William's Nonsensical World

Two Over Easy and a Nice Chardonnay

2011-06-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

Another entry into the Tenth Daughter of Memory.

Two Over, Easy

She was nervous. Sure, it was her first time, but with all that training she shouldn't be this unsure.

Of course they had prepared her for this. "The first one," they had said, "was always the worst. Don't be surprised if you get sick afterwards. She felt her hands shake. She knew that was not good for the position she was in, so she tried her best to steady it. Flashing back, she thought of the breathing exercises they had taught her to help her with control.

He was here. She saw him step out of his car, hand the keys to the valet, and walk towards the restaurant. The butterflies that had been fluttering in her stomach were now trying to escape and had lodged in her throat. She pushed all the fear and nervous energy away. She closed her eyes, quieted her mind, took a deep breath...

And pulled the trigger.

No one, especially the target, saw the shot coming. She was gone before his security even started looking up for a shooter.

***

The second, they told her, would be easier. "Once you've taken out your first, the rest is cake." Personally, she'd always preferred pie, but she got the gist.

This one was paranoid. She had to make it up close and personal. She decided to make a night of it. She called Grace and Elizabeth and told them to get dressed up. They were going to make night on the town.

While he was paranoid, he had a fondness for club girls. Knowing this, she picked out the slinkiest thing in her closet, her showiest heels, and tousled her hair just right. She looked the epitome of the club girl looking for an easy score. In a way, she was; just not the kind of score anyone else at the club was looking for.

The music was loud. Grace and Elizabeth staked out a good spot at the bar. She joined them. She easily spotted him in a private area set up for high-rollers. The intel said he would only be alone with the girls he picked up at the clubs, so she did one final prep and sauntered over.

He was such an easy mark. She made eyes at him and he quickly invited her in. Not wasting time, she started fondling him and kissing him like crazy. His cologne was a bit strong, she had to fight the urge to gag.

Looking deep into his eyes she said, "why don't we step out back, lover?"

He was off his feet before she even finished the last word.

In the alley, he pulled her close and fondled her. He was rough. She reached into her bag and pulled out the dagger. He froze. Did he catch a glimmer of the blade as it reflected the street light? It didn't matter now. The blade was already hilt deep by the time his eyes looked to her, confused and angry.

***

She ducked into the restroom and quickly cleaned the blade. She then altered her look by throwing on the small jacket and changing her hair and makeup. As she exited, she glanced over to the V.I.P. area where his hired muscle was flirting with a girl that looked to be fifteen. The muscle wouldn't even notice he was missing for another hour or so.

She joined Grace and Elizabeth who were shrilly implying all kinds of naughtiness to their friend. When asked for details, she just said, "you wouldn't believe the things I did to that man."

Her phone vibrated her whole bag. She pulled it out and looked at the message from Control. It read: "Status?"

She deftly typed the response: "Two over, easy."

Slipping the phone back into her bag, she raised her hand towards the bartender.

"Chardonnay," she announced.

Her nerves were completely gone.

*****

Trying something with a character I created years ago and never did anything with. Thoughts?

William the Bloody Wondering if Anyone Saw This Coming Redd

White Lies Belie a Darker Truth

2011-05-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yet another entry for the Tenth Daughter of Memory. Decided to play a bit out of genre for this one. Let me know what you think. Also, I incorporated a current event. Look at me being all relevant.

May 21st, 2011
5:30p.m.

   It started in good fun. With this supposed Rapture, we were using it as an excuse to party. I mean, there was nobody in our group who was expecting to vanish at six. All us sinners were just thinking, "if it does happen, good reason to party harder than we ever have before."

   We'd been going strong for four hours. Jacob, my best friend since third grade, was drunk and getting overly frisky with his girlfriend, Rebecca. Usually I don't mind this, but I was a bit drunk myself and the feelings I had long harbored for Rebecca always come to the surface when I drink. Also, all the "end of the world" talk was getting to me and, if we were going to die, it looked like I was going to die single.

   Rebecca was gorgeous. She had long red hair, fair skin with a series of well-placed freckles to make her that much cuter, and her legs... OH, her legs... God seriously knew what he was doing when he crafted those fine, fine instruments of bipedal motion. And she was a nerd. The first time I ever saw her, she was wearing a Jayne hat and a 4th Doctor scarf that I later learned she knitted herself. I think that's what really killed me about the pairing of Jacob and Becca, he had absolutely no geek cred, yet she was all over him.

   Jacob was a jock, it was the one thing that made our friendship seem out of place. I was busy watching Star Wars and Lord of the Rings on Friday nights while he was getting the winning tackle and the heart of every girl in our high school. This, of course, continued into college. Then the worst thing ever happened, Jacob and Becca met.

   I was there. It was the one time that Jacob finally dragged me from the safety of the room to a party off campus. I even pulled the classic Star Wars line as we got there, "I've got a bad feeling about this." I should learn to listen to my feelings. Jake had disappeared looking for what he called a "fine piece of tail" while I just sat close to the food in the kitchen. Then, there she was.

   I had seen her around since that initial sighting one winter when she was bundled up in nerdy cuteness, but never had the guts to even introduce myself. She walked right up to me, looked me in the eye, and said "Excuse me, I think there are some cheese puffs behind you."

   I was frozen.

   We sat there looking at each other for a few moments until I heard Jake say, "You'll have to excuse him. He's socially awkward." Reaching behind me, Jacob revealed a large red bowl filled with cheese puffs and offered it to my nerd girl. She blushed and replied, "Well, I think we all have our moments."

   "Jacob," he said, "and this is Tom."

   "Rebecca," she answered, "but everyone calls me Becca. It's nice to meet you both."

   "Nice to meet you," Jake said in his "smooth" voice as he offered her his hand. She took it and blushed.

   Just like that, I was skunked. Before I could even say one word, I was out of the game.

   To be honest, I kind of hated Jake at that moment.

   From then on, she was always around. I thought for sure she would see through his shallow nature and figure out it was me she actually wanted, but no. I even tried to arrange to have geeky things to talk to her about when she came over, but as in-depth as we would get, she would always run off with Jake as soon as he called.

   I'll admit it, I was bitter. But I would never have said anything about it to Jake or Becca... if I hadn't been a little drunk.

   It was a Rapture party, world about to potentially end, why not let loose for once? I was working on my second beer, which I had switched to when the guy making mixed drinks refused to make me anymore claiming he was saving them "for the ladies," when I saw Becca in Jake's lap, trying her best to eat his face from the look of it. I sat down next to them, I might have sneered, and said, "do either of you have any regrets?"

   They stopped and looked at me.

   "No, really," I slurred. "If the world is going to end in thirty minutes, we should share our regrets."

   "But Tom," Becca said sweetly, "the world isn't going to end. This is just a laugh. I think you've had enough."

   "Yeah, man," Jake added. "Why don't you go sleep it off."

   "Fuck you, girl stealer."

   Both Becca and Jake looked at me and said, "What?"

   I continued calmly, "You stole the nerd girl of my dreams, you shit. I never even had a chance."

   Jake thought about it for a minute. "You were drowning, dude. I came in for the conversation life preserver and you still didn't say word one."

   "You know I can't talk to girls when I'm interested in them."

   Becca looked from me to Jake, then said, "Are you talking about me?"

   "OF COURSE," I shouted, making our fight all the more public.

   "Tom," she said placing her hand on my arm, "I thought we talked about this."

   "No," I said shaking my head drowsily, "you talked, I listened."

   "You also said we were friends, didn't you Tom?"

   I looked at her sheepishly. "Well, yeah. But..."

   Becca leaned in. "But what? Was that a lie?"

   I threw my beer to the ground. "Yes it was a lie!" I knew I misspoke as soon as I saw the tears in her eye.

   "Wait. I mean, yes I'm your friend. Of course I am. But I want to be more than that."

   "Finally it comes out," Jake laughed. "I fucking knew you had a thing for her. Why didn't you tell me? I could have told you you had no shot and we could have gone on with our lives. How long you been holding onto this?"

   "I've been in love with her since I first saw her, you prick!"

   "At the party?"

   "No, you idiot. That was when YOU first saw her. I'd seen her around campus for months."

   "Why didn't you say anything, Tom?" Becca looked at me with what was either pity or utter sadness.

   "I don't know. What could I say? You two were all over each other, and what shot would I have against Jake? He's every girl's dream, isn't he?"

   "Jake's nice and all, but..." she shrugged.

   "HEY!"

   "No Jake, I didn't mean it like that. Just... I mean, this isn't a forever thing between us."

   Now Jake actually looked hurt. "It's not?"

   "Oh. OH! You... but I... oh God." Becca awkwardly jumped off Jake and ran out of the room.

   "Becca, wait," Jake and I both yelled. He looked at me with a fire in his eyes.

   "You son of a bitch. What the fuck is wrong with you?" He jumped up to run after her. "Becca, babe, come back!"

   I sat there as the few people who had stopped to watch lost interest and turned back to their partying. Suddenly, one of the people throwing the party came in yelling "Six o'clock and all's well! No apocalypse, folks! We have a Rapture fail. Guess we'll have to try again next year."

   There was a mix of groans, chuckles, and "aws" of mock disappointment as the rest of the party realized the world wasn't going to end.

   Then again, I guess it was all in how you looked at it.

*****

William the Bloody Looking For His Own Nerd Girl Redd

Neptune's Payback

2011-05-10T12:58:00.000-07:00

Trying something a little different for the Tenth Daughter of Memory.

When I was a kid, I used to fight the waves. Literally, I remember vividly getting in the water and punching waves as they tried to push me back to shore. I think it was my attempt to play Hercules.

"A man so strong he could fight the sea!"

Yep, sounds like something I would try.

This especially became a theme as I learned about the Greek and Roman pantheon of gods. Neptune (or Poseidon to the Greeks) was god of the sea and a right nasty character at times. This is the guy who tried his hardest to kill Odysseus on his journey home.

Whether Odysseus deserved it is a discussion for another time. But, as a child who fully believed the version of a story he was given, Neptune was bad news. This is probably why I wanted to start a fight with those waves that were keeping me from the joys of the ocean. They would keep battering me back until I eventually broke free.

Looking back on it, however, I see the other side of things. Just imagine in Neptune was really out there and watching this young boy fight with his waves, challenge his authority. And what if this vengeful god answered.

Like something out of a Roland Emmerich movie I picture a scene:

A boy no more than 8 or 9 having fun and fighting against the waves. He is splashing around and having the best time. Then, the water begins to pull back. Back so far that the boy is left with nothing put wet sand at his feet and a few confused crabs scurrying for a hiding place.

While the boy does not yet realize what is happening, we see a shadow cover the beach around him. Once he notices the darkness, he glances up to see a massive tidal wave hanging overhead. His eyes would go wide, his mouth hanging open like a fish gaping for breath on dry land.

And then, SPLASH!

Neptune would laugh and go back to more important matters while the boy and all other beach-goers experienced the horrors of the deep.

Then, he sends Godzilla to finish the kid off.

Like I said, vengeful.

William the Bloody Should Try to Sell That To Hollywood Redd

Finalizing the Edit

2011-04-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

Aww... don't tell me he's gonna talk about editing again.

Yep, he is.

Well, more specifically I'm going to talk about copyright.

Why does copyright have to be so important? I mean, I understand that it protects someone's intellectual property from being used in a way they don't like, but when mega-corporations attack harmless video makers for using a music track that they own the rights to, something seems very wrong with that.

Now, if these videos were making any kind of profit, then of course the copyright holder should get some percentage, but half the time these are twelve year olds who decide it would be fun to dance to their favorite song, or even lip-sync.

It's fun, it's a laugh, and if the big-money record companies decide they don't like it, it's criminal.

Bollocks.

The main thing that has me thinking about this is the edit on "A Battle of Wills." I'm at a loss for music because I don't have any musical ability and anyone who I have on tap couldn't possibly throw something together this quick.

It would be so much easier if I could just use amazing music properly credited and call it a day.

The same thing is true for Jersey Jones. That project would have been out long ago if I could use the music I have as a temporary soundtrack. Unfortunately, I could never afford the rights for all that.

My kingdom for a... well for a kingdom actually.

Imagine how much awesome stuff I could make if I had a budget like that.

William the Bloody Musically Inept Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 28 - Dancin' Fool:

Still Stuck In the Edit

2011-04-28T23:27:00.001-07:00

Still in the midst of the quagmire of editing, so this is gonna be another brilliant piece.

So, there is this guy in my education courses, he started getting on my nerves around the second week of class. He's a "traditionalist," which means that he thinks that standardized testing should be the end all, be all of academic success. He wants things put into a neat little box.

I don't like the box. In fact, I took the box, burned it, and launched it into orbit.

The box and I, we're not close.

And this guy and I, also not close.

But apparently he interprets that dislike for his opinions as some grand conspiracy against him. Here's the problem, Smallville (our nickname for him due to a striking resemblance to Brandon Routh), you are coming into a class that has seen how much the current methods do not work and have been challenged to find new and better ways to replace them. So walking in and saying "change is bad" and "I think a rigid structure is the only way to effectively teach" is the same as saying "hey guys, please argue with me."

Well, that's how I read it.

Smallville really got on my nerves one day when we were having a round-table discussion that somehow turned to the constitution and education. I don't remember what set me off, but he said something that was inane and close-minded and I just snapped. At that point, I decided to start picking apart everything he said and turning it back on him. I would play devil's advocate and attack his word choice on certain arguments.

At the end of class, one of the other students called me Lex.

This pointless rivalry continued through the semester. I did it out of boredom, honestly, and to me it was all in good fun. I could care less what this guy believes. He is of no consequence once I am out of this program (unless he winds up at the same school, which is unlikely).

However, a few weeks ago, my friend Pat and I noticed that Smallville wasn't saying much during class. Then we realized he wasn't saying anything. He wasn't even paying attention anymore. He would do something on his laptop, headphones in his ears for our back-to-back Tuesday/Thursday education courses. Again, this isn't something that really concerns me in any way, until Tuesday.

In our second class of the day, we were assigned a presentation in groups. Smallville had been assigned to work with his table, but after class talked to our professor about working individually (the project was designed to be a group project because it was all about finding a way to teach something in multiple concentrations. For example, our project was how to teach the sinking of the Titanic in Math, History, and Literature).

Last week, Smallville gave his solo presentation and it was one of the most boring things I have ever had to be present for. Seriously, he created a full lesson plan complete with pacing guide and breakdown.

This was not at all what the project was supposed to be. So much so, that the professor e-mailed the class to remind other groups that this was supposed to be a multimedia project either during or directly after Smallville's presentation.

Based on this one presentation, I can tell this guy is going to be a horrible teacher. This was further evidenced by what happened next.

This past Tuesday, the other groups presented. Our group went first. I felt it was a successful presentation even though nobody laughed at our humorous explosion edited in to the iceberg hit in the Titanic trailer. After we sat down and the next group started presenting, I noticed that Smallville was on his laptop, headphones in, not paying any attention.

What. A. Dick.

You put together one of the most boring presentations I've ever had the misfortune of witnessing and then you just shut out everyone else? Who do you think you are? Every other project was actually interesting (you know, that thing you keep forgetting about).

I wish I had seen him on his laptop during our presentation. I would have called him out in front of the whole class and embarrassed him in any way I could imagine. It annoys me that I did not catch him in the act.

Congratulations, sir. You fail the most basic part of being a good teacher. Listening.

I seriously hope that I know someone who works with this kid once he's a teacher. I want to hear that gossip.

William the Bloody Glad He Never Has To Have Class With That Jerk Again Redd

Stuck In the Edit

2011-04-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

Editing is my world at the moment, so this will not be long and probably won't be all that clever.

So, you know... nothing new.

Now I remember why I haven't been working on more short films recently, between school and my online efforts, not to mention my work with Research Paranormal (which had an attempted mock investigation this evening to practice some new methods we were incorporating that was cancelled early due to an uncooperative neighbor watching television too loudly) I haven't really had the time.

This, again, is where I need a Type A personality to handle scheduling and the like. I'm too scatterbrained to really be any kind of success at getting everything organized for a shoot. I typically remember to call or write to an actor or actress days before I plan to shoot instead of as soon as I make the plan in my head.

If anyone knows of any way to help me combat this issue, please let me know.

The edit for "A Battle of Wills" is coming along. As always, I notice things that I wish I had done. I keep meaning to get some form of small dolly so I can achieve interesting tracking shots. Hey, that might be a summer project.

Speaking of summer, once school is out I will finally have a chance to plan out this epic road trip I have been talking about. Wait, have I mentioned the road trip on the blog? I can't remember. Anyway, so I'm going on this epic road trip this summer with my friend Adam (Gears on Youtube). We're driving from North Carolina to Los Angeles to attend VidCon, then driving back. Plans have been tentative until I have time to really work out the details.

With the semester almost over, that time will soon be here. Just need to get through the next two weeks and I'll be able to devote the necessary time to planning and implementation.

I am very excited. This will be my first cross-country road trip.

William the Bloody Cross-Continental Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 26 - A Thank You To All the Regulars:

As The Semester Winds Down

2011-04-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

I realized earlier today that it was the final Tuesday of the semester. I would not have my weird, full day of classes anymore. I would only have one more session with someone I am convinced is the worst teacher ever to grace the inside of a classroom. I would not have another class with a man who I think has taught me the most this semester. I would not sit in another ASL class and be frantic trying to remember certain signs or trying to decipher what the teacher was saying.

Two of those things I will miss, the other... not so much.

This teacher, the one that makes me question the PhD program of a major institution, has never actually been outside of a college environment. This woman is supposed to be giving us insight on how to teach high school students and she has never done so herself. In fact, her concentration was middle school.

What exactly is this person supposed to teach me?

It certainly was not proper grammar, which she did not have, or the proper way to motivate students, or how to explain an assignment so that there were no questions and complete confusion.

I think one more week of this woman and things would have turned mutinous.

Last week, one of the more even-tempered students finally had enough and called her out on the current pointless assignment in a long line of pointless assignments we have been given throughout the semester, a portfolio through Blackboard (which is probably one of the most useless tools the University has ever forced upon the student body). This "portfolio" is essentially a web page using the simplified templates that Blackboard has available.

How about I just show you one of the 50 websites that I've coded in my lifetime? I guarantee any one of them would be better than whatever this piece of gosa will be, even my old Angelfire page would be a step up, and that's just sad.

The final for her class is a waste of time and energy as well. We have to put together a packet of 40 resources that we can utilize in the classroom. I understand the point of having these resources, but then she gives us this list of criteria for how to present them, and the whole assignment becomes a chore that nobody wants to do.

My main issue with this class and particularly this professor is that I feel we've taken a giant step backwards from the inspiring lessons learned last semester. This woman has single-handedly helped ruin a few students on the idea of teaching. One girl has already changed majors to save her sanity.

Last semester, we were taught to look for certain things in a bad or ineffective teacher, this woman hits every single one of them.

Congratulations, you've just taught every student in your class how NOT to be a teacher.

You must be so proud.

I wonder if Hogwarts is hiring... and if they'd consider a muggle.

William the Bloody Over It Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 25 - The Return of Mr. Jenkins:

Asleep At the Wheel

2011-04-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

It's late, I've just finished a video for a presentation tomorrow, and I desperately need sleep.

But not before writing a very quick blog post.

Filmed the rest of "A Battle of Wills" yesterday. Haven't had a chance to edit since I was working on the video for class.

Sometimes it sucks being video savvy... everyone wants you to be the video guy. One of my professors even called me out in class as an available resource for the video project we had in that class.

Then again, I certainly wouldn't change it.

I had more fun yesterday than I have had in a while. Shooting a movie is just a blast. I'd forgotten that.

Extra special thanks to John Krevens and Kristin Mason for providing some top notch acting. I can't wait for this thing to come together.

Screening next weekend at the Cape Fear Independent Film Festival. I'll let you know how it goes.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna pass out.

William the Bloody Exhausted Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 24:

A Cat Can Look at a King

2011-04-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Decided to try something a bit different for this Tenth Daughter of Memory muse. Tell me what you think.

A Cat Can Look At A King

   Finding time to get away was the biggest problem. Having someone who keeps track of your every move can get annoying, especially when you're a solitary animal like myself. But, if he ever saw where I went, or even saw me leave...

