SanchO

DuN DuN DuN

AdopteD

left right yeah!

mmmhmmm

ZoooombiE

Zoombie attack!

Tales from the 400 Block of Woodcliffe Rd: Blips

For this Tales From Woodcliffe Road I’m going to just talk about people that were only blips on my radar. Meaning, I don’t have long elaborate stories about them, but they still managed to have some kind of impact on me.

MÁRKÅßRÈ ÇHÁRÀD€

Swings and Roundabouts by Markabre Charade

A Circus Cabaret Soirée by Markabre Charade

Trickery and PVC Pipes

★Wowwie! Who just finished outlining his entire script? This guy! As I’ve mention before I’m working on 2 feature length scripts. Well since I had lots of down time today, I managed to actually FINISH outlining the rest of my “School” script. I’m quite satisfied with myself. Even though I didn’t want it to be a rom-com, it still has a rom-com feel. I don’t mind it so much because it’s not an ordinary rom-com. Now that I’ve got the outline done, I just have to complete the actual script (which has been at 45 pages for a couple of months now.) Go me!

★I filmed an “It gets better” video last week. I haven’t cut yet because the more I think about it, the more I don’t want to cut it and post it. First of all, I filmed it with my cellphone which isn’t the best quality. Secondly, after looking at other people’s videos, I don’t think mine is that interesting. Mine is funny and less serious then everyone else’s (which actually does make it more interesting) but I’m a rambler. I may have Jason film it for me one day. OH! How cool would it be to have my best friends in the video with me? The 5 of us would do an AWESOME video. Kyle and Jason wouldn’t do it though. But still, that’d be awesome!

★I got to go to the movies to see a regular non screener for the first time since seeing the Sorcerer’s Apprentice in August. We went to see Red because the last Friday (I’m pretending today is Friday and I didn’t forget to write out my week ahead of time like I usually do) Dave, Josh and Rich went to see it and the power went out in the middle of the movie. So, AMC told them if they bring their stubs in, they could see a free movie since they were out of their little rain check things. Well I obviously wasn’t there but that didn’t stop me from telling the guy I lost my stub. BOOM! Free movie for me! And for Dave and Rich. Rich lost his stub and Dave didn’t want to forfeit his. Neither did Josh but, they made us show them at least 1 stub. Free movies are the best movies.

★I was tricked into fixing a little old ladies computer by Dave. I thought maybe he offered to pick me up so we could go to the movie and so I could return an XP disc to him but NO, I’d been had. I’d been took! I’d been hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! I ended up spending a couple of hours trying to fix his grandmothers computer which led to me reinstalling Windows for her. I got 40 dollars out of the deal and a thank you card. I was really shocked. I didn’t expect to get money out of it. She was sweet.

★On a related note, while Dave was picking me up, he managed to somehow run over a piece of PVC pipe and it get wrapped around his exhaust pipe.

Try to figure this one out. It's a thick piece of plastic and it was IMPOSSIBLE to pull apart despite having a crack in it. Dave eventually had to take a sawzall to it.

Movies for the week of 10/17/10 to 10/23/10

Today is Monday and here are my movies for the week of 10/17/10 to 10/23/10. I found myself not watching many movies this week. 

Catfish (2010)

This movie received so much hype. I honestly hadn’t even heard of it until the 2 brothers appeared on Ellen a few days before it was released. I didn’t even bother looking at the trailer. I know a bunch of people were trying to tell me about it without spoiling the end. I couldn’t help but compare this movie to talhotblond. Both movies basically have the same premise of a budding relationship that occurs online. But both movies are made completely different. Catfish follows the characters and talhotblond is telling the story after the fact. I ended up giving both movies the same score but I think I like talhotblond a lot more. It had a better more interesting story. LOL the internet! 6 out of 10

Mozilla Seabird Conept Phone

Yum Yum

Tales from the 400 block of Woodcliffe Rd

I spent most of my childhood (1994-2007) on Woodcliffe Rd in Upper Darby, PA. I was a very social kid and had lots of fun, weird and interesting neighbors and experiences I'm willing to share. Here they are, Tales from the 400 Block of Woodcliffe Road...dozo!

Willow Smith, Repetition, Soulja Boy, Repetition

I hate songs that repeat the same line over and over such as Soulja Boys Guicci Bandanna, Swag O.D, and Pretty Boy Swag or ANY of his other songs. It sets a bad example for today's hip-hop. All one needs is a mediocre beat and a line to repeat over and over. Seriously it's pretty ridiculous. When i was still working in the classroom, you wouldn't BELIEVE how much my students worshiped him. All the time I would hear "She gotta donk, she gotta donk, she gotta donk" or "wa me dew ma bird walk, wa me dew ma bird walk, wa me dew ma bird walk" repeated over and over. Repetition

Please DO Feed the Trolls.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've spent part of my time talking and having decent lengthy conversations with many "trolls." "But Dancy, why have conversations with some anonymous asshole behind a computer?" The short answer is, I love talking to people. This isn't a new fact about me. I love people and I hate people at the same time. Now these aren't your naked, gem for a belly button trolls, but your "die nigger die" type trolls you see in the comment sections of YouTube and select Facebook groups.

