Blue Skies are Calling

Whoa. I need to stop and breathe for a second. I am sort of shocked that it's Thursday already. I have only 4 days left of a glorious break.

I've been having fun. I had a couple parties with the family around Christmas, much like every year. Then, the cousins from LA came to visit, and we talked for three hours. I spent the past two days tromping around Johnstown with my cousin McKenzie. We were also joined by Alaina, Ryan, and Adam. What a crew! We ate a lot of good food and watched half a dozen movies.

Now, McKenzie has suddenly returned to Virginia because homework and projects were calling her name. I guess I should start working on stuff too. But first, I have to find a suit. Being awkwardly long and skinny isn't always easy. I haven't found a nice suit yet. The Winter Formal is over two weeks away. So, I still have time. A road trip might be in order.

As 2010 ends, I am excited for what lies ahead. It was another fun year. 2010 leaves me with hope.

Happy Birthday Jesus

It's Christmas! Get off the computer and go hang with your family and friends! God Bless!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

So it's Christmas Eve. Feels weird, doesn't it?

Last night, Ryan, Adam, and I helped decorate our cathedral. Setting up the trees and the nativity scenewas difficult but fun. Then we joined Alaina and her brother to hit up Dunkin Donuts and Coney Island.

Oh yeah. I also saw Black Swan yesterday. It was crazy but very good. It was a sort of film that I have not seen before - very dark and artsy. The whole movie had a dancing movement to it, and you can't help but get completely lost in it. Definitely check it out.



So far today, my family and I have been busy preparing - cleaning the house and baking cookies. The holidays always end up being stressful, and we started the day with an argument. After everyone had their say and cooled down, we sat in the living room with our heads in our hands. Now things are better, and I'm looking forward to break.

For some reason, I really missed my grandparents today. My church had a mass dedicated to them this morning at 7:00 am but none of us made it. I hope they're somewhere warm.

Well, wishing you all the best! Less than 24 hours until Christmas!

I'm Not Applying Anymore

As of two hours ago, I am officially done applying for college. Just in time for Christmas. It feels good.

For the first time in a long time, I had some downtime tonight. So I finished watching a documentary I started a week ago. It's called Tales From the Script. Anyone not interested in filmmaking would most likely be bored to tears.


Basically, the screenwriters who were interviewed talked about how cutthroat the industry is and how no one knows what they're doing. It was really funny and yet horrifying at the same time.

At the end of the movie, one of the writers talked about writing the film My Life. It starred Nicole Kidman and Michael Keaton and had to do with cancer. The movie got awful reviews and the writer was mortified and embarrassed.

However nine months after the release, a woman came up to him at a party and shared her story. Her husband had died of cancer, and her twelve-year-old son never talked about it. Then, she was diagnosed with cancer and had six months to live. She took her son to see the movie, and on the way home afterward, he sobbed. At home, he crawled into bed with her, and they had the conversation that she needed to have in order to leave the world.

So in retrospect, the writer wrote the movie for her. Unknowingly. And it was enough.

I think that's cool. And as I worked on my college essays about my passion in film, etc., it was easy to become a little discouraged. I made the short film A Dance in Time. It was a high school film - nothing extraordinary. But many friends of my grandparents, whom I would never have talked to otherwise, have approached me. Many older couples tell me how much they enjoyed the film. So I guess that is enough.

It still hasn't sunk in. But only three days until Christmas.

Movie Love

This past weekend was a little crazy, and it felt never-ending. But Monday brought a new week and so far, I am as happy as can be.

It feels like Christmas. I'm working to get stuff done before break. Man do I need one! I think we all do.

Besides Christmas, this is one of my favorite times of the year for another reason: movies! And most of the best ones! The only downside is that Johnstown hardly ever gets any of the limited releases. But that won't stop me. As of now, I'm driving an hour away with some friends on Thursday to see Black Swan. I'll drive all Oscar season if I have to. There's a buttload of films I want to see.


I'm almost done with my final college application - LMU. I've been working on the film essay. I have to write about the elements of the most powerful stories and storytellers. The essay has actually been giving me a hard time.

When I was searching for inspiration the other day, I stumbled across a dude who makes a movie montage at the end of each year. They were really cool. Of course, I'm a sucker for those montages at the ends of movies that give you little heart goosebumps (see Annie Hall, Slumdog Millionaire, 500 Days of Summer, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).

