Today, I was one of those kids...

You all know what I'm talking about. You see them requently on campus...the kids sprawled out on the floor against the wall in a hallway, curled up in one of the arm chairs on campus, or sitting at a table or desk...their faces plastered to the page of their open text book in front of them. Yes, today, I was one of those kids.

Tired

So...I just got home from a 12-hour long shoot at MPS (the LDS Motion Picture Studio). It doesn't really feel like 12 hours...but the last time I checked, 6 am to 6 pm was 12 hours.

I'm gripping on Tom Morrill's 419 project. Mucho fun, but I certainly am kinda tired now. All the shots we got today were on set on sound stage #2 (hurray for indoor shoots). When I helped on Justin's 419 about a month ago most of our stuff was outside...dang it got cold at times.

Anyways, we're shooting again tomorrow and call time is 6 am. I'd like to get some homework done, or go hang out with some people, but I think I might just go shower, eat something, and then go to bed. I dont' know. We'll see.

I heart gmail.

So today I was sending a press release I had written for work to the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. I was typing up an email to attach the release to when I realized that the press release would probobly have more validity and such if I were to send it from my byu email rather than gmail.

Now, I really don't use my byu email for anything. I put it on resumes and other such things that I would want to appear more formal, but all emails sent to my byu address are forwarded to my gmail account, so I never even sign in to check my emails in that account or send anything from there.

So, you could see my dilemna. Here I wanted to send an email using my byu address since I felt it would come across as more professional, but there was no way I wanted to wign into my BYU account and type up an email using that email client. I voiced my opinion that it would be cool if you could send an email from another address using gmail. I said aloud that they should come up with that feature.

Well, I'm sure you would understand my suprise and rejoicing when a coworker and friend (Megan, I know you're reading this so why don't you just freakin leave a comment) told me that you could send emails from other accounts using gmail. Yes!!! "...and there was much rejoicing..."

Anyways, for those of you who would like to make such wonderousness a reality in your life. Here are the simple instructions from google. It's way easy:

How do I customize the 'From:' address on outgoing mail?
If you'd like your outgoing Gmail messages to display another one of your email addresses in the 'From:' field (instead of your Gmail address), just follow these easy steps:

Log in to your Gmail account.

Click 'Settings' along the top of any page, and then select the 'Accounts' tab.

Click 'Add another email address' in the 'Send mail as:' section.

Enter your full name in the 'Name:' field, and the email address you'd like to send messages from in the 'Email address:' field.

*Keep in mind that each time someone replies to a message you send using a custom 'From:' address, the reply will be delivered to the 'From:' address rather than your Gmail address. If you'd like replies to be delivered to another account, you'll need to enter a 'reply-to' address. Just click 'Specify a different reply-to address' to enter this information.

Click 'Next Step >>,' and then click 'Send Verification' to complete the process.

Gmail will send a verification message to your other email address to confirm that you'd like to add it to your Gmail account. You'll need to click the link in that message, or enter the confirmation code in the 'Accounts' section of your Gmail account, to complete the process. Once you've verified that you'd like to add the address to your account, you can start sending messages using your custom 'From:' address.

Tip: If you have a number of different email addresses, enter all of them in your Gmail account, and then select a different address to send each of your messages from, depending on what you're sending.

You can also choose to send all replies from the email address to which a message was sent.

Invisible Children: update

OK, so I just found out there's going to be another screening of Invisible Children this Thursday night in the Benson auditorium at 7:30pm. Please come. Even if you're not a student anymore (Jared and co.)
If you're reading this post and you're like WTF? What is Invisible Children??? Just scroll down my page cause there's a post not too far down there and you can read all about it.


Who: Cool People
What: Screening of Invisible Children
Where: Benson Auditorium (BYU campus)
When: Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Why: Because everyone should be aware of what is happening in our world.

Quote of the Day

So...I was just kickin' it in the Wilk today with my friend Anna and she said the following:

"Broccoli is like a wonder food; It has tons of vegetables in it!"

How it went

So...I know it's a little belated, but I figure I'd better fill ya'll in on how Friday went. As can be seen from the comments on my previous post (Update: Pace, this one's for you), Jared's date for Friday fell through. Luckily he was able to find someone else to go with him (otherwise that would have been a waste of two tickets, and what use to be a group date of 10 people would have become a double date with Luke and I and our dates.) There was one change however (besides the person Jared was taking), Jared's new date couldn't leave Provo until 6:30 (the original plan was to leave at 5:30, eat in Salt Lake at this cool restaurant Jared was telling me about, and then go to the opera which started at 7:30). My date was still planning on me picking her up at 5:30.

