I might have a new job... maybe

Monday morning I came into work and got a phone call. It was Patt, my champion, my job pimp. She had a new lead for an assistant in visual effects, her department. She asked if I wanted to take a stab at it. I said sure.

Two hours, a couple of calls and interviews later, I have the job... I think. I say I think because Patt always jumps the gun on things, trying to push people around to get her way. Which is good and bad, good that she really wants me to have the job, bad if it pisses everyone off and I don't get it.

Do I want the job? Sure. That doesn't sound very convincing right? Well, I really want to be writer/director, but that's not jumping out at this time as an option (although my script is doing well with Bonnie ). My second choice would be to be an assistant to a director or producer so that I can learn more about their jobs. But I love VFX and I'd love to learn more about the process of making visual effects happen. Maybe I can turn it into a career, maybe not. I'm not sure but it beats not having a job right?

I actually have a job offer on the table to be an assistant to a producer but he's not working right now so that means he can't hire me until he gets on a picture. That's the problem with being a producer's assistant, if they're not working, you're not working. At least at the WB VFX, I have a job that's guaranteed. Plus health insurance and benefits etc.

But who knows, maybe I won't get it after all and I won't have to worry about making a choice. Or maybe Bonnie will buy my script, making all of this null. Or maybe I'll be homeless. Only time will tell.

Rock Band 2

What a great way to waste time and money then to sit around your house playing fake plastic instruments to songs that you don't even like? Right?

Well, I can't help it, I've gotta get my Rock Band 2 fix. It's like crack, but more expensive and better for your health. (unless you're smoking crack and playing Rock Band, then you're fucked.)

I got Rock Band 2 on Sunday and it pretty much ruined any shot I had at doing any work. I tried to cancel a meeting, but the damn guy wouldn't cancel. Don't you know that Rock Band is more important than my career?

The game itself is pretty much the same damn thing as the last one, just more songs. That's all I get for 60 bucks I guess, but I can't complain, it's fun as shit and it's much more fun than cleaning my apartment or writing a script.

Now if I could just take all that time sitting around playing plastic instruments and learned to actually play my guitar... wait, why would I do that?

Crazy Times call for Crazy Measures

Man, what a crazy couple of months it has been. Up and down, sideways, all directions. Let's run down a list of recent developments, shall we...

-My script about girl's volleyball is going well... sort of well. I'm starting the third draft with the producers very excited about its prospects. They want to move this thing right away, and I'm still working on it. SIGH. It would help if they didn't give me such vague instructions on what they want to change on it. Telling me to add more magic doesn't work. What kind of magic? Like pulling rabbits out of hats? Sawing a girl in half? Call Chris Angel assholes, I'm no magician.

-My parents are moving to the OC, so they will be semi local. I'm sort of excited, sort of not. I won't be able to go home on vacation to get away from LA. Now, I will going to the OC to stay in a foreign home that I never lived in. Plus, I can't lose my parents season tickets for the Suns, that was supposed to be my inhertience!

-I am loosely involved in producing this bull riding reality TV show that I have no interest in doing. I just got an email today that someone is interested in it... but I'm not. Now I have to do all sorts of work on it, even though I couldn't give a fuck less about it. DOUBLE SIGH.

-As I get more busy doing this crap, I have seen my friends less and less. It's sad. Plus, a bunch of people that were my friends are now either a)mad at me and don't like me anymore b)too busy also c)moving away. TRIPLE SIGH.

-Good things are happening with my lady friend though. We've been going very strong and things are great!

-My dog is still super cute.

I guess that's it for now. I know I promised to write more this week... maybe next week?

I wish I was a dog

My dog Parker is the best. Sure, she pees in the house, doesn’t listen to all commands and has a serious problem digging in the trash can- but who doesn’t right?

I often watch her chasing cats, flies, tennis balls, anything really; and I get jealous. Man, it must be really nice to have no responsibilities. Her only care in the world is if she gets fed and walked daily, and that’s not her responsibility, it’s mine.

What I wouldn’t give to be a dog!

Man, what a world

I've been pretty f'ing busy. Sorry I haven't posted, I guess I've put too much time into work and other bullshit instead of writing this blog. Man I suck.

I promise that next week, I will update at least three times. (kind of like how I need to work out three times).

Thanks for being cool.

J

Music that I like today

Man, what do you write blogs about if you've got absolutely nothing going on in your life besides writing a shitty PG script for a bunch of assholes, sitting in an empty office for 12 hours a day, thinking about how you are getting old, never trying anything new and preparing to spend the rest of your life in a never ending loop of bullshit?

I guess you write about music.

Yes music, the only thing that I have going on in my poor excuse of a life. Unless I write about sleeping, which is kind of a personal experience that doesn't translate well to blog land.

Here's some music I recently bought or have been listening to for the last year that I thought you might like. Yes you, the guy reading this stupid blog. Keep in mind, some of this shit may have come out a year or two ago, but I'm just getting on it, so back off!

PANDA BEAR- PERSON PITCH

This album is like the Beach Boys meet noise rock. Fucking unreal stuff, you could listen to it while driving on the PCH, or while smoking PCP. A very happy sound but full of dread and sadness. Panda Bear is a member of the next band... or collective....

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE- STRAWBERRY JAM

Samples and noise cut in and out, sounds used like drums, punchy and repetitive but not annoying. Songs have a sense of happiness and sadness at the same time. I haven't had enough time to really examine the lyrics but there is something going on here for sure. Music that has no explanation, but there is none needed.

