Bralexander's

Yet Another New Chapter

2011-09-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,

My life has transformed itself yet again, and though I'm in the same place I feel so different. For the time being, things make sense in the world. The key to living a good life can sometimes be as easy as not being around or not allowing yourself to be bothered by something. Whether its a television or just someone around you it's very important to sort the situation out being you can lose track of how much time actually passes. Eventually, you end up in the Doldrums and feel sluggish. Life is far too short for that.

Design: hurtigbredbaand.dkIn this very moment I'm letting myself get lost in the mood. I don;t know why but all day felt very christmas-ish. I put on some Vince Gauraldi and organized my life. When night crept up I popped in Kill Bill and delved into its greatness. It's odd. I fully realize and am aware of America's addiction to material belongings and I continually fight the urge to purchase things (which isn't hard mind you. fucking economy) but I do feel at my best when I treasure the things I own. and pet them... organize them... etc. Anyways, the weather here is getting cold so naturally it's time to look forward to the holidays! Can't wait for Halloween!! Nightmare before christmas season.

What's Good?

2011-07-11T18:56:00.000-07:00

How's it going gang? It's been a bit as per usual but I'm back again to chill with you once more. I'm living easy this summer. Working mostly and trying to make as much headway creatively that I can on the side is a challenge. It takes real sacrifice to get what you want today. Going against the grain takes courage. Doing what you feel like doing takes courage too. I've been listening to records lately. My girlfriend and I have taken to The Cars self titled debut. Especially the last two tracks: 'Moving in Stereo' and 'All Mixed Up'.

They're well written, beautiful songs. Older music has a tendency to stick with me and I have a feeling that I'll be listening to this album a lot. I'm doing well and just planned to go on a road trip to Ohio to our once annual family reunion. Can't wait to leave the state and enjoy a nice vacation. I sound like such an old dude but hey I am 23 now... I'm getting up there. lol

Wes Anderson was in Rhode Island filming his upcoming film "Moonrise Kingdom". I O U pictures of the set.

I'm in love.

2010-12-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, though I wasn't expecting anything, I got some great gifts. Movie tickets, Clothes, GOOD Cd's, a gift certificate, books, and some sweet movies. Someone gave me The Night Of The Hunter on Bluray. It's a Criterion release and it looks fantastic. I had an excellent holiday overall. Got to see all of my friends and most of my family. Even though not everyone got what they expected, mostly everyone's happy. True Christmas spirit!

Also the Disney trip went well. I really seemed to focus on Walt Disney; learning and reading about him. I got a couple books about him. The biographer is really thorough and relevant. I'm probably delusional but I feel like there's a lot about Disney that I can identify with. I'm jealous of the time he was raised him. Before he was eighteen he saw many countries and made many life decisions, and stuck to them. It was a time where you could choose what kind of life you wanted fairly easily... especially around the age of 16-19. For Christmas I got Charles Schultz and Walt Disney quote books. I love reading about these amazing people.

It's official

2010-12-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

Hey blog! Just wanted to let you know, that after years of waiting, I have a registered and insured automobile. Will upload a picture or two soon. In other news, I'm on the cusp of an excellent vacation. My girlfriend and I are going to Disney World this Saturday! I'm very excited, though I'm temporarily stressed over the work I have to get done before we go. I had to take my finals earlier because I'll be gone for final exams. My music class is over with. 92 average for the semester... not too shabby. Film "final" today and Spanish tomorrow. Photo class is a bitch and that finals is on the Friday I get back. nuts.

can't wait.

Bored in Class 2

2010-11-19T16:05:00.001-08:00

Creative Inspiration

2010-11-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.objekt.nl/
is not as nearly impressive as Objekt Magazine, but I feel like not many people (who I know/young people) are aware of what artful design can do for them. this magazine takes you to different places, exposes you to new ideas, and makes you want to have everything shown. Call it a favor and enjoy! :)

Ugh

2010-11-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

The reason why I have a blog in the first place is simple: I want to be able to remember my life. There are so many things that are too important to be forgotten and I do not trust my memory to help me out. Lately, however, I've been using my blog as a telephone poll rather than a diary. It's great, but the links and other things I post will be gone one day and I will be left with nothing to look at and remember. The problem is, I can't seem find things worth writing down. I feel like that mentality is something that happens when you get older. It's a shame if it's true... but I'm still going to try.

Currently, I'm living in a restored mill (did I mention that before?)with my girlfriend and our Pug, Wrinkles. He was very sick the other day and we had to take him to an Animal Hospital. He's fine now, but he gave us a bit of a scare. He's much better now... and he behaves more now... even stranger.

Even more current, we're playing host to a very good friend of ours who needs a place to stay for a while. Seems to be going well. It's actually really nice to have another person around.

Bakbone Records is fairly stagnant right now but we're feeling very confident in our future plans. Time will tell.

My music project, Gmatron is far from fruition but I've been doing a lot of thinking regarding it's production style etc. I'm really excited. Film still pops up every once and a while but not as much as music. It's scary in a way. I recognize that film is more fulfilling for me. It makes me much happier just thinking about it. It eliminates my anxiety when I think more visually and creatively. It's the ideal form of escapism for me. It's coming. I feel it. Christmas always brings about some creative surge for me.

My girl and I have been thinking and looking for a new place to live. Our lease is up in 5 months or so and we don't know if we want to stay where we are. I'll keep you posted.

My mom and I stopped talking about. It's not something I'm happy about but it's totally necessary. What sucks is that I feel like my relationship with my younger brother will never be what it should now. I have a very bad feeling about the future of this situation.

I'm still slightly anxious most of the time or at least when I have nothing to do. I feel a lack of cognitive awareness to help myself when I feel that way. It's unlike something I've ever had to deal with. I hate it. When I felt upset, last year even, I would know what to do to get myself out of it. Now, I can't even realize that I'm not feeling well enough to help myself in the moment. crazy.
I'm unemployed and, though my grades are fine, I'm having a very hard time staying motivated this semester. I bought a car! I forgot to mention that probably because it's not on the road yet. I have to get it fixed, insured, and registered and I don't have the money right this moment to do that... but soon.

anyways... that's all that I can say right now. I plan to post some pictures of my life very soon.

Tap Tap Tap!

2010-11-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

Francis Farewell Starlite: Tap The Phone from Benedict Evans on Vimeo.

Bored in Class part 1

2010-11-12T16:43:00.001-08:00

Just an update

2010-11-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

Life is good. Right now I'm focused on getting caught up in school. It's been a while since I focused all my attention on my classes... but here I am, in the lab... updating my blog. Regardless, I have at least decided to put aside time to do my work. I've also been thinking more and more about GMATRON and my musical aspirations. I've touched base with some old friends whose primary goal is still making music. It's great to be on good (active) terms with them. I have been sketching more often and have done great things with some old characters. I've realized that success really can come down to how much time you put into something. My problem is and has always been that I can't decide which parts of my life are most important to me... because everything is important to me. What's good about that is, as long as I don't spread myself too thin, I'm bound to be successful. I know how that sounds but... well, you'll see. Anyways, enough of that. I just bought this fantastic album: Francis and the Lights - It'll Be Better. They have 2 excellent music videos you should see

Kid Cudi proves himself... again.

2010-11-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

yeah yeah, I know. You think he's a sellout, untalented, lame, mainstream, unimportant, etc. Don't waste your breath. DO NOT BE FOOLED! Nevermind the mindless, massive college fan following who don't know "Erase Me" from "Daps n' Pounds". Nevermind the strictly pothead Cudi fan base, they don't get it either. If you're an rap aficionado look no further than the mixtapes to discover Cudi's legitimacy. I'll admit, although his first debut is good the concept almost overshadows the music... I would barely even consider that a downside. Kid Cudi's got something to say. Make no mistake about that... and to all those who know better, you'll agree that there aren't many artists like Cudi out there. This new album compensates for everything you missed in the mixtapes and the debut. There's a certain space that Cudi and his production team (Emile & Plain Pat amongst others) construct that helps complete the aesthetic and thesis of this new work. Looking for something different? A new mix of hip-hop and electronic? Look no further. It's G.O.O.D.

Sega Craving I

2010-11-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

I need this.

Do yourself a favor

2010-11-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

Need instruments? no money? problem solved.

be creative

3rd post today but this is blowing my mind!

2010-11-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

Part of N-E-R-D with Martin Scorsese

Check out Pharrell's blog. It's so hard not to daydream looking at where his life has taken him. http://blog.honeyee.com/pharrell/

I ain't gotta say it, man, dog trust me!

2010-11-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Two of my favorite Hip-hop producers.

because reality can be too much sometimes...

2010-11-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

I know some people know as well as I do, but for the people who don't: This man is ahead of so many film makers around the world. His films are executed in such a precise manner, one that allows us to stew in the comforting worlds he's created. He uses the most gorgeous color palettes and realizes that it takes far more than dialogue and interesting scenarios to woo the viewer. That's why I love Hayao Miyazaki. In Totoro: the scene at the bus stop, In Howl's Moving Castle: Sophie walks into the dimly lit castle, and in Spirited Away: every scene, he manages to transport us to realistic but fantastic spaces and the story hasn't even started yet in most cases. And not to mention the content of his films. Do your homework and find out before you miss out.

The man is a genius and the oldest child in the world.

Francis Farewell Starlite Interview

2010-11-02T20:28:00.001-07:00

Francis Starlite Interview 10/26/2010 by bagmitra

I told you I was a NERD

2010-11-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hello blog. Things are going pretty well for me. Or at least I'm getting there. I can't speak for a couple posts prior to this, but right now I'm thinking very clearly and feel like myself again. Family is good. Relationship is good. Business is good. Money could,should, and would be good but let's not go there. Now, for the more important stuff:

I interviewed Francis of Francis and the Lights. I will upload it soon. I'm just looking for a audio host that I think will be around for a while. I have very firm beliefs about what Francis and the Lights are doing. Even if you dismiss the musical talent, stylish outfits, and (most importantly) stage presence they are at least young people who know exactly what they want and are actually doing it. In the process they're collaborating with excellent artists and exposing a new generation to some of the greatest (forgotten) aspects of music... particularly live music. This was my second interview with Francis Starlite. After the interview, my girlfriend and I were comped tickets for the show at Lupo's. It was a phenomenal experience to visit such a great local venue to interview such a fresh and upcoming artist. What a privilege.

In other news (I'm very excited about this) N*E*R*D is dropping their newest album, 'Nothing', tomorrow! I've been a Pharrell Williams fan for years (mostly because he has great style; as I got older I admired his production and his ear). I discovered The Neptunes in high school and loved them. Without knowing it at times, I've rocked out to radio hits (which is rare) that just so happened to be featuring or produced by Pharrell. Now I feel like I couldn't be more ready to hear a new album by them. I've been slowly discovering my own production style for years and now I can really appreciate what's being released, right off the bat. It's a beautiful thing. I wish I could make it to NYC on the 4th because N*E*R*D will be appearing in Union Square at Best Buy. I don't think I can swing it, but no worries. One day.

I forgot to mention, Pharrell/The Neptunes earned some major points in my book when they did a remix of AIR's "Don't Be Light". If you didn't know, AIR is one of the most amazing duo's of all time. French-born artists who create spaces in their music that you've never heard. I wish I could get my hands on some more AIR stuff... but then again.. all the US fans probably feel that way.

Francis and the Lights - It'll Be Better

2010-10-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

Did You Miss Me?

2010-10-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,
Do I really need to say it's been a while? I'm currently living in a restored mill (see previous post) with my lovely lady, Amber, and our pug, Wrinkles. I'm currently enrolled at ccri (again). I'm taking Film as Literature II, Basic Spoken Spanish, Intro to Music, and Digital Photography. Most of the time the classes are fine but there's something about this semester that I'm not quite feeling. Speaking of feeling, I haven't been feeling that great. About 4 days ago I had a crazy mental breakdown. I haven't really been the same since. I've developed anxiety; something I believed to be imaginary my entire life. When the sun goes down my mood changes. When I wake up and have nothing to be excited about, I'm a mess. I consider myself to be somewhat of an intellectual person. I tend to think too much. That's my problem. I can't seem to distract myself. Lately I just dwell on existence, lack of happiness, and monetary gain. Struggling. I've spent the last few days trying to piece together what it was that caused my breakdown. There are million reasons I've decided.

1) Bakbone Records llc - My business partner stresses me out... BIG TIME! Everything's all set now but I was too busy with the rest of my life to prevent him from running our finances into the ground.

2) Money - A seasonal position I was holding ended and rent is still expected obviously. Even though I'm struggling with day-to-day shit I'm still (with the help of my girlfriend) searching and applying for jobs. No luck yet.

3) Family - I can't tell if they need to be closer or farther away from me.

4) Sleep - I don't get enough good quality sleep. (that's a guess)

5) School - If I wasn't getting paid to go, I wouldn't be going. Colleges really need to be reinvented.

6) Friends - I'm not very good at having them. Things might be looking up in this department, but maybe not.

