Archive for December, 2007

MP3 Player and Other Observations

Monday, December 31st, 2007

I have to give credit where it is due. The following has some terminology from Douglas Coupland’s book Generation X: Tales of an Accelerated Culture. You may have heard these before. Maybe not. This blog posting may be what he refers to as “Obsurcism”.
The practice of peppering daily life with obscure references (forgotten films, dead TV stars, unpopular book, defunct countries, etc.) as a subliminal means of showcasing one’s education and one’s wish to disassociate from the world of mass culture.

I finally became a little more technically advanced. I got myself an MP3 player. I needed to. Maybe need is too strong of term. The reason is my CD player at work is beginning to show its age. It no longer wants to play any of my burned CD copies. The radio works fine. But radio these days does not really do much to engage me in any real musically sense. However, for me it really has been that way for a long time. I listen to a wide range of music and much of it is obscure to others. It is the stuff that is rarely ever played over the airwaves. There is a vast amount of things to hear in this world. The radio stations dole it out with the equivalent of an eye dropper. MEMO: The CD’s come a lot of time with at least 12 other songs on them. And many of the artists have released more than one album. STOP PLAYING THE SAME 20 SONGS ALL DAY LONG. This is why radio stations are becoming irrelevant.

The other reason is I wanted to listen to the podcasts I have been saving for the last few months on my computer. I needed something new to listen to during the day. I have been saving podcast from the radio show This American Life. The first one that I listen to (and this was random) was segment called How to Talk to Kids. (I do not have kids of my own. Thank God!) If you do listen to it you will find the end of Act 2 disturbing. And Act 3 told a side to parents that they would never admit to on their own.

I also came to another insight at work with my new MP3 player. Douglas Coupland also references what he calls the “Air family”. The false sense of community experienced among coworkers in an office environment. We all engage in some conversation with our co-workers. Even if we do not want to. I think we may feel some guilty obligation to do it. My problem is my co-workers are not very literate at all. So the topics are limited. Here is a hint on tough it is. The only topic currently that can generate a long discussion here is fantasy football. And I do not participate in it. I forgot there is another source of real discussions here. That is pointing out the faults of the other co-workers. It is hard to stay away from this “toxic waste”. I just want to go about my business and stay out of all of it. So here it is. I avoided it all by simply listening to my MP3 player for the day. It was great. And the podcasts were very informative. I wish I had gotten one of these sooner.

I did put more than just podcasts on the player. Here is the music I have at the moment on it. They are the full album versions.

Frank Zappa- Strictly Commercial

Rush- Snakes and Arrows                

David Gilmour- On an Island

Tragically Hip- Fully Completely                                    

Bob Mould-Workbook        

Lou Reed – The Raven (Music for Edgar Allen Poe)                    

Eddie Vedder- Into the Wild

Soundtracks for The Departed and Superbad                         

Mark Snow-Music and Light (The X-Files Soundtrack)            

Henry Rollins – Nights Behind the Tree Line

Plus the Orson Welles 1930’s radio edition of The War of the Worlds.

It very much is an eclectic and esoteric collection. As any true personal listening collection should be.

Take that Mr. Radio Program Director!

It is amazing how much you can fit on to 2GB MP3 player. And it is really a small object. The comedian Lewis Black is right when he says that musical players will become so small they will be placed in our underwear and we will listen to music through our ass. I remember that stereos during my teen years had to be huge. The speakers needed to be six feet high. Size mattered when it came to stereos. The more components it had the better. Now smaller means efficiency and that is the new power. Could you imagine what the world would be like if the same mentality was applied to “male endowment”? But then again the “Enhancement Industry” is a very powerful and influential lobbying group.

Remember: Size does not matter only when one can compensate by purchasing a sports car. If you cannot afford a sports car then date a woman with small hands.

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Christmas Movie

Sunday, December 23rd, 2007

It is the Holiday Season once again. My problem is this time of year is forced down your throat with a shovel. I wish this time of year practiced a little more moderation.

Every year on Christmas Eve I watched movies. There is only one requirement. It cannot have anything to do with Christmas what so ever. Last year for example it was Chinese Christmas. It featured Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. Another year the theme was “Peace on Earth”. Nobody is more responsible for bringing “Peace on Earth” than Clint Eastwood starring in the greatest western series The Man with No Name Trilogy. You get the idea.

I have to admit there are only two Christmas themed movies I can watch. More accurately two I can tolerate. A Christmas Story
and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

I got to thinking maybe this year I should try watching a movie that had some Christmas in it. So what would it be? And there was only one real choice. Die Hard. It is the perfect Holiday movie. In the movie, Bruce Willis is invited to his wife’s office Christmas party. We have all experienced the “dread” of going to a party that we really do not want to be at. It goes from bad to worse when the terrorists show up to ruin the occasion. And it is up to Bruce to save the day. Bruce Willis gets to act out what we have all felt at some point during a Christmas party. You know the thought. “If I only had a gun right now…” We have all thought it at one point. But it is not something 99.9% of us would act on. That is a good thing. So please do not read this post as giving you any ideas. (This is my disclaimer here.)

And here are some scenes from the film

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I am Still Alive

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

I realized today that I have not posted a blog in over a week. However, I had been fighting a nasty head cold which somehow turned into a case of stomach flu. I will spare the details. No need to discuss them. But I did have a chance to catch up on my daytime television.

The combination of my mind and cold medication did make me come up with an interesting thought. Here it is.

There is a cause to “global warming” that no one is talking about.


