LW Speaks.

I finally have Tiger and Final Cut Studio. It is exciting.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 22:02:53 GMT

On my way back to my house from the Spanish house I saw a path of red ants crossing the sidewalk that leads up to the Russian house. There must have been hundreds or maybe even thousands of them in total, because the line (it wasn't a single file line, more just a mob of them all going the same direction maybe three inches across, but I can't think of a word for that) just kept coming and it continued a fair way into the grass on either side. I couldn't tell either where they were coming from or going to, but as I followed them backwards through the grass to try and find their originiation point, I noticed that there were a few black ants there too, but they were not getting along. It reminded me a lot of SimAnt, which I haven't played in a long time. I saw one black ant and one red one fighting each other, and surprisingly the black one won and then carried around the balled up remains of the red one somewhere. I expected the red one to win, if for no other reason than because he had the masses to back him up (and the fact that I always lost in SimAnt and you played as the black ones, so the red ones were always killing me). It was pretty amazing.

I hear in my mind all of these voices

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 02:58:06 GMT

The copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy from the library that I am reading smells just like the old 1995 or 1996 or something Guiness Book of World Records that I used to have, before they used to be huge hardcover things. I haven't looked at that book in probaly 8-10 years. It's weird the kind of memories that smells can remind me of.

I hear in my mind all of this music

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 06:38:28 GMT

I can hear kids outside, playing or something. They sound no older than 7 or 8, maybe as young as 4. It is 1:30 AM. I have been hearing them for at least half of an hour now. This weirds me out, since they probably should have been in bed hours ago. And I am going to sleep before some kids who may be one fifth of my age.

Back in the twin cities for some time. Wednesday, I lose some teeth, then when I am off of the drugs, I drive back to Beloit. That is what I am up to.

The End.

For Martin and Jess, mostly.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 06:23:44 GMT

Featured in this months Northwest Airlines something-or-other newsletter as a getaway destination was Cedar Rapids. Here's what they had to say about it:

Cedar Rapids, IA: An American Gothic
Come to a place where you can get behind the wheel of a tractor and view world-famous art on the same day.

Yup, that's all. I thought maybe you two would appreciate how the rest of the world views your hometown.

That's all I have to say for today, save for the fact that the public library helped me cut my netflix queue down to almost half of what it was. Yay for finally getting a library card, eh.

I ate too much ice cream this evening. Why do I always eat the whole pint?

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 04:26:04 GMT

Today I took a bike ride, something I haven't done in a while. On my way back I decided to stop off and spend some time at the pirate park by the river. I got on a swing and after a few minutes a kid who looked about 4 years old walked over to the other one and was too short to get on it but swung it back and forth a bit. I didn't want to kick him, so I kept looking down at him to make sure I knew where he was. After the swing got uncomfortable, I walked over to the lookout tower. I was looking out to the river when the same kid started climbing up the tower. When he got to the top I greeted him with a hello, because it seemed that maybe he liked me since he seemed to be following me around a bit. Then he told me to get down. I thought he was joking or maybe I misheard (after all, a 4 year old shouldn't be that bossy, should he?) so I clarified and he indeed did tell me to get down, as it was apparently his tower. So I asked which way to climb down and when started to go down I told him to be careful climbing on the side rail since it's a long way down and he could hurt himself if he fell. When I got to the bottom, he asked me 'what are you laughing at?' I told him I didn't really know, which was true. Then he said 'I will kill you.' I was terrified. I said 'that's not very nice' and again laughed a little awkwardly as I made my way away from this scary kid. He told me that it was indeed nice, even though I still think he was wrong about that part.

On the way home from the grocery store this evening with Katy, a black animal was crossing the road from the right. I was in the left lane, but it was coming towards my lane. We were on the highway, so I was going about 60. The car in the right lane slowed down but the animal, which showed itself to be a dog, got out of that lane before that car had to stop. I hit my brakes hard and finally came to a stop a foot before hitting the dog, who decided to stop right in the middle of my lane. The car behind me squealed and swerved into the other lane around me, as the rest of traffic back there did too. They probably all thought I was crazy, but this fucking dog wasn't moving. It finally decided to go off to the left, which was good because if it went to the right one of those cars going around me likely would have hit it. It was in the median, but at least it was safe for a few seconds. I drove on, shaken. I felt really weird and fucked up by this for probably a half hour.

At least my bike decided to shift gears for me today.

Damn.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 00:50:32 GMT

Oh man guys, you all have to check this out. The article is titled "Snakes On A Plane, For Real." So read it now. Also, check out the official website if you haven't already. www.snakesonaplane.com. For some reason I never went to it before today, and it's pretty awesome as well.

