Get the most out of old calenders!

For Christmas one of my friends gave me two 12 x 12 picture frames so that I could hang two of my vinyl records on my wall. The problem? The frames were too small. It turned out that frames must be 12.5 x 12.5 to accommodate your records. Instead of returning them, I decided to wait until I found a good alternative use for them.

Two weeks later I found this really great art calender for $5 (after the new year they pretty much give them away). Using the cardboard insert from the frames, I was able to cut the images from the calendar and fit them into the extra frames fairly easily. Here is a step-by-step for any curious parties.

1. Remove staples from calendar and separate the desired sheet. You will also want to make sure you have a 12 x 12 piece of cardboard, a marker, and scissors.

2. Using the cardboard insert as a guide, use a marker to trace lines on the top and bottom of the desired image. This is by far the hardest part. Make sure that the empty space above the image and below the image are equally spaced (this is tricky). You will also want to lean both the image sheet and the cardboard guide against a straight piece of wood in order to get your lines straight. Take your time, if you mess this up you could mess up the whole print. Repeat this process with the left and right sides as well.

3. Cut straight along the marked lines.

4. Once you have finished cutting out your 12 x 12 image, you can now place it in the frame.

5. Finally, hang the artwork in a desired location.

The best part is that I still have ten extra prints that I can switch out of the frames whenever I want.

Speak easy,
Neil

Eleanor and Park (Book Review)

I just finished reading the book Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell [released in early 2013]. A while back I remember John Green saying some good things about it, and so I thought I'd give it a try. The book that I started writing for NANOWRIMO is a young adult (wrote a solid 45k words) and I have been trying to get a more solid grasp on the genre.

Eleanor & Park is a love story involving two 16 year-old kids from Omaha, Nebraska circa 1986. The cover of the book led me to believe that it would most likely be a smart and quirky little teen drama (the art looks similar in style to something by Wes Anderson or Demetri Martin), but I actually found that it was much more down-to-earth than anticipated. A lot of teen novels I've read in the last few years featured characters that were either too bland, or much smarter and funnier than any realistic teenager (I know some teenagers are smart but it gets annoying when author's make them all talk like they belong in a Noah Baumbach film). In Eleanor and Park, the characters aren't only fleshed out, but also very average. Neither Eleanor nor Park are distinctly attractive in the conventional sense. They aren't specifically that smart (apart from Eleanor's good grades) or that popular either. This book is a true teen love story "warts and all" (I really hate this phrase but it does fit here). Rowell makes many allusions and references to Romeo and Juliet, and tries to present an alternative and fleshed out counterpoint to the classic Shakespeare tragedy. Park is a Asian-american kid who loves martial arts and comic books. Eleanor is the frumpy and poor new girl who comes from a big, problematic family. And neither of them can really imagine a life outside of the suburbs of Omaha, Nebraska.

The plot of Eleanor & Park, like its characters; is also realistic. Not much that happens feels out of the realm of reality. There aren't any crazy, rich aunts (i.e. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson) or 19 ex-girlfriends all named Katherine (An Abundance of Katherines by John Green). Eleanor & Park gives the audience something more personal and reflective, with a lot of breathing room. It reminded me of another young adult novel that dealt with similar issues of poverty and class differences; The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. The narrative switches back and forth between Park and Eleanor quite often throughout the text, giving you a good idea about what is important to the characters and what their day-to-day lives are like. Also, given that Eleanor & Park takes place in the '80s, there are no cell phones or social networks. If a character can't call another on their land-line, they either walk to their friend's house or just wait to see them at school on Monday. These kind of outdated communication restrictions were a nice change of pace from most contemporary novels that work to keep up with how teenagers interact through new technology. This time period also makes way for plenty of great references to music, movies, and comics of the time.

Of course there were certain parts in the middle where it felt a little aimless and slow. And like any other young adult love story it had its share of sappy moments, but the book isn't really targeted at my demographic to begin with (Male 18-34), so I tried not to let that get to me. 

Overall I believe it is an interesting read and would be a great fit for any 10th grade summer reading list. If you are at all interested in young adult fiction, I would highly recommend it. If you don't think this book is for you, I highly recommend picking up The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It is possibly the best thing that contemporary young adult fiction has to offer and gives a great insight into the difficulties of growing up on an Indian reservation.

