dork culture + arts

Pills

2011-03-08T22:27:00.000-08:00

Chicago, you have been crazy good to me in the past few weeks. Rehearsals for "Pills" with the Black Ship Theatre Co. are starting to ramp up, and that means character work! It's been such a long time since I've done something DRAMATIC. I've been doing nothing but comedy work the past few years so to have the ability to jump head first into a pure piece of drama really gets me excited. Being able to set aside time to refine my Viewpoints work and actually "verb" my script makes me feel like I'm back in my senior year in the Conservatory, and it feels goooooood.

The fact that I get to geek out about Stanislavski work and Meisner makes me smile. I'm so used to only geeking out about comics and movies, but I get to go all theatre students on this play's ass. My character is so free-form that I can apply so many different things to his development that I never feel boxed in. Enough about the process though, I'll just slowly geek out later about it.

I've been watching this Charlie Sheen stuff spiral out of control and last night I crossed the borderline for it all. I don't find it funny anymore, I just find it sad...the freefall Sheen took was that of cargo being dumped off an airplane: sharp, without direction, and containing massive amounts of coke. All I wanted was a new Major League movie and this guy ruined it. What a jerk.

Bedtime muggles. Sayonara.

Blogger and Tumblr don't work well together...

2010-11-18T06:19:00.000-08:00

(originally published 3 weeks ago, but Tumblr stopped redirecting the feed to the site. Oops.)

So…I’m writing a book.

I know that sounds odd but it is true.

I have several friends that work for some publishing companies and I recently skyped with a friend in NYU who works for (message redacted). Pretty cool huh? She works for (message redacted) of all places! It turns out that they are looking to publish books for free, giving them releases online and select books will even see hardcover releases as well. It was a lot to take in, but we determined that my next year on this Earth will be a good topic for a book.

Y’see, I hate my birthday. I don’t like celebrating it. I’m not a fan of getting older. I’m sure there’s alot of unexplained psychological reasons for this, maybe some Peter Pan complex, but it is something I really can’t come to terms with…until now. I decided that I was going to make my next year on this Earth a life changing one. I’m going to say “yes” more often. I’m going to try new things and learn about subjects I was too timid to introduce myself to before. I’m learning solfege now, and have guitar lessons on my plate as well. I’ve going to be furthering my theatre training and taking classes at iO soon. I’m going to throw myself into situations with such helpless abandon you’d think I was possessed by some unruly force.

I’ve been practicing this way of thinking for the last 7 days and I’ve been very successful with my experiences. To support this idea, I’ve said “yes” to the book thing. So we’ll see what happens.

Whelp, here goes.

the move

2010-08-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

So I just found out I’m not allowed to check any luggage in on my train ride. This drastically reduces the things I can bring with me to Chicago.

I’ve been making a check list of what I’ll want to enjoy on my first day there, and I’m making a big decision between reading Scott Pilgrim in the park or enjoying netflix and video games with my friends over pizza in our apartment the first night there. Big decisions, I know.

I said goodbye to my friends and family at my respective jobs last night. I think they’ll be sad to see me go, I hope they will be anyway cause I’m sad to see them drift away as I time travel across time zones. It is exciting to be a time traveler!

I woke up to read that two alums of iO Chicago are reported to have received jobs at SNL. I don’t want to get schmaltzy but one of my dreams is to be on SNL and knowing that I’m going to take classes at iO really gets me pumped up. It sweet y’know? So we’ll see… So many of my friends have had the means to move on from school and do their thing and I was a bit late to that party due to a number of reasons, but I’m ready.

My next trip to tumblr will be from my apartment in Chicago. Whew.

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Hmm, Blogger wasn't redirecting my posts for some reason, so I shall add an addendum!

Damn Chicago, you are HOT. 90' degrees on my first day? Why did you do that to me? I merely wanted to experience the windy city and you made it into the humid city. Not cool. Not cool.

I hear you will be a little breezier and cooler tomorrow though, do I'm happy you're done being such a hot head. This will give me more time to explore and go to the theatres here looking for gigs. I must admit, this is the scariest thing I've ever done, and your blistering first day was not a very warm (well it WAS warm) welcome but I'll make due. Did you know that my girlfriend plans to visit you soon? And reside here once she earns enough money? Yeah! I know! She just made the decision last week and I'm pretty proud of her! :) We're moving on up like George and Weezy.

Your wireless phone service here is pretty nifty. The only place I had problems was at my new bank. Otherwise you're hot to trot! I am ready to become the mayor of your city on FourSquare. I haven't decided on whether or not I want to make my new apartment a viable location on FourSquare cause it is kind of cheesy, but we shall see. As my friend Tiffany told me, there's tons of free stuff going on right now so maybe I can check-in at those soirees.

All in all Chicago, you're a little intimidating and that's kind of a nice challenge. I feel like I will conquer you one day. Just you wait.

Sincerly,
Aaron J.

high fidelity

2010-08-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

August has flown by at such a rate I'd have to believe it used Mass Effect technology. In any case, August has been fantastic. In the course of the last 3 weeks I've seen Scott Pilgrim twice, secured my new apartment in Chicago with a good writing partner of mine, and even started working on 2 projects. I guess I just took my time in relaxing so I didn't have a ton of time to sit down and write.

I'm very excited for Chicago. VERY. I feel like it's ten times the geek outlet my current location is. I want to connect with "my people", and not have it be over the internet. I got a taste of that at the Scott Pilgrim premiere and I forgot how therapeutic it is to be in the presence of people who truly "get" you. I'm also seeing my super fantastic awesome girlfriend in 2 days out in San Diego so I'm sure I'll get that same rush when I'm around her.

Moving to Illinois will bring about its own series of problems and triumphs. I would lie if I said I wasn't a little scared about it, but once I start auditioning I'm sure all that fear and trepidation will fade away. It is just natural to be 'scurred' right? I mean it's a totally foreign place for me. It's like placing Picard in Star Wars! Amirite? Amirite? *pushes glasses up on nose*

The name of the game for the rest of the year is Collaboration. Kyle and I are ready to jump into the LAN'ded abyss once again, and thanks to Elton John I finally found an outlet for a smaller project I had swishing around in my head. Gotta love those homosexual english knighted musicians. Always good for inspiration.

I'm a bit turned off by the media's handling of the Scott Pilgrim movie. It seems like half the critics are turned off because they are unwilling to even try to connect with the ideals and virtues of the twenty-something lifestyle in the film. Did their disagreements about Tyler Durden sway them from saying Fight Club was a modern classic? If critics think that superheroes dressing up in crazy costumes is outlandish and childish, then why would they idolize The Dark Knight? I feel like there is a terrible double standard at play here simply because the comic book/movie uses video games as a tentpole for some of its deeper themes.

I see Scott Pilgrim as a conceptual film. Obviously it is very seldom a realistic movie. It dabbles in realism but shrouds itself in surrealistic tendencies and metaphysics. These are the same principles musical theatre is consistently founded on. Every time Scott sees an evil ex or an obstacle in his world, he views it simply as a level to be completed. He must work out a strategy. Does every critic believe that Scott must actually engage in hand-to-hand combat in order to defeat the enemy? No. This is simply a conceptual device employed skillfully by O'Malley and Wright to show how Scott thinks. In reality, the encounter could be just a short exchange of words or MAYBE a shoulder brushing past him while he tries to ignore a bad scene.

