for all the writers out there.

There were a bunch of people outside the student union today handing out books. From a distance I could tell that they were novels and not bibles so I picked one up. The book was Wild Animus by Rich Shapero. Since I am well aware how expensive self-publishing costs, I asked the girl what the deal was. All the information she gave me was that Shapero decided to hand out free copies of his book instead of spending money on advertising. Made sense to me.

Standing in line for coffee I read the first few pages. I didn't think it was too bad until I started noticing that Shapero's style was needlessly wordy and full of adverbs. I saw a note on the back cover that said that there are 3 CDs that accompany the book and that "the novel serves as an emotional shell" for the music. I don't know about you but when I think of the word "Shell" I think emptiness. I think hollow. Not the best word choice. When I got to the library I hopped on a computer and googled the book. Here's some stuff I found:

- The book has been distributed (for free) throughout the US, Australia and most of Europe.

- The author was born into a rich family and serves as a board director for several different companies.

- The book has 84 one-star reviews on Amazon (out of 134 total reviews).

- I read this and then watched this and got tremendously annoyed.

And some notable comments I found about the book:

"I saw an ad on Craigslist in my city that is soliciting hires for the distribution of this book. I had to investigate and I found this article among many others that detail the curious tackiness of this whole enterprise."

"To make matters worse, Shapero has hired a number of people to distribute the already expensive box set everywhere. Shapero refuses to stop. He hired actors to dress up as “nerds,” and “wave signs and shout negative things about the book” to create controversy and interest. Evidently, he had the goal of distributing 1 million copies."

You can get the first three chapters of the book here if you want to check it out for yourself. All in all, I am going to conclude by saying that I am glad that popularity can not be bought. As a writer and a musician I see what Shapero is doing as tremendously masturbatory.

Speak easy,

Neil

Lost Ark

I am in the middle of writing a 10 page paper on Daniel Clowes' Wilson (amazing graphic novel by the way) and heard about this when I was listening to an interview with Clowes. A bunch of kids spent 8 years remaking Raiders of the Lost Ark shot for shot. They started when they were 10 years old. Sort of a real life Son of Rambow except even more fantastic. I think I'll watch the whole thing this weekend.

Speak easy,
Neil

Sanguis Circus

This weekend I am heading over to Rhode Island to take pics for Brad's band. They have a live show at a bar, three 45 minute sets. Should be pretty cool.

I created a new blog (tumblr is a blog site, right?) called New York Circus. It is a mashup comic where I take a panel from Family Circus and replace the caption with one from a New Yorker cartoon. I made the icon for the page last night in Photoshop. I am really proud of how it came out.

Got the idea while I was working on my Comic Art paper.

Only 2 projects and 2 tests until I am free to move back into my parents house and get a menial job.

Speak easy,
Neil

You don't have to understand everything...

Super busy at the moment (although I am usually busy, this is extra busy crunch-time finals week!). Moving back to Cape in 2 weeks. My friend Mike and I are setting up an office in his grandmother's basement to get work done (music, writing, animation, etc.) and I couldn't be more stoked. Pictures will be posted once we are settled. I've been making a lot of headway on the novel that has been stewing in my brain for the last 3 or 4 years. It's one thing to prepare for something and it is another to actually do it. I am really happy with it so far though. If you want

Found this picture online. Probably the funniest jpeg I have ever seen.

Speak easy,

Neil

some films

I've watched a bunch of movies within the past week and I thought I would share my thoughts on them.

Helvetica - More than just a documentary about a font, Helvetica explores the history of type faces, graphic design, and advertising. This was actually recommended to me by my technical writing professor. Click here for a great interview with the director of the film.

Nowhere Boy - I did like this film, but not as much as a wanted. Overall, it is about a boy named John Lennon who has a complicated family life. You do meet Paul and George along the way but the movie is not about The Beatles, per se. It looses focus often and keeps going without really giving any inkling on when it is going to end or peter out. Probably a good one for the Netflix Queue.

Paranormal Activity - First off, I would like to say that I love the idea that this is a low budget film that made a lot of money. Money can buy crane shots, car chases, and explosions but it can not buy good actors and a great story. With that being said, I do not think that Paranormal was a good film. Most of the film involves the audience getting to know two people, a young middle class couple named, Katie and Mescha. For such a slow burning film to work you really need characters that the audience can latch onto and some thought provoking dialogue to boot.

