Phone interview = success!

A Sunday meeting at a bar in New Britain will hopefully! seal the deal and I may finally have work for the next few months. I mean; the job'll decidedly kick my ass, but the learning experience is something I am looking forward to with great expectations!

And since we're talking about showbiz, the Emmy nominations have been announced. I'm in Breaking Bad's corner, but can't believe the series garnered zero writing noms! The only other travesty, IMO, is the absence of The Shield in its swansong season. Walton Goggins and Michael Chiklis made for some of the most dramatic hours of television I've ever had the pleasure to watch and the material they were given to work with was stellar. But alas, having one's cake and eating it, I guess.

In confronting the increasingly schizophrenic nature of this blog, I wonder what's the EU's thinking behind this new visa scheme (re: leaving Bosnia out!).

A ray of sunlight through the clouds:

I woke this morning to find a message for me on the answering machine indicating, through the unlikeliest of circumstances, a potential job at a production company for a film scheduled to begin shooting in September. An East Coast company, I'm assured, and I'm guaranteed more details during tomorrow's scheduled phone date with the company head, who's also likely the film's director.

Suffice it to say, I'm still grinning.

Much crossing of fingers, please.

In other news, I realize, staring at last night's work, that the malaise that gripped me was due much more to my fatigue then than to the perceived quality of the material, which is a pleasant surprise. Writing more of it now, I can see it starting to take shape, but it feels more like feeling my way through the darkness than any of the previous projects, moreso than I would like. Ah, well. Such is the craft, eh?

Anyway, back to work.

P.S. Anybody know what's the deal with this "Pingback" thingy they have on the lj post screen. Also, they can "Detect" my location now? Has anyone tried it with success?

Old Country: Pilot - Progress Report

Page Count: 8

Days till Deadline: 12

Mean Things: Human trafficking

Notes: I strongly dislike this thing. There's something that fell apart between the putting together of the story bible and the writing of these first eight pages, but it feels completely wrong. Absolutely, un-fix-ably wrong. Grr. I think I actually need to write more of it to figure out what exactly I hate so much about this. Then again, it could just be fatigue and the fact that this is being written at 3.14 in the AM after a sleepless night (last night). Or it could be the fact that I find myself utterly humbled by the reading experience Tolstoy has been giving me in the past weeks. But it probably doesn't help that this single's ad in my browser is terribly, terribly distracting.

Giving with the right hand while taking with the left. I'm not sure whether the EC is operating out of ignorance of the realities on the ground, so to speak. If they are, then this falls pretty well in line with "Western" policy initiatives re: the region. If they are aware of the consequence of this partial visa-liberation regime, then shame on them.

In related news, Republika Srpska enters political deadlock.

Also, yesterday's news coverage of the Sotomayor hearing was interesting enough, but following a buddy's Twitter updates regarding the event absolutely made my day.

And here's a transcript of her opening statements. A friend writes: "Strangely, she did not open with 'thank you all for finally shutting up.'"

I applaud the gesture, though there's microscopic hope of the US following suit, I imagine.

So the initial breakdown for yet another pilot* lies scribbled in my moleskine, along with an entire series bible in another document, and I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised by what came out. The initial concept or idea had been stewing in me for some time and I had an inkling of who the protag was and the world I wanted to explore but outside of that, nil.

So when I sat down to force a whole series bible out of myself, I wasn't quite sure what would come out. But by the time I got to the individual characters and how the thematic gymnastics of each episode would work themselves out, it was surprisingly easy. I think focus was the thing at work. Distilling the idea or notion to its basic element, then building from there, all the while maintaining focus.

Now, I just need to write this half-hour pilot before the end of the month and I'll be in shape. ::exhale::

In other news, I've decided to go through with the M.F.A. thing. The more I think about it, the greater my conviction. Most of the film programs have a distinct screenwriting component, but a few of them could allow me to sneak into directing, the very idea of which would be absolutely extraordinary and fills me with a rather ridiculous amount of excitement.

After that, law school and I've been putting those things together so that when the time comes to apply, there'll be minimal chaos, something I failed to avert last time around. What's promising about this round is that several places offer joint degree options that could have me placed across the Atlantic for a year or two. Which would be very nice.

Very nice indeed.

Updates forthcoming, as always.


*this one for a web-TV gig that could lead to longer term employment; cross fingers, please

I'll never get used to waking up to news like this.

On a lighter note, looks like us Yanks dodged a bullet on this one.

In other news, developments could see me in other parts of the world sooner than I anticipated. Hmm. Details forthcoming.

The gentlemen two posts back should be in good shape.

Speaking of rap supergroups, this is simply amazing.





The guy over the first and third verses is a good friend of mine.

via nwhyte:

The Burnout Cycle - This might've been immensely useful four months ago. Hell, it still is.