My Bike.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 18:03:10 GMT

My bike is a piece of crap. I rode it to work the other day for the first time in probably a year, and remembered why I never rode it before. It looks pretty awesome, but in reality it's terrible. The seat is uncomfortable, it's rusting, it won't shift so it's stuck in third gear (and it's only a three speed to begin with) so I can't really go up hills with it, the rear brake doesn't work and the front one's pretty bad so I have to start braking like half a block in advance, which also means that I can't really stop while going down hills. It's pretty much a useless bike. I'm going to get killed on it this summer, probably. At least I got it for like 25 bucks a few years ago.

In other news, I was wondering why the raisin bran I was eating yesterday and today had so many raisins in it until I noticed that the box said EXTRA RAISIN Rasin Bran Cereal. Now it makes sense. At least it's pretty good cereal.

In real news, I'm going to Milwaukee in a half an hour with Ed for the day. Also, I pretty much have my visits home planned out unless my wisdon teeth removal is harder to schedule than I'm hoping. It's too bad that surgery and jury duty are two of my reasons that I'm going home this summer. Oh well, I'll make it fun anyways. And tell the jury duty interviewers that I'm a hardcore racist, maybe that will get me out of a trial.

Queen of the Turf

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Mon, 29 May 2006 20:42:42 GMT

My house is weird. The floors were either in the process of being refinished or had just gotten refinished when I was there, so most of the furniture was gone and things were in boxes in the basement or garage. My room had three pieces of furniture in it: a dressing table covered with things of Gertie's, a wadrobe filled with Gertie's clothes, and my mattress, sans bedframe. It was weird, to be at home when it didn't feel like my home at all anymore.

On Saturday Steve, Jim and I went to the horse track. That was awesome. I bet like 20 some bucks and only came out 6 dollars down, plus the addmission and cokes I bought there to mix with the malibu rum we smuggled in. There was one race that Steve and I won pretty big on (something like 15 bucks on a 5 dollar bet, okay, so it's not that big but it was big for us for that day) but then another jockey called foul and they reversed it. So we didn't win. That fucker.

Anyways, now I'm in Beloit for a while. And I'm off to go get wood to make a table.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Wed, 10 May 2006 08:25:12 GMT

The fog outside right now is so thick that I can hardly tell that there is a street half a block from my building in two directions. I couldn't see Church from College and Clary at all. There was no way to tell whether or not the Peace House was still standing on my walk home from Gregory's room this evening. It's beautiful though, and it fit the feel of tonight very well.

The party at the music house was awesome and the after-party of sorts on the basketball court out back next to the art house was also very nice. I realised tonight though that I'm really going to miss many of the graduating seniors this year. It's a weird feeling.

Okay the entry box is getting longer as I type and it has been doing this for about a month now and I thought that they'd fix it by now but they haven't and I can't deal with it any longer. So I'm done updating for now. Enjoy your nights, all.

I should be sleeping.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Sat, 29 Apr 2006 07:55:11 GMT

I just drove to O'Hare and back. It's weird how it doesn't feel like it took that long. I was gone something like 3 hours though. Also, one of the oases didn't have any gas but premium, which was lame because my gas light was on and I had to pay the 3.20 or whatever for a couple gallons. My bill-thingy was over 6 bucks for less than 2 gallons. Shitty. Anyways, premier tomorrow night (tonight I guess, technically). I'm excited.

That's all.

Secrets.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 05:52:47 GMT

and i can't really
figure out why they work but
i don't take good care

not mine i realise
it's a better even though
it's kind of a wuss

that's the one about
the makeover that was a
game show we did it

I think we're just going to have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:10:19 GMT

Probably the last time with the questions. This time from Andrew.

1. What's your biggest guilty pleasure movie? (Sorry everyone's asking you movie questions, and I hope no one's asked you this one yet.)

I don't mind that people asked me so many movie questions. I like movies, so the questions are more fun and fitting. Anyways, this is a good question. I thought about it a bit for a vaguer (more vague?) version of this from Rebecca. And then I didn't come up with anything. But now I have two thoughts on it. They are both unfortunately not concrete, but they are something. I love the Muppet Movie. The Moppet Movie deserves to be loved, in my opinion. But maybe I love it far too much more than I should. So in a way, especially in the realm of almost every other single movie I love, it is sort of a guilty pleasure. But I don't actually feel guilty about it. So I think the more appropriate answer to this is the vague part. I would say there is a genre, or maybe sub-genre, of movies, maybe we can call them stupid college humor movies, that I am a fan of. Movies that fall into this category are: Old School, Road Trip, Friday, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Anchorman, etc. Maybe I shouldn't enjoy those as much as I should.

