this is it im living it

the second thousand

Sun, 18 Jul 2010 09:46:00 -0700

broadcasting now from chicago, at what is the halfway point in our 26 day trip. the day to day is increasingly more awesome than i ever expected it to be. from giant bugs marching around millenium park in chicago to massive electrical storms at four in the morning in south dakota, america maintains its breathtaking reputation.

have some more haikus!

—-

11. super kind lady
mountain market and deli
gross ass sausages

12. sweaty boys breathe deep
work-out regimen gone wrong
push-ups in the night

13. discs sail through the air
at Whispering Pines campground
still no hole in one

14. MRE - meal pouch
all the nutrients you need
don’t enjoy. CONSUME.

15. they call you a tease
you’re the butt of naughty jokes
… Old Faithful’s coming.

16. Wyoming, you say?
enormous rock formations!
more like, WHOA-yo-ming.

17. our world cup scramble
three bars closed, fourth’s the charm
hooray, pub ‘n grub!

18. night with modest mouse
in sioux falls south dakota
isaac brock, hero

19. double exposures
plus gender roles when hunting
fun at mt. rushmore

20. as the sun goes down
roll it, twist it, start it up
major lazer tag.

—

working working working. living living living.

see you all soon.

The First One Thousand

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:13:45 -0700

Here be the first ten haikus from Great America, my summer 2010 road trip. They are intended to encapsulate the first one thousand miles, or one hundred miles per haiku, roughly. In the interest of full disclosure, I have broken 2,000 miles, but haven’t finished the last few haikus of the second group, so here are the first ten.

—

1. let’s talk about girls
crushes, dances, romances
the first one hundred.

2. IN - fries and burgers
fries - N - familiar fast food
before we head - OUT

3. URUGUAY - THE DUTCH
the final score was 3-2
goal! goal! goal! goal! goal!

4. weather decorates
cloudy calico mountains
we want summer rain!

5. last call for showgirls!
stock up on liquor and beer
see ya, nevada

6. shadows streak the sky
salty lips taste salty lakes
land speed record: set.

7. descent to provo
refreshing sobriety
mormons and ‘twilight’

8. hey, sister denny
your looks make me read that book
how about marriage?

9. banana cream pie
and ice cream in blender - WHIRRRR
delicious milk shakes

10. how to pass the time
alex farts while kevin snores
just us and the road.

—-

i hope you enjoyed! i am currently broadcasting from sioux falls, south dakota at the end of day seven. i’ve seen modest mouse twice, traveled over 2,000 miles, and had some of the best times. i have the rest of july, still, and am unbelievably excited.

5000 miles! the silliness of america! analog the journey!

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:04:38 -0700

here i sit, mere hours away from a 5,000-mile, 22-state, international road trip. i’m in the process of burning CDs for the trip and organizing some clothes and wondering which shoes to bring.

i have several pairs to choose from! there’s a yellow pair and a blue pair and a brown leather pair and a running pair.

anyway, this road trip comes at a nice time for introspection. a time for Innerward Thinking and Future Planning and Bulletpoints for a Successful Tomorrow.

creatively, i will write a sonnet for each state, a haiku for every hundred miles, and take a lot of pictures (working title of the album: Us Silly Americans). gastrointestinally, i will indulge in the most delicious sounding food from each locale, unless there is something that’s spicy, in which case, the spice takes precedence. athletically, kevin and i are playing a national basketball tournament, with stops at courts across the united states and canada.

i hope all of your julys are wonderful and sprawling and splendid!

here i come, america!

