Stranger on a Quiet Street

2010-05-24T01:39:00.001-04:00

AHH!

Finals

2008-12-04T13:11:00.002-05:00

Finals week is upon me and I didn't even know it. I was under the impression for so long that I had at least two more weeks of classes but during a conversation with Adam I realized that...nope...one more week...Time to buckle down. I just can't wait for this semester to end and then it's off to visit Dave, Jess, and baby Jillian!

Gone For Good: Shoot Day Summary

2008-11-10T18:26:00.003-05:00

Busy busy weekend! About two and a half weeks ago I finally had an idea for a film. The title is: Gone For Good. It's a funny little story of a typo that sends our protagonist (Elliot Nevills) into a fit of remorse and identity crisis. Emily Bennett plays Elliot's significant other (in real life as well) and she leaves the note containing the typo.

I'm really excited about this film because:

A) I know my actors from High School

B) It's in color

C) There's sync sound (Courtesy of Gunnar Jebsen(Thanks Gunnar))

D) Extreme close ups of potted meat

E) Cross dressing

F) And unlike the stuff I shot last year this film is funny!

I threw together my two films last year and because of that I shot a thriller and a horror film. Genres that don't do too much for me. This time I think I wrote something that's truly funny and will make people smile and even laugh. The shear fact that I'm as big of a Tim and Eric fanboy surprises me that it took this long for me to do something like Gone For Good.

I will admit though the film didn't come without trial and tribulation. I could spend all night typing out a detailed recap of the night before my shoot and the morning of but instead I'll summarize my troubles in a list :D :

1. My $300 Bogen tripod broke the night before.

This lead to me having to resort to using a cheap plastic still camera tripod which I had to reinforce in order for it to withstand the 50lbs Bolex. This issue wasted the most of my time since I tried fixing anyway I could. Yet to no avail. you can bet I'm taking it back to central camera for my manufacturer's warranty.

2. Two of my partners from class couldn't make the shoot to help me out.

This was actually kind of a blessing in disguise because with Adam, Gunnar, Elliot and Emily we were doing just fine. Not to mention that was reaching our apartment's max capacity.

3. I forget to ask for a Grey card from the Film Cage.

This is important for color film so that the developer can tint the film correctly. I looked everywhere online for a printable grey card but to no avail. Luckily in the morning Gunnar did another search and he found one . . . hopefully it will work but by no means was printing a grey card a recommended thing to do.

4. I woke up later than I intended in the morning.

This is my own fault but the CTA saved me and made everybody else late too.

5. I blew one of the two circuits in our apartment.

This lead to me running up and down from our apartment to the basement about 4 times trying to get the switch the right way to give back power to the living room so I could turn the ceramic heater on so we wouldn't have to wear coats indoors.

6. I forgot my debit card on my run to Dunkin Donuts.

This meant I had to run back to the apartment. . . probably the least of my troubles but at this point I had about 10 minutes before people would start showing up.

okay so I extrapolated a bit. :/

The shoot went incredibly smooth! :D

I've already sent an e-mail to everyone involved expressing my thanks but I'd just like to put out a more public thanks to everyone:

To Elliot and Emily

for being so willing to act for me. A little potted meat never hurt anybody.

To Adam

For being absolutely and positively helpful in the most possible ways. Your friendship and will to do things right the first time are priceless. We talked about fate the other day briefly and I have to think that me meeting you is a prime example of fate.

To Gunnar

For being such a great friend. I can't imagine how much I would've had to pay for somebody to provide me the services you offer out of friendship.

To Wayne

For plowing forward and your insight.

And to everyone caught up in the madness while they tried living their lives: Erin, Kim, Gill

Most people wouldn't put up with my nonsense on such a consistent basis.

I'd be lost without you all!

Well now that the ball is rolling I'll keep everyone updated here all the way up to the completion of Gone For Good. Stay tuned.

Latest Endeavors

2008-11-07T02:30:00.004-05:00

Mid terms were about three weeks back and as soon as they were done I was ready for something very extracurricular! So I bought a Ticket to see Crystal Castles at the Metro. Now I love Crystal Castles just as much as the standard hipster but I am by no means a hipster so for the once in my life I found myself being a poser. I went to the Ark thrift store down the street (a jewish run thrift store with pretty much anything and everything on God's green earth) and once there I bought a pair of red jeans way too small for me and I borrowed a black snap up cowboy style shirt from Gunnar. I would've worn a bandana but I couldn't get ahold of one but the costume was good enough...I got to the Metro early but there was still a line down the length of the black with hipsters...low and behold...they were all wearing combinations of red and black shirts and jeans. It was cold out and we waited outside the metro about an hour after the doors were supposed to open...the line got obscenely long. When we finally got in I found a spot up in front of the stage and psyched myself up. It was the best concert I've been to. I went by myself for no other reason other than nobody was up to willingly beating people up and get beaten up. Two opening acts were okay and pretty mellow but as soon as CC came out...which was a long wait...mayhem ensued! The crowd lost it and the clusterknuck of bodies began! Here's what it looked like:

Clusterknuck

Holding the strobe

Alice

(complete with batman shirt and strobe)

Mid strobe

A concert not for the weak.

Alice crowd surfed during the second song and during Crimewave she reached out and grabbed my arm with one hand and held the mic with the other......I was going absolutely CRAZY. After their last song she threw the mic into the crowd and then they left the stage. I left the metro completely soaked in sweat, mine and everybody else's. I left the concert changed...If you don't know Crystal Castles, go listen!

Oh and then Halloween. Here's some pics of that too:

The family

My Pump

Kim's pump with Darce

My pump with Darce

Kim and I stayed home that night carved pumpkins, ate pumpkin pie and watched the Addam's Family movie. Good times. Surprisingly despite midterms being over things only seem to be getting busier...that's Production II's fault. Shooting my first film this semester on Sunday. Should be fun! I got Eliot Nevills and Emily Bennett to be my couple in the film. The working title is Gone for Good and there's a good chance I'll just keep it that way. Don't let the title mislead you...it's definately a comedy...I had to do a comedy. My two films last year were way too serious for my usual taste. I mean for christ sake, I'm a Tim and Eric fanboy...how can I not do something funny or at least demented? It'll be awhile before I can post it online but I'll most definately keep an updated log on how production and post goes.

Stay tuned.

2008-11-04T07:20:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since the last update but nonetheless it's here. It's my Junior your and things have been pretty good so far. I live up in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago and The cast is the same as last season. It's Adam Erin Kim and myself. HEH Funny to think that I haven't disclosed this info yet on here...

Classes (in order of attendaence):

Post Production Audio 1

Production II

Abnormal Psych

History of the American City

Pretty BA lineup in my opinion. Production II and PPA1 are heating up and about two weeks ago midterms were had but never to fear as I PWNed 'em all.

Oh be sure to check out the new music lineup down at the bottom of my page! First track should be a raw recording of Gunnar and myself playing two covers by the Kings of Convenience. Good stuff!

well gotta go...Erin has recruitred me to help take Darcy (our Tabby) to get spayed (have her female part augmented) should be fun...

Edit:

I'm an Uncle! Have been since october 30th. Her name is Jillian Griffin! JG...good initials! :) I can't be more proud!

Uncle Joey

2008-06-10T02:29:00.002-04:00

Well this post is way late in the making and with no excuse whatsoever.

I'm gonna be uncle Joey!!!!!!

My older bro Dave and his wife are expecting a baby! I've actually known now for a long time. When I came back from spring break the big announcement was made. Dave and Jess had arrived in town a day or two before me and although my plans were for a short spring break I was ecstatic to get to see them since they live VA. I arrived late that night and so I didn't get to see Dave or Jess till the morning ...I knew something was up because things seemed different somehow. I had slept in a little since arriving so late but I roused myself with some help I'm sure from someone...when I got upstairs I hugged Dave and Jess and then noticed that my mom and dad were wearing somewhat matching shirts...at first I just passed it off since I already accept how odd they can be sometimes (a trait I swear I didn't inherit ... :) ) As they were fixing lunch I slowly came out of my trance and then it finally hit me...I looked at my parents' shirts and noticed they weren't just odd...they were REALLY ODD! My mother's simply said "Grandma to (be)." be was replaced by a graphic of a bee. My dad's said "dad's know a lot but Grandpas know everything" and had a graphic depicting an elderly gentlemen. Although I registered what the shirts said I still hadn't grasped the implication until everyone Dave, Jess, Ma, Pa, Andrew, and Ryan all glared straight at me...in wait. Then it hit me - I got the quite obvious message and was caught speechless!

:)

Hugs and kisses exchanged and to this moment as I type this post I'm still wrapping my head around this monumental event. It has been almost 9 years since our family has gained a member...if you don't count Bandit or Shirl. I can't post in this entry whether it's a boy or girl because if my information is straight then my dad is waiting for the birthday to find out.

To explain in this post the utter joy this news of a new family member brings me would be a crime. Rather, you should ask me yourself when you see me and I would be much more accurate in such explanation both verbally and gesturally.

For now it's a waiting game but when the day comes you can be sure there will be ample amounts of play by play coverage. :D

That's all. I'm a happy man!...Uncle!!!

Back in Loveland

2008-05-26T15:27:00.002-04:00

It's been two weeks since I've arrived back home in Ohio. Spring semester ended at Columbia on a good note with As and Bs across the board. Since I've been back I've had some time to finally focus on a few projects of my own.

One project that I'm really excited to finally not only have the time but also the means of which to perform is transferring all my family's old analog video to DVD and then also to the internet. It's a fun project not only because I love video and anything to do with it but some of these Hi8 tapes haven't seen the light of day in years. I found stuff from back when I was a little boy and all the way up to when I was performing in the fresh/soph show for my high school. This project is way overdue and the importance of saving these memories from being lost is of importance not only for me but for my whole family.

A more recent project has arisen in only the past few days here. My father must think I have some talent in video production because he has indirectly volunteered me for an even more weighty video project putting together a 5-6 minute portrait of the Cincinnati division of Proctor & Gamble for his boss Bill. My dad offered the challenge and after I did some preliminary research gathering information on rental houses and pricing the costs of such a production I've concluded that not only is it possible but I would be privileged to be the one to put it together. I spoke with my father's boss and we exchanged expectations and some basic ideas. Tomorrow morning I'm going into Cincinnati with my father to do some location scouting and to get a better idea for my project outline. I'm aiming high here and I look forward to slapping this one on my resume...a project for the likes of P&G is something to boast about.

Oh and on top of all this I just so happen to be working 40 hours a week and come mid June I'll be taking an online class...

so much for summer :/

speaking of work...I walked in the other day and guess what was playing over the intercom.....Rick Atsley....My workplace Rick Rolled me at 9a.m. C,mon!

Father Wrote the Play: by Leeland Greenmess

2008-04-22T18:19:00.002-04:00

TA-DAH!

Here it is...the long awaited premiere of Father Wrote the Play: by Leeland Greenmess. If you haven't heard of it then that's okay but now that it's here you should definately tune in. If you want up to date ... updates on progress made in the series then get a Vimeo account at www.Vimeo.com and join the Father wrote the play channel! The story follows Leeland Greenmess on his quest to direct his fathers last play: The Haunted Conifer. Leelas journey begins when his father dies and bids him to go and direct the play. Although Leeland is hesitant at first he knows that as his father's dying wish he must go through with directing his father's play. Enjoy!

The Death of Father from Adam Robinson on Vimeo.

Cahoots

2008-03-25T02:32:00.002-04:00

Cahoots from Joseph Griffin on Vimeo.

Well here it is...My first 16mm film. I think I did alright. although exposure seems a bit overexposed at time I promise that when you watch the straight projection it's fine...stupid DV. Anyway watch for the scene where I'm running behind Sam and you might see a glimpse of the tree that I hit and then try and find my one continuity error.

Hamlet

2008-03-18T03:02:00.002-04:00

The long awaited release of one of my first ever feature length (approx. 8min) films is here. I found this forgotten project a long time ago. I saved all my video projects onto my external hard drive before moving out for school even before I went to BG and I have just recently started mulling through the archives. The embedded film is one of those archived creations. I made this abridged version of Hamlet for a group project for British Lit. during my senior year of high-school. Tig was my partner and to be honest...I don't know where he's gone now after school. Anyway, here's the film and be sure to watch it through to the end for the special reading by my brother Ryan.

Hamlet from Joseph Griffin on Vimeo.

