It's Wednesday

Scholar

2012-02-01T19:42:00.000-08:00

The semester has started. My second to last semester of college has started. My potentially third to last semester of college has started. The semester has started and it is already going 1,000,000 mph. Miles per hour. A million. FLYING. But, this may be one of the first semesters that I am STOKED for most, if not all, my classes. Not only will important information be presented, but useful, applicable, beneficial information will be presented, and that, in my opinion, is a rarity. BUT, it's the first week, my hopes and dreams may be just that, hopes and dreams; hopefully, they come to fruition.

So, it's Wednesday again. I'm back writing this blog and it seems natural. It's something I've done almost every week of ever school semester since my senior year in high school. It just feels right, it just feels good, it just feels like I've always done it. Should it? Will it ever stop? Will it stop at the end of my stint at Biola? Will it stop this week? We'll have to see. You have just as good an idea about it as I do. It's been fun though, it really has. One of my favorite things to do when I'm just a tad bored is look and read through old blog posts. Use that lil "Random Post of the Refresh" button in the upper right corner. Read old stories, look at old photos, watch absolutely ridiculous videos. This stuff has been embedded in the internet and is here for keeps. It's fun to revisit it every once in a while, relive the moments.

This semesters going to add to this list of keepsakes. There will be stories. There will be moments. There will be memories. And they will be written down.

Sentimental, much? I laugh when my writing sounds sappy.

Moving forward. Over the winter break, I was asked by my home church, Simi Valley Community Church, to produce some videos to set up 3 weeks of sermons. We went into the project not having any idea how it would play out and, honestly, I couldn't be happier at the response we received. Provoke your thoughts my friends. How would you answer these questions?

What Do You Most Value In Life? // Pt. 1/3 from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

What Do You Worry About Most In Life? // Pt. 2/3 from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

What Do You Want To Achieve In Life? // Pt. 3/3 from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Got me thinking, hope you thought a little bit as well.

And that may be end of this post. I don't have much to report on, I don't have much to say. School's started and it's NUTTY.

LES GO.

Tripz

2012-01-25T13:52:00.000-08:00

I come to you again, still on winter break. 6 weeks. It's been long. I return to school tomorrow to begin the next semester of my college career and if I've learned anything from the last five, this one is going to be a rockin', surprise-filled, wild ride. There's no telling what kind of stuff will go down, the possibilities are endless. So for this reason, I'm excited to see what this semester will bring, amidst the changes, differences, and comfortability of last semester.

One of these changes is what you see above, a new car. Last semester, for the first time in college, a car went from being a "it would be nice to have, but I don't really need it" to a "woah, I'm tired of asking to borrow other people's cars." One of the primary goals of this winter break was to find a car and this 1995 VW Jetta did the trick. Let's hope it lasts a lifetime. I'm rooting for it.

Here's comes the weekend. Before our semester break started, I determined I wanted to head up the hill to Hume Lake at some point to visit one of the greatest spots on this planet. As the break continued and work was piling up, I quickly realized a trip could only happen near the end of the break, so I picked the weekend of January 20th to pack my bags and roadtrip it to Hume. The weekend of January 20th was this last weekend. So I have this new car, a car that I haven't yet driven 100 miles, and I'm going to trek across California, up a mountain, and into the snow. Talk about the ultimate test! I'll say it right now, it (name pending) performed like a champ. So I arrive at Hume Lake Christian Camps and feel like no time at all has passed. The drive, the atmosphere, the smells, the people were all so familiar, so close to home. I see this dude Mike Strand, a dude I haven't seen in 2 years, a dude I haven't seen walk since June of 2010, and it's like one day has passed. One of the first things we do is take a "Day in the Office" picture. Here it is:

Now, during the summer of 2010, Mr. Mike Strand started doing this "Day in the Office" series. It's pretty self-explanatory, but it pretty accurately described the nonsensical absurdity of our media office. Here's the link to the facebook album (if you're FB friends with Mike): http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.428868824616.187989.508454616&type=3

And if not, I've included a few of my favorites below:

We had some fun.

So, snap back to the weekend of January 20th. After a fun reunion with the media peeps including, but not limited to, Mr. Karley Mase, Mr. Nathan Pearsey, Mr. Isaac Svensson, and Ms. Sarah Tuch, I found out that many a folk were going to be volunteering this weekend for winter camp because the Joshua class was heading to the Dominican Republic (I think?). Because of this, the Hume staff for the weekend included all sorts of different people, including, but not limited to, old friends Mr. Jonathan Blesse, Boomerang, Boone, Ms. Sierra Falco, Mr. Tony Farao, Ms. Bethany Fox, Mr. Michael Ottenad, Mr. Jonathan Parfitt, Mr. Johnathan Tompkins, Mr. Paul Quinn, Ms. Cheryl Velichko, Ms. Cheyenne Wedel, and Wagon Master Shep,

and new friends Mr. David Anderberg, Mr. Cameron Cadiz, sisters Ms. Sarah Goad and Ms. Chelsea Goad (who I found out some CRAZY, WILD, UNBELIEVABLE connections with), Mr. Kevin Griffith, Mr. Dan Mitchell, Ms. Bekah Newlin, Mr. Abe Saleh, and Mr. Jordan Sonerholm.

Let's just call it a big ol' reunion.

Here's the summary:

Firefly // Contractors // testing paintball guns // shooting "stuff" // cleaning "stuff" // rain, lots and lots of rain // OK Chalet // rock wall // mechanical bull // getting JACKED on the mechanical bull // turning the mechanical bull into a bounce-house/obstacle/jungle-gym/tag-course // Contractors flood // waking up stupid sore and stupid tired // snow, lots and lots of snow // recreation chapel // blast of a conversation with the Goad sisters // visit/get asked lots of questions/handed forms/become overwhelmed (and no, I did not take a nap) at the Snowboard Shack with Mr. Michael Ottenad // visit/watch/blizzard/freeze at the Screamer with Ms. Sierra Falco and Ms. Bekah Newlin // untangle, retangle, untangle Screamer rope // defrost // learn paintball guns are incredibly complicated to fix // watch/film/experience Boxsled Blitz // cram six people into discarded sled and do our own blitz // test tube run // defrost // rock wall race // losing rock wall race // burning forearms // Mr. Paul Quinn's house // ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS GAME of Redneck Life // Earl Bob (possible car name?) // divorced // 11 kids - Jebidiah Joe, Cooter, 8 Darryl's, and a girl named Dale Jr. // 18 teeth left // wipe/chip six inches of snow off my car // load up car // snap some photos // grub // sadly say goodbyes // begin the journey down the icy hill without chains // home

Amidst all this is the following: wet socks, cold hands, sniffling nose, biggest jacket I e'er wore, lots of laughter, lots of stories, and lots of memories. Some of these experiences have been captured:

These experiences were captured by Ms. Sierra Falco and her camera:

Here's the wrap up video Mr. Isaac Svensson crafted:

Hume 2012 - Winter Camp Week 3 Wrap Up from Hume Lake on Vimeo.

And here's some pictures taken by yours truly:

All that to say, the weekend of January 20th was incredible and a great way to end the 6 week period we Biolan's know as semester break. It was great seeing a folks I haven't seen for a LONG time, it was great seeing folks I haven't seen for a decent amount of time, and it was great seeing folks I haven't seen in as little as a few days. Hume Lake is quite the place, impossible to explain. There's just something about it. I was talking with my sister, Ms. Melanie Lott, about Hume and we came to the conclusion that it simply messes with your mind. It's another world up there and it honestly isn't that close to reality. Crazy weekends, like the weekend of January 20th, happen and then are gone *POOF* like a surreal dream, 'cept it wasn't surreal, it was realreal. Don't get me started if you spend a summer there.... Oof. You want proof? Check this blog post out: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-it-up.html.

Hume Lake's one of a kind and's got a special place in my heart and the heart of thousands.

So that was break. You got two blog posts, kinda summing up the break, kinda not really. It's that time again where I debate about continuing this whole Wednesday thing, continuing this blog that has been running for three years. It's a new semester and anything goes. We'll see what happens and right now, it's looking good.

It's been a great break and I want to thank everybody who made it what it was.

And finally,

I've got a video for you. This video has been cruising the web for about a week and it has captured the hearts of millions. LET'S OPEN UP THIS PIT.

She's got quite the career ahead of her. Maybe she'll end up in a band like our friends iwrestledabearonce:

That's it, friends. That's the blog post for the end of January. Can't believe it's the end of January. Before long, it'll be the end of May, then the end of August, and then the end of January again. It's going to fly and what's CRAZY is how much stuff is going to be crammed in these 365 days. So many good experiences, so many bad experiences, so many learning experiences, so many life experiences.

Buckle up because it's going to be a wild ride. Throw you're hands up too because it's going to be a blast.

Combo-Nation

2012-01-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

WOW! Well hello, it's been a while. This bloggy got the back seat these last couple weeks because, well, it has been an ABSOLUTE ZOO! Up above is not a picture from today; instead, there are two throwback images to send us back to yesteryear. They are fun to look at and remember...things. Okay, back to reality. The last few weeks have been off-the-hook crazy, so here we go, in chronological order.

We begin with finals, the best week of every college students semester. Study study study, project project (more the latter). One of those times where, before finals week, the workload that needs to be accomplished seems a monstrosity and impossible for the timeframe, and then 5 days and little sleep later, it's finished, all of it. It's a strange, great feeling. I don't have much to show for my exams, but for my Integrated Design II final, we officically completed the 100 Days project, mine being THE SLEEPTALK 100 (http://sleeptalk100.tumblr.com). This was a 2 part final, half of which is still in production. But here is the first half: a 32" x 24" poster, including the transcript of sleeptalks from each of the 100 days, running from September 1 to December 9. Enjoy and expect part 2 of 2 in the coming weeks!

And then, all a sudden, school is out. UNREAL. 6 weeks of break from formal education. After this insane intensity of finals week, FREEDOM was here. Well, not quite. I've been learning some things as I've got through college and one of these "learnings" is college is not forever and you need a job. I've been somewhat proactive and have become involved with a new clothing company called the ADAMO Collection. A few guys from Huntington Beach and a few from Biola connected and began production for a creative community created for the youth by the youth. I was asked to produce a video or two for them and I was more than obliged. It was GREAT being a part of this process. The creative inspiration and ideas these guys produce are unbelievable and having the opportunity to film pretty rad stuff was just that...pretty rad. I'll let them tell you their story:

ADAMO Interview from ADAMO Collection on Vimeo.

Working clothes for the graffiti segment. That stuff is PUNGENT.

And then BOOM! It's Christmas! Here's a great video from one of my favorite filmmakers Eliot Rausch. A great look into a modern day Christmas. Super interesting.

O NIGHT DIVINE from Eliot Rausch + Phos Pictures on Vimeo.

Christmas though, AWESOME! Always is. There's something about this season, seeing family, seeing friends, giving and receiving gifts, and most of all, celebrating the birth of our Savior, God turned flesh to save us from our own sins, Jesus Christ. Born in a stable, fulfilling prophecy, the star shines bright. Do we deserve it? Not one bit. Every time I try and think about this ultimate sacrifice I'M BLOWN OUT OF MY BOOTS! Sure is Good News.

And WOAH! Here's some of my extended family. We took a picture together. Yes, yes we did.

And WOAH! Here's some more of my extended family, watching my sisters and cousins performing "Go Tell It On The Mountain" in a very peculiar way.

And WOAH! Christmas is over and WOAH! New Year's is here!

New Year's is a bizarre experience. It's when the earth completes one complete revolution around the sun. 365 days. That's all. But it's a BIG DEAL. I guess. Just take a look at Time Square New York. Yeah. Big deal. So, for New Year's, people party. Parties all over. Big parties, small parties, ragers, get-togethers. Mr. Austin Axen and Mr. Kyle Norman decided to invite a group of Biola people as well as a group of Simi Valley people to celebrate the coming of 2012. Good times, good conversation, good fun. And 4 on a couch for a man? Well, the late arrival of Mr. Josh Suaverdez turned the gentlemen's record around and we went on to win the next 3 rounds, taking the championship. We also threw down some PHAT fireworks, gettin' crazy with the explosives. Fireworks are always a good time, especially when you play with them in a safe manner, with a water source nearby. And Piccolo Pete's? Always a winner. And an earsore. A toast, watching a recording of the famous BALL in NYC, and celebrating into the night brought in 2012 RIGHT.

Here's the group x2!

But OH! It's not over. My little broski's are on the Royal High School, my alma matter, soccer team. They play games now and then and I take pictures now and then. Can you say perfect opportunity? The absolutely gorgeous sunset can too.

Fútbol.

And THEN. The project from the last couple days:

So in the film industry (maybe music industry?), there's this weird thing called the REEL. I'm not quite sure what it's all about, but basically it's a filmic resume, a collection of work that demonstrates and gives examples of your work in a compressed, short form video. The last few days I have been working on gathering clips scattered throughout the wide variety of videos I have conjured up, and spent quite a bit of time organizing and editing them together to create just that: my collection of work. So here it is, for you:

Morgan Lott // 2012 Demo Reel from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

And then BOOM! Here we are today. It's been quite the few weeks! Things happen, lots of things happen. That's life. Don't blink or else it will skip right by you and you'll wake up and wonder where the last 50 years of your life went. Boy, that'd be nuts.