2. I know you're a big music fan as well - have you ever played an instrument? Do you have any desire to be in a band?

I took piano lessons when I was younger - like in elementary school. I didn't like to practice like I should have. I've since about given up on it, but I still wish I could play. Especially when I hear Amy or other people play in the music house and the like. I actually brought my keyboard back here this semester with the intent of teaching myself how to play, at least basic stuff, but I've been so busy with the movie that I haven't. I think I will work on it this summer, actually. As for the bad bit, I've never really had that desire. I enjoy my friends' bands and appreciate that they have that sort of commitment and talent and whatnot, but I don't think I'd have the patience to practice with other people. I guess most people don't have the patience to edit movies, and that's where mine goes. I still wish I could play a lot more instruments than the none I currently can, though.

3. This isn't a question, but I want to hear a funny joke. So tell me your favorite joke.

Oh man, I'm no good at jokes. But I do like the one about the pirate with the steering wheel on his crotch that goes into a bar. I feel like you must have heard it though, so I won't bother to type it out here. If you haven't, I bet Greg could tell it better than I anyways. Sorry that was so lame...

4. How do you feel you've changed since you've been in Beloit?

A big one. Obviously, I've changed in appearance. I don't know how much you know about the "makeover" that was done to me my freshman year, but I looked totally different when I came here. Much nerdier. That itself has actually improved my general confidence in a lot of areas, but I think there are other factors to the confidence change too. I'm glad for those. I've also become more independent, at least in certain senses. I don't think I ever could have made the movie this semester if I were like I was when I came here, if for no other reason than I never would have gotten people involved. I was way more shy then than I am now, and I'm still really bad at speaking to large groups, even if they are all my friends. So those are some of the biggest changes.

5. Who is the hottest Hollywood starlet, past or present?
Ha, I don't know. I'm no good at that. Right off the top of my head, I'd say that Audrey Hepburn was pretty goddamned hot in her day. And in a timeless sense.

Less than a week to the premier. I'm really scared. It'll happen, I know it will, even if it's not a 100% finished perfected version we screen, but I still have a lot to do in the time that's remaining. I am really happy with the way that music is coming along, everyone's being really helpful and is coming up with great stuff. I'm really excited to get it all together, I think it's going to be pretty darned good. So you all should do your best to come (reminder, it's Saturday night at 10-ish). Not just for me, but for Amy and Nick M and Andy and Glenda and Nick B and Meg and everyone else (there's far too many to list everyone's names here, that's what the credits are for). That's all about that for now.

P.S. To anyone who had issues with the trailer in the last day or so. I believe it is working properly again, and playing all the way through. Just so you know.

I watched The Royal Tenenbaums tonight again, and I again realised that it is pretty much a perfect movie in every way. The writing is incredible and solid, the soundtrack is brilliant, every since shot in the movie is amazing, the acting is wonderful, the colors and sets and costumes are great. So many things. Wes Anderson is truly a genious, and I hope that maybe someday I can hold a mic on the set of one of his movies or something. Working for/with him would be really cool. And as much as watching movies as great as his inspire me in my own adventures in film-making, it is also sometimes discouraging in that I realise that I can't make anything that good. Oh well, I'm still happy with what I've been doing.

It also made me realise that I need to take back what I said earlier about my favorite Wes Anderson movie line. The one I said is good, but there are better ones. The title to this post is one. I think maybe my true favorite is when Eli Cash says "I always wanted to be a Tenenbaum" and then Royal says (to Pagoda, but mostly really to himself) "Me too. Me too."

Oh yeah, also, the Brewers game today was great. For 10 bucks, I got 4 hot dogs, 2 small pops, and a bag of peanuts. And they got 5 homers in one inning, and the Brewers starter shut the Reds out. Plus good company in the stands. All in all a great afternoon.

And that's it for this time.

More answers here.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 07:15:45 GMT

A lot more answers to the silly questions.

From Christine.

1. if you could be one obnoxiously cliche teenage subculture (i.e., "punk", goth, "emo", valley girl, jock, etc.), which would you be and why?
I'm torn between nerd because I associate with them and goth because I like The Cure. Can I be a goth nerd? I think so.

2. if you could...you know..."do it" with anyone on campus, who would it be and why?

I'm nervous to answer this here because I don't know who's reading. So I'll keep it vague (yet still sincere) and say a hot dancer. There are at least a few specifically that I'm thinking of. Besides the fact that they're hot, their dancing ability leads me to believe that it would be good fun. You know, more than usual, that is.

3. what is your favorite season?

Spring, I think. The blooming trees are pretty, and the temperature is perfect, and the end of winter is always great, and also the beginning of things like thunderstorms in the evening are wonderful. This is all pretty much right now, which makes me happy.

4. will you do a radio show with me this summer? what kind of music will we play?

I will strongly consider it. As in, yes, I think I will. We will play good music, duh. Also, more specifically, we can play things like Mates of State and things from Wes Anderson soundtracks and Zero 7 and other things that you choose.

