Sunday, February 27, 2011

friends/ The Cape/ predictable

Feb. 23 Friends: I was chatting with my friend Michelle on Facebook today. We talked about my weekly emails She thought The Cell was another Jennifer Lopez movie. In my email I was gushing about how much I loved it. lol. We talked a bit about my job search. Yesterday and today was cold so I stayed at home and did my job search and wrote my script.

Psychic: I was rereading The Street Smart Psychic's Guide to Getting a Good Reading by Lisa Baretta. It's research for my script that I'm working on. My script's done and it's due in a week to submit it to this producer.

Writing: After I worked on one script that I will send to the producer, I went and looked over the Writer in Residence Marty Chan's notes on Rain. I worked on the Rain script today. I had to email MC back about his comments. He sees things that I don't in my script.

Mad Love: This is a new sitcom that debuted last week. My sister saw it and liked it so I tuned into the second episode with her. It's mediocre to me. I'm not a fan of sitcoms. It stars Jason Biggs (from American Pie), Sarah Chalke (from the sitcom Scrubs), Tyler Labine (Canadian from shows like Sons of Tuscon, Reaper) and Judy Greer (the sidekick in romantic comedies like 13 Going on 30.)

They all do comedy. It's all 4 friends living in NY.

Feb. 24 Left in Darkness: Marty Chan emailed me back about how my writing should be crystal clear so the audience won't have any questions. That made me think of the bad horror movie called Left in Darkness. It starred one of my favorite actors David Anders as the male lead so I had to watch it.

I saw this back in 2006 before I went into college to study writing, but I did have an eye for detail. There's a scene where a guy commits suicide. I had a question: "Why does this guy kill himself? There was no set up for it." I'll tell you why. It's so it can move the story forward for the lead character.

You guys go watch it. You tell me if there is a different reason why this guy did that. He didn't show any guilt for what he did earlier to lead to this action. It was really to get the lead character's story further.

Job interviews: I got a call from a bank to do an interview. However I told them the two locations I can get to, and they said they're not hiring for those places. They're looking for ones where you can go all around town.

I then called back this optometrist clinic. I took 2 buses and it was an hour to get to the interview. There were 60 resumes and it was down to 12 interviews (including me) for 2 positions.

Fun: I realized that I never go out at night. I only went out at night for a job interview. The last time I went out at night was to go to the bank to transfer money. I find staying at home watching TV fun.

Feb. 25 Rant: Here's a mild rant. The other day at midnight, I woke up because my sister was yelling at my brother and mom to stop yelling. This reminds me of a time a few years ago when I woke up at 4am because my brother and sister were arguing.

Today I confronted my sister about it as she was leaving for work.

S: Maybe you should start combing your hair.
Me: Maybe you should stop yelling at night.
S closed door.
S: Because mom was yelling.

I don't if it's my mom or brother, but one of them threw my papers from the computer desk onto the floor.

The Cape: There's this new show that debuted mid- season called The Cape. It's very comic- book like. I guess the best part is that Summer Glau from other sci- fi shows like Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is in it. She plays the mysterious tech girl Orwell. James Frain plays the bad guy Peter Fleming.

I saw the 3rd episode and then the 2hr pilot. The show is about the actor David Lyons who plays a good cop. He is then framed to be behind this murder. It looks like he is about to die in an explosion, but he manages to escape. He is then saved by this carnival act. He meets the master of ceremonies Max Malini (played by Keith David) who becomes his mentor. MM gives the cop this magical cape that gives him strength and power.

The cop becomes the Cape and does vigilante justice. The Cape has to leave his wife and 10 yr old son behind. His wife becomes a lawyer for the public defenders office and the son continues to read comic books. The Cape visits his son at night to talk to him, but he wears his mask and cape to hide his identity. Peter Fleming and the bad guys want to kill the good cop because he will expose them for all their evil deeds.

I give this show an average rating. It's fun to watch, good acting, and the 3 eps I saw was alright. I only tuned in because Desperate Housewives wasn't on. I guess the part I don't like is that it's too comic book like and not real life like. It's like those Batman movies before Batman Begins came out.

Disk: A year ago I was watching this Buffy season 2 ep and they were using a 3.5 floppy disk. The ep came out in 1998. Last week one of my 3.5 floppy disks stopped working. It had my resume on it. I bought it back in 2002. I'm okay, because I have my resume in my email so I can copy and paste it onto another disk.

Feb. 26 Predictable: I hate when TV shows are predictable. For example, Gossip Girl when Blair may be pregnant. You know if she finds out that she's pregnant, she's going to have an abortion and she isn't going to regret it or think about it. There's no drama. Also you can't show abortion on American TV, especially on a teen show. Then it turns out Blair wasn't pregnant at all.

B is a popular girl and she isn't going to stay pregnant and go to school. If she does, she's never going to be popular again and no one will respect her. She could go away to have the baby and only her closest friends and family would know, but of course everybody in school will know that she did have a baby and it give it up for adoption because everybody talks.

Also this is a show about rich teens doing fun and sexy things, so how is having or not having a baby a fun thing to do when you're a teen?

Survey: I went to Walmart 2 weeks ago, and on the receipt it said to do a survey to win one of three $1000 Walmart gift card. So I did the survey today. It took max 10 min. I did one for Chapters last year. If I can win something by doing a survey, I will.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

music video/ comparisons/ Jay Geenan

Feb. 20 Music video: I was watching Britney Spears new music video called "Hold it Against Me." Someone on Youtube said this:

"Here is what's the meaning behind the vid:

*Start of her career - She hit the earth like a meteor.

*Becoming a celebrity - She’s all glammed up putting make-up and perfume.

*Rising popularity - She’s rising as her old music videos surround her.

*She fell in love - The picture of the guy on the Sony touchscreen TV.

*Personal struggle - She was fighting with herself.

*Breakdown/Meltdown - She collapses and ruins her wedding dress and past work.

*Comeback - She comes back harder than eva.

I don't know if that's what BS really thought of it. I do like that person's comment. It's very deep and thoughtful. My sister didn't like it saying it was low budget.

Me: No "Gimme More" was low budget. It was just her at a strip club.
S: No, the one with the flying car was.
Me: "Do Something" actually had some thought in it.

I really like "Hold it Against Me." The dancing was really good. I like the song. I like the part where she fights with herself and she splatters paint all over her white dress. In my opinion, her best videos were "Toxic" and Womanizer."

I remember BS saying for "Womanizer": My idea was that I am different girls in the video and he (the womanizer) goes after all of them not knowing that it's the same girl." I love the dancing in that video because it was complicated and hard choreography to learn.

Comparisons: Here's a batch of comparisons:

Recognizing someone from a porn tape: I was watching 90210, and Navid recognizes this girl at school from somewhere, but don't know where. It's not until the end of the ep, he realizes that he's seen her on a porn tape. Then I realized it was on Desperate Housewives. Bree introduces her gay son's boyfriend to the gay couple in the neighborhood. The gay couple recognizes the boyfriend from a porn tape.

Feb. 21:

Being too close to a case, so is person taken off: I saw this on Castle where Beckett is taken off the case because it involves her mother's murder. A couple eps later, Beckett takes Castle off a case, because the suspect is Castle's friend.

Interview with character(s) and show flashbacks (clip show): I was watching Flashpoint and Victor Garber was on and he was interviewing the SRU team. During each individual interview, there were flashbacks of old episodes making it a kind of a clip show. It was also done on Alias season 1 ep "Q&A" where Sydney was interviewed, and there were clips from past episodes.

Flashpoint did film new things like a flashback of how one of the members got blown up by a landmine. We saw that in an ep. What we didn't see is how Spike went home and told his parents that his friend Lou died that day. I did like the ep where they mentioned "double double" which is so Canadian. The season 3 finale said "To Be Continued." "This summer." It looks like someone may get shot.

