Regarding my departure

From the get-go Miami and i weren't a good fit, there was something rude and aggressive about this city that rubbed me the wrong way.  Being a transplant, let alone coming from Los Angeles, made it that much harder to get used to things here.  On the other hand, my Dr friend she came from the NE coast and fucking loves it here. But, she's a little weird, being from Minnesota and all, i mean come on.  But, the job was good, my landlord was great and i have been the most productive here.  I gave myself the space to be creative, something i had not been able to do back in Cali.  I've met some great people here that i will continue to stay in touch with.  Juan being one of them.  I mean, 5 years, that's giving it the old college try.

Where i go from here, i am not entirely sure yet.  I know i'm gonna go to LA and visit family but i'm not staying there.  I'm gonna take some me time and see where i end up.  Juan gave me the great idea that maybe, if my finances allow it, i can go intern somewhere.  I like that idea, it be a nice way to get my foot in the door of something i'm interested in.  I mean, who doesn't want an intern that is doing it for the love of it and not some college credit, right.

The next two weeks should be interesting, packing and getting my shit together.  I don't plan on taking anything back that wont fit in my car, everything else is out for sale or going to Goodwill.  I love that i can do that, i'm not attached to any of this crap.  My guitars, my clothes, my projector, my ps3, my recording gear and my writing stuff is all i'm taking with me.

Big news on this latest pod

So, the big news is i'm leaving Miami in about 3 weeks.  Something unexpected came up, that's usually the case right, and i'm pushing my leaved date by 2 months.  The future of the pod, well, it's up in the air.  I really like doing it and we're gonna bank some episodes so that we can keep it going until we can figure out what to do next.  The phone one's have worked out for us, but i hate that feeling of disconnection, of not feeding off each other's energy or inebriation.  Especially after last night's, i mean i would miss that type of connection.  We talked about anything and everything, it was great, beer and rum was flowing.  Good stuff is what i'm saying, i'll miss it and i think it might hurt the pod.  I did get a good idea from a friend to perhaps turn it into a video cast, but we'll see the mechanics of it.  I'll do the research like i always do, besides we have time, not too much but some.

Again, i can't thank you enough for listening.

Enjoy

It looks like we're back on track with these Podcasts

In this week's episode we go through a few apocalytic scenarios, most movie ones we've seen.  Thanks for listening,

Make with the clicky here

New Pod

Shit happens people, it sure did for us.  But, we're back.

Listen here

In this week's episode we travel.

I have not been posting these here, i take it for granted that everyone here sees me on facebook or twitter.  My friend was visiting me this week and since he's world travelled and the topic was our travels i invited him to sit down with us.

Enjoy

Holy shit, you can talk.

The question came out so innocently but i didnt know it was going to end up here.  My co-worker and i were talking, we're both dog owners, and i asked him "if you found out your dog could talk, what would be the first question you'd ask him?".  We discussed a little and then i started asking others.  In the end i decided i would ask 20 people just to see the random responses.  There were some similar ones that i'm going to discuss as a whole.  

So, what do you think?
What are you thinking?
What's it like, living the good life?

How do you see it from your eyes, are we on the same level?  I liked these cause our initial reaction is to try and see how we can experience the world in a different way.  Get that perspective of someone so different.  I'd definitely have these questions after my initial one, which i'll leave for last.


We getting along ok?
Are you happy?
Am i a good owner?

The best part about these is that most of them came from non dog owners.  Which is kinda sweet when you think about it.  But, all the answer show that people, for the most part, are good and know they are responsible for this creature.  That, or i know some really nice people and really, that makes me the lucky one.
These little guys provide such amazing companionship that it makes sense that we'd like to know we're doing right by them.

Why do you bark at other dogs?
Why do you like the smell of shit?
How does it feel like to be a dog?
Why do you lick your penis so much?
What does dog ass smell like (to you)?

This next batch of answers all are asking the dog about itself.  Which makes sense, before we shoot down a person's way of life, we should at least know why they do it.  Here we want to learn about them.  Yes you bark for hours, but why?  Obviously it's not for conversation, cause you dont give each other a chance to reply.  Is your intellect beyond us?  It's also common to see that a dog's sense of smell is an obvious curiosity to us.  When my buddy sent in the last one, my initial reaction was "go smell it yourself and find out".  But after a little back and forth, he meant what i added in parenthesis.  Again, we're just trying to learn.

What took you so long?
How come you can talk?
How fucking long have you been able to talk and who have you been talking to?
Why haven't you said anything before?

