homogeneous regurgitation

i'm nothing special

2010-03-10T19:49:00.002-06:00

and i'm done trying to be

how things are now.

2010-02-21T16:50:00.002-06:00

for the most part, the only person who reads this is me. that's fine though. a lot of what i do isn't for other people. i used to be the kind of person who was constantly seeking approval from others. you figure out eventually that it doesn't work that way. you'll drive yourself crazy. i do this because i enjoy looking back and seeing my state of mind at a particular time. this is a diary that anyone can read. that's fine by me.

i'm enjoying life. i'm not sure where things are going, but i've never been. i've always believed, even from a young age, that it's going to be fate's coin flip that determines whether i'm a successful billionaire or a homeless person. i suppose it's that way for everyone, to some degree.

pretty much right now it's school. for whatever that's worth. i'm sure i'll finish... eventually. i'm doing some writing and so on. talking to people about doing things. right now, that's 90% of it. talking. i'm getting tired of talking, i want to start the doing. too bad the doing is so expensive. i should have chosen a more cost-effective interest.

review: "Where the Wild Things Are"

2009-10-21T14:53:00.000-05:00

never has a movie come so close to identifying the feeling of being a child as "where the wild things are".

this is not a sappy, sweeping, childhood fantasy film. it is more an allegory for childhood and growing up than anything else. it's big and beautiful and bittersweet and confused. it's dreamlike and mesmerizing.

on a technical side, the wild things themselves look incredible. a perfect, seamless blend of cg effects and practical animatronics. the actors voicing the characters do a great job, particularly james gandolfini who lends his gruff, fragile voice to carol.

people have been saying kids won't enjoy this film, or won't get it. that's probably partially true. however, i do believe kids will see something different in it, and it'll certainly be one of those films that gets stuck in their heads. later in life they'll watch it again and see more. truly, the movie has a lot of depth and soul to it that you don't see in many films these days.

go see it.

the rules of attraction

2009-10-21T14:27:00.003-05:00

synchronicity.

2009-10-19T00:31:00.000-05:00

i hope the mysteries of the universe are someday explained to me. there's too much coincidence and happenstance in this life, both good and bad, for everything to be random and out of control.

2009-10-16T11:17:00.003-05:00

subscribe.

2009-10-12T12:24:00.000-05:00

review: "Paranormal Activity"

2009-10-11T19:26:00.000-05:00

As if life doesn't suck enough without having to deal with demonic ghosts and alien abductions and zombies and the like.

For those that enjoy things going bump in the night, is there ever a movie for you.

Paranormal Activity will gladly rest among the pantheon of "documentary"-style fictional films that really make good use of their gimmick. The best thing about the gimmick is it plays on nothing but the strengths afforded it. It does not call too much attention to itself and avoids being self-referential.

The film also plays on the strengths of it's two leads. The two unknowns will surely be highly sought after following a wider release of this film. This is slightly unfortunate, given that the unknown factor is very much a part of the films charm. The actor who plays Micah, the brave and devoted, yet headstrong boyfriend, is instantly likable with his down-to-earth humor and believable demeanor. Likewise, the actress who assays the role of Katie is equally likable and sells the tortured desperation with ease. It is her performance that keeps the audience interested.

This is far from a special-effects extravaganza. The minimal effects work is highly appreciated and a breath of fresh air in this gore-fest driven genre. Again, this leads the film an air of credibility. You buy that everything is happening to these people. You don't believe it in the way that, say, "The Blair Witch Project" had some people believing it. That's more a sign of the times. Information is available instantly.

This film is evenly paced. Methodical. It slowly eases you into a sense of dread, as well as a sense of curiosity. The same things it's protagonists are feeling.

This is not a film that needs to be seen in theaters. The theater-going experience was quite unbearable. Audiences are getting increasingly difficult to see films with, which is unfortunate. And, whatever you do, do NOT watch the theatrical trailer if you plan to see this film. It flat out reveals half of the good scares in the latter half of the film.

Enjoy, and remember, never buy a ouija board to deal with spiritual beings. it just pisses them off.

guess who's back, back again

2009-10-11T19:16:00.000-05:00

i don't know folks, i may have gotten over this whole blog thing. maybe not though. stick around and i might delight you with some thoughts and sentiments on very important subjects and issues. although, i'm beginning to think rossa vino may become my writing partner from here on out.

