Cadillac

I just submitted my film for the Cadillac 5 SECOND (That's right...FIVE SECONDS)

I've watched it about 3OO times.

I wish I could show you guys, but it'd be a breach of contest rules.

As soon as I can, I'll post it. It's great.
It's classic. And I'm not tooting my own horn.

And I guess we'll just have to wait.
Peep this:
A maximum of 3,000 entries will be accepted.
Grand Prize is a $55,000 Cadillac
There's one grand prize

First Prize is a trip for two to the London premiere of the film "Be Cool"
There are FIVE first prizes

Second Prize is a trip to Hollywood for a private screening of "Be Cool" with the director F. Gary Gray (he directed the Italian Job, Set it Off, and Friday to name a few.
FIFTEEEEEEEEEN Second Prizes....


Man.
Wonderful odds.
That is, if you go in for that sort of thing.

PEACE.
I'm excited about the show.

Privilege

Love is one.
I feel like it's an honor to Love someone.
When Love is in your eyes,
When Love compels you,
You're real.
To Love is an invigorating privilege.
And when you obey the unignorable near-maddening drive to Give Love,
receiving It takes care of Iteself.

I can't help it.
Literally.

Boooks...

Hey Janet! There's DONUTS in the conference room!


Okay! With that out of the way....
What's everyone reading?
The Bible counts, but you have to tell me what other books you've been into recently.

As for me:

1-2 Samuel
The Idiot by Dostoevsky (yeah, I've been reading it since November and I just hit "part two")
The Infidel (a novel about hymnist John Newton) - this one happens to be really disappointing.

OKAY...sorry....I have to interrupt this progam....

Little Peter is watching the food network to put himself to bed, and it's a show about a chocolate battle...

and the MUSIC in the show is made with SOUNDTRACK...a program from Apple that uses existing royalty-free sound loops....
Anyhow, Scott Lean and I once did a video called "Arts/Crafts" about people whose profession is also an expression of art...
It was a lovely piece. I'll get it uploaded as soon as I regain a high-speed connection.
Anyhow AGAIN, this Food Network commercial spot used the same music that we did. And one of our subjects was a chef, and the music was almost identical...I guess those loops just sound like "chef loops"

k..back the books...

I'm not feeling "The Infidel" simply because it's too untidy. It feels like a history teacher trying to force his enthusiasm about Newton into a Novel. It's full of futile attempts to shove in pointless information. One character willbe like:
"I'm sure you won't have a problem on this slave ship since your father was a trade sailor and owned his own ship and was known for his meanness, something that probably scarred you as a child and gave you a proclivity for aggression..."
Yeah, I'm hyperbolizing...but you get the gist...

I also decided to Man-Up and read a very difficult book called "Inside of Me". It's about a young Christian woman's struggle with "SEXUAL MISUSE" and RELATIONSHIPS...It originally caught my eye because of it's attractive packaging...some designer did a good job...anyway, I decided to pick it up because of Manne. Manne is the SEX-ADDICT with the COMPULSIVE CHEATING HABIT in my life. And she's very hard to understand...You know someone is intense when you have to pick up a book to try to understand them...then again, I guess for a Christian that's not so rare. So far the book is making me very uncomfortable because MEN aren't exactly cast in the most flattering light. I'm not sure yet how to translate that into the real Manne's life. She seems to blame herself for all of her flaws. She's relentless...she's not real. She's a character in one of my scripts. That one is available at relevantbooks.com

The Rock That is Higher -- This book is non-fiction by Madeleine L'Engle. It's GREAT. And I've also been taking my time with it. It's basically like a conversation about her writing habits and her inspiration. I think the official tagline is: Conveying Truth Through Story.....

So which books, kids? What's resting on your chest when awake from your rest?

Moving Images

Oh!
Gabi asked me what I do.
Good question. I call myself a 'digital filmmaker'.
I do however have dueling passions/obesessions with photography and music.
My goal is to make images that inspire and disturb.
Images that move.
I also found myself throat-deep in the whole performance poetry scene.
It takes a lot out of you though.

Plus, I get bored reciting the same 5 or 6 pieces over and over and over...
and then it feels like the people who have grown used to your "good stuff"
won't appreciate the new experimental stuff...

But my degree is in film and media arts with an interdisciplinary concentration in new media. I'm still in the kitchen. I rarely make it to the dining room. I'm steadily building my arsenal of material. I've got some stooooooories in me. Some stories!
Speaking of material, I used to want to be a stand-up comic...but then I met some other guys who were all about stand-up comedy, and they made me SICK because they didn't know how to turn it off. And then for some reason, I was afraid that people would perceive me that way too, so I toned it down...and even now I've had people acuse me of being "superficial".

I have a few experimental shorts on my website.

http://www.hillcityparable.com

Check them all out! I love watching my own stuff. It's true. There's one called "Drown" that I did a few years ago, and it still gets me every time. In fact, I think I'm going to go watch my stuff now.

And finally...Some may say that I'm paranoid about sharing my ideas with people. That's not so. I'm paranoid about putting my stuff online for the world to see. I'm trying to be patient. Some things, I don't even want to talk about...so I won't post the scene for Refuting Darwin just yet, at least not until it's a little more developed.
I'm going to focus on a web series soon, so that way being online is what the scenes are FOR.

I'm also writing a book of poems and "fragments" and photographs and artwork....
And then I'm also writing an industry book, that I hope will sell.
I just got the idea for it recently, and it's something for actors, and judging from my own past acting experience, the idea (the one I'm being so vague about), definitely answers a demand.

After being a comic, I wanted to be an actor. Then I was called to filmmaking, and I kind of let the acting go. Now I feel like too much of a fat lard to get in front of the camera, but I know it's inevitable. Just give me about 6 weeks with a serious workout plan, and I'll feel much better.

OH!
Speaking of which!!

If you want to watch a video of me playing the guitar and acting crazy....and SINGING....
check out this link:

http://www.hillcityparable.com/maddy.mov

peace!
Happy Gabi???

oh, and the song is "Crossroads" Bone Thugs-n-Harmony