In the age of jet packs!

So I'm a little late on finally posting this, but I am forced to comment on it even though it's "old" news.

The age of technological wonders is upon us! Ladies and gentleman, we have jet packs. In the end of September a man flew across the English channel on a jet wing, which is basically a jet pack with wings. Finally, the pursuit of the working jet pack is on the downhill slope! Soon everyone will be jet packing off to work, school, and anywhere else they desire. Now that is a product I will gladly stand in line to get. Growing up, I always wanted a jet pack, and most of G.I. Joes experienced the thrill of the jet pack flight. I guess my love comes from jet packs being so futuristic and connected to the world of Star Wars. Come on, the coolest bounty hunter ever, Boba Fett, wore and used a jet pack. If that isn't the height of coolness, I don't know what is. Of course, we are a long way off from Boba Fett, but with this historic flight, I am hopeful that I will jet pack myself across the sky before I die.

Life has been quite busy lately, in a good way, and I'm feeling quite relieved for a little downtime. I had a friend from back East move out here to L.A. this past weekend, and it's stirred things up a bit. While I am glad he's here, and it'll be good for him to be out here, we may need to start looking for a 3 bedroom apartment in the next couple of months. I know for certain that I'm not the easiest person to share a room with, and I don't want to put any strain on our friendship.

Horror films and webcomics...

So I figured I should take a minute and talk about the few links I have attached to this site.

First and foremost, the new link to the Stump the Band website is up and I definitely suggest people going and visiting the site. It's for a horror movie that's coming out on June 3rd. I was privileged enough to see an advanced screening of this film, and I walked away completely entertained. Stump does a great job of not taking itself seriously and allowing laughter to join in with the fear. There is a great balance between characters you want to live and those that you are waiting to get killed off in some satisfying manner, and Stump doesn't disappoint. Check it out on June 3rd. It is available on Amazon.com and will be available at your local Blockbuster. Enjoy the rock and roll horror!

The next link sends you to a new web comic started by the talented pair Tony Chavira (writer) and Josh Dunlap (artist) called Tuna Carpaccio P.I. While they are only on their third comic, the tension in the strip is already thick. Don't expect your typical one liners/find the joke in everything comic that currently is the trend on the internet. These two gentlemen hearken back to the serial comic that used to be found in your daily newspaper and it brings something fresh to the internet. There is a lot of potential and talent that is on display, so go and check it out!

The last is just a link to my flickr site. Unfortunately, there isn't anything outstanding there, but mostly just pictures from my life. Still working on getting a better camera to document life, but at least I have something. I try and update it pretty regularly, so keep checking.

Thanks for playing!

A new kind of grilling...

Well, the last two nights I have gone out on a limb and have used wood instead of charcoal to grill with. I have never gotten behind gas grilling mainly because it adds nothing to the process. It's the lazy man's grilling method. Yes, it's easier to clean and light and blah blah blah, but you lose something in the flavor of the meat (or whatever) when you use gas. I don't know what it is, but every time I have grilled using charcoal, some type of flavoring shows up that makes the food that much better. Of course, you have to be careful with some of this match-light charcoal, since if you don't let it burn long enough you get the lighter fluid taste on the meat (yeah, bad experience with beer can chicken). Anyways, the last two nights I have grilled both steak and chicken using hardwood, and it's by far the superior method. While it takes longer to prep, it is well worth the effort. The unprepared, unmarinated steak I grilled tonight was mouthwatering. With only the marble in the steak to flavor it and the hardwood to cook it, something came out that I can't even coax out using charcoal. It made the extra time worth it. Oh, and grilled asparagus with sea salt and olive oil is awesome.

Well, other than that life is moving forward. I am actually leaving Starbucks for bigger and better things. I have gotten a job with just as much flexibility as I need, but doubles my pay while still giving me benefits. Granted, I will be working more hours, but that's fine since I'll still have time to audition and take gigs. While I enjoyed the people at Starbucks, I have mastered the job and have become bored (of course, the electrocution didn't help either). I am looking forward to adding to my savings and ira again.