Blankets!

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The Latest MoviePoet Entry and Other Observations

Tuesday, December 4th, 2007


This posting is longer than most of my past points. So be it.

I was able to write another script for the October contest at MoviePoet. This month the script had to contain somewhere in it the props of a button, a coin and a ring. It took me a bit but I began to think about the idea of two people at a vending machine and went from there. I came up with the script I entitled “Lousy Coffee” . I did better in the voting this month on the script. However, comparing the two scripts is like trying to make the comparison between a mouse and rocket science. There may be a metaphor here but all I can think of is Mighty Mouse cartoons. But back to the script here are the results and the comments on my latest script. I did get nailed again on formatting. I will be using a demo version Final Draft for now. It only allows me to write about ten pages. And when you convert to PDF files they come watermarked that you are using the demo version. It just signaling that I am a bit poor. But I use Zamzar for that function right now. As per usually I need to take a lot extra steps for a simple task. Maybe Santa will be nice to me and get me a copy of the software. Oh Yeah! It’s me. I am getting coal. But     being a homeowner I find coal to be useful in regards to heating costs. Maybe Santa should be rewritten to be like a Don Corleone. Then maybe I can get an offer I can’t refuse. (Did I just leave myself open to trouble with that last statement?)

I just want to say a few things about my latest script. I am learning a whole new language style of writing. There are going to be some “growing pains” with it. I may be writing fiction. However, I am trying very hard to make my characters seem to be real people. I do not think that there always has to be conflict between two people. The sense of conflict can be implied from the current circumstances they find themselves in. I think strangers can meet, have a moment and move on. I think people sometimes seek a listener and that the conversation does not have to provide any resolution.

I read a lot of various stories and articles on people just to expand my thinking about what people may be thinking. Such books like Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner or The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood by David Simon. It also comes from just doing simple people watching. But for some reason this tends to “creep” people out. In may be just a result of the people you find around the Buffalo, NY area. I went to a pub one day for lunch. Before I get to my talk here just let me say you should try this sandwich. Grilled Canadian bacon with pepperjack cheese on rye bread. I found myself have a talk over a couple of pints with an 85 year old man and his 60 year son. It was amazing to hear the stories and observations they told. And I never meet them before. In fact, I did not get their names until I left. This has happened to me a lot of times with a lot of different people. I once learned about other ethnic groups being the only white person at one temp job I had. I am not sure where I heard this quote from or if it is even a quote to begin with. It may be just a cliché saying. “Everyone has a story to tell.” I think the problem is people have a hard time finding someone willing to listen. And to listen without prejudice. But to create real characters you need to write them without judging them. I am not sure if this makes sense. So I may have to rewrite this point.

Here are two other examples of just observing people. I was having breakfast at a restaurant. I was just reading a book with my meal. I did not realize I was seated next to a young couple. They were in their late teens or maybe earlier 20’s. She was asking those goofy questions you ask in the early stages of a relationship. (NOTE I was not trying to listen in.) Here was her question. “If they were making a movie of your life which actor would play you?” I did not hear his answer nor will I try to guess one. My answer would be. The idea of a movie about my life would be totally ridiculous. Therefore, my role would be played by Chuck Norris. Because the facts on him are awesome. Plus I just watched the classic Lone Wolf McQuade. My other one, I will not go into detail on. All I could think was, “More people live in glass houses than you may think.”

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Benchmarks and other measurements

Saturday, December 1st, 2007

I could not find a link. The song I would play here is Looks Like I’m Up Shit Creek Again by Tom Waits.

The photo here is that of a benchmark somewhere. I was told that if you put pictures into your blog it would get people’s interests. That maybe so. In my case my site seems to only be of interest lately to idiots who have nothing better to do than spam me. Here is my position on such marketing. Please note. If what you are trying to sell is so damn good then I would be contacting you. So please go and waste somebody else’s time. Back to the photo. I was thinking that maybe I should post a photo of a rectal thermometer. But that was gross. I want to engage you to read this not repulse you. Although the photo would really portray a sense of “poetic justice”.

I have never been a fan of this time of year. In fact, I would be willing to spend it on a deserted island somewhere. Anywhere. I think I am still suffering the effects of post traumatic stress syndrome for my years of working in a retail store. It has been about seven years since I left it. And yet I am still a bit “shell shocked”. There is nothing worse that “Christmas shoppers”. In fact, I believe that at least 80% of them are just downright miserable. They need to make up for their “misery” with that elusive “perfect gift”. The sad part is the message of “You better give the right gift if you really care”. (Subliminally implied, “You are an Asshole if you don’t!”)

I think the hardest part of this year is that secretly you are required to take stock of your life. And see if it measures up to some unknown benchmark equation in the world. That is the subtle undertone of the Holiday Season. My advice is. Drink up. It really is not going to be pretty. No matter how well decorated with lights it is. And I do not put up lights. So in this time of year I have been labeled a “Bastard”. Given what I have been called. This is very mild.

There are a quite a few benchmark dates that take place for me in such a short time. The “Oh Shit He’s Here” Day. A.K.A Birthday Day. Christmas. New Year’s Day. It really is a lot to take in within 32 Days. Time really does fly. And I then have to try to make some profound statement on my life on top of all of it. And now I should be playing Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.

The only resolutions I can make at the moment are to get better at housekeeping and make more home cooked meals than I do. Maybe I just maid and let her cover these two.

Here is a chart of my progress so far in this life. Guess where I am doing the most learning.


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