Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, banana phone....

Well let's see. What's new on this end.

I finished my fine cut of The Looker. I screened it today for the editing and directing instructors. Unfortunately there was a popping noise (eerily reminiscent of when we screened Twelve Page Paper) that plagued the audio track. (Yes, plagued it) Other than that, and a song choice that Travis didn't like, they really had nothing bad to say about it. I'm in the best shape in the entire class. (Project wise, not physically) All I need is the opening credits, and for that I need the panels that Curtis drew. However, it seems Curtis has fallen off the face of the planet.

I graduate on friday! My family is flying out to Los Angeles, and they arrive on friday morning at 11:30am. My mom and dad, my brother Jordan, my cousin Sarah, my grandma and grandpa and my aunt Nancy are all coming. We have the showing at 7:00pm, and then the after party at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Then monday I'm driving back to Michigan. I'm going to take a little more time than I did getting out here, I think I'm spending a day or two in Colorado, and then I might stay in Missouri with my folks for a couple days. I'm not sure when I'll actually get to Kalamazoo.

They painted my bathroom today.

That's pretty much it here.

Oh, The Looker will be available to download on the Coughing Dog website on saturday.

-j

Um.... WHAT?!?

Our Commander In Chief.


Is he stoned? First of all, he calls the guy "Stretch. Big Stretch." Second of all, Stretch's question is a little long, so you might not catch it, but the first thing he says is, "I know you've said there'll be a time for politics, but..."

I can't believe you people voted this guy back in. And by "you people" I don't think I mean anyone who actually reads this page.

-j

We're Z-Boys!

Is it just me, or does Lords of Dogtown look like You Got Served, or Drumline, or Bring It On...

AHHHHH!!

Welcome to the end of Act II of Sideways, we apologize for the delay.

Good lord this is a long movie. It did get a lot of praise. There are some good points. Overall, I'd give it a C-.

Um.

It just ended.

Rather quickly.

Ok, sorry, D-. I boo this film.

Follow Up to "My New Hero"

This was going to be a comment on a previous entry in response to Johanna's comment, but I want to put it up front, because I think it's another question that can get a bunch of discussion going. So read the entry titled "My new hero", and then the comment left, then come back and read this, and please please leave your opinion. -j


****************************************

Come on though. I mean, yeah, he's in Manhattan, but he's dated 20 girls in one year and spent $14,000. That's $700 per girl (not per "first date" but per girl). That doesn't surprise me at all. A lot of girls totally abuse the date scene, going out simply to get the free meal and attention. This guy had enough of that.

So I guess for a follow up question, and again not to sound mysogynistic, because I'm not, we already had that discussion, but just to have a real discussion...

Where does the women's struggle for "equality" stop, and the need to be treated chivalrously begin? Is it equality women are after, or is it the good parts about being a man without the sacrifice of the good parts about being a woman? Is it not plausible that in this struggle for equality, that instead of women getting everything, men get good stuff too? (like paternity leave, and women holding doors for us) How close to you think the two genders are to equality as we stand now? Isn't it a little misguided anyway? In my opinion, we'll never be perfectly equal, but we may have the same number of pros and cons. Should women get some of our cons as well? (being forced to pay exorbitant amounts of alimony, the ability to be jailed for hitting your husband, draft eligibility should the draft be reinstated, as Éowyn and I discussed, getting up to investigate the strange noise at 2am, or at least in the social situation of being expected to pick up the check, etc.) Who has it better, men or women? Discuss.

Happy Belated Birthday / Anniversary / Whatever

Just a quick note. I just realized that Twelve Page Paper came out a year ago yesterday. Well, technically two days ago now. It's been one year. It feels like at least three. Maybe because I started the project two and a half years ago.

Anyway, happy anniversary Twelve Page Paper. Maybe I should be like Kevin Smith and re-release the "Anniversary Edition." Instead of Clerks X, it'll be Twelve Page Paper I. It'll be a two disc set. Disc one: the original cut of the film, with commentary and extras. Disc two: a copy of Weekend at Burnies II.