Ground Zero

2008-03-03T15:10:00.002-05:00

Here's some pictures my T.A. Evan took a few minutes after the catastrophe:

Hi8...Bye8

2008-03-03T03:19:00.006-05:00

So my roommate and I were having a conversation when the topic of Hi8 camcorders came up. Everyone remembers the damn things from that wedding or birth or crappy zombie thriller they shot in their backyard in the 90s. Hell, I can recall one Christmas in specific where my brother, myself and the family's Hi8 cam ruined Christmas for the whole family. Probably my first attempt as a filmmaker, as far as I can remember, I dressed my little bro Andrew up in a big puffy vest and sunglasses. The idea was a sort of James Bond thriller in the arctic tundra of Siberia (Wisconsin in the winter time was an obvious choice for the location to get this effect across). Andrew slinked around the porch and down into the yard improvising as he went along. The bomb that he was supposed to disarm was in the shed connected to our house and underneath the porch. Mind you this is like Christmas eve now. Andrew goes in to open the shed door and instead of the bomb we discover every single Christmas present unwrapped and exposed to our curious little eyes. Yes we were in shock and yes we thought about just closing the door and leaving...but then...what if the bomb went off....right? So we continued in and at this point I broke the silence and began the commentary on the early unveiling. Me being that avid little filmmaker I was I forgot to turn off the camera and one present in specific I remember was one of those little plastic play kitchens with the little plastic burgers and hotdogs, Andrew wanted it, He noticed the picture on the box and felt no shame in going right up to it and approving of its presence. After we had scoured the shed we finally left and without stirring Mom or Dad. We thought we were in the clear! It wasn't until later however that we found that our efforts for being undetected were in vein. Mom found the tape in the Hi8 camcorder and along with it all the evidence that "Christmas was ruined". I don't remember a more sullen and remorseful Christmas in my life. Mom was mad and we knew it. Actually, to this day I don't think my mom has been more mad than she was on that fateful Christmas day. To be honest though, they should've just wrapped the presents instead of leaving them exposed for us to walk in on like that. I digress. Back to the original topic. Hi8. Not only does the quality of the Hi8 camcorder suck but my memories of it suck. It's funny to think about the bastardized medium now that we have DV and more recently P2 card technology. I made a joke to Adam saying if I ever make it in the film business I'm going to shoot my first and subsequent movies all on Hi8. It's amazing that they are still selling like hot on eBay and other marketplace websites. Then while I did a search on Hi8s I came across this link to a posting where a guy is set on transferring Hi8 to 35mm...which is a freaking joke! I thought it was funny and if you've ever used Hi8 and understand the superiority of 35 then check this link out and try not to laugh:

http://www.likeastory.com/boards/cgi/noncgi/Forum8/HTML/000373.html

Poor guy.

Edit: Then again the post was made in '98. Maybe he was serious...all the more hilarious!

The Big Zero - Five

2008-03-02T23:02:00.002-05:00

Long time no update, so here it is:

I turned 5 this last Friday! My fifth leap-year birthday was kicked off as such that the year can only get better from here on.

The following series of photos depicts the results of my first film shoot here at Columbia. The shot was of my main character running to a woman who was hurt. I followed over his right shoulder as he ran. In retrospect I believe I had made a mistake and whereas I wanted a wide shot with a 16mm lens I in the process of winding the camera up had moved the turret so that I was looking through the 25mm lens. This vastly reduced my field of view but I decided to compensate by simply backing myself up a bit in order to get the desired framing. This decision would lead to a tree with a hole cut out of it and my whole face becoming very bruised. As I ran behind the actor I all of a sudden came to a complete stop and pain surged through my face. After coming to my senses I noticed I had run into one of the park trees and tore a chunk of it out with the sun shade on the 75mm yvar lens. Luckily the camera was alright...the only thing I was truly worried about after hitting the tree was the camera. Opposite the tree and it's injuries were me and my injuries:

I didn't black out and I never got any sort of a headache besides the initial dazedness that I experienced the whole thing was really no big deal. We continued the shoot as usual and the camera clicked of film just fine. After a bit we took a 30 min break in the nearby Dearborn Station and two off duty bike police had some sanitizer and a band-aid. The rest of the shoot went smoothly and once I got back to my apartment I simply iced the wound for about half an hour and then went on with my day. I couldn't have asked for a more eventful 20th birthday.

Back in Oswego this weekend I got the chance to help in a fellow scouts Eagle Court of Honor. Dave Stewart and I were good friends back when I was in troop 63 and to have the opportunity to see him get his wings was quite special.

I bought three movies while I was in Oswego since I got some money for my birthday.

1. The Third Man (Criterion Edition)
2. Hard Candy (creepy thriller gone controversial with a young Ellen Page)
and
3. Heat (a personal favorite featuring a scene with Al Pacino AND Robert Dinero)

All long awaited additions to my collection! :)

Other than all this my birthday was rather lax. No party but now that I think about it my mother sent me some cookies that have my name plastered all over them in the kitchen and that to me sounds like a good enough party so I'm out for now. Stay tuned for more details as things progress.

Red Car

2008-01-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

Today was the long anticipated first day for me as an intern at Red Car Productions. It was a long day from the start but very exciting. I got up extra early so that I could walk the 30 minutes it takes to get to E Illinois street and the River East building where the Chicago Red Car Offices are. I got to Red Car a little bit early and that was a good thing since I got a bit lost in the River East building. I met the other intern, Chris, and all day I found myself running around northern Chicago. Food runs, coffee runs, deliveries...everything. I am beat. The people at Red Car are incredibly kind and their attitudes are anything but pompous. Tomorrow is my second day and with all the buzz that I was subject to my first day of work I expect tomorrow to be no different.

After work I caught the El up north and bought an old bike off Gunnar since my Huffy is a POS. Hopefully the bike will help make my errand running a bit quicker at Red Car. I only wish that I could someday work at a place like Red Car. I'd go into details about the building and the Offices but I'm tired as hell. I'll provide a detailed analysis of those and more subjects tomorrow...if I can muster the strength. Goodnight!

Fatal Feline II

2008-01-02T03:09:00.000-05:00

So over the past two days I've been working hard at a little project for my future filming endeavors. My big bro and my sister in law have stopped into town this week and so I got my big brother to help me out with building a PVC pipe camera dolly. The finished product is pretty nice. We did some research online and came up with a hybrid design for the dolly and the track. I'm quite impressed with the end product. It all comes apart and can be stored in a bag and hefted around. even the track has been cut into 5' pieces. For the wheels my little brother Andrew gave me the wheels from his old skateboards. here's some picthahs -

Dave cutting angle irons to mount the wheels onto

Mounting the wheels

All the pieces of the dolly

The dolly on the track - Perfect fit!

we used doorstoppers fot the tripod legs to rest on.
later we're going to add eye holes to the PVC so we can fasten the tripod down securely with rope or bungie cords.

Perfect!

Each 5' track piece has a male and female connector end. This makes for easy assembly and makes the track portable.

Beautiful!

The next day right after our new years celebration with fireworks and confetti I got my brother and cat together to make a short film so I could test out my dolly. I don't own a professional camera, or tripod but I was able to slap something decent together. I used my dad's old Kalimar 960 tripod (not a fluid head) and my Casio Exilim digital camera to make my short which I've titled: Fatal Feline II. There isn't a Fatal Feline I but that's all part of the fun of it. It's a sort of Dramatic/thriller/horror/comedy that I think anyone, who owns a pesky cat, can find something to laugh about in it. Check it out on Youtube!

Fatal Feline II

Post Holiday Assessment

2007-12-28T15:48:00.000-05:00

Alright...semi-long hiatus here from the old blog but I'm back!

Fall semester is over with no difficulty. Next semester I'm looking forward to shooting some film finally. Christmas yielded a Krasnogorsk 3 16mm film camera for myself and so I feel rather prepared. :)

If one can't tell I'm rather enamored with this hunk of Russian metal. I can't wait to shoot some footage with it!

In other news - Rock Band. I don't know if any of you have been graced with the opportunity to try this game but , for lack of better words, it rocks! Take your standard guitar hero game and then add a bass, a mic, and a drum set and that is rock band. This game, unlike the others in the genre, relies on multiplayer participation. Guitar hero is mostly a single player game where you have the option as an added bonus to plug in a second guitar and play your homies. Rock band does this as well but you can also choose to do a band tour where you and your buddies play and progress to the goal of rockin' the world. My brothers and I named our band "teh Griffin" and I have to admit we do rock. My character is a pirate with nimble fingers made for sliding through solos. Andrew's character is a hardcore hitter who isn't afraid to spank his drum set in public. Then finally there is Ryan...we put him on mic and he does pretty well...granted he doesn't always know the words. His Character is a bit emo but that doesn't hold him back from affecting the crowd with his mass vocals!

My favorite song in the whole game has to be Boston's Foreplay/long time. I was SOOO excited when I first got a chance to play it. I always thought to myself that that song would be a great one for guitar hero. I absolutely love that now with rock band I can play just about every instruments' part in that song now, save for the organ...watch that's coming next I bet.

Rock band is no doubt a great game but one must ask one's self whilst playing...well, why don't I just get real instruments and play those...

It is a bit silly I think to look at yourself while playing and realize that - except for the singer - you're not really playing these instruments....they're toys. They might as well just sell a big box with the actual instruments. Wanna start a band? Okay lets go buy....blahblahblah and start one. Could that be rock band's founding company Harmonix's goal...world wide rockouts! A world where those that can't rock are labeled obsolete and then exterminated...maybe we would live in a better world. At least there would be good music before we die.

2007-11-15T19:34:00.000-05:00

I know it has been on all your minds...why the crazy villain 'stache. Because! I've been called Luigi, Dali, Snidely Whiplash, and sinister. I've been called pretentious, over-zealous, and shameless. I agree with you all. I don't use hairspray as doing so would 'cause brain damage and provide trips that I just don't want to go on. I use Clubman Mustache Wax:

It is simple to apply and smells like the air after a light rain. My reason for growing the 'stache is quite unclear even to me. Everyone wants a reason especially since I've been curling the ends lately. I just like it. My favorite characters from the old silent, noir, and western films I believe have a large subconscious influence on me. I also believe that Brandon Flowers, the lead singer for The Killers, and his recent mustache growth was a trigger for me. Whatever the reason may be the fact remains...I like my mustache. Your last and final question, I'm sure is how long will this "phase" of mine last...here's your answer:

(All in due time! Muahaha!)

The Columbian Review

2007-11-15T00:58:00.000-05:00

Hello my faithful readers (I think I can pluralize that...),

Just putting out a notice for a new project that I'm working on. My roommate Adam and I have started a restaurant review page and have titled the project the Columbian review. We originally named it the Bearnaise Buddies but I believe that name to be a bit too cheeky. So far all we have posted is our mission statement but our first Vlog is in the woodworks and will be posted as our first video review of a place called the Thai Spice. Be sure to check out the link under my Friendlies section on the right column of this page. If you like what you see bookmark it and be sure to keep an eye out for new reviews as our restaurant quest matures. I'm honestly quite excited about the idea. As we progress through our reviews you may find other tidbits such as mini cooking show segments where Adam and I will show easy and tasty ways to make some of our own favorite dishes. Production is still pretty early as far as the site goes so expect changes and additions as time goes on and as I have a more free schedule to fiddle around with the layout. Until we get things going spread the word and keep checking the site for any new developments.

Nick & Susan

2007-10-16T03:07:00.000-04:00

Here's our three minute film:

Nick & Susan

Feel free to leave comments and give a rating.

Again thanks to everyone who helped out!

Insomnia

2007-10-15T03:16:00.000-04:00

Thanks everyone!

Although our efforts were in vain, working with you all was exciting and a privelage that no award from any big name company could ever award.About a week or two ago my roommate sent me an e-mail regarding an Apple sponsored contest called the 24 hour insomnia film festival. The idea was intriguing enough...24 hours to write-shoot-edit-post a 3 minute film using 3 of 10 prompts that are given to you at 9a.m. eastern time. The winning teams would be picked by the public for one prize package and by a panel of judges containing renowned directors and other such "pros". The prizes themselves were 5 apple mac book pros with a myriad of apps for editing and such.

Well Adam and I got a team together and started off. The team consisted of 5 people -

Adam
Myself
Gunnar Jebsen
David Aragoni
and
Jordon Hoeft

Since Gunnar is a graduate he couldn't technically be in the festival so we just credited him as our sound guy in the credits and had Adam's GF Erin (whom was basically already a team member with all the work she had put in) register herself in lieu of Gunnar.

We've spent the past week planning and getting everything together from elaborating on an idea of Adam's to pooling equipment and people. At the film building here at Columbia there was a flyer offering the rental of a Panasonic HVX...very nice camera to say the least. Our five man team was all thumbs up for renting the Camera despite the $200 a day fee. I called the liaison's name which was printed on the flyer and told him of our interest.

Now we couldn't do much until the festival started even in regards to writing but we decided to go ahead and write up a loose idea of an idea that Adam had wanted to film for and decided we could just amend it when we got the prompts so that it could cater to the requirements.

Friday came around and it was time to get the HVX. I called the liaison Jamieson again and told him we were ready to pick it up...then he mentioned he didn't feel like lending it to us since he realized we were rather inexperienced...his advice was to hire him to come along with us and watch the camera for an extra 50 to which I said...NO! thus began the problems. Although we didn't have an HVX we had an old mini DV cam that Adam owned and we decided that for our purposes it was all we needed anyway.

Saturday came and we all woke at the crack of dawn. Breakfast was served - cinnamon swirls - and the prompts were received. the prompts were as follows:

Location: Park Bench

Prop: Bird Cage

Character Name: Robin Darjeeling

Background Sound: Radio Static *

Costume: Tuxedo

Camera Angle: Dutch Angle *

Narrative Device: Dream Sequence

Editing Technique: Match Cut *

Dialogue: “Don’t tempt me.”

Makeup: Old Person

* We chose these

The dutch angle was easy since at the end of our film there is a part where the girl stands the guy up and also because it is one of my favorite filmic techniques.

The match cut was simple enough since it's such a standard editing technique.

and the radio static was all too perfect since what we had written even before we got the prompts was for there to be a split screen of two radios in the first and last shots.

