Archive for September, 2006
Choy to the World
Thursday, September 28th, 2006I just got my first parking ticket ever this morning because I was a moron and thought yesterday was Tuesday and parked on the side of the street that is cleaned on Thursday. I even asked myself what day it was before parking on that side of the street.
Officer Choy took my ticket virginity by raping me and now I’m paying for a $45 abortion. (Okay, bad metaphor, but the first time always hurts a little.)
There isn’t adequate parking at my apartment complex (or anywhere in LA), so I have to park on the street. I just gave $45 to a government I don’t believe in. I hope Officer Choy suffers under his/her bad karma. S/he made me cry. and probably bounce a check.
Homework
Tuesday, September 19th, 2006My first homework assignment for my producing class was to list my top five favorite movies and why. This was not an easy task. I enjoyed the assignment (even though I forgot to print it before leaving for my internship and had to jot down a shorter version to hand in) and thought I’d share.
5. Gattaca
Science fiction, handsome actors, and social relevance: three important characteristics of a movie. What if the world were divided into biological classes, not sex or gender, but on if you were engineered or not? Gattaca explores questions that I find intriguing: the potential social implications of biological engineering of humans, the balance of should we as a society do something with technology just because we can, and man’s conquering the natural world.
4. Contact
Faith and science, the limited understanding we have of the universe, and the innate desire to explore: deep feelings that I often ponder when staring at stars. As a spiritual person and an amateur scientist, both interests have influenced and challenged me, yet provided insight to my understanding of Creation. Contact directly hits on this personal experience. And Jody Foster is amazing.
3. Tie: The Corporation and An Inconvenient Truth
Corporations are more powerful than governments and often have more impact on daily life than governments, though often they are equally corrupt. As an entrepreneur and someone politically active, this documentary angered, scared, and inspired me.
There isn’t much that I can say about An Inconvenient Truth that the documentary doesn’t already say. I saw it twice in theaters and I almost cried the second time during the credits. The use of varied data sources and fun illustrations helped argue a topic that some are vehemently opposed to acknowledging.
Both made me want to be an educator through media.
2. Minority Report
Much like the Precogs in Minority Report predicted future crimes, Minority Report predicted the world in which the government is allowed to spy on everyone without reason or accountability and detain anyone for any length of time for mere suspicion. Essentially, Minority Report predicted the PATRIOT Act a few years before 9/11. Shocking premise, beautiful futuristic imagery, and unpredictable plot make this hypothesis a thrilling two-hours. I hope to one day be able to craft a story around a powerful and relevant issue in order to spark discussion.
1. Moulin Rouge
Post modernism and magical realism, oh my! The classic love story has never been told so humorously and entertainingly. The music arrangement and visual effects perfectly complement the absurdity of the story, which is a difficult balance. If I could only create one movie, this is the one that I wish I could make. It’s art that gives me chills and sucks me into an imaginary world that I don’t want to leave.
Edit: So after handing the assignment in, I realized that two other movies had to be on this list.
6. Big Fish
Similar reasons for my love of Moulin Rouge, only with deeper themes. I’m a sucker for magical realism with meaning.
7. Finding Neverland
I was the little boy at the end of the movie (figuratively).
Must be Ana Love
Monday, September 18th, 2006Young Asian Female Customs Agent: How long were you in Nicaragua?
Me: Four days.
Agent: Why were you in Nicaragua?
Me: I was visiting a friend.
Agent: How long have you known your friend?
Me: I’ve known her for about nine months.
Agent: What does your friend do?
Me: She works at a medical call center.
Agent: Is this your first trip to Nicaragua?
Me: No, it was my second.
Agent: Must be love then.
Me: Must be.
In Nicaragua
Thursday, September 14th, 2006Since I don’t start my internship until Monday, I’m in Nicaragua with Arthur working on documentary stuff. He’s such a Sagittarius…
Internship!
Tuesday, September 12th, 2006I was offered the internship that was #1 on my list! I start at Creative Acceleration on Monday.
