Barry Spielberg

Spielberg, Kubrik, Lucas, Barry? Ok, so maybe I don't belong in the same sentence as these immortal filmmakers but I do have great respect for how amazing they are at what they do. I'm currently working on the Morningside Basketball Highlight Video (2006 Edition) for the second consecutive year.
For those of you who have never made a movie or used editing software it is an incredibly tedious, yet rewarding, job. You spend hours cutting raw footage into usable footage, and by hours I mean hours, for example, I have spent nearly 2o hours doing just that, cutting basketball game tape and cutting out clips with highlights. The real kicker is that my video is only 5-10 min.; the aforementioned filmmakers do multiple hour movies loaded with special effects. This must take more time and knowledge of the editing program than I can possibly imagine. However, despite the long hours there are few things as fulfilling as watching a polished video come together from all the small components that are all boring if watched on their own.

Which brings me to my next point, don't smoke crack. With that thought, peace, I'm out.

B for Blogdetta

Today as I noticed that blog, Barry, and a few things that have interested me lately all happen to start with B I decided that today, every thought will begin with the letter B.

First thought, Kamikaze:
Wait, no B there, first actual thought.....

Beatles: Today, as I was surfing the web and watching TV and had my i-tunes randomly shuffling my songs, when a Beatles song, specifically "I Want to Hold Your Hand," started playing through my speakers. Most people including myself have heard this song hundreds of times, yet every time I hear it sounds fresh and new as if it is the first time I’ve heard it. The scary part is that "I Want to Hold Your Hand," is not even one of their better songs! What makes the Beatles so great is the simplicity of their music. As a man who has dabbled a little bit in the world of guitar playing I can assure you that Hendrix and Clapton would laugh at how amazingly simple Beatles songs are. However, Lennon and McCartney cleverly crafted these songs into classic works of art that will entertain people for generations to come.

Bush: First of all I think it is important for people to know that I am a moderate republican but am fairly liberal for being a conservative (If that makes any sense). As a republican I feel that our president is basically a complete moron. I could not have imagined at the time I cast my ballot how horrible a mistake it was to check off the box George W. Bush. I am completely sick of everything he does. I am sick of being lied to, sick of seeing people come home in body bags, sick of hearing him make the exact same speech more or less over and over again, sick of his funny faces, just sick of it all. I originally agreed with the decision to go to Iraq, he said they had strong evidence that they had WMD's and I don't have any desire to get blown up, so if we could stop that from happening then that would be great. However, there are obviously no WMD's and most likely that evidence was fabricated. I'm not much of a politician and I don't know who the next president should be, but I am certainly glad that it will not be Bush.

Bradley Braves Busted (my) Basketball Bracket: How about the Missouri Valley Conference. I'm so happy for both Bradley and Wichita State who showed that good basketball can be played outside of power conferences. Bradley will probably lose to Memphis and Wichita State is basically a toss up with George Mason but both teams have made a great run in the tournament and proved that the Missouri Valley was deserving of the hype that they received all season.

'Bron: Lebron James can jump really high and should have been in the slam dunk contest.

Honorable Mention: Beach Boys, Big Buckin Chicken, Beer, and Buckets.

Spring Break and Novel Writing

Spring break is almost here! For me this means three things:

1.) I get to spend a week (knock on wood) watching high quality national tournament basketball in Branson, MO with Cliff. While it is not Panama City or Cancun it should still be a very enjoyable spring break trip, especially since it is free! If you want to hear Cliff and I commentate the first round game of the tournament between the 'Stangs and Cornerstone University check out this link: http://webs.morningside.edu/masscomm/KMSC/listen.html

2.) There are only two months left in the semester. This is great news as I am really getting tired of school. My class load is light this semester, only 12 credits, but due to the ridiculously easy nature of some of these classes I am quickly losing motivation. I honestly enjoy learning, I wish I could learn everything there is to know, but this semester is just not cutting it. Two of my three classes are ridiculously easy and do not challenge me in the slightest. For example, in marketing class I never read, basically space out in every class, and yet I have a high A (94-96% range) in the class. This definitely helps the GPA but as someone who wants to get into marketing and advertising as a career I am worried that I will be lacking information that I may need in the future.

3.) I'm that much closer to my London May Term trip which I am very excited to go to since I have only left Nebraska and the surrounding states one time.
.........................

I have been working on my novel a little bit here and there. I wish I could spend more time but due to the incessant amount of pointless busywork assigned to me I have been unable to make much headway. However, in the time I have found time to write I have struggled somewhat.

I have tried writing a novel once in the past but went about it in the wrong fashion. Basically, I fashioned two or three characters and a setting in my head and tried to just make it up as I went. Not a good idea. Unlike last time, I really have what I feel is a very good and very original idea to write about. I have a basic chronology of what is going to happen and some good notes, but I have been very unsatisfied with my actual writing. Any sort of good writing shows what is happening and creates pictures of what is happening in your mind. In good writing you can see, hear, taste, smell, and feel what is happening. In my one single spaced page I feel as if I am telling what is happening as opposed to showing. I don't necessarily think it is horrible, but it does need a lot of revision. I still have every intention of finishing this project because I believe that this story needs to be told, but it may take much longer than I originally expected. If anyone wants to read what I have and tell me what you think, feel free to leave a comment or send me an email or instant message and I will send it to you. That’s all for today.
You stay classy Sioux City!