Shameless Marketing

2009-02-13T00:33:00.001-06:00

This may be the most shameless marketing scheme in existence. On my biweekly jaunt to Jack in the Box for some artery-clogging goodness, pasted on the windows and drive-through system there was a note. Not unlike a note that would typically announce a change in operating hours, very non-officious looking. On the note it read: "Jack has been in a serious bus accident. Go to www.hangintherejack.com for more information." What came to mind initially was that the man who plays the character in the sometimes awesome commercials had been in an accident. I got home and happened to remember the link and went to discover that it was a marketing campaign that's goal is to spread awareness of new JitB locations! The site is oddly littered with youtube videos like this one:

I've seen many odd viral marketing campaigns in my time, but this takes the cake by far.

The Beauty of the "Cold Open"

2009-01-21T03:34:00.000-06:00

"When you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow"

Kingdom of Heaven Trailer

2009-01-19T22:19:00.000-06:00

Because I love cutting trailers, and because I was VERY bored, I cut together a trailer from one of my favorite epics, "Kingdom of Heaven" off of a DVD-rip torrent. Here it is, for shits and giggles. The strongest bits are the action near the end.

Note. As much as I'd like to say I made this film, I did not. 20th Century Fox and Scott Free Productions did. They own it. I also stole title cards from another KoH trailer. Lots of theft going on. All the music is, of course, from the Kingdom of Heaven Soundtrack by Harry Gregson-Williams.

bye 2008! screw you 2008!

2009-01-02T09:42:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year to all.

How are the new diets and smoking cessations going? Failed? Bless you.

After another week or two of rest and relaxation, I'll begin the job hunt for the new year and see about some comm. college classes. This is the year for me to finally get started on my life! Wish me luck!

merry christmas eve

2008-12-24T15:51:00.000-06:00

i hope everyone has a safe and rewarding holiday season. i thought i'd throw a frosty-sounding song up here for yalls. enjoy and happy holidays.

cold feeling

gift ideas

2008-12-22T23:12:00.000-06:00

the shopping season can be a stressful time. finding the perfect gift for that special someone can be difficult. please allow me to lighten the load with some suggestions, won't you?

a lovely gift for all ages

another lovely gift idea to brighten up the holiday season

as seen on SNL, only they're serious

a tasteful gift he won't say no to

a gift that certainly WON'T get you slapped in the face

what does it do? who can say

if you're awesome, you'd like this gift

if these ideas don't warm the heart with holiday cheer, i just don't know what will.

NES Radiohead

2008-12-18T18:13:00.000-06:00

Also known as "chiptunes", I thought these were pretty amusing renditions of some of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands:

paranoid android

no surprises

faithless the wonderboy

We Not Rich... Yet... (aka Politico II)

2008-12-12T14:30:00.001-06:00

You want to know what's going to be REALLY funny? When these types of people (http://www.thefreedomfactory.us/we-not-rich-yet/) realize what's going to change when the Obaminator takes office. You want to know what's going to change (SPOILER ALERT!), not a damn thing. For you and me everyday joes, cause that's what we are folks... the most hard-hitting change we will experience is hearing a different voice on the TV and Radio more often. That be it.

I did not vote. Someone is going to be elected with or without my help and it doesn't bother me either way. If I had voted, I would have probably voted for Obama. Uh-oh! I'm Socialist scum! The reason though is simply because A: I'm tired of listening to the liberals bitching. This might have not been the best move in retrospect, as most if not all of the members of my family are conservative and now I get to listen to THEM bitching. B: Obama is a better public speaker, in my opinion. He is very commanding and well-spoken, and interesting to listen to. That's what it comes down to for me, who am I going to have to listen to more?

What made me think of this was remembering a fight I recently witnessed in a Burger King. This fight was interesting for a few reasons. It was a black family yelling at the hispanic workers of the establishment for accusing them of stealing food (this food happen to be my friend Shane's food, and they did steal it). It was the first time I had witnessed racism with no white people involved. For some reason I had it my head that the other races didn't do this to each other. I guess that was kind of racist of me. After they threw french fries and burger king crowns at each other and the patriarch of the family broke a "best service" award hanging on the wall, they yelled to the workers and patrons of the restaurant, and I quote, "you better watch out we gonna have the white house! you best be ready!". I'm pretty sure Obama is barely african american to begin with, isn't he? Maybe she was just talking about liberals... or, worse, SOCIALISTS!!! AHH!

What does it all mean, dear reader? People being un-willfully ignorant. I'm willfully ignorant. That's what separates me from the rest. I realize that most of the time, no one really knows what the hell going on with anything. You just have to admit it to yourself. I mean, I know generally what the candidates in this election SAID their policy plans are (or were). I know what changes they SAY they'll bring and what their followers SAY they'll bring.

Really, at the end of the day, I'm just hoping gas prices stay down.

