Movies, Media & Me

Life: If you're Pro, You're a Foe

2009-06-03T00:39:00.002-04:00

The barbaric slaying of abortionist George Tiller has sparked a tinderbox of contention in the abortion controversy. Most surprising in the L.A. Times article on the matter was the lack of objectivity on the part of the story's two reporters. Maybe you'd expect one paid reporter in this economy to be able to convey at least a pretense of level-handedness, but when you can't get it with two, that's lamentable.
So what's the grudge? The article referring to two pro-lifers each as an "abortion foe." When you look at the term face value, yes, these people oppose the act of abortion (on the grounds that we have no logical basis to terminate an innocent human life). Yet let's take the flipside. What if these same writers referred to the other side as "life foes"? Ah, there's the rub.
In what other realm can those who claim to defend innocent life (whether you actually believe that's the case or not) be called foes? Even if you take the position of those who opposed the Iraq war on the grounds that innocent lives would be lost, did national newspapers call them "foes"? Maybe "unpatriotic", maybe in the opinion section, but foes right out there in the main headlines?

I'm going to assume that most abortion advocates don't agree with Christina Page, who said that talking to pro-lifers now is "sort of like having a family member murdered and then being asked to make nice with the assassin's family. It's unnatural."
If you're a believer in the benefits of abortion and you're reading this, can you at least leave a comment to let me know that you're distancing yourself from this woman's comment?

Thoughts on the Election

2008-11-02T01:11:00.002-04:00

"God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever."
--Thomas Jefferson

Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
--Psalm 146:3

Entertaining at Best

2008-10-03T12:59:00.002-04:00

Now as a freelancer, I look for ways to make money.
And some people take advantage of people who want to make money.
Like these people who recently emailed me to see if they could advertise on my website. Here's a sample:
Now parking lot is unfilled, everyone has gone to a few places… Thus were ok, were well… baby I am at this time to stop you cryin’. Pursue all ghosts from the head… Multiply the life by power of two…
The MP3 ringtone is indeed very powerful of the new technological innovation. Now are you familiar with song? Is that the Power by the Indigo Girls? Outmoded as they state. This is what the MP3 can do all for you as even the oldest tune can also be reminisced if you desire to make that song the part of your set of the ringtones.

Now you may be thinking, "That doesn't make any sense." And then I would say, "Guess whose advertisements won't be on website?"

Outside

2008-09-23T13:05:00.003-04:00

After weeks of being perpetually busy working, interning, schooling with barely a moment to spare, today I walked outside. Not to go to my car or to do something. Just... to be outside.
And I noticed something.
This outside-place doesn't have walls. And the carpet is soft, and living. And the light is too far away to turn off. And I can't control the air conditioning. It's kinda bright there in the middle of the day. What are you supposed to do there, anyway?
So I walked back inside.

Craig and his List

2008-08-27T22:54:00.002-04:00

Someone has to stop them.
As a freelance video guy, I'm always looking for another gig. And from a year or so of experience of looking on Craigslist, I get used to the types of sayings on ads.
One is: "No pay but great experience and chance to work with us again in the future"
Yeah, that sounds promising. So I won't get paid this time, and you think I want to come back?
Another tactic is to be very vague about the position, such as the time I applied to be a video editor and found that they wanted me to edit "adult" films.
Not going that route.

But there's an ad that's been coming up lately that humors me.
Become a Paranormal Investigator for"REAL"
Now, how do these people decide whether you've found something paranormal or not?
You get paid on a case-by-case basis. Do they send you on assignments? "Slimer last seen behind K-Mart. Get 'im!"
Oh, and by the way, it's "for real" this time. You can be assured due to the Caps Lock and quotes.

The Wise and The Fuel

2008-06-19T11:02:00.002-04:00

These high gas prices are forcing us to cut back on our expenses, but some people in other countries can't afford their daily food. See how they're dealing and what you can do to help.

We will be Your hands
We will be Your feet
We will run this race
For the least of these
In the darkest place
We will be Your light
We will be Your light
(Solution by Hillsong United)

All I Really Wanted Was You

2008-06-16T00:23:00.003-04:00

"...I entered the sanctuary of God;
then I understood..."
(Psalm 73:17)

It's funny. No, it's tragic.
I'd like to think it's ironic that I've worked with the understanding that God will take my plans and work with them to display His glory. I've sort of worked it out in my mind that God would move me where I want to be career-wise, and once I'm in a satisfactory place of influence, then I could be effective for Him.
I've worked out what God will do.
Ha. That's irony.
"You want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans."
I've heard that several times. But I can't be so sure God's laughing at that. I mean, would you laugh when you see someone satisfied with sucking on a Jolly Rancher when a whole buffet is laid out for him? Would you laugh when you see a woman dressing in rags when her wardrobe is filled with ballroom gowns?
Yeah, you might laugh. But I think you'd grieve.
Knowing that I've been at the pinnacle of what I set out to do, on my way in the media world in one of the greatest cities on earth, and eventually I found it... meaningless to me. What I thought I'd enjoy became as tasteless as popcorn without salt. I was trying to find my satisfaction in the world while my spirit was thirsting for the water it scarcely received. I made my career goal my god. And that god couldn't satisfy the needs of my spirit, which was seeking water from a leaking cistern:
"My people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols...
They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
(Jeremiah 2:11, 13)
So where am I now? Back at square one, you might say. Back at home.
But in being back here, out of that circle for a few weeks now, eventually I learned something that a still, small Voice has wanted me to know for a long time: I don't need anything but Him.
And as the psalmist writes, in "entering the sanctuary of God," he was able to get a clear perspective of what was going on.
And now so am I.