-j

Crack that whip...

Every so often you come across these guys, and you just want to slap them.

To once again quote Ferris Bueller: "Cameron has never been in love - at least, nobody's ever been in love with him. If things don't change for him, he's gonna marry the first girl he lays, and she's gonna treat him like shit, because she will have given him what he has built up in his mind as the end-all, be-all of human existence. She won't respect him, 'cause you can't respect somebody who kisses your ass. It just doesn't work."

When Brittany finally dumps Jeff for being way to clingy and weird, either Jeff kills himself, or Jeff kills her. That's my guess. Kind of dark. Maybe Jeff will just drop out of college and sit in his parents basement smoking pot and listening to Morrisey records and crying until his abs burn every day, until his parents finally kick him out, and he becomes homeless. While it sounds nicer, I'm still betting someone dies.

Now, I'm not calling the kettle black here. Yeah, I fall in love quickly too, but not very often. I'm almost 25, and I would say I've been in love maybe three times, but more likely two, and the first began around 14 years old. I get really attracted to people easily, but I do have pretty high standards. Girls in my entire life I've been interested in... hold on, I'll count.... Krissy, Stephanie S., Susan, Erin S., Tera, Jennie, Stephanie W., Rayna, Laura, Erin B., Jackie, Marcy, Crystal, Sarah, Meg, Rochelle... sixteen or so. In love? Twice. Websites made about how much I love them this week: Zero.

-j

My new hero.

I found this on another site. Chivalry is dead, eh? I wonder why.

When I did my taxes this year I found out that I spent over $14,000 on Dates last year. Most of that was spent on dinner and drinks in Manhattan. Now don't get me wrong, I had some very good times, some great sex, some good conversations. Hell, I even made a good friend along the way, but mainly I came away from the date feeling extremely disappointed and with a lighter wallet. Date by date it's not THAT much money but it all adds up fast!

In the past I had a habit of always grabbing the check and paying whether my date was hot or not. Whether we clicked or not. Basically I felt ashamed to let her pay. I also kept and interesting statistic and even I was suprised that only 5% of my dates even offered to pay - yes you see that right- 5%! One girl in the entire year offered to pay for the entire check. A very nice gesture. But of course I paid and doubt she was sincere. In light of all this evidence I knew I had to change some things. So, this year.....

I DECIDED TO NEVER PAY FOR A FIRST DATE AGAIN. How did I do this? First I adopted the mindset that a girl should naturally assume she's paying for herself. Now this wasn't easy at first but I quickly got used to it. Then when going into the bar/restuarant/lounge etc. I would hand the server a credit card and ask them to open tabs for us. HEY!-Did you catch that? I said 'TABS.' Yah, don't worry at least 95% of the girls I meet miss that one too. Just to make sure I usually confirm that the server has understood me too. I do this when the date rudely answers her cell phone or is in the bathroom (probably using her cell phone). Guys, you know the Mastercard "priceless" series of commercials? Well, let me tell you, you won't understand the meaning of 'priceless' until you see one of these girls handed their own check for 3 20$ martinis and overpriced food (that they would probably never buy on their own). It's also very relaxing to encourage the girl to eat and drink up because even at 20$ a pop for exotic gooey blender drinks I could care less how many of them she has - cause SHE'S PAYING.

Oddly enough when she realizes that there are individual bills there will a few prolonged moments of discomfort. But don't panic. Something that took me by surprise is how many girls suddenly have to 'go to an ATM'. I can't quite figure out if it's because their cc's are maxed out on shoe purchases or that they are trying to guilt me into paying. Well, probably a combination of both, but I'm remorseless after doing this for nearly 3 months now. Which brings me to my date last night...... omg.....

