At the threshold of wisdom - the 600th Post

Funny that - my 600th post on New Year's Eve. A milestone for a milestone.

I learned a great deal this year. I gave up on my novel and learned to use the disappointment as a motivation. I produced a movie and learned that doing God's will doesn't always have to be boring. I edited a movie and learned that I still have a lot to learn about movie making ;) I watched an entire election unfold and learned that the American people can get sidetracked from time to time but still know what's ultimately important. But these are all things that are peripheral to my experience of this year - lessons learned, not lessons earned.

The most important thing that I discovered this year is that intimacy is not sex and that true happiness comes from the sharing of life together with others. Throughout my entire journey this year, the highest moments have all come from times spent with other people whether traveling together or sitting on a shoreline fishing or taking pictures or making a film or working. Moments spent alone (though necessary for reflection) were moments when I could not grow. It was in those quiet moments spent with others talking about their lives or their families or their thoughts that I made true connections with others - that I mattered.

I seek next year to continue this quest for wisdom by seeking out others and learning to share with them the moments that make up a life - moments of laughter and moments of anger and moments of sorrow and moments of joy. We are all the children of God and just like our biological siblings, we can't chose not to be related. Its only through shared moments that we will ever learn to reach that point of common understanding where your burdens become my burdens and your blessings become my blessings. I seek to bridge those gaps and truly understand.

No Reason For Confidence

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Hebrews Chapter 11 verse 1

As I was duly reminded this morning, I am one step away from financial disaster. My job is on shaky ground and I really don't have any sort of back up plan. I don't have thousands of dollars in a bank account. I have never been successful enough to even consider any sort of "life" insurance. I have no equity of any sort in any thing. If the worst case scenario should strike, I would be left with nothing but my wits.

And yet, I have a great hope for 2009 that I can't explain. At a time when I should be at my most pessimistic, I can't help but being optimistic.

I can watch the news and be scared. I can read the headlines and tremble. I can hear stories all around me of people being laid off and losing their homes and savings and I can feel the palpable fear that surrounds me - but I am not afraid.

I have faith that even if all these things come to pass and I spend a good portion of 2009 homeless or jobless or running from creditors and bankrupt that God will use me to the best of my ability. I have the great hope that for the first time in my life I Shall Fear No Evil For Thou Art With Me!

Oh, my life may take a Job-esque turn for the horrible next year, but if it does, I know that God will be with me. I can't explain this feeling to those that do not have it. But if I had to define it, I know that the definition would be Faith. Not faith that I shall remain untouched and safe and prosper, but faith that even in the darkest hours of my life, I shall know the love and glory of Jesus Christ. Its kind of hard to be pessimistic after that.

So Thank God and prepare for disaster. 2009 is going to be one bumpy year!

Looking Ahead to 2009

The funny thing about the end of this year has been how much 2009 has begun to gel in reality and not just in my mind. Usually I get to this point of the year and I start making plans for next year and... well, that's all they are - plans. I can plan anything I want and whether it comes true or not has always been as a result of luck and sure determination. But this year, my determination is getting to relax a little. I don't have to make things happen by sheer force of will and I guess that's put me in a good and hopeful mood for the new year.

So, for starters, I'm not going to take classes next semester. I've decided to give college a rest for at least a semester (though my opinion might still change before classes begin). I've learned all the stuff I set out to learn two years ago. Anything more, at this point, would be gravy.

I will continue with the stat keeping for USF as it appears that my Dad and Uncle will probably call it a career after this season. They've been keeping stats at USF since the late 60's/early 70's. I've been helping out for about the last four years. But they're both ready to retire from this job and let the torch pass to a new group of stats people.

I will most likely return to Idaho for some fishing during Spring Break. We'll see how my finances hold up. This is the one time of year I get to spend with my "other" family and my other town.

In January, I'll be traveling to Slidell, Mississippi as part of the Presbyterian efforts to rebuild that region after Hurricane Katrina nearly three years ago. I'll be there a week showing my love for Jesus and my complete lack of carpentry skills ;) Prayers are always willingly accepted.

Sometime early next year there will also be a Movie Premiere of 12 Step Jedi. This film is currently finishing up the sound work and the composing and recording of the sound track. We are hoping to have two premieres - one for the cast and crew (so we can get all the nasty comments and ribbing out of the way;) and one for everyone else and friends and family. I will let you all know when the premieres will be scheduled.