   No, best not to think about that.

   "Kim?"

   Oh no, he's looking for me. Probably concerned that I ran off. From what I've gathered, I wouldn't be the first. I wonder what happened to the others. They could have planned to return, but were unable. I have been told it happens quite often.

   He is almost here, it has to be now. If not, I'll be late for the ceremony, and I do not want to think what that would mean.

   The shift is always strange. It feels like I am melting. To the outside observer, it probably looks more like I am fading away.

   By the time he enters the living room, I am already light years away.

***

   Actually, I have never been clear where this other world is. It is more of a dimensional nexus. It is everywhere and nowhere.

   The others are gathering.

   An otherworldly bell begins to chime. The ceremony begins.

   He is certainly more regal than the last. I try not to think back on that past reign. My kind was forced to placate that madman until we could find a way to rid ourselves of him at last.

   My tail twitches at the memory of the war. We eventually won, but it was a long and bloody battle.

   A holy man steps forward with a scepter. The man slowly drops to one knee in reverence as the holy man hands him the scepter.

   Another cleric steps forward holding an ornate crown. It shines with the colors of the universe. And if you look at it just right, there are both delights and horrors within.

   The man rises, our newly crowned King of Nightmares takes his rightful place upon the throne.

   We bow, to an outsider it appears not unlike a stretch, rears high in the air, front legs extended as far as they will go.

   Our king waves, and we begin to yowl in celebration.

   I will have to return soon. Dilworth will still be looking for me. Fortunately it is a big house, plenty of places for a cat to hide where a man cannot find her.

William the Bloody Cat Owning Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 23:

Self-Realization About Youtube

2011-04-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

So, I've been making videos for a while now, trying to unlock that partnership "magic" just so I can get to a point where I'm actually making something for the things I produce, and I've come to a realization:

It is entirely unlikely that my main channel will ever achieve partner.

Unless I change things drastically. I can't keep making these sporadic videos and expect to reach the same status as Wheezy Waiter and the Vlogbrothers. I need a regular schedule. I need a plan.

Step one of this plan involves the Media Blitzkrieg channel. I've been trying to get myself on a weekly schedule with that and am being absolutely sure that I do not have any content that I do not have express permission to use. Consider it a test case. The weekly posts start (hopefully) this week. Yesterday I posted an update video. Check it out here.

If I can prove that I have the ability to manage a partner-worthy channel, that might lead me to bigger things. And the production company is a perfect place to start this.

Step two involves figuring out exactly what to do with my other two channels. The regularguy5mb channel has always been a bit of a catch-all. I originally started on Youtube to post short films, then I got involved in the vlogging community and started making my own vlogs. Honestly, I'm not completely sure what to do with it. I'm going to start making scripted shorts of questionable video quality (since I'm often shooting and acting on my own) and see what happens.

I'm trying to create my own path on this site. Need to find my "thing."

Then there's the 5 Regular Guys channel. I really have no idea what to do with that one. It's primary function was a collab channel for vlogging with the rest of the 5RG, but they didn't really seem that interested. Jason was the only one who even tried to make videos on his own. They always talk about ideas and projects, but as yet, nothing has come of them.

Not saying that I'm any different, but it would be nice if at least one of them would say "hey, let's shoot something this weekend!" Or even "yeah, let's definitely do that tomorrow" when I mention an idea.

Since the lack of action from the others, the 5RG channel has become a concert footage channel. I have a retrospective of the 5RG project that I've been trying to film for years and haven't even been able to interview the two of the five. All attempts turn into acts of distraction.

Seeing one of them Monday night, hoping to get five minutes to just ask a few questions.

I would love to make the 5RG channel a place for skits and random video bits from myself and the rest of the five. All I can do is keep trying.

Maybe I'm stretching myself too thin. It would be great if I had someone, ANYONE who would help me with all this. At the moment, I've got nothing.

Even a Youtube partner in the "upper echelon" who I could chat with about what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong would be lovely.

William the Bloody Itching To Do Something But Can't Do It Alone Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 22 - School Project (that inadvertently started my mind on this topic):

Let's Get Saucy

2011-04-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to teach myself to cook so I can avoid eating out as often as I have in the past (because it is needlessly expensive and I like having more control over what I'm actually eating).

I know the basics, but recipes sometimes are beyond me (mainly because I am lazy and don't feel like making anything until I'm really hungry, which means I don't feel like getting really involved in cooking that's going to take an hour).

One recipe I've picked up from the parents is one that I grew up with. It is unique in that I've never heard anyone else talk about it and when I explain it, I often get funny looks. But it is one of the best meat loaf recipes I have ever seen... or eaten.

The real trick to this, I think, is the sauce and the fact that the meat loaves are served in smaller sizes. It is not one massive loaf, but six individual loaves. And the sauce includes brown sugar and vinegar, making it both sweet and savory.

The ridiculous amount of onions helps there as well.

I have now made this recipe twice in the new house (making my third attempt since getting a copy) and I can definitely tell I'm getting better. One problem I have is there does not seem to be enough sauce. However, I realized that with the amount of tomato sauce left over (based on the recipe) I would just need to double the recipe and have twice as much sauce. It might be too much at first, but it will make leftovers extremely tasty.

Also, I need to work out exactly when to start the rice. I keep over-cooking it and burning the rice at the bottom. Crunchy leftovers are still tasty, but not as good as they could be.

William the Bloody Making Himself Hungry Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 21 - Saucy Meat Loaves (see what I did there?):

I Spend Way Too Much Time Alone

2011-04-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

I really do. And because of this, I think too much (yes, there is such a thing). I over-think everything that happens and often come to the wrong conclusion. Someone will mention a medical condition and I think "oh geez, do I have that?" I start analyzing the symptoms and find that they match... but it could also be some kind of weird hypochondria that happens BECAUSE I heard about it.

The thing is, I can't really think of a solution to this. The easiest is of course, go out more. However, the problem with that is I don't really have anyone to hang out with. I would love to be more sociable, but the people I feel I could call to socialize either do not live in the same town or are constantly busy with other things (work, school, work, significant others, work, etc.).

Compounding this issue is the fact that I'm rubbish at making new friends. Sure, I make friends easy enough when it happens, but it just sort of does. I have no control over it. Several times I have legitimately tried to go somewhere with the intentions of meeting people and it was an abject failure.

This whole blog post is a result of over-thinking. I'm having one of those days where nothing is really going on and I just spend all my time in my head. Nothing good comes of this, which is why I generally try to keep myself busy. Hell, it's part of the reason I wanted to tackle VEDA and BEDA this month. Figured if I could keep my mind occupied, these idiotic thoughts wouldn't clutter my head.

Yeah, we see how well that works.

A day of rendering video and slow uploading to Youtube gives me plenty of dreaded "time to think."

Normally I would use that free time to read or clean, but I haven't even felt like doing that today. I'm behind on Script Frenzy, but do I take this free time to work on my writing? No. My mind is already running on this particular line of thought and nothing seems to be able to interrupt it.

I almost wish the characters I've been creating in my vlogs were really here. At least then I could have someone to tell me to stop whining and do something constructive.

Also, I'd have someone to run the camera for me.

William the Bloody Going Out of His Mind Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 20 - Some behind the scenes fun from last weekend's shoot:

The Computer Fully Obeys Murphy's Law

2011-04-20T23:49:00.000-07:00

Whatever can go wrong, will. And it will always happen to me when I absolutely need something done.

All I want to do is use Compressor to render my video. Why won't you let me do that, computer? It's not an unreasonable request. You've done it with such ease in the past. What's different this time?

Too much open? Why are you trying to save anything to the hard drive? You're supposed to be using the external, after all.

This is a colorful way of saying: Today's video will be late. Unforeseen technical complications. Of course, had I not waited until late this evening to start editing, the problem would have become apparent much sooner.

Hindsight.

William the Bloody Fed Up With Seeing "Failed" When He Renders A Video Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 19:

Doctor Who Has Lost His Best Companion

2011-04-19T21:53:00.000-07:00

Elisabeth Sladen, best known for playing Sarah Jane Smith on Doctor Who and later in her own spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures, passed away today. She was 63.

It is a sad day for Whovians everywhere. She was the best companion, and to many viewers, the first. A good majority of Who fans started watching during Tom Baker's run and Sarah Jane was his plucky companion for the first chunk of it. She was amazing, as was the woman who gave her such greatness.

I'm not going to start telling anecdotes or posting video tributes, there are already plenty around the web, just look them up. Professional blogger do that, and I think we all know I'm far from professional (a professional slacker, perhaps).

This news hit while I was in Randall Library, and it took everything I had not to start bawling right there in my carrel. Then there was a particular post this evening which was similar to a tweet I had posted earlier regarding K-9, and I got really choked up. Here's the image that pushed me over the edge:

This. This says it all. An impossible robotic dog with an unbelievable sadness at the loss of his mistress. I'm kind of tearing up again just thinking about it.

So my thoughts go out to Elisabeth Sladen's family tonight. I am so very sorry for your loss. She was a fantastic woman and she was loved by what I think is one of the greatest sci-fi fandoms around. She will be deeply missed.

My thoughts also go out to Sarah Jane Smith's fictional family. Luke, K-9, I'm not sure what you will do now without Sarah Jane to look after you, but it will be alright. She has gone on to another great adventure, one we will all eventually embark upon.

She has gone to seek her great perhaps, and I wish her the best of luck finding it.

Okay, I need to stop before I start blubbering like a big baby. Gonna sit down and watch some great Sarah Jane moments.

Truly, she was one of the greats. Rest in peace, ma'am.

William the Bloody Teary-Eyed Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 18:

The Absolute Insanity of Oleander Drive

2011-04-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has driven in Wilmington has probably experienced the madness that is Oleander Drive. Recently, I've noticed exactly how mad it is.

On Thursday, I narrowly avoided a rear-end collision. While stopped at the Oleander/College intersection waiting t turn on College, the guy in front of me stopped short, causing a chain reaction that ended with the three cars behind me hitting each other. The car directly behind me was pushed into my bumper, but it was only a mild tap and I got away clean.

Personally, I'm still leery of any car behind me after my big wreck back in 2006. I panic whenever a car gets too close to my rear on the highway. It's not something that is going away any time soon, so I've accepted it... by vigorously cussing out anyone who gets too close and freaks me out.

Today I decided that I would try to avoid heading in to town via Oleander. That is where most of the insanity seems to be focused. I've thought about it, and there have been so many times I've driven that way only to see accident after accident in the same spot my near-miss occurred (or "near-hit" as Carlin would have said because I nearly got hit).

After getting behind one elderly driver going 25 and under on a 40 MPH road (in which most lunatics keep it around 50 MPH) and having some freak drive around another car to squeeze in between us at an uncomfortable angle for my liking, I'm done with that particular intersection.

The term "avoid like the plague" comes to mind here.

I have enough worries in my head without the added concern of moronic drivers who don't know what they're doing.

And a word of advice:

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, USE YOUR BLINKER! IT IS WITHIN EASY REACH OF THE STEERING WHEEL, SO THERE IS NO EXCUSE!

Thank you and good day.

William the Bloody Driving With A Helmet From Now On Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 17 - Evil William takes the wheel:

A Production Day

2011-04-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I didn't think it would ever happen. Today, I finally got back into directing a short film.

I know I talked about this yesterday, but I was fully prepared to write a fail blog today with the excuse that nothing went right and we didn't actually shoot anything.

Not to say that everything did go well, but we still got something shot.

The real issue today was the lack of an actress. I know this was totally my fault due to my poor planning abilities, so it got down to the last minute when all my potentials either neglected to get back to me (probably didn't get the message) or they were unavailable.

We shot at least a full page of the dialogue in which the actress was not needed. I'm going to review the footage this week and see what we've got. Planning on finishing up next weekend.

Still in need of an actress if anyone is interested.

William the Bloody About To Post On Craigslist Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 16:

Return To The Director's Chair

2011-04-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I've directed a few short films in my time. For example, "Taboo" (which has just recently inspired a short film currently being shot in L.A. More on that some other time) was what I consider my best directorial work thus far.

But that, believe it or not, was way back in 2007. Certainly not the last film I have worked on, but I have been working as camera, writer, editor, etc. on all these other projects. And it's not for a lack of ideas, more a lack of time, resources, and motivation.

A few years ago, I started work on what I thought was going to be a simple short film called "Finding Maria." This project has become my "Man of LaMancha," having been through three different iterations that constantly fall through (usually due to one or more actors dropping out on me mid-production... all in the same role, ironically). The sheer annoyance of trying to put this film together caused me to take a step back and pursue other things.

But now I'm about to jump back in with both feet. Tomorrow I start production on a new short that will hopefully be ready for the Cape Fear Independent Film Festival.

For the first time in a while I'm excited about directing again.

Now, let's just hope all goes well.

What I really need is someone to help me with the scheduling, and phone calls, and all the stuff I'm just no good at handling.

William the Bloody Directing Is In My Blood Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 15:

Troy Women

2011-04-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

Whenever I can, I try to get out to the theater. Live performances are always so much fun, and I agree with Oscar Wilde when he said:

"I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being."

The UNCW Theater Department prints this on the first page of every program they produce, and it's absolutely true. A well done live show can be both effective and affecting.

Troy Women, UNCW's current performance is most definitely one of those. It is an adaptation/modernization of Euripides' Trojan Women and it is magnificent. Especially Kate MacCallum as Hecuba.

The play takes place in the aftermath of the Trojan War. Troy lies in ruin and only its women remain. Hecuba, queen of Troy, her daughter Cassandra, and several other women wait to be handed off to Greek men like property. Their men, dead. Even the infant son of the hero of Troy (and son of Hecuba), Hector, is put to death so he will not grow up to seek vengeance. Place yourself into that kind of situation and you just start to scratch the surface of the emotions in Troy Women.

Kate McCallum performs so beautifully as Hecuba. Her torment as grieving wife, mother, grandmother, and queen of a ruined city is completely genuine, as is her anger at Helen and the Greeks.

The chorus of women left with Hecuba are all outstanding as well. Their concerns of a life of servitude to Greek masters is both humorous and tragic at points (as intended).

All around, it was an amazingly powerful play, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

One thing I love about living in a film town, there are so many talented people around to provide much needed entertainment to the masses at any given time.

William the Bloody Wishes He Could See A Live Performance Every Night Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 14:

Final Day of Tutoring

2011-04-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

This semester I have been tutoring students every Thursday at Isaac Bear Early College.

When I first started, I was very nervous. I thought I would end up with students who did not want to be there and would, as such, not try to learn anything. They would be unwilling to listen to anything I said. Fortunately, minus one or two exceptions, that was far from the case.

Most of the students I tutored seemed very keen to learn and to figure out how to improve their writing. I was even told by one of the teacher that they had noticed a marked improvement in the student's work. This made my day.

Today was my last day. I tutored two students in grade 9, English. We worked on a Daily Grammar Practice that their teacher assigns weekly and I helped them further their argumentative essays based on the moral implications of wiping memories in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

It has to be said, I wish this school had been around when I was in high school.

I've enjoyed this semester tutoring students. Now I'm just trying to decide if that is better than actually teaching a whole class.

For the time being, the whole class will likely remain the better option.

William the Bloody Likely Gonna Be A Teacher Yet Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 13:

Bandits Is Just A Good Movie

2011-04-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

I don't know if a lot of people know about it, but it really is.

I remember watching this movie when it came out on video (I was working at Blockbuster at the time) and thoroughly enjoying it. So, a while back I saw it on sale for a cheap price and picked it up. Finally got a chance to watch it again tonight.

After watching it again, I figured out what I like about it;

Bandits is kind of like a Michael Bay movie without Michael Bay.

It should be noted that I would like more Michael Bay movies if they did not have Michael Bay there to screw them up.

But back to my point; the style of camera work, the editing, the action scenes, even the lighting all look very similar to a Michael Bay movie. I wonder if Barry Levinson saw one of Bay's movies and thought, "this crew is fantastic. I wonder what they could do without that director gumming up the works?"

There's even a love triangle, which is a long-standing tradition in Michael Bay movies (it's even in Transformers between Shia, Meghan Fox, and Bumblebee).

Also, completely in love with Cate Blanchett in this movie. She is absolutely gorgeous anyway, but with that red hair...

Wow. Just wow.

*Universal Sigh*

William the Bloody Needs To Find An Amazing Redhead Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 12:

Script Frenzy Update

2011-04-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

So, by the numbers I'm a bit behind on my Script Frenzy script, but I already have the whole thing planned out, so I just need to take a day to get it on the page.

I think that's the point, really. That should be the slogan for Script Frenzy and NaNoWriMo:

GET IT ON THE PAGE

One of the hardest parts of writing is actually getting over any concerns in your abilities as a writer and producing something. Or, at least that's my biggest problem. I'm still trying to get things to a point where I feel like sharing what I write. That's one of the reasons I wanted to take part in the Tenth Daughter of Memory, it's a great opportunity to have other creative individuals read and critique your work.

This is also why I want to blog more. If I can get more comfortable sharing my feelings in a blog or vlog, then I can better express myself, right?

Still having issues speaking in public. Hell, tonight I had to share my family picture with my ASL class and I could feel the nerves getting to me. I didn't even have to speak. The mere act of standing in front of everyone was enough to give me the jitters.

Maybe I just psych myself out, but it seems like I'm getting worse.

Or maybe I'm just spending too much time alone. Lack of social interaction is messing with my head.

There's a happy thought.

William the Bloody Depressing Himself With This Line of Thought Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 11:

Another Day, Another Blog

2011-04-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Week two of April. This is when my motivation for BEDA/VEDA/Script Frenzy starts to die. I just get that lackadaisical feeling where I just want to sit on the couch and watch television.

Fortunately, I don't have cable. Unfortunately, I have several stacks of DVDs I've yet to watch.

Still managed to get my video for today done, even with the prolonged nap in the middle of the day. I think one of my main issues is not having a definite plan. Look at vloggers like Wheezy Waiter, or even my friend Gears, they script out their videos. I think about it for a while and then start shooting.

I know I need to get more focused on my vlogging, and my blogging. Look at this, for example. I'm just sitting on my couch, about to watch Up again, and I really haven't planned what I'm going to write.

Though one thing that comes to mind is the Ning. Now, there are two nings still going that I contribute to: the Nerdfighter ning, and Maureen Johnson's ning. This is primarily because they are two of the few remaining nings still around. Ever since Ning dropped their free option, only those with a source of financing could stay afloat.

Even with that, however, I have slacked off. I haven't even kept my blog posts updated. I am a severely lazy man. Just now getting to posting my February blogs.

I am trying to get better, but it's difficult. Especially when, as previously stated, I come home and nap most of the day away.

For now, I'm taking it one day at a time.

William the Bloody Surprisingly Tired for Being So Well Rested Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 10:

From Hell to Breakfast - A 5RG Tale

2011-04-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

At last, an entry into The Tenth Daughter of Memory! No punishment for me!!

HAHA!

Enjoy.

From Hell to Breakfast
A tale from the 5 Regular Guys Universe

      I swear all I wanted was a couple of eggs... maybe a piece of bacon... or two. I know I shouldn't eat it, and she'd kill me if she ever found out, but when death is around the corner for you at any moment, clean living tends to fly right out the window.

      Take my current predicament. I woke up thinking I'd make a quick trip to the diner down the street, have a quick breakfast of bacon, eggs, and some dry white toast and then start a full day of training. But no, I can't have that kind of day. The Powers That Be have a hell of a sense of humor...

      Ugh. Poor choice of words. Hell, I mean, not humor. I would assume that's where I am, anyway. That or one of several dimensions that most people consider Hell. At this moment, it's all I've got to go on, and the horde of demons currently trying to rip my throat out doesn't leave much room for doubt. It's either Hell or the Apocalypse. Either way, my morning just got a lot busier.

      At least I had the forethought to bring Betsy along. The benefit to having your base of operations in a bad part of town? You constantly keep a weapon on you. I don't remember where I originally came up with the idea for Betsy, back then I didn't even play the banjo. But something told me that carrying a sword inside a musical instrument would work. It has. I can't tell you the number of times I've just walked into a place with Betsy slung over my shoulder and nobody says a word... except the occasional "Do you know the Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde?" Which I do, now. Helps sell the fact that I carry Betsy with me wherever I go.

