I Made A Movie!

I'm very sorry that I haven't posted in four months. Totally my bad. And now that I am posting it's totally a cop out to advertise my most recent project. Sorry. A little bit. Ok not really, but I do have a new post planned that I hope to share with you in the next few weeks. till then please enjoy the embedded video, which is my most recent film, "What Comes of Reading."

It is written and Directed by me. I also play the main character Luke.
Lisa Sonoda plays Monica
Nina Liddi plays Kristen
Ryan Cameron plays Luke's Roommate

Cinematography is by Cody Phillips and Allison Lau

Ahead of me is a chasm

Ahead of me is a chasm.
It stretches into infinity.
Beneath me is my Path;
It is where I have been and where I will be.
Before me is a Bridge.
It is my only means to the far side.

To continue my path, I must
Cross the Bridge and visit the far side -
But mist shrouds that unknown place,
And I can only see shadows on my Path ahead.
I can see my fellow Travelers on my Path,
But cannot know what they'll do or say.

In the great distance I can see
More Bridges and more Paths,
But they have yet to take form.
They twist and turn to avoid my gaze.
I don't know if they are part of my Path
Or mere musings of what's to come.

But they are a long way off.
Right now
         Ahead of me is my chasm
               Beneath me is my Path
                     Before me is a Bridge.
I can see only this Bridge.
I want to see the Bridges ahead.
There is only one way to peer through the mist:
I must cross this Bridge.

I cannot turn back.
I cannot go around.
I can only move ahead
Or stand, irresolute, and gaze
Into the undefined
Oblivion.

Chapter 2

I recently wrote and directed a video for my production course called Chapter 2. It's inspired by the poem "Get Drunk" by Charles Baudelaire (which you can read here). It stars my friends Ryan Cameron and Jeet Nagda. Check it out if you so choose. Also subscribe if you like. I'll probably put up some more stuff.

My Thoughts on Why the New Year is Important

So I feel bad that I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been busy working through my own stuff so I haven’t felt passionate about anything one way or another for a while. A while. Anyway, that’s why my last five posts have been kind of cop outs. But I decided it was time to write something thoughtful again, especially since that appears to be what you guys prefer. So I give you my thoughts on why the New Year is important.

Before we talk about why the New Year is important, let’s talk about why it shouldn’t be. What is a year? “Year” is just the name we give to a single rotation of the Earth around the sun. Should there be any sort of important emphasis on a day that could just as easily be any other day of the year? I mean, if we chose to start the year on March 25 then January first wouldn’t hold any importance at all. It’d be just another day, like April 10, December 28, or July 20. So then, why put such emotional, personal, and cultural significance on a day that is only significant because we chose it to be? I think that this is a valid argument as to why January 1 is a day like any other, but I don’t think that removes its significance. Every day is significant. Those dates above are each significant. They are my mother’s birthday, the day I became a Christian, and the day we landed on the moon, respectively. Every one of those days holds extreme importance for many, many people: everyone my mom has ever interacted with, me, and every person on this planet. So I think it is pretty safe to dismiss the idea that a random day can even be insignificant, as you can pick any day and find something important that has happened on that day - whether it was life being extinguished, being lit, being engorged by something amazing like love, or simply continuing. Every day is important because there is something unique and amazing in every day.

So then, we know every day is important, but that still leaves the doubt that the beginning of a year is what makes January 1 significant. Perhaps it’s only important because it’s a day just like any other, that is to say, a day unlike any other. I would say otherwise. See, I think the significance of a New Year is important to that day. (In rebuttal to my earlier point that the New Year could be any day so thus insignificant, that’s idiotic. We didn’t put it on any other day. We put it on January 1. So shut up.) For though the World goes on rotating and revolving, it is begins anew every year. The constellations start their migrations across the sky over and the seasons begin their cycle again. But nothing is quite the same. The constellations change based on the expansion of the universe and whether or not some star somewhere has twinkled its last. The seasons change their specificities based on the changes to the atmosphere. The world is constantly changing, and though it starts its cycle over, it never repeats the exact same cycle. In the same way, we may be experiencing January first again (second now), but this is a new January 2. This is January 2, 2013. And we’ve never had that before. And we’ll never have it again. This moment is brand new and it only lasts as long as it is right there. So we have to embrace that newness. So the New Year is significant because it is us starting over as something new.

But that is not all that makes the New Year important. Indeed, it is not even the most important aspect of the New Year. What’s most important about the New Year is the gusto with which we approach it. See we know the year is new. We know this year has never been and never will be again. So we also know that we need to seize that moment while it is there and to make it the best year we have each experienced. Resolutions have become a bit of a joke in our culture – the idea that we’re all going to be in the gym for the next two weeks then we’re all going to be back at Kentucky Fried Chicken. But they are not all failures. And while we may like our deep fried, genetically altered, oil sponges KFC calls chicken, we still try to improve every year. No one approaches the New Year thinking “this year I need to be worse.” And if they do they are a waste of space. We all want to improve. We are all hoping, and some of us even striving, to improve ourselves and the world around us. That, my friends, is why the New Year is important. Not because of alcohol and stupid ass glasses made out of numbers, but because we all know deep in our bones that the way we are is crap, or at the very least mediocre, and that we need to be constantly bettering ourselves. The New Year is significant not only because it is new, but because it will hopefully be improved. And that is the only time that statement hasn’t been an oxymoron that I’m aware of.