7) Pot - I do not like pot anymore. This actually might be it. If my breakdown had to choose a single culprit, it would be weed. Every night that I had nothing to do, pot was my answer. I escaped. nightly. for months. What happens when you quit and you realize you have a lot more time on your hands? And all your problems are waiting for you? I flushed my stash. Done and done.

8) My Aspirations - Depression has led me to believe that my goals of being a filmmakers, career musician, ANYTHING just are not important. Unfortunately that's what took up most of my time. Discussing films etc is a big part of my life. I've become afraid of the future because I'm not pleased with the present.

9) No car - limits everything in RI. I'm looking to buy a $1500 beater. I'll keep you updated.

I feel like theres a lot more than that but do I really want to keep brainstorming shit like this? As bad as I feel now, I know this will end. I can't say that I've experienced such a mixture of depression and anxiety before but if I begin to believe that this is a lifetime struggle I've already lost. I can't see myself being this way for too much longer... even if I associate the night with fear and the morning with boredom and uselessness. If my future-self reads this, know that you've done it!

In other news, I've been doing some work. I just shot and (partly edited) a music video. It was shot in less than 3 hours and edited in 4. I'm not super proud of it but it's not a big deal. We had no idea what we wanted to do until we got to our location. If I had my way there would only be 4 special effects in it. The 4 I would have chosen were plain, simple, and effective... instead, the video has a lot more (i wouldnt even call them special) "effects" because the star of the video was blinded by how good he thought he looked.

Atoma has not been thrown aside. If I can see my way through this terrible phase in my life I will start writing the first draft of the script. I've fallen in love with my characters and environments. One day I will see them on a screen.
Also, every computer in my apartment is broken. The problems range from hardware to memory... God save me. We don't have cable or internet. I don't really have the tools necessary to distract myself just yet.

Anyway, I have to go. Music class starts at 7. Hopefully this will help me out a bit.

Sudden Update

2010-04-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Let's get right to it: I've been living with my girlfriend and her family for a while. Recently we found an apartment in a restored mill. We're getting it. Just a few weeks before our move-in date the basement we live in flooded. Not a lot of our stuff is ruined but it has certainly taken a toll on us. the carpets in our bedrooms are destroyed. My focus for the past couple of days has been checking on the pool pump we have ruining 24/7, tearing up the soaked carpets, and sucking up the excess water with a 10 gallon wet vac. The bed we've been sleeping on is an island. The smell of wet carpet has filled our lungs and nasal passages.

On the bright side, as I mentioned, we're moving out. We're very excited. The apartment is amazing.

School is almost finished. my midterm grades were the highest grades I've ever earned in my life. All of them A's. My classes aren't really teaching me anything I don't know already. I'd have to say that my children's literature class is making me think about a lot of stories (film and novels) differently. It has also created a mental meter for me: something to help me realize when analyzing has crossed the line, which my professor often does. It drives me crazy. Plus, he's an asshole... but whatever, like I said, I've got an A.

ATOMA is coming along more and more everyday, particularly at 2 in the morning when I can't sleep.

I still don't have a car.

I've been watching a few good movies (on Bluray). Today, I think I added 'Seven Years in Tibet' to my top 20 favorite movie list. David Thewlis and Brad Pitt had pretty interesting chemistry. The cinematography was stunning and the story was great, surprisingly. I say surprisingly because when I was a kid I remember seeing the movie case in my dad's VHS collection. I thought it was amazing how much of the movie seemed so relaxed and yet you don't lose interest. Everything you see is naturally absorbed... that got to be difficult. Great film.

ill nasty

2010-03-16T01:00:00.001-07:00

1925 aka Hell (by Max Hattler) from Max Hattler on Vimeo.

Fear and Loathing except on Cape Cod

2010-01-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend and I randomly decided to make a trip to Cape Cod to visit a friend of ours the other night. Once there, we ate at a place called 'Common Ground' these pictures were taken there. We made the decision to visit shortly after the following picture was taken at a chinese restaurant in Newport. I thought of Shaun after saying 'skidaddle' to a girl who only spoke chinese. Just sayin'

Buy This

2010-01-03T21:37:00.001-08:00

NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS' "WHITE LUNAR" 2-Disc
an excellent compilation album. Super creative and crazy as fuck.

2010

2010-01-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

I will not apologize for my neglect of this blog. It's been a while since I've posted anything because I've been living my life. I'm current'y living with my fantastic girlfriend and her family. The experience has been great thus far. It's now 2010. holy shit. My christmas was surprisingly good, despite my financial situation. I received some really thoughtful gift and got a chance to give a few too. I finally have an external hard drive. It's a WD 500gb My Book. Now I can transfer my HV30 footage to my computer without worrying about it dying. My girlfriend and I got a Samsung LN40B550 with a bluray player. We have it hooked up to our home network so we can stream Netflix directly to the tv in HD. It's sweet. Her mom gave us some Blurays, most of which look phenomenal. We have the Hangover, Inglourious Basterds, The Fountain, and the newest Harry Potter. We also have a few chick flicks. I'm currently debating getting rid/selling my dvd collection. Don't need em anymore, right? We'll see. We are planning another Disney vacation, by the way. For the same time we went last year. Tomorrow, I'm signing up for my last semester at CCRI. Hopefully this goes well.

For Thanksgiving this past year, I went to New York to visit my grandmother and the rest of my mothers side. It was crazy to see everyone in one room. My sister flew in from vegas, which was cool. It had been a while since I saw her. Amber drove up to see me and meet my family on my last day. We had a blast. Amber and I have been trying to go do cool stuff whenever possible. We've seen some excellent movies together. We've seen, Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', The Road, and Sherlock Holmes to name a few. We drove all the way to Boston to check out 'the Road' because it wasn't playing locally. Not bad for a Friday night. She's amazing.

I'm trying desperately to remember anything else that I should note.. but I can't. Oh well. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

AIR listening party "LOVE 2"

2009-09-28T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm currently listening to AIR newest album 'love 2'. I can't believe what I'm hearing. They've created a masterpiece. I love 'Love 2'.

After it all

2009-09-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hey,
It's been a while, as usual. I've been doing a lot of working since I came back from my trip to Disney, so I haven't had time to post. I'm working a really low-paying job not far from my house. I have a shitty time working there most nights but I've met a lot of people who have given me a lot of great advice. I work at a retirement home, you see. I'll talk about that later. I would love to tell you about the trip i took......with my girlfriend! We went to Disney world for 10 days. It was absolutely amazing. I had a blast. I came back home with a lot of really cool Toy Story merchandise. We went to most of the parks: Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom. We went to downtown disney also. I got to be an extra in the Indiana Jones show, which was really cool, also.
Due to some memory restrictions on my computer I can't put more of the photos up at the moment, so I think I'll stop talking about disney now and I'll get back to it later. In other fun news, AIR (french band) has a new album coming out. It's called 'Love 2'. I'm very excited to pre-order this album. Air is one of my favorite groups of all time. They really have something special on their hands. This album, so i've heard so far, is a little different from the previous albums. I'm not sure if I'll like it as much as their earlier work but I trust that they put a lot of thought into it. The art direction seems to drive (or compliment) the aesthetic of each of their efforts. this time around the artwork looks very interesting... can't wait. I've been listening to a lot of Joanna Newsom, by the way. She's fantastic.

with the exception of the picture of AIR, all the pictures in this post were taken with a Nikon D40.

free music

2009-08-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix
get on it. it looks like this. hjbaoihfrjknbhfdba
bvgfluabvflyuhbrveasrfesrgdynjfyujy6
tgwoidnqpjoiyeriwbnjhqwbfkasvfjlbul

yee haw! 2

2009-08-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

This too*

Seu Jorge - "Tive Razao"
by naiverecords

yee haw!

2009-08-22T09:14:00.001-07:00

This is cool. Ponyo was amazing. I saw it with my lover and we had an amazing evening because of it. Go see it. I was high on life for days.

this is also cool.
http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/life-aquatic-zissou-transcript.html

this too:
http://thisrecording.com/today/2009/7/15/in-which-wes-anderson-breaks-down-his-perfect-mixtape-for-yo.html

Deflorate

2009-08-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Black Dahlia's new album hits in September of this year. It's called 'Deflorate'. I've heard a track off of it called "A Selection Unnatural". It's pretty crazy. The entire band really stepped up it seems. We'll see. Check out the article at: http://www.revolvermag.com/blackdahlia

FUCKING FANTASTIC Mr. Fox

2009-08-02T10:34:00.001-07:00

@ Yahoo! Video
I'm pumped about this. It does look a bit childish and mainstream but I have faith in Anderson.
I love the line:
"Demolition Expert! -What? Since when?"
Can't wait!

Brandon Alexander Gene Gmitra

2009-08-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

is now IN A RELATIONSHIP.

:) i Like this.

I love..

2009-07-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Group photos

Music update

2009-07-20T16:56:00.001-07:00

I think I owe you this

2009-07-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

Clock Wings

2009-07-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

It's been an a very long time since I've been energetic enough to write on this blog. I'm sure I'll regret it later in life. To start off I think it's appropriate to mention that in the few months I've skipped posts, I've turned 21 years of age. I have not yet been to a bar, but I have ordered a beer at a restaurant and have done several packy runs. I've rekindled some old friendships and gained a few new friends. I've also had to cut some ties. I'm now in a band called 'Anton's Key'. We've been playing together for a couple months now. We don't have any recordings yet, much to my dismay, but it's fun, to say the least. The newest cKy album dropped a little while ago. It's called 'Carver City' and I thinks pretty good. It's a lot better than their last record. It's a shame they didn't come anywhere around where I live to play shows on their current US Tour. It seems that all good bands have decided to skip MA and RI this year... it's odd. Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band has released their second record. It's called 'Outer South' and it's excellent. It's a great album because it's extremely evident that the guys in the band put their heart into the writing process. It's very easy to relate to and also, the music isn't too intimidating. The songs are simple and effective. I went to see them in New Haven, CT with a few friends of mine. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The drive, not exactly the concert. We saw them at Toad's Place and then found out they were going to be playing a free show the following day in NYC. CT isn't that far, so we decided to make the trip. we met some strangers who offered up housing for the night (which we ended up declining and getting a hotel room.) I had $10 dollars to my name before we saw them in CT so I had to make it stretch for another 24 hours in NY. It was a great time and a great concert. The stories we have are far too esoteric to try and explain here. I forget sometimes that life is for enjoying, the trip definitely woke me up. While driving around this summer I spotted a bumper sticker that read "Don't Postpone Joy"... I've decided to stick to that. Also, on the subject of advice , an old friend told me that 'life could always be worse'. That's helped me out as well.

So I told myself that I wouldn't be in another relationship until I established myself as the person I want to be... but things never seem to work out the way you want em to, especially not with love...or whatever it's called. I went on the road trip with someone I've known for years. She's amazing. We didn't do anything sexual or anything, but with had an amazing time together. She's also my good friend, but I feel like the trip kinda tipped the scale. Just two days ago something happened where she messed around with another guy... and I couldn't handle it. The next day she called me to hang out and I told her how I felt and decided to cut her out of my life. I'll get back to you on whether or not that was a mistake. I wish you knew the whole story so I could get some feedback... but whatever. Life is still good :). I just got a job, though I haven't started yet. I'm living back in my hometown at my mothers'. I bought a new skateboard. My brothers a lot more grown up now, and is nasty at skating. He's cool shit. I've been watching movies and thinking about film still, but less than normal. I've got to finish up my associates degree this fall and make plans to go to film school in NY the following year. I'll keep you posted on that relationship, band, and life thing. Later!

fucking long ass time

2009-07-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

ttyl

The mercy seat is smoking...

2009-04-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

hello,

like most of the time, it's been a while. I feel like so much has gone on. I have no idea where to start. Well, the semester is almost over. Which is a good thing. My grades are pretty decent this time round'. I'm quite surprised.

Yesterday, I recorded the first song of what I think is the kind of music I'd like to make while on my own. It's alright....

I've seen a couple new old movies... nothing worth really screaming about. I rented a couple of the Jim Jarmusch films I was looking at ('stranger than paradise' mainly). They were not exactly what I thought they were going to be.

In the past few weeks I feel like things have kind of been falling apart, friend-wise, though I can't put my finger on exactly what happened. I'm sure I'll be talking about it more later.

Music! a lot of new music. My interest in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is growing (again). I've been listening to Tom Waits, Grinderman, and, believe it or not, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley band. They're excellent. New cky album is just around the corner. I've heard 2 tracks from it already; Hellions on parade and A#1 Roller Rager. I don't like 'Hellions' as much as I like A #1 Roller Rager. I think it's one of their best songs yet, though I'm reluctant to get my hopes up.

I recently saw Deer Tick play at a newbury comics in warwick. I recorded it with my HV30. I'll post the video on vimeo after finals next week. The weathers been nice. We'll talk more in a few days.

