30.8.09

The Ameritrek Route


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Like a Bullet through a Burning Sky

I don't have to tell you that I was ready to go, ready to leave behind Los Angeles for a few months and get away from everything I know. This "Getting Away" from everything I'd known and believed had been a big priority for me in recent times, for I felt that it was time to take a step back from my life to see what really matters and what was a real, true part of me, or what was something that had been imparted to me from society or family and was something that i might want to let go off.

This trip, which was devised over half a year ago, I realize, had been in the works for years, many things had been leading up to it. My restless nature, my dissatisfaction for parts of my life, like where I lived, like what I do, and the direction that I felt I'd been going. I'd been close to this trip, dipping my toe into the idea of it while going through Asia, but I hadn't gotten my footing under me, I didn't have clear through line then, I was wondering, unfocused, not ready. This time, I was setting the intention before I got going, and I would follow it to the end of the line, and maybe it will change, evolve as the trip goes on, but it would be there from the start.

And so I waited, I waited at work, I waited at home, I waited at the beach, although more pleasantly at the beach then at work. I half heartedly packed, shopped for goods I might want to take, but I knew that it didn't really matter what I brought, because as long as I head my head about me, I could get through any scrape. I took long walks, tried not think about anything, I played video games, because they are an excellent time killer. I started to read at least three books, anything I could do to kill the time before the trip finally began. I was like a bullet in a gun, just waiting to go off.

Excitement was an issue, excitement has always been an issue for me. I can be either manically enthused or completely unemotional, before settling into my normal go-getter state. So before Friday, when people asked me about it, I was un-enthused, I would say all the rights words, like, "oh yes, I am really excited about the trip. Can't wait." But I wouldn't give the appropriate emotion to back it up. And that wasn't necessarily the truth of it. I was excited about the trip, but it was just that I knew once it had started it would be akin to starting a new life and I didn't want to tamper, color it with possible false, unreasonable expectations, and I also didn't want to set myself for any kinds of disappointment. I felt like it would be better just to go in without expectations and be open to anything.

Of course, Friday came, and feeling it coming the next day and feeding off the excitement others had for the trip, I bounced and bounded upon the city, the streets, and stairwells with extreme glee, you know, like Tigger might. I celebrated the night of leaving with some of my closest friends and said goodbye to many others

And like the the gun that had been sitting in the cabinet, loaded and ready to go off, Saturday morning arrived and the metal crashed together, the flame was ignited, and I was shot out of city of Angels; past the fires and smoke that burned the skylines and mountain tops of the valleys; past the desert plains and signs screaming "Congress caused the Dust Bowl;" past the gas stations, Starbucks, mini-malls, and Outlets that line our better known freeways; and out of my mind and body, just a clear voice singing my freedom out to the whole world.

And that's how the trip begins.

28.8.09

With a Sigh of Relief

Apparently, news is filtering in that Noel Gallagher, leader, songwriter, guitar player of the rock band Oasis has finally quit the band, while on tour, killing the tour, he states that "he could not go on one more day working with Liam," his brother and singer of the band.

For those long time readers of the Will Gong Journal, I can say that you understand that I take this news with a sigh of relief, because I will never have to spend 10 more dollars on a subpar Oasis CD, again. I hope.

Oh and in other news, Rachel is indeed recovering from her dislocated knee cap. We have confirmed that she did not hurt the knee cap after class, it was after the harder section of the class, so her status as a pansy has now been dropped. Good day!

23.8.09

The Immortal Words of Marsellus Wallace

In the classic film "Pulp Fiction," Marsellus Wallace talks to Butch before a fight that Marsellus is paying Butch a ton of money to throw. Marsellus tells him.

"The night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride fucking with you. Fuck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."

As most of you know, Butch does not throw the fight. He ACCIDENTALLY kills the other fighter and then has to escape Los Angeles, Marsellus, Zed & the Gimp. All this happens because he didn't listen to Marsellus, his pride wouldn't let him.