Killing someone Of Mice and Men style: In the book Of Mice and Men, the ending had a character tell his brother to imagine this beautiful farm. Then he shoots him.

On the TV show Dark Angel, Max tells her serial killer brother to imagine this happy place before she snaps his neck.

Recently on The Vampire Diaries, Damon tells his vampire friend Rose who was dying to imagine this happy place before he stakes her.

Taxi cab killer kills by having victim in the backseat locked in and releasing gas: I was watching a Criminal Minds ep called "Sense Memory." He was killing women so he could get their scent. I've seen this on CSI: NY and it was a season long mystery. The killer was disturbed and wanted to help people get to the other side.

Feb. 22

Episodes starting with a exciting scene and then "X hours earlier" to show how the characters got into situation: Flashpoint and Southland does that with every episode. Recently Castle did it. Alias does that pretty often.

Character shoots suspect who can lead to a bigger bad guy. Character had to shoot suspect because he was going to hurt another good guy: It was in the Hawaii 5.0 pilot where Danno shoots suspect so he won't kill Steve.

Steve: Why did you shoot him? He was our only lead.
Danno: He was going to kill you. I saved your life.

It was done on Castle. Beckett's mom was murdered by a contract killer. They caught the killer, but Beckett was forced to shoot him when he was about to hurt Castle. Killer wasn't able to tell who hired him to kill Beckett's mom.

It was done on The Mentalist. Patrick Jane's wife and daughter were murdered by Red John. PJ joins the CBI and they find a suspect who is connected to Red John. PJ had to shoot suspect because he was about to hurt Agent Lisbon. Now we don't know where Red John is.

In Robert McKee's screenwriting book Story, he says: "When you put your characters under pressure, it reveals character." If I was put into the above situation, I would shoot the suspect so he won't hurt my friend or family member. I may not find the bad guy who was responsible for killing someone I love, but at least I prevented him from killing another person I love.

Feb. 23 Jay Geenan: In Jan. I got this email from this author called Jay Geenan:

A warm hello from Western Canada;
I am an author that promotes my works at my web site of www.jaygeenen.com. Some of the novels that I have are 'The Iraqi Solution', 'Pieces of Eden' and 'Hanging in the Noon Day Sun'. I have also written the rough draft of 'The Perfect Shot' on line at my site. Have you ever considered writing a novel? Have a look at my site and see how I was able to complete this feat. I welcome visits to my site and hope to hear from you. Jay

I emailed him back asking how he got my email address. He probably got that from my blog. He said this:

Hello tracy. I work very hard at marketing my site. I probably found your e-mail on some Internet site. I do about twenty five cold call letters a day promoting my works. Authors get mere pittance for their works, about 7 to 10 % of gross sales. I am hoping to get a better return and thereby get a better return for all authors. Jay

I actually went and read his excerpts from his books. I would say he's pretty a good writer. What stood out for me was the excerpt of Noon Day Sun about Jesus, how He can turn water into wine, but he can't remove himself from a cross. I'm not into religion, but I thought that an was an interesting line.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Sugababes/ J Mack Slaughter/ Virgina Tech

Feb. 19 Sugababes: I hear the song called "About a Girl" on the radio all the time, but I didn't know it was from the British girl group Sugababes until I decided to check them out on Youtube. I have their cds "Angel with Dirty Faces" and "Three." They produce really good music and they can sing and dance. I found their music video to be very fun to watch.

It stars Lee Thompson Young from the kids TV show The Famous Jett Jackson. He did some more work on that canceled drama Flashforward. The story is that the girls trade a briefcase with these bad guys. The girls then beat up the guys. It had really good fight scenes, I was impressed.

Cut to the ending when the 5 bad guys are tied up.

The briefcase is open with a Jack in the Box.
White Guy and LTY are yelling at each other.
WG: Look at that! What is that? That is a briefcase of a doll-
LTY: That's what's in the briefcase?!
WG: Yes!
LTY: That's your mother that's what that is!

lol. The insult wasn't original dissing your mother, but I still thought it was funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV148zhtJgk

9-11 jokes: I was going through my old agenda and I had forgotten these other 9-11 jokes.

I saw the tail end of the 2004 movie Soul Plane. Everybody is dancing on a plane.

Arab guy: This is the bomb!
The music stops, and everybody stops dancing and looks at him.
Arab guy: I'm just kidding!
Everybody laughs and keeps dancing. I thought it was kind of funny.

I remember watching Christopher Titus joke on stage.

CT: My daughter was born on Aug. 25, 2001. Then 9-11 occurred. I don't want her to learn the colors of the rainbow by looking at what the color of the threat level we're in.

Feb. 20 Comparisons: Here's some comedy comparisons:

Husband and wife go to hotel, and end up in different rooms: I was watching Modern Family with my sister and the husband got the wrong key and ended up in another woman's room. I remember seeing that on a British sitcom, but I forgot what it's called. I'm sure it had the word family in the title.

Black female judge: I saw this Hot in Cleveland trailer, and I see a black woman as a judge. I mentioned this before, because I read in a Here on Earth movie review: "The judge is a black woman, because all judges are black women."

J Mack Slaughter: I was looking for that sitcom with the word family in it and popped up the sitcom Like Family from 2003. It was about a single white mom with her teen son. They move in with her black best friend, her husband, teen daughter, and kid son.

I liked the teen son played by J Mack Slaughter. I looked him up on the internet and then I found him on Facebook. I emailed him this:

Hi

Are you from the TV show "Like Family"? If you are, that's so cool, I loved watching that show.

I remember the episode where the dad buys a toilet at the hardware store, and tells your character to sit on it.

You: I'd rather die than sit on it.
Dad: Good, because that's your second choice.
lol.

When I looked you up on imdb.com, it said you only had done 4 TV shows in 2 years. I was like: "And then you did what?"

Is it true that you're a med school student? If you are, that's very impressive. Good for you.

I remember you being on the Sharon Osbourne show.

SO: So you were in a boy band before this?
You: Actually, I was in a pop vocalist group. Just kidding. Yes, and I was a little younger so I had to lie about my birthday. Then they always ask what your sign is so I had to call my mom and ask what my sign is.

Well I hope all is well with you.

Tracy

Here's a pic of him. He's pretty cute:

http://www.exposay.com/j-mack-slaughter-2004-wb-winter-press-tour-party/p/9723/1/?f=J.+Mack+Slaughter

Oh hey, here's the picture of the hardware scene:

http://www.toutlecine.com/images/tag/0017/00177016-pictured-left-to-right-j-mack-slaughter-as-keith.html

Post Secret: I was on Post Secret, and I found this:

"This heartbreaking voicemail recording was shared with me last week. Although I have never believed in holding back secrets, I feel torn about posting this one. Like the young man who gave it to me, I'm haunted by what I could have said to my friend Dave before he took his life."

"Here is the email that came with the voicemail-

This is the last thing I heard from my girlfriend in January of 2009. It was right before she took her own life. I didn't answer the phone because I was in class, and have regretted it ever since."

That is so sad to hear the girlfriend's voice say: "It's not your fault okay? I love you. And don't take any blame on this on you, it's not, it's my parents. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I wish you could help."

It was very chilling to hear that.

Feb. 21 Law of attraction: Yesterday I was thinking of the song "Take it Off" by Kesha on the bus to work. Then when I was walking in the mall, I hear that song.

Feb. 22 Job search: Today is my day off and everyday I look at my five sources to look for a job. However, today I went and looked at my bank websites to apply for jobs. I go to those bank sites once or twice a month to apply.

Marty Chan: Today the Writer in Residence Marty Chan got to read my Rain script and he made notes about it. He liked one of my jokes which is good. Then he dissed my characters because they seem kind of stupid. The producer John Kerr had said that about this scene in The Fighter. I'll have to rewrite Rain.