5. what is your favorite brand of shoe? clothing? oatmeal?
Pumas are awesome and comfortable. I have a lot of clothes from the Gap, so maybe there? Although that makes me feel like a pretty major tool. And I ate a lot of quaker oats when I was younger. SO those.

From Rebecca.

1. If there could be one situation you could change that happened to you in the past 3 years what is it, what would you change, and why?
Hmmm. The true answer to this is not something I'd like to discuss in a forum as public as livejournal. If you're truly interested, e-mail me and I'll tell you there. And I can't think of anything else in the true spirit of this question. So I move on.

2. Have you heard of The Knife? If not, go download "Heartbeats" or the album Deep Cuts.
I have. They mostly annoy me. I guess they are pretty catchy though.

3. If you would have gone abroad this year where would you have gone besides Germany?
Hmmm. You knew my first reaction. Maybe England? It seems to be the place for business, as well as somewhere I've never been that I'd like one day to go.

4. What's your favorite guilty pleasure (movie, food, music, etc.)?
Favorite or biggest? I'm going with favorite. Thus, I will say shrimp ramen for food. And maybe Billy Joel for music? I don't know. It's hard for me to say that any movie I like shouldn't be liked. So I can't answer that one. This is tough for real though, so don't put too much stock in my answers here.

5. What are we going to do this summer? At least, the second half when I arrive.
We will watch movies and things. And exchange all the music we've discovered in the past year that we have not yet each learned of.

From Ed.

1. What's your favorite movie quote?

Jeez. There's so many. Probably something from The Muppet Movie that Kermit says. He's my hero. Because I need to pick something specific, I will say his speech to Doc Hopper in the ghost town where he tells him that you can't just spend your life running from a bully and that he can kill him if that's what he really wants. Either that or something from The Royal Tenenbaums, that's got plenty of great lines. From that, maybe where Owen Wilson meets Gwenyth Paltrow on that pedestrian bridge and he tells her that he's not in love with her anymore and she says she didn't know he ever was and he says something like "let's not make this any more difficult than it already is."

2. Do you like Andrew W.K.? If not, why not? If so, what's your favorite AWK song?

I don't know much of his stuff. Of what I've heard, he seems a fun guy. I'd have to hear more to pick a favorite song.

3. What is your favorite book? I know your favorite movie(s), but I really have no idea what you enjoy reading.

I think my favorite book is either The World According to Garp (although it's been a while since I've read it) or The Princess Bride. I'm currently reading Nymphomation by Jeff Noon (borrowed from Alex Taylor) and it's quite good. I like his stuff a lot now that I've read some.

4. Why Wes Anderson?

He's incredible in so many ways. I was just thinking about this the other day, actually. First of all, he's a great writer. His stories are all so interesting, but also not too outrageous. Just on the limit of believability, right where stories like his should be. And he's so subtly humorous, I appreciate that a lot. Secondly, he shoots his movies amazingly well. His shots are almost always really interesting, and some of them seem pretty original. He's a big fan of shots from directly above tables and things with hands moving in and out of the frame, or just shots that seem really boring in theory but are actually really interesting in practice, at least when carried out by him. Maybe it's the way he dresses his sets. Those are also great. Also, his editing is wonderful. The pace is always great and adds to the impact. Thirdly (fourthly? fifthly?) his soundtracks are always wonderful. Seriously, that man knows how to choose music, and they always fit the movies so well. That font he uses is also really great. Are those enough reasons? Maybe I can point out more if we watch a movie of his together this summer.

5. What ancient civilization do you most identify with?
I was always fascinated be the ancient egyptians as a kid. Still am, actually. I guess that doesn't equate with identification though. Hmmm. Maybe still them. Since my people did build the pyramids and all...

From Kerensa.

1) What was the first movie you made and what was it about?

I used to make movies with my sister with Barbies, stop motion things. The one I remember best was a game show we did with them. The podiums were made out of better blocks. The first thing I made with a real story (sort of) were probably videos I did for my western civ class sophomore year of high school with a few of my friends. I actually have these in my room if you ever want to see them. The first thing that wasn't for class that I can remember that actually had stories are shorts I did at the theatre I worked at (based on customers and things) that turned into the Highland Theatre Experience, an award winning collection of shorts from high school. Seriously, they won me 50 bucks at my high schools first film festival. That was awesome. I have those too, if you care enough.

2) What would be the ultimate movie-making team (you as director, pick cast and crew)?