One more small problem I had with the film was how often Katie called Mescha by his name. It felt unnaturally and became really annoying around half way though. I know, stupid thing to get mad about but if you watch the movie again, please count how many times she does it and let me know.

Films on my to-see list:

Tarnation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Pt. I

Speak easy,
Neil

The Rabbi.

Okay, so there’s this guy goes to the town Synagogue and says “Look Rabbi, my life is so miserable. My house is always a mess, my wife and I don‘t get along, and my children, they don‘t listen to me. Is there anything I can do to make my life better? I am at the end of my rope.” The Rabbi thinks for a minute. He strokes his long grey beard. He tells the man “Buy a goat.”. The guy says “A goat? How can this help me? Are you sure about that, Rabbi?” “Yes” the Rabbi replies. “Buy a goat and check back with me in one week.” The man follows the Rabbi’s orders and buys a goat from a local farmer. One week later he returns to the Rabbi. He says “Rabbi, I bought a goat but it‘s only made my life worse. I have to clean up after it and feed it. It has not helped anything.” The Rabbi nods his head and says to the man “Buy another goat.” The man can not believe what he has heard but follows the Rabbi’s word. One week later he returns to speak with the Rabbi. The man says “Look, Rabbi. One goat is hard enough but two goats, a wife, three children. All of this is too much for a man to handle. What do you think I should do Rabbi? I can not go on living as I do for very much longer.” The Rabbi’s response: “Buy another goat.” The man nearly pulls out his hair. He says “One more goat? I can’t handle two living in my house. I still have to provide for my family." “Do you trust me?” The Rabbi says to the man. “Yes Rabbi. I do.” The man goes out and buys a third goat. One week later he goes back to see the Rabbi. The man looks awful. Hasn‘t shaved in weeks. He smells terrible. Large bags under his eyes. He says “Rabbi. I am a serious man. I have followed your teachings since I was a young boy. I came to you for help. To make my life better but your advice has only made things worse. These goats, I can not handle them anymore.” The Rabbi smiles at the man and says “Sell the goats.” The man can’t believe his ears. He says, “What was that Rabbi?” The Rabbi says, “Sell the goats. Come back to see me in one week.” Sure enough, one week later the man returns to the Rabbi. The Rabbi asks the man “How is everything going?” The man shakes his head, laughs and says “My life is great, Rabbi. Thank you.”

Speak easy,

Neil

Settling For Geology

Can not get over how unproductive my day has been. I guess I'll just have to work extra hard this weekend. Wish they would turn up the heat in my building.

Speak easy,

Neil

Woman, strap on your petticoats. Men, buckle your bootstraps.

Lev and I are holding a wine and cheese night at our apartment next Wednesday. I encourage you to zoom in on the image above and read through the description. I spent a lot of time on it when I should have been doing homework.

These two comics were the first to get published. Guess they put my submissions out of order. Anyway, here they are!

Speak easy,

Neil

miss lonelyhearts transends the internet

I will be publishing comics in my school newspaper starting tomorrow. That was the project I was talking about last week. I have been working on them for a the past week or so and completed 5, which I submitted to the paper last night. Decided Miss Lonelyhearts would be a good name. Same spirit, different medium. This means that I will probably be updating the blog at least five times a week, if I keep on top of the comics (already a week and a half ahead of schedule).

This will mark the first time I've ever put my stuff out there to a large audience. The comics page says that there are about 10,000 people who read the paper and even if you cut that number in half, it's still kind of scary. I actually lost some sleep over this notion. I mean, it's all well in good when you write something and you read that yourself, or hand it off to the person next to you, or write a blog with 10-15 people who follow you, but having your worked looked at by thousands of people is kind of freaks me out. I know a lot of creative types will be reading this, so you must know what I'm talking about. Anyway, off to my British Literature reading.

Speak easy,
Neil

Utopic

Spent the evening reading Utopia by Sir Thomas More. The word utopia in English means a perfect or ideal place. If you take the Latin word "Utopia" and translate it into English it literally means "no place". Thought that was kind of interesting.

Some of my favorite exerts...

..."What he fears is that his eyes will be deceived by a counterfeit. But if you consider the matter, why should a counterfeit give any less pleasure when your eyes cannot distinguish it from a gem? Both should be of equal value to you, as they would be, in fact, to a blind man."