Trolling has been around for as long as the internet has. In the beginning, trolling was a art form used to stir up controversy. It's like going to Glen Becks rally as a raging bible thumper and quoting outrageous things from the bible. You're going to have you're ultra-conservatives who agree and your Libertarians who don't. Thus, causing an argument. But when the people look around, the guy who started the argument is gone. His trolling is done. This is a more general definition of trolling. 

With the advent of YouTube and Facebook, trolling has become less an art form and more of a boredom buster. And, like the Tea Partyers, people took their trolling to the streets. The Tea Party is to politics as Anonymous is to internet. Trolls/Anonymous aren't all bad. They have many goals including the stop of censorship, fear mongering, and idiots on the web. They're a pretty successful bunch. That girl who was dubbed "the puppy thrower" was "caught" just a few days after the video went online. You don't eff with these people.

With the positive, there is of course the negative. There are the trolls who enjoy going to websites, and videos and group pages and saying things like "the fags deserved to die."  These are the trolls I'm interested in. Why? Because these trolls obviously have a reason for spouting their rhetoric and I wanted to find out. Everyone has a story. Even David Berkowitz had a childhood, family and friends. I just like to humanize people. People aren't bad. People just do bad things.  

Here's an example of a conversation I had with Mr. Jerck Meyhoff. It's obviously a pseudonym but you'd be surprised how many people use their regular Facebook accounts to troll.

Now obviously in some case I have to use the trust system to know if these guess are telling the truth. What they do and who they are don't matter to me as much as WHY they do it. So far, I don't think anyone has lied. A few told me to eat a bag of dicks when we first started talking, but once we got the ball rolling, these people were generally very nice and conversational and opened right up like Mr. Meyhoff did. 

(Note: With a little digging, I found the real life versions of a good number of the people I talked to and their stories did indeed match up.) 

I'm going to continue to talk to more trolls and compile everything I've learned into a nice essay that'll probably be a Tuesday post in a few weeks. It's fascinating what I've discovered so far. The trolls are the guys at Best Buy fixing your computer, at Starbucks making your coffee, at the movies taking your tickets in labs working new artificial flavors and even your closest friends.

Movies for the week of 10/10/10 to 10/16/10

Today is Monday and it’s been a great week in movies for me. Here are my movies for the week of 10/10/10 to 10/16/10

Future By Design (2006)

I can’t even begin to really explain this little documentary. It’s deeper than it seems. Future by Design is about Jacque Fresco this futurist and engineer who designs these crazy and amazing things. He has these fantastic ideas that are all on such a grand scale. There is no doubt that, with the proper funding, many of these concepts can be pulled off. He has patented and created many inventions but his true passions seem to lie in these ultra-modern modes of transportation and living. What I love is that he was asked to invent a method of viewing 3D without glasses in the 60s and he did. But when you moved your head, the image became blurry. The studio wanted him to fix the problem. He said he could if he was funded. They said make it first and we’ll fund you more. So, it was never made. I just sit back and wonder how different movies would be if he did indeed invent it. And then, there's the Venus Project. I watched Zeitgeist2 last week and mentioned the Venus Project. I’d only heard about The Venus Project in passing before watching that movie. Jacque Fresco, leader of the Venus Project, is interviewed in Zeitgeist 2. At the time, I had Future by Design at the ready and had no idea he’d be interviewed in Zeitgeist 2 so that was a HUGE coincidence. I can’t even begin to explain what the Venus Project is and its Wikipedia page does it no justice. His designs are awesome, his theories are awesome, and the idea of these self-sustaining cities is awesome.  8.5 out of 10

Satoshi Kon picks 100 movies

Here is a list pulled from the same site the English translation of his blog came from. I just marked in Red one's I've seen just to get a grasp on what I've seem of his recommendations.

..the movies were" chosen primary by Satoshi Kon's judgement, with the advice of Michiyo Suzuki.


It's not a "Top 100" list, but strictly based on the ones that come up in our (the film staff's) daily conversation. There are some strange ones mixed in there too.


It's kind of hard to put things like this out in public (laugh).


Well, just think of this as "my (our) taste".


Incidentally, the order and the groupings are just for the sake of convenience.

Satoshi Kon's Final Blog Post

 (Posted to his blog by his family after his death [via] ) 

How could I forget, May 18th of this year.

I received the following pronouncement from a cardiovascular doctor at Musashino Red Cross Hospital.

"It's the latter stages of pancreatic cancer. It's metastasized to several bones. You have at the most half a year left to live."

My wife and I listened together. It was a fate so unexpected and untenable, that the two of us together could barely take it.

I used to honestly think that "I can't help it if I die any day." Still, it was so sudden.

To be sure, there were some signs. 2 to 3 months before that I'd had strong pains in several places on my back and in the joints of my legs; I'd lost strength in my right leg and found it hard to walk, and I'd been going to an acupuncturist and a chiropractor, but I wasn't getting any better. So after having been examined in an MRI and a PET-CT and such advanced machinery, came the sudden pronouncement of the time I had left.