Count On It

2008-05-16T21:07:00.003-04:00

It's my birthday today, and with that comes some other beginning's end.
Yesterday, for example, I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo, an excellent novel about a man whose wrongful imprisonment leads him to get vengeance on his enemies once he escapes. What a wonderful book about the healing balm of forgiveness, and demonstrating the destructive and heart-numbing effects of living with hatred. I'd rate the book up there, if not past, other greats like Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, among the best novels ever penned.
Last night I also finished beating Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the last time. For you video game illiterate, it's the second-to-most-recent game in the twenty-year-old Legend of Zelda series, the one before the more recent Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which appears on the Wii, a system I may be getting for my birthday...
This week will be my last at The Late Show, and then comes the exciting prospect of finding my own freelance work, like the adventuresome Link sailing his small boat in the wide open seas of post-flood Hyrule, going wherever the wind will take him. I don't necessarily know where the wind is coming from or where it is going, but I know it will take me to my destination. (see John 3:8)

Life Perspective Change

2008-05-11T20:32:00.002-04:00

There are a few major times in your life when you take an evaluation of yourself and find that your desires are different from what you've been doing.
This is one of those times for me.
I gave my two weeks' notice to the Late Show on Thursday. There are a couple local freelance videography jobs opening up around me, and I thought it would be great to try them out.
It's just strange, you know? I've always wanted to make it big, and just assumed that working entertainment in NYC was just the way to go about that. I mean, wouldn't you consider an internship at the Colbert Report, a production assistant stint at the Food Network, and a page position at the Late Show with David Letterman a good start in the entertainment world?
But I just found that my desires weren't there anymore. And as I was talking to my mom the other day, she said, "Sometimes God changes our plans by showing us what our desires truly are."
I am a creative person, and I love working on my own projects. I just wasn't able to do that so much while I was working in NYC. And then I came to the realization that this is how I had been thinking: "Get a job in entertainment, then move up the corporate ladder until you do something you like more or until you get enough money or time off to do your creative stuff."
But this is how I ought to be thinking, "Put God first, and do whatever you want to do, because when you put Him first, your desires are pure." (see Matthew 6:33 and Psalm 37:4)
It's strange, because whatever I did to bring myself happiness fell short of fulfilling me. It was fun--don't get me wrong--I just discovered that those things in and of themselves didn't complete me. God gives me everything I need, so when I look to Him first, everything else falls into place. In other words, God is the fullness of my life; everything else is overabundance. (John 10:10, Psalm 23:5-6)
Now I understand what Augustine meant when he said, "Love God, and do what you will."

And... the Point?

2008-03-06T22:51:00.002-05:00

A bomb exploded around 3:40am early Thursday at a Military Recruiting Center in Times Square. A few Congressmen received letters the same morning with a picture of the center and the statement "We did it" included.
So, my question is...
Did what?
They damaged a part of a building, maybe a few thousands of dollars of expense, and hurt no one. At the least active time of the morning, no less.
Are they antiwar? In that case, why did only Democratic Congressmen report getting those letters sent to them?
Are they anti-U.S.? In that case, why not at least make a statement?
All they did, in the long run, was get publicity for their deed and provoke Americans to unify against our enemies even more.

You May Actually Be Able to Pronounce This One

2008-03-05T19:54:00.002-05:00

A former U.S. Navy sailor has been convicted of spying for al Qaeda and faces 25 years in prison.
His name? Hassan Abujihaad.
Why does he have to have that name? Why isn't it ever a John or a Pete?
Now I don't want to judge people, but doesn't it seem more likely that someone with an Arab or Muslim name gets involved in these sort of things? Just throwing that out there.

Et tu, Movielover?

2008-02-25T23:49:00.004-05:00

Ack! Some of my closest friends are siphoning money from my back account!
NYC's film, TV, and commercial production industry loses about $1.49 billion a year, meaning 22,986 fewer jobs, and $903 in lost earnings due to movie piracy. So if you're getting movies illegally, you're putting people out of work, and hurting the economy. It's not so much the movie studios that are suffering--it's the little guys--like me!

(info from Metrofilm, a publication of The City of New York Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting)

Classic Irony

2008-02-21T00:33:00.003-05:00

One of my year's goals was to start reading the classics. You got that right. Reading, as in books. And classics, and in the big ones with the long words that your Literature teacher kept raving ab0ut in high school.
So I looked up "The Count of Monte Cristo." What does that say about our culture come to when we can get a DVD cheaper than the book it's based on?

Strike: Out!