After the premiere, work will begin in earnest on "Dane" - our follow up film. Andrew and I have been huddled together now for hours since finals ended feverishly throwing out ideas for this film and the truly wonderful part is that we have been on the same page in almost every single detail. The short description of this film is that it is Hamlet meets Film Noir - which describes more the feel and the look of the film than the actual plot. Either way, we begin script work the moment 12 Step wraps.

We are also trying to form a film collective to aid us in the pre-production and production of Dane. Combining actors, directors, producers, filmmakers, and other artists, we will have a group of people interested in the mutual development of film and other projects. So far we have had preliminary discussions amongst potential participants and the general consensus is positive, but there's still a lot of work to do before a collective is formed.

I have other ideas, of the normal year end variety, but I'm thinking that I already have a lot on my plate for next year. Some of these other ideas might see the light of day in 2009, and some not, but I'm definitely not going to be sitting around next year. And, for a change, I don't have to do all the work. And that's an extremely good thing.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A quick recap...

For those of you who want the short version of my last ten days and next ten...

1) I finished up my final two classes in cinema - Advanced Cinematography and Advanced Sound. This required the complete creation of sound for three scenes from my movie and a final exam in Adv. Cine. Needless to say, I'm a little mentally exhausted right now.

2) I am well into the sound edit of my film. This is the third to last step. Second to last being the mixing of sound and music. And final step being actual distribution (i.e. DVD's, etc...) Short answer - not going to happen before Christmas.

3) I'm negotiating the creation of a film/acting cooperative with my co-producer and a group of students at San Francisco State. This will hopefully play a huge roll in the coming year.

4) Christmas continues to enthrall me with lots and lots of activities; concerts, services, and, of course, shopping. Always a busy time of year, made doubly so with my school and work schedules.

5) Work continues to kick my a$$ thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but I'm finally getting a handle on it... just in time for the economy to completely tank. *sigh*

6) All those signs and portents that my unusually "normal" life would soon be rocked by waves of change seem to be leading to a fundamental change in my current lifestyle in the very near future. (I.E. God has plans for me and the veil is just about to be pulled). I'm ready to embrace whatever He sends my way.

That's it. I'll try to get back to this blog next week for those of you still around to read it and maybe expand on some of these topics then. Until then, or if I don't catch you sooner, have a nice Christmas!

I'm just saying...

I had a thought. Occasionally, I do.

This Christmas season, instead of asking yourself, "What should I get for the person who has everything?" ask instead, "What should I get for the person who has nothing?" Tougher question to answer.

Reverse your thinking.

Reason For The Existence of Cable TV Found!

Not a huge fan of cable TV. In fact, basically, its four hundred channels of the same kind of crap that I can get for free, so why would I pay more for it? Except, of course, that with the new Digital TV stuff, its becoming increasingly unlikely that I'll be able to keep getting crap TV for free. So I finally bit the bullet and got cable.

In a nutshell... BORING! FORTY TIMES MORE BORING THAN USUAL!

UNTIL...

I watched the greatest show ever seen on TV on Saturday - Extreme Trains. The show's host is a conductor on a Maine RR who loves trains. But he's not just a geek with a hard on for powerful locomotives, this guy likes everything about trains from the tracks to the canto-levered lines to the bridges that span train lines. I've learned more about my college town (Pocatello) from this show in five minutes than I learned the entire time I lived there (two years) and all because a train passes through there. In the episode I just watched last night, I got to see a crane rip apart a refrigerator car, the engineer training school and the train simulator they use to train their engineers, and a refrigerator car loaded with produce get one of its wheels replaced while still on the track (very cool). This show is not only cool for adults, but also for kids. Had this show been around when I was a kid, I'd be a train engineer right now.

Anyway, I have my new favorite TV show and a reason to DVR again. I highly recommend this show which managed to be both educational and entertaining at the same time. Will Bob says check it out.

P.S. Its on the History Channel, in case you were wondering.

The Further Adventures of Jeremiah the Prophet

The Further Adventures of Jeremiah the Prophet

Chapter One
1 And so it came to pass that the great Jeremiah the Prophet who had spoken of God's displeasure to an evil and corrupt Judah escaped the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and fled with his remnant people towards any country that might spare him. 2 And thus did he pass out of all knowledge of the great books.