Writing: I also worked on another script for this producer. It's due by the end of the month. Mainly I've been writing and looking over it. Take a few days off from it by going to work. Then on my day off I go back to writing it.

Virginia Tech: I was reading the Edmonton Journal about how Texas is trying to pass a law where you can carry guns in universities. I watched Oprah back in Oct. 2010, where she interviewed Colin Goodlan who was a Virginia Tech shooting victim. He was shot 3 times and he didn't feel any pain.

He is now making a movie called Living for 32 about gun violence in America. Good for him.

Crazy news: I was taking notes when watching Oprah. She interviewed these parents who lost all 3 of their children in a car accident, 2 girls and a boy. This truck had ran into the mother's car from behind. One year later to the day, they had triplets 2 girls and a boy.

The parents gave the names of their first 3 kids as middle names to the triplets. It was kind of a dark interview when the parents discussed suicide. They had to stay alive for each other to keep on living.

Oprah did quote from Dr Phil about grief: "Time doesn't heal all wounds. It's about how you use that time."

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest/ The Cell/ writing news


Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest/ The Cell/ writing news

Feb. 18 Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest: I saw the first movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl back when it first came out in 2003 with my friend Leslie in the movie theatre. I liked the first one. It was good, though I can't remember too much of it because I only saw it once 8 years ago. Wait, I got a flashback where I went to Leslie's house to celebrate her birthday with her family in 2004. She got the dvd and we saw the bloopers.

Now onto the actual movie which came out in 2006. I saw it a few months ago on TV with my sister. I took notes during it. Dead Man's Chest was beautifully shot, great sets, big budget, and special effects. It was scary at a few parts. There were good surprises, original, suspenseful.

How Jack Sparrow shows up is very quirky and funny. There was a funny, interesting swinging prison. There was a creative, and daring prison escape. It was fun to watch the chase and fight scenes. There are great action sequences that are exciting. There was that 3 guys and 3 swords fight scene instead of the usual between 2 guys and 2 swords.

Monsters Inc: This came out in 2001. I also saw this movie a few months ago on TV with my sister. I saw about 1 hr and 20 min of this movie on video at my family friend's house back in 2001 and never finished it until now. Then I saw a little bit of the beginning again in 2003 at my job where I had to watch kids.

There were good graphics and surprises. It was an interesting world that the monsters lived in. It was creative, original, and unpredictable. What if monsters aren't scary? They scare kids to catch their screams and use it as electricity. They introduced the villain creatively.

My sister says there's going to be a Monsters Inc. 2 sequel in 2012. I checked on imdb.com. A sequel coming out 11 yrs later is pretty late. Then there was Men in Black 2 that came out 5 yrs after the first one. Then there's Wallstreet: Money Never Sleeps that came out 20 yrs after the first one.

The Cell: This movie came out in 2000. I saw the trailer on TV and I thought it looked cool. It was 18+ and I was 15 back then. I wouldn't have liked it if I watched it when I was 15. Now that I have watched 5 yrs of Criminal Minds where they catch serial killers, I can enjoy this movie. I also watch a lot of crime dramas so I would be interested in this. I saw this last summer on TV and now I'm writing about it.

Jennifer Lopez plays a neurological researcher and enters into a serial killer's mind to find his latest kidnapped victim. The killer is played by Vince D' Onofrio. Vince Vaughn plays a cop. VV can play serious roles, though he often does comedy.

My sister told me it had scary imagery and she couldn't sleep after she had seen it. It was very disturbing. It was hypnotic, creative, and original. The killer was in this coma mode. If he was awake, then the whole movie would be like every conventional cop movie. The cop interrogates the suspect, and then the cops have to run around looking for the victim.

In this movie, the neurological researcher has to get into the killer's mind because he's asleep. There are clues in his head.

It was good how VV told JL's character how he became a cop. It wasn't too expository in dialogue. He was a DA prosecuting bad guys until one guy got away due to contaminated evidence.

This movie made me think of the movie Inception (2010) about going into dreams to get secrets. There was also that Buffy season 4 finale ep called "Restless" where it delves into Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles's dreams.

Through the dream as JL gets into the serial killer's head, it showed how the serial killer was made. He had an abusive father. A lot of serial killers do come from bad homes. Some come from good homes, but they're still psychopaths. It's a smart movie. It was creepy, scary, and freaky. I recommend you watch it, if you don't mind getting scared.

Feb. 19: Writing about The Cell makes me want to go and watch it again.

Valkyrie: I saw this a few weeks ago. My little brother saw this in the theatre and borrowed it from the library, so I decided to watch it with him. He loves history. This stars Tom Cruise and it came out in 2008. It's about a man named Valkyrie who tries to take down Hitler and the Nazis.

There was good action, and it was well shot. I don't really like war movies. There was good suspense and tension. Good acting and good story. However, I'll add this to my list of "Good movies that I don't find entertaining" like Robert Deniro's City by the Sea.

Writing news: I was reading in The Globe and Mail a few weeks ago about Hilary Duff's book called Elixer. It turns out a ghost writer wrote most of the book. The ghost writer talked about how she and HD talked on the phone and HD told her what the story was going to be like. GW wrote it, while HD read it. GW got a good pay check out of it.

In the article it mentioned how HD was interviewed by George Lopez.

GL: Did you write it by hand or on the computer?
HD: I'm a horrible speller, and I didn't go to college. I had a lot of help.

That was very true of HD to admit that she didn't write much of the book. It also shows that she's insecure by saying she's not a good speller and didn't pursue higher education.

Beauty and the Briefcase: I was going through my agenda and it turns out my sister and I were talking about HD's career. What's the last thing she's been in? She was in the TV movie called Beauty and the Briefcase.

Me: Is that a romantic comedy?
S: Yes.

S read it in a Cosmopolitan magazine. I was watching True Blood, and then I checked what else was on and caught the last 20 min. of the TV movie. I see old MTV VJ Amanda Walsh playing the best friend. Matt Dallas (Kyle XY) was in it. They actually used the real Cosmopolitan office building and the magazine that HD's character works at.

This seems like those other romantic comedy movies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days where Kate Hudson works at a magazine called Poise. In 13 Going on 30, Jennifer Garner works at a magazine called Composure.

It's one of those glamorous jobs that women like to work in the fashion industry being a designer or fashion magazine. The people on the reality shows The Hills and The City worked there.

Radio: Did you know that the radio station EZ Rock 104.9 has closed down and is replaced by Virgin Radio? It plays Top 40 music which 91.7 The Bounce and Hot 107 already plays that kind of music. Three Top 40 music stations in Edmonton.

Linked In: Does anyone use this? I signed up, but don't use it. I got an email from them saying that they have 3 million members. It's to network between business people about jobs.

Friday, February 18, 2011

AHMIR/ pros and cons/ abortions

Feb. 15 AHMIR: I found this unsigned R&B group of four black guys called AHMIR. They're really good, I'm impressed. Here they are singing Drake's song "Find your Love":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tAaZyKYS_U&feature=related

Here is them singing Far East Movement's feat. Ryan Tedder song "Racketeer."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbMlNuuOYxA

Rant: I got some rants today.

Sleep: On Sun. I went to bed at 9:30am and got to sleep in an extra hour because I didn't have work. Today I woke up at 1am, and 40 min later I'm still awake. So I listen to music until 3am. I missed out 2hrs of sleep and get up for work.

Job: Today is the first day where I am transferred to work at this other restaurant. I have to learn how they run the place. It's an adjustment. Though you may say: "Don't resist change."

Blog: On Feb. 2, I got this email:

Hi Tracy,

We would love to share with you an article that we just posted on our own blog! “10 Tips for Lowering Your Long Distance Bill”

http://www.landlinephoneservice.net/blog/2011/10-tips-for-lowering-your-long-distance-bill/

would be an interesting story for your readers to check out and discuss on your blog, so we hope you will consider sharing it!