The owner seems like a great genuine guy and has stellar design skills. I feel that I’m a great match with the company and that there is much opportunity to learn. It’s also close to Emerson’s LA facilities, so the commute won’t be bad.
Guilty Thoughts on 9/11
Monday, September 11th, 2006I’m still angry. Actually, I’m still furious at the extremist Muslim terrorists.
My pricey privileged liberal arts education taught me that Islam is about peace and that most Muslims disagree with the extremist ideology.
But when was the last time you heard about a mass protest by Muslims against the extremists that pervert their faith? Or about a militia uprising against the extremist theocracies? (In particular, I’m reminded of the one that just started a nuclear power program with a leader that has publicly said that he wants to destroy America and that the Holocaust didn’t happen.) I searched Aljazeera. I didn’t find anything satisfying.
Muslim extremists use their faith as a blanket to be violent, much the way England and Spain plundered in the name of Christ. Remove Islam from the terrorists’ actions and the motivations are the same as all historical conquests; they’re just more blind to their selfish human condition.
Almost worse than the terrorists are their apologists who teach courses on Islam at Emerson. (Dr. Anthony DeLuca & Michael Brown: I hope you Google yourselves and are reminded that I hated your classes.) Don’t fly into my towers and tell me it’s time to respect everyone who worships Allah.
Link: Coke Side of Life
Monday, September 11th, 2006Coke Grand Theft Auto: One of my favorite commercials right now
Some Things Can Only Be Stacked So High
Monday, September 11th, 2006Arthur and I were talking about the future, money, investments. We do this often.
I cannot help being pessimistic about the future when I think of large financial endeavors. Arthur seemed frustrated at my hesitancy towards such endeavors, especially when I’m typically the big dreamer.
He finally said, “There will be a World War 3. There will be an economic downturn. There will be a nuclear terrorist attack,” and asserted certainty to the hypothetical bad scenarios that taunt me.
There is something about the path the world is going that seems wrong, that needs to be corrected, that’s off, that needs some catachesmic event to make right to a more sustainable way of living.
But Arthur is correct: worrying achieves nothing.
President Bush perpetually incorrectly states that we are conducting a war on terror. He confuses terror (an emotion) with terrorism (an act). However, I realize that I have to fight a personal war on terror. I can’t allow an emotion to prevent action. This is the personal jihad to which I do agree. It’s the only resolve that I feel five years later.
Link: Bush’s Last Stand
Sunday, September 10th, 2006The Time: Bush’s last stand: turning the war on its head
Always Buzzing Like
Saturday, September 2nd, 2006I bought my first car with the help of the fabulous Leonanna at Autoland, two women lacking interpersonal communication skills at my credit union, Progressive, and my dad’s advice.
It’s a 2005 Dodge Neon SXT. I know, I know… A Neon doesn’t exactly exude hott guy inside. I wanted a Toyota Yaris hatchback soooo much, but alas, all the cool kids with lots more money bought all of them. I start internship interviews next week, so I don’t have the additional luxury of time.
Leonanna at Autoland in LA was just phenomenal. She’s a rockstar car buyer. If I hadn’t had her help, I wouldn’t have driven a car home yesterday. She found an economic, fuel-efficient, automatic mode of transportation still under factory warranty with a clean CarFax.
When Arthur & I finally met her yesterday, she shook my hand and said, “You’re gorgeous, but I was expecting you to look like him. [shakes Arthur's hand] You know, blond hair, blue eyes.” It made me laugh. He’s universally attractive.
The situation was similar when we met Cassie at the leasing office when apartment hunting. Cassie said, “You [me] must be the good looking one in the relationship and he [Arthur] must be the brains. At least that’s how it is in my relationship,” after I misunderstood the difference between two similar promotions being offered. I maintain that Arthur is a hottie and a scholar.
Finally, I am taking Leonanna’s advice: The Dodge is just until I get a real job with real money and can come back and buy a Lexus from her. I probably won’t buy a Lexus, but I will definitely do business with Autoland again.
