I believe I finished the first draft of Grizzly Skag Bear on the 28th of October, but…. that was only the first draft.  Since then a lot of things have happened, seasons have changed, I’ve moved cities(recently) and etc, etc…  Going into the initial writing of the script, I was basing a lot of it off of conquering boredom, more or less, and also ripping on the city of Winona for having next to no pulse during the summer.

It’s winter and I don’t have to live in Winona anymore.  Those two factors will greatly affect the script, but I’m hoping they don’t take away from how well the script eventually turns out.  Meaning, I hope I don’t lose focus of what I started to write.

I’m still trying to figure out how to get access to the places we are going to film the movie in; restaurants, an open theater, open road a weight room and other places.

We start again Monday.

Been a while since I’ve updated this.

Word on the street is there’s smoke, but no fire yet.  Metaphorically speaking.  Last week a friend of mine and myself had a few brain storming sessions on what to create and how to go about that road on mini movie/ skit/ scene ideas.  These could last anywhere from 30 seconds to ten plus minutes.  As for the subject matter, it will probably cause some controversy or whatever if you find the material to be objectionable.  Life’s easier if you know how to laugh at everything instead of letting it bug you and whatnot.

If you wouldn’t be entertained by Morgan Freeman reading the Harry Potter series or a show in the vein of “Survivor” titled, let’s say…Survivor: WNBA, where a super jacked up sports fan is locked in an arena and forced to watch an entire season of the WNBA, from the draft through the finals, well then, I’d say these clips aren’t for you and you can go back to watching some boring show featuring Ray Romano.  dick

This coming Monday, I’ll be meeting with Steve, yeah that Steve, to discuss new ideas for the much anticipated Grizzly Skag Bear.  I haven’t touched the script since the end of October, but have briefly gone over new ideas for what will stay and what needs to be changed.  I might post whatever direction we decide to go in.

ps. writing this felt like writing one giant run-on sentence.

Merry Christmas to all.

If you don’t celebrate it, happy whateveryoucelebrate!

If you don’t celebrate anything, congratulations, you temporarily beat capitalism.

Starting back up on the movie would be ideal this week, however, those teachers of mine all thought it would be a great idea to assign a whole junk-load of work and make it all due on the same few days.  Needless to say, the quality of work I turn in in these classes will be a lower quality (maybe) than if the teachers did what I would do, and assign the stuff gradually, and not when everyone else hands it out.

If I somehow don’t pass and am forced to stay here to complete the failed course, I might just start a car on-fire.  Actually, I’m all talk, I’d just mope around a while.

I have been coming up with different ideas for new projects beyond Grizzly Skag Bear.  Since every company doesn’t seem to know what to do with all the vacant jobs they have that need to be filled, I’ll probably consume myself with bringing those projects to life.

I’d list off a few, if you care to ask.

Anyone have a pair of waders I can borrow for an hour?

There is too much happening now to not enjoy anything, and maybe thats why I haven’t been able to, or felt like, start writing the script again.  I can’t concentrate on it at the moment.  COD MW 2 just came out, it’s ridiculous if you didn’t already know.  I guess cheap wine is good.  Some old woman at the liquor store said “there’s no such thing as bad wine” and then she gliqued through the empty tooth slot in her front teeth.

To glique is when you kinda shoot saliva from your tongue.  Bet you didn’t know that.

Walked around the lake tonight, it was dark, but a good walk nonetheless.

But yeah, the movie, as with many goals I have tried to set and follow, I get more done if I just don’t do that.  It will get done when I decide to finish it.

I’m a fan of liquor stores, but I’d be a bigger fan of them if they opened and closed more frequently in the same spots.  You can’t beat six bottles of an assortment of wine, shot stuff and extra dry vermouth for 28$.  That’s the America I want to live in. In moderation of course though.

As I posted last week, I was supposed to start writing the script again, but haven’t started up again.  There is a ton more to think about this time.  Factoring in the budget, locations to film, people I know or don’t know; it’s all weighing down on how I write the next part of the movie.  It’s very apparent this is a lot easier in tinsel town since they have A: Money, and B: resources.