Outlandish

2009-03-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hey blogman,
I just finished watching an excellent scifi film from the 80s called "Outland". Sean Connery kicks much ass in it. I streamed it on netflix. I also watched "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" (yesterday). I'm a big david thewlis fan so I rented it (also from netflix) and it turned out to be amazing. the young actors in it were excellent. It's a must see for sure. I didn't quite like the cinematography though. I was very unenthused at first but the story took my mind off that very quickly. Also, I've recently made a big boo boo. This whole time I was excited for Spike Jonze "Where the Wild Things Are" I was mixing up books from my youth. As it turns out the book I really loved as a kid was Mercer Mayer's "There's a Nightmare in My Closet". The monster in that book beats the pants off Maurice Sendaks shitty fluffy bastards. I'm sure the "where the wild things are" film will still be good. It's a shame that no one will be able to make 'There's a nightmare in my closet' for a very long time...

awesome... the second nightmare in the book is so fucking creepy.

watts neu

2009-03-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,
just popping in to let you know my sister, Ashley, has a new website (that I made). It's temporary address is:
www.ashleygmitra.blogspot.com
later it'll be at:
www.ashleygmitra.com
Also, my midterm grades are in.I'm doing pretty well this semester, one A and three Bs. Hopefully it'll impact my GPA...abunch.

'Ponyo' Release

2009-03-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

hey blog!

August 14th 2009 is the US release date for the Miyazaki film previously entitled "Ponyo on the cliff by the sea". The film, now just called "Ponyo", is said to be given a huge release this time around in the states. I'm very excited for it though everytime I hear the plot of a miyazaki movie I cringe thinking 'this one's going to be his downfall!'... which has yet to be the case. I found some cool shit on the internet that I will post in a second. First, I'd like to say, for the record that I'm done with Facebook completely. it's been 2days since I last signed on... feeling great. I just don't see the point in it anymore. All the people I care about can contact me on my CELL PHONE, which is hardly enough today. I'm sure no ones dying to now what I'm feeling right now... and now...and now... and now... if some one IS feeling that way this is a good way to cut the habit.... by writing on a blog. lol No more facebook.

Here's some cool shit:

I discovered a place called BOSCAM, which is the closest film equipment rental house to where I am. I've checked out the rates and have decided to brave the 'old' celluloid trail as opposed to fucking around with 6 different adapters to make my digital camera look like film. I'll be shooting (teenie.. still) with an ARRI 16BL which goes for $110 dollars a day with 2x 400' magazines of film. Can't wait, though I'm worried about how big the deposit is going to be. you only live once. I'm going for it. http://www.boscam.com/

I've given myself until April 1st to get everything involved with script (all re-writes) squared away. If I don't make the deadline I'll stop doing this stuff for good (before I actually start). That should light a fire under my ass. I plan on shooting it in May. I'll need april to secure the 3 locations I need which should be easy. Also, I need to plan my lighting because I want to shoot each location, one day each. Maybe I'm too optimistic.

The picture I posted (top right) is of Spike Jonze' 'Where the wild things are'. I'm really excited to see the way it turns out visually. I was never REALLY into the story although I remember the book from my childhood. The sea of trendy tshirts surrounding the topic (the book - not the movie... those havent come out yet) is shameful and annoying. The skateboard decks for the film look cool, though I will never buy one. Cheers to Spike for being multi talented though. what an awesome career. wiki it if you don't know about him. Doesn't that boy in the photo look like Ellen Page?

In other startling news, Ryan and I will probably end up recording at a RI based, Tiverton founded music studio in Pawtucket called 'Machines With Magnets', somewhere in the future. linkage: http://www.machineswithmagnets.com/

Thrilled

2009-03-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,
Today I woke up to some pretty good news. It's just been announced that 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' is getting a criterion release! Well deserved! I loved 'Benjamin Button'. I'm very excited to see that a film like 'Button' being given the criterion VIP treatment.

I've heard some people accusing criterion collectors of being snobs. I must admit that may very well be the case with some, but I don't think applies to me (nor my friends, who are Criterion buyers.) I just prefer opening up a new dvd and finding things that are worth looking at, as opposed to opening a package to find a two sided disc with nothing on it. Films that are scanned at Criterion look better than films released through some other distributers, on top of treating the packaging with extreme care. I have an HDtv and am playing my movies through a standard def dvd player. It makes it really easy to figure out which DVDs recieved more care. To wrap this up, Criterion rules. duh.

Also, Criterion has announced that next month Jean Painleve's 'Science is Fiction' will be getting a release through them. It includes 23 short films by Painleve. I only know about this because a band I heard of while living in NY, 'Yo La Tengo' does the score for it. Doesn't the cover remind you of The Life Aquatic?

For more upcoming Criterion releases go to: http://www.criterion.com/library/dvd/criterion/soon/expanded/sort_spine_number

the sound of excellence

2009-03-18T22:41:00.000-07:00

I love this album. Chuck Schuldiner's vocals and guitar are their finest in my opinion. 'Painkiller' is quite possibly the best cover in the history of music. Rich Christy is such an accurate drummer. Sound of Perseverance is one of my favorite metal albums.

Great songs from bands I don't listen to much.

2009-03-13T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a few good tunes, if you're looking for something new.

format:
ARTIST
-'SONG ' ALBUM

Caural (album found under Various Artists)
-'Our Solstice Walk' Urban Renewal Program

Silverchair
-'Untitled' Godzilla 2000 soundtrack
-'Ana's Song (Open Fire)' Neon Ballroom

The Velvet Underground
-'Venus in Furs' The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Stranglers
- 'Golden Brown' La Folie

mewithoutyou
-'January 1979' Catch for Us the Foxes
-'Four Word Letter' I Never Said That I Was Brave EP

Jack Nitzsche
-'The Lonely Surfer' The Lonely Surfer

Everclear (classic shit)
-'I Will Buy You A New Life' So Much for the Afterglow

Brian Eno
'By This River' Before and After Science

Stars
-'What the Snowman Learned About Love' Heart

Ricky Nelson
-'Lonesome Town' Lonesome Town Remaster

Ramsey Lewis Trio
-'The In Crowd' The In Crowd

small pointer here

2009-03-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

Link Wray's music also appears in Godard's 'Breathless', as well as 'Independence Day' and 'Twelve Monkeys'. Awesome.
wikipedia's a wonderful thing.

Something to look at...

2009-03-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some exploring. I've stumbled across a few things that you'd maybe like to have a look at.

I recently purchased "the last detail" from a newbury comics. It's a great film that surrounds a trio of navy guys on a mission. It's not a war flick, nor an action movie. The Last Detail is a comedy about friendship and the way life twists it around. It reminds me of how different the modern man is compared to back then. It's kind of sad. Jack Nicholson is a fucking 'Bad Ass' in it.

Also I bought 'The Best of Link Wray' which is a cd featuring Wray and 'the rumble fish' or 'his men', whichever you like. It's good stuff. One of the songs on the album appears on the Pulp Fiction soundtrack as well. I love listening to older music. It carries a sort of aesthetic that newer music can't touch.

I've been reading up on few people as well. Last year I came across an excellent illustration (that I can't describe) that I don' know the name of, drawn by A.A. Milne. It took my breath away. AA Milne was the illustrator who created 'winnie the pooh'. The very first winnie the pooh illustrations, I remember from when I was a kid, were far less colorful and friendly than the more recent ones. I like them much better. Anway, I decided to read up about him. A lot of interesting stuff... you should find out for yourself. AA milne is excellent.

Shoot! Use your gun of life.

2009-03-07T11:47:00.000-08:00

Hey blog,
I've been beginning to feel a bit materialistic recently. There are a lot of things I would love to purchase. A couple of these items, unfortunately, are either not made anymore or have not been made before (possibly). Most of them, I just can't afford. Here they are:

1) A classic baseball t-shirt (black/white) with a kamikaze symbol on the front.
2) A copy of "Experiment in Terror" on any format (VHS, DVD)
3) A 9-square ft house. www.ninetinyfeet.com
4) One of these: www.inhabitat.com/2006/08/31/4treehouse-by-lukasz-kos/
5) A copy of Linux' Ubuntu or Xubuntu on a laptop.
6) An iMac with at least 2 GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, 256mb video card, and 2.66Ghz
7) A Van or Studebaker Lark

I guess that's it, but I'm sure there's more...

not to be confused with "Experiments in Terror"

.

2009-02-24T12:06:00.000-08:00

Rant

2009-02-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

I fucking hate critics ...scratch that... everyone's a critic.

To correct myself, I fucking hate critics with retarded judgement. (Much Better)

For instance, I just came across a critic, whom I won't name, that gave Mike Leigh's 'Naked' the same fucking rating as 'Batman and Robin'. I also hate the fucking shit out of critics who give the work in question a decent rating, but insult the director or writer in the meantime for no logical reason. They can't just let praise be praise unless it's a fucking pixar film! That is the definition of a cowardly critic. Unless the creator or writer is accepted by the majority of the industry the creator or writer can't get through a session with one of these bastards without getting torn to shreds (sometimes personally) regardless of the fact that they're producing exceptional work. Another thing that pisses me off about the type of critics in question is their addiction to the usage of words that offer up more to the writer's ego than to the readers interest. As if these assholes actually walk around talking like Webster, himself.

Sometimes, don't get me wrong, I understand it's necessary and expected. Other times, I don't find it at all fitting to use a word like 'paean' when writing a review for Shrek the fucking musical. -end rant

oh, and peep this.

2009-01-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

I was surfing the internet getting some information about a possible trip to okinawa next year and I came across a slideshow that a guy named 'Tim Rudder' put up. He really captured what I though it would look like. Some really excellent shots. I figured I'd post the plick for it here:

Upon Arrival

2009-01-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

I've finally come back from Las Vegas after staying with my sister for 5 days or so. I had a pretty good time there. Las Vegas isn't really for me, I knew that before I went there, but as I say, I had a good time. For one, I love being in-transit. I had 3 stops on both flights, there and back, stopping all over the US. I met all different types of people on all the flights, everyone was very pleasant. My sister has got it made out there. She's a real estate agent and she works really hard, so she was able to take me to places I never would have been otherwise.

My favorite part of the trip was definitely Red Rock. (Not the casino*) We went rock climbing. I brought my cameras along. It was truly an amazing experience. Out in the desert things just seem really peaceful.

I have a lot of photos and videos from the trip but I'm too lazy to find a convenient way to put them up on here right now. Plus, I'm still extremely tired from the trip. In case, you were wondering, I did drink every night, I did go to a strip club, and I did NOT have sex with anyone... though I came very close. lol I'll post pictures from THAT adventure later. They're on my sister's camera... odd.

Thanks for reading.

-Brandon

PS

2009-01-04T17:55:00.000-08:00

I'm flying to Las Vegas in 10 days to visit my sister! should be excellent.

A New Year

2009-01-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hello blog,

I apologize for not writing in a while, I've been living my life a little bit. There's quite a lot to tell you about. We'll start at christmas. For christmas my father bought me a canon hv30. The video camera shoots 24 fps in HD, if I so please. It's very compact and has a gnarly zoom on it. I like it a lot. I paid for half of it after christmas. My mother pulled through and got me quite a few Disney/Pixar dvds. ( a Bug's Life, Pixar shorts vol. 1, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmations). I purchased some dvds for myself as well. (Once upon a time in the west, amores perros, Y tu mama tambien, Lady Vengeance) A bought myself David Thewlis' novel, " The Late Hector Kipling" which is amazing. For christmas I bought lot for my family for a change. This year my brother was the focus, since he's the youngest. I bought him a Slinky (woohoo!), The Dark Knight dvd, Air's 'Premiers symptomes' cd, Clerks 2 dvd, Need For speed for PS3, a Konica film camera with 4 lenses (fantastic), a tripod, and several rolls of color and black and white film. I think he liked the slinky the most, as would any awesome person.

The holiday went pretty smoothly. This year, I was very lucky with my finances. It seemed like a lot of waiting and working had paid off at the perfect moments. I love when that happens, though it rarely does.

So, I got my video camera! about time right? My grandmother told me at the beginning of 2008 that it was going to be the year that I would make a move. I snuck in a short film 1 day before the new year kicked in. Mission accomplished. I shot it in downtown providence with no script. I filmed it with someone I went to high school with, Ethan Bonas. It isn't finished yet, but the camera is really something. it looks very cinematic, or at least far more than I expected it would. We still need to do some sound recording before it's done. decent start. I'll put it on vimeo when it's complete. Next project I'll be doing is a short film written/directed by someone else. I'll be doing camera work. I hope it'll turn out okay. 'Teenie' is being shot, for sure, this summer. (yay!) I've been working on a full length for a few months now, I'm really thinking it could get somewhere but there's not much to say about it just yet.

This new years was pretty uneventful. I'm not surprised or let down. I spent the holiday snowed in with my mother and brother. A few friends stopped by as well. Good enough for me.

Recently, I purchased a Bolex Raillard D8L at an antique shop in Smithfield. I don't think the person who sold it had any idea what it was worth. I bought it for $20. I don't know if I'll keep just yet. it's in great condition... maybe I could shoot a short with it... on second thought transferring film to digital is expensive and difficult. I'll let ya know.

I've been getting really close to the idea of doing some artwork lately. I've done enough 'digital art' to last me a lifetime (none of which are that impressive) I'd like to do something big. Something worth looking at. some real. physical.