I don't know, it just makes me a little sad. You can invest so many geek hours into reading and watching something you connect with only to have a few snobby older critics turn up their nose. It doesn't ruin the experience at all for me, but I don't like it when someone tries to invalidate my opinion using the excuse that older viewers "know what they're talking about". *shruggity*

And now I'm packing for San Diego. I think that is spanish for something, not sure though.

~ Aaron J.

Working 50 hours this week and so happy about it.

2010-07-29T20:46:00.000-07:00

There are some nights where I am overcome with a tidal wave of inspiration. Tonight has been one of those nights. Working a slow night at the restaurant, I was able to do some people watching and usually some great ideas come out of that. I just had a nice opportunity to sit back and think about LAN’ded and how an audience might react to it. The fact that Code Monkey is wrapped means one thing: LAN’ded, the reason why Code Monkey was made, is ready to be worked on once again. It scares me in a way but the message behind LAN’ded is the whole reason why Kyle and I started Imaginary Trends in the first place.

I was able to come home and jot down rough notes on where I wanted to take LAN’ded, but got very distracted by the X-Games on ESPN. Yes, I’m still a dude so the X-Games are like a present under the tree of my Christmas-In-July. Seriously, those guys doing those crazy superman stunts are like Gods. If I could even do a single jump on a bike then I’d consider that a major victory, the fact that they can do flips and stuff make me re-evaluate my fear of flying because they take off like birds.

Wow, my analogies and metaphors are getting really wordy tonight. Ugh.

I also came home tonight to a very nice surprise. An interest musician named Blue recorded an online web-concert that she put on earlier today. I was bummed out I couldn’t actually view it live cause of work but she recorded it! Watch it now @ http://hello-the-future.net/2010/07/30/webcomics-webconcert-the-video/

More artists need to facilitate an audience like this event has. Plus she did a Lilith Fair rendition of Launchpad McQuack. Seriously, she did. I almost choked on my food. If there’s a way into my heart, it’s through a Lilith Fair rendition of Launchpad McQuack. Nice. The fact that there's artists out there who are ballsy enough to just put themselves out there so freely makes me want to work with ALL of them. Maybe someday.

ANYWAY…LAN’ded. Back to that THING! That crazy, long, derivative, heady, existential THING. I can’t believe how much it has changed since the first draft.

Actually, I’m going to quit writing this and go back to compiling notes on it. There’s too much in my head about it.

Before I go though…to everyone who has supported my endeavors in Code Monkey in ANY way…thank you. It’s still not done but the way people have connected with it by reading the script, hearing our renditions of JoCo’s music, or seeing our behind the scenes videos, is just incredible. I am thinking of some way to thank you all…though I don’t know WHAT yet.

~ Aaron J.

OK, so I'm cheating on my blog with Tumblr.

2010-07-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist. In my downtime I've found Tumblr to be super-duper cool. Thus, I'm gonna use it. Thanks to my tweeps who convinced me of this.

Since "Code Monkey" has wrapped, it is totally time to sit back and relax for at least a day. That is until I start working 40 hours a week again. The only responsibilities I have for CM now are 1) ADR work on some scenes where we shot outside and 2) figuring out the release party. I'd like to get Southside Works Cinema for our premiere, but it is sort of expensive. Maybe if I ask around I can raise some money...

Did anyone else play the Alan Wake DLC this morning? Holy moly did I enjoy it! I love the original game itself, but the DLC was able to take the narrative further and I can really respect that. Remedy is definitely a company I'd love to work with one day. The way they take gameplay and infuse it with story is pretty rad. I don't think any other studio does it as well as they do.

The proposed date for moving to Chicago was set in stone a few weeks ago: August 29th. I just woke up one day and it sounded like a fantastic date to pack everything up and go. I now realize that I'm going to be quite the jetsetter in the coming weeks because I need to travel back to Pittsburgh for audio work, and then I'm going to San Diego to visit the girlfriend. FourSquare is going to BLOW UP! Finally I can rival my friends on tour at least for a few days.

FourSquare is such an interesting device. Whenever I go out now I have to decide whether or not I want every fast food chain I visit included in my history. Do I let my friends know about my Burger King obsession? Do they seriously need to be aware that I constantly celebrate my fourth meal at Taco Bell? For better or for worse, they do. They totally do.

I guess it is time for me to start raising money for this premiere party...here goes nothing.

I promise I will not cheat on my Blog with Tumblr.

2010-07-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

I feel as if I'm standing on the edge of a precipice. I've been walking up a mountain for the past 7 months and I'm about to jump and see what happens next. Tomorrow is our last day of shooting on Code Monkey. After tomorrow, it is finished. There's no more going back to shoot, no more "oops I forgot about this", and no more "let's re-write the line to be this". I'm not unhappy, it is just difficult to process. We will of course need to go back to do some ADR work and I'd like to sit in on some editing sessions but I know I can't. After tomorrow, all I've left to do is promote it and get it out as quickly and efficiently as I can. It's. So. Strange.

It's like you're reading a book. Something AWESOME like Terry Pratchett or Stephen King. You get real absorbed in it and love it even though it eats up all your time. When you're done with the story though, you're left with so much free time that all you want to do is start another book. One person asked me if I'd ever write a sequel to CM, and the thought of that kind of scares me. There's no real route for these characters to take while accompanying JoCo's material. Unless they turn into vampires or zombies. I wouldn't want Guy/Laura to break up and I wouldn't want any other strange catharsis to occur either. I just hope that the finished product is something that JoCo (and his fans) will appreciate. He's given so much to us, it is time we give something back.

It is almost fitting that once the project wraps, I'll be ready to make my move to Chicago. A nice clear-cut change of scene.

Wait a tick, I signed up for a Tumblr. Is that better than Blogger? It seems more dynamic. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? My inner geek wants me to have the best tech out there, but my compassionate side says not to cheat on my blog when it has facilitated so many of my entries the past few years. This is why I'm incapable of cheating on my girlfriend. My guilt is enormous, even when dealing with objects without life or any discernable human behavior. This guilt eroded my soul when making my 360/Ps3 decision and I'm sure it'll rear its head again later with other decisions but seriously is Tumblr cool? Lemme know.

Time to pack and fill up the car before my trip to Pittsburgh to finish filming. Then I get to play the fun game of marketing Code Monkey! It's up to 4 players, anyone want in?

Thank You

2010-07-16T00:12:00.000-07:00

In the span of 3 days, I've seen Code Monkey go from being a small passion project of mine to something that could grow to great heights. The internet never fails to impress me and the amount of support we've been able to garner thus far has been inspiring.