I have a few goals with this movie, and I’ll tell you one of them: I fully expect this movie to be better than every Colin Farrell movie ever made, COMBINED.  Now, I understand your thinking, “But Erik, no one has ever attempted to out act, produce and direct anything Colin Farrell has ever done, how will you do it?”

Once you see the movie, you will know.

I was unable to start writing again this week, this explains where I’m at and what I need to do:

It’s from an interview with Dave Soloway, formerly a guitarist for Saves the Day.

Let me give you the advice that changed everything for us. It was the moment when, I don’t remember exactly who suggested it. I think Chris was reading, actually Chris was reading a book, I don’t know if it was a writer, well obviously it’s a writer that wrote the book. But it was some book about the writing process, I think it must have been a novelist or maybe a poet, I can’t remember if it was a he or she. But he or she said something to the effect of when you’re feeling like you don’t have anything good to write, the worst thing you can do is try to wait for something to come. You’ve got to be willing to write crap. You’ve got to be willing to write it and look at it and go “You know, that’s crap, but at least I wrote something.”

Yeah, I’m at crap level right now… or back to it I suppose.

Go ahead and smile

Kimberly Caruba, beat blogger

When you are having a bad day and it seems to only be getting worse, it is really easy to blame all of your misfortune upon yourself. From the lousy grade you got on your last exam, to your inability to memorize your Italian vocabulary for the test the next day, when things go wrong people find it easy to blame everything on themselves. In situations like these, know that God does not have a vendetta against you, no one is out to get you, and you are not the most worthless being on the face of the planet — you are simply having a bad day.

It is a lack of self-confidence that is making your day go from bad to down right awful. I’m not saying that you couldn’t have done something to help your situation, but rather, that some things are out of your control.  In dire situations like these, one needs to KNOW that they will pull through and that things will take a turn for the better. To put some self-confidence back into your miserable day, take this simple piece of advice: smile.

Scientists have found that the simple act of smiling can do wonders for the average individual, especially, those having a rough day. They found that subjects who constantly came in contact with negative feedback, but were instructed to keep a smile on their face as much as possible, rated their day more enjoyable than individuals who went through their day with sad facial expressions and were constantly given compliments. How is it that a smile can do so much?

Someone who is constantly smiling, even when faced with difficult obstacles, has more hope. The answer is simple — smiling increases confidence. Think about the most confident person that you know. Does that individual strike you as a happy or a sad person? More times than not, they are a happy person. Why? Because they have so much to be happy about!

Times might be rough, but in the end you CAN do it. So why let a little misfortune spoil your day? In addition, smiling and being positive makes others around you believe in you too and makes your more likeable. Being liked by others is an easy confidence-booster. The simple act of smiling brings great things.

In the beginning, your smile might feel forced and even fake, but if you are having a hard time, don’t give up on your pearly whites too soon. If you follow through, by the end of the day, you will have forgotten what your morning woes had been.

k

Kimberly Caruba is a freshman broadcast journalism major. Caruba also writes for The Student Voice, volunteers at WAER radio, and is a part of Citrus TV. She will break the “Mental Block” every Thursday with tips on how to improve your mental health, friendships, and relieve stress.Men

My time left at Winona is down to about a month left.  After four and a half year, I’ll be graduating (most likely) with a degree in advertising and a studio art minor (not recommended).  I enjoy creating things like art, and advertising is along the same lines, except it is a written format.  Both are creative endeavors depending on how much you put into them.  The thing about the advertising part is this semester I’m pretty sure my desire and want to go into that field has disappeared.  As the title of this blog states: it’s not the best time for that to be happening.

I’m not quite sure what happened and maybe it is only temporary, but for now, I don’t care to go into it.  It could be a moral/ethical dilemma of not wanting to sell certain products to people, but I doubt that.  You can buy what you like.  If I write something and you gain weight or your health decreases from it, well then you should’ve spent your money on something else.

