The Year is Almost Over?...

With only a few weeks left in the year I feel like I should talk about the year but I will do that later I suppose. First let's talk about Christmas. Never in my life has there been such little build up to what used to be my favorite holiday. I realize this is for a few reasons. The first is that I have just been too busy to even think about Christmas (except for the fact that my semester final film is about christmas). I mean who has time to sit and think about what to get people when I haven't even thought about what I want myself. Another reason is the weather. I mean seriously, who can go christmas shopping when you don't even need to wear a coat to go outside. I realize that the mid-50 temperatures we have been having here in NY are warmer than MI, but still, there's not even snow on the ground in michigan. It just doesn't feel like christmas when I have yet to see a single snow flake. The last reason is that now that I live in NY, there is nothing around that reminds me of the holidays. Everyone is back home in Michigan and so is our tree, christmas lights, cold(er) temperatues, ice and evergreens not being sold on the side of the road. In an effort to remedy my situation I walked over to Rockefeller Center (actually I was location scouting for a scene in my movie). It was the first time I had been down there since the tree lighting and I must say, it was pretty cool. Very nostalgic even though I have never been there at christmas. Riddle me this: is my lack of christmas anxiety/hype/euphoria because of the reasons I've listed above, or because I'm getting older?

I'm currently watching VH1's top 40 of '06 and it reminds me of MTV's top 100 videos of the year that I used to watch religiously on new years eve. Do they still even do that? If I didn't already have plans I would definitely stay home and watch if it was still on. As my first semester of school comes to a close, I am amazed at how much i have learned so far. It has happened to naturally over the last few months that I almost don't notice. I guess the only way to do something like this is to immerse yourself into it 100 percent for a year. I am excited to see where I'll be 6 months from now and what my upcoming projects will be like compared to my early ones. I can already see the difference between my last project and this one. This is the first one that I have had everything planned out and prepared for, dialogue, actors and a script that I wrote. It still blows my mind that people would audition to act out something that I wrote and directed.

Okay, I had a lot to say before I walked to my computer but it all escapes me at the moment. I will probably try again in a few days after production week is over. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem.

Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

I'm out like the Wii
-M, p & z

oh ps - I can't figure out what to get my mom or dad for christmas, they are notoriously impossible to shop for. Any suggestions of what you are getting your folks? Also, if you are gonna be in nyc for new years and want to hang, let me know asap, we're going to a bar that will be sold out of new years tix any day.

A Clogged Toilet...

First of all, a couple people have suggested that I may be a hazard in the kitchen. Now, while I can't argue the facts (me burning down a kitchen and last week going to the ER), I can put it into context. Many students and young adults simply do not cook, and no, anything that comes in a box or prepackaged does not count as cooking. I enjoy cooking and grocery shopping, and fresh produce and such in my meals is key to having fun. My point is that I cook a lot. More than most people. So by sheer volume of meals cooked there are bound to be some mishaps along the way. Bill, how can you injure yourself when the foreman grill is your savior, and Kelsey, you live at home - when was the lat time you cooked? You can't injure yourself if you don't get in the kitchen. Not that I took offense to being banned from the kitchen by both of you, I agree I should not be there unmonitored, but I just wanted people to know that injuries are bound to occur, espescially when you are as big of a bad ass as I am.

In other news, my brother was here over the weekend. Well, not here as in he stayed in our apartment, but in NYC - staying somewhere else. Anyways he was in my apt. for about 5 minutes before the place fell to shits - literally. After a night of drinking and a hearty brunch, a few people came back to our apartment to play some Nintendo. Muki had to use the bathroom and emerged 15 minutes later claiming "I didn't break the toilet, but it won't flush." Dax and I agree that if it was working before he went in, and broken after he came out, then logic points to him breaking it. Regardless of how it was broken there were many attempts to fix it over the next couple hours and it ended with Graham on his kneed wearing a wife beater with all of his glorious plumber's crack hanging out, sticking his hand (no glove on) into the toilet trying to use a hanger to unclog it. I almost threw up when I saw this happen but the water looked clean and from what I hear, urine is sterile. Nothing would work including a plunger they went to buy at bed bath and beyond. Anyways, i have a phobia of pooping in public bathrooms (I can count on one hand the number of times I was forced to do it) so I went to home depot, got a man's plunger and beat the shit out of the toilet until it relenquished the evil it concealed. My bowels are now empty.

Other things. Brian and I held our first casting calls on Saturday. Things went awesome, we had people audition for us for about 5 hours and all in all it was a success. It was very exciting being in charge and having people try out to be in something I am making. Like I am so cool, I have to pick and choose who I am going to allow being awesome with me. Anyways, good times. I am almost done casting for my film except for one part but hopefully everything works out and I will post the finished product in about a month.

Anyways, I have an insane amount of work to do so I will leave you now. Remember, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kicthen. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem. Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

much love
-M, p & z

oh ps - anyone going to be in nyc for new years let me know (kelsey, you know you and dave want to come). I have a large couch. Also, if anyone wants to be an extra in a movie let me know, we could use a few people.

Worst Week Ever...


I can't name a single person who isn't having a bad week. I'm not sure why but for some reason, everyone is having a crap time. So far this has taken me over 3 minutes to write these two sentences. Why? you ask. Because yesterday I decided I felt like cooking, so I went to Whole Foods and got a bunch of food and got in the mood to cook. I picked up Superman Returns and had dreams of watching it while I ate dinner. Alas my plans were foiled as me cutting food, quickly turned into me in the emerency room and leaving 2 and a hlaf hours later with 5 stitches in my palm. Now I admit, I do look like a bad ass and except for the time they stuck a needle in my open wound, multiple times, it didn't hurt at all. Today, however, my right arm was dead ( I had to get a tetanus shot ) and my wound also has this numbing, dull, constant pain, that doesn't hurt really, it's just very very annoying. Obviously, my 'bad week' is nothing at all, much worse things have happened to other people. I just wanted to mention it because I have never had to go to the hospital for anything. I tried to make some Grey's Anatomy jokes but the doc wasn't buying it. Too bad Izzy wasn't me doctor...

Anyways, short blog because it's hard to type. Have a safe week. Be careful out there. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem.

Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

much love

-M, p & z

oh ps - here are some pics of my hand. Also, I will upload that video I asked you all to come up with an idea for very soon.

I Make Popcorn Flicks...

For those who don't know, a popcorn flick is a movie that is meant to entertain, not provoke some deep conversation about the state of the world. I, as a director, am not concerned with making characters wear certain colors to match some idealistic version of what I think the character represents, nor do I really care about making something that has some agenda to make a point about the human condition or a social commentary. I make, or I want to make, movies that make people laugh or cry or both. Movies that are great, but not in an artsy way. Don't get me wrong, I would love to pique the curiosity of someone's mind and make people contemplate their own lives, but you can't plan that. All you can do is make something that is real enough to make people relate to it. I think people in film school get into terms and labels and want so badly to be indie and fresh and innovative that they do everything they can to distance themselves from 'Hollywood.' I, on the other hand, embrace Hollywood. As much as I dream of being able to make anything like Wes Anderson (royal tenebaums, etc.) or David Russel (i heart huckabees, three kigs etc.) I want to make a movie like Bad Boys. I want to cast The Rock in a movie, I want to make Zoolander II, I want to have CG in a movie. My point is that there is a lot of emphasis on making things real and explorative and deep, but I just want to say that that is not who I am, and the only thing worse than people who try and make an artsy movie, are the people who try and make one even though they don't want to.