[His thoughts on counterfeit jewelery]

..."Health itself, when distinguished by pain, gives pleasure, without any external excitement at all."

..."In choosing marriage partners, they solemnly and seriously follow a custom which seemed to us foolish and absurd in the extreme. Whether she is a widow or a virgin, the bride-to-be is shown naked to the groom by a responsible and respectable matron; and, similarly, some respectable man presents the groom naked to his future bride."

[On the subject of marriage in More's factitious land of Utopia]

Bill Cosby bought lobster for all the students at UMass. I wonder what is done with the leftovers. It would be a shame to kill all those lobsters just to throw them out. Especially when they are served full figured.

Speak easy,

Neil

Comic Art

I've got a project I am knee deep in but won't announce it until it is actually finished (using a relative sense of the word, you'll see what I mean). Anyway, it is something I have wanted to do since I was a little kid and I think now in my early 20's I am finally to the point where I can do it with some competence. I'll post as soon as I get more to say.

Mid term tomorrow in Comic Art class. Haven't studied but I am pretty confident in my abilities to write about Superman and La Familia Barron for 50 minutes.

I got a Lady Gaga poster at Walmart this weekend. It is hung above my desk. I am actually a big fan of some, but not all, of her work.

Speak easy,

Neil

Catfish (no spoilers)

Just got back from seeing Catfish. Yes, I went to see a movie by myself on a Saturday afternoon on alumni weekend. Would you except anything less? Anyway, the film is a documentary and not just a film shot in the cinema verte (i.e. Cloverfield, Blair Witch Project) style like I had originally thought. The editing was really what made the movie. The subject, 20 something New York hipster Nev Shulman, proves to be funny, brave and engaging throughout the entire film, even when things do not seem to be going his way. There are many twists and turns and I would love to talk about it and go on and on but there's not much I can say without taking away from the experience of the film. For those who are interested in seeing it, I'd say that you ought to go into the theater with an open mind. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, don't bother. Just go see the film without any sort of preconceptions (it will be an entirely different experience, trust me).

I would also like to note that it is an incredible coincidence that Catfish came out at the same time as The Social Network. They are two sides of the same coin. One gives a realistic account of the creation of Facebook, while the other gives some incite into what it is like to be a user of Facebook and the social significance of the website.

It will be very interesting to look back on Catfish in 10 years as some kind of technological time capsule, as I'm sure we will be in a very different place developmentally as far as social networking is concerned.

If you are interested in documentaries, definitely watch American Movie, and The Devil and Daniel Johnston. They are the bees knees.

Speak easy,

Neil

TWITTER

Just started a twitter account yesterday. You can find it here. I like the spontaneity of it. Pretty interesting technology.

My flatmate, the one I have been writing about, took a 4 and a half hour shower. Some people I do not understand.

Going to Boston tomorrow to hang out with a few friends. Won't be blogging but I'll be twittering so if you are super interested in how I am doing you can get an on the minute update. Until then, going to Starbucks to write about Wordsworth and Chaucer. Speaking of which, my friend Mike got Heath Ledger confused with Owen Wilson. When I corrected him he said "Whatever, same person."

Speak easy,

Neil

Couple Things

Saw The Social Network this weekend and loved it. Totally recommend it. Not sure if it is one that you absolutely must see in theaters but it does complete the experience. The film explores a lot of how this generation socializes and how far we have come just in the last few years. The script is incredibly tight and clever, the cinematography is great (directed by David Fincher of Fight Club, Seven and most recently The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and the pace is incredibly fast (perfect for kids of the ADD generation).

Recently saw the trailer for Catfish. The Rolling Stone claimed that it is a documentary although I am pretty sceptical.

This segment from the Disney Channel is amazingly stupid and absolutely worth watching.

Speak easy,

Neil

Le Fonz

Listening to a Henry Winkler interview while I do my French translation homework. Got an A- on my first ever professional writing assignment. Still have to wash a pair of underwear tonight so that I can have something clean for tomorrow. All my clothes are dirty but I am going back to Cape Cod this weekend for my Grandfather's funeral so it is a good time to do the laundry for free. The workload for my classes is getting increasingly worse and will probably be that way for the next ten weeks (which is really all I have left!). Haven't been able to do much writing (i.e. novel writing) but have done a little bit of animation for my short film (a lot less easier to do when I have my free time). The following is an exert from the novel I am working on. Just thought I would post it because, I don't know...might as well, right?

