saying that stuff aroud me, but he would just claim he's joking and still not change his opinion. I could stand up for the gay community and try to change public policy about them but honestly that's a life long goal, and a cause you would have to fight for every day just to see the slightest bit of change.
The source of the problem is just that this is how things have always been. There has always been some common enemy, someone to blame, someone to look down on. The only comfort I think we have is that we're really starting to run out of people to hate. We know it's wrong to hate black people, and anyone really who looks different than us. We should know it's wrong to hate homosexuals, and I think that in my lifetime, though admitadtly not until near the end, hating homosexuals will finally be looked down upon the same way hating other minorities is.
I sometimes wonder if it's a southern thing. I've heard from some people that in the north there isn't nearly as much natural segrigation and casual racism that there is down here. I really would like to spend some time up there to see how true that is.
The biggest offender, by far, is my roommate Evan. He hates middle eastern people more than I've ever known any one person to hate a group of people. My main evidence for this is that he's never refered to them as anything besides "fucking pakies". He even corrected me once, when I said "middle easterners" like that scene in Boondock Saints when Rocko is telling that joke. He's also one of the most homophobic people I know, and will continually call everyone a faggot, even just as a general greeting.
It really is.
It really is.
What amazes me, is just how much of a hot topic homosexuality is in this country. Prop. 8 passed in California this past november. California actually banned homosexuals from getting married.
California.
When California starts banning rights, all hope is lost. Move to Canada or something 'cause America ain't free anymore.
I think the main problem is that we, myself included, allow these types of things to slide and don't do anything about it. We let our roommates yell "die, you fucking pakies" while playing video games, we let people talk about homosexuals like they're not human and all the while we do nothing about it.
That begs the question though, what CAN we do about it? Even if I talked to my roommate about his problems, he *might* stop saying that stuff aroud me, but he would just claim he's joking and still not change his opinion. I could stand up for the gay community and try to change public policy about them but honestly that's a life long goal, and a cause you would have to fight for every day just to see the slightest bit of change.
The source of the problem is just that this is how things have always been. There has always been some common enemy, someone to blame, someone to look down on. The only comfort I think we have is that we're really starting to run out of people to hate. We know it's wrong to hate black people, and anyone really who looks different than us. We should know it's wrong to hate homosexuals, and I think that in my lifetime, though admitadtly not until near the end, hating homosexuals will finally be looked down upon the same way hating other minorities is.
I sometimes wonder if it's a southern thing. I've heard from some people that in the north there isn't nearly as much natural segrigation and casual racism that there is down here. I really would like to spend some time up there to see how true that is.
Monday, February 23, 2009
It's like Kenny Vs. Spenny but they're both named Matt
If my life were a Cathy comic, right now I'd be saying "APARTMENTS APARTMENTS APARTMENTS AAACK!"
We're not so different, You and I.
A Is where I live, B is where I would move to. Red is the grocery store, Blue is the bars. Pink is schoolThe down side though, it's in San Marcos. I could, maybe, graduate as early as this summer if I wanted to. I'll most likely graduate in December though, meaning I could be working 9-5 Monday- Friday as early as January of diggity 10. It would really be a son of a bitch to drive 60 miles a day for work, plus if I go into Austin on the weekends to hang with my friends, which I usually do. The only real silver lining of that is it would only have to last me until August, assuming I don't just sublease once my time in San Marcos is up.
My other option is to try and find a place in Austin. The advantages to this would be under the assumption that I would be working/interning much more than going to school during my last semester. It would also allow my brother to live with me over the summer while he does some "hippie liberal law thing" as Mom puts it. Any advantage of location would just depend on where the place is.
The downside to this though, is I don't have anyone I can really room with in the Austin area.
Maybe Nick Reed will come back, but he would need to line a job up first and the way the job market is right now, it's a much safer bet for him to ride things out at home with a job he already has.
Nick Grant might come back and need a place to live, but he also might make a documentory in New York.
My other option would be to just put out ads looking for a roommate, which I'm not too crazy about, or live alone which I would equally not look forword to. I don't like living alone, because I end up just sitting at my computer all day. When I'm with others I at least have someone to watch some Tv with and talk to.