      And she is getting her workout for today. Hacking away at these demons is fairly easy work, but when there are thousands of them it can get a bit tedious. As another one rips by me, I split him nearly in two with Betsy and wonder exactly where this will end. I mean, this might be it. I've been slowly making myself number one on Evil's most wanted list. I've taken out vampire nests, werewolf packs, zombie and demon hordes, even had a fight with some kind of ham demon. That might have been the most disgusting thing ever. After all that, has something finally taken notice and decided to do away with me?

      Of course, there's also a chance that whatever sent me here is after the girl. Still not sure what it is about her. She seems to attract the supernatural. With me out of the way, the nasties have a clear shot at her. Not that she's completely defenseless, I've seen to that. We train on a daily basis, and she's a natural warrior. Hell, when I met her she taking on a nest of vampires single-handed. Strong. She says she has no idea where it came from, just that it suddenly appeared when she turned thirteen. There's a legend of a girl with power who is meant to fight evil, but I never believed it.

      There are some who do. Both good and bad alike have called her "Slayer" when they see her work. All I know, she is a young girl who can handle herself but lacked discipline. I gave her that. I've taught her almost everything I know. If this is the end, she'll at least be able to go down fighting.

      Crap, something's got a hold of my scarf. Don't know why I wear the thing, sells the ace pilot look I seem to have adopted, but it constantly gets in the way. Time to lose the albatross. Betsy once again sets me free to fight. As I turn back to the unending tide of demon, I notice a glimmer of light. That could very well be the source.

      Now that I have a destination, I begin to make my way forward. They don't make it easy. The fight starts to get tougher as soon as I step towards the glimmer, that means I'm on to something. Demons are predictable. They give themselves away as soon as you're on the right track. No poker face at all. The more I try to move towards the glimmer, the angrier they get. It definitely has something to do with this.

      Another step, and a big one jumps on top of me, knocking me down. His teeth gnash at my face as Betsy presses into his neck. If he keeps this up, he'll decapitate himself. Fine by me. He starts to go for my goggles, which means he is aiming for my eyes. That's definitely enough of that. I get my foot onto his chest and push up with everything I've got. As soon as he clears, I'm back on my feet and on him with Betsy swinging away. She makes short work of the rest of his neck and his head falls with a thud. The body stands for a moment, wavering, then follows the body knees first. A demon never looks penitent unless you take off its head.

      Getting closer now, I can almost make out what's causing the glimmer. It looks like... a book? I really hope that's not another Necronomicon. Those things are such a fucking pain in the ass to destroy. I think I've managed one complete destruction in all the years I've been doing this, and that one took about three months to completely get rid of. Almost there.

      I'm definitely on to something, they're getting organized. Ten block my way and work in concert to keep me from going any further. I've been using Betsy as she was intended, but now it's time to get creative. I take the rest of her, the makeshift scabbard that is also a working banjo, and slam it into demon skull. There is a comic "twang" as the strings vibrate from the impact. The mighty El Kabong, that's me. But no cape, the scarf is enough trouble.

      Almost there now. They seem to be spreading out. Perhaps they've realized the inevitable, but I doubt it. They're planning something. Gotta be on the...

      The giant tentacle seemed to come out of nowhere. Before I knew it, whatever owned that massive thing had me by the waist and was crushing the life out of me. It was so suffocating that I couldn't get Betsy angled properly to cut into the thing. My vision was starting to get fuzzy. I finally mustered all my strength and twisted to get the blade just right, slamming it home. The inhuman wail let me know that I hit my mark.

      As did the sudden drop that followed. I was only down a moment before I glanced up and saw that the tentacle had dropped me right next to the book. Scrambling for Betsy, I jumped up as fast as I could and made a run for the book. I had Betsy raised high, but I could also feel them all closing around me. Either way, this was it.

      Betsy hit true, the whole world went white in a bright flash of light.

***

      Slowly, I opened my eyes. The demons and the hell-world were gone. I was standing in the middle of the greasy spoon that was my original destination. Betsy was hilt-deep in a table, a book open to a rather innocuous looking page. The whole restaurant was staring at me.

      The kid at the table just looked upset that I'd speared his book. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen. There was something in his eye that was a mixture of fear and anger. I think he knew what had just happened. I wonder what his original intent was? Love spell? Revenge? Or, maybe he was so fed up with the pain of existence that he really wanted to end it all and kick-start Armageddon.

      I'd never know, because I'd never ask. I don't really care why people do what they do, or even why evil does what it does. All I care about is keeping this rock safe for one more rotation until I can't go on anymore.

      But, to do that, I needed eggs. Eggs and bacon. Ooh, and a nice bowl of grits...

*****

This character is one I created as part of the 5 Regular Guys Universe some time ago. Something about this muse struck me as a tale that was right up his alley. He, along with Dilworth, Jersey, and a few other characters appear in the first NaNoWriMo novel that I finished. Finished, but have yet to revise.

William the Bloody Sword-Wielding, Banjo Playing Redd

(not really, but that would be awesome)

P.S. VEDA Day 9:

We Ask That You Refrain From Any Audio/Visual Recording

2011-04-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

Seriously?

We still have that?

The folks and I went to the Alabama Theatre tonight and saw the Drifters, the Coasters, and the Platters. Great show, but I have no footage because the Alabama Theatre wants to try to sell their really crappy DVD copy of the show.

I mean, I could run out to the car, get my Canon DSLR and record the whole thing in HD and be far beyond anything the Alabama Theatre could do.

But, I digress.

The show was great. Had a lot of fun.

The rain that hit during the Drifters' set was disconcerting, and people flocked to the doors afterward, but still had a lot of fun.

EDIT 4/10/11 (early morning): On second thought, should have recorded something anyway. Damn the man.

William the Bloody In An Old School Mood Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 8 - Introducing my Mom to the Internet:

Despicable Me: A Nerdfighter Movie?

2011-04-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

This isn't the first time the claim has been made.

My parents are currently in town and we decided to watch Despicable Me tonight (Dad told me to find something cute that Mom hadn't seen. This is what Red Box had to offer). This was my second viewing, and I noticed a few things.

Of course, there is Vector, Gru's chief rival and the new supervillain on the block. His name was chosen because, as he claims, he is "committing crimes with both direction and magnitude" (and making it incredibly obvious that he is a huge math nerd). He also refers to his real name (Victor) as his "nerd name." Although the most obvious Nerdfighter nod comes from his hand-signal, which is exactly like the Nerdfighter sign except that he is making a 'V' instead of the Vulcan salute.

Upon a second glance, I picked up on a few more similarities.

First, we return to Vector. In his "Fortress of Vector-tude" his living room sits on top of a glass floor. Beneath the glass? A giant, man-eating shark. Who do we know who has a giant tank for sea-dwelling creatures under his floor in the Nerdfighter/Youtube world?

Craig (a.k.a. Wheezy Waiter) and his whale tank.

Now, let's move on to Gru. Gru has a horde of minions at his disposal. They seem to be genetically modified beings who are a bit moronic, incredibly loyal, and easily expendable. Again, who do we know who has a seemingly endless army of clones that are a bit dense and easily expendable?

Once again we have Craig, his clones, and his necessity of feeding them to his pet alligator to keep the government from discovering their existence.

I can't be the only one to make this connection, right?

Or, maybe I'm the only who's thought about it this much.

Yeah, probably the second one.

Still, I think Evil William and I should inflict a little payback.

Ready the laser-weasels...

William the Bloody Bent on World Domination As Long As It Doesn't Cut Into His Nap Time Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 7 - Just like Arthur Dent:

Then There's Thursday

2011-04-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

Ah yes, the other hurdle to success this month.

My schedule is strange this semester. I have one class on M-W, while everything else is T-Th, with Friday free.

However, I forgot to take into account how tired I usually am by Thursday afternoon. I've been asleep since I got home at 5p.m. (it is currently 11p.m.). I haven't filmed anything today (except for a few things first thing this morning), so I'm going to have to throw something together last minute.

Also not sure what I'm going to do about tomorrow since my parents are coming. I was supposed to clean the house this afternoon/evening.

Tonight might be a late one, folks.

William the Bloody Feeling His Age Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 6 - The worst video I will every upload to Youtube:

Oh, the Humanity

2011-04-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

So, my first punishment video is done and posted.

The real humiliation wasn't actually the act of having a small dog lick peanut butter off my nipple, it's having the video posted to my Youtube channel knowing that everyone is going to see it.

For the first time since joining Youtube, I don't want one of my video getting views. And yet, the views come. This video already has more views than yesterday's and is about to surpass my monologue video (as I type this, it probably already has).

Now I owe only one punishment, only I'm not sure what it is. Haven't heard a final decision on that yet.

One thing is for sure, I'm definitely not doing this again.

If for no other reason than the absolute embarrassment I feel right now knowing people are watching that video.

Was originally going to write up as much of my 10thDoM post as possible today, but got caught up cleaning and writing my script for Script Frenzy. I'm caught up on that though, so I can focus on my muse now.

For now, I'm off to wallow in my shame.

William the Bloody Thoroughly Embarrassed Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 5:

A Few Kinks To Work Out

2011-04-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

Somehow I knew Tuesdays would be a problem.

And, instead of planning ahead and having a video ready before my full day began, I spent yesterday hemming and hawing over driving to Durham and back.

Hindsight...

On the plus side, my first punishment has finally been filmed and will be uploaded tomorrow. About to throw a quick teaser video onto Youtube for tonight because I just don't have the time with an 8a.m. class tomorrow morning to get the punishment video looking good.

So, expect that one tomorrow.

I've decided at some point during this month I really want to make a question video. There have been people who've tried for speed or most questions answered, but I'm not expecting those numbers. But, if any of you wonderful people have any burning questions you're just dying to know the answer to, leave them in the comments and I'll answer them in a future video.

There is also a video site called VYou designed to be just a question and answer site. People ask you questions and you answer in a video. It's like formspring... which I probably need to log back into soon. I think I have unanswered questions there.

Anyway, that's all for today. Punishment and a full blog tomorrow.

William the Bloody Already Planning For Future Tuesday Videos Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 4 - William is as Mad as Hell, and he's not going to take it anymore:

Today Has Been Interesting

2011-04-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

Didn't sleep well last night. Nerves.

Performed my monologue for my acting class, which is being uploaded to Youtube as I type this. It went well. Had a few moments where the lines escaped me, but I didn't let on and kept going. I felt good when I was done.

After that I met with my advisor about registration for next semester. I don't know why, but I seem to treat him as a therapist and tell him a lot more than I probably should. But it's cathartic, you know?

(Kind of like writing down your thoughts for the whole of the internet to see, you might say)

Ran some errands and had lunch with a friend. I was planning on shooting my first punishment video with his dog, but the batteries in my camera died after filming my monologue (literally right after I finished. Which I find odd). In fact, they're still charging! I'm getting a little concerned that they're going to burn out.

Had a moment of true insanity when I found out that a pair of Youtubers I've been wanting to meet were having a meet-up in Durham and actually considered driving the 3 hours there and then 3 hours back later tonight. I didn't go, but I kind of wish I had.

Spent the rest of the day waiting for video to render and all that good stuff. I need to get ahead of myself on my videos. Especially considering tomorrow is a busy day and I'm not sure how much time I'll have to shoot and edit a video. Guess we'll see.

Anyway, figured I'd go journal style today to let everyone know what is going on in the Wild World of William.

Partyin'... partyin'... yeah! Fun, fun, fun...

William the Bloody So Excited Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 3 - Footage of the super perigee moon from March 19, 2011:

See the Man with the Stage Fright

2011-04-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I've had stage fright. It's one of the main reasons I started making videos.

Thought it would be a good way to get over it. Especially since I'm planning on teaching.

However, I've noticed that I still have issues getting up in front of a group of people. Twice this semester I have had to present in front of the class on my own. Well, technically once. The second one is tomorrow. But I've practiced for tomorrow's monologue (more on that in a minute) a few times, and I was shaking like a leaf every time.

I feel this nervous energy build as I get ready to present. I'm not sure where it comes from. I have no problem speaking up in class, or making a fool of myself in public; but there is something strange about being in front of a large group of people and knowing that all eyes are on me.

Now earlier you may have noticed that I said "monologue." In an effort to try to lessen or control my stage fright, I decided to take an Acting for Non-Majors class this semester. Tomorrow we are presenting our monologues (the class midterm). I am going to perform the Howard Beale "I'm as mad as hell" scene from "Network" (the one that won Peter Finch the Oscar... so no pressure there).

My main reason for writing this is to get these thoughts out of my head so I can get over it and go in to class tomorrow morning with no reservations on my mind.

Think it will work?

William the Bloody Scared as Hell and Probably Going To Take It A Lot More Redd

P.S. VEDA Day 2:

Moe and the Lawns

2011-04-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

When John Green was younger he came up with a list of band names for various styles of music. One of those band names was "Moe and the Lawns."

I think about that name every time I have to mow the lawn, which I did today. As I mowed, I thought about how society forms some rather strange customs. When did people first begin the process of maintaining lawns? What was the purpose? Aside from keeping the yard from getting extraordinarily muddy, of course. But why do we spend so much time on them?

We fertilize, we weed, we groom, we spend money on gas for lawnmowers and weed whackers...

How long would grass grow if left untouched? If it was up to me, I'd just let the stuff grow. Unfortunately, our society frowns on a poorly manicured lawn. But why? Why do we care so much?

People like things neat and tidy, but I for one like a little chaos. I'm not one of those "put the rusted out car on cinder blocks in the yard" type, but I also don't feel we should be putting nature into a neat little box that fits some strange aesthetic that society has placed on it.

Managing a lawn is like forcing the entire world to get a flattop.

My yard is currently high and tight.

William the Bloody Caught Somewhere Between Individuality and Laziness Redd

Oh, and a little postscript:

I've decided to include the previous day's VEDA video at the end of my BEDA blogs.

Why? Because I can.

I look like I'm reviewing my blogroll, don't I?

Welcome to Thunderdome

2011-04-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Better known as BEDA 2011.

BEDA stands for Blog Every Day April, a challenge set forth by bloggers to... blog... every day... in April. Guess that really didn't need an explanation, did it?

Here's what you can expect from me this month:

Two stories for the Tenth Daughter of Memory (or possibly a story and a video depending on the muses), a few book reviews to go along with my 50 Books in 2011 challenge, write-ups for films, and possibly some ramblings on the state of education and the internet.

Also, to my fellow Tenth Daughter of Memory bloggers, when I said it wouldn't happen again?

Sorry. It happened again.

So that's two punishments owed. The first is in progress. It is surprisingly difficult to schedule a dog to lick something off one's nipple. Who knew? That video should be shot by Sunday, posted Monday or Tuesday at the latest.

The second is, as yet, undecided. Remaining punishment from the last round of comments was to eat something disgusting. Is everyone good with that, or is there another idea on the table?

Leave comments below.

Because I seem to be a glutton for punishment, I am also participating in VEDA (Vlog Every Day April on my Youtube channel. If you are so inclined, feel free to follow along there as well. My punishment videos will be posted as VEDA entries.

So with only two minutes left on the first of April, let me wrap this up and say...

Welcome to BEDA.

William the Bloody Gonna Be Crazy By The End of This Month Redd

Better Living Through Humiliation

2011-02-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

First, I must apologize to my fellow Tenth Daughter of Memory participants for so spectacularly bungling the "River of Mnemosyne" Challenge and for a general lack of effort in general. I have no excuse other than my extreme lack of time management skills and slack attitude.

It won't happen again.

And, to ensure that it won't happen again, JeffScape and I have come up with a plan; for the rest of the year, I will participate in every Muse posted (which means voting as well) or I will be punished.

Nothing kinky or dangerous folks, just good ol' fashioned humiliation for the internet to see.

Each punishment will be recorded and posted to my Youtube channel here.

The hope, of course, is that I am motivated enough to not actually need a punishment, but I think we all know that I will stumble at least once or twice before the end of the year.

Some of these entries will be video based. I have been trying to get myself back into the habit of making short films, so look forward to that as well.

I have already prepared my collab channel viewers for upcoming punishments in my video for this week. Check it out:

All of this will begin with the first Muse posted for March. I'm told Jeff and the rest of the 10thDoM crew are already cooking up some wicked ideas for me. Anything you'd like to see me do? Leave it in the comments right here or on my Youtube channel. So let's see what happens!

William the Bloody Preparing for Punishment Redd

The Office That Time Forgot

2011-02-12T00:25:00.000-08:00

The Tenth Daughter of Memory is having their second annual "River of Mnemosyne" Challenge. Click the link for an explanation of what that is. This is Part 2 of my Chapter 0 entry. You really need to read Part 1 before continuing on here.

Chapter 0: I Smell Dead Guy or This Old House

Part 2: The Office That Time Forgot

   The office was pitch black. If there had been any windows, they had long been covered over or bricked up. Once I found the light switch, the light sounded like it was going to explode. Is a light bulb supposed to sizzle and crack? The bulb looked handmade, slightly malformed. Was Vernon a glass blower?

   I maneuvered through stacks of books and precariously made towers of papers. The whole room looked like a series of interrupted Jenga games. One wrong move and it would all come crashing down. Vernon had a lot of interests, all seemingly scientific. There were books on physics, chemistry, biology, botany, astrophysics, alchemy, the paranormal; I even saw what appeared to be the edge of a periodic table tacked to the wall. Beneath it was the frame of what was once a window.

   Finally, I located the desk. I moved a pile from the chair and sat there for a while. I was completely out of my element. The wooden desk chair squeaked as I leaned back. Looking up at the ceiling, which was covered in... were those star charts? I started thinking about where a man might keep his journal.

   Was Vernon left or right handed?

   Did he even write at his desk?

   Another look around the room convinced me he practically lived in this room. There were dirty dishes hidden under yellowed papers and file folders, food that was probably close to sentience clung stubbornly to those papers. Books were sitting open all over the place. It's like the man never stopped working.

   I thought about it another moment, then my hand reached out, almost on instinct, towards the many cubby holes built into the desk and the wall. Moving a few items from the cubby hole nearest my hand, I reached in and pulled out a mid-sized, leather bound notebook bulging ot the point of exploding, held together with a thick, black band.

   This thing had seen some use.

   I'll admit, I was a little scared to open it. It looked like it the diary of a madman, and who knows, maybe it was. A guy like Great-Uncle Vernon, all alone in this big house, working night and day... he might have been just a little batty.

   Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me. I carefully untied the black band that held the overstuffed journal together and started flipping through it. Here it was, Vernon's private thoughts. His secret projects revealed. The absolute truth to how mad he may or may not be.

   Most people would probably start reading at the beginning, but something tells me the early days of a journal are rather dull. You probably start out all, "Hello world," and "this is how I intend to use this book," blah, blah, blah... dull as dishwater. The meat's in the middle, so let's start there.

   The first thing to catch my eye is a photograph. The man, I would assume, is Vernon, probably around 25. He looks similar to my Grandpa when he was in his twenties. Definitely looks like he could be Granddad's brother. What was really interesting though, was what he was standing in front of. There, as big as a house, was what looked like a rocket... or possibly a submarine. Wait, no... no propellers. That's definitely a rocket. But, if Vernon was around 25 in this photo, and he was born in 1904... this photo was taken in 1929. Great-Uncle Vernon was building rockets in the 1920s?

   This can't be real. Who was trying to launch themselves into space back then? Hell, we'd only been flying airplanes for about ten years. We were decades away from making it to space. Weren't we?

   Maybe the journal had some answers.

   I turned the page and started reading with May 24, 1929.

*****

Thus ends Muse 0. Continued tomorrow (and I mean it this time) with Muse 1.

William the Bloody Back On Schedule Redd

I Smell Dead Guy

2011-02-08T21:28:00.000-08:00

The Tenth Daughter of Memory is having their second annual "River of Mnemosyne" Challenge. Click the link for an explanation of what that is. This is Part 1 of my Chapter 0 entry.

