| Made it! |
[16 Jul 2008|01:56pm] |
I'm in Saint Louis now! We have an apartment and everything. Well, not everything. We don't have a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, plates, shower curtain, or food of any sort.
But an apartment at least!
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touch my book!
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| Our last day |
[12 Jul 2008|10:36am] |
Jenny and I are leaving for Saint Louis at around 1:00 AM tonight (we want to drive through Death Valley at night). We'll be arriving on Tuesday at night, probably around 6-7 PM. I can't even imagine how tired we will be of driving and of hearing the cat meow in the background.
Hopefully I'll be able to hang out with those of you in St. Louis later this week!
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1 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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| My Thoughts on an American Hero |
[27 Jun 2008|06:12am] |
In a lot of ways, Benjamin Franklin was a great man. He played a key role in founding this country. He invented bifocals and the urinary catheter, making old age more and less comfortable, respectively. He apocryphally flew a kite in a lightning storm, which is a lot braver than anything I'll ever be apocryphally remembered for. Now that all of that is out of the way...
Fuck Benjamin Franklin.
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." He wrote that. Fuck him.
There are three problems I have with this saying.
A(1). I have mild insomnia so on a very basic level this quote is insulting. It's like telling a person with depression that if they cheer up, everything will be better. Or telling a person with AIDS that if they could just get their T Cell count a little higher, maybe that rhinovirus won't be so devastating to their respiratory tract. There are plenty of times I'd like to go to bed early, especially when I'll be rising early as the phrase indicates as the next logical step, but my body just won't let me.
B(2). It's entirely arbitrary. People need a certain amount of sleep. There's no denying that. However when they get it is fairly irrelevant. The day/night cycle as we know it is based on the Earth's rotation, not some divine law. Hypnos, God of Sleep, won't deduct points from your scorecard if you don't get your 6-8 hours in at just the right time. You could argue that the intention behind the phrase is to suggest that everyone get enough sleep but he really should have been clearer about that because...
C(3). Everyone takes it so seriously and literally and it's probably ruined more than one child's education. Overreaction? Perhaps. Maybe I should take a step back and just claim that alarm clocks should be taken to court for child abuse.
I know that's not a step back.
For whatever reason, society has decided that school is best started at or near the crack of dawn. Studies have shown that kids learn better if they sleep in a little later but, as usual, science is given less weight than common sense and if anything, schools have been starting earlier rather than later. Part of this can be blamed on Benjamin Franklin because of his dumbass saying but another part of this can be blamed on what I blame everything on.
America was founded by Puritans, who had the unfortunate belief that anything enjoyable was also terribly sinful. If we don't live in absolute anguish, God is going to get pissy and throw us into fire for all eternity. The Puritans seemed to view God as an omnipotent two year old with aspergers who threw a fit every time someone felt joy or accidently showed their ankles in public. Sleep was peaceful and calming, so it was clearly the tool of the devil and had to be rooted out.
If we'd just let kids sleep a little more, maybe they'd be less grumpy about going to school. Maybe they'd take their education more seriously and see it as a benefit rather than a punishment or imprisonment. Don't we want that? or would we rather listen to the ramblings of Benjamin Franklin who, according to wikipedia can be blamed for the film Pay it Forward and, subsequently, ending Kevin Spacey's career.
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1 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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| So it turns out that I am not dead |
[12 Dec 2007|11:33pm] |
I think I saw a couple of pigs flying today so I figured that it was appropriate that I actually post on LJ.
At some point, the fact that I had failed to post in such a long time became in of itself an obstacle to further posting. How exactly would I sum up my life throughout the weeks that I didn't post? Well, weeks became months and months became years and somewhere along the line I realized that maybe I was taking the whole disappearing act a little too far.
I suppose part of it was that I didn't really manage to accomplish what I planned. Somehow I thought that spending four years studying screenwriting would let me write for the screen or at least make me want to write for the screen. Neither really happened. It doesn't really matter whether that is because I am not good enough or I am too lazy or the world is just too dense to realize my brilliance. No matter the causes, I am working as barista at a Borders bookstore in the Valley and that wasn't my plan.
Fortunately, I had multiple plans! I've taken the LSAT, applied to several law schools, and now return to my original plan of law school! I guess that somewhat inspired me to post again. It's a lot easier writing about yourself when you have a plan...or something like that.