To everyone who has been tweeting and re-tweeting, thank you. To everyone on facebook sharing our behind the scenes videos, you're truly amazing. And to all of my friends and family who are saying "oh hey, this actually looks pretty sweet", I told you so ;) When you're working with people who love what they do and all aspire to put forth their best effort in any project, you're going to wind up with a winner. I should probably insert my foot into my mouth right now and stop talking up CM, but I just have a great feeling about it. A fortune cookie once told me that a good feeling was creativity trying to tell you something.

Regardless of all the good feelings and hunches I have right now, I'd have none of them without my friends and family. Thank you all so much, and I hope that this project can continue to thrive in the coming days as much as it came to life last Sunday.

~ Aaron J.

Principle Photography starts on Sunday!

2010-07-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

Just spent a week in sunny Florida visiting the Disney Parks and Hogwarts. Am I happy? I got to see the Great Hall, of course I am happy! I may have even shed a single year of happiness upon entering Hogsmeade, but will I ever say for sure? Never!

OK, I may have, but still, it was amazing.

This was all a lovely distraction from the project that has captivating me for months on end: Code Monkey. We have an excellent cast (yes I know part of that is me, blah blah), a fantastic director, and a legion of cameramen and extension cords just waiting to be used. I'm elated, anxious, nervous, and excited all at once just knowing my pet project is going to see the light of day soon.

This would be longer but I'm crazy tired...maybe later I will update you all with more, but I have to say that after seeing everyone support Code Monkey via the internet, I have seen how much talent is actually out there and I want to collaborate with everyone. I wish the world weren't so big sometimes...

Sunday

2010-03-21T07:35:00.001-07:00

Whenever I wake up on Sunday and get into the shower, Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday" tends to blare in my head. When I saw the show last year (or was it two years ago?) I was just in awe of the way he married the music and story together. Today when I woke up (at the crack of 7!) I did NOT have that song in my head. It was weird. Usually it happens every sunday but this was the first one it did not. Instead, a song by Kerrigan and Lowdermilk came on my iPod and now I am searching it out on YouTube for every singer who has EVER tried to have a go at it.

Yep, it's going to be a very musical sunday, I can feel it.

I'm INCREDIBLY happy to say that after some long talks and back-and-forth e-mails, Code Monkey is finally ready to walk on its own two legs and have production start on it. What started as a small little side project that I never even intended to have been made has turned into a small little short that has a nice bit of attention behind it. The fact that I'm once again working with my good friend Jackie Baker makes me smile too. I get a great sense of unity when working with her, it's like we're always on the same wavelength. Having her help makes it feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. What if I actually HAD weights on my shoulders? Sorry, I must really be tired if I'm typing stuff like that.

Or this.

I have to stop.

I don't have a ton to report right now, other than Christian (of LAN'ded fame) has gotten a big surge of subscribers in the past week. Juggling these two projects and 50 hour work weeks will be quite the challenge but no pain no gain right?

Let me make one thing clear, I haven't even been able to play Final Fantasy. I know, right? Crazy. You'd think I would have stopped the world for that. Whatevs.

And how about that health care thing today? I hope that happens. C'mon Obama, I know you can do it.

On to work.

~ Aaron J.

getting it.

2010-03-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

It's really sad I cannot find it in me to update this more often, but much has happened since my last update so I guess I don't have a lack of content.

I've recently devoted more time to saving more money for the big move. I picked up a job at a restaurant and in doing so, have fulfilled the title of actor by becoming a professional waiter. Well, waiting soon anyway.

Imaginary Trends has been chuggin' along with some neat-o projects in development. Between short musicals about one of my biggest inspirations to more long term ideas for LAN'ded, things are always changing and morphing. I know there's definitely some ground being tread with "Code Monkey" and though I'm now busier than ever, I can't wait to become steeped with stress over a potential reading for it. I'm even more excited about the people I may be working on "Code Monkey" with. I'm happy to say that I think I've found fellows artists for life that I can collaborate with. Friendship + Art = the best concoction I've ever come across.

I was telling my girlfriend a few weeks ago that she should be prepared for my social blackout that is sure to occur on March 9th, the date Final Fantasy XIII is released. I explained that the series has given so much to me that I am considering it a holiday. It's eventual release has made me go back and think on the times when I was younger where I didn't have a whole lot of friends, when people lived too far away, and when I didn't have any other outlet than video games and comic books. Those stories meant alot to me, and I'm hoping the 13th installment holds the same amount of pure happiness that its predecessors gave me. Hype can be a tricky beast though, like a dual edged sword it can be both shiny but inflict much pain and sadness. Alright, I've waxed poetic far too long on a subject that nobody wants to hear about.

I'm thinking it may also be time to bring Thing A Day to a close. I started it on July 14th 2009 and I've only missed maybe 7-10 total days for writing a unique piece every day since. Truth be told, I've grown a bit bored with it and it has become somewhat of an obligation. I don't want my writing to be forced, I want it to come naturally. Some writers take long breaks between pieces, maybe I need a break?

Just like a kid evicted after work, I'm out for the night.

~ Aaron J.

At the corner of State and Randolph

2010-01-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

Hmm, it's been a while hasn't it?

Here I sit, in a bookstore's second floor overlooking Chicago's State Street whilst stealing Wi-Fi from any number of conceivable locations in the area. I like this place. So far everyone has been very nice and helpful with directions and my points of interest, even so much as to walk with me to the correct bus stops on their way to their own destinations. Didn't expect that.

Neat.

I dare not attempt to ride any of the rails without the guidance of either a close friend or a mechanical A.I. partner. I can get around city streets quite easily but I shan't be so dumb as to think I can navigate a complex subway system without prior knowledge.

My list of theatres to visit is long and laughable given that I do not have a car but I remain persistent! I want to at the very least see the Second City Skybox and ComedySportz. I'd also like to get information at The Annoyance, I.O., and Playground theatres if possible. I've narrowed down the neighborhoods I want to scan thru to 3-4 different areas so at least that noise is lessened. I gotta admit, I've only been here 2 hours but it's much different than I expected. I wasn't expecting it to be bad, but I didn't expect it to be so nice. There's more musical theatre here than I thought as well, so that's a plus.

It's freezing right now but hey, that's just about anywhere in the U.S. right now.

I'll have more to report later...

~ Aaron J.

Should've brought chapstick, curses!

2009-12-06T11:44:00.001-08:00

Oh Pittsburgh, it seems like whenever I visit it's always too brief.

While I'm sure there are others more deserving for a vacation, I decided to retreat to Pittsburgh for 3 days to take in some sights, see Jonathan Coulton in concert, and film some experimental sketches for Imaginary Trends. What I didn't expect was the surge of words and inspiration I'd come across in a 36 hour span. Between heeding the lyrics of JoCo and spending some much needed time with hilarious people I came up with about 4 days worth of TADs. I'll admit I've missed a day or two here and there but I've made up for it now.

It seems this week that I've had more than a few conversations about this crazy little thing called "Fate." I know, I know, it's a heady subject. And usually it's one of those things that divide some people but in my opinion that's just dumb. If you want to believe in something then you should believe in it, regardless of what others say or feel. Anyways...I tend to think of life as a highway (I'm gonna ride it all night long...), know how a highway has a ton of exits? Well, even if you miss an exit, you're bound to find another exit that gets you to the same (ish) direction. I should know from traveling an awful lot the past few months. If you see where you wanna go but you miss the exit, you're going to be able to find another route to your destination. Maybe you missed the exit cause you didn't know where to go or even how to get there, but odds are life will always give you another exit.