Friends, make memories each and every day. Discover something new about yourself. Be curious. Be passionate. LIVE LIFE!

The Blues

2011-12-07T12:28:00.001-08:00

It's one of those weeks where everything that potentially can happen, has happened, is happening, needs to happen, and will happen. The to-do list is absurd and unfortunately this blog isn't too high on that list. It is what it is.

Today is the last normal Wednesday of the semester. If you've been around a while, you know that this means the powder blue 1984 Los Angeles Olympics suit is pulled out and worn. This is a tradition that has held strong since mid-high school. This year is a little different, however. Somehow, someplace, sometime, the powder blue 1984 Los Angeles Olympics necktie disappeared somehow, someplace, sometime between leaving my house for the summer to arriving at Biola for the semester. This story is further, further detailed, in this blog post: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/09/backs-and-forths.html (aside: that's a pretty great blog post, super random stuff in that there week). So, that said, I ran around tie-less today. It was sad. I was on the verge of tears. This is a family heirloom and irreplaceable. I told my roommates I would pay up to $100 for a new powder blue 1984 Los Angeles Olympics necktie. I also told them I am going to write a hand written letter to Levi's (the official 1984 Los Angeles Olympics clothing sponsor) just to see what they can do. Seriously. Heart-breaking.

Know what isn't heart-breaking? Watching movies from your childhood, but let's start from the beginning. Last Friday, Mr. Austin Axen organized a fantastic family dinner and it was fantastic. I'm not quite sure what inspired it, but Mr. Axen has a knack for making normal things, like dinner at the caf, an event to remember. Thank you Austin. The annual Biola University Christmas Tree Lighting followed and boy, it never fails to be spectacular. Carols, the King, candlelight. Perhaps the highlight was the showing of this video and watching this "adorbs" couple light the massivity of a Christmas tree themselves. Enjoy:

And then, to top it all off, Mr. Kyle Norman and Mr. Scott Weir had this brilliant idea (an idea I was unintentionally unaware of) to invite all sorts of people to my apartment to watch the movie we grew up loving, continue to love, and will always love: SPACE JAM. I had talked to Kyle a few weeks ago, we talked about how great of a movie Space Jam is and then all of a sudden, people are at my house watching it. Because I did not organize, I do not have a clue how or why people showed up at my house, but BOOM here they and BOOM we proceed to watch the triple-Oscar winning film SPACE JAM featuring Academy Award winning actor Michael Jordan who has also won some other sort of basketball awards. Here was the group in alphabetical order: Mr. Austin Axen, Ms. Laura Cook, Ms. Sierra Falco, Ms. Sarah Hau, Mr. Ben Jacuk, Mr. Joel Limbauan, Ms. Melanie Lott, Ms. Sarah McAlpine, Ms. Melanie McLaughlin, Mr. Kyle Norman, Mr. Josh Suaverdez, Ms. Moe Tucker, Mr. Michael Warnecke, Mr. Scott Weir, two other guests (I'm embarrassed for not knowing their names), maybe one or two people I forgot, and then myself, Mr. Morgan Lott.

Following the movie, a game of charades broke out, spontaneity at its finest. Acting took place, laughing followed. Solid crew, solid film, solid good times. I've heard from a few people that Friday night was one of, if not THE best night of the semester. I'm not going to lie, friends, it was up there. When the Looney Tunes joins your party, it's a night to remember.

And now I have two random videos for you:

They are artsy, watch out:

And THAT, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the post for the last normal Wednesday of the semester. To think we start just a short few days ago... wow, time flies... as always.

Drink something for dinner you haven't tried in a while. Like cranberry juice with ice. Try it.

NO MO

2011-11-30T12:58:00.001-08:00

Back to the grind. Boom boom bam. We've got 3 weeks left total, 2 weeks of normal schedules, 2.5 weeks if you want to be specific. 2.5 weeks until the semester that feels like it started just the other day is complete. Shocking and perhaps disheartening. UNREAL! On the other hand, SO much has happened this semester, so many memories of anything and everything. When I think of an event that happened in the beginning of the semester, like Trop 205's first meal together, that seems like AGES ago. Living in Stewart seems like EONS ago. But yet, it feels like I was in high school just A WEEK ago. Weird how time works, perceptions of time works, reality of time works.

Getting older, getting wiser (hopefully).

Last week was Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is great for a number of reasons, but the fact that we typically spend it with family and friends, enjoying delicious food together, that may top the list. My Thanksgiving was pretty great, spending a couple days with one side of the extended family in Simi Valley, then traveling to Pismo Beach to live a couple days with the other side of the extended family. Lots of family, lots of greatness.

Then it got interesting. I'm not going to go into too much detail on this blog because it is all detailed out for you RIGHT HERE. Or if you like actual links, HERE IS THE STORY: http://nomogopro.virb.com

This experience was nutty, surprising, and off the wall. What. In. The. World. So, as you can see from the website, we'll see what happens! It sure would be great to get a second chance because, oh, it's so stinkin' unfortunate.

If you'd like to donate, that'd be absolutely incredible. Click this link: http://tiny.cc/nomogopro and follow the instructions.
If you'd like to spread this story, here's the link to the tumblr: http://nomogopro.tumblr.com/ and here's a link to the direct tumblr reblog: http://www.tumblr.com/reblog/13419055545/lx0Gj2Hf

Any help is help and any help is GREAT!

Here's the video that came out of the salvaged material:

2011 is for GIVING THANKS from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

So all that to say, Thanksgiving was exciting!

I don't have much more for you based on the insanity of these few weeks. BUT, I have a video for you that is a flashback to my high school years.

During April Fools Day, I went ape. The video explains it. Mr. Scott Weir put it perfect: I was the April Fool. I fooled myself.

This video's a classic. Goes down in history. And it's humiliating.

HOORAY!

Have a great day, everybody. Tell somebody your favorite joke. Then tell that same someone a joke you just heard. Laugh.

Thanks a million

2011-11-23T15:13:00.001-08:00

WOAH. It's TG. Thanksgiving. The big one. Time to eat. Is that what Thanksgiving's about? Sometimes, for some people. Is it about seeing family? Sometime, for some people. Is it about the settlers and the Indians?

In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. The initial thanksgiving observance at Virginia in 1619 was prompted by the colonists' leaders on the anniversary of the settlement. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. In later years, the tradition was continued by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford who planned a thanksgiving celebration and fast in 1623. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s.

I'm home for the holiday, it's pretty great, always great. Short and great. You know what else is short and great? Thanksgiving break from last year. Here's the recap. It's short and great:

TG (Video Art) from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Short and great.

And you know what else? Well, school stuff, most certainly.

See that? That's my schedule for next semester. Well, for the time being. Some aspects are still a lil up in the air, but for the most part, this is the scoop. I'm generally excited, should be interesting, very interesting. I'm going to have more time than I do now which will be interesting in itself, but knowing me, that "time" will be filled up immediately. Interesting. I'm excited though, we'll see what happens. There's no telling what kind of shenanigans will go down between now and then, what opportunities will come and pass, what friends and acquaintances will do in this same time of change. Change is scary, change is good, change is necessary. It's time. BOOM.

I've got some videos for you, some super fun ones.

The first? Well, it's one of the funniest videos I've EVER had the privilege to watch. Not only does it feature Mr. Bob Ross, the mastermind of a painter, but the video as a whole is simply hysterical. I absolutely love how he gets such a kick out of cleaning his brush, laughing as he goes. What a man.

Next, is a ridiculously great commercial. Let's just say, if I was young and immature (I'm not saying I'm not), I would have the Six Finger on my Sandy Claus list ASAP. Also, advertising sure has changed these last [fill in the blank] years. This stuff is QUALITY.

Thirdski: this video getscha. It's so happy, so joyous. This blind cat, Oskar, plays with toys for the first time, toys rigged with bells so Oskar can locate the ball and have an absolute ball in the process. Brings tears to my eyes.

Last is a spectacular stopmotion and pretty philosophically deep. The point is made and makes you feel. The emotion. Definitely worth a watch.

Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.

And that's it! The post! Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for you. Yes, you. You're a reader/watcher and possibly an enjoyer of this here blog and that means the world to me. I'm thankful for you and her and him and us. I'm thankful for it all, life experiences, the good, the bad, the ugly. Most of all, I'm thankful for a Savior that takes the weight off of my shoulders and knows me inside out, for no reason at all but pure love. Without Him, I'm a goner, TOAST. Phew, I'm thankful.

THANK YOU!

Twenties

2011-11-16T11:38:00.001-08:00

As I'm writing, there's an 11:40am choir flashmob outside of Common Grounds. I'm sitting here with Mr. Karl Holmlund and Mr. Corey Scott and we are talking about the nature of flashmobs and how the expected flashmob is noon in the caf, while the unexpected is precisely 11:40am Commons.

Boom.

What a week, what a blog post this will be. We've got videos this week. Lots of videos.

This last Sunday was my birthday. I finished my 21st year on this earth and am now entering into my 22nd year; in other words, I turned 21 y/o. 21. That old adult age. I'm not a big fan of birthdays. I've had an interesting history with birthdays, specifically birthday parties, so my opinion of birthdays have been skewed. SO, with that, this birthday was good! Woke up the morning of the 13th, nothing going on. Nothing kept going on. So I had the immensely late idea to go to Pink's Hot Dogs, decided to invite a bunch of people, but due to the fact the idea was immesely late, people were naturally busy. Naturally! Hittin' Pinks with 1000 or 1, it's just a birthday. The group ended up consisting of my fam bam, two or my roommates Mr. Joel Limbauan and Mr. Ben Jacuk, and Mr. Kelii Miyata, my good buddy from high school who is rocking the USC. This is him busting a rhyme.

So the 13th? Good group, good dogs, good time. It was the 21st, 363 it will be the 22nd. Age. Getting older. Aging.

Boom.

I've got some video for you now. This first one? I absolutely got a 100% kick out of this guy. I don't know if I've ever seen or talked to someone as laid back as this dude. Just livin' life, lovin' life. Obviously, there's pros, cons, opinions, politics, etc. There's somethin' really really great about this gentleman's outlook on life. Let's learn from him.

The Redneck Hippie from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

This next video is ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING AND UNBELIEVABLE. I don't even know how to explain other that God's creation is UNFATHOMABLE and surprises are around each and every corner. Incredibly unreal.

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Ever heard of Crocs? Yeah those stupidly ugly, nasty lookin' plastic shoes. Do you like them? Would you buy them? Watch this commericial. Crocs utilizes their ugliness, makes fun of them selves, and ends up making an effective ad that more than likely sells their shoes. Brilliant.

This one. WHAT?! Just watch. Creativity at it's finest. Crazy cool.

Faber Castell from eric yeo on Vimeo.

BOOM.

Content galore. Hope you enjoyed the videos!

Runnin' like mad over here. Projects, projects, projects; fun, fun, fun!

Can't believe how quickly this semester is coming to a close. Next week is Thanksgiving. Then Christmas. Semester's over at that point. What?

Have a brilliantly beautiful day today. Take a look around you and enjoy whatever it is you see whether that is a taco, a person, a coupon book.

Enjoy it, live it up.

Consummation

2011-11-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's November 9th and it's crazy. It's November 9th and it's wild. It's November 9th and it's warm. And it's great. Something struck me this week: I turn 21 years of age on Sunday, the 13th of November. For the last three hundred sixty some days, I knew this day was coming, it's only natural. For some reason though, it took a turn for the important this week. 21 just seems so old, so mature, so theres-no-more-milestones-left-except-for-driving-with-permit-drivers. Turning 18 is big; you can play the lottery, you can buy cigarettes, you can get arrested. Turning 21 adds one solitary thing to this mix and that is the cause of the 1920 US prohibition: alcohol. That may or may not be a big deal, depends on who you ask. I think perhaps the bigger deal is just the fact that I'm another year older, another year farther from the delightful year 1990.

Speaking of alcohol, I watched a great video this week about a guy who had an idea and acted on it. That concept in and of itself is absolutely INCREDIBLE. To develop ideas and see them through completion, phew, if you can master that, you will be unstoppable.

Made by Hand / No 1 The Distiller from Made by Hand on Vimeo.

Speaking of alcohol, I watched a great commercial this week about anti drunk-driving. This commercial's incredible in many many ways, including but not limited to the message, the accents, the editing, the music, the popularity on the interwebs. An anti drunk-driving ad that people are actually watching, enjoying, and sharing? Way to go NZ.

I've noticed something this week and it's embedded in this conversation:

"Hello!"
"Hi!"
"How are you?"
"Good! You?"
"Good!"
"Good! See you later!"
"Bye!"