Craigslist fumbles it again. Really it's a decision between what would be helpful and enjoyable now, which is San Marcos, vs. what would be helpful and enjoyable in the long run, which is Austin.
Right now, what I want is the San Marcos option. It's easy for me to do on my own, it keeps me in an area I really like and will make finishing school easier, which has to be my top priority. I don't care if I end up having to move back in with Mom and Dad, I need to get out of school.
Something is telling me though that what I should do is the Austin option. It helps my brother out, which I would like to do but should definitely not loose sleep over if I can't. It also puts me in a better position for working after I'm out of school.
I think an important factor is going to to be looking at the condo and seeing if it's a piece of shit or not.
On the plus side it is all bills paid. in lighter news one of my sketches got filmed
Dead heroes
Man, so apparently Bruce Wayne is really dead. I can't actually find anything that shows this when I search for it on google, which annoys me. I'd heard the rumor for a few months, but he hasn't actually showed up since late last year. Part of me wants to care that they actually killed off one of the most iconic characters of the last 70 years, but really I just know in the back of my head that he'll be back any time between the next one and ten years.
The problem with comic book character deaths is simply that they never stay dead. Eventually they'll either will themselves back into being, like Superman did or maybe some magical thing will happen to make them alive again like Green Arrow AND Lantern or sometimes they were never really dead to start with like Bucky.
From what I understand most, if not all of the Batman lines of comics are going to come to a close and merge into just one continuing issue. This seems to confirm that he is, in fact, dead dispite not seeing the body or anything.
I have mixed feeling on the idea of Batman being dead. Batman just seemed like the one hero you could never actually kill, mostly because there just is no good way to do it. Every other time there was an explosion that he couldn't have escaped from, he did because he saw the bomb or knew that the guy would probably have set a trap. To me it just seems like you would have to do better than a mere explosion to actually kill off Batman.
So that got me thinking about what would actually be a good and fitting death for The Bat-Man. My frist thought was to have The Joker kill him, but I dismissed that because it would just be way too depressing and you just can't let The Joker win like that. So what about just some random thug? Maybe, depending on the situation. Should Rocko, the guy breaking into a jewelry store just get a lucky shot? No, definitly not, Batman can't just die because he rolled a 1. So I was thinking a kid should do it.
Think about it. Batman breaks up a bunch of hoods on a drug deal, or something like that. The only one left is the gang's 11 year old look out/initiate who either gets scared or maybe even knows what he's doing and shoots Batman in the back. I'd have Batman disarm the kid and probably convince him to walk a better path before he ends up like his thug companions before letting the kid go. After that he would just slump over in an allyway somewhere, dieing in the same setting that gave birth to him when his parents died the same way. It's the only thing I could ever accept for a fitting death to Bruce Wayne as The Batman.
And then of course he would have to stay dead, which would be difficult. I think one of the only iconic heroes to actually stay dead is Barry Allen and some of the origonal Golden Age heroes who were eventually replaced by someone else like all the other Flashes or Blue Beatles.
Whatever, Steve Rodgers and Bruce Wayne will certainly come back one way or another. Maybe it'll be a perfect clone, or something dealing with magic or most likely not being dead to start with (fucking Bucky, man.) but they'll all be back. Barry Allen too probably.
The problem with comic book character deaths is simply that they never stay dead. Eventually they'll either will themselves back into being, like Superman did or maybe some magical thing will happen to make them alive again like Green Arrow AND Lantern or sometimes they were never really dead to start with like Bucky.
From what I understand most, if not all of the Batman lines of comics are going to come to a close and merge into just one continuing issue. This seems to confirm that he is, in fact, dead dispite not seeing the body or anything.
I have mixed feeling on the idea of Batman being dead. Batman just seemed like the one hero you could never actually kill, mostly because there just is no good way to do it. Every other time there was an explosion that he couldn't have escaped from, he did because he saw the bomb or knew that the guy would probably have set a trap. To me it just seems like you would have to do better than a mere explosion to actually kill off Batman.