The point of this GSB entry is throughout the process of writing this movie, I rediscovered, I guess, or altered, what I wanted to do.  Maybe it’s taking a less defined step back, but whatever I do I know I want to write.  Writing a handful of scripts isn’t a very sound approach to a sustainable career, especially since there are about 60,000 written each year.  I do like the creative freedom allowed with writing, so for now, I shall stick with doing that.

Create a cozy, comfortable “safe place”

Kimberly Caruba, beat blogger

As the holiday season approaches and students begin to count down the days until they travel home once more, it seems more difficult to find things to smile about. It is a little bit ironic since the holiday season is supposed to bring joy, fun, and good times to all. But in the eyes of college students the end of the semester means trudging through snow, bone-chilling weather, and a suffocating workload. When things begin to mount against you, the best advice I can give is to simply make yourself a “safe place.”

My safe place is a location that I can go to that provides me with comfort and reinvigorates me so that I can get the tasks before me completed. For me, my dorm room, specifically my bed, is my safe place. Every morning I make my bed, not because it looks nice or because it “feels better,” but because my bed is my safe place. It relaxes me to come home and see my bed warm, comfortable, and waiting for me. It’s comforting to know that when I come home every day, I can snuggle up under my covers, grab my laptop, and get to work with comfort and support (squishy as it might be) all around me.

When designating your safe place, don’t think that it has to be your bed. A safe place can be in a private location or in the middle of the Quad (not recommended when it is so cold, but that’s your prerogative). The point of a safe place is to have a destination where you can go to get work done and have a happiness boost. This location can be a certain table at the library, a building on campus, or having a cup of coffee at your favorite table at the student center. In the end, your safe place is somewhere that will make you smile.

Throughout the years, the transition from fall to winter has always been a hard one for me. It seems as though every November and December is a stressful period in my life. It doesn’t help that the sun seems to shine less often and that the amount of daylight becomes so scarce (causing even more stress as time seems to decrease). The one thing that has always been able to get me through is designating a safe place for myself. I hope that finding that special location will be as helpful to you as it has been for me.

k

Kimberly Caruba is a freshman broadcast journalism major. Caruba also writes for The Student Voice, volunteers at WAER radio, and is a part of Citrus TV. She will break the “Mental Block” every Thursday with tips on how to improve your mental health, friendships, and relieve stress.

I was talking to a friend this morning while considering writing on a topic that was perplexing to me and as we were talking it came to my attention that I’m probably giving this way to much “weight”.  We chatted a bit, threw around a few ideas, opinions and resources and then I came to the realization, I’m never going to make a move if I keep letting this stumbling block keep me down.  I need to charge ahead and as Nike would tell me:  “Just do it”.  So here I go, committed to getting past my mental roadblocks to success.  No longer will I consider this as holding me back, I will consider it as keeping me from my goal which is not the action, but the vision.  Thanks friend!  I needed that.  Now onto a more meaty subject, with usefulness for others and a bridge for myself.

First off, it would be nice if someone informed that inconsiderate, obnoxious douche on the crotch rocket to knock it off with revving his ______ engine and doing those stupid %!*#&! wheelies that no one gives a ____ about, and are totally unimpressed by them anyway.  He must not have seen last weeks South Park.  Yeah, he’s one of them.  You are in Winona Minnesota anyway… at least it doesn’t have bass.

NOW, after a entertaining and fun weekend back in Bloomington, I’m almost ready to start writing the movie again.  I’m not sure of the exact date, but possibly thursday after my sculpture class is over.  The time off is more for mental preparation since writing it and rewriting it doesn’t just happen.  I also want to push the story in a different direction, so starting immediately back up, I think, would have produced something exactly like what I had been writing.

The spoons here are now clean.  Eating pudding will be much safer with those as opposed to a knife or fork where you can’t scoop out all of it.  I’m sure you were all just dying to hear how that turned out.

Workshop “The Ultimate Life Reborn™”
Temukan Cara Sukses Untuk Meraih Impian Dan
Prestasi Anda Secara Luar Biasa!!!

Jakarta, Sabtu, 19 Desember 2009
Jam: 9.00WIB – 17.00 WIB
MP Book Point
Jl. Puri Mutiara Raya No. 72
Jakarta 12410
Telp. (62-21) 75910212

Facilitator :

Mr. Antonius Arif, SE., MM., CH, CHt, MNLP, MTLT, CI
International Zig Ziglar’s Signature Trainer
Marketer To Watch 2006 (Majalah SWA)
Licensed Master Practitioner of NLP – Society of NLP, Orlando, USA
Certified of Hypnotherapist – National Guild of Hypnotist, Inc, USA
Certified of Hypnotherapist – International Association Counselors & Therapist, USA
Certified of Hypnosis – Hypnosis Motivation Institute, USA
Certified Instructor of Hypnotherapist – Indonesia Board of Hypnotherapy
Certified of Hypnotherapist – Indonesia Board of Hypnotherapy
Certified of Hypnotist – Indonesia Board of Hypnotherapy
Director Training & Event, IACT – Indonesia Chapter

Benefit:

1. Bagaimana menemukan dan membersihkan berbagai penghalang dalam program pikiran yang selama ini menghambat keberhasilan Anda
2. Membantu Anda untuk menemukan kekuatan dalan diri dan menggunakannya untuk kemajuan diri serta mencapai impian yang telah diset.
3. Pelajari teknik self therapy untuk mempercepat pencapaian GOAL serta meng-scan virus pikiran yang masuk sewaktu-waktu. Sehingga GOAL anda tetap berjalan sesuai rencana yang sudah dirancang diawal.
4. Meningkatkan rasa bersyukur Anda kepada Yang MAHA KUASA, sehingga makin memperkuat GOAL yang ingin dicapai.
5. Menjadi seseorang yang bermental baja dalam menghadapi kehidupan
6. Membersihkan MENTAL BLOCK
7. Mengetahui arah hidup serta lebih berHASRAT sehingga peserta mempunyai pegangan atau tujuan dalam hidupnya
8. Mencapai impiannya dengan jauh lebih mudah daripada sebelumnya.
9. Mendapatkan self therapy yang bisa digunakan saat mengalami kendala dalam pencapaian GOAL.

Apa Kata Mereka Tentang Profil Pembicara:

Fitria Lutfiyana :
Bagus banget….. pengen ikut lagi….. sangat bermanfaat, menyenangkan…sangat menyenangkan

Dewi Dewo Widagdo:
- Makin paham mengenai teknik hypnosis
- Melengkapi pemahaman/aplikasi dari NLP
- Cara mengajar OK, bisa berempati pada murid yang pandai, normal atau nggak cepat ngerti seperti saya

Luh Putu Suta Haryanthi :
Great Experience, saya mendapatkan sesuatu yg sangat luar biasa dan akan saya aplikasikan dalam membantu klien dan keluarga sendiri

Hesti Mariati :
Saya merasakan sesuatu yg “berbeda”, banyak pengetahuan yg saya peroleh & perasaan yg “berbeda” ini membuat diri saya merasa lebih positif

INVESTMENT:
1 Hari Workshop – Normal Rp. 750.000
Early Bird s.d. 12 Desember 2009 Rp. 350.000.
Khusus untuk pasangan atau berdua, hanya Rp. 500.000

Pembayaran dapat ditransfer ke rekening :
Bank Central Asia (BCA) No R/K: 44.11.20.1559 a/n Budi Sutrisno
Email bukti transfer/fax ke: adiwardilim@gmail.com/021-5603415
(Catatan di bukti transfer : ” The Ultimate Life Reborn™” by Antonius Arif+ Tulis Nama, email, alamat & No HP & Telpon Lokal Anda).

TEMPAT SANGAT TERBATAS! WORKSHOP TERAKHIR DI TAHUN 2009!

“Tak Seorang pun dapat mengubah hidup Anda, selain Anda sendiri”
Anda harus hadir di workshop ini, HUBUNGI SEKARANG:
Adi 021-9677 0030/0813-8521-0255 atau
email : adiwardilim@gmail.com

Depending how it is bestowed upon you, I don’t really think anyone really likes being criticized.  However, if you are a writer, artist,  accountant (boring), lazy with out a job, painter, DJ, doctor, shit kicker, semi-pro speller, bowler, f-f-f-football player, or anything that requires an actual skill, criticism generally helps you get better at what you’re doing… especially all you shit kickers out there.

As much as you don’t like the critique or disagree with it, you should probably still listen and take the advice to heart.  Or write it down for later use.  Unless someone offers nothing but deconstructive, nonsensical criticism, don’t pay attention, those people are probably couch sitters who will never amount to anything.

If the option is available to you, take a few days and think about it to let it kind of marinate into your thoughts.  By doing this, you should eventually produce something better.  Ask around too.  Ask people who have done what you are trying to accomplish and ask people who can possibly guide you towards where your desired goals lie.

How to let go of a love without losing self-confidence

Kimberly Caruba, beat blogger

The term “self-confidence” is really a misnomer; having confidence in one’s self is not just for that individual. Being confident is not just about believing that you possess the abilities to accomplish your goals, that you are a worthy person, and that people will like you if they get to know you. “Self-confidence” is also about being strong for your family, your friends, and even your acquaintances. It is about giving off an energy that you can do anything through which you also give confidence to those around you.

I went home for the first time last weekend and it really blew me away how fast things can change. I’ve been away from home for two months, but it really felt like I had been gone years. A new building was erected while I was gone, rules had changed at my old high school, and self-confidence had evaporated in a great friend of mine at work.

It was seeing that friend again — a person I truly believe to be a beautiful, amazing person — and noticing how little self-confidence was left in her after her awful boyfriend (or ex I should say) treated her badly and left her once again, that made me really begin to think about what having self-confidence means.

You know those on-again, off-again couples? The ones where the girl treats her man so well: taking care of him, standing up for him, putting up with him, and yet when something doesn’t go his way, he picks up and leaves? The kind where it hurts you to watch the girl go through so much pain over a guy that doesn’t treat her the way she deserves? (And hey, this can go both ways — men can be treated like crap by their girls too.) Well, that’s the kind of relationship that my friend was in, and it hurt me to see her go through a relationship where I knew that she wasn’t being treated right, but now it hurts me even more to see how sad she is that the jerk is gone. All I could do was stand there and wonder why? Why is she so upset? But when I really stopped to think about it, I knew why. I knew because I had felt that way before, too.

She feels so sad, not only over all of the memories of good times that they had, over losing a second family, but also because she doesn’t have any self-confidence. The loss of such a big part of her life, the loss of having that person who is supposed to make her feel beautiful, and feel happy is so painful. It is also a huge blow to her confidence.

Watching my friend, I realized that the reason we hold on to people who treat us badly, the reason why we can even be sad to watch them go, is because in the back of our minds we worry that we really deserve to be treated badly, to be alone. We lack the self-confidence that we can pick up the pieces and start over again.

In reality, having self-confidence is obviously important to have in general, but it’s a saving grace when it comes to hard times like these. My friend is not the only one in pain. I’m in pain watching her be sad, her co-workers are in pain for her, and so is her family. Self-confidence is being strong for your family too. In a situation like this, if I would have come home to find that he had left her again and she was happy, and knew that it was for the better, I would feel so good. I would feel confident too because I would know what great things are in store for her. I would know that if I were ever in a situation like hers, I would be able to get through it just fine too.

I hope that my friend soon realizes how great she is, and that she gains enough self-confidence so that she will not go back to him, or enter a relationship with anyone who doesn’t treat her like the beautiful girl that she is. Next time you start to doubt yourself, don’t. Being confident isn’t just about you; it’s about all those around you too.

k

Kimberly Caruba is a freshman broadcast journalism major. Caruba also writes for The Student Voice, volunteers at WAER radio, and is a part of Citrus TV. She will break the “Mental Block” every Thursday with tips on how to improve your mental health, friendships, and relieve stress.Men

I didn’t expect to get the script right the first time, and…..I didn’t.  As a result, there is a lot of work coming up on the script that will make it a lot better.  That’s all I can say, specifically, about the upcoming part of the script.

I’m reminded of the lack of budget available for the movie.  Figuring that out, unless we’re able to secure some kind of grant or special permission, will not be easy.