Party Hat

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:07:40 -0700

Abraham: Where are you going?
David: Just a little get together.
Abraham: Is it a party?
David: It's not a party.
Abraham: Do you want to take your yarmulke? Just in case?
David: In case of what?
Abraham: In case it turns into a party. Here, take my yarmulke.
David: Dad. Why would I bring your yarmulke? Or my yarmulke? Or any yarmulke, for that matter?
Abraham: You'll want a party hat in case it turns into a party, David. I'm only looking out for your best interests.
David: Why do I need a hat at a party?
Abraham: A party hat.
David: ... Why do I need a party hat at this party?
Abraham: Have you considered the alternative?
David: The alternative to wearing my hat to a party? You mean, not wearing a party hat?
Abraham: Exactly. With the exception of your brother, I've made very few mistakes in my life, and they've all been related to hats.
David: Wait. Robbie? You made a mistake with Robbie?
Abraham: Huh. You know, I guess that was hat-related, too. Well, look at that! Every single mistake in my life, every single embarrassment... it's all tied to hats.
David: What the hell are you talking about, dad?
Abraham: I'm talking about Linda Marlene's Cowboys 'n Indians birthday! Jenny Garland's weekly Conehead night! Gerald McGovern's Inaugural Address Soiree! Alexander Coffer's Sombrero y Salsa Celebration! Each one a terrific party, each more hat-centric than the last. And each time, I got caught with my pants down.
David: Are we talking about Robbie again?
Abraham: ...
David: Can I go now?
Abraham: Is that your dress yarmulke, or the -
David: It's the Spiderman one.
Abraham: Go on, get outta here. Have fun.

writing in july

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:47:00 -0700

i am going to write things on whims this month, daily.

so far, i wrote some ‘lyrics.’

it’s complicated to think about it

so you might as well forget about it

smile and have some drinks about it

lay out and get sunburnt about it

for the trip, i will be doing ‘hundred mile haikus’ as well as casual observations and photo-takings. hopefully i can work on the tv/film stuff, but i don’t want to distract from what should be an Eye Opening and Mind Enriching Experience.

what up summer

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:33:38 -0700

it’s been two weeks! i moved, i went to some concerts and some parties, and i went swimming in the lake. these are very summery things! i also grabbed my two film cameras from my apartment and will have them at my side to document what will be a decidely analog road trip for the month of july, from sacramento to new york, with stops in utah, minnesota, the dakotas, chicago and canada. hopefully i’ll find some one-hour photos along the way so i don’t have to wait a month to share everything.

but, i do have a few more days at home before setting. i’ve ben getting into a familiar pattern of reading books, writing jokes, working on a television script, and thinking about songs (a note on the latter: i have access now to a piano, so i’m tossing together a song at some point this week).

cheers, everyone!

hodgsona: List of things to do. My oh my some people are good...

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:19:44 -0700

hodgsona:

List of things to do.

My oh my some people are good at photography.

passionfruit

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:47:59 -0700

i am all moved in to santa monica and i already moved out. kinda. i’m actually back in loomis for a few days, hoping to catch up on reading (finished curious incident of the dog in the nighttime!), writing (two projects, finally), running (a lot) and being (human).

—

sports revelry. watched the lakers win their second championship in a row on thursday night at sepi’s. pitchers of beer, tasty sandwiches, and an excitable crowd. joanne, as a non-sports fan, even got sucked into the fist-pumping and beer-drinking and high-fivin’, and left with as big a smile on her face as anyone. it was a great series, and i’m excited for the kings to get back in it (“it” being not 2nd-worst) next year.

this was followed by a few hours of sleep before returning to barney’s in westwood to watch the usa v. slovenia world cup game. breakfast burrito, beer and coffee with george, charles and emerson. first time i’ve ever done a ‘usa usa usa!” chant, but there’s nothing like the passion for a nation. when that third goal was taken from us, the devastation was palpable; joyous hugs turned to disbelieving stares. truly, these people care. it shows in lining up for the bar before 7am, in standing for their team when there are no seats, and sticking through the pains of terrible calls to see america to its next game. see you all wednesday morning!

—

home is trail running, lake swimming, movie-watching. home is starting on a ‘community’ spec script. home is a refreshing break that allows me the perspective to be way enthused about most everything going on right now.

—
currently listening: crystal castles’ crystal castles

currently reading: infinite jest (book)

"If you do creative work, there’s a sense that inspiration is this fairy dust that gets dropped..."

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:42:55 -0700

“If you do creative work, there’s a sense that inspiration is this fairy dust that gets dropped on you, when in fact you can just manufacture inspiration through sheer brute force. You can simply produce enough material that the thing will arrive that seems inspired.”