It was as if death had positioned itself right behind me before I knew it, and there was nothing I could do.

After the pronouncement, my wife and I researched ways to prolong my life. It was literally a life or death situation. We received the support of staunch frends and strong allies. I rejected anti-cancer medication, and tried to live with a view of the world slightly different from the norm. The fact that I rejected what was "expected (normal)" seemed to me to be very much like me.

I've never really felt that I belonged with the majority. It was the same for medical care, as with anything else. "Why not try to keep living according to my own principles!" However, as is the case when I'm trying to create a work [a film], ones willpower alone didn't do the job. The illness kept progressing day by day.

On the other hand, as a member of society, I do accept at least half of what society in general holds to be right. I do pay taxes. I'm far from being an upstanding citizen, but I am a full member of Japanese society. So, aside from the things I needed to do to prolong my life from my own point of view, I also attempted to do all the things necessary to "be ready to die properly". I don't think I managed to do it properly though. (But) one of the things I did was, with the cooperation of 2 friends that I could trust, set up a company to take care of things like the measly number of copyrights that I hold. Another thing that I did was, to insure that my wife would take over any modest assets that I had smoothly by writing a will. Of course, I didn't think there would be any fighting over my legacy or anything, but I wanted to make sure that my wife, who would remain behind in this world, would have nothing to worry about - and besides, I wanted to remove any anxiety from myself, the one who was going to take a little hop over there, before I had to leave.

The paperwork and research necessary for these tasks, which neither my wife nor I were good at doing, were taken care of speedily by wonderful friends. Later on, when I developed pneumonia and was at death's door, and put my final signature on the will, I thought that if I died right then and there, it couldn't be helped.

"Ah...I can die at last."

After all, I'd been brought by ambulance to the Musashino Red Cross Hospital 2 days before that; then brought back again to the same hospital by ambulance the day after. Even I had to be hospitalized and undergo many examinations. The result of those examinations: pneumonia, water in my chest, and when I asked the doctor [straight out], the answer I received was very businesslike, and I was in a way grateful for that.

"You may last 1 or 2 days...even if you survive this, you probably have until the end of the month."

As I listened, I thought "It's like he's telling me the weather forecast", but still the situation was dire.

That was July the 7th. It was a rather brutal Tanabata for sure.

So, I decided right there and then.

I wanted to die at home.

I might inconvenience the people around me, but I asked them to see how I could escape and go back home. [I was able to do so] thanks to my wife's efforts, the hospital's cooperation despite their position of having given up on me, the tremendous help of other medical facilities, and the coincidences that were so numerous that they only seemed to be gifts from heaven. I've never seen so many coincidences and events falling into place so neatly in real life, I could barely believe it. This wasn't Tokyo Godfathers after all.

While my wife was running around getting things in place for my escape, I was pleading with doctors "If I can go home for even half a day, there are things I can still do!", then waiting alone in the depressing hospital room for death. I was lonely, but this was what I was thinking.

"Maybe dying won't be so bad."

I didn't have any reasons for it, and perhaps I needed to think like that, but I was surprisingly calm and relaxed.

However, there was just one thought that was gnawing away at me.

"I don't want to die here..."

As I thought that, something moved out from the calendar on the wall and started to spread around the room.

"Oh dear, a line marching out from the calendar. My　hallucinations aren't at all original."

I had to smile at the fact at my professional instincts were working even at times like this, but in any case I was probably the nearest to the land of the dead that I'd ever been at that point. I really felt death very close to me. [But] with the help of many people, I miraculously escaped Musashino Red Cross and came back home, wrapped up in the land of the dead and bedsheets.

I should emphasize that I have no criticism of or hatred for Musashino Red Cross Hospital, so don't misconstrue me.

I just wanted to go home to my own house. The house where I live.

I was a little surprised that, when I was being carried into my living room, as a bonus, I experienced that deathbed experience everyone is familiar with of "looking down on your body being carried into the room from a place high above". I was looking down on myself and the scene around me from a position several meters above ground, through a wide-angle-ish lens and flash lighting. The square of the bed in the middle of the room seemed very large and prominent, and my sheet-wrapped body was being lowered into the middle of the square. None too gently it seemed, but I'm not complaining.

So, all I had to do was to wait for death in my own home.

However.

It seems that I was able to overcome the pneumonia.

Eh?

I did think like this, in a way.

"I didn't manage to die! (laugh)"

Afterwards, when I could think of nothing else but death, I thought that I did indeed die once then. In the back of my mind, the world "reborn" wavered several times.

Amazingly, after then my life-force was rejuvenated. From the bottom of my heart, I believe this is due to the people who helped me; first and foremost my wife, and my supportive friends, the doctors and nurses, and the care managers.

Now that my life-force had been restarted, I couldn't waste my time. I told myself that I'd been given an extra life, and that I had to spend it carefully. So I thought that I wanted to erase at least one of the irresponsibilities that I'd left behind in this world.