Angelika Adams update

2008-11-14T13:40:00.000-06:00

new image that I absolutely adore from TDoAA.

the film is being shot piece-meal as funds roll in for the small cadre of people working behind the scenes on this project. it's truly an inspiration to see this team pulling this off and i am consistently keeping tabs and taking notes. to their credit, they've had a lot of time and experience behind them and have learned the ways of micro-budget indie filmmaking. they're taking a lot of big risks, and i hope it garners some big rewards. i'm anxious to see from the sidelines how it all goes.

btw. part of the game of this is that they are having the film(s) edited by several editors rather than just one or single team. if you have the means and you'd be interested in editing, i'll be happy to give Mr. Matthew Carroll (hier direktor and overall "owner" of this endeavor) your info.

really, the point of this entry was to post this picture cause i thought it was so badass.

note: this is NOT an image from the film itself, rather it is a teaser photo featuring the same actress in the picture below taken for promotional reasons. however, the photographer (who's name escapes me... :/) is also the DP on the film.

good day.

song II

2008-11-08T20:42:00.000-06:00

prego.

another song, less depressing this time. the aftermath recording should be up here in the next two weeks, depending on Jus's mood.

http://www.mediafire.com/?zd2u23t5njn

The Death of Angelika Adams

2008-10-28T12:13:00.001-05:00

This is the first image I know of from a project I'm sort-of-kind-of involved in. It'll be the first non-Stickman thing I've done. For some reason they've seen fit to cast me in, thankfully, a very small part. The script is excellent and very riveting so my goal is to not stink it up. It's fractured narrative will be sectionally released online at a yet to be determined location later next year. More on this later.

Everything is Illuminated / How it Ends - Devotchka

2008-10-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

I thought this was a very well done video featuring a very well done movie, and one of my favorite songs. watch the movie first as there is a big spoiler within.

2008-10-08T22:59:00.000-05:00

song.

2008-10-06T20:36:00.000-05:00

in prep for the aftermath drive-by festival coming up, i did this track... called "missing you". ironically i'm playing violin, not piano, in the festival. have a listen when you're bored.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mojydtgbmqt

wish me luck at the fest. cause i'm very scurred.

ps. much thanks to Daryl for letting me use his stuff and putting the "ambience" in the background. you the man.

politico I

2008-09-11T13:22:00.000-05:00

i keep myself out of political discussion, always.

there's a reason. people around me all the time are getting in to heated debates around this joyous time of a four-year stretch. it's always been very frustrating to me, even when i was little. from a young age, i drew the conclusion that arguing about politics is akin to arguing which is better; coke or pepsi. there's no one or true answer to anything.

it could also have to do with, to me, it seems as though we've had a bunch of crappy elections since i've been cognitive on this planet. it's always like a "lesser of two evils" election. who sucks least. what a terrible situation for us to be in.

but even if we actually were blessed enough to have good choices for election, it's still a moot point for arguments purposes to begin with. your arguing about something that is completely out of your control and over your head. in reality, how much do we really KNOW about politics and government? i'm thinking very little. this is not some conspiracy theory, it's just common sense. from what i understand, you have to peruse OTHER countries publications to get even basic truthful information about our situation over here. everyone is basing their information on a bullshit-fueled bias media system that is swayed towards one side or the other. how can you discern real facts from that? it seems as though it's basically driven by peoples assumptions and guestimations, what they feel in their gut which they then promote as fact. that's so dangerous, it's scary.

it's a primal human instinct that we all like to be in control of our elements. we don't like that things are moving behind-the-scenes with no input by us. it feels to me like the elections are a formality at this point, a publicity stunt. a glorified reality show. who's going to get voted off next? even though this is usually the case, let's hope it's not the black guy. he's making this whole thing interesting.

what changes depending on who from which party is in office. it seems like nothing. maybe if i was an oil mogul, it might effect my quarterly income. maybe.

maybe people just like to fight.

tribal connection

2008-08-11T16:19:00.000-05:00

this song made me think of Stickman Productions, some kind of mantra for us.

"We're gonna turn frustration into inspiration
Whatever demons are there, we're gonna set them free
Such is the method of tribal connection
Of our fun-loving, restless breed
I wanna walk this earth like it is mine
And so is everyone in our fun-loving tribe."

-Eugene Hutz

"random favorite scene" day

2008-08-09T00:42:00.000-05:00

Oy!

Back so soon? Why yes, I am. I have another RFS day for you, a highly illegal one I might add. Today's episode is from the modern classic "The Dark Knight". One of my favorite creepy scenes with the infamous Joker.

"random favorite scene" day

2008-08-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

Greetings.

Occasionally I'll post a favorite scene of mine from a favorite film of mine for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

expect delays.