I think back to this quote quite a bit. Mostly because, these days, in life, I've gotten to a point where I'm really good at some things, and there are other things that I'm not good at, and the idea that people may see me in a weak position is absolutely terrifying to my EGO. And in order for my EGO to be completely satisfied it doesn't even want to be close to a potentially embarrassing situation, so I'm steered away from them by the most ridiculous excuses. I can magically just not appear places, or suddenly get sick, or freak out, or go cold, and robotic.

Ahhh.... If only Marsellus Wallace could come up to me before I'm near a potentially embarrassing situation and repeated his immortal words. Could Marsellus get through to my Pride/Ego? Could he slap some sense into him?

"Will, the night of the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That's pride fucking with you."

"I don't know Marsellus, I think that the fight be more painful then giving into Pride."

"Fuck Pride."

"No Marsellus, I don't think you understand. Let me break it down for you. If I go through with "the Fight," I will be embarrassed red faced. I'll lose my reputation. I'll be a laughing stock. Ya hear?"

"Pride only hurts, it never helps."

"That's easy for you to say, You like have a bajillion dollars, a hot wife, and the respect of god and the Devil. We are
just not on the same page." Marsellus shakes his head.

I guess if Marsellus can't help me, I'm just going to be strong. No Fear.
What would life be like if we weren't afraid? We'd be invincible.

22.8.09

Summer Movie Report 09

What a Weird Summer for Movies? Summer, year, weird. Movies, I wanted to be good, were terrible (Terminator) and movies I didn't think would be good were great (Ice Age3 really? It's probably just the 3D). Good movies made some money (District 9), bad movies made A LOT OF MONEY (Transformers.)
This summer, I have so many examples of how Audiences were smart and stayed away from really bad films, but then there's Transformers, (oh wait, I kind of enjoyed that.) So anyway, audiences on some weird subconscious level, seem to be getting smart. YAY!
I swore that I didn't see that many movies this summer, until I started looking at the list of films that came out and was reminded. I've seen SO MANY MOVIES THIS SUMMER. Anyway, lets do the rundown.

Awesomeness

1. Star Trek - Do I need to say anything else other then, I've seen it 4 times. Ugh. Science Fiction, if it's too scifi, I get turned off, but if it gets more whipcracking action pop culturally savvy, I'm all in. I just can't help it. This movie rocked! I watched all the old Star Trek films leading to this one, and there was not one I could stay awake in, not one, until I saw the new one.

I'm going to have think about my scifi street cred, because uh, I don't think I have any.

(500) Days of Summer - Awesome. You take my brain and personality. And you put it into a movie, and it probably looks something like this. I know a few people who didn't like it that much, or didn't get it, but damn if it didn't work for me. Casting a magical spell over the trials and tribulations of love and dating today. And this is all purely subjective because everyone is different, but this one was for me.

District 9 - Whoa. If you haven't seen this yet, DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER. Just go to the theatre and be prepared to be blown away. Not for the faint hearted. This movie just rocks.

The Hangover - Come on. This movie had an amazing marketing campaign, and it almost lived up to it. It was HELLA funny. Was it hella good. Doesn't matter. It sacrificed goodness for awesomeness, and sometimes that's all you can ask for. I know that Los Vegas was glad this movie came out, because it reminded all the youngish to middle agish guys that they should be in Vegas. (ugh. my head already hurts.)

Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince - I thought The Hangover was the funniest movie of the year hands down, til I saw this. This damn movie had me rolling. Well made, beautiful, a little slow, but speedy towards the end. Potter films are great to see to visit their world. Yeah, they're not anywhere near as good as the books, but hey, fuck it! I'm just glad to be there and see it. No matter how much they change the story.

Up - It's pixar! But alas, the magical spell did not work on me quite as much as others. Awesome. Structurally Sound. Well made. Beautiful. But something in it left me a little cool. It's the whole father son complex thing (yeah, like my, not loving nemo thing. I'm an outkast I tell you.)

Drag Me To Hell - Totally Gross. You laugh, you cringe, you turn away, it was like Inglourious Basterds but tighter(thankgod) and made on the cheap. For anyone who loved Sam Raimi before Spider-Man, this was like a gross out love letter.

The Brothers Bloom - Funny, beautiful, well told, well acted. Such a solid movie that was not for everyone (well almost no one saw it), but really good nonetheless. Who knew that the Maker of "Brick" would create the movie that Wes Anderson just can't seem to make anymore.