To be truthful, I'd only told the people closest to me about the cancer. I hadn't even told my parents. In particular, because of various work-related complications, I couldn't say anything (to people) even if I wanted to. I wanted to announce my cancer on the internet and report on my remaining life, but if Satoshi's death was scheduled, there might be some waves made, however small. For these reasons, I acted very irresponsibly to people clear to me. I am so sorry.

There were so many people that I wanted to see before I died, to say even one word of greeting to. Family and relatives, old friends and classmates from elementary and middle and high school, the mates I met in college, the people I met in the manga world, with whom I exchanged so much inspiration, the people in the anime world whose desks I sat next to, went drinking with, with whom I competed on on the same works, the mates with whom I shared good and bad times. The countless people I was able to know because of my position as a film director, the people who call themselves my fans not only in Japan but around the world, the friends I'd made via the web.

There are so many people that I want to see at least once (well there are some I don't want to see too), but if I see them I'm afraid that that the thought that "I can never see this person again" will take me over, and that I wouldn't be able to greet death gracefully. Even if I had recovered, I had very little life force left, and it took a lot of effort to see people. The more people wanted to see me, the harder it was for me to see them. What irony. In addition, my lower body was paralyzed due to the cancer spreading to my bones, and I was prone on my bed, and I didn't want people to see my emaciated body. I wanted most of the people I knew to remember me as the Satoshi that was full of life.

I'd like to use this space to apologize to my relatives, friends and acquaintances, for not telling you about my cancer, for my irresponsibility. Please understand that this was Satoshi's selfish desire. I mean, Satoshi Kon was "that kind of guy". When I envision your faces, I only have good memories and remember (your) great smiles. Everyone, thank you for all the truly great memories. I loved the world I lived in. Just the fact that I can think that makes me happy.

The many people that I met throughout my lifetime, whether they were positive or negative, have helped to shape the human being that is Satoshi Kon, and I am grateful for all of those encounters. Even if the end result is an early death in my mid 40s, I've accepted this as my own unique destiny. I've had so many positive things happen to me after all.

The thing I think about death now. "I can only say, it's too bad." Really.

However, even though I can let go of many of my irresponsible actions [by not telling people], I cannot help regretting two things. About my parents, and about Madhouse [founder] Maruyama-san.

Even though it was rather late, there was no choice but to come clean with the whole truth. I wanted to beg them for forgiveness.

As soon as I saw Maruyama-san's face when he came to see me at home, I couldn't stop the flow of tears or my feeling of shame. "I'm so sorry, for ending up like this..." Maruyama-san said nothing, and just shook his head and gripped both my hands. I was filled with thankfulness. Feelings of gratitude and joy, that I'd been lucky enough to work with this person, came over me like a landslide. It may be selfish, but I felt as though I had been forgiven in that instant.

My biggest regret is the film "Dreaming Machine". I'm worried not only about the film itself, but the staff who I was able to work with on the film. After all, there's a strong possiblity that the storyboards that were created by (our) blood, sweat and tears will never be seen. This is because Satoshi Kon put his arms around the original story, the script, the characters and the settings, the sketches, the music...every single image. Of course there are things that I shared with the animation director, the art director and other staff, but basically most of the work can only be understood by Satoshi Kon. It's easy to say that it was my fault for arranging things this way, but from my point of view I made every effort to share my vision with others. However, in my current state I can only feel deep remorse for my inadequacies in these areas. I am really sorry to all of the staff. However, I want them to understand, if only a little bit. Satoshi Kon was "that kind of guy", and, that's why he was able to make rather weird anime that was a bit different. I know this is a selfish excuse, but think of my cancer and please forgive me.

I haven't been idly waiting for death, even now I'm thinking with my weak brain of ways to let the work live even after I am gone. But they are all shallow ideas. When I told Maruyama-san about my concerns about "Dreaming Machine", he just said "Don't worry. We'll figure out something, so don't worry."

I wept.

I wept uncontrollably.

Even with my previous movies, I've been so irresponsible with the productions and the budgets, but I always had Maruyama-san figure it out for me in the end.

This time is no different. I really haven't changed.

I was able to talk to my heart's content with Maruyama-san. Thanks to this, I was able to feel, at least a little, that Satoshi Kon's talents and skills were of some value in our industry.

"I regret losing your talent. I wish that you were able to leave it for us."

If Madhouse's Maruyama-san says that, I can go to the netherworld with a little bit of self-pride after all. And of course, even without anyone else telling me this, I do feel regret that my weird visions and ability to draw things in minute detail will be lost, but that can't be helped. I am grateful from the bottom of my heart that Maruyama-san gave me the opportunity to show the world these things. Thank you, so very much. Satoshi Kon was happy as an animation director.

It was so heartbreaking to tell my parents.

I'd really intended to go up to Sapporo, where my parents live, while I was still able to, but my illness progressed so unexpectedly and annoyingly fast that I ended up calling them on the telephone from the hospital room as I was closest to death.