Thanks so much for your time!
Lindsay Willison

On Feb. 7, Lindsay Willison emailed me again about her blog:

Hi Tracy,

We would love to share with you an article that we just posted on our own blog! “7 Different Ways to Answer the Phone” (http://www.landlinephoneservice.net/blog/2011/7-different-ways-to-answer-the-phone/) would be an interesting story for your readers to check out and discuss on your blog, so we hope you will consider sharing it!

Thanks so much for your time!
Lindsay Willison

Feb. 17 Pros and cons: My job has all these changes to it. There are lots of pros and cons and I must focus on the positive.

Con: The cafe closed down.
Pro: I was transferred to another restaurant so I still have a job.

Con: There is no more lunch buffet so I can't get my food.
Pro: I can pack my lunch, and it will force me to eat healthier. There is still the breakfast buffet during the weekdays. On the weekends there's a lunch buffet.

Con: I have to set the tables for the night shifts and it's more complicated because there's more to set up.
Pro: It's good to learn to do something new. Also I think I got the hang of it on the third day.

Con: I make less money in tips.
Pro: Well I don't see any pros in making less money. The past two shifts I was one of the 2 bussers so the tips were split. If I was the only busser, I would get more money. It's mainly who gets scheduled.

The Secret to Teen Power: I read this teen version of the book The Secret. Teen Power was written by Paul Harrington. I remember watching a piece about The Secret on 20/20. It's about the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction. I read it at Chapters during my split shifts at the restaurant.

Think about what you want and you will get it. They said: "If you type into Google: 'Not Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas" than that's exactly what you will get. Instead of saying: "I don't want", say: "I want." You may think: "That's magical thinking." It's important to be positive. The secret to life is to be happy and have fun. It was a fun and easy read.

It kind of talked about the domino effect of thoughts. If you think of something negative like: "I hope I don't get a cold this fall" it will turn to "My throat is itchy, I may have a cough" and then to "I have a cough" to "I have a cold." Think: "I will stay healthy this fall" to "I will get enough sleep and exercise."

Law of attraction: Maybe there is a law of attraction. My example is that I love the actor David Anders since I saw him on Alias in 2002. In 2008, I wanted to check out that new TV show called Lie to Me. I tuned into an episode for the first time, and DA guest- starred. Over the summer I watched the show Warehouse 13. It was on in the fall, but I didn't have time to watch it. Then when I did decided to tune in, DA guest- starred in that ep. This was all by chance.

Or that time in 2009 I was thinking about that Jennifer Lopez and LL Cool J song called "All I have." It came out in 2002. I was thinking about the lyric: "Don't make decisions when you're mad." Then a few days later, I hear that song on the radio because someone requested it.

Family: Here's a mild rant. I can't believe I'm going to complain about my little brother instead of my big sister. He was going to go upstairs to get some water so I told him to recycle two papers and put up my sister's juice bottle in the fridge. These are two different events and he doesn't do it. The recycle bin and fridge are upstairs so you can do that if you're going there.

Now I understand the anger my sister feels when she tells me to do the dishes so my grandma doesn't have to. I sometimes do it. The other day, my grandma had asked my brother to vacuum, but he said he has to study. It's a big, hard online course where you have to learn a lot. He can take the test twice in a period of a year. He doesn't vacuum.

I know he has to study, because it would help him get a career, but it's not like a big test he has to take this week. He can take this test 3 months from now, I'm sure he can vacuum for 30min. Then when he was studying, his friend called him so he was talking on the phone. So my grandma vacuumed, and I ended up volunteering to wash the dishes that night because she vacuumed.

Though you may say: "What if your brother vacuumed? Would you still have done the dishes that night?" Yeah, because it was a Tuesday, and my TV show didn't start until 8pm, so I did the dishes at 7pm. I would do chores as a study break because it's exercise and doesn't involve reading or writing.

Feb. 18 Abortions: I haven't been on the 16&P thread in a month. However, I did read the 24 newspaper and it talked about Justin Beiber's Rolling Stone interview about abortions. Then my friend Tamera on Facebook talked about it too with her friends. JB is pro-life and said things like (paraphrase): "If a woman is raped and gets pregnant, than that's sad. However, everything happens for a reason, though I don't know what the reason would be."

I'll give points that JB actually answered the question about abortion instead of evading it like what a lot of celebrities do. People on Facebook are saying that teen girls will be reading it and may get pregnant, and have the kid because of what JB said. Some girls may, some may not.

JB said abortion is like "killing a baby." Well I and I'm sure a lot of people think that too. I remember in Social 20 summer school, my teacher Mr. Copeland said: "Some people may think it's not a baby, it's a fetus. It's not really a human being."

Also on Facebook, people say: "He's a teenage boy. Does he really think about abortion until this question came up?" I'm sure everybody thinks about abortion one time or another because it's in the news. Just because you're a guy, doesn't mean that you don't think about it.

It reminds me of something I saw recently on MTV show 1 Girl and 5 Gays. It's a MTV host Aliya Jasmine who interviews 5 gay guys with questions. One was: "How much say should a guy have if a woman has an abortion?" One guy immediately said: "None, what so ever because it's not his choice to make." The other guys agreed.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Buffy/ school on TV/ Happy Love Day!

Feb. 13 Buffy: My sister was watching her Buffy dvd season 2 ep "Lie to Me."

Cut to the library where Giles, his girlfriend Jenny Calender, and Buffy enter.
A vampire jumps out at Giles and Buffy.
My sister gasps.

The vampire runs away.
Jenny: Are you okay?
Giles and Buffy: Yeah.

Me (to my sister): Are you okay?
lol.

She watches a couple more episodes and she gets so scared during it. Though, I have seen the season 4 episode "Hush" where everybody loses their voices. That's my favorite ep of the whole show. There was a scene that outside, there's a guy in the distance. Then a demon the Gentleman's face glides right in front of the window. I totally jumped at that. lol.

Dateline: I have to keep reading all these comments on that video.

"'this guy is a regular santa clause"'I laughed so hard, people at work were laughing at me! ROTFLMAO"

"it seems like the chat rooms (in most circumstances) are more perverted than the actual people."

"I'm surprised a man who supports PETA would actually want to have sex with a female."

"is that george lucas? he went to the dark side lol"

"haha 1:06 AWWWWWWW REEEEEALLY??"

"Golly Shinster cracks me up!"

"this is SOOOOOOOOOOOOO entrapment. what a fucking joke. even though they have bad intentions, this is still entrapment."

"I laugh at the whole show. hahahaha"

"IT'S A KOALA, NOT A KOALA BEAR, HE DESERVES LIFE IN PRISON FOR THAT"

"that koala is the new pedo bear >:D"

"The 'grooming predator' kinda friend"  haha

"You need to consult your fucking lawyer to know it's not A-OK to fuck a minor...?"

"Chris Hansen is a dam GENIUS.  He has the perfect response and statement for whatever the predators tell him."

"Holy shit, that dude brought an entire Toys R Us in his bag."

"is that the old guy from KFC? 4:45... lol"

Grammy Awards: I caught a clip of Katy Perry performing her song "Teenage Dream" and they cut to a shot of Nicole Kidman singing to it. I thought it was funny that she knows the lyrics. Well it's a popular song.

They cut to a performance by John Mayer, Keith Urban, and Norah Jones. JM actually looks like Johnny Depp in the performance. They have the same dark hairstyle and mustache.

After wards, I found myself quoting from MADtv where they made fun of Oprah. The sketch is where O is interviewing someone, and kept saying: "After the Nicole Kidman show!" and the audience has to cheer.

Music: I was looking up Robin Thicke on Youtube and he did a video with the rapper Rick Ross called "Lay Back." A comment was: "Blackman and Robin." lol. These comments are as entertaining as the ones on twop.com about TV.

Feb. 14 School on TV: I was watching Pretty Little Liars and there's a classroom scene.

Teacher: ...with the Appeasement. Did that stop Hitler?