That's not to say good things didn't come of going to USC. I met Jenny and married Jenny which will likely be the best choice I make in my life so I really can't complain about the things USC brought me. I was hired to adapt a book and I think I did a damn good job, making some money and getting something I wrote pitched at the FOX network...unfortunately just a couple weeks before the strike. They weren't interested in anything that would require writers.
So yeah, whatever, they can all go to hell. I'm really not sure I want to spend my life dealing with Hollywood bullshit anyway. I've only a bit of experience in the world of the entertainment industry and I'm already fairly certain that I'll meet more honest and caring people in the legal field. That's saying a lot. I'll still keep writing and that will always be my primary goal but I'm glad to have something I enjoy and something that can make me some money to fall back on.
After all, I have a cat to take care of now.
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5 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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| Holy crap! I'm updating! |
[23 May 2005|08:23am] |
So it's the end of the semester and a lot of you are probably staring at your "Friends" page on livejournal and wondering asking yourselves the following questions: Who is Geburah_Goethe? Do I know him? Did I go to school with him? Or is "geburah_goethe" just the secret name of that Loony Toons Erotic Fanfiction mailing list I signed up for?
The answers to those questions are: "me", "yes", "yes", and "dear god no". I realize that it's been ages since I put up a proper update--one not based around me bragging that I saw Star Wars before you. To make up for it (or just to make you so sick of me you hope I don't post again) I'm just recapping my semester in a fairly long post. So, without any further ado, here are the major events of my semester.
CTPR 290: This is the reason I have been in absentia from livejournal, AIM, email, and life in general. CTPR 290 is the circle of hell that Dante left out of the Inferno because "it might make people uneasy". It is making five films all by yourself in three months and having them evaluated by a cranky passive-agressive gay man and a belligerant french woman. It is over now and all I have to credit it for is that I finally got to make the Metal Gear Solid spoof I'd dreamed of making. Well... That's stretching it.
Work: I've been working at the bookstore which has resulted in many things, including my purchase of a Ninteno DS, my dependance on fast food, and the slow degeneration of my soul caused by exposure to retail work. It's great to have the money but I worked about 20 hours a week this semester which, given all the time I had to put into CTPR 290, was probably not the brightest decision I ever made.
Fun: Huh? What's that? Just kidding... I've managed to do some fun stuff, too. Jenny and I went to the "More Friends" Music of Final Fantasy concert last week for her birthday. That's probably been the biggest event lately that hasn't related to making films.
Summer plans: Jenny and I will be in St. Louis from June 12-19. We're making a whirlwind trip through the midwest (okay, just through Nashville and St. Louis) because we're staying in LA for the majority of the summer. In July, we'll be working as TAs for our Short Script professor this year, Ron Friedman. He's done a lot of awesome screenwriting work, but he created Transformers and the GI Joe cartoon and I think that's probably what impressed me most.
In other news, I've converted to scientology. After a lot of thought... Ha! Just checking to see if you were still reading. While my coversion to celebrity-endorsed pseudoreligion would probably not surprise any of you, it has yet to actually happen.
For all of you who read this far, here's a picture of a Corgi.
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8 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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| Gasp! I'm updating... |
[15 May 2005|05:40pm] |
Because, given the circumstances, I feel I have to. Guess what I did today? I saw Revenge of the Sith. For free. Projected with one of the few projectors in the country equipped to display it in its original digital form.
Finally it pays off to go to George Lucas's alma mater.
The movie, by the way, was actually pretty good. Much better than the first two episodes. It isn't quite up to the standards set by the original trilogy, but at least it approaches them. Oh, and Hayden Christenson still can't act.
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1 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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[29 Jan 2005|08:46pm] |
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Yes, I haven't updated in awhile. Yes, I know that must be annoying if any of you want to keep up with me. Sorry about that... It's just I've had a crazy busy time this semester. 12 units doesn't seem like alot until the reality of 6 of those units hits you--directed, writing, and editing five short films all outside of class. Ugh. Anyway, everything has been going well except for that.
Actually, I think I updated for the singular purpose of showing off an image. We have a 99 cent store next to our apartment building. It has the craziest things. For example, Jenny and I are currently using Colgate toothpaste sold in South Africa. It has the seal of approval from the South African Dental Association! Anyway, some of the products are weirdly translated and some of them are just downright weird. Like this dish soap...
Non-ultra Joy! Now, I understand truth in advertising, but what soap admits that it is not ultra?