Anyways, the Cinema 2010 montage was uploaded today. Make some popcorn and enjoy!

Also, only four days until Christmas! I can't believe it!

Snow Day Results

Tonight, I am busy working on homework and projects that have resulted from the third snow day of the year. Yesterday was fun.

I'm home alone! That means endless coffee drinking and blasting music!

Tomorrow my school's student council is hosting a Christmas Coffeehouse aka open mic night. I have stuff to prepare for that tonight too. I can talk about it tomorrow. I also still have to write about the weekend and a new development - mine and Alaina's strange relationship that no one understands.

Well, I better get back to work. Only ten days until Christmas! Holy poop! Finish up getting your gifts for your besties!

Yes... I used that word.

I Want to Dance

I just had the urge to dance. Like fun dancing. Goofy, awkward, flinging arms everywhere dancing. And I want to laugh.

Last night, Ryan and I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. I read about the movie online. It received good reviews and everyone was talking about how much they liked it. Despite it's 2.5 hour running time, I was assured that it was thrilling.

I have to disagree. Ryan and I were bored. While the girl who plays Lisbeth (the girl with the dragon tattoo) was cool, it was hard to stay interested. I realize that converting a story from book form to movie form is really difficult. So, I don't usually try to compare the two. I hate it when people label a Harry Potter film as awful because it left out a half of a page of the book. I don't even care if the movie has plot changes. At the end of the day, the film has to stand on its own as a good piece of art.

But the changes made to the film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were weird and awkward. Unlike the book, I thought the movie was flat. It never got more thrilling or climaxed.

And finally, it pushed the whole feminist thing way too much. The book dealt with the issue of female abuse in a cool way that befitted the story. On the other hand, the movie included an extended rape scene (that was awkward to watch with Ryan) and numerous murder pictures. When the long movie should have been ending, Lisbeth had a long conversation with her mom about the abuse she suffered from her father. I think this is a plot development from the second novel. It didn't need to be in the first movie. Last, an important character from the book wad dead in the movie. Why. Here's the exact line: "Anita had a successful career before tragically dying of breast cancer." Why not? Let's throw breast cancer awareness in there too. The line sounded ridiculous even is Swedish.

Sorry for complaining. I know you don't care. The experience wasn't totally awful.The film's un-American sex scenes sparked interesting conversation between Ryan and me. And in the scene where Lisbeth removes her shirt to reveal armpit hair, Ryan did a double take. I forgot Swedish girls rolled like that. Hot.

Before going to bed, we watched a little bit of the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated for a good laugh.



As I worked on stuff today, I've been listening to Conditions by the Temper Trap. It's really good. Why haven't I bought that album yet?


11 days until Christmas!

I know it's not a Christmas song, but here's Love Lost by the Temper Trap.

Congratulations to Me

First off, this is my 50th blog post. Wow. I didn't think I would get there. Let's party!

I guess my gift is another snow storm. Schools in Johnstown got out early today, and I'm holding out for a third snow day so I can finally start typing my LMU essays.

I've been working on a poetry project for AP English. I'm reporting on Eating Poetry which has a theme of feeding attractions. Which reminds me of reading over 150 pages of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on Saturday. I finally finished the book at Alaina's birthday party.


Needless to say, I really liked the Swedish crime thriller. It was cool, sexy, and new. I guess I'll have to read the other two novels in the trilogy in the summer.


A little later tonight, I'm going to crash on my couch with some coffee and blankets to watch the Swedish movie. Thank God for Netflix on the Wii. Just saying.



America is working on its own version of the film. Because it's directed by David Fincher, it should be awesome. We'll find out next Christmas. That is if the Mayans are wrong, and we don't blow up before then.

Anyway, only 12 more days until this Christmas!

Recovery Evening

I had a blast this weekend! And now I'm recovering.

Alaina celebrated her birthday and officially became an adult too. I went on a lot of adventures, partied with Alaina, and ate a bunch of yummy food. I really want to talk about all of it, but I've decided to wait until Alaina gets her pictures developed.