________________

It was the first night in a long time that the air felt cool and uneasy sort of like it is on Halloween night, just not as cold. When I was little on Halloween I would make my mom drive me to school in the morning so I didn’t have to sit on the bus. A few of the bigger kids would always wear these terrifying masks and costumes. The kind that hide your eyes and smell of cheap sour plastic.

“When are you going to get Will Brautigan’s office?” I asked.

“In due time. You do know that he lives in that office with his baby right? I asked Tom about it and he said that Will makes all the counselors park at the other end of the parking lot so they don’t disturb the baby when they get back. One false move in the dark and I’m a goner. Pee makes a very distinct sound. And once that stream starts, it doesn’t stop.”

“When are you going to get another chance? Tomorrow is our last night and then Friday you’ll be too busy to pull off something like this.”

Corey stood pensively staring off into blank space, stroking his imaginary beard.

“You’ll have to move quick though. You don’t have much time.” I pulled my cell phone out from my pocket to check the clock. I pressed the red hang up button and the light from the phone illuminated my face. “Harvey will be back on boys’ side within the next five minutes or so.”

“Okay. Here’s what I’m going to do. I‘m going to try and pee on the side of the office closest to the entrance and Splinter Cell my way back before the last drop falls on the vinyl siding. Wish me luck.” Corey sprinted to the nearby fence and sprawled himself across it, sidling along the wooden planks before he broke into a run and disappeared into the night.

David and I stood in silence for a moment, watching the darkness that had swallowed Corey up in one swift and soundless gulp. The spotlight behind us made our shadows stretch far along the dirt path. David was the first to break the silence.

“And so our young Corey becomes one with nature, following the will of the wolves that have come before him. He will expel a warning from his loins, echoing a new age. Man shall make his mark on every house and let the wilderness know full well that this is no place for her. This camp is-”

A sharp screech interrupted David. The crickets stopped chirping. Immediately another loud cry filled the air, lifting goose bumps from my skin. A thump and a hard thud followed. It was coming from the staff laundry room. One last wail traveled out from behind the screen windows of the wooden shack. It sounded like a woman maybe but I couldn’t be sure. I looked over at David, his gaze firmly transfixed towards the flickering light above the door of the building. A clank sounded. Metal against metal. A door opened on the other side of the building. And then footsteps. They were loud at first but softened as they traveled farther away.

“Whuh…?” I started to mumble something but couldn’t find the words.

“I don’t know.” David whispered. “I don’t know.”

He took individual steps. Slowly. One after another. I found myself following his tracks. The air was still. My body was chattering.

______________

Speak Easy,

Neil

Films and that

Not last night but the night before I woke up to a very pungent and horrible lingering outside my door and subsequently under the cracks of my door and in my room. This was 3 in the morning. I lost sleep because my flatmates room smelled so bad. I tried to wrap my head in an unwashed sweater to drown out the smell but that didn't work. Woke up yesterday morning to go to the rest room and nearly threw up. Lev and I went to the building supervisor after trying to knock on the guys door a few times. The supervisor came up with us and banged on his door. Eventually he responded and said that he had thrown up a few times and had neglected to clean it up because he was sick. I'm not sure what the problem is because he wasn't acting sick at all a little while later when he did come out of his room. He remarked that he didn't realize how bad it smelled and that someone should have febreezed a little bit. It's not bad anymore though. I actually got back from class this afternoon and was glad that my eyes didn't itch from the smell of the apartment. Internet works fine too. It took them almost a week to realize that we were set up with a bad hub. Way to go OIT.

Got inspired to work on an animated short film. I don't know if I talked about it on the blog or not but it's sort of a mix between this, this, this, and this. It focuses on different films and how they sort of weave into what's going on in your life. Like how I consider Batman Begins to be an important film but only because I saw it with my friend Paul before he went off to the Marines for the first time. The one I am doing chronicles about a span of ten years and really doesn't even scratch the surface of what I would like to do with it if I were to make more. There is a complete first draft but I have only sent it to my little brother.