Is there anything wrong with this conversation? Nope. Did you learn anything new about each other? Nope. I feel like this conversation happens hundreds of times a day between hundreds of people and it's to the point where it means absolutely nothing. Recently, I've been trying to be more honest in these conversations, responding to "how are you" with realistic words/phrases like "alright," "hangin' in there," "been better," "livin' life," "fantastic," "never been better," "incredible," the list goes on and on. Now that I'm taking a look at this list, I guess all that is happening is I'm being somewhat creative in my adjective choices. Even answering "how are you" with a tad-bit-more-realistic words, the investment is still light. It's the follow-up questions such as "Oh, why are you just alright?" or "Wow! Fantastic, huh? How come?" that take the conversation into the next level. A relationship is budding, conversation is exploding. But what happens if you are just in passing and the original conversation is the only exchange possible? Is it worth having? I say "of course!". I guess. As I'm writing this, I'm realizing I have no real clue what I'm talking about. And I don't have an answer. I don't know whats right, wrong, proper, improper, worth it, wasteful.

I guess the moral of the story is simply this: Be intentional in conversations. Learn something new.

Here's an aside:

I was walking on campus today and a woman wearing high-heals was walking next to me. Now, I have never personally experienced the phenomenon of wearing high-heals, I simply have not chosen that type of footwear as my footwear of choice (that might have something to do with culture and gender roles). I guess I understand the point of high-heels and why girls like to wear them, choose to wear them. But as I walked next to this woman in high-heels, I noticed something: the CLACK CLACK CLACK of EVERY SINGLE step she took. The extremely loud rhythmic sound, coinciding with each and every step taken. How do high-heel wearers put up with this!? I guess this phenomenon is similar in any hard sole situation, but it really struck me. Is it annoying? Do you just tune it out? Baffling. Truly. I was amazed at how loud these high-heels were on normal concrete and I was honestly amazed at how I reacted. Probably an overreaction. Nevertheless, an object of note.

And I think that may just be it. That's the end of this week's edition of "It's Wednesday!" I hope you enjoyed it. Kinda scatter-brained, but hey, who isn't?

Take a look around you. What do you see? Anything you haven't picked up in a while? Maybe a magazine you only read half of or an pseudo-empty box of cheez-its that's been sitting around for a week. Revisit these items and enjoy them.

Be intentional this week. Live with importance and make every minute worth your 60 seconds. It's not easy. I fail miserably 90% of the time. That doesn't mean you have to.

This is your week.

Tick Tock

2011-11-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's November 2nd. It's November 2nd? Yeah, it's November 2nd. Time is ticking away, tick, tick, ticking away. It's rather incredible: it's November which means it's almost December, so it's basically 2012. Before long, it's summer break, school will start up, and hey, it's November again. Time's flying fast and is only getting faster. Blink and you'll miss it.

This week has been rather exciting. Lots happened and I'll explain. It was great week, lots of out-of-the-ordinary, living life on the edge, taking risks, getting uncomfortable.

First, I wrote this intending for it to wind up on the blog. I can't exactly remember when it was written, but hey, it still applies. Pretty random, interesting, weird? Yeah, pretty weird subject material.

"I've realized something: I am not an initiator. In most situations, I simply do not initiate. I show up to a gathering of people, I am not one to go up to someone and start a conversation. It's difficult for me to initiate beginning projects; the beginning, getting started, is consistently, by far, the hardest part of any assignment, project, film, etc. I typically do not initiate objectives of greetings, such as a handshake, a hug, a high-five. I normally do not introduce myself to people I have not met before. In all of these situations, I generally wait for the other to initiate, which may or may not be a bad thing (as always, there are exceptions to the rule). As I'm thinking about it, I think this is why: when you initiate, you initiate by doing the thing you are most comfortable with. For instance, in a greeting, you may go in for the hug or extend your hand for a handshake based on what you like, are used to, were raised doing. I don't know what you're most comfortable with and, honestly, I'm comfortable with most anything. So when I wait for YOU to initiate, I assume you are going to initiate with the "greeting" you are most comfortable with. You want a high-five? I'll give you a big ol' high five. The one that every once in a while gets uncomfortable and somewhat awkward is my failure to introduce myself. I think the main reason for this is I'm pessimistic in the fact that: why meet someone if you're never going to see them again? If I notice I'm around somebody somewhat often, then yes, I will meet them and yes, I will remember their name. But if it's a random meeting, there's no way in the world I'm going to remember their name (I can just assume they won't remember mine), so why bother? Yes, I know, this is a terrible view to hold. I honestly am working on it and trying to be intentional with people, especially new people.

So with that, initiate with me. Test me me out."

Initiation. Take the first step, take the bow. With arms wide open.

This last Friday was Punk 'N' Pie, a HUGE annual Biola-wide talent show. Somehow, I was privileged to participate in two groups out of the 10-odd acts that had made the auditional cut.

The first act was the Punk'd Up Kids, a musical group made up of good friends Ms. Sarah Hau, Ms. Sarah McAlpine, Ms. Moe Tucker, Mr. Amir Girgis, and Mr. Kyle Norman. The first time I played cajon with these folks, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by the beautiful sheer talent that, for lack of better words, OOZED from their pores. I was truly honored to be part of this band! The performance went extremely well and the crowd's participation and enthusiasm honestly surprised me, let alone the GREAT response afterward. Let me present to you the Punk'd Up Kids playing renditions of "Poison & Wine" by the Civil Wars, "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain, and "You Raise Me Up" originally written by Brendan Graham.

After a redonkulous performance by Pidgeoto, who killed it with a hardcore punk rendition of "My Girl," it was time for round 2. Last year, I tried out with a group of friends, Ms. Ashley Emerson, Ms. Darlene Favenir, Ms. Joanna Xu, Mr. Ben Jacuk, Mr. Isaiah Pekary, and Mr. Michael Warnecke, for a on-campus worship band. Long story short, we didn't make it. Long story short, we wanted to play Punk N Pie. Now, for YEARS, Mr. Michael Warnecke, Mr. Ben Jacuk, Mr. Joel Limbauan, and myself enjoyed mimicking and laughing with the band we all know as Creed. Mr. Scott Stapp has a voice unlike any other, incomparable. Mr. Michael Warnecke's impression of Mr. Stapp is SPOT ON, so when we started discussing Punk N Pie ideas and a Creed cover came up, it HAD TO HAPPEN. At first, Michael was a tad unsure about it; after all, who would want to mimic one of the most laughable bands of our generation in front of a thousand college students? After a ton of laughing and consideration, Michael agreed to do it and he was PERFECT. We ended up putting together a 90's medley, using and restructuring the songs of our generation:

"With Arms Wide Open" - Creed
"It's Gonna Be Me" - *NSYNC
"...Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears
"I Want It That Way" - Backstreet Boys

Enjoy:

This was an absolute ball. The crowd was SO into it, I could hear the crowd singing along from behind my prison of a drum shield! If you don't believe me, refer to the last two songs of the video. Here's some fun facts: at 2:20, I snap a drumstick and then 10 seconds later, my first top falls over. You can see me trying to grab it, freaking out because, well, it's relatively important. Luckily, the beat never dropped and turns out, the majority of people didn't even notice. That pumps me up. Another fun fact: at 4:34, when I step out from behind my prison of a drum shield (during practice and rehearsal and dress rehearsal and without a drum shield, I came all the way out to the front to sing along with my boy band friends), I step on a 3 foot by 1 foot poster and it attaches to my foot. Naturally, I had to pull it off which ended up taking the majority of my 15 seconds of freedom from the prison of a drum shield. Oh well.

All in all, Punk N Pie was an absolute blast. Playing drums, in both cajon form and set form, in an enthusiastic manner was incredibly fun, makes me miss drumming all the more. Although we didn't place (congrats to The Beatles, Xopoc, and Rob Frampton), playing in Punk N Pie was oh so worth it, going down in history. And I must say, I NEVER thought we would actually play a Creed song seriously, let alone in front of a thousand people. WHAT. IN. THE. WORLD.

The party's not over.

The next night, Saturday night, turned into quite the night. So, as a film major at Biola, you have to participate in what is called the Biola film at least one time during your studies. Every semester, a Biola film is written, funded, shot, edited, and premiered and from what I've seen and heard, it's quite the experience from beginning to end. This years Biola film is called "Kids on the Run" and I am not officially a part of it. Here's the promo:

Kids on the Run - Promo from Stephen Diaz on Vimeo.

So Saturday night, the Kids on the Run folks needed a bunch of extras to do a wild party scene in the middle of the desert. Catch was it was from 1am to 9 am. That's all night long. That's a long time, especially when sleep sounds oh, so good. But hey, who remembers sleeping? I talked to a few people, found a ride and at 11pm headed out the door toward Lucerne Valley with driver Mr. Kris Lee and passengers Ms. Sierra Falco, Ms. Veronica Luckey, and Ms. Brittany Watts. After a solid two hour drive, a stop at a convenience store, and directions involving words like "once you get to the middle of nowhere, start looking for...," we arrived at our location. We joined probably 15 to 20 other extras, 15 to 20 crew members and a massive bonfire, it was a guaranteed good time. Now, the problem with the following 8 hours is that I am likely not supposed to tell you what happened for a number of reasons. I guess you'll just have to watch the finished film to find out. Basically we went BERSERK, we went APE, we went straight NUTTY, running around a fire, dancing around a fire, shooting fireworks around a fire...and other stuff... for 8 solid hours. And then we laid in the dirt for a while while the 40 degree frigid air surrounded us. While. Once we were frozen and the sun rose, we began to defrost as we headed home. We arrived back at Biola at approximately 10 am, covered in dirt, eyelids heavy.

Here's the best part about this entire event: In the time the majority of the world (hypothetically) is sleeping, 1,000,000 and a half things happened and they're all in the memory bank for good. It's absolutely incredible how much you can do in the time you're normally sleeping. But watch out, it's also absolutely incredible how much your body takes a toll after a night of extreme chaos and no sleep. Sleep, no matter how great it is NOT to get it, is decently important. Just a lil.

What's funny is the fun isn't over! Monday was Halloween. What's funny is the least exciting part of this week was Halloween. I'm going to go into too much detail, but I went to party, ate some Halloween snacks, flailed my arms a lil, left, then went to the Blue Door and watched Sleepy Hollow, which was surprisingly bizarre. Came back to campus to pick up Mr. Preston Richardson who had nicely asked to crash at my apartment for the night, to which Trop 205 opened it's doors right up. It was good time, legit chattin the photo/video circuit. All in all, good night, decently eventful.

And THAT, my friends, was the last week. Take a deep breath because it's been quite the ride.

Now it's your turn. Make this next week memorable. Live life, go nuts, stay safe, be smart.

And then tell someone about it.

Overwhelm-ation

2011-10-26T15:14:00.000-07:00

This last week. Woah. It's been a week of intensity. It's been a week of extremity. It's been a week of surprise. It's been a week of celebration. It's been a week of remembrance. It's been a week of emotion. It's been a week of assumption. It's been a week of danger. It's been a week of longevity. It's been a week since last Wednesday.

During the last week, one concept has stood out to me: LIFE IS A RIDE, so you'd better BUCKLE UP.

During this last week, one million and a half different past, present, and future events, experiences, thoughts, conversations, memories, aspirations, dreams and other "stuff" were revealed, uncovered, dug up from the mountain of my life. On Monday, while I was at work, it all hit me, like a baseball bat hitting a baseball, like a brick through a window, like an ice cream cone splatting onto the floor. So what did I do? I headed over to the fountain to "think" about it.

I was there five minutes.

On Monday afternoon, I wrote this on my facebook wall for all the world to see:

I sat down by the fountain to think about my future. "Since when did I have control?" So I left & stopped thinking about it. #lifesaTRIP

Boom. That was it, completely stopped thinking about it. It was good feeling. Now, it's not that I've forgotten about it, these issues are still very present and very relevant. BUT, when stress and overwhelm-ation set in, boy, that's no good and it's not heading in a very good direction. Why mull around when I know for a 100% fact that God's in control? What happens, happens and, regardless good or bad, God has blessed me in that specific situation for a specific reason, an experience to learn by. I have absolutely no control over anything so WHY IN THE WORLD get so stressed out about it? Life's a trip and I'm just a long for the ride. Sure it get's bumpy, the oil needs to be changed every once in a while, but hey, it's a blast.

That ended on an optimistic note. The next video may change that. This video is INCREDIBLE. It's heartbreaking, personable, and hopeful. I don't know how to put it into words other than it's definitely worth a watch. (Disclaimer: there are a few "choice" words).

Last Minutes with ODEN

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

Unreal. I feel for this man and his love for his dog. There's something about this story that is so easy to relate to. We all desire unconditional love; regardless of situation, the love we crave never wavers and is always there for you. While I was watching this short film, the parallels between Oden and our Father in Heaven were incredible. The most notable difference? Christ's unconditional love is TRULY unconditional. He will never leave us, will never grow old, will not die out, and will always be there even if we can't feel it.

Unbelievable. The funny thing is we do not deserve it AT ALL.

The next video is an interview with Eliot Rausch, the director of "Last Minutes with ODEN." This man is truly inspiring, using his gifts to tell a story, an extremely real story. As I continue in my film studies, messing and fooling around with different subject matters, content, etc., I am learning more and more that I am intrigued with REAL life. Capturing life as it plays out with as little "Hollywood" influence as possible. That's a completely different topic though. Enjoy this interview, I know I did:

Eliot Rausch on "Last Call" with Carson Daly from phos pictures on Vimeo.