My little brother was in the room and on the computer. He overheard it.
P: No, it did not.

Cut back to the show.
Teacher: No, it did not.

I thought it was so funny because the teacher said it the exact tone as my brother did. I didn't know the answer. Well my brother's a big history buff because he's always watching the History channel.

I'm getting a flashback. There was a time I was watching The Simpsons when I was 8 or 9 years old. Bart was called in class to read this big word on the chalkboard. I'm a big reader, but I thought: "That's a big word. I don't know how to read it." My big sister was there.

S: It's photosynthesis.

Cut back to the show.
Martin: It's photosynthesis!
lol.

Birthday: This was from Jan. 31. On Facebook, I see that my college classmate Wasan's birthday was Jan. 31. I read in the Globe and Mail horoscope section that it's also Justin Timberlake's birthday. I wished her a happy birthday and told her about JT.

Wasan: "Thank you Tracy...No, I didn't know that actually! I know that I share the same birthday as my husband :) but that's great. Thank you for letting me know."

lol.

Job: Over the weekend when I was working, this woman customer actually remembered me from the Soup place. I worked at the Soup place for 2 years, and I haven't been there in a year, and she still recognizes me. I vaguely remember her.

Jobs on TV: I'm going to say it. I don't really like Gossip Girl as much anymore. The only thing I like about it is that some parts of it are realistic. Nate's dad was arrested for embezzling money. Now he's out of jail and he's struggling to get his career back in finance.

Then there's Ben who was sent to prison for statutory rape, though he didn't do it. He was filling out a job application and he was stuck on the question if he has a criminal record. Prior to getting arrested, he was a teacher.

Chuck talks about laying off people in his hotel that he owns. There's Blair and her internship at a magazine. It veers off to not realistic, because someone quits and gets a job promotion to this position that would take at least 3 yrs to get. Maybe like 5 yrs to get, I don't know. But for TV purposes, it's more interesting to see Blair in a position of power instead of a lowly intern.

Eliza Doolittle: I was watching TV and saw this music video called "Pack Up" by Eliza Doolittle. It's a fun, and breezy summer song to listen to. I found her covering Whitney's Houston's song "It's not Right, but it's Okay." Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfMNhPiq9YM&feature=related

Every Valentine's day, I have to say: "Happy Love Day!" Marge says that on The Simpsons. Last year, my friend Sherry emailed me back saying: "Happy Heart Day!"

Friday, February 11, 2011

writer's streak/ Anonymous Rex/ perspective

Feb. 9 Writer's streak: From Feb. 4-9, I managed to write 43 pages in a period of 6 days. Writing was my priority for that week. My office job search was put aside. 6 days of not looking for a job was the longest break I had taken in the past 3 months.

Now that I completed my script, I have to take a break from it and go back to my job search. This is just like school. When I was in college, I get assigned an essay. I write as much as I can as fast as I can and get it done. Then after I got it done, I go and keep editing it to make it perfect. Now I will take a break from the script, and go back to edit it later.

Feng Shui: I read an article about Feng Shui a few days ago. It's an ancient Chinese practice about how you decorate your home, it can affect your life. It said clutter traps energy. I recycled 5 pieces of paper the other day. Today I threw out expired coupons.

I look at this expired A&W coupon for a free coffee and it brings back memories of my unemployed months in 2010. How I look for a job in the morning, and then in the afternoon I go to downtown to get a free coffee as my break.

Job tip: I was going through my old emails and deleting them because it is digital clutter. I had this Alberta Job Centre newsletter and it said: "How to read a job ad." In the ad it says: "Must have or required" then you have must have those skills. If it says: "Preferred or an asset" then they're more flexible and may train you to have those skills, if you don't have the skills already.

Also I found this article that if you have a blog about your career, it accentuates your resume. Write about your experience and achievements in your blog, and you can get noticed.

http://www.albertajobcentre.ca/content/index.cfm?objectid=0B7ED754-2219-80B4-5344318E6BE304BF

Feb. 10 Funeral home: I got that survey from that funeral home again. I got the same survey back in Nov. 2010. After I did the survey, they actually called me. Coincidentally, my grandpa from my mom's side had recently passed away. I'm going to mail this survey in again, so I can qualify for this draw where I get big cash prize.

Sure, some of you may say: "That's stupid. No one ever wins those. It's like putting your business card in those restaurant draws for a free lunch. No one wins those either."

Feb. 11 Song: I bought the cd by a British band called Athlete back in 2005. They're more adult contemporary. I was really happy when The Vampire Diaries played their song "Wires" at the end of an episode. The song is about a premature baby, it's a really good song. Check it out.

Anonymous Rex: I was going through my notes and I had written down about a 2004 TV movie called Anonymous Rex. It's based on a book. It had my favorite Edmonton actor Eric Johnson in it where he makes an appearance as a boyfriend, so I watched it for him. Here's the synopsis from imdb.com:

"The dinosaurs didn't go completely extinct when the asteroids hit 65 million years ago. Today, every ten thousandth person in the country is a dinosaur, evolved to be human-sized, wearing sophisticated solid-light holographic disguises to maintain the facade, getting stoned off regular cooking herbs like basil, rosemary and tarragon, and living by their own shadow government's laws; any human who stumbles upon them is to be immediately executed.

Two dino private investigators, velociraptor Vincent Rubio and triceratops Ernie Watson, are hired by one of Ernie's old girlfriends to find out why her younger brother committed suicide, and discover a dino cult called Voice Of Progress that wants dinokind to come out of the closet and reclaim the planet."

All I remember is that it's a father- daughter private investigation company. Something about Chinatown, the actress Faye Dunaway, someone gets kidnapped and has to be rescued, and some one's scent. It turns out Sam Trammel was in it before he got big on the TV show True Blood.

Oh my God, you can actually watch the whole TV movie on Youtube. Click here:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=anonymous%20rex&search=Search&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&spell=1

Comparisons: Here's a batch of comparisons:

A group of friends hurt someone, and then they all have to keep it a secret: It's been first done in the movie I Know What You did Last Summer (1997) where a group of 2 high school girls and guys accidentally run over someone. They don't go to the police because all their futures are at stake. Then they get stalked.

In 2001, the TV movie What Happened that Night about 4 college guys who hang out with a girl, and she accidentally shoots herself. They didn't go to the police because all their futures are at stake. Years later, one of the friends contacts all of them.

The TV show Pretty Little Liars is a group of 5 girls who are friends. A prank goes awry, and a girl becomes blind. This guy Toby becomes the fall guy and takes the blame. Then one of the 5 girls Allison ends up missing and then murdered.

On South Park, the 4 kids set a fire when they're in preschool. Someone gets injured, and someone else takes the blame for it.

Someone gets rejected, and bad things happen: In the Buffy ep "The Prom", this guy gets rejected by a girl, and then he releases demon hounds on the school prom. In the shown In Plain Sight, this guy gets rejected by a woman and he was going to kill her by blowing up her store.

Girl alone at bus station in the beginning, and fight scene occurs: It was done on Buffy ep season 7, where Buffy picks up a potential slayer. It was done in the vampire movie Thralls. It was done on Angel season 1 where Faith goes to LA for the first time.

Perspective: I was thinking about that Angel episode. In the beginning, Faith gets off the bus and a man approaches her saying: "Oh you're all alone out here. You don't have any friends or family or a place to stay." I was 14 when I first saw this. I knew F was the bad guy and she is going to beat him up. And she does.

But then when I was 22, I bought the Angel first season on dvd (for store credit because the store was closing down), and I saw it differently. This wasn't just a man, he was a pimp. What kind of a man approaches a young girl who is alone at a bus station at night? He knows she is vulnerable and he is going to use her.

