Ukelele...

Most of you probably don't know this, but this Sunday is National Play Your Ukulele day. So listen to some Kate Micucci, my girl Najme or, if you're feeling adventurous, go on youtube and start looking at random vids. This one is courtesy of Kingsford who was the first one to see my uke after I got it last Spring.



Go big.

-M, p, z & shredder

I Used to be Creative...

When I was in high school a friend of mine was in a band. I mean, so was I and everyone else, but this kid was in a legit band and still, 10+ years later, makes money off making music. Anyway, one day he was listening to my shitty band and told us of how he used to enjoy being in a band and having fun just fucking around like we were. He missed the days of playing and not rehearsing. He said music became a chore and no longer felt the same way about it.

I'm about to start my third week of school and right now, in this moment, I no longer enjoy thinking. Not that school has been especially hard or emotionally taxing or any other bullshit people say, but it's been strange. Writing screenplays and treatments is fun. I love writing and I love characters. I love putting myself into people I create and having them lead lives of my quiet desperation. Writing 50 shitty headlines about Chapstick and Ziploc bags only to be reminded that I suck at writing is not fun - it's a chore. Writing 50 headlines this week about fucking Claritin D 24 is agonizing, because I know slightly more than I did two weeks ago but not enough to be any better at it and it's cumbersome to say the least. Am I going to suck this week? Yes. Undoubtedly. Will I get better? Obviously. I just want that to be now. As many of you know, my kind exterior, while not a ruse, does somewhat conceal the fact that I'm as cocky and confident as Lenny Kravitz around a pre-paid prostitute. I hate not being good at things, and not being good at something I love is not so much frustrating as it is literally driving me to drink. Whiskey. Why whiskey? Because that's what real writers drink. And I'm a writer. By trade. Just not by income. Yet. All the greats drank. Kerouac. Balzac. Hemmingway. Hank fucking Moody. Whatever.

I'm blogging today for all you faithful sad little bastards out there who read my blog on the weekend. Carpe diem. Go big.

-M, p, z & shredder

4 Chords...

Just wanted to share this as well. This is pretty hilarious/awesome.



-M, p, z & shredder

The Summer Tease...

I can't decide if I hate or love that first gorgeous week of Spring. You know the one where it's 70s and 80s for a couple weeks before returning to the normal 50 and 60 degree rainy days of March and April. It's such a tease. I'm sitting here, basking in the sun, wishing it was 70 degrees and not 59. But it's April, what do I expect? Isn't this why I recycle? So we don't have 80 degree days in early Spring. Whatever. Someone move to San Diego with me.

Those hot days of last week, that now seem so distant, have actually taught me one thing: Chicago is going to be the bees knees in the Summer. I may have mentioned this before but one of the worst things about NYC was that the Summers are so much more unbearable because in the midst of all that sweltering heat and humidity you are taunted by being surrounded by water that you can't swim in. Chicago on the other hand, sits beside my second favorite lake and I couldn't be more excited to walk a few blocks to the beach, jump in the water and live out a beer commercial.

Anyway, I'm rambling with no point. School is sucking every drop of creativity that I have and making me boring. Getting back into a school routine has been easier than I thought. Perhaps I was just never for the work in high school or undergrad, I definitely didn't care, but now my work ethic seems to come effortlessly which is great. Don't get me wrong, film school was a lot of hard work and a ton of hours, but now I have homework and it actually feels like my future is in my hands which could potentially mean I' shit outta luck, but hopefully means my hands are now ready for such a task.

I'll stop mumbling. Go big or go home.

-M, p, z & shredder

I'd like to send a shout out to my new readers including a new friend and possibly a future blog character heretofore known as Schmoops.

Chiddy Bang...

So I've been about as busy as I've ever been and literally have nothing to talk about but school work so instead I'm going to post a sweet video from Chiddy Bang, who, for some reason, I just found out about yesterday. I downloaded all of his songs and a lot of them are really really good. I don't think they're on iTunes but if you have anything you use to get free music, look it up.



I'm out. Carpe diem kids. Go big.

-M, p, z & shredder.

Popped...

Sorry for the delay. School is crazy. I have never had so much work to do. Scratch that. I've never had so much work to do that I've actually done. Unlike film school where the work was all hands on in class all the time, this is a lot of instruction, then go home and do a lot of work. Which is fine and great and really the only way to do it, but I've been out of school for 3 years now and this caught me off guard. I forgot what it was like to deal with time management and how to prioritize. It'll come back to me soon I'm sure. I've already spent every morning and every night after class doing homework which is kind of unheard of for me as with my past experiences with school, I took a much more lackadaisical approach.

Anyway, today's subject is popped collars. Damn you date raping frat boys and your ruining of hair gel, going to the gym, brightly colored sunglasses and popped collars. I used to agree that anybody with a popped collar was a douche, but after my euro-trip last spring, I realized that not only does it look awesome, but it's the way the shirt was meant to be worn. When the collar is down, the shirt tends to pull back making you constantly tug down on it to adjust it, however when the collar is popped it just hangs normally.