Chapter 0: I Smell Dead Guy or This Old House

   Oh God, the smell, the absolute stink of it. What is it about an old house? I know it's falling apart and decaying, and there's the mustiness of it, but what is it that makes it smell THAT bad? It could have something to do with death. Does death leave a smell behind? Even if the person living here didn't actually die here, would the fact that a death occurred leave some kind of smell marker? I mean, I walk into this house, and I smell dead guy.

   That's terrible to say, especially since this was family, but still...

   It's not as if I knew the guy. My great-uncle Vernon was the last member of my family still living. He was my grandfather's oldest brother, and from what I've heard he was the most ornery cuss that ever lived on God's green earth. These were my grandfather's words. Nobody knew much about him. He was a private man. Didn't even send out Christmas cards. Of course, I've never known men to be big on sending out cards anyway, that always seemed more like a woman's interest. Maybe I take after great-uncle Vernon, they say he was a dyed in the wool sexist too.

   He-Man Woman-Hater's Club, that's me!

   Of course, being the last of the family living, the house came to me. Vernon apparently didn't have a will to that effect, but his lawyer felt it should go to any family remaining. No idea how he got my number. Guess they had it on file. Or maybe his lawyer called Dad's lawyer and he had my number on file from when my parents passed. Not that it really matters, but I think about things like that sometimes.

   Great-uncle Vernon lived a long, long life. He was 107 when he died. A long life means one thing once it's over, a whole lot of clutter for someone else to clean up. Again, since I'm the only one left in the family, that falls to me. I don't know what ol' Vernon did for a living, but it involved a hell of a lot of paperwork. He had a lot of books on science too. Was it a hobby or a career?

   Where do I even start? This house is huge. It reminds me of one of those old mad scientist houses you'd see in horror movies from the fifties, the kind of place where you would open some door and find either a Frankenstien monster or a bride of Dracula. Hell, maybe both. Wouldn't that be something? Ol' Vernon was some crackpot, mad scientist who made some creepy abomination in his basement and it's still down there, just waiting for me to open the door...

   Okay, enough of that. I'll freak myself out.

   Might as well start in the office. If there's any place I'm liable to find out what Vernon did for a living, it's there.

***

Part 2 and Chapter 1 tomorrow.

William the Bloody Far Behind Everyone Else in the Challenge Redd

Another Fine Mess - Work in Progress

2011-01-24T22:06:00.000-08:00

Finally, another entry for The Tenth Daughter of Memory. This time I went with a Jersey Jones story from the perspective of sidekick extraordinaire Dilworth K. Smith.

Enjoy.

Another Fine Mess

   "Just tell me what the map says, Dil."
   "The map doesn't say anything, it isn't real!"
   "I get that, but what does it say?"
   "Fine," I slammed the map down on the makeshift table we had created from the remains of an old freezer and a plank of wood. "You want to know what the map says? The map says we're f--"

   Perhaps I should explain.

   My name is Dilworth K. Smith. I work as a clerk in a comic book shop. Well, technically I think I'm an assistant manager or some such nonsense, but why quantify it? It's not like I work there for the prestige or some kind of long-term career goal, in fact I'm just there for the free comics.
   The guy I'm currently yelling at and am, as usual, completely exasperated with is my coworker, the inimitable (and who would want to?) Jersey Jones. I'm positive Jersey isn't his real name, but he's never given me another and that's the one listed on his time sheet. When he's not busy stocking comics, Jersey likes to spend his time as an amateur adventurer. Typically, this means that random strangers send him maps and he goes looking for some inane treasure that no one has ever heard of. Somehow, he tricked me into being his sidekick.
   Not that I'm exactly opposed to going off on some random adventure every now and again, but following Jersey is a sure way to an early grave. Take our current situation: trapped in some kind of underground structure with no way out and what smells like gas filling the room. I really need a spliff to calm myself, but I'm too shit scared that the smallest spark in here will blow us to hell.
   And frankly, I'm not ready to go just yet.
   This is not the first time I've found myself in a seemingly hopeless situation with Jersey, and if we do somehow manage to survive I'm sure it won't be the last. In fact, it seems like we find ourselves in these situations almost once a week. I swear I'm living a bad television show. It's the Amazing Mis-Adventures of Jersey Jones! I mean, the man's even got himself an arch-nemesis. Seriously? Who do you know in the real world that has his very own villain? Jersey does.
   The villain in this case is a man named O'Halaran. As with Jersey, I'm sure he has a first name, but I have no earthly idea what it is and I've never really bothered to ask. We only seem to ever see the guy when he wants something that Jersey has found, or when he just gets it in his head to kill us. Which, again, seems to be about once a week.
   From somewhere in the room, a speaker from the 1950s comes to life, I wince at the sound of feedback filling the room.
   "Ah, Mr. Jones. We find ourselves back in that old game of cat and mouse."
   That would be O'Halaran. of course it is, who else would lock us in this Adam West cliche of a deathtrap? Ooh, no. Bad analogy. That makes me Robin and there's no way I'm wearing that girly thing Burt Ward used to wear. Nor will I quip. I simply refuse to quip. I'm not gonna come with the "Holy Gasworks, Jersey!" bull-pucky that sidekicks are known for. That's just not me.
   O'Halaran's been talking this whole time, saying who knows what; something about Jersey being the mouse to O'Halaran's cat... I swear I think this guy has a crush on Jersey or something. Half the time I don't know if he wants to kill him or kiss him. I mean, this guy surrounds himself with beautiful, deadly ninja women and he's constantly obsessed with Jersey Jones, a guy who thinks he's the nephew of imminent archaeologist Indiana Jones and has the worst Peter Pan syndrome I've ever seen. And this is coming from a guy who still plays with action figures and a lightsaber.
   What could this guy possibly want this time? We haven't even found anything! We were right in the middle of our "adventure" when Jersey got us locked in this stupid room by having me follow the fake map...
   "Oh. Of course! It's a trap. A trap, and we walked right into it.... just like we always do. It does amaze me that Jersey hasn't earned himself a Darwin award at this point. I swear he was the kid that jumped off his roof with an umbrella thinking he could fly. Admittedly, we all went up there and thought about it, but he's one of those rare few that followed through.
   While Jersey and O'Halaran keep flirting, I start looking for some way out of this mess. I should be home, reading a book. Or even out watching a movie, but no, instead I'm stuck in a basement with a wannabe adventurer while an idiot with far too much time and money on his hands waxes poetical through an old speaker box...
   As an idea and the theme from MacGuyver pop into my head, I decide to break in on O'Halaran's speech. "Hey, O'Halaran. Listen, you've got us in a really bad situation and we can appreciate that. How about you give us about five minutes of silence to say our goodbyes and make peace with our respective gods, and then you can blow us up and I can be forever in the warm embrace of His great noodely appendage. Sound good?" The speaker started to squawk back to life, which I'm sure would have lead to another very long, very dull speech from O'Halaran, so instead I interrupted saying, "Great! We'll talk to you in five then."
Jersey just gives me that questioning look he always gets when he isn't following along with the home-viewers and I ask him for his knife as he laments his well-thought quip that O'Halaran won't get to hear until the next time he has us in one of these overly-elaborate death traps. Supposing we survive this one, that is. "My knife," he replies, still not caught up.
   Not having time to explain, I grab for Jersey's ever-present satchel and start routing around for his knife. After digging through shark's teeth, bullet casings, a few indian arrow heads, a slinky, marbles, and what appears to be the head of a Barbie doll, I find his all-purpose Swiss Army knife and get to work. I find the wire leading to the old speaker box and fray the wire just enough to create a short circuit and, Flying Spaghetti Monster be willing, a spark that will ignite the gas.
   With a determination that would make Hannibal Smith proud I grabbed the old freezer and flipped it on its side. Then, before he had time to protest, I threw Jersey into it and jumped in beside him, pulling it as close to the load-bearing wall as I could.
   "Well," I said, "here's another fine mess. What's the time?"
   Just as Jersey went to check his watch, the crackle from the ancient speaker gave us the answer.

***

   The explosion was magnificent. We're lucky it didn't bring the whole building down around us. That room must have been a bomb shelter at some point. It took us a while to get out of the freezer, but once we did, I could see my half-baked plan worked. The door was completely gone. By that time, I'm sure O'Halaran was back in the comfort of his large mansion, already planning the next idiotic deathtrap for us. It was only a matter of time before we find ourselves in another basement with a bomb, or strapped to a table with a laser beam aimed at our privates, whatever action movie cliche O'Halaran thought was cool that week.
   What the hell, right? What's life without a little adventure?

   I know I normally let Ellington tell these stories, but this one felt like it should come from me. Besides, he'd probably never believe it.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Jersey Jones story, these were a series of short films put together back in 2006 and 2007. The first was an entry into the Final Cut Film Festival here in Wilmington. We decided to make an Indiana Jones parody. This was the result:

Soon after, we were contacted by Encore Magazine to create an opener for their "Best of Wilmington" awards ceremony. Several of the jokes were rehashed from the original, but we also added some new material and characters. Here is the final product, including our live entrance to open the Best of Wilmington that year:

I'm currently in the process of recutting both of these shorts into a multi-episode web series. I'll post more details here when they are released.

EDIT 1/25/11: So, forgot about that little copyright snafu on the videos. Apparently some people can't see them. My bad. Who knew Warner Music Group had any claim on a Paramount movie soundtrack? Anyway, the shorts are also located on Myspace (I know! Who knew it was still around) Here's the first:

Jersey Jones and the Treasure of Zeb

Media Blitzkrieg | Myspace Video

And here's the second:

Jersey Jones and the Quest for the Best of Mington

Media Blitzkrieg | Myspace Video

I promise this is the last time I update this post. Anything else and I'll just make a new one.

William the Bloody Never Gonna Hear The End Of This One Redd

Too Late for Resolutions?

2011-01-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

I guess it's never really too late, is it?

To add to my ever-growing list of things to do, or better, accomplish this year, I have decided that I am going to attempt to read at least 50 books by the end of 2011.

I feel this is important because, while I do read, I have not felt like I have read enough of late. I feel that I have been remiss. My goal is to get to a point where I can finally keep up with my book purchasing habits. I have close to a thousand unread books cluttering my home at the moment. I do not plan on actually putting them away and shelving them properly until I have actually read them.

I have the same problem with movies, but I've slowed in my movie purchasing since signing up for Netflix. I do plan on watching a great number of my VHS this year so I can possibly sell them.

But let's get back to that whole "50 books in 2011" thing, shall we?

In this list I must include textbook reading because school must come first. I cannot shirk my educational reading over entertainment reading, no matter how much I would like to.

I'm kidding... sort of...

Now, as for progress. We are several weeks into 2011 and I am very happy to report that I have already finished two books and am almost through a third. So far on the list:

1. The Thin Man - Dashiell Hammett
2. Democracy - Henry Adams
3. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Currently, I am in the middle of rereading Gatsby. I don't know if it is just because Henry Adams is so dense (by dense I mean thick, heavy, tightly-packed) or because I've been rejuvenated lately with the new year, but Gatsby has been a very quick read. I'm averaging about a chapter a day, and for someone who typically gets through half that with everything else going on, that's progress!

This is something else that I will keep updating throughout the year.

Gotta give myself something to talk about to really feel motivated to write, it would seem.

William the Bloody Self-Motivating Redd

New Year, New Rules, New Chances To Get It Right

2011-01-08T22:45:00.000-08:00

Good gravy, has it really been since August?

I am truly the all-time King of All Slackers. Honestly.

Well, here we sit in the early days of 2011 and I, for one, am finding myself in a bit of a productive mood.

Been busy making videos:

Also been getting back to old projects that I should have had done a long time ago, but instead of apologizing for all my slack, I instead have decided to take a "things will happen in their own time" mentality. As long as I am actually spending some time working on things, I will no longer consider myself slacking off.

Things are happening, and will continue to happen in the new year. So just stay tuned.

One thing I plan on getting back to work on is my Bucket List. This list has grown since I originally mentioned it (two whole years ago, I believe). A few things have been crossed off, but certainly not as many as I like. Here are the first 20 (of 189):

1. ~~Write a novel~~
2. Direct a feature film
3. Travel across Europe
4. Live in New York
5. Live in Paris
6. Work in California
7. ~~Meet Hank and John Green~~
8. Meet Maureen Johnson
9. Go to Australia
10. Go to Alaska
11. Go to a red carpet event
12. Perform stand-up
13. Be a stunt-man
14. Visit the City Lights Bookstore
15. Invent something
16. Build a robot
17. Make a puppet
18. Create a web-serial
19. Create a TV show
20. Write a stage-play

I will be striving to cross off several of these items in the new year. There is a decent chance that items 8, 12, 14, 17, 18, and 20 will be completed throughout the year.

Part of the blog this year will be keeping track of my progress on this list.

Also, something long overdue because I have not posted in a while, the Media Blitzkrieg site has had a massive overhaul thanks to the amazing Bekah Smith. She is just fantastic and I cannot thank her enough for everything she's done with the site.

So, here we are, a new year, new rules, new site, new projects, same old regular William.

I suppose not everything can improve, can it?

William the Bloody Ready For Anything Redd

He's Not Gonna Just Talk About His Classes, Is He?

2010-08-23T22:45:00.000-07:00

No, he's not. Don't worry.

Although, I do want to try something a little different today, so stick with me.

I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately. Relationships with friends, family, and of the romantic variety. Thinking about this got me thinking about how people handle these relationships and I have a question:

Is anybody really any good at relationships?

Are there people out there who actually have no issues with any of their interpersonal relations? Do we, as a society, actually function properly or is it some kind of delicate balance of internal issues and the need for companionship that keeps us going?

These are the things that run through my mind all the time.

Most of the time these questions aren't quite on such a global scale. Typically, they are much more hyper-focused on me and my personal problems.

You know, the whole "why do I seem to always come home alone" question. It's idiotic, I know, but it still rises to the surface and eats away at any confidence I've managed to build up for myself since the last time it hit me.

But, upon further contemplation, I have to wonder; do any of us have it all figured out?

I don't think we do.

I think there are plenty of people that claim they do. Followings are built around these people, call them what you will: cults, support groups, "families," self-help symposiums, religions. But, the truth is, no one has it all figured out (well, maybe the Dalai Lama, but he'd probably deny it... further proof that he just might).

For a long time, I thought some people did have it figured out. They seemed "normal." Seemed like they were in total control. Of course, it was really an elaborate house of cards and shifting one Ace would bring the whole thing tumbling down.

This summer, I realized something. I am not "normal." Never will be, don't really want to be. After finding some like-minded people that I can truly consider peers, I realize that I've been worrying too much about fitting in.

Anybody who knows me is probably scratching their heads at that last statement. I don't tend to be part of the "in-crowd." Let me explain. I always get a little upset when people say I'm "weird." Why? I should be proud to wave my freak flag. They're "weird" for finding me "weird."

I have spent most of my life trying to impress people in some way. Either through word, deed, or sometimes appearance I would try to make people like me. We all do it to some degree. That girl you like is really into that crappy book series that's all the rage, what could it hurt to read? (answer: A lot. It hurt a lot) That guy you consider your friend doesn't like this other person you also consider your friend, what would it hurt to make jokes at their expense when they're not around?

I'm so sick of it. I sometimes feel like that Everclear song "Everything to Everyone." I've done it. I still do it. Afterwards, I hate myself for doing it.

Why the hell would I say I liked that? Typically to avoid an argument, I think. I don't want people who like me to get upset with me. Why? If you can't have a healthy discourse with your friends, what's the point of having conversations? What's the point of being able to form your own opinion? Be your own person?

I acquiesce far too much, and I'm done with that. If I don't agree with something you say, I'm going to let you know. I feel like an idiot for letting this hold me back for so long.

You stumble and you fall and you do it again.

William the Bloody Acquiescent Redd

What Happened This Time?

2010-08-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

A very good question. Wish I had an answer.

Well, Wednesday night we had the Scoop investigation. I almost didn't want to wake up for my Thursday class. The rest of my day was spent trying to sleep, but not succeeding. Still managed to go to bed early that night (without blogging, but I did vlog for my collab channel. Does that count?):

Friday I had 8a.m classes. Fun. Then I came home, filmed a bit for my vlog this coming week, cleaned the house in preparation for my parents coming to town, and got things ready for the Battleship event that Research Paranormal put on that night.

Fun, but tiring, and Friday traffic was IN-SANE! This means I arrived late and didn't get the tour of the ship... which is unfortunate since I was supposed to lead one of the groups to the Infirmary. Paul Bradford and I did find it easily enough, but we went the wrong way to get there. Again, the event was fun, and Paul and I are a pair of photo-bombing fools:

hehehe

Didn't get home until 4a.m. and woke up the next morning around quarter to 11a.m. (again, because the parents were there and I knew they wanted to grab lunch before heading back to New Bern) Saturday morning. Found out that their show was not good. They went to the Alabama Theatre in Myrtle Beach to see the Temptations and the Four Tops. Apparently, both groups are down to one original member and they have "re-vamped" the show to make it more appealing for younger audiences.

According to my parents, it was too loud and they barely recognized any of the new versions of the classic songs.

That sucks. Why call it a Temptations/Four Tops show if nothing similar to either group is going to be played? Kind of glad I had the Battleship event because Dad invited me along and I don't know how I would have liked the changes.

The rest of Saturday and most of today have been lazy days to recuperate for class tomorrow morning. Did some organizing around the house and online. Going to start revising the Media Blitzkrieg website because that thing needs some serious help.

Now, I need to get to work on the little bit of homework I've been putting off for tomorrow. Nothing major, more introductory stuff. Mainly a few papers explaining how I feel about aspects of my classes.

I think tomorrow I might discuss that in my daily post. Give everyone a break from the "this is how my day went" blog. Maybe go into some new ideas in pedagogy or a brief discussion on linguistics. Or, maybe I'll just post some more wizard rock.

Who knows?

See you all again tomorrow.

William the Bloody Still A Bit Tired But Has Work To Do Redd

How Time Does Sneak Away

2010-08-18T13:47:00.000-07:00

No blog yesterday. Sorry about that.

Time literally got away from me. I had plans to attend the Guttermouth show at the Soapbox (because it's rare that a recognizable name band plays in Wilmington), but I neglected to keep a decent track of the date.

It was last night.

I realized this after a day of errands (and Bill's BlogTV show) when my friend Amanda posted a Guttermouth video to her FB page saying "singing along to this tonight."

Of course, I panicked a bit.

My plan for last night included, editing two projects and shooting another.

None of that happened.

Instead, I ate a fast dinner and rushed back to town (I live about 15 to 20 minutes from Wilmington now depending on the traffic).

The show was awesome (even though it didn't start until around 10p.m. and the website said 8), but a bit long. Got to hang out with Amanda and her beau, and it did prompt this awesome pick with Amanda:

Thank whatever higher power is up there I didn't have my 8a.m. class this morning or I would have been in really rough shape. That class involves going to a high school and observing, so they are still setting things up and we need to have the other part of the class first to know where we need to go.

I was able to sleep in today, meaning I could work late last night on finishing a few things and getting things ready this morning.

It was nice. And it was one of the last times I'll be able to do that, probably.

At least for a while.

My one class today was horrible. The teacher seems great and the class will be interesting, but the AC in the building wasn't working for some reason, so it was sweltering in there. I nearly dozed off once and a girl I know from last semester said she felt faint near the end.

Then there was the line at the bookstore (expected, but still annoying). I'm convinced that the people working at the bookstore don't have a full grasp of how to handle that much foot traffic at one time. I had to move a display to make the line move a little easier, and I don't work there.

Tonight, Research Paranormal returns to the Scoop for another investigation. I'm going to grab some lunch, maybe take a nap, and get ready for that.

Also, hoping I can squeeze in a little editing before I go so I don't have as much to do later.

William the Bloody Sweatin' Like a Long-Tailed Cat in a Room Full of Rocking Chairs Redd

In Which William Talks About Wizard Rock

2010-08-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

I think the title sums it up nicely, so let's get right to it.

This summer, I found myself attending and filming two wizard rock concerts. One in Raleigh at the Cameron Village Regional Library and the RoflcopTOUR stop in Chapel Hill.

I have finally started editing and posting these shows on the 5 Regular Guys Youtube channel.