Sorry that was a random rant that may have made absolutely no sense. Moving on... This is the first time in my life that I have had to pack luggage to go home for thanksgiving. It's quite sad, the thought of packing to go home. I guess it had to happen eventually, that I move far enough away that I don't drive home, but it is still a weird feeling. I am glad I am finally going home though, this is the longest I have gone without being home (two and a half months) and I am getting pretty homesick. Here are some predictions about my trip home, the first thing my mom will say is that I look skinny and I am not eating enough and therefore also not dressing warm enough and not sleeping much. This will invariably lead to a talk about school, how they don't understand my movies and why I didn't make something Spielberg worthy, which will of course lead to concern over my ability to get a job after film school is over. Anyways, it will make me feel right at home which is what I am looking forward to. I also assume that I will have to rake at some point, and probably replace every bulb that is out, fix the printer, turn off some valve in the basement and lift something heavy. I'm excited.

I think I want to see every movie that is out right now. The most important are Casino Royale, Happy Feet, Fast Food Nation and The Prestige. I have seen Stranger than Fiction and Borat, both very good, but I will try and see the rest at home because it is literally half the price.

I missed fall which is infinitely sad. I went to the park a couple times to try and get a feel for autumn, but the leaves never really changed, they just sort of fell off. Anyways, I may blog from poho but maybe not. This is shaping up to be the best Thanksgiving ever. It was already the best holiday ever, but now with not only the Lions, but also the Pistons playing and a special extended episode of Grey's, I am gonna be in heaven. Have a happy turkey day and I'll catch you on the flip side. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.
i'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - go download Ingrid Michaelson, her new cd Girls and Boys is awesome. You may have heard her on last weeks Grey's. She's from Brooklyn and rocks. Or get on myspace and search for her website. Somewhere between Rilo Kiley and Regina Spektor. Very nice.

pps - does no one else agree with me about Lucy Liu. That pic is pretty bomb, right?

The Triumvirate...

One of the most daunting things associated with making anything that you have to show people, is that you have to show people your work. You spend weeks thinking about something and working on it and trying to make it as best you can, but no matter how good you think it is, everyone else might think it sucks. It used to be, for our first few projects, that we would screen them for our class and directing teacher and everyone would mention what was working in the film and what was not. It was very simple and friendly, nothing to get anxious about at all. Now things have changed a little. Now that we have added sound to our repertoire, we have also added an acting class along with the best teacher I have had in a long time. Our acting teacher is amazing. It's insane how much I learn from her, partly becaue I have never had an acting class before, but also because she is just that good at understanding people ad what will help them improve.

The last project we did was our first foray into sound. Our class was given a one page script and we split up into 3 groups with three different directors. As a director we were told to come up with a backstory for the characters and a setting for the film, and also we could turn the script into whatever genre we wanted. I learned more about directing last week than I did my first two months here. It was an ass ton of work and I can't even begin to think of how many things you have to think about when you are directing, but it was awesome. Anyways, when we screened them I found out that it was no longer going to be the happy happy joy joy screenings of yore. The first director got up and showed his project, while standing in the back of the room by the projector, and waited as our acting and directing teacher and class bent him over and tore him a new one. Now, thankfully, I didn't get anything as bad as "Poor composition and emotionally vacant." That may be the worst thing ever to hear; I mean not only was his project aesthetically bad but he didn't direct his actors very well. That's pretty much the only two things a director need to be concerned about. Anyways, I got some good advice on how to help get what I want out of the actors and I thought it was very helpful.

Last week we got these scripts in class that are around 8 lines. Like the last project, there is no context, just characters a and b having a little chat. I thought it might be fun to post the dialogue here and see what people come up with. I have already come up with my idea and shot list and everything and I am shooting tomorrow (monday) but I would be interested to see what other people would have done. Just read the dialogue and let me know what you pictured in your head as far as where the conversation is taking place, whether is a comedy or drama or whatever. I will post my idea along with the film later this week and see if it's anything at all like what you had in mind. It is as follows:

A: It's been a long time
B: Yeah
A: I never expected to see you here
B: You got a cigarette?
A: Some things never change
B: You look pretty good, considering
A: Flattery
B: There you go

Anyways, let me know your ideas on how you picture this scene. Moving on.. I used to hate Lucy Liu with a passion. I never liked anything she did and I never thought she was a particularly good actress. The I saw Kill Bill and she changed my mind, I was indifferent about her. Last night, however, I finally watched Lucky # Slevin and I fell in love. She is bomb. I love her. When did she become so awesome and hot to boot. I am sure that it has something to do with the fact that the movie was amazingly awesome, but she also made her role what it was. The movie was so good, and she and Josh Hartnett, were so good that I even mentioned the film in the same breath as True Romance, which as we all know is one of the best movies ever. Anyways, I just wanted to let everyone know that I love Lucy Liu.

As always, get your feet off the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.
I'm out
-M, p & z

oh ps - I can't even begin to tell how how happy I am about the democrats taking back power. On the front page of some newspaper her in the city it had a picture of Britney on the cover saying, "Britney Dumps Federline," then below that and much smaller it said, "Dems take House." Silly world, eh?

Ephemeral Elation...
















As opposed to war in general as I am, and even more so against the war in Iraq, it's hard to argue with pictures like this. Reactions to Saddam being sentenced to death. I hope the sentence doesn't create more turmoil.

Bad Boys...

I have realized that my blog is becoming more and more convoluted. The problem is that I have a writing style that has no structure and more closely resembles free thought than anything else. This blog will heretofore be known as a blog that is succint and witty yet still comprehensive. Enjoy.

The Detroit Pistons open their season tonight sans Ben Wallace. Without delving too deep into my own self conflict with his absence, I will simply say that he will be missed. Once again, we are not given much respect in the media. Granted we lost an All-Star and the heart of our team, but we still have the best starting 5 in the league. We are getting deeper off the bench and somehow I am still clinging to the hope that we sign Jalen Rose to add some needed depth behind Rip. I have no doubt that we will be in the conference finals again, where we go from there we shall see. I have faith in the players but I am still unsure about Flip's ability in the clutch. I love the Bulls and I wish Ben and Chicago luck; I hope we meet in the conference finals.

School is going well. I have yet to edit my footage from last week however, I am optimistic about it. If you have not seen any of my previous projects yet (I am hesitant to call them films) then be sure and watch this one. It was shot on digital so you won't have to suffer through bad exposures and woeful lighting. If it turns out well I am going to try and submit it to festivals but that's reaching kind of far.

While I would never argue against Michigan being the greatest state in the world, I must admit that Kid Rock was wrong. He said, "ain't no party like a Detroit party, cause a Detroit party don't stop." Begging your pardon Mr. Rock, but NYC is pretty much awesome. There was a Halloween Parade two blocks east of me. A parade on Halloween. It ruled. People flood the streets here for any occasion they can all in the spirit of having a good time. I didn't hear of anything bad happening last night, unlike the shooting at the Detroit fireworks a couple years ago. My point is, NYC rules.

I guess that's all. I am insanely excited for the game tonight and I can't really think of anything else but Rip right now. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

-M, p & z

oh ps - I recently wrote a blog about how fantastic TV programming was this season. Unfortunately, most of America is retarded (they voted for bush), and watch shows like "Two and a Half Men," and not Studio 60. I have heard that the latest work of genius from Aaron Sorkin is on the verge of being cancelled despite my stellar reviews of it. Please watch it next monday and get the ratings up. You won't regret it. Friday Night Lights may also be cancelled, and while it is not the best show ever, it is semi-orginal and interesting to watch, which is more than I can say about Dancing with the Stars...

The Winner and Still Champion...

So Friday night our boys, B.C. and Sean, had a joint birthday party at this club in SoHo. They rented out a vip room and it was open bar from 10-12. It was all very Super Sweet Sixteen. The cool thing was that we had no scruples in how we ordered and at one point my boys Brian, Phil and I all had three drink in front of us. It ruled. We all got very very drunk and for once I didn't throw up. About a week or so prior to this however, we were at my apartment after a shoot and we were drinking and our homegirl Divya challeneged me to a chugging contest. I informed her that I don't chug from bottles and that she would win. I accepted the challenge however, and she won. I was not upset because I knew I would lose. Divya, on the other hand wouldn't let it go. I told her that next time we drink, we would race from a glass. So at this club, we get two glasses and two Stellas ( a very good beer to chug). Brian officiated the contest and here is what transpired.

