I am off!

As many of you know, I will be out of town for the next week, so don't plan on any updates from me!

Hawaii, here I come!

Matthew

Me needs some Media!

I am out of media! I need:
DVD-Rs
CD/DVD labels
CD/DVD cases (black mini jewel cases)
Mini-DV tapes

I need a bunch of each of these. Anyone know of a good (cheap) place to get all of these in one place? I usually just buy them separately when I find them on sale, but I have less than 10 of each of the listed above, so I need to find a sale now!

Matthew

For Hurley!

For Hurley:



Matthew

I passed!

I have been worried that I might not have passed all of my classes this fall (I had to get at least a C). There was no reason for me to fail any of my classes, but that didn't keep me from worrying.

Well, today I went online to check:



All As and one B, with an overall GPA of 3.17.

Yea!

Matthew

Best Program Ever!

Thanks again to Macenstein for the video. It shows a revolutionary program that they are writing that will change the design industry.



Matthew

See why?

See why I wanted the new iLife '08? It can create some pretty stunning photo galleries.

Don't forget to click on "Carousel" in the bottom left to be amazed. =: >

Matthew

Thanks!

Thanks for the great (short) Christmas break guys, it was a lot of fun, and it felt great to hang out with the family for a while.

I look forward to doing it again soon!

Oh, and a late night bonus! This got me laughing so hard! A post on ThinkChristian showed me an underside of YouTube I have never seen before: Nooma Spoofs! Now, if you don't know what a Nooma is, don't worry. You can still watch, but you may not find it as funny. For those that do know who Rob Bell is, here is the one that got me laughing so hard:



Matthew

Done!

I am done!

No more Chick-fil-A!

No more school!

Yea!

Matthew

A Few Files

Here are a few files from projects that I have been working on this week. I have organized the files by class. These files are as they were turned in for a final grade. If you would like to comment on any of the files, please leave a comment or e-mail me, I would love to hear your thoughts (even though the projects are not still being worked on).

Intermediate Film:
I edited a film for this class, but it is actually on film, so I have no upload yet.

Directing for Narrative Film:
I have a few videos, but nothing ready to upload right now (and nothing that would be interesting to you guys).

Intermediate Scriptwriting:
Second Chance (Alone): The script that Hurley and I originally started to write/work on in high school. The script is very different from the original idea, and I think is far better than it was originally (although it could still use some work). This is a full short script at 20 pages (but don't worry, you can read it in about 10 minutes). It is interesting (to me) how the original idea was based on Sara and Jimmy, and we wrapped the story around their lives. The same thing happened again with this rewrite. For example, the introduction of Chet, their baby. However, old personalities remain, like the scene where they are playing video games in the living room (using the "new" model would have put the characters playing Warcraft!).
Hot Sleep: This is an adaptation from a short story book thingy... OK, let me explain. Orson Scott Card (made famous by writing "Ender's Game") started his writing career by writing short stories, most of which were submitted to magazines and the like ("Ender's Game" originates from one of these stories). There was one "universe" (my term meaning a group of stories that exist in the same reality, such as the Star Wars Universe, or Star Trek Universe) that he wrote many short stories in. These short stories were bound into a compilation called "Hot Sleep." Later, Card wrote a long story in this universe, and this was released with the original shorts in the book "The Worthing Saga" (to say it again briefly: "The Worthing Saga" exists of one long story and a bunch of short stories, all in the same universe). OK, I have spent way too long talking about this, but IMO, "The Worthing Saga" is the best Orson Scott Card book ever (which is a topic all on it's own). Anywho, this script is an adaptation of "LifeLoop," one of the original short stories.

Media Entrepreneurship:
My Business Plan: This is an 18 page business plan that I made for the class (I took out my address when I uploaded it). This is the only file in this post that I have an official grade for: 325/400. Not great, but seeing as I didn't do any research, I am conformable with the grade (I made a B in the class).