2008-08-04T13:20:00.001-05:00

Sorry about the delays in new postage, my dear, sweet readers.

I've been hanging out with some of my favorite people in the world, doing some film work, preparing to edit the "Cuz" pilot. I'll keep everyone up-to-date on that through the Stickman blog.

Very excited to begin editing "Cuz". Nervous too.

I'm going to be busy as a bee in the next few weeks before school starts. It's odd that I'm looking forward to school in a way, things will be slowing down a wee little bit.

I'm planning to do a second draft of "The Specialist" in that time.

Anyways, I'm feeling a little down right now so I'm going to bid the internet goodbye. Goodbye, kind neighbor.

wasting away

2008-07-23T18:09:00.001-05:00

i have spent the last few days, wallowing in complete lameness, watching deadliest catch on the discovery channel for hours at a time.

please, god, someone save me from this semi-educational hell.

worst. post. ever.

Double-Feature: The Dark Knight / The Descent of American Audiences

2008-07-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

Having seen The Dark Knight, not once, not twice, but thrice now, I can safely say it's the best movie I've seen all year.

Like most things, I kept a naturally negative "too good to be true" mentality all through the build-up to this film. When the hype machine started rolling out hardcore I started to wonder if it could possibly live up to all this buzz.

The casting of Heath Ledger seemed odd to me from the start. I never payed any attention to him before. I didn't like A Knights Tale and I certainly didn't see Brokeback Mountain, which someday I'll talk about why... it's not homophobia. I wondered what was behind that casting choice. Director Christopher Nolan said of Ledger when asked about the decision, "because he's fearless". Makes sense. You need an actor with cohones to take on such a part. Perhaps one of the more famous villains in American folklore to start, and already immortalized on film very

iconic-ally by another fantastic actor giving a superb performance.

Needless to say, the late Heath Ledger delivered what would have been a career-making performance. The character is now, probably in part to do with the actors passing, hit the ranks of such evil-doers like Hannibal Lector, and more recently, John Doe of Se7en.

Everyone in the film is spectacular (with the exception of a few overacting "background artists" here and there, one of my few quips with the film). The directing is unnaturally good for comic book fare. The editing, still a wee bit on the choppy side, but nowhere near as messy as the films predecessor. The score is subtle yet memorable. Overall, extremely entertaining while at the same time being a piece of popular art. Something we as movie nerds can analyze and pick apart, find little nuances in. Everything a MOVIE should be.

- - -

Movie audiences are getting dumber.

It's becoming such a chore to sit in a packed theater with semi-casual movie goers. As my brother Ty pointed out, movie audiences are getting more hostile in addition to so many other things. Likely due to the rising ticket prices.

I'm simply astounded at how unbelievably stupid people are, and it's getting worse! People bringing their babies and little children to MIDNIGHT showings! WHAT?! These people need to be locked away and their children put into protective custody before they continue the cycle of stupidity. We must save the children!

As for our preceding generation, I find myself in my young age already starting to say things like "damn these kids" and "did I used to be like this when I was their age?". I'm referring of course to people only 4 to 5 years younger than myself. But by God, I KNOW I wasn't like these people at that age. It's unbearable. People will have flat-out normal toned conversations while the movie is showing. Their heads so up their asses to the degree that they can't even comprehend that they might be hindering some other people's enjoyment of the show. Such self-centered arrogance I can't stand in daily life, much less in something I'm paying to do. Why would you pay hard-earned money to do something you can easily sit at home and do for free, without making an entire room of 200-some-odd people hate you.

What brings about this rant is the audience I had to endure last night when I saw The Dark Knight with my mother.

They didn't laugh at anything funny, they mocked and got restless during the very brief dramatic scenes, their cell phones rang during key parts of the story, their babies wailed at the sight of the obviously not child-friendly material in the film. For the majority, they sat, apparently dumb-founded by what was happening in the movie. This movie is not complicated work, it's made for the masses and yet the masses can't take it. I shutter to think of what will happen 5 years down the road.

It just makes no sense to me.

May the Joker put a SMILE on all of your FACES!

mississippi moon, won't you keep on shinin' on me?

2008-07-21T14:51:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd give in to nonexistent peer pressure and start a blog, a blog that will likely be read mostly by myself and a handful of others.

Blogs, like most things to me, are so easily subjected to ridicule for any number of reasons. Whether they be uninteresting, too indulgent, or simply hard to read. All of those things might be descriptions for things that I will type in the months to come.

Gentle readers, prepare for vague, sometimes borderline unintelligible ramblings by me, your humble narrator. I promise to at least make an attempt at making it worth your while.