Next Monday I am working on a short film for a writer buddy of mine who will be showing this film to some powerful people in this town. I'm not guaranteed anything of course, but it's a good script and at least it's more people seeing my face. Still pushing myself forward and trying to meet and network with as many people as possible which is what this town is about.

Was able to go out for with a bunch of the guys on Saturday night and of course had a blast. Good food, friends and alcohol. It doesn't get much better than that! Here's an interesting picture from that night. Yeah, I am crazy.

Storms

So at church, the pastor talked about storms. How we as humans focus so much on the storms and even hold onto the storms instead of moving on or dealing with them properly. Sometimes the storm while tumultuous can be reassuring since in this changing world they are something we can latch onto and are constant. These storms can be anything from the worst moment of your life to just small insignificant little moments that bring pain. The movie Swingers has a perfect conversation that explains it:
Rob: Sometimes it still hurts. You know how it is, man. It's like, you wake up every day and it hurts a little bit less, and then you wake up one day and it doesn't hurt at all. And the funny thing is, is that, this is kinda wierd, but it's like, it's like you almost miss that pain.
Mike: You miss the pain?
Rob: Yeah, for the same reason that you missed her... because you lived with it for so long.

Generally, I try to let the small things go...or slide. For most things, I couldn't care less about because in the scheme of things they don't matter. Fight Club talks about this and it's one of the reasons that it's my favorite movie. However, while I let most of the small stuff go, big events can be a problem. I mull it over in my brain, I try to analyze, and I replay through all my actions again and again. The problem is when I am dealing with the big stuff, it's harder for me to pass off the small events that I usually don't care about. Like today when the yogurt idiot had my car towed because he thought it wasn't an employee's car and cost me $200 to get my car out(which the landlord is going to pay for). While I would say this is more of a medium to large problem, I almost went nova. Luckily, some fellow employees calmed me down, but it was like this was going to be the outlet to let out all the pent up frustrations and emotions.

I bring up storms because even right now, I am still fuming about the car and I need to just let it go. Life is too short and too enjoyable to let that idiot ruin my day. I just have to let it go. Things I wish for I have to let go. I can't hold onto these storms anymore. Life has too much to offer.

I have to let go.

I have to let go.

Orwellian...and beyond

Finally having the time and inclination, I sat down and watched George Lucas' THX1138, and I have to say on a first viewing that I was simultaneously impressed and unimpressed. His depiction of an Orwellian future was visually stunning. While the images and cinematography were great, the pacing was a little slow. It felt like Lucas was spending far too much time drinking in the sets than he was worrying about how the story was progressing. I am not talking about the acting here. Duvall and Pleasance did fantastic jobs, especially given that they were working with a director who really doesn't direct his actors. When the locale is one where emotions are chemically subdued, then Duvall does a great job holding back and then climbing out of the emotionless pit. The iconic scene of the three guards with long poles holding back Duvall was just as awesome as the stills I had seen previously. Lucas has a great eye when it comes to setting up shots, and he would make a great dp or even better a producer since he seems to excel at that job. Lucas, while stealing heavily from George Orwell and Ray Bradbury, creates a film that allows me to let the flaws and the blatant stolen ideas and phrases (Nixon speeches anyone?) go by. I am a huge Orwell fan in general and 1984 specifically. There is something about the Orwellian films that I just enjoy them even though they are sometimes the same idea with just a different outcome. I wouldn't mind either acting in or making my own version of 1984 or Fahrenheit 451.

So this past week has been quite busy with my improv class and voiceover class, I am getting a good amount of practice and training from some talented teachers. Besides that I was able to audition for a couple of independent films and two voiceovers. The voiceovers I should hear something by next week, but the independents I have no idea if they'll contact me. One of them, I think I would look a little young for, but since they had it in my age range I still went. I'll never pass up a chance to network or audition. While the jobs are infrequent right now, at least my auditions are frequent which at least makes me feel like I am pushing forward. I have still been doing extra work on my days off to both add to my income and hopefully get my third SAG voucher. However, the biggest avenue I am looking at is still voiceovers (at least for paid work), since they are simple and quick to do and are good money. I will be doing a short film for a friend who is a great writer. I am excited to work with him and see what is in store for him.