Here is the first video. It is the Blibbering Humdingers playing "Daddy's Tattoo" by the Parselmouths in the style of the B-52s:

The quality on the Raleigh show won't be nearly as good as the Chapel Hill show because I shot it on my Flip Cam. Of course, the cinematography will be much better on the Raleigh show because I arrived in Chapel Hill later than intended and got there right as the show was starting.

Note to self and any potential videographers out there:

Arrive early or you will have a horrible camera position and not get the shots you intended.

It also didn't help that we were in the basement of the library in Chapel Hill and I set up the camera before the audience was asked to stand. This made filming from the back of the room rather difficult, not impossible, but extremely awkward shots keep popping up.

Anyway, I'm complaining. Both shows were a lot of fun and it was good to see some of the people I met at my first Wizard Rock show last year at Camelot Treasures. The wrock community is really awesome and has some great people in it.

The videos from those shows will be popping up on the 5 Regular Guys Youtube channel over the next few weeks.

And now, I must end this blog because I have to get a good night's rest tomorrow so I can run some time trials on the trip from my house to campus first thing in the morning. I am now, officially, a commuter, and must deal with commuter traffic on the way to my 8a.m. class.

William the Bloody Going To Regret It Soon Redd

I Ain't 'Fraid O' No Ghosts!

2010-08-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to remember if I've mentioned Research Paranormal in this blog.

Well, there is a paranormal research and investigations team in Wilmington called Research Paranormal and I am a part of this team.

We've been investigating for a few years now and have found some interesting evidence. We have EVP, a few interesting photos, and some really interesting video moments. Of course, none of these can be proven, but they also can't be disproven.

There are some interesting things happening this week with Research Paranormal.

First, we have a return investigation to the Scoop. The Scoop is an ice cream shop in the Cotton Exchange in downtown Wilmington. We first went to the Scoop a while ago. We got some interesting EVPs and Mike had an interesting moment with his headphone chord. There is a clip, and I think it is online, of this chord being pulled hard by some unseen force. We've yet to determine what it is, but it was definitely something.

Along with this investigation, there is also another event that Research Paranormal is hosting at the Battleship North Carolina.

From the event page:

Spend a night on the Battleship NC with Donna Lacroix, Paul Bradford, Ashley Godwin, and Brandy Green all from Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International. Special guests Paul Browning and Research: Paranormal. Dave Jones from Para-X will be there to Live broadcast for www.paraxvision.com

The last event we held was a lot of fun, so I'm definitely looking forward to this.

That will be on Friday.

Classes start on Wednesday.

I'm going to have a busy week.

Should make for some interesting blogging.

William the Bloody Planning Ahead Redd

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life

2010-08-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

I love going to the movies.

Sadly, the offerings from Hollywood as of late have been less and less interesting and "must see" compared to when I was a child.

Leave it to Edgar Wright to give me back my sense of absolute wonder in the movies.

Thursday night I went to see the midnight showing of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and was completely blown away.

Now, admittedly, I had reservations when this was first announced. I'd read Bryan Lee O'Malley's brilliant graphic novel and knew that Edgar Wright was the only guy who could bring it to life on the screen, but I didn't see Michael Cera pulling off Scott. Nothing against the guy, I'm a fan, but he's a bit of a one-note actor. Every role I've ever seen him play is exactly the same.

Again, leave it to Edgar Wright to prove me wrong.

I knew it was going to work when I saw the trailer:

After that, it was just the waiting game. I have been waiting for this movie all summer. Out of all the releases, this was THE ONE.

And it did not disappoint.

From the start we are treated with a taste of what we're in for. The Universal logo is now 8-bit and the Universal theme comes through as if it was the opening of a video game. If you've read the graphic novel, you know why this is pure genius.

Then it is a series of brilliant visuals and 4th wall breaking dialogue.

I wish I could break down this movie into each individual moment, but this is one of those movies that just has to be experienced.

While it's not for everyone, assuredly, it is absolutely an amazing film and I highly recommend you see it as soon as possible.

The soundtrack is also amazing. It features new songs from Beck (who has created songs for Scott's band Sex Bob-omb) and Metric (performed by the Clash at Demonhead with Brie Larson doing an amazing job as lead singer Envy Adams). I'll be picking up this album immediately.

So, go, see Scott Pilgrim and experience a movie that is just fun, visually stunning, and brilliant in every way.

William the Bloody Gonna See It Again Soon Redd

Well, That Didn't Go As Planned

2010-08-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yeah, no blog yesterday.

Sorry about that.

I was fully planning on writing up a Scott Pilgrim review, but things got away from me. My friend Jason is here visiting, so I'm gonna keep this short.

I promise a full blog with Scott Pilgrim review later today. It will happen.

William the Bloody Trustworthy Redd

And Knowing Is Half the Battle

2010-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

G.I. JOOOOOOOOOE!!!!

Today I just had to watch my newest purchase, the G.I. Joe movie.

No, not the unbelievable P.O.S. from Stephen Sommers, the classic animated movie based on the cartoon. You know the one, with Golobulus and Cobra-La?

Yeah, that one.

Well, I watched it twice. Once just straight through, and then again later on with the commentary (I've been editing video today, so needed something I could just have in the background and not fully pay attention to).

The commentary was very informative.

Buzz Dixon, story consultant of the movie, who as it turns out was actually one of the writers, but could not receive credit due to a rider in the man who was given credit's contract. This guy was apparently guaranteed "written by" credit regardless of how much of his script they used.

Screwy, but it happens.

Anyway, Buzz told a lot of great stories about writing the movie. For one, Cobra-La was never meant to be the final name of the ancient civilization, it was merely a place-holder. Hasbro loved it and left it in, however. He also said that regardless of the dialogue, Duke does die in the story. That's the way it was written.

To drive this point home, Buzz quotes the entire Dead Parrot sketch when referring to Duke as he dies.

"This is an ex-Joe," he says. This made me chuckle.

Later, when Doc comes over the radio at the end and says, "Duke has come out of his comma," Buzz only says one word in response, "bull."

I have to say, I did always wonder why we never actually saw Duke once he was awake. Now I know.

Other than that, I've got a video for In the Great Perhaps uploading to Youtube right now. Should be live in a little while.

I'm going to have to leave things here for today. I have to get ready for the Scott Pilgrim midnight release. I am incredibly psyched for this movie. Been waiting for it all summer.

I promise a full review tomorrow.

William the Bloody Excited to Finally See Scott Pilgrim Redd

The Joys Of Getting Tagged Online

2010-08-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

So, recently, I was tagged in a Youtube tag game. There have been several of these, probably the most famous of which was started by Alex Day, aka Nerimon.

In the past, I was never officially tagged in any of these games, and I always wanted to be. And thanks to Helen, aka helenzebcharles, I have been.

The Questions:
1.What's your favourite TV show and why?
2.Favourite YouTube channel and why?
3.What's your worst habit?
4.Worst movie you've seen? Why was it the worst?
5.Favourite gadget and why?
6.What video camera do you use for your videos? Show us them!
7.Favourite smell?
8.When and where is your next vacation? If you don't have one planned, where would you go and why?
9.What is your favourite Internet meme?
10.When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you were older? Can you remember why?

The people I tagged:
Adam/Gears: TheGearsKeepTurning
Melissa: akmelza
Stacey: staceyg1988
Heather: PinkPixieDF
Blair: PrimroseMarie

That's the one problem I always had with the tag game, limiting my choices to five people. A lot goes into the decision of who to pick. My criteria is someone I think will actually make a response, someone I enjoy watching in their videos, and someone who could potentially choose any of the other people I might have chosen within the realm of infinite possibility. It's a pyramid scheme, but more fun and no one loses all their money over it.

So, I think I'll leave things there for now. I'm in the middle of editing another video and I still have to shoot one for my collab channel tonight before I go to bed.

Tomorrow I plan to talk about a little experiment I'm going to run on Friday, Monday, and Tuesday in order to prepare for school. Classes start in a week.

Oh, and on that front, I finally got my acceptance e-mail from the Watson School of Education. I can now officially pursue my teaching license.

William the Bloody Happy Dancing Till the Break of Dawn Redd

The Day That Almost Wasn't

2010-08-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

I have been severely slack today.

Sure, I finished and posted a story, but past that, I have done very little. I planned on shooting two videos today, just finished shooting one a few minutes ago. Still planning on shooting the other and editing both tomorrow for upload. I did finally get Part 2 of the Nerdfighter Meet-Up from VidCon rendered out and started the upload right before shooting my vlog. That'll be done some time in the middle of the night/early tomorrow morning.

So, I guess I did get something accomplished.

Just not as much as I'd like.

I did discover a new love, though it won't treat me well in the long run:

Bacon Cheesesticks from Papa John's.

Too good to exist. And extremely dangerous.

Tomorrow I promise a full post with video and everything, but for now here's a little catch-up blog to finally put me back in the black.

William the Bloody Caught Up Redd

The Catch

2010-08-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

The following is a very rough short story that I am submitting to the Tenth Daughter of Memory. Enjoy.

The Catch

   "There's no way. It can't be that simple!"
   Rob just smirked at his roommate's consternation. He shrugged.
   "Dude, I can't help it if the ladies find me irresistible."
   Joe started laughing from his usual spot on the couch, the spot with an imprint of his butt molded into the cushion, where until now he'd remained silent.
   "Shut up, Joe. Look Josh..."
   "Look nothing! You paid the bitch or something."
   "Well shit, Josh. Maybe if you didn't call women bitches you could convince a model to date you, too."
   Josh snorted, "Yeah, and maybe if I had received a small fortune from my dead grandfather, the ladies would find me irresistible too!"
   "Oh! So now she's a gold-digger as well?"
   "Basically, yeah."
   "Fuck you, Josh."
   With that Rob flipped his roommate the middle finger and stormed off, slamming the door behind him.
   Josh looked at Joe who had never taken his eyes from the game of Marvel vs. Capcom he'd been playing.
   "Tell me I'm wrong, dude," Josh said to Joe.
   Joe, without looking away, shrugged and slightly nodded.

   Rob was still seething when he pulled up to Kiki's house. They'd met, curiously enough, on one of Kiki's shoots. Rob was working with the lighting crew and Kiki came up to him during a break and started talking. She said she'd heard him talking about movies and thought he had good taste. Now Rob was one of those shy guys who didn't approach women, but Kiki was so easy to talk to. They hit it off immediately.
   For the past four weeks, the two had been together every night. Most of those nights were spent watching movies, either in the theater or at one of their homes, typically Rob's because he has an absolutely massive collection. Of course, there were a lot of nights at Kiki's as well because her roommates were away a lot and Rob's never seemed to leave.
   Not that anything had happened to absolutely necessitate an empty house, but it was nice to have a little alone time.
   He parked the car, gathered himself, and walked up to the door.
   There she was, gorgeous as ever. He had thought why a woman so absolutely beautiful as Kiki would even give him the time of day, much less date him more than the one time. Things like this didn't happen, did they? Maybe Josh was right...
   Rob forced those thoughts from his head and said, "Ready?"
   "Yeah," she said grabbing her keys from the hook by the door. Just let me tell the roomies.
   "Bye! Try not to have some sick lesbian orgy while I'm gone!"
   "No promises!"
   Kiki shut the door and beamed her 21 kilowatt smile at Rob. "Okay. Let's go."
   He opened her door for her, being the chivalrous man he was, then walked around to the driver's side and got in.
   As they drove, Rob couldn't help but keep flashing back to what Josh said. It wouldn't leave his mind. He tried to focus on what Kiki was saying, but it was no use. To him, she sounded like an adult in a Charlie Brown cartoon. All he heard was, "wah wah, wah wah wah."
   "Sorry," he said, trying to get himself focused.
   She smiled, "I was asking what you were taking me to see tonight. You were very cryptic over the phone."
   This made Rob smile. He had a friend who owned the land where the old drive-in theater used to be. The screen was still standing, so he got a great idea for a date and got a projector set up. He then borrowed a popcorn maker from his church and got a cooler. His friend agreed to work concessions as long as the two could at least talk about Rob investing in a film he was trying to put together.
   Not saying a word, he pulled into the old drive-in lot, now overrun with weeds, pulled up to one of the still standing speaker boxes, and parked.
   Kiki just looked around and was about to ask what they were doing when the screen came to life. Her eyes lit up as the old dancing food cartoon appeared. She looked at Rob, then back at the screen. She was at a complete loss.
   Rob just smiled wider. "Popcorn," he asked.
   Still unable to form words, she just nodded. Her eyes were beginning to glisten a little.
   He stepped out of the car and walked up to the concession booth where his friend Tom was waiting.
   "Surprised," Tom asked, handing Rob a large tub of popcorn and a pack of Red Vines, Kiki's favorite.
   "I think she's tearing up in there."
   Tom just winked, gave Rob the thumbs up and a cheesy grin.
   Rob just chuckled, shook his head, and returned to the car. On the walk back, his mind returned to what Josh had said. Maybe she was just with him for his money, at least at first. In the end, did that really matter? They did have a lot in common, they enjoyed spending time together, and Kiki was legitimately pleased with Rob's surprise. He opened his car door, sat back down, and was quickly attacked by Kiki's passionate hug and a strong kiss on the lips. Sure, things like this didn't happen to guys like him often, but they were happening right now, no matter what the reason.
   When he finally got a chance, he offered her the pack of Red Vines and the popcorn. The two snuggled together as "To Catch A Thief" started.

William the Bloody Fictionalized Redd

If You'll Pardon Me, I'm Going To Briefly Talk About Avatar

2010-08-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

And by briefly, I mean it will be just a minor mention to get to another topic.

So, when I went to see Avatar, I was struck by a specific piece of the score. It was familiar to me, but I couldn't place it. It was a trill of trumpets used for battle and action scenes in Avatar and I knew for sure I'd heard it in similar context elsewhere.

For the next few days, I tried to find a piece of James Horner score that had a similar trill. I remained stumped and annoyed until I decided to watch the new Star Trek on DVD. Right in the middle of the movie, it hits me.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan!

That's right, James Horner cannibalized a part of his own score to use in the newest James Cameron spectacle. I often wonder what makes creatives do this. I understand reusing something that didn't get major play when you first did it, but Horner's Star Trek II score is probably one of the most well known scores from the Trek movies (at least in my mind).

I don't know, maybe it's just me. I don't really mind that Nino Rota took his score from a Fellini film and retimed it to create the score for the Godfather. But for some reason, this bothered me. Maybe with Rota it feels more genuine and with Horner it just feels lazy.

I don't know, maybe I'm just getting bitter with age.

But, "On Ceti-Alpha 5 there was life, a fair chance."

"THIS IS CETI-ALPHA 5!"

William the Bloody Better Believe I'm Watching Wrath Of Khan Right Now Redd

Technology Is Against Me, I Swear!

2010-08-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Friday and Saturday wiped me out more than I thought. I've spent most of today sleeping. Fortunately didn't have anything planned, because I would have either missed it or just been completely useless.

So, story time. My friend Ash messaged me back in May about a little project she wanted me to work on. She wanted to put together a slideshow for her friend who was getting married. The wedding was yesterday, August 7th, so I said yes because there was plenty of time. Also, this was going to be Ash's wedding present to her friend, so I was getting paid (Huzzah!).

Fast forward to two weeks ago, Saturday July 24th, Life in a Day day. Ash had just received the pictures from her friend a few days prior and we were both going to the Cape Fear Roller Girls bout that night, so we figured it would be a perfect time to meet up for the hand-off (wow, I can really make something benign sound illicit, can't I?). I got the pictures from her and was all set to get things ready to begin the edit.

A few hang-ups though. First, I didn't have internet at the house. They weren't coming until Monday. Also, I still needed to move my printer/scanner/copier (the pictures were actually physical pictures, not digital) from the apartment to the house. This would take until Tuesday night when I finally got the remaining items from the apartment to the house. Then, on Wednesday, Dad came to town to help clean the apartment so I would finally be done with it.

Then, after the final inspection of the apartment and key hand-off on Friday, I was driving to New Bern and planning on uploading my Life in a Day footage. So, as yet, no time for pictures. Of course, as readers of my first BEDA blog know, I had some camera trouble and couldn't get any footage from my camera. That sucked, but I think after running some compressed air through the camera, I've got it back to proper working order. I'm going to be trying to work on some things next week, so I'll keep everyone updated on that.

So, returning home after a trip to New Bern, I finally had internet on Monday and immediately hooked up the printer. Things were working fine and I'd been working on the slideshow off and on all week (mostly just importing the photos and finding the music she wanted). Then, we get to Friday, the day I'd planned on doing most of my work. First, there was the surprise visit from Joe and Carolyn. While, being very glad to see them and spend time with, did kind of eat into my editing time. Especially since my friend Vanessa was throwing a wrap party for the movie she's been working on and had invited me. It became a question of priority, and considering that I was being paid, work won out. Much to Vanessa's chagrin.

Nothing seemed to go right from the start of the actual edit. I decided to use iMovie just because it has the built in Ken Burn's effect for photos and I was planning on doing a lot of that to add some motion to the slideshow. Of course, anyone who has used iMovie knows how much of a pain in the rear it can be. I was planning on working most of the night, getting a good sleep, and finishing first thing in the morning to have it to Ash by noon.

How silly of me.

After losing my render files multiple times and having to reboot on several occasions to reclaim some much needed memory (time to clean off the hard drive again), I was up most of the night just getting most of the pictures into iMovie and getting them in a rough order and resizing.

Knowing sleep was a necessity, I took about an hour's long nap and then jumped right back into it. Time fast approaching, I started getting the edit locked down, having to reupload and replace several pictures that insisted on appearing upside down for some unknown reason and not allowing me access to any setting changes (it's like the files had been deleted and all I saw was a black screen as I tried to change things).

Finally getting everything ready to go about two hours after originally stated (Ash had to be at the church by 3, so cutting it close), I finally readied a DVD burn. Knowing it would take a while, I hopped in the shower. The burn completed seemingly normally, except iDVD didn't want to shut down for some reason. As always, I tested the DVD before leaving the house, and a good thing because it didn't work. All I got from the DVD player was NOPLAY. Extremely upset at this point, I was about ready to fling the laptop at the wall.

In the midst of all this, I started getting phone calls from everyone. My Dad and Vanessa both wanted to talk, and I had to tell them that I'd have to call them back because I was in the middle of a project crisis. Vanessa has little grasp of "can't talk right now" because she always has time to talk, so I had to shut her down and tell her I'd call her later (still haven't called her back). I was severely freaking out and it's hard to explain that to people when you're in the middle of it. Dad said he just wanted to chat, so I told him I'd call him when I got everything settled.

Things would not be settled for another hour and a half. I could not get any DVD to read in the laptop for some reason and was really starting to wig. Eventually, Ash suggested getting a quicktime file that could be uploaded to a jump drive. I wasn't pleased because that would mean massive quality loss, but it had to be done if I was going to have it in time for the wedding. I exported a CD-ROM version and burned it to CD (which for some reason worked, so at least I knew it wasn't a hardware problem, thank the maker) and rushed it to Nate (Ash's husband) around 3:45pm (Ash was at the church). Dad called while I was on the road to meet Nate, so again I had to tell him I was still rushing and would call him back.

Now that the CD had been passed along, I could focus on part two of my day, a planned video shoot for Research: Paranormal. We were shooting the intro footage for the show and Saturday was the scheduled day. I was planning to be done long before three, so Mike decided to schedule the second half of shooting for three until whenever. Plus, the cemetery we were using closed at five. So, leaving Nate's I called Mike to find out where the cemetery was and then called Dad as I drove to the shoot. This was where I had to inform him that I hadn't done anything on Friday that I'd planned to do (relating to school) because of the Weaver's unexpected visit. This led to a "lecture" from him on setting my priorities.

It should be said that I love my parents, of course I do, but sometimes they just drive me insane with their unwillingness to allow me to handle things my own way because it's not the expected way of doing things. I say, as long as it gets done, what's the difference?

Also, my priorities strongly involve spending time with friends when they unexpected drop by for a visit. And considering I missed the party because I was working on the paying customer's requested item, I'd say my priorities are sorted properly.

Rant ended.

