Echoes of Absurdity

2008-04-10T02:32:00.000-07:00

no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one someone no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one no one

"There must be some way out of here"

2008-03-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

I've been reciting some lines from that famous Bob Dylan song, "All Along The Watchtower" lately. These past couple of days there has been "too much confusion" from all of the things going on.

Suffice it to say that if you ever want to feel real pain go through a relationship for five and a half years and then have it broken off.

"I can't get no relief"

Things are getting somewhat better now. We've talked and we're just trying to see how to move ahead wisely. I am grateful for my good friends for supporting me and being understanding. If I haven't said thank you and you're reading this blog: thank you.

These two past posts have been really serious...

so here is a Lolcat.

Tuesdays

2008-02-27T06:01:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wish you could go back and relive a day? Do you wish that you had a tiny reset button behind your ear that you could press and it would send you back in time?

I do. (I wish my reset button was on my earlobe)

Especially on Tuesdays.

For the past three Tuesdays I've slept through the whole day. Each day I've missed four classes along with all the assignments related to that day.

Wow, that sounds really serious. You should get some help.

I started taking psychotherapy sessions a couple months ago. And it's been going pretty well so far. I've been able to understand more about myself, but it's been difficult because I don't see an easy solution to the whole "sleeping in" thing.

Scary. You're one of those. You see a therapist and have lots of problems.

Maybe I just can't handle what most people can handle: I have a girlfriend, school, internship, church... but people have those things and more and don't sleep through whole days.

Maybe that manifests itself in me subconsciously avoiding the whole day by sleeping through it.

But while I'm trying to self-analyze and solve my problem, I have to try to stumble through and live my life. There's no reset button. There's only me and my mistakes and trying to deal with them.

Stop feeling so sorry for yourself.

Maybe next Tuesday will work out better.

(well that was an embarrassingly close look at how and what I think about)

"We've given your license plate number to the police..."

2008-02-27T05:36:00.000-08:00

The title for this post sounds a heck of a lot more exciting than what the content of the post is about.

(a bit of back story for this post: I work on the production team at WebSerials.com, which is run out of an apartment in La Habra, CA. Very glamorous, I know. When I work over there at night I generally park across the street in the parking lot for various hole-in-the-wall businesses.)

Anyway, Monday night I had a production meeting for Cataclysmo and the Battle for Earth an epic sequel to the web series, Cataclysmo and the Time Boys, that I am co-producing. Invariably, the meeting ran later than I had intended, so it was about 11 o'clock and I was walking back to my car when I saw a piece of paper folded up underneath my windshield wipers.

I was walking back with David (friend/roommate) and Anthony (friend/director of Cataclysmo II) and Anthony mentioned about how someone had gotten a similar paper saying that one of the businesses there weren't going to let us continue parking there.

I'll paraphrase the letter for you.

We have given your license plate number to the La Habra police department and the apartment that you are currently staying at. If you continue to park here you will be towed and/or ticked.
- Advanced Property Management

Now, this isn't all that big of a deal. I can easily park somewhere else with just a little bit more of a distance to walk to the apartment. But there are about ten or more parking spaces in that tiny area and never have I seen all of them being used, even when all of the production team is parked over there.

It's apparently a big enough deal to get the police involved. Upholding justice in the city of La Habra equals reprimanding people who park where they're not supposed to.

I'm a marked man. The La Habra police department has my license plate number and they think they know where I live. I'll have to move on to other cities and terrorize more people by parking in business parking lots.

Awesome Voices

2008-02-23T03:28:00.000-08:00

From film to television, over the years we have been graced with awesome voices and I just wanted to highlight the ones that have impacted me particularly.

James Earl Jones

From Darth Vader to Mufasa, and even Verizon commercials, this man's voice is perhaps one of the most recognizable voices in all of Hollywood. I remember when I first heard his deep voice echo through the theater... I remember this moment the best:

"Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans and bring me the Ambassador. I want her alive!"

Notable Quotes:

"Luke, I am your father" - Empire Strikes Back

"Remember" - The Lion King

Edward James Olmos

I know Edward Olmos mostly from his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica where he portrays Admiral William Adama. He has some of the greatest lines in that show and he delivers them brilliantly with that low voice of his.

Notable Quotes:

"I'm getting my men!" - Pegasus, Battlestar Galactica

"I'm not talking about anger. I'm talking about rage. I can feel it. Right here. Like it's gonna burst. Feel like I wanna scream. Right now, matter of fact."
- Home, Part I, Battlestar Galactica

Orson Welles

Welles is perhaps one of the most famous film auteurs of the 20th century. With what is commonly heralded as the "best film ever made" under his directorial belt, it's no surprise that his films are highly regarded. His voice was first heard by a mass audience on his famous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds. The best example of his hypnotic and commanding voice, however comes from the last film he ever made: the documentary "F for Fake".

Notable Quotes:

"Rosebud..." - Citizen Kane

"I don't think there's one word that can describe a man's life" - Citizen Kane

"Who is the expert, who is the faker" - F for Fake

Will Arnett

Most people would recognize Will Arnett from his role in the television sitcom Arrested Development where he played the part-time magician, G.O.B. He started out doing voice over work for commercials and moved on to feature films after his break in TV. His deep baritone can also be heard in such animated features as Ice Age: The Meltdown, Ratatouille, and Horton Hears a Who!

Notable Quotes:

"Illusion, Michael" - Pilot, Arrested Development

"Are those police boats?" - Pilot, Arrested Development

"I killed a man, with this thumb" - Ratatouille

John DiMaggio

Someone who you would probably not recognize if you saw him walking down the street, John DiMaggio, is most famous for his voice work in the role of Bender from Futurama. That, however is not why he is included in this list. In the video game, Gears of War, he voices the the main character, Marcus Felix, a tough-as-nails kind of guy with a chainsaw at the end of his gun. As you can imagine, video game dialogue isn't usually of the highest caliber, but there are definately some quotable lines to be found in Gears of War. If I ever had a favorite pronunciation of a swear word, it would be Marcus saying the s-word in this game.

