College Check-in: Week 4- Done

Classes:

• Cinema: Started learning how to use Final Cut Pro. All we did was fiddle around with editing clips, inserting and superimposing them. I was expecting more. Oh well. Maybe next class.
• English: Presented our Image Projects. Mine was a film reel (which I made out of cardboard and a paper towel tube) that told the story of Stewie Griffin who killed Michael Bay for Transformers 2 and left the head in a box in the desert to be found by Morgan Freeman. I got good responses on it. Also got our first response papers back. I did quite good, but I probably could've done a bit better.
• Journalism: Interviewed another classmate. Interesting in-class assignment. Learned a bit more about 2 classmates, one of whom is apprenticing at the station and another who is in my English class. I need to find someone to interview for a profile for class. I might have someone to interview, but if that falls through, I might decide to ask a few celebs on Twitter. ... I'll see how things go.
• Music: I LOVE THIS CLASS! We had a test on Thursday which had 6 M/C listening sections and another section with regular M/C questions. The listening sections were so fun. We listened to 6 songs and identified the form, syncopation, and other bits of the songs. The most fun section was probably "I Will Follow" by U2. Fantastic song!

Life:

• Games: Nothing.
• TV: I caught the season finale of Warehouse 13. OMFG! As for my regular shows, I now have 3 episodes of Glee to catch up on. I now have 2 episodes of Supernatural to catch up on and the season premiere of Heroes, as well. Fringe was pretty good this week. And I really enjoyed the season premiere of House. And Dollhouse's season premiere was pretty good. Didn't catch last night's Psych, though.
• Reading: Haven't done much pleasure reading, but I did pick up a few books for cheap earlier today, including a PostSecret book. The creator's coming to campus to speak next weekend, so I wanted to have one of his books to get signed and to get a feel for the project. And I did pick up a copy of The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time, which has been on my list for a while.
• Music: I'm really liking Jet's Shaka Rock and the Monsters of Folk's Monsters of Folk, which I'm listening to in the station as I'm writing this ... whoa ... trippy.
• Clubs/extracurricular: Went to the first meeting for the Beyond Coal group, which is working to switch the campus from coal to alternative, cleaner energy sources. I'll be helping out at a photo petition on Tuesday. Should be cool. And I learned a bit more about camera operation at the Film Club meeting. But it was primarily the basics. Also thinking about auditioning for a campus production of "Noises Off". Now to find a comedic/humorous monologue ...
• The webs: Nothing new.
• Writings: Nothing new.
• Mail: Got a letter from my friend Ikirak the other day and I'm waiting for a few other letters in the coming days.
• Relationships: Nothing new.

Well, I think that that's about it. Stay tuned to my Youtube, Twitter, and Dailybooth for more updates, etc.! I should be back here soon! Oh, and I'll be back on the air this Sunday at 2 PM EST. Check this Twitter for updates!

TTYL, TTFN, be seeing you, and allons-y!

Dream Journal #1: Luggage and Penn Jillette

So, I had this dream last night. Not sure what it means, but if you have any ideas, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I got in the open trunk of a hatchback with other teens who I knew. We were working on learning lines for a play of some sort. I was handed a folder with contact info and information on the show. For some reason, the person who assembled the contact info hadn’t gotten my cell phone and e-mail address, but they did have my hotel room number on the sheet.

We got to the hotel were we were staying at and our luggage was either brought to our rooms or we brought it up ourselves. If the latter occurred, I don’t remember bringing mine up, though. I took the stairs up to the 3^rd floor. No clue why I didn’t take the elevator. I was in room 333. Anna was in room 331. (One person per room? What?!) I got up to the 3^rd floor, heard a disturbance of some kind the floor below involved throwing frogs or something, so I went down to check. Then, I proceeded down to the lobby, where everyone was gathering. The female chaperone said that they’d give people a little time to chill and change before grabbing drinks (for those who were old enough) and dinner.