Filming went fine, and we were done before five, so good news there. Then, I returned home and a sense of relieve and exhaustion came over me. I didn't realize how tired I was until I got back to the house.

I eventually tried another DVD and it worked fine (of course, the deadline was passed so why wouldn't it work fine NOW?), so I burned another DVD and have been a little worried about trying to play it. I'll try that in a little while, though I'm sure everything is fine without the added pressure of a deadline. That's just the way things seem to go.

Most of today (Sunday), I have been sleeping. I had no idea that everything from Friday and Saturday had tired me out so much until this morning when I passed out on the couch and slept for about six hours.

Awake now, fully rested, and ready to get a ton of things done tomorrow. I really need to get more organized before jumping into these projects so this stuff doesn't always happen (maybe test everything before I start next time).

Tomorrow, a much happier topic. Also, the much stated catch-up post will be up tomorrow because I'm going to spend the rest of the night working on a short story to post for The Tenth Daughter of Memory.

William the Bloody Relieved Redd

Entertaining Guests or, The Visitors

2010-08-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today, I want to talk about some recent guests to the house (I need a name for the new house, and I'm having trouble thinking of something. Might turn it into a contest for the vlog) and show a little video.

First, the video:

I believe I mentioned the collab channel, In the Great Perhaps, that I make videos for every Thursday. This week, I also had a few guests on Thursday, so I got them to make a little cameo. Mary Kate, Bobby, and MK's brother Zach are on their way to New York and are traveling up the east coast, so of course I offered my place as a resting point. It was so great having them here. I had the pleasure of spending some time with Mary Kate and Bobby at VidCon, and it was great to be able to see them again and spend more time with them. There is talk of more visits and I definitely hope that happens.

Anyway, on Friday my friends Joe and Carolyn made an unplanned trip to Wilmington, so of course called me to see if I could hang out. Joe is the gentleman with the shotgun in the video, by the way. The timing was impeccable since Mary Kate, Zach, and Bobby hit the road shortly after I received the call from Joe telling me they were an hour away.

So, I got to spend two full days with some of the most awesome people I know.

Sadly, some time after that, everything turned to crap.

But that's a story for later (later today since I'm playing catch-up). I'll explain why this blog wasn't posted until today in the next post. And believe me, it's a doozy.

William the Bloody Welcoming Redd

A Very Soulful Thank You

2010-08-06T01:42:00.000-07:00

On my Youtube channel, I recently reached what I think is an impressive milestone, 100 subscribers. While it's not as impressive as some numbers on the 'tubes, it is a number I've yet to reach until now. So, to thank all of my Youtube viewers, I made the following:

To thank those 100+ wonderful people, I decided to show my karaoke session from VidCon.
On stage:
Gears: http://www.youtube.com/TheGearsKeepTurning
Caleb: http://www.youtube.com/digitalcable

Thanks again to Rob from sivartis for filming this:
http://www.youtube.com/sivartis

Also mentioned/referenced in this video:
Bill (who has no love for Tab): http://www.youtube.com/doctornoise
Heather (who gave me the line "It tastes like bubbles"): http://www.youtube.com/FaeryFaith
http://pinkpixiedf.blogspot.com/

3 o'clock dance break courtesy of Stacey:
http://www.youtube.com/staceyg1988

by way of Pauley Perrette:
http://twitter.com/pauleyP

Other than that, I'll let the video speak for itself.

In other news, this house has guests in it for the first time since I've moved in. It's kind of awesome. More on that tomorrow/today.

William the Bloody Thankful Redd

Asleep At the Blog

2010-08-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a quickie because I fell asleep last night before writing one.

I spent most of yesterday cleaning out a closet for some new bookshelves and then installing those bookshelves and a washer and dryer. Fun stuff.

Needless to say, I was exhausted by the time my folks left. I was still planning on blogging, but then got caught up cleaning the rest of the house and editing a video. A video that will be posted later today as my daily blog post (it's uploading to Youtube right now).

The house is clean, my video is uploading, and I'm expecting some awesome people at my door some time today. This is going to be a good day.

Now, if only I could figure out why it stays so hot in this house.

I'll be back in a little while with the video.

William the Bloody Accomplished Redd

Book Versus Movie

2010-08-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

One of these days I'll actually start writing before midnight. Been in cleaning mode today because I have some guests coming tomorrow. I'm excited.

As I write this, I have Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone playing in the background. Normally, this would not be important, but I have now read the book (I know, I'm way behind the times, but I saw the movie first and wanted to wait until closer to the end of the series to start reading the books). Having read it, I've noticed a few differences.

First, there is the opening. I like the build-up following Vernon Dursley around on the day the Potters died. Having him see all the curious witch and wizarding folk around town in celebration over the defeat of "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" would have been an interesting opening for the movie, but it was apparently decided to just start with Professor McGonagal watching the house at night and Dumbledore showing up.

Now as a filmmaker, I certainly understand why there must be a difference from book to screen because not every bit of information can be translated into a movie. However, there are a few moments I can't understand why they changed.

First, the longer moment with the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest would have been great. We barely see any of them in the movie, in fact there is just the one, Firenze. He is not portrayed at all like he is in the book, and the prophetic way of the centaurs is completely written out. Personally, I would have liked to see Harry riding Firenze. That feels like an important moment because it is something that centaurs consider extremely taboo.

Then there is the ending. In the movie we are left without the second troll, which is fine because he's already knocked out when Harry and Hermione get there, but the potions portion is definitely missing. Also, why was it necessary to change Devil's Snare's weakness to sunlight instead of fire? Maybe just a chance to show off some more magic spells.

But, back to the potions. This is a very important moment between Hermione and Harry. First, it is the moment in which Hermione really gets a chance to shine because of her quick mind. It is also a touching moment and the fire effect would have looked amazing on film. Harry and Hermione do have their moment (with the exact same dialogue from the potions scene I notice), but it doesn't feel quite as strong as it could have been.

The reason I am talking about this is because when I saw the movies I didn't get the fervor in which some fans (many who I consider good friends at this point) seemed drawn into the world. Now that I've read the book, it completely makes sense. I'm just glad I know so many of these people even without having read the book first, and I look forward to discussing things with them now that I am reading the series.

Also, the skill level between J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer is so remarkably sharp that it makes Meyer look like a teen girl writing her own masturbatory materials (wait...)

William the Bloody Magical Redd

The Obligatory Shameless Plug

2010-08-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

If you'll indulge me, I'd like to take a moment to talk about my ongoing projects with Youtube.

Now, people who know me are up to date on my video projects, but anyone who just reads the blog has no idea what I've been up to for the past few months (the sounds of silence often speaks volumes). Well, first I'd like to talk about VidCon.

VidCon was an online video conference held in Los Angeles this July, and I was there. It was such an amazing event. Getting to meet people you watch and communicate with online and actually speak to them face to face is a surreal but completely awesome experience. The month prior to the event, I and several other vloggers decided to take part in a project called "Vlog to VidCon" where we would make a video every day for the month prior to VidCon. I found many new people through this project and we all got to know each other very well over the course of the month. Here is the playlist for my project which I called "No Sleep Till VidCon:"

Of course, in hindsight, I should have been posting those videos and the month prior as blog posts as well.

Sometimes, I'm just not that bright.

Anyway, with the success of No Sleep Till VidCon, I began to work on other video projects. Mainly, I finally posted something to the Media Blitzkrieg channel:

First with this welcome video, and then with something I'd been meaning to post for a while, a revamped version of the short film "Taboo" that I made a few years ago:

Along with updating this blog more regularly, I plan to make more videos and update both my main channel and the Media Blitzkrieg channel. All this while making a video every Thursday for my collab channel, In the Great Perhaps and possibly another collab I have just been asked to join. Oh, and I am still working with Research Paranormal and plan on posting more content to the 5 Regular Guys channel.

Now, if I can only find some way to make myself busier. Hmm...

Well, there is that novel I've been meaning to revise from last year's NaNoWriMo.

William the Bloody Busier Than A One-Legged Man In An Ass-Kicking Contest Redd

Return to the Blog

2010-08-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Let's not get in to where I've been and what I've been doing and why there hasn't been a post here since March. Instead, let's just say I've been extraordinarily busy and leave it at that for now. The full story will be revealed over the course of the next month as I once again attempt BEDA (Blog Every Day August).

Now, the previous BEDA was held in April, but the lovely and amazing Maureen Johnson decided to move it so she might be able to participate (thinking at the time that her schedule would be more open in August than it was in April). That, sadly, is not the case. She has stated that she will be around, but she will not have the time to participate fully in the BEDA experience.

This doesn't mean that the rest of us are left in the lurch. Maureen has created a community of bloggers to help back each other in this venture, who hopefully will be around to talk to and share ideas with.

So, let's start this blog off right by not going into some long, tedious explanation of where I've been this summer.

In the place of that, I'm going to talk about an interesting project I tried to take part in called "Life in A Day." This is a documentary directed by Kevin MacDonald and produced by Ridley Scott that will chronicle the lives of thousands of people all over the world in the course of one day. To pull this off, the two men asked people to film their day on July 24, 2010 and submit it through the film's Youtube page by the end of the month. I decided that I wanted to be a part of this experience, so let's briefly go back to that day.

I woke late and decided not to shoot my original opening of myself waking up. The original plan was to go and help my friend Mike shoot something for a project he's working on. Having not received a phone call from him, I decided to just film some bits of my day before he called. I filmed myself showering, dressing, eating breakfast, cleaning the dishes, rolling a garden hose, and editing some video on my laptop. This whole process took a few hours as I just did these tasks whenever I felt like it and started recording only those events. Mike never called, so I read Volume 6 of Scott Pilgrim (amazing, by the way) and got ready to go see the Cape Fear Roller Girls double header that night. After two outstanding victories from the CFRG, I went to Cape Fear Wine and Beer with my friend John and his friend Jeremy. We had a drink, then stopped by the CFRG after-party at the Cellar. Later, I stopped by the Browncoat and listened to some karaoke (I was planning on singing, but by that time I was too tired and didn't really feel like it). I went home confident in my footage, and went to sleep.

Now, fast forward to this past Friday night (July 30th) in New Bern (had to run home for the weekend). This was the first opportunity I had to upload my footage and get it ready to submit on Saturday (the last day). Upon hooking everything up and attempting to capture the tape, I hit a snag. The heads on my camera are apparently dirty or damaged and not playing the tape properly. I tried the head-cleaning tape I keep in my camera case, but no luck. While dealing with this I was also in the middle of repairing and replacing my parent's computers, and I had already promised my friends Joe and Evan that we would go shooting on Saturday (at the time expecting to have this footage uploaded and done with). The camera still won't play back anything properly.

Needless to say, I did not submit any footage to Life in A Day and I'm worried that I won't be able to fix my camera, even after getting it professionally cleaned.

What's the point of this story? First, camera maintenance is essential to any video/film maker, and second, always check your equipment the day before you plan to use it.

These are both things that I know, yet I somehow always manage to ignore them when it is important. Something for me to work on, I guess.

So, with that I shall end my inaugural BEDA blog post for this August 1st evening. At least I can take comfort in this:

Jeff will be over the moon that I'm writing again because that means I have no excuse not to write something for The Tenth Daughter of Memory (because I know he's going to read this and respond with exactly that, but possibly with more colorful language peppered in his response).

As always, I leave you,

William the Bloody Lesson Learned Redd

Corruption of Evidence - Untitled Work in Progress

2010-03-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I think we all knew the blog a week was a pipe dream. I'm going to try again starting now, but honestly classes have been kicking my butt.

Anyway, for some time now I've been meaning to write an entry for The Tenth Daughter of Memory blog. For some reason, I've had a massive mental block when it comes to writing. Ideas come easy, but I can't decide how to write it up. This is my entry for the current theme "Corruption of Evidence." It's just a beginning. This is as far as I've gotten. I do plan on continuing though.

The idea was to write in a Carl Kolchak (The Night Stalker) style. The character is William Ellington, a crime reporter who often finds himself dealing with cases that defy explanation. He is also a part-time paranormal investigator.

Enjoy:

Untitled William Ellington Story

It has been said that a lack of evidence is sometimes the best evidence, if your aim is to prove a conspiracy. The members of the Cape Fear Paranormal Research Group will tell you that this statement holds very true if you ask them to retell the strange and unexplained events of February 14, 2010. Did something happen? Was it all some kind of shared hallucination? Well, I will let the facts, as they are, speak for themselves and the reader to reach his or her own conclusion.

Friday, February 12: Twenty-two year old Katerina Mahoney arrives home after a long night of waiting tables. The tips were meager and her feet are tired. She prepares for bed where she will dream of the day she finally makes it as an actress in this small film town. Unfortunately, it will be the last time she thinks of a future. She would soon know exactly what it meant to be “dead on her feet.”

The next morning I and a hundred other intrepid news-hounds surround the home of Katerina Mahoney scrabbling for some word from someone involved in the case. While the amateurs huddle around the police press agent looking for a sound bite, I slip off into the bedroom where the crime scene investigators are still examining for clues. Nothing seems out of place. There has been no struggle. Spotting a friend and slipping him a hard-earned twenty, I ask what the M.E. currently considers the cause of death. His response is troubling.
“Heart attack,” says my unnamed source. A twenty-two year old in peak physical condition? What could possibly cause a heart attack? According to my source, the girl’s face was frozen with a look of absolute terror. Something scared the poor lass to death. I decide to take a quick look around.
The apartment looked just as one would expect from a young twenty-something actress in the making; the closet was full of designer clothing, or at least convincing knock-offs, for nights on the town with friends. There were head shots and sides from various auditions she had likely been to and never received a call back. Near the DVD player there was a case with the disc inside. It read: Katerina Mahoney Demo Reel. When no one was looking, I grabbed the DVD and tossed it into my ever-present satchel. Scanning her bookshelf, I found a series of books on monologues for auditions.
The lead detective spotted me, so I knew I had to make haste. You print one scathing commentary on how a man conducts his investigation and write a book about two of his fellow detectives and you are completely demonized. He tried to sue for libel, but not a single word in that article was untrue, just mildly embellished. As I rushed out, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A woman, dressed in Victorian era finery, stood in the middle of the room looking down at the spot where the body had been. She seemed pleased. I blinked and she was gone.

I immediately alert Charlie and the rest of the Cape Fear Paranormal Research Group. Researcher Kaylee jumps to it and starts looking into the history of Carolina Apartments. If there is any history to this place, she’ll find it.

That's all I have so far. I'm trying to get better at allowing things to just flow. It was much easier for NaNo because I knew no one would be reading it. Maybe I'll start posting more WIP stories so I can be more comfortable with people reading my work.

William the Bloody Scared to Let Others See His Work Redd

#162. Write to Maureen Johnson

2010-01-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

So, 2nd post in as many weeks.

Honestly, I'm as shocked as you.

Just finished watching the first episode of the Buried Life's MTV show. I like that it's happening, hope they do well, but first ep. was sneaking into the Playboy Mansion. Hard to top.

Also had to check out "My Life as Liz." I really like the concept. It's like "The Hills" for normal people. It's the Anti-Hills. Definitely down for that.

A line from the show:
"Glitter is the Herpes of Arts & Crafts."

Enough T.V. talk, back to the blog.

So, last week I talked about finishing things and my bucket list. Well, I started looking through my list to find something that would be easily accomplishable when I stumbled upon number 162:

162. Write to Maureen Johnson

This was part of a selection added to my list from a blog post from Maureen herself. She started the BEDA (Blog Every Day April) project that I took part in last year. During that project, she posted a blog about a list of goals on a box of cereal that were a bit extreme. So, in retaliation she created a list of goals that were, to a degree, mundane, but easily accomplished.

One of the items she had on her list was to write to her, so I did. In fact, I wrote a ridiculously long e-mail. No surprise to anyone who's read more than one of my blog posts, I tend to ramble. This letter was no different. Actually, it might have been worse.

Haven't heard back from her, don't know if I will. Not the point of the exercise anyway.

So there you have it, another item crossed off the list.

Until next time,

William the Bloody Ramblin' Redd

Things Left Unfinished

2010-01-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

Alright, it's been November since my last blog post, so I'm saying this right now...

Goal for 2010: Write at least one blog a week for the rest of the year.

Barring any moments without internet connectivity, this isn't exactly a lofty goal. I'm working on getting into a regular writing routine, so hopefully this will help me do just that. Something else that would probably help, actually writing every day. Since I've helped form a writer's group, that'll probably help too.

Well, 2010 is off to a running start. I've gone back to school for my teaching license. All English classes this semester (which will help me with that writing goal I just mentioned). I've decided that this is the year I'm going to finish all those projects I've been sitting on for various reasons.

First on the list was finishing my NaNoWriMo novel. As of this post, I have now written slightly more than 50,000 words of a rough draft. Next goal is to find a moment to begin revisions. But, I'm going to hold off on that for now. Possibly start back on it in February.

This brings me to my Buried Life list. There are so many items on that list which would not be incredibly difficult to do. Another major goal for 2010:

Cross off as many items as possible from my Buried Life list.

So, that's about it for now.

Hopefully, we'll all meet back here next week for another post from me.

William the Bloody Hopeful Redd

Google Wave and the Great American Novel

2009-11-12T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hey, look! A blog!

So, the past few days have been fun. Research: Paranormal is currently on a week-long investigation of the Shanley Hotel in Napanoch, NY. We made our way up on Tuesday, stopping for the night in Gettysburg and meeting one of our fans (that's weird to say, we have fans). The next morning, we toured the Jenny Wade house and stopped by the North Carolina monument on the Gettysburg battlefields.

We even broke out some equipment and had an impromptu investigation with the Ghost Box. Nothing really happened, but who knows...

Currently, I'm sitting in the common room of the Shanley, taking a break from my NaNoWriMo novel. I've done considerably well for someone who typically tries to do anything to get out of writing when I can do something else... like cleaning. Especially while I'm on the road. That's nigh impossible to accomplish.

Especially when the distractions keep piling up. Tom, one of my fellow bloggers from the FiveAwesomeBloggers project sent me an invite to Google Wave. I've been playing with that amazing new product when I break from writing. Got a few friends to talk to, and Google still has a few features to work on. For example, Wave will be able to update my blog posts directly to blogspot. It's only available in the developer's sandbox right now, but it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun when it's made public. Until then, I'll just keep writing blogs "the old-fashioned way."

The word count is right now at 11,476. Still a long way off from 50,000, but I am finding it easier to write during my little blurb sessions.

I'll sit down not knowing where I want this story to go, then I start writing, and the words just flow out. The next part of the tale just spills out of my fingers like it truly does want to get out into the world.

Perhaps I've kept all these stories in my head too long, their like a nine-month old child (well, more like 12 or 13 months at this point) ready to be born into the world.

To keep my motivated, I'm re-reading Ray Bradbury's Zen in the Art of Writing. I think he must be a fan of the NaNo process. Earlier, I read this segment from one of his essays:

"What can we writers learn from lizards, lift from birds? In quickness is truth. The faster you blurt, the more swiftly you write, the more honest you are. In hesitation is thought. In delay comes the effort for a style, instead of leaping upon truth which is the only style worth deadfalling or tiger-trapping."

-Bradbury

The more I write in the spur of the moment during these novel sessions, the more I see the truth in that statement. If I wrote in the convention of write, then review and write more; I'd never get any writing done. I'm going to continue to write this way after November is done with and my 50,000 word novel sits in the rough upon my laptop.

Bradbury goes on to say that he wrote at least a thousand words a day since the age of twelve.

I'm a few years behind his start date, but that's still an admirable goal for someone who wants to spend their life writing.

Here's hoping that my future labors produce the amazing fruits that his has over the years.

Now, back to writing.

William the Bloody Zen Redd

The First Days of NaNoWriMo

2009-11-03T01:26:00.000-08:00

I have a few words about these first two days of NaNoWriMo, but first I need to say a few things about...

Halloween:

Now, like most of you, I grew up loving Halloween. I used to love getting dressed up, going Trick or Treating around the neighborhood and coming home with a ton of candy that would slowly diminish over the course of the next few weeks (probably quicker than it should have). But, as time went on, the magic went away.