I'm doing a little stop animation with it too. Trying to get the feel of something from the mid-90's. Like that Clerks-style grainy black and white high contrast production that stopped as soon as film when digital. Very little animation and more squiggly Dr. Katz stuff so that I can actually finish it (animated short films take a looooooong time to produce if you have to completely redraw the object in a different position every single frame).

Speak Easy,

Neil

The Fifth Sense

One of my flatmates is peeing in jars in his room and won't come out during the day. The only times he does leave his room are around 3 of 4 in the morning. Saw him twice in the last week. The smell is overwhelming when you enter our apartment. First it started as a sort of faint hamster cage smell which evolved into what I imagine a ferret nest smells like. It's gross. We have tried to complain to our RA and our building advisor. Also my internet doesn't work to well. Hopefully OIT will sort that out in the next few days. Until then, Beowulf.

Speak Easy,

Neil

Some photos I dumped off my phone.

Actually got the chance to sit in on a game of Dungeons and Dragons this summer. I wouldn't mind having a weekly campaign to look forward to but alas the group that invited me to play is miles upon miles away so for now I'll have to wait.

The other day I cut my finger on the lid to a Fanta bottle. It bled for about 10 minutes. Did you know Coke invented Fanta to appease the Nazi's? Not only did they want to incinerate all the Jews but they also strived to have their own soft drink. I suppose 1 out of 2 ain't too bad.

Last week UMass got a bunch of people together to make the worlds longest California roll. I don't know if they actually succeeded but I did hear that they had so much sushi left over, they didn't know what to do with it. Pretty pointless if you ask me. I was there for about half an hour but left because they wouldn't stop playing California Girls by The Beach Boys (hideously redone to be sushi themes - "I wish we could all eat California Rolls.").

Had my first successful week of Technical Writing class. I'm not too bad at it either.

Speak easy,

Neil

Aquaman

Trying to figure out if I'm going over a speed bump or a cliff. They both feel the same with a blindfold on.

Here's an exert from the book I'm working on right now...

Sean was sitting at the bench with Corey. They were in the middle of a conversation about Aquaman and whether or not he had any sort of political ties with Poseidon, which quickly turned into a conversation about whether or not it would be considered bestiality if Aquaman were to have his way with a mermaid. More specifically Ariel from The Little Mermaid. It was still early, around 8:30 in the morning so only a few of the day campers had been dropped off. I was sitting at the end of the bench looking at the note that I’d found at the overnight sight. A lot of the symbols looked like letters from the Alphabet but even with that information most of it didn’t make any sense.

“She’s got the intelligence of a human. She talks like a human. She wears that sea shell brassier. You think that thing’s covering up fish breasts? I don’t think so.” Corey said.

“Dolphins are one of the most intelligent beings on the planet but that doesn’t make it alright to fuck a dolphin. And believe me, people do. Just look it up on the internet.”

“Mermaids, though. I know that they’re not the same as humans but they are still pretty close sans the tail. Did people say Spock was the product of bestiality? No, no one ever said that. His father was a Vulcan, his mother was an Earthling.”

“That’s more of a race issue.”

Everyday Sean either wore a pair of worn-out black Crocs or shoes with old gray socks hiked high half way up to his knees. His shirts, always loose and wrinkled like how peoples’ skin gets once they’re old enough to get the early bird special at Ruby Tuesdays. Corey was sporting his ‘Got Capitalism?’ shirt and a fairly unkempt head of thick black hair hanging just above his eyebrows. Deacon had left his clipboard nearby so I picked it up and wrote Deacon smells! across the top of it, dotting the exclamation point with a heart.

“What do you think Tsuf? I’d like to get your input. Talk some sense into our good friend Sean over here.”

I put Deacon’s clipboard back where I’d found it.

“I don’t know. I guess if they like each other then-”

“Oh. My dear sweet young Tsuf. This is not a matter of affection. It is a matter of biology and sociology.”

“Besides, Aquaman shouldn’t be falling in love anyway. He’s got a whole ocean to protect from Black Manta and Kordax. A guy like him with no secret identity shouldn’t be making a love nest outside the hallowed walls of Atlantis. Save the heartbreak for Spiderman.”

“Well, I don’t know much about Aquaman but I have seen The Little Mermaid like a hundred times. In the movie she started as a mermaid and really wanted to be with that guy Eric-” I said.