Filming started at 10a.m. and ended near 7p.m. -

we rode the el to Gunnar's house where I edited the video and Gunnar mixed the sound and did some Foley sound.

from 8p.m. to 5 A.M the next morning we confined ourselves to Gunnar's studio except for two leg stretching breaks one of which consisted of a trip to El Taco Loco. there were a few scary points throughout the night that made for locked muscles and shouts of profanity. Earlt on in the video editing I lost all of my work when the power on Adam's Mac Book went out...someone had kicked the power cable out and I had forgotten to save. I was only about halfway through though and I was quick about getting everything back to where it was. Gunnar's sound mixing had also provided some mini heart attacks since after we loaded all the video onto Adam's external hard drive we realized Gunnar's computer had no firewire port so transferring the audio to him was mired by this. Thanks to Gunnar's 2 gig lexar thumb drive that problem was a non-problem. Then when he began mixing another problem occurred when all the drivers on his audio mixing program uninstalled themselves. Restart -reinstall - fixed -OKAY! once 5 a.m. rolled around it was time to upload!

5a.m.
.
.loading....
.
6a.m.
.
.error - file too large
.reloading........ :I
7a.m
.
.
.recompress resubmit
.recompress resubmit
.recompress resubmit
8a.m..................... shit.

Apparently Apple hate us. The file was supposed to be 15 mb and we had compressed our film down to about 2 mb...looked like shit but even so despite our accommodation the site kept telling us that the file was too large. We felt so good about our film and to have worked for so long to have it never shown just outright stinks. Many screams and clenched fists waved at the air as if Apple was some deity this morning here in sleepy Chicago. I was the loudest and most vicious of them.

Thank goodness we didn't end up renting that $200 HVX...that woulda sucked.

On the bright side we have this real cool little film. :-)

I'll post it up here in the next day or two...for now I'm going to bed. Maybe I'll get back on a regular sleep schedule tomorrow...

Till then here's some pics to hold ya over:

Erin's amazing set design work

We had an issue figuring out how we could match the dialogue we recorded earlier of Jordon (Nick) talking to Kim (Susan)
Gunnar came up with an instant solution - the sound genius that he is

Just inert earbuds here

Viola! The new Iphone. we made an audio file of Jordon's dialogue loaded it to an Ipod and just played it to her. Quite the technical feat.

Gunnar was pretty impressed with himself.. as was I

?????

...we're not stressed... :/

Mixing

Nice

2007-10-10T04:38:00.001-04:00

The Darjeeling Limited

2007-10-02T02:22:00.000-04:00

Spooky...absolutely spooky!

I won some tickets in a raffle to see Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited advance screening this previous weekend and tonight me and my collegiate friends went to go see it. I won't give away any plot since I'm sure you're all going to see it...you should. It was funny and it struck a very personal chord within me. For those of you who don't know the premise of the film it follows the story of the three Whitman brothers who set out to reunite on a spiritual journey through India via the Darjeeling LMT, a train line. The movie was artfully shot and although Wes did a spectacular job of orchestrating the mise en scène it's really hard to go wrong shooting in the beautiful countryside of India. The Whitman brothers played by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman are met as they resurrect their relationship after a 1 year hiatus since the death of their father and this sets the scene for sibling feuds, absolutely hilarious bloopers, and moments of monumental camaraderie.

One theme that follows through to the end of the movie is the importance of family. Despite time and space family is always family. Sometimes life leads family apart but to keep those ties is an inherent goal and to some is worth traveling across India and risking your life for.

The spooky part comes where I could absolutely relate with the brothers, minus the whole traveling across India thing. My father is quite alive, thankfully, but my father's father died in April of 2007 after fighting cancer. Since his funeral there hasn't been a large scale family reunion. I don't want to say our family has grown apart but I feel that since our loss there hasn't been a moment for us to all sit around a table and have our own spiritual adventure. I love all my family tremendously and I used to look forward to having large get togethers and Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa was always the center and seemed to hold us together. I lie in saying that I haven't seen family since his death because I have but those reunions filled with endless platters of food, hearty laughs, and games of backyard baseball where all the balls would innevitably end up in the neighbors yard are so long passed. I feel I have lost touch with some family and would absolutely love to just catch up. Mrs. Whitman put it best...I forget word by word what she said but something along the lines of maybe we should try not talking and just show how we feel. I feel my family needs to stop using words and just be. Just share being. Sitting together eating together and best of all laughing together. Grandpa would want that. thoughts lead to words and words are the worst means of communication.

I'm done. I feel really good being so moved by a film. It has been a long time since that has happened to me.

Aside from the D.L. I've had an altogether spectacular time here in the windy city. I went to a tea party where I won the advance screening tickets, movie poster, and other assorted D.L. merchandise and then I had two cookouts. I LOVE COOKOUTS! I promised you some pictures ma so here they are...wish you could be here to share in the festivities!

Me with my buddy Roman Coppola son of Francis Ford Coppola and producer/co-writer for D.L.
This was from the previous previous weekend at the screening of part one of D.L.
Hotel Chevalier
After the clip there was a Q&A, very interesting to say the least.

we were there starting the line at 4

stoop sitting till 6

Adam and Erin

watching the sitarist

The Sitarist

First one in the door and the holder of the winning raffle ticket shown here

me burning myself

Sipping on Darjeeling

Joe Griffin + fire - fear = good

We are go for cook

Adam surveying the damage

Shopping for consumables

mmmm

Hey

2007-10-01T01:57:00.000-04:00

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/eae26bb96d - Watch this

Mic Night at the Fixx

2007-09-20T03:19:00.000-04:00

Today (yesterday) was perfect.

I slept in until work at noon. Did barely anything the whole time. Got off at 4. Went to the Film meet and greet and got my name and number passed around to a few directors that need help with films this semester. Met up with Mars (short for Marshall [ A friend from my Development and preproduction class]). Met Gunnar up north off the Belmont stop and signed up for an open mic night slot (we've been practicing here and there). Mars being the savvy photographer that he is took pictures of us at the show - I'll have to get some pics to post. Gunnar and I did two of three songs we prepared (kinda miffed about being cutoff before our show stopper) - Gunnar was on guitar and sang and I sang harmony vocals and accompanied with mouth harp. our lineup was:

1. Kings of Convenience - Manhattan Skyline
2. Gunnar Jebson - Caught a cold in my bed
3. Jim Croce - One less set of footsteps ( : ( stupid two song limit)

Granted not all my days are this eventful but still ...

Right here is perfect.

School is exciting, work is easy and pays well, and in my free time I do things that I absolutely love to do, with other people! Sounds sad in a way but when I juxtapose my summer happenings to what's happening right now I honestly feel as though my feet can touch the bottom and my head is above the water. I'll die before I ever have to go back to the way things were this past summer - No friends, underpaid for painstaking work, and no sense of direction. I hated it!

but I'm here now. Finally.

I can't wait for next week's open mic night!

In Retrospect

2007-09-09T04:19:00.000-04:00

Alright...long week

1st line of business - Columbia is everything I hoped it would be and more.

For the first time since high school I feel I'm at a place that will lead me to where I need to go. Classes are amazing and my profs. make it all the better. My Development and Preproduction prof. looks like Ed Harris and talks like Billy Bob Thornton and my History of Cinema prof.'s name is Ben Hur Uribe, no kidding. I got a job through the school doing bitch work but I'm being paid 8 bucks an hour (25¢ more than my job as a security guard) and I've learned more in these first 2 weeks at Columbia than I did over the course of a complete year at BG - FACT.

My roommates are the shiz and I've done massive networking, taking names and promising to kick ass.

Gunnar and I have been chilling out anytime I've had free time. Just the other day we went over to the beach by the aquarium and played Aerobie for a couple of hours. Earlier last week Toyoyom Cound came up and visiting and we just meandered around town...not lighting fireworks off. Then earlier this week I got a phone call from Josh Huppert who was in town auditioning with two of his buddies for the musical Wicked. I of course gave them a place to stay for the night.

I feel at ease finally despite a myriad of issues I've faced as well.

• My camera is broke and can't be fixed - this means no pictures for awhile
• A package my mom sent me is forever lost amongst the postal service
• I still have butt-loads of financial malarkey to sort out

and

• I still can't fly my kite because the strings that go with it were in the package my mother sent me (refer to bullet point 2)

Still despite all that stuff I find solace in knowing that...HEY I'm in Chicago! I love what I'm doing and what better way to enjoy it than without a way to document it pictorially, without the aid of foodstuffs a pillow and kite strings that were lost in a package, and with little to no money!

Hell I don't know how I could be more optimistic.

P.S. any thoughts on me shaving my head?

Columbia

2007-08-22T22:17:00.000-04:00

Here I come.

Troop 817

2007-08-20T03:12:00.000-04:00

So this last weekend was pretty good.

It's kinda late in the Summer but I decided to finally begin my service to the society that has made such a huge difference in my life...no this time it isn't SPEBSQSA... The BSA - Boy Scouts (of) America.

At first I found myself pretty rusty in the outdoors. I haven't been camping since before I got my eagle award back in November of 2005. I had just signed the forms that state that I am now a working assistant scout master the week before the campout and I've only been to one or two of the meetings before then and so this was quite the crash course back into scouting not to mention I had a lot of people to meet and get to know. I feel a bit at a loss since now I have to leave for school. The personality I've portrayed and the ones that I was presented with are still fresh and I have a lot of work before I am considered a next of kin among these scouts. No worries. I plan on spending more time with them in the future.

I've already planned far in advance and will be a camp counselor at the nearby Scout Camp. I applied and as soon as I told them I was over 18 years old they kinda hinted that the job was pretty much a guarantee. The pay is good and the housing and food is provided by them. All I have to do is do what I love and whatever they require of me. I told one of the camp counselors that my favorite merit badge to learn was sailing. I felt so at ease and free with the wind as my power and the boat as my guide across the water. This being said when I received my acceptance letter I was quite pleased to see that my area of expertise will be water Sports (that means I'll be teaching sailing while getting to do it myself) AHHH! Next summer will be simply perfect! Besides that from what I've seen the camp is an amazing complex and the staff are all tightly knit. Just what I'm looking for.

Well, I digress. This is much farther in the future than I should be concentrating on. in just three days begins my intensive study at my dream school. I just can't lose sight of that open lake. That's my drive.

Homescapades

2007-08-14T14:53:00.000-04:00

So I'm packing my things for Columbia today and in addition I've decided to go through some of the boxes we have yet to open since we've moved here to Loveland. In doing so I've attached my survival knife to my belt so I could have easy access to a blade in which to cut open boxes.

Lunch was late today and when my lil' bro Ryan called me up I made a dash for it. m mm, Pizza.

At the end of lunch my mother inquired as to why I had a knife sheathed to my side. I withdrew the blade and proceeded to show her it while explaining I was opening boxes. I also showed her the compass, fire-starting kit,sewing needle and thread, and fishing line and hook that was held in the secret compartment in the handle. Nevertheless it did seem a bit overkill for any situation one might be faced with.

The next thought that crossed her mind was for what reason would I need a survival knife in Chicago for.

she says," Are ya gonna skin homeless people?"

dramatic pause...

Ryan adds,"For their fur??"

So the laughter ensues! and a halfway swallowing Andrew rushes to open the back sliding door but fails to do so in time thus jettisoning the remainder of his chug from his nose onto himself and everything in a two foot radius...he falls to the ground flinching with laughter.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long long time!

As anxious as I am to leave for school I will miss my family and all their oddness.

Colum

2007-07-19T17:19:00.000-04:00

Today I got back from my expedition back into homeland Illinois. I won't explain in much detail my anticipation for the move to Columbia, everyone knows the feeling I think from at least once in their life. It's that full body excitement. You feel every part of your body just surge with an intuition that "this is right". From my fingers to my toes and ending in my heart there is just the sense that something great has come to fruition. Too bad School doesn't start till the 4th of September.

On a second note...why isn't it easier to win the lotto? I could really use an ass-load of cash real soon, more like right now! I'm thinking of starting to invest some of what I already have...I'm just not sure where to start exactly. Maybe a mutual fund just to be safe. Then when I amass some more cash then maybe try my luck on buying my own stocks. I took a class in high school and know a lot about the market and even did really well in a little mock market practice that lasted the whole class. Damn just what I need more stress...

Lastly, and to take my mind off of school and what I need for school, I've realized how detrimental it is for family to be in limited contact with each other. Living in Ohio has for my family pretty much taken us an equal distance in every direction away from family. The las family reunion I remember having was my father's father's (my grandfather)funeral. That wasn't exactly in highest of spirits either. My big bro and sis are coming into town soon and for that I'm super psyched about! It seems we only find it in our schedules to see each other about once a year nowadays. There will most definitely be some good catching up once they get in.

well I 'spose that sums it up for now. Lots going on here in the future but that's something to be eager about. Tomorrow it's back to guarding the King on his Island. Then towards the end of August begins a new and very exciting chapter in the life of a Griffin.

Higher Ground

2007-07-16T00:10:00.000-04:00

Things seem to finally start making sense it seems here in Ohio.

I love work! Being a security guard at Kings Island was the perfect job for me. It's the perfect blend of down time and busy work that I can call comfortable. Not to mention all the adventures I've been on. Just in the past week I've disarmed about 5 fights/ belligerently drunk people, witnessed the escort of two young 14 year olds whom were caught having oral sex in a changing room, and have closed out every night with a pseudo-spectacular firework show. Most days I slump into my house with a feeling of fulfillment and anticipation for the next day.

Tomorrow I pack for my Chicago trip. Orientation is upon me and I feel like I'm quite literally not on top of it. Things are a bit fuzzy as to what is going to happen when I get there but I'm crossing my fingers and saying a little prayer in hopes that that is normal. GOD JUST LET IT WORK OUT!