Visual Editing:
Pink Tux (YouTube link, also a part of this post below): My final project for the class. Our assignment was to make a video that showed we knew how to use the software. We had to use effects, transitions, key frames, and all of the other little buttons and do-dads. So, I figured if he wanted something that was over the top with effects and transitions, I might as well make an '80's music video. So I did. I used the required video clips and grabbed "In Love With the 80's (Pink Tux to the Prom)" by Relient K as the background music. I like the way it turned out. I will show this video to my instructor tomorrow, and that will be the last time that I have a scheduled class in college... yea!



On another subject: I am sure that no one noticed, but I switched hosting companies. I am now using .Mac (pronounced "DotMac"). I say this because there are posts with links still to the old server, and seeing as I have over 250 posts on this blog, I don't want to go back and change all of my links. SO: old post's links may not work any more. If you are browsing my archives and want a link updated, post a comment to that post and I will see what I can do.

Matthew

Cow Countdown

In honor of me quitting Chick-fil-A in two days, I thought that I would count down the time that I have dressed up as the Chick-fil-A Cow.

#1 10/20/06

#2 10/28/06

#3 10/31/06

#3.5 (I dressed up but was not seen by anyone) 11/21/06

#4.5 12/19/06

#5.5 01/25/07

#6.5 02/05/07

#7.5 02/22/07

#8.5 02/2/07

#9.5 07/04/07

#10.5 07/14/07

#11 (was for a film shoot) 10/21/07

#12 12/08/07

#13 12/11/07

Matthew

Best Price?

OK, so I am graduating this week, and I want to get rid of all of my old text books. Who will buy back the textbooks for the most money?

The University Bookstore, on campus
Voertman's, the "bookstore" just off campus where you can buy anything and everything UNT (similar to the local bookstore chain in College Station)
Eagle Text, the small, rundown place just off campus that is run by those Chinese guys, all they do is buy and sell used books.

Which will pay me the most money, and why? I would guess that it is not worth the $10 to "shop around" at all three.

Matthew

I hope that they come in...

I ordered Drew's and Momma's presents today on Amazon, but just saw that the "expected ship date" is "December 17-18th," meaning that both presents may not even SHIP until after we open gifts.

If they don't ship by Thursday, I will cancel the order and buy locally. They are not things that can't be bought locally, I was just looking for the connivence of not having to walk up and down isles looking for what I wanted.

Matthew

Wi-Fi

Neat gift idea.

Matthew

True Love

OK, I understand that I am moody. I have mood swings, more that most people. One minute I can be laughing, the next minute I can be depressed and lonely.

Right now, I am depressed and lonely. But don't worry about me. Thirty minutes from now I will be watching old Friends reruns and laughing (I am just glad I don't drink, if I did, I would be REALLY moody).

Tonight I saw the movie Dan in Real Life. It is about a guy who meets a girl that he instantly falls in love with, then finds out that he can't have her. He spends most of the movie trying to move past her, but he can't. The entire movie is about love and family, about most people being happy while one person in the group is faking the happiness because he can't be with his true love. And of course at the end they end up happily ever after.

Even though it was a feel good movie, it has me depressed. The more I go though life, the less likely it seems like I will find my one True Love. I don't use that phrase the way that the movies use it, I use it the way that family and friends show it. Sara and Jimmy. Stephen and Bwige. Hurley and Helen. Each couple has an amazing love for each other that amazes me, and puts the True Love of movies to shame.

But where is my True Love? Stephen keeps telling me that "God has a girl picked out for you," but I don't believe that. I don't think that each person has exactly one perfect match. I think that there is much more randomness involved, more luck in crossing paths at the right time. This is not to say that God isn't preparing someone for me, it is just that I have never been on a real date with a girl, much less felt anything that I would classify as love (attraction, yes, but it seems all of the girls I am interested in are taken). I guess like I feel like an illiterate person at the library. I want to stop and read a book, but I can't even read the titles, so I just walk down the isles looking at the spines, longing to know what's inside.

Even outside of True Love, I am having (have been having) problems finding happiness in my life. I used to have a few friends, but I don't any more. I struggle to have fun filming things. I am lonely most days, and my work is unfulfilling. And even as I search for love and happiness in religion, it never satisfies. The few times that I am happy are when I am with family. Being with other people that love me is the only time that I am not depressed. But even then it comes with mixed blessing because I look around me and all of my siblings and friends are married, they have True Love, and that reminds me of how lonely I am inside.