"I'm in the late stages of cancer and will die soon. I was so happy being born as a child to Father and Mother. Thank you."

They must have been devastated to hear this out of the blue, but I was certain I was going to die right then.

But then I came back home and survived the pneumonia. I made the big decision to see my parents. They wanted to see me too. But it was going to be so hard to see them, and I didn't have the will to. But I wanted to see my parents' faces one last time. I wanted to tell them how grateful I was that they brought me into this world.

I've been a happy person. Even though I must apologize to my wife, my parents and all the people that I love, that lived out my life a bit too faster than most.

My parents followed my selfish wishes, and came the next day from Sapporo to my house. I can never forget the first words out of my mother's mouth when she saw me lying there.

"I'm so sorry, for not bringing you into this world with a stronger body!"

I was completely speechless.

I could only spend a short time with my parents, but that was enough. I had felt that if I saw their faces, that it would be enough, and it really turned out that way.

Thank you, Father, Mother. I am so happy that I was born into this world as the child of the both of you. My heart is full of memories and gratitude. Happiness itself is important, but I am so grateful that you taught me to appreciate happiness. Thank you, so very much .

It's so disrespectful to to die before ones parents, but in the last 10 plus years, I've been able to do what I want as an anime director, achieve my goals, and get some good reviews. I do feel regret that my films didn't make a lot of money, but I think they got what they deserved. In these last 10 plus years in particular I've felt as though I've lived more intensively than other people, and I think that my parents understood what was in my heart.

Because of the visits by Maruyama-san and my parents, I feel as though I've taken a big burden off my shoulders.

Lastly, to my wife, about whom I worry the most, but who has been my support until the end.

Since that time-left pronouncement, we drowned ourselves in tears together so many times. Every day was brutal for both of us, physically and mentally. There are almost no words for it. But the reason why I was able to survive those difficult days was because of the words that you said to me right after we received the news.

"I'll be at your side [run with you] until the end."

True to those words, as though you were leaving my worries in the dust, you skillfully directed the demands and requests that came rushing towards us like a landslide, and quickly learned how to take care of your husband. I was so moved, watching you deal with things so efficiently.

"My wife is awesome."

No need to keep saying that now, you say? No no. You are even more awesome now than you ever were - I truly feel this. Even after I have died, I believe that you will send Satoshi Kon to the next world with grace. Ever since we got married, I was so wrapped up in "Work, work" that I was only able to spend some time at home after the cancer - such a shame.

But you stood close to me, you always understood that I needed to immerse myself in my work, that my talent was there. Thank you.

There are so many things, countless things, that I worry about, but everything needs an end. Lastly, to Doctor H who agreed to see me to the end in my home, even though it's something not done these days, and his wife and nurse, K-san, I would like to express my deep gratitude. Medical care in a private home is very inconvenient, but you patiently dealt with the numerous aches and pains that cancer brings on, and endeavores to make my time until the final goal called death be as comfortable as possible. I can't say how much you helped me. And you didn't just deal with this difficult and arrogant patient as if it were just your jobs, but communicated with me as human beings. I cannot say how much of a support you were to me, and how much you saved me. I was encouraged by your qualities as human beings several times. I am deeply deeply grateful.

And, this is really the last, but from shortly after I received that pronouncement in mid-May until now, I've been lucky to have the cooperation, help and mental support, both personally and in business, from 2 friends. My friend T, who has been a friend since high school and is a member of KON'Stone Inc, and producer H, I thank you both from the bottom of my heart. Thank you so much. It's hard for me with my measly vocabulary to express my gratitude adequately to you both. My wife and I have both received so much from you.

If you two hadn't been there for us, I am sure that I'd be anticipating death while looking at my wife here as she sits by my side with considerably more trepidation and worry. I am really in your debt.

And, if I may ask you for one more thing - could you help my wife send me over to the other side after my death? I'd be able to get on that flight with my mind at rest if you could do that for me. I ask this from my heart.

So, to everyone who stuck with me through this long document, thank you. With my heart full of gratitude for everything good in the world, I'll put down my pen.

Now excuse me, I have to go.
(じゃ、お先に。)

Satoshi Kon

Life as a 4th grader.

In 1995, I went to Stonehurst Hills Elementary School for the 4^th grade because my mom taught 4^th grade at the Catholic school I attended. Not only is the first (and last until high school) public school I’d ever gone to but, this is also the first time I’d EVER interact with white kids on a daily basis in a school setting. Back in 1995, Upper Darby wasn’t as vastly diverse or over run with black folk like it is now. You were lucky to find 1 black person in your classroom; mine had 3 including me.

  

Political Points and The View.

I have a big mouth. This is no secret. And with this big mouth, I have the habit of spouting my religious or political views whenever I disagree with someone. I realized this the other day when my mom talked about how Obama has saved this country. I don’t claim to be the smartest person when it comes to politics. I’m just another fool with an opinion. Anyway, since this is the first Thursday on The Daily Android, I thought I’d jot down a few of my political views and talk about the big blow up on The View.