The 4th

2007-07-04T00:27:00.000-04:00

Everyone has their favorite holiday. Some love the gift giving and the religious meaning of Christmas. Some enjoy the togetherness of family and friends that Thanksgiving seems to embody. Myself, I just like to see things blow up, turn bright colors, and come 2 decibels from shattering my eardrums. I also have a certain sense of national pride, despite the travesties our nation has faced in the past ::cough:: Bush ::cough::. Tonight was the 4th of July ...eve...fireworks show at Kings Island and there was quite a show! All the noise and lights just send my adreneline skyrocketting. I love it! If anyone wanted to ransack the park tonight would've been the night for it since all I could do was stare on at the works going on above our 1/3 sized eiffel tower. I'll admit I've made some stupid mistakes in the past when it comes to handling fireworks myself, I.E. blowing up the back seat of my dad's car, but again I'm drawn to the light like a huge wingless moth. Tom Cound, Chad O'Brien, Erik Shute, and Ethan Young can all attest to this fact. I'm a firework junkie if you want proof...I'll send you THE video. So many good memories of mine involve explosions. God I love this holiday!!!!!!!

My New Desk

2007-07-02T22:58:00.000-04:00

I live in the basement of my family's new house and have done most of my computing from a small crowded folding card table. I decided I'd go to Goodwill to fix my space problem and to upgrade from card table to wooden table. 15 dollars, a very precarious ride home and a sore back later I've got a nice new/old table. A rather good investment I'd say. It looks very executive and has plenty of space to work on so I'm rather excited. Now if I can only finish the walls...I think I might be able to make something of this subterrainian abode.

NPR : Ben Gibbard Gives Solo Concert

2007-06-20T06:22:00.000-04:00

NPR : Ben Gibbard Gives Solo Concert

How To Eat a Watermelon

2007-06-19T14:53:00.000-04:00

Walking

2007-06-17T01:59:00.000-04:00

Have you ever gone on a long walk and just wished that all the lights around you would just turn off. I find myself almost every night going for a walk right around 1 o'clock. I like being alone and sometimes just wish the lights would all shut off for the duration of my expedition. I seem to always find myself ending up at this one special place where the only light that seems near to me is that of the stars. I'll just sit there. In actuality I think that although I am there and I want to seem solitary I truly could use someone by my side. Anyone. I feel like I've gone down a path too far and that there is nobody but just me. I haven't made a single true friend here at "home". It sucks all too much lemme tell you. Is it possible to find anyone in the dark? Someone who is alone and wants to be alone as well? I think my efforts are in vain. Until I can find it comfortable in the light again I just want to walk in the dark. There is nothing for me here and I am very unsettled. I think I've quite literally become the stranger on a quiet street.

AHHH! 911!!!

2007-05-23T01:38:00.000-04:00

Today seemed like it was gonna be one of another in a series of boring days. I had spent most of my day, sadly, in my basement on my computer. At 9 o'clock my little brother andrew ran downstairs and told me my little brother Ryan had broken his arm. I can't describe the amount of urgency I took as I bound out of the basement. I ran upstairs and out the back door and sure enough back behind our playground in the backyard was my little bro with his arm bent in a place it very well shouldn't have been bent. My brothers and one of Ryans friend were running around chasing each other when Ryan slipped down the ladder on the playset. His arm, unfortunately, became stuck between two rungs and snapped. I told him not to move it and immediately called 911. It's really scary to see a loved one in turmoil. I'd never broken a bone in my body but I can guess it is similair to the pain I felt if not worse when I had torn my lateral meniscus. He was in shock at first when I had initially arrived on the scene but after he quit moving it and my mom calmed him down he immediately wanted to solve the problem. He didn't cry a bit from that moment on. The sight of his bent arm made hime a little sick to his stomach but he endured the pain like a real champ. I'm in absolute awe as to how well he dealt with the situation. My dad was at a town meeting so my mom and Andrew had to pick him up. We couldn't reach him on his phone because he was speaking at the meeting. Thanks to one of the neighbors that offered to drive over and tell him what had happened we could rally the family together. As the family was getting together I offered to ride with the paramedics and Ryan in the ambulance to help answer any questions.

The paramedics were extremely nice and Ryan
answered all their questions
including the ones about school and baseball.

He could feel but it hurt to move his fingers

Even on the bumpy ride to the hospital all the way in Cinncinnati he kept the most calm composure. The paramedic asked some questions and with a little help from me the topic of conversation eventually landed on whether he was going to be able to play baseball or go to school. At the Hospital everything went by smoothly.

Not a Bit Nervous

He got put to sleep for a bit and they re-aligned his radius and ulna and they bound it in a temporary brace and fitted him for an arm sling.

Taking a Nap

Drowsy Thumbs Up

Already Being Pampered

Walking out of the hospital all he was worried about then was how much longer he would have to wait to get home so he could eat some oatmeal. we just got back home at about 1:15 and he's off to bed and hoping that next week when they put his cast on if he can have it done up so it looks like camoflauge...he loves anything army related. I can admit to coming to tears a few times tonight. I can't stand seeing anyone I love come to harm. Even when the doctor raised his arm a bit and he winced in pain. I felt just absolutely distresed. Now everything is better and from here Ryan gets the king's treatment. Unfortunately he will have to stop playing baseball...too bad too he caught a line drive at 3rd base the other day. I'm just glad that he isn't in any more pain and proud to have such a truly brave little brother.

Don't know what knees are?

2007-05-20T03:14:00.000-04:00

Here is a short tutorial that will help you -

knees

Securely Secured

2007-05-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

I LOVE my new job...don't get me wrong there are pros and there are cons but for the most part my choice of job this summer is flawless. As security guard for a theme park there are many responsibilities...more than I had originally bargained for. My job does comprise of standard security things such as patrols and standing guard at certain places but unlike most security jobs a security job at a theme park demands constant attention. My first day on the job was rather easy. One of the more experienced officers, Rob Otero, had me shadow him. All in all that day was uneventful due to rain...this however made for a very drenched me. The next day was sunny and nice out and I was on my own. This is where I did most of the learning. All the radio lingo and signals were foreign to me. I did have a decoding chart but had accidentally left it at home...so I'm sitting there listening to base calling out signal 7s and 26s and I'm like WTF?! Not much harm came that day thankfully. Just two days ago I helped apprehend 8 drunk kids from a ride. They were all in their late twenties and two of them tried resisting arrest. Too bad the jail was full or they would've been sent to the slammer. But wow let me tell you...there isn't too much of a difference between me and the other security guards and the on site police officers. It was an absolute adreneline rush to be there on the scene of an arrest...It felt like I was in a COPS episode. The cons of the job are easily gotten over when you look at all the good you're doing for people. Cons include soar legs blisters on your feet and sunburns. A lot of good comes from what I do there. I reunite lost children with their parents, help people find things they've lost, help keep the park clean, and so on and so on. I can't wait until the park opens full-time! Hopefully I'll get a chance to ride some of the attractions...it's hard as hell to describe a ride to people you've never been on yourself!

Rider on the Storm

2007-05-01T23:34:00.000-04:00

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh! I need to just scream...I'm so stressed out.

3 Tornado drills today.

3 times today did I have to stop my studying and writing to file into a hallway and sit on the ground and waste precious time...Time which seems so precious and yet at the same time so wretched. The storms wasted probably about a good 4 hours of my day. By the third one I decided to run outside before the RAs could catch me and I just stood in a field crouched down and watched the rage of the flickering bolts and prodigious pounds as the sky moved in opposite directions converging at what seemed to be right over my head. It was relaxing but when it all subsided on went college.

When I got back I found out my roommate was leaving today...like right then when I got back. It was sad. I'm sorta alone now here as I type away in my lonely, bare room. I'd give anything to leave now as well but unfortunately for me I have the privilege of lingering here in the bowling greens until Friday. Stoopid finals. I'm gonna miss Corey and all the guys. We've all made plans to go to the Warped Tour in Cincy later in the summer so there still may be one last reunion...then I go my way and they theirs.

A lot has happened this past year. And I feel no regret leaving it all behind. In some odd way I enjoy having this room to myself. I have wanted some solitude for awhile now.

Phase Daze

2007-04-26T01:25:00.000-04:00

A great anxiety has welled up from inside of me lately. I'm ready for something to happen next. I want so badly to barrel into a new phase. Dont'cha hate that? It seems to me as if we all track the progress of our lives in phases. Please, correct me if I'm wrong. It's so linear. I can, in a short one paragraph essay, guide you through the series of phases that have compiled thus far in my life. Sad, but despite that fact the end of one phase and the beginning of another tends to be such large punctuated milestones in our lives...I think I'm about to hit one here...I think...I hope. Am I there yet? Am I there yet? Am I there yet...?

Pink Bullets

2007-04-22T08:13:00.000-04:00

I don't know if any of you are big indie rock fans but I sure as hell am. I was messing around with some equipment and some stolen software on my computer last night and I was able to mix down a song done by The Shins called Pink Bullets...I don't own a pop filter(yet) so the vocals aren't all too great and the levels are kinda shoddy...I realized later what the problem was (computer related) but I was finished with the song by that time and I don't think it's too bad. If you'd like to hear scroll down to the bottom of my blog here and find my little project playlist player and scroll to the last two songs on the little list thingy. You'll see the first one has no effects(except for an echo filter on the harmonica part) and then the other one has a myriad of phaser type things - that was just for fun. Listen and let me know whatcha think! You may have to hit play and then hit pause and let it sit for a bit to load (I do) but if that doesn't work for you or if you run into any other problems e-mail me and I'll send you the mp3 file...that way you can add it to your ipod if you'd like).

The family came up the other day and we unloaded most of my room of its contents...kinda devoid in here but when move out comes up here in a week I'll just have to basically hop in the van and take off. So close...Stay cool!

I need an AED

2007-04-18T13:37:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I was certified by the Red Cross to administer adult, child, and infant CPR, the use of an automated electronic defibrillator, and basic first aid. One more step towards being officially certified for my security job this summer.

With the end of the school year upon me and so many plans for my near future...it's getting harder and harder to stay concentrated on the here and now. This is a bad thing. I’m just too excited to get out of here. I’ve already started packing my things and my parents are coming this weekend to take most of my stuff back home.

In the second week of May I’ll have the majority of the week off and so I’ve devised a plan to visit Oswego. This is convenient for multiple reasons. Tom will be in Ohio that weekend and will be able to pick me up and drive me back with him to Oswego and it’s also the week of the spring musical at OHS! I was worried I wouldn’t get the chance to see the show but since theme parks don’t open full swing till later in may the gaps in the earlier weeks of may give me some freedom. I can’t wait to see everyone!

My Videos

2007-04-07T23:41:00.000-04:00

If I could direct your attention to the side panel over to you right you'll notice a new section deally called My Vids. I encourage you to go ahead and click on those and watch them. Right now I have some videos of one of my favorite blues harpists and also the man I've been taking online lessons with via youtube. His name is Adam Gussow, He's an Ivy League graduate and he played on the streets of Harlem back in the late 80s with a guitarist who went by the name of Mr. Satan. Together they formed Satan and Adam a two man blues band that reigned over the streets. Check it out!

See Food

2007-04-07T03:33:00.000-04:00

I like seafood. I like fish, crawfish, and even enjoy a good piping warm bowl of Chunky New England Clam Chowdah. But...today I was absolutely repulsed by what usually would be a savory idea for a meal. The Sundial (which is the closest dining hall to me here on the campus of BG) closed at 7 tonight...I decided I was hungry after 7 and was denied food from their sub-par dining dith hole of a hall. So I went to my room realizing I had been saving up for such an occasion. I had two large cases of Ramen Noodle. One is chicken the other shrimp. With little debate I proceeded in cooking up a cup of the shrimp and noodles. MMMM!!!! Shrimp..........NOT!

-Tah-Dah-

If you can see it there it's right next to the tip of that pen. I've never seen a shrimp that...well...shrimpy. Plus - shrimp aren't suppossed to look like aborted fetuses .
-sorry-
I am just as disgusted. Honestly. I almost Vomed.

2007-04-06T16:02:00.000-04:00

Here it is...the last few weeks of my freshman year of college. Kinda came up on me fast here it seems. This week has been kinda stressful but the other day I got a package in the mail from my mom. Two dvds and a modified easter basket full of candy. Gotta hand it to her, she knows how to get to my heart. Having that little bit of home in front of me when I opened the box up on my dilapidated couch of a footon made me think back to home and how much I love my family. I definately needed to take a moment to stop thinking about school constantly and remember that I have them too.

ah yes new template...any comments? I made the little dealy picture with my Stranger on a Quiet Street theme.

Short update. Lots to do this weekend. stay tuned in case anything exciting happens. I doubt it.

2007-03-24T22:15:00.000-04:00

I Gots Tha Bloos

Not really...I do have a 30 dollar Hohner diatonic harmonica however. I've wanted to pick up playing harmonica for a reasonably long time and I thought what better reason to prompt me to do so than to buy a rather expensive one and let the guilt of wasting the money on it drive me to play it well...and success. It has been the best thirty dollars I've spent so far this year. Over the course of the two days that I've had it, thanks to some online tutorials and hours of intentionally winding myself till my diaphram hurt, I have mastered many aspects of harmonica playing and even taken on some rather expert techniquey kinds of things like bending notes. Here's some eye candy:

Today was my first day of two for introductory on site King's Island security training...basically from 8 in the morning until 5 in the evening I watched various bad speakers read material straight off a power-point presentation. This gave me plenty of time to size up the comp. While doing so I noticed I was a minority. I hadn't experienced a war. LOL Every single security guard (except for one but he looked like Farva from super troopers so that made up for him) had experienced some time in the service in either Vietnam or Desert Storm...A lot of Vietnam vets. My next thought was maybe I should look out for the well being of the other security guards in addition to the patrons...who knows when they're gonna have a flashback of napalm and punji stakes. Okay I'm exaggerating a bit...there were some other college kids too. But still...