The Coming of the Great Scribe
3 Thus it was that the great scribe, Wilsephus found the Prophet in a refugee camp near the land of Midian as was foretold by the stars. 4 He presented himself to Jeremiah with the words his master had told him to say, "Oh wise and wonderful man of God, I come to you seeking employment. For it is written that you are semi-retired and yet, the people still come to you seeking words of wisdom or just to hear your latest forecast of doom and gloom. I grovel at your feet to learn the ways of being truly dark." 5 And the great Prophet looked at Wilsephus and sayeth...

"What the heck is that?"

"I'm sorry, Master, did my scribing offend?"

"That's not even close to the true story."

"That's true, oh great Prophet, but I assumed that when your new adventures are published some day they will rival your original book's popularity and be included with other great religious works. Therefore I was merely formatting the actual story of our fortuitous meeting in the style of the religious texts of today."

"Formatting? You were blatantly lying. Besides, I've already told you, Wilsephus, that there was nothing special about me. God simply chose me to say the things that needed saying and I did. That's hardly a skill set that you can profit by. In fact, if anything, saying the things that need saying tends to be rather detrimental to your future career. Did you know that I spent time in the dungeons?"

"Were you tortured?"

"Why do you have that gleam in your eye, Wilsephus?"

"Torture sells better."

"Yours is a sick and twisted world."

"People like to hear about suffering, oh wise master - especially the suffering of others, especially the unjust suffering of others, especially the unjust suffering of others yet to be. Why do you think you've been popular so many years?"

"You say I was popular?"

"Many people read your words, oh great one."

"Yet, they did not heed my warnings!"

"Well... nobody actually believed you. There were many priests that said your warnings were not scientifically based and the king hired many scribes to say you were full of hogwash."

"What I spoke was the truth, young one."

"No doubt. And in hindsight, I think they can all agree that your words were somewhat accurate."

"Somewhat?"

"For the most part."

"My words were from God and they were the truth."

"And you suffered for that truth?"

"Yes, Wilsephus. I suffered a great deal. Telling the truth can be inconvenient from time to time."

"Tell me about the suffering, Jeremiah... were the beatings bloody and gory? Did they use any torture devices?"

"Enough with the suffering, Wilsephus. If you wish to remain my scribe, you will tell only the truth from now on. Is that understood?"

"Truth... as I see it?"

"The Truth as it is known."

"Very well, oh wise one. I will tell the truth."

"Very good, you can start by telling everyone how we truly met."

"Yes, master."

The Further Adventures of Jeremiah the Prophet
(revised)

Chapter One
When last we saw Jeremiah the Prophet, he had just escaped the Babylonian captivity and was headed for lands unknown with a group of refugees. After wandering through the desert for many days, he came upon a camp for refugees set up by the Egyptian army. While several of the younger men were immediately pressed into service, Jeremiah was spared the harder labor and was given the job of writing correspondence to the head of the army in Memphis. As such, he was assigned the assistance of a certain Greek slave by the name of Wilsephus (the wise and wonderfu... WILSEPHUS! I'M WARNING YOU!... who was just a slave) that happened to know how to write the complex Egyptian hierogylphics...

Next time in The Further Adventures of Jeremiah the Prophet, Jeremiah and Wilsephus do battle with the priests of Kon-Sumer and their false religion.

It's A Wrap!

In addition to basketball (four games in three days) over this long Thanksgiving weekend, I somehow managed to wrap filming on 12 Step Jedi. The last scene, our only outdoor scene, was filmed Saturday morning at a breakneck speed that belied the "film it or drop it" nature of the shot. But, in the end, by Saturday noon when the scene was dropped in as the final piece of the final edit, it was quite a hilarious scene. I think it was also fitting that the final shoot included just myself and Andrew - the two people who started the project almost a year before.

And then, over the course of the remaining forty eight hours of my weekend, I struggled to figure out a way to defeat the intricate stupidities involved with computer software so that I could get the film off of my computer and into a format that people could actually view. As of midnight last night, I finally had a DVD copy of the film.

But don't rush out to the stores just yet. A)We're not selling it in stores. And B)The final edited version is not final, nor edited. I was merely creating a copy so that Chris Evans (a talented actor, as well as other things) could compose a soundtrack for the film. While Chris is working diligently on the soundtrack over the next couple of weeks, I will be tweaking the color correction and editing all of the sound so that it doesn't sound like some of it was filmed underwater, behind a wall of gravel, with actors using the accents of warbling gargling geese ;)

Which is all to say that the film actually is still on schedule for a mid-December finish, but I can say that principal photography, at least, is done!

Yay!