Great to Enjoyable with some Reservations

Ice Age 3 - A Movie for kids, but a lot of fun nonetheless, I really wish it could be in the top tier, but it's Ice Age, I just can't. But it was sooo muchhh funnnnn...

Inglourious Basterds - Ah, Tarantino. I wish you could separate the Writer from the Director. Such a beautifully made film, but perhaps not crafted well, no oversight from anyone other than Tarantino. Too Long. Too talky. Too Lazily shaped. I mean really, do all of his films need Cards. It's LAZY! (some will say it's his style. Whatever. IT'S LAZY!)

But then again, It's amazing. AMAZINGLY Acted. AMAZINGLY shot. There are scenes in this film that blow away anything in theaters today. Like really. Without even breaking a sweat, this guy creates riveting and powerful scenes that will like haunt you for days. Ah, just if the damn connective tissue was better.

So as it is, Tarantino gets BETTER and WORSE as he continues his career.

The Hurt Locker - Some might say that the measure of a good film is it's escapist aspect, the fantasy element, leaving the theater feeling good. And then there's The Hurt Locker. For those who want to get a little deeper, but not too deep than your typical action movie. It's looks like a character study that doesn't really want to give you too much details about the character. It wants to let you fill in the blanks. But what it really is is an exploration of the very realistic idea of the ultimate adrenaline junkie in the ultimate job. But if you want to dump all that psychological crap, it will also thrill and shock and leave you on the edge of your seats.

GI Joe - Hehe. This is what Transformers 1 shoulda coulda been like, oh without Steven Spielberg to want it to have a little substance, and without Michael Bay to want it to be Bay-Riffic. Stupid, but fun as hell. Great scenes. Bad Scenes that make you laugh without taking you out of the film. Yeah, there were some missed opportunities and it's derivative as hell, but you smile the whole time.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Oh, How could such a terrible movie make so much damn money. Hmmm... let me count the ways.

1. It was enjoyable. I've been flogged so often for this statement that your picks cannot hurt me anymore.

2. Robot fighting. Good, bad, doesn't matter. We love it.

3. Hot girls. Megan Fox, and the other one with the frightening tongue. Pointless Hot Girls.

4. A consolidation of what people seemed to like from the first one. No one cared about the story of a Boy and Alien robot. Weak. So they didn't really create a story. When you have alien robots, does logic matter. Nah, fuck it. Does anyone care about anything other then Megan Fox running around. Nope. So we can just focus on nothing but... Megan Fox running around and Robots beating the crap out of each other. Oh wait, but that's like an hour of the film, okay, well add in some other shit. Bay has a bunch of great ideas for things that would be really really cool. Great, add them in. Oh, and you know people complained that it wasn't like the TV show, okay, we can steal from that too.

Adios Spielberg touches, hello more Michael Bay + More Transformers the TV show.

This was Bay's opus. His epic. This was ALL BAY, ALL THE TIME. No more then during this movie, did we see why his teaming with Jerry Bruckheimer was a good thing. Bruck cared a little about story and what the audience might want. Bay only cares about himself and his own sensibilities. This was like that scene in Being John Malkovich, when he goes into his own head.
Now as far as audiences cared, if you look at items 1, 2 &3, that was apparently more appealing then the downside of Baydom.

Side note: This movie was horrifically racist, down t its bones. It was done to be funny, and to me and many many others, some of it was funny, but it was funny to me in the same way that when you watch Borat, or any of its lets bash all cultures ilk, you laugh, but then go home feeling dirty.

Turkeys (And not in the bowling way.)

Terminator Salvation - There is a good 30 minutes in here. And they come before the mid-point. That left a lot of time for bad movie. There were some good ideas in here, then again there were some real stinkers. Did I miss Arnold? HELL YEAH!!! No one can set the Terminator tone better then he can, and this movie was bleak. It looked good, but that ain't enough. Although, it did have Sam Worthington, future star of tomorrow today in it, so i guess it wasn't that abysmal. Speaking of Abysmal ---

Time Traveler's Wife - I was bamboozled by a really good trailer. There was more emotion in the trailer, because of that damn Lifehouse Song "Broken"(99centsItunesplug) then there was in the damn short 90 minute movie. Don't see the movie. Buy the song.

