Well, it took some work, but I have found it.
The MOST EMO music video ever made!
Rockstep On One,
So lacking any inspiration, I've decided to sift through my past year (at least what I can remember of it):
DANCING
So I stopped dancing competitively years ago, and then on a lark, I entered a dance contest at Viejas Casino. Won the audience award and got qualified to return for their finals, and also nuked my Achilles tendon.
It was jarring.
I went from being somebody who did back-flips on a whim to hobbling down stairs on crutches.
I've been recovering...slowly.
I went out dancing this past month, and although I feel like my dancing sucks ass, it was fun to get out and dance.
I've decided that Lindy Hop in San Diego is dead. If I go dancing it looks like it's going to be OC or LA.
I've registered for the Rhythmic Arts Festival over New Year's. I'm not fully recovered, but I'm looking forward to dancing in the New Year!
DRAWING
I only finished a single drawing this year that I was satisfied with (in other words, I didn't throw it away). I was inspired by the lovely Julie.
Here's a Higher-Res version of the whole drawing
(the original is just too large a file to post on the web)
WRITING
I've completed two screenplays this year:
The Green Candidate
The Green Flash
I'm at the half way mark with the screenplay for my feature:
Please feel free to read my work in progress and gimme some feedback!
READING
What I've read this past year (no particular order):
NOVELS:
The Song of Susanna (The Dark Tower Series) by Stephen King
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials Triology) by Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials Triology) by Philip Pullman
The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials Triology) by Philip Pullman
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire Series) by George R. R. Martin
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire Series) by George R. R. Martin
The Forgotten Door by Alexander Keys
Tea With The Black Dragon by R. A. MacAvoy
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
GRAPHIC NOVELS:
"Shortcomings" by Adrian Tomine
"Why I Hate Saturn" by Kyle Baker
"American Virgin" (Vol 1) by Steven T. Seagle and Becky Cloonan
"Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness" (Vol 3)
"Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together" (Vol 4)
"Planet Hulk" by Greg Pak
WATCHING
TV - All I've seen on DVD this past year:
"Lost" (Season 2)
"Veronica Mars" (Season 2)
"Supernatural" (Season 1)
"Arrested Development" (Season 1)
"Arrested Development" (Season 2)
"The Wire" (Season 2)
"The Wire" (Season 3)
"The Wire" (Season 4)
"Venture Brothers" (Season 2)
Movies - My picks for 2007 (Sorry, but I spent very little time watching film this year)
"Atonement" - 4/5 Stars
"Ratatouille" - 3/5 Stars
"Bladerunner" (The Final Cut) 4/5 Stars
"Secret Sunshine" 4/5 Stars
"I'm A Cyborg But That's OK" 4/5 Stars
"The Host" 3/5 Stars
"Deathproof" 4/5 Stars
"Shoot'em Up" 3/5 Stars
"Linda, Linda, Linda" 3/5 Stars
FILM
I ended up shooting four video segments for The Down Low, during the San Diego Asian Film Festival
Blowfish: Unplugged (Featuring - Brenda Xu)
The Invisibles
(Still needs editing)
I shot 3 short films this year:
"The Green Candidate"
"The Green Flash"
"Only Ashes..."
"Only Ashes..." is near completion. The final edit should be done before Christmas.
I'll be sending out a DVD with all three works around the holidays.
More laters...
It's been getting damn cold around here at night.
Yeah, everyone thinks it's cause we're spoilled SoCal wimps and can't take cold weather, but seriously if the temp drops to 42 degrees within the span of a few hours, you're gonna feel very cold.
Anyways, it's been so nipply cold out there I figured you'd all get a laugh out of this vid.
And it is safe for work.
Rockstep On One,
Charlie
Now that's ping pong!
Charlie
Screw the iPhone!
I want me a KINDLE!!!
Yeah, I thought it would be a lame ebook reader like the one that's out from Sony, but upon checking out the site and seeing some demos online and reading some reviews....
I want one so bad my teeth ache.
Rockstep On One,
Charlie
Yeah, you're gonna be picking your jaw up off da floor after you see/hear this.
That's 14 year old Charice Pempengco of the Phillipines.
Rockstep On One,
Charlie
So if anyone needs to get ahold of for the next few days, email me or IM me, cuz..... my phone is going to be tied up.
Oh, yeah!
Rockstep On One,
Charlie
The Onion proves once more, why it is the best damn online paper around.
Ate at Urban Solace on 30th in North Park last night, and I can see why it gets high ratings on Yelp.com. Granted this isn't inspired cuisine or anything (not that I'm a connoisseur to begin with), but simply good quality dining. I recommend the sweet potato fries and skillet shrimps for appetizers.
After dinner, Fitz, Max, and I headed next door the Pink Elephant.
Gotta tellya, the Pink Elephant is not one of my favorite neighborhood bars. Still it was pretty deserted, and they did play "Beat Street" by Grandmaster Flash and Melly Mel on the jukebox while I was there so it wasn't that bad. Fitz tried to murder the three of us early on with French Connections.
What can I say about French Connections?
Sip it slowly.
And never exceed one per night, unless you're just dead-set, determined to get shit-faced (in which case you only need 1 and 1/2)!
I have been lazily taking my time finishing the final cut on "Only Ashes..." but don't fear, it will be done before Christmas, and I will be handing them out as stocking stuffers for the people who helped out.