Thankfully winter is pretty much here in Minnesota and you have a lot of time to think about difficult stuff like that.  I think the sun comes back out in April.

I’ve been working in various aspects of the dental industry for 10 years now, from intern to technical research, from telesales to field sales.  I’ve always loved what this profession provides to the public and the way that I can service this profession.

Currently, I feel like the tides in the industry are changing.  Price wars are being fought between manufacturers, distributors, and also on the field between labs and dentists.  Healthcare reform is looming and everyone is pretty unsure of what to expect.  I thought starting a blog in these turbulent times would be a great jump off to join people together and keep each other informed, to share ideas and innovate new ways to make everyone successful.

I have enjoyed helping my customers “be awesome.”  And if you aren’t helping other people be awesome, what else are you doing?  I’ll leave you with a short little clip from an ignite speech by Kathy Sierra.  Enjoy and please bookmark, share, tweet about, and comment!

5 mood-boosting foods, 1 complete meal

Kimberly Caruba, beat blogger

As night comes earlier, days start to look gloomier, and the weather gets wetter it’s hard not to feel your mood go down with the falling temperature. To combat these nasty side effects of the fall and winter seasons, five foods readily available to the average college student may help to boost your mood and make you feel good, even if the weather isn’t so cheerful.

1. Whole Grain Bread – Better than its paler counterparts, whole grain bread contains amino acids that are essential to making sure your brain functions properly. Not only are amino acids important for a healthy brain and proper transmission of messages, but they are also necessary for developing neurotransmitters which control a person’s mood and depression.

2. Bananas – The cheerful color on this fruits peel has a strong correlation to an individual’s mood. Bananas contain magnesium, a lack of which in a person’s diet can wreak havoc on one’s mood. Eating bananas is an easy way to ensure that your magnesium levels do not get out of whack.

3. Milk – This delicious drink contains calcium and tryptophan, which work together to relax and reinvigorate a person’s body. Calcium has the ability to reduce a person’s anxiety and stress level, while tryptophan aids your body’s production of serotonin, which is responsible for a person’s mood. The more serotonin you have, the happier you are going to be. Drinking milk is especially important for those of us that like to sleep in. While you sleep, your body consumes serotonin, and over-sleeping can result in the use of too much serotonin, leaving you deprived of the chemical for your day-to-day activities. Less serotonin during the day means a lower mood. Therefore, drinking milk is a stress reliever and a mood booster all in one!

4. Poultry – These foods are great to consume when you’re feeling overwhelmed and down in the dumps. Poultry contains an important amino acid called tyrosine which is responsible for increasing two neurotransmitters essential to a person’s mood: dopamine and norepinephrine. Psychological studies have shown that dopamine and norepinephrine have strong links to depression. They also play a big part in a person’s reaction time, and level of motivation. Next time you’re feeling groggy and cranky, eat some poultry; it will reduce your stress and increase your energy level.

5. Chocolate – As girls are already well aware, when feeling sad, distraught, or even stressed, chocolate is a never-fail pick-me-upper. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine, which causes the brain to produce serotonin, which, as we have already stated, boosts a person’s mood. Contrary to what people believe, chocolate won’t cause any break-outs, so next time you’re feeling blue, don’t hesitate to reach for that chocolate bar!

Remember these five foods the next time you’re feeling glum, and if you really want a mood booster, eat them all at once! Make yourself a chicken sandwich with whole grain bread, drink a glass of milk, have a banana on the side and a little bar of chocolate for dessert! It’s balanced, and good for your mood too.

k

Kimberly Caruba is a freshman broadcast journalism major. Caruba also writes for The Student Voice, volunteers at WAER radio, and is a part of Citrus TV. She will break the “Mental Block” every Thursday with tips on how to improve your mental health, friendships, and relieve stress.

This is just to recap what I’m doing with this blog:

I’m keeping this blog as a way to document the script I’ve been writing, and finished, about a movie that takes place in Winona Minnesota and around Bloomington Minnesota as well.

I originally thought of creating this a few years ago while watching TV with a friend.