- Ira Glass.

this must be los angeles

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:33:00 -0700

this morning i woke up, put on my running shoes and hoofed it to santa monica beach. i ran past black babies in strollers, latino kids with matching hats and single-speed bikes, and awkward white girls on cruisers.

then i made myself peach tea, ate some cheez-its (breakfast burrito is on deck) and am making plans to bike to westwood to watch the game. don’t worry, kings nation, i still love you! it’s just the celtics are such cocky bastards, i can’t help but root for the lakers.

in between peach tea and sports revelry i’ll read some book, and write some pages of something. maybe tv? maybe feature? maybe sonnets for a simpler time?

i hope everyone’s having as peaceful a day as this one!

currently listening: two door cinema club’s tourist history

currently reading: the curious incident of the dog in the night-time (book)

new

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:07:38 -0700

i’m falling asleep in santa monica! this has all sorts of implications!

The album cover for The Rule About’s Saying Hello EP. In...

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:54:07 -0700

The album cover for The Rule About’s Saying Hello EP.

In other words… new musical project! Friend Rachael and I put this together for her music production class, and I’m pleased with how it turned out!

Enjoy!

the rule about: the recording session

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 19:53:05 -0700

my friend rachael and i are working to record some songs for our band project ‘the rule about’ and i thought i’d share some of the process with you. i worked on this timeline during the downtime during our first recording session.

—

12:54: decide to blog about the recording session. fingers hopped up on caffeine and potential. rachael’s quote about the computer: “i just wanna fucking record.” should be a good day!

1:18: starting record! ‘skate dates’ take 1.

1:36: we recorded a few ‘skate dates’ with combined vocals and guitar. now putting it onto the computer so we can record the tracks individually. so stoked, it’s sounding really good.

2:05: just finished individual vocals (rachael is too good at singing!) and individual guitar for ‘skate dates’ and we’re getting ready to move on! three songs to go!

2:17: We’re moving on to ‘heart wrestling.’ new lyrics plus different musical style, so we’ve got to practice a bit more before recording. promising start, though!

2:47: Re-working to get the feel of the song we’d like. Aiming for a poppier version. Going to add extra vocal shouts too, just for funsies!

2:59: Rachael is recording her vocals for ‘heart wrestling.’ I just noticed my guitar pick is yellow, and matches my shoes.

3:06. Rachael is killing it!

3:27. That’s a wrap on ‘heart wrestling’! On to the next one! On to the next one!

4:43 first run through of ‘fashionably late jurassic’. EPIC 10 MINUTES. plus the iphone’s a little broken, but whateevr. most importantly = EPIC

4:52 another run through. very loud! very sweaty!

5:26 brief phone malfunction and run to get microphone doesn’t work out, but another recording of jurassic down, and figured out the song part to the last song for the day. the train moves forward!

5:44 acapella rendition of dinosaurs. when we play the hollywood bowl this is going to be huge.

6:04 this goddam iphone. ha.

6:10 trying to slow down the recording a bit… not sure if the lyrics were even audible. we move on!

6:19 we have four songs! except for the fourth! we have to record the fourth before we have four songs!

6:36 so this song is actually challenging. there are some pretty obvious influences, but it’s still a gem. takign a break to listen to some music and marvel at ray allen’s first half efficiency before getting underway.

6:40 oh my god rachael’s gone mad. BJORK HAS TAKEN HER BRAIN.

6:54 wow. this song is great, but mosly because of her singing.

7:13 Only vocals and instrumentals left to record and we’ll be out of here. c’mon iphone, stay strong.

7:33 fingers shaking. but it’s for art! my last request is to record ‘cardigan swagger’s instrumentals against our last vocal part… and it may have killed the iphone. oop!

7:52. Let’s get outta here! Gotta mix the songs and lotsa other junk, but we can talk about that later. For now, fresh air. Peace.

"im so blessed to have spent that time with my family and the friends i love with my short life i..."