The more I traverse in life, the more accepting I am of the idea that I will spend my life out as an old hermit in the woods: alone. And of course, thinking about this just makes me more depressed. I want happiness, I want True Love, but the more I search for it, the more it runs away from me, then taunts me from afar.

Like I said, don't worry about me, I am just being moody. I am sure that after I finish crying, I will be laughing again.

Soon.

I hope.

Matthew

Buddy!

How 'bout them Cowboys?

'Nuff said.

Matthew

Random links...

Random links of the week:

Star Trek Inspirational Posters (mostly for Hurley, but there are some funny ones in there)
Speed Racer trailer (looks interesting)
Narnia: Prince Caspian trailer (neat first look, even if it wasn't my favorite of the books)

Now going to a completely different, but relevant topic: A few months ago, I was working at Chick-fil-A, and on my break I was browsing through the newspaper. In one section they had the picture of the new Mach 5 (the car Speed Racer drives). And I was like, "Wow, they are making a Speed Racer movie." I don't remember what I said or mumbled, but a kid (about 10 years old) in the booth next to me said "What?" I showed him the picture of the car in the newspaper, and said "They are making Speed Racer into a movie."

I knew it would happen. I saw it coming a mile away. I never wanted to get this reaction in my life, but here they were, right in front of me.

He said, "What's Speed Racer?"

AHHHHHH! NO! I never want to hear that phrase! And I am not talking about the "Speed Racer" words, I am talking about the "What's [insert culture icon from when you were a kid]?" phrase!

*sob* Now I know what my sister means when she talks about feeling old.

Matthew

Hot!

DFW set a record high today.

84 degrees.

Yup, with less than 20 days until Christmas, here in Texas, it is summer weather at 84 degrees!

Thankfully, there is a front moving in, and in the next 24 hours temps will drop 20+ degrees.

Matthew

Not again!

Remember 6 months ago when the "Time with God" set (and Cathy's house) flooded? We had to put off taping a few months while we re-located to a room that Cathy's church let us set up in.

Well, this morning I made my way to Gainesville and got there right at 9:10. While we were "scheduled" to meet at 9:00, me getting there ten minutes late is fine: Cathy has been at least 15 minutes late each day for the last few months. When I get there, though, she is already there, and has had a heroic morning.

She got there early for once (8:45) and decided to have everything set up for me so when I got there we could just start taping. So she started turning on the lights, a job that I normally do. As she turned on the last light (a 500w bulb on a light stand) it popped (like a few have done in the past), so she first unplugged it. About that time, she thought "I am surprised that it didn't catch on fire."

Now let me stop here. I will admit that I claim responsibility for this. In the last few months I have done many stupid things in order to cut costs. For example, I was using $2 extension cords (with no grounding wire) instead of surge protectors. Instead of buying $20 worth of ND filters (sheets of plastic to put on the light to cut down the brightness) I had clothes pinned up large sheets of paper to cut the light. Needless to say, I was putting money in front of safety.

So, as I was saying, Cathy thought "I am surprised that it didn't catch on fire," at which point she looked up and saw that the sheets of paper were indeed on fire. She grabbed them, and just like in cartoons, her first instinct was to blow on them to put them out. And like in the cartoons, this only fanned the flames. So she threw it on the ground, grabbed the quilt that we use as a table cloth, and smothered the fire. Then, for good measure, she poured her $4 latte on it (running early, she wanted to treat herself to something better than a $1 cup at Braums, her usual stop, so she went across the street to Starbucks).

The good news is that no one and no thing was hurt, and the sprinklers didn't go off.

The bad news is that she now has to pay for the cleanup, and the church smells like smoke (personally, I like the smell, but I am sure that most people won't).

As she said, maybe this was God's way of getting our attention on safety so that something bigger didn't happen later (like at her new house which is being remodeled right now). But what I can tell you is that I feel like an idiot for not listening to my professors when they talk about safety. I sure won't do that again!

Matthew

One more thing...

Just adding one thing to my Christmas wish list:
a new mouse!
Nothing fancy, just an optical wired mouse is all. A few extra buttons would be nice but not required.

Matthew