Well, after brainstorming as to what my options for the evening were, I opted to stick with 5:30. I informed my date (we'll call her "S") of the new plans:

5:30 I pick her up and we eat someplace here in Provo
6:30 We meet Jared at his place and carpool to Salt Lake
7:30 We enjoy Mozart's "The Magic Flute."

I asked if that was ok with her and she said (and I quote), "Sure!"

So, it went just like that. I picked her up at 5:30 (well, actually more like 5:35) and then we went to Thai Ruby's. We met up with Jared at his place at 6:30 and then went to pick up his date and then we were off...only one thing....traffic to Salt Lake was not so good, and we ended up arriving to the Capital Theater several minutes late. :( It wouldn't have been too bad because they have this little place where people can walk in and sit in the back until intermission and then they can go to their seats...only, there wasn't even standing room in that little area (apparently a lot of people were late) so we had to watch the first part of the opera in the foyer on the TV monitor. :(

Truthfully, I was slightly embarrassed and annoyed (i don't think those are the right words, but they're the only ones I could think of right now) at the fact that we had to stand out in the foyer...mostly, more for the fact that S had to stand in the foyer.

I will take a moment to digress here...
I don't know how most boys feel, but I feel as though when you are on a date with a young lady, it is your responsibility and duty to see to it that she: is safe, comfortable, and enjoys herself.

The fact that we were late and had to watch part of the opera while standing in the foyer certainly makes your job of keeping her comfortable and making sure she enjoys herself a little more difficult.
I guess I really was just "worried" that I was failing in my job of being a good date more so than being embarrassed and annoyed.

That said, we shall return to the story...
So, suprisingly the whole standing out in the foyer experience wasn't that bad. I did feel a little annoyed and sad for two other girls who were also at the opera: They too had arrived late and were standing in the foyer with their dates. Then one of the boys said to his date, "we're thinking we'd rather go to Barnes and Noble or something until intermission...would you rather do that?" His date (a girl from my ward actually) said that she would rather stay and watch the monitor so she knew what was happening after intermission...I thought at first, that was nice of him to give her another option...but then he and the other girl's date totally left them...does anyone else find this strange (unless maybe they are serious boyfriend and girlfriend). S and I talked about this brieftly as we stood there and I'm glad that we both agreed on this matter.

Fast forward ---> the opera was great (all except for the fact that the Queen of the Night had some difficulty hitting several of her high notes). On the way home, S mentioned several times how enjoyable the evening was (this came as a comfort considering our earlier tardiness.)

We drove back to Provo and I took S home to her apartment.

All and all, it was an enjoyable evening.

Invisible Children

So tonight I went to a screening for a rough-cut of this film, "Invisible Children." Can I just say, that if you think you have it tough...you don't. We are so blessed to live in this country. It truelly is the promised land.

I don't even know what it is I want to say in this post. I'm having difficutly coming up with the worlds, so if I sound like a completely uneloquent idiot...well, I apologize. I don't even know where to begin.

This film was so powerful. There are parts in it that are rather disconcerting and make you feel uncomfortable...and rightly so! You should feel a little uncomfortable: that feeling of discomfort is you telling yourself that what you're seeing, the story that's being presented to you...it's not right. No human being should have to undergo such trail, pain, and suffering.

The film was created by three college-aged kids from California. It documents some of the struggles that plague the people (and especially the kids) of Uganda. I will attempt to give you a brief, yet comprehensive summary about the story the film deals with.
There is a rebel group in Uganda that abducts kids (mostly from age 5-15 I think it was), brainwashes them, and makes them join there army.
These kids are subjected to watching there friends be killed, beaten, raped, and dismembered. They are beaten themselves and told that if they do not fight for the rebel army, they will be killed and tortured. The kids are brainwashed and taught how to kill. For those that do escape, integrating themselves back into society is difficult. They have been scarred by what they've experienced, but also...many times, they are forced to kill their own family members (cousins, borthers, sisters). If they do escape, many of them have no family to go to, or their family has disowned them.

Every night in Uganda, thousands of children leave there homes and walk into town to sleep because they are afraid that they will be abducted during the night like some of their friends.

There is so much more to be said about the background of what's going on that I can't really talk all about it here. I hope everyone who reads this takes the time to go to this website and see what I'm talking about. There's a trailer for the video and a bunch of other stuff to check out.

There are plans for future screenings of the film, and I will attempt to keep you all posted if you would like. Please take the time to check out their website and read a little about what's going on in Uganda with these kids. They need your prayers, they need your time, they need your voice.

Haha...I was quoted.

So, some of you know that last year I was involved with a media literacy project at BYU called Hands on a Camera. It was a great experience. I went with several other BYU film students to Cherry Hill Elementary in Orem, Utah and taught a class of 6th graders for a total of about a month. We talked to them about the concept of media: what it is, how it affects the way we view different cultures/races/genders, etc...we also talked about community: what is it, and how is media a part of it, and/or change how we view it, etc...we talked about the different tools media creators use to communicate messages (whether implicitly or explicity).