No, but seriously, I really really liked the book. This movie doesn't even make me want to read the book. If I saw it without reading it, I'd be like why the hell did they make this into a movie. FOR ALL THOSE WHO WANT TO ADAPT a BOOK INTO A MOVIE, see the film and see how IT IS NOT TO BE DONE LIKE. You take a book, and you reshape it into a movie, this movie took paragraphs and dialogue and just cut and pasted it into a script. And then it was over. Story doesn't work like that! ACK! Twilight is a better movie then this!

But! in its defense. It is a beautifully shot, well acted movie.

Land of the Lost - What a bad idea for a movie? A 70's tv show no one remembers and Will Farrell comedy. Really? Universal? Someone needs to get punished for this film. When you advertise a movie to be the biggest, biggest, biggest thing ever, you have a recipe for Big Flop!

Public Enemies - I fell asleep 10 times. That's all I'm gonna say.

So that's it. That's summer. Next summer might be good, it might be bad, it will be less due to Hollywood cost cutting cause of the economy and dvd sales. But it will always be FUN!!

Keep on Truckin!

20.8.09

Will Gong Journal - A New Look: A New Mindset

So recently I've been thinking a whole lot about patterns and change. Patterns in my life, in my head, roads I've taken, the things I think, and whatnot. Which is probably why I blogged about schemas a little while ago. And then change, not just for change sake, but for your life's sake.
And what I've decided is that, like, we really do have control over our lives and if we can find focus we can change some of the patterns that we may start to feel like we've outgrown, or are holding us back from going towards what we need and what want. I think I've waffled on the issue depending on my mood, but I've definitely decided that we can change our patterns. Life isn't hopeless, no matter what we think. We can go after what we want, and we can let go off what isn't serving us. We just have to focus, and really, really want it, because the path of the new can be potentially painful, especially during setbacks.
I figure, I just know so many people who have broken free of painful patterns and strived for what they really needed recently. It's awesome and it's inspiring, to be reminded of the fact.

19.8.09

Beatles Mania 09

Hello FRIENDS!!!

Well, you know, here we are in 09 and suddenly it seems like the Beatles are IN again. At least the marketing & media of the world are making it seem so. Let me show the ways.

1. All of the Beatles music is being remastered for all music outlets.

2. The Beatles catalog will make it's way to Itunes.

3. Beatles ROCK BACK!!! Crazy!

And what inspired this little blog was that Robert Zemekis and Disney are going to remake the Yellow Submarine! (with Motion Capture, you know the weird CGI where the characters almost look human, but also have the dead eyes. DEAD EYES!)

I'm just curious Why? I mean, I guess The Beatles are big business no matter what. But the thing that I'm really curious about is if people actually care, if all the kids and humans of the world are suddenly re-listening to their music. (I know at one point I did.) And you know what, i think their rock band will be a big deal. I will try to embed the trailer below. IT IS A MUST CHECK OUT!


UPDATE: Okay it's too big to embed. :(

So here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSLLxRmR3nY

18.8.09

A Possible Retraction:

Voice Mail Message:

Rachel: Will, you got it all wrong. I didn't dislocate my kneecapp when the class was over, it was still going on, well, it was towards the end. I'm not an old lady... okay, I'm not that old. Sigh... Call me back!

Dear Readers,

Please stay tuned as we look into what actually happened to Rachel's knee. And at the same time, we here at the Will Gong Journal will try to find out the current condition of said knee. We all hope she's alright.

For now, good night.

AMERITREK 2009: Pre-Production Blog 2

10 Days Left! 10. 10 IN BOLD. I’m that serious.

I feel like in TV show land, Season 4 of the “Will Show”, and the “Herzog Show” have ended, and now I’m just waiting for Summer Hiatus to begin. But I STILL HAVE TO WORK!!!