I think I found 3 exits this weekend that I stupidly passed up earlier. Or maybe I ran out of gas. Or maybe I got T-Boned by a semi? Who knows, this analogy makes sense to me but when I write it down it seems awfully dumb. I'm sure other people have done the same. Winston Churchill has a ton of great quotes and lines about comparing courage and patriotism to various things but I'm sure he's had a few bombs in the past.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, Pittsburgh! And how it rocks!

Well, first off I got to see a ton of old friends and even performed with a few of them. I presented a serious of experimental improv sketches to Kyle and got the go ahead to produce them very low budget in Pitt. Got some of my PPU/Pitt/CMU friends to volunteer and while I've yet to film the third and final sketch I can say I'm very pleased with the footage I've gotten from the first two. The first sketch turned out MUCH different than I anticipated and the second turned out pretty much exactly the way I thought it would, so the only logical conclusion for the third sketch is that it'll be a mix of the expected and unexpected. Or maybe we'll switch it up into an audio only thing? Maybe a series of paintings? Who knows but with the people I'm working with it's sure to be genuinely interesting.

Imaginary Trends has really started to develop some interesting things as of late, at least in my mind. Who knows, maybe some hobos are watching it thinking it is complete garbage? I think we're hitting a sort of creative stride where we're finally getting some great ideas off the ground. It sure it difficult coordinating plans with the guys on the road but that's just a roadblock we're learning to work around. It sure seems like we're coming around to good stuff...I guess that is all I really had to say about it, ha.

When i started writing I thought I would just start gushing about how amazing the concert was (and it was), but I guess I wasn't prepared for how much fun I'd have with my friends as well. I met with two friends at the concert whom I haven't seen in a while and even though it was brief, it was just refreshing to see them. The same goes for everyone else I've gotten to hang with this weekend. I broadly define myself as a geek, but my friends define me in a much finer more specific way. So...thanks guys.

I'm not callin' Japan

2009-11-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

The last two weeks have been interesting to say the least. I remember reading somewhere that George Lucas had to check himself into a hospital after filming Star Wars because he suffered from exhaustion. Well, I'm nowhere near that level of tired but I can see how a man could actually feel like that now. My schedule the past two weeks has been nothing but work, writing, film, edit, upload, and advertise. Kyle and I decided to go with a content plan for Imaginary Trends that requires us to upload new content every Tuesday and Friday and God as my witness I'm going to adhere to the content plan.

It really gives me alot of creative freedom in many ways. Due to the time constraints I have I almost have to be topical in order to attract fans. Because I don't have a ton of time to assemble long-winded ideas, I write and produce very quickly. It's all very cut-and-run in a way. One day I'll be making a video blog about Sam Rockwell appearing in TMNT and the next day I'll be doing a video about Taylor Swift and her undeserving boyfriend Taylor Lautner. It's a challenge and I'm actually starting to relish it. I've ideas on the backburner but I'm secretly hoping some star or musician does something stupid so I (or Christian in this case) can pounce on it.

Working retail jobs during the holidays also means long hours. It's perfectly fine by me because I need to save all the money I can for Chicago. It's very unfortunate that these so called money trees my parents talk of dried up and died years ago. I bet those were convenient. It's always a blessing if the people you work with are cool, and I'm blessed twice over. I remember when I used to work for Waldenbooks someone referred to me as the "young cute kid" who worked there. If they saw me now I'd look like the "weathered, garish, lank-fest" who wanders around the store. Funny how 3 years changes everything eh? Speaking of which, it may or may not be my birthday this week and I can honestly say that it's my least favorite time of the year. I hate getting older and it's no joke. I desperately hate getting older. It's like a slow-moving disease in my body. For someone who enjoys being a kid so much, why glorify their getting older? Senseless. Ridiculous. Crazypants.

I picked up an iHome tonight for my newly acquired iPod and, much like Kirk receiving command of the Enterprise, I've never had anything fit like a glove this well before. You mean I can wake up to Raffi's "Banana Phone" or Mitch Hedberg stand-up routines? Why isn't this a requirement for living? Who's big idea was it to keep this from me for so long? I demand answers. In the mean time I have The Replacements on low while I write this. Good job.

I thought I had given up on Literature after attempting to read a few books recently. It's just that EVERYTHING I had tried to pick up and read bored me. I'm serious. I think I went through 6 books and was yawning the entire time. I picked up Stephen King's new book for NINE DOLLARS (The book is 1000+ pages thick, hardcover) and am actually enjoying it greatly now. I hope it continues to amaze me. Hey, it's better than New Moon...right?

Jonathan Coulton concert in 2 short weeks and I'm staying with friends I miss ever ever ever so much. Can't wait.

In the mean time, I'm going to watch Star Trek for the 9th time and drift off to bed. It's a slow night, maybe I'll get to bed before 5 AM.

Here's hoping.

tan horse dusty on the shelf too breakable to touch
jade snake happy by herself won't cuddle very much

Schrödinger's cat is gonna be solved this weekend

2009-10-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

Just to get this out of the way - there's a new thing a day posted in the thing a day blog. Go read it!

It's officially the most wonderful time of the year: Halloween. No matter what, Halloween always lifts my spirits. No pun intended.

I'm making a road trip to Pittsburgh this weekend to re-connect with alot of people I've missed out on seeing the past few months. I'm beyond excited just to be back in my old stomping grounds. I am bringing my new TAD notebook just to make sure I don't miss anything. I'm not expecting a fanfare when I return, I just want to make sure I catch up with some friends. I took for granted having them around nonstop last year.

There's almost too much going on right now. Amidst the ongoing LAN'ded campaign, I recently completed a script that I'm shopping around for feedback right now. I basically wrote an entire script around Jonathan Coulton's music and ran with it. I'm happy with the end result but it's a first draft so anything is likely to change. We also launched the Imaginary Trends fanpage this week and we've already gotten 96 fans following us! Crazy! ALSO! We talked to PR guys for advice. ALSO! We laid groundwork for some possible future projects.

There's much more but thinking about it exhausts me. I was so tired last night I didn't go see District 9 for a second time. This is serious.

My biggest reprieve this week has been shaving. I know exactly why I waited until today to shave, but to reveal my intentions would boost my dork levels to 11 and I'm not about to do that. I got new razors and everything and I am squeaky clean. I can't say that often so there you go.

Last week I was lucky to walk away with any scrap of sanity due to the cerebral experience that Nathan Drake of Uncharted 2 gave me. I don't usually make grandiose statements, but Uncharted 2 is one of the best games I've ever played. It's in my top 5. This is serious.

That's all I got right now. I'm exhausted. Time to go to work and then drive to Pittsburgh. Beam me up.

stars in your eyes
free from the life that you knew

bicoastal

2009-10-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't say I'm an a cappella aficionado but the Ben Folds A Cappella album refuses to be taken off my current playlist. I'm driving back from a weekend excursion now and I've found that these alternate versions of "Fair" and "Selfless, Cold and Composed" hang in my head like a musical hangover from late night sessions listening the night before.

