Apologies

Yesterdays blog went unwritten because I had quite a bit to do and not enough time to do it. Excuses aside though, the blog will be updates regularly again at least in the foreseeable future.

At this very moment [Well, outside of writing this update] I am working on redoing parts of my screenplay. Some scenes need to be slightly changed while others need complete rewrites. It's fun, but also aggravating as I'm supposed to be filming this afternoon and it's not even completed! I'll do an extra update tonight to fill in how well it goes.

Last night was a mix of emotions; initially there was relief, because I had finished the second of three exams and it didn't go too badly. Then it was panic as I realised I'd forgotten to pick up the camera that I desperately needed and the place to pick it up from closed at 6pm, which hadn't long passed but was still too late. That led to me scrabbling to sort out alternate arrangements and work out a solution, which as it stands haven't actually been sorted. Happiness soon followed as I decided a last minute cramming session wasn't going to help me that much and so I attended a party for my mate's birthday. It was worth it, I had such a good time and I didn't feel worried at all. Finally, there was tiredness as I looked at a few formulas before dropping off to sleep.

I am hoping to find some extra reserve of energy and enthusiasm for the rest of the day. At the moment I am spent, and it's not long gone 12 and I have to keep this up for a good 10 hours at least. How do people do it?

I hope that in the future, this blog won't simply contain my boring daily schedule but insightful thoughts or interesting anecdotes instead, but I have to at least build up to a point first where I am updating regularly. Only when I get into the habit of doing that will I be able to venture into writing about better things, and unfortunately that means there will be a bit of this ultimately uninteresting stuff to suffer with until then. Unless, that is, you get some kind of kick from hearing about what time I got up or how many lectures I had today. If that is you, I would advise getting some medical help.

Collection

Instead of a run through of today's events, I'm going to share some completely unrelated thoughts and pointless anecdotes in an order that isn't relevant to anything.

• I was in the zone earlier on, I had the best line drawing abilities sans ruler around, I mean look:
  
  You just don't see that sort of thing in real life. So I went away for a couple of hours and came back and look what happened :(
  
  


• As I was stocking hoodies in work today, this woman comes in, picks up the Daily Mail and goes to my boss who was serving on the till. Queueing up behind her was the Students Guild president, John Cox. Cool guy. So, she pays for it, and he makes a comment about the paper and she says 'The only reason I buy this paper is for the crossword.' And that makes me happy. [Because I hate the Daily Mail, in case you didn't get that]


• More and more websites have started cottoning on to the fact that 'English' isn't what the Americans call English. That's why it's nice to consistently be presented with more and more options to choose 'English UK' over the horrible 'English US' It just took them very long to learn.


• I have lived in the same house for a few months now, and have never, even in my reckless dashing up them, tripped on the stairs. And then today arrives, and I go and do it twice; once banging my shin and stubbing my toe, and once while holding a bowl of hot soup. My housemate later enquired as to why there was 'custard' on the walls and I laughed.


• Had my very first impulse purchase of 2009 today when I saw season boxsets of 24 and Futurama for under £15, so I bought one of each and am extremely pleased, if a little guilty.

That's all for tonight folks.

Well

Would you believe it? I've been updating this blog for a solid five days in a row and I didn't even acknowledge it until today. Am I going to become a blogger from now on? Who knows, not me.

I had a real breakthrough today regarding my screenplay [For those of you not in the know, I have written and cast a screenplay to be shown on my University's TV station by the end of February] I had a really good creative writing sessions where my fellow Producer and Director Katy and I just went through the story and in particular the crucial first few scenes, and threw ideas at each other and really developed the plot and the characters. It really feels like it's alive for the first time in a long while. I cannot wait until Saturday arrives and we're able to film this, it should be amazing.

I love going back over something you think you vaguely know, and finding out that your memory has stored more of it than you thought. This is what happened when I looked over Differential Equations work today. Okay, so it's not exactly the works of William Shakespeare, but it is a lot more relevant to me than he is right now.

Watching TV earlier, and 90210 comes on. All of a sudden, horrible memories from months ago come flooding into my brain as I recall watching the pilot for this teen drama abortion. I'm trying to hold back, but here's what I think is wrong with it:

• Blatantly underestimating its audience (One of my biggest bugbears about TV is a situation where relevant plot details are shoe horned into dialogue because they cant bear the thought of establishing details through other methods which don't intrude on the story e.g "This is Beverley Hills!" "This sucks." "Oh Josh, you've been saying that the last 1500 miles from where we came from, Kansas, which is that place we moved from to come here to help my ill mother." "WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT? I WAS THERE! YOU EXPLAINED THIS TO ME SEVERAL DAYS AGO, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE PACKED UP OUR STUFF AND LEFT?")


• Horrible clichéd characters (There's the sassy grandma, the quick talking and know everything journalist, the sleazy jock, the cool and witty teacher, the bitch, etc ad nauseum)


• In the opening five minutes, a main character gets into his car at the front of the school, which is populated with students everywhere, and is receiving a blowjob. That's a blowjob, in front of school, with people everywhere, and not even tinted windows, in the front seat. Not only has this never happened in the history of the world, but it also smacks too hard of 'anything goes on here, we're crazy!' which is too unrealistic to forgive.


• MTV generation hyperactive editing disorder, which can be succinctly summarised by the following rule; if it's been more than two seconds since we changed to a different camera angle, then it is too long. It's possible to get dizzy even while you're sitting down inactive.

I couldn't watch it for very long, and even despite it's awfulness, it has achieved success in the US and even has a spinoff in the works. It's doing its part in putting me right off working in the TV industry, that's for sure.

One Down

Another short update for you i.e me. I attended the first examination of my year today, and overall it went all right. A couple of questions I looked at and just couldn't do, while others I looked at and smiled. Then the few in between which could go either way though I know I've passed it, for sure.

I've been Mr Organised today, trying to set things up for this weekend and the epic film session that it is going to be. Getting cast and costume organised, locations scouted, cameras booked and places to meet finalised. I am looking forward to it in the same way I would look forward to a tidal wave if I was freezing my ass off in a rubber dinghy in the middle of the ocean.

And that's all for now. Not even a funny video for you to watch. But if you're after something new to listen to, off the top of my head I recommend you seek out 'Warm Sound' by Zero 7. It is one of the most relaxing and amazing songs I've listened to.