The challenge:














The Race:














The Victor:














Go me. That's all for today. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

-M, p & z

oh ps - My old computer wont turn on long enough for me to copy my music on to my external hard drive. If you have these cds (bill you can help me out a lot here) please burn them for me and send them to me. I will make it up to you. Bright Eyes (I'm wide awake its morning), architecture in helsinki, fiest, jay z (black album), the hold steady (almost killed me), Miles Davis (complete birth of the cool). Anyways, these are cds I cant find the hard copy of and I would really like to because my life is not as good without them. Please send help.

TV is Good Again...

So I realized that my last few blogs have been nothing but self promotion for my terrible movies. I apologize for boring you, if I did. I have a couple of things to talk about that have nothing to do with film school so feel free to actually read this blog. The first thing I want to talk about is how good tv shows are this year. I mean, it's incredible. The only shows that I have been glued to for the last couple years have been Grey's and Entourage. Not only are both of those shows having awesome seasons so far, but there is an entire lineup of other shows that are awesome. Heroes, Studio 60, Friday Night Lights and Six Degrees all have my attention and I have Tivo make sure I never miss an episode. Last year, I wrote a blog about how terrible tv was and how sad I was that there are no more shows that rules, well, I am glad that they were listening to me. I don't want to get too in depth on of them in particular, but I will rank them (behind grey's and entourage of course) so you know which one is more important to watch if you aren't watching any of them. Studio 60 is the best; Aaron Sorkin is pretty much a genius and it reminds me a lot of how good the West Wing was for it's first 5 seasons, until he left. Heroes gets the edge over Six Degrees simply because the story line is pretty original. At first I thought it might be lame but it actually has a really good story that isn't entirely revealved yet which is cool. Six Degrees is awesome and it also helps that Shiri Appleby is in it. I am gonna go out on a limb and put her tied with Rachel McAdams in my top 3 who aren't married. Friday Night Lights is good, but I wish they would cut out the ridiculous hand held shots. It's not quite as good as the movie but it might be because the cast isn't as good.

NYC is pretty ridiculous. I thought for sure I would get homesick within a short time of moving out here, what with the lack of nature. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by some of the parks here. The cool thing about manhattan is that it is an island. It is almost impossible for me to miss home and lake huron when there is water all around me. Beyond that though, there is an intrinsic beauty in the city. Somehow everything here is so distinctly new york. I bring my camera everywhere I go because there are scenes that I come across everyday, simple mundane scenes, that somehow seem grand and special. It could be the honeymoon effect I am still experiencing with the city, but if it is, I hope it doesn't go away. I'll be posting some pictures on here as often as I can.

Anyways, that's it for now, I'm extremely tired and I can't think. It's funny, we spend all week (or in this case the last couple weeks) developing a story and flushing it out and thinking about it constantly, that it takes away the rest of my brain capacity and I can't formulate thoughts on anything else. Whateva. Get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it.

-M, p & z

oh ps - I used to watch movies constantly. I mean at least one a day, usually one and a half and oftentimes twice a day. After moving here I have found myself not watching movies at all. I have only been to the movie theater twice and have only watched a couple of dvds. That's like an average of one movie a week. It's kind of ironic, no? Also, I am back on the starving student diet; I even had ramen yesterday. Rules. The picture at the top I took at the 82nd St. Station in Queens and the one below I took in Battery Park City on the lower west side. That's the statue of liberty on the left side of the pic.

Tigers Rule...

I am just going to start off with a couple of sports thoughts here so if you are a girl or someone who does not care for sports (bill i'm looking at you) then skip to the next paragraph. I have been a Tigers fan forever and every year I tell my boy Shawn, that this is their year. This is the year that they put it all together and win the world series. Of course for the last 10 years they have been woeful and have broken my heart year after year. Of course this year, it is Oct. 12 and they lead the series against the A's 2-0, 2 games away from the world series. My point is that I hope they play the Mets so I can go see them win it all. As far as the Lions go, I want to reiterate the fact that I am the only human being in Michigan who thought that Joey Harrington, or Joey Ballgame as I like to call him, was truly the glue that held our pathetic team together. After we got rid of him, the media seemed to think that Kitna and McCowen, an old and young version of a poor man's joey, were the answer to our problems. That suddenly our recievers were going to be good and our offensive line wasn't that bad. Well I will say it again, the only reason we didn't win games was becaue of our offensive line. Joey is a good quarterback and now that he has a shot down in Miami, you can bet your ass he is gonna be good. I am going to find Marinelli and spit in his eye for getting rid of him. I wish Joey the best and hope he throws for 8 TDs in a game.

Okay, moving on. Film school is what I have been waiting my whole life for, Since I was little, every single teacher I had always said I could do better and had unlimited potential (things they say to all kids who don't do well, though with me they were serious). I had always maintained that it was becaue of a lack of interest and desire and that when the time came I would buckle down and work my ass off. There were flashes of it during the summer of '04 when I had the most productive summer of my life, with 2 jobs and 12 credits and LSAT classes. But it didn't last and faded shortly after I took the LSATs. Well, it turns out, I was right. I find myself convincing others to not skip class, and to show up on time and to do extra work so that when it comes time to shoot everything goes well. It's an odd feeling when I have spent the better part of my life skipping class to play Bond, or more recently, Halo 2. I didn't think the time would come when I would stress over things and worry about menial things that ordinarily would have been brushed away as useless.

It is because of this that I am not happy with my last project. Don't get me wrong, I think it's funny and works well, but when you work really hard at a vision and it comes out differently that you hoped, it's dissapointing. I feel like one of those artists who hates everything he does. This is new territory for me. I have never cared enough about things to let the outcome of them affect me (again with the exception of the LSAT). The good thing about this attitude is that I am always trying to get better and one up myself. The problem is that I don't think I will ever be satisfied. I hear that is a sign of a good filmmaker, I think there's an old adage to that effect - something about never being satisfied, but I don't quite remember so nevermind. My point is that I am happy that I am finally able to do something that I truly want to do. I don't mean to get on a carpe diem high horse, but all of you should be doing what you want to. This is the only life we have and we probably shouldn't waste it trying to get a degree in something we care nothing about.

Anyways, here is my latest project. It's quite funny (or at least I think so). The shot composition isn't as good as it should have been and I was upset about some of the exposures. But other than that, check it out. It is probably the best work I have done so far.






New addition to my signature.

"Your heart is free; Have the Courage to follow it." - Braveheart

As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

I'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - A few years ago Bill and I went to a show and stumbled across the band, "The Hold Steady." We left after their set and both bought their cd the next day. They are awesome. Their second cd came out last year and was even better than the first. Their third cd came out a couple weeks ago and is ever better than the second. It is ridiculous how good they are. You need to do yourself a favor and pick it up. I actually like the first one the best I think, just because it was my first experience with them, but I feel like whatever cd you listen to first, it will be your favorite. Anyways, pick it up.

Drinking in the City...

After 6 years at MSU, I felt like I had mastered the art of pre-gaming. The routine for a night out would progress as follows: get home from class or work around 5:30 or 6:00, turn on Halo 2 as I walk in the door, go to the fridge and grab a beer and start drinking and playing halo for a couple of hours. Around 7:30, I would start to worry about the line at Rick's (those of you who have waited in lines with me can attest to my absolute pure hatred for lines) so i would get in the shower. Drinking in the shower is one of the best things in the entire world. Then I would come out and usually play halo until 8:30 or 9. Then I would start to freak out about the line and make everyone leave around 9 or 9:30 and be comfortably drunk by 10:30 or so. Then I would continue to drink until around 12:30 or 1 and go home either because I was too tired, I wanted food, I wanted to play more halo, or my roommate had ditched me for some Rick's whore. He never met a girl he could say no to. Anyways, thats how many people operate in Mi, only maybe not so much Halo. In nyc, it is an entirely new ballgame. Bars here have last call at 3:30. Not 1. That means people take my schedule and push it back for 2 hours. Pre-drinking here doesn't start until 9 sometimes and people don't go out until 11. It's very cool and terrible at the same time. Cool because the bar is open until 4ish. Terrible because I like to go to bed early and am usually ready (on account of my routine for the latter part of my life) to leave by about 12:30 or 1. My point is, well I guess I don't really have a point I just felt like talking about that. In summation, pre-drinking is esential in ny b/c bars are expensive.

