Ride the kick...

SO...it's been a while since I've 'blogged'...let's see.

First, I guess I should talk about the production of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog LIVE I was involved with this summer. When I first heard it was happening I was so excited about it. I mean...it's DOCTOR HORRIBLE. The material is brilliant and not to boast or anything, but the music feels like it was written for me. I relished at the thought of the character work I would have if I were cast in the title role. And then when it happened my excitement gradual became muddled with fear, doubts, and anxiety. I mean...this is the perfect example of me 'biting off more than I could chew'. Hell. The whole production was like that. A lot of 'first timers'. And the drama. God the drama. Don't get me wrong...we pulled together a fabulous performance AND it was for a good cause. We raised money for Tornado victims. But holy dammit the road getting there was littered with bullshit and bear-traps. I have nothing but love and fuzzy thoughts for the production crew and cast but I swear to the Gods that I seriously wanted to strangle more than a few of them here and there. And none of it is personal. It's all because of the production. I cared for the production so much that when things weren't going right and it was the direct result of someone else's actions, or inaction, it boiled my blood a little bit. BUT...again...it did come together and I'm proud, as it were. It was certainly a humbling experience and I feel like it really helped me to grow in a multitude of ways and for me, that's what counts. I don't get involved with projects unless I'm going to get something out of it, and I don't mean compensation or any of monetary gain. I mean, the satisfy the gamer-geek in me, EXPERIENCE POINTS! And I feel like I 'leveled up'. Hopefully, the DVD we get from the performances will be worthwhile enough to look back on fondly. And if nothing else, my new nickname is 'The Doctor' and that's just a little bit of terrific in my book.

ConCarolinas came and went and was awesome. Made some great contacts there.

Hmmmm, let's see...OH YEAH! Did the 48Hour Film Project again this year. Went in with the Adrenalin Group as the writer and director. At the kickoff we all met and hung out, had a few beers until they started to genre drawing. When our turn came we got...wait for it...Period Piece, much to our team leader dismay(all of our dismay, really), so we went for the wild-card genre. From that drawing we got Drama. Woo. So, we went back to the hotel and I got to work, with good ol' Mr. Bill Mulligan and in a few hours we had a solid story and script. Our film, 'Broken', was about a man who inadvertently holds a restaurant full of people hostage when he goes in to murder his would-be girlfriend. The shoot was arduous. They say never work with animals or kids. And I know why now. But aside from some roughness here and there, we got it done and put together. We were also lucky enough to make it into the judges 'Best-of' list. Out of 42 films we made it to the top 19 which is pretty cool. We also walked away with the 'Best use of Prop Honorable Mention' Award, which is also pretty cool. All in all, it was good and I've had a few offers for spots on teams for next year. So...we'll see.

What else? Oh, I'm the First Minister of Personnel Engineering for the Steampunk Convention "Contemporal" happening in Durham next summer. That translates to 'Casting Director' for the Con. Okay...so Think: Renaissance fair. Renaissance fairs have a cast of characters and there is usually a story arc throughout the fair that fair goers get little glimpses of here and there. This Convention is going to work like that. The Convention will be a 'port' with an 'airship docked' at it and the various characters will be meandering therein interacting with one another and the con goers with a continuous story pervading the Convention. It should be fun. The group is cool and seem genuinely happy to have me on board, which is great. It's always nice to feel wanted and appreciated. Oh, and speaking of Steampunk I'm also assisting the production team for a Steampunk 'Much Ado About Nothing'. I'm building some props for them as well as lending a helping hand to the over-all design of the show.

Speaking of Conventions I'll be attending several more Horror/Sci-fi/Film conventions this and next year. As of now, I am a Special Guest for Con Nooga in Tennessee, again, and Mysticon in Virginia. That's exciting. I like that whole experience and hope to keep doing it more and more. I'll be submitting guest applications to several other cons as well. Once I get a few other projects under my belt I'm hoping to become a more desirable attendee.

Speaking of projects I'll be working with the MadOnes Film group of Greensboro in the near future. I've developed a solid rapport with the head of the group, Jaysen Buterin, as well as various others within their tight little network. They're all good guys. Funny, creative, and passionate. I look forward to working with them. Speaking of projects 'Perception' is still in post, currently, but should be done in another month's time, I think. We've got a new guy doing our digital effects named Steven Buono. He seems like a nice chap, talented too, and genuinely enthusiastic about the work. My lead, Kevin Teachey, who is also doing our score, got a boss new music program that sounds oh so sweet to my ears, so that's exciting. This year should be good in terms of work, just hoping some of these projects will pay off monetarily.

