high fidelity

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.

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

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.

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...

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Startling new developments!

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...