30 things a would-be politician should do this summer, pt. 1, and pt. 2.

Elsewhere on the farm, I discovered earlier today the founding of a rap supergroup, consisting of Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz, Crooked I, and Royce Da 5'9. For those at home keeping score, these four account for 85% of the lyrical skill on the market right now. The group, aptly named Slaughterhouse, will precede the release of their debut album with a series of EP's featuring each of their members solo.

The first up to bat is Royce.

Home/Away, the Naples-based crime short clocks in at a slim 20 pages, which is nice because it's twenty pages I didn't have 2 days ago. There's a bit of connective tissue that's missing, and I know it's missing by the shape it's supposed to take. I just gotta figure out what it is and how exactly to place it. Other than that, this was a nice exercise and something I'd like to revisit if I ever get it in me to try my hand at directing.

Speaking of which, this looks like fun.

Been talking with the matriarch over the past week or so over the course of my future as the eventual move to Angel City looms in the distance, a topic of conversation prodded by my intuitive wandering to the Study Aids section of Borders during a weekend visit, and a quick jaunt over to the law school database site that has managed to make the whole application process much, much easier for me assures me that I have until 2013 to apply before my materials are scrapped and I must start over.

The window is larger than I initially expected.

That said, I'm not the type to enjoy getting "stuck" as it were in Angel City trying to make it. The looming deadline is incentive in one sense, but it's in another sense a personal call to arms. The problem is that I can see myself following both career tracks, but neither seems to like spending time with the other all that much.

See, I can write about all the political and economic issues I loved studying in university. Hell, I can do that till the cows come home and still have stories that need to be told. The caveat is that I'm not yet at the level in any aspect of the craft to make a living out of the telling of said stories.

On the flipside, I do feel called to get involved in the political and economic issues I loved studying at uni. It's one of those 'this is where I can do some tangible good' kind of feelings and there's a certainty about it regarding these issues that I'd feel absolutely criminal if I didn't turn it in some way or form into a professional obligation. Hence the move towards International Law and policy based stuff.

But how to mesh the two. Arrrgh!!!

In other news, I take it this is one of those "more than meets the eye" kind of meetings. I don't imagine symbolic solidarity vis-a-vis respecting the process of international law is the only thing these guys talked about, what with President Obama pressing the 'reset' button and whatnot.

"You sure picked a hell of a time to graduate," says the BBC.

Also,

Coffee is the new bowl of blueberries. At least, for mice.

Also, Texts from the Underground, Vol. 2

HG: :D ps i was in a country during government overthrow. I win!

Me: Oh yah! How was Honduras?!

HG: Baller and a half

Me: Hahaha! Nice. Yeah, I guess you win this one.

Me: Well, I missed the capture of a top war criminal in Serbia by half a week, so there!

HG: Doesn't count sorry cowboy

'Cause this is too funny for me to keep to myself.

June 24, after watching a CNN broadcast regarding Gov. Stanford's extracurriculars:

Me: If you disappeared for four days (to Argentina, no less), would anyone freak out?

CM: I would hope so. especially if i were the chief executive of a state of 4.5 million people. but you never know...

Me: ::grin:: you never know.

Me: P.S. Why is the US (aka CNN) acting like they've never seen a fixed election before, re: Iran?

CM: Yeah, i dunno. i guess they figure the stakes are higher, given the nuclear implications.

Me: Maybe. Iran's had 'nuclear' capabilities for a while. Hmm.

CM: yeah, i'm not gonna vouch for cnn. don't get me started.



Well it was funny when it happened.

Today was a perfect day.

A friend celebrated his 50th birthday with an influx of family from as far as North Carolina and DC as well as work friends and acquaintances from church, all pouring in with an abundance of love to return to this big-hearted man who, with but a smile, had given us more than we could ever hope to give back.

A Rihanna lookalike even made an appearance, stealing my heart instantly.

But it was a gorgeous day because of the confluence of so many factors. The grass was the perfect shade of green for the kids to play on and dirty their pants, throwing and catching and running with all the force and energy that adolescence affords them. The food was extraordinary, heralding the strongest case of the 'itis I've encountered in a long time. And the sky was just that shade of blue with the large cumulus clouds we would, as kids, use to tell stories the way the Greeks used stars to tell theirs.

At each of the tables was a picture of the birthday fella at a different stage of his life along with questionnaires gauging who knew him best. After cake and a heartfelt thank-you speech, there were multiple performances of the cha-cha slide.

All in all, it made me want to live to be 50.

ETA (19.54): Happy America Day!

Started watching the anime Death Note earlier tonight because it'd been lying around ever since the broham left it after returning to Texas.

OMG.

I'm halfway through the first 20-episode chunk of story and have no plans of letting up soon. This is the most exciting thing I've watched in a very long time and quite possibly the most intellectually stimulating find since Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

This is genius.