So that got me thinking about what would actually be a good and fitting death for The Bat-Man. My frist thought was to have The Joker kill him, but I dismissed that because it would just be way too depressing and you just can't let The Joker win like that. So what about just some random thug? Maybe, depending on the situation. Should Rocko, the guy breaking into a jewelry store just get a lucky shot? No, definitly not, Batman can't just die because he rolled a 1. So I was thinking a kid should do it.
Think about it. Batman breaks up a bunch of hoods on a drug deal, or something like that. The only one left is the gang's 11 year old look out/initiate who either gets scared or maybe even knows what he's doing and shoots Batman in the back. I'd have Batman disarm the kid and probably convince him to walk a better path before he ends up like his thug companions before letting the kid go. After that he would just slump over in an allyway somewhere, dieing in the same setting that gave birth to him when his parents died the same way. It's the only thing I could ever accept for a fitting death to Bruce Wayne as The Batman.
And then of course he would have to stay dead, which would be difficult. I think one of the only iconic heroes to actually stay dead is Barry Allen and some of the origonal Golden Age heroes who were eventually replaced by someone else like all the other Flashes or Blue Beatles.
Whatever, Steve Rodgers and Bruce Wayne will certainly come back one way or another. Maybe it'll be a perfect clone, or something dealing with magic or most likely not being dead to start with (fucking Bucky, man.) but they'll all be back. Barry Allen too probably.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
2 for feb?
I feel bad that I only updated this thing like 5 times in 2008. I could probably use this as a much better medium for writing than I am. Right now it's kind of just a journal that sometimes someone I know reads when really I should just keep this shit private.
anyway, hopefully that's all over is where I'm going with that.
I just recently got back into San Marcos from Sean/Sean/Mike/Anthony's place, which I'm convinced should be called SHHH or HHHM for short (Sean, Hardaway, Harrison, Herrera or Hardaway, Harrison, Hererra, McCoy). I like "shhh" because it makes their place seem like a seceret hideout or something.
Today we had planned on filming a sketch, but it got kind of late on us so we decided to postpone that until tomorrow while we get everything ready tonight. By we, I of course mean them because I'm 30~ miles away letting my dinner digest before I go work out.
I'm really excited about the sketch show and where it's going. We have, last I heard, 4 sketches in the final editting stages. I'm a little disapointed that they've been in this stage for a couple weeks now but I'm not about to cause a fuss or anything. We've been talking about doing this for so long that I'm afraid of things falling through because of lazyness/better things to do/ loss of interest/ etc. I'd much rather this take longer than it should and still get done than try and go faster than people are comfortable with and end up with something we don't really like.
I felt bad about missing the last writer's meeting. It was to work on school work, so I shouldn't feel bad at all but it's still something I look forword to every week and something I like contributing to. It just sucks because of how busy I'm keeping this semester. I'll probably end up having to miss a few more throughout the year because school just has to come first, but I'm hoping that once I get more used to waking up early and utilizing my time as best I can that I'll have enough time to get school work done, internship work done and also get my sketches written on time and into Anthony for review.
I came up with an idea that I really like, and pitched it to a few people and it seems to be going really well. The sketch would be a lot like a nature show in the way it's filmed. Two or more people (I'm thinking Bob and MK would be good as they're the most in shape looking) are hiding in some brush and talking about the allusive prey they're tracking. The thing is, they're literally apartment hunting. They say something along the lines of how rare it is to find a 4 bedroom in this region, and if they're not careful it'll get away. One of them would lay the "bait" which would just be an envelope with the word RENT written on it and slowly back away. After a few seconds the other shoots it with a dart gun and they both go take their picutre with it like they actually cought it.
I like it, and think it would be pretty easy to film and everything. I want to write it up before the next meeting so we can maybe do a bit of a read through and so it's easier to pitch. That's just the hard part though, because I always feel like my sketches are way too short. This will probably be maybe two pages long, and translate to maybe a minute and a half of actual film if we jazz it up a bit. That seems to be how most of my sketches work because they're all based off one joke which is basically "wouldn't it be funny if..." and after that I just insert things like "some dude was laughing in a bathroom" or "people set up rules for farting" or in this case "some dudes were literally hunting apartments".