I took this weekend excursion to catch up with some people who are very special to me. I figured that in the downtime I would have plenty of time to jot down some extra lyrics or plan out a comedy skit I wanted to shoot this week for Imaginary Trends but sadly I have been jumping back on a normal sleep schedule (read: not going to bed at 3 AM) so I had to settle for writing some dummy lyrics on my phone. Also, I forgot my writing journal, that'll do it I suppose. I think I've come away with a few decent T.A.D.s to pursue later though, so I guess a good bedtime works somewhat.

I got to take in a variety of sights over the weekend, even though the rainy weather attempted to thwart happiness at every turn. The Children's Museum at Baltimore's Port Discovery only made me think of ways to incorporate children's theatre and other tools into I.T.'s overall business model. Meanwhile I got to be inspired by going to Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian museums. There just wasn't enough time to take everything in though. And being without my notebook I was feverishly typing in notes to my Treo's notepad hoping that the scribbles would make sense later.

Kyle and I are set to have a catch-up meeting later this week so I'll have oodles of time to sort through my ramblings and bring them more sense by then. That or I'll sound like a drunken idiot, either way, work will get done. Maybe...

I've been brainstorming ways for Imaginary Trends to give back to people all while maintaining the geeky atmosphere which is the nougat-ie center of the troupe. I ran some of the ideas by Kyle and I think we reached some common ground of how best to implement them, but it wasn't until I asked some of my friends what they thought of it that I knew we'd have something great on our hands. It's always nice to hear positive reinforcement, especially for I.T. With our underground status we really haven't had the adequate means to advertise and really promote our work but hopefully that will change soon.

The best holiday of the year is approaching and I'm appalled that I haven't even started buying the materials for my costume. After much deliberation, I decided that Dr. Horrible is the way to go. It's sure to be a popular idea but it's a fitting tribute to the show that has propelled LAN'ded to the position it is at currently. I'm shooting to be in Pittsburgh for Halloween weekend and there's nowhere else I'd rather be than with my old friends and comrades. Would it be weird for twenty-somethings to go trick-or-treating in full regalia? I hope not cause it's going to happen.

Side note: just drove past a middle aged woman rocking out to what can only be guessed to be heavy metal. Gotta love Pennsylvania highways.

So, I've been keeping track of the weight I've lost since summer and I had topped out at a total of 30 pounds. I'm proud of that, I can't lie, and I probably mention it more than I should. I am eating better, exercising, and cutting out my vices, but the scales at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum cut me down to size. Apparently their idea of fun is making a guest jump onto a giant sheet of metal which displays your mass on a giant screen above. Needless to say, I gained five pounds back. Damn you Air & Space Museum. In front of Buzz Aldrin and everything.

I should get back to driving, typing a blog entry whilst careening down I-795 probably isn't the brightest idea.

you see them drop like flies from the bright sunny skies
they come knocking at your door with this look in their eyes

the fact that i just wrote an e-mail to Jeff Gerstmann baffles me.

2009-10-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

There are only a few TV shows that I watch regularly that really truly affect me. The chief among these is Battlestar Galactica. BSG has single handedly reduced my entire work ethic to nil countless times. I could write an entire diatribe on how that show makes me believe in a higher televised power, but this week a former champ tried its best to retire the space war series. I finally was able to watch the entire fifth season of The Office over the past 3 days and it literally has torn me to pieces.

My belief has always been that watching regularly scheduled television is needy. Why should I promise NBC that I'll be there every Thursday at 8 PM if it isn't going to respond to my needs? It's become infinitely more practical to watch TV-on-DVD or through the Netflix Instant Queue. This convenience even overtook [adult swim] and its bullet-proof programming. Because of this, I have fallen into the one trap I promised myself I'd never fall into. Season 6 of The Office is currently being broadcast and well...I can't watch it in succession as I'd like. The great thing about the whole TV-on-DVD is that you never have to wait for the next moment, and well...Jim and Pam's wedding is something I'd love to see, but I'll have to wait until the DVDs hit way too late next year.

I'm afraid that I won't be cured soon seeing as how the second season of The Big Bang Theory is currently out on DVD as well. Another reason I couldn't stop watching was this.

I had forgotten how much I loved going to zoos and aquariums. Over the weekend I was able to take a trip to Cleveland (or "The Cleve" as some call it) to see the Cleveland Rainforest. I loved it. For some reason I just felt like a kid again. It's one of the only places you can really overcome your fear of spiders too. When there's inch-thick glass separating you from what looks like a genetic mutation of a daddy long legs, you can pretty much stand tall and be fearless.

Also, having the company of your 5-year-old nephew in tow can't help but make you marvel at all of nature's nightmares.

A week or so ago Kyle and I sat down (via video chat) and discussed the direction we're taking LAN'ded and possible ventures that may appear because of this. It felt good to get back to the core of Imaginary Trends once again. The virals I've committed myself to have been very fulfilling in a number of ways, but LAN'ded is the reason why we're both in this. Writing it feels so good now. I feel like we've found the flow of the ocean and we're putting up the sails.

I began to write some formal letters and e-mails today to some geek titans in the industry. Some of them asked them for support and some of them were written as a "We're onto something here"-esque format. What alot of them turned into though, was a formal thank you. I was basically writing thank yous to people are inspiring the project, and asking them if it'd be OK to mention or name-drop them in our sketches/scripts. I haven't heard back yet and I really don't expect to, but just knowing that I sent letters to people of that acclaim made me realize how big our projects could be if driven correctly.

For now though, the mission is to keep my head up, continue to fill my savings up with money for both the move to Chicago and the studio, and to endeavor to shape LAN'ded and other projects in the best possible way. I'd rather be saving up money to do the work I'm passionate about rather than waste my time on projects I'm apathetic towards.

I guess it all comes back to The Office, this time the BBC Version. Martin Freeman's character "Tim" said it best: "I'd rather be at the bottom of a ladder I want to climb, than at the top of one I'm uninterested in." That's not verbatim, but even in a shortened form Tim had some wisdom. Now if I can only stop myself from falling in love with the office secretary. I'm glad I don't work in an office.

i'd rather just call it 179 days.

2009-09-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

I tell you, when you get comfortable, you get lazy.

I was intending to record some music and lyrics on Sunday night to send to our musical geniuses but when you are sleeping in and having all of your meals cooked for you, things tend to slip. I finally got everything recorded and sent, I can't wait to see what happens with it all.

I got a membership to a local gym today, which is both a happy and sad event for me. I'm happy I have a place to work out again, but I realize I've been spoiled by PPU seeing as how they had free gym facilities. If anything, I'm going to use my membership a ton just to get my money's worth. I'm proud of myself though, I lost 25 pounds this summer and I haven't had to worry about it coming back. Then again, with a new Kingdom Hearts game on the way and Fallout 3 arriving soon, I will have to muster all the inspiration I can to get up and be productive.