I felt like I owed everyone a real blog after my tirade yesterday (I know the blog says Oct 2 but I actually posted it yesterday). I was very upset about the way my film turned out and I want to explain why. On our projects we are assigned a crew. Our crews are pretty much our team, if they fuck up we lose. I am not tying to blame my failure on them, actually I feel like it is entirely my fault which is why I was so mad. As a director we are not allowed to be behind the camera. We have to direct everything that is going on and that's not possible from behind the camera. So when I got my footage back on wed. I was shocked at how bad it was. At first I was mad at my dp (director of photgraphy) but then I calmed down and realized it really wasn't completely his fault. He didn't mean for the footage to suck, it just did. I had to put together that piece of crap and it made me mad that I couldn't do a re-shoot. I did not want to put my name on it because I wasn't happy with it. I know my first film sucked, but I was proud of it. It was the first thing I shot on actual 16mm film and the exposure was awesome. Since this was my 2nd project and I was shooting outside (the outdoors are very east to shoot because of all the natural light) I had very high hopes. When you spend a long time coming up with and idea and writing an outline and a shot diagram and a story board and you think everything went well, it is the biggest let down in the world. I have never been so dissapointed in my life. I was genuinely upset that it turned out so poorly. Anyways, I dirgess. My point is that I have lived my life always making sure that if I had a group for anything I would take on all the responsibility. I don't care if I did a group project by myself, I hate depending on someone else to do their fair share because in reality some people just don't care. It makes it hard to work with people when you don't trust them to do a good job. I know a lot of people feel the same way about groups and would rather have a tremendous amount of work than leave it up to someone else who might do a bad job and make you pay for it when you did nothing wrong in the first place. I suppose that I am going to have to trust people otherwise I am shot out of luck. There is only so much that one person can do on a set and if people fuck up then I am going down with the ship. I was trying to figure out why I posted my last film and I realized that I am actually living my creed, go big or go home. Sure it sucked and was awful and made no sense, but it's mine. I made it. I am going down with my ship and you all should too. I was talking to a friend from highscool who said that it was cool that I was doing what I really wanted to do and it got me thinking that even though he was in law school and doing very well he wasn't doing what he wanted to do, or at least he wasn't following his dreams. If you aren't following your dreams you are toiling away. Life's too short to toil. I am trying to figure out why people don't follow their heart when they have to opportunity to do so. I get that sometimes people can't for reasons they can't control, but if you have the means then why not? Why not do what you want? Because you might not make money after doing so? There is a very good chance I will have no job after this year but I am going to try nonetheless. I am not going to say that this was a waste of time if it doesn't work out. We only have this one life so why not do everything with it that you want. I have dreams of making kickass movies and winning and oscar. They are dreams not fanatsy. The difference is that dreams come true and fantasies don't. Sure I may never win an oscar but I will be happy being a dp who gets no credit at all (which is egregious) just as long as I am doing what I want with my life. So I implore you all to stop toiling and do what makes you happy. There really is no time like the present and you need to stop living for a future that you can't predict. What's the point in working hard to have a job that you don't like jut because you will have a secure income. Money is overrated. To quote the movie 'Rudy.' "In this life you ain't go to prove nothin to nobody but yourself." Despite the double negative, I completely agree.

As always get your feet off the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain helas, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

I'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - i am not sure some of you know what film stock is. It is like film from a camera. Only the cameras we use take 24 pictues a second which is captured onto a reel which then has to be developed like a rol of film on a camera. It is not like a Hi8 tape that you may have in your sony handycam at home. It is like a reel of negatives. It's probably the coolest way to shoot a movie and looks incomparably better than digital. The picture at the top is of the camera we use, it's called an Arriflex-16. It's pretty awesome, they used to be used in WWII and also during old news broadcasts.

It's Almost Been a Month...

After living here for a few weeks I feel like I am finally getting to get familiar with the city. A little bit anyways. Well, no, not really at all actually. But I'm trying.

Anyways, anyone who ever thought that making movies was all fun and games was seriously mistaken. I once thought that. Not anymore. I mean it is all fun, but it is a ridiculous amount of work when you have people who aren't as commited as you and you need to do the work that they aren't doing. It will get much easier when people drop out, and even easier after I am out in the real world and people who don't work hard won't have jobs. Whatever, don't listen to me now. I am very dissapointed at the moment. I spent all weekend (and by all weekend I mean ALL weekend - we have saturday classes and then shooting the rest of sat - mon and our shoot on sunday went from when I woke up until 230 i the morning, only to wake up agian and shoot) filming my second project only to find today that everything about it sucks. The exposures look terrible. The camera looks like a monkey was holding it while playing Clavinball. The story, once again, makes no sense. It is more frustrating than golf. Seriously. I am racking my brain trying to come up with a decent story line for my fourth film which I will shoot in three weeks, and I am having the worst brain fart of my life. My brain is a vacuous cavern and I am searching, in vain, for any sign of a story. I was assigned a group for this weekend, but seriously, my friend Brian and I decided that we were going to make our own crew. I am going to tell my new crew that I will help them out with their projects but I am going to have some people I know are not absolute retards helping me this weekend. Anyways, I am just going to show you why I am so upset. Watch this movie and tell me I dont suck. I dare you. It's only a minute or so and I added music even though we aren't allowed to. Imagine trying to watch this piece of shit with no music. I am doing you a grand favor. There are a couple cool shots but it definitely sucked balls. Let me know what you think.






As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

I'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - if i talk to you regularly and have been out of touch from you lately it's because I am finally one of those people who claim to be busy. I always assumed people were lying, but no, there really is a level of being busy that I had never reached before. I will return your messages as soon as I can. Also, go tigers!

Bring Out Ye Dead...

The moment you've all been waiting for has finally arrived. Here is the first movie I made in NYC. It's actually pretty horrible for a few reasons. First of all, it is a little too dark but that's my fault, I bought the wrong film stock. Second, you can't really read the book title but it's called, "Rasing Evil Spirits." Third it's very short because it had to be less than a minute and the story doesn't make any sense. Fourth, I am the star of it and I can't act. Anyways it's worth watching if you have a minute and a half to spare.



As always, get your feet off the ground an keep reaching for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe Diem bitches.

I'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - There is not any sound for the movie but that was the point of the exercise.

Apparently, It is Cool to be in School...

I never thought I would ever say this but school is the greatest thing in the world. I assume regular school still blows, but film school is legit. True, it will be an eventual hard knock life, but for now it is the greatest institute in existence. We have already started shooting. I mean on actual film stock. I am no longer using silly Hi-8 tapes, or even mini-DV on unworthy cameras. I am shooting 16mm Black and White Reversal Stock Film. This is the stuff the news used to be broadcast on (granted that was 70 years ago) but it's still cool nonetheless. Anyways, school rules so far. Everyone in my section is very cool and nice, or at least nice. There is only one guy that I cannot stand and I found out that my boy Phil (my new friend in class) doesn't like him either. We bonded over how annoying the kid is, well we didn't bond over it but we definitely talked about it for at least 30 seconds.

