Finding Home: Part I

Spent this morning back in SF, taking a tour of a couple studios for rent. I wasn't expecting to find a place of interest, and that's exactly what I accomplished. Despite this fact, I still felt a bit deflated and disheartened at the start of my lackluster search for a new place of residence; so, I went to my cafe to find some solace.

You seen Garden State? There's a line that goes:

"Maybe it's like this rite of passage, you know. You won't ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it's like a cycle or something. I don't know, but I miss the idea of it, you know. Maybe that's all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place."

So what does living on your own mean? If you've not anyone to share the imaginary place, then do you have family? This brings us to another point from Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events:

"And remember one thing, my darlings, and never forget it: that no matter where we are, know that as long as you have each other, you have your family. And you are home."

This quote actually speaks to me a greater deal; it removes the requirement that a consensus be reached between a group about the same idea. Instead, all you need are your loved ones, and you have a home - geography, physical confines, mutual agreement, they're not needed as long as you share care and fondness with others.

Working backwards, went to brunch with Red yesterday at The Hobnob, where they tried to convince me that this is french toast:

Me: "That's not french toast."

Red: "That's french loaf."

It looks like three fillets of trout, I know, but they assured me that this was a plate of french toast. If you ever happen by the place, I suggest you try their Three Cheese Baked Mac 'n Cheese.

Lastly, during the trailers before watching The Trip, we caught one for a film was saw in Sundance. It's dark, powerful, and epic. Keep an eye out.

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Blind Pilot - Two Towns From Me
Ending Note: Trout is a funny word.

You Can Learn A Lot From Dirty Movies

Been thinking about movies a bunch lately. Ones I’ve seen in the past, ones I want to see sometime soon, ideas for new ones that will never be made; theory and actual production swirling in my head. I think it’s my brain’s attempt to drive me to an air conditioned movie theater, and out of this infernal heat.

Unlike most everyone else that I’ve met in the film industry, my schooling was based solely on a theoretical background rather than hands-on. This has meant that I have no idea how to operate a film camera, or what exactly XLR is, but could pursue a job teaching film courses, or write a trashy review column in some local rag somewhere.

Used to think that the screenplay was the most important part of the whole bagel; set the backbone of the story, give direction to the whole project. Then came the underappreciated lighting world where I took on the role of the martyr, slaving away without a nod of appreciation to make the picture beautiful. Now, I’m a vendor. This is possibly the farthest I could have traveled from the origins of my studies while still being in the film industry.

It’s funny, the routes we travel.

You ever seen ‘Clerks’? A fantastical, absurd, lewd story about a convenience store in Jersey; I know, sounds wonderful, but it has it’s place in the study of film. One of the running themes, as well as lines, is, “I’m not even supposed to be here today.”

 And that’s the thing. None of us are supposed to be anywhere we currently are. In a warehouse filled with lamps and cats, on a hilltop with the mother of your child, in a trench with bullets flying overhead, in a hospital bed with over starched sheets – none of this was planned, but here we are, making choices and trying to live by some morals and a few beliefs.

As tough as it might be to believe, we’re not doing so bad. If you keep making choices, you’re always going in the right direction. "Write that down."

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Northern State - iluvitwhenya
Ending Note: I'm hungry. I want lasagna.