I still think my sketches are funny, but I wish I could do more like Anthony where it's more than just one idea played out to the fullest. Speaking of Anthony's sketches, I really want to make a Shirt for "The News". I have it all planned out and I'll show it to sean to see if he can draw it up. If not I *might* be able to get April to draw it decently, but we'd probably have to pay her before she actually did it.
That's all for now. I have to make sure I work out today and study for my Bio test on Wednsday.
anyway, hopefully that's all over is where I'm going with that.
I just recently got back into San Marcos from Sean/Sean/Mike/Anthony's place, which I'm convinced should be called SHHH or HHHM for short (Sean, Hardaway, Harrison, Herrera or Hardaway, Harrison, Hererra, McCoy). I like "shhh" because it makes their place seem like a seceret hideout or something.
Today we had planned on filming a sketch, but it got kind of late on us so we decided to postpone that until tomorrow while we get everything ready tonight. By we, I of course mean them because I'm 30~ miles away letting my dinner digest before I go work out.
I'm really excited about the sketch show and where it's going. We have, last I heard, 4 sketches in the final editting stages. I'm a little disapointed that they've been in this stage for a couple weeks now but I'm not about to cause a fuss or anything. We've been talking about doing this for so long that I'm afraid of things falling through because of lazyness/better things to do/ loss of interest/ etc. I'd much rather this take longer than it should and still get done than try and go faster than people are comfortable with and end up with something we don't really like.
I felt bad about missing the last writer's meeting. It was to work on school work, so I shouldn't feel bad at all but it's still something I look forword to every week and something I like contributing to. It just sucks because of how busy I'm keeping this semester. I'll probably end up having to miss a few more throughout the year because school just has to come first, but I'm hoping that once I get more used to waking up early and utilizing my time as best I can that I'll have enough time to get school work done, internship work done and also get my sketches written on time and into Anthony for review.
I came up with an idea that I really like, and pitched it to a few people and it seems to be going really well. The sketch would be a lot like a nature show in the way it's filmed. Two or more people (I'm thinking Bob and MK would be good as they're the most in shape looking) are hiding in some brush and talking about the allusive prey they're tracking. The thing is, they're literally apartment hunting. They say something along the lines of how rare it is to find a 4 bedroom in this region, and if they're not careful it'll get away. One of them would lay the "bait" which would just be an envelope with the word RENT written on it and slowly back away. After a few seconds the other shoots it with a dart gun and they both go take their picutre with it like they actually cought it.
I like it, and think it would be pretty easy to film and everything. I want to write it up before the next meeting so we can maybe do a bit of a read through and so it's easier to pitch. That's just the hard part though, because I always feel like my sketches are way too short. This will probably be maybe two pages long, and translate to maybe a minute and a half of actual film if we jazz it up a bit. That seems to be how most of my sketches work because they're all based off one joke which is basically "wouldn't it be funny if..." and after that I just insert things like "some dude was laughing in a bathroom" or "people set up rules for farting" or in this case "some dudes were literally hunting apartments".
I still think my sketches are funny, but I wish I could do more like Anthony where it's more than just one idea played out to the fullest. Speaking of Anthony's sketches, I really want to make a Shirt for "The News". I have it all planned out and I'll show it to sean to see if he can draw it up. If not I *might* be able to get April to draw it decently, but we'd probably have to pay her before she actually did it.
That's all for now. I have to make sure I work out today and study for my Bio test on Wednsday.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Last week
Last week was maybe one of the busiest weeks of my life. I was basically booked solid from Monday to the following Sunday.
Monday- Got up at 7, went to work until 5, rushed back to San Marcos to get to my 6:30 class which didn't get out until about 8.
Tuesday- Class from 8-2 and a writer's meeting at 7. Evan turned 21 at midnight so his sister and her friend came over for some drinks and stayed until about 2, which is when I went to bed.