Good question. But honestly, I wouldn't be director in my ultimate movie-making team. And the rest of the team would change if I weren't director. I'll work off of the assumption that I am directing though, so here goes: Music - Jon Brion, D.P. - Robert Yeoman (he always works with Wes Anderson), I'd maybe edit myself, although maybe I'd get someone else. Maybe Julian Doyle, if he's still working? He edited Brazil. Probably Gary Rydstrom on sound design, since he designs sound on so many movies (including all the Pixar movies, which have great sound) and just knows what the hell he's doing. I unfortunately don't actually know a lot of lesser-billed cast people, so I can't go much further into that. The cast could change so much based on the script, but I think working with Dustin Hoffman would be amazing. He's simply an incredible actor. Same goes for Brian Cox. And Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore for the same reasons. But I think that for a lot of scripts, using unkowns or mostly unkowns would be quite useful. Also, just to clear it up, depending on the script, if I were to have someone else direct, I'd choose either Kubrick (if he were still alive) or Wes Anderson because they are both so incredible in so many ways. I love Gilliam too, but I think he's good on projects that I couldn't see myself playing a large part in. So that's that.

3) Where would you be without that fashion make-over from your sophomore year?

It was freshman year, but I would be less far than I am now. Maybe. I just feel more confident about a lot of things now. Yeah, it's lame and silly, maybe, but it's true.

4) Why is your sister, like, the cutest person ever?

I can't answer this. Unless it's because she's related to me? Unlikely though.

5) How's the editing coming along, anyway?
It's coming along quite well. As far as picture editing goes, I'm one scene away from complete. There are some sound issues to deal with, and then I need to add music and work on transitions, but I can do it in a week, as long as the music is completed by then. I am hoping that it is, because I want to screen a completed version. You best be at the premier, by the way.

From Erin.

1. what was the strongest emotion that you last felt?

Probably happiness, when I was at CELEB this evening. I don't remember why I realised it, actually, but I realised that I am quite happy with things and me now. I smiled big even though no one could see me. Also, it made me happy to think about movie making with the people listed above.

2. i need your help solving a case, benjamin. you see, there is a kitten stuck up in that tree, and it somehow has something to do with all of five of the following: industrial size jar of mustard, a golf cart, wax fruit, shrinky dinks, neil young, and a dime. what's the narrative?

Is it wrong that I first noticed that there were six things? That's irrelevant though. I'm no writer though, so Benjamin's creator would be much better equipped to answer this. I can say that I would make sure to place all of these things interestingly on the set and get them in the background of all of the shots of the scene. Probably. Also, I see really green grass on the ground and a street nearby. I'm sorry this is a moderately lame answer.

3. what is the best color for shoes?

I like blue shoes a lot. Also, brown has grown on me recently. On non-dress shoes.

4. what do you have the most of? (take as you will, tangible or non)

Worries? Probably worries. Otherwise, movies. Or ideas. Small, unusable on their own type ideas.

5. tell me about your favorite photograph, yours or otherwise. if you don't have one, tell me about your favorite scene in a movie. the photograph one over the movie one though.
I don't have a favorite photograph specifically. I will pick one from what I know though, and answer both questions here. First the picture one. I really like the picture I have on my computer of the world from space at night. The one where all you see are lights from cities and whatnot. It's really interesting and also just looks really cool. Maybe that one. As for movie scenes, the opening scene of The Royal Tenenbaums is probably my favorite introduction to a movie ever. It's just about perfect in every way. So either that or the scene in Wet Hot American Summer where they go into town. Because I don't think it will ever be not funny to me.

From Katie C.

1. what is the worst movie you've ever seen, not counting the room?

I absolutely hated K-19. That movie blew hardcore. I don't know if that's really the worst movie I've seen, but I feel like once it gets to a certain point, bad movies are fun to watch (and I also feel like most of the celebrated examples of these movies know that they are seen like this and embrace it, at least to a point). So the worst movies and my least favorite do not align. I'm sure I've seen a movie worse than K-19 (probably by quite a bit) with my friends Tom and Chad from home at some point, but I can't think of any names now.

2. did you live in germany or something when you were a kid or am i misremembering or totally making that up? discuss.

I have been to Germany twice, but these times were after my junior and senior years of high school. So you are mostly making it up. There is little more to discuss.

3. what are your favorite albums that you owned when you were in middle school or younger?

The first 'real' albums I bought were Stunt by Barenaked Ladies and Desireless by Eagle Eye Cherry, on the same trip to the CD store some time in eights grade, I believe. Before that (and probably then too) it was most definitely something of Weird Al's, likely Bad Hair Day.

4. which ailment do you think you are most likely to die of and why?

This is tough. Probably heart disease because that's what everyone dies of (and I don't take good care of my heart, and am an easily stressed person). That was a lame answer, I apologise.

5. what is the state of minnesota's finest musical export?
I assume you're talking about The Hold Steady (even though I guess they as a band are really from MN). I don't know much specifically, but I hope they're working on a new album. Because they're great. If I am not understanding this question properly, correct me and I'll re-answer it.