Oh, and I know some of you already know this, but I’ve called the “AND” Credit on the Herzog show. (You know the Herzog Show stars, “Mark Herzog, Chris Cowen, Matt Goldberg, Jack Kney, Lindsey Bogard, Aaron Skotland, Joy Lissandrello, Jeremy Cook, Corey Reeser, Hutson Hayward, Brett Jacobson, Josh Rosenfield, Morgan Hanner, Leanne Crowley, Lauren Woods, AND WILL GONG, with Barbara & Jerry, introducing Leya Oakley. Also an incredible slew of SPECIAL GUEST STARS – YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!)

Anyway, this whole trip thing is starting to really get close. And I’ve officially booked my first Hostel. In Portland Oregon, WOO HOOO!!! And I’ve gotten AAA membership. And also I’ve emailed a few friends about when I’m going to meet up with them.

Sadly, I’ve had to cut a week from the trip. SO OFFICIALLY I COME BACK NOW on the Oct. 20. Of course, this could change if there is no work for me, and then I’ll just continue my trip, because that’s the UTAH parks section, so that ain’t going to cost too much.

This stupid Economy! I’ve also been struggling to figuring out when to stay in Hostels and when not to. And if I do stay in one, will do one of those Dorm Rooms with like 6 to 8 people in it. The last time I stayed in a Hostel was in NYC and I swore I would never do it again, and now I’m doing it in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, for sure. But you know you do what you have to do. DUDE, to stay in Chicago is EXPENSIVE!!! Expensive. And it’s not like I can camp there.

Ugh, after doing a little more research today, I can that I haven’t a clue where to stay in Denver or New Orleans. The two things that are really messing with me are, Location & Reviews.

Let’s take a closer look.

  1. Location – How close to you want to be to the action? Do you want to be driving all day to just get somewhere? But if you get too close it’s too expensive. And then that really sucks. But then you know you have to consider if the neighborhood is good. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THE REVIEWS.
  2. Reviews – They totally suck. How the hell can you tell what place is good if like everyplace has like 3 good reviews to 1 terrible review. And most are like this!!! It’s too much for someone’s brain to try to process. And of course somebody is going to mention the dreaded BED BUGS!!!!

So I’m going to just have to use the force on this one. With so many places and so many hotels/hostels/prices/deals, choosing where to stay will be the real adventure.

16.8.09

August Music Update!

THE AUGUST MUSIC UPDATE:

So, I was going to write an entire Blog about The "Third Eye Blind" Conundrum, but I couldn't get around to it, so I'll touch on the subject, but also talk about some good music too.

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ABOUT MY RAMBLINGS ON THIRD EYE BLIND SKIP TO THE NEXT ALL CAPPED LINE.

To Begin, Third Eye Blind has a new CD coming out on Tuesday. So, I have to ask does anybody care? NO. Yeah, it's true. I wish I did, Third Eye Blind's first CD was so solid and important to the 17-18 year old B.J. that like I always want their new music to go back there. But really, this is only their FOURTH CD in like 12 years. HOW THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP FANS if you never put out new music. And then, you know LIKE WHY THE HELL DID I EVER LIKE THEM.

I guess here's the thing. Their First CD is really awesome and was like a big old synthesis of 90's rock, but coming at the peak and being the synthesis, you really don't have anywhere else to go, so you have to evolve and evolution can kind of be a bitch for a rock band. But you have to do something, at least right good lyrics.

So then comes their Second CD "Blue", and for anyone that has ever listened to Blue. The first half is really good, very strong, lots of great hooks, good guitar playing, interesting instrumentation and odd but relatable lyrics (It's third eye blind, you know). And then second half comes and you're like what the fuck! Is this even third eye blind? Why the hell can't I hear what he's saying. This totally sucks. IT all falls apart.

After this CD, the lead singer/songwriter, whathisface, fired his lead guitarist and co-writer, it was an EGO thing. And this EGO thing is A BIG DEAL. Because on their third CD "Out Of The Vein," is really self important, but musically SO MUCH LESS INTERESTING, like they can't create new guitar riffs or sounds, so recycling comes in. THEY RECYCLED ON THEIR THIRD CD, and is it coincidence that they fired their Lead Guitarist. Hmmm... "Out Of the Vein" Plays more like a CD that should have come out before their first CD, except for the strong feel of rock star self importance. Aparently, Whatshisname, was having a really hard time getting over Charlize Theron. Geez.