2008-02-12T23:10:00.002-05:00

Good, it's finally over. The WGA voted 92.5% on the agreement they reached with the AMPTP, and now relations are back to normal. The WGA East cast their ballots today at the Crowne Plaza hotel in New York, where I happened to be working earlier in the day without knowing such a momentous occasion would take place later on.

Letterman and Leno: 1979 Strike

2008-02-06T22:47:00.000-05:00

IT's kinda sad that some of the most talented people in the indistry get paid the least. Jim Carrey and Jewel were homeless before they started making money, the great jazz players like Charles Parker were paid little to entertain crowds at nightclubs, and The Comedy Store in L.A. in the late seventies wouldn't pay its performers as a matter of principle. This is how it turned out.

Self-Consumable

2008-01-31T23:38:00.000-05:00

What have we come to? Regardless of what you think about the Britney/Lindsey/Paris trio, the media's got your side:
Are you a fan? Get outraged at the paparazzi.
Are you a critic? Listen to a talk show.
Do you hate the over-reporting? The media's got that covered too.
We're in a Catch-22 with this stuff. Someone's gotta stop it!

By the way, Paris Hilton is on Letterman Friday night. It's hilarious.

Ringo

2008-01-23T20:58:00.000-05:00

Ringo showed on Letterman last night, performing a song from his latest album. It was the best musical performance I've ever seen on the Late Show.

Writers Right

2008-01-09T23:29:00.000-05:00

It may be ironic that I'm posting this during the show.

The writers striked in front of the Viacom building today, so I had extra time before work to visit the Colbert writers in the picket line. (Does anyone know why they walk around picketing? Is mobility necessary to illustrate a point? It must show some sort of motivation.)

Hello?

2008-01-09T23:23:00.000-05:00

Even though The Daily Show's and The Colbert Report's production company Hello Doggie wants to negotiate a Letterman-esque waiver with the WGA, but technicalities prevent the waiver from taking place, even though Viacom and Comedy Central would allegedly allow it.

Hang in there, Stephen and Jon!

Just Pay Them

2008-01-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

Warner Studios and a few others announced that they'll be laying off a number of employees by the end of the month due to the lack of work from the writers' strike.
Isn't it counterintuitive to stop production and lose workers and money just because you refuse to give the writers the little they ask for?

Fight for the Night

2008-01-03T01:10:00.000-05:00

The WGA still pickets the NBC Burbank studios, but Dave, Leno, and Conan gave their support for the writers, as well as Leno guest Mike Huckabee who appeared on the show today.

And here is where you'll find an updated photo of Lumberjack Letterman.

First Day, First Night

2008-01-03T00:17:00.000-05:00

I came back to work at Letterman!

My first day back ironically, was the last day of the year. As the day drew on, we saw more gates getting set up on Broadway in preparation for the Times Square celebration. The street was blocked off from 48th downward, and I already saw a huge crowd gather around there at 3pm.

Letterman, my hero, worked out a deal with the WGA that let him have the writers work back on the show! It's the first television show to come back with writers since the strike started in November. It's been a long two months to be away, but we feel bad for the writers, who are still picketing to get reasonable wages.

And Letterman returned with his beard! It's been my secret hope that he'd leave his beard on when the show started back up ever since I saw it back in December. My wishes have been granted!

And I got to see Colbert Report writers Laura Krafft and Jay Katsir again, as they were two of the ten writers who announced the Top Ten Demands of the WGA on the show tonight.

We still support you, writers! And Letterman, thanks for doing the same on your show.

...and the Strike?

2007-12-26T00:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, I haven't posted about the strike for a while. It's partly because I found out that Letterman is going back to work on the 2nd along with the rest of us. But that's not a good reason for me to stop writing about it, because the WGA is still out there picketing!
Here's the latest strike-related vid, posted by two writers of the Colbert Report:

------mas Foibles

2007-12-25T13:02:00.000-05:00

I'm not angry about this, but people will go to absurd lengths in order to erase references to Jesus during the Christmas season.

Earlier this month, Newport, VA, lit up a "tree of illumination".

Andto not offend shoppers, K-mart has been selling holiday trees this year, so people can celebrate their "holiday." I wonder if shoppers who ask for the Christmas trees get corrected. "Oh, I'm sorry, we don't sell them. But we do have holiday trees."

Merry Christmas. Have a good one.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-19T18:05:00.000-05:00

I understand the ordinary citizen can act like the PC police nowadays, but here's why it doesn't make sense to say "Happy Holidays" at this time of the year:

Hanukkah ended December 12, so saying "Happy Holidays" doesn't act like a blanket covering over all winter holidays, because Hanukkah is already over.
I'm clearly not of African descent, so it's apparent I don't celebrate Kawanzaa. So it's not as if you're saying "Happy Holidays" because you don't know what holiday I celebrate.
New Year's Day is one day. Thus, the plural "Happy Holidays" does not apply.
Aren't we being absurd thinking we have to appease people who link a "Merry Christmas" greeting with getting religion shoved down their throats?

From what I've seen this season, it's as if the phrase "Merry Christmas" in the mouth of a storeworker is like garlic in a vampire's.