From Nick M.

1. favorite line in any wes anderson movie

As I mentioned up above, probably the time when Owen Wilson meets Gwenyth Paltrow on the pedestrian bridge in The Royal Tenenbaums. Refer to Ed's broader version of this question for the specific line.

2. favorite flaming lips song and why?

Either Evil Will Prevail or The Gash. The former because all of the lyrics just make me smile, even though it's kind of a sad song, and the latter because of similar reasons and the music also just makes me throw my fists in the air to the beat and feel awesome.

3. tell me a story that starts with "this one asshole i went to high school with..."

This one asshole I went to high school with used to throw spitballs at me and insult me all the time since freshman year, so once in calc senior year, when he was playing with the Legos we had in the class and throwing them at me (even though he denied that it was at me) I threw the Lego thing I was making at him and it bounced off his ridiculous puffy vest. Then he stood up like he was going to fight me but when I stood there like I was finally going to deal with him (he wasn't huge but I was a fair amount smaller than him), I realised that he was as much of a wuss as me, just in a different way. He just wanted to act tough instead of be tough. That was a good day.

4. what's the dumbest thing you've ever heard anyone say?

Wow, so many dumb things have been said in life. I've said a lot of them. I've heard things like "this song is awesome" in relation to some of the worst songs ever written, that usually drives me nuts. I can't think of a good one now though. If I do, I'll add it later.

5. what's the best idea you've ever come up with when you were drunk?
Hmmm. Usually I'm not too productively thoughtful when I'm drunk. I think I decided to mix rum with root beer when I was already drunk, that was a good idea. There were also trips taken to the Around the Clock that were based on my drunken idea too that were pretty awesome. Those are less awesome then I wish I could say, but at least they're something.

That's a shit ton of questions and answers. I'm tired of typing now.

Trailer time!

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 05:51:49 GMT

The full trailer for Switchtrack Alley is live. Check it out here, eh. Then tell me what you think.

Question Nonsense

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 05:53:18 GMT

Answering questions in the order they come in. Also, you all know the drill by now. Tell me if you want me to make some questions up.

From Caroline.

1. you should tell everyone about leinie's BIG BUTT.
Erin gave me a bottle cap a bit over two months ago (ok, really it was about three full months ago now) to give to you that said in large brown letters "big butt" on it. And then two days ago I finally gave it to you, after having lost ir and subsequently finding it in my room.

2. in physics class, when we were talking about sound levels and one of the variables was called Lw, did i think of you and laugh?
I would imagine so. At least, I hope so.

3. what are you going to do after we graduate next year?
We'll see. I doubt I'll live with my parents any more, since I don't really feel like moving into wherever they're going to be then. So I'll move somehwere. Whether or not that's dictated by having a job or having someone to live with, time will only tell. I'd like to keep making movies though, even if not for any sort of career. And eventually I'd still like to own and run a small movie theatre. That plays nothing but actually good movies. Maybe I'll try and do something that leads me to that goal? We'll see, I guess.

4. did you go to junior high and high school dances?
I don't think I ever went to a junior high dance, and I believe I only went to one high school dance. That was my freshman year homecoming dance that was held in the school's cafeteria and I went with this girl who I guess was my girlfriend for a few weeks. But it's not like we ever actually dated. Nor did we ever kiss or anything. I don't understand why she was my girlfriend really, now that I think about it. I think it's just because I was surprised that someone actually asked me to a dance, so I said yes and then went with it.

5. if you were a book, what would your title be?
Hmmm. That's tough. The only thing that comes to mind is actually the title of one of my favorite Eels' songs, "Things the Grandchildren Should Know." But since that's not mine, I realise it's a bit lame. And makes me seem a bit pretentious, maybe. I can't think of anything else now. Maybe I'll add something better later.

From Emily M.

1. what character of the chronicles of narnia would you be and why?
Good question. If you're referring to one of the kids, probably Peter because I'm no fun and wouldn't believe my little sister when she told me of the made up land of Narnia. Or maybe one of the other kids that comes along in later books, I forget their names. If it's more open than that, probably one of the Monopods from Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Man they were cool sounding, but also kind of pathetic. That sounds about right.

2. if you could switch bodies with a friend for a week, who would it be and why?
Interesting. Maybe Steve. Because seeing how Steve is treated all the time would be interesting. More interesting would be to see his reaction to being treated like me. Especially by me as him. Ha.

3. if you could be any mythological creature; who would it be?
I don't know. Maybe Icarus, because I wouldn't be stupid and waste my ability to fly. And flying would be pretty awesome. So maybe a Pegasus too, since they also have that ability. And are prettier than Icarus.