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 15:51:11 -0700

“im so blessed to
have spent that time
with my family and the friends
i love with my short life i have met
so many people i deeply care for”

- Yeasayer, “Red Cave”

put your crown on the ground

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:35:03 -0700

vegas was groovy. miike snow rocked. judd apatow and jason segel tomorrow. banquet wednesday. thursday play. friday museum and neon indian and sausage. banquet saturday. recording EP sunday. final. release EP. andrew bird. final. graduation. jury duty. home. road trip.

let’s go!

pro am

Wed, 26 May 2010 04:07:50 -0700

a lot of how people perceive you is how you let yourself be perceived. if you make available every rough draft, unedited picture, unfinished track, you make yourself too available.

what’s made public needs to be guarded, for the public sphere is more valuable than we give it credit for. it’s very easy to ask for input from everyone at every point of a project. this transparency to every step is why people herald the connectivity aspect of the internet. it gives the sense of a grand community. while this has some positive aspects, i find that there are more drawbacks than gains.

it’s very easy to need that input, to crave it more than to use it, because any input is feedback on something you’ve done. but that’s not at all what you need. you need the pointed, poignant criticism. it’s like playing a sport. if you played basketball at the same local playground every day for a year, you’d be one of the best people at that playground. but you wouldn’t grow. you’d face the same challenges, by people who are not necessarily interested in getting better at basketball.

in that vein, show your work to people better than you. sure, the people that are on the same level can have input, and the people that have different career and artistic paths have nice opinions and valuable thoughts, but those that are doing what you do and want to do matter the most.

grab hold and ride their wake of experience, until you waterski smack dab into your future.

im the great white hope

Sun, 23 May 2010 02:31:00 -0700

just saw the national at the wiltern with lauren and daniel, followed by a very prommy dinner at canter’s; just two days ago i was watching edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros at royce hall.

film festival finale tuesday, vegas weekend and a miike snow concert next monday.

things are floatin’ along better than ever.

intern 3: the point of no intern.

Sat, 22 May 2010 02:58:07 -0700

i started writing this post in the belly of the beast (aka, the office of the boss), but then i got an assignment and ended up working till the very, very last minute of my internship. i emailed the final document, closed my laptop, walked to the lobby and had a piece of ice cream cake.

and that’s all she wrote. i’ve gone through this post-internship exercise before, where i sum up my experiences, my learnings, which of the relationships i found most fascinating… a word on this that and others.

what i learned about higher-ups: they work harder than we do. for whatever that means, it’s true.

what i learned about peers: hang on to the smiling ones, be wary of the sneaky ones, and let go the boastful ones.

what i learned about myself: at some point, it’s not about doing a great job with only what’s asked of you. achieve even when you’re on the sidelines so the gametime performance’s even better. in other words, hit those orange peels.

what i learned about paninis: it’s tempting to overload them with so many things, but really, they’re best served sleek.

on to the next one. which, in this case, is a spec television script, four guitar songs for an EP, and an end-of-the-year video for judd apatow’s award ceremony.

underdog

Fri, 21 May 2010 03:24:57 -0700

gotta be underdog because he’s the come from behind guy. got a script to read and cover for my last day of interning, a video to make progress on, my own scripts to write and some songs to sing.

if there was enough time, i’d probably squander it anyway, so let’s make this an ode to dealing with what we’ve got, not for what we wish we had.

closing time

Thu, 20 May 2010 02:33:59 -0700

ah yes, the familiar habit of blogging before bed. it feels nicer than i thought it would feel to slip back into this routine, but this familiar habit of going to bed post-three (at this rate, if i truly am going to read a script) does not feel as nice.

i should mention the excellent night of comedy i went to on monday, headlined by aziz ansari, because it was very funny. i should also mention that super mash bros. + far east movement put on a decent music performance tonight. these are things worth mentioning because i feel like i’m at a junction of one of the busiest, most productive, creative junctures in recent memory, and i like that i am still enjoying myself with enjoyable friends at these enjoyable activities.

… and with three upcoming concerts, Shorttakes film festival, a video compilation to make and some screenplays to draft, there’s no end in sight! l’chaim!