Also, I imagine someone handing me my gym membership card, and me thrusting it above my head a la Link from "Legend of Zelda" and suddenly the music swells just like in the game with "dahn dun dun dun DUNNNN!" If only...

I haven't had much luck with T.A.D.s at all this week. It's like I lost some drive behind finishing them. I try to boost my inspiration by watching Venture Bros. episodes three-at-a-time but it doesn't work. I'd love to post something new but I'm not pleased with anything I've done. Here's hoping someone awesome hits me next week.

To make up for it I have been sketching, writing, and devising things for LAN'ded. I've started the (hopefully) final draft and I've found that doing the virals has helped exponentially. The show definitely feels like a living entity now that there's a more established background, and we're got a good 6-7 months to flesh it out even more so here goes nothing. I'd like to say we are keeping all of the ideas and mechanics that succeeded in the 2nd and 3rd drafts but sometimes you have to bench your star player so the rookies can get some time in the game. I guess we'll see what happens...

Here's my last bit, and it's a sad one. I've always wanted a Welsh Corgi, and I know exactly why, so I went to the pet store yesterday because I had some extra time. I talked to the lady about how much I'd react considering my allergy, and I explained that I was writing a show with the possibility of there being an animal in it within the future intrigued me. She seemed enthusiastic about it and so she let me hold the little guy. He should be mine, but he's not. I don't think I should have a pet for quite some time seeing as how I'm about as fatherly as Homer Simpson. Still, if I ever get a pet, it's gonna be a Welsh Corgi. Even if it doesn't happen for ten years. It's gonna happen.

Alright, HERE'S my last bit. Does anyone know how to make film from a SD camera look old, faded, and like it is from the 50's? I'm trying to do something with Cortex and Wally for LAN'ded and want to date the look.

Off to work.

please just don't laugh and clap right now
this is serious, i'm not delirious.

Oh Chuck E' Cheese, we meet again...

2009-09-18T19:20:00.001-07:00

Considering I've spent the last few days learning "The YouTube Game" and how to successfully advertise on it as well as other sites, I'm surprised I'm not a vampire by now. The in's and out's of online advertising, especially for a product that is as vague and "in" as mine continues to baffle me. Especially when it takes off and gets 500 hits for what seems like no reason at all.

Oh well, Hakuna Matata.

Spending all of my free time working on virals, I have to admit I nearly forgot about allotting time to work on the 3rd draft of LAN'ded. Next week I should have a good 3-4 days to sit down and sketch out a treatment for how it'll run. Like I said before, there's alot of changes Kyle and I are making to the overall feel and structure to the show so for a few people it may be a shocker, but I firmly believe that it'll be a decision that works out for the better.

Coming home has been incredibly therapeutic. Going back to your roots has a natural way of revitalizing you. Seeing old friends, chatting up your folks, and driving familiar streets puts it all in perspective. To think that I'll be here more than just 2-3 weeks is comforting, but I can't help but be a little jealous of my friends who're out in the real world "making it" already. I'm just happy to be able to continue my work here, not being required to relocate to a huge city right off. I seem to have a problem though, and this isn't something new.

Because I know many different people in many different cities, I tend to think everyone lives wherever I am. This lead to difficulties. I can't tell you how many times I thought I've seen my friend Joe in Pittsburgh, when he lives in Erie. Since I've been home I must've had to stop myself from saying "Hi" to at least 5 strangers who only LOOKED like people I know from New Hampshire and other places. If only the world were that small...

purple mountains majesty

2009-09-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

I'm currently huddled in Logan Airport in Boston, MA. And yes, I know, it's the only airport named after an X-Men character. See, Wolverine's real name is Logan and...oh nevermind.

I had expected to log on and watch HULU all night (until my check-in at 4...AM) and do some video conferencing but it seems I have to pay for Internet. So the question arises, do I want to be a cheap-skate and get the free 20-mins of Internet they provide here? Or do I want to shell out eight bucks and get it for the whole night? *sigh* decisions.

Travelling has afforded me many luxuries. For one, I love it. Traveling is one of my favorite past times. Road trips, bus trips, plane rides, everything. I love it all. Seeing America, as corny as it sounds, is pretty amazing. It makes you realize how big everything is. Also, it allows me to steal inspiration from the sights I get to see. I scribbled down a few ideas for LAN'ded, save points, and the F13th musical during my 4 hour bus ride to Boston. Gotta squeeze the muse out of everything right?

I really wish that didn't sound dirty or in any way like an innuendo.

Come to think of it, "innuendo" itself sounds dirty.

Yikes.

I uploaded a brand new TAD that you can view in the thing a day section (naturally). It's funny, I wrote it in all of ten minutes but that's the one qualifying TAD I've had in the past ten days that I would allow to be uploaded. I'm still working on lyrics for a song that have plagued me since July 31st (I know because I date all of the TADs).

What are you waiting for? Go read it. It's nifty.

In closing, I get The Beatles: Rock Band tomorrow, and if it weren't for me seeing my family again, that may be the best thing that happened all year. I miss them terribly, but in two plane rides I'll see them again. Huzzah!

"living alive" - anthony rapp

hills and valleys and the spaces in-between

2009-09-05T00:23:00.000-07:00

After a string of very successful viral videos being posted online, yesterday I decided to post something a little more...risky. I had played it safe with the past few videos but wanted to take a more critical turn with the newest one. At first the response was very positive, but as the video was exposed to the rest of the internet throughout today the response soon began to collapse into more negative responses which nearly spiraled into complete and utter disarray.

I won't lie, my first impulse was to jump in and start responding to what people were saying. After the initial shock and realization that the internet can work both ways towards total strangers, I began to revel in what was happening: a character was being created. What began as a viral acting project has become something of a social experiment.

I'm starting to really reminisce about my theatre theory lectures from school. All that talk about Brecht and how he really wanted to jolt the audience; to pull them out of experiences and challenge them sort of draws some parallels to the last video I uploaded. I never thought I'd be referencing German playwrights and alienation effects when talking about the viral videos for LAN'ded, but hey, it all comes around right?

Thing A Days have been trickling in daily like a train late for arrival. I seem to be getting most of my inspiration late in the day which is odd because at the beginning of this exercise I would wake up and immediately prompt myself with an idea. There's one T.A.D. that I keep coming back to called "Algorithm." I don't know why but it just feels right, but not finished. Hopefully I can become satisfied enough with it soon and post it.

I shipped a good portion of my supplies/belongings back to my permanent residence today. It's crazy what I actually consider props nowadays. You'd think an destroyed DVD box of Macauley Culkin's "The Pagemaster" would warrant being trash, but not on my watch. I'm also giving Wally (from LAN'ded) a home. He deserves a place to rest, and not a suitcase, so I'll be his owner.

I feel it is my moral duty to go see "Gamer" this week. Seeing as how one of my main goals is to merge geek culture and the arts, I think supporting a cinematic happening titled "Gamer" just works. Sure, it's not a song-and-dance flick, but we all gotta start somewhere. Personally, I think anamanaguchi gets it right.