The movie will be called “Grizzly Skag Bear.”  What is that you ask?  Well, good question, the idea came from trying to find something good to watch on TV one evening, but since anything remotely watchable is rarely on, especially on Fox (FX is a lot better), the conversation came up about what the poor quality of shows on.  I said something like, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see a grizzly bear injecting heroin into himself.”  Or something like that…. Hence the name Grizzly Skag Bear.

The main point of the movie is overcoming boredom in a small, boring town, and overcoming boredom in a bigger city during the slow parts of summer.  The latter is easier if you could believe that.

The script came out to 145 pages, and If you’re applying the 1 page in the script equals 1 minutes in the movie, then you would have a movie that’s just under two and a half hours.  I tend to think of the ratio as more of 1 ½ pages equals a minute.  That would be much more watchable 97 minute movie, rounded up from 96.666666 and so on until you eventually get to a 7.

What else…This isn’t one of those movies with a sappy relationship either.  That’s been done.  I more or less replaced that with a few cats getting burgled and four Colin Farrell references, you see how the trade off works.

Since I’ve finished the script there have been about a dozen people have offered their help in some way, either with the script, making the actual movie, or possibly acting in the movie.

I’ve stated before that were on a college student budget (it’s the space occupying “next to nothing”) so we most likely wont be able to pay anyone much of anything to be in this when it gets made.  If you don’t have a problem with out being monetarily compensated, ask, I guess.  Perhaps something will be worked out.  We’ll worry about that when we need to though.

Thanks for the offered help.  There’s a good chance this project will need it.

In unrelated news, it’s nice to see the Winona PD doing their jobs… writing $10 parking tickets in a “12 hour lot” with a sign that states there is a 20 hour limit.  New Wolfmother album = Fail; if you’re at all familiar with the general sound of the music during the 60s and 70s, they pretty much replicated that, poorly.  Lastly, I found the disc I lost at the St Marys disc golf course, on Saturday, this morning, so I’m pretty stoked about that.

I’m down to two scenes left to write.  They are the new ones I recently came up with.  It really took a few months to think of them, and one of them, will end the movie.

Speaking of, I couldn’t decide on an ending.  A happy ending would seem very cliché… does anyone want to see another one of those?  A sad ending?  No, that would be completely irrelevant and a massive twist.  A No Country for Old Men ending where it just stops and you’re mildly disappointed… A Wayne’s World ending which would include multiple endings…. I’m not sure how this will turn out, but it will have an ending.

The scene I just wrote is about a daydream where someone is being chased by something thats “way out there.”  Like Colin Farrell in a bear suit, don’t quote me on that.

In unrelated news, I would highly recommend the new Cartel album “Cycles”

The secret to self-confidence

Kimberly Caruba, beat blogger

So it turns out that self-confidence and making friends go hand in hand. As you make friends, your self-confidence rises. As your self-confidence rises, you may find that it’s easier to make friends. Confusing? A little bit. But its makes sense when you think about it. Having people that are going to stand by you (aka friends) gives you the confidence you need to take the chances in life that allow you to be a more self-assured individual. There’s a couple of tips that any person can follow that will lead him or her down the road to success in all types of relationships.

Take risks, face fears, and don’t be afraid to disagree. By taking risks, I don’t mean trying that new drug that’s out on the street, but rather, try “new” things. Go on a date with that shy kid in your writing class who is totally not your type. Or befriend the girl that listens to music you hate and wears clothes that you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing. Taking a risk and putting yourself out there will boost your self-confidence. You will feel enlightened that you made a move, talked to someone new, did something out of the ordinary, and in the end, made a new friend.

Think about your first day on campus; everything and everyone was new to you. Yeah, it was terrifying, but at the same time, when the moment came where you realized that this was the perfect place for you to be, didn’t you feel a little bit excited? Didn’t you feel a wave of refreshment wash over you and find yourself trying to pull back that huge smile that was spreading across your face? That’s self-confidence — knowing where you belong and being assured that you can tackle what’s up ahead. You gain that by taking chances, because every chance you take and master proves to yourself that you can do it. And by it, I mean everything.

