God hates my car
Tuesday, March 9, 2010, 03:12 PM
Today I was on my way into work when my hood came unlatched and flew up, slamming into my windshield, bending the hood backwards and basically fucking everything up. Luckily I was able to pull over without wrecking into someone. I had to bungee the mangled hood down and drive 25 mph back into Jacksonville just to have Sariah drive me to work.
I really don't know what I'm going to do about the car. I'm definitely going to need a new windshield and hood, I just don't know if Scotty's will have a hood available or not. I can't really afford it right now anyway, so for the time being I'll have to drive the Scion to work. Once we get our tax return I will get everything fixed on the car so I can start driving it again.
Last night I videotaped more beer stuff. It wasn't as good as the first time by far. I got so wasted that by the end it was more pitiful than anything else. About the only thing I can salvage from it is my phonecall with Payne. The next time I do this I'm going to basically put everything back the way it was the first time and just stick to commenting on my beer collection. It seems the farther outside the scope of that, the worse the videos become. At least by keeping it directed toward my beer collection means there will be a definitive end to the series.
I feel like shit. I think I might call Sariah and have her pick me up soon.
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( 0 / 0 )The jokes on me.
Monday, March 8, 2010, 10:59 PM
Okay, I'm going to start posting the stuff I've recorded. Why not? It should at least make for a few laughs at my expense. What else is there?[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 0 / 0 )Another week
Monday, March 8, 2010, 12:29 PM
I just finished up the new Cass Advertising coverage map and now I should start working on the new Roger Jennings Ad, but I ain't gunna! I'm going to pulls some images of cars and photoshop the backgrounds out in preparation for tomorrow. It shouldn't take too long to put the commercial together after that. Actually, the most time consuming part is preparing the content I'll be using. It's the same with anything, including the coverage map I just completed.
I usually convert a bunch of channel logos into vector files, but this time I decided to skip that part and just use regular jpeg files. Had I attempted to do the conversion again it would have taken me the rest of the week to finish. Of course, I can't seem to dedicate myself to projects like I used to. Something about not wanting to be in this office really starts bugging me after a while. The longer I'm here, the more desperately I want to get out.
I always tell myself that I'm going to stay late and work on stuff, but I never do. Once 5 o'clock rolls around, I'm outta here! Speaking of staying late, I have a project that I have to start working on that might require me to do just that. I'm doing some video work for 28 Productions for the last Capital City Cage Wars event. Yeah! Paul FINALLY contracted me for actual work this time! I've finished backing up their content to DVD for them (which they haven't picked up), plus I have to design an intro and credit sequence, plus fighter stat cards for all the matches. This is all before editing the actual video together.
Hopefully if all goes well, I will be doing more work for them in the future. Even if that doesn't happen, I'll still get paid this time around and that's going to be nice. It will be my first official paycheck for video work outside of Cass. It's kind of exciting actually. As for Cass, things are really slow right now. Everyone is kind of in this new year/winter slump and not really doing a whole lot at the moment. I shouldn't have a problem making it another year at this place. My "stop trying to fix everything" approach is working out great. I can't even remember the last time I got stressed out about work.
Oh, if you're wondering about the last post and what I intend to do with the video I shot; well, I still haven't decided yet. I might show Tom and get his impression on it, but right now it's just clips cut together without any real context. In fact, it's basically just me rambling for a couple of hours. I may try again, just with a different approach. I haven't made up my mind yet. Chances are strong that nothing will become of the last stuff I taped. That's just the way things go sometimes. I'd rather shelve a night's worth of crappy footage than release it to the world knowing it sucks simply to justify the fact that I spent the time taping it.
I haven't talked to Payne in a week. Either he's pissed at me for changing his script, he can't think of anything else to write or he's just preoccupied. There or a while he was calling me 3 or 4 times a day to ask my opinion about the pages he would send me. Now I don't hear anything from him. I'll probably call him here in a little bit. I want to know if he's moving forward with the script because if he isn't then I'm going to start developing my alternate script. I'm going to need something to do once I lose my internet.
