The Edge of Reason: 2013

May The Odds Be Ever In My Favor

Posted by Unknown Thursday, 26 December 2013 0 comments

Merry Christmas... I feel so happy that it's kind of scary ... I keep thinking that if I acknowledge that I'm happy it will all fall apart and start going to shit. But I guess I can admit that up till 2.45am December 26th , I'm happy. I'm really happy guys.

It's the holiday season, which means I get to spend some time with myself doing stuff I love. There are so many things on my list.

1. Catch up on Breaking Bad

But Breaking Bad is sort of a play and work obsession. I watch it for the entertainment but can we talk about the great shooting and editing techniques!!! Brilliant. I also saw this documentary recommend by a classmate called "Dreams of A Life." This is what you call great storytelling. It's about a woman who dies in her apartment while wrapping Christmas presents and she's found three years later. All I can say is I called my mother right after I watched this documentary. Check out the trailer here.

I'll leave the link right hurrrrr:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE_RFzXq4Ls

2. Ramen

I get to eat ramen whenever I damn well please. My newest obsession is Ramen. I've found this pretty cool spot in Brooklyn called Chuko's (http://barchuko.com) that has awesome ramen.(try the veggie and add pork to it....just trust me). The kind that you eat today and come in for more the next day. and the next day. My waistline will probably pay for it but I'm sure someone will release a twerk-cerise video that will make working out fun. ( what ?? isn't twerking the new in thing). But yeah, during the semester there just wasn't enough time to grab good ramen whenever I pleased so i'm catching up on that.

3. Painting my nails. Because bright colors make me happy. (Pastel green for the win)

4. Playing with my cameras. Gosh I love shooting shit. love it. There is something beautiful about capturing life. Maybe that's why I'm so happy. I get to film stuff I want to film. Ha! makes sense.

5. And it looks like I'm back to blogging. I sure hope so. I got paragraphs in me dying to come out.

Man I hope this good vibe lasts. And I hope 2014 just gets better because I have places to go. I really pray that I get to film more creative videos that I love next year. And that I get to work with awesome people.

My wish list for next year:

More God in my life. Health.Peace. Love. Riches. And that I get to work with some amazing videographers, editors and producers. May the damn odds be ever in my favor.

P.s. How could I forget reading. I've been reading the shit out of some long form lately. I'll update you guys with my favorite pieces soon. Till then I'll be enjoying the rest of my holiday before life comes and gets my ass again.

PEACE.

A little Hollywood loving

Posted by Unknown Monday, 1 July 2013 0 comments

I have been loving Hollywood lately. Though I haven’t had the time to go check out some of the movies, these trailers are pretty amazing. Two movies that really stood out to me and I can’t wait to see are 1. The Great Gatsby and 2. The Wolf of Wall Street. Now maybe I’m just a Leonardo DiCaprio fan (well he’s only brought us the best movies since he’s been acting…. incase you forgot… Inception, Titanic, Shutter Island (come on Shutter Island would have been great if I hadn’t seen the 6^th Sense years earlier… after the 6^th sense I always suspect the lead actors are the complication of the plot. I was like, I bet Leo is the crazy one in this movie. Thanks 6^th sense for ruining every epic plot twist that came after. (Well actually George R R Martin has now brought back the element of surprise to the plot twist so maybe all is not lost. BUT I DIGRESS. Back to Leo and his movies…The departed… I’ll stop there while you add more to the list). But the man should get an Oscar just for the freaking Wolf of Wall Street trailer. He is showing his versatility. (Did you see the break dancing in the trailer??? (time stamp 1:34) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iszwuX1AK6A… check it out. But other than the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio has been brightening movie sets since he stepped onto one, I also love the anachronism that is the Great Gatsby soundtrack. *screams HUNNED DOLLA BILLS* (peep the song here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5YX3qovtHg) I’ve always loved marrying the old with the new and then trying to pass it off as normal. Something about that makes me tingle. To me it just fit. Rap and a film that feels like old Hollywood. For me that’s an escape from the racially charged world that I have to face everyday. It works in the movies guys so let’s get with it. I can’t wait till all this polarization is a “wazy, it’s a woozy, it’s * whistle * fairy dust.”

Narratives

Posted by Unknown Thursday, 9 May 2013 0 comments

Hi guys… all is not lost! I’m still here! I have been kidnapped by this thing called grad school. I keep scribbling proposed blog topics on yellow sticky notes but I haven’t gotten the chance to really go into depth about the things I want to talk about. I keep asking myself. Do I wait till I have something profound to say? Or do I just say whatever little is on my mind and blog because well…I love blogging? So on my mind tonight are some narratives that I have come across. I’m taking this feature writing class and I’ve been reading some pretty cool narratives lately. I am also working on one myself. These are four narratives that I thought were engaging. So why not share them? If you’re into long form narratives well here are a few links to stories you may like.

1. What Really Happened Aboard Air France 447

2. The Boy Behind the Mask http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/hart/Hallman1.html

3. The Truck stop Killer

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201211/truck-stop-killer-gq-november-2012

The Chameleon

4. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/08/11/080811fa_fact_grann

So I’m just going to take you guys along the grad school journey. Update you on what you’ve missed and tell you about the projects that I’m working on. Until my next short post.

Hasta luego!

The Rebirth of Hope

Posted by Unknown Tuesday, 8 January 2013 2 comments

Whether we hate all the new promises and plans brought on by this new year, all the promises and plans that will be forgotten by the end of January we can’t deny that there is something magical about the first day of a new year. I know better than to think that I’ll be a better person once the clock strikes midnight and that all my worries, fears and troubles will melt away as the old year creeps into the shadows but you know, it sure feels like it.

I’m an in-the-closet optimist who parades as a pessimist so as the seconds counted down to a new year there was a battle raging inside of me. The pessimist told me to hold on to my seat, keep those delusions of grandeur at bay and take this as nothing more than a time change. The optimist however experienced a rebirth. She can’t help herself. As she stepped into the New Year my closeted optimist partied, laughed and shrieked in joy.

You see, my optimistic self loves a good rebirth story and that’s what a New Year represents. It’s not that she is foolish enough to believe life will be grander in 2013. It’s just that she is hopeful that it will be. As the New Year rolls around it means that I’ve survived 365 days. 365 days of laughter tears and screams. I spoke to a friend who wasn’t too enthusiastic about the New Year and really I don’t blame her, 2012 was pretty shitty for her. But what she didn’t understand is that she had more to celebrate than those who had a great year. It takes character to get through 365 days of mostly pain and heartache. It’s a triumph to still get out of bed after the year past tried to stomp you to the ground. I know I told 2012 and all it’s ills go to hell when I smiled at the opening of 2013. Whether we break all our resolutions or don’t become better people in 2013 we were hopeful enough to think that change is possible and that’s all I need to keep going… hope.