Well, next week their fourth cd comes out, it's called "Red Star." And I've heard some of the tracks and the most interesting, catchy one, is ruined by terrible lyrics, it's called "Non Dairy Creamer." I mean for christ's sake the first Line is "They Call it KFC, cause it's not really chicken, HA!" But it has that classic third eye blind guitar riff, and you really want to like it, but I don't think you can. They actually chant. "Young Gay Republicans." Where the fuck is this guy's mind.

So, I guess people will buy like One or Two of the songs on Itunes or download it illegally, and you know that kind of sucks, because I really did love that first CD.

START READING

Now, if you want to hear a really solid, well constructed, relatable rock cd, go and check out Our Lady Peace "Burn Burn." Some really good songs in their Our Lady Peace type mode. Big bold simple songwriting sung passionately, with good hooks.

Also, it came out last year, but I haven't brought it up. TV On The Radio "Dear Science." This CD is like what you'd get if MGMT were a real band. Not that they're bad, but you know until they put out their second CD they really seem like two really musically talented kids who really nailed 2 SONGS. But TV on the Radio, they're for real. They're what you'd have wanted Bloc Party to evolve into. Well, if Bloc Party was American and from New York they may have, but whatever they're Londoners. Check out "Dear Science." You won't regret it.

For those that want a little more Pop, but in a weird way, you should look up Miike Snow's self titled first CD. Their Songs sound like if you crossed Gorillaz with Peter Bjorn and John and Reading Rainbow. The First Four Songs are STELLAR!

And just for the hell of it, I'm gonna bring up The Dead Weather, another Jack White side-project. If you ever listened to the White Stripes songs where Meg sang, imagine that, but with MUCH HARDER GUITARS and a Girl that can actually sing. The guitar work here is amazing, and the songs intense, in a grungy, dundgeony kind of way. Great for, I have no idea what it's great for, but it's cool. Check out "Cut Like a Buffalo."

Well, that's it. Not bad, if ya'll have any new awesome music you'd like to share, please put it in the comment section or drop me a line, I'm always trying to be open to new music.

A Rachel Update

Readers!

I just wanted to throw it out there that our Dear Friend Rachel, has dislocated her knee cap. Please wish for her quick recovery.

Uh, I guess you probably want to know why. Well, after a Yoga Class, when she was packing up, I believe she stood up and it went POP! (That's where you cringe.) And she's been trying to take it easy ever since.

Rachel, we hope You'll back to full recovery and kicking ass soon.

14.8.09

Fight Club on Blu-Ray

FINALLY!!!

Daily Horoscope 8.14.09

Today's real horoscope says.

Dear Taurus,

If things start to get rough, remember that you have the ability to keep your cool. Not only is this an extremely important tool, but also it is essentially vital to maintaining any sort of stability in the situation. Keep your footing at all costs. Your Sanity Depends on it.

Now over the past few days, I've written some funny ones, but then this comes in. I would NEVER have been so dramatic to have written the "Your sanity depends on it." Crazy. Anywhoo, hopefully today isn't as dramatic as this line and that perhaps this horoscope isn't really accurate.

We. Shall. See.

12.8.09

Daily Horoscope 8.12.09

Dear Taurus,

Today will be filled with many mixed blessings, keep your head above water and don't let your hard luck press on your sunny disposition.

Dear Horoscope,

I don't know what to do, I'm so confused, and I just need something, something else.

Dear Taurus,

I'm not your psychologist.

Dear Horoscope,

I hate you.

11.8.09

Herzog Featurette Online

Hi Friends,

Here below is a little Featurette that I helped out on. What did I do? Well, I did some research, found some good soundbites, and helped find ONE of the interview subjects, my man Professor Kazerooni. And I finished, like made it look pretty, but not super pretty, someone else did that.

ANYWAY, may I present to you "The Surrogates" - The Futurist.

http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=27966

Uh, click on the link or copy and paste into browser. I would love to embed, but it's not anywhere I can embed it yet. And yeah, I know you have to sit through the stupid commercial, but still.

