Forget “V for Vendetta” and, if you haven’t already, watch the enjoyable “Attack the Block”. Goonies for the Dizzee Rascal set.
being jordanm
los angeles + worldwide
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Being There, Being Present
I don’t quite agree w/ Kaplan’s politics these days but is always an astute observer when it comes to the art of travel.
From his recent short piece titled “Being There“:
Travel is like a good, challenging book: it demands presentness—the ability to live completely in the moment, absorbed in the words or vision of reality before you. And like serious reading itself, travel has become an act of resistance against the distractions of the electronic age, and against all the worries that weigh us down, thanks to that age. A good book deserves to be finished, just as a haunting landscape tempts further experience of it, and further research into it. Travel and serious reading, because they demand sustained focus, stand athwart the nonexistent attention spans that deface our current time on Earth.
The Living City: Los Angeles
Tagged city, city life, colin rich, lights, los angeles, night, nightfall, skyline, urban, video, vimeoQuote of the Day
“Media studios are arms dealers in a distribution war, selling to every side.”
–via this very awesome IAmA on reddit
If you’re interested in the future of media, it’s an insightful read about what the future might hold (and what is being squandered to preserve the status quo).
Glen Mazzara’s Midnight Writing Tips
Around 12:30 am last night, Glen Mazzara (@glenmazzara), current showrunner of The Walking Dead and former writer on The Shield (amongst other shows), responded to tweeter @18MilesOut’s question “got any tips for a writer?” for 15 minutes with some great tips for aspiring writers out there.
I happened to check Twitter before logging off for the night, followed the whole thing, and decided to collect it here for myself as well as virtual posterity.
Thanks Mr. Mazzara!
Mazzara’s Advice:
- Everyone says write what you know. Bullshit. Write what you love.
- Write something that only YOU can write. That’s called Voice.
- Be bold. Commit to a point of view.
- Do not write for critics. Their job is to criticize.
- It’s never good enough. Revise.
- Write fast. Don’t censor yourself at first.
- Anxiety is good. All artists are anxious.
- You will never be Shakespeare so the pressure’s off.
- Tell a good story.
- Give your characters tough problems. Make it hard for them.
- Keep it simple. Read. Flashbacks are boring. Drama is conflict. Expect rejection. Write anyway.
Three Word Film Review: Prometheus
Beautiful but frustrating.
Artists and Creators Letter to Congress
via Neil Gaiman:
An open letter to Washington from Artists and Creators
We, the undersigned, are musicians, actors, directors, authors, and producers. We make our livelihoods with the artistic works we create. We are also Internet users.
We are writing to express our serious concerns regarding the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
As creative professionals, we experience copyright infringement on a very personal level. Commercial piracy is deeply unfair and pervasive leaks of unreleased films and music regularly interfere with the integrity of our creations. We are grateful for the measures policymakers have enacted to protect our works.
We, along with the rest of society, have benefited immensely from a free and open Internet. It allows us to connect with our fans and reach new audiences. Using social media services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, we can communicate directly with millions of fans and interact with them in ways that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
We fear that the broad new enforcement powers provided under SOPA and PIPA could be easily abused against legitimate services like those upon which we depend. These bills would allow entire websites to be blocked without due process, causing collateral damage to the legitimate users of the same services – artists and creators like us who would be censored as a result.
We are deeply concerned that PIPA and SOPA’s impact on piracy will be negligible compared to the potential damage that would be caused to legitimate Internet services. Online piracy is harmful and it needs to be addressed, but not at the expense of censoring creativity, stifling innovation or preventing the creation of new, lawful digital distribution methods.
We urge Congress to exercise extreme caution and ensure that the free and open Internet, upon which so many artists rely to promote and distribute their work, does not become collateral damage in the process.
Respectfully,
Aziz Ansari
Kevin Devine, Musician
Barry Eisler, Author
Neil Gaiman, Author
Lloyd Kaufman, Filmmaker
Zoë Keating, Musician
The Lonely Island
Daniel Lorca, Musician (Nada Surf)
Erin McKeown, Musician
MGMT
Samantha Murphy, Musician
OK Go
Amanda Palmer, Musician (The Dresden Dolls)
Quiet Company
Trent Reznor
Adam Savage, Special Effects Artist (MythBusters)
Hank Shocklee, Music Producer (Public Enemy, The Bomb Squad)
Johnny Stimson, Musician
New Look for 2012
As you can see, the site looks a bit different. I’ve decided, for the sake of expediency and usefulness, to use WordPress to handle both my blog and main site.
More to come…