Oh, I'm shutting my internet off. I've got three reasons for doing this: The first reason is that I'm tired of paying $75 a month for shitty speed like 800 kbps when they advertise up to 12 Mbps. I know it's not always going to be as fast as advertised, but to go from one extreme to the next is silly. The second reason is because I'm trying to save back some money to get bills paid off and I can't do that when charges like these keep piling up month after month. The third and possibly most important is that I'm tired of spending all of my time at home either playing Xbox or watching videos on the internet. This is my passive attempt at getting active this summer which I believe will significantly increase my chances of doing such. With no temptation at home, I find it hard to believe I would still want to spend all my time there.
So, lot's of things coming up, but nothing too exciting. I'll be more excited next year if I'm able to get all my stupid debt paid off. My only concern now is getting Sariah on-board with this plan. She doesn't believe we can accomplish this which is funny because she's the one person standing in the way of making it happen. I don't need to live a hermit lifestyle to know that she spends more money than me.
Outside of beer, I really don't have any crazy expenditures. We did get hit kind of hard this past week with overdraft charges, which hasn't happened to us in well over a year, but this is just more proof that things have to change. She keeps thinking I'm overpaying our bills right now. No, I'm paying exactly what we owe and have been for a few years! Sometimes I think she's just fucking with me on purpose.
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( 0 / 0 )Beer Reviews?
Friday, March 5, 2010, 10:06 AM
Last night I recorded myself reviewing my beer collection. I was drinking at the time, so it's kind of all over the place, but funny...sorta. I watched the footage last night (after several beers) and thought it wasn't too bad so I figured I would start chopping it up today and creating my little webisodes. Watching the footage again while sober (hung over) I think I might have been a little too optimistic about it last night. It's okay, but I just don't know if I want to put myself out there like that.
Maybe I'll just post one video and see how it fares. I don't know. All I know is that I feel like crap today. Today should be slow. Not much else to say on the subject. I might try to bail early. I haven't made up my mind yet. This entry is going nowhere. I'll post a link to the video once I have completed it.
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( 0 / 0 )Scriptwriting with Payne
Thursday, March 4, 2010, 10:37 AM
I've been working with Payne on this script for the past couple of weeks and it's getting somewhat better, but of course I would say that since I'm re-writing most of the dialog and making the structure a bit more cohesive. I'm posting the most recently revised version of the script to this site and will continue to update it as Payne and I continue on with the script. It might actually work out, but just in case it doesn't, I have a backup plan.
I was talking with Tom about this script over lunch and we began brainstorming ideas. What I ended up with was basically taking Payne's original script and implementing it into my script as a script my central character would be writing throughout the movie. My script would mirror a lot of the events in his, however it would play out as more of a modern day Ed Wood, rather than the tragic comedy that Payne wants to write.
I'm still at odds with the whole character dying of cancer at the end. It's admittedly a direct rip-off of Funny People, much like every scene he's written for this script is a rip-off of some other movie he's seen. Now I'm not saying it's wrong to pay homage to great scenes, but there's a difference between paying homage and plagiarizing. I'll deal with all of that when the time comes, but for right now, Payne's broad strokes work well enough to lay the groundwork for the story.
Will anything become of this script? Payne wants it to be an independent production where I direct. While I appreciate the gesture, there's a problem with that in the fact that most of the scenes that have been written into this script involve locations that will be nearly impossible to shoot on a shoestring budget. Any shots inside an airport are going to be difficult as hell to pull off, let alone inside the plane itself. I don't know what he's thinking of when he writes stuff like that in.
The LA scenery will require traveling to LA to shoot and like most major cities, you need a costly permit to shoot exterior shots. Luckily, the characters who are in LA, stay in LA for the most part. The stories central character and love interest are the only characters who journey back to the Midwest. Oddly enough, he places the story in Cape Girardeau, MO., which will require more travel. Now that I think about it, I may have to convince him to change that to an even smaller town. I mean, if we're going to be shooting this thing, we need to do it within reasonably achievable means.
