It's Apparent

Apparently, keeping up with a blog is not an easy thing to do. Though, I guess when you're moving and working and dealing with moving and working, it's not exactly the most important thing to keep up with.

Here I am again though, sitting at Starbucks trying to develop a television series, which, if you ever want to try it, is not easy. And as I found myself drawing a blank, I remembered about this blog and how just typing anything can jog the brain into ideas. So, as you've probably figured out by now, this particular blog posting is about, well, nothing. That much is apparent.

While we're on the topic though, there are a couple things that have become apparent to me since my last entry.

Firstly, and possibly most importantly, is that age is simply a number. It has absolutly no hold on someone's maturity level. It's unfortunate, especially since the people that act much younger than their age suggests don't see it. And as I find myself in a predicament that is less than ideal, meaning I'll be in close contact with one of these so called 'age-offenders' for the forseeable future, I present to you a word of caution: simply asking someone for their age is not enough in getting an accurate read on their behaviourable traits. They could actually be much much younger. And while that may not be a bad thing in every case, it can sometimes be destructive.

That much is apparent.

Forgetting Your Digital Wallet

Well, this entry is based entirly on me forgetting to bring my work-in-progress screenplay with me to Starbucks.

Apparently when I reformatted my laptop the other day and installed my screenwriting program specifically for this morning, I forgot to pull the script off of my external drive, which, of course, is at home.

So long gone are the days that actual physical objects are the only things of importance that can be forgotten in your other pair of pants or coat pocket. Obviously the time has come now where you can be equally as 'at a loss' as forgetting your wallet, as you can be with forgetting a digital file.

It's kind of ammusing actually. I mean, who would expect to hear something along the lines of "Oh, shoot, where's that excel document? I must have left it on my other thumb drive." *snaps finger in disappointment* "...Or maybe it's on my external."

Because, this is and must certainly be where the world is going, no? For myself personally, if I need to find a file it sometimes takes a while as I rummage through my two USB flash drives, two external hard drives, three computers and multiple partitions.

I suppose I can liken them each to a heavy, multi-pocketed coat from now on.

Who knew?

Oh How the Mighty Fall

Remember the "Big Three"? You know, those three American powerhouse car manufactures, each with their many subsidiaries, which dominated the automobile world?

Now, you probably have a good idea on where this article is going, and you may be wondering, ‘why write about this now, isn’t it last year’s news?’ To an extent, yes you’re right. This entry however comes on the heels of General Motors announcing that Hummer, their iconic SUV brand, is getting the axe.

From what we’ve been told, GM shopped around the sale of Hummer initially. I mean, who wouldn’t want to own one of the most recognizable truck brands around? Well, apparently no one. I guess these are the times. Everything now must be green, smaller, more attainable, everything that Hummer is not.

However I digress. I can write something entirely on green sustainability in the future.

Let’s continue with General Motors then. Once the largest car company in the world, now a company that is only still alive because the American and Canadian governments bailed them out of bankruptcy.

Quite the turnaround.

They are starting to ‘get it’ though. Their products in the last year or two have been of improved quality and design. Reliability has been on an upward trend. They may finally be seeing what the Japanese and Germans are doing right, and following suit.

But at what cost? We’ve already been over Hummer: Dead. Last year brought the demise of an actually improving Saturn. And Pontiac! The company that produced its first automobile over one-hundred years ago in 1907: Dead. That one was a shame. Then came the brands that GM had no business owning in the first place. Saab: if it wasn’t for a last minute pitch from Spyker, they too would have been given the axe. All of Sweden would have revolted. Let’s not forget Oldsmobile and Daewoo, both killed of years ago.

So, I suppose the larger question in all of this is: Was it worth it?

Was it worth it to become so big and so powerful that, much like Rome, it would all collapse? That all those iconic car companies would be simply killed off?