I remember this time years ago I was watching Oprah, about this girl who ran away. She was at a pay phone and it wasn't working, and a man offered her his cell phone to use. He was a pimp and she became a prostitute. I'm not going to say every man who offers a girl his cell phone to use is a pimp, but be cautious.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Listener/ actors/ review

Feb. 6 The Listener: My little brother was watching the Superbowl and this commercial came on that the TV show The Listener will be back for season 2 on CTV Tues. Feb. 8. You should watch it. It's a well- written drama about a paramedic named Toby Logan. He is a telepath and can hear people's thoughts. It stars Craig Olejnik and it's shot in Toronto.

I remember watching every episode of season 1 back in summer 2009 and then writing about it in my weekly emails/ blog. It's kind of cool to air the second season in Feb. 2011. That's kind of a delay to air 2 yrs later. I also kind of find the airing inconsistent from airing in the summer to mid- season. Then again, the same thing happened to Lie to Me.

Feb. 7: I was going through my notes in my agenda and I have written down "The Listener season 2" in October. I think I wrote it down as a note to look it up, but never got around to it.

Writer's streak: A few days ago I was pushed into a writer's streak. I wrote 16 pages on Feb. 4. On Feb. 5 I wrote on the bus on the way to work. Yesterday I typed up what I wrote. I also watched a few trailers of a TV show I don't watch so I can get my creative juices running. This morning I typed up 5 pages.

In the afternoon I wrote another 5 pages. Today is my day off and I didn't go out at all. All I did was write.

Actors: This was months ago, but I saw Iyaz's music video called "So Big" and the actress Francia Raisa was in it. She plays Adrian on Secret Life of the American Teenager.

I checked out this music video "Madder Red" by Yeasayer. It stars Kristen Bell (Veronica from Veronica Mars).

I was watching this old The Twilight Zone episode called "He's Alive" about Hitler. Dennis Hopper was in the episode where he looks really young.

I saw this CSI: NY rerun and John McEnhee (former tennis player) plays himself. It turns out his look alike committed murder.

This season, I saw Taylor Handley on CSI: NY. He plays a rich kid. Not too much of a stretch since he was on The OC and Hidden Palms.

Does anyone remember Tia and Tamera Mowry? They're twin sisters who had a sitcom in the 1990s called Sister, Sister. I was channel surfing, and saw that they're in a TV movie. It's called Twitches, which is based on a teen book series about twin sisters who are witches. I remember the books, but I never read them. I saw them in the book store.

I saw Kevin Jubinville as the prince in it. He plays the bad principal on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He was also on the TV movie Framed for Murder where he plays a bad guy again. He plays a bad cop in the TV show Rabbit Hill. He's getting typecast. Though he did play a good guy, an adoptive father who didn't say any lines in the TV show Flash Point.

I was watching Degrassi, and I saw Anthena Karkanis (from The Best Years) where she plays a teacher in this episode. I also saw her recently on Republic of Doyle. All Canadian shows.

I was watching 90210, and Adrian Grenier (Entourage) plays himself. He's in a rock band besides acting. He was at Naomi's birthday party which is held at the beach house as usual. I never really noticed it, but all the parties are held at the beach house.

Unlike Gossip Girl where it's also another show about rich teenagers doing fun and sexy things, the parties are held in several different locations.

I was watching Lie to Me and I saw Annette O'Toole on it. She plays a woman with Alzheimer. You may know her as Clark Kent's mom on Smallville. Prior to that, she was in the original Superman movies with Christopher Reeve.

I was watching The Vampire Diaries and there's this warlock Luca. I thought he looked so familiar and then I recognized where he's from. He played Devon on The Young and the Restless which I haven't seen since 2007.

You know James Marsden? He plays Cyclops in the X-Men trilogy? Well he made a guest appearance on the sitcom Modern Family.

Taryn Manning was on Law and Order: SVU ep called "Dirty." You may have seen her in the Britney Spears movie Crossroads where she plays BS's friend. Zoe Saldena (Avatar) was also in that movie. In the episode, there was actually a happy ending where TM saves a girl from a pedophile.

In the next L&O: SVU ep, Drea de Mateo was on playing a mom. She was on the Friend's spin off show Joey, playing Joey's sister. She was recently a neighbor on Desperate Housewives.

Store: I found this store called Awesome Blossom. It sells flowers, and gifts. It's by the Grant MacEwan City Centre campus.

Look alike: I was watching Teen Mom and I think the girl Jenelle kind of looks like Kristin Stewart from the Twilight movies.

Psychic: I saw a psychic a couple of weeks ago. I only see a psychic every 6 months. She's pretty accurate. Her name is Barbara.

B: "When you were young, you were very shy. Now you are reserved.
(That's true.)

B: You had trouble concentrating in school, but you will if you are interested in it.
(How did she know I have ADD?)

B: You are insightful, absorb energy like a sponge, sensitive.

That is so true. I was thinking about it a few months ago. When I watch bad TV shows, I get really angry. Then I read the book The Street Smart Psychic Guide to Getting a Good Reading, and it cheers me up. Kind of like how some people say about the Bible.

I do remember going on the internet years ago either on Fametracker Forums or twop.com and someone said: "I read Sweet Valley High books when I'm stressed."

Feb. 9 Review: I saw The Listener season 2 premiere last night. It's been a year and a half since they last showed an episode. It starts off with Toby riding a motorcycle. It kind of makes him a bad ass and exciting action. T uses his talent to win chess games and then donates the money to charity to show that he's good.

Then T and his friend Oz gets a call as paramedics and they have to save a woman from the lake who has amnesia. T, Oz, and T's doctor ex-girlfriend Olivia help the woman gain her memory back. It looks like Det. Charlie Marks has been written out of the show. I was reading articles about the show, and it said in the season 1 finale, she was in a precarious situation. I can't remember what it was.

Tara Spencer- Nairn (Cop Karen from Corner Gas) plays a nurse. I liked how they made shout outs to Canada by mentioning Toronto (the city they're in), Alberta, and showing Canadian currency.

There is a really good surprise. Bad Guy 1 trades money with Bad Guy 2 for USB key with information. BG1 gets money. Jogger comes by and injects him with a needle. BG1 dies, and the transaction was canceled. BG2 totally double crossed him.

I feel like The Listener is like the TV show Tru Calling. The lead characters have a supernatural ability and work in an environment where they can use it. Listener has Toby as a paramedic and Tru Calling has Tru working in a morgue where dead people tell her they need her help.

This season has a new IIB organization. From the previews, it looks like Toby will be working with them to help solve cases.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Dateline/ Blake McGrath/ Wes Brown

Feb. 3 Dateline: I was reading more about those Dateline: To Catch a Predator comments on Youtube. The comments are really funny, but I have to add some of my comments to them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14FZUc8_rWI

To Catch a Predator comments:

"Dig the PETA tote bag. Good to see child molesters so concerned with animal rights."

Me: I didn't notice that.

"can i get paid to do those dramatic chat readings? they are so funny"

Me: Well I don't find those chat readings funny.

"like 24 iz a better age 2 sleep with a 12 year old... sick!"

Me: Yeah, I know. I have seen real 19, 20 yr olds who come on the show to hook up with a 14 yr old girl though.

"why cant i ever find these guys who would buy me stuff like that"

"the arresting would go better if they had a sniper on the roof :D"

"Ah crap they busted George Lucas!"

"'Strawberries, whipped cream, and other surprises'--wasn't that the name of a Herb Albert album from the 60s?"

"I feel no sympathy for the man here. I have lived my entire life in solitude with very few friends. I would never think of soliciting sex from minors."

"I was expecting...

Shinster: 'I hope you like koala bears.'
Chris Hansen: (steps out from behind the corner) 'I hope you like jail motherfucker.'

Me: This sounds like a good line for some action movie.