One of the coolest parts of the project was the fact that each of the kids were able to make there own 3 minute documentary about themselves and their community.

All and all, it was a very rewarding experience. I could write more (the above summary wasn't the greatest), but I don't feel like expounding any more than that at the moment. If you want to know more, feel free to go to this link.

Haha...the real reason why I was inspired to write this post was because I did a google search on my name, and on the first page I found a link to this BYU website that quotes me talking about the project....I thought it was funny that I had been quoted on this site and didn't even know it. Check it out.

PS - I'm working on the project again this year, but this time my group is teaching the unit to a class of 8th graders in the Alpine school district.

My Big Modeling Debut.

Perhaps some of you have seen my beautiful face on posters in the Wilk. For those of you who don't find yourself on campus or in that building on a regular basis, i thought I would allow you the opportunity to partake.

Quick Update: Pace, this one's for you

Pace, this one's for you. So, a very quick update on my personal life. It's late and I still have home work to do before I can go to bed.
Today I got the phone number of a nice looking young lady and plan to ask her out sometime next week when my life is slightly less busy. She seemed excited about the prospecct, but we shall see. Her and I have talked a couple times, and to make a long story short...we see each other in passing and wave all the time.
Also, this Friday I have a date with another nice, and attractive young lady. We are going to the opera in Salt Lake with several other couples. It should be enjoyable.
That's all for now.
Funny thing is...this post will probobly make Pace more upset than satisfied, but too bad. That's all you're gonna get for now my friend. Just know that yes, I am dating. I have a social life. :)

The Care Bears?

Do you remember those cute little bears from your childhood? Cheer Bear, Wish Bear, Share Bear, Grumpy Bear?
Well, a friend from work just recieved an email from a friend with a link to this picture from a Gummy Bears package from...I believe it was Portugal, but I'm sure that's wrong. Anyway, here is the pic. Let me know what you think. Are any of you concerned?

I'm assuming they mean for that to read Rapper Bear???

Blogshares

So, Ryan got me to sign up for blogshares. Here's a little introduction to what blogshares is from their website:

"BlogShares is a fantasy stock market where weblogs are the companies. Players invest fictional dollars on shares in blogs. Blogs are valued by their incoming links and add value to other blogs by linking to them. Prices can go up or down based on trading and the underlying value of the blog. No actual ownership of blogs is transfered. BlogShares is purely a fictional marketplace."

According to blogshares my blog is worth over a million dollars. :)

New Feature

I just added a new feature to my blog. Maybe you've noticed in the sidebar this sort of message board thing (also known as a shoutbox). I figure it would be a good way for people to leave general comments about my blog and stuff. You know, when you want to leave some sort of comment, but what you have to say really doesn't fit with any of the posts. Well, now there's a place for you to put such comments. I hope everyone enjoys the new feature. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.

"Hauru No Ugoku Shiro" directed by Hayo Miyazaki

Tonight I saw Howl's Moving Castle at the dollar theater with my friends Jared, Adam, Emily, and Jenn. It's late and I have to get up early tomorrow so this post may be a little short...who knows, I usually end up staying up way late when I say stuff like that. I just wanted to put up a post tonight before I went to bed.
For those of you who ever saw the movie Spirited Away, Hayo Miyazaki also directed that film.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking...so let me just say this: "get over it." Yes, this movie is what you might refer to as "anime." Your initial thought might go something like this: "Anime is stupid, and weird. I don't understand it. It's just some lame cartoon."
For those of you whose thought process stops at that...I am sorry for you. You are the kind of person that will probobly get along in life just fine thinking that you are completely comfortable with what you have now and what you know now. You will continue to order the exact same sandwich from the exact same restaurant for the rest of your life and who can blame you...it's a tasty sandwhich, but I hope that at some point in your life you will take the time to step outside your comfort zone just a little. Cross some boundaries, and look for beauty and truth in a world that is new and perhaps a little (or a lot) foreign to you.
Howl's Moving Castle is a great opportunity for you to cross some borders and find some beautiful truths about life.

Allow me to leave you with two of my favorite quotes:

"You'll be the same person five years from now except for the people you meet, the books you read, and the risks you take." (I would interpret "books you read" as "media you consume," which would include music, poetry, films, etc.)

"If there is any truth in heaven, earth, or hell, I want to embrace it, I care not what shape it comes in to me, who brings it, or who believes in it, whether it is popular or unpopular. Truth, eternal truth, I wish to float in and enjoy." (John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, 1:155.)

see the trailer | official website | imdb