4. also, make me a mixed tape (theoretically) of five songs that would describe you since high school
Ach, hard. This is by no means perfect, I normally take a lot longer picking out options and then weeding down for mixes rather than just going with the first songs that make sense. Also, my choices are likely pretty sappily obvious. Or something like that. But, here goes a try, at least:
The Cure - Why Can't I Be You?
Eels - Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)
Wilco - Just a Kid (off the Spongebob movie soundtrack...)
Polyphonic Spree - A Long Day Continues/We Sound Amazed
Pink Floyd - Echoes
and a bonus Polaris - Hey Sandy!
The last two because I can't really figure out why they work. But I kind of think they do.

5. where do you want to live after beloit?
In a moderately sized city. I'm not super picky. I really do like the Twin Cities, and Chicago is pretty awesome. But there's also a lot of the country I haven't been to. And eve more of the rest of the world that I haven't been to. I don't speak enough languages to live most places though. I can tell you that I don't want to live in Beloit.

From Martin.

1. what super-sexy secrets have you been hiding me the last three years? (or if none, the non-sexy variety is ok too)
If I've been hiding secrets from you the past three years, I don't think I'm going to tell all of livejournal now. But I can't think of anything that I've been keeping. If I do think of something, I'll tell you in a less public manner. Since they are secrets and all...

2. who would win in a fight: batman or wes anderson? discuss.
Batman, obviously. I mean, Wes Anderson is my hero and freaking awesome, but Batman is just a lot more badass. And better equipped. Now that I think about it though, A Wes Anderson directed Batman movie, or at least short, may be interesting, in a very un-Batman sort of way.

3. what kind (genre, i suppose) of movies would you like to write/direct/produce?
Well, I do love whatever you could categorise Wes Anderson's movies as. Right now, I think the comedy-noir genre has been treating me well. Mostly subtler comedy that is really based around a good story or concept. If that makes sense. If I could write better, it may be easier to choose this. I think I'll work on that over this summer.

4. would you like to see operation bomb all other nations?
I would like to see operation bomb all other nations. It could be fun.

5. if you could only listen to music or watch movies (sans music), which would you choose?
Damn, that's hard. I think I might have to choose music, since I can sometimes picture movies or parts of them (or at least stories in movie form) when listening to music. It's harder for me to do things the other way around.

Goodbye Desolate Railyard

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 04:56:53 GMT

Yesterday Amy and Emily T and I got some of the last remaining shots for Switchtrack Alley. We went around Beloit and I took about 20 seconds of various cool locations around the city, including the cool bridge behind Cub, a shopping cart in the stream under the bridge, an abandonded shopping center and a really really awesome abandoned gas station on the border. The last was quite an incredible location and I hope to be able to find another use for it in something because it is just that great. Now I just need to shoot a couple of pieces of paper, which will be quite easy. And get a few voice overs.

There are less than two weeks until the movie premiers. Shit. There is still quite a lot to do. I have an odd feeling that we'll be screening a somewhat unfinished version of it. The part I'm most worried about getting done is music. I think everything else will be fine, and we should even have most of the music. Maybe we'll get it all done. I hope so. In either case, everyone in the Beloit are, if you did not already know it, keep Saturday April 29th at 10-ish PM free. Also be free at 8, if you can, since that is the rest of the festival. Switchtrack Alley will show at 10 though. And again on Sunday the 30th at some time I'm not certain of yet.

I guess now is as good a time as any to mention this here. Most of you already have heard me talk about this, but I wanted to get the word out to as many people as possible and remind those of you who already know: my plans for my next movie require the input of many. What I want to do is film a series of conversations, each written by different people. Sort of like Coffee and Cigarettes, except less of a unifiying theme. And all written by different people. I want to get different perspectives on things and am leaving my description of what I want vague so that everything will be different. Thus, I am calling for help. Anyone that is interested in any way, write a conversation. Then give it to me somehow. Base it on a real one you've had, make it up entirely, transcribe one you overhear somewhere (although maybe not that, since it's kind of sketchy in some ways...), it doesn't matter. And the format is not too important. I can format it later. You needn't think of yourself as a writer, everyone has conversations and knows what they are. So if this is something anybody who's reading this would be interested in, write a conversation and give it to me in some form or another by the beginning of September. The earlier the better, but I can't film until then anyways. And if you want to act in it, awesome. If you want to direct it, that would be cool too. If you want to do neither, that's fine as well. Any other clarifications I can make, let me know, here or otherwise. And that is all for that for now.

In the world of non-film things, I have been recently informed by my mother that within the next year, my parents are planning on moving out of the house I've lived in since I was 9 months old. They want to be able to be closer to their horses, of which there will soon be 3 (what the hell?). This is so strange. I may never have lived there again anyways, what with my being here this summer and graduating next year and all that, but it's still weird. I always kind of hoped they'd live in it long enough that when they moved out they'd just give it to me and Gertie. No such luck apparently. I don't know what else to say about it except that I go between not really thinking about it and being really very sad. Oh well, what can I do.