Of course the classy nice Irish pub I suggested wasn't good enough for her. Nah...she needed to to go somewhere more trendy. Ok, no problem. W? Hudson? Meatpacking Dist? SoHo? Where we going? So she picks a midtown hotel bar. Nice place. Little stuffy. Drinks, not bad and Macadamia nuts on the lounge tables (complimentary) nice! Of course I went thru my usual routine, handed the server a credit card asked her if we can start tabs she said, 'sure' and took the card. 1 drink in her cell phone rang. She appoligized, (she had to get it). So I moved into confirmation mode. Our waitress even missed the 'tabs' part but she adjusted on the fly and told me no problem. Boy, let me tell you - the girl i was with could really throw down the drinks. She was drinking scotch that was older than the hotel we were in. Of course I encouraged her the whole way. She was like, wow they have Johny Walker BLUE label! I was like, 'you ever try it?' She's like....'Nooooooo!!!' I'm like, 'go on....just get some'. She's like 'are you sure'. I'm like, 'look, if you want it, just get it!' So she ordered one, then another, and finally one more..... wow she was probably more than a little drunk. I stuck to my Stoli and Soda, splash of Cran.

When the BILL(S) came she sobered up fast. I caught a glimpse of hers, 5 drinks plus a little finger food $319.00 I think it was. She looked shocked and sick to her stomache when she saw 2 bills. Guess she thought I was buying. Think again. (The old me woulda soaked up the bill but steared her away from the Blue) I had 4 drinks, no food and a great buzz. Pricey Stoli, but overall still a good value (i ate a ton of free macadamias and almonds) $36.00. Damn I thought, that BLUE label will get you every time. Of course she did more than the traditional fumble through her purse. Her face was beat red and she was speechless. She left the bill on the table and excused herself for the restroom. I had already paid and was sucking on some ice. The waitress was looking concerned. I told her, 'look'. Sure enough my date was heading out toward the front door. I slowly grabbed my coat as the waitress ran after her. Then security or a bellman grabbed her at the door and a small shouting match ensued. Can you imagine, she was trying to leave - without paying!

Well, I didn't stick around to see what happened. All I saw was the poor waitress standing just inside the front door with a small coctail tray. She did look concerned but not paniced. A doorman and bell hop had the girl by the arm, outside and was semi-forcing her back inside, she wasn't getting away from this bill. I paid my bill. I had my receipt. But I couldn't help wondering why she ordered 3 Johnny Walker Blues, doesn't she know that shit is expensive? Then I wondered if they had to arrest her while I had another drink at my local Irish pub.

I haven't heard from her again. Too bad, she was pretty cute too :(

Easter Eggs

If you have The Exteneded Return Of The King DVD's, put the first disc in your DVD player, and go to the scene selection section, and find the last chapter. Once that's highlighted, hit down, and a ring will appear on the bottom of the screen. Hit enter, and you'll find a really really funny easter egg. Do the same thing on the second disc, and you see a clip from the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.

Also, on each of the Star Wars prequel DVD's there's a spot under sound options where you can highlight the THX logo. (On the original trilogy bonus disc, it's under "video game and stills") Once you highlight the logo, type 11, the screen will flicker (on the bonus disc, a little box next to R2 will glow) then type 3, it' will flicker again, then press 8 (for THX 1138). You'll get to see the gag reels.

-j

Another one bites the dust.

My roommate has decided to not be a vegetarian anymore.

I have decided to not spend any money over the next two weeks. I'm going to see how long I can last. The car is gassed up, there's no food in the house except what I can creatively come up with. I'm not going out drinking, I'm not buying food, I'm not going to the movies or the mall, I'm not buying anything for two weeks. Anyone want to take bets on how long I'll actually last?

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is on Cinemax. I think this is Chris Brill's favorite movie. It is pretty good.

-j

***SPOILERS***

Holy crap you guys, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader!!!

You know people have been lined up for Revenge of the Sith for months. Today, I drove down to the Mann theater in Glendale, purchased a ticket at 6:20pm for a showing at 6:30pm. I guess it's the entire experience.

So yeah, I'm one of those nerdy people who saw Star Wars 3 on opening day. Although, it was really out of boredom that I even tried to go see it. That and I'd heard very good things about it, and was really anxious to see it. That havingbeen said, I now have something to get off my chest.