School is starting up again. I'll be here for another semester. I've applied to Full Sail in Florida just the other day. I'm too thrilled about the location of the place but I've heard a lot of good things so I think I'm going to go for it. I need to get out and into the world.

Over and out~

Christmas List

2008-11-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

REVISED NOVEMBER 27th:

-David Thewlis' "The Late Hector Kipling"
-replica 'Woody' doll. As realistic as possible.
-Gift certificate to Newbury Comics, FYE, or some other film shop.

hello

2008-11-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

Hey blog,

I really don't have much to say at the moment but I figured that I haven't dropped in for a pointless visit in a while...so... here I am. I have about an hour before I have to leave for work. I'm hanging out, alone as usual, listening to Thursday and thinking about where I am on the road to going somewhere. I'm very close to being completely debt free, which is good. As soon as I'm out of debt I'm going to dive right back in for one of two reasons: an expensive college or an expensive film. I'll get to that decision later. In the meantime, I've got to get my applications out for schools for next Fall, in case I do want to go. I had my first little get together at my condo the other day. It was awesome. My friend shaun and butch came over and invited 4 foreign girls... it was sweet. No sex! woo-hoo... God I'm pathetic.

Here are some random bits of info and news from all over the place that I find interesting.

-Pixar is releasing a box set for all their films, excluding 'Wall-E'

-CKY is back together and finishing their next studio album. They're touring in 09'.

-Thursday is still awesome. Check out their new split EP with Envy.

-The second teaser trailer for Pixar's "Up" was released last week. pretty neat.

- A trailer for Monsters vs Aliens is online. I found it fairly funny.

-Kind of old news, Kill Bill is on Bluray. I'm still pumped though.

-Will Smith's son is starring in the Re-make of 'The karate Kid" god help us all.

a lot of this news isn't really interesting though...

how about a christmas list?

- a Nintendo ds lite with super mario.

- 'The pixar touch' book

- buzz lightyear action figure

- remote control car

- David Thewlis' "The late Hector Kipling"

- criterion collection of Kurosawa's " the bad sleep well'

Winter's almost here... sort of.

2008-11-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

I had a dream the other night about an old animated short film I remember seeing when I was a kid. It was about a snowman and a young boy. I remember how awesome the music was... tonight, I found it. and david bowie.

http://en.cinemawiki.tv/movie/movie_The+Snowman.html

History

2008-11-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen...
Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States of America.

I'm absolutely overwhelmed right now. He won about an hour ago and my eyes are still stinging from crying. This is a dream come true, although, I must admit we all must be very careful what we say and do. I hope he does a great job. I'm the happiest person I know.!!

Obama/Biden 08'

...going somewhere?

2008-10-28T01:54:00.000-07:00

It is very important to me that I try to get this across to somebody, though I cannot seem to completely decipher, however, the difference between the happiness I can experience in my dreams
and the happiness I can experience in reality. They are the same thing essentially but they work in totally different ways. Dream-happiness can be totally illogical but make you feel like it makes all the sense in the world. Happiness in reality, in that sense, is merely a shadow of the happiness that exists in our dreams. It is subject to time, for one example, and is therefore inferior. It makes me wonder, from a religious standpoint, are we meant to use dreams as alternative lives? Are they here to fulfill things in our sleep in order that we don't act irrationally in reality? Science proves this whole idea to be rediculous, but fuck science. Dreams are blessings, if there ever was such a thing.
I tend to use my dreams as blueprints for the way I'd like to live. Unfortunately, this is neither practical or easy. Society and culture tend to make this difficult to the point of calling it 'impossible'... 'free will' plays a big role too, of course.
Never the less, I want to get across to everyone (or no one) that my life goal is, primarily, to make my dreams, my reality. I imagine, I'm not the only one that wants to do this, but I would like to stress that I am a dream-junkie.

Anybody want to help me change the color of the night sky?

A break from the list

2008-10-28T01:25:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,
it's 4:24am and I just woke up randomly. I was dreaming about something awesome, that could never happen, and I woke up. There's nothing in this apartment that could help me solve this and go back to sleep = Problem.
Why is life so cruel? It sounds stupid, I know, but it's true and that's why I need to leave.

The List episode

2008-10-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

For the record, I have never filled out one of those '20 questions' things on myspace. I've been wanting to do this for a while. If something were to happen to me you can refer to this mega list to find out what kind of person I am. The following lists aren't in any particular order, nor is the content unless otherwise noted. The following is unfiltered truth. Read with caution.

List 1)
My favorite feelings
1. the feeling you get when you get chill from head to toe when you see something too awesome or amazing. I like it when you're almost in tears.
2. the feeling you get when you're in a really comfortable place reading Harry Potter or the Lord of the rings. Total comfort.
3. the feeling you get when the weather is perfect and you can walk around the house with the doors and windows open all day.
4. cumming... yeah, that's what I said.
5. the feeling I used to get when a girl bit my neck.
6. the feeling you get when you stretch without cracking anything.
7. the feeling you get when you know everything is going to be fine after thinking it's not..
8. the feeling you get when you take a nap in the grass in central park.
9. the feeling you get when you take a hot shower.
10. the feeling you get when you and your family/friends have a really good time together.

List 2)
Things about me that I dislike
1. I have a huge head. obvious?
2. I don't feel like I look how I feel I operate. Think about it, it's infuriating.
3. I break promises to myself and others
4. I talk more than I do.
5. I say more than I think.
6. I lose track when I try to transfer my thoughts to my mouth.
7. I get depressed for no reason at all sometimes.
8. I forget things a lot.
9. I tend to think the creative ideas I have aren't worth a shit. Because I thought of it already, it's not worth going out and showing others (film/art)
10. I currently have an operculum and I have absolutely no control over it. It's slowly ruining my social life.

List 3)
Beautiful Women
1. Natalie Portman (especially in 'Hotel Chevalier')
2. Nico
3. Aaliyah
4. Alana clarke (word)
5. Fiona Apple
6. Cate Blanchett (because she destroys every role she gets)
7. Emily browning (in the right light)
8. Emma Watson (please and thank you)
9. Kaji Meiko
10. Lucy Liu

List 4)
Favorite things to do around the Holidays
1. watch Charlie Browns Christmas
2. Have an LOTR extended edition marathon in my old bedroom.
3. Listen to christmas music in my (semi-dark) room with mellow christmas lights on.
4. Watch a decorated tree stare back at me.
5. Watching snow fall from my old bedroom window.
6. Walk around New york in the snow.

List 5)
Things I love
1. Ambient and dim Lighting
2. Velvet smoking blazers
3. The look of old films.
4. Old cameras
5. Old Photos
6. Old books
7. Old Televisions
8. Castles & old estates
9. Old smells that take you back to a certain time in your life.
10. the aesthetic that surrounds being a curious child.

List 6)
Favorite Magazines
1. Fade in
2. Transworld Skateboarding
3. Thrasher
4. Random art magazines at Barnes and Noble
5. Wired

List 7)
Favorite People
1. Jameson Cottrell
2. Ryan Carr
3. Ken Gmitra
4. Quinn Hanson
5. Amber Waters
6. Lauren Vera
7. Hayao Miyazaki
8. Barack Obama
9. Quentin Tarantino
10. Ian Rudis
11. Michaela Medeiros

List 8)
Favorite Places
1. Fort Barton woods/tower
2. Union Square
3. Kim's Video
4. the house I grew up in
5. Nanaquacket road at night... spelling? ...idk
6. Central Park
7. Whatever part of Bristol I lived in when I was a kid.
8. Tiverton High school (before Renovations)
9. PuntaCana Dominican Republic
10. Disney World

List 9)
Favorite Foods (basic)
1. Pizza
2. Lobster w/ butter
3. Cheese (cheddar, swiss, provolone, muenster, mozzerella)
4. Steak -Medium Rare-
5. My mother's Chourico Pasta (no red sauce*)
6. CCCs
7. barbacoa tacos from 'Chipotle'
8. Sushi from NY's Sushi Planet
9. Chili Cheese + onion hot dogs from Tivertons 'Coney island hot dogs'
10. Potatoes my mother makes.

List 10)
Most visited websites
1. Facebook
2. bank of america
3. google
4. imdb
5. slashfilm
6. myspace
7. hotmail
8. probably 'pron' ...idk which
9. mugglenet
10. photobucket

I'm done for listing today. A lot more to come soon.

it's been a while

2008-10-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,
It's been a while. The presidential election for 2008 is coming up... and I'm extremely worried. I've done what I'm supposed to do. I've read up on both candidates, registered to vote, and listened to both the VPs. I'm currently watching the debates, which sparked me to breathe new life into this blog and voice my 'important' opinion. I don't think McCain is morally fit to serve as the next president of the United States of America. I don't see why he plans to lower taxes on people making 7 million a year and only lower taxes by a small amount (temporarily) for the middle class. I don't agree on that plan. His health plan doesn't make sense for the middle class. In the end it would end up doing us a disservice. I don't know where his reasoning for these is coming from. Maybe having the piece of mind that all the powerful execs and CEOs will be happy with him, which, I'm sure has it's benefits. I dont know. But what I do know is, I don't trust him. I admire his record and his past. I think he would have been a great president 8 years ago. I do not see him being a suitable choice at this time.
I'm not the kind of person to jump off one bandwagon to blindly land on another. I've been watching Obama and Biden very carefully. I think being a broke ass college I have a lot to benefit from voting for this years democratic hopeful. I like obama's spirit. He is very bold in the sense that he is thinking innovatively, going against the tradition of tradition. Some may argue that he's just a sweet talker. I won't deny, that was my first impression of Barack Obama. But if one only considers the road behind him, like I did, you'll find it very easy to think more of him.
I'm not writing this to sway anybody. I'd like to encourage whoevers reading this, to do research of their own. If there's one thing America needs, after a new president, is a more involved nation.
Do the research. Please vote!

Mordisk

2008-09-23T05:23:00.000-07:00

..got signed. Congrats guys!

a voice I know says 'Dear, he probably can't hear you'

2008-09-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,

It's been a while. Not a whole lot going on except for work and school. I'm really starting to miss having a social life at this point in the semester. I just got off work. I'm super tired, but I've got homework to do, and supper to cook. Living on your own, isn't easy. I haven't really had any fun experiences as of yet, either. I've got some dvds to keep me company. I rented Johnnie To's 'Election' and Jakob the Liar (see below). I'll probably watch it after the pizza is out of the oven...

Like I said, not much to post. I'm also listening to Ben Folds Five right now. 'Mitchell Lane', 'Air', and 'cigarette' are some of the greatest songs ever written. I'll talk to you later.

-Bran.

PS my scripts haven't been touched and I'm starting to lose any musical skill, I've ever had...

but I keep smiling.

I think I love jews...

2008-09-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

I rented ' Jakob the Liar'.It's one of my favorite World War II (jewish concentrated) films right alongside, 'The Pianist' and I'm sure, 'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas' (which I haven't seen). Kevin Smith says to check out 'Downfall' if you hate hitler... maybe I'll try to get that one next. Robin Williams is the man.. in everything.

Willem and Real Estate

2008-09-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hey blog, I started school two days ago, and classes already seem like they're well on their way. This semester I'm taking Western Civ, Jazz Studies, Philosophy, and Film as Literature. Today completed my first schedule cycle. Although, my classes aren't early in the morning and are compiled closely together, it feels like I'm going to have a an exhausting semester. Tonight, I'm taking it easy. I rented Oliver Stone's 'Platoon' and Scorcese's 'The Last Temptation of Christ'. I've seen them both before but I can't seem to remember Willem Dafoe's performance in 'Platoon'. I've been in a war movie mood for a little while. My friend Ryan went on a 'Full Metal Jacket' binge lately I think he inspired my kick. The next few I rent will probably be 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Once Upon a Time in the West'. I've been wanting to get a lot of older films but unfortunately the Blockbuster I rent from doesn't have shit. I was hinted by someone at school that Acme Video in Providence is a good place to rent from. Maybe I'll check them out... Platoon just finished. Charlie Sheen is the fucking shit. I got an email from my sister today. She's kicking ass out in Vegas. Here's the proof.

Kid:Nap:Kin

2008-09-03T21:43:00.000-07:00

I Love Pixar

2008-08-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

That's no word of a lie, my good friends. I love everything about Pixar. I just can't get over how awesome they are over there. I picked up a book called "The Pixar Touch" today. It's a book written by David Price about how Pixar became Pixar. It covers everything from financial failures and triumphs to the art & soul of Pixar Animation Studios. Reading the book, was almost as entertaining as watching the Pixar films. David Price brings a sense of storytelling to a book of such an informative nature. Needless to say it put a huge smile on my face.There are many things Pixar has done that deserves eternalgratitude and although 'Wall-E' was just released not to long ago, they've already got their hands full. Without saying anything about their newest film projects, allow me to shed some light upon what's happening over at everyone's favorite animation studio.