[Here's a picture I took at Riverside Park, it's on the west side on the Hudson (I was feeling patriotic)]















Anyways there isn't much to tell so far. We have our first assignment this weekend and I believe we will be learning how to edit next week, presumably using this footage; so hopefully I will have something to post here late next week. I have started packing lucnhes again (sometimes class goes from 9-6 or 7) and I forgot how easy it is to eat a packed lunch. There is no scramble to figure out what I'm going to eat, or wonder if I will have enough time or money to get what I want. No sir, there is just the sqashed sandwich dented by my chocolate pudding Snack Pack. I also eat breakfast now because I cannot eat until 12:30 or 1, which is okay if you have nothing to do all morning but not if you need to pay attention and do stuff.

Anyways I guess this is going to be a short blog. I am trying to find something to add to my trademark sign-off paragraph and also I am thinking about taking one of them away. Here are a couple options that I have so far:

"It's the new american dream: work hard, flop the nut and win 12 million dollars." - Watching WSOP on ESPN2.

"Good day gentlemen, and until that day comes, keep your ear to the grindstone." Good Will Hunting - Ben Affleck's only good role ever, besides Mallrats.

Anyways, you can think about it for a while, let it simmer and what not and as always, get your feet off the ground and keep reaching for the stars. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Go big or go home. Carpe diem bitches.

I'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - the everclear cd is growing on me, but not as much as the JT cd keeps getting better. I find myself dancing to it in the streets like some i-pod commercial come to life only I don't glow and Bono is in the background. Also, if you like oreo's and you like pudding, try putting those two things together. Kapow! It's that good...

New York City, You Are Now Rappin with Michigan's Finest...














So here I am, a New Yorker. It is truly a different world. Nothing in my past cities of residence can equate to what will be my life here. I miss Michigan like you wouldn't believe, but living here is ntoxicating and adventurous and new and all of it keeps me from being sad about missing home. So far I have noticed some pros and cons but as I've only been living here for a week I am going to reserve judgement on which is a better place to live. The following are a few stories or observances that have happened to me in the last week.

Going grocery shopping is tough. I don't mean that it is hard to get to the store, Whole Foods is only 5 block away and surprisingly less expensive than the Whole Foods in Ann Arbor. Anyways, the tough part is deciding what you really need and what you don't need. Unlike back home where I could fill up a cart with the 15 of the heaviest bags you could imagine, out here you have to carry your bags home. I am a pretty terrible shopper at the grocery store. I will throw in the most random things in the world that I might possibly want to eat one day if I had a weird craving. Here I have to decide what I am going to eat for the next few days. Also, try finding everything you need at one store. There is no Meijers here so, unfortunately, I now need to go to three different stores to get what I need. Life was mich easier when I could get my produce, my underwear and my dvds in one store. It was also easier when I didn't have to carry things 5 blocks.

New York City has a reputation of having very unfriendly people who will mug you at the first chance they get. I have yet to meet anyone here that isn't insanely nice. Everyone goes out of their way to say, 'sorry' or 'excuse me' is they bump into you in the street. People are friendly and courteous and that is definitely a good thing.

On Sunday my roommate texts me and say "Dinner tonight at 8. Me, Melissa (this girl he is dating), Graham (another boy who went to our highschool), and some other dude." It sounds like fun so I agree. We get to dinner and are talking to this guy Bill Plympton, and as it turns out he was up for an Oscar last year for "Best Animated Short." So on my second night in NYC, I had dinner with, not just some "other dude" or even some guy in the industry, but an Academy Award Nominee. Anyways that was pretty cool. Then yesterday as I was coming home from Bryant Park (actually a very good place to sit and read and get some piece and quiet right near Times Sqaure,) and I was chanigng songs on my i-pod and I almost took out the E! Channel's Guiliana DePandi. If you ever watch entertainment tonight or E! News Daily she hosts it with Ryan Seacrest. Anyways I looked up before I walked into her so it's all good.









Anyways I start school tomorrow so there won't be as much time to fraternize with celebs but I will keep you all posted on how school is and how weird people are and all the cool famous people I am hanging out with. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe Diem bitches. Go big or go home.

M, p & z

oh ps -
I got JT's new cd and its sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Get it. Earlier this summer I said I would go to the Virgin Megastore to get it because I thought he would be there doing a show or something but then eysterday I figured he wouldnt really be there so I didn't go and I guess he had an autograph signing..oh well, I'll just have to get him to sign it when we hang out on my birthday this weekend. Also, Everclear's new album is much better than the last one but still, if they didn't have the name everclear I wouldn't have bought it.... Grey's Anatomy season 2 also rules...

Whatsoever A Man Soweth
Part II: Farewell Michigan


















MSU Shadows:

"MSU, We love thy shadows
When twilght silence falls,
Flushing deep and softly paling
O'er ivy covered halls;
Beneath the pines we'll gather
To give our faith so true,
Sing our love for Alma Mater
And thy praises, MSU.
















When from these scenes we wander
And twilight shadows fade;
Our mem'ry still will linger
Where light and shadow played;
In the evening oft we'll gather
And pledge our faith anew,
Sing our love for Alma Mater
And thy praises, MSU."


Michigan, I'll catch you on the flip side. See you all in NYC. I'm out.

-M, p & z.

Whatsoever A Man Soweth:
Part I: Sparty On!















It's hard to sum up 6 years at MSU. I started out as a punk kid from Ann Arbor who thought State was the worst school one could possibly attend. For years I rooted against my own school whenever we were playing U of M. Michigan football is a religion. I had posters and newspaper clippings of Michigan football covering my walls since I was in elementary school. I bled gold and blue and one day I was at a Michigan Michigan State game when I had an epiphanic moment: I was sitting in the stands rooting for U of M when everyone in the Big House gave me the impression that they were better than people who went to State. And I don't just mean the football team, but the students made me feel as though they thought they were better people than I. They thought that they were smarter, faster, stronger and better citizens than those at MSU. And it hit me, students at U of M have a sense of entitlement about them that is so obvious it's sickening. People at U of M (I don't mean 100% of people, just the majority) are snooty assholes who look down their noses at anyone who doesn't go to their school. To draw an analogy, there are two main golf clubs in Port Huron: The Port Huron Golf Club and The Elks Club. PHGC is to U of M as The Elks Club is to MSU. My brother and I have always hated PHGC because of the way we are treated there. We are looked down at, chastized for not tucking in our shirts, assumed to be hooligans because we are not white and the kicker is that the course isn't even very good but for some reason costs thousands more to be a member. The Elks on the other hand is a nationwide organization that raises money for charities and contributes back to the community, everyone is very nice and friendly, people can wear jean shorts (if that terrible fashion faux pas strikes their fancy) and it is the nicest course in the area. My point is, the moment I realized how terrible U of M was, I embraced State wholeheartedly and State embraced me.

I have had some people visit me over the years at State and the one thing everyone comments on is how nice everyone is. People at State are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Unlike our rivals to the east, we are like a VW Jetta: Ego-Free. We don't care who is the best in the class, just as long as everyone is happy with themselves. We don't hate people just because they go to a different school (don't get me wrong we will boo our hearts out against U of M, but we won't degrade them) and best of all, we make everyone who doesn't go to State feel like they're a Spartan. A perennial party school, MSU is the best place you can go to in the Big Ten and enjoy every minute of it (thought I also hear good things about Wisconson).














When I first got to MSU, I heard all these stories about how pretty campus was and I was schocked to find what seemed like a concrete jungle. Of course, it wasn't until I had classes that weren't in the heart of campus to realize the real beauty of it. Though I'm still not a fan of the central and southern areas of campus, it is most definitely a beautiful campus. I have spent the last few days walking around and found some beautiful areas that I never even knew existed. I never thought you could find a quiet hidden nook in a garden next to a pond in the middle of a campus of 46,000 students. Spots like that are all over. The more I see the campus the more I appreciate it. I mean we have a huge river that runs right through campus. The key is to walk around when you don't have class tainting the direction you walk in or the mood you are in. I guess it also helps to do it after you graduate so you have a good perspective of the school but on the other hand you hsouldn't wait. I finally got a chance to go up to the top of Beaumont Tower (our big clock tower that you can hear from everywhere on campus pretty much) and I was shocked to see that it's not automated. There is a guy up there on top with an organ type contraption that is connected to all 46 bells and he plays everyday at 12. My point is that if you are still in school, I reccommend that you go around your campus and discover the little things. It has made my goodbye to campus much easier now that I feel I have seen a few things (also after 6 years I have also had class in almost every single building and can relate to at least one class of 90 percent of students when they ratlle off their schedule.) Anyways this follows in the same vein of my whole Carpe Diem philosophy. It really doesn't last forever, unfortunately, so I implore you to do something new that your campus (or city of residence) offers that you have never done before.
















