November 2011
1 post
Elisabeth Hasselbeck
As someone who unashamedly watches The View every day (yes, every day), and as someone who is decidedly liberal politically, I find Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg to be pop culture mouthpieces for my own opinions. To be clear, this is a general statement. For example, I do not agree with Ms. Goldberg’s support of her celebrity friends when they do things that are clearly violations of...
October 2011
2 posts
Do You Hear the People Sing?
I can not fathom how any proud citizen of these United States could not support the Occupy Movements that are popping up across the country. I do not understand how anyone can tolerate their elected Congressmen calling those who exercise their rights to peaceful assembly a “mob.” I do not understand why so many people have no issue dismissing support for the movements as the...
Ten Seventeen (Four Years Down)
It’s only just today that I remembered to write about October 17. I am apparently beginning to let the memories slip away. I think that’s a good thing. It was time to move on a long time ago.
I think it’s time to give myself some peace anyway. The world didn’t stop for my broken heart. It’s time to say goodbye.
Then again, I’m no good at goodbyes. Or maybe I...
August 2011
1 post
Electric Starlight
This has been the best summer of my life.
It’s no coincidence that it’s also the first summer I’ve spent away from home. I don’t mean to suggest that summers at home can’t be fun. They can be. But this summer has given me the opportunity to really do things that I’ve never done before.
That includes the various trips I took over the summer. I ferried to...
April 2011
2 posts
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
Today, I took a break from editing my radio piece, and I discovered that The Twilight Zone is available on Netflix’s instant view. How cool! Do you guys ever watch the marathon that the SciFi Channel (I refuse to use its official spelling; there are no y’s in “science fiction”) airs on the days leading up to and immediately following New Year’s? I watch every year.
...
The More I Do, the Less I Know
I never write anymore. That is, I never write for me anymore. And sometimes I forget that I started this blog for, among other things, an escape from all the academia and scholarly articles. Oh, graduate school can be a cruel mistress.
And so it’s April now. Traditionally, this is my most stressful month. Last year, in particular, was a gigantic mess. This year, I have much more to do, and...
March 2011
1 post
Kings
This is the first draft of an op-ed I’m writing for one of my classes. I have no idea about the quality of the writing yet. I’d love feedback.
I’m sure I was not the only film buff hopelessly disappointed with Sunday’s Oscar telecast. Let us leave aside the efforts of Anne “I’m Trying So Hard” Hathaway and James “Squinty McTiredHost” Franco....
February 2011
1 post
Such a Tired Game
I’ve reflected over the past several months for a long time now, but I couldn’t bring myself to update the blog. I just couldn’t. And I think it’s because I felt like there was some unfinished experience that I should wait to end before I spoke of it publicly.
I’ve been fooling myself. Nothing ever really began, or if it did, it was never going to be worth the energy...
January 2011
1 post
In Which I Pummel My Life
Everything:
Just me:
November 2010
1 post
Escort Services: An Inspirational Crime Advisory
UMass Dartmouth Department Of Public Safety
Crime Advisory
November 8, 2010- Reference 10-1239-OF
In accordance to the federal Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, the Department of Public Safety would like to advise the community of an incident that occurred between 12:30 and 1:00 am on Saturday, November 6, 2010.
A female student reported...
October 2010
4 posts
Brown Lies of Early Fall (Ten Seventeen, 3 Years...
It’s that date again. 10/17. Last year, I wrote a post in remembrance of this date. I believe I called it “one of the best and worst” days of my life.
The leaves are changing into vibrant reds and yellows, muted browns and oranges. Fall is all about change. The old must die, followed by a period of cold grays and biting winds.
That was 10/17/2007. The day of decision. My old...
The Coordinator
This is a post about the unfortunate experience of Wicked.
Let me say that I had been looking forward to seeing Wicked ever since I saw that it was coming to Boston. I love everything about the play: I love the story, however simplistic and cheesy; I love the music; I love the obvious morality tale; and I have a strong appreciation for the showiness of the whole thing.
The plan was for seeing...
Whatever Works
I shall begin this post by saying that I am hungry. I am very hungry. I am hungry enough that my arm is in serious danger of being eaten from its socket.
Anyway.
I have heard the phrase “whatever works” in various contexts at least four times this week. That’s enough for me to note its use. It’s a flippant phrase. A dismissive phrase. A phrase that rejects criticism...
September 2010
1 post
Live Your Story
I have been in a persistent good mood since late May, one that I have not wanted to jinx by writing about it. Thus, my absence from blogging for a while.
Where did the time go, folks? It’s nearly October, and it seems just yesterday I was leaving this place for the sanctuary of home. As many of you know (or can glean from some earlier posts on this blog), February through mid-May was...
June 2010
1 post
Something Happened
UPDATE: This post sounds cryptic, but it is not really a big deal. Well, it is, just not in the way it may sound. Sorry for the miscommunication, but the post has to be fairly vague.
If you are a close friend of mine, or if you have had any profound impact on my life, there is a very real chance that you will be receiving a personal notification/request from me (probably via email) within the...
May 2010
1 post
When I Climb the Stairs and Turn the Key...