Totoro Forest Project

The totoro forest project is a project created to support and raise funds for the 'Totoro Forest Foundation" The Totoro Forest Foundation (or TFF) is a foundation that's been around for quite some time, created to give life to many original animated features, artwork, and/or comic books. Japanese animator/director Hayao Miyazaki has been helping the foundation for years, in belief that traditional animation is a tool that can still be used to tell stories. The TTF is not only supporting fine arts these days, but is also supporting the environment. The Sayama National Park is a forest on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, however, Miyazaki refers to the Sayama as 'Totoro Forest'( because that's where the concept of "My Neighbor Totoro" was derived from) In recent years, the park has been subject to the construction of suburban housing and other buildings. Miyazaki belives this has to stop. Totoro Forest must be preserved. This, my friends, is where Pixar comes in to play. For those of you who don't know, Pixar Inc. has been given the opportunity to be in charge of the english translation of the latest few of Miyazaki's fantastic films. John Lasseter and Miyazaki are good friends and are fans of each others work. I don't know who came up with this idea first but an auction/benefit is being held at Pixar studios on September 6th. At this event artists who have painted, drawn, and/or sculpted what their Totoro looks like will auction of their pieces to help fund Miyazaki's most important project. You can take a look at the amazing artwork here: http://www.totoroforestproject.org/

How would you like your own personal WALL-E?

Pixar and DCP (Disney Consumer Projects) are in the process of manufacturing (with the help of Thinkway) an "ULTIMATE WALL_E" programmable toy robot. Although little has been released about the latest toy, it has been said to be around the cost of $2oo. I don't know about you but, I for one, am in.

Rocket's away!

2008-08-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to be able to share this news with you. Wes Anderson's first film "Bottle Rocket" (Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Robert Musgrave) is being released as an official Criterion DVD (November 08). Not only will this film be treated with behind the scenes features and interviews with Wes Anderson himself, it will also be available on Criterion Blu-Ray, along with 4 other titles. I can't wait to get a hold of this dvd. I own all of WA's films, some of which are on standard dvd, only 2 of which are criterion. I wonder if 'The darjeeling limited' will be available on Criterion also... hm. I'll just have to re-buy them if that happens. Wes Anderson's films are beyond 'worth it'.

In other news, I finished watching 'Dead Poet's Society'. It's now one of my top ten favorite films of all time. If you haven't seen it, hop on it!

Thanks for reading.

Aww yeah fuck yeah

2008-08-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,

It's been a while. Work is doing okay and home life has hit speed bump but things are now back to normal. I took a trip recently, down to Tiv-unit to visit some friends. I had an awesome time at a party that some old (girl) friends from high school through. No word of a lie, it was the best fucking party in the world. Aw yeah fuck yeah... I'd love to do it again... with less alcohol in my system, though. On another subject, I did some renting the other night. This time I picked up "Dead Poet's Society" and "Four Rooms". 'Four Rooms', if you've never heard of it is mostly remembered as a Quentin Tarantino movie, if remembered at all. It's a film split up into 4 stories (shorts).All four of the shorts revolve around one night at a hotel, where a bellhop (Tim Roth) is working his first night. The first two stories are worse than mediocre, sorry to say. They're too painful to watch. The last [and best] two are directed by Robert Rodriguez (starring Antonio Banderas) and QT (starring Bruce Willis). The last two bits of the film make the whole thing worth watching. It's a must see for any QT fan. The other film I got "Dead Poet's Society" I've seen before but haven't watched yet. I remember it being fantastic. It's stars Robin Williams, how could it be bad?

Relaxing... or trying to.

2008-08-14T18:10:00.000-07:00

What's up blog?

I've got a lot of things on the old plate, trying to get a loan for the classes I registered for, get some paperwork straightened out, and possibley get a new job but tonight and tomorrow, I plan on relaxing. I rented two movies from blockbuster today. They're "Old Boy" and "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead". I finished Old Boy, it was phenomenal. I'm in the middle of the other right now so I'm going to stop writing. It stars Clive Owen and it's damn good so far. later!

And now, what's coming to us...

2008-08-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,

I got the chance to go down to my old town to see some of my old friends. Just a few, but we made it count. I only stayed one night down there and had a great time. I spoke to you before about how, lately, I'm slipping out of touch with the film world. This has changed. I also spoke about how I'm going to start getting into older movies/films. This has not change, really, but I have been keeping an eye on newer films that look like they have promise. To be honest, I'm shocked that so many great original (looking) films are on their way to the big screen.

The first one I'd like to talk about is a film by a fantastic british director named Mike Leigh. He directed 'Naked' and 'Vera Drake'. Both are great films. This new film looks so different from the rest of his works, partly because it looks like a romantic comedy more than anything else. The films is called "Happy Go-Lucky". Like all of Mike Leigh's films, it is british. I viewed the trailer and it really looks fantastic. I won't bore you with descriptions of the plot, you can watch the trailer at: http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/happygolucky/

On the subject of Brits, Simon Pegg has a new movie coming out called "How to lose friends and alienate people". Pegg co-stars with Kirsten Dunst and Jeff Bridges. The comedy is about how Simon's character, Sidney, gets a chance to get his foot in the hollywood door when he's offered a position at a posh NewYork City magazine. He then meets Kirsten and makes a fool out of himself around the office. The trailer is at http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/howtolosefriendsandalienatepeople/medium.html. It really looks promising.

Brad Pitt looks as though his going to have a pretty big year after his new movies come out. He stars in the Coen brothers new comedy flick, "Burn after reading" ( http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/burnafterreading/ ) and a film entitled "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Although, Burn after reading has been in and out of film festivals for a good hunk of the year, 'Benjamin Buttons' is almost completely unknown. I got really excited watching the trailer for 'Buttons'. When the first shot was shown, I fell in love with the art concept/color palette. The art looks almost like 'Lemony Snicket's a series of unfortunate events' and "Youth Without Youth" put together, I thought. It's a coincidence that 'Youth Without Youth' came to mind, because Benjamin Buttons is about a man who grow up backwards. As he got older he became younger. Cate Blanchette is in the trailer for quite a bit, which was great. Any movie that both Cate and Brad say yes to ought to have an awesome script, or at least, idea. If the title of this movie sounds familiar, it is because it's a novel by, The Great Gatsby writer, F. Scott Fitzergerald. This film looks like it was in good hands, let's hope it turns out.

If you know me, you know that I love Alan Rickman. Whether he's playing Severus Snape or Hans Gruber, he's awesome. He is starring in a new film about Cali-made wine. The film is based on a very real true story. Rickman plays a british man who comes to the U.S. to see if this foreign made wine is worth a damn. The film also stars Bill Pullman (Igby Goes Down, Casper). To keep it short, this film looks fantastic. Or maybe I'm just blinded by Rickman. Either way, see for yourself here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/bottleshock/

Now, when it comes to Sci-Fi in most cases, I'm game. The Matrix, Blade Runner, Alien, Star Wars, I love em all. I'm sorry to say, however, that I'm not the veteran I should be. I have never seen 'The Day the Earth Stood Still". As some of you probably already know, the 1951 film is being remade... with Keanu Reeves in it. I watched the trailer for the second time, recently, and I cannot help but be excited about this film. I don't know how it compares to the original but it looks like it could quite possibly be a great action film. Trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/thedaytheearthstoodstill/medium.html

My fingers are getting tired so I won't explain why I like these next two teen movies. It's clear that one of them is biting of the style of 'Juno' (they both star Michael Cera) BUT they look decent. For the record Michael Cera is like the Anthony Michael Hall of today. You can quote me on that. The films are called: "Sexdrive" (no michael Cera, but Seth Green) http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/sexdrive/medium.html

and "Nick and Nora's infinite playlist" http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/nickandnorasinfiniteplaylist//

I guess that's all for now. ttyl!!

oh, and btw. I've got a video on youtube now. Me and some friends were at Wendy's the other day. I brought my camera by accident. After we ate we were bored so we did a little (very little) stop motion animation with the salt and pepper shakers. Later on I edited them like a slideshow and added music. You can take a look at it over at youtube. To get to it, you're going to have to work for it. Go over to Youtube and type in 'gmitra'. it'll be the second video down.

I hope you enjoy! :)

In with the old, what else is new?

2008-08-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

I don't know where this lust for old things is coming from, but for some reason I can't get rid of it. Things just seemed so much better then than they are today, with a lot of things. I look at films/movies today and for the most part, I don't care for them. I'm not going to say that everything in the 50's and 60's was so much fucking better than things now, because there are awesome films out now and being made today. I don't mean to sound wishy-washy on the matter, but it's almost like old films can't even be compared to new films. They're far too different. The lighting is different. The production quality is different. The ACTING* is different. The majority of the older films were made to be a big deal because of the vast amount of money that went into them. This leads me to believe that the story and the plot were well thought out long before the first scene was shot. Today, studios will make a yearful of movies that end up mimicking your average hand in a card game. The majority of the hand is crap but they'll use those 1 or 2 good cards to make up for the bad.

What gets me about the 'old' days is that the majority of the people had something to stand for, daily and collectively. It may just be heavily weighted history books and other faulty cultural documentations but I've always had the impression that the things people saw on the news REALLY affected them. Not because it was a fad, but because they had to care. People back then had something to stand for. Today we tend to pre-occupy ourselves with material things because we have nothing to stand for. (I'm not saying they should've been grateful to see such hard times) When something potentially meaningful comes along today it's cheapened by commercialism and politics. It's hard to make this sound like anything but a cliche rant about modern problems, so i'll stop there on that subject.

One thing that I would like to think has changed in this country is national infatuation with the celebrity figure but since the days of films like 'Saboteur' celebrities have been adored. Today, however, the celebrity figure is often talentless and more of a human franchise than an actual person who happens to do great things. All you need today to be adored by millions is a show on the disney channel, a picture perfect smile, a dash of scandal, and a few poorly written songs (a relative in the business often helps). The media will do the rest for you. What's Miley Cyrus famous for again? And Haylie Duff? and what about Ashlee Simpson? son of a bitch. Back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s stars like were thought of as idols and icons and influenced generations of people years later. Where are today's Robert Mitchums? Smart, aware, independent, multi-talented people, where are they? Why do we have to keep remaking the same movies over again? Why do studios hire harshly aged actors to reprise old roles? Is it because today's talent can't compare to the pasts'? maybe. Either way, I'm no big fan. I feel a kick coming on with me. I think it's important for me to watch more old films. I want to see more old films. After all, isn't that what inspired some of the greats?

too many questions...

What I'm looking at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_8_film_cameras

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNawbuG4mTg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA4ymmXa8rs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMlONL-BR2M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrAbUowIaDs

Olde America

2008-08-08T19:21:00.000-07:00

I love the old America. The one that we can only recall now in old films and fireworks on the Fourth of July. The America that made you want to keep your first best friends forever. The America that valued close-knit communities in smalltown USA. Drive-ins, Ball games, treehouses, Sock-offs, Red hots, Hot Dogs, muscle cars, and Camp outs. Although, I've never had the chance to actually experience America like that, I dream about living in a (non racist) feel-good, wholesome, less materialistic version of the modern USA. Dreams like those make you want to wake up and throw away your cell phone. Funny how I'm writing about this on my blog... If any of you readers want to get together for some glass bottle cokes, let me know!

woo-hoo

2008-08-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

Jason Oda is great. Emogame is back online. Run! Play!

www.emogame.com

bored

2008-08-01T19:00:00.002-07:00

So, here's a picture... of my dream new home theater.

Revival

2008-07-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,
These past couple days (my days off) I've been attempting to do some different things. Constructive, in a way, stupid to some. My first attempt is the remodeling of a 10 year old Pokemon edition gameboy. I normally play pokemon yellow when I can't sleep. It was once exciting but now I find it extremely repetetive and soothing in a boring way. The outside of the body (of the gameboy) is worn. The screen is scratched and dirt fills the sides and openings of the buttons. The speaker doesn't work and I lost the cover of the battery cage years ago. The other night I drew out plans for a stainless steel case to replace the yellow and blue plastic one that's on it now. A few days later I removed the plastic case and took a look at the insides of the gameboy. The motherboard is good shape and the screen (below the plastic protector) is in perfect shape. The speaker is rotted and rusted so it needs to be replaced. What I find cool about this whole thing is in order to make the gameboy as thin as I want it to be, I'll have to find a different power supply. As you probably know, gameboys take AA batteries. I think it would be very cool to see if I could use solar power or something like that. I also would like to add side lights to accompany the screen. The old gameboys don't have any backlight like the new ones so if I could add some small LEDs to it I could play it in the dark without using any other light. The solar power panel would have to be run somehow... I'll think some more about that.

My second attempt to do something different and constructive involved a small LED reading light and my Nikon D40. I don't want to try and make myself sound any smarter or creative than I actually am: I came up with this out of the blue. I've had the D40 for almost 2 years and I've only really begun to know how to use it properly. My tiny brain figured out a way to draw things with light in the dark. I shut all the light off in the room (I did this at night while in bed) and unfocused the lense completely. No specific settings were used but the majority of the pictures had the following attributes:

Metering: Spot
Shutter:1/1.3
Aperture: F22
Exposure: Manual
Focal Length:18mm

They came out pretty well. No post was done on any of these. No color correction. No photoshop. Raw images only. I like a few of these more than the other.