It became a hassle to have to think of some awesome costume to wow the crowd and walk around begging for candy.

Then came college.

College, where the sole theme of Halloween was: "Girls, dress slutty and get drunk while the guys dress like idiots and also get drunk." Unfortunately, this was no fun for me because I don't drink. I was taking the intellectual high ground of "why in God's name would I want to do any of that?"

The last time I really did anything of consequence was when we made a trip to Chapel Hill on Halloween to walk Franklin Street (a yearly tradition of drunken debauchery and costumed shenanigans). Even then I just opted for my Silent Bob "costume" (a trench coat and a backwards hat) and walked around enjoying the madness.

Last year I stayed home editing Five Minutes 'Til on Halloween. Oh, and running to pick up the director of the aforementioned short from the drunk tank at 4 in the morning.

This year, however, has definitely topped even my childhood memories for the Best Halloween EVER!

And here's why:

That's right players at home, Joliet Jake and Elwood Blues made an appearance in Downtown Wilmington this year, and lo did they have a blast.

We hit up a few parties, then went downtown. Most of Front Street was slammed with people, so we went to the Browncoat Pub and Theatre. And there, amongst characters like Betty Boop, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the Warriors, Penny Lane, She-Ra, Erin the E-Surance girl, Ash Williams, Lady Gaga, the Dude, Silent Bob, a marshmallow covered Ghostbuster, Bubba from Night of the Scarecrow, and a cast of hundreds Jake and Elwood hopped up on stage and performed "Soul Man."

There's video of this momentous event, and I'll post it here as soon as it's uploaded.

Without that costume and my amazing friend J alongside me as Elwood, it never would have happened. Something opened up in me that night, and a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

And it was just in time, because Sunday was November 1st; the first day of NaNoWriMo.

For the uninitiated. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every November, thousands of writers throw caution to the wind and attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in a month's time.

Are we crazy? Maybe. Are we determined? Hell Yeah!!

I tried NaNo last year and didn't even start writing. Unmitigated failure? Oh yes. And I don't think I truly recovered. It's why I've had trouble writing (well, it's one of several reasons I've had trouble writing). Maureen Johnson's BEDA (Blog Every Day April) was the start of a long process of getting into the habit of writing. After BEDA, I started slipping. Life got in the way (tired excuse, I know, but what can you do?) and there was no light at the end of the tunnel (will the cliches ever end!?).

But, something seems different. After Saturday night, I have some new drive that's actually keeping me active and on the ball. Am I changed? Did that performance release something that's been lying dormant all this time?

I hope so. I really do.

For the love of Pete, just look how much I wrote in this blog! If I can keep this intensity going all month, I'll have no problem reaching 50,000 words.

As it stands, I'm a little behind on the daily goals, but I haven't really had time to sit down and do nothing but write. Tomorrow will be a writing day, so we'll see how far along I am.

Currently, I'm sitting on 1,253 words (based on averages, I should have something akin to 4,000 words by now). We'll see where things stand tomorrow.

Now, I'm off to bed. So tomorrow I may write!

William the Bloody Changed Redd

Where the Wild Things Have Issues

2009-10-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

First, for all those interested, I've said the things that needed to be said and I think things are better.

At least, it seems that way to me.

Tonight, I finally went to see Where the Wild Things Are. SUCH A GOOD MOVIE!!!! I mean, I had faith, of course I did, but I was still a little blown away by it.

The look of the Wild Things was PERFECT! I remember reading the book way back when and later comparing the Wild Things to Jim Henson's monsters (considering them essentially the same type of fantastical beast), so seeing a combination of practical "man in suit" character design mixed seamlessly with digital effects for facial expressions makes these beasts seem completely real to me.

Then there's the story. While I always loved the story from the book, I did wonder what they were going to add to make the movie stretch out to a feature length. Because, let's be honest, it's a really short book. But, leave it to Spike Jonze to find all the right stuff to add.

Just like all of us, the Wild Things deal with depression, loneliness, anger, fear, and love. However, unlike most of us, they have a unique way of dealing with these issues. Mostly, they fight, bite, slash, claw, dismember, and even devour each other to solve their problems. This makes sense, they ARE monsters after all.

It's funny, I forgot how much I had in common with Max growing up. While I didn't run around in a wolf costume "causing mischief", I did (and still do) a lot of things that only seemed to make sense to me. Even other kids my age didn't really "get" me. I can't say that I blame them, there are a few things that I did (and, again, still do) that make sense at the time, but moments after even I would think "what the hell was THAT about?"

I've always been one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" kinda guys.

I also still have quite a bit in common with Max, and the Wild Things.

Of course, I think we all do.

I mean, that's the point, right?

William the Bloody Wild Thing Redd

Can't Sleep

2009-10-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

My God!

Has it really been that long since my last blog?

I can't believe I let things go this long.

Well, the drought is officially over, I'm back. Right now, I'm just looking for something to keep my mind occupied because I can't sleep. The problem is, I don't know why.

There are some things going on that are causing me some concern, but nothing that I would think would keep me up at night. At least, I didn't think so.

Yet, here I am, awake at 4:45 in the morning after not being able to get comfortable in my bed and returning to my laptop to find some sort of solace online. And I sit here writing, with nothing in the world to talk about (because my concerns can't really be expressed right now, even if I could find the words, quarter to 5 is not the proper time).

So much is up in the air right now. I wish there was someone I could talk to about my whirlwind mind, but all the sane people are busy sleeping. Having dreams of better things (possibly some of worse, statistically speaking there would be a few nightmares in the mix). Even when awake, I tend to keep my troubles to myself, not wanting to bother anyone with my seemingly small issues.

Maybe they aren't small, but my lack of confidence tells me they are to other people, and so I don't share because I don't want to bore or annoy.

Self-loathing and self-doubt, two of the worse enemies a body could have, especially when they tag-team you into submission on a regular basis.

I just wish I could get out of my head for a while. Just turn off the ol' melon and do something mindless. Unfortunately, as much as I try to shut out all thoughts, they just keep slowly filtering back in. Even when I'm trying to focus on something like my reading, I find myself suddenly thinking of something entirely different.

Also, I haven't been writing. I've tried (or, I've tried to try), but nothing has come of it. I have plenty of ideas, too many ideas, I just can't start writing. This is the first thing I've written that isn't a private thought never to see the light of day in weeks. I'm hoping this is a sign that my creative energy is going to be directed back to the proper avenues.

If you see more posts from me, it would appear that is the case, if not...

I almost shudder to think what happens if I stop writing again.

NaNoWriMo starts in just two weeks. Gotta start getting in the habit of writing daily to prepare for the challenge of writing part of a novel every day of the month. Part of the problem there is I have several ideas for plot lines, but no idea which one to write!

Maybe I could just start writing on November 1st and we'll see where it goes.

Here's hoping I post something... ANYTHING tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day...

William the Bloody Optimistic Insomniac Redd

Alan Lastufka and Tom Milsom are "Taking Leave"

2009-08-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

DFTBA Records co-founder Alan Lastufka has a strong draw to music. Whether it be from his early work recorded on mini-cassettes, or his music video work with bands like imadethismistake and solo artists like Charlie McDonnell. So, it's no surprise that his album "Taking Leave", a collaboration with "internet sensation" and musician Tom Milsom (known as hexachordal on YouTube), is pure musical genius.

Beginning with "Just a Boy", Alan and Tom create a unique sound and a song about the loss of innocence. Using what sounds like a child's piano (the one that sounds a bit like a xylophone) with masterful electric piano (or synthesizer?) to back it up, this song brings us right into the world of a man who is lost in his life, possibly due to the influence of his father years earlier.

"The Wind" takes us into the mind of a girl in love. So in love, in fact, that she is almost weightless, pushed and pulled by the wind after seeing the object of her affection. This is a song of a love so strong that nothing else seems to matter. The music and lyrics are so marvelously interwoven and powerful, we almost want to fly with her.

Now, for the other side of this powerful love, we have "Can't." Seeing things from the guy's perspective, how he feels controlled by her, but in a love to strong to give up. The electropop sound of this song creates a mechanical beat that matches the lyrics perfectly.

In "The Mirror Song", featuring Kristina Horner along with Milsom, we hear both sides of the relationship as they look back on better times. A simple but beautiful piano accompaniment adds volumes to this song.

While the final song on the EP, "Forgiven" seems (to some) like a slight departure from the rest of the album, it is actually a natural progression in the "story" being told. Plus, it is bridged by a spoken-word track from author John Green called "The Sparks Fly Upward" (a passage from the Book of Job). Also, though "Forgiven" seems stylistically different from the beginning tracks, the progression is more of a build-up to the grandeur of the final piece. It sounds as if "Forgiven" includes music from every instrument featured in previous tracks, creating a musical epilogue that wraps up the story nicely; both instrumentally and lyrically.

"Taking Leave" is both extremely catchy and remarkably deep at the same time. It's an album that I haven't been able to stop listening to since it arrived, and I find more in it with each new listen.

If you're a fan of thought-provoking, extremely well-done music; "Taking Leave" is a must!

Need a little taste? Check out the video for "Can't":

Click here to buy "Taking Leave" by Alan Lastufka and Tom Milsom for a mere $6!

I know what you're thinking: "William, did you say that album is only six bucks? Impossible!"

But, I can assure you, dear reader, it's absolutely true!!

William the Bloody Impossible Redd

Nothing To Talk About

2009-07-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, I've been trying to write a blog for the past few hours now and nothing is coming.

It's not that I don't have anything to write about. There's the cruise I took with my family last month, the state of my film work, the flooding of my street and my car and the NEAR flooding of my apartment, the fact that I'm going to turn 30 in seven days...

The list goes on.

I, however, have just been sitting here staring at a blank screen trying to figure out where to begin. Maybe by writing about my lack of drive to write, something will come of it.

If anything, it's another blog post that will hopefully break my writing funk and get me back into the swing of things. My blog isn't the only thing suffering either. I can't seem to get back into the habit of writing ANYTHING!

Not to say that I can't write, or can't come up with ideas. Actually, I think my problem is that I have far too many ideas and not enough of a filter to work on just one thing at a time.

See, the way my mind works, I just seem to flitter from one thing to the next, not always finishing my previous project before I shift to the next. This leaves me with a few hundred unfinished projects.

If I could just finish one thing, get it out there for the world to see, I think that might help.

But I'm rambling about nothing, as I'm so prone to do. So I'll end things here.

If anything, Jeff will be happy that I wrote a blog.

William the Bloody Blocked Redd

More CFIFF '09 Highlights

2009-06-07T16:01:00.000-07:00

William Lilly, a filmmaker out of the Raleigh/Durham area, has put together a video of his experiences at this year's Cape Fear Independent Film Festival. Check it out:

2009 CFIFF Highlights (Low-Definition) from William Lilly on Vimeo.

Since they were filming all weekend, this video is much more in-depth than mine.

He had a film at the festival which everyone should check out. It's a very personal story for him. Be sure to watch Letting Go:

Letting Go (New Audio Mix) from William Lilly on Vimeo.

Also, there was a really great short running on the CFIFF Trailer Park reel called Run:

Run (Rough Cut) from William Lilly on Vimeo.

Another must see.

I was originally going to post his CFIFF video as an edit to my CFIFF blog post, but realized I also wanted to mention his other videos. So, all new post.

William the Bloody Embedded Redd

Sister City Film Festival

2009-06-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

May is just the month for festivals, or festivals that I attend. As stated in my last blog, the beginning of May heralded the Cape Fear Independent Film Festival. Well, on May 23rd there was yet another of my favorite festivals, the Sister City Film Festival in New Bern, North Carolina.

One reason this is one of my favorite festivals is because this one takes place in my home town.

So, the day begins at 8:30a.m.

*HITS SNOOZE BUTTON*

The day begins at 9:30a.m.

I was a little late to the festival, so I missed the documentaries, though I heard they were all good.

After the documentaries block was a little segment they refer to as "The Regulars". As you can guess, this block includes regular submitters and hometown folk, including myself. This year we had four shorts playing in the festival.

First up was The Chore:

This was followed by the rough edit of the Homosoypian short (which is still in the works. I'll post it when it's available).

Just for fun, I tossed together a teaser for the upcoming Jersey Jones re-release I've been working on (that too, will soon be posted).

Then, I wrapped up my portion of festival entries with Five Minutes 'Til...:

The rest of the Regulars block included two shorts from Jay Tyson, a really cool Doctor Who short (done with puppets, because that's his thing) and a work in progress about an alien invasion gone wrong, and a really funny short about a girl dating Death from Bill Hand.

After this, we had a little lunch break.

Upon returning, we were treated to the Superkiiids! feature film, "Lightning Salad Moving Picture":

If you haven't seen this ridiculous, funny movie, you should definitely try to find it. Go to the Superkiiids! website and order one if you have to.

Cory from the Superkiiids! was there and held a Q&A session with a parachute (you remember these, from camp and such, everyone grabs the parachute, they raise it up, and someone goes underneath to ask a question). It was a hoot.

After this there was a block of the more "risque" films, mainly due to gore and language. These were a decent bunch of films.

I had my FlipCam on hand, so I took a little video. Check it out:

This year's festival was quite eventful, I felt. The turn out was not as large, but considering how short the preparation for this festival was, that's not surprising. I'm going to see what I can do to help get the word out about next year's.

William the Bloody Festival Frenzied Redd

Cape Fear Independent Film Festival

2009-05-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in May was quite a busy affair for me. It's fortunate that BEDA ended the day before, because I would not have been able to blog from the 1st through the 3rd. I was Downtown at the Cape Fear Independent Film Festival!

There are two major film festivals in Wilmington (I'm not including the Final Cut Film Festival because that's a different format), and CFIFF is, for my money, the better of the two. There are several reasons for this, the main being that the general atmosphere of CFIFF is much friendlier. You actually feel like hanging around and talking to the people who come to this festival. And, unlike that other festival (which will remain nameless), those people genuinely seem to want to talk to you.

So, things started Friday as I was volunteering and went down to 16 Taps to help with registration. I got to talk to a lot of people as they stopped by to pick up their passes, some friends from around town, some I met last year, and several new folks who are just finding out about this marvelous festival.

After registration, we went over to the local Carmike Cinema to see the invitational feature "The Jailhouse". Definitely a well done local production. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of the cinematographer (solely for personal reasons), I will admit that the movie looks great. The guy does good work, I can't fault him for that.

When "The Jailhouse" was done, it was back to 16 Taps for the kick-off party with Labeling Deloris (formerly based in Wilmington, and returning to show the love). Great show, great end to the ending.

Saturday started early with short films screening and a few panels about the business of filmmaking (along with an actors panel). This year, I focused more on the panels than the screenings. Well, other than the blocks showing my shorts. This year, I had three shorts playing. They were "Five Minutes 'Til...", "How I Raised My Film Budget", and "The Chore". Unfortunately, Five Minutes and Film Budget ran concurrently with the Actors Panel, so there was not a large turnout.

Sunday was the final day and the one Q & A session I got to be a part of with "The Chore". It would seem I had some of the best answers, particularly when asked about our budget. I answered honestly, the budget was only around 20 or 30 dollars, but that got a massive laugh. Not surprising, since most people think you need to pay a fortune to get films produced. I wish I had thought to get someone to record the Q & A session so I could make it a part of the video I put together for the festival:

Sunday night ended with the awards ceremony. It was a good time, as always.

This year's festival was hosted by Joe Manganiello. He was on One Tree Hill for a while, he played Flash Thompson in Spider-Man, and he's had recurring roles in ER and How I Met Your Mother. I got the chance to speak to him briefly and he seems really down to earth.

Also got to meet an actress from L.A. who had a short playing in the festival. The movie was called Death in Charge and the actress was the lovely Marina Benedict:

Marina has been in several television shows (I recognized her from something, but couldn't place it until I asked her what she'd been in). She was the kooky best friend Luna in "Nikki", she played a musician possessed by a demon in an episode of "Angel" (which is where I remembered seeing her), and she has been on a few episodes of "Southland."

Jenn and Will Mullins once again outdid themselves in putting on a great festival. It was an absolute blast and I can't wait for next year.

Oh, actress and fellow YouTuber Michele Seidman (known on Youtube as MicheleMidnight) also has a festival video, be sure to check it out:

William the Bloody Photo-Op Redd

The End is the Beginning is the End

2009-04-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

This is to be played while you read:

Here we are, the final day of BEDA. I can hardly believe it. When this month started, I thought for sure I was not going to complete this thing successfully. I certainly never thought I'd end up with 30 blog posts. Fifteen was certainly possible, maybe somewhere in the twenties, but to actually reach thirty? And have something to say most of those thirty?

What can I say? I severely doubted myself. After the failure of my collaborative vlog channel last year, and my aborted NaNoWriMo attempt (didn't even start writing), I was beginning to feel that I was not a "closer". I have always had this tendency to start projects and never actually finish them. For the longest time, my father kept a trash can in his shop that I was planning on turning into a robot. The plans were from an old Boy's Life magazine where you essentially take a remote control truck, remove the chassis and place an inverted trash can over the base, then use vacuum tubes for the arms and a plastic container for the head with electronic components placed inside to make it look real.

I never moved beyond the inverted trash can stage.

But, here we are now, it's the final day of BEDA, and I have 30 lovely blog posts to look back upon for the month. Also, I get to cross an item off my buried life/bucket list. This actually leads me to my next point.

What do we do after BEDA? I for one, am certainly not stopping. I've made too much progress in a month to stop now. I might not blog every SINGLE day in the future, but I'm certainly going to keep writing blog posts, and I know they will be more often than they were before April. Before BEDA, I had written a measly 27 blog posts on a blog I started in March of 2008. In one month, I have doubled my blog productivity. That's impressive.

Also, while I was researching the total number of blog posts, I realized I have a new follower on my blog. My friend Corbie has been the lone follower for quite some time, but now he has been joined by the lovely Amanda (another good friend). So, welcome aboard.

I'd also like to take a moment and thank all the wonderful BEDA readers who've been following me during this month. I'm going to keep posting to the ning, hope you will too. Let's keep writing and reading each other. This has been great.

As for the future (to get back off topic after several deviations), I want to announce what you'll be seeing from me. I have been working on this for a while, and I'm finally ready to begin production. Starting in May I'm am putting together a web series for YouTube and other video sites that I'm calling "30 by 30". This show will focus on myself (and others) completing items on my buried life/bucket list. I will be posting blogs to update the status of that and each video will be posted as a blog as well.

It's been a great month. I hope we will all stay in contact with one another. Hopefully, I'll see you all on the ning, or elsewhere on the marvelous interwebz.

So, for all of you that have successfully completed this marvelous month, and for those who had a few slips here or there, or even for those who feel they failed miserably (only when we truly give up on life do we ever fail); for all of you:

Take a Bow:

OH! And an extra special thank you to Maureen Johnson for bringing about this marvelous month of activity. You, lovely lady, have helped me more than you may ever truly know.

William the Bloody Successful Redd

ADR Is Fun

2009-04-29T23:46:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a busy day (technically two days since I'm writing this on Thursday, but posting it on Wednesday. Time travel, you marvelous bitch!).

The day started early as I had a meeting regarding a potential job (well, the potential for a potential job, actually). After the meeting, ran to meet up with Mike to get a DVD including a scene from the horror movie we've been working on for quite a while, The Artifact. The scene was so I could get ADR of that scene for one of the actor's, J.

J is one of the Lost fans I always watch the show with on Wednesday nights, so Mike's plan was to have me take everything over there and grab the audio (ADR, for those who don't know, stands for Automated Dialogue Replacement or Additional Dialogue Recording), but that didn't happen because LeAnne, one of our other Lost watchers, was feeling really tired, so I drove her to J's and then we left right after. I knew this going in, so I didn't even plan to record. J and I just set up a time on Thursday when we could get together to record.

He came over today (Thursday) and we made short work of the ADR. You would think it was fairly simple to mimic yourself after you record, but it can be quite difficult depending on the situation. I think that sometimes your way of speaking changes based on outside factors and it's hard to repeat the same performance exactly.