Express your feelings and only keep around those who respect you for it. I’ve been in so many situations where my views conflict with those of almost every person around me. For instance, I am not a drinker. When I agreed to go to a party with one of my friends, I knew that 98.9% of the people at that frat were not going to be following my lead and abstaining from drinking. But I didn’t care. Yeah, some people thought that I would’ve been “more fun” if I was drinking, but what I found was that my friends — my real friends —were actually really impressed.

“I think that’s so great that you’re not drinking, I wish I could be like you.” I will never forget when my friend said that to me, because all I could think was you could. I can’t even tell you how many other people have said how cool it is that I don’t drink, and every time I hear that, I get a confidence boost. Not only because I’m receiving compliments, but because I stayed true to myself, and I figured out that being a nondrinker is really who I am. That’s part of what life is all about: finding who you are and gaining self-confidence.

Know how to accept a compliment and don’t forget to compliment yourself every once in a while. For me, one of the hardest things (even more so than the impossible calculus problem or climbing the drunk stairs to get to my friend’s dorm) is taking a compliment. For the longest time, I couldn’t do it for the life of me. I honestly couldn’t help it when someone said, “your hair looks so cute today!” to quickly reply, “it could look so much better but the humidity ruined it.” I found it so difficult to just say “thank you!” and smile back. That was because my self-confidence was zero, or possibly in the negative. But I found as I began to say “thanks” instead of “no really, I’m not that great,” I began to believe what people said and immediately feel better about myself.

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Kimberly Caruba is a freshman broadcast journalism major. Caruba also writes for The Student Voice, volunteers at WAER radio, and is a part of Citrus TV. She will break the “Mental Block” every Thursday with tips on how to improve your mental health, friendships, and relieve stress.

I just spent about half an hour trying to hone a melody in my mind.  I started with a couple of chord combinations and I thought I was making progress and then boom! ..I lost it. I couldnt progress further and then suddenly eveything I worked on for the last laf hour sounded real bad.

Welcome to the musicians` life. Ups and Downs and a whole lot of writing block. I started wondering how many times that happened to me and as that thought occured to me I realised it has been this way ever since I can remember writing my first song back in 1997.

No wonder musicans get the bi-polar complex really easy – either way high or down below, but I thank God for my family – the fun family weekends and my work keeps me up and about. Keeps the Bi-polar in check, I am then reminded that ” Its just a tune – it will sound better with time”. Yea! nothing but time.

Do you remember the scene in Tenacious D – Pick of destiny when Jack Black has this mental block thing, when he had Kyle step into the pentagram drawn on the floor.. Haha! Yea .. That happens to all of us I guess.

Hope something comes up soon, till then I have the main melody singing in the back of my mind. Incomplete yet inspiring!

Moral ethical…whatever the word

In writing the scenes for this movie, which will be made with or without some highly charitable studios help, I have come across a few dilemmas.  Mostly, how much to include from my friends lives.  For the most part they don’t care, but there have been a few cases where there are some sticky situations. My dilemma is: what, of any of these situations are relevant to the plot, or movie in general, and how much do I include if I do?  I’m using aliases, but some people just don’t want any part of their life exposed in any amount….even if its under a different name.  Must be paranoia or something.

Distractions UPDATE!

Food: I finally caved and bought groceries.  I only had a basket.  A cart would’ve been preferable.  It’s been 3 days and I’m out of snack foods.  It sucks.  Carrot chips are NOT a substitute for any other kind of chip.

YouTube: Still watching videos.  Mostly about nothing, but definitely about something.

Facebook: I determined a good day to go back to it would be after this current part of the project is finished.  October sometime….

Sleep: My sleep schedule has gotten worse some how….

My home life, Bloomington, is mostly uneventful, and for some reason, I love it.  It would probably be boring by any other standard, but at least it isn’t Winona.  This town could at the very least be an equivalent of what La Crosse is.  Has anyone else noticed the only thing along the river is a Godfather’s Pizza? It’s no wonder this place lacks a pulse….. If there wasn’t a college here, no one would notice the city as they drove by on 61.