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3 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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| Thanksgiving! |
[25 Nov 2004|11:07pm] |
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Jenny and I cooked our first Thanksgiving meal together today. It was great. We didn't burn anything and (so far) neither of us have food poisoning. What more could you ask for? Here are some pictures...
The food (cooked by us, including the turkey)
Those are barbecue turkey legs. Somewhat strange for Thanksgiving but, hey, so am I.
The two of us at the table:
And Jenny, looking cute and ready to dig in:
Yes, that's a tub of butter on the table. No, we did not finish it off today. That's what you get for buying in bulk.
Also, don't believe the reviews. Alexander is not, in fact, that bad. It's fairly entertaining. And the music, while not entirely appropriate, is cool.
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2 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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| Halloween |
[31 Oct 2004|09:40pm] |
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We had a really fun halloween here at USC, despite the fact that I've been pretty sick as of late. I've been sneezing all day and randomly feeling nauseous. Ugh... That's the bad part. The good part is that we spent most of the day dressed up, either wandering around USC taking pictures or playing poker with candy as the stakes. Here are pictures to prove it...
This is me, in my costume:
It's not much, I know. I'm dressed as James Sunderland, from Silent Hill 2. For those of you who have never played SH2:
This is him. And for those of you who don't (and those who can appreciate video game humor), here are two other pictures of me:
( You want pictures, I give you pictures! )
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2 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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[10 Oct 2004|05:12pm] |
I had a really fun day today. Jenny and I went to Santa Monica. Our plan was to see "I Heart Huckabees" which we did, after having some yummy chinese food at a food court there. The movie was great. It's crazy and off the wall and somehow not nearly as pretentious as I expected. Probably one of my favorite movies. The music is very cool, too. That's particularly important when seeing a film with Jenny :)
After the movie, we went to the EB games in the Santa Monica mall. I had no intention of getting anything, I swear. That's not how things turned out. Jenny offered to help me buy Star Ocean 3 as part of my (early) birthday present. A whole bunch of awesome games had come out this month and I'd sort of tried to act like I didn't want to get SO3 as well. It didn't work out too well. Her offer combined with the fact that I should be employed soon by the bookstore finally pushed me into it. I ended up finally getting Star Ocean... Quit laughing, Cristine.
After that, Jenny and I walked on the beach for awhile. That was nice, although there are way too many people on the beaches in Santa Monica. Finally, we decided we wanted Starbucks. Now, get this, we actually had a little trouble finding a Starbucks in Santa Monica. Crazy! We did manage to find one, however, and had frappachinos before coming home. Is that how to spell Frappachino? I don't know.
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1 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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| The Demiurge |
[02 Oct 2004|09:06pm] |
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Hey everybody! Everything's going great for me out here. I finally have put together a novel I think is worth trying to get published. If anyone out there would like to help me out and read it, give me some advice (my perception of how good this story is might not be the best judge of its actual quality) I'd love to send it to you. It's about 300 pages 1.5 spaced, times new roman 12 point. Jenny did the illustrations for it. This is the theoretical cover...
It's a sci-fi/horror story that takes place in the haunted skyscraper of an unethical biotechnology firm. If anyone is interested, just reply or e-mail me and I'll send it to you. I've got it in .doc and .pdf form at the moment. I could convert it to other forms but the pictures might not show up. Thanks everyone...
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10 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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[26 Sep 2004|09:24pm] |
Mood- -Conceited
I'm not really conceited right now, just again wanted to show off one of the icons I made. Which makes me conceited. What's up with that circular logic?
So today I was thinking about the great revolutionary filmmakers because, you know, I'm a film student and I have to be in a terribly boring film history class this year and some of it is bound to actually register in my mind. I realized that a lot of them were responsible for (or helped out) terrible, terrible causes. D.W. Griffith, who basically invented film editing as we know it, made "Birth of a Nation", a historical epic in which the KKK were the heroes. This spawned the rebirth of the KKK in the 1910s. Sergei Eisenstein, who came up with a bunch of stylistic innovations (such as types of montage) made propeganda for the bolsheviks in Russia, who happened to kill several million people. Leni Riefenstahl, who formed quite a bit of modern documentary filmmaking, made Nazi propeganda.
If I ever hope to revolutionize film, does that mean I have to go out and commit some atrocities? You know, to get a head start and all...
Everything is going quite well out at USC. I'm really happy here, at the apartment with my friends. It's especially wonderful to be able to see Jenny all the time. :)
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2 hatsu stolen|touch my book!
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