Last little picture here...I was driving around downtown Loveland this evening and I happened to pass a canoe rental place...upon passing it I noticed a sort of land mark. It was a canoe that had been turned into an art piece. On it was a little tune painted out and I noticed something rather peculiar about it...I had SANG that tune not but a year ago almost consecutively everyday...The very first song I sang with my barbershop quartet back during my junior year of highschool was a song called "I'd Love to Live in Loveland". I always that it was a strange circumstance that my family decided to move to a town named after a song I had sang...Well here take a look at this:

It's really something to see parts of your life fit together in strange little witty ways like this. Granted there is a bit of an amendment to the lyrics for the sake of advertising for the rental place but the tune is there and the thought does count.

2007-03-20T23:31:00.000-04:00

Am I the only person who instead of doing much needed work, opts for renovating my room? HAH! I picked up a pair of socks and an hour later I emptied the contents of my closet cleaned it and re hung and inserted everything...Instead of doing an essay that's due at 3:30 tomorrow...AH procrastination!

I got a chance to play with Final Cut Pro today (a video editing program). I felt like I was back in OHS in the TV4 lab working to finish my project before the building closed...OHS stays open much later however and so this time I was kicked out at 8. Still it was so satisfying. A few of my group members came to watch and throw in any ideas. I hate boastful people but just sitting in that chair and editing away as they stared complacently made me feel proud. I can't wait for next year. I'll get the chance to edit by splicing!!! YES! I'm coming Columbia!

Edit: I am a nerd. Period.

2007-03-12T18:25:00.000-04:00

Back in the BG

Spring break went by all too quickly.

I am as of yesterday ( Sunday, march 11, 2007) a hired man. I'll be working this summer at King's Island at the local Cinncinati amusement park: King's Island.

My Job:

Park Security

I was pretty nervous going into the interview. My boss is a cop who is sanctioned to oversee all of the security staff in the park. I looked around the room to see the competition and saw mostly men in their 50s. The conversation amongst the other applicants started and then circled around the park's expectations concerning the appearance of the employees...This subject was prompted after one of the older gentlemen commented on my facial hair and eyebrow piercing...bastard. Basically they were explaining everything the park looks for in their employees and none of which did I adhere to. regardless of their accusations my boss, whom interviewed me, was impressed with my background in scouting and impressed with my responses to his questions, which I thought were extremely basic. Basically I pwned the interview. I will have to shave and get rid of the eyebrow ring but those are minor sacrifices. I'll be working as many hours as I want and feel comfortable working and will have a starting pay of $7.75. I'm extremely anxious to begin working this summer with a steady job that doesn't rely on tips.

Until then I need to bulk up. Who knows what situations I may be thrown into? My boss mentioned, amongst the 20,000 incidents reported last year some of them included:

missing children

Knife fights

fist fights

drunken fist fights

3 cars were reported stolen

and more that I can't remember offhand. I say bring it on! After I lift some lead and drink some protein shakes I'll be ready to take on the droves of assholes that pile into the park walls day in and day out...too bad I don't get a billy club or some mace...naw, I'll be fine. :)

2007-03-07T21:09:00.000-05:00

S-O-L

The other day a fellow film student from BG whom lives in the Cinncinati area drove over to my place to meet. We got dinner and then drove over to the local blockbuster where we were denied service due to an inactive card...not the first time this has happened to me. Afterwards we began to drive to the next movie store we knew of but before this happened the radio turned completely off...cue bad omen. We made the quick decision to pull over into a nearby driveway and just as we did so the car died. We were barely in the driveway when the woman of the house was trying to pull in to her driveway. Well after the master of the house came out and looked the car over we found that not only was the battery dead but the serpentine belt had tore and was absolutely no good. At this point it was certain we weren't going anywhere in that car. The kind couple let us inside their house out of the cold and offered us something to drink. I kindly responded no thanks. In the end my father came and piked us up and the man offered to guard the car ovvernight as he charged the battery. Problem solved. One thing the whole experince made me realize that no matter how untrusting society is of complete strangers, the fact is there are good people out there. They could have left us to deal with our problem...hell we could've been shady shysters waiting to take advantage of an unsuspecting couple. It gives me faith to see such unrestrained kindness.

Nature is Calling

I have the immense Urge to go camping. I mean real camping. Nothing but the wilderness and me. Somebody...please kidnap me and throw me out into the wilderness with only the clothes on my back, I beg of you.

Thanks but No Thanks

In other news...I was offered a job as an assistant manager at the local Meijer and enthusiastically declined. The prospect of the money was enticing but then I remembered there is this whole school thing...working full time would've severely difficult. It was quite the akward inteview...Maybe I'll get that job as security guard for King's Island, a local amusement park...That or something at Borders....I LOVE BORDERS! To be surrounded by good books,movies,and music all day would be unbelievably bearable, please call me in for an interview this week!

I end this post today with some genereal advice on handling newborn children:

Good Evening.

2007-03-04T22:51:00.000-05:00

Confession of a Lovestruck College Boy

ok...so I've got this kind of embarrasing confession I'd like to get off my chest...I'm in love. A sweet musique runs through my head when I hear her and my palms sweat and my knees begin to tremble uncontrollably...the embarrassing part...I'm in love with Leigh Nash. You may know her better as the real hot singer from Sixpence None the Richer the band that does that real sappy song Kiss Me:

Basically, everytime I hear her song Kiss Me ( and this just so happens to be quite often) I imagine that she is singing it to me...hence the whole sweating and knees thing. There. I've confessed my love and now I feel like I can take on the world...and propose to her...yes I know she's married...that's why we're going to elope to Australia or maybe Bangladesh. I learned how to play the guitar part so I can play along with her, then she can sing Kiss Me to me forever! YES! I'm gonna go start making up the invitations now. Bye Blogger! Hello Leigh Nash!

LEigh Nash - My Idea of Heaven

2007-03-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

I need a hobby

The first day of spring break and already the boredom sets in. Anyone wanna start a barbershop quartet?

Today is my birthday...kind of. Today is the day my family has decided to celebrate it. I can't wait till next year when I'll get a real birthday. Being born on a leap year sucks. It shouldn't be allowed. They shoud either pre-maturely birth you or just wait until the next day. Having a birthday once every 4 years just isn't right.

Anyone want a good read...try Erik Larson's Devil in the White City. Excellent non-fiction depiction of the planning of the 1893 world fair in Chicago and the events surrounding it...specifically the deaths of numerous women at the hands of a man named H.H. Holmes. Reads like a fiction, and then you remember it actually happened.

Spring Break?

2007-03-02T20:41:00.000-05:00

Spring Break?

I've spent the past two nights awake in a computer lab working under my prime condition...PRESSURE! The work load was large - the work itself maticulous and seemingly pointless. Nevertheless, it is done and I begin my srping break here at my house in Loveland Ohio. Unfortunately...I'll probably be working even harder this week than this last week. The latter half of this semester is going to be real rough. I'm gonna try and get some of the work I know will be expected of me later out of the way now. Then when I'm not doing homework I'll be looking for job applications for my summer job/s. Spring break seems to be an extremely loose...it's more so spring week where I don't have to be at school but I have to work just as hard. Granted, I realize I will probably procrastinate and find other more extracurricular things to do around the house.

What are everybody elses plans for this spring break...if you're one of the two people I think might stumble over my blog here let me know. BTW if you two, Brian and Sarah, would be so kind as to maybe spread the word as to my blogs existence to those who might care that would be terrific!

well I'm gonna tinker around with photoshop! Bye Blogger!

.....

2005-09-06T21:02:00.000-04:00

Well it's either out of sheer chance or slight boredom but I've decided to maybe...Occasionally continue submitting entries here on my "Blog".

Just as a quick and very brief update/overview things aren't bad. I've had my surgery over the past summer and today I've found that I've became quite sedentary...Running 2 miles wasn't exactly easy.

While the summer was still mid-swing Chad, Michael Leali, Anthony Kayer, and myself finally formed the quartet that I was hoping to have formed last year...Better sometime than never, right? A few weeks ago I ordered us some red vests and bow ties through American male ( only 40 bucks ea.) and I got a call the other day so I gotta go pick those up...I'm excited. I really enjoy singing Barbershop style. It's brought me so much joy and understanding. We found a local barbershop chorus by the name of "The Lamplighters chorus" and have attended a few of their recent meetings. The first night we went there all of the older men's faces lit up with intrigue, and vitality coursed through them. I'm glad my friends and I could rekindle an interest that those men thought maybe only to be as a routine. We showed them that their music is respected and still being sung by young voices. They were so impressed with our ability and desire to sing with them to the point that we've been invited to sing with them at the Fall Convention at Peoria. I'm super excited!

Let's see what else

Hey I'm interested in whether or not anyone will read this post...So if you do make a comment or two. K? LOL.

OOO!

So basically I'm Eagle scout as of now...I mean there are some legal things that have yet to be done but now it's just a process of waiting...So yup, I'm excited...It's been a long time and finally it's paid off. I guess I'm wrong in saying that it has Finally paid off. It's always been quite the experience. From day one I've only met good people and learned good things ranging from tying knots to understanding what a balloon loan is. I'll always have scouting as a part of my life. As much as I can and as often as I can afford I will try and repay the scouting program for all it's given me.

That's all for now. Peace out.

2005-03-10T23:12:00.000-05:00

God Freaking Christ!

I've had no time at all lately. I'd be funny if I were lying to you by making that statement but it's true...so it's very unfunny. I've not blogged for years it seems. Lo siento biotches! I can't even restate some of the things that have been going on lately. Everything is moving so fast. Callbacks for the musical were today. The fucking seussical or however you spell it. I hope i did well...I can't tell. I'm excited.

Oh godd I can't stand updates...I'd try to do it for eveyone but I'm not gonna lie...I have no time to sit and sulk on this site about what has me down or up or all around. I'm gonna admit it...I probably won't update too much from now on...I've grown lethargic. I'm going to try something from now on that I'd advise everyone else to do. I'm going to start keeping a Journal in lieu of this blog...yes it will be private so I don't know why i tell you all this. Truthfully I don't see the point of bleeding onto a screen through a keyboard...I think it should be something more personal. Don't think I'm bein hypocritical by saying this...It's a new decision I've just made lately. That and of course the lack of time at my home will pull me away from this blog. I still love you all for blogging and showing me a part of my life that one day i'll sign onto and laugh with hearty belly laughs and tears of happiness. I'll just confide elsewhere. Good night.

2005-02-19T01:34:00.000-05:00

AHHHH!!!!

I neeed to get my Eagle scout NOW! I can't stand scouts anymore!

2005-02-15T00:05:00.000-05:00

Commotion tonight!

Tired as a mother after giving birth right now. We learned a real fun lift today and I turned out to do them pretty well. I can't wait till show choir competition begins. I hope we do well!

This last weekend was the last speech meet of this season. nobody went on to state. I guess this year was really strange for the speech team. Next season is already in my mind. I cannot wait till I get another chance to start anew. I've gotta brainstorm for my OC now! Got any ideas let me know.

other than that nothing but the usual trial and tibulations that is my life. I'll post a more thorough overview later. for now i'm done for tonight. Love ya all...g'night.

2005-02-06T04:50:00.000-05:00

well well well.

Good Job LBC. I can't find your IP. Whoever commented on my blog made one good decision and that was that whoever LBC is they have never posted before on my site. Since I can't find yo via IP It's just gonna have to be a game of hide and go seek.

2005-02-06T02:00:00.000-05:00

OKay here goes. nobody and I mean nobody PHUCKS with The Griffin!

So for everyone out there outta the loop (which is everyone) I've been encroached on. Today I went over to Chad O'brien's house to watch ray and when I left I got in my car. I began driving away and when I went to go look in my side mirror I noticed some writing. specificalyy three letters. LBC. So I pulled over to the side of the road got out and looked at it closer...hmm that's odd. it's lipstick. I call chad up. Hey chad ....(I tell him story as thus far)....do you know anything about this or what the deal with LBC is? Chad: no. oh hey is there white shit on the back of your car? Joe's internal thoughts: what the fuck? So I walk to the back and notice LBC written again only this time in like white sauce. It smelled like ice cream. and on the sides of my car in the shape of a heart was more icecream sauce. So now I'm pretty damned scared. I head off and call up Katie thinking they're still at te Hoch's. they aren't they're at Kyle's. So I head over there and show them the damage and at this point I'm done. I just need to figure out who this is.

I'd also like to point out a few flaws to those who have done this little job:

1.The hit I admit was original but....it wasn't that big of one.
2.you left initials that may help us figure you out
3.you left a friggin comment on my blog....That pretty much narrows it dow alot.
4.you may have a name as a disguise but I've got your IP from Haloscan comment providers and all I have to do know is match up your IP with one you've used before. You can change your name but you can't change your IP.

Oh you've started it LBC. I'll make sure to finish it...just you wait.

2005-02-01T23:11:00.000-05:00

So here it is people. Speech is done for me. i've already got Ideas for next years OC though. I can't wait. I also want to search and find my Hda for next year.

Oh by the way...yeah so I kinda ran into a problem with my camera and it doesn't work anymore so don't expect photos for awhile. I need to get a new camera and I am definately broke.