Dear Mr. Lucas,
I respectfully apologize for every bad thing I've ever said about you and the Star Wars prequels. While The Phantom Menace was kind of lame, it does appear to be a good starting point for the six movies. I actually liked Attack of the Clones, and in my opinion, Revenge of the Sith is phenomenal. I take back all the mean things I said. However, I do still believe that the "romance" dialogue could've used some help.
Thanks,
Joseph

Dear Jonathon Charles Choko Nopa Filan Kameya,
Across the street from the Olde Penninsula, there used to be a parking structure. On that parking structure, so many years ago, I was right, and you were in fact, wrong. Darth Vader is revealed to be Anakin Skywalker, and while, yes, it may rob that "surprise" in The Empire Strikes Back for people who watch the films in order for the first time, I've realized that another moment is actually given to them that we never had. Because, yes, while it was tragic to see, the death of Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope, now seems SO much more powerful, as this character has been around for three and a half movies, as opposed to just half the film you're watching. The relationship between Vader and Kenobi is more concrete and detailed, and that last showdown on the Death Star, while not as quick and acrobatic as their fight in Revenge of the Sith, is so much more anticipated and powerful. And if your kids can't handle the change in special effects from episodes III to IV, just let them know that the two movies were made nearly thirty years apart. If they can't forgive and simply accept that as an explanation, then you are raising the comic book nerds who complain that Hugh Jackman was too tall to play Wolverine in the X-Men movie, and Uncle Joe may have to lay the hurt down.
Smooches,
Joe

Annoyance does not equal apathy.

Going about my normal morning routine, I came upon Nopa's blog today and his entry about apathy. Rather than leave a long comment at his site, I thought I'd add my thoughts here.

It's a common thing to say that our generation doesn't care, we don't vote, we don't watch the news etc. etc. My contention is that it's not because we don't care, it's because it's disappointing. See, I used to write a lot of political stuff on this blog, I used to get in the liberal vs. conservative arguments with my uncle, but honestly, at 24, I've outgrown it. I've outgrown politics and I'm not even old enough to be elected to the House of Representatives let alone be a Senator. It's repulsive and immature, like nine year olds bickering. If candidate A goes to a restaurant where they serve eggs, candidate B makes a negative ad saying A likes to eat unborn babies. It's a group of people who treat the public like they're idiots, lie, cheat, steal, and then get to make the rules once they're picked as the lesser of two evils. Once elected, they aren't held accountable for what they said during the campaign, so they can sit comfy and go on vacation for four of the eight months they're in office before a national tragedy.

The war in Iraq. I care about it, I wish it were over. But following it is pointless. It'll be over when the politicians stop making money off of it. Whenever we question it, someone will inevitably come out and say, "Things are going well, and we hope to have them home soon." We'll smile and feel better about it, and then we'll stop bugging the politicians for a couple months. Is it true that they'll be home soon? Who knows. Public figureheads don't need actual data, they just need to say happy words.

As far as the news, I make an active effort not to watch it. It's all useless information, it's all mind pollution. I've avoided it for the last few months, and because of that, I don't know what's happening in the Michael Jackson trial, I don't know who Terry Schavio is (or was, I think she died), I don't know anything really about Laci Peterson other than I think she's the one who died and her husband killed her, I don't know what happened to Robert Blake, I don't know what's going on with Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and Angelina Jolie, I don't know if Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are together, I don't know if Martha Stewart is still in jail, I have no idea what's up with this runaway bride lady, in fact, the only reason I know about any of these people is because I pass newspaper stands on my way to Ralphs and I see the headlines. I can't imagine that the lack of any of that information makes me ignorant or uninformed. I guess I am apathetic to the "news."

I'm sure there are really important things going on in the world. Things that were I to know every single aspect of, I still couldn't change, affect, or would in turn have any effect on me. To quote Ferris Bueller:

"I do have a test today. that wasn't bullshit. It's on European socialism. I mean, really, what's the point? I'm not European. I don't plan on being European. So who cares if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists. It still doesn't change the fact that I don't own a car."