Speak easy,

Neil

MMXIV

"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." is one of my all time favorite quotes. In an attempt to take this to heart I will try to keep up on a lot of things on a day-to-day basis in order to better myself. To make sure I read more I am going to try to read at least ten pages a day minimum. To make sure I write more I am going to try to either blog or work on my novel once a day. I am having a difficult time writing this because there are three other people in the room and Return of the King is on TNT. I have decided right now that I will also make an effort this year to cut multitasking and distractions out of my work time. Trying to do anything while attempting to pay attention to something else is so harmful to the creative process, and even doesn't help me to get anything done faster. Focusing your attention and working in shorter spurts can be a tremendous way to be productive. Anyway, it's New Year's Day and I'm trying to be optimistic about what I will be able to get done this year.

Speak easy,

Neil

Novel Writing Month

I am participation in National Novel Writing Month and have been spending most of my time either applying for work, working a temp job, or writing thousands and thousands of words towards my NaNoWriMo novel. The goal is to write 50,000 words by November 30th, which breaks down to 1,667 words a day if you are diligent and consistent. I am at 23,000 words in and quite happy with what I've come up with so far. It's a project I've wanted to do four years and haven't given it a serious attempt until now.
Two weeks ago I also started teaching English to inner city 4th graders on Saturdays. It's pretty fun but I never realized how absolutely draining it is to be a teacher. For my class I'm pretty much talking and moving around for three hours straight.
The weather is absolutely amazing today and has encouraged me to go to a coffee shop. Leaving the apartment will be a nice.
I will update the status on my NaNoWriMo novel as I get closer to completion.

Speak easy,
Neil

Veritas

It's that time of year when we don't have to turn the heat on in the evening but don't have to leave the air conditioners on (although we still haven't gotten around to taking them all out). That time of year when you can wear those sweaters that have been sitting at the bottom of your drawer all year but can roll up the sleeves. That time of year when it feels out of place to be listening to all those summer jams but too early to be dusting off your copy of Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

I am currently unemployed and spend the majority of my time reading and applying for work in coffee shops. Although it doesn't sound all that bad, I assure you it is neither a life nor a living. 

In a previous blog post I mentioned that I like to make the 45 minute commute to Cambridge to hit up the public library and work in their beautiful Starbucks. My trek to the public library includes a nice walk through the Harvard University campus, something I hadn't actually visited until recently. The campus itself meets any expectations when you walk through it. It's the same school you saw in Fincher's 2010 film The Social Network. It is what you would imagine Harvard to be. Green grass, brick buildings, well dressed young co-eds, Macbooks and textbooks. What I've realized, though, walking through Harvard is that for me it's campus almost represents all campuses. It reminds of Princeton in the late 1940's depicted in A Beautiful Mind. It reminds me of Monsters University and Dead Poet's Society.

I think it's probably because on some level Harvard is the school that encompasses what school brochures and films want to portray; a rich history, a proud and intelligent student body, beautifully tended yards and money. There's also always a huge batch of Asian tourists visiting the campus pretty much all the time.

Speak easy,

Neil

Books and Public Transit

This afternoon I went to the Cambridge to visit the library and get some work done at the Starbucks in Harvard Square. The Cambridge Public Library is by far my favorite library of all time right behind UMass Amherst's W.E.B. Du Bois library (tall, quiet, and oddly labyrinthian) and the Boston Public Library (beautiful and old in the way that a lot of stuffy European buildings are beautiful and old). What really makes the CPL my favorite is the graphic novel section. Tucked away in the basement beyond romantic fiction and right across from science fiction, their graphic novel section is so large and so comprehensive and so very incredible. Since you can take out up to 150 books at a time, I am merely limited by the size of my messenger bag.

Today I decided to also try something different and take out a few 'word' books. These are books consisting of hundreds of pages of text and often only one large graphic (on the cover).

1. Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

2. I Wear the Black Hat by Chuck Klosterman

The Starbucks in Harvard Square is a very pleasant and cozy place to work. So many electrical outlets. So many leather seats. And just across the street is the Harvard campus.

Around one o'clock, when I first got to the T station, the main lobby was entirely empty except for one woman and myself. Before I put my ticket into the machine to get through the woman asked if she could double-up on my ticket since she couldn't afford her own. "Yeah, sure" (with an implied "Whatever") was my response since you'd have to be pretty self righteous not to I suppose (or assume). By holding up my end of the deal I had to do literally nothing, which is just as much as I would have done if she hadn't asked me. The whole thing sat with me in a funny way.

When I did get on the orange line I ended up sitting in a cart full of southern tourists. They were talking loudly and being tourists. Five woman and one man. Middle aged. One of the women told the other one that her biggest mistake in life was getting married at eighteen. She didn't say it like it was something that made her sad. It was more of an offhand remark. Her friend replied by saying "Yeah, but that's not something you should say to people". And I suppose it isn't.