Other than that the week was a lot of fun. My uncle came into town over the weekend and so on Monday we were able to hang out and I got to show him around. Luckily, he has seen all the "tourist" stuff, so I didn't have to drive him to downtown Hollywood which is honestly worthless in the daytime. He wanted to go on a studio tour and so after reading a couple of reviews of the Universal Studios and NBC tour, I just took him to Warner Bros. and we took the tour there. Even though I had gone in January with my mother, it was a blast to go back since the strike is over now and we were able to see some filming in progress. Also, my camera had died about halfway through the tour last time, so I was able to get some better shots of the water tower and other sets that I missed the first time. Of course, no visit to Burbank would be complete without a night out at Don Cucos, so we met up with one of my uncle's coworkers there and enjoyed some margaritas and dinner.

So finally after six months in Los Angeles, I finally swam in the Pacific (which brings me to only 3 more of the seven seas to swim in!) and while cold was fun. On Thursday, I went down with a bunch of friends and was able to just relax on an almost deserted beach around the Santa Monica area, catch some sun, and skim board along the beach. It was a perfect day for the beach, and I had a blast of course (how can you not have a great time at the beach?). I have a couple of good pictures, but while I look good, I am still way to white to show.

Right now music-wise, I am going through my Itunes library and giving a listen to those albums which I have only heard once or not at all. Some are good while others I couldn't care less about. Been listening to a good amount of Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds too.

I'll leave you with my wonderful picture of someone having fun with their De Lorean DMC-12.

Acting and Alcohol

Well, this weekend was a blast. My roommate's dad came into town to drive my roommate's old car back to Kansas. Luckily, he was able to stay and hang for a couple of days which was quite enjoyable. He fit in well with Ben and I, and we had a mini-celebration. There was lots of good food and alcohol for three days straight. On Friday night, I came home to find that Ben's dad had went grocery shopping for us and we had become stuffed to the gills with food and alcohol in our kitchen. It was a glorious night. There are just some parents who I feel can transition well when their kids become adults and then others who can't. Mr. Starkey is definitely in the former of those two options. We tried this Brazilian steakhouse and I must say it has become one of my favorite restaurants. If you like meat of any kind, then this is definitely a go to place. They cook everything from steak to lamb (and everything in between) right on spits and once the meat is done they take them off the grill and bring them around to all the different tables. There is so much to choose from and there wasn't a single piece I didn't enjoy, and it is all you can eat too. It is definitely a place I will frequent if I can.

This week I start my voiceover class and I couldn't be more excited. While I have had some success in that area, I know I have a lot improve upon and also this gives me a chance to meet some more people in the industry. My biggest issue is that I am in my head too much when I do voiceovers. This isn't stage, and it needs a much more natural feel then any stage play and while I have been able to perform, I know I can be even better. I have a couple of other options that may have me actually filming in other parts of the country over the summer which would be awesome. Nothing is definite yet, but I have gotten past the first hurdle in a couple of them.

My uncle is in town and he has the day off today, so it's time to play tour guide again. However, I don't mind at all.

Act of bravery

It is a question that sometimes haunts me and makes me look back on my life: what have I done to serve my country? Yesterday, Bush gave the Medal of Honor to Michael A. Monsoor for going above and beyond the duty and saving the life of his fellow SEALs when he dived onto a live grenade to protect his comrades. This man, and many others, have given their lives to protect and defend the rest of our nation. I benefit daily from the freedoms and opportunities that arise from being in the greatest country in the world, and yet what have I done to help it? Have I truly ever given anything back or served in a way that even remotely comes close to what our armed services do? I look back at my family and see a line from my father back of military service, and here I am in Los Angeles pursuing acting! While I love acting and I feel God has put me here, I sometimes feel that I don't come close to being a true American or patriot. I haven't had to choose between fight or flight for my country, nor felt the fear of staring at RPGs and AK-47s firing rounds at me. It's not any desire to be "brave" or "show-off", but more along the lines of giving back to my country that has given me so much. Yes, we may have our issues and bicker amongst ourselves like siblings, but there is no greater country in the world. Hands down.