Speaking of filmic inspiration, I've been chugging through some fun little shorts. They're all short, under 1 minute each, and they're all happily unique, bizarre, and promotional, all in the same.

1. SPOOKTACULAR: This is a promo for HME's dance Spooktacular going on at the end of this month. I decided to act a little, this is what happened.

SPOOKTACULAR IS COMING from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.
.

2. UP: THE MAN IN THE FLYING CHAIR: This is a promo for a theatre/film production directed by Mr. Ian Mayta. I very much enjoyed developing this idea of using stock footage as the main content. The opening video to the production will also be a video in this similar style, I'm excited to begin working on it.

The Man in the Flying Chair from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

3. ANIMAL FICTION: This is a promo for a short film directed by Mr. Zack Campbell that I will be editing in the near future. I'm PUMPED to be involved on this project.

Animal Fiction: A Promo from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

And there! There you have it!

The blog post for the 26th of October.

Have a most excellent day today. Take a short brisk walk around the neighborhood. Say hello to a neighbor. Talk about something you've never talked about before.

Enjoy life, it only happens once.

Carpe Diem

2011-10-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's been quite the week! It's difficult to put it into words, summaries are endless, these are just text-s on a screen. I've got to warn you, it's Torrey week here at Biola University, which means the schedule is completely gnarled up, meaning my schedule is a mess, meaning this blog post will more than likely be shorter than the norm. It's okay, it was meant to be.

The funny thing about this week is the stories that went down are not meant for this blog. Normally, and most always, I share with you stories, normally, and most always, in depth. These shared stories are meant to be public, i.e. you, can see, read, laugh, and ponder. The stories from this last week are on a more personal level and involve other people that may or may not want their stories posted on this here blog. That sentence makes this week sound SUPER INTENSE, I'll leave that up to you to make assumptions. The funny thing about blogs is it feels like a journal, scratch that, it IS a journal; I'm sitting here alone on my couch, writing to myself about my experiences, my thoughts, my dreams. No one is here looking over my shoulder, no one is here influencing what I write. So, naturally, anything and everything is fair game... well, it WAS. After getting into a number of sticky situations, I've learned that this blog is actually read by actual people and it is possible to offend, misinterpret, exaggerate, enunciate any and every word that I write.

So, that said, I'm going to describe the week in careful vagueness:

Last Wednesday: good conversation, learned some things.
Friday: GREAT, tried new things, enjoyed company, learned about each other, airplanes.
Saturday: Family, soccer, Trop 205 Restaurant style
Monday: Encouragement.
Tuesday: Change of plans. We'll see what happens.

Boom boom bam. There it is, that was the week in all it's vague glory, but in its ambiguity, it honestly was an INCREDIBLE week. Learned so many new things, had so many solid conversations, and went on a limb, took a risk, got adventurous, and Friday happened, for which I am very grateful. Mistakes were made, lessons were learned. Seems like the only way to learn things these days is to mess up in the process.

I talked to a friend of mine earlier this week about life experiences. For some reason, I was intrigued by the fact that memories are only contained within time. You went to the "best concert of your life," after the end of the concert, it's over, forever. There is no returning to the concert no matter how incredible it was. "Man, last night was so fun! I wish I never had to go to sleep!" Last night was last night and it will always be "last night." Unfortunately, you can never experience "last night" again. Luckily, through the joy of memory, we can remember details and, in a sense, "relive" the situation. But still, it went down in history and stays in history. So, for this reason, the term "carpe diem" applies consistently. Make EVERY DAY unique, individual; make it stand out amongst the rest of history. You're never going to be able to return to these moments, no matter how great they are, and if you can recognize this fact, you can treat every moment as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

So with that, LIVE IT UP today. Always be looking for that one moment that goes down in history as TODAY. Yesterday, Ms. Kylie Tyndall asked me what my "favorite part about today" was. I didn't have a good answer.

Have a good answer.

Dress it up

2011-10-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the picture above. What do you notice? You might notice nothing. Mr. Scott Gamelson noticed something though: "What? That's not fancy enough for a Wednesday." It's not. Or is it? What's fancy? What's dressing up? This is the topic of conversation.

"Dressing up" is an interesting action. When do we dress up? Well, for me, I dress up every Wednesday and whenever I feel like it's appropriate, which, honestly, is most situations. I personally enjoy dressing up, I enjoy a suit and tie, I enjoy getting fancy. Other people don't. Other people do not enjoy dressing up, enjoy a t-shirt and sweats, and don't ever want to get fancy. There's nothing wrong with this, I enjoy a t-shirt and sweats an incredible amount, but there's something beautiful about the act of dressing up because of the situation deserving the respect. For example, back in the day (I think), when people went out for a social event, when people went to town for the evening, they took the time to prepare themselves for a nice time. They dressed to the occasion and treated social events with importance. It might just be me, but it's not quite like that anymore. In general, it doesn't seem like people care about social interaction the way they used to. I feel like, especially for gentleman, the art of dressing up is taking a hike in the backwards direction. I can't tell you how many times guys have asked me if I could tie their tie for the them. I feel embarrassed for them. It's time to learn how to tie ties, gentleman. Speaking of tying ties, the "real" bow tie is almost completely extinct. Well, maybe. The trend of the "hipster" is toying with the idea of getting "into" bow ties again. I guess we'll see what happens.

All this to say, I enjoy dressing up and I feel like our generation is on the downhill, dressing up isn't near as important and perhaps fun as it used to be. And just a disclaimer, everything written on this blog is opinion written in the moment. It's not meant to offend, it's not meant to prove, it's merely meant to express my random thoughts with a virtual audience.

And all THAT to say, I dressed "down" on purpose today, to speak to this issue. I guess that's a whole nother issue entirely: getting used to me dressing up on Wednesdays. There's an expectation that I dress up every Wednesday, an expectation that in no way shape or form NEEDS to happen, it just has happened, well, for the last 3+ years. And it's been a great 3+ years.

So, two Thursday's ago, the 29th of September, I was given the opportunity to film and photograph the madness we know as SWAGTACULAR. Hungry Mind Entertainment partnered up with House of Blues to throw this party full of swag and boy, was it an experience. I'm not going to get to detailed, but I learned a ton about myself that night, in all sorts of different ways, and in the end, it was well worth it and a spectacular learning experience. As I was working on the video, I was absolutely amazed to see my Hume Lake influence show up. I can honestly attribute most, if not all, my video editing skills to Hume Lake Christian Camps and the immense amount of practice I was blessed with during the summer of 2010. Seriously. Every stylistic decision that was made throughout this video somehow stemmed from something I learned and tried a Hume two summers ago. It got me PUMPED and I am so so grateful for that summer two short years ago. Here's the video, for your enjoyment:

SWAGTACULAR // The Chaos from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Next ||

Four months ago, my roommate Mr. Joel Limbauan began training for a half-marathon. As far as I know, there was no major major cause for this, it was simple curiosity, perseverance, and drive. Four months later, last Sunday rolled around, and entire apartment: Mr. Joel Limbuan, Mr. Ben Jacuk, Mr. Michael Warnecke, and myself, took off in the wee hours of the morning to go support our friend and housemate. Here is the videographic proof:

WHAT. A. DAY! Joel's the man, the straight up man. Telling yourself you want to run a half-marathon and then actually doing it? That's WILD.

And that, my friends, is the end. I hope you enjoyed it. If not, it's just Wednesday.

Drink a fruit smoothie relatively soon. Try something you've never tried before.

Storytime

2011-10-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

It's raining and rain is the worst (to put it heavily), I dislike it (to put it lightly). A lot of people disagree with me, they LOVE the rain. I cannot fathom why. Here's my argument. I say to them "Yes, I LOVE the rain too. It's important to water the earth. It's necessary. I LOVE it when I have NOTHING to do and I'm sitting with a cup of hot chocolate in front of the warmth of a fire. In that situation or anything other situation that involves sitting around, rain is the greatest. But when you have to do ANYTHING else, rain is the absolute pits. It makes everything more difficult, it's hard to travel, people drive like 5 year olds, there are accidents, mudslides, your clothes get wet, you can't see because water is getting in your eyeballs, it's cold, it's uncomfortable. How can you say you LOVE that?!" I'm seriously baffled. It makes everything so hard, everything a chore. Going to class is no easy task, it involves protecting your stuff from getting wet, trying to get there without getting soaked, and then sitting through class where everybody is damp in some sense and the musty scent of wet clothes hangs in the air.

I've got one word: yuck.

Just a word: in the end, this is just a rant. Obviously, the rain replenishes our earth, gives an opportunity to harvest, provides clean water, and ultimately is a gift from God. For that, I am grateful.

Well, it's another week. Another week. Another week. Time's flying. Another week. I've been training myself not to blink because I just know that the next time I blink, I'm going to be hanging out in a senior citizens home, recollecting memories from my 83 years of life. Just like *snap*.

It's been made apparent to me lately that I enjoy stories, all sorts of stories, telling stories, listening to stories. There is something about a story that just makes the world go round, and it's wonderful. We've all had the experience of sitting in a dull history class, listening to a lecture, when all of a sudden Mr. Boredom himself begins the story of his sophomore year in college when he snuck into the Natural History Museum in order to complete a class project. It is at this point when we start listening. Why do we start listening? Because Mr. Boredom is passionate about his illegal venture. Mr. Boredom is NOT passionate about history. History is FULL of stories, but if the person telling them is not passionate, well, why would we listen intently? Passion seems to be a pretty important part of storytelling. Every once in a while, I take a look through the records of this blog. I enjoy using the "Random Post of the Refresh" button in the upper right corner to re-discover the stories of past. In doing this, I've realized a couple of things. 1st: our memories are INCREDIBLE. Yes, we cannot recall any life experience at anytime. But, with a trigger, you can recall any situation like it happened yesterday. I've learned that this blog serves as an EXCELLENT trigger. At the time of writing, the stories don't seem that significant, because they just happened. But let me tell you, there's nothing better than returning to a story from 2 years back, getting drilled with details, and reliving the situation. And then you share. You remind others of this situation, regardless if they were there with you or not. You tell the story.

I have some stories for you.

I revisited this story from May the 9th: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/05/high-five-for-first-kiss-birth-of-viral.html. This story just makes me laugh, I still can't believe it happened this way and I got a front row seat to the power of the viral internet. A GREAT learning experience, a TON of bewilderment, and a FANTASTIC story. Enjoy!

And now some wedding stories, fresh off the press!

Jordan & Danielle Rose: mawwiagefilms.com/jordandanielle

Jordan & Danielle Rose from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

AND

Alex & Danielle Blackhall: mawwiagefilms.com/alexanddanielle

Alex & Danielle Blackhall from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

These are good stories. So is this one: I saw this video the other day. I was intrigued to say the least. If this were at all legal, this is how I would travel. Just imagine a road trip with a group of musicians. Can you say "not-only-would-this-be-awesome-to-see-while-on-the-freeway-but-I-would-have-a-BALL-on-a-road-trip-like-that?" I can.

Makes me laugh, each and every time. JAM ON.

Well, that's the post. Hoop, there it is.

Go tell someone a story. Tell them a funny story. Then a sad story. Then a surprising story. Then, listen to their funny story. Listen to their sad story. Listen to their surprising story.

SHARE STORIES!

It's all about the memories.

Backs and Forths

2011-09-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting week. Ups and downs, backs and forths, simple all-over-the-place fun. This is directly reflected through my clothing selections for today. In fact, it's so closely related, we'll treat this like a rhetorical question and you can figure out how and why it's connected on your own. I will explain one thing though; the lack of tie has great significance and that is, well, somehow, somewhere, one of my suits, charcoal in color, along with approximately 15 ties (half of my tie collection) went missing. Don't know the details, don't know how it happened, wish I did, wish this didn't happen. I put up a classified ad on Biola's network and here's a link to it:

http://apps.biola.edu/classifieds/listings/6166

This is a pretty significant loss, it's going to be difficult to recover and, in some situations, impossible to recover. It's brutal, but hey, it is what it is, live goes on, and we're good. Boom boom bam, let's go.

Speaking of "let's go," last Friday night's events were up in the air. There were three different options, all of which were undetermined. Long story short, I ended up committing to go to a Future of Forestry, Lovelite, and Reveal concert with Ms. Sierra Falco, Ms. Amber Agron, and Amber's boyfriend Mr. Preston Richardson. I was excited, they were excited, we were all excited. Before long, it's time to go and Preston, who was photographing the concert and was scheduled to come pick us up from Biola, was struggling to get his car started. It was at this point I knew we were in for a treat. We needed to figure out what to do and decided upon driving Amber's car, a big ol' Bronco. There was a problem though, Amber's arm is injured, rendering her unable to drive. Well, the smell of adventure was in the air, so I volunteered to put my driver's license to good use. I was warned immediately, old big vehicles can be fussy, there are little tricks and whistles one needs to master before it will drive well. Sure enough, the first five minutes were absolutely BRUTAL. The brakes were SUPER touchy and the gas required quite the punch. Luckily, we humans are made to adapt, so after quite the interesting 5 minutes, it was like I had been driving this bad boy for years.