Anyways, I now bleed Green and White and am proud to be a spartan. I will miss the school and the campus and (sometimes) even East Lansing. People are what make these experiences worthwhile and the more things you do the more people you meet. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe Diem bitches.

I'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - part II will come tomorrow with more pics. Thanks to Jordon for coming with me to the bell tower and taking pictures of me with Sparty. "Whatsoever A Man Soweth," is inscribed on the front of Beaumont Tower, that's where I got the title for this farewell blog.

I know I said I would only post once more but two events have transpired that I need to talk about.















First is the sad passing of my favorite animal enthusiast: Steve Irwin. It seems ironic that a sting ray is what killed him after spending his last 20 years tackling fifty foot crocodiles. I have been watching him for almost 10 years now and I never got tired of his willigness to confront animals that I wouldn't touch with a 50 foot pole. In fact I would most likely run from everything he looks for. Apparently he was filming something for his 8 year old daughters new tv show which makes the situation all the more tragic. He will surely be missed...






Second, and not while not nearly as tragic as dying, was still sad nonetheless. Andre Agassi has been a fixture in the tennis world for my entire life since I could remember. Watching his three matches this last week was the most excited I have been about tennis since he and Sampras played in the Open FInals a few years ago. If you ever watched tennis or played tennis then you understand what I am talking about when I say that I cried when he lost. I cannot recall a loss ever being so sad. Last year when the Pistons lost, it hurt but in a different way. That hurt because the Pistons came out with the audacity to believe that the championship was theirs and they didn't have to play, of course when it came time to beat Miami, they didn't show up and didn't put up the heart needed to win another ring. Agassi is a completely different story. Never have I seen someone want it so bad despite so many obstacles. His first two matches could have very easily been losses and somehow, despite being over a decade older and slower than his competitors, he still pulled out a win. Watching him cry after losing to Becker was the saddest thing I have seen on tv period. I can't recall the last time so much was one the line. In teams sports when you know someone on the team will retire after the season, for example Reggie Miller in the playoffs in 2004, there are still 4 other starters that will be there to remind you of him and other players you are familiar with who will replace him in the lineup. When Agassi lost though, that was it. That was the end of his career. There is no one else, he has no contemporaries left. Him losing was almost the end of my childhood and it was extremely sad. He will most definitely be missed...














Anyways thats all for the moment, more to come later today as I'm not sure if I will have time to blog tomorrow (my last day in Mi.)

-M, p & z

Soon to be a New Yorker...

With only a week or so before I move out of the greatest state in the world, I still have some things to complain about that pertain to absolutely nothing. First off is something I noticed last week when I was watching tv. Not so much tv, though television definitely applies, but movies need to stop making sequels. While flipping through the menu I noticed an abundance of sequels all on at the same time and none of them could possibly be any good. Speed 2, Men in Black II, Teen Wolf Too, World's Scariest Police Chases: 2 and Cheetah Girls 2. Seriously? I mean...seriously. Come on. Everyone knows that Speed 2 might be the worst movie ever, but why on earth did they make another teen wolf. Really, the story of a teen who turns into a warewolf while playing on a team sport wasn't sufficient enough to be summed up in one movie. Did they really need to make the original teen's cousin play the exact same role. How can it be the movies are so ridiculously unoriginal. I watch Entourage and I know there are a ton of good ideas floating around that people need to make. As much as I love bad movies, they need to start making some original bad movies. For example, I loved "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," more than anyone really should, but I can't help but feel like they should have taken that money and spent it on something that no one has ever seen the likes of before. They make movies to make sequels and it is starting to get old. Anyways, my point is that the only one that seemed mildly cool to watch was the police one but I got so mad at life that I just turned the tv off.

Last week was another one of those weeks where all I did was move furniture around and get really angry about it. It was pretty sweet. Anyways there's this guy who was working for us for the week named John. He was a little bit older maybe in his 40's or so and was very quiet and always workied his ass off doing the worst jobs ever and not complaining once. If it were me I would have been bitching up and down (actually we were doing the same jobs and I was in fact complaining.) Anyways all week John didn't say much and was always ready to tackle the most unbearable jobs without a complaint. John was helpng me and some other guys out one day when we had to get rid of a lot of old furniture. We had all this crappy bedroom furniture that we needed to take from the third floor down to the dumpster. I decided the quickest way to do that would be to toss everything off of the balcony and watch it fly 30 feet down and break into a zillion pieces. Now I figured John would have had some wisdomagainst said act seeing how he was much older, however, the one thing I learned last week is that no matter how old you are, guys love to break shit. I have never seen someone get so much pleasure out of breaking old dressers and desks and I have been doing it for a couple years now. After about two dressers or so he turned to me and said "This is the most fun I have ever had on changeover." Anyways it's good to know that 20 years from now, not only will I still enjoy breaking things like a little boy, but I will enjoy it much more than I could ever imagine.

***UPDATE***

As I am now in the midst of moving and currently without cable or wireless, there has only been intermittent internet connectivity. Earlier I had stated that they don't make any original movies and everything is a sad prequel to a certain god-awful sequel which I will undoubtedly stand in line for opening night with pathetic anxiousness. Anyways, I take it all back. It;s not that they don't make those movies, it's just that here in mid-Michigan we only get hollywood movies like "Tokyo Drift." Well I just came back from "The Illusionist," starring Edward Norton (my boy) and Paul Giamatti (also my boy). The movie was awesome. It was the most original movie I had seen in a long time. The story line was original, the lighting, the film stock, everything about the movie was original. Obviously one could argue that if you boil the plot down it's not very original but you could say that about anything ever made. Anyways, it renewed my faith in movies, and also got me even more excited about moving to a city where these movies open and are showed as many times as summer blockbusters.

Here's what was said about The Illusionist:

[Gene Seymour in Newsday: "There's something mildly intimidating about the craftsmanship put into The Illusionist. Each groove in the story is so finely curved, each scene so immaculately rendered and polished within an inch of its life that you almost forget that magic is consequential to the storytelling. But the high gloss doesn't intrude on the narrative cunning -- or, for that matter, the foxy grandeur of the performances." Lou Lumenick in the New York Post: "This is the kind of thoughtful, poetic, lush and old-fashioned (in the best sense of the word) film that rarely gets made anymore -- one that immerses us in a bygone world for a couple of hours."]

Anyways, this will be my second to last blog here in Michigan. I'll blog again early next week and pay a fond farewell to Mi. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever. Carpe diem bitches.

i'm out

-M, p & z

oh ps - Danity Kane's cd is awesome. If you aren't a snob and enjoy mindless pop that makes you wanna dance courtesy of my boy Diddy, pick it up. It's definitely worth burning off someone to listen to before you go out. Also the new Christina cd is very good, that girl can sing.