Speak easy,

Neil

The Past

The other day I found out that one of my good friends from college is pregnant. She is expecting. It is a boy. I found this out through Facebook and not only did it make me realize how completely out of touch I am with a lot of friends I made in college but also how I am suddenly at an age where it is now socially acceptable to have a child. Be a parent. Raise a human being. (something I may or may not get around to)

I have heard some people say that it will be weird in the year 2030 when children of this new generation are able to look back on their mother's Facebook status update regarding their conception and then trace their progression from that first ultrasound to their birth to their first steps. It seems strange now but maybe no less strange than the introduction of video cameras and home movies of the 20th century and their ability to capture moments. Well, not entirely. Maybe the strangeness lies more in those personal artifacts floating around in the open ocean of social media that is such a different concept for people to get used to. Perhaps.
This blog itself is an artifact of my own and I have decided to add to it instead of starting a new blog. I am out of college now, living outside Boston with my girlfriend and trying to find work. I started this blog with the presumption that I was on the cusp of life and something greater. I still feel that way.

In other news I got the chance to stay at the Juniper Hill Inn up in Vermont a few weeks ago. It was featured on the short lived reality show Hotel Hell. Jordan and I got to stay in the same room Gordon Ramsay stayed in when he was filming the show. This boar was hanging around outside the entryway. He was pretty cool.

Speak easy,
Neil

P.S. It took me twenty minutes to figure out my login and password for this account. I had apparently used a my high school email address as my backup for some reason and had to access that before I could reset me password.

P.P.S. The extent of my refence to it being "socially acceptable" to have a child at twenty-seven is an entirely subjective opinion (as opinions often seem to be) and I'm sure the statement tells someone more about me, my socioeconomic background, my upbringing, and my own feelings about children than about parenting itself.

The Future

Never climb a limbless tree without an exit strategy. Learned that the hard way. Sprained my ankle, kind of sucks.

Somehow Cape Cod completely missed the spring season this year. It went from hoodie weather to t-shirt and shorts weather in just about a week or so. Funny how things can change that fast. The pollen isn't making my life too fun though. Pretty much fatigued or sinus pressured all the time. It is raining at the moment though and my dad said that rain will wash away the pollen. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Watch the French animated feature film L'Illusioniste the other day. Here's the trailer for any interested parties:

Some interesting news in technology:

Sony let's two people watch two different shows on the same tv at the same time!

Nintendo announces new console; confuses everyone!

iCloud!

The film works pretty much without any dialogue, a difficult feat considering that they are trying to keep your attention for an hour and twenty minutes on visuals alone. Bittersweet and fantastically beautiful. Check it out.

Really tired so I'm going to stop it here. I start camp in two weeks! Pretty excited for it.

Speak easy,

Neil

retro.future

Been working 40-50 hour work weeks which hasn't proved to work well with my writing schedule. A few weeks ago I hit the 90,000 word mark and decided that that would be a good a time as any to start trimming the fat. Since then I haven't got a great deal of work done (without daily goals I find it terribly hard to be productive) but I hope for that to change in the weeks leading up to camp.

Quick list of things:

- 127 Hours: Terrific film, watch it right now.

- Twilight Zone: If you have Netflix instant watch I highly recommend watching "Masks", "Five Characters in Search of an Exit", "Walking Distance", and "It's a Good Life".

- This is cool: http://www.learnmorsecode.com/

- Everything Will Be Okay is now available for free! (One of my all time favorite short films)

- Stay away from the book Film Club by David Gilmour (not worth the read. hours wasted)

...and without further ado...I give you the house of the future.

Speak easy,

Neil

last.fm/user/seedownthesun

I've been working hard, 36 hours a week at Stop & Shop doing construction type work and rigorousness working on my novel. Earlier this evening I passed the 80,000 word mark. I will probably have the rough draft done by the end of April (approx. 120,000 words) and a first draft completed before I leave for camp towards the end of June. Not sure what I'm going to do from there. Honestly by then I'll be so busy looking for career work that the whole project will have to go by the wayside.

I went to the Penny Arcade Expo a few weeks ago with my Dungeons and Dragons crew. Basically it is a video game convention/exposition run by the guys who make the popular gaming comic Penny Arcade. Apparently it got a lot of publicity this year because I have actually met a lot of normal people who know what it is.

For anyone who wants to know what this thing is all about, I recommend this video here to explain all that I don't feel like explaining.

I even got to play the very arcade machine that was featured in one of my all time favorite documentaries King of Kong.