I think that just about does it.

http://www.madonesfilms.com/
http://www.stevmbuono.com/
http://contemporal.org/

A Blog about Religion

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "Here comes some more sanctimonious garbage." And you're right, on one level. I can't help but feel a self assured sense of spiritual superiority when I take an honest look at my life, my beliefs, my world view and then compare those to that of other individuals in the world. I feel damn good about what I believe and therefore feel a need...no, an obligation to talk about it.

What is it with people's innate desire to be right? To be correct against everyone else? I'm sure at it's core it developed from some...'survival' mentality. Anthropologically speaking, of course. It's an odd thing to consider. On one end I feel I understand it. Hell, I feel it. There are times where I am certain of things and feel a need to convey that, especially when I hear someone on the converse side of it touting the wrong things. Yet, on the other end, I don't understand it at all. I don't understand why people would opt. out of the 'live and let live' mentality. I mean, sure, that mindset has it's limits. But to a certain, rather broad, extent, I'd say, it's quite fitting and appropriate.

Why is any one religion more valid than another? More than that, why do people feel the need to shove religion down the throats of others because of their certainty? Why is your certainty more valid than mine?

I'm a pagan. More specifically, I'm an Odinist. I have a spiritual system by which I live my life. It governs ever aspect of my self and yet, my faith is often met with an air of comedy. As if it's laughable that I believe the things I believe. Why is one faith more real than any other? Each mythology is full of ridiculous happenings, so that shouldn't be a factor at all.

When it boils down to it here's where I'm at; Each and every one of us, the trees outside, the buildings, the cars, the...EVERYTHING...is all made up of the same stuff. The same atomic, kinetic stuff. An energy. That energy is God. Now, where religion comes into play is when that energy vibrates within us in such a way that these faiths we've created as species feel right. My vibration is Odinism. It's like headache medicine. Some people prefer ibuprofen, some people prefer Tylenol, some people swear by Excedrin. Me, I take BC Powder. It's the only thing that gets rid of my headaches. That's religion. My faith feels right. It makes me feel right and good and like I have a place in this universe. I don't think it's the 'one true faith', there's no such thing. It's the one true faith for me. Live and believe whatever you wish...as long as you are doing it and not expecting anyone else to. We all exist in our own little realities and when we try to control others' we just create friction.

Everyday I am met with bible quotes and it just pounds these thoughts in my head, so I felt a need to vent about it. My faith is real. If you doubt it than you doubt me as a person. My faith makes me who I am and I proud of that.

It's a wide world out there. Kill the ignorance.

Things are Horrible.

So, staying busy is definitely working out for me.

Currently I have my lighting and special effects work with Arts Alive's production of Les Miserable. Such a good, impacting show. I'm actually thankful to be a part of it. I hope my design is to everyone's liking and it serves to strengthen the show. I like doing lighting jobs. It's difficult and I feel like I have something of a knack for it. Although, I am getting a little burned out on it. This is my fifth show this season.

Aside from that I've got to get things prepped for my Shakespeare camp this summer. After that I'm directing a teen production of A Comedy of Errors. I like directing. It gives my visualization ability a good work out. The camp should be fun, as well. I do enjoy teaching. Especially to these kids who want to be there, who want to hear what I have to say. Not that I think I'm god's gift to theatre or anything, but I do feel I have some knowledge to impart.

Perception is in post and looking good. I'm excited to see it and I hope it's the first of many films I'll direct.

And probably the biggest news of all right now...I was cast as Dr. Horrible in the Plaid Player's summer production of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Woo-freakin-hoo. I cannot emphasize enough how excited I am. It's been a year since I've been on a stage, so that's exciting in and of itself, but the fact that it's a musical that I thoroughly enjoy just makes it that much better. Also, I'll be designing and building a lot of special props for the show, which is always a blast. And to top it all, the proceeds go to charity for Tornado relief. Can't beat that. I like using my talents to bring joy into people's lives and now I get to do that times two.

I love staying busy. I love my work.

Nauseous

I preface this with a warning: If you are A.) a devout Christian and B.) a friend of mine; these statement are rather incendiary and could quite possibly be a friendship shattering insult. If you continue to read, please keep an open mind and know that I am full of nothing but love of Honor and Wisdom.

Osama Bin Laden is dead. A man reviled and feared by the public. A man blamed for so much, and so much deserved, I'll admit. Someone who brought so much pain into more lives than any of us probably know. The terrorist who had a profound impact on the foreign policy decisions of this past decade. He is dead and gone from this plane.