Nothing Worse than Moving...Unless it's to NYC

I hate moving. Actually, me and moving get along like Harry Potter and Voldemort. I hated moving into my last apartment which was on the first floor and had an outside entry so all I had to do was walk from the car to the door. My apartment in NYC is in Manhattan, a place where traffic runs rampant. I have seen it a zillion times in movies: cars packed bumper to bumper trying to wedge their way into a lane; George Costanza made it seem like the worst thing in the entire world as he would recount his adventures in parking. Parking alone was the premise of many a Seinfeld episode. So naturally I was thinking that this would be the worst move ever. I had pictured myself carrying my belongings block after block, or double parking in the street and getting towed. So after spending all day Monday packing my belongings (or at least half of them since a Lexus SUV doesn't seem to have much more cubic feet of storage than my compact WRX) without so much as an inch to spare, I drove up to NYC on Tuesday (it only takes about 10 and a half hours or so - not too bad) wondering how on earth I would be able to get everything out. Well worry not, because for all of the drama and glorification of the nightmare driving and parking situation in Midtown Manhattan, I got into the city withoiut any traffic to speak of whatsoever and not only that I got a parking spot in front of my apartment. I dont mean on the same street, I mean directly in front of my door, and aside from the pain in the ass that emptying a ridiculously packed car is, the move went as smooth as one could expect. The only snag was when I tried to get into the apartment and couldn't figure out how to unlock the door and since my roommate was in Ann Arbor at the time I had panic visions of me staying in a hotel waiting for someone to let me into the apartment. I called my roommate though and found out you had to push as you turned the key, the doorknob wasn't even part of the equation.

Anyways after a few days of wondering the city (visiting all 5 H&M locations) and checking out my school and plotting where I could eat lunch in SoHo I returned to Michigan, the Great Lakes State. Here are a few of the good and the bad with NYC.

I can count the bad on one hand and they were all things that I was prepared to deal with before the move: I'm pretty much broke so that's not fun, no grass as far as the eye can see, the parks are about as big as my yard was last year and people swear like it's the job. I don't mean a lot either, they swear as though their life depends on it. It gets very old to see people swearing at eachother like 8 year olds, that's why I stopped watching the Real World (ooooo buuuurn). Alcohol is not cheap, their "specials" are what I would refer to in Lansing as "expensive."

The good things: You can still find awesome deals on food and things. There is a Little India with a resturaunt tha is very good called "Curry in a Hurry." Coffee is actually cheaper in the city than here in Lansing. There is a Whole Foods 4 blocks from my apt. I live across from a police station so I'm not too worried about crime. The subway is very easy to use (though not as cheap as I would have thought - $2 per/ride unless you buy a monthly pass), It is never too late at night to do anything. Anyways, I could list a zillion things but I will wait until I find some really cool things and then let you know. Anyways a few more weeks here in Lansing and then back to NYC for good. Here are some pics or the apt...

This is my corner (20th and 8th Ave.) That floor above the resuraunt is my apt.














Here's the living room (the ceiling is almost 20 feet high)

















Kitchen is Bitchin...

















My room...















Yes, I do have a fire escape. This is the view...















Anyways, I know the apt is redonkulous. I will blog again soon. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Pain heals, chicks dig scars and glory lasts forever.

I'm out

-M, p&z

oh ps - Talladega Nights was hiliarious. Best line - "You better shutup you little potlicker or i'll stick you in a microwave."

Manly Men...

So this last week and through next week I have been working for a different office within my company to help them with move outs and getting apartments ready for move-ins. Anyways, I am working with about 7 other guys and I have realized one thing: there are two types of guys - dudes and men. I am a dude. Almost all of my friends are dudes. But these guys are men. You can almost hear them chant, "I'm a man, a manly manly man. I'm a man, yes, I am." Let me elaborate.

These guys had a conversation yesterday about cars and motorcycles that I couldn't understand a word of. All I understood was a few words here and there like 'intake' and 'engine'. The only thing I had to add to the conversation was what I learned from The Fast and the Furious. Honestly. Here's a 'joke' I heard two days ago that had everyone chuckling. So this guy who is caulking the tubs and sinks says, "When I heard I was caulking today I grabbed all the 5-in-ones I could find and went straight to my brick saw." That's it. That's all he said. Everyone started laughing and I smiled and acted like I got it. Now I know what a 5-in-one is, but I had no idea what a brick saw was. So I looked it up and from what I gather it's just a saw. I still don't get it. Therein lies the difference between men and dudes. Here are some more differences and ridiculously chauvinistic things I've overheard:

One guy found some paper towels in an apartment and said he was going to take them home so that he could convince his wife to clean to which another man responded, "You mean two black eyes couldn't?".

While they were all talking about their guns (all the men that is), I (more of a nerd than a dude) added some stupid comment about my limited edition Star Wars Episode III light sabre to which I was greeted with laughter. I think the laughing was directed at me and not my joke.

Apparently the louder your truck is the better. Now I hate those trucks that are raised 10 feet off the ground and sound like someones eating a helicopter under the hood but from what I gather not only is that cool but more often than not it means they have also "dropped a small block" in there. I know a small block is a type of engine but it still makes no sense.

If a girl is annoying you, you should either punch her in the face or "dump a bitch." All of the ones who were married hate their wives and know more about trucks than they do about their kids.

"I ain't seen 'em," is probably the only phrase they know. Now while I am always down with a big fuck you to punctuation, these people feel the same way about grammar and the english language in general.

One of the guys had to go to my office for something and when he got there he told Bill (my roommate/co-worker) that there was someone from the office working on his crew. Then he says, "Yeah, some black guy who drives a mercedes." (My subaru's battery was dead so I was driving the benz) To which bill thought, "I dont know any black people who drive a benz." Then the guy goes, 'You know, really tall and skinny." Eventually Bill got that he was talking about me and when I told me that I realized that all of those guys must just assume I am black because I am very dark and have very short hair. This would be fine except for the fact that when they talk about black people they sort of look at me cockeyed and refer to them in what they must think is the most p.c. term there is, "colored guy." They also refer to every other race in almost the most derogatory racist word possible.

Basically I guess I have been in complete denial and living in my own little bubble but Michigan really is a very redneck hick state. Now I dont mean that in a bad ay because despite what I have mentioned above these 'men' were very nice to me and were all good folks. But it does not surprise me anymore that this state was almost a red state the past 2 elections. I couldn't tell you the difference between small town michigan (which is almost al of it) and the southen US.

Anyways thats all for now, as always lift your feet off the ground and keep reaching for the stars, Go big or go home. "Pain heals, chicks dig scars, and glory lasts forever." Carpe diem.

-M, p&z

oh ps - more blogs to come soon and more frequently including a special farewell to east lansing.... In the mood for a good very funny movie, go see Woody Allen's new movie "Scoop." It's hilarious and very very good. Pretty much the complete opposite mood as "Match Point" which was also very good but very serious.

Boooo-urns....

Aside from Fedderer winning yesterday, every other outcome sucked ass....

First of all Zidane is my boy.

















He instantly became my favortie player in the cup after the US was elminated. If you weren't rooting for France (or Ghana) to win then something is wrong with you. His head-butt yesterday was awesome and that douchebag clearly deserved it. Unfortunately Italy won and it was probably because shoot-outs are ridiculously stupid. Do we even need a goal keeper for penalty kicks. I mean unless the guy kicking has never heard of Emilio Estevez and the patented 'triple deke," then the ball is clearly going in the back of the net. The only reason France lost is because some dude kicked the ball as hard as he possibly could and it hit the post and that was all she wrote. Anyways it was a good match but France definitely should have won, they played a muh better game.

Tiger played in only his second tournament since and came in second. Now I think it's great when someone who has never won tournament before wins but seriously, when Tiger is in contention on the 18th on Sunday who cares about the guy who has never won before. I want to see Tiger win every single tournament he enters, and I would really like to see him have a better rivalry with Phil. I mean they are clearly the two best yet they never play well on the same weekend. Anyways, kudos to that dude who won a bunch of money yesterday that wasn't TW.


