The new Harry Potter teaser trailer is out. You can have a look at it at www.harrypotter.com. I saw it and I honestly don't know what to think. I'm not sure if I'm even excited yet. I do like the art direction already, however. In the trailer (you can see it better in the HD version) Dumbledore is at the pensieve. He is talking to Harry and he sorts through some viles of memories. They look amazing (the viles). I love the way the lighting is set in the shot. The design of the markings on the viles are very unique. I think that this movie will contain some things we have never seen before. For me that's one thing that makes me want to go see this movie. One of my favorite chapters in The Half-Blood Prince is "The other minister". I hope they have that in this movie. I hope if they do, they do it right. Tomorrow, I'm headed to CCRi to register for classes. Afterwards I'll be going to the bank to take out a loan to pay for it. After that, I'll be going to fill out some paperwork to start my LLC. After that, hopefully, I'll be going to my bank to take out a business loan. I NEED to shoot Rain Games before the leaves of tress start changing colors and so forth. I'm looking to shoot it late august early september. We'll find out how realistic that is tomorrow. I'll be buying a car in october. I'm looking at a 2001 scion xb. No other news. later blog.

Replenishing Unwise Indulgence

2008-07-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

So, I'm supposed to be being financially smart and responsible but the other night I was in a mood to spoil myself with food and entertainment. My wallet's weaknesses, mind you. I spent roughly 60 dollars in a half-hour. It's not too much but with my income and restrictions, it's quite a bit. I went to Stop n Shop and bought a lot of food that looked appetizing but ended up not being so. After ringing myself out I took notice to a 'red box' machine. I looked at the selections of films and movies it offered. I wasn't impressed with the choices and it got me thinking "I haven't seen new movie in a while" nor have I bought one. I forced myself to drive to a nearby Blockbuster to rent a flick. A long story short, Blockbuster had a pretty good deal on DVD's so I bought 5 films. They were: Death Proof, Planet Terror, There Will Be Blood, Sweeney Todd, and (one that I haven't seen) Eastern Promises. I went home later and delved into my cinematic plunder. First up was Eastern Promises. The film has been on my list for a while. Although I don't recall being a huge of david cronenberg. In fact, Eastern Promises is the only film of his I'd seen. Maybe it was Viggo Mortenson, but I loved this film. The acting was great. I loved how the characters kept switching languages. He's not afraid to take chances with things like that. For some, I'm sure it was annoying to read subtitles and attempt to decipher the heavily accented English ,but I thought it was realistic and appropriate for the story. Overall I'm glad I put an end to this drought. If you haven't seen those movies, you should really check them out. That's all. ~later

"experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted"

2008-07-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

Randy Pausch is the world's greatest person. He has taught me to be self-reflective and to remain pursuant of my life goals. He wrote a book called "The Last Lecture". It's a must read for people who plan to challenge themselves with taking on their dreams. The mother's of some of my friends have borrowed the book from me and loved it. My grandmother read it as well. It's a great time. It's funny and fantastic. This book is not your typical trendy self-help novels that your mothers and fathers use to become social again in their late 40's in the work place. This book is not a catalyst used to spark small talk during a coffee hour. "The Last Lecture" is a book that will spark your motivation, critical thinking, and your realization of the awesomeness of life. Randy Pausch, the writer of this novel, died today. I will not fret. I will not, because he left us with a to-do list we cannot ignore. Be productive, grateful, realistic, and happy. You can watch Randy's 'last lecture' on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

You will not regret this hour. Do something good for yourself. Thanks for reading.

Hajimemashite, Potter-san!

2008-07-24T09:03:00.000-07:00

Mugglenet.com reported that 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' was released today in Japan, a few days more than a year after it was released here in the US. The only reason I'm posting this bit of news is because attached to the article I read about this was a picture that made me smile. This reminded me of how good that book was. Book's are great. They're definitely going to be a constant form of entertainment for a long time. There's nothing like them. Another reason I posted this is because I've wanted to make a list of my favorite chapters for quite some time. I don't know why I like making lists so much, by the way.

1) "The Other Minister" Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
2) "The Riders of Rohan" The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
3) "The Clouds Burst" The Hobbit
4) "The Shadow" Peter Pan
5) "Bathilda's Secret" Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Regarding Francis Ford Coppola and Blu-Ray

2008-07-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Alright, please allow me to admit, that I have no life. This is my 3rd post today. It's funny, some days I don't even feel like looking at my blog. Let's get to the point.
I've never really been interested in film makers with reputations like Francis Ford Coppola's. I've always ignorantly dismissed film makers like Lynch, De Palma, and Coppola because of the way pretentious film buffs note their accomplishments like they made the films themselves. My dismissal of their works/careers has been my attempt to stray from becoming a person like that. Today I realized that I can't ignore Francis Coppola any longer. While I was in New York last year, I purchased a copy of "Fade In" magazine from a deli on 14th between 6th and 7th avenue. The magazine had some articles about Directors and their relationships with their actors. The issue covered Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch about the movie "Into the Wild". Great issue, altogether. While reading I stumbled across a photograph of Tim Roth sitting on a bench with a slightly large bearded man wearing sunglasses standing behind him. The photo was amidst an article about the then, upcoming "Youth Without Youth" film. I was a fan of Tim Roth from Tarantino films "Pulp Fiction" (as ringo) and "Reservoir Dogs" (as Freddy/Mr. Orange), so I read the article. I recognized the name, but not the face, of 'The Godfather' director, Ford Coppola while reading. The photos laying throughout the rest of the article were just CUs of Tim Roth's face and production pictures of the set with Tim and Francis. The article was interesting but I wasn't ready to go out and find a theater that was playing this. Now, I regret it.
The story of the film "Youth Without Youth" is still not entirely clear to me. I still have not seen this movie. However, it's website makes it seem as if it's amazing. I've read that this film was very personal, which normally means that a director took his time with it and made it do, say, and feel like something you're not going to pick up in other films (mainly mainstream ones). I have no idea the runtime of the film, nor how much much money went into it but it looks as if it's very detailed which consumes both screentime and requires a lot of money. Films and projects that hold these qualities are my favorite types of films. I'm expecting this movie to go beyond the reach of any other. I'm not expecting comic relief or quickened pace. I'm looking for it to deliver a complete aesthetic. (Story, character development, fitting music, appropriate delivery, great acting, and heart.) The website is mirrored to match the color pallette, art concept, and tone of the film (I'd imagine). You can listen to the full soundtrack in outstanding quality, download the stunning press kit, and read about what it was filmed with. You can tell by watching the trailer, that a lot of work was put into this film. THIS FILM READS AS IF IT WAS DESIGNED FOR COMPLETE IMMERSION - - and that is what I love. That's exactly what I'm looking for.

I don't think I want to see this movie on some cheap dvd. This movie was filmed in HD and I want to see it as such. It's available on Blu-ray. I don't have the money for a Blu-ray player, or the disc, for that matter so allow me to add this film to my list of films I NEED to see on Blu-ray. In no real order.

1) Children of Men
2) The Fountain
3) Youth Without Youth
4) Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back
5) Babel
6) There Will Be Blood
7) The Matrix: Reloaded
8) The Pianist
9) Howl's Moving Castle
10) The Fellowship of the Ring

Adorable

2008-07-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

hey blog, you get two posts today. I found this video on Vimeo.com. It depicts a small french girl who's guilty of a serious childhood crime. The video posted by 'Capucha', who should be commended. Enjoy this video.

Too much candy from Capucha on Vimeo

Friends and Aspirations

2008-07-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hey blogman,
nothing of obscene interest today. The past few days have been a series of ups and downs with no major excitement. I pulled out some old computer games the other day. I used to play them when I was a kid. Games like "Torin's Passage", "Obisidian", and my favorite "expendable". I take that back. Expendable is the kind of total carmage game that mom's in the 80's and early 90's would try to get banned from arcade because of (what is now nothing to sweat over) violence.
Torin's passage is my real favorite. Torin's passage was made in the mid-90's and centers around a boy who's parents were killed by a powerful sorcerer when the boy was a baby. Sound familiar? Instead of ateending a magical school and inheriting a shitload of galleons and sickles, Torin just discovers the truth about his real parents by his adoptive parents who are poor farmers, and then sets off to find the sorceror who did it. The game is an action adventure/mystery/puzzle game. It was made by "Sierra" for kids but I enjoy it just as well in my 20's. Torin's purpose takes him through many different worlds (very alice and wonderland-like) with his pink and versatile pet pal "Boogle" which is a sweet fucking name. Boogle can change shapes at will.

This game brought tears to my eyes at one point. I had forgotten that games could be that good. Unfortunately, you cannot find this game anymore. It's sad but true. Torin's Passage was a fun, strange, encircling, and beautiful game. I shall miss it dearly.

Speaking of missing things dearly, lately I've been reading a very interesting blog. The blog actually belongs to a friend of mine. I miss him very dearly and have a lot of respect for him. I'm not sure if I like his blog because of it's content or because I haven't heard from him in a while, but either way, I find it very entertaining. His name is Ryan. Not my tiverton counterpart, but my catholic middle school counterpart. He's into movies and music and other very interesting topics surrounding general entertainment. We've never really been in love with the same bands or have exactly the same taste in music but for some reason, in our friendship it doesn't really matter, which is great. I think what I really like about this guy is that, he actually does shit. He's got a band, a job, a hobby, and a good head on his shoulder. Now, let me stop talking before I start sounding like I want to suck his dick or something. His blog is called 'Ryanforthefuture', which is a lot better than mine, and you can find a link for it in the link section on my blogs right side. It's definitely something to check out.
I've been giving a lot of thought to this Rain game, situation. For the first time in a while, it has nothing to do with money. I'm thinking about using film over digital for the short, instead. I found a place in Newport RI that offers a film-to-digital transition which is not easy to find. I went looking around for some prices on a 16mm film camera and couldn't find a single place that has them. For those of you who are unfamiliar with 16mm, 'CLERKS' was filmed using a 16mm camera with B&W film stock. I'm really let down that I can't get my hands on film equipment like that. It's not because I can't afford it, but rather that I can't find it! I would really love to shoot RAIN GAMES using a 16mm camera on Fujifilm stock, and possibley an anamorphic/wide angle lense. Those things transferred to digital then color corrected with Apple's color would be a dream come true. I'm going to try and get an Arri or something like that. I really want to know how to use film.
thanks for reading
-brandon

EDIT*I just found out that Arri and other film cameras go for over $50,000... nvm. lol

Add some more to the project pile

2008-07-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

Today I got a lot accomplished. I kept my promises to a few and to myself as well. I started another project today and began working on another leg of an existing one. I've decided to take on an animated short(s) project based on some pieces I've done before. The one I started today is about a clumsy teenager named 'Eric George'. The short animation will be animated in a very difficult and time consuming way. I will not be using flash or anything like that. Instead I'll be using photoshop in a stop motion frame by frame tradition. I'm doing this so I can make the environments and the character look as detailed as possible. I'm aiming for it to look unique. The story follows this accident prone character as he sets up his house for christmas. I made a little teaser today using photoshop. The end result will not look as simple as this does AT ALL but the messiness of the animation will be kept to a certain extent. This won't be finished until the end of winter probably. I do hope I follow up on this project. It would be very rewarding to have this under my belt. I'll post a link for a different, larger picture on the right of this page in the 'links' section. The other project I worked on today was a project I call "Little Bryce". I drew a character once and the project is a children's book about her 7th birthday. I worked on some of the writing and illustrations today. Visual projects aside, today I sent my good friend, Justin, the first of many recorded musical ideas I have. Justin wants to start a band but the distance in which we live apart makes it very hard BUT we've found a way to get around it. We record our ideas (decent quality) and send them to each other via AIM or email... when I do have time+money I'll go to his house and put the songs together and possibley record the final tracks. I'm pretty proud of the way we're doing it. I sent him one of 4 recording/songs/riffs that I have. Tomorrow, if I have time, I'll go through them and think them over. If I still like them I'll edit the sound a bit then send them off. I'll be crossing my fingers that I'll get some from him. I hope to start doing the same thing with my other friend, Ryan. He's going through some troubles with his equipment at the moment. I other news, I believe that I will be able to pay the $450 with no problem by the end of the month, even if I squeeze in Hellboy II, WallE, and the Dark Knight... Here's hoping. No word yet on my hopeful... the one that's going to help me pay for RAIN GAMES without having to pay it back. I'll keep you posted. Thanks and Later~

Longing for Astoria

2008-07-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

My Dad said "Are you depressed? You've been so annoying the past few days". Let me take this opportunity to say that my dad isn't a bad guy but he fucking sucks sometimes. The past couple days I've been worried about RAIN GAMES, money, and the economy (if the economy fails, i can't make movies) and I certainly have not been annoying about it. I don't think I've allowed myself to vent a single word about my feelings these past couple days. I told my dad's girlfriend I was worried about film shit... I think she told him (figures). I've been reading a lot more than usual and I've been watching movies that make me feel good. (ei the goonies, adventures in babysitting, and a whole lot of miyazaki) I guess that's pretty annoying. I think I've been a good sport about all of this... but I'm going to snap if I get another comment like that from either my dad or his girlfriend. I wish I was living in the 80's with a young sean astin and josh brolin.

confinances

2008-07-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

hey blog, I've hit a snag on the way to finalizing the loan for my film, Rain Games. This snag is more like a hidden sharp, rusted dagger, actually. Apparently I owe the government $2,156.25. I called the debt collector's to attempt to straighten this out. They decided to help me by putting me on a payment plan. I have to pay them $450 by July 31st. $450's not much but I don't have it right now. I'm not making a whole lot of base pay at my new job but luckily my last check of the month is on the last day of month. I think I can squeeze four check's out of the month averaging at $130 a check. If you do the math, it doesn't leave me with a lot of spending money. After this month is up I can pay them $100 a month for a year and a half until the debt is paid off. This debt has had a major effect on my credit, making the loan for Rain Games a lot harder to get. Given the state of the US economy I think it'll be easy to find a greedy banker to give me $5000 easy. They don't care whether or not I pay it back, or whether or not the economy dies. Bankers are the "Saurons" of today. They make me something fucking sweet that I believe I can benefit from.... and then they fuck you up with a master ring called 'interest'. I hope I can pay this $450. All these road blocks are making me less and less optimistic about the turn out of this project. There is however a way I could get someone else to pay for it without having to pay them back. But I don't want to talk about it until I know 'yes' or 'no' for sure. Later blog, today's my day of and I don't want to waste it.