“Right. Typical female behavior. Falling head over heels for the handsome rich athletic type without even taking the time to get to know him.”

“Head over heels, Corey? Head over fin is more like it.” Sean snickered. Corey rolled his eyes.

“God, would you guys let me finish one freaking sentence?” I smiled. “So she knows she has a chance with him if she becomes human. She chooses a side and deals with the consequences.”

“That hardly supports either thesis. The question at hand: is it bestiality?”

“Bestiality? Yes if she’s part fish. No if she uses dark octopus sea magic to get legs so she can be fully human.” I said

“The parts need to line up too. Love is easy…Anatomy is difficult. They touched on the subject in an episode of Futurama.”

“Is Aquaman even human?” I asked.

“You know, she has a point.”

Corey shook his head. “That doesn’t change anything. I stand by my argument.”

s.u.p.e.r. h.e.r.o.

We made super hero masks in Arts & Crafts this summer. Here is a picture of my favorite.

Actually cleaned my room today. My procrastination has been getting the best of me. I've lived here for over a week and didn't actually officially unpack and put away all of my stuff until this afternoon. Finished watching Breaking Bad for the season and now I'm catching up on The United States of Tara. Both top notch shows. Been writing a bit towards my manuscript and might post some on the blog at some point. If not, you could ask. Always looking for insight and criticism from people I trust. I am trying to flesh out this short story I wrote last semester "Tsuf and the Two Rabbits" into a novel maybe. Got to go. Jim is outside my building.

Speak easy,

Neil

I can give you a hard time whenever I want.

A little girl drew this picture for my room-mate. He hung it up in our cabin.

Just finished getting my classes sorted out for the semester. I reluctantly had to drop a course in Science Fiction in order to make way for an upper level English course. Almost signed up for creative writing but decided to go with professional writing instead. The whole concept of forcing myself to write something for a grade and then having that critiqued and judged by a bunch of my peers kind of freaks me out. I'll let people read my work but I'd rather keep it out of the classroom.

I have two new flatmates this semester. They're both pretty cool guys but one of them hasn't really left his room at all in the five days that we've lived here. I've actually only talked to him twice. Once on move in day and the other when he came to my room to ask if I could hear his computer speakers from my room. Yesterday the outside of his room kind of smelled of urine and I was afraid that maybe he had died or something. A few hours later we heard him playing some war themed video game so I guess he's all right. I'm convinced that he pees in a container in his room because I am right across the hall from the restroom and I never see him use it.

We can try to predict the weather but can't make any promises

Staff Board for Camp Farley 2010 conceived, drawn and painted primarily by Neil Everett Johnson and Taylor Rose Marvin.

Hurricane Earl was nothing. It was all hype. Nothing more than a Glenn Beck hissy fit.

My grandfather is at some local Hospice care center and most of my family is there with him. We are visiting in shifts for now so at the moment I have some time to my self to pack for school and what not. Tomorrow I move in and come December I should be all done with college (knock on wood). From there I will get a temporary job then another summer at overnight camp and then find a job more permanent.

I turned 23 this summer. It seems to me that by your mid-20s you should probably have your priorities together and have a good solid plan for the future but at the same time the whole [college>marriage>family] seems so 1950's post World War II America. I think that the 90's slacker era has paved the way for a little more wiggle room for those in Generation Y (which I think is what they are calling it). After college and before settling down I think I should be able to pull of some kind of lazy professional lifestyle until I decide to put down a mortgage and get a basement and a dog and a family health care package. I think it is a reasonable expectation for someone who is ready to start paying back their student loans but not quite ready to use their degree to its full potential.

Here are some songs I've been listening to this summer...

Foxy Shazam - Oh Lord

Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes

I'm Not a Band - I'm Not a Band

Wonderful - Rainbow Colors

Yael Naim - New Soul

Yeasayer - O.N.E.

Hall & Oates - You Make My Dreams Come True

Vampire Weekend - Cousins

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man

The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize??

Matt & Kim - Daylight

Joanna Newsom - Sprout and the Bean

Some stuff I've watched recently...