He did bad things and he paid for it.

Now...I am ashamed, disgusted, and saddened beyond belief that so many of my acquaintances, friends even, would say 'Thank God' at this. Don't get me wrong, he was a bad man, no doubts there, but to 'Thank God' for the death of another human being? Why not ask God 'Why?'

Hatred...hatred is an affliction. A serious affliction that will consume and distort individuals worse than any cancer can. Hatred is suffering, not only on those who are on the receiving end of that hatred but those who are filled with it. It is a poison. They are suffering. Afflicted by an all consuming feeling that they cannot control, for one reason or another. Now, I know some of you reading this will look at that remark and scoff, but I seriously doubt anyone, ANYONE, can honestly say to me that they've never been all consumed by some feeling or another at some point in there life. Feeling something so deep that it takes complete control of you. Be it a joyful feeling, or depression, or jealousy, or any of the shades of emotion from the broad spectrum we humans feel. I recall have feelings so strong for a girl in my life that when we broke up I literally could not eat for two weeks. Ended up in the hospital. This man was consumed by his feelings and it turned him into a despicable, deplorable, deviant thing and now he is dead. And you know my feelings? I'm not thanking God....I am praying...PRAYING with all the power of my blood, that this man, this man who was a fellow human riddled with an emotional disease, be released from his suffering.

Thanking God for the death of a person, however terrible their deeds, is disgusting and I pray that those who give in to this rise up from their base ignorance and learn to forgive and look on all with loving hearts and minds. This is the only way we can rise up as a people. Peace and Love, even to those who are full of hate...they need it more than anyone.

Sig Jera. Sig Wunjo. Sig Sowilo.

Not in an attempt to propagate my rantings, but if you agree with these thoughts, please share them. Knowledge is powerful stuff.

Can You Dig It!?

SO!... This weekend we begin principal photography on 'Perception'. I find it's tricky switch hats. Getting my head in the 'director mind set' has been difficult, to be perfectly honest. I usually blanket to creative process, so to speak, but for this I feel the need to focus in specific areas, so I'm trying to do just that. I find that I'm way too critical of myself and I am more than a worried about the criticism of others. Directing is something I have limited experience with, admittedly, and it don't really have a gauge to determine whether or not I feel any good at it. What's more is not only am I directing this film, but later this summer I'll be directing a teen production of Shakespeare's 'A Comedy of Errors' and then again near the end of the year I'll be directing another teen production of 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. I mean...people are asking me to do this, so I guess there is a consensus or over all feeling that I'll be good at it. Of course, with that in mind all I can do is worry about 'letting people down'.

I find myself with an almost continuous headache, these days. I can't tell if it's from stress or from my lack of eating and sleep.

In other news, my swivel dolly is gonna be sweet, I think. If I can manipulate the track the way I need, it should be in good shape. I wonder if building these to sell is a viable option.

OH! And I got an iPod touch. I can't believe I'm even blogging about it. But man, is it great. Music at my fingertips, a digital calendar, and all sorts of useful stuff. If anything, it's a good test to see how much use I actually get out of such a device.

Good tangent...anyway, despite my apprehensions I am excited about all that's going on and coming my way. If nothing else it will be an invaluable learning experience.

Con Nooga 2011...what a ride.

So, as most of those who have read this, I've been working with the Adrenalin film group for almost a year now. With the film "A Few Brains More: Summer of Blood" being nearly 100% complete the film group took the movie to the Con Nooga Multi-Fandom Convention in Chattanooga Tennessee and as a result I got to attend the convention as a Special Guest. Now, short bus and helmet jokes aside this was a fairly big deal to me. I mean, an up and coming actor is invited as a guest to a convention? That's awesome.

So, Thursday, February 17th, Vicki, mt Sister Shana, her husband James and I all departed for Chattanooga. They 7 hour ride was indeed a trip with my sister and I shouting out random signs we saw in funny voices and enjoying a variety of flavored corn-nuts. We arrived at our hotel that night at around 12:30 AM. I was overwhelmed. The Chattanooga Choo-choo Hotel was awesome. An old building with cool architecture and decor that I was just giddy over. We got to the room and went for a midnight swim in the indoor pool to relax a bit after the ride and then I went back to the room to work on the playlist for our 70's themed room party.