Only 3 more days of singing and dancing here in New Hampshire, which equates to about 21 shows left. Let's see if the mountains up here inspire any cool T.A.D.s before I fly on back home...

"plug in baby" - muse

discussing the anatomy can lead to startling revelations.

2009-08-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

It's weird to think that most of my friends will be embarking on their Junior/Senior year in college tomorrow. I feel old.

"You are old." - Loren
"Shut up." - Me
----------
In two days time, the team here at Imaginary Trends will be temporarily broken up. Kyle has taken a gig going on tour with the newly formed "Curious George Live!" and I've taken a job...well, doing projects and spending time with my family who I haven't really seen in about a year. Kyle's job pays well. My paycheck will be in love and the fuzzy feeling you get when you are in your hometown. To each their own. I don't want to follow a monkey around the USA anyway, isn't that how AIDS started?

I've learned an awful lot this week in terms of recording audio with limited options and accessories. First off, turn off all fans, TVs, game systems, and anything that makes noise. Secondly, some sort of fabric or material is essential to dampen certain hard sounds. Thirdly, rapping (AKA 'spitting rhymes') is more difficult than it seems when you're white and you've got less rhythm than a bassist on a sinking ship. I guess that is what makes it work though...

What is incredibly long overdue is another Developer Diary. I know there hasn't been much of an outcry for one, but there's been a TON of footage taken of our various sessions around New Hampshire.

I also learned that a Batarang can hurt when thrown at high speeds, but that's neither here nor there.

I've had quite a few people ask why the LAN'ded blog has died. Well, to put it bluntly, we really can't openly advertise what we're doing with the project. I can easily say that LAN'ded has never been more alive. We're taking it in a much more realistic direction, and I think this is a direction that will ultimately make the show truly worth watching.

Alas, laundry calls. Til next time.

"sunflowers" - everclear.

of batarangs and possible accidental injuries

2009-08-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: PICTURES APPARENTLY AREN'T ABLE TO BE VIEWED IN MY BLOG POSTS, BUT REST ASSURED, THE BATARANG AND MACAULEY CULKIN ARE BEING USED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT.

Well, the website is up. I guess I can check that off my bucket list then.

I wanted to draw attention to the hub for my company: Imaginary Trends. Imaginary Trends was a company created early this year in order to house the projects created by myself and Kyle Igneczi, who is the other main component of the group. Kyle's website isn't quite done yet, but that doesn't mean you can't visit our minimalistic-styled bare-bones themed site for some love.

It's roughly 10:20 P.M. right now but I wanted to upload some pictures because 1) I want to see how the website handles pictures being inserted into blog posts and 2) the materials we have scraped together for the latest viral amuses me greatly.

Can you see what we are working with for tonight? A batarang and Macauley Culkin. Truly an epic combination. It kills me that I cannot directly talk about why these videos are being made but once again, if you take a good look around YouTube, maybe search for some Vlogs, then you'll catch on...

Time to get into costume for the viral video. If you guys discover it, I hope you enjoy it. :)

"i can't stay" - the killers

oh vanessa hudgens, i bet your mother is so ashamed of you.

2009-08-23T18:29:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say that when I grab hold of a creative idea and wrestle it to the ground, I never feel more alive. Today a suggestion was made for something to be done for the character of Christian in LAN'ded. Currently, the past 9 hours Kyle and I have been writing, scripting, and organizing a team to be brought together for a small yet difficult project we hope to complete by the end of the week. Though, because of the nature of the project, I cannot discuss it very deeply. I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record saying that but I'm sure if people just snooped around YouTube by the end of this week then they'd see the fruits of our labors. Or labours if we are using Shakespearean prose. Also, it involves me rapping. Yep, rapping. T-Pain style.

Hopefully, if all goes as planned, you're reading this on ImAaronJ.com. If so, I hope you're enjoying it. If not, well...trust me, it's pretty nifty. Kyle and I bought a flurry of domain names last night in an attempt to secure our virtual real estate and I feel as if we came out on top. You'll now be able to access our personal sites and company information at www.thisguyandi.us (cost 50 cents) and www.thisguyandi.com (cost $10). We bought the dot-com out of peer pressure and bought the dot-us to appease our penchant for thrifty shopping. In the end, everyone wins.

The grim realization that this job in New Hampshire will be done soon approaches us with more aggression with each passing day. This has been a haven for creative freedom as far as our work is concerned. We've made some good connections and have even found some new colleagues but a change of venue is necessary. I've always said that my father was the best source of comedy I've ever had and as fate would have it, I'll be heading home next. We have set up a mobile postal service on the internet though. A feasible way for Kyle, our fellow colleagues, and I to exchange ideas, videos, and upload our work to the series of tubes and connections you're navigating through now. We're very excited about the prospect of recording and releasing a podcast every so often, perhaps a fortnight, and getting feedback on our work instantly.

Getting away from all of that professional news, has anyone else turned into a 13-year old again due to the fact that a new video game about The Dark Knight is coming out? I sure have, and the fact that the collector's edition comes with a batarang does nothing to further my personal responsibility or well-being. I expect band-aids to be bought in bulk when that weapon is unboxed.

I just received an update. It's a negative, we won't have the URL site up by tomorrow, maybe tuesday though. GoDaddy.com likes to make their site as slow as possible, and when you combine that with the [sarcasm] always reliable [/sarcasm] internet here you've got a winning combination.

Guess that means it is time for bed. Peace out cub scouts.

"someone is crazy" - jonathan coulton

saving receipts for taxes is a trend that is difficult to fall into.

2009-08-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

I can only imagine how my past relationships would've turned out if my girlfriends had this handy dandy little resource. But I digress.

It is almost unfathomable for me to believe that a part of my job as an actor now requires me to play video games and publish my (or my character's) thoughts on them. It is definitely exciting and I'm quite interested to see what sort of waves I can make doing this.

Today I went to a few different places nearby my current job to see some friends sing and dance and even prance around. Being graduated from University, it's sad to see your younger friends (who are already very talented and going to get even better) knowing that you won't see them in classes or in halls come September. It can't be helped though. I really can't wait to see where life takes them. Just knowing that paths can cross so easily makes me believe this won't be the last time I see them. So I guess until next time...

P.S. I met actor Richard Kind at my friend's park today. He's always been a terrific character actor and I've enjoyed him in most every project he's been a part of. To add to it, he was incredibly polite and a very nice guy. It's always nice to encounter celebrities that are as nice as you'd expect them to be. It also helped that we played Bumper Cars together. I don't think anyone else can say they played Bumper Cars with Lucious Lavin from "Stargate: Atlantis". (I know he was on Spin City but c'mon, Stargate is more my speed.)

I hooked up my 360 to XBL today and downloaded Felicia Day's "Do You Want To Date My Avatar?" music video. I'm not sure how many times I can praise her, but I'll continue to do so. She has literally laid down the framework for how an actor can make a living through Internet media. So I'm hot-linking to her video and her material as much as I possibly can. It doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous and plays video games too.

I need to update the LAN'ded blog because it looks like a graveyard currently. How do I blog about a project I can't publicly talk about? Maybe if people watched more YouTube then they would understand what I mean...