I’m happy to say that my first year of graduate school is dead and gone. And what a year it was.
There was tragedy and comedy, loss and gain, excitement and boredom, new friends and old friends, tears and laughter. The general yin and yang of life. Despite the ups and downs, I think this was an overall productive year, with more learning experiences (thrown into an extremely short time...
April 2010
1 post
Yesterdays Bleeding Through
The last five days have been massively difficult for me. It was a perfect storm of bad weather, bad luck, and a bad depression spell. But the weather got sunny. The bad luck turned around quickly. And the depression is slowly but surely on it’s way out.
I am quickly realizing that I can’t make it on my own. I’ve always needed people, but what I usually needed was for them to...
March 2010
2 posts
Oscar Predix
Alright, the Oscars are on in about an hour or so. Very briefly, here are my predictions for the winners. For the smaller awards, I did not list the names of the people, just the films on which they worked. I figure nobody cares as much about those people anyway, which is sad. Ah, well, for this entry, the unsung heroes shall remain unsung. Without further ado:
Best Motion Picture of the Year:...
February 2010
4 posts
Just One More Thing That You Can't Keep
It occurs to me that it’s been a long time since I wrote a post about “how I am.” The short answer is “eh.” Now get ready for the long answer.
Were it not for teaching, I think I would feel completely useless. What I mean is, there is no one really depending on me for anything, and let’s face it, I’m the kind of person who needs to be needed. I am not...
Video Essentials - Part II: The Narrative Ballads
Part I is over on the old version of the blog. This is the sequel, if you will, to my relatively popular post on cool music videos. (Note: I wrote each blurb in the time it took to watch the actual video. For no real reason, other than I thought it was a fun challenge for myself. In other words, some things may not make sense or be written poorly.)
MILF Prefers Hot Young Singer-Songwriter to...
Pat Pat Pants Pocket
One of my constant worries (as weird as this may sound) is that I will lose my keys. Every time I walk out the door of my house/apartment or leave my car, I instinctively check for my keys with a double pat of my front left pocket. Always. Without fail. But apparently, just one forgotten pat is enough for a *facepalm* moment.
Last evening, while visiting a friend’s house, I locked my keys...
Light The Sky and Hold On Tight
I feel the need to document the occasions that I cry, because it happens so rarely.
Tonight I listened to one of my favorite songs, “Sunny Came Home” by Shawn Colvin. I had already turned off all the lights and put my headphones on. It was just a night to let the music consume me. So I turned it up loud. Eardrum pounding, hearing loss inducing loud.
The memory came flooding back with...
January 2010
5 posts
“Baby Stay A While” will be the theme...
Addendum
I recently wrote an entry for the Changing Lives Through Literature blog, and I wanted to send some traffic that way.
My entry is sort of a beefed up version of the hardships post I wrote a couple weeks ago. This time around, I molded it to fit into a more literary and life-changey theme, using Ordinary People as my inspiration.
I’m not totally sure how I feel about the post itself. I...
Remember Me When You're Good To Go
I missed my flight back to Massachusetts because of a horrible wreck on I-65. 20 minutes earlier and I would have made it, but apparently, everyone in the greater Nashville area decided to travel today, and it took me an hour to check my bags, and half an hour to get through security. $200 in change fees and 6 hours later, I get to return to Mass. I would book a cheaper flight, but the only one...
Johari Window
So, a friend of mine just made me take this test called the Johari Window. It’s a test to see how you perceive yourself, how others perceive you, and how the two results overlap.
It’s somewhat interesting. You get 55 adjectives, and all you have to do is pick the 5 or 6 that describe the person. It’s kind of like the MBTI, except you get outsiders’ opinions as well, so it...
A Simple Hardship
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about hardships. You know what’s cool about hardships? They make you grow up, and they prepare you for the future. A double whammy. They give you the confidence to know that you can endure some pretty tough times.
I would say that I’ve had a relatively tough life…in a privileged white boy sort of way, I guess. I don’t claim to have...
December 2009
5 posts
As a Non-Descriptive Summation of My UMass...
…I present this video, “Drinking Out of Cups.” I’m not sure why the video reminds me of Mass (besides the fact that the TA’s introduced it to me), but there’s something about the craziness, the hilarity, the accent, the unprovoked swearing, the disjointed observations, and the wacky animation that sums up the wild rollercoaster of my first semester in grad...
No Laughing, No Singing, Just Precious
I don’t know how many people will actually watch this scene. But below, you should watch from 33:00-43:00.
Take three actors who are hardly known for their thespian qualities. A comedian (Mo’Nique), a pop singer (Mariah Carey), and a first-timer (Gabourey Sidibe). Give them a script with a positively brutal story and a director who knows how to tell a story. And watch them go.
Now, I...
If You Just Smile
In less than a week, I’ll be back home in Tennessee. I’m looking forward to the break. These last few months have been the most difficult and trying of my entire life, but I see the light at the end of the First Semester Tunnel. That tunnel, while difficult on a personal level, was also one of the brightest tunnels I’ve ever passed through.
I’ve done a lot of growing up...