★I don’t like Democrats. They tend to favor big government.
★I don’t like Republicans. Despite being for smaller government, modern day Republicans tend to disregard people's civil liberties.
★I consider myself a Libertarian.
★I’m for free-markets.
★I actually hate the government and believe they should be involved in our economy and lives as little as possible.
★I’m all for people’s civil liberties.
★I hate guns personally but will defend your right to carry one.
★I think Ann Coulter (and Armond white) is the smartest troll around.
★I watch Glenn Beck almost everyday (and any day Judge Napolitano is on) and I try to watch The O’reily factor everyday. Why? For the LOLZ.
★No, I’ve never seen any episodes of Rachel Maddow or Anderson Cooper. Stop asking me.
★I do, however, watch Stossel and Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano every week.
★I don’t agree with universal healthcare.
★Glenn Beck would describe me as a progressive.
★I like the Tea Party for the most part. They are not ALL bible thumping hate mongers. The liberal media usually has a field day just showing us the crazies and the right usually unintentionally shows us the crazies.

Anyway. I watch the (one-sided) View every day. Why? Because, I’m a sucker for roundtable discussion about trending topics. On The View, Bill O’Reily stopped by and things got heated when the topic of Muslims and the Mosque came up.

First of all let me say that I think Whoopi and Joy were wrong for walking away. It made them look like cowards and as if they were just walking away from the problem. But, whenever I’m in a situation that upsets me or if I’m around someone who I want to punch in the teeth, I simply walk away. Then again, I’m not on TV.  (But I AM on the internet)

Bill O’Reily said “Muslims killed us on 9/11.” This is the thinking of the 70% in the poll that was mentioned in the video. Yes, it’s true, the people who attacked us WERE Muslims but that does not justify hating an entire religion. I hate the Muslim religion, but I hate ALL religions. When people say we shouldn’t build a Muslim community center near Ground Zero they are saying this because we were attacked by Muslims. Joy and Whoopi are right in saying that they were EXTREMISTS. In every group, you’re going to have your crazies. We have Christians bombing abortion clinics and Catholic priest touching little boys. That doesn’t incite hate towards those 2 religions.

Then people say “well why does it have to be so close, why can’t they movie it down the block.” The reality is no matter where an Islamic community center is put, there are ALWAYS going to be opponents of it. This is evident in the rejection of a mosque in Kentucky, setting construction equipment on fire at a Tennessee mosque building site, or the bombing of a mosque in Florida. Americans are just ignorant. Most Americans see the suicide bombers in the Middle East or the terrorist on 9/11 and just think that ALL Muslims are terrorist. Seriously if we as Americans really go on this logic then all Christians are hate filled asshole bigots who think homosexuals shouldn’t teach in schools. But really, can we blame Americans for believing all Muslims are terrorist? On Morning Joe, Dylan Ratigan tells it like it is and lets the panel know that WE (the American media) are basically provoking this hate. He makes it VERY clear that the fact that they are Muslim does not make them terrorist but it’s the fact that they are terrorist that makes them terrorist.  

Islam is not the enemy people, terrorist are, extremist are and (as long as we continue to poke our nose in other countries affairs) we are.  

"A Thousand Suns" as predicted in 2000*

INT. DINNING ROOM - 2000
DANCY and his younger brother Chris sit at their computers in their South Philadelphia home. Dancy is seen on Napster downloading the latest Eminem song. Chris sits on the opposite side of the dining room bobbing his head to rock music being played at a low volume. Dancy can’t help but notice. He turns to his brother.

DANCY
Hey, what are you listening to?

CHRIS
  I’m listening to this band called Linkin Park. Me and my friend were coming home from Funcoland and going back to his house to play Sonic on Dreamcast. That’s when he told me about this hot new band called Linkin Park.

Chris turns up the volume blasting Linkin Park’s “Crawling”

DANCY
Wow, this is some powerful stuff. I wonder if they have a video on TRL.


CHRIS
They do. It came on after this new show called Jackass. They’re really awesome. Everyone calls their music “numetal” They’re like heavy metal and they rap too. It’s awesome.


DANCY
Yeah and their lyrics seem to be very emotional. I like it but I hope it does help spawn a future of “emotional music.”


CHRIS
Like THAT will ever happen. What are they gonna call it “emotional rock?” That’s too long. It’d get shortened down to something lame like EMO.


DANCY
  Yeah, that’ll never happen. I really like this band I hope in 10 years, around September of 2010, they come out with another album that sounds EXACTLY like Hybrid Theory sounds. People will DEFINITELY still be listening to numeatal then.

CHRIS
Yeah man, bands like Limp Bizkit, Korn, Disturbed, Godsmack, Deftones, P.O.D, Papa Roach, Drowning Pool, Static-X, Dope, Saliva, Powerman 5000, Mudvayne, Soulfly, Head, Crazy Town, and Sevendust will NEVER leave behind their numetal roots. How could it ever get old?


DANCY
You’re right! Why would a band EVER change how they sound? Can you imagine if this band taking their sound in a different direction sometime in 2007?