Steve and I discovered a pretty good restaraunt today on accident on account of Dog World being closed. I don't know its name.

The end.

I need to move my car.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 04:15:45 GMT

Switchtrack Alley's back on Wikipedia, for the second time in two days. It's a better article this time, so I hope it stays. Feel free to improve upon it, as that is the true spirit of that ridiculous site.

But after seeing it's first incarnation, along with Fair Enough Films, Benjamin Idaho, Nick (The Brick) McCann, Nathan Fisher-Koeln, and Christine Rendak all disappear from there in about 12 hours (no more than 24 for sure), I have decided that some people have way too much time on their hands.

I guess I can be included in that group at this point.

Now I need to go move my car.

EDIT. It's been nominated for a speedy deletion due to the fact that it's relisted content that's been deleted before or some crap like that. Just because they deleted it before I could improve upon it. If they decide to delete it again, I may wait a bit to put it on again, just because I'm sick of their hassling bullshit. So check it out now. But maybe they'll listen to my case this time, I think it's strong enough.

General Update.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 03:15:45 GMT

I signed up for three classes for next semester. I turned in my card two days late and filled it out in about 30 seconds trying to catch Jerry before he went downtown. I found him halfway to his car. I'm glad I hurried. The classes were Econ 251 (Quantitative Economics, the class that I've been dreading for three years), Econ 315 (Management and Organisation with Jerry, a class that I've been looking forward to for a while), and IDST something or other, The Emperor of Ice Cream - the first film class I've signed up for since my first semester here. The first two I am taking for my major as much as anything else, but the middle at least legitimately interests me and should have immediate real world applications. I had been thinking about taking the last one ever since we got the books but was hesitant because sometimes I feel like writing about and over-analysing films can sometimes ruin them for me. To be honest, I wrote it down in desparation to fill the card so that Jerry would sign it and for a lack of anything else in the entire book that interested me, but I'm glad I signed up for it. I hope I get in and if I really hate it I can drop it and add a special project for my next movie project like I'm planning anyways. So that's that much.

I'm living on Blaisdell 2nd next year. Room 236B to be exact. I don't want to talk about it. Also, I don't know who my suitemate is. Stupid number draw.

The movie is coming along well. We're down to the wire as far as music stuff goes, but the rest of editing and all that is going quite well. I've got between 15 and 20 minutes of edited footage, discounting a voice over and some background audio tune-ups. It appears that it will still premier on the 29th of April at the student film festival (after Ash Girl gets out for the evening). I don't think the DVDs will be as filled out as I was hoping on that night, but I'll still try to make better ones eventually. I can put a lot of work into them this summer. I hope to cut another trailer really soon, maybe by next week sometime? I think the biggest thing keeping me from that is that I'd like original (or as least legally cleared) music in it, and that's the one part we're a bit behind on right now. We should be up on that real soon though.

I'm really excited for the release of the new Zelda game in a month or two. It's going to make this summer awesome, as is splitting a netflix dealy with Ed and Martin. I'll finally be able to knock a lot more movies off of my long-ish list of movies I really should have seen by now.

Also, I've fallen in love with Imogen Heap. She is seriously amazing.

Ok, that's enough for now.

Bad News/Good News/Just News

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 05:08:17 GMT

Bad News.

When I left commons on Saturday after dinner, my coat was not where I left it. I left it on Greg's and Greg's was still there. Thus, I assume it wasn't just moved. Security didn't have it, as I expected. My iPod was in the pocket, as were the gloves from Erin that I waited over a year for. At least in a sense. Fuck, I want those gloves back.

I picked 246 in the room lottery today. And our group average for a townhouse is 160-something. Shitty. I'm holding out very little hope for the townhouse. And I don't even know if I can get into Haven with that. Fuck.

Just News.

Friday I turned in my summer housing application. Today I was all but guaranteed a job for Jerry this summer getting paid between 1800 and 2000 dollars. This means I'll (almost definitely) be here this summer.

The dean is being useless about the proposal I turned in over a month ago. She has yet to watch the videos I turned in over three weeks ago. I'm this close to just telling her I'm not interested in working for someone that disorganised and unhelpful, but if I can get 2500 (or even somewhere in the 1500-2000 range) for it, I'll take it.

Good News.

My parents will pay for the room for the summer, plus give me money worth the approximate equivalent of a meal plan for food. This means with the ~2000 I'll be making from Jerry, I can finally pay them back the thousand dollars I owe them for my computer. Sweet.

My mom realised that my grandma has a car that she hasn't driven in years. Thus, I can keep my car here for the summer and Gertie can drive my grandma's old Buick. Sