Happy Birthday Megan Berry!

3:49 AM
Wednesday Morning
3 Hours From Departure


Holed up in my dorm room, listening to Lou Reed while my roommate is AWOL. I realize that I promised Megan a birthday present. Well, here it is.

.....


10 Years.

I've known Megan for a decade. Which means in terms of pure dates makes her the longest friend that I've ever had. She's been my friend when I was an awkward kid who lived in Lafayette. She was my friend when I decided to ignore all my LA friends and move to Nebraska. She was my friend through the good times, the bad times, and the really ugly times (I can remember my bald cut and my Screech cut!)

She was my girlfriend once. True fact. I never put her on my list of ex-girlfriends because in my book that is not a good list, she's always been more than just an ex-girlfriend to me. She's been a tireless supporter of me, even when I didn't support her. You see, I've been a jerk to her many many times, and yet whenever I make an ass out of myself, she's there to forgive me. She understands that I am a beast of hormones as well as a gentle soul, it's that kind of patience that is so rare to find these days, if I could rate her best trait it would be that forgiveness. That and her amazing talent (don't think I haven't forgotten about when you sang Joplin, it was awesome.)

I said earlier this year, on some of the earliest blog posts, that I was in love with Megan. I've never retracted those statements. I don't intend to ever retract that statement. It took me 10 years to fall in love with her, and it would take something far greater than an 8 hour distance to not have her holding my heart. Though I may date once or twice, I could never keep her too far from my thoughts.

So here is my present.

Megan? When can we have our first date?

You set the weekend, next semester, I'll gas up the car and drive out there. I'll wear my snazziest attire and my nice shoes. I'll spend the day trying to make up for the countless days I've been away. Because Megan, as stupid as I've been and as stupid as I will be in the future, know that the smartest decision I've made in life was keeping in touch with you.

You're no longer a teenager, and I'm no longer blind.

Happy Birthday!

"Finite" The YouTube MixTape

Well folks I was going through the five stories and I wanted to give my potential leads some ideas as to what the theme of each story is. So in the spirit of that I have found five YouTube videos to demonstrate what I am going for for each video. This will take the record for most YouTube videos in a post for the blog but I think it's still a nice touch to give everyone an idea of where I'm going.

Dead Day
Everybody Hurts - REM


He Called Back
It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork


Every Day Needs A Party
Finding Out True Love is Blind - Louis XIV (Listen to the lyrics!)


Driving
Does He Love You - Rilo Kiley


Finite
Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen (This is stretching it but I couldn't find a better song yet)

Six Months? SIX MONTHS?

That's right folks. I have managed to keep this hunk of web space breathing for half a year now and I'm damn happy about it.

There's been some close calls (the recent drought due to World of Warcraft and Madrigal) but I remain convinced of the usefulness of this blog and I hope that one day it will spread like wildfire and make me a huge star, or at least a spot on a panel show.

Anyway I'm setting aside today to focus on finishing Kevin's ad's for the Resource Center and then I will start studying for my last final. Here's a video to celebrate.

Thought I had died?

Ok folks, I'll have an actual post after the final tonight but I have to share the following outline I wrote up today.

We're making a movie!

"Finite"

An Outline for a Five Fingers Production

What makes us human?

Biology?
Intelligence?
Complexity?

What makes us human is how we relate to other humans. All of our core emotions, the primal base of which we have laid eons of useless layers on top of, are based off human interaction. Love, fear, acceptance. It takes two to tangle folks.

We are Generation Y. Not by choice, most of us hate that term. We are considered to be the sequel to Generation X. We are post-modern, we are mobile, we are obsessed with technology. OBSESSED! YouTube, Google, Myspace, Facebook, Yahoo, E-mail, E-commerce, E-life. We are the thing sci-fi writers dreamed of. Cyborgs, human life that could not live without the assistance of electronic tools.

We have used this technology in amazing ways but if you take a close look, a real look at what Generation Y is doing, you'll notice a pattern. They are trying to reach out to more people. To connect with humanity is what makes us human.

Four weeks every year millions of college students pour over billions and billions of pages of text, online and off, trying to get that grade they are looking for. It's called finals week and its sole purpose is to test the will of young people.

That is where we find humanity in five normal students who go to the University of Texas at Austin. Five people, five days, five stories. Trying to stay above water. In this time we see sides of humanity normally reserved or glossed over.

The stories so far...
(All stories are tenitive prior to shooting. This list may not reflect the final film)
Dead Day- He has nothing to do, and nobody to share that with.
He Called Back- Excitement abounds after a voice-mail check.
Every Day Needs A Party- Moderation? This is college!
Driving- Long-Distance-Not-Quite-A-Relationship
The Last Test- A senior only needs to finish this test. If only she had gone to class.

Caught in the Pink Triangle (FINAL CUT)

I'm really sorry for the lack of updates folks. With Madrigal Week in full swing it has just been plain insane around here. I promise to have more posting right after the show is done but now I would like to make the blog premier of

CAUGHT IN THE PINK TRIANGLE!

Caught in the Pink Triangle

Here's an extended take from my upcoming RTF 318 project.

Stanley's Cup... and Bits and Pieces

Here's the full episode. Ameer pointed me to a site that hosts whole South Park episodes so I decided to share this tidbit.

BITS AND PIECES

I wish I could give you a massive post full of things going on but really. There isn't much to talk about right now. The good news is finally there is a stasis in my relationship status. That takes a monkey off my back.

The Wii comes out on Sunday and I CAN'T WAIT! I'm excited to play the new Zelda and some Wii Tennis. I'm hoping to also get the wireless here in Dobie to be wii-compatible. That would be nice.

I have the following events this weekend. Tech Rehersal, Tony's Party (I hope!), Rocky Horror, and Wii launch. Yeah, I won't be sleeping.

In case news has spread, I did have to cancel all my late friday activities due to some health issues. I had just had a very stressful revelation regarding finaces and I started to feel some strange sensations in my legs. I feared it could be heart related so after getting the finance situation taken care of I decided to take the day off. I know the hardcore SEC'ers don't like to hear me complain about stress but it does sometimes get to me. That was just an extreme example and hopefully it won't happen again.

Big plans for the blog in December. It will be the 6-month anniversary of the launch of the site and I hope to have some stuff up celebrating that. Maybe even some of those tech ideas I wanted to launch the site with but never got around to.

My ZR90 is getting a free repair. All hail Canon not being a careless carcass!

Listen to Pet Sounds folks.

This Onion does not make me cry

So Austin just started getting the print version of the Onion in the past few weeks so I decided to pick one up on the way to work today and I could not resist linking to this article.

Sexual Tension Unberable Between 15-Year-Old, Rest Of World

Ahhhh memories.

With great power...

Where is your jaw now?

Sometimes, you want to scream, but you don't. Because silence doesn't anger the neighbors.

I'm watching Thumbsucker right now. It's an amazing movie with Lou Pucci and a soundtrack from The Polyphonic Spree. It basically sums up my senior year of high school quite nicely. Replace NYC with Austin and a pretty girl with... you get the picture.

I'm watching it because I just hung up on my sister and I'm none too happy about it. You see, my sister and I have a very unique relationship with each other. We both care for each other but can't really stand to be with each other for too long. After about 2-3 days of continued contact we always have a fight. It's like clockwork. I wish it didn't work that way but it seems like we bring out the worst in each other.

I'll be frank. My sister treated me like crap for many many years. She abused my innocence and shyness for a large portion of my early childhood and was basically like a bully. Even if she wished to counter this claim it doesn't change the fact that in my mind those years are not remembered fondly by me.

Because of this I've had a large chip on my shoulder. I don't give her a lot of leeway on some things because she tends to drive me batty. When I am quiet, she is loud, when I am loud, she is louder. I love her unconditionally, this much is true, but it's hard sometimes. Very hard.

She often calls for computer advice, mostly of the piracy kind (how to use dvd burning software, morpheus, etc) and when I have these talks it never makes me happy because I'm basically her encyclopedia of computer knowledge. I just want to, I don't know, have a private life and be able to just enjoy the company of my sister.

I don't have an answer to this problem. I don't think it's answerable. Too much of my youth was spent locked up in my room afraid of her to ever be fully comfortable. I want to not get angry at her, it upsets me to have to yell at her or make a big deal out of nothing just because I have a grudge.

Sorry for the ramble. I think I'm not alone here though. Anyone want to share there thoughts in the comment section???



P.S Really folks, why does nobody comment on this site?

What would you do if I sang out of tune?

Last night may have been one of the greatest failures that Improv Lite had ever seen. At 9:58 there was nobody there but Carly, Amy, and Peter. Quoc and Ameer were there to help set up but there was NO AUDIENCE. I had decided to cancel the show and was basically in full breakdown mode with Carly trying to console me. Quoc was literally coiling the cables when I did a quick head count and suddenly realized that with just my friends here I had seven people who could preform, which is basically the bare minimum I need to get a show working. So I told Quoc to reconnect the mic and we started the show. Ten minutes in a LARGE crowd of exchange students came in and decided to join in on the fun. In the end Ameer estimated a crowd of 20 people saw the show.

I just want to say how amazing my friends are. I was literally a crying mess and my friends didn't give up on me. This one event I think just cements in one "Disney" moment how important friends are. In honor of the greatest act of kindness I've had in a long time I would like to present a clip that is very near and dear to me.

Interesting.....

Ok folks this is a quick one before I go to bed tonight.

Something happened in my dorm room tonight and it easily ranks as a top ten candidate for the "WTF of 2006" award.

I'm not going to say what it is, but it was interesting, it was fasinating, and I don't know what the heck, if anything, it means. It means nothing in the long run I'm sure. But still... a man can hope even after defeat.

I only have one major update and that is the new titles for the four new installments of "Nebraska" The following outline includes the Nebraska Trilogy and the new titles for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday

Sunday- The Merry Pranksters
Monday- Breaking Up is Easy When You're Insensitive
Tuesday- Interrogating the Innocent
Wednesday- Kelly: A Nebraska Love Story
Thursday- The Mentor Gives His Last Tidbit
Friday- Are you worried?
Saturday- The Last Party of Nick Jones

No outlines with the titles yet. Working on them.

THE PIRATE STRIKES AGAIN!

Okay folks. I've been feeling like crap all day so I've locked myself up here in my room as to keep this ugly flu-ish thing from spreading to my friends. I stopped by my french class for about 10 minutes to fail a quiz so I did get some school work done.

But the reason I'm posting today, besides the fact that I can celebrate my FIFTH month posting to Musings, is the fact that I have discovered something today on Demonoid.

DEMONOID? IS THAT SOME SATANIC CULT?

Nope. It's my main bittorrent tracker that I use to find my games nowadays. You see, ever since I spent 80 dollars modding my PS2 I no longer have to buy games. I download them and transfer them to my PS2 through a Ethernet cable.

Today, I discovered that Guitar Hero 2 (RETAIL) is on the net. That is six days before street. Normally getting a game about a week before street is above average. Getting a game a MONTH early, like I did with FFXII, is amazing.

This is not going to sound good but I consider Piracy to be sort of a fun hobby. The U.S Goverment would not like to hear this coming from me but in reality since I'm not a "Big Fish" I don't worry much. I enjoy getting my hands on new software a music a little early and a lot cheaper. Ethicaly? I'm damned for all time. But as a college student it's easy and keeps my out of control spending a bit lower.

BUT I GET GUITAR HERO 2 EARLY!!!! WHOOHOOO.

Free Bird man, Free Bird. I should have the whole game downloaded by sometime tomorrow. Good times.

To celebrate the fifth month of Musings I have decided to include one of my favorite YouTube postings for an encore performance.

If Oscars were handed out for "Best Wit"...

Free laptop fun! (And other fun facts from the past week)

Greetings from the SEC office and one of the very few blog posts to not be composed on my lovely iMac G5. I've checked out a laptop from the FAC and I've loaded up my blogging extension. It even keeps my spell checker so I'm good to go.



Alright folks, we have a lot to talk about and some things that need to be discussed.





Here's a set list.



1) Parents Weekend

2) Money

3) New Shoes

4) Wooing?

5) 2nd Date



1) Parents Weekend



I had a great time with my Dad, Carrie, and Tracy. It was great to have some family around, even if only for a few days. Dad and I got to talk about a few things and I finally got to see the bats under the bridge on congress st. All in all I had a good weekend. Much better than this past week. The Halloween party sucked however! Those two subjects for later in the post.





2) Money



Would anyone like to know why I didn't have a costume for the party? Maybe it's because I'm broke. Dead broke, living off of UFCU's line of credit. Just got the account info. $14 to my name and $150 in debt to the bank. I'm praying that I won't face complete money collapse. My dad though has agreed to help with the last bit of housing so I have a place to stay for the spring. Guys, the situation is really really bad folks. No money.



3) New Shoes



So I got sent home on Thursday from work because I stank. My shoes had degraded so much from wear and tear and water that it started to stink real bad. I felt so ashamed by the situation that I decided to splurge and get me some real shoes. I went over to Tyler's and bought some nice black Vans. When I went to Madrigal rehersal last night I found out that my shoes also qualify as slippers for the show so in the long run I made a good deal. I think my old shoes were giving me so many issues that it led partially to the crappy week.



4) Wooing?

I've decided that my official dating status is "Actively wooing a girl with periodic dating." That's right folks, I'm not in a relationship, I'm not "Dating" I am simply trying to woo a girl. This is a new situation for me because I usually date girls after a very brief wooing period and I normally enter the friend zone after a long wooing. I'm going to keep my wooing post to a minimum for the time being until I have a better grasp of where I stand.



5) 2nd date



Ok folks. I'm going to settle this issue once and for all. I am planning on having a 2nd date, I just have no idea when. Maybe when I have both the financial situation fixed and when I can think of a good date that differs from dinner and a movie.





Ok folks, that was a long long post that needed to be written to get you and I up to speed. So I guess I need to add a long video to compliment it.

That video was SO directed at somebody.

Ok folks, I lied. That video was directed at Carly.

TeeHeeHee

But in other news...

BITS AND PIECES! (More Bits, Less Pieces)

My first Improv Lite show as sole-host was a ROUSING success. I really enjoyed myself on that stage for the first time. I'm actually looking foward to the next show for once!

My stress level has decreased a little but I haven't heard back from my dad about the money issues. That worries me just a bit. I have moments folks, sorry about the F bomb but I promise to refrain from posting when stressed.

Carly was really concerned about me tonight. It was nice to know she cared about how I was feeling.

Second Date?

I don't see a timetable for that. I know that I do but I have to take it VERY SLOWLY. Not only do I have to woo her, but I think that I may have to convince the friends that I'm not a bad guy. No problem. To give up now, to admit defeat without being told that I lost, would just prove that I can't handle women. I would revert to the hopeless romantic Michael. She made me open up, and I don't think it's time already to crawl back in my shell.

And so with that in mind, I include this video.

Seriously folks, post some request comments.

This video is NOT directed at anybody.

Just wanted to make that clear. My stress level is at an all time high right now so I'm trying to relax myself. Sadly, I don't even have the time to relax anymore. I'm going into the Mental Health center tomorrow to try out some relaxation techniques. There's just way too much going on in my life right now and I have no idea where I draw the line.

1) Dating
2) Money
3) Madrigal
4) Film
5) Gigglepants
6) Class
7) Me Time

This list is not complete or in order but these are most of the thoughts that go through my head at any given time. I don't want to think about 7 things at once. It's not fun. Notice I can't even put family in there? I'm completely ignoring my family right now and I'm not proud about it.

Ahhh fuck it. Here's your video.

A Perfect Sonnet- The NEW cut

Ok folks, I've been trying like mad to get this video up today but YouTube has been giving me issues so I've switched to Google Video for this one. Hope it works.

UPDATE: Google Video won't embed right. The YouTube version will be embedded below and a link to the Google Video version (Which loads fast on their site) will be below that.



Click HERE for the Google Video version

The First Date (Worry, Worry)

Alas, the first date is over.

How did I do?

Ok?

I mean, I think it went well and I am fairly sure she enjoyed herself I still have this lingering doubt, actually call it a concern, that she's not nearly as into me and I am into her. I think that is situation #1 right now. And that problem will take the longest to address.

In terms of any date disasters? None really. I probably stayed too long over at her place but that's just because I was unsure as to what to do at that point. The dinner went very well and the movie was very good. I could tell she enjoyed those aspects of the date.

It's just.... god, is this girl beautiful or what? Seriously folks, look down a post and tell me this isn't the loveliest girl I've ever dated. She's talented, cute, insane (a trait I ADORE folks) and most importantly, a nice person.

I could go on and on but folks. I'll end it with this. I'm going to work hard to make this work. I want to take it step by step and make sure that we are on the same wavelength. I think this date went well enough that I have not lost the battle. Not by a long shot. This girl is too good to give up on.

The following video has been requested by Carly Stevens (AKA BLANK). Would you like to request a video? Write a comment to any post and your video will end up on the next post.

And now, an important message from Michael D.

This is Carly Stevens....

This is BLANK.

Glad I got that over with. :)

Now I have some advice for you.

I'm not going to cry.

I REFUSE TO BE BUMMED!

I REFUSE TO GO BACK IN MY SHELL!

I REFUSE TO GIVE UP HOPE!

I REFUSE TO ADMIT DEFEAT!

I REFUSE TO BLAME OTHERS!

I REFUSE TO BLAME!

I REFUSE TO CRY!

How do things like this happen? Miscommunication. That's how things like this happen. The male ear is not designed to pick up subtle hints. I have just been told by BLANK that she doesn't want a relationship now, but dating is okay.

I'm fine with that. It just means that she needs time. Cool by me, I've been in those situations before where I needed time by myself, where dating was out of the question. Why is this not extremely bad news?

I asked her if the door on relationships was closed for now or closed for good. She responded with the former which means one thing to me.

No friend zone.

Here's what concerned me. If she didn't want a relationship now (which isn't what I was shooting for now, just dating) maybe that meant that she didn't want a relationship with me ever. That means I've entered the friend zone. Which would have killed me.

I've gotten into that zone too many times. Stuck talking to a girl years after confessing to her I had feelings, the deep awkwardness, the sadness that comes with knowing you want to hold someone and knowing they didn't feel the same in return.

I don't think I'm in that same boat here. I think there IS a chance later on that we will have a relationship, and that we can still talk now knowing that the door hasn't been locked so I can still be comfortable around her and not be uber-depressed.

Friday's date is still on and I think this subject might come up again but I feel as if I am not destroyed by this update. If anything, it tells me right up front that she needs time and I WANT to give her time.

But I'm not giving up on her.

I WILL CONTINUE TO YEARN!

I WILL CONTINUE TO PRAISE!

I WILL CONTINUE TO HOPE!

I WILL CONTINUE TO POST SAPPY YOUTUBE VIDEOS!

I WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT!

Until BLANK is ready.

SHE SAID YES!!!!

Ok folks, it is now official.

The first date has been set!

This Friday BLANK and I will have dinner and a movie. The ultimate first date setup. I'm not known for my original dating schemes but I don't think there's any problem with D

Who's Blank?

When I asked her out she even offered her hand and said "Hi, I'm Blank."

Guess that means she reads the blog a lot.

I am hours away from releasing the name. Not like it's a big expose. If you read this blog then you're probably a close friend of mine and have figured it out by now. But I will have a great weight lifted off of me when I can say that I have a date with one of the nicest cutest girls I've known. I want to have her complete permission before I say anything though.

I am so excited.

Ok folks, no more info until I speak to her again.

In Your Eyes

What to say... what to say?

OK FOLKS! IT'S TIME FOR....

Bits and Pieces


I'm continuing to fall hard for BLANK. I spent a lot of this weekend around her and I really can not seem to get her out of my head. The video at the bottom is dedicated to her. Eventually I'm going to have to ask her on a date but seriously, I have no free time for a date. Maybe this Friday, if there is no gigglepants. I wish it was easier to plan this stuff but I'm just signed on for too much.

Why do I continue to call her BLANK. Two reasons.

1) It's not OFFICIAL. As in we are not officially an item but I think we are but she may not and she may not want me talking about her on a public website.

2) SHE READS THIS BLOG! That's right, BLANK will read this post, and I want her to know that I respect her privacy when it comes to this stuff.

#1 thing I want to do with BLANK? Snuggle :) I'm a big fan of snuggling.

I just bought World of Warcraft yesterday. I'm already a level 7 Night Elf! It's so much fun but I guess I'm going to have to give in to the addiction.

Pre-ordered the Wii. Now I just have to wait.

Wii Pre-Game Special

Just thought this could brighten your day.


WII time starts in 10 minutes.

It's Wii time!

In just a few hours Stewart and I will be waiting outside a EB (or Gamestop) in Austin. Our goal?

TO GET A WII!!!

Yeah folks, pre-orders start this Friday for the most anticipated system I have ever gotten. I'm more excited for this system than even my glorious PS2 because I'm paying for it myself. I'm excited because with this I am fully embracing the nerd side of me.

I might bring my camcorder with me so expect some footage to pop up on the site later from my latest adventures.

Now, in honor of this historic moment, I'm bringing back one of my favorite blog videos from when I launched this site.

How True... How True Indeed

I got this off of ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback.

Obscure College Score of the Week No. 3: Nebraska Wesleyan 19, Doane 0. Reader Barbara Grunwald of Clovis, Calif., a Nebraska Wesleyan grad, notes her school boasts of being "Ranked the number one liberal arts college in Nebraska by U.S. News." She adds, "Of course, we won't discuss how many liberal arts colleges there are in Nebraska."

In My Life....

I'm calling it the obvious unspeakable.

It is the thing in life I am currently going through that gives me lots of happiness.

It is that which makes me smile every night.

It is one of the more fortunate things to happen to me this semester.

But it's too early to talk about it.

I wish I could scream it to the mountains but I want to take it slowly, make sure it will work, make sure I'm not rushing again. I mean, if this does work, then I think I've hit pay dirt.

I wish I could talk about "BLANK"

But for right now I'd like to tease you all with information you probably have figured out but are still not sure about. I think in a few weeks I can talk about "BLANK" more. But for right now, know that your Michael is happy and hopeful for the future.

Was that enough of a hint?

A Perfect Sonnet- WORLD PREMIER (Oh yeah, it's a work in progress)

So I got the jump on Carly's blog. Here's the video.

A Perfect Sonnet

I don't know how to feel right now about this project. In less than 12 hours I start shooting on what is arguably my first real narrative video. I've done comedy shorts, I've done commercials but nothing that required me to tell a story, to tell actors how to preform, to edit for clarity, to shoot multiple setups, and to do continous shooting for four hours. To tell you the truth, this is something I've been wanting to do for four years now and finally I get the chance.

I love my cast. Seriously folks, I'm blessed to have friends with actual acting talent. And while I hate to pick out a favorite I would have to choose Micha on this one. In terms of the quanity of quality work that he has done and my admiration for what appears to be effortless comedic timing, I can't find an equal. But let me not shortsight Carly and Ameer, two people who I find to be amazing people and talented, dedicated actors. Between my three actors I have decades of experiance to rely on and for a first narritive short, you can't really beat that.

I have a tendancy to want to shoot comedic actors in dramatic scenes. I find in comedic actors the sort of life backgrounds that lend to restrained performances if you push them the right way. I've written the script to be very subtle with how the two leads motion to each other, it will be amazing to watch these two insane people do very simple, "cute" motions with each other.

There is so much more I can say about this project, but I'd rather check the camera equipment. More stories after I shoot the damn thing.

OH! Here's the song I based the script off of

I can remember

So I finished the script for my RTF project four hours after coming up with the idea for it. I consider that to be a record for me but I'm not sure if it really is. My first RTF project got a 78, partly due to having a TA who knows NOTHING about poker. Tis a shame.

I will appeal.

No other news to talk about. Maybe after rehersal.

Here's Bowie.

I Wanna Go Back!

I upped this myself.

That is all...

NOT!

I just finished the silent script for my RTF project. I actually think it should look cool. Now I just have to incorporate the visual cues into the script. Bummer.

Party too hard? Try a blog post!

So I believe I am firmly partied out after two incredibly long parties. Between these two parties I had two beers and I threw up once, but that was due to a stomach bug and doesn't count. I'm doing good right now, enjoying what can only be described as a healthy social life. I'm even going to try this thing called "dating" if I decide to grow some balls.

There should be a longer post later today.

Speechless

THIS.... is punk

SNL clips are very hard to find on YouTube. So after Megan and I finished talking about how badly SNL has declined I wanted to search for a "Classic" clip. Here's the best music performance ever on SNL.

A whole post dedicated to...

BITS AND PIECES

I talked to Travis and Ameer, and I'm now 100% sure that they DON'T want a Lou 2.0. So that means I am fully behind Madrigal Dinner for another year.

Read the script. Like the lines. Want to see the song that I have to sing.

Cell phone was possibly found, will have it back hopefully on Thursday.

THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON COMING TO THE FILM COMMITTEE! So excited, I want to get three people for a Q&A and I think with a little work we can get two of them. Video at the bottom.

Improv Lite tomorrow. Be there or die. Also check out the sneak preview as well. It's got Billy Bob for crying out loud.

"True love will find you in the end, you'll find out just who is your friend."
-Daniel Johnston

The Kitchen Sink

Hey everybody! I'm sorry for a week of no posts but so much has been going on and I just could not fit it onto one post. I finished my first RTF project which you can view on the Facebook profile and I did my first gigglepants show as well. Both went really well and I'm excited about all the different things that I'm working on right now.

What About Madrigal?

Sore subject right now. I should hopefully get to meet with Travis on Monday, but until then I don't feel like making anything public out of respect to him. Needless to say I am not 100% sure what I will be doing for Madrigal Dinner this semester.

Bits and Pieces

Got to buy Shock Treatment and the new DVD of Empire Strikes Back. Very excited about having both and I've been checking out the video quality today.

Missing the cell phone, don't know where it is, hopefully Thai does...

Hope to see you all at Improv Lite on tuesday. It should be AWESOME!

Got the free season finale of Grey's off of iTunes, just another reason why I love that show.

Below you will find some shots from the RTF project that couldn't be included for space and pacing, still love them.




Just for fun...

9/11

I claim to be a writer, so I should have something profound to say, here on the fifth anniversary of the most devestating event in my young life. But I am speechless. 9/11 is not about expression, it's about rememberance. With that in mind, I am showing the only video that does this event justice. When I first saw this, I cried. I cry now because of it.

God Bless America
God Bless The World

The only thing certain in life is there will be someone to hate and someone to love. Marry the latter.

For you Megan, the love of my life

Damn Facebook

If you are reading this on facebook, than DAMN YOU!



These posts were written for Musings From Austin, Texas and are syndicated on the Facebook profile. However, facebook does a much better job of promoting my posts than I do so people read them on Facebook and don't comment on the real blog.



You people are missing half the post. I often include YouTube videos at the bottom of posts and if you read the Facebook versions then you miss the video. I had two friends of mine comment on the facebook notes and I doubt they got to see the awesome Dylan video I had looked for. It's a bummer.



I'm cool with you reading my posts on facebook, but afterwards check out the blog on TxMusings.blogspot.com and leave a comment on there, you'll be glad you did :)

The Day After

I'm not sad.

I feel a little under the weather right now though. I have a slight cough and I feel weak, not really sure why. But I doubt this came from the results of yesterday.

I'm not upset.

We won the national championship last year, something that very few of my favorite teams have ever done. As a die-hard saints fan, having your college win it all is something you will never forget, so what if we might not repeat, it is certainly far from the end of the world. I would even wager that we'll still end up in a BCS game by the time the season is through, no great loss.

I'm excited.

I get to see Phantom of the Paradise at the alamo in a few hours with PAUL WILLIAMS. I know nobody knows who he is but if you've seen the flick than you know how funny this may end up being.

You should be excited too.

I'm still on a two-week Bob Dylan kick right now so for you're enjoyment I've posted this AMAZING clip of Dylan in the 70's doing a 60's classic.

The New Facebook OR How I became a Jedi

Yeah, I'm a Jedi Knight now. That's what my facebook profile says. I admit, this is not a original joke, read about it. But it just goes to show that when you alter one of the most popular web sites on the internet, people tend to get up in arms about it.

I've been hearing "Facebook SUCKS!" all day today after the changes took place but frankly, I'm just fine about it. The layout is getting close to cluttered but I don't think it's gotten there yet and I will be looking into seeing if I can remove certain things on the main profile page. But before you get too upset about the changes just remember how crappy MySpace looks these days.

MySpace reminds me of the web publishing boom of the mid-90's when geocities was king. Everyone with base understanding of HTML 4 or Netscape Composer would create these crappy pages with blinking text and "Under Construction" photos that never changed, leaving wastelands of half-done crappy sites. Heck, I wrote many of them myself. MySpace profile changers give people the ability to customize the site to their hearts at the expense of being APPEALING!!!!

I don't want to see horrid backgrounds with transparent text with some emo band blaring at me. Have some design sense when working on customizing your web presence. That is why this blog is so minimalist, less clutter, more focus on the content.

Anywho, I'm getting the Madrigal table ready in the morning and I could really use some 10:30-10:45 help. I'm also bummed that I have to tell my boss at 8 that I'm leaving at 9, but that's life.

I post only because I love

This man has to be insane... insanely brilliant!

The first day of school was more stress than anything else. I've gotten myself into some pretty hard classes and I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be able to conquer French. The next two years of college will feature LOTS AND LOTS of french so I'm hoping that yesterday's "hit the ground running because we want half the class to drop" class is not going to be like every day there. If it is, you will see the mental breakdowns start to appear around October.

RTF seems like it's going to be a fun challenge. I haven't gotten to see 317 yet but 318 is about actually making stuff and learning how to make it. It's the class I've been wanting since I heard the term "coverage" on my first DVD so many years ago.

Astronomy.... the teacher wrote the friggin book and it looks like it'll be a breeze.

Oh, this will be my only plug on the blog but if you are reading this and NOT going to Improv Lite at 5:30 today, then you are no longer my friend :)

Quick Updates from the front line of dorm room living

The Nebraska Trilogy.pdf



This is an updated link, which is in fact the same farther down the page. I just wanted to repost the link because I've updated the file with a proper title page and, at the suggestion of my Uncle Marc, removed the introduction.



Uncle Marc, Connie and I went to see "The Oh in Ohio" tonight and I had a great time hanging out with them. It's always nice when you have such supportive family members nearby during college. The whole outline for the trilogy was in fact written at their house. We talked a little bit about the scripts and I anxiously await what he has to say about it because if their is one thing Uncle Marc does well, it's talking frankly.



If you wanna catch me Monday, stop on by the SEC office. I'll be there chilling with my DS Lite.

The story of the day is that there is no story

Well, the moving in is complete and my new roommate has arrived (good man, I don't forsee screaming matches like last year) and I plan on meeting with my Uncle Marc and Connie later today to see The Oh in Ohio.

Life is good.

I am so bored though. There is not much to do and I have yet to see a SINGLE friend in Austin yet. I may be a bit early but yeesh people, get back to school so I can hang out. I've got a few tasks to do on Monday concerning loans, possible parking problems, and checking on the SEC so you may see me around campus a lot on Monday. And now for the fastest updates in my life in...

Bits and Pieces

The Dobie Dorm will help with weight loss, living on the sixth floor is just low enough to be climbable in a pinch.

Filesharing, hell piracy period, will be very difficult with this crappy internet connection. No limits on downloading, just uploading, making bittorent prohibitive.

I sent a facebook message to Thai, telling him I would like to join Gigglepants. Cross your fingers folks.

Jed Brown is still the man, he'll be getting an e-mail after this with a status update.

I have to play all of my PS2 games in MONO now because of the crappy A/V hookups with the new cheap TV.

I have a coffee machine, coffee, sugar, creme, but no measuring spoon.

Yay for open-source!

Jed Brown.... You're my hero.



Jed Brown is the main, possibly sole, programmer for Performancing for Firefox. He just sent a new beta version of his software that works with Blogger Beta.



If you see this post, then he has worked his programming voodoo into a workable extension.



I've now gotten 85% of my stuff into place at the dorm room. I still haven't unpacked my clothes but all of the electronics are in place, which is the most important aspect. The roomie hasn't come in yet so I got the prime locations in the room. It's not like I've controlled the room but I do have the better half. The one with the view.



Oooooh. The view!

Maybe I should say more

The link below you is for the entire first draft of the Nebraska Trilogy. Three short screenplays written over the summer by yours truly. This represents the largest writing project I have ever completed, school or otherwise. Comments, suggestions, heck, even flames are welcomed. All I ask is that you read the whole piece before you make an opinion.

To say that having this piece finished is relieving is an understatement. It was very ambitious of me to say I could finish the whole project in a summer, but I managed to pull it off and the result is what I consider to be the best material I have ever written. That's not saying it's a masterwork, I'm saying it's the best stuff I've done, a big difference.

Please enjoy!

Need I Say More? Click the link!

The Nebraska Trilogy.pdf

Can You Picture That?

Ok folks, if you don't like the constant YouTubing of the site, just tell me so. But until then I have a great clip from the ultimate children's movie. Folks, it's Muppet Time!

The Nut Shot- Madrigal Night Live Behind The Scenes #2

Late. Can't Sleep. Must.... Blog

I don't really have much to say tonight (or morning.) My facebook friend activity has been very high today for some reason. I think all my Cedar Point co-workers got fired today and started adding me. I also had to delete some wall posts because while some people find random sexual comments and crude jokes amusing on Facebook walls, I don't. That was one aspect of Nebraska humor I never really enjoyed engaging in.

It should only be a matter of days before my firefox extension (known as Performancing Firefox) should be updated to blogger beta. As far as the layout goes, I'm fine with the new changes but until I can edit the raw HTML code I'm not going to be 100% happy. I like being able to add content wherever I like to the site. And while drag and drop is easier, it enables less freedom. If you don't know a damn thing about what I'm talking about head on over to google news and search blogger beta.

NOTE: Just lost my train of thought here

MNL News. The next behind the scenes clip should come up later today. I'm thinking this will be a short compilation of the best scene I shot all last year. Including a long take that I loved but made no sense to include in the final cut.

I Wish I Could Go Back To College

Never have I been so damn excited to go back to school! I miss you guys!

It's the beginning of a new age

So I have now officially switched over to Blogger's new beta service. Some features (like my ad) are now gone for a short time while they work out the kinks. I am basically adding this post as a test to see if my lovely Firefox extension, which is my main blogging program, can update to the site now. That being said I am enjoying adding all these little knick-knacks to my blog like the new facebook badge on the left side. I hope to continue to customize the site before heading back to Austin, but right now I want to see if switching to Blogger Beta was a good idea or not.

here's a new YouTube spot to make it worthwhile.

NOTE: After originally posting this entry my firefox extension could NOT update to the new site. This means that some posting may slow until an update. I doubt it however.

New Bright Eyes Album- Color me happy

I am NOT EMO!


That being said, I love Bright Eyes. I love them like fat boys love cake and skinny girls love blow. Does the fact that I just bought shirts from Hot Topic alter my first statement?


I swear I'm not emo.


But this October Bright Eyes will come out with a rarities comp and I will be buying that sucker on vinyl. Why vinyl? Because Bright Eyes, like many indie bands, likes to make some songs rare on purpose by going out of print real easily and then rerelease the songs to make an extra buck.

It’s Cool, We Can Still Be Friends is one of my favorite rare Bright Eyes tracks and I only have a crappy MP3 of it. Well the only version of the disc that has this song is the vinyl version of the comp. Damn you Saddle Creek!


In other news...


I purchased about $300 dollars worth of school supplies and clothes today across Findlay and the internet. I should have enough jeans to last me this year unlike last year where the jeans would run out by Wednesday and the shirts would last til next Tuesday. I also got a cool 512MB USB Key since I keep losing my 128MB one. I figure I'll attach this one to the keychain like you should.


On www.youtube.com/group/MNL you'll be able to find a new cut of the first MNL ad. I've decided to recut some footage on iMovie to increase the quality, I'm also going back to the original DV tapes for footage, something that should help keep quality up. Behind the scenes footage should come about twice a month from now on, depending on time issues.


On a very imporant note, I will not be releasing MNL on DVD like I've been promising since Feburary. After looking over the footage again I realize it's just too crappy to be shown on television. Not the quality of the show, just the recording of the show. It constantly loses it's auto-focus and I just feel it would be a waste. However, because of this decision that means that the whole show, skit by skit, will be released on YouTube over the course of the semester. Thus making the show available for the whole world, for free. I'm sorry if you've been looking foward to the DVD but I think this solution will be the best for the show.


Besides that, just remember I will be leaving for Austin in 10 days! And I promise to come back with a splash, in fact, the blog will be updated from the road in a very special way. Keep checking back with the site for more updates on lots of stuff.

Inspiring Posters... from the 24th Century

If you are in any way a nerd, this speaks to your heart.

PS3 vs. Wii - Apple Style!

I LOVE THIS VIDEO!

The Raw Feed

Hey guys!  Welcome to the now official launch of Musings from Austin, Texas. Here is the first ORIGINAL production from the site.

Sneak Preview- So Close

Well it's almost the end of the Sneak Preview and I have no idea how I'm going to spread the word when I really launch the site. Already I have more posts on this blog than the last one I made so I'm fairly confident that I can continue to write stuff up for the site.  Here are some...

Bits & Pieces

In the room across from me, John (mi step-padre) is selling frozen steaks to somebody. It's fun listening in private to all these conversations about cuts and quality. I'd say he's a fairly laid-back pitchman but it works for him.

I'm thinking about trying to trade a PSP for an iPod, any takers?

The Rolling Stones are playing Austin. Now I would pay $75 to see the 70's Rolling Stones, but now? I'm on the fence espcially since with ticket prices these days I can see two smaller shows for the same price.