And it’s not just GM. I’m not forgetting about Ford, a company that had to rid its self of its entire Premier Auto Group and settle for Lincoln and Mercury (not entirely sure why they still exist) as it’s only two subsidiaries. And Chrysler, now a subsidiary themselves of parent Fiat. Ouch.

So really, was it worth all that Power?

I don’t really know.

Just Another Day

The fact of the matter is that it is just another day. It’s just another Sunday. But is it? No, not really. In our world of commercialism and media, things become blown out of proportion. This isn’t even a holiday. There is absolutely nothing of significance about this day. No cultural tie-in. Nothing. All it is is a day that someone, once upon a time, decided ‘Hey, we could make a shit load of money if we made a day of the year that was all about love, and couples’. ‘Let’s call it Valentine’s Day and put it right in-between Christmas and Easter because four months is far too long to go without having some sort of bull-shit day to make us a ton of cash.’

Now, what exactly does this day do? It does a hell of a lot. To everyone. Either you’re with someone and you end up buying a pretty red card and some chocolate, go out for dinner and a movie with your significant other and let the retail sector reap the rewards.

Or, you’re alone. And while you may tell yourself it’s ‘just another day,’ you’re miserable. Not every day, just this day. Because this is the day that someone decided would be the day to celebrate profit… sorry, I meant love. You may be perfectly fine with your solitude for the other three hundred and sixty four days, but today, today it’s rubbed into your face so hard that you think your life may as well just end.

Today, everyone, is Valentine’s day. Congratulations if you’ve found someone to share it with. My sincere condolences to you if you haven’t.

I’m going to go get a beer.

And We're Back!

Well, I warned you. Turns out I was right, this blog went forgotten for the better part of three months. Now, it's possible this could have been avoided. If I remember correctly it all started when my old computer decided to call it a life, which wasn't too long after my last post. So for roughly a month I was unable to access this blog anyways. Evidently, visiting and updating this little corner of the internet had not become habit yet, so when I did get a new machine (damn Windows), I simply didn't think of it. But here I am, ready and willing to brush up on my typing and grammatical skills, as well as post the occasional bloggish type thing...

Our Endless Numbered Days

The title of this entry is from a song by Iron & Wine (included in the Mixtape), and I thought it was very appropriate for what I wanted to talk about.

Our Endless Numbered Days. How many days do we have in our lives to do what's right, or what will make us happy. At times, they seem endless, days upon days, as if we have all the time in the world to procrastinate or deside it's too risky. Is that living?

I've been trying to weigh several things in my life: Career, love, friends, living situation. I've been asking myself what I want from my life, what I want to do, what's going to make me happy, what relationships I want with people. I've been asking myself if I want to risk what I already have to find something better, or end up with nothing. The real question however, and there is only really one, to quote William Shakepeare: To Be, Or Not To Be.

If we don't risk ourselves, if we don't put ourselves out there, we will never know what could have been, what maybe what was supposed to have been, because of fear. It's a terrible thing to conquer, fear. But our days are not endless, they are in fact very numbered. If we do not work at conquering our fears, if we do not work each day at getting what we want, we will be left with nothing, and those days, those are the ones that are endless.

Change can be a wonderful thing, it can be a very risky thing but it can be wonderful, but it's not necessary. After all, living is not mandatory. To quote an unknown author, You cannot dream yourself into a character, you must hammer and forge yourself into one. Now, while this quote is directed towards people in the movie business, the jist is the same.

Not doing anything, just going day to day being afraid of change, being afraid of trying to better yourself, it's not living. Risk something, change the way you go about your life. Yes you will lose things, but what you gain, what you gain will be so much more. There are always more opportunities, more job offers and more women. As I think about what I want, and who I want, I realize that doing exactly that, thinking, will not make these things a reality.

How many days do I have? They're endlessly numbered.

Summer '08 Mixtape

So, for the first 'real' post of this blog, sit back, relax and enjoy the songs of my summer. Carefully selected, these 18 tracks were favorites of mine throughout the four months of sun, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you, the reader.

Hope you enjoy :)