Somebody Don't Keep Defying
AOL Television just named the Glee cast’s performance of “Don’t Stop Believin’” as the TV Moment of 2009. They write: “Mixing Fame-style musical numbers with a quirky sense of humor, Glee introduced an appealing band of losers, propelled by desperation, boredom or blackmail into the William McKinley High Glee Club.” Indeed. There does seem to be a reason...
Introverted Intuition Feeling Judging
Once again, Penelope Trunk has written a blog post that inspired me to return to the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator. And I spent hours reading about all the personality types, yet again, because I find the MBTI absolutely fascinating. If you haven’t taken the test before, I recommend that you try it out with this simplified version that will, at the very least, give you an idea of your type....
November 2009
7 posts
Hoppy Legs and Twitchy Little Noses
I’ve been laughing about this one for a while. This is from the musical episode “Once More, with Feeling” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Context: Something is causing all the residents of Sunnydale to break into song about whatever they are thinking. In this particular song, the Scooby Gang attempts to figure out what exactly is causing it. During the brainstorming session, Anya...
Scenes from a Thesis, The Last Post
This is the last Kaleidoscope post I’ll do because I don’t want people to get sick of it and because I only wanted to put my strongest scenes up in the first place. What follows is my favorite scene from the screenplay and the one that I consider the strongest, although I am positive that it should be lengthened just a tad.
This is the latter part of Scene 20, followed by Scene 21. I...
Scenes from a Thesis, Part Deux
These are Scenes 4-7 of Kaleidoscope. What I like about these scenes are the nearly wordless introductions of the two female leads, whom we get to know via their surroundings and activities. They are brief scenes that cut quickly from one to the next. This is immediately followed by a sense of urgency in Steven’s scene, which I wanted to carry over into Scene 7.
It’s Scene 7 that...
Scenes from a Thesis
So, I’ve decided to begin posting a few scenes from the screenplay I wrote for my undergraduate thesis. I re-read the full screenplay today, and my first reaction was, “Man, this is BAD.” There are plot holes the size of the moon, the dialogue is at times hopelessly overwrought, and the characters are not nearly as cinematically developed as I would like them to be.
If I were to...
Bad Romance
There are about a dozen people in the world who have yet to see this. More than worthy of its own post on my blog, this video is the epitome of everything Lady GaGa represents. But it’s so much more than that. It’s just a damn awesome video. I wasn’t crazy about the song when I first heard it, but I think the video actually made me enjoy it more.
“One Day More,” Company of Les...
Pretending to Choose
In July, I blogged about my newfound openness. I said, “All you have to do is ask. We’ll take it from there.” That remains the case.
Trust has always been a complex issue with me, and as I can probably guess, with most of you guys, too. There are so many things to consider. Who will keep secrets you are afraid will hurt you? How long does it take before trust is an option? Will...
2 tags
Scary Monsters
I hope everyone is having a Happy Halloween. New England makes the day extra-magical, for me anyway. Leaves still a-changing and a-rustling, inventive costumes and jack-o-lanterns, and of course, scary movies. It’s good.
So for a nice end-of-the-holiday entertainment, everyone enjoy the genius that is Hair-Raising Hare. Oh, Bugs Bunny. That pretty lady is mechanical!
October 2009
12 posts
No More Everything Will Be Okay's
I consider myself a generally cheerful person. But sometimes, something can be too devastating to overcome. I recently received some bad - no, awful - news that I unfortunately cannot write about publicly.
Therefore, what is left but generalities?
Life can be cruel, which has been said too many times. I’ve had my share of troubles, insecurities, and “hard times.” But I’ve...
Watch This
Like a Murder Scene
I choked myself awake with one violent, explosive cough.
A few seconds passed. I stared blankly at the ceiling. There was just enough light from dawn creeping into my room that I could see my surroundings, but I had no contacts in, so my vision was blurred. My entire body was soaked, all of my covers had been kicked off my bed, and I couldn’t really move very well. My mouth was so dry that...
1 tag
Call It In The Air
I love grad school, and here’s why.
When I was an undergraduate, the thing that I absolutely hated the most was group project-ing, particularly when I was in my first two years. You work with people you don’t know, struggling to synchronize schedules so that you can all meet outside of class and…basically pretend to work. I was always the guy who really wanted to get the work...
“Somebody to Love,” Cast of Glee
Have...
Ten Seventeen
Today marks the two-year anniversary of one of the best and worst days of my 22-years-young life. That is not hyperbole. Out of a multitude of terrible events came a great decision.
Oh, October 17, 2007. A date that will live in infamy in the life of tiny, insignificant little ole me. It is the the date that I began the slow development of who I am and where I’m going. And it marks the date...
Taking My Time But It's Time That I'm Wasting
Best song I heard today (in the fine city of Boston, MA). It’s pretty popular, but just in case you haven’t heard it yet, definitely worth a listen. There may or may not be a commercial before the actual video; if there is, sorry about that.
“Shattered (Turn the Car Around),” O.A.R.
O.A.R. - New Music - More Music Videos
Keep Holding On
Coming up on this week’s Glee. It’s pretty touching, even out of context. Because there’s a Quinn in everyone’s life. And even though we’re not in high school anymore, the Quinn archetype deserves a little compassion.