Here the answers took an almost aggressive approach, we've gone past curiosity and practically into paranoia.  It makes sense for us to be weary of the unknown and what we're used to.  We've seen enough movies, we all remember Krypto (do we?), we want things explained to us so that we can better understand them.  They've never talked before, why now, are they carrying a message, are we doomed!?

The following answers were by far the most thought provoking, funny or just stood out.

Who's my good boy?

This one cracks me up to no end cause i'm a big fan of the Family Guy, it's one of my favorite scenes when for a brief second we're reminded that Brian is just a dog who can talk.  Love it.

Do you know where i left my ____?

He might know.  Shit, he might have hidden it.  Never thought about this before, but, he does have access to information you might not.  I thought it was an interesting one, though, i still think you'd have to get past the "you can talk" reaction.

Can i trust you?

Very sweet, yet, almost threatening.  You have to remember that this dog knows everything about you, he's been laying under your desk by your feet for years, he's heard everything, seen everything.  So, can i trust you?  Are you down to ride? I liked this one cause i never thought about that.

Sup, what's the weirdest thing you've seen me do?

I like it cause it's funny, but deeper than that, you're asking it if you can explain something that it might not have understood.  Or, maybe i'm looking in to it too deep.  Maybe he's just making sure they're both on the same page when it comes to their relationship.

So, can other animals talk?

Right! If you can talk, do squirrels talk to?  This one raises questions about the animal kingdom in general.

Finally, my answer

Am i your best friend?

Our entire lives we've been led to believe they are man's best friend, but, are we theirs?  Does he see us that way?  Is being a different species a deal breaker?  Just saying.

Groundhog Hour

A co-worker sent me this short film and automatically i thought of the movie Groundhog Day, except, this is one hour that keeps repeating.  When i first saw Groundhog Day, i was in, a full day to re-live and do things differently. It would take probably 1000 years to until you find yourself unable to do something new.  The movie did an excellent job in showing the different phases a person would go through, from the fun to the suicidal.  

This short though made me think about that one hour.  In the story, this poor unfortunate individual, happens to repeat his lunch hour, which isnt all that bad when you think about it.  But, what if it's a bad hour?  What if you're stuck in traffic?  A semi hit 5 cars and no one is going no where.  Or, maybe you're at work and it's a position you really cant leave right away, it'll be half an hour before someone can come and replace you.  So, you're repeating the same hour and half of it you're just sitting there.  Or, worse yet, what if it's the hour you receive bad news?  Like you're mom passed away and it's like at the top of the hour that the phone call comes in.  I mean how cruel can this world be, right.  

But, then you think about the good hour that it could also be.  Like the the hour when you wake up with no alarm, where you don't do anything because you know it'll be over in an hour.  Where you get up to eat, drink your coffee, look out your window and see the world.  To top it off, it's a nice sunny day.  Or, an evening hour, where you're at home having a cocktail.  Better yet, you're having mind blowing sex and for the rest of your life you repeat that hour.

But, like both movies, what about the hour when you just can't take another moment because it stopped being fun, that, "if i kill myself will it end" moment?  That one's gonna suck, just cause, will it end, or will you just know what it's like to have died?  I think depression kicks in early, since, it is just an hour.  I've blinked and felt like a day ran by.  

Also, do i have kids or a family?  Do i even attempt at calling them and hearing their voices?  Do i just forget about them eventually since it'll be years or decades that i'll have lived that hour?  Too many questions that i'll never answer, but fun to think about.

Aside from the negative, if i could pick an hour to re-live, it's a tough choice between the waking hour, the cocktail hour and sex hour.  Who am i kidding, i'll take all three!

To the cosmos and beyond

Yeah, i meant it to be about X-Files and green breasted alien chicks.  But then Juan dropped Carl Sagan into the conversation and then we exited the hemisphere.  But, a good conversation over all, i had fun.

Enjoy

Murdoch's reset

I was watching the A-Team movie and it made me realize they were all crazy, all except for Murdoch.  Who by the definition of the word should be craziest one of all.  But, here's the thing about Murdoch, he understood best of all that what they did was not normal.  He never even pretended that it was normal, that's why he acted the way he did, with a few moments of clarity.  He did all the crazy stunts without hesitation because he understood that it's what it took to make it work.  Think about it for a minute.  These guys played war in a civilian environment, they sought out situations where they needed to have that rush.  Who fucking trusts a crazy person to fly a fucking plane!? Crazier people than him, that's who.  They were ON 24 hours a day.  