Then, I somehow was at my uncle’s house, but it was way more extravagant and mansion-like than their house currently is. I was there with my parents, but my brother was nowhere to be found. My grandparents were there as well. My uncle was bringing someone to dinner. I forgot what hint he gave as to the person’s identity. He brought the person back from the airport or wherever they were and rang the bell. It was Penn Jillette. I shook his hand and mentioned that I’d seen him on Countdown or Real Time recently. He said “Probably.” He mentioned that he’d seen me in some action flick recently, which I knew nothing about. He pulled out a small thin camcorder with a fold-out screen. I don’t remember what he said to it, but he said something and angled it so we were both in the frame. I said, “’allo!” Then, I noticed Tom Milsom, or someone who looked like a British Youtuber, walking by with his CDs to be sold. I signaled a scribble, as in, I wanted his signature on a limited edition CD collection thing that I had bought earlier from him (not sure how that fit into the dream). He shook his head and kept walking into the house. Penn noticed my signaling and took out a pen and signed the bottom of the box with my name, with my signature style. We went into the house, and I looked for him, but he wasn’t there.

The family and I and Penn all were inside getting ready for dinner. I went to go change, passing the room of one of my two cousins. She and two of her friends were watching TV or a movie. I went to either a guest room or my younger cousin’s room to change. I got on a pair of boxers and realized that my luggage was in the car. I wrapped myself in a towel and walked to the kitchen to ask my parents to get the luggage from the car. I heard the car starting, but nobody from the dinner party was missing. I ran outside in boxers and a towel. My mom yelled something along the lines of, “Where are your clothes? Get back inside!” I yelled, as I ran after the SVU, “THEY HAVE MY FUCKING LUGGAGE!”

And then I woke up.

So? Does it have something to do with giving up materials goods? I'm just guessing.

Umm, Glenn?

You aren't being serious, are --- DID YOU JUST DO WHAT I THINK YOU ---

*calls ASPCA*

College Check-in: Weeks 2 and 3 ... and other news, too

Classes:

• Cinema: We had a lesson on how to operate a MiniDV camcorder and a tripod. *snore* Filmed and presented my 1st project. The reception seemed good. I'll see if I can get it up within the next few weeks.
• English: Finished a novel called Cruddy. It was ... cruddy. The world's longest fictional suicide note. Read Sandman: The Dream Hunters (which I read the day I got in in the mail) and discussed some of it in class.
• Journalism: Not much, really. Just reading. And a current events quiz.
• Music: I love this class. We were clapping along to "Rock and Roll" the other day. We've been discussing beats, syncopation, etc., simple music stuff, but it's still very cool.

Life:

• Games: I've played Beatles Rock Band twice ... well, on two days. It is very fun and very challenging (on drums, that is).
• TV: I caught some of Sanctuary the other day. Cool show. I might tune in if I can catch up. I caught Warehouse 13 the other night and I love the concept. So far, I've caught 3 other episodes. I will definitely tune in. As for my regular shows, I have 2 episodes of Glee to catch up on. And I'll probably catch Supernatural online and watch Fringe live on Thursdays.
• Reading: Graphic novel-wise, I've been reading a lot of Transmetropolitan and Runaways. Fantastic stuff. I also started reading a little of Planetary. All these are at the recommendation of friends. And I greatly trust these friends.
• Music: Hrm ... perhaps Passion Pit. I auditioned their new CD at the station recently. Cool stuff. Also, I started taking ukulele lessons and might get my own ukulele in the coming months.
• Clubs/extracurricular: Checked out the Aikido and Kung Fu GIMs. I'll have to see if I can make a practice or two here and there. Also checked out the Film Club GIM the other day. I must say that I'm very excited! We're hoping to get out 2 feature length films during this school year (2 semesters). I hope to be involved in some way, shape, or form (acting, directing, editing, cinematography). We shall see. And I have had 2 Op-Ed articles in one of the campus papers. They can be viewed here and here.
• The webs: I might be taking short breaks here and there on Dailybooth to make it to 365 pics on my 1 year DB anniversary. I am taking over for Jess on Thursdays on The Nerd Project. *happy dance* I got a reply from John Noble during the Fringe Tweet-peat. *MAJOR happy dance* The question was about his favorite case from the 1st season.
• Writings: My two Op-Eds linked above and an Amanda Palmer short story viewable here. It's the second one in the post.
• Mail: Yes! Mail! What a wondrous thing! Over the summer and into the fall, I've begun correspondence with a bunch of Youtube and Dailybooth friends (including Dawn, Miranda, Ally, and Josh) and I'm loving it!
• Relationships: ... Maybe something? We shall see. ... ;)