Apparently this District 9 film is a pre-requisite for geeks everywhere. Even Entertainment Weekly thinks so. When did my niche culture get hip? Oh yeah, when Battlestar Galactica aired. I forgot. Will def. have to check it out this week.

I have to sing and dance in eight shows tomorrow and all I can think about is how to jazz up my avatar. Oh Microsoft, how you've ruined me.

I'm totally excited for my website to launch so I can begin posting my latest writing exercise: Thing-A-Day. I decided to write at least one thing a day for a year. At the end of the day I can't work on that selection any more. It has to just stay where it is. I can always expand on it with a different selection later but I can't add to an existing TAD. It's given me a ton of creative ideas for LAN'ded and other projects and I decided to post some of my favorite ones on here for all to see. Keep checking back to the blog to see how the progress is going.

Break time is over now! Back to playing video games...for fun and profit. Never thought I'd see the day...

"you and i" - jason mraz

cracking wise.

2009-08-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Being a recently graduated and poor actor floating around the country, I've had a lot of time to think about my career and where it is going. I know my calling is theatre but what specific facet of performing is yet to be determined. Interactive media has always been a big part of my life, as well as science-fiction and comic books. Because of this, I figured that the locations chosen for my web-site photo shoot should mainly be arcades and places that I can call home. My good friend and photographer buddy Derek Fitting generously volunteered to take some simple snapshots of me in my native environments and suggested that we hit up some not-so-common places for Kodak moments.

New Hampshire is actually rife with arcades and so the possible locations to shoot at were quite varied and debated upon. It was decided that FunSpot would be the best place to start, and why not? After all, this was the very same arcade that Steve Wiebe attained his Donkey Kong world record a few years previous. Needless to say, I soaked it all in. Where else can you find vintage arcades machines like TRON or The Real Ghostbusters? I dropped quarters like they were candy into the mouths of the hungry arcade cabinets only to be rewarded with a few high scores and continue countdowns screaming at me for another go.

Not having professional headshots yet and knowing that these photos were going to be used mainly for my website, I wanted these pics to be fun and so we attempted to make them as unique and varied as possible. I posed with Pole Position, Defender, several pinball machines, and Double Dragon. Never in my wildest dreams would I think I'd be posing with Billy and Jimmy Lee but hey, time makes fools of us all. I'm sure I can use most, if not all, of the pictures taken in some way shape or form.

In other news, I've formally begun work on my cabaret. I've tentatively titled it "save points" because I figure I'll be hitting some major checkpoints in my life during the course of the show. Once I get it on its feet, you can expect some JoCo, Nobuo Uematsu, Sam Hart, and some more contemporary Broadway musicals to make appearances. I'm excited for this project. I am aiming at having it finished by November and hopefully getting it performed sometime in December. I would really love to have one performance of it where I take donations for Child's Play. I think it is time that more gamers give back. After all, we can spend $150-$250 on prestige editions of games and Rock Band bundles, so what is a few bucks here and there towards kids who really need the support?

Also, I almost fell head-first into a waterfall today. I never said my life wasn't uneventful.

"boxing" - ben folds

i've got no control over the dog

2009-08-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

The constant reminder that I'm going to be back in my hometown of Erie, PA soon keeps nudging me closer to that state where I get both sentimental about going home but sad about leaving my current venue. Things aren't all sad though, many things are moving forward. You may be able to be directed to my new personal website thru a few new URLs soon. By the time this is posted, you'll probably be reading it on my new website. It's nowhere near complete but at least I'll have SOMETHING up on the interwebs. It's an interesting feeling purchasing a URL/domain name. It's like you're buying up prime real estate on the internet.

It's funny how I am known to most of my friends as Aaron J., and that automatically makes me think I'm the only one out there. Stupid right? It's like I am thinking "How could there EVER possibly be another person who goes by 'Aaron J.'?" and yet I DO think that. So when I went to purchase the domain name AaronJ.com and it was taken, my mind was blown. I may have to settle for ImAaronJ.com or something else but man, some stuff just totally blindsides you. I suppose I could have the guy lynched but that just doesn't seem kosher y'know? Ah, the entertainment industry, what a cruel beast.

Making the viral videos for LAN'ded has taken up most of my time recently. Some people have asked WHY the virals are being made and distributed via the internet and if I think the characters in the videos would actually publish such content. Well, if you were to search YouTube on a sad lonely dreary sunday afternoon, you'd find videos with alot worse content and reasoning than ours.

Filming the current viral had to be suspended due to the absence of a tissue box. Looks like I'll have to go out and buy some props tomorrow then. In order to make the most of the time I had set aside though, I'm going to play Fable 2. I know I'm about a year late in playing it but hey, better late than never right?

In all seriousness, I'll probably end up sketching out a few new ideas I've had and THEN hit up Fable 2, but let's face it, I'll still end up with a controller in my hand.

Til next time.

"walking after you" - foo fighters

just some cowboy bebop

2009-07-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

So, I've got about a month or so left in my contract here in New Hampshire (unless I get an extension) and things are winding down a bit. I never thought I'd be in the position to say this, but I actually bought a game console for work. I won't lie about it and say that I am buying it exclusively for work. Anyone that knows me would know that's an outright lie. However, in looking at the projects I want to complete in the next year, an Xbox 360 will surely help and fuel alot of fires I have burning right now. Due to the nature of the project I am currently working on, I cannot really talk about it much, but I can say that it involves me having to play alot of new games being released. What a life. :)

I'm currently designing and building my first real website in three years. The last website I designed was for my last improv group and after we disbanded I deleted the remains. Jumping back into it though has been fun. The little bits of HTML and the like have coming back to me like Squall's flashbacks at the end of FFVIII. (Yep, just went there.) I feel like I am cheating a bit though by using iWeb '09 but if every other actor out there is doing it, why not me? This time I'll conform, but we'll see about next time...

The very daunting thing about making this whole website business is how much it makes me feel like I'm running just that: a business. I realize that in the entertainment industry, you, being the actor/writer/whatever, is the product but man, how do you make a dork marketable? In real life we're relegated to being the funny best friends (on our lucky days) but in the real world? I hope there's alot of casting directors out there who play Halo.

And in that case, hit me up on Xbox Live.

Til next time.

"spirit in the sky" - norman greenbaum

Startling new developments!

2009-07-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

Here I am, in New Hampshire, surrounded by trees, open roads, and nature.

How did I get here? It seems like only a few days ago I was still in Pittsburgh planning out what to do after graduation. Turns out that time passes more quickly than I would have liked.

The projects I am working on encompass my free time right now, between video games and hanging out with my friends. What is great about these projects is that they're easy to assemble and I can easily work on them at a moment's notice. The biggest project, LAN'ded, is undergoing a big transformation in its third draft and I couldn't be happier with the people who are helping me out. Other smaller projects have crept up within the Imaginary Trends umbrella that intrigue me but most of my efforts are spent working on LAN'ded.

Now that I'm designing a new website, I decided the blog needed a do-over as well. All of these entries will be RSS'd into my personal website soon. So there ya go.

Expect more regular updates...