"lol chris (Hansen, the host) must love his job"

"idk i've never seen a in btween asian.. only in their 20's doing awesome karate skills, or when their 80 and are wise.. well now i've seen a middle aged asian.. i can wipe that off my bucket list!! oh snap"

"hmm why does he have a peta bag?.. he loves animals but doesnt give a crap about children"

Me: What if the bag was Amnesty International? You care about human rights, but not about children.

"Who would have thought it would took a TV show about pedophiles to finally see a bunch of cops slap a pair of cuffs around George Lucas wrists! So, no 3D-Star Wars! Yay!!"

"With some of these guys, I get the feeling that if they decoy said she was 50, they would still show up."

Me: lol.

"i'm a lonely guy, doesn't mean I am going to meet 12 year year olds for sex"

"look how scared they all get lmao"

"Okay everyone this is my plan. STEP 1 act like a 15 year old and get a pedophile to come to my house. STEP 2 "play a game" (ala the Saw movies) with the pedo, where he has to cut his own dick off with a blunt rusty razor in 30 seconds or he dies. STEP 3 repeat."

Me: That's the plot in the movie Hard Candy. It stars Ellen Page (before she got big in Juno) and Patrick Wilson (Night Owl in Watchmen). EP is a 14 yr old girl who meets the pedophile played by PW. EP goes and tortures him in his home. Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy) plays a small part as the neighbor. It's very dark and scary movie. Kind of revenge fantasy. It's well- written, well- acted and disturbing.

"Chris Hansen is the new ChucK Norris. EVERY PEDIO's nightmare HAHA"

"Im waiting for the day the 'predator' is really some 13 year old kid pretending to be older so he can have sex with a 14 yr old girl lol"

Me: lol. That wouldn't be a crime because it's teens having sex with each other. Also that's creative. I never thought of that before.

"i know how you feel, whatever they were about to do they are still human beeings and feeling bad for another human beeing getting his live fucked is understandibly"

"I think it'll be pretty funny if your only 16 and you pretended to be a 45 year old pedo and when you show up at the house Chris is all baffled and speechless."

Me: Yeah, and then that wouldn't be a crime either because you're aren't a pedophile. I guess it would be funny to see Chris's expression. lol.

"lol what are these guys thinking. its so unreal and sick that 12 year old girl would want to be with 60 yrs old man.how cant they understand its a trap."

Blake McGrath: He is a So You Think You Can Dance Canada judge who has danced for Britney Spears and Janet Jackson. He was in the Top 20 and placed 6th in So You Think You Can Dance (American version) season 1. He has embarked on a solo music career last year.

I was checking out his music on Youtube and I found this great live performance to his song "Penthouse." He can sing and dance live. I was impressed with the choreography.

Towards the end of it he starts introducing his back up dancers and he said: "My sister Meghan!" I burst out laughing at that because I didn't expect his sister to be a back up dancer. I remember reading somewhere he had a sister and she was in his music video "The Night", but I forgot about it until now. lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSSXE5mBQIQ

Feb. 5 Rant: Here's a mild rant. As I was running to catch my bus after work, I realized my pen fell out. I was on the bus so I looked for it on the ground and a bit outside the bus. It's a Bic pen, the kind you buy a dozen for $3. It's cheap, and the ink was almost gone. I'm a little annoyed that I lost it. Maybe I'll find it tomorrow on the ground when I go to work.

That brings a flashback to 2007 when I was in Short Fiction Forms class. We went to the U of A to hear a author read his book. I found a pen on the lawn and picked it up and used it.

Feb. 6 Wes Brown: Yesterday I saw that the 2007 movie We Are Marshall was on. I saw the first 23 min. of it because the actor Wes Brown was in it. Then his character's gone. I've been a fan of his since that Criminal Minds ep "Slave of Duty" back in 2009.

It started at 10pm so I wanted to watch the rest of it, but I had to go to work the next day. It looked like a good movie. It's about rebuilding college football team set in the 1970s after a tragedy. It stars Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox (lead guy from Lost).

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Inspirational quotes (Part 4)

To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge.
Kong Fu Zi

"Getting fired is nature's way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place." -Columnist Hal Lancaster in the Wall Street Journal.

"Aim higher. Reach farther. Dream bigger." –Monster.com

"Desire to escape a bad fit to the sense of fulfillment that could come from a good one." –Monster.com

“The secret of greatness is simple: do better work than any other man in your field- and keep on doing it.”- Wilfred A. Peterson.

“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word- excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.” –Pearl Buck

"Happiness is a continuation of happenings which are not resisted.” - Deepak Chopra

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."
--Dale Carnegie

“For me, writing is exploration; and most of the time, I’m surprised where the journey takes me.” Jack Dann

“We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.”-Abraham Maslow

“A home cannot be truly beautiful unless it functions in harmony with who we are.”-Clodagh

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.”-Jawaharlal Nehru

“If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a somewhat different world.” –Ludwig Wittgenstein

“To be an artist is to believe in life.”-Henry S. Moore

“The experience of the race shows that we get our most important education not through books but through our work. We are developed by our daily task, or else demoralized by it, as by nothing else.” –Anna Garlin Spencer

“Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

“God sells us all things at the price of labour.” –Leonardo da Vinci

“For while it’s true that the unexamined life is not worth living, it’s also the case that the unlived life isn’t worth examining.” –Robert McKee, Story

“There is the gypsy expression: ‘He who confesses first loses.’ First person to say ‘I love you’, the person who hears it, now controls the relationship.” –Robert McKee, Story

“Stories are equipment for living.” Kenneth Burke

“When life gets complicated, find a place where you can find beauty and simplicity.” –Psychic Miki

“Legal work is honorable work.” –Tyra Banks

These are sayings I found on art pieces at the Streetworks Festival 2010:

“Change moves life forward.”

“If you try something and fail, call it a first draft.”

“Fall in love with the character, not the plot.”

“Take care of your people better than you take care of your things.”

“Surround yourself with what you love.”

“You caught my heart by surprise.”

“The end is the next beginning.”

“Wisdom is scar tissue in disguise.”

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”

“You are here, do something.”

“Do not crush.”

“See the point as well as the meaning.”

“Being young, doesn’t last long enough.”

“Don’t live someone else’s dreams.”

“Write your own ending.”

What will your memory be?”

“Inspired by everything, stop by nothing.”

“Don’t play it safe, just play.”

“Never confuse a long life with an interesting one.”

Sayings I found on t-shirts at the West Edmonton mall store:

“To air is human. To land it divine.”

“Confidence is the feeling you have before you fully understand the situation.”

“The path to paradise is not always paved.”

“Maybe getting lost is the best way to find yourself.”

“Determination: the feeling you get right before you try to something incredibly stupid.”

“You’re always wrongest before you’re right.” –The Good Guys (TV show)

“Don’t get wrapped up in past mistakes.” –The Good Guys (TV show)

“The internet is forever.” –Criminal Minds (TV show)

“I sang of the world I know in the key of me and you.” –Curtis Santiago

“Failing to plan, is planning to fail.”

“Everything matters. Big or small it all adds up.” In Plain Sight (TV Show)

“No more excuses.” Politician slogan on Lie to Me (TV Show)

“Information’s pretty thin stuff unless mixed with experience.” –Clarence Day

“Life is like playing violin solo in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.” –Samuel Butler

“Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment.” Rita Mae Brown

“Practice made me perfect.” –T-shirt saying

“It takes more guts than talent.” –Tosh.O (TV show)

“Confront your fear.” Human Target (TV show)

“When the heart is right, the mind and body will follow.”- Coretta Scott King

“Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit.” –Aristotle

“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take aims of those who work with joy.” –Kahlil Gibran

“Is the life you’re leading worth the price you’re paying to live it?” -Tony Schwartz

"Being positive trumps being negative every time unless multiplication is involved.” -"Phillip DeFranco" (http://www.facebook.com/l/7c56c;www.youtube.com/user/PhilipDeFranco#p/u/0/Qgas_7wkmj8)

“As long as you are doing what you enjoy, you will always be enthusiastic.”- Ellen Wong (actress from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.)