PS the picture to the left was from a series of the same that I took recently. They all came out pretty well. I'm going to do some color correction later before I put them up.

film & art direction

2008-07-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

Top 10 favorite visual/art direction in film

10) The Matrix Reloaded

9) Shogun Assassin

8) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

7) Babel (2006)

6) The Night of the Hunter (1955)

5) The Fountain (2006)

4) Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

3) Children of Men (2006)

2) Spirited Away (2001)

1) Kill Bill (2003)

it's just another day, you'll lose it anyway

2008-07-09T14:16:00.001-07:00

Hey blog,

it's been a few days, I apologize. Work has been frequent and I haven't been able to lend my time to you properly. Part of that has to do with two things, both of which, I find great. one is, life. I feel like for the first time in a while I'm living my own life to gain the experience instead of constantly looking at the 'big picture', worrying about the future, and documenting it for other people. It's been a nice break. I've learned that when truly amazing things happen to you, telling people about it should not be your main focus. I attempted to tell my friends about how this past July 4th was the best day of my life and how it turned out to be the most important day of my life, as well... I realized mid-conversation that it wasn't working. Words are useless when trying to explain something like that. What a great day/night though. The second reason for not being all about my blog life is the almost completion of my full length script. I'm confident this will make it to the point where I actually think it's worth being made. Morning, Noon, and night, this story is on my mind - - - and for all the right reasons, too! I really feel that this would be a meaningful film to people who find themselves lost in the post-high school void. I think it's important that I let readers know that it is NOT a depiction film. It isn't meant to simply depict the way life after high school... that's wouldn't be exciting or fun to see (or make). This STORY takes place in that time in the main character's lives while other things are going on. I think it will make for a very important and universally sentimental film for people over 17 and will be fun for everyone else too. More on that later.

So, let me tell you something that you might not have known, I love 80gb Zunes. I own one and they are fantastic. My 80GB zune only has about 20GBs of media on it. In relation to the size of the zune, that's not a lot, but for me, it is. 20 gigs of my favorite music, pictures, and videos is a lot to me... and the other day, I almost lost it all. My best friend 'Aestatsol' (my zune's tag) and I were in my living room. I was playing some Mordisk through some headphones and decided to play it over a speaker system. When I removed the headphones stereo jack I recieved a message on my, now background-less, screen. The message read something like: "Zune has encountered an error. All content must be deleted.' Below the message, there was a 'ok' icon to click on. "FUCK!"i said to myself, "if I press 'ok' will I lose all my shit? is it already lost? wtf?!". Needless to say, I was fucking pissed. I went to Zune.net to try and find out what the message was trying to tell me besides the obvious. I found nothing but people posting on forums about just reformatting the whole zune and reloading all their backed up media back onto the Zune. I never backed up any of what I had on there.. i thought I was screwed. "How many days passed by" I thought, " since Bill Gates left microsoft? Already microsoft sucks?". I went to my dad and asked him if there was any sort of advice he could give me to get my media back. He had no idea. I decided that I was going to send the Zune to microsoft and demand them to fix it for me, which probably wouldn't have worked... so I reset the device a couple times... and still, nothing but that cursed message. I was just about ready to seriously lose it... when suddenly, mordisk's new 'Caught in Sleep" started playing and everything was back to normal. I felt like my firstborn was spared from death. Now everything is fine! I love Zunes! (again)

Really good concerts are starting to pop up all over the place. I'd like to go see Nick Cave at MSG in October (the 4th). I will NOT miss that show. I plan on going to see Mordisk play with fucking stupid bands on the 13th of this month at the Living room. I'm pretty happy about that. Their new songs are great. Also, AIR is going on tour! but of course aren't coming to the states. I'm an idiot for missing them last year. :/ oh well. I'll talk to you later blog~

Mr. Pink

2008-07-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,

Today, I'd like to discuss a few fun things, but first, allow me to tell you about my day. I woke up this morning at 9am. I had to get ready for work so I could be there at 11. I got ready and got to the parking lot 5 minutes to 11. I got inside find out that I wasn't supposed to be there until 12. I was asked to run an errand for this guy I work with. The registers needed change so he gave me 135 dollars and asked me to go the bank. This story really doesn't really have a point... but holding 135 in 'ones' made me feel great. end of story. When I got off of work I went home, made some dinner, then sat down in the living room. I popped in 'Reservoir Dogs', partly because I've been thinking about Quentin and his upcoming epic war project 'Inglorious Bastards'. I never really thought of the film as a classic but I have to say that there are a lot of really memorable lines in 'Reservoir Dogs'. I caught myself mouthing a lot of the lines aloud with Michael Madson and Chris Penn, especially. We've all seen it. We know it's great. End post here.

ugh... short

2008-07-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

I don't feel like going to work right now... it's only my first day and I'm already sick of being there. ...fucking fiona apple. making me think of stupid things. I just need to focus on getting my first paycheck, I suppose. Only 2 weeks before the official start of Rain Games production. yay! Alright blog, I'm going to get ready for stupid fucking work. later~

Mega post, because you deserve it.

2008-06-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

What's happening blog,

Today I've decided that my blog is very slim and needs to be beefed up. It feels like I've been posting everyday but in actuality I have only written 10 posts the entire month of June, so let's make this one count, shall we?

First on our agenda, I think it wise we discuss the overwhelming awesomeness of Henry Rollins. He is amazing. This fact has been understood by many people for quite a long time, but I think it only right that I pay my dues. Last night I surfed YouTube in search of some Black Flag interviews from when they first took in Mr. Rollins. I found one or two poorly recorded/compressed and short video clips that weren't very interesting. But of course I did find many other videos that spanned the entire career of Henry that i couldn't resist watching. I watched everything from Black Flag performances, Rollins Band performances, Henry Rollins interviews, Henry Rollins interviewing other people, and most importantly, Henry Rollins live performances (just him with a microphone). Around 2:30AM I found a gem. A video that not only made me laugh, but also made me cry and then inspired me to live my life in a more enriching way (like every time Henry speaks). The video is Henry speaking about his friend, Joe Cole. Here's the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9vtAg1CIEc
There's two parts. That's all I have to say to make you believe what I believe: Henry Rollins is the greatest man that ever lived. fucking period. You NEED TO WATCH THAT VIDEO.
If you've watched that video, you probably don't feel like reading this any longer, or if you do, you're probably not willing to read about anything heavy. With that said, let's shoot the shit... or I'll shoot the shit while you read. I was thinking about what I'd consider to be my favorite albums of all time. There's a lot of good music out there. Could I possibly narrow that huge list to a top 5 or 10. 10 sounds good.

Here they are, in no particular order:

AIR: premiers symptomes (1999) made the list because it is one of the most unique records I've ever listened to. The first time I heard AIR was on the skateboard video, es' "Menikmati", during Tom Penny's part. It was definitely one of the greatest skate parts I'd ever seen and it didn't hurt to feature the music of the greatest french band of all time. This album clearly defines who AIR is and why they will be the only ones to sound like them forever. My favorite tracks on the album are "J'ai dormi sous l'eau" and "Modular mix". If you can get a hold of this album buy it, then kick back, relax, and prepare for a sexual french elevator ride to the cosmos and back. yeah, i know how that sounds... and I'm not exaggerating.

ARCADE FIRE: self-titled EP (2003) is on the list because it's Arcade Fire's most raw, powerful, and ambient album to date. The album was released during a tour the band did in 2003 and was later officially released in 2005 by a label, but still the EP remains relatively unknown. In my opinion, Arcade Fire created their best in the very beginning of their career. Their following albums "Neon Bible" and "Funeral" will never compare to this 7-track masterpiece. My favorite tracks on this album are "Sleeping in a Submarine" and "Headlights look like diamonds". If you listen to "Neon Bible" you will probably recognize a newly recorded version of "No Cars Go" that was originally from this EP. You can never say enough about this album. Track this one down. You won't regret it.

THROWDOWN: drive me dead is exactly what hardcore music was meant to sound like. Now, before you get the wrong impression, let me set straight what could severely damage opinions of me as a person. I am not a scenester, nor am I a fan of the hardcore genre. Unlike Throwdown, I do not find it necessary to label myself 'straight edge'. Just because I like this album does not mean I'm all about the lyrics either. I'm not a showgoing ninny. I am, however, a 20 year old guy who gets mad and feels the need to 'wreck shit' every once in a while. With that said, this is the perfect album. If movies like '300' and 'Fight Club' were musicals, this album would be the soundtrack. I think you get the point. This EP gives you a clear look back to when vocalist, Keith Barney, was in Throwdown and they really knew how to write songs... kind of. Sadly, this is no longer the case. From the second this record begins you're hooked. I swear it's the only record in the history of music to get away with having an audio clip from "American Pie" in it. Listen to this bad larry before you go fight someone, you'll win. How do you think David beat Goliath? Favorite Track: "Step it up". SUCK ME BEAUTIFUL!
THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER: unhallowed was the first time I realized that newer metal had some potential. Before this album came out I listened to metal bands that started in the 80's (Death, Malevolent Creation). The black dahlia murder was first shown to me when a video for the song "Funeral Thirst" came on late night Mtv shortly after my 16th birthday. I was blown away. Their sound was unrelentingly powerful and new. This album has since become a standard classic among friends. The vocals still give me chills after 2 more Black Dahlia albums have been released. My favorite tracks on this album are "Contagion" and "Funeral Thirst". This album fucking rules.
BJORK: homogenic was, I the time I first heard it, the most bizarre album I'd ever heard. Bjork since has held that effect on me. Her vocals are sporadic and chilling on the majority of her albums. Most of the time I find them too hostile to enjoy. 'Homogenic' is the exception. This album is the showcase for bjork's more peaceful but intimate side. This is both an album you put in while you try to sleep at night or when you're trying to write a paper on a rainy day. It's encircling, it's different, it's daunting, it's bjork. Give this album a try. Favorite track: "Unravel".

MILES DAVIS: the birth of cool is fully capable of explaining itself. The title alone is enough to tell you what you're about to hear. I love Miles Davis. His jazz is more than tolerable to me, who's not all that fond of the genre. "Rocker" has the energy of a 9 year old put into a an elderly swing dancer. The entire album glides along the thin, cool line that sits between smooth and sharp. It's a great place to start if you want to get familiar with the Jazz world. Miles davis' "Kind of Blue" is a spectacular album also (more popular too), but this is my favorite over the two. Favorite tracks "Rocker" and "Venus de Milo". I bought this album on vinyl in New York with a different cover than the cd and it turns out that it's extremely rare. just a little nerd fact... It'll make an appearance in RAIN GAMES. I promise.

THURSDAY: full collapse was a very important album to me when I had first heard it. I was introduced to Thursday by a friend I had met in Maine. He had "I am the killer" on a burnt cd he'd gotten from a friend. When I heard it, I almost couldn't believe it. It was so strong for a band that didn't have crunching riffs that favored the low note-high note patterns that were extremely popular at the time. The vocals on the track were mind-blowing. Singing like that was not normal for a band with such powerful delivery... and I loved it. As time went by I'd forgotten the name of the band and almost everything about them until a friend of my sisters' invited me to go to a show with him one night. Thursday and From Autumn to Ashes were on the bill. 'From autumn' I was familiar with. Thursday, I had no idea what I was in for. Long story short, the show was amazing and I saw them 2 more times since, over the years. Full Collapse is first album I bought of theirs. Everyone I know who owns it, knows all the words to most of the songs. Full collapse is a classic for us small town teenagers. It sounds horribly stupid but is very true. Favorite track: "Understanding in a Car Crash" but the whole album is perfect.

OPETH: damnation is the perfect example of solid album. Opeth has a lot of really fantastic albums, some of which are more metal than anything but this album is probably the best. It's very soulful and clean for an album with a name like 'damnation'. The production quality is supurb and the writing is outstanding. 'Damnation' shows the listener how creative and versatile Opeth can really be. My dad even likes this album. Opeth rules and if you don't know it yet, here's the album you need to help you find out. My favorite track "Windowpane".

SIGUR ROS: ágætis byrjun is deep. The band, Sigur Ros, makes it clear that you don't have to understand the language of the singer to understand what they're trying to get across. These icelandic masterminds are the pioneers in modern experimental music. The majority of this album was recorded in an old swimming pool to achieve a specific type of reverb which makes this album very unique. This may not be the best album they have to offer but it certainly is an excellent display of what they're all about. I bought this album in 2006 and still cannot pronounce the name of the album correctly. I recently discovered that "Sigur Ros" in english, translates to "Victory Rose". I knew that this album was great but it really hit me one night when I had it playing in the car one night. I was parked in a large empty parking lot late at night with my little brother and mother. We were all talking about we used to all eat together in the living room on saturday nights and watch movies, basically, going down memory lane. We had the album playing softly in the background while we spoke. There was a pause in the conversation and I looked over to my mother who had been quiet for the last few minutes. She had tears pouring all down her face. I had asked her what was wrong. She said "this music makes me want to be with my children forever and I know it can't happen". It was astounding. My mother, who would be listening to Mary J blige or biggie if I hadn't had anything to listen to, was touched by music she had never heard before. That's power, my friends. It was very cinematic. You need to hear this album. Favorite Track "Staralfur".

CKY: volume 1 was the first album I had heard of CKY. The first time I listened to it, I fucking hated it. It was a piece of shit, I thought. I couldn't believe I had "wasted all my allowence on shit like this". It sat on my shelf until I was in a really strange mood one day. I popped it in and all of the sudden, it was the best fucking album in the world. It was. I couldn't stop listening to it. From start to finish, I was in love. This is an album that takes you from where you are to entirely different place until the very last note. It's both heavy and mellow. It's so sophisticated but is also a really blunt kind of simple. It was different. To this day I will sit and listen to it and allow it to take me to a now familiar place. It's a classic. It will never get old. Volume 1 is the fucking peter pan of music. To listen to cKy you have to be in a certain mood, I find. Cky is so different that in a first listen you won't get it. I listen to this while I clean my house, sometimes when I skate, at night in bed, and when I'm hanging out with a group of friends. It's versatile by definition. I dare you to listen to this record. "Sara's mask" will enrapture you and "Rio Bravo" will kick your ass.

My favorite song on this album... every single one.

Now that I'm done with that list let me tell you something. I'm fucking tired. I'm sorry blog no mega-post today.

mass mind

2008-06-28T13:20:00.000-07:00

Salutations blog,

I've got a lot on my mind today, as I do everyday, but also, today I have the motivation to write about it. First, let me fill you in on a major concern of mine. The economy is horrible and you don't need to be a brain surgeon to know it. It's all over the nightly news; 'DOW went down yesterday', 'Gas has gone up', and 'food prices are going up'. I've heard these reports way too often lately and they don't really scare me as much as a report I heard yesterday. It was reported that the polar icecaps are melting to the point where it's about to effect the "world, as we know it". Now, I don't want to rehash anything they that said on the news because it's very depressing, but I do want you to know how the news effected me. I am terrified. Absolutely, scared shitless about this. It was on my mind last night and still is, today. It's a problem that is going to effect all of us sooner or later... and I want to do something about it. So, today I did some research and found a way to help out that was relative to my current situations. I found a gold mine. If you've been reading my blog you'd know that I am without a car. I'm going to need to give it a lot of thought before purchasing one. Insurance and gas prices are what worries me most, besides the car's effect on the environment. Whatever car I buy, I'm going to need to be able to afford without worry, so I definitely have a problem on my hands. I found the Tata Nano. The Tata Nano, or the 'People's Car', is the most fuel efficient automobile in world. It's not the best looking car in the world but it's ratings are incredible as well as it's cost. It was initially sold in India but soon spread all over the eastern continents. I would love to be able to drive something like this, but sadly the Tata Nano will not be coming to the US... figures.I'm very pleased, however, that these cars do exist. even if the US isn't involved, it's nice to know someone making some changes. By the way, the Tata Nano, costs $3000... unbelievable. Cars like the Tata have been released in the US but the prices are more than triple that of the Tata and only offer 2 seats and not 4. Despite the look of these small cars (Tata and others) they are very safe. Most of these types of cars are built for accident prevention. These cars are the first of their kind to feature side airbags as well as frontal bags. Safe, fuel efficient, cheap, and fast, what more could you want?

Also, on a totally different subject, I've been thinking about purchasing a new cell phone when work picks up and I have income. I was reading "WIRED" magazine today and came across something that took me by total surprise. Yesterday my father and I were watching the news, and it reported that Bill Gates has stepped down from Microsoft completely. During an interview Mr. Gates was asked about any possible worries he had with competition. It became apparent that Mr. Gates considered Google to be a legitamate rival. This bit took myself and my father by surprise. We had no idea that Google was a threat to Microsoft at all. I guess in the category of "Search engines" Microsoft can't touch Google but besides that I wouldn't have thought Google was a threat at all. As it turns out, in 'WIRED', Google is planning to release a phone, and by the contents of the article, it looks like a monster. Comparable to the iPhone without a doubt. They're calling it the Android. The Android is said to have applications that will be unlike anything we've ever seen. It's said to be the brain child of Andy Rubin. The article had a few conceptual drawings and prototype pictures but I'm still pretty lost when it comes to what the phone will end up looking like... but I still want one pretty badly. If you happen to go to a news stand or book store, flip through a copy of the new WIRED to check it out for yourself. In US news, Hillary and Barack are now on the same team. I think it was a necessary move but I don't know how I feel about it yet... I'll let you know when I do.

In some film news, I'm very happy to report that Hayao Miyazaki newest film ' Ponyo on the Cliff" is almost ready for it's release. No word yet on when it will come to the States but it is being worked on. If you aren't familiar with Miyazaki's work check out his site at http://www.ghibli.jp/. Be sure to install your language packs, you're going to need them!

For information on google's new phone use this link:

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/16-07/ff_android

see some rough images here:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/16-07/ff_android?currentPage=3

For information on the TATA 'NANO' use this link:

http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=168

For the US equivelant of the TATA 'NANO' use this link:

http://www.smartusa.com/

Thanks for reading :)

currently watching:

Spirited Away (2001)

Hayao Miyazaki

For Gondor!

2008-06-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

I finished reading 'the hobbit' today. or last night rather. I always remember, towards the very end, how much I love the book. When Thorin & Bilbo stop being friendly to each other after Bilbo gave the Arkenstone to Bard, the story becomes extremely complex and thus making it dramatic and tense. It's such a turn from the rest of the book which consists of description of the character's suffering. It really gets me excited to reach the end of the book at that point. Amazing writing. So, naturally, after reading the Hobbit I decided to start reading the Lord of the Rings again (which the last time I put it down i was halfway through he second part of the Two Towers). I realized that I had no real concept of where I had left off (story-wise) so I figured it would be right to start from the beginning.... and then I got lazy so I popped in my 'Lord of the Rings' dvds, all 12 of them and am now having a marathon. I decided it would be fitting to let you know what a nerd I am. While the dvd's on, I'll be rereading 'RAIN GAMES' and writing some of the other scripts. While we're on that subject, I found a way to chop my budget down again, thanks to a friend, by not needing to buy any of my software. It's Fantastic, I know. Still have to cast the character "SARA" in RAIN GAMES so I'll be really focusing on that today, as well. I've got a lot of work to do still. By the way, I didn't end up working yet. Maybe tomorrow. I'm dying for some money... to buy food. later blog!
currently all about:
lord of the rings!

The storm

2008-06-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hey blog,

Today I spent most of the day with my Dad. We took some boxes and stuff from his house and brought him to our storage place. The living room looks a bit better as well because of it. We brought our dog, Rocko, with us. On the way there we listened to some good tunes and got a pizza to split. When we got to the storage place we noticed that there was a thunderstorm coming towards us. We could see it in the clouds. The sky was split in two. For a long while we were on the brighter side of it. The dark, wet, and windy side kept coming closer. It looked amazing. We drove home in the rain. It was exciting. I felt like Bill Paxton in 'Twister'... Rocko was Helen Hunt. My dad and I drove home slowly and enjoyed the bizarre scenery. We listened to the doors, johnny cash, Jack Nitzche, and link wray. Some how Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" got in there. We had a good time. I really like spending time with him. My dad, I mean... and guess you can include the dog too...

I start working soon. I hope I like it. Of course, you'll hear all about it if I don't. Take care blog.

currently listening to:

Monday june 23rd

2008-06-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm back at home, doing nothing more than sitting and thinking. I'm brainstorming an idea I have for a full length script that I'd hope sell in the future. I think it's got some potential. No use talking anymore about it. I've been listening to some great bands recently. Two awesome unsigned bands. One of which, I saw in NY, thanks to a friend who graduated from Berklee with some of the musicians in the band. The band is called "Kid Nap Kin" and they are fantastic. Their style is something like a less spastic, more versatile 'At the Drive-In'. They're a three piece with the same power of a full orchestra. Their live show is impressive to say the least. They have a new album entitled 'Hush now...". I bought it after the show. It's a solid effort. Check them out at their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/kidnapkin

The other band, Mordisk, is a metal band from Tiverton RI/Fall River MA. I know the guys in the band personally and have for a while. To me, metal these days is often too repetitive or is mixed with some sort of 'core' which is also repetitive. Mordisk is an exception. It's difficult to explain with words. There is an element in their music that makes them unlike anything I've ever heard. Mordisk's guitar players serve up savage metal while the music still contains a smooth, unique flow brought in by the drummer and bass player. They're something to listen to. Keep you're eyes on Mordisk. Check them out: http://www.myspace.com/mordisk

I'm going to watch some movies right now. Later blog!

currently watching/listening to:

Gas is imaginary.

2008-06-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

Son of a bitch, I don't feel like writing in this blog right now but! I've got to go through with the things I start god damnit so here I am (rock you like a hurricane). I think the last time I wrote on this I was watching a movie called 'storytelling'. I finished it and couldn't really decided whether or not it was a waste of time. So I guess I can't report good or bad. I have made some changes to my own movie. Rain Games is now more a love story than anything. I was trying to end it without it getting to that point but I feel that it's the best way to go. I also changed the camera choice. I have dropped the idea of getting the panasonic camera and have chosen to use the Canon XL2 instead. The idea came to me after watching a fantastic short film on Vimeo.com called "Renewal" made by a kid named, Seamus. The image isn't HD, which I never really cared about in the first place, and looks really close to film quality. closer than the panasonic. This choice willl save me 2,500. Thanks to Seamus for that!
A considerable amount of work has been getting done recently. I'm really happy with my work ethic these days. The script is going through changes again (which isn't a bad thing). Speaking of work, I have an interview on thursday at a nearby Radioshack. I hope I get this job. I'm definitely need it. Plus, if I get this job I won't have to pay shit for adapters and jacks later on. Another plus, the place is so fucking close to my house that I could seriously walk there. Gas is getting too expensive, man. We're at $4.09 a gallon here. Lots of places have it worse than us still but Godamnit! I wouldn't pay 4.09 for a blowjob let alone for a gallon of shit I don't even fucking see. I'm going to bed. Later blog

"Fiction"

2008-06-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

hey blog,
Not much has happened today. I spent the day hanging out with my dad and his girlfriend. We wen't to a bar not to far from the house. We sat after eating and discussed music, New York, Providence, their youth, and bit of how it's not common for people my age to hang out with their parents. After that we went home and my dad's girlfriend gave me 4 films for me to watch. They were 'Autumn Sonata', 'Lost in Translation', 'Man on the Train', and 'Storytelling'. I've seen translation before but none of the rest. I heard 'storytelling' was amazing. I'll let you know later.

Regarding day 7,120

2008-06-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, marked the end of my first two decades on this earth. I would've said plainly that 'yesterday I celebrated my birthday' but that's not all that true. I spent the day as I normally spend my days. I woke up late and milled about the apartment for a bit until about 530. I took a shower and got ready to leave the house. My father and his girlfriend took me out to dinner later in the evening. The restaurant was very small and was actually half a pub. It would be an insult to say that my birthday was horrible. In fact, the only thing I didn't like about it was the fact that I have 250 friends on facebook and less than 7 said 'happy birthday'...

...2o years on this earth and I haven't grown up in the least.

checking in

2008-06-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm in tIverton right now.... nothing else to say.

Pescespada Island, full spead ahead!

2008-05-31T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is one of my favorite films of all time and I am watching it today... all day. Wes ANDERSON is an extremely talented director. If you'd like to read about what I have to say about him, visit my other blog. The link for "The Cutting Room" is on the right hand side of this page. Enjoy!

by fellow blogger and an talented artist Shaun Witt.
http://illustrashawn.blogspot.com/