So, we're on the freeway, just cruising, looking for exit 90 something in midst of traffic, and all of a sudden, a realization is made: we were going the wrong way on the freeway, and not only that, we had been going the wrong way for a good half an hour. This is the moment that plagues my life, the great moment of realizing you're in the wrong place. Now, if there's anything I've learned in my lifetime, it's that I ALWAYS get lost, and when I get lost, it's ALWAYS an adventure. BIG memories are waiting to be made. Never fails. Ever. So it's at this moment, I just start laughing, realize this trip has just become the trip of lifetime, and the story of this trip will be told for years. It was time to turn around.

So we did. And our less than 30 minute trip quickly turned into a 2 hour trip. And we enjoyed ourselves. We chatted about all sorts of nice things, including but not limited to in-depth conversations about two intense topics dreams and cancer. We had time, lots of it, and hey, when you stick people in a situation where all they can do is talk to each other, boom, that's what you do. That's my idea of a good time. So, FINALLY, we arrive at Crossline Church. After struggling to find the entrance, we make it in, quickly realizing we had missed the first two bands, Lovelite and Reveal, but hey, we made it. Future of Forestry absolutely killed it, those guys know how to jam and know how to put on a show! There were definitely a few of those moments where the only response worthy is a *gasp,* there's no other response suitable, it's just too too good. I couldn't help but yelp "SO DOPE" at one point, givin' me chills. Know what was also great? Seeing old friends like Mr. Grant Gunther and Mr. Louie Huesmann, among others from Hume. Reunions are the best.

And then we left. Presten's vehicle was still out of commission, so we left from Crossline with an one more passenger than we had come with, thought outside the bun and stopped by Taco Bell for a late night snack, and headed out. And guess how long the trip home took? Let's just say 25 minutes, just a tad bit shorter than the 2 hours it took to get there. Good, quick ride home.

All in all, the idea that "half the fun is getting there" rings brilliantly true, and in this case, it may as well read "three quarters of the fun is getting there." Through my experience with getting lost in virtually every driving situation I'm in, I've learned a few things:

It's incredibly easy and tempting to become stressed, flustered, and concerned. It's very easy to get plastered by a wave of negativity and potentially ruin the rest of the trip. These aren't necessarily bad things, they just threatening. This happens to everyone, it's natural.
If you can help it, be optimistic about the situation. Believe it or not, getting lost happened to you for a reason, probably reasons you will never know. I'll give you an example: my grandpa was scheduled to board a boat. For whatever reason, he accidentally did not make it on that boat and what happens? The boat sinks. You never know what's going to happen.
Utilize your extra time you gain from getting lost. Time and time again, getting lost creates lots of laughs about getting back on track and relearning where you are going. Time and time again, conversation and experiences have taken place during that time that never would have had a chance if you hadn't lost your place.
Make it fun. Laugh about it, have a blast. You might as well. It's a bad situation, turn it into a good situation. Make it a memory that will last a lifetime. And you know what happens with memories? They become stories, great stories. And what do you do with stories? You tell them. And hey, every time you're in a car, you can tell your co-car-riders the story of "that one time you got lost." THE BEST.

And that's the story about that one time I got lost with Amber and Sierra. It's in the memory bank for good.

Now, I've got three strange topics to talk about.

First, bad breath. I feel like bad breath is one of the strangest, nastiest, troubling accidents on the face of this earth, an accident we all struggle with in some form. When you're talking to someone with terrible breath, it's revolting, you can't stand it. But what do you? More often than not, you don't do anything. Now, I'm not quite sure why we don't say anything. Perhaps it's embarrassing. You feel bad for telling someone "Hey, sorry to bring this up, but you need a breathmint, your breath...well, it's bad." Not only is it hard for you to say, but how are they going to feel? We feel embarrassed. If you're the one with bad breath, how do you feel? I'm speaking from personal experience right now. If someone tells me, "Woah, take a swig of Listerine or something," I think immediately "YIKES, bad breath is nasty" and then immediately think "how long have I had this repulsing stench fuming from my mouth, how many people have been devoured by this scent, been disgusted, and not said anything." In my opinion, if my breath has even a hint of "bad," I would love for it to be pointed out, that way it can be fixed from the get-go and it won't have to get embarrassing for either party when my breath is killing the plants I walk by.

Second, the wave. I recently had two different converstaions with two separate sets of people about waving, and now, as I'm writing this, I'm realizing this will be very difficult to describe in words without showing with my own two hands. Bascially, we came to the realization that men and women wave differently. More often than not, a man will either just stick his hand in the air, or maybe do one simple "swipe." A women kind of hits the whole spectrum, ranging throughout all sorts of different varieties of waves. I'm going to cut this conversation right now because it's literally impossible to describe all the variations of waves, plus it's much more fun to demonstarte. Ask me sometime about it. One last note though, during the first conversation about waves, we agreed that a notable wave that is feminite and maybe a tad annoying is the finger wave, where you kind of have your fingers pointed at your subject and move your fingers in a wave pattern. The funny thing about it is since we talked about this, I have caught myself over and over and over again waving in this extremely awkward and strange way of waving. I just can't help but laugh. Out of all the ways to wave we talked about, that's the one my phyche chose to naturally do (at least for this week). Strange.

Lastly, social experimentation. Do you ever do little things to see how people react? Whether that's something you say, not speaking up when you would normally, choosing to do certain things that wouldn't normally do, but for the sake of reaction, you do them anyway, or, similarly, not doing or saying things you normally would? I guess we all do this kind of stuff, just involuntary. Recently though, I've been having some fun with it. My absolute favorite is not speaking up with there's an awkward silence. It's quiet and uncomfortable and getting worse by the second. You feel the urge to do something, whether that is speak up, chuckle, or do the hand motion that, in my opinion, is the greatest symbol of the loss of social skills among our generation, the awkward turtle. I LOVE not breaking this silence and just seeing what happens. Every time the results are different and it's so interesting to see how people react to awkward silence and in there end, how they break it. It's almost like taking a seat and watching the drama play out. Just good clean fun.

Along that note, the other night I was talking with Ms. Sierra Falco and Ms. Jenette Hatch about the topic of hugs. Now, hugs are a funny business. A hug is what? The in between between a handshake and a full on kiss? There is a level of intimacy in a hug that does not exist in a handshake and it's this intmacy that catches me off guard. People enjoy the feeling of touch. I'm not sure how to explain it, but there's something about touch that hits us hard and we were designed by our Creator that way. That said, the variety of a hug is intriguing. First you have the side hug, the supposed awkward cousin to the "real" hug. Personally, I don't have a problem with it. To me, it's not awkward or weird; yes, it is less intimate (don't you love that word?) than a full hug, but why does the side hug get a bad rap? Don't know. Then you have the "real" hug, a straight up greeting of meaningful proportions. Sierra and Jenette called it, they said the reason a real hug is absolutely necessary is the feeling of being surrounded, encircled in the other persons arms, a feeling that a side hug can never offer. Now here's something else, what happened to that hug/kiss on the cheek thing? I don't know what it's called, but I've noticed that older people and Europeans in general tend to use this greeting when greeting a member of the opposite sex. I know virtually nothing about this type of greeting so I'm going to stop talking about it. I just thought it is either an interesting twist on cliche American greetings or it's just gone out of style...or something.

And lastly, I have one video for you. My apartmentmate, Mr. Michael Warnecke, showed me this video last night and it's the epitome of JAMMING.

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The drummer is having the absolute time of his life. JAMMING JAMMING JAMMING. I can't put it into words, I just can't. I can't get over the absolute greatness of the BEAST of a drummer. So incredibly good. In the pocket, in the groove, mmmm, GORGEOUS.

And that's the post! Lots of words today. I'm always a fan of words.

Go tell someone else some words, have a good, meaningful conversation.

Dear Diary

2011-09-21T15:24:00.001-07:00

It's to the point where I feel like it's Wednesday everyday. Days feel like hours, weeks feel like days, months feel like weeks, years feel like months, decades feel like years, centuries feel like decades, millenniums feel like centuries. Time is cruise, cruise, cruising along, not waiting along for stragglers. All that to say, life's nuts and it's just getting nuttier.

I'll prove it to you. Are you familiar with the Sleep Talk 100 project? If you aren't, I've been recording my sleep talking each and every night and posting the results here: sleeptalk100.tumblr.com. Anyway, take a listen to last night's words:

http://sleeptalk100.tumblr.com/post/10488589505/deep-breath-i-have-no-clue-what-to-do

I don't want to claim I know what I'm referring too, but it just might relate to the intensity of LIFE.

If you have been a consistent reader, for which I am very grateful, you will remember that last semester was ridiculous, a DOOZY, if you will. It was testing, difficult, and immensely challenging, but served as an INCREDIBLE learning experience, for which I am also grateful. However, for the majority of the semester, work was #1. There was no time for relaxation, sleep, or a social life.

Yikes.

So, that said, this semester, I intentionally signed up for less units, and, more importantly, less studio classes (film + art classes). BUT, because I'm me, I'm still unbelievably busy. Imagine that. Here's what's cool though: the busyness finally includes a social factor, doing things with other human beings. Before, it was "I've got four hours to complete 3 projects." Now, it is "I've got four hours to complete one project and hang out with some peeps." Do you know what this means? More stories, more memories, two of my favorite things. I'll prove more to you: last week, stories were the name of the game. Here's the post if you haven't seen it:

http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/09/spontaneity.html

Stories. Lots of them. Memories. Lots of them. This is how it should be. And last week is was. And it was excellent, most excellent. Be spontaneous. Seriously. Last year, the loads of work got in the way of spontaneity. This year, making memories is on the agenda, and last week shows it's an attainable goal.

Now, more than ever, this blog feels like a diary. I feel like I got all emotional and stuff and spilled my guts to the world. I hope you enjoy gut spilling. Sometimes it's necessary. And sometimes it fun.

And with that, there's not much more to say.

But there's more to watch.

First, on May 20th, 2011, the day before the hoax-of-a-claim of the return of Christ, Mr. Kyle Dietz, Mr. Scott Weir, Mr. Connor Cabalka, and myself flew through the air at the speed of gravity. We sky dove. It was incredible. It was fantastic. And now there's a video, a video of which is decently long so if you want to, skip the middle part; the beginning and end are definitely worth a watch:

Secondly, I ran across a filmmaker who has become in the last week one of my biggest inspirations. He is a one man jam and his work is absolutely incredible. And the best part? He is using his gifts to spread the love of Christ. Breath=taken.

[Fo'tis'ma] from Salomon on Vimeo.

And finally, live performence music video by the ridiculosity of a band, Sleigh Bells. The reason I share this is not for the performance in itself, but in the video production. The editing BEAUTIFULLY reflects the chaotic nature of Sleigh Bells' music and their absurd live shows. Naturally, I'm a fan.

Sleigh Bells "A/B Machines" (Live) from Phil Pinto on Vimeo.

And that's the post. I gave a shout out earlier to all the consistent readers. I really am grateful for you, regardless if I know you. In the beginning stages of this blog, it was all about records, recording events in the life of Morgan Lott to be remembered. Technically, it still is around for that purpose BUT, even through the urges to quit, it's great to be able to share current happenings, interesting findings, and everything else under the sun to the internet community. To those of you I know personally, I want to thank you for reading and investing some time in this bizarre dude you know. To those of you I don't know personally, I want to thank you for reading and investing some time in this bizarre dude you don't know.

Invest your time wisely. Invest your money wisely. Invest your relationships wisely. Invest your life wisely.

Be wise.

Spontaneity

2011-09-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's been quite the week!

Let's start from the beginning. On Thursday, the 6th, my good friend Mr. Sean Cook informs me he is playing a free show with the band Press Play in Long Beach. Naturally, I have to go. I start talking to people, trying to get a group to go. I start with the Simi people, people who would be interested in chillin' with Sean regardless of the concert. No luck. Then I started asking people who just seemed like they would want to go. No luck. EVERYBODY I talked (or tried to talk to) either wanted to go but couldn't, didn't want to go, or just straight up sick. FINALLY, an hour before I was hoping to leave, I found two people to come with me. I was ECSTATIC not only because friends were able to go, but because there was a vehicle that was able to go. Over the next 45 minutes, however, the tides turned. Both people turned down the chance of a lifetime. I was bummed. SO CLOSE! I was in a pickle, I still wanted to go. Should I go alone? I don't see why not? But... who goes to concerts alone? Seems, I don't know, a little gutsy. Plus, I didn't have a car...

BUT, I just had to go. I found a car last second, asked my roommates if they wanted to go one last time and then headed out by myself.

Naturally, I took a camera.