It sounds self centered and arrogant. I mean, I cared about the Tsunami, I cared about the Russian school massacre. But other than saying, "damn, that sucks" and dropping off some donation money at the local grocery store, there's not much more I can do.

Being apathetic to what Americans call the "news" is one of those societal faux-pas that really after consideration isn't that bad. Like not being an organ donor, or not voting, or not caring when a rare species of worm goes extinct in China. Everyone reacts to it like you've purposefully run over a cat with a lawnmower, but when you really think about it, who cares. I didn't vote in the 2000 election, and when my friends found out, they were like, "YOU DIDN'T VOTE?!?!" Nope. If I did vote, I would've voted for Gore. As it's set up, Gore won Michigan, and my vote wouldn't have mattered. Theoretically as it's set up, if only one person in the state votes and he or she votes for the candidate I want, neither I nor my candidate gains anything from my vote. I really didn't want Gore to be president. I really didn't want Bush to be president more.

We really don't care about politics in this country, to pretend we do is ridiculous. The governor of my state is the guy from Jingle All The Way, and Kindergarten Cop. The Minnesota governor used to wear feather boas to the ring before fake fighting other men in spandex. If Pee Wee Herman ran for president, he'd win.

We don't care anymore, and it's not really our fault. I think were all just sick of it. We're sick of being lied to by men who claim to be holier than thou, and treated as if we were idiots who can't figure out we're being lied to. I'm sick of the news, because it's become nothing more than a gossip rag. I don't care about Michael Jackson, Terry Schavio, Scott Peterson, a runaway bride, nor should I. These people are entertainment passed off as news. These are glorifed soap operas, and I almost feel guilty for knowing their names. Well not Jackson.

But what would the news be without these little melodramas? Imagine, no Nancy Kerrigan, no OJ trial, no Martha Stewart, no kid who got caned in Singapore, no John Bobbit, no Elian Gonzalez, no Joey Baddafuco. It might actually be news. Just leave those other stories to TV movies of the week, or a very special "Law and Order."

Yes, I'm apathetic to the "news." I'm proud of it.

-j

The needs of the many...

I've got a television directing class tomorrow with a guy named Adam Nimoy. The smart ass in all of us may ask, "Adam Nimoy? What is he like, Leonard Nimoy's son? Hahahaha." Actually smart ass, yeah, he is.

In other news, I've put together the first really really rough cut of The Looker, only because I'm supposed to. I usually edit an entire scene, then move on to the next one, but I'm supposed to go over a rough cut of the film tomorrow, and so I need to put all the master shots back to back so that the entire movie is in order. I generally don't like doing it that way, but that may be because the only other major project I've done that required a lot of editing was Twelve Page Paper, and I edited it scene by scene because I didn't have all the footage shot until a few weeks before it's release. There are some merits to doing it the way I'm doing The Looker. For instance, I get a much better feel for the pacing of the movie. Right now, it could be argued that Act I doesn't end until about 2/3 of the way through the movie. That's ten minutes of setup for a fifteen minute movie. While I knew it would be that way, because that's how I wrote the script, now I see I really need to push into the second act a lot quicker. Not sure how though. I could cut a scene, but it serves the story, and introduces a character and a relationship, and I guess it's not entirely necessary. We'll see.

-j

Graduation...

16 days 23 hours 53 minutes 12 seconds.

OMG! WTF!

So, my neighbor just went apeshit. Apeshit in Armenian.

It started out all nice, they were all eating outside, speaking in Armeian. Then it got a little more heated, when suddenly one guy started screaming at his brother at the top of his lungs. I think he punched him. Then suddenly, he started screaming more, and then he picked up a chair, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him into the front yard, screaming. Then his family went running after him, yelling in Armenian.

Very interesting.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.....

