Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Laundry and Internships

I'm waiting for the dryer to finish my laundry and I have class in less than twenty minutes. And all the while, I'm checking my email every 5 minutes to see if I've gotten my summer internship at a film festival in Indy. I don't think I've been this anxious in a really long time. To make things worse, we've got nasty Seattle weather here, so nothing seems uplifting about today -- yet.

I'm really trying to stay optimistic.

. . .

I was accepted for my internship!! I got a call around 4 this afternoon and they want me for the film internship position!!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Tacobel Canon: My Influential Song of the Week

I've been raiding my neighbor's iTunes for about 3 weeks now. His hard drive seriously has everything I could ever want on it -- and since he's such a rad guy, he's all for a quick Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V maneuver between music libraries.

Listen to this: "Tacobel Canon" by Ratatat



I seriously kept this song on repeat for a good hour. If I could make legitimate music and not just crappy Garage Band beats, I'd make stuff like this. Musically, this is great stuff.

My neighbor Matt has the "Reason" program loaded on his labtop -- which is like a glorified Garage Band on steroids. Pretty much if you understand a lick of music theory and can master the program, you're on your way making "good" music. We've been fiddling around with Reason and a little midi keyboard these past couple months and have cranked out two really good beats -- both of which Matt has written flat-out absurd lyrics to (with a few verses by me just to keep this a collab project). One of our "rap" songs simply glorifies the obese female population in America -- a song appropriatly labeled "Fatties". Somehow I'm getting the "Lonely Island" taste in my mouth. Comedy-rap has its limits, and those guys seem to get pretty close to it.

But I can't lie, "I'm On a Boat" made me laugh really, really hard.

I guess my preference would be to make "less lyrical" music a la Ratatat -- none of that rambuncious "rap" stuff that's only good for club-grinding and/or a few good laughs.

Well, I hope "Tacobel Canon" provided the right vibe for this blog post.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Need a new name other than "Blog Berth"

For some dumb reason, I originally named my blog "The Post-it Note Post". Needless to say, I quickly learned that "Post-it Note Post" is about as cool as a trip to the doctor when you're five -- which isn't.

A while later, I turned to dictionary.com and sought inspiration from the word of the day, which happened to be "berth" -- as in, "Where does the Black Pearl make berth?"



So now my blog is named "Blog Berth". I don't know -- it kinda sounds catchy, right? If anyone can help me think of a better name, I'll give you a legitimate prize that will blow your mind and make you reevaluate your life.

Game on.

Monday, April 20, 2009

I turn 21 in less than two weeks

It's true -- I'm officially going to be a full-blown adult on May 1, 2009.

I'm having some difficulty figuring out what this means -- this "growing up" that I'm finally experiencing. Part of me finds it hilarious to think that if I was living a couple hundred years ago I would already be self-efficient with a job I would do for the rest of my life and probably be married with children. But instead, somewhere along the road America fell in love with the concept of "further education" beyond that of high school. All this means is kids these days grow up slower -- at least I feel that way.

Unlike Simba, I didn't grow up during a 3 minute montage...


Even at 20, I feel almost the same as I did when I became an official teenager over 7 years ago. I'm still completely reliant on my parents for practically everything. Yes, I have a nice sum of money in a savings account from three summers of working minimum wage jobs, but otherwise, I have nothing that isn't my parent's. They are putting me through school. I share a car with my older sister that they bought brand new. For all intents and purposes, I'm not "grown-up".

So what is being "grown-up" all about? Having a career and being able to support yourself? That's how I've always viewed it. Not living in your parents' house probably helps, too. But honestly, most college sophomores and juniors are still going to live at home until they graduate. Ehh -- I don't know; maybe I sometimes hate the idea that I've been so well provided for all my life. I've literally had everything I've ever needed given to me since day one. Don't get me wrong -- I'm amazingly grateful for everything I've been blessed with; however, sometimes I wish I had it "rough" growing up so I'd be more hardened now. Part of me also hates the fact that I probably couldn't make it on my own if it weren't for my parents. Again, I'm so grateful for them -- but I've never had to really "fend for myself" in the "real world". When will that be? Will I even be ready for it when it happens?

Do you ever feel like you're always going to be "that teen" even when you're in your twenties? It's like no matter how old you get, you're still stuck in the rut of being Michael Sera in another indie-venture movie a la Juno or Nick and Nora's.


Another thing that I believe contributes to my inability to "grow up" is my physical stature. I recently had someone tell me I look as though I could still be in high school (for an example, see the above picture of Michael Sera). Okay -- so I'm not tall. Somewhere around 5'8 if I'm being generous. My build is -- well, scrawny. I feel proportionate, but for being almost 21 years old, I'm definitely "younger" looking. My facial hair will never be that super-convenient shade of black that never fails to declare advanced masculinity. Instead, it will probably stay redish-brown my whole life. I'm just wishing the stuff would grow in thicker -- all I have now is a wimpy stripe from sideburn to sideburn and some straggly "throat hair" that subsequently helps me break out with acne around my neck. Acne? I'm not a teenager! This shouldn't be a problem!

Ahh -- sometimes I wish I could sneak a glimpse of myself at 30 and see if I made it through okay. I hope I don't resemble my old manager from a summer job two years ago: receding hairline, pale skin, buggy eyes, crooked nose, anime t- shirt, and a molester-stache.

Given the above descriptions, this is what the crystal ball on Flickr revealed my past manager at Culver's to look like. Nice "Beefy Tee", my good sir.



