Lots to come, but maybe not here

I got an internship with The Yeti, a Tallahassee community magazine. It looks like I might be their movie critic. I'll be doing a decent amount of writing for them, and I also have six classes this semester, five of which involve even more writing, so I probably won't be doing much writing on this here blog for quite some time. If you have actually enjoyed this blog, look out for me on The Yeti! I'll do my best to make/keep it interesting, and I will still try to show this blog some love from time to time.

Changes

Life has been moving and changing so quickly that it's been hard to sit down and blog without lapsing into the diary-esque entry that no one wants to read including me a year from now. As things are finally starting to settle down, more regular updates should be forthcoming. Until then, know that this little project of mine has not been abandoned.

And now, a laughing baby:

Giggling Baby is Comedians Dream Audience - Watch more Funny Videos

Captured in Fleorgia

I made the 150 minute drive to Jacksonville on Wednesday to see my favorite band Nine Inch Nails. Bored, alone, and awaiting entry into the arena, I was spotted leaning against a light pole by Florida Times Union's Carol Keller. She told me not to move and look into her camera, and poof! I was forever frozen in time.
Aside from that flattering moment, the evening was surprisingly uneventful. There was a really cool looking Carnival/Festival happening across from the arena that I almost decided to ditch the concert for. In retrospect, I wish I had. While I love Nine Inch Nails and still believe they are one of the best live performers of the last twenty years, I'd seen their show only two months earlier, and contrary to advertisement, little had changed aside from the noticeably pathetic turnout and all of their once-breathtaking special effects screwing up and tainting the experience. I came away from the show wondering some things. Has Trent Reznor lost a step? The tech-heavy performance overshadowed the physical passion he used to pour into his shows. Am I getting old? Seeing NIN live was once a priceless experience, but for the first time I began questioning whether I spent too much to be there. Are both true, or was it just an off night for the band and for me? Should Jacksonville really be a part of Florida? It is so close to Georgia, and shares so many of its wonderful attributes, such as toothless McCain supporters, recently released convicts, and churches. Perhaps it was just an off night. I mean, they couldn't even get their logo right. Or perhaps I simply put too much stock in getting out of town for a night, ignorant the forthcoming Georgianess of Jacksonville. In any event, that horizon is gone. The next adventure involves a Theme Park in Georgia. Here's hoping it surpasses a technically challenged concert in the middle of the world's ugliest misplaced city.

Published, Accepted, and Upwardly Mobile

In one trip to the mailbox my life took a sudden and very positive turn. In one package was a copy of The Alchemist, Valencia's Osceola Campus Literary Magazine, in which my short story "Receding" was recently published. In another package was my acceptance letter to Florida State University. I did a small dance that nobody saw.

Quitting my job July 31st. Moving to Tallahassee August 20th. After months of feeling like my life was going nowhere, finally a small return on my large investment has been received. I'm now more encouraged to continue my writing and finish these last couple summer classes. Full speed ahead!


ps. I have movie reviews, ride reviews of the new attractions at MGM and Universal, more fun from break.com, and a whole lot of other stuff to blog about, but time has been a crunch lately. bare with me and stay tuned!

The real thing

To this day, only two college classes have really educated me, and in both cases the instructors were adjunct -- meaning only part-time, taking a break from their day jobs to share their real world experiences with students. Timothy P Werhner, an astronomer teaching astronomy, was one, and Carol Chiodini, a director and screenwriter teaching screenwriting, was the other. While Werhner has fallen off my map (not surprising, as I recall him missing our first week of class due to being stranded at the South Pole!) I found a nice clip that one of Chiodini's students put up on You Tube. It briefly and accurately sums up what she's all about, and I think it is worth sharing.


I've sat through so many different classes with instructors who barely even hide the fact that they are only there for the paycheck, who don't care about your grade or what becomes of you after you leave the class. After great classes like Werhner's and Chiodini's, instructors who merely go through the motions stand out horribly. It almost feels like being taken backwards.

We desparately need more Timothy Werhners and Carol Chiodinis. I may not even write another screenplay, I'm more of a novel guy, but Carol's passion is something that has and will continue to inspire me to work hard at what I love to do because, like she said, if you don't you will never make it: The most important lesson I've learned to thus far, and a lesson that most of those other instructors are probably learning too late.