Daily Horoscope

Dear Taurus,

Do not be afraid, for today you will be emotionally volatile, combative, and struggle with taking orders. Stay Humble. Also, your daily routine will be thrown out of whack. Embrace it!

Dear Horoscope,

You know where you can stick you and your wisdom...

Dear Taurus,

Suck it.

10.8.09

Celebrity + Young Women = Naked Pictures on the Internet

Howdy Folks,

So as I sit in my bay watching the day fly by, I was again presented with the TOTALLY THRUTHFALL FACT that so many young Actresses' Singers' who are about to break out tend to take naked pictures of themselves, and then AFTER they make it big, said pictures are revealed, usually on that sleazeball Perez Hilton's website. Today it was one of the Vampire Girls from Twilight the one who plays "Alice" (no I will ot post a link to these, because that would be raw) But this seems to happen, and now the girl Ashley Greene is threatening a lawsuit, and will probably make a big deal of this, because well, she may have lost her movie career, because the BRAND of Twilight is being so carefully watched and controlled. BUT, BUT on the other hand, they could have actually leaked these pics in attempt to get more Male Viewers into Twilight. So I guess the morale is, anyone, actress or not, should probably not take Naked Pictures of themselves if they do not want it to end up on the internet. EVER.

7.8.09

Schemas

sche⋅ma  [skee-muh] Show IPA
–noun, plural sche⋅ma⋅ta  [skee-muh-tuh or, sometimes, skee-mah-tuh, ski-] Show IPA , sche⋅mas.
1. a diagram, plan, or scheme.
2. an underlying organizational pattern or structure; conceptual framework.
3. (in Kantian epistemology) a concept, similar to a universal but limited to phenomenal knowledge, by which an object of knowledge or an idea of pure reason may be apprehended.

Recently the conversation of schemas has been brought up and discusses along with how scary and painful it is to have them challenged and all, and I couldn't really remember a time when I was seriously on the fence about changing them in a way that was scary, but I could totally remember a few times when Rachel has called out my schemas, and you know like shattered them. For an example, see below:

One day, a long time ago.

Will says "Something incredibly stupid."

Rachel says, "Will, do you know how incredible stupid and moronic, one sided, unthoughtout, ridiculous, and in some deep down way, utterly frightening, what you have just said was."

Will says, "Uhhhhh....."

Rachel says, "Let me, uh, break it down for you, see the problem is you didn't think of this this this and this, and because you probably think this and that, and that's stupid and etc, please see above."

Will says "Schema shattered."

Will cries a little.

Rachel laughs a lot.

So, I have no choice but to wonder if it would be more painful to question my own schemas then to have Rachel or someone like her shatter them for me. I guess I'll never know.

6.8.09

The New Phone

I believe that a few of you, nearby know that I got a new phone recently, and I Love my new phone. I asked them to give me the best phone possibly that was not a smart phone and did not intuitively want E-Mail. And again, it's great. The ONE thing that I do not like about it, is it's uncanny ability to do things on it's own in my pocket. So I've made numerous accidental phone calls, and also activated many of it's features or had it talking to me. No Bueno. So, if I accidentally call you and you just hear muffled sounds and my voices, I apologize. Hasta!

5.8.09

Ameritrek 2009: Pre-Production Blog 1

With Pre-Production beginning on Ameritrek 2009, I have 25 days left to prepare for the big day. And the amount tasks required to go is daunting. Mostly because work is so hectic right now. I'm working on like 3 fracking projects right now! And just trying to get some good sleep in is hard, but you know some things need to happen, like for instance:

- Getting a good pair of sunglasses.
- Getting my Car's AC working, and getting a pretty good check up.
- Seeing GI Joe, Inglourious Bastards, District 9, and probably (500) days of Summer (again.)
- Getting a new backpacking pack (Damn Straps!)
- Figuring out my budget (this is not a feature film where you can go WAY OVER BUDGET and just not tell anybody, alternatively, I'd hate to fire myself and never beable to work again, and yeah, I know I combined be and able, but I'm just way too lazy to go back and fix it.)
- Getting a new laptop battery. (I'm getting about 20 minutes of battery power at this point.)