But, you know where Murdoch was in between "missions"? In a psychiatric ward.  You know why? Because he knew he was crazy.  He needed that reset to be able to continue doing it.  Think about it, how else do you get reminded, get grounded, to your life than in the place where you feel the most calm, sane even.  No, whenever Murdoch left that sanctum he knew it was time to let go and get crazy.  He knew he needed to be in that mindset to be able to "play" war with his friends.  He needed to match, if not surpass, their actions so he wouldn't be left behind.  

Can you imagine what went through his head as he's calmly looking out the window of his padded room and he sees this big ass black dude, with a hundred pounds of gold around his neck and a mohawk telling him to back away from the window.  Then the window explodes, or the wall get's ripped right off the room.  Then, what does he see, a black van, with the craziest looking paring of people.  A chick, an old man, a well dressed guy and a guy named B.A.  You know what he thought, IT'S ON! And it was.

He went out, played with his friends in this imaginary world they had.  They blew things up, they helped people, they took down the bad guy and maybe once in a while he got the girl.  He was living out all his dreams and making some new ones up.  He was playing soldier and saving the day.  Best of all, no one is ever hurt, no one gets killed and there was a happy ending every time. He had a group of people that accepted him for who he was and even relied on him.

Then, when he was tired of all the excitement, he went home to rest, hang out with his real friends and do real things.  Everyday things, like sleep, eat, not use guns, no running from the police or the military.  Just boring, old every day things.  Like a normal person.

So, we spoil Dark Knight Rises

The conversation went well, but in my heart i'm just happy this was not a repeat of last week's problem.  I hope that never happens again.  Yes, we spoil the Dark Knight, but we also talk about other things, like Snoop Lion.  Wanna know more, listen up folks.

Enjoy

I'd make a terrible rich person

Well, terrible at being rich is what i think i meant.  When i woke up this morning i did my usual routine, shit, shower and shave.  When i dress it's usually, pants, white under shirt, socks, boots and button shirt.  But, between the socks and boots, sitting on the bed, there is always a pause i take to contemplate the day that has passed and the day ahead of me.  It lasts anywhere from 5 seconds to a minute.  

This morning i chose that moment to think about what would be different if i was a rich man.  You know what the best i could come up with was?  Never setting an alarm again.  Its weird too cause, i don't have a loud alarm and most of the time i'm awake a minute before it rings.  It's what the alarm means, i think, is what weighs heaviest upon me.  So many things are summed up on that alarm.  From the clothes i'm picking out to the lunch i'll eat later.  Not to mention the roof over my head, the bed i slept on and the TV i'll be watching later.  The alarm represents the need a rich man doesn't have.

I don't have a problem with working, far from it, i enjoy having something to do.  But, it's the having to do it part that bothers me i think.  There's times when i wake up 2 hours earlier than my alarm and my only thought is "i have 2 hours to try and get more rest".  I wonder what it would be like to just get up, do something, get sleepy and go back to sleep.  Wake up later and do what i want.  That's something a rich person can do.  An unemployed person can do the same, i suppose, if you want to be a dick about  it. 

But, that was the first thing i thought about.  Nothing extravagant, nothing surreal, not even something unique.  Yes i thought about traveling, paying off things and buying things.  But, sensible things.  A house, one for my mother, a few cars and just taking care of my family.  No tigers, blimps or a person to hunt for sport.  Not a even a harem of women to wake me up every morning.  I've been a poor bastard for so long that the only thing i need is to be left alone and wake up on my own time.

Sounds off

I went with my gut when i posted this conversation, when you hear it you'll know why.  But, in case you don't listen to it, here's why.  My mic went out and i didn't know, so the entire conversation is heard through Juan's mic, except i'm on the wrong end of it.  But, it was a good conversation and i hated losing it into oblivion.  So, yeah, let's give it a try.

Go here for it.

The San Diego Comic Con episode, finally

Show's how little we know, we thought we were gonna do one a day, Juan checking in every night to give us a rundown of the day's events, who would have known the SDCC was such a big deal.  Yeah, well, we meant well?  But, we're not letting Juan off the hook, i had him call in so that we could get a full 4 day break down of what went down.  Hope you enjoy, and if that's not enough to get you to listen, at least listen to Juan doing his Christopher Walken impression.  Fucking, gold.