What saddens me is that we lose sight of that in a week. Like clockwork, we all lose sight of the fact that we are like the Earth and every moment is a new one for us. And since every moment is new, and we have the capacity to improve ourselves and everything around us, it is our responsibility as stewards of the Earth to actually do that. We develop this odd philosophy somehow that the status quo is “ok.” We are the way we are. There is nothing we can do about that, so we just won’t. But that’s not the case, every one of us has some improvement to make on ourselves, and saying so isn’t offensive. It’s offensive that people think they have nothing to do to improve themselves. So I know it’s a long shot, but I remain hopeful that one year, maybe this year, we won’t forget. And we will constantly strive to better everything we can – for ourselves, for our family, for our friends, for (our) strangers, and for our home.

Happy New Year everyone. Make 2013 a good one.

Poetry I Wrote - Probably Badly

Hey. So I write prose. I don't know if you've noticed from EVERY SINGLE OTHER post on this blog. Even the one I called a poem is really prose written in very short sentences. These two are actually poems. The first is a sort of modified sonnet and the second one is a prose poem. If they're really bad feel free to let me know and I won't post poetry up here again. This is kinda an experiment. Have fun. Also the first poem should really be read with this playing in the background.

A Rain Sonnet -

Drips echo up in to my ear

Washing clean my cares and my fear

See it’s not the feel nor the sound

Wherein stormy pleasure is found.

Rather tis the thought may that I

Prove the sadness brought by the rain

Fiction, Fant’sy, and Brittle Lie –

Lies of sorrow, sadness, and pain

“sad is happy for deep people”

Just to feel is proof of my life

Life is not found in home’r steeple

But in good hope after strife

How can sadness stay here and not

Flee if’t exposes what I’ve got?

The Source of Utopia -

For me there is no single utopia. I am enthralled by the serene life of the countryside. The slow moving people. The sweet smelling wind. The sounds of life in its purest form.

Yet I find an equal peace in the city – in the hustle and bustle of the city. The speeding of the always-cycling train. The rising stench of a thousand hot dog stands. The dull roar of a city that won’t sleep.

For me, utopia is the progression of life reminding me I’m alive. Utopia isn’t a sight. Or a smell. Or a sound. It is the amazing variety of sights in every place. And the ever changing scent of the world. And the sounds of the different folk, flora, and fauna found throughout the earth.

Beauty in Mundanity - A Review of MFA Poetry Readings in the Narrative Format

            The poetry reading started not with a bang or a murmur, but with well-maintained introductions. I arrived just as the first reader was introduced – Blake something – or something Blake. I had biked here and was in all likelihood not the best smelling human being in the room, so I was a little distracted when they announced his name. He is an established author who has been published a number of times. He is known for his humor, and he writes prose. Tonight, Blake will be reading his short story “The Best Man,” which he admits to the audience is about his brother. It is hilarious. Irreverent and mundane, the story details the narrator and his brother’s trip to a tailor to get their tuxedos fitted. The story seems to me to be an expose of the relationship dynamics between the narrator (who, under first impression, appears to be a pretty solid reflection of Blake) and his brother. The short piece details exactly how the narrator feels about his brother and life in general. The whole thing was a surprisingly realistic and uncensored (at one point the narrator ponders “rubbing one out” to a Victoria’s Secret catalogue) portrayal of what goes on inside a man’s head. I thought it was wonderful.

            Following the reading I take a look around the room. There is wine and cheese in the corner. Pretentious? Yes. Delicious looking? Of course. Do I want some? Most definitely. Unfortunately I can’t reach the wine and cheese due to the massive crowd guarding the concessions. That’s when I notice that the room is full of people from my class who, like me, had waited till the last possible reading to attend. It’s always nice to know you’re not alone. Yay for procrastination.  The next reader comes up, a man named Tommy who will be reading us a few of his poems. Now until three months ago I had never really appreciated poetry. And while this quarter has changed my impression quite a bit, I was still shocked at how much I liked this guy’s poetry. He writes about the most profound things – the imprisoning feeling of small towns or the ubiquity of love in all aspects of life – and the most commonplace – masturbation and the sadness of losing your favorite chicken and waffles restaurant. His work truly showcased the potential for story and poetry in every moment.

            Tommy was soon replaced by prose writer Kendra Fish. I definitely caught her name because I thought Tommy had said ‘Fitch’ in his introduction of her. He did not. He said Fish. She was also very impressive. She read excerpts from a story entitled “Both, Sister, mother, More.” The narrative was difficult to follow because of how much she jumped around during her reading, but from what I gathered, the story was about a gypsy woman and her daughter trying to live a normal life in Belgium. The story dealt with heavy issues like self-identity and sexuality extremely well, never trivializing or demonizing them. It is a story that I can see coming together to be a masterpiece examination of character growth and the mother-daughter relationship.