CHRIS
Yeah that’d be GAY! Can you imagine them ever evolving into something new!? That’s outrageous! My little 11 year old brain can’t even process it!


DANCY
I know. But now that I think about it, 2010 is like really really far away. I mean I’ll be 24 in 2010. I’ll be an old man with like a wife and 4 kids and no sexual desires to be with a man. Things will be different then.


CHRIS
They can’t be THAT much different.


DANCY
  Well since it’s the future, lots of the music may become electronic. What if Linkin Park decides they want to take their band in a new direction?


CHRIS
Why would they do that? They’re numetal! Numetal will still be the hottest thing on the radio in 2010.


DANCY
I know man but hear me out. What if they like, want to evolve their sound or something. What if they make a song that was called something like “When They Come For Me” or something like “Robot Bot” Can you imagine how those songs would sound!? They wouldn't have much guitar in them. How are they supposed to be metal without any guitar!?

CHRIS
  I know. A song like Robot boy would just be like some pussy ass ballad with a bunch of piano. Now that’s NOT rock! I bet all their new music would just sound like pop bullshit because in 2010, any music done electronically is OBVIOUSLY going to be considered pop music.


DANCY
You are so right my 11 year old sibling. I mean really, if this band that I just heard of a few minutes ago DID decide to change their sound in 2010 by chance, who are they to do so? I’M the fan! They should make the music I want to hear!

CHRIS
I KNOW! It’s gonna be the future dude! There’s going to be Dreamcast 3, Holographic movies, Britney Spears will be married with children and not crazy at all! So imagine how Linkin Park would be. If they EVER add anything electronic to their music they are sell outs who just want to make pop music.

DANCY
  Now I don’t know if I’d go that far dear brother. You are but a wee 11 year old. In 10 years, you may still be a fan of Linkin Park and STILL like their music. You see brother Chris, if you were some 16 year old who discovered Linkin Park in 2008 and you listened to Hybrid Theory and Meteroa (which MAY be the name of their next album 2002) and you just thought they were some numetal or heavy rock band, then you’d of course be upset if in 2010 they’d come out with an electronic/rock album. I should know, I’m 13.

CHRIS
But how would a band go from a song like “One Step Closer” to a song that they may make called “The Catalyst” Everything about that song screams synth bullshit.

DANCY
Well my foul-mouthed brother, even though I’ve only known about this band for maybe 5 minutes now, I think I recall seeing an interview with the band explain how they aren’t just some 1 genre band and how they do indeed plan to mix up their music a bit in the future.

CHRIS
  Ya know, that would be very evident if they did some kind of collaboration CD with someone like, I dunno, Jay-Z maybe. They could call it….COLLISION COURSE! Thats s a good name!

DANCY
  Indeed sir. Chris, I just think people in 2010 who will hate their album are the same people who will compare them to Metallica and several other heavy metal bands. They will lump Linkin Park in the same category as Pantera. 

CHRIS
Now that’s just silly. They’re not a metal band.


DANCY
No, but they’re a NUMETAL band now. It’s the year 2000 Chris. Numetal is all the rage! Do you think that over exposure on the radio will kill numetal? No. It will live forever. And people in 2010 will expect numetal to live forever.


CHRIS
  Wow so what are you saying exactly?


DANCY
At this point Chris, I have no idea. I think I’m saying that Bands are allowed to change their sounds. It’s no point in calling them a sell out to mainstream music especially when a band sounds NOTHING like what’s played on mainstream radio….in 2010. Which I assume will be 16 year old Canadian pop singers, girls in meat dresses, and auto-tund everything.


CHRIS
Cher has that ONE auto-tuned song. No way auto-tune will catch on.


DANCY
  Oh you naïve 11 year old living in the year 2000, Hip-hop just may be on the rise again in the late 2000s and their just may be a rapper that decides to adapt auto-tune and make it mainstream. But who knows it’s only 2000! These are just my thoughts.


CHRIS
So what you’re basically saying to anyone who may hate Linkin Park’s future album is shut the fuck up.


DANCY
Yes Chris. This is why you’re my brother.


CHRIS
True. True. Hey Dancy, I hope we both grow up loving women. Wouldn’t that be cool.


DANCY
It’d be swell! No way we both would grow up to be FAGS! 2 gays in the family!? HA unheard of!! Now let’s go back to rockin some of this hip never going out of style numeatal.

The pair switch the track to “in the end” and ROCK OUT!!

*Actual event may or may not have occurred...

I can't finish a script!

Last Wednesday, I wrote on Androids Don't Dance that I was going to try HARD and write a spontaneous script in a week. Well, it's much harder then I thought it would be writing a dialog heavy script off the cusp. So, I've given up on the script. I'll rewrite it one day but not the way this one is written. Again, my goal was to write a 140 page script from my head. No planning, no drafting and no backtracking or editing. I decided to compile a bunch of experiences I've had working the night shift at Raymour and Flanigan into one night. But, it just ended up being a disaster. There many be spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes and other mistakes. I didn't bother editing because it was a goal not to. I deleted the last 5 pages and this is the end result.