Enjoy

Oh the humanity

So the new Batman movie came out, yay, right?  Wrong, so wrong.  The sad thing is, we're almost so used to it, that we'll say, awful, or sad, but we'll move on, like it didn't happen because it didn't happen to us directly.  Of course i'm talking about the Aurora, Colorado shooting at the Dark Knight Rises showing. 
I went to a High School that a few years before and a few after i was there had shootings, not to the include a stabbing and numerous fights while i was there.  I have a friend who lost a best friend to a school shooting, but that was something directed specifically for her.  We've all heard about Columbine, but we all know the wasn't the first one and not the last one, but it was the one that called a lot of attention to the problem.  So, they added metal detectors at schools.  My friend has been a school cop for over a decade, the schools he's worked at had metal detectors since they were established yet nothing more than a fight here and there ever happened.  These things are pretty random, a fucking movie theater of all places, damn.  I remember a few years back about a Jewish Community Center, i thought that took the cake.  But, they are random, some fuck loses it, or convinces himself that it's the only way, for what, who knows, the cowards usually kill themselves before they are caught. We talk about it for a while, we feel bad, we move on.  Like i said, unless we're directly affected by it.  Which isn't to say we're insensitive, it's just the way it is.  I know the thought of being unlucky enough to be there or to have someone i care about hurt in some way scares me more than when i was in the war.  At least there i had a fighting chance.  As much as i love living in this country, i know that things like this aren't common in others.  But, the randomness is the key, was it Norway that had the shooter dressed as police officer at a summer camp last year?  60 something fatalities, not including the bombing that was used to distract, horrifically well planned.  The theater guy too, he won't have a name here, not while i'm writing this, he did it in a such a way that people never saw it coming, by distracting them.  This is where someone would say what they would have done differently, me with my military training etc., no, i would have sat there, seen a guy come in, seen him throw out two gas canisters and maybe had enough time to react.  But most likely be one of the unlucky people who got hit first and never heard the rampage unfold.  If only running was an option, taking off to a place where this wont happen to me, but the randomness says i have the same chance of it not happening to me here or where ever i go.  So what to do?  Feel sad, think it's awful, be glad it didn't happen to us and move on until the next time.  It sounds insensitive, but it's really just disconnect, and only for a minute before realizing it's just life, it happens.

Florida Supercon after thoughts

Well, i spent two days in a comic convention and all i got was sore feet.  No, i got some pictures too.  Seriously though, i was invited to sit in with Creature Entertainment, by my podcasting buddy Juan, at their booth so that i could record some interviews with collaborators as well as people at the con.  It was a lot of fun and here are some of the highlights of the weekend. 

I won't lie, i was surprised saturday had this line waiting to get it in the entire day.  Yet for the most part, traffic inside moved quite fluidly.  

Because it was convention there was plenty of cosplay, it's honestly the first thing you notice there, this might not have been the best costume, apparently there was a full on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle with working mouth that i missed, but this one did it for me.  Clever and simple but very strong i thought.

The second thing you notice at a con is the shirts, store bought or home made, that show your support for whatever comic or character you follow.  Among all the shirts i saw this one was my favorite, again, it maybe wasn't the best one, but guess what, this is my blog, damn it.

I forgot to take a pic of Juan's awesome shirt, but i found it online.

and i was showing my support for the underdog.

A lot of con attendees also like tattoos, of all that i saw i geeked out the most on this one, eventhough it's not a geek tattoo at all.  I'm a huge fan of Mr Hitchcock, for my money there is no better suspense movie than Rear Window and no better dark comedy than The Trouble With Harry, if you haven't seen either, you need to do yourself a favor and do so right away.

Over all it was a great experience and i'd love to do it again.  The best part of the whole weekend was talking with the visitors to the booth, a lot of returning customer for Creature, a lot of new ones and plenty of interesting characters.  While there we did record two podcast, one for every day we were there, interviewing visitors plus a lot of the Creature crew that was working the booth.

G4 also came by the booth and spoke with Juan.

and he was also part of a very interesting panel for independent comics.  I'll be talking about that on a later entry, it was a good conversation about the current state of comics and the future of comics thanks to small companies publishing their own things.

You can listen to day 1,  here

Day 2, here

Also, a very nice visitor to the booth made me make sure that you see this picture so that her story of the con made sense.  Thanks for listening.

New Podcast and more

So, i get louder at the end.  It's been a while since I got so riled up (while drinking)(on a recording) about a topic.  Today's topic is personal space, why do people find the need to break it?

Enjoy

On side note, this weekend is Florida SuperCon and my first year behind a booth.  I'll be hanging out with Juan and Creature getting a new perspective on comic cons, something i've been a visitor to for many years but always on the outside looking in.  I'll have my recording gear with me so Juan and i will do a comic con edition episode.  I'll also be talking to booth visitors and recording them too to include in the podcast.  So, expect 2 episodes this weekend, not much of Juan and I, mostly getting to know people who come to the booth.  AND!!! The Zombie Years shirt will be for sale too, super excited about that.  Expect to read more about this as the weekend happens.