Congrats to "meganberry" on being the first real person to post a comment on the site. Oh by the way, that comment, was  the greatest thing anyone has ever typed to me :)

I really should e-mail Jay from my UT job.

Tonight I show my parents Mallrats and then go see Tallidega Nights (Spelling?) Besides that I'm just going to relax today and not do much.

I may get some content for the launch ready as I have it but it's not cut yet.

Sneak Preview- This is dedicated to the one I love

This one's for you...

Sneak Preview- She Loves Me

I think you only need to read my Facebook wall to understand the title of the post. I think we can all be clear on one thing folks. I am finally on the road to rediscovering love. I fact I know I have found it because I can't STOP THINKING ABOUT HER!

Sneak Preview- The End Is Soon

That's right folks, my time with Cedar Point is almost up and I can not wait for that to happen. Whoever told me that working at an amusement park would be fun confused "working" with "visiting."

When my time is through with Cedar Point this site will feature an OVERLOAD of content. I just catalogued some of my DV tapes today and I figured I had about 4 DV tapes worth of unreleased footage from MNL. In just one week you will begin to see some of that footage. You'll also begin to see me comment more on stuff going on in the world. Geeky stuff like the fact that Ubisoft is coming out with Far Cry for the Wii!!!!

AWESOME

The Wii is my new obsession, as it is always every five years when the next generation of consoles come out. There will be more talk of my quest for the Wii later.

August 10th or 11th will be the official launch of the site. I know not a lot (if any) are visiting the site now but I hope to change that by contacting people and letting them know I'm going to put some work into making a nice reflection of myself.

oh, and to end this post I have a very calm video by Sufjan Stevens. I didn't know a thing about this guy until I saw a small little movie at SXSW called "Danielson: A Family Movie OR Make A Joyful Noise... HERE!" After that I just had to get this song.

Enjoy, more updates coming on Monday I hope.

Sneak Preview- Clerks 2 Review

So it took a week longer than expected to see Clerks 2 (Sandusky, where I work doesn't have it but Findlay does) but I just finished watching it thirty minutes ago.

Best... Kevin Smith... Film... Ever

Even for me, an admitted View Askew junkie, I have been lately worried that Kevin Smith would be afraid to mature his work after the failure of Jersey Girl. That was a very mature work hampered by way too many conventions and NOT Bennifer as he will claim. I wanted to see Smith attempt to follow the path that Chasing Amy created, humor mixed with mature themes in a smooth package.

He's done it.

If Clerks was the film equivalent of a garage band, Clerks 2 is "Rubber Soul." A new step that doesn't forget the past but isn't bound to it. Smith is growing in both his themes and his visuals (Clerks 2 looks better than Jersey Girl, I thought that would be impossible for a seventh of the budget) and you can't help but be pulled into this flick.

First off, no spoliers are coming from me, you must see this film clean from spoliers because there are a lot of twists that happen and I was unaware of ALL OF THEM. Which quite surprised me after watching an early webisode of the making of Clerks 2 that showed the death of Silent Bob. That does not happen. What does happen is that the loveable Dante and Randal grow up and show a great deal of inprovement over their acting in Clerks. As well as the rest of the cast. Need I even mention that Roasario Dawson is awesome?

Seriously folks, just catch this film now.

Sneak Preview- Fast As You Can

To kick off part two of the Sneak Preview I present one of my favorite videos from one of my favorite singers directed by one of my favorite artists.

Sneak Preview- Back to the grind

Well, later today I head back to Cedar point and hopefully tonight I'll get to catch Clerks 2. (Do I need to mention I love Kevin Smith movies?) So the sneak preview will continue whenever I get back to the parents' house.

I'm adding new features together all the time to spruce up the site and if everything goes well I should have a great surprise on the official opening of the site, August 10th.

Until next week...

Sneak Preview- My New Facebook Picture

Here it is. Created on a website I discovered today where you can create your own Piccasso painting. One last post for the night I guess.

On another note: I just signed up for some extra blogging features which should come in handy for the upcoming "Return to Austin" and I started work on "The Last Party of Nick Jones." So today has been a productive day I would say.

Sneak Preview- The first real post

I write this to no audience...

Yet.

That's the whole point of the sneak preview. Create content for the site before trying to create an audience. And I'm working hard on creating a setup that makes adding content real easy for the site, unlike my last two blogs that failed from anger and laziness respectively. This setup is aided by my beautiful iMac.

You're a pretty iMac aren't you? Yes you are, YES YOU ARE! You're so precious and fast and friendly and the girls and thugs love you both.

                                                      

Sorry.

Seriously, the stuff I am planning for this blog is not possible without my mac and the software I have. In the past thirty minutes I updated my version of Firefox to include some new blogging extensions. These new features are built right into the browser window. No pop-ups at all means real fast blogging at what Robert Rodriquez calls "The Speed of Thought." That's what blogging should be, finding something cool or thinking of something real fast and being able to share that immediately.

This site has no specific goal, it's just going to be a reflection of me and what I care about. Geeky stuff will be dominate if you can't already tell from the links I am showing on the side. This site will also feature a lot of video and in the near future that video content will be stuff I create. There will be many surprises to come in the future and I hope to have some fun with this site.

I hope you'll enjoy.

Sneak Preview- The Big Lebowski Short Version

Thanks to the Austinist.com for helping me find this great "reduced" version of a great film. Contains ONLY strong language.

Sneak Preview- Delivery Dump

Well folks, welcome to the new blog! As a sneak preview before the full unveiling, here's a quick look at some of the content you'll see hear in the upcoming months.