Also while he was here, we recorded a brief bit of audio for Jersey Jones, a project I've been re-editing for a while now. I'm finding bits that need additional material as I edit to incorporate two shorts into a single narrative. Also, it's amazing how much footage we shot. J and I both noticed how two shorts, originally 9 and 17 minutes each, are now going to be re-cut as 5 10 minute segments.

So, I'm going to jump back in to editing, and borrowing certain techniques from other sources to add a little something to the re-cut.

Well, after I make the jump back in time to post this Wednesday night.

William the Bloody Time-Traveling Redd

A MovieStop-Centric Day

2009-04-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a day full of MovieStop related things.

Aaron came over to work on the edit for the Twilight Midnight Release Party video so he can fix all the little quirks that keep bothering him. He's trying to put together an optimized version that he and LeAnne can show around. I'll be sure to post the new video when it's up and running.

LeAnne, Aaron, and I went out to Old Chicago for the first time in a long time (first time in a while that LeAnne hasn't been working on a Tuesday night) for Pizza and a Pint (since I don't drink, but it's a $5 pizza, I just order it and give the beer to whoever I'm with). LeAnne's nose doesn't seem to want to stop bleeding from yesterday's piercing. Gotta say I'm a little worried about that. If it doesn't stop tomorrow, I'm suggesting a trip to the doctor.

Afterwards, we three returned to the editing. There is finally an optimized version, but we had to call it quits around 3a.m. because LeAnne was falling asleep and I have a meeting in the morning (the fact that it's now 4a.m. and I'm writing this instead of sleeping is a bad sign).

On that note, I'm going to leave this one short and sweet. I'll fill everyone in on the meeting tomorrow.

Also, did anyone else receive their Suite Scarlett paperback today? I did. Gotta love Amazon pre-orders.

William the Bloody Idiotic Redd

Another Short In the Can

2009-04-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

The commercial shoot went off without a hitch. We'll be editing at some point in the next week or two. I'll let everyone know when the finished product is up. In the meantime, for those interested to know more, there's a website to explain what the commercial is for. Check it out:

http://www.homosoypian.com/

After that, I gathered a few DVDs I'd decided to sell and traded them in at MovieStop. I really like MovieStop. It's the only place I feel completely comfortable buying a used DVD. This is mainly because I know the staff and I know for sure that they clean and check all traded movies to be sure they are playable. Also, I have issues with having to have most of the inserts and original packaging for a DVD, and I know used movies at Blockbuster and Hollywood don't have that. I know it's irrational, but I can't help it.

So, after spending most of the rest of my day hanging out at MovieStop most of the day, went with LeAnne to get her nose re-pierced (she had to take it out, then lost the backing so it the hole healed), then a little while later we went and grabbed dinner.

Over dinner, we discussed the summer plans for many of the next-in-the-series movies coming out this summer. We're already planning marathons for Terminator and Star Trek. I'm trying to think exactly how many of the six TOS Star Trek movies we NEED to watch for someone who hasn't really seen them in quite a while. I'm thinking, honestly, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Wrath of Khan, and The Search for Spock is as far as necessary (though I'd like to watch The Voyage Home just because that was the first ST movie I actually saw in theaters).

As far as the summer movies go, I'm looking forward to quite a few this year. One that I wasn't sure about was Land of the Lost. Now that I've seen the trailer though, I am definitely interested. Will Ferrell and Danny McBride engaging with Sleestacks? Sign me up! Another summer movie I'm still unsure about is G.I. Joe. Stephen Sommers is a good director, but is he what we want for G.I. Joe? He did a good job with the first Mummy, a decent job on the Mummy Returns, and fair with Van Helsing (though most people did not like that movie at all, I thought it held true to certain ideas from the Universal horror team-ups of the past). I did like what I saw in the trailer, and I like his casting choices for the most part, but I'm still up in the air.

At least, if it does fail, Hasbro has given us Warren Ellis' G.I. Joe: Resolute web series. That was absolutely brilliant. In fact, once I'm done writing this, I'm going to go watch it again. Anyone who grew up loving G.I. Joe and would love to see a serious interpretation of the series, go to the Adult Swim website and check it out.

Now, I think I've plugged enough film and television for anybody, so I'm going to call it a night.

William the Bloody Product Placement Redd

A Finding Maria Update

2009-04-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

So, I've mentioned before that I am currently shooting a short film called Finding Maria. Well, I just found out that I've hit another production snag.

Now, I've known for some time that one of my actresses was moving. Turns out, it's the end of this month. I know, in previous posts I've stated that we were trying to shoot earlier in this month, but everything kept falling through. This is primarily my fault I think because I don't jump when I need to all the time. I'm working on that, and BEDA is one of the ways I'm trying to get into a regular rhythm.

Well, things have once again gotten away from me, and now our time is up. DaNae (our actress) just sent me word that she has no time to shoot this week between work and preparing to move next weekend. Now, I'm more than willing to wait until she's available to come back down from Raleigh to shoot this thing, but I know I can't put John (the one main actor who's been with me the whole time) through another period of waiting. He's been more than patient with me and it's time to get this thing shot.

I have an idea of someone as a replacement actress for the part, so I'm going to get in touch with her as soon as I know for sure that DaNae is out. I hate having to recast, but it's probably my only option at the moment. It's bad enough the actress playing our title character moved to L.A. before we could finish shooting her scenes.

I do have an idea of how to fix that, but I'll have to see if my L.A. contacts are available for a little shooting in the next week or so. Hopefully, that will work out how I think it can.

On a more positive note, my friend Ryan called me up earlier about a commercial shoot he'd like some help with tomorrow. Sounds like fun, so I'm off to do that. I'll update how the shoot went tomorrow.

William the Bloody Productive Redd

Our American Cousin

2009-04-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's the last piece of entertainment that President Lincoln would ever see.

With that knowledge, I never knew that the play was a comedy. Strange what history can do to our perceptions.

Anyway, the UNCW theatre department put on this very funny play about an American visiting his English cousins and saving the day. I just got back from the show. It was really well done.

The director, a former professor of mine, Dr. Terry Theodore, followed the original concept of this play, including the performance of olios between scenes. There were little bits of humor injected into the entire play, either in the form of clever wordplay, or just in the deeds of the characters themselves.

I really enjoyed the show, as did the whole audience. At the behest of the performers, we cheered the heroes and booed the villain (to which he reacted as he should, by threatening violence upon us).

Now, I'd like to say that my love of theatre was the sole purpose of my going to the show, but it wasn't. A friend was playing the part of Florence Trenchard (quite well) and, if you follow the link to this review, you'll see her. Also, this was Dr. Theodore's final production. He is retiring from teaching and directing after 31 years. So I had to make it out and see the show.

I do have to thank Keely (my friend playing Florence) for renewing my interest in theatrical productions. I really do enjoy going to plays, and having a friend who is steadily getting parts in those plays definitely helps me get off my duff and go see them.

Speaking of Keely, I don't get to see her as often as I'd like (it's been a number of months since I saw her last... until tonight anyway). Honestly, I just now gave her the Christmas/Birthday gift I've had since the holidays, this was the first time since before Christmas that we've seen each other. That needs to change.

In the fall, UNCW is putting on a performance of Waiting for Godot, which is one of my favorite plays (alongside Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead), but I've never seen it performed. Definitely looking forward to seeing that.

The more I go to the theatre, the more I actually want to write for the stage. I'd like to write at least one stage play. I have a few ideas I've been working on, just have to see if anything comes of them, or if I decide that they will work better in another medium (not the first time that has happened).

William the Bloody Play's the Thing Redd

Looking At My Options

2009-04-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

So, the spring cleaning is moving along, slowly, but forward.

I've started to post things for sale on craigslist, but there are no interested parties at the moment. If no one buys, I need to figure out some other options. E-bay doesn't seem to be working, and I don't really want to keep wasting money on something that won't return anything.

Don't know if anyone here would be interested, but right now there are two listings. One is a box of Hero Clix that's never been used:

http://wilmington.craigslist.org/clt/1134961900.html

The other is a series of comics. It's part of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe:

http://wilmington.craigslist.org/clt/1135025524.html

I'm going to put together a few more listings tonight or tomorrow, but I need other options.

Has anyone tried selling things at a flea mall? There's one here that only charges $14 for a space.

Damn this economy! Why do I decide to sell when nobody has the money to buy?

William the Bloody Selling It All Redd

I Just Had A Thought

2009-04-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

So, I've been working on an idea for a series for a while now. I always say that it's "like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the whole team is like Xander".

Well, every time I try to write the characters, they just end up becoming the basic "save the world at all costs" types. But, that's not the show I'm trying to make. I want this thing to be something unique. While I love shows like Buffy, Angel, and Doctor Who, the characters I'm creating aren't those people.

They're just regular guys. Well, most of them are.

As I write this, I'm watching John Green on BlogTV (after watching Dr. Noise perform for a while, it's been a good night). John just said something earlier about "Catcher in the Rye" that has got me thinking.

He was talking about how it's not an average story because Holden is just a normal person. The story is more like real life.

That's more how I want the series to be. The original concept was always supposed to be a group of "regular guys" in very irregular situations. I guess, the best way to describe it is this:

It's like the Venture Brothers, without all the super-science and costumed mad-men. Instead, it's just normal people dealing with aliens and monsters.

I'm going to try to write the series without any truly heroic exploits. These guys are just doing a job that they know needs to be done.

Think it'll work?

William the Bloody Regular Redd

Even God is on Facebook

2009-04-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

I originally had every intention of writing two blogs today, but after eating my feast of Chinese food, I kind of passed out. So, instead I am going to repost my FiveAwesomeBloggers blog (which I finished before dinner):

A friend sent me this yesterday:

So, not only does God have a twitter, he's also on Facebook. I guess that ends the Facebook vs. Myspace argument. I mean, who other than God would have the final word in... well, anything I guess.

Other than interesting images in my e-mail, nothing much going on this week.

Oh, since I brought this up originally, the Buried Life has a new trailer up:

And now that I've made this post all flashy with a picture AND a video, I shall leave it at this:

Madison: As a particular commercial (I think it's Visa?) has been saying: Go.
Tom: Your tactics for school sound very similar to mine. Sleeping in always wins.
Elayne: Hello? *hello hello hello....*
Madi: I forgot about Bones on Monday. I hate that House has been airing on Mondays. I always watch "Big Bang Theory" and "How I Met Your Mother". Of course, if I'd remembered Bones, I would have watched. BBT and HIMYM were both reruns.

While I've been writing this, my potential dinner plans were abruptly cancelled by a friend who doesn't feel like leaving the house (can't say I blame her, I've been having an "in day" as well). So, I have just ordered Chinese. I shall now await my delivery and figure out something to watch since Lost isn't on tonight.

After a discussion our group was having last week, I think I'm going to watch The Usual Suspects.

This has been your Watchful Wednesday,

William the Bloody Sleepy Redd

Madison, we'll see you tomorrow.

Apparently, Today Was Moving Day

2009-04-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

I was planning on having another day in, when I got a call from Mike. He was moving out of his house today (landlord is upping the rent towards the ridiculous, so Mike's had to go). Well, he runs in to a little hassle with the U-Haul place and doesn't get the truck when he planned, putting him four hours behind.

This, of course, is where I come in. He calls and asks for a hand getting stuff onto the truck. So, I head over and spend the next few hours completing the job he's been working hard on all day. We pack up the last bit and empty the house.

So, fun night.

But, seeing Mike throw away a lot of (at least seemingly) useful stuff has got me thinking about things. How much stuff do we actually need in our lives? I have a lot of stuff, and that's really all it is... stuff.

I save WAY too much stuff. It's become a thing with me. I can't throw things away at first. I save fortunes from Chinese restaurants. My apartment is full of stuff that I don't really need and will probably never use.

First step, I need to finally get rid of my comics. I was a collector for about 20 years. Mainly, I collected Marvel; but there were quite a few DCs in there as well. But, with all the collected editions available now, I no longer need all those individual issues. I never collected to collect, I collected to read. So, if I can get Marvel Essential and DC Showcase collected editions with about 50 issues in one book, that's what I'm doing.

So, if anyone reading this wants some comics from the 80s or 90s, let me know. Everything must go!

Back on topic, after the comics go I'm going to gather up all my toys from my parents house. I have massive amounts of toys. Growing up, I collected G.I Joes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Legos (oh, so many Legos), and don't even get me started on my Star Wars figures.

It is Spring, so I guess I'm going to do a little cleaning.

Also, I have a ton (metric ton, seriously) of VHS tapes. Those definitely need to go. I've had to build structures against the walls to get them out of the way. It's a little sad.

On that note, I'm going to sign off for today, go clean up the bedroom a little, get my clothes organized (and maybe even get them off the bed finally. There's one pile that is very close to collapsing on me as I sleep). Might even take a pile or two to give to charity.

It is definitely time for me to lighten my load.

William the Bloody Cleanly Redd

Moments of Absolute Silliness

2009-04-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

I'm watching an episode of M*A*S*H right now, and there was a moment between Hawkeye and Hot Lips where the two of them are desperately tired and get a case of that silly, tired laughter.

I absolutely love those moments. The times when you and a friend stay up way past times of consciousness, and everything you say becomes ridiculously funny.

That's just golden.

I need more moments like that. They seem to be fewer and fewer lately.

Had another one of those lazy days today. Need to start getting out of bed earlier. I've picked up a bad habit of sleeping until noon everyday. I know it's wrong, and I've even set my alarm much earlier, I just turn it off and roll over.

I did catch the last bit of John Green's BlogTV show today. Haven't been on in a while, so it was nice to get back into the chat.

Tomorrow, I'm going to write much earlier so my mind isn't just gone. I've been feeling a little out of it today. Don't know why.

I promise, tomorrow will be much better.

Also, I'll get back to commenting tomorrow. Now, I'm going to watch one more episode of M*A*S*H and get to bed. Hitting the sack earlier will be step one to waking up at a decent hour.

William the Bloody Procrastinating Redd

Final Cut Film Festival

2009-04-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

Went to the screening tonight. As always, there were some really good submissions, and some just alright ones.

Apparently, only twelve teams entered this year, and one never turned in a short. This means that, with a Top Ten screening, only 1 short didn't make the cut. That kinda sucks. I would be very unhappy if I was a part of that team.

Something seemed to be missing from this year's festival. Several people mentioned it, but none of us could put our fingers on what it was. I mean, the festival was great, it always is. Matt and Sarah are great and they put themselves through hell getting everything together for this thing every year. But, something seemed different.

I can't explain it.

I really wish I could have been a part of it again this year, but just didn't have the money. Or, honestly, the time. I really need to finish my outstanding projects before throwing myself into another one.

Next year, I'm planning on going big. It's an idea that I and my friend Jonathan have been talking about for a while, and I finally know how to start the whole thing off (the missing piece).

The only problem with this plan is that it involves part of a feature I'm writing. So, we need to have at least the necessary scene shot for this whole thing to work.

It's certainly possible that we can pull this off in a year, let's just hope we actually do.

William the Bloody Penniless Redd

I Have Just Been Lazy Today

2009-04-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

First, I was up late last night watching television and synching up my blogs. I decided around 11 to add all my BEDA blogs to my Nerdfighter ning page as well. Fortunately, it's a simple copy and paste, still time consuming though.

Today, I have been doing a little editing. You would think it would be easy just to add a little piece of footage into the editing timeline, but it has proven to be a complete pain in the rear. I'm thinking of just killing my original idea and just go for the old "Lucas wipe". Might be better.

In between my editing, I've been watching TV. They were running "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" on TCM earlier, and now the M*A*S*H series finale is playing on TVLand. Watching that while I write.

Speaking of TVLAND, is anyone else a little sickened by "The Cougar"... and all these dating shows for that matter? These people have no concept of love, just good television. If you were looking for true love, you wouldn't be putting yourself on national television to be part of a sideshow for all to see.

"Rock of Love". Really? Does anyone think Bret Michaels has any chance of NOT continuing the only real source of income he's got right now? Ladies, grow up. He's not gonna actually stay with any of you, he's got another season to think about.

I'm gonna keep it short today, need to go to bed at a decent time tonight (but probably won't) and I want to get that editing issue fixed before I log off.

William the Bloody Lackadaisical Redd

A Warrior's Call

2009-04-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Alright,

Yesterday I told you I was going to be filming a video for my friend Stan so he can enter a contest to become one of the new Vikings at Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe. Here's the final product:

While a lot of people here are running around filming for the Final Cut Film Festival, I shot and edited the gem above. And now, I'm going to do a little work on my Jersey Jones series while watching some Stargate: Atlantis and Primeval (I'm giving the show a chance, even though they refuse to accept what they are).

On the Jersey Jones front, I ran out yesterday and shot a little piece of footage for episode 3. I'm doing a Star Wars opening for that and needed the typical pan-down from the sky on to the FanBoy Comics building (which was an interesting task since they've moved since we shot there. Fortunately, there is still some signage present).

I'm going to add yesterday's footage to episode 3, which will complete the rough cut of that.

Anyway, that's all I've got today.

William the Bloody Hedonistic Redd

More Film Talk

2009-04-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

So, as many of you know, I'm a filmmaker (when I'm not busy writing blogs of course).

Right now (and for quite a while) I'm working on a short called "Finding Maria". I have now brought on an Assistant Director who has done a complete script breakdown for me (Brea, have I said thank you lately?) and have been in the process of trying to get some shooting days scheduled.

There are a few problems.

First, our title actress has moved to L.A. and I'm not sure when she's going to be coming back. We still have two scenes to shoot with her (one being the climax of the film). Also, I've got another actress who is about to move to Raleigh at the end of the month (and that's coming awfully fast).

This weekend is the Final Cut Film Festival. I have taken part in this festival every year it's been around, but not this year. Instead, I'm going to be trying to shoot as much of "Finding Maria" as possible.

Of course, based on actor availability, that might not be much.

Also, tomorrow I'm shooting a 1 minute short for my friend Stan who is applying to a contest on Youtube. Here's the video with info:

So, that's going to be a fun shoot. Also, he's one of actors in "Finding Maria". Have to ask if he's available this weekend and if he thinks we can get access to a library for the scene.

Anyway, here's hoping things work out and we get some shooting done.

I'll let everyone know how (and if) it goes.

Also, trying to decide if I want to sign up to be a BEDA buddy. I think it's definitely worth it.

William the Bloody Filmmaking Redd

What Is Disney's Issue?

2009-04-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Why do they try to make EVERY Disney "star" into an actor/singer?

I guess it started with Miley, but does every single "star" have to sing AND act? Let's do roll-call: I mentioned Miley, then you have Mitchell Musso, Emily Osment (that's all from one show!), the Jonas Brothers (who started as just singers, but Disney had to turn them in to actors as well), Demi Lovato, Ashley Tisdale (and the entire HSM cast)...

The list goes on, but that's all the names I can think of at the moment.

Look, I know Disney has had luck in the past with their child musicians, but let's also look at the history of those children as they grow up.

Let's talk Lindsay Lohan. Let's talk Britney Spears.

Hell, let's go back to the days of my youth with Jennifer Love Hewitt on "Kids Incorporated" (not really an example of a problem, just had the thought while writing).

Speaking of "Kids Incorporated", let's not forget Fergie. (which might be one of Disney's true success stories because she stuck primarily to the music).

Can Disney not see the damage they're doing through all that money? Do they care?

The worst was seeing Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens at the Oscars this year. During their red carpet interview, the no-name interviewer (couldn't even get a main-line interview, what a pity) said something to the effect of "it won't be long until you're back here as a nominee." That's horrible.

Giving these poor kids false hope like that.

William the Bloody Sick of "Celebrity" Redd

Just a "Blah" Kind of Day

2009-04-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

It's raining here right now. Raining hard.

So, nothing much has happened today. I've been working on some writing and theories for some WNU articles I plan on writing eventually.

One thing I did find today (and this will probably be the nerdiest thing I ever say... in this blog) is a date conversion chart which gives approximate dates to the Star Wars Universe as it correlates to Earth history.

That's right. I like stuff like that.

Anyway, I'm looking at timelines for multiple sci-fi and fantasy series to create a singular timeline of events for a universe that I'm creating.

Nothing else to report really, so I think that's all I'll say today.

But, I will probably continue on this theme tomorrow.

William the Bloody Nerdy Redd