You may have noticed that this blog has now changed from "Where Is My Mind?" to the more recognizably referecnced "If You Build It, They Will Come." Why? I felt it was time for a change, as I'm about to make a somewhat big change as well. In three weeks I will officially be done with my education. Started in 1985, ending in 2005, 20 years of people telling me things, some helpful, most not, to try to make me a better person when I go out in the world and start a career. Time to put my money where my mouth is. Although, I don't really have any money.

I heard the phrase "If you build it, they will come" used yesterday in a quite inspiring manner, and felt it fit for the new title of this blog.

You'll notice I have links now too. That's pretty cool.

Anyway, I've just finished cleaning my room, and now I'm about to put a load of laundry in, and then I need to either edit The Looker, or try to convert these VHS tapes to DVD, so I can earn a fresh $100.

Gotta go

-j

Anna Nalick - "Breathe"

2am and she calls me cause I'm still awake
Can you help me unravel my latest mistake
I don't love him and winter just wasn't my season.
Yea we walk through the doors so accusing their eyes
Like they have any right at all to criticize
Hypocrites you're all here for the very same reason.

Cause you can't jump the track
We're like cars on a cable and life's like an hourglass glued to the table,
No one can find the rewind button girl
So just cradle your head in your hands.
And breathe, just breathe

May he turned 21 on the base of Fort Bliss
Just today he sat down to the flask in his fist
Ain't been sober since maybe October of last year
Here in town you can tell he's been down for while
But my God it's so beautiful when the boy smiles
Wanna hold him but maybe I'll just sing about it

Cause you can't jump the track
We're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass glued to the table,
No one can find the rewind button boys so cradle your head in your hands
And breathe, just breathe

There's a light at the end of this tunnel you shout cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made
You'll just make them again if you'll only try turnin' around

2am and I'm still awake writing this song
If i get it all down on paper it's no longer inside of me threatening the life it belongs to.
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary screaming out aloud
And I know that you'll use them however you want to.

But you can't jump the track
We're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass glued to the table,
No one can find the rewind button now
Sing it if you understand...
yeah breathe just breathe

Damnation!

It's so freaking hot in this room.

"I'm the smartest, the most crever, most physicarry fit, but nobody else seems to reararize it. When I change the world maybe they'll notice me... til then I'll just be ronery, poor rittre me....."

Love's such an old fashioned word.

I'm back. So let's sum up the last two weeks.

I left monday morning after waking up an hour late, and made it to Burbank Airport and on the plane with literally three minutes to spare. Landed in Phoenix, then had an hour layover before heading to Chicago. I landed at Midway and took the L to Quincy and walked three blocks to Union Station, where I boarded a train to Kalamazoo. Left at 7:00am Pacific, arrived at 9:30pm Eastern.

While in Kalamazoo, I saw two softball games, saw Brill at both Boomerangs and Galaghers, went to a cinco de mayo de cinco party, celebrated Jamie's 24th birthday, pulled a really good prank on Jason, that I've yet to get my payback for, saw the place I'm moving into, possibly met my future employers, got drunk a lot and made spaghetti at 3am. It was a good time.

The trip back was about three hours longer than the trip out. I left at 10:30am Eastern, and arrived at 9:30pm Pacific. Does my math add up on that?

To Kzoo = 7am PAC (10am EAS) to 9:30pm EAS = 11 1/2 hrs.
To LA = 10:30am EAS to 9:30pm PAC (12:30am EAS) = 14hrs.

Yep.

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I'm starting to get the same senior itch that I got before I came out here. That "I can't wait to get to work" feeling. I've got a few ideas in the works, and I can't wait to get going.

Hope everyone is well.

Let's get out of here. Word to your mother.

joe, joe, baby. too cold....

ABCDEFGH I'm going baaaack to Kalamazoo.

I'll be in town tomorrow night at about 9:30pm. I'm gonna miss "24." Oh well. I'm recording it here.

I'll be in Kalamazoo from the 2nd to the 11th of May. So my blog may get a little dusty. After six weeks of 12 hour shooting days, I need a vacation.

See you guys soon.
-j