Notable Quotes:

"Sh*t" - Gears of War

"I don't think I can count that high" - Gears of War

"Well we're not here to sell cookies. So, they know somethings up." - Gears of War

If you can think of someone with a particularly awesome voice that I've forgotten, be sure to leave a comment!

A Quote from Andrew Schwab

2008-02-15T02:27:00.000-08:00

"We'll still be waiting for something stimulating
In the end all you sold us was boredom"

Ponder on that for awhile, chums.

And now, A Sketch

2008-02-15T01:22:00.000-08:00

INT. OFFICE - DAY

This particular office is a incredibly normal and dull office save for the fact that it has two coat racks and an encyclopedia collection with all of the vowels missing.

A middle-aged man, wearing a brown suit and a bored expression, spins a quarter on his desk to pass the time.

Suddenly the door flies open! Another man dressed in a darker suit comes into the office.

OTHER MAN
Jenkins, have you finished the report!?

JENKINS
N- s-r, - h-v-n't h-d th- t-m-

OTHER MAN
What's all this nonsense about, Jenkins?

The door flies open again and another man dressed in a suit comes into the room and sits next to Jenkins.

OTHER MAN
Who is this, Jenkins? I'm not paying for you to have visits anytime you want!

JENKINS
Th-s -s T-m... H- sp--ks my v-w-ls f-r m-

OTHER MAN
Tim!?

JENKINS (and TOM)
N -o, i-t's T-o-m.

OTHER MAN
This is ridiculous, Jenkins. I expect that report on my desk in an hour!

JENKINS (and TOM)
Y-e-s, S-i-r.

Suddenly there appears behind the other man, someone in a gorilla suit with a knife.

Jenkins and Tom scream and point. At least Jenkins tries to scream, but can't.

TOM
Aaaaah!!

JENKINS (and TOM)
A G-o-r-i-ll-a!

OTHER MAN
What's that?

He turns and yells.

Cut to Black

(well, that could have been funny if I had tried a little harder. as it is it's kinda short and dumb)

Insanity from 2:30 AM (or great song titles)

2008-02-12T02:27:00.001-08:00

Twisty Rhino

Squibblies - it's where you loose your bones

Pelican landing Zone

Apple Drinks

Assorted Racism

Broken Telephones?

Face the Facts - You're a Pointy Stick and No One Likes You

Diseased Rabbits

Manic Depression of Purple

Lilac Bedtime Stories

Welcome Gnome

Poison Listerine Strips (<- great idea)

Brazil

Beyond the "veil of familiarity"

2008-02-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

I happened to be browsing quotes on Wikiquote.org, admiring the absurdity and brilliance of Douglas Adams, and absorbing quotes by C.S. Lewis, when one quote by Lewis in particular caught my eye. The quote comes from a review of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and captures the genius and simplicity of Lewis perfectly.

"The Value of myth is that it takes all the things you know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by the veil of familiarity."

Myth's, fairy-tales, stories have immense value when one considers all they have to say about life, the universe and everything. It is commonly thought that one of the great things about cinema is the sense of escape that it can bring. To sit in a dark room, with other people or by yourself, and become absorbed into a strange world can be quite an escaping experience. However, I believe most great films have this in common: they have rich and interesting characters and/or stories that illuminate our understanding of ourselves and others. Now, save light comedies and popcorn flicks, so to speak, that have more worth in existence than in meaning, I believe that it is important to understand cinematic storytelling in this way.

The most attractive thing about science fiction to me isn't the outlandish characters and stories, though those are quite enjoyable, it's the fact that through these extreme circumstances human nature is revealed in a way that is quite different from everyday experience. This brings me back to Lewis' quote; that those stories can "take all the things you know and restores them to [...] rich significance."

For example in the film Star Wars, there is a lot to be said about friendship, loyalty and honor. One of the coolest parts of Star Wars is at the end of the movie, the Rebellion is staging their last ditch effort against the giant space station/ultimate awesome weapon: the Death Star. Right before they leave, Han Solo takes his winnings from saving the princess and leaves. They send all of their best pilots, including our hero, Luke Skywalker, to penetrate the defenses of that giant battle station and shoot photon torpedoes into an exhaust port which would cause a chain reaction and destroy the whole thing. They are breaking through, but loosing too many men and just then Darth Vader himself appears and almost gets a lock on our hero. When you think all hope is lost, Han Solo blasts Darth Vader away to clear Luke for the shot. And it's here where you see value in the character of Han Solo. He is not completely materialistic like we thought, but he is willing to sacrifice his pride to help, which is portrayed admirably. Though in some ways it's subject to the viewer's own worldview and philosophy as to how they respond.

That is another interesting note: part of what makes myth valuable is the storyteller's vision and intended message and the audience's perceived meaning.

I hope that I can learn to tell stories or help tell stories that people will find valuable and illuminating.

And I hope that I will one day own a penguin.

The Beginning of the End

2008-02-02T03:26:00.000-08:00

I've always been inspired by people that could write well. It has been one of my many aspirations to become someone who could convey their thoughts in a concise and clear manner. And hopefully through writing in this blog somewhat faithfully I will begin to do so.

I think I'll write lots of things in here, my ideas on the industrial revolution, my musings of the future, politics, the zombie apocalypse, it really doesn't matter. No one's going to read this. Anyway, to myself and the random people that chance upon this blog: welcome.

A picture for your thoughts:

(this is me and my girlfriend, Michelle with Tony Hale from Arrested Development in the middle)