American Movie (Saw it years ago but worth seeing again)

Inception (Slow at times and a little more action for the sake of action than I am used to but still a really cool and thought provoking film none the less. Also, movie theaters are way colder in the summer than they should be. Turn down the air conditioning and charge less!)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World (One of the coolest movies I've seen since I can remember but definitely not for everyone. Worth seeing if you are a male between the ages of 15 and 26 who enjoys video games, indie rock music and possibly comic books)

An Education (Meant to see this when it came out but didn't end up watching it until I got really sick. Not the best movie I've ever seen but still pretty solid.)

The Invention of Lying (Some good jokes but too preachy for it's own good with little to no payoff. If you want a Ricky Gervais film, watch Cemetery Junction. It's ten times better.)

Speak easy,

Neil

NORTH D

It's been a long summer. Lot's of fun but lot's of stress as well. Part of it has to do with the fact that summer camp does not allow for a lot of free time. Sometimes you just need a few hours to sit around by yourself and drink some coffee and watch a movie. Haven't had any time to write but definitely stockpiled a lot to write about. Should be going back to Amherst on Sunday where I'll be movie into North D, the most posh dorms on campus. I recorded a few demos including the song I posted on my last blog entry. Will probably host them on myspace when I get my laptop hooked up to the internet.

Speak easy,

Neil

days between my days

It's almost 2 AM. I just wrote this song. Got work in the morning. Had a good birthday.

________________

Days Between Days

I wish I had days between my days

Some extra time to sleep my life away

I’m sure it would…be pretty good

I wish I had days between my days

I wish that I had hours between my hours

Some extra time to take a nap and shower

I would be clean…and have time to dream

I wish that I had hours between my hours

I wish that I had minutes between my minutes

We could make some love and then fall in it.

Some extra time…while you are mine

I wish that I had minutes between my minutes

I wish that I had seconds between my seconds

To look in your eyes and see my reflections

My beating heart…might break apart

If I don’t get seconds between my seconds

I wish that I had years between my years

Some extra time to keep you here

Before long…you will be gone

I wish that I had years between my years

______________

Speak easy,

Neil

watching Americas Got Talent

Just realized that it has been a real long time since I've posted anything. I'm at camp now working long days in the hot sun and ruining my feet by walking around in flip flops all day. It feels really weird being back in America but at the same time it feels like I've never left. No real culture shock. Not a lot of backlash in relation to jet lag. Back to using the American dollar and drinking Dunkin Donuts.

My dad got a trombone and tried to show me how to play it this morning.

I was invited to sit in on a game of Dungeons and Dragons next Saturday. I am seriously considering it.

Speak easy,

Neil

South Africa!

I met a German girl today and she said that some people in Berlin attribute David Hasslehoff for the bringing down of the Berlin Wall.

The world cup is going on and people are telling me to get excited but I just can't. Sports are all the same to me. Everyone in England good be making a big fuss about the world series of chess and I would be just as intrigued by the game.

Speak easy,

Neil

Never Too Late For Coffee

8 days. Spending most of my time listening to public radio podcasts, animating a T Rex for an animation project I'm working on (not going to talk about it until I am sure I'm going to finish it), and writing. Finished Dells book the other day and found it more entertaining than some of the other books I've read this semester. Half of my friends have left Notts for the semester. Still need to get my CPR certification before camp starts.

The other day I was at the supermarket picking out some juice. It was on the top shelf and after I picked it up off the top shelf I lost my grip and it toppled to the bottom of the fridge shelving unit. There were several times where I almost grabbed it on the way down. I was a little embarrassed and when I looked around to see if anyone had witnessed how clumsy I am capable of being I noticed that the only one that saw was a very frail old man that was all by himself. He gave me an understanding smile and I smiled back. It was pretty great.

Speak easy,

Neil

3 Steps to Obscurity

I turned my dorm room into a pin hole camera using the 'camera obscura' technique. My post the other day, which included a performance of the band by the same name, got me looking online on how to do this myself. Scientifically I have no idea how this works but I can explain how to do it.

Step 1: You will need a small to medium sized room with one window and an empty white wall opposite that window. It works best if it is really bright outside.

Step 2: Make sure that the room is completely dark. Block all light from coming into the room. You may want to duct-tape large thick black trash bags to the window to keep that light from coming in.

Step 3: Make a hole in front of the window the size of a quarter or half dollar for the focused light to come through.

Here is the view outside my window:

And here is what the wall looked like (with the image of the outside projected and flipped):

It is really, really cool to experience this first hand.