Until then, I have a special announcement. If I've calculated correctly, this summer marks the 5th Anniversary of Pine Street Productions. The summer before I entered high school, my family bought a video camera, and I began making silly videos with my siblings and neighbors.


To celebrate the anniversary in conjunction with my leaving for college, Ryan and I were discussing throwing a huge block party - complete with food, Chinese lanterns, loud music, tents, everyone we know, and maybe even fireworks. We could watch all of the movies consecutively on a huge sheet. Ryan, Adam, and I could even make a short documentary on our history together. That would be fun.

Until then, I'm thinking about launching a mini-series entitled Pine Street Productions: Five Years of Violence, Sex, and Love.

Lately, we've been watching some of our old projects and laughing our heads off. You get a certain satisfaction when you watch your pre-puberty self acting like an idiot. We've also been surprised to find a staggering amount of violence and a number of sexual innuendos throughout the Pine Street films. Oh goodness.

USC wanted me to upload a video sample online, so I created a Vimeo account. Eventually, I'm going to post clips from the past films on there. However, it will have to be after I finish my LMU application - probably sometime over Christmas break. I'll announce the official release date when I figure it out.

Moving on. Thirteen days til Christmas! Unfortunately, most of the Christmas music on the radio is annoying. So I set out to create the ultimate holiday soundtrack entitled A Very Hipster Christmas. Good Christmas songs are out there.

One of the cool ones is Happy Birthday Guadalupe by the Killers. I haven't had a chance to watch the video until tonight.

The kids are not alright because they're not kids. They're freaking adults!

Sigh. So I wasn't sure what to blog about tonight. But there was one recent event that has stuck in my mind.

Lately, Ryan and I have been driving around town on adventures together. We usually do around Christmas.

One night while we were at Wal-Mart, I wanted to buy The Kids Are Alright. I've been wanting to see it since it came out in the summer. But of course, Johnstown doesn't get the good, limited release movies. Isn't there something terribly exciting about buying movies you haven't seen yet?

We were getting a bunch of groceries that had to be purchased with a credit card. But I wanted to pay for the movie with cash. So, I gave the money and the movie to Ryan. Red flag! Siren! Alarm!

I forgot that The Kids Are Alright was rated R. "I'll need to see an ID," said the cashier lady. I reached into my pocket to pull out my driver's license. "I can't do that! I can't do that!" She needed a parent's permission. A parent!

Apparently, the lady believed that if I purchased the movie, I was just going to give it to Ryan on the way out. Explaining that I was buying it for myself was no use. If Ryan had a heart attack watching a dirty movie, excuse her, a scary movie, then it would be Wal-Mart's fault. What a weird world we live in today.

I just gave up. Everyone behind us was already giving us funny looks. Like we were trying to buy a porno. Wal-Mart doesn't even sell "dirty" movies.

Life will go on. But I'm eighteen. I'm an adult. I want to be treated like one. Although I don't want to be called one because that's weird.

I remember thinking that seniors in high school were so old whenever I was younger. Now I'm a senior, and I still feel like a kid. Which might be sort of good in a way. I don't know.

In other news, most of our running around today involved gearing up for Alaina's birthday. I wanted to celebrate her passage into adulthood tomorrow. However, she came over to bake cookies tonight and most of the surprises are already ruined thanks to my family. Not to mention, I think I have ringworm (I'm clean I swear!). Life is wonderful.

Chad Strikes Back

So I took a hiatus. A long one. The last two months were a whirlwind. At many moments, I encountered something I longed to blog about. But I didn't want to start blogging again unless I knew I could keep it up consistently. That wouldn't be fair.

I turned in my research paper today (I wrote about interracial couples), and so I'm beginning to feel free. Well freeer. Free-er. More free.

A buttload of bloggable events occurred in the past two months. I'll try to pick some ones to focus on over the next few weeks.

A few highlights:

I finished the short film, called it a Dance in Time, and entered it in a few festivals. We'll wait and see what happens.
I also completed all of my applications except for one - LMU, which I plan to start this week.
And I'm starting to grow a little more facial hair. Not quite there yet.

In other news, Christmas is in 16 days. Holy crap. All of the sudden, winter struck Johnstown and we had two snow days. My guidance counselor reminded me again today that senior year flies by. She's right.

But I'm having fun. And I'm excited for what lies ahead.