I guess I've just been having a really nice mellow couple of days catching up on my reading, listening to music, and walking around Balboa Park. Looking forward to the weekend.
Going to watch Ratatouille tonight, catch a show at Hot Monkey Love Cafe on Friday and head on over to the Starlite and gargle down some Russian Mules in a copper mug.
Also the land lord poured a little concrete patio area into the backyard of the house, so now I have a place to practice Capoeira and maybe some dancing! Time to start the workouts again!
And speaking of land lords, Land Lord Jim's (aka LL Cool J's) is closing at the end of next month. Who's down to get some drinks and give a proper farewell to one of my fav dive-bars? Lemme know if you're down!
Rockstep On One,
Charlie
Yeah, I know.
It's been a while.
My Achillies Tendon...
Is healing. Slowly but surely. I am no longer limping. I can jog very lightly across the street, and I've even gone out dancing 3 times now!
My dancing was pretty sucky. I paid the price the next morning, but it was worth it. Yeah, it's healing, but it's bad in the mornings. When I first get up, my right foot feels like a piece of petrified wood. I have to stretch it out as I stumble toward the bathroom to brush my teeth.
It's much better after it's had a chance to warm up. It feels like my re-attached tendon proabably has about 50-60% of its original strength back at this point. If all goes well, it'll be strong enough for me to get through The Rhythmic Arts Festival at the end of this year.
For those not in the know, The Rhythmic Arts Festival is one the largest, and greatest dance events held in the US. It usually goes for 4 days over New Year's Weekend. Dancers from all over the US and even quite a few international dance fiends, make their way to San Diego to burn up the floor.
Rockstep Film Bash...
Good and bad. The bad was that the film wasn't done, and it took 2 hours to render AFTER everyone had arrived before it could be watched. Several people ened up bailing before the rendering was done. The good was that everyone liked the new cut of "The Green Flash" and when "Only Ashes..." was finally screened it got quite a few kudos.
I think several people were pleasantly surprised by "Only Ashes..."
Even the cast and crew were caught off guard by what they watched. Maybe because I brought the lead actor, Matt, back in for two days to shoot entirely new scenes?
As I look back on what I attempted to pull off, I realized what my upper limits were. The funny thing is that it wasn't really a matter of hitting an upper limit so much as a time limit. I could've continued exerting myself at that pace and load for quite some time, but I just simply ran out of time.
I ended up actually getting the whole thing ("Only Ashes...") cut together literally a few hours before the screening and realizing that the audio for the last two scenes were horrid. So I elected to lop off the last two scenes and instead worked on some transitionals between the scenes.
I'm going to be sending out finished copies of the films on DVD for Christmas, so if you were involved in the making of one of my films and want a copy, let me know via email and I'll have one burned for you.
Thanksgiving...
Was terrific. Jessie threw a singles and orphans Thanksgiving dinner. We ate way too much, drank too much, and then passed out.
Reading...
The Dark Tower by Stephen King
I am still on the fence about finishing this thing. It's been months since I picked it up initially. I put it down once I reached the point where Eddie Dean of New York was explaining to Roland of Gilead how to pronounce po boy sandwich. Yeah. Very hesitant about finishing it.
His Dark Materials Triology (The Golden Compass aka The Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) by Phillip Pullman
Wow. Just go out and get this series right now and read it. You'll love it and thank me that you got it read before the movie comes out next week. Trust me, you'll tear through the first book before the week is up. It only took me 2 1/2 weeks to get through this series, and I am an appallingly slow reader.
Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker
It's a little dated (the pop references are stale), but the core of the book holds up very well. This is a lovely little graphic novel, and I'm seriously thinking about trying to get the film rights for this thing.
Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine
Beautiful, frustrating, superb craftsmanship, frustrating, did I mention frustrating? Don't get me wrong. The book is amazing. The main characters just infuriate and frustrate me so badly that I have to stop and remind myself that they are characters in a graphic novel. Yeah, it's that good.
The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way
Absolutely wonderful so far. If the rest of the issues hold up like this, I'll be buying the trade papaer back as soon as it hits the stands. Who knew the guy from "My Chemical Romance" actually had talent?
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
I don't know why he has to have 2 R's in his name, but this is by far one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read. Now granted, it's not innovative, it works on many conventions that are par for the course in fantasy stories, but that's not why you're reading this book (or you should be). It's for the craftsmanship, skill, techniques, pacing, characterizations, well-detailed settings, smooth weaving of multiple storythreads. I could go on, but what's the point? You just need to read it.
The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key
A blast from my past. Read this in grade school. Picked it up and found myself enjoying more than I did the first time. You might recognize the author (also wrote Escape From Witch Mountain).
Tea With The Black Dragon by Robert A. MacAvoy
Great little crime thriller that came out of nowhere and left me rather impressed. The funny thing is that in some parts it almost comes off all Oriental mystic-like.
Astonishing X-Men #23
'Nuff said.
Listening...
"Bring On The Comets" - VHS or Beta
"The Crane Wife" - The Decemberists
"Barkentine" - Jane Lui
"It's True" - Brenda Xu
Watching...
"Paradise Murdered"
"Secret Sunshine"
"Restless"
"Daywatch"
I've had tunnel vision, for the past few weeks.
Will have a ginormous update in a bit.
Rockstep On One,
Charlie