I went to the Broadmarsh Bus Station at 2 AM last night to see off my friend Ariel who headed back to California for the semester. Some girls really like to drag out their goodbyes. I'll miss the friends I've made here but I have gotten so used to leaving people since I am constantly moving around. It's kind of sad actually. Anyway, I get back in 18 days and I'm sure the time between arriving at Logan and starting my staff training at Camp Farley will be completely filled. Between studying abroad, camp, and college I won't be able to see a lot of my Mashpee friends this year.

In other news I bought my first ever roll on deodorant today and I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed.

Speak easy,

Neil

Obscura

A little less than 3 weeks left and I'll be back in the states. The weather here has been pretty good up until today, which was rainy and cold. I've got my last final in a few days and then I will be one semester away from finishing college. I am looking forward to getting a degree and not being tied down to scholarly pursuits. Within the last day or so I have been reading through my uncle Dell's novel which he is trying to get published. Dell, if you're reading this I would like to say that I am enjoying it a lot and look forward to talking to you about it. It's actually kick starting me into writing again. For the last few weeks I have been holding off on writing due to my studies but I think I'll be able to get a good portion done before I get home.

I have been listening to the song I Love How You Love Me on repeat almost all day. There are three separate versions that I have been listening to and variations are great.

Also, went to see Prince of Persia. Fun and the kind of film you should see in theaters but not really a good film.

Speak easy,

Neil

#260

Studying for my literature final. Which in UK you would say 'I'm revising for my exam'. If you said studying for your final they might now immediately get what you're saying. I can hear the coffee brewing all the way from the kitchen. As a quick study break I am buying myself some homecoming gifts. The first is a DVD that I ordered last summer and I waited for months and it never came in the mail so instead of dealing with all of the fuss that comes with dealing with the postal service I am ordering it for the second time (youtube doesn't have a trailer for the film I am buying, so here is a trailer to the first film in the series). And secondly I am getting David Levithan/John Green's new book Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I will need something to read during day camper rest for the first week of camp.

Speak easy,

Neil

Edinburgh

This is Hamish, Edinburgh's resident mascot and beloved furry cow. He used to be fat because tourists would feed him a lot of junk food but now they offer "Hamish food" in the gift shop (a healthy and efficient way for them to monitor his food intake more closely). I bought a poster of Hamish to bring home with me. Overall, I would say he's a pretty cool guy. The tour guide we had said that some people used to grab onto his horns and so they had to put up a second fence to keep people from doing this. I don't think he minds though.

This is Greyfriar's Bobby. Many, many years ago there was a grounds-keeper at the Greyfriar's cemetery in Edinburgh. This grounds-keeper was very lonely so he got himself a small dog and named him Bobby and they became quick friends. They did everything together. After two years the grounds-keeper grew ill and died. They buried him in the very cemetery that he and Bobby watched over. Bobby was very, very sad that his master was gone. Instead of moving on, Bobby sat on his master's grave awaiting his return. For years Bobby sat patiently, waiting and waiting. The new grounds-keeper fed the dog but before long this grounds-keeper died as well. The story of Greyfriar's Bobby became more and more popular as the years went on. The town offered to pay to keep Bobby healthy and happy. After fourteen years of loyalty, Bobby too passed on. Many people tried to petition to allow Bobby to be buried at his master's side but due to state law, it was illegal to bury a dog in a human cemetery. They buried him as close to the cemetery as possible. However, they did put a headstone in the cemetery in honor of him. Some people leave flowers for him. Others leave sticks because it is believed that he would have loved to play with them.

Man's best friend.

The cafe on the third floor here is where JK Rowling famously wrote the first two books in the Harry Potter Series. It is also said that Grayfriar's graveyard is where she went for inspiration. In fact, some of the headstones are where she got names for various characters.

Speak easy,

Neil

Lennon, Kafka, and Spiderman

It's been a while since I've last updated but that's mainly due to 1) Travelling and 2) Laziness, I guess. I was trying to get my plane ticket changed so I could go back early in June but that didn't work out so I am stuck here until June 19th. These are some pics I sifted through. They are from my trips to Prague, Berlin, and Amsterdam. I've got stuff to say about each place but I'll save that for later.

Speak easy,

Neil