“Holding onto anger is like holding a piece of coal to throw at someone. You only burn yourself.” – Buddha

“There is a difference between being well-trained and gifted.” –CSI: NY (TV show)

“To live outside the law, you must be honest.” –Bob Dylan

“We make our own rewards.” –Meg Files

“Greatness is at the edge of destruction.” –Will Smith

“After people see this movie, will people be better or worse after it?”- Will Smith

“The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society- more briefly, to find your real job, and do it.” –Charlotte Perkins Gilman

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." -Vincent T. Lombardi

“Struggles and growth often go together.” –Dr. Donna Schuurman

“The key to immortality is living a life worth remembering.” –Bruce Lee

“Success allows people to be who they truly are.”- Hellcats (TV show)

“Remembrance of things past are not necessarily of how things were.”

“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” –Vincent Van Gough

“Through the arts, people learn creativity and innovation.”-Raymond Nasher

“The secret of becoming a writer is to write, write and keep on writing.” –Ken MacLeod

“A different language is a different vision of life.”-Federico Fellini

"Everything I'm not made me Everything I Am"

“Recession is for quitters.” –Button

"When it's obvious that the goals cannot be reached, do NOT adjust the goals, adjust the action steps." (Confucious)

“The secret to creativity is hiding one’s sources.” –Albert Einstein

"I wish I could buy you for what you're worth and sell you for what you think you're worth." –twop.com

If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded. –Maya Angelou

“If you can't admit it, you should quit it.” -16 and Pregnant thread on twop.com

“You’re angry because you feel bad about yourself.” –the comic strip My Big Happy. Ruthie says that to this cat.

“Grudges are for the weak of spirit.” –TV show Human Target

“No risk, no reward.” –TV show Nikita

“To be alive is to be vulnerable.”- TV show Criminal Minds

“A life without love is no life at all.”- TV show Criminal Minds

“Clear everything, subtract negativity, add perspective.” –A guy in a calculator suit on How I Met your Mother

“Regret: Do something to be proud of.” –Newspaper Metro

“Music is my weapon.”- T-shirt

“It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be.” –Paul Arden’s book title

job search/ teen pregnancy/ abortions

Jan. 31 Job search: Today is my day off so I went and tackled one of the things on my "To Do" list. I had to update my job profiles on the banks websites. As I did that, I also applied to some new job postings there.

I had written down this note. I applied to this downtown office position and that they will get back to me by Jan. 28. Well they didn't get back to me. I was told there was like 7 applicants for that one position.

Clean: I also tackled another thing on my to do list. I cleaned my desk by recycling 3 envelopes, a piece of paper, and deposited a check. Baby steps.

Actors: I read in 24 that Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will be on a new TV show called The Ringer. She plays twin sisters who are estranged after a tragedy. One twin will mainly show up in flashbacks. It's a thriller.

City Centre: I haven't done any shopping there in a month. Shefield and Sons is being renovated. Party Place and Jacob Connexion have closed down.

Friends: I've been emailing one of my friends from Call Centre #3. She was ranting about how the job isn't good and she got laid off.

Teen pregnancy: Have you noticed that I haven't wrote about teen pregnancy in a few weeks? I haven't been reading the 16&P thread in a week because I was busy with my job, job search, and writing. You know how a few weeks ago I was watching Octomom Nadya Suleman on Oprah?

Well after wards, was Dr. Phil and I watched the whole episode because it was about a teen girl who got pregnant. I had to watch it. I used to watch this show for the first three seasons and then I quit, because the third season in 2006 got me really angry. I did watch one episode in 2007 and it was trashy so I continued to stay away from it.

I didn't get angry or yell at the TV when I was watching this episode. I did learn about how much it would cost to raising a baby.

Prenatal care: $1500
Average cost of baby food for 1 yr: $672
Average cost of baby diapers: $1000
A baby goes through 3840 diapers a year
Average cost to raise a baby a year: $10,000

I would say I have changed in my anger management. I did find it interesting with the 12 yr old sister who talked to Dr. Phil. She was very smart and well spoken for her age.

Little sister: When I found out my big sister got pregnant, I wasn't really shocked or surprised. She wants everything to revolve around her and by getting pregnant, everything did. I think she got pregnant on purpose. She seemed happy that she got pregnant.

I was surprised the pregnant teen didn't lash out at her little sister by saying: "I wasn't happy when I found out I got pregnant! I was in shock." But there was no yelling between the family on this show.

I'll even give props to Dr. Phil on counseling the family. It was good that he gave the teen girl a test of how much she thinks a baby will cost. She underestimated everything and he showed her the actual numbers. He talked to the mom and said: "Let's be honest here. If she keeps the kid and raise it as her own, you are the one who's going to be raising it and not her."

The step dad was against giving the teen girl birth control pills because: "You may as well give her a hotel room key." Yeah, well or she doesn't take the pills and she gets pregnant anyway. By watching Lori's parents on 16&P, I'll go their route. Give the girl the birth control pills and if she gets pregnant, then you can tell her she can raise the kid, but she has to get her own place to live.

There were four women who were teen moms and they told the teen girl how hard it was to raise a baby when you are so young. I think the teen girl got the message because at the end of the show, she was wiping tears away from her eyes. It's a reality check.

I even thought it was kind of funny when the audience laughed at her towards the end of the show.

Mom: She said she didn't want to get a job because the baby wasn't even here yet.
Some of the audience laughs.
Teen pregnancy is nothing to laugh about, but it was kind of stupid to wait until the baby comes.

Abortions: I watched this 16&P special about abortions called No Easy Decision. Dr. Drew interviewed one of the 16&P girls from season 3 Markai. If a teen girl gets pregnant, there is a 25% chance she will get pregnant again within 2 years and she did. She got an abortion because she and her boyfriend are already struggling to raise one kid on their own while living in their own place.

M's black and her boyfriend's white. M had graduated out of high school. Her boyfriend talked about how he has lived in poverty where his electricity got turned off and he doesn't want to put his daughter in the same environment he was raised in.

Dr. Drew interviewed two other women who had abortions. One got pregnant at 17 and she didn't want her parents to know she was pregnant. She went to court and asked a judge to grant her this chance to go and get an abortion without her parents permission. Dr. Drew told her that she was very brave to do that at this young of an age. She got her prom ticket refunded and her ex-boyfriend helped pay for the abortion.

The second woman was in the middle of college and she got pregnant. She had seen her sister go through with a pregnancy and knew what it entailed. She was in the middle of schooling and she can't quit college so she got an abortion.

News: I read an article in the National Post discussing the episode. 1 in 5 American pregnancies are aborted. Before 1973, 20% of births to white, unmarried American women and 9% of unwed births in the US led to adoption. Today 1% of babies born to unwed mothers are adopted.

That's because these days single parents are more accepted. Also there's more common law, people have kids but they don't get married.

Feb. 1 3 yr old calls 911: I found this on Yahoo news and this 3 yr old girl named Grace Goss calls 911 after her mom fell down the stairs. Her dad was at work as a paramedic and heard his address. Coincidentally earlier that day, her mom taught her how to dial 911 and she used that lesson.

Amazing. Grace got a free dinner at Chuck E. Cheese. She also got a superhero button for saving her mom's life.

Feb. 2 Job interviews: Yesterday I had a office job interview. There were 24 applicants, and I was 1 of the 4 they chose to interview. That's good. However, there is still competition for this 1 position.

A couple of weeks ago I had a job interview as food service at a school. There were 50 applicants and I was 1 of the 25 people they chose to interview. There are 5 positions, and they could raise it up to 6 or 7. They called on Jan. 21. I called back and they'll call back in a week. Well it's been over a week so I can say they didn't hire me.

Today I have another job interview at this other office. It was a short interview and there were a lot of applicants for two positions. I don't think I impressed the person who interviewed me.