The next morning I woke up, amped to get things rolling. I went to get to pick up my badge only to learn it wasn't being kept with all the others so I made the trek across the rather large property to the Exhibition hall, picked up my pass, and began exploring the Con. For lunch we went to an absolutely delicious restaurant called the Terminal Brew House. I had one of the BEST beers of my life, seriously. Afterward we returned to the con. Saw some cool stuff, met a few cool people and then when the rest of the group arrived the event really got started. First up I was on a panel called "So you want to be an actor". Needless to say, it was about breaking into acting. The crowd was small but full of questions and it was nice to have people interested and responding to what I had to say. Toward the end of our hour an actor named Jason Carter, of Babylon 5 fame, exploded into the room and immediately stole the scene. It was amazing, and quite entertaining. After the hour was up Mr. Carter tagged along with our group all over and we had a delightful chat about this, that, and everything in between. As corny as it sounds I felt sort of a kindred spirit in him...or something like that. Anyway, later on we went to the premiere of the film and it was great. It really came together nicely, especially for a rough cut. Though the keystone was a little screwed up and the sound wasn't perfect but it gave everyone in attendance a good idea of what we put together. A fun, campy, entertaining zombie flick. Later that night there was more hanging out, more talking, and more fun.

The next morning/day was great. Spent the vast majority of the day at our groups table, signing the occasional autograph, talking with various people, and posing for a variety of nerdy pictures that I just could help myself to get. At noon we had another panel, The Adrenalin Group hour, where we talked about the movie, the whole process that went into it, and a little about some of our future plans. Again, it's great to have people, strangers even, that want to hear what you have to say. The rest of the day was spent back at the table. Later in the afternoon I returned to my room to get ready for our Flashback in 3D room party for the room party competition. I was going for a Afro Kung Fu look and think I pulled it off quite well. Our room was incredible, much to our and all our guests' surprise. In the first hour we had over a hundred people come through. It was nuts. Eventually I returned to our room with Vicki and ended up passing out. I'm sad that I missed the latter part of the night but I think I really needed the sleep.

Sunday was...well...difficult. Physically speaking, we were all either sleep deprived, stiff and sore from lack of sleep, bad beds, and hiking across the property or hung over. But it was still a good time all together. Talked more with Jason. Met some more people. Signed some more autographs. And got some cool toys. It was sad to leave the con, but exciting nonetheless, as I handed out a lot of business cards and met a lot of people with the high prospect of future work. Vicki, Shana, and James returned home, but the group and I went to Pigeon Forge for a company retreat to discuss future work. The ride up was cool. I rode with Lanny Maude, a friend of the film group, and had a great conversation about all sorts of things.

When we arrived at the cabin I was, again, overwhelmed by how cool it was, though I was a little disturbed by the rampant bear motif. Despite that, it was beautiful and on the plus side there was a hot tub, which I thoroughly enjoyed after such a long weekend. The next day we woke up, ate, and discussed future projects and scheduled much. Then later that day we watched the DVD of AFBM: Summer of Blood and discussed minor tweaks and changes. Afterward, we had a fire, roasted some giant, mutant marshmallows, and discussed the theme for next year's room party at the Con. Then, after another dip in the hot tub, I went to bed. We had to be out of the cabin by 10 the next morning unfortunately, but I did want to get home. So we got up, packed and cleaned up, and headed to breakfast before the long drive. After a good meal with some scrumptious bacon, we hit the road. It was a long drive, but with good music, beautiful scenery, and good conversation it wasn't a bad drive.

Now, I'm happy to be home and so excited for the coming future. With all the contacts I made, the people I met, the ideas I discussed I know things are going to start rolling faster and faster.

So, I'm excited.

And this is good.

Forged in the Fires of Awesome

Okay...so, what to blog about.

Hmm...I suppose I will divulge the 'current events', as they say.

First off, things are moving forward. Gears are turning, that's for sure. For one, I'll be directing two short films in the next few months and if that wasn't cool enough they're both my own screenplays. One, is a Lovecraftian horror story entitled "The Tattered King", the other is a psychological, science-fiction, drama(how's that for a genre mash-up?) called "Perception". The latter will be done by The Adrenalin Group. The film company with whom I spent the summer and fall shooting "A Few Brains More: Summer of Blood". The prior will be with a new, as of yet unnamed production company. "AFBM:Summer of Blood" will be premiering at Connooga in February, a multifandom convention I'll be attending as a special guest. How cool is that? Aside from that, I'm still gathering materials and tools to set up my prop-shop. I'm also planning on making some custom T-shirts. Hopefully, I'll be able to stimulate a bit of income that way and put that towards a nice camera.

I'm hopeful, optimistic, and above all...excited. I can't wait to see what the next few months hold.