Well, I think that that's about it. Stay tuned to my Youtube, Twitter, and Dailybooth for more updates, etc.! I should be back here soon! Oh, and I'll hopefully have my first radio show this Sunday from 2 PM to 4 PM EST. Check this Twitter for updates!

TTYL, TTFN, be seeing you, and allons-y!

College Check-in: Week 1- Done ... Mostly

Well, let's see ... where do I begin ... oh, yes! Friday!

Friday was Move-In Day. That goes without saying.

Saturday was UFest. I helped out a LOT, mainly tabling with other friends from the radio station who I hadn't seen all summer ... except for Matt and Erin, who I saw Coraline the musical with. And I had a foam fencing match with my friend Sam. Perhaps we'll get some footage of that one day soon. That evening, I went over to Ryan's and we watched episodes 1 through 5 of Spaced. I'm thinking that episode 2, 3, or 5 are the best. I can't quite pick one. Episode 2.3 has a very well-done Cuckoo's Nest homage, but episode 2.5 has the finger-gun fight scenes, however episode 2.2 deals with ... Jar Jar.

Sunday ... well, I did get some stuff done on the lazy Sunday before classes started. I printed my class schedule, got commentary on and posted my "Who Killed Amanda Palmer?" short story (A link will be posted on my Twitter as soon as it's up. And my Dailybooth. And maybe a link here, too.), and posted a new vlog on my channel.

Monday! My first day of classes! Things went well. My video and filmmaking course seems cool, although we're dealing more with avant-garde/experimental/art films, as opposed to films with ... say, a plot. I have nothing wrong with it, but I would kinda prefer ... Hollywood-like short films, ya know? And my journalism class seems cool. My professor knows his stuff. He's been in the business for a few decades.

Tuesday ... and Thursday! I think that these will be my favorite days, overall! I have nothing until nearly mid-afternoon, which is great! I can catch up on work and chill before class! Anyway, my music course is SOOOO cool! It's a study of pop, rock, and soul music, and the professor is SOOO into it! Today, we went over rhythm and beats and stuff (all elementary for someone who was in band for ... 9 years *cough*ME*cough*), then he played bits of songs and we clapped along to the beat, to identify where the emphasis was, etc., etc. I knew 6 of the 8 songs he played: Milkshake, Pump It Up, In the Midnight Hour, In My Daughter's Eyes, Candy's Room, and When the Levee Breaks. Pump It Up, In the Midnight Hour, Candy's Room, and When the Levee Breaks are all FANTASTIC SONGS! I was, more or less, rocking out ... in the middle of a HUGE lecture hall. But I was sitting next to one of my new buds, so everything was alright. And my English course is pretty cool. We're studying how narratives are influenced by things like gender, sexuality, and other such things. We spent class today watching a few ads not shown in the US and discussing why they aren't aired in the US. It was QUITE interesting! ... And the professor brings her dog (a mini Australian Sheepdog) to class. He's adorable! He trods around the lecture hall, sniffing around, looking for a bit of attention. He's ADORABLE!

And Wednesday is roughly the same as Monday ... just with only my film class.

And Fridays? ... *singing interlude* I'm free to do what I want, any old tiiiiime! *end interlude* :D Can I plan things or what?!

Well ... you can be expecting a few videos from me over the next few days. Tomorrow will be a vlog that discusses a few other points. Monday will be a short that I shot while in the DC area for the 4th of July. And ... Wednesday, yes, right, will be a video response about how I came up with my web handle. Be sure to tune in for all!

So, that's been roughly my last week up here and my first week of classes in as succinct a blog post as possible! More to come!

Be seeing you.

- Jason