Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I need...


an alternative name for my thesis. I am actually starting to get some work done on it, and it is occuring to me that it might actually be done sometime this year, but I am really tired of saying to people: "I'm just working on my thesis". So I'm thinking something like "Operation ______". I like:

Operation Iraqi Freedom (too political)
Operation Dumbo Drop (too awesome)

suggestions?

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

getting home from band practice...

I was pretty hungry. Then I had this great idea. I took the green curry and some rice that I had made earlier that day.

And placed it inside of a tortilla.

And made it into a wrap/burrito.

It wasn't bad. It's my two favorite foods, combined into one.

Do you think I could open a restaurant with this idea?

I was...


looking at jobs today. I still have no idea what I can do except for maybe teach and criticize media. Then I thought that I would probably end up doing movies again and kinda hating my life.

One time I did do this really funny movie called Propensity. Actually, it was really serious and about suicide and all that. The filmmakers were well intentioned and very sincere in their efforts, but there were some moments on set when I had to hold back my laughter.

Oh, and Jason Bateman's dad was in the movie, he played the devil (the guy in black in the photo). I ate breakfast with him one morning at Denny's. I think he is a somewhat well accomplished actor and producer, but the whole time I just wanted to talk about Teen Wolf Too.

Monday, February 26, 2007

what a movie should be

So I think the greatest thing about the movie was the idea that we had behind it. It came about because we were going to show the awesome Thai martial arts film Ong Bak in a market right in front of our house. This was going to be a huge event, Scott even had gotten on the radio to tell people about it. As a bonus, we decided that we wanted to make a short film involving members of the community to play before the film. We spent the afternoon shooting it -- it was a lot of fun, and frik was a great sport about it -- even when we asked him to be affectionate towards a girl in public (this is kind of a no-no in thai culture). We did all the sound effects with our mouths, and the whole rotee in the eye was probably the inspiration for the corn in the eye on Nacho Libre. In the end we felt that we had constructed a new model for films -- a user created construction by a community for a community.

I think about 4 people showed up.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Sometimes I forget...

why life is so amazingly good. Stephen, I heard recently that you had given up on the business. This is a big mistake.

What I could really use right now...


is a trip to thailand. Who would like to come?

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Once I...


ate this burrito that was the size of a baby -- it was pretty much one of the greatest moments of my life.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

mcenroe

It was a crazy idea. I was just there to document.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ha'apai

I would like to say that my ten days on the island of Ha'apai still continue to change me, but the problem is that I often forget. At the time, it had definitely changed me. The three of us were living with a family there. They had given us the nicest room in the house, their room to be exact, while they slept on thatched mats in the front room. Everyday we would do nothing but watch as they served us -- spending their entire day preparing our meals, a pig and some roots. The best meals I have ever eaten. We could communicate only with a few of the children, they were forced to learn English at their schools. We would go out with the oldest son, exploring the jungle, the beach, and swimming in the clearest ocean that I have ever imagined.

And then there was Fatafehi -- the youngest girl. She had the most amazing uni-brow and would tell me hourly "Lopeti, kai koi", which I think is roughly translated to: "Rob, I am going to eat you!"

I loved that little girl with all of my heart.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

photo by Wiriya


I remember not knowing what to expect when I went to Khao Lak. We were going six months after a tsunami had devastated the region. My experience with the event had been completely mediated, a footnote on the day after Christmas, and now I was about to come face to face with it. When I arrived, there was damage but no bodies. Not that I wanted to see bodies, but somehow that would have made it more real, easier to grasp the situation. Later on, after we met a friend named Ot, he showed us some pictures that he had taken weeks after the tsunami. I will never have a desire to see bodies ever again. That event was truly devastating.