Guys, this was just great. Not only was the experience as a whole great, but going to worship God with the community of Christ at a place I had never been before was GREAT. Press Play is impacting the world and it was incredible to see that first hand. I've discovered over the years that I enjoy spontaneity a whole lot. Spontaneous events are nothing but a big bundle of surprise and, honestly, it never fails for a good time. Even in situations that may not seem "fun" or "worthwhile," 100% of the time, it makes for a good memory. Stories that begin "Remember that time?" are consistently GREAT stories. Click the links below for some incredible spontaneous stories from my life. I cannot express to you how great these memories are:

The story of a car accident, a white elephant gift exchange and a wedding: CLICK

The story of crashing the uncrashable sweet 16 party: CLICK

The story of the photographs, getting caught in a ditch, and flipping a coin: CLICK

The story of ditching Senior Ditch Day: CLICK

The story of the April Fool: CLICK

(Mr. Scott Weir seems to be the spontaneous helper)

Be spontaneous. Do random stuff at random times. These are the best days of our lives.

Speaking of spontaneity, the fun doesn't end.

On Saturday, I was given the opportunity to shoot photographs at a wedding. Mr. Austin Axen asked me if I would like to help him in an extremely relaxed, stress-free environment. I was hesitant at first, but just couldn't turn it down. I was BLOWN AWAY by how different shooting photographs at a wedding is from shooting video at a wedding, not to mention that is was really REALLY hard. I was definitely stretched throughout the day and it was the perfect "practicing" situation because I wasn't expected to perform and produce professional images. I must say though, Mr. Austin Axen is a G when it comes to photography. His shots were consistently incredible. He's got the eye and I'm pumped to see where he goes. Here's a few images for your enjoyment.

Then, that night, Mr. Scott Weir called me up and invited me to join him and others to go to this wild place called Guppy's. Supposedly, Guppy's is just a tea house just down the road. But of course, when you stick me and Mr. Scott Weir in the same vehicle, something crazy is going to go down. So, of course, we get lost. We always get lost. After a decent amount of laughs, we arrive. So, I guess this place Guppy's is famous for like shave ice or something. We take a look at the menu, discover the shave ice is pretty expensive, and get the largest one. And let me tell you, it was MASSIVE. Here's a photo of the mayhem courtesy of Ms. Sierra Falco.

Gigantic clam-shaped bowl filled with mounds of shave ice, pretty much a whole fruit tree, and softball-sized icecream scoops. Let's just say we didn't finish it. Yeah, didn't have a chance.

Then, the next night, it was time to celebrate Ms. Laura Cook's birthday. I'm not going to get too much into this, but when you stick 15-20 well dressed (as per Laura's request) people around a table at Elephant Bar, the term "good time" just fits. It was an evening full of good friends, good conversations, and good food, which, in my opinion, is one of the best combinations you can ever have. Definitely a good night, stickin' in the memory bank for good.

So, all in all, EXCELLENT week. One of the best in my recent memory.

AND GUESS WHAT! You may not have noticed, but the last few weeks, I have mentioned the tour of the apartment and I have mentioned it simply can't happen that particular week. Here's the deal, everything that I said was going to happen "eventually" still hasn't happened. So you know what this means? You get the tour of the not-quite-completed Tropicana 205 apartment!

So without further ado, I present to you 205.

I encourage you, enjoy the tour. If you would ever like to stop, please let the tram driver know and we will wait for you. Our tour guide has led African safaris for 15 years so he is understanding if you want to take picture or two.

Here we are! Tropicana. If you look forward, you will notice the vintage apartment building that is Tropicana. This is the entrance to the building leading to the numerous apartments inside. Let's go inside!

Okay, we've just made our way up the stairs and are now looking out from the second level over the "hole" if you will in the middle of the apartment complex. If you peer across the gap, you will see a door that reads "205." That's we are headed. If you look below, you will notice there is a considerable body of water. This is the Tropicana pool, a pool that has been used by all kinds of people including party-goers, volleyball players, competitive swimmers, and the normal pool-goer. This pool is the home of fun.

Let's move across to the other side.

We have made it to our destination. If you take a look at the handle you will notice the "Krill Egg." This egg has been stolen by numerous critters including raccoons, squirrels, and crows. Somehow, it has survived the years and still resides on the door handle of our residence. It is one of those irreplaceable amenities.

Please watch your head and take a step inside.

Welcome to Tropicana 205! Like I said, it is still in the working stage, but we're making progress! Immediately you will notice the ficus and the flags. The ficus is one of the most notable aspects of the apartments as you can see it from almost anywhere in the complex. It also creates a jungle-like atmosphere which is always great. You will also notice the flags, representing the communities (from left to right) Oklahoma, Alaska, the Philippines, and Hawaii. We are mulch-cultural in 205.

In the front of the living room, you will notice the "Call Police" sign which has always been notable and often the conversation starter with many types of people. You will also notice the "Skyline" and "S'us b'ilt" signs, two treasures from my summer at Hume Lake Christian Camps. Those two words/sayings bring back multitudes of memories and make me smile. Rep the skyline. You will also notice the entertainment system. It's been fun. See that white box in the corner? If that ground is shaking, well, you can blame that guy.

Take a right and you'll see our dining room. Right now it is home to housemate Mr. Ben Jacuk's materials after that beast of man stayed up through the night studying. Remarkable. This is where we eat meals every day, no matter how good or bad they happen to be.

This is the kitchen, where food is made, where food is stored. Take a look inside the refrigerator if you dare. I may as well mention the snack bar that you will be able to purchase food from once this tour has finished. "Serving Tour Food since 1990."

Okay, next stop are the rooms. Head down the hallway and look left. This is where I and my roommate Joel live. What you see here is Joel's area, including the unfortunate Phillies flag. It seems like all they do is win. Joel's clean. I'm not.

This is an interesting area of the room. You'll see a number of ties on the ground. This is because I have not found a place to store them which has become quite the problem. I'm sure a solution will present itself soon. I hope a solution will present itself soon.

This is my desk. It is a mess. I'm sorry. Like I said, I'm still moving in. Kind of. This is unacceptable and embarrassing.

This is the mural. You may recognize it from years past. I rescued him from the Royal High School dumpster my senior year. It was part of a set for a drama production, and no, Ms. Melanie Lott and Mr. Kyle Dietz had nothing to do with the creation of the painting. I expect this painting to grace my home for years to come.

If you take a look at the ground, you'll see the rest of the materials that need to be hung on the walls. This includes posters, comic strips, and other goodies that have been collected thorughout the year. Perhaps the most notable object in this sad pile is the picture of my pal, mentor, and inspiration, Mr. Rudy Campos. You see, Rudy Campos is a Video Production Professional and when I acquired this gem in high school, I aspired to be just like him, a video production professional.

Here is a SECRET spot in the room. This is the where the Sleep Talk 100 (http://sleeptalk100.tumblr.com) is recorded. If you know what that means, you might say "woah" or something. I don't know how you'll react, I just sleep there. But there you, Behind-The-Scenes to the MAX.

This is Mr. Michael Warnecke and Mr. Ben Jacuk's room. With respect to privacy, I politley ask you not to look in there. I have no authority over their room.

We're almost done with the tour! We have one last stop. As you head toward the front door, take a look at the wall separating the door and the window.

This is our Santa. Yes, he's creepy. Yes, he's red. Yes, he's in a train. Yes, the dude in the onesie just received coal in his stocking. Yes, this is a magazine cut-out. Yes, it's provided for a number of great laughs. Yes, you can see a close-up.

And that concludes the 2011 tour of the Tropicana 205! I hope you enjoyed your trip, learned some interesting facts to be used in trivia games, and leave feeling refreshed and encouraged. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Tropicana and have a great day! Please be sure to visit, you're always welcome. Buh-bye now!

Friends. That concludes this Wednesday's edition of "It's Wednesday!" I must say, this one is one for the ages. Lots of good content. It may or may not make it onto the Top 5 list, I'm leaning towards not.

I'll let you decide.

Have an excellent day. Encourage someone.

The Line

2011-09-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

Oh, it's Wednesday again. It's amazing how much happens at the week, but at the same time, how little happens. Think about it.

I'm here to tell you the apartment still is not finished. The same as last week. It is still not suitable for the tour. Not at all. BUT, I promise you, you will get the tour eventually. Treat it like a raincheck, except I choose when you redeem it. Either way, I apologize. The tour is a staple in college life, it had been unwavering. Can't quite say that any more.

This week has been good. Has it's ups and downs as normal. I've realize my plate is plum full of good, clean fun/work/school/etc. I think I'm going to legally change my name to "Busy." Why this happens every semester, I will never know. Let me introduce you to SLEEPTALK100.

On September 1st, I began an adventure: for 100 straight days, I am going to record my sleep talking during the night. It's exciting, it's off-kilter, it's annoying, it's vulnerable, it's eerie, it's a blast. I am a week into the project and the results have been surprising, mainly because I've never actually heard myself sleep talk, I've just heard the stories. Here's your introduction:

SLEEPTALK100 - An Introduction from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

and here are your links:

MAIN SITE: Audio clips are here: http://sleeptalk100.tumblr.com

Follow progress and receive updates: http://facebook.com/sleeptalk100

Secondary: http://twitter.com/sleeptalk100

It's been quite the journey thus far. And let me tell ya, the next 3 months are going to be full of quality sleep talkin'. Like the facebook page and you'll see this stuff as it's happening. Crazyzyzyness.

I've got some fun video for you now.

I took a trip to yesteryear this last week and uncovered some classic videos. All I can say is: ENJOY.

This first one is one of my favorites. This was my first spontaneous film, no prep, go with the flow, jump cut editing. I love it. And I'm sure all of the people in this video really enjoy seeing their young selves. Recognize that dude in the thumbnail? Mr. Scott Weir = the man.

Marvelous Light. Oh boy. Summer of 2009 I had the privilege to play drums at Hartland Christian Camps. It was a blast and a half and AWESOME to see God work throughout the summer. One of the nights is called the Rowdy Campfire in which the goal is simple: go ape. Here is an example of the ape-ness: Two campers came up to play with us, I came from behind the set to sing, the bassist, my cousin Mr. Micah Hiett, went back to drums and we JAMMED. Act ridiculous, sound ridiculous, and praising God through it all. What a memory.

During my senior year in high school, I was in a video production class (which changed my life by the way) and this was my extra credit music video. It surprised people.

These first couple weeks of school has brought back memories from freshman year. I have told the stories of the next videos a number of times and it's absolutely wonderful to re-experience the madness.

First, the possum that was hanging out in my room. Mr. Ben Jacuk came in and showed us scaredy cats (and inexperienced, not-wanting-rabies, cats) who's boss.

And finally, us dudes heard of a free Ashley Tisdale concert. We HAD to go. It was necessary. This is our story.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is today's blog post. I hope you enjoyed the videos. I know I did, reliving memories is definitely worthwhile every once in a whileworth.

Look around, find some old pictures of videos from your life. Relive those moments. Nothing better.

Blue Flowers

2011-08-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

The tie means something. It's got blue flowers all over it. Does it match with the rest? No. (Unless you get all artsy/philosophical). The point? Things don't have to match. Who said they have to? Things that happen in life don't have to match what you think your life is going to be like. Things aren't going to match. But hey, smile about it.

Folks. Unfortunately, today's post is going to be kinda skimpy. I'll tell you why in a second.

First of all, the tour guide is sick today. I know I told you last week you'd get a tour of my apartment, which you most definitely will, BUT...not today. There's a few reasons for this, most notably the fact that the apartment is still not set up the way we envision it, at least to a point of leading a guided tour of 100 people through. So, keep your eyes peeled in the coming weeks, you'll get your tour, don't you worry.

Second, I've been working on something BIG that is being released and started tomorrow, Thursday. I'll tell you this much: I am going to be performing an action everyday for 100 days straight and you will be able to follow the progress each and every day of the hundred. I'm am beyond excited for this project and I'll explain why after it has begun.

I've got two video releases for you though.

So here they are:

First, I had the privilege of going down to Long Beach to experience and document an incredible ministry that seeks to love the homeless as Christ would. These are people who haven't been missionaries over seas, these are people who don't preach to 10,000 people at a time, these are just normal people in Long Beach who want to share the love of God to others. This project was for Hume Lake Christian Camps to share with the high schoolers every week. While I was counselor during Week 6, it was incredible seeing this short film, not because I made it, but because of the influence it had on the campers, seeing the idea that you don't have to be an "All-Star Christian" to love people like Christ did dawn on countless teenagers was incredible. I was beyond blessed to be able to work on this project.

Long Beach Homeless Ministry - The Story from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

Next is the most recent Mawwiage Films teaser. I personally really like this one, I had a lot of fun with it. People have been asking about the music, so I'll just let it loose right here, right now! "Cyanide Sisters" by Com Truise.

Enjoy!

Jordan & Danielle: The Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

Side note, Mr. Michael Warnecke and I are JAMMING to P.O.D.'s "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown." Such a great record. 1999. Old school. Take a trip back to grade school.

That's the post, folks. Sorry it's a little lacking, next week will (hopefully) make up for it.

Have an excellent day, have an excellent night, and have an excellent tomorrow.