But, on the bright side I have a schedule now. Here's some of the highlights.

- 20 Locations in 2 months, including 12 days in the East Coast.
- Seeing many friends I have not seen in YEARS!!! (And some friends I saw last month.)
- Blog updates about the different kinds of yoga that I plan on hitting up.
- Scheduling in a good 2 or 3 hours of writing every day, and sometimes in extremely beautiful locations.
- Singing in the car at the top of my lunges, in the most beautiful locations (See the pattern.)
- Being with my Brother when he has his second child (he would probably say, showing off his new jet ski.)

Next up, I need to mail out my Calender to a few friends that might be interested in hitting up a leg or two of the trip, (if I were you I'd do the Nashville, New Orleans leg, (seriously. For Real.) )

I also have to tell my roommate that I just don't have the energy to sublet the place so he's going to have the whole apartment to himself for 2 months (there is something criminal about it, I almost want to saddle him with a 45 year old divorced male actor moving here from Wisconsin, but you know that would be spiteful, and I'm just too tired for spiteful right now.)

2.8.09

It's a Crazy Crazy World

So... if you were like a vampire, don't you think right now would be the best time to come out. The world loves you right now. The media loves you right now. Teenage girls LOVE you right now. And Teenage Girls kind of RULE the world, or at least that's what the media kind of believes. I mean, Titanic kind of proved that.

All I'm saying is that, if there is a secret WORLD of the Vampires, a Vampire Nation, don't you think that they are probably having internal high-level conversations about if they should reveal themselves to the world. I mean, can they stay hidden forever (well, okay they probably could.) But they should at least consider it, because now is probably their only real chance of finding some kind of acceptance. (Which would probably change, once massive amounts of Teenage Girls lined up to stay Teenage Girls forever along with their older, but equally romantic loved starved cousins and mothers, and then there would be a witch hunt to kill the vampires and the Girls/Women, and that would totally suck, because then there would be a worldwide sausage party, which nobody wants. NO BODY WANTS THAT.)

But you know, in this over-saturated Vampire world that we live in, I kind of long for the days when liking Vampires was something you did secretly, a time when it was dark and lived in the darkness, because it made you feel special, it made you feel like you weren't with the popular ones, and you weren't a loser like those people who worshipped Marilyn Manson.

But now everybody's into it. And it acceptable to everyone to dig the vampires, kind of like, but worse then the Capt Jack Sparrow, making Pirates cool, but on a whole different level, because you know, Pirates are still kind of not cool. Anyway, Thanks "Twilight."

I wonder what those loner high school students are into now? Where do they go when they want to be alone, when they want to identify with other iconic loners? Do you think they can join in with their popular, cheerleader cliques, and scream when the "New Moon" trailer plays. Do they all get in be at the party and get along, holding hands and stuff? I don't know, but I think that I don't see this ending well. We shall see.

1.8.09

Back from the Depths

Cough.

Cue the Dramatic Music with Japanese Taiko Drums.

Voice Over Guy, "Deep within the jungles of Los Angeles..."

Random people's voices ---

"Will, are you ever going to blog again?"

"Hey Will, why aren't you blogging? WTF?"

"Dude, whatever happened to your blog?"

"You know what, Fuck you, and your blog."

Voice Over Guy "Stood one man. Alone."

In a bar, after 5 whiskeys, Will looks out, bloodshot eyes, "I can't do it. I can't keep blogging. I've got nothing to blog about. All I think are negative things, things that would make people sad." He breaks a glass in his fist.

Cut to: Will stares at his bleeding hand in the shower, "Dammit, I keep starting a blog and it gets all negative and then I stop and erase, I CAN'T DO IT!!!" A tear is shed, but no one can see it because of the shower.

Voice Over Guy, "And day's passed, and months passed, but one day..."

Will looked out through his eyes, through his car window, and into the sky and he said, "I can blog again. I can do this."

Voice Over Guy, "Faster. Stronger. And still Crazy. Will Gong is back!"

Yup, it's true. I'm back and here to get ya'll prepped for the Crazy Trip I am planning, but more on that tomorrow.

Cough, I hope.