I apologize for not updating recently. I've ebeen very preoccupied. But I'm getting better with my routine now. I'm not pulling all nighters anymore. I've actually felt really well lately. I've been just chugging away at my extracurriculars and school doesn't seem a burden at all. I guess with speech being over and al,l all the stress of that is lifted from me. As much as I love speech I know that half way through next years season I'll dread it to a degree. and then notice how much I'll miss it yet be thankful i did it once I move on the the real world.

I'm Directing for Limelight now and anytime i get to work alongside Brian and crew I'm in heaven. It's just a little show but I'm having fun actually brainstorming ideas and having a say in what goes on stage for the whole cast that has to perform the show in the end. i'll be posting more info on that at a later date.

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY! :)

2005-01-27T00:15:00.000-05:00

Hey Finally an update!

Yeah sorry everyone I've left you all hanging with my time cube post...actually I've probably driven everyone away from my blog with that post. To put you all at ease Chad is a insane phuck and I don't believe in the theory.

New classes have begun and I have to admit I was reluctant to the change...except for acapella. Today was my first day of choir and I absolutely loved it. Acapella is going to rawk the hizz-ouse. I'm so happy to be in Acapella.

But mostly I'm happy to know the man who runs that class. Mr. Tieri along with being the most formidable man is among the few trusted men I know of. I would trust my life with Mr. T. He's helped me to learn so much to do with music and life in general. When I first saw him I thought I'd never get a chance even to be in his presence...seriously. Know that I've found that to be silly I've had many a inspiring conversation with him. He's so eloquent and yet very down to earth. In his bluntness he strips all the lies and sets out the truths in life's chaos...and he's in the fucking mafia so he's totally loaded. I bet he's got a shotgun in his piano just waiting for Barnes to encroach on his turf. HOLY SHIT how awesome would that be. A fucking turf war between drama/speech and choir/band. That's it I'm gonna start writing the novel now. It'll be 2005's epic story of love family values and enough ammo to outshoot the other guy. Explosions in every scene. A love triangle between Mr. B his wife Donna B and Pappas. What will Tieri do when he discovers his underboss is involved with the other boss. Small turf disputes turn to family feud. Love to loathing and the chance to come out on top...hehe come....on top...two sexual innuendos in one sentence. I PHUCKING RAWK. No but really Tieri is pretty damn solid...::chortle::

Tonight we had freshman orientation and I oversaw the Drama dept.'s booth. I saw a lot of potential drama nerds...so...we'll see. Fingers crossed. As for speech.......well nobody seemed interested. Why I ask. I mean I understand it may seem somewhat boring at first. I dunno I really tried to explain it thoroughly. Nobody seemed to enthusiastic or they just put on their oh-you're-talking-to-me-about-something face. Oh well. They'll regret not joining later.

Sorry at this point you've probably skimmed through the last paragragh trying to salvage some bit of an interesting t.o.c.(topic of conversation). I should have warned you at the beginning. There really isn't one I guess. Life has been very routine lately. I wake up go to school stay at school bum a ride home since the car is broken and then I do homework. Practice the many things I have to in order to be a performer and then around an ungodly hour I crawl into bed to get at least a few hours of sleep before I hit the repeat button and the day seems to repeat itself maybe in a first or second inversion of the root day. Other than that. I'd like to add to everyone's knowledge of myself that I do enjoy occasional and for the most part spontaneous back rubs or firm handshakes(only if your hands are dry{Dave}). So yeah. I'm trying to hint to everyone that I could use one of the two...preferably if your male the back rub shouldn't happen. Not that it'd be awkward it's just that I don't think I'd be comfortable with that. Yeah.

just for fun and maybe a little discussion amongst people I'll throw out the idea of starting up D.A.S again. If you know what it is and would like it to have another chance post accordingly. If you know not what it is talk to me accordingly. Or just talk to me.

Don't do drugs. Inject them.

2005-01-13T23:44:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm about to blow your minds wide open. I've heard of this "silly" thing for quite some time but honestly I've been changed. how you may ask. well the answer is quite simple...the time cube theory. I don't know if any of you know about this theory...I'd explain it on my blog but It would be a waste of a man's hard work. So to get the scoop on Ray and his theory go here: http://www.timecube.com/

Now before you say,"Joe! what the hell is wrong with you," let me tell you if you have no faith in your elders then you are a waste. this man is trying to enlighten us. The world is definately more complex than we all expect it to be. i've been tying to find the answer since day 1 and finally this genious old man has put it into perspective for me. right now I'd like to rant on more but I really must go. i've got letters to send to the other 3 quadrants of the earth. I've so much to catch up on! Remember:

Faith IS NOT knowledge.

2005-01-13T17:24:00.000-05:00

Tonight i've got a meeting for the absolute wonderful Limelight Theatre! I'm so happy that I'm going to be helping out. I can't d too much with the fresh soph show since I'm a junior so this is a nice deal. I've read the script in two night. It's really funny. I've already got ideas runnin gthrough my head. when I should really be working on my OC. Oh well. More 'nfo later.

Speech meet

2005-01-09T14:15:00.001-05:00

WAHOO!

I'm probably the only one who is going to say that I had a great time at my speech meet. It was a roller coaster of emotion for me. I went through a tired state, a discouraged state, an energetic state, and a psyched state. I had a great time the other day and when I got home I was way too tired to do anything except sleep. Wait, I lie. I did go to Chad's house to eat pizza. As I promised here is a small run through of my day. Due to IHS rules though i was prohibited from taking pictures during rounds. But I did get some pictures. Here is how a day at speech tends to go:

Heres what time I went to sleep friday night:

I woke up saturday at:

Boy I was ready for a funfilled day of speech!

After getting all dressed and meeting everybody at our school we get on the bus...for an hour drive.

Chad and I used my guitar to write a song for the speech team. If you want to hear it just ask and I'll have Chad and I sing it for you at the next meet fellow speechers. If you aren't a speecher just ask we'll be happy to oblige...believe me the pleasure is ours HEHEHE...Good times.

Here we've arrived at Buffalo Ridge, the school hosting this weeks meet. Mike here isn't sure what the hell he's doing...ha...duckpants....anyway the more important aspect of this photo is on top of that blue case there. YEP! it's rice on Your Shirt. I'll apogize now and say he's not in too many other pictures like I said he'd be. But I do believe my fate at this meet was guided by that little guy. his spirit was with me all day!

Here's what a speech room looks like. You sit in a chair a coach comes in and then you give him/her your filled out critique sheet. during the performance the judge takes down notes and advice for you on your presentation. Then afterwards the judge gives you a score 1-6 or 7 or more depending on the size of your room. 1's are the best. each speech is usually about 8 minutes long but sometimes somebody sux and goes over(which they get deducted for)this throws everything outta whack and pisses everone off at the meet because it usually sends the whole meet into having to stay longer. Which by the way did happen at this meet. I think there were also problems in the tab room (where they tally all the scores and assign awards). The room looks like it hasn't much space but that's because...well actually it really doesn't...ha. it's hard sometimes. As for the kid in this picture...he's a real shmuck! He's really monotone and his OC...isn't funny. Oh well can't all be born with the ability can we...SUCKAS!

After all the rounds are done and everyone is back in the lunch room we wait for the finalist posters to go up. right away when I got out of my HDA round I find out that I made the OC next-in finals.WOOT WOOT! (next in is like, you're good but you're not good enough for the actual finals...but you'll still compete for a little medalion!) So just when I thought I could relax i'm looking for the room and running my OC in my head.

Here's the room my next-ins were in. I was so happy to actually have space this time. Yeah that's trigger in the picture there. He sadly didn't make it in anything today...tough luck. He was so depressed he started perfoming his DI here in the OC room and when people came in he got plenty of dirty stares...just kidding...he's got a big dick, he didn't cry.

Ah yes look who surprisingly made...BOBO THE FUCKING CLOWN! God I hate this kid.

I did awsome in that round. I had tons of energy...almost too much energy. Story: So whenever beginning a speech and ending a speech it's normal to give a little head bow. Now by the end of my OC I had built up so much energy that when I went in to give my end speech head bow I did about the dorkiest thing ever. I went into my head bow more like a head bang. If you'd like just ask me to reenact the act if you run into me somewhere...Trigger will back me up when I mean i looked PHUCKING ridiculous. Ah well. I loved it!

As soon as i got out of that round I went to go wait for awards...BUT! It turned out my HORRIBLE HDA made next-ins too. I was absolutely surprised. We had done horrible all day long. Leali and i got ready and found our room right away.

We had to wait a long LONG time. I don't know what happened to our judge but she must've gone out to get dinner before deciding to come judge our event. We were waiting for about 45 minutes for that wench. I didn't care I was just in awe that we were there.

This is a rare in action photo. Taking pictures during performances is illegal and thanks to Trigger's ignorance he took one anyway. Thanks Trigger...bad quality sorry. We actually did really good here in our final round. we were in absolute awe! a sense of pride welled up in both of us.

Thank for watching my HDA Trigger...wait what are these pictures? You horny bastard!

Here is our only actual Finalist members...wait, is it...the Hoch is there...but who's Berverka? Hahaha, we love you Jessi!!
when everything is done we all pile into the auditorium of the school and we get called for our awards...heheheh yeah about that i forgot about my camera whilst I was there so no pictures...you can use your imagnation it's a room filled with all the billions(overdramatization) of speechers huddled up and yelling and making a rucous till they call awards and then we applaude. YAY!

Well after 8 performances, no lunch or dinner, very little time to myself, and a short bathroom break i was ready to head home...

Bum

Bum

Bum

...with my TWO MEDALS...

Third in OC next-ins and 2nd in HDA next-ins...WOOT WOOT.

The true heroes that day were Jessi and Mike who broke for HDA getting 3rd place overall. Jessi speaks for them both with her smile.

Well that's about it. I put out a heart felt congratulations to everyone who went to the other meet. you guys tried your hardest I heard. you'll all have to give me the scoop sometime.

I hope you all enjoyed my post. I have to credit all of what happened to me that day to one of my closest friends...yes...Rice on your shirt------Get some sleep lil buddy...we have to do it all over again next week.

2005-01-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

WAHOO!

i'm probably the only one who is going to say that I had a great time at my speech meet. It was a roller coaster of emotion for me. I went through a tired state a discouraged state a energetic state and a psyched state. I had a great time the other day and when I got home i was way too tired to do anythin except sleep. Wait I lie. I did go to Chad's house to eat pizza. As I promised here is a small run through of my day. Due to IHS rules though i was prohibited from taking pictures during rounds. But I did get some pictures. Here is how a day a speech tends to go:

Heres what time I went to sleep friday night:

I woke up saturday at:

Boy I was ready for a funfilled day of speech!

Rice On Your Shirt!

2005-01-07T23:52:00.000-05:00

WOOT WOOT

Watch out erebody cuz Joe is stepping it up for tomorrow's big SPEECH MEET!

HELL YEAH DUDE! THAT ROCKS!

I'm gonna wake up at some ungodly hour but on my best dress clothes and head out to kick some other speech nerd's ass!!!! YEAH!....Sorry I apologize for this. Speech should never be built up this much....it's actually a very tame and to most a very boring sport....but there are the few like myself who will claim again and again that to gget my kicks ... yes i give speeches.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO READ THIS NEXT Bit!:
I'e decided since maybe some readers have never been to a speech meet I'd take you there myself. So...I'm going to bring my camera to the speech meet tomorrow and post pictures as i track my day through all my rounds and other crazy antics that occur while speeching. i'll also bbe bringing my good luck charm with me to the meet so you may see him in a few (alot) of the pictures.

His name is rice on your shirt and he's my lil wormy....QUE PICTURE!:

Wish me the best of luck yall!
I wish...you the best of luck at...whatever you do tomorrow...just don't die that'd be sad....unless your death is done in a DI format...then you should go to first place at state for your performance.

Man(and woman) I'm tired. Good night.

SPEECH WOOT!

2005-01-06T23:24:00.000-05:00

Notice the uncanny resemblance...I do. All who agree post accordingly all who don't keep it to yourselves. you're only hurting yourselves by not conforming. Sorry sarah the best match i could find had you doing the dirty to the camera...heh...no worries we all love you. Even if you do flick off everyone who visits my site.

2005-01-06T23:06:00.000-05:00

No explanation of today...I was sick and many a toilet in my house was thrown up in...yes blunt but true. I'm going to sleep now. wish me well. I wish you all well.

2005-01-05T00:43:00.000-05:00

Another Tuesday

Yeah so let the good times roll. Showchoir tonight was lots of fun. Alumn Adrian aguilar came back to show us a dance routine he made for our showwchoir comp. It's really good. It's flows well and is actuall very simple. It's flashy though so i think it'll catch the judges eyes. Dad is outta town for a few day. Wow I don't know why i typed that...probably doesn't intterest any of you. oh well it's my blog and I can cry if i want to cry if I want to.

Wow i'm broken tonight.

Probably due to the lack of sleep I've been getting.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!: Everybody needs to look at my side bar and go to Vladimir's blog. so far I've been the only poster. Which makes Vlad feel insignificant. He hasn't told me that he feels insignificant but I've come to the conclusion that because i've been his only poster he is...so yeah...GO NOW! Just because he's russian doesn't mean he still holds to their ideals. (well most of them that is)

Edit: Oh sorry about the lack of that surprise i promised...it's not workin like I hoped it would oh well you won't die. If you do...I'll take all responsibilty for you're death.

2005-01-03T19:03:00.001-05:00

Well I'm having some trouble with how I want to go with my template but expect it to be worked on gradually.