            At this point my back was beginning to get tired from standing in the same position for an hour. But luckily the last person, a woman named Megan, began reading her poetry just as I was becoming uncomfortable. I did not like Megan’s poetry. Perhaps my mind was tainted with the pain in my back and odd smells emanating from my dried sweat, but I found very little intriguing or strictly poetic about her writing. To be fair to Megan, she is a phenomenal writer; she handles imagery better than most I've read. However, I found her poetry to be lacking in any strictly poetic qualities beyond vivid description, which should be a quality of all good writing. I thought her descriptions were beautiful and well-conceived – I just wouldn't call them poetry.

            And thusly the night ended. My classmates and I ushered up to the front to get Tommy and Megan’s signatures and we were off for long bike rides home and whatever else awaited us in the night outside – now armed with the knowledge that beauty and more can be found in every second we are living. 

Prepping for 2012 - Best Films to Prominently Feature Bicycles

Before I get into this article, I’d like to apologize for my last 2012 post. Normally I would just take it down, but since it’s part of a series, I’ll leave it up. It was brought to my attention that the quality of writing was not up to my standards for this website and I hope you’ll forgive me and find this list to be more informative and inclusive of people who have not yet seen these movies.

This was the second most painful scene to
watch in a film that included  testicle whipping

I don’t know about everyone else, but one of my favorite things to see in films is a cool vehicle. I mean when I saw the classic Aston Martin DB5 in Skyfall this last weekend I had to change my pants afterward. And I still haven’t forgiven Bond for choosing Vesper over his DPS in what is one of the most painful scenes to watch in all of cinema, made all the more painful by the knowledge that in order to get the shot they needed, the filmmakers crashed three models of the car. That being said I think it’s pretty clear that at least I, and I think the human race in general, have a fixation on the ways we transport ourselves, particularly in films. So I decided to write an article about bicycles.

The Four Best Films to Prominently Feature Bicycles

4. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

OK so it’s only one scene. But man is it an awesome scene. Paul Newman goes for a ride in the countryside to the song “Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head,” does some cool tricks to impress his lady, makes faces at a bull, and flees the scene all on a bicycle. Paul Newman reminds us how manly bicycles can be by riding straight up to Robert Redford and letting him know he’s stealing his girl. The scene’s been taken off of youtube, so I can’t embed it here, but as of this writing it was available on dailymotion here.

3. Kiki’s Delivery Service

I'm sticking with bitchin as my adjective for this thing

So this one doesn’t really feature too much bicycle, with the exception of Jiji’s bicycle/bitchin flying machine, but since this article was originally about bicycle messengers and brooms are kind of like bikes for witches, I figured I’d include it anyway. Besides, I’m writing this article and this is my website. So there. Anyway, my love for Miyazaki films isn’t exactly secret and I particularly enjoyed this one because it’s just so cool. Not the witch thing, though that’s neat too. No the idea of just packing up, moving to a completely new place without any idea of what you’ll do there, getting taken in by a kind woman who needs help around the shop, and starting your own business (in Kiki’s case a delivery service) is such a cool idea to me that I started researching homesteads while I watched this film as “research” for this article. This is a gorgeous film and it so completely romanticizes the idea of the messenger service to me that I also looked for bike messenger positions in Orange County (there aren’t any).

2. Premium Rush

So sexy ... I mean boobs...yeah boobs

This JGL film is a crazy ride (pun totally intended) through New York. Making use of some crazy cool film techniques one normally wouldn’t associate with the chase movie genre (i.e. nonlinear storytelling, Next style multipath scenes, and a story dealing with something more complex than teen angst [although this film certainly has its share of that]), Premium Rush gives its viewers an impressive amount of suspenseful, action-packed bicycle chase scenes. On top of that there is some legitimate emotion and intriguing comic relief. To be fair, PR is not a perfect film, it suffers from some pacing issues, unbelievable scripting, and wooden acting. But the action, directing, and the parts of those three things that don’t have issues make up for the issues. And never has a film made bicycling so sexy. I mean I’m a totally straight guy and I found myself a little turned on by Joseph Gordon Levitt.

1. The Bicycle Thieves

To be fair to Kiki, I almost put her in this top spot since I love that movie so much, but I think The Bicycle Thieves edges her out just barely for the best bicycle-related film (Editor’s note: I didn’t see Premium Rush till after I wrote these descriptions, and it wound up beating out Kiki for the number two spot but couldn’t unseat this masterpiece.). This 1948 film about a father and his son’s developing relationship as they search for the father’s lost bike is just fantastic. It’s full of emotion and development and really says a lot about mid twentieth century Italy – both economically and socially. It’s difficult to describe this film without sounding even more pretentious than I’m sure you already think I am (and I am a film major so it’s not exactly an unsolicited opinion). So instead I’ll just trust that if you value my random internet lists at all (which, let’s face it, who doesn’t?), you’ll just go watch the film. It is with only a little doubt, the best film to prominently feature bicycles ever.

As always if you agree or disagree please comment below. If you have an idea for my next list please share, cause I'm running out of ideas and I'm only two lists in.