I'm not jumping the gun though. I've been down this road plenty of times before in the past. There's no point in obsessing about things like this until the script is finished and we are both satisfied with it, which is the primary obstacle at this point. We don't see eye to eye on the story so co-writing is a difficult process. I told him the last time I talked to him that if he wants to write the story, to stop calling me 3 times a day asking me to give him my opinion of every single page he sends me moments after he sends it. He is unsure of himself and doesn't want to waste his time writing something that won't see the light of day. Well, welcome to the world, man! That's the struggle every screenwriter faces.
Things are going forward pretty well. It's nearly 30 pages and we're about to act 2 which will take place back in the heartland and will explore a lot of the background of the character as well as develop a romance between Raven and Hailey. Raven. I still hate that name. If there's one thing I'm certain of it's that a male lead in a romantic comedy named Raven is laughable at best. Raven is the code name of some elite fighting force or the name of a superhero, not a serious character.
Perhaps that's part of my problem accepting Payne's point of view on this movie? It begins and ends with the name Raven. From Payne's point of view, you can do anything and say anything you want in a movie because it's a movie. I try to explain to him that people by and large don't watch movies with atrocious dialog and completely unbelievable situations. Well, I'm wrong about that. They're called B movies and they've been around for a long, long, long time. Regardless, if all Payne wanted to make was a schlocky, no-holds-barred, slap stick comedy, I would have no problem helping make that happen. Instead, he wants to make a goofy comedy, but cram it into a serious emotional tale at the same time.
Who in their right mind would want to see a serious romantic love story one minute, then a guy vomiting all over the place and pissing himself the next? I said it before that if that's the movie he wants to write, then he can make it himself as well. I know of no way a movie like that could even be made, let alone why anyone would want to sit through it. I know it sounds like I'm saying all of Payne's ideas are bad and all of mine are good, but that's not what I'm saying at all. At the foundation, he has a story that seems to be both interesting, funny and emotionally complex all at the same time. I'm just trying to help him smooth out the abrupt edges to make it more uniform. A cat falling to it's death from a 9th story balcony can be funny if put in the right context.
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( 0 / 0 )Heaven or Hell....or just bored?
Wednesday, March 3, 2010, 11:05 AM
I'm kind of stuck in this rut where I don't do anything at all, don't have the energy to really do anything, don't have the motivation to build up the energy it would need to so anything and am distracted on a daily basis from focusing on motivating myself to get energized to do things. Sariah does the dishes, laundry and pretty much makes sure my world spins accordingly so I really don't have to do anything myself. The one responsibility I have is work and that is basically all I do. The rest of my time is spent doing things I like, such as finding new and interesting things on the web. Actually, that seems to be all I'm doing anymore.
I can't stay interested in the new things I try because they always seem to take longer than my attention span lasts. Hell, my attention span is so bad now that I can't even stay focused on typing up a journal entry. This sucks! I'm hungry and tired. I'm too preoccupied right now to finish this.
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( 0 / 0 )What should I do?
Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 10:49 AM
I just put together the first 11 pages of Payne's script. He has been calling me non-stop to get my opinion on it because he doesn't want to "waste his time writing more if it sucks". However, he also told me that he thinks it's good, but isn't going to continue unless I give him the go-ahead. I have to be honest, the script isn't something I'm interested in working on, but I don't want to break Payne's spirit. I'm happy to see him putting himself into a project with so much conviction and would like even more to see him continue on with it. At the same time, I don't want to lie to him about how I feel about his story.
Whether or not it's good is a matter of opinion. My opinion is that it's awful the way it is now and needs some serious changes made. He doesn't want me to wait for him to finish it before I give him my opinion of it and he says that he wants the truth, but I've heard that so many times before from people and I always end up hurting them when I tell them the truth.
Well, here's you're opportunity to help me!
READ THIS and give me your opinion on how you think Payne's story is progressing. I wouldn't do this if I weren't conflicted in offering him my opinion. It just seems like I've destroyed so many things in my life that I don't want to be responsible for Payne turning his back on this project.
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( 5 / 1 )Recommended 4 U: Miley Cyrus - Party in the USA!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 01:09 AM
Youtube blows! I guess that's no big surprise. I have to manually seek out the content I want to see versus YouTube's ridiculous effort to select videos I they think I might be interested in. Perhaps people pay for that kind of service. I don't really know.