Yeah, I pop my collar. The question is, why don't you?

-M, p, z & shredder

oh ps - i'll try and blog more as I get reacquainted with how to balance homework and downtime and going out time...

Californication...

I know I usually reserve extended quotes and whatever from The West Wing, but the more I watch it, the more Californication becomes one of my favorite shows. So here is an excerpt from season 1, episode 3 (The Whore of Babylon) that I love and for some reason or another, hits me to my core:

"Good morning Hell-A. In the land of the Lotus eaters, time plays tricks on you. One day you're dreaming, the next your dream has become your reality. It was the best of times...if only someone had told me. Mistakes were made. Hearts were broken. Harsh lessons learned. My family goes on without me...while I drown in a sea of pointless pussy. I don't know how I got here, but here I am...rotting away in the warm California sun. There are things I need to figure out...for her sake, at least. The clock is ticking, the gap is widening. She won't always love me no matter what..."



-M, p, z & shredder

Now What?...

So April is now in full swing, the weather is heating up and the rain is coming down. March Madness ended with a thud for me. It was a great season and a great tournament, but regret comes with the name Raymar Morgan. He's been dogged by just about everyone these last few years, but I always believed (and still do) that he is/was our best player. I was so happy and proud that he was finally having the tournament he deserved and played great until an unsettling 5 foul 4 point end to his career as a Spartan. I'll miss his face in green and white, but I'm pretty sure he'll get drafted and be a nice role player for pretty much any team in the NBA. Next year is looking up with a couple great recruits that include Mr. Michigan and a McDonald's All American, not to mention that I doubt Summers or Lucas will leave for the draft, but sadness lingers and I'm really going to miss Raymar wearing that # 2.

So now what? Generally, for the past decade, March Madness ends in time to get ready for Pistons playoff basketball but this year is a different story. As of today we are tied for the third worst record in the league and worse than that, worse than anything really, is that we don't seem to care. The CV31 experiement didn't work and it looks like Ben Gordon has some sort of Lions Quarterback Curse on him. This is the first time I'm talking at depth about the Pistons this year and it's making me naseaus so I'm going to stop.

Good thing Verlander is off to a 1-0 start and the Tigers are looking like they're about to have a solid season. And of course, as always, we have the Red Wings. I'm glad I've gotten more into hockey over the last couple of years because I'm going to need to Wings without the Pistons to cheer for. So grab an Oberon and grab a friend, because Spring is here, the playoffs are nigh and I'll be damned if that wasn't an incredible fun and rewarding NCAA Tournament.

Go big. Carpe diem.

-M, p, z & shredder

One and a Half Men?...

Great news today! Rumors are swirling that Charlie Sheen wants off the worst show in the history of television. Many of you know my deep seeded and quite sincere complete hatred of Two and a Half Men, and if this rumor is true, the show would be over. Finally. I've gone over it many many times before and will spare you a rant, but it's truly the worst show in the history of anything. I'd rather listen to Sarah Palin. Seriously. I don't know if any of you have ever dared watch more than a minute of it, but if you have you understand. It's the worst acting, writing and 'talent' ever assembled in one show.

I have been hoping that Sheen's rampant drug use, rehab, charges of domestic violence and drunk driving would be enough for CBS to fire him, but that would be asking too much from the network that renewed another season of The Mentalist (burn!). Somehow though, it remains the highest rated sitcom on televsion which honestly makes me question whether anything I write will ever stand a chance if this is what people want to see.

Anyway, my fingers are crossed that this all ends up ending the show and I never have to hear about this show for the rest of my life. Go big.

-M, p, z & shredder

Movie News...

Lots of movie news chattering around this morning. Most of it seems to be directed at fanboys like myself who love action, explosions and comic books. So much so that it makes me wonder if it's all an April Fools joke. Let's hope not.

First the concrete news. The first full trailer for The Expendables finally came out. It's everything I hoped it would be and more. I can't tell you how excited I am for this. Along with that comes the second trailer for the new A-Team movie which is great because the more I see of it, the less afraid I am they ruined it. I love the casting and I really think it's going to live up to the name.

For the other, incredibly amazing though possibly not true news, I hear the Del Toro wants to shoot both Hobbit movies in 4-D. I have no idea what this means, but he says he wants it to be better than anything that's out there or coming out and I believe that he and Peter Jackson are the only two dudes that could pull it off. Also (fingers crossed this is real) Kal Penn is set to shoot his first movie since taking a job at the White House and though you may not believe it, it's tentatively titled A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas. This is beyond exciting. I could watch an H&K movie every year (though it would probably dengrate itself into some lame American Pie Series or National Lampoons terrible movie catalog so I guess it's for the best). The thought of the two of them and NPH and Daneel Harris back makes me want to fast forward to the future if I wasn't already so geeked for the amazing movies coming out this year.

Carpe diem my friends. Go big.

-M, p, z & shredder