BATTLES- MIRRORED

The most out there partly instrumental robot rock I've heard in a long time. This shit sounds like what music should have sounded like in 2015 Hilldale Valley 'Back to the Future II' style. A ton of stuff is going on here, where guitars and synths play with crazy samples of voices and other noise. If you had an extra dollar on your itunes account, buy Leyendecker. This song is like taking the drums of a NIN song, the vocal sample of a Rihanninaianana (or however you spell her name) and the effected out synths of our next band and throwing them all together. Which brings us to...

MGMT- ORACULAR SPECTACULAR

The next wave of dance music that the public is already eating up like many boxes of Crispy Cremes. It there is a sound track of this summer, this should be it. Disco, techno and smoothness jumps out at you. Electric Feel is getting a ton of radio play. Kids should also...

HEALTH- HEALTH

Local LA guys do good on this album, again without definition. Some songs sound like Radiohead's best electric stuff, other songs buzz like Liars on their tribaliness, others just try to shred your face off, with mixed results. Worthy of a listen.

DEERHUNTER/ ATLAS SOUND- VARIOUS ALBUMS

I just got into this Bradford Cox guy, who has the beat up puppy dog voice I love. Their songs are beautiful, sad, full of noise and rage, but with a broken heart underneath. Great for when you have to sit in an office for 12 hours straight with nothing to do but plot the end of the world.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND-

I know everyone is on this guys dicks and that they might be pretentious Ivy League dicks, but the rhythm in Mansford Roof is sick. It just is.

SUNSET RUBDOWN-

Another side project band, this time from the guy Wolf Parade. Pretty awesome stuff, and I' love the name of the band. Plus, this Wolf Parade guy's voice reminds me of the Talking Heads, always a good time.

NO AGE- WEIRDO RIPPERS AND THE NEW ALBUM THAT I HAVEN'T BOUGHT CAUSE I'M DUMB

I saw these guys open for the Liars and I was instantly hooked. The power of punk, the noise of some never ending feedback machine. At that show, I was the oldest person by ten years I think. Man, it sucks being old. But these guys can just flat out play and throw the book of conventional song structure out the window. Check it!

Well, that's enough for now. I could get into the new hip hop I've heard, but that would start an entirely new blog. Maybe that's what I'll write about all the time! Music makes the world go round and makes this sad office and shitty PG script seem ok. Well, that's a lie but whatevs... sad panda.

Wonderful World of Thoughts

I turned in my first draft of my new script to the producers yesterday. Now, I have to wait until Thursday of next week to get notes back, 10 days.

Talk about suspense. Imagine working every day for 8 to 14 hours a day for three straight weeks to get something done for someone and then having to wait a week and three days to get feedback on your work.

So, now as I wait for the feedback, I’m in a holding pattern until I hear something from them. SIGH. What do I do in the mean time? I can’t just sit idle. That’s not in my nature.

I’m going to try to bang out some other writing, mainly finish up this other script. It’s going to take a little bit of work though, since when I started to read it today, I realized it sucks.

What else is new? Hmmmmm... let’s break it down....

-My car registration is up. It costs 200 hundred bucks to get your car on the up and up. Why exactly? What does that 200 smacks buy me? I don’t think anyone knows.

-I’ve been playing with Legos a lot lately. Yep, legos, the little toy building blocks. Its more fun than you can imagine, which I imagine that you imagine that they’re not much fun. I’m building my dream house out of legos, since I can’t afford to build it in real life. Crap, I can barely afford to build it in Lego Life.

-My dog has epilepsy, a bad ear infection, and a staff infection on top of the world’s worst doggie allergies. Ouch. Man, its fucking expensive to have a dog.

-I also purchased Rock Band a while back. As I have mentioned on this blog before, Rock Band is the shit. I highly recommend it, at least until the guitar hero band thingy comes out.

-With a shitty economy, rising gas prices, a credit crunch and bank failing; I was thinking maybe it would be great if we just wiped the world clean of money. Everyone starts out with a clean slate and we can begin a new world economy where all money from every country is worth the same. It would be like movies that happen in the future where everyone uses ‘space credits’ or some bullshit. Everyone keeps whatever they have, if you have a house that is still on a loan, you get the rest of your loan for FREE!

Then I don’t have to pay back my student loans and credit cards. Great!

-I wonder, what does it take to make solar energy panels? Is there some sort of material in there that make them so very rare? If we have such a global warming and energy problem, why don’t we kill the energy problem with the global warming problem? Is that so hard? Damn, I’m smart.

-Why don’t they have rice crispy treat ice cream? I invented it the other day, and I’m pissed that I don’t work for Ben and Jerry’s, cause I’d make a fortune.

-I went to the Build a Bear workshop the other day (don’t ask) and they have these bears that you equip with these things that will say random phrases. Why don’t they equip a bear with the phrases in magic 8 ball? Yes, no, ask again later etc... you’d have a magic 8 ball bear! I really think I’m in the wrong line of business.

-I was at Disneyland the other day and waiting in long ass lines for rides. I noticed that they have all these people waiting to get off the ride, sitting in cars that are lined up outside the entrance. Why not have people get off the ride there, instead of the entrance? That would save 30 seconds to a minute of load in/out time for every car, making lines shorter. Man, what the hell, why am I full of so many good ideas?

- Saw Dark Knight last week. If you haven’t seen it, (which you all haven’t cause it isn’t out yet, hahahahaha) see that bitch. Best movie I’ve seen in years, for real.

- I read The Inglorious Bastards script the other day. Man, the Q Tarritino guy is good.

Anyway, enough chatting about bullshit, I have a bad script to write!