Going going

2011-08-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

Really? Are you serious? Yeah, I'm world series. Folks, neighbors, family, and friends, it is the 2011-2012 school year. I have moved. You may look at the picture above and fail to recognize the area. You don't see the infamous wall, you don't see the blue door or the big windows. Instead, you see what you see above. I now live the beautiful complex we call Tropicana. Times have changed and I must admit, I miss the Backside a whole lot. So many memories, it will be my first love, the beginnings of my joyous college career. But we grow up, I talked to Peter Pan about it. So here we are, Tropicana, it's already been great.

If you are a returner and you've been around a while, you remember the "tours." For the new visitors, every first week (or so) I do a tour of my living quarters:

2009: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2009/09/fisheye.html
2010: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-tour.html

Don't worry the tour of the new place is on it's way. Due to complications, the apartment is still "in shambles," it's just not ready for a public walk through quite yet.

Next week.

So, school's started. It actually hasn't started, it's just continued from last year. Summer feels like a 3 day weekend and here we are, back at the grind. That's just how it is. Here's my schedule this semester:

(click to enlarge)

I'm pretty excited for these classes. Seems like it will be pretty balanced. Let's hope.

I honestly don't have a whole lot to talk about today. It'll be good to rekindle old friendships, speak to people as if that 3-day-weekend-of-a-summer didn't happen. It'll be good to meet new people, try new things, learn some stuff, you know. It'll be good to speak to people about their summers, hear stories, tell stories, laugh. It'll be good to invest in people.

It'll be good.

I have one video for you. This is a good one, shows you life's short, love life, LIVE IT UP. I would absolutely try this. I live for the thrills. (Thanks Mr. Isaac Svensson for the referral).

And that's 1st blog post of the school year. Unreal. 3rd year. 4th year of the blog. What is this world coming too? I'll tell you what, it's flying.

Tell the next person you have conversation with a compliment.

UPDATE: I want to announce that we successfully bought food, cooked food, and ate food, and are still alive. Here's a picture of our first family dinner complete with a delectable spaghetti topped with a prime marinara and a light Parmesan, accompanied by a loaf of garlic bread. Delicious.

THE TRIP OF '11

2011-08-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Friends, oh friends. It's been a long time. The summer has in the past, has currently, and most likely will continue to eat up most time that is provided us in a day. This blog has been given the back seat, which I initially felt kind of bad about, but based on previous years, this blog has made a home of the back seat over the summer 3 years in a row.

This summer has been off the chain. It started, now it's ending. I'm going to try to barrel through the majority of the summer for y'all. It'll get interesting, can't promise much detail, we'll see how the words spill.

(Speaking of words spilling, I started up a new Tumblr blog, dedicated to photography and other media. I'll speak more on it later, but here's the link: http://morganlott.tumblr.com)

We'll start with my twin brothers 8th grade culmination. Unbelievable. These little dudes have survived middle school and are going to high school. They just graduated Kindergarden, like...yesterday. They're growing too. In a year, they'll each be 6 feet. They were just 3 feet, like...well, it's been a while. It was a celebration though and watching my bros graduate from my alma matter was, like...incredible.

The next experience was when the last blog post was written. Here it is:

http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/06/marvel.html

Here's the interesting thing: the events described in the link above seem like EONS ago, but the yet the summer in itself seems like the blink of an eye. Strange times among us. If you read the post above, you know that Mr. and Mrs. Funk were married, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I headed up to Hume Lake, stopped to see and take pictures of a mountain fire, and then very much enjoyed a visit to Hume. Read the post though, it's good; good stories.

Speaking of weddings, Mawwiage Films has been busy busy busy this summer!

And speaking of busy, during our annual week-at-Hume-Lake-with-extended-family, my father and I set up a little "studio" and worked a whole bunch. Sounds like a bum deal, working on work rather than chillin' and hangin' at Hume Lake, but let me tell ya, I would way rather work at an outrageously beautiful place like Hume Lake than in my normal habitat. All in all, productive week.

A couple weeks later, I headed North. I had the distinct honor of being a groomsman in my cousins wedding, Mr. Micah Hiett was set to wed Ms. Leanne Schellenberg. I went up early to be a part of the bachelor party, a legit houseboating trip on the lake. You can just imagine the shenigans that went down, including perhaps a jacked up ACL on yours truly while wakeboarding. All in all, A BLAST! Those Kansas boys really know how to have a good time. I kept telling people: the Kansas boys know how to turn absolutely nothing into an absolute blast, us Cali boys sometimes have a hard time turning absolutely everything into a little more than bored stiff. Good time, to say the least.

You may ask, "you went to a wedding, just to be there?!" Well, not quite, there's a catch. Mawwiage Films also had the distinct honor film the wedding! So we pulled a fast one (with permission of course) and I carried a small camera with me as a groomsman, a behind-the-scenes-groomsman-cam if you will, and got some footage you'd never be able to get otherwise. That said, the video's going to be GREAT, very different from anything MF has done in the past. I'm very much excited.

Then, and this is going to blow your mind, I went up to Hume Lake again (All in all, I was at Hume Lake almost a complete month). This time though, I had another distinct honor to be a counselor with my home church, Simi Valley Community Church. This was QUITE the experience. It was very very interesting, definitely not a camper (although I had a blast being in "camper" mode the whole week), definitely not staff, somewhere in between; the determining factor? Responsibility.

I was treated to a small group, 5 guys in the tiny, but homey, cabin Aspen 2. We enjoyed our cabin talks, our cabin chats. We enjoyed our rec team EL PANCHOS. Here's an aside: Recreation was one of the most interesting parts of the Hume experience and here's why: while on media staff last summer, rec was immensely important, time-consuming, and fun. We spent a whole lot of time on that rec field, documenting the ridiculous and incredible recreational abilities of 1000 high schoolers every week. We got sweaty, we got dirty, we got hit, we got tired, we got an incredible amount of experience by the end of year. I will never be able to verbalize how much the Hume Media workforce influenced my current skill set. All that said, being on the OTHER side of rec was SURREAL. Participating in the games, cheering on EL PANCHOS ("They may take our lives, but they will never take...our panchos!" BEAST of a cheer), watching kajabe can-can from the sidelines, being super spirited on super spirit day, and perhaps the most insane part, running the gauntlet. All in all, recreation was a BLAST. Now for what really matters.

We had a great great week. Mr. Steve Solomon shared his thoughts as we worked through David's life experiences in 1 Samuel. David, the man after God's own heart, made a ridiculous amount of mistakes, but he continually sought the Lord's guidance and was able to pinpoint his downfalls, seeking change, only possibly with God's help. I really enjoyed was Steve had to say, he steered away from the emotional response that we have all become accustomed to at church camp, but instead presented the facts with a multitude of biblical evidence, making sure we truly understand the beliefs we say we follow. I really appreciated that aspect of his teaching.

I could go deep into every single thing that happened at Hume, but I don't think I'm going to. Commitments, dedication, baptisms; lives were changed.

Please watch this little wrap-up by my good friends Mr. Nico Hernandez and Ms. Simón Weber:

Please watch this little wrap-up by Hume:

Hume 2011 - Ponderosa Week 6 Wrap Up from Hume Lake on Vimeo.

The fun's not over! I then headed up with my fam bam to Washington for a family reunion with the entire Neufeld family! After the forever long drive through the country, we arrived in Washington at this ridiculously massive lodge. I felt like a little kid in a humungous house; kinda hard to explain, you've just got to believe me. We had an incredible time, enjoying Leavenworth, horses, water, games, stars, hot tubs, the list goes on and on and on. 43 people who see each other all at the same time once every two years, 43 people who get along remarkably well, 43 people who have a blast together, 43 people who can't wait until the next reunion. We are honestly so so blessed to have such a solid family that cares about integrity, family, and most of all, Jesus Christ. INCREDIBLE.

After Washington, we figured "Well, we're SO CLOSE to Canada, we've got to stop in." Thus, a day trip to Vancouver was a must. A must say, I thoroughly enjoyed Canada, the big city. We walked around a bunch, saw the ocean (which was strange), witnessed the largest public swimming pool I've ever seen, enjoyed our time there. 'Twas a good time.

I snapped a good 2,000 pictures over the course of the trip. Here's a few:

Here's one for the road:

"Time flies like the wind, fruit flies like bananas."

Marvel

2011-06-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Friends and neighbors, it's been a good week. I'll just run through it.

For a while now, Mawwiage Films knew this weekend was on its way. Mr. Eric Funk and Ms. Stephanie Wiens were set to be married on Sunday, June 19th, 2011 and MF had the pleasure to capture their wedding. There was a little something that we were particularly excited about though: not only was the beast of a photographer Mr. Nate Goins (nategoinsphotography.com) going to be photographing this particular wedding, but the delightful Ellie Mullins (mullins2.com) was going to be second shooting for him. Do you know what this meant? This meant that basically half of the Hume Lake Summer 2010 Media Crew was reuniting to collaborate. Put it in a word: krill. So, because of this, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I drove up to Fresno a wee bit early in order to capitalize on this unique opportunity.

Saturday night, the crew headed to the Mullins² Studio in Fresno to chill and watch a movie. And who shows up? Well, another Hume photographer, Ms. Kim Sheehan. What commenced can be described in one word: FUN. It was great reuniting. What's cool about friendship is you can pick up right where you left off, whether thats a day, a week, a month, a summer, a school year, a full year, a decade. It was enjoyable.

The next day was the wedding. I don't want to spoil too much, we've got a teaser coming your way real real soon. Let's just say, it was a beautiful wedding in Oakhurst, CA. Nice and warm, lots of happy happy people, including an ecstatic bride and groom. Plus, shooting with good friends, boy, that's begging for the "GREAT" label.

Now heres the deal with Oakhurst. Oakhurst is right near Fresno, and Fresno is right near Hume Lake, our home away from home. We had already driven 3+ hours for the wedding, we were now a little over an hour from Hume, so clearly, Hume was our next stop. Mr. Nate Goins and Ms. Ellie Mullins are productive workers, so they were not able to join Mr. Isaac Svensson and I on our expedition. After saying our goodbyes for the time being to our good friends, we took off for the mountains.

As we were driving, I noticed flames. I assumed they were crops burning, clearing a spot for a fresh start. As we continued, I realized these weren't crops... this was an actual fire. We began up the 180 towards Hume and in the first 5 miles, sure enough, an entire hill was on fire. As we were driving past, we discussed stopping: we had camera gear, we had time, we had fire, OF COURSE we need to stop. We pull over to the side of the road amidst the fire crews, pull out the gear and began shooting away. Here are two shots from the event:

Read this: http://mawwiagefilms.tumblr.com/post/6848925892/a-continued-lesson for continued stories.

After our little run-in with one of the most confusing phenomenon's that is FIRE, we continued on our way up the mountain. We were fortunate to borrow the Goins' family cabin, which was INCREDIBLE. We had a place to sleep, which is a big deal. Because of this, we ended up staying an extra day, simply because we had a place to sleep.

Hume was incredible. This is what I've been telling people: Rekindled friendships, made new friendships, and even made a little video for the campers. It was great great great to see many old friends from last year, friends from Biola that ended up at Hume, friends I knew from other places that ended up at Hume, friends I didn't know too well before but now do more-so, friends that didn't exist before this visit, my sister ROCKIN' the pantry, and some of the Friesen family who were visiting for the week. (Here's the deal, I thought about naming names, I thought about naming lots of names, I thought about for each of these "categories" naming names. But here's the deal with naming names, naturally, there's going to be a hierarchy, there's going to be "favorites." Now, obviously, we all have "favorite" friends, we have friends we get along with better than others, but they are all still friends. So, if I was going to name names, naturally, I would start with friends who I "like" more than other friends, even though they are still friends, perhaps even good friends. But here's the deal, ranking can be sticky business. If you saw yourself on my list and you were first, what would you think? If you saw yourself on my list and you were last, what would you think? If you DIDN'T see yourself on my list, what you think? So for this reason, I did not name names. If you read my categorical list, you know which category you fall under. You know if we're good friends. I know if we're good friends. You know if we're normal friends. I know if we're normal friends. We're all friends.) I enjoyed seeing and talking with every single one of you. I enjoyed our conversation. A lot.

You know what else was incredible? Getting all nostalgic-like; going NUTS in rec chapel, hanging in the media office with the old and new staff, enjoying a 7AM pancake breakfast, skating to and from boys town (my residence last year), enjoying POG, getting my consistent styrofoam cup of water from the G-Store, and finally, working on a short video with the new rec dudes, Nate and Louie, that was played in rec chapel the next day. There's honestly nothing like watching 1000 high schoolers go ABSOLUTELY APE watching your video, definitely top 10 best feelings.

Leaving was tough, we had been engulfed back into the Hume culture, just give us a camera and we were back in business. We took off into the 100+ temperatures and said adios to our home away from home, a home that is responsible for our current lives, a home that is responsible for us not returning back to work at "home" (which is a bizarre thing to think about). In fact, one of my art films from a while back was literally the BEGINNING of Mawwiage Films. Hume served as training, we were prepared, this was the BEGINNING:

Profession (Video Art) from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

All this to say, the last week has been marvelous. Such good times, such good experiences, such good memories. Not only that, but Hume Lake is going to influence thousands of kids lives, God is going to work wonders through Hume this summer, it doesn't get better than that. Period. I hope you enjoyed the story, good stories are always fun. I hope your week is as marvelous as mine was. Seriously. In fact, to kick things off right, go out and drink out of a drinking fountain. Think about it, public, free, water, free for quenching your thirst. That's a pretty good way to start off a marvelous week.