Speak easy,

Neil

Zed's Dead

Just read an article on the Wall Street Journal with Conor Oberst (named the best songwriter of 2008 by Rolling Stone magazine). In this article he calls himself "a good thief". He goes, explaining that many of his lines and concepts are collected from aspects of conversations he has with friends or books that he happens to be reading. Last year I watched a Q&A with writer Chuck Palahniuk where he said something similar. He said that he would be at a party and overhear a conversation and then run to the bathroom to frantically write down what he'd just heard word for word. I find that I work the same way. If I here something interesting I'll write it down on my phone (notebook feature). It's a lot less conspicuous than carrying a paper and pencil with you and everyone will just assume that your texting someone.

Watched Breakfast At Tiffany's for the first time the other day. Love Audrey Hepburn, love the atmosphere of the movie, loved most of the script, didn't really like the pseudo-Hollywood ending. Didn't feel fitting but I suppose I'll have to read the book to see how Capote told the story. Also, really strange Chinese stereotype character seemed forced and weird.

Reached 61,000 words today. Trying to get to about 100,000 by the end of March so that I can start the editing process and hopefully have a first draft on my hands by late May. Love what I have so far.

Found a menial job to work at. Finished the hiring process this afternoon.

Speak easy,

Neil

PS - Watching Pulp Fiction

50k

Don't have a job at the moment but I have been writing on a daily basis. I just passed 50,000 words towards my manuscript but most of that is unedited. I feel like I'm probably about halfway done with completing my first draft. The work just doesn't seem to end.

The three hardest things I've come across while writing...

A. Content - What is worth writing about?

B. Editing - What was I trying to say? How am I going to turn this into something seamless?

C. Atmosphere - Did I include enough details to make this scene work? Did I include too many?

Here's a short list of stuff I like at the moment...

1. On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardener

This is both interesting and helpful. It's not very long either, running at around 150 pages. Sometimes Gardener's input seems tedious or obvious but most of what he says about being a novelist is worth reading.

2. A More Perfect Union by Titus Andronicus

Not as brutal as its namesake but Titus still pulls off some raw and fun punk hooks. This is the first track from their new album The Monitor, a concept album about the Civil War.

3. Batman: The Long Halloween (Graphic Novel)

The book that was the inspiration for The Dark Knight. I'm not that far into it right now but I'm finding it pretty interesting, despite the fact that super hero comics are not my personal preference.

4. Dungeons & Dragons

The game, not the movie. I joined a D&D group that meets every Monday night. It's a lot more fun than most people would think.

5. The IT Crowd

Clever English sitcom that I first saw on my flight back to from England. What really makes the show is the character Moss. Funny stuff.

Speak easy,

Neil

Schrodinger's Hard Drive

I went to the local indie cinema to apply for a job and I stupidly put the summer camp on my application. When I sat down for the interview the woman asked me if I was planning on going back this summer. I said yes because I'm incapable of lying to anyone that asked me a straightforward question. I suppose that's what they mean when they say nice guys finish last. Anyway she said she didn't want to hire me because she wants a year round employee. She gave me reference sheets to hand out to my previous employers but she said she would still have to think about it. Personally I could just find another job somewhere else but the real reason I want to work there is because I have a deep love for film and would work there for free just for the opportunity to get an all you can see Regal movie pass.

In other news my hard drive crashed and at the moment I have no idea whether I am going to be able to retrieve my information. I ordered a sata to usb cable that should be able to help me out with the process but I have yet to get that in the mail. For me, it is both alive and dead at the same time.

I am still dilligently working on my manuscript and just reached the halfway point yesterday (although I write out of sequence so my estimate could be way off). Currently the running list of people I plan on sending the first draft to is as follows:

Dell Smith, Liz Smith, Kathryn Hakala, Taylor Rose Marvin, Sara Hanson, Andrew Lippman, Ross Lippman, Robin Johnson, Laurie Murphy, Bradley Murphy, Daniel Barrett, Carolan Fleer, Kristina West, and Ariel Lauri. If I have forgotten you or if your name isn't on this list let me know so I can send you a copy.

Speak easy,

Neil

Sadie

Since I got back to the Cape, I've been locking myself in my room in the basement and writing a ton. My goal is to write at least 1,000 words a day and have been been pretty successful thus far. Yesterday I bought a bunch of post it notes so that I could visualize the outline for the segment of the manuscript I'm working on. My goal is to have the first 70 pages written and edited by the end of the month. I figure if I give myself more deadlines I will get more work done in the long run (whether or not I stick to the deadlines is another matter entirely.)

This is a picture I took of my brother fracturing his ankle. Judging by the look on his face I reckon it hurt quite a bit.

This is Sadie. Nice dog. Two different color eyes.

Speak easy,
Neil

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