I'm looking forward to speech meet this weekend. I'm going to be double entered in oc and HDA. This week I am actually excited about the meet. I am a lot more confident about my pieces now.

Tomorrow everyone is in for a little treat . Be sure to check my blog.

Oh by the way I'm writing this blog with a dictating program. This whole blog has been dictated to my microphone. I haven't typed any of this entire post. Suckers.

If you want a copy of the program let me know.

Vlad

2005-01-03T19:03:00.000-05:00

2004-12-30T05:09:00.000-05:00

Under construction

Sorry all you faithful readers but since everybody is outta town I'm gonna be doing a total renovation of my site. Wait for some cool things to come.

2004-12-27T05:44:00.000-05:00

HEY EVERYBODY!

I got the new camera! I'll update later today for now i'm getting some sleep. Expect photos!

2004-12-24T21:51:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!...or whatever you do.

So I forgot to keep counting the days down who gives a shit? All that matters now is that tomorrow is Christmas. . . and whether you're waiting to get that crazy cool new snowboard or video game or pair of underwear...or if you're just into the whole christ being born. . . ::cough, cough, Sarah Weir, Cough:: . . .then I wish everyone a Merry Christmas...for all you Jews out there...just enjoy the break and knowing that if you have to go out on the roads tomorrow you won't have to worry about all the traffic. Most of all I just want everyone to smile tomorrow. It's a day for whatever reason for everyone to stop think and smile. For family, friendship, gifts, and a life that never labels itself as normal or boring. I love you all regardless of race, sexual preference, religion. Merry-whatever-the-fuck tomorrow is for you!

2004-12-21T23:43:00.000-05:00

I feel like playing video games all of a sudden...yep I can already tell I'm gonna waste this break away on stupid things like that...well here I go. Somebody ask me on a date please...I need to find reasons to ge out of the house or I'll waste away.

2004-12-21T23:27:00.000-05:00

SUCK IT OHS!

Ha! Schools out for the X-mas break. It must be akward for the jews because their holiday is over and yet they still have this break here kinda strange feeling. Stupid Jews.

OMfreakingG, I saw every college student that has gone to ohs in the last three years today that I know. It's nice...very nostalgic.

Well help me count the days down to christ's fucking day why don't ya?

DAYS LEFT: 4 Phucking Days!

2004-12-20T00:23:00.000-05:00

Women

Women from the the late 1920's up to the 1940's are SO PHUCKING HOT. I want to travel back into time and find a girl from that timeline and express my deep love for her. The short hair and spunky attitude of women from then makes me wish I were born then. Flappers were amazing. Their views and attitude towards life was ....well....hot. It's rare to come around women like that nowadays. If I come across one such woman I will try hard to restrain my sexual tensions. But this post is mostly to get the fact out that Joe Griffin gets titilated when he see's an oldfashioned short haired spunky yet very ladylike female. Thank you and goodnight.

2004-12-19T02:34:00.000-05:00

PHEW

Yep those four letters do alot to explain my feeling right now. I had a hell of a day today. Speech was quite the adventure. I'll post the brief story of my speech experience at OEHS. For now, I'm looking at the clock and it says 1:47 and my bed seems a good place to be spending my 1:47 at.

2004-12-17T23:46:00.000-05:00

Oh my God!

I am not ready for this speech meet!!!!!!

I've been studying my OC all night and I feel like I'm gonna totally suck. I'm so embarrassed. I just want to stay home. I need more time. I've never felt this way, ever. I have never been put in this situation and it totally sucks. AH! I just want to scream! I just want to stay in the comfort of my house and not make a fool of myself. I look at my compitition and I cringe to think that I have to now perform in front of them and make a fucking fool of myself. DAMNETTE! I hate this feeling so much. If there is a god out there I ask that he have mercy on me. Tomorrow I let everyone down...but nobody will probably read this till after tomorrows meet since every other sane speech team kid is in bed sleeping...SHIT!

2004-12-17T17:48:00.000-05:00

WAAAAAHHRG!

Holy Shiza! I'm still working on my OC the night before the speech meet I have to perform it on. I feel so unprepared. I'm so psyched though. I love the sense of excitement that last second writing and memorizing brings. I Skipped school today so I could sleep in and write some more before my coachings tonight. I already had one and in an hour I'm on the road to catch a 5:40 coaching with Will Luxion...who by the way is kick ass. He's helped me a bunch.

I'm so ready and yet so not ready for tomorrow.

KICK the tires and LIGHT the fires baby...this weekend is gonna be a rough one!

2004-12-16T22:16:00.000-05:00

HA

You all got served.

http://members.aol.com/uomogul/idiot.gif

2004-12-15T22:18:00.000-05:00

Well as I can tell from my last entry only 5 people read my blog. Is that true...guess i'm gonna have to quit bloggin....

and so concludes this blog...thank you Joe for sharing all those good and even bad times with us. The laughter as well as the tears have brought us all just a step closer to understanding why you're so screwed up. And for that we love you. Good bye Joe but more importantly good bye Joe's Blog. It was really you we all really cared for anyway...not Joe.

With Love,
Readers like you ;-)

2004-12-12T23:36:00.000-05:00

Crystals GOOD BYE!

Yep last night of crystals. Everything turned out great. I wonder what crystals will be like next year with everyone who is leaving.

Like my new template? yes or no.

2004-12-11T00:31:00.000-05:00

CRYSTALS

day one in the books.

Tonight all musically inclined students at OHS performed in the crystals concert. It was pretty phucked up. I'm only in commotion for the whole show so I sit around till the end of the show sing and dance a little and then run off stage shuddering at how horrible we did. No not really. Although the first performance tonight out of the two we totally screwed up the beginning of our sone. We came in late because we couldn't hear the 1,2,3,4 that Tieri apparently shouted...not. So we all look like the fool up on stage but despite that kept the grin on and acted like nothing happened...HA...fools

NO speech for me tomorrow. Sorry all I told eveyone that I was gonna go along even though I didn't have to perform but I got home tonight and was like....SLEEEEEP....I could use some of that so yeah screw you all. I'll bring two cakes next week to make up.

Wish us all luck Sunday when we preform our second night of crystals!

Peace, Love, and Multiple Orgasms to all

2004-12-06T18:26:00.000-05:00

Speech meet drag

Yeah so last saturday was the first speech meet of the season at Neuqua Valley high. I got about 3 hours of sleep almost missed the bus and arrived at the school where the meet was to be held. My partner (Mike Leali) and myself went to all three of ours rounds, performed, and felt very confident about our performances. And still I haven't broken yet. we got two 3's and a 5. I'm still satisfied though. Next week we'll take em to town.

YEEEF, I still need to finish writing my OC. I won't perform OC this week but next week the 18th I think. I really feel bad about not being ready to perform for OC but I really need more time.

What ever happened to getting sleep?

This week...

Friday - Commotion crystals concert (and octet if that pulls through)

Friday night - very little to no sleep

Saturday - Speech meet all day, probably in a stoned state of being

Sunday - Phuck church I'm sleeping in till Commotion later that evening

Yep other than that I think I've successfully become a pseudo-insomniac. I'm actually getting used to the little sleep I've been getting. I even find it challenging to see how well I can operate with little sleep. Like a test of endurence.

HA...who ever said you need 8 hours of sleep can suck a nut.

Listen to Ray Charles

2004-12-01T22:21:00.000-05:00

WAH.

Speech meet numero uno es aqui!

This saturday My partner Mike Leali and myself will be performing our HDA! It's a great duet and we've polished the humor pretty well for our first meet. We will definately be taking more than just our balls to this speech meet. I'm super excited. If you're going just to watch this weekend make it a goal of yours to watch our scene.

............shit............

what else is there to talk about.

commotion-

meh dorky routine funny to watch us do but a heartwarming tune.

School-

...Diana said it best on her latest post...School is school.

well that's pretty much it folks. I'm sorry... next time I promise I'll think outside the Bachs....(buh dum chh)

anyone wanna sell to me a old record player I sure want to buy it from you!!! post me if you want to take up on this deal...

Peace in the mid east.

2004-11-25T19:48:00.000-05:00

MERRY THANKSGIVING!

I had a great thanksgiving day. I went hiking at the crack of dawn in a very secluded woods. It was gorgeous. The sun shimmered off all the new snow and my tracks were the first that had been laid down. I love the winter. It does get old after awhile though so I'll enjoy it now and later complain about the slush and the cold. For now Merry Thanksgiving and to every I say eat turkey and pie to your heart's content!!!

2004-11-22T19:14:00.000-05:00

Phew...school went by fast today today. Two videos a project and after that a speech meeting. Speech meeting = lame. Lame = boring + pointless. Listen to Franz.

2004-11-21T17:56:00.000-05:00

The only words that can sum up how I feel right now are-

This is where I'll be so heavenly,so come and dance with me Michael.So sexy, I'm sexy,so come and dance with me Michael. I'm all that you see, you wanna see, so come and dance with me Michael. So close now, so close now,so come and dance with me, so come and dance with me, so come and dance with me Michael, you're the boy with all the leather hips, sticky hair, sticky hips, stubble on my sticky lips. Michael, you're the only one I'd ever want only one I'd ever want only one I'd ever want. Beautiful boys on a beautiful dancefloor. Michael,you're dancing like a beautiful dance whore. Michael,waiting on a silver platter now ... and nothing matters.

...not really.

So yesterday I helped Brems out with another one of his college films he has to shoot for class. It was fun. Jessi and i starred in it. The scene was shot in a stlye of cinematography you can find in Goodfellas in the one scene where the police helicopter is following Henry. The scene is very fast and the camera moves frantically. We adapted the scene a bit and the plot ended up having us running around the house and to a friends house to get videos that were due back at hollywood video. It was fun. I got to do some fun stuff with the car. Not to mention seeing brems hang on to the hood of my car to get a shot or two . That was too good.

OC is starting to scare me. I started writing it this weekend and now I feel the pressure for this to be complete and be good. Have confidence.

Short week this next week. YAY!

Hope nobody dies.

2004-11-17T21:48:00.000-05:00

HEY!

OC is starting to work out for me. I have got a decent plot idea and my brainstorming is flowing quite well. I can't wait to get this thing going. I hope I do well in OC. I want to strive to do my best.

Josh and I went to Borders tonight. I bought a book I have been itching to buy for quite some time. An actor Prepares by the man Stan himself. I'm reading the whole book tonight. I love it. I wanted to read the whole thing when I took Mr. B's theater class but he only gave us a section from it. It's really thorough and very interesting. It helps point out many problems and how to fix them when it comes to living the part on stage. Stanislavski is what made me want to act. Too bad Mr. B never uses stan's methods of acting for his own shows. I don't get that about him. He teaches all this really good acting technique in his theater arts class but rarely utilizes it for his own shows. He uses some of the more broader principles like creating a moment and eye contact and yadda yadda yadda. But stan goes alot more into the development of character and living the part than just that. Half the problem too is that Mr. B's shows he picks never have characters that can truely utilize this style of acting. For our last show in order for the parts to be performed "right" we had to over act and in a way most of our acting was more method acting than it was living the part.

::sigh::

I can't wait for Limelight.

2004-11-15T22:56:00.000-05:00

I'm almost to the 1000 mark on my hit counter for my blog. It's taken awhile...

All I want for christmas is a large bundel of cash so I can go shop in chicago for scripts. I need to start a collection of scripts. I've been meaning to do this for awhile. I have yet to read Hamlet and plan on doing so soon. Other than that I hate turkey day. Mainly because I'm not for the whole being thankful and coming together as a family. I think that's bull. Like all holidays no matter what the problems in the family are we set them aside for a day or two to celebrate togetherness, eat ham get fat and then sit in front of the tv to watch football. No let's just appreciate each others presence everyday...that's how it should be. Holidays are lame excuses for cards and family get togethers...which I hate. I don't think I am having family over for thanksgiving and for that...I'm thankful. For once I don't have to put up with family trips and relatives sapping the energy out of me when I expect to just be a bum and appreciate the break from school. Like everyone should.

Brems got ahold of me and this saturday he, Jessi and I are going to make a little film that he needs for school. I'm glad to help the old man out.

Jessi, Donovan has a new album out. I'll burn you his new song from the album that I downloaded. It's really sweet and easy going.

Speech I can tell is gonna be quite the endeavor this season. I have no doubt that I will be rushing around trying to gather my shit together the day before speech meet 1, in Nequa. ah I love adrenaline.

PENETRATE THIS!

2004-11-15T01:29:00.000-05:00

pen·e·tra·tion (pen-a-tra-shun)n.
The act or process of piercing or penetrating something, especially:

1. The act of entering a country or organization so as to establish influence or gain information.
2. An attack that penetrates enemy territory or a military front.
3. Insertion of the penis into the vagina or anus.
4. The power or ability to penetrate.
5. The depth reached by a projectile after hitting its target.
6. The degree to which a commodity, for example, is sold or recognized in a particular market.
7. The extent of influence that one culture or nation has on another.
8. The capacity or action of understanding; insight.
----------------------------------------------------------------
I need to get a grip on myself. Alot of things have changed lately in my life. I'm not sure what exactly and to what extent but things seem different. It's scary. I feel different in circumstances that I've usually been able to deal with quite easily. School is great. Speech is exciting. I feel like i'm about to face something big in my life. The anticipation is killing me. I need to slow down really badly. I need a vacation and a new perspective on life. I need a new friend and an old feeling of security, regardless of wether or not is false. I need to find so much but yet despite my position and why i'm even commenting on my feelings eludes even myself...god, that sucks.