I guess I'll grow up eventually and look back at all these ideas and be like, "Wow, that was a waste of energy..." Anyways, it's just something to think during those times where I should be doing something constructive towards my future (a.k.a. being overly concerned about finishing sophomore year with a decent GPA -- ugh, don't remind me).

Well that's all I got. I need to finish reading a couple chapters in a communications theory book for my class later this afternoon. See? There's some diligence for you! Alright, peace.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Very Excited

So today I got an email from the place where I trying to get a summer internship. They want to interview me sometime next week -- how great is that!? I couldn't be more excited about this. Today has been a much better day that I originally thought -- first with me getting into all the courses I need for next semester and second getting the email from the internship. I still need to keep on praying that everything works out...

Sunday, April 12, 2009

A friendly Easter email response to a spammer

This blog post is an email response I sent to "Michael Lambert" of the "United Nations". The letter he sent me was a crapload of spam -- asking me for personal info and telling me I'm qualified to receive a quarter million dollars on behalf of some government program. To make it worse, this n00b even used a Yahoo email account. Here's what I replied back with:


Dear Mr. Lambert,

First of all, Happy Easter.

I fully appreciate the opportunity you are offering on behalf of the United Nations and Mr. Ki-Moon; however, I must ask you to kindly [knock] off.

Frankly, you are insulting my intelligence by asking me to give personal information to you. Everything about the email you sent me screams fraud -- everything from the spelling errors to the inappropriate use of capitalization. I pity the fool (pardon the Mr. T reference) who actually believes this rubbish. You are not affiliated with the United Nations, nor do you have a legitimate job, that is if scamming people from your Yahoo email account is your primary source of income.

I hope you remember these words I'm about to say to you -- because I'm saying them out of my earnest concern for your well-being:

Stop whatever it is you're doing with these bogus email letters and take a good, hard look in the mirror. What do you see? Do you like what you see? Is the man you see in the mirror someone you are proud of? These are hard times, my friend, and you need to really ask yourself if this is what you want in your life. Take charge of your life and don't settle for less. Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." That's what I want of you -- I want you to be strengthened through your faith in Christ and your devotion to live for Him.

Believe me, this is not a spam email. Today is Easter Sunday -- the day of our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Do you think it's coincidence that you're reading this? Well, I honestly can't say -- but I do know that Jesus is welcoming you with open arms and that he loves you and always will love you. Know this and believe this.

Dedicate your life to Christ and be saved.

Sincerely,
Brent


Okay, so I'm either a tool or a very dumb evangelist. I don't really care. Whoever that guy is might read the letter and take it to heart. I totally meant what I said -- he needs a good smack in the face. Even if he writes all this off, at least I told him.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Just saw "Slumdog" and got that fuzzy feeling

You've probably heard about it enough by now, but let me reiterate. Yes, "Slumdog Millionaire" is an above average movie. All the praise and hype you've heard about it is true. I'll give it two thumbs up and a high recommendation -- not that my opinion is worth much, but you get the idea.

Let me tell you -- it's so refreshing to see a movie that isn't some type of remake/superhero flick/teenage novel adaptation these days (Star Trek, Wolverine, Twilight -- I'm giving you the stare-down).

See this? This is good filmmaking. Every movie needs to have this shot.
.

But this just looks awkward. Either kill her or make out.


And unless it's these guys, I don't want to see it.


I guess in the end all I'm wanting is an authentic good story. I really do want to watch a movie and get that fuzzy feeling every time -- the kind of feeling you get when Sam shuts the door of his hobbit hole after saying "Well, I'm back."

But money talks and good films walk -- that's what I always say (And what exactly does that mean? I don't really know, but it sounded kinda witty). There's always going to be loads of high-budget films that are simply eye candy and will have you exiting the theater wanting to team up with Optimus Prime or something, but for me that doesn't cut it anymore. I've seen enough explosions and broken concrete in films and would prefer too see a good plot line instead.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Helvetica, ALTs, & Bros -- Hipster Runoff


I've actually been reading "Hipster Runoff" a lot lately. If you're not familiar with the ALT culture that this "culturally relevant" blog defines, you should check it out. It uses Wordpress, so you know it's legit. Kudos to the people who actually learn how to use that crazy thing -- I tried once and failed miserably.


Anyways, back to Hipster Runoff. Yes, it's a blog and it's hilarious, informative, odd, and surprisingly.....relevant. I thank this humble website for helping me define my "personal brand" -- a concept that most of the blogs on HRO seem to be about.


Seriously, it's strange how exact HRO is at nailing what it is to be a "20-Something" in today's wickety-whack culture. I also enjoy the motifs and "memes" HR seems to play off of. Like, everything on the site is written in Helvetica type face. Maybe this is because most people who read the blog are design savvy (maybe?) and respect that Helvetica is the perfect font. Or maybe it's because HRO has a striking resemblance to American Apparel ads...not sure, but it's something to ponder about. It's almost an understood fact that AA has coined the "deep v-neck" t-shirt -- which I also find humorous. It's nice to know I've found a place online that shares my appreciation for AA clothing -- seriously, no one where I'm from seems to like it....maybe I should move to LA or something so I can wear deep v's all year long. Again, something to ponder about.

Monday, April 6, 2009

I'm still here

Yeah, I know it's been a while -- but I've been busy. So give me a break. I can't talk for long, but my blog here popped into my head just now and I figured I'd update it for a change. Wow...I skipped March, didn't I?