Seriously folks, thanks for reading. Enjoy your fountain.

Skip-skip

2011-06-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

WOAH folks! Wednesday came and gone. Wednesday came and gone without a blog post. This is not the first time it's happened. It's still "not good" though.

BUT, here's why. Yesterday (and the day before), I spend the day(s) at the Paramount Studio Lot in Hollywood, prepping and working at the Annual Billabong Design For Humanity event. I'll tell you about it, but I need you do something for me first. Mawwiage Films (mawwiagefilms.com) has just engulfed the world of Twitter, so please follow us! You won't regret it, not one bit.

Follow @mawwiagefilms

Back to the story. One of my professors, Mr. Daniel Chang, presented his students with an opportunity to volunteer at the Billabong event, so naturally, I snatched up the chance. What followed was long long hours of unpacking, preparing, arranging, rearranging, measuring, and hanging 70+ pieces of art in a makeshift gallery space. It was a good time, a mighty good time. And let me tell you, figuring out the order to place the diverse art on the walls was one of the most complicated things I've ever been a part of. Figuring value, significance, medium, and flow into the precise placement of every piece of art is no easy task. All that to say, we eventually got the Art Auction ready for auctioning. We were ready to roll.

The event itself on Wednesday went rather smoothly. I, along with Ms. Vanessa Watts, worked with Mr. Morgan Maassen to help promote and sell his photography. Check out his work at http://www.morganmaassen.com. I enjoyed working in this small space, the people watching was incredible. If you want specifics, ask me in person. I have one good story though. Mr. Morgan Maassen is a 20 year old male. Mr. Morgan Lott is a 20 year old male. Mr. Morgan Maassen was in and out, mostly out, of his gallery while Mr. Morgan Lott was always in his gallery. A number of people walked up to Mr. Morgan Lott and asked "Hi, are you Morgan?" to which I would normally answer "Yes." This situation, however, was different. I could not answer "Yes" no matter how much I wanted to. This was an interested dealing with honesty. Is it honest to say "Yes, I am Morgan?" Well, I am telling the truth, I am indeed Morgan, but am I THE Morgan they're looking for? No. I would be deceiving them. DISHONESTY. Is it honest to say "No, I am not Morgan?" Well, I am lying, I am indeed Morgan, but am I THE Morgan they're looking for? No. I would be telling the truth. DISHONESTY. All that to say, I got a kick out of it. Through the fashion show, the art auction, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and approximately 4000 people attending, the 2011 Design For Humanity was a ball.

And then it was time to clean up. After packaging up the art that was sold, packaging up the art that was not sold (I love how the complexity of such a task can be so easily stated in a simple sentence), it was 3 AM. And what happens at 3 AM? Well, you head to Denny's. We enjoyed a late night meal together to finish out the night. And then, a typical "Morgan Lott Moment." On the way out, I somehow missed the freeway entrance, I drove right passed it. So I kept driving. All of a sudden, I was in residential area, and I cleverly thought "I don't think I'm going the right way." I didn't assume I had missed the freeway, I assumed I had went the wrong way in the first place. So, I started driving, I started exploring. After about 15 minutes, I realized I was in what I think was Thai Town. It was at this point that this driving around looking for the freeway was not fun and games anymore. Frustration began to set in. Luckily, somehow, by the Grace of God, I found the 101-N minutes later and set on my merry way home. I proceeded to write "I just added "Getting lost, alone, in Hollywood at 4 am for 30 mins" to my list of things I never want to do again." It's true.

All in all though, an excellent two days. I am grateful for the opportunity and seeing the event become a success? I'm always a fan. Makes the hard work pay off.

So now, I have a video for you. I give you: Mr. and Mrs. Adam and Karielle Rivadeneyra! Mawwiage Films had the pleasure of capturing the special day of these two and now it's your turn to experience the marvelous occasion!

http://www.mawwiagefilms.com/rivadeneyra

Adam & Karielle Rivadeneyra from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

Follow @mawwiagefilms

And then one more video. This guy has been around for a few weeks now and I've been meaning to post it on this blog for a few weeks now, as well. Now's the time.

This little guy is simply a sport. He's the boss. He's an inspiration to us all. If we all approach our obstacles based on this dude's encouraging words, the sky isn't even the limit.

Let's change the world.

Have a great day today. You should read a random sentence out of random book. And then write your favorite phrase out of that sentence. On the refrigerator. With refrigerator magnets.

Tripp

2011-06-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

Oh man, today. Oh boy, today. It's 9:30pm and I'm writing this blog post, today. I spent the day at Hume Lake, dropping my kid sister, Ms. Melanie Lott, at her summer job for the summer, working the Ponderosa pantry, gonna be feeding all those fancy campers throughout the summer. Summer. You may recall the last blog post, I wrote about how I thought this trip to Hume would be a wild:

"Here's the surreal part, I think it's going to be strange heading up that mountain knowing I'm not on staff. It's going to be weird waltzing around Hume without responsibility, with a camera in my hand. It's going to be weird still knowing a majority of the staff and having conversations that I would be having as if I were on staff. But at the end of the day, I can leave. I can drop my faux-commitment and drive down that mountain."

Well, I'm here to tell you, this is EXACTLY what it was like. It was very strange, very weird, very faux. I enjoyed it thoroughly though. It was a trip seeing a good number of my summer pals and telling them "No, I'm not going to be working this summer." It was a trip walking around, feeling "at home." It was a trip hanging out in the media office, meeting the new videographers/photographers, and hanging with the QUALITY full-time staff. It was A TRIP going to the G-Store, getting a styrofoam cup, filing it up with ice and water, and enjoying the beverage (you Hume people might know the significance of this. Trust me, IT WAS A TRIP).

I'll just put it in 4 words: it was a trip.

To all the people I ran into, I very much enjoyed running into you. Every one of you. I also enjoyed our conversation, even if it was simply an exchange of hello's, not just running into you.

It was also a blast seeing the Hiett clan and Grandma. Always a pleasure. No doubt.

In other news, we've got videos, lotsofem.

First, here is a promo for a new film hittin' the world: Animal Fiction. More info on FB? http://www.facebook.com/pages/Animal-Fiction/204033439633114

Seconds: I (and Mawwiage Films) was blessed with a new toy: the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens. It was begging to be tested:

A Test Of Sorts :: EASY STREET from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Thirds: This little dude blew my mind fruits. Serious. Didn't know what to think at first. I mean, we've all seen this little act before, so I didn't know what to think. But let me tell you, the ferocity and the skill this little man displays left my jaw chillin' on the floor. I had to bend down to pick it up and then rewind the video because I had missed a few seconds of this gentleman's BEAST of a performance. Enjoy.

Fourthy: This video simply left me smiling. You may have heard of a GoPro. You may have heard of a hula hoop. Well here you go, what a solidified square inch of a hula hoop looks like as it's whipping around its contestant.

Mmm. Much enjoyment.

Hey you, yeah you. This has been another Wednesday. I mean, come on, a Wednesday. At 10:09 now. I hope you enjoyed your last week. Enjoy this next week, regardless how your last week was.

I realize there is not a picture today. I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I won't have one all summer.

Enjoys.

Reviewal

2011-06-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

**Yes, I know, there isn't a picture. And yes, I know, that threatens the well-being of this blog. I apologize, my camera is still packed away somewhere in the multitudes of boxes that sit stacked in my room. Thank you Mr. Michael Warnecke for presenting this awful occasion. BUT, it's also summer, so you might not get the normal Wednesday attire consistently. We'll have to see.**

Summer has officially started. Spring of 2011 has officially ended. School is at a standstill for a few months. What a feeling. This summer's an interesting one and will continue to be an interesting one. The reason? I don't know what I'm doing. The reason? Due to the nature of my job at Mawwiage Films, weddings aren't always scheduled way ahead of time. So what does this mean? It means my summer will be free-form, my summer has the potential to be extremely busy, all the while having the potential to be not busy at all. It all depends. This is different for me. The last two summers have been very "strict" in their scheduling, playing drums with Remember at Hartland and then being a videographer at Hume Lake Christian Camps last summer. These were not free-form summers, these were very regimented and planned out summers. I enjoyed them, a lot. I think I'll enjoy this summer too. It's a breath of fresh air, well, I hope it is. Seriously, its got the potential to be EXTREMELY busy. I don't know how I'll feel if that happens. BUT, am I complaining? Absolutely not. I would way rather be head over heels in work than sitting around, doing absolutely nothing. The two extremes, I'd pick business. Hopefully it doesn't get to either of those points.

Speaking of summer, this was last summer: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-it-up.html. This summer, I am not working at Hume Lake, but my sister, Ms. Melanie Lott, is. I have a feeling it's going to be surreal and here's why: my family history at Hume Lake is pretty wild. My Great-Grandpa Walter Warkentin was one the founders in 1946 and then from then on, my entire extended family has been very much involved. Every summer of my life (basically), I have gone up at least once, either to camp or to our family cabin. Last summer, I was on Hume Staff as a videographer. I have had my fill of Hume, to say the least. Now, this summer, I will be going up a number of times. I don't know for sure, but I can take an educated guess that I'm going to view Hume in a different way from now on. The memories that were made, the relationships that developed, the skill-sets that were perfected; Hume Lake is responsible. Here's the surreal part, I think it's going to be strange heading up that mountain knowing I'm not on staff. It's going to be weird waltzing around Hume without responsiblitly, with a camera in my hand. It's going to be weird still knowing a majority of the staff and having conversations that I would be having as if I were on staff. But at the end of the day, I can leave. I can drop my faux-commitment and drive down that mountain.

This seems jumbled, I think the moral of this story is: IT'S GOING TO BE WEIRD. And that's okay. In fact, it's great. I'm excited. Know who else is excited?

I've got some presents for you. 1rst:

A MAWWIAGE FILMS teaser: you're in for a tease. Get the hint?

http://mawwiagefilms.com/hollenbeck

Tyler & Kelsey: A Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

2cond:

During this last semester, I took two art classes: Integrated Design 1 and Letters & Symbols. I'm just going to say straight up, these two classes rocked my world. I had never taken a formal design class before these two and these two, boy, were brutal. It's one of those super super good brutal classes. It's hard for me to express how much I learned, let's just say I am pleased with the work that came out of the end of the semester (I probably wouldn't say that about the work that came out of the beginning of the semester). So now, down below, enjoy some of the work I spent hours upon hours developing. I must say, it feels great to be done.

Description: Explore image/text/location relationship. Post-it Notes.

Description: 1" thick plywood. 10" x 17". A puzzle of sorts.

Description: HUGE poster. Somethin' like 3' x 2'. I don't remember. Pretty big though. 26 letters of the alphabet stenciled and spray-painted onto balloons. Concept? United 93 vs. Titanic. Believe it or not.

Description: ZINE. A 24 page zine on airplanes. I really liked how this book turned out. I had a lot of fun with it and learned a whole bunch. 7" x 8.5".

Here's a selection:

And that's the first post of summer. I'm still in the midst of unpacking, so I didn't have too much time to prepare and surround you with rockin' material. This was something a little different though, stuff created by me. I hope you enjoyed the show, the exhibition. Let me know what you think if you feel led to. I really would appreciate. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated.

Enjoy your day(s)! Rock the world of the people around you. Give a random person a high-5.

Finale

2011-05-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

It's finals week, what a week. Do you know what happens around finals week? Well, a lot of things, a lot of time consuming things that eat time like Augustus Gloop scarfs sweets. May I say one thing? The year is over and I'm not prepared. Time snuck up and swallowed the semester and now we're literally hours from summer vacation.

INCREDIBLE.

So, because of permitting time, I'm going to show you three fun videos. Next week, I'll show you some of my work from the semester, but not this week, because time has other plans. I could also talk about time because time is remarkable, so remarkable that the whole world revolves around it, the axis and time.

Three fun videos, right.

The first is great. Mr. Drew Eccleston posted this a bit ago and I was, in a word, intrigued. I don't know if this was the intention of the video, I think it might be, but this music presents what American English sounds like to a non-English speakers. You have doubts going into it, but as it plays through, you realize it actually does sound like English and you actually can't understand a word they're saying. It's quite surreal.

The music video is quite interesting too. That choreography is off the hook.

The next is decently comical. So California's claim to fame, the In-n-Out Burger, opened it's first set of doors in Texas recently. Texas went ape. Check out this video. The tears are pouring.

Lastly, this video rocked my world. Just recently, on May 22, there were some terrible storms in the Missouri area. They really sent those communities for a loop and forced some heavy lifting from the surrounding areas. This video was taken while the tornado was ripping through Joplin, MO, it was taken as the tornado was ripping through the store these people were in. This video is INSANE.

On that note, CARPE DIEM. Seize the day. You never know what's around the corner.

Enjoy the sun.