Things seem blurry lately. My life is passing so quickly and I feel like i'm being drug behind it. My mind and body ache. Altough, It's more of a numb feeling than it is painful. I think i'm changing. If anyone notices me changing for the worse please let me know. If you comment please don't try to assuage me. I just want you all to promise that if I change for the worse to shine light on the subject and open my eyes because right now I can't quite lay a finger on what's happening to me. I hope it's just a transitional stage in my life. I'm sure it is, but it feels retarded and juvenile and that's what I'm trying to get away from. I almost think moving to Cinncinnatti might have been good for me. I think I've done too much in Oswego and my body isn't used to that. I need to get out.

I'm not sure if it has anything to do with what is going on with me but whenever I sit with my guitar and rattle out some lyrics I can never come out with anything happy or positive. Only deep and lost feeling come out in my writing and singing. Most of it I throw away or forget because I want to abandon that, and yet I still carry it's creator with me. Hmm. Have you ever contemplated the expansion of the universe around us and the constant exchange of chaos that makes our lives out to what they are. It kinda makes you feel intelligent and important abut then as you the thought stagnates in your mind you find it all confusing and you feel so small that you're put right back in your place and with nothing more gained than a wasted hour and a small headache that you know will go away and then be replaced by the same mindless rabble that fills our minds in our everyday life.

Does she like me?
Can I be what I want to be?
what should I have for lunch?
What can I do to help you say what's on your mind?
HELP?
Why do we act this way?
Why can't I do this?
How will I get through this?
Why am I so lucky?
Or is it fate?
Is there such thing as fate?
I hope so...well at least to a degree.

2004-11-13T20:21:00.000-05:00

I'm ALIVE

Sorry for the long wait. I've been bad about updating lately. I guess it's been a mix between not wanting to update about what's gone on lately and the sheer fact that I have very little time in order to. School is in full session now and has plagued me. Homework in my hard classes and falling asleep in my boring classes. Nobody should ever take earth science. It's lame and it literally saps the life out of me. I'm always having to help the people around me...and by help I mean i'm doing all the work for them. I'm the only one despite the amount of times I fall asleep in that class that is passing. IT'S ALL COMMON SENSE YOU FUCKING PRICKS. little grains of sand move fast in fast water and boulders don't move at all in slow water...no here take this and go shove it up your ass at least telling you to do that will actually produce some sort of a result instead of "uhhhh...does pink and yellow make green?"

I'm sure you all know of the whole incident concerning Kyle, myself, and the wheelchair of her late grandmother. I won't go into it here. I would like to post an apology to everyone who was affected negatively by that incident. My actions were childish and my regret is sincere. Things seem better know and I can only hope that nobody's view of myself has changed in any way.

On a lighter note...

SPEECH TEAM IS HERE!!!

woot!

Everyone including myself on speech team is psyched. This season is gonna be intense and I intend on focusing alot more this year on speech team than I did last year. I'll be doing HDA and OC...(for all who don't do the speech thing..HDA-Humerous duet acting, OC-Original Comedy). Oh and I refuse to use pez dispensers as a way to show a sign of respect to winning oswego members. I refuse to use the pez dispensers this season...if you agree with me fellow speech members rise up and join with me in the rebellion.

I've also takin' up the trumpet in the past two weeks. I've got clear sounds coming out now but I need some tutoring to learn more scales and refine my abilities where they are now. Anyone up for it?

M Eagle scout project is done! I got that finishes last saturday and the results of hard work and thorough planning have paid off. I'll post some pics later. Look in the newspaper for an article and a photo. I would like to thank everyone for making it out and contributing to the effort. The steps look great and what I had thought would have taken the whole day right up until 5 in the evening was finished at 2 with time to sit back and admire a job well done. PLEASE! go use the hill once we get snow on the groound. I hope the steps make the climb easier!

Hey Fauth! Photo copy me that script for the winter show and mail it to my ass. I also need to know how the winter show is going to affect my schedule...oh while i'm using my post as a messaging service let me tell all who plan on not having much to do during the winter...THE WINTER LIMELIGHT SHOW! DO IT. more info later. I don't know much myself. just wait for the winter parkdistrict catalogues to come in your mail and find out when and where you can sign up for it. I'll hopefully be ass. unpaid director and Diana I think is going to be the ass. paid director and then of course the wonderful anomoly himself Brian.

-that's a pretty good update.

R
I say R-A
R-A-G
R-A-G-G
Rag
R-A-G-G-M-O-P-P
Ragmop
doo-dee-ah-dah-dee-ah-dah!

2004-10-30T16:25:00.000-04:00

YOW!

The show for my cast and myself is over!

Last night's show went really well. Everything flowed very well. The timing was on the physical comedy was great. I had a blast. I won't go into detail of the show's turnout because if you haven't seen it yourself then, well, you suck. ( except for Brian).

SPEECH TEAM HERE I COME!

2004-10-24T12:33:00.000-04:00

Busy Busy Busy

I've been very busy lately. Rehearsal and school and other things all finding their way to make my day just a little longer and a little stressful. My eagle scout project is coming up soon also. Which, might I add, I need alot of help with. If you aren't busy november 9 please make it out to help me. Any questions about where when and what just post me and I'll get you the info. PLEASE! help me with it.

The show is turning out. We're ready to perform it this week. Oh Aaron is still on the cast so I'll still only be doing wednesday and Friday. :( come see my night.

OOO I ordered the GlenGarry Glen Ross soundtrack at the beginning of this week and yesterday I just got it in the mail. Any GGGR fans want a copy let me know or if you want I can point you in the direction of where to buy it from.

It's so beuatiful out right now. Autumn is my favorite time of the year!

2004-10-20T01:46:00.000-04:00

::Smile::

Tonight was GREAT.

Despite me having to perform my part on stage twice as much since my counterpart wasn't there(and may never be there.) Everything went SWELL! Oh and the extra rehearsal time I got was good in it's self. I have the first act down alot better now. Can't say the same for my counterpart Aaron though. I feel bad...even though him quiting is ...well...it's what I've wanted. If I'm a bastard for that then fine! I think it's great that I would get opening night but the fact that I wouldn't get closing night...my favorite night...with the double casting utterly rips me to pieces. I wouldn't mind at all performing all four nights...I'd prefer it...Sorry there Aaron someone has to be the bastard.

Anyways rehearsal got out late so I had like 1 second to grab a quick bite before Commotion reheasal...my sad gay life. I don't know why I put my self through these things...yeah I do. I love being on stage with great groups of grateful gallants.......sorry the double alliteration is getting to me. yeah so commotion went great. I am sooo proud to be a part of that prestegious group. We are such a tightly nit group. while the lady's were rehearsing by themselves and we were waiting and had gotten fitted for costumes we...(the guys) all decided to run....yeah that's right the thing we all hate most we did...not because stinson or Tieri told us, or becuase we had to, but because we, as a group, wanted to...and as we ran down the empty hallways of OHS we all ran in a big group clapping in time to avery shouting out and followed by us repeating "we are commotion, mighty mighty comotion..."and so on and so forth. I loved it. Vlad, Mike Glenn, And I went off in a group together and started quoting GlenGarry and it led up to me inviting all the guys over to my place this friday to view it so we could all get in on the cunningly timed and obscene writing of sir David Mamet.

One thing that kinda rubbed me the wrong way tonight was the punishment for the showchoir "competition" we had tonight. Our one big group broke down into three groups of 12 and went off and reheasred together for 10 minutes and came back to perform. The winning group out of the three wouldn't have to run next week...ten laps around the school up and down, every step, at every staircase. Everyone went into overdrive mode to do their best. When we all performed it came down that my group did the best...I was very happy at this...but I felt bad because I knew i didn't have to run. Tieri even said we had braggin rights as we watched everyone else run. Now I thought Commotion was a group effort...T and Stinson always refer to that...I think it's wrong for only a section of commotion to run like that. So come next week...Despite the fact that i don't have to...I'm running all 10 laps with everyone, I hope my team follows me and does likewise. Everyone tried so hard and poured themselves into their performance...I would feel bad...If one person does it wrong then we should all suffer those consequences...if we are a group that funtions like that. Only grudges and hate will be evoked by this seperation of who is better and who didn't quite hack it. I know I made a few mistakes throughout our routine too. HEY RIBLETS (my team) lets run too next week. It's only 10 laps...heh...easy, right?

Thanks Alison for pointing out my face!

A shoutout to Clarence our new assistant director for this show...you are so smart and have alot to lend to everyone on stage. I'm glad you're with us this year. You've helped me immensly with understanding my character and helping bring him out of myself more, no kidding.

Aw shit, I have homework...

Come see the show, A Murder Most Foul, at OHS in the auditorium this october 27-30 students-$5 Adults-$6 Alumns-FREE! Please come make my work worth while! The show Is great! I'm positive you'll be rolling around trying to keep your sides from splitting in twain...yeah that's right I said twain.

2004-10-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

Hey so the past few days I've been feeling a hell of a lot better. Sicknesses suck. I've made a promise with myself to never get sick again...I'll let everyone know how well that goes...

These past few days have been quite nostalgic. I've seen some old friends that I haven't seen for awhile. Brems came into town yesterday and called me up to help him out with a short film for his film class...I won't go into that right now but stop me whenever you see me and ask me to tell you about my wife and how things are going...

Richard Gere and AA were hanging out over at the mexicans pad and so I swung over there and caught up with him and his happenings over at that talented school over in Chi town Illinios.

Last night Brems and I took a trip to Brian's apartment to watch the New York, Boston Ballgame. It was my first time over at the big man's apartment and we had a grand ol' time. We sat watched the game talked about The summer limelight show...which I have this feeling is gonna rock the auditorium...hopefully the OEHS auditorium but meh...I'm SOOO Psyched!

Come see the OHS presentation of Play On : A Murder Most Fowl this october 27-30. 7:00 5 dollas for students 6 dollas for adults free for Alumns

2004-10-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

WOW.

You know I'm sick when I watch the presidential debate. All in all I have to say President Bush was leading the debate. Kerry was on the defense way more than Bush. I haven't watched the other two debates but from what I've heard Bush was trampled in the first two. I think that the fact that everyone was watching the baseball game tonight instead of the debate will put Bush at a disadvantage. He should have came on strong earlier if he wanted to make a good stand. Kerry may still look strong after tonight despite the president leading by two points. It's sad that our country would rather watch baseball than watching the debates...But hey what am I complaining about if I wasn't so sick I'd probably have popped in GlenGarry and sat in front of the T.V. in awe of the great cast and excesive swearing.

Wish me better!

Temp: 100.1 and still on medication for the throat pain :(

2004-10-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

And,Cue Sickness.

Well today sucked...sorry about this everyone but I'm going into bitch mode. I was diagnosed with strep throat and it's no fun. I definately saw this coming too. I did a self examination just the other day and noticed a small swelling of my throat glands. Today you could mistake my glands for small cattle they're so big. To top off everything I feel so outta touch with the world araound me. I missed taking the PSAT and so I'm gonna have to make that biotch of a test up. I missed commotion last night and it was a big testing day...singing dancing...the whole nine yards and I have to make it all up. Plus it's my second day missing play rehearsal. I was so angry my mom wouldn't let me go today. I can't be missing this much. I'm gonna be soooo screwed once this sickness of mine blows over. Which is hopefully by tomorrow. I can't afford missing anything more!

I promise I won't use my blog to bitch about my colds ever again...like you all wanna hear about my glands...

HOLY SHIOT ISN"T SO HOLY

2004-10-11T23:46:00.000-04:00

WOW!

I just got ripped a new one!

I went to a meeting with the infamous Bob Drawz just a while ago. I presented to him my eagle scout project plan...now I knew this meeting was going to be rough but...GOD...I had no idea. I thought i was pretty damn thorough throughout my whole plan but apparently not...anyways...he signed it so after I fix up my plan a bit I can get going and tackle this monster of a project.

Wanna Help?

I'll be handing out flyers. Stop me in the halls at school or run me off the road if you see me driving and tell me to give you a flyer or else you'll axe murder my whole family in broad daylight.

AH GOD!

I got commotion tomorrow...that's not gonna be pretty. I'm so not ready. I haven't looked over my music at all...and we have quartets tomorrow! ugh.

If I don't get a decent lunch at school tomorrow I'm gonna kick something in the shin.

2004-10-06T21:07:00.000-04:00

Today I got outta school and had a dental appointment to go to before rehearsal started. I had to get a cavity filled and so when I got back I was restricted to using only one side of my mouth. That was fun...and funny to those watching as I slurred all my lines and ended up messing up a small section. I couldn't whistle either. My mouth is fine now and fully capable of chewing, whistling, and making passionate love.

G.G.G.R. GO!

ROMA: All train compartments smell vaguely of shit. It gets so you don't mind it. That's the worst thing that I can confess. You know how long it took me to get there? A long time. When you die you're going to regret the things you don't do. You think you're queer? I'm going to tell you something: we're all queer. You think you're a thief? So what? You get befuddled by a middle-class morality? Get shut of it. Shut it out. You cheated on your wife? You did it, live with it. You fuck little girls, so be it. There's an absolute morality? Maybe. And then what? If you think there is, then be that thing. Bad people go to hell? I don't think so. If you think that, act that way. A hell exists on earth? Yes. I won't live in it. That's me. You ever take a dump made you feel like you'd just slept for twelve hours?

GlenGarry Facts:

The word "fuck" and its derivatives are uttered 137 times.

The word "shit" and its derivatives are uttered 50 times.

Have a fucking nice day!