Do me a favor and if you aren't one of the million people who already saw "Pirates of the Carribean 2," don't see it. Just don't do it. Please. It was not good. I rarely leave a movie theater unhappy with the summer blockbuster I have chosen to see. I mean what is with this summer. First the travesty that is X3 and then this abomination. As of now the exact numbers aren't in yet but it is projected that the movie will make $132 million opening weekend making it the biggest opening ever. The sad thing is that the movie sucked. Honestly, it was ok, but I don't ever want to see it again. I enjoyed about 30 minutes of the 2 and a half hour long snooze fest. On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 2. Please please please go see Superman. It is easily the best movie of not only the summer but the entire year. It was beyond good. Are people really that awful that they would go see POTC 2 over Superman. Sup hasn't even made as much after 3 weeks as Pirates did in one weekend. That is truly a shame. Pirates has no discernable start or finish. It picks up somewhere after the first one (which you better watch immediately prior to watching this film because that's what the director assumed you did which makes it silly if you haven't like myself) and cuts off. The only thing I can compare the lack of an ending to is LOTR: The Fellowship of the Rings, only in that movie I had read the books and I knew what was happening and while it doesn't stand on it's own, it wraps things up nicely so you are excited for the next one. Pirates is a shitty movie that is just another way to get you to spend money on this one and the next one. Don't see either. Trust me. Don't go see it!

Anyways that's all for now. I'm out. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Carpe Diem bitches.

-M, p&z

oh ps -

















For a few years now there has been talk of a live action Transformers and many of us nerds in the online movie community have been up in arms about it. We have spread tons of negativity about it but alas it is no use. Why would I be so against this movie, well for starters Michael Bay is directing it. He is the genius behind Pearl Harbor. Not to mention last night on entourage they rip on him which is hilarious. Also, the odds of them fucking it up are so good that there is no way it can be good. That said, there is a teaser trailer for the movie which is scheduled to open 7/4/07 even though they are clearly going to have to rush to make that target date. Somehow I find myself on the edge of my seat waiting for that movie to come out and I have no doubt that I will have my tickets a week in advance and even worse that I will like it... It's a sad little world we live in...

It's Been a Minute...


















So obviously the first thing to talk about is Ben Wallace. I don't understand people sometimes. Big Ben was truly the heart and soul of not only the Pistons but Detroit Sports. He embodied a work ethic that every single person in the entire NBA admired. I remember the day Grant Hill left the D. He is arguably the most talented player ever to put on a Pistons jersey, yet somehow this one hurts so much more. Grant (my boy) left after paying his dues here, we knew he was leaving and we knew why - he wanted to win and it wasn't going to happen for a long time here. When he left we got Ben and that was the start of the change in Detroit. I remember when we were the worst team in the league, when our record was worse than last years woeful Knicks'. Grant wanted what was best for him but he also had love for Detroit and agreed to the sign and trade that brought Ben here, but Ben, who meant more to Detroit than Grant has ever, would not agree to a sign and trade. Instead he left us with nothing. We were willing to give him his dues and make him the highest paid Piston EVER. I don't understand how he can turn around and say that our offer of 48 MILLION dollars "was dissapointing." Really?? Seriously Ben?!? I was hurt when LB acted like he wanted to coach here but did nothing to show it, but nothing has ever compared to this outright Betrayal. I am conflicted as to whether I should cheer for him at the first Bulls game at the Palace or whether this single act of selfishness outweighs the 6 years of pure heart he poured into this city. Ultimately I assume I will boo his ass and probably hold up a sign that says "Ben Who?" and another one that says, "At least Nazr Mohammed can score!" Ben hurt us fans bad, this one act contradicted everything we stood for. He pretty much said a big fuck you to "Team" "Unity" "Love" and "Heart". Good riddance. Have fun watching the Pistons apotheosis from the bench in Chi-town.

Moving on.... Movies, Music and more....

If you still haven't seen Superman Returns, do yourself a favor and check it out. Don't waste your money on a movie like Pirates of the Carribean 2 which premiers this friday (don't get me wrong, I'm going to see it on friday but you should see superman first). I promise you, you will enjoy it. It will not be the same when you rent it on Netflix, it is a movie you have to see in theatres to get everything you can from it. I think they spent around 240 million making it and promoting it, and so far it has only made around 100 mil. You need to see it now. X Men 3 made 120 million its opening weekend which is stupid, and that movie sucked ass. Bryan Singer is an amazing director and he is the reason people thought X3 would be good. He directed X2 which was the best comic book adaptation until he made Superman Returns. Everyone went to go see that piece of shit movie X3 based on X2, when they should have gone to see superman. Anyways all I can say is for you to go see it.

Music you shoulc go get or download... Dashboard Confessional has a new cd and while Chris Carraba still sings his lungs out he never quite screams his lungs out which always made his songs that much better. It's still a very good cd and it's definitely worth buying or burning from someone who has it. Regina Spektor's new cd is insanely good. If you liked Soviet Kitsch, then you will love this. She is still a little zany but her songs are much more impressive. If you have never heard of her, get on I-Tunes and download the song "Fidelity" off her new album, I promise you it is worth the 99 cents and it will make you want to buy the whole album.








World Cup keeps getting better and better, though without the US in it I find myself rooting for whomever ESPN gave me a reason to, whether it be because the players had been though something crazy or because the country is united and peaceful all pulling for their country. Anyways I am convinced that in a few years soccer (though I prefer calling it futball) will be the new Hockey and Hockey will be exiled to the brink of bankruptcy like the MLS was.

Anyways I guess thats all for now, I will be blogging more frequently as I am sure the Pistons off-season will keep my mind racing. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars. Go big or go home. Carpe diem bitches.

-M, p&z

oh ps - For the last 10 years I have sworn that "this year the Tigers are gonna be sweet and win the world series." It's good to be right once in a while...

Me yelling at a Morning Glory on the 4th...

Ben's gone...

Heartbreak
Betrayal
Hollow

More words can't seem to come to my mind at the moment but I will try and put my thoughts together soon...
-M

Stop whatever it is you are doing, change all your plans for tonight, and go see this movie. Simply put, it's the best movie I have seen in theatres in years. More to come later....

-M

The Last Final Summer Ever...














It's funny how many 'last summers" we have. There's the summer after senior year of high-school when you think that you will never have a summer vacation again. Then the last summer vacation in college when you realize that every summer after you will have to take classes in order to graduate sometime this millennium. Then there is the summer after you graduate (my current status). This time it honestly may be my last summet to have a bullshit job (not that I don't love my job because I already know I will never work in a place where drinking is placed so high on the list of priorities, I mean we get free beer every friday and we get paid to drink it not to mention all the work parties, i mean - meetings.) Anyways, I'm hoping that this is my last summer ever. If it isn't, then it means I didn't get a job after film school which means I most likely am not good enough to be in the industry which means I would have to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. The good thing about not having a back-up plan in life is that I go where the road takes me, I have no idea what I'll be doing next year and it's very exciting. So what am I going to do with my last summer of freedom? Good question....

Well I have been hanging out outside as much as possible. I have switched from working inside the office to working the grounds at our various apartment communities (needless to say I am, as my mom would say, much too dark for anyone to marry). I decided that plans need to be made. The reason I never end up doing anything during the summer is because I never make the plans, I always just assume that if something comes along I will do it but nothing ever just comes along therefore I never do anything. Here are the things I want/need to do this summer, if you would like to participate in any of the activities let me know. Go to the Zoo, go camping, go wakeboarding, take a small road trip (not counting when I drive to NYC in august), have at least 6 bonfires, roll down an enormous hill, go fly fishing up north, do something outside I've never done before, go hang-gliding, go to Cedar Point, have a very large bbq (that would require many of you to come hang out) on a lake somewhere... Anyways these are just some things that I can think of off the top of my head so help me think of some more.

Anyways I guess I'm not feeling as pensive as I thought I was so I'm gonna go. As always, get your feet off the ground and reach for the stars, Go Big or Go Home. Carpe diem bitches...

I'm out
-Marty, P & Z

oh ps - currently hardcore jamming to my boy Jamie Kennedy and my homegirl Nelly Furtado (yes, I love that song "promiscuous").