Wednesday- See Monday. Evan is now officially 21 so we go out for drinks that night at a few bars. Again, up until about 2 or 3
Thursday- Class until 2 again, fallowed by a little free time before finding out that the girls from two doors down are having a party for their friend who also just turned 21. The night starts out with me telling myself that I'll only have a few beers, and ends with me needing a new book bag and pretty sure I'm not going to get my deposit back on the apartment. Found my bed at around 4? Who knows?
Friday- Wake up at 7, drive to Austin for work. Feel like shit until about 11 when I feel WONDERFUL and get off work at around noon. I go home and enjoy some free time, surprisingly not tiered and wind up having a date that night in Austin again. Traffic is actually closed on I-35 so I'm a little late. Date is horribly weird and ends with me telling her I'll call. Have yet to do so. It's maybe 2am at Sean, Sean, Anthony and MK's place when I pass out.
Saturday- Wake up around 2pm and get lunch with Anthony and Hardaway. Hang out there until about 6 when I go home. I get there around 7 and grab a little dinner. Steve reminds me that tonight is Evan's actual birthday party. I kick myself for forgetting and spend maybe 30 minutes deciding if I should go. I figure "what the hell" and catch a ride with Steve. I'm determined to take it easy based on what happened last time and am proud for how I'm only "kinda" drunk by the end of the night. Girl gets two of her teeth chipped by 250lb dude's fist. Steve cries. lots.
Sunday- Steve wakes me up at 11am to go home, make a stop at the outlet mall on the way. Steve also drives like a senior citizen so we don't get home until maybe 1? something like that. We get home and Steve goes to bed while I change into PJs and decide to chill on the couch before a nap. Tim comes over and reminds us that it's Superbowl Sunday. I change and we all get some stuff for grilling. After that we watch the game. It's about 7 or so when the game ends and my week is finally over. I go to bed around 11 or so.
Monday- Wake up at 7 and don't get home again until 8.
Monday- Got up at 7, went to work until 5, rushed back to San Marcos to get to my 6:30 class which didn't get out until about 8.
Tuesday- Class from 8-2 and a writer's meeting at 7. Evan turned 21 at midnight so his sister and her friend came over for some drinks and stayed until about 2, which is when I went to bed.
Wednesday- See Monday. Evan is now officially 21 so we go out for drinks that night at a few bars. Again, up until about 2 or 3
Thursday- Class until 2 again, fallowed by a little free time before finding out that the girls from two doors down are having a party for their friend who also just turned 21. The night starts out with me telling myself that I'll only have a few beers, and ends with me needing a new book bag and pretty sure I'm not going to get my deposit back on the apartment. Found my bed at around 4? Who knows?
Friday- Wake up at 7, drive to Austin for work. Feel like shit until about 11 when I feel WONDERFUL and get off work at around noon. I go home and enjoy some free time, surprisingly not tiered and wind up having a date that night in Austin again. Traffic is actually closed on I-35 so I'm a little late. Date is horribly weird and ends with me telling her I'll call. Have yet to do so. It's maybe 2am at Sean, Sean, Anthony and MK's place when I pass out.
Saturday- Wake up around 2pm and get lunch with Anthony and Hardaway. Hang out there until about 6 when I go home. I get there around 7 and grab a little dinner. Steve reminds me that tonight is Evan's actual birthday party. I kick myself for forgetting and spend maybe 30 minutes deciding if I should go. I figure "what the hell" and catch a ride with Steve. I'm determined to take it easy based on what happened last time and am proud for how I'm only "kinda" drunk by the end of the night. Girl gets two of her teeth chipped by 250lb dude's fist. Steve cries. lots.
Sunday- Steve wakes me up at 11am to go home, make a stop at the outlet mall on the way. Steve also drives like a senior citizen so we don't get home until maybe 1? something like that. We get home and Steve goes to bed while I change into PJs and decide to chill on the couch before a nap. Tim comes over and reminds us that it's Superbowl Sunday. I change and we all get some stuff for grilling. After that we watch the game. It's about 7 or so when the game ends and my week is finally over. I go to bed around 11 or so.
Monday- Wake up at 7 and don't get home again until 8.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