It's nearly 1 AM, Tuesday morning, but my site is telling me it's Sunday. So much for an accurate PHP blog site. I guess I'm going to have to get in there an fuck with the clock settings.
I've been watching the old FCF writing process videos I posted to my YouTube account. The first one is 3 years old. That blows my mind! I watch these videos and I wonder: Was my presence in the band that destructive to where I had to be kicked out?
I don't want to make it sound like I'm hung up on the past or anything, but I feel that a long of things have changed so drastically since my departure from the group that sometimes I feel as though had I persevered I might have been able to help, if not thwart altogether, some of the things that has happened.
Still, It's not like I just left of my own accord. The bonds that were broken aren't easily put back together. So, I guess the next time I'm invited to an FCF show; hopefully someone in the band realizes that the tension between myself and certain members of the band were never rectified, thus negating my presence from any future FCF gathering.
I can't go where I don't feel comfortable and regardless of the length of history I shared with the band, there is still a history. As far as I'm concerned, a very unresolved history. Part of my reasoning for distancing myself from the group is that I felt that I had become the scapegoat for all problems withing the group. I don't deny that I had demons of my own, but the problems I faced in the band were far more than the problems I faced on my own.
No one made the effort to establish me in FCF. Quite the contrary, I was the most expendable person in the group; made evident by my awkward expulsion. The only thing I truly regret about the events that transpired in my past is it queered my relationship with one of my true friends. I still feel as though there is a great animosity between us. I can only wait for him to open up about it before we can move past it.
It's one in the morning and I'm done for the night. I'll be on tomorrow so whatever....bye!
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( 3 / 2 )Wireless Internet
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 04:31 PM
I didn't realize that my router was open to anyone who had wireless access until today. Some computer named ANGELA-PC was connected to my router. I hadn't set up any wireless security before so I imagine they've had connection to my router for a while without me realizing it. I set up the security on it now so maybe that will address my odd internet problems I've had for a while.[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3.4 / 7 )DRM pt 2
Friday, February 19, 2010, 01:37 PM
I'm still dealing with this issue over the content I've purchased through Xbox Live Marketplace. After a bit of research, it would seem I'm not the only person experiencing difficulties with DRM, however no one that I've seen has experienced a problem in which the company they purchased their content stripped them of their license without prior notification. MS DRM guidelines state that they have the ability to do this, but this honestly cannot be legal. Even if they incorporated a time limit into their licenses, they should be required by law to inform the customer that they are not purchasing a copy of this video content, but rather leasing it for a set period of time determined through the companies licensing agreement with the copyright holder.
I used to think that the future of media sales would be downloading/streaming rather than through physical mediums, but with DRM and it's completely flawed and criminal systems for scamming consumers built right in, I can now see that this will never come to pass. Companies are way too fucking greedy for their own good, but the more prevalent problem is that customers are too stupid to stop them. Idiot people will accept about anything as long as it doesn't inconvenience their day. I mostly blame kids who basically accept anything they are told like morons for the success of DRM.
I've been looking into the Sony Playstation Network to see if their system is better than MS. I've read that their system is not unlike that of Apple in that you get one download and if something happens to that download, it's your problem and not theirs. Sony does take into consideration special circumstances and offers one additional courtesy download upon pleading your case to Sony support staff, but after that your out of luck. I would be fine with that even. Hell, if you walk out of Best Buy with a DVD, drop it on the street and a car runs over it, it's not Best Buy's responsibility to furnish you with a new copy. That is a fair system at least.
If MS doesn't either refund my MS points or restore my licenses, I will sell my 360 and move to PS3. As for videos, who knows. I'll probably just continue to buy DVD until this whole DRM thing gets sorted out. I know one person leaving MS for Sony isn't going to make a difference, but at least I'll know I won't be dealing with a company that schemes to get more money out of me, even after I'm already spending upwards of $30 a month on them (xbox live gold account + xbox live marketplace downloads). From that point on it will be their loss instead of mine.
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