In the mean time, I'm going to continue writing my 2 feature length scripts and knock out any ideas for shorts I may have. I've been mainly focusing on one about a girl named School. It's sort of like a rom-com but not. I don't want it to turn out to be a rom-com but it looks like it's going there. My second feature length script, "Fredrick, PA,"  takes place in a school over the course of a day. I call this one "my Gus Van Sant script." Back in September, my goal was to have at least one of these done by the end of October. But I can honestly say that I'm not sure I'm going to hit that goal.

Movies for the week of 10/3/10 to 10/9/10

Hello world today is movie Monday and these are the movies I’ve seen for the week of October 3^rd to October 9^th 2010.

Zeitgeist 2: Addendum (2008)

 To those unfamiliar with The Zeitgeist Movement or The Venus Project, both focus on the need for sociological and economical change in America. The movies, Zeitgeist and Zeitgeist 2: Addendum, help propel the awareness by informing its audience of the atrocities set forth by their government. I saw the original back in 2007 and liked how it focuses on the many myths in history that have brought about the story of Jesus and I also liked it’s talks on the Federal Reserve. However, I didn’t like the whole section on how 9/11 was an inside job and the supposed formation of the North American Union (which was cut in a later version).  Zeitgeist 2 picks up where the first one left off going into more about the Federal Reserve and the over saturation of the government. Like its predecessor, it gives a wealth of information that should leave the viewer wanting to do a bit of their own research. I liked it and it is informative but some of the information is questionable and should be taken with a grain of salt. 7 out of 10

The Game (1997)

I love David Fincher and after seeing The Social Network, I wanted to see The Game because it’s the only Fincher movie I’ve never seen. It’s a great movie with an awesome story about a man who becomes involved in a giant game. While watching it, something clicked. I realized that I HAD seen the movie already as a kid. I was able to name every event that was going to happen next which disappointed me. The movie wasn’t disappointing. There are enough twists and turns to keep me interested but this movie is just ok to me. It’s not my favorite Fincher movie. 6.5 out of 10

Amphetamine (2010)

I hate watching independent gay movies because most of them suck. But I hadn’t seen a gay movie in a while so I took this time to watch a couple. I watched Amphetamine because I liked  Permanent Residence also written and directed by Scud (who has an awesome pseudonym). Like Permanent Residence, Amphetamine is about 2 gay guys living in China. Permanent Residence had this charm to it while Amphetamine had this charm with a bit of chaos mixed in. The story was whatever. It was sweet but the actors really make the characters unlikable. The redeeming factors of Scud’s movies are that they’re well shot and show these beautiful urban Chinese landscapes. 5.5 out of 10

American Psycho (2000)

Psychotic Christian Bale. Enough said. Jason took the liberty of writing a review for me. I didn’t ask but I didn’t object either. Jason seems to think I lack the confidence to write a movie review but that’s not the case. 7.5 out of 10

The Curiosity of Chance (2006)

Again, I felt like watching a gay movie despite their history of crap. This movie had teenagers, drama, and European accents. All things I love. This movie is in English and is about an American boy but takes place in Belgium. The acting isn’t the best and the story was a bit predictable but Chance, the main character, was such a likeable character and with his group of silly friends, they made this movie was fun. 7 out of 10

Monsters (2010)

I was THIS close to writing up a decent review for Monsters but I’m much better writing why I hate something then why I like something. Monsters was made on a $15,000 budget! After watching this movie, that fact blew my mind. Director and writer Gareth Edwards is a genius in my eyes. It doesn't have the highest production but it looks like it could maybe cost at least a million dollars. This movie is a monster movie but it's more of a “realistic” monster movie.  It has a “mumblecore” feel meaning with its shaky cam, super low budget, realistic dialog, and beautiful composition.  I really liked that this wasn't some over the top monster movie. It was about as minimal as a monster movie could get. This movie makes me want to make movies MORE now than I ever have before. I think people are taking the movie’s “message” a bit too far in the reviews though. This is a must see! 8.5 out of 10

Crazy Love (2007)

Crazy Love is a documentary about a guy who blinds a woman by throwing acid in her face and then marrying her years later. This is a very average documentary shown with interviews and pictures but the story is crazy. I like movies about crazy people. And, even more so, I like documentaries about crazy people. 7 out of 10

Quiet City (2007)

I think I have a love/hate relationship with mumblecore movies. They’re usually a bit pretentious, full of hipsters and annoying dialog. But, at the same time, they’re beautifully shot, the dialog is real, and the situations a very real. The problem I seem to have with many of the mumblecore movies I’ve seen is that they are so real that they’re fake. It’s like the dialog and the acting becomes so realistic that it goes right back to being manufactured. That may not make a lot of sense. But it’s how I see it. I like minimalism and simplicity and that’s why I love mumblecore. But it just seems like so many mumblecore movies are trying so hard to be hip and with it and I hate that. This movie was just another mumblecore movie. I only watched it because I liked the description for it. It wasn’t until I started watching it that I realized it was mumblecore.  4.5 out of 10