Zombie Years shirt

Juan rocking the prototype.  I like it, not just cause you know, i did it, but because it evokes what it's supposed to be.  Simple, raw and DIY.  Juan's design is perfect, i just need to learn a little more about screen printing to make the shirt something we'd be proud to see people wearing.

Free tickets to the gun show!!

Since chivalry is dead, guys, let's just work out our arms so they can at least have something to hang on to.  Chivalry is dead and buried.   Women like to fend for themselves, which is fine, but with each new generation there is less and less expected from a man.  It used to be that a lady would wait for a man to open the door for her, now women just push you out of the way or give you a look as if you're going to do something after they enter.  That men paid for things, at least the first date should be covered by the man.  Now, a girl will agree to go dutch on a date.  I'm not saying that's not good, once a relationship has some miles, it's kinda cute when you do that, hell it's compliment when she pays.  But, first date, nope.  Just saying.  A guy should know a little about everything, so that once in a while one of things he knows will come in handy.  Checking under her hood, (of her car, but the sexual innuendo too), changing the oil, changing a tire, checking the liquids for fuck's sake (on her car and sexual innuendo).  It used to be that looking like a grease monkey turned a girl on, now most men don't want to get their hands or clothes dirty. 

So that's how my rant started, then i had a conversation with my buddy and well, i guess i've changed my perspective, a little.  He threw out words like "intentions", "courtesies"  and i had to rethink my opinion.  I don't even know if this post is even necessary.

In the end what i'm trying to say is, ladies, set your bar a little higher, expect shit from men.  Fellas, man the fuck up, just a little, cause, they don't say it, but a girl likes it when she can be surprised by your capabilities under a hood (of a car and sexual innuendo).  I'm not saying go fuck somebody up for eying your girl, but let her feel like you would.  Fuck, let her feel your arms and remind her you could. 

But ladies, do us a favor in return, girl it up a little.  Know how to cook, iron, and pamper us once in a while.  I'm not saying live in the kitchen, i'm just saying know your way around one.  It's give and take in these current times.  

To be honest, did chivalry ever even exist or did we make it up to have something to reference?  To be honest, i don't think i even care.  Me, I'm just never letting a woman walk between me and the street, that's all.

A year of doing this

We've been doing this for a year, that's impressive considering how it all started.  
From when Juan and I met, one thing was obvious to everyone around us, we could talk.  I mean, we'd sit down and have 5 hour conversations, about anything and everything and even then he'd be walking out the door and there we'd stand for a while talking through a screen door.  For a person who isn't social and weary of new people, Juan fucking ninja'd himself into my circle, the best part was that he didn't even know it.
After a few times of us having marathon conversations we joked about recording them.  It seemed like the natural evolution, people needed to hear the amazing things we were talking about.  No, not really.  We just thought it was the only medium Juan hadn't touched yet.  He's got the comics, the screenwriting, the painting, the movies, the cons and on top of all the he helps run Creature.  It made sense to start doing a podcast, since at the time i was dabbling into recording and had a very minimal gear for it.  The fit was perfect, one thing he and i agree on is that sometimes the simpler the better.  You haven't seen the prototype for the Zombie Years shirt, but when you do, you'll see what we're talking about.  We take a little pride in being able to present a good quality recording.  Specially since we just do it in my small home office with a basic mixer, a free recording program from Audacity, two mics and the need to put out something that not only is worth hearing but also sounds good.
Best example of that i think is the times we've done it over the phone.  At first we were reluctant because we've heard other pods and it was very obvious that there was a disconnection between both parties.  I did a lot of research on how best to connect a cell phone to the mixer and i was about to order expensive things online to achieve that.  Then one email from Juan and something he saw online answered everything, the most plain and simple way and it wouldn't cost more than $6 from Radioshack.  
I'll be honest, but if this was a big deal to do, we'd probably not do it.  Instead, we meet up, 5 minutes to set up and then just hit record.  We have made it that simple and that's why the conversations flow so easily, trust me when i say, if this ever becomes difficult we'd retire it.
I don't plan on living in Miami forever, so there will be a time when we're going to call it quits, but i know me and i'll find a way to still involve him into whatever this evolves into. So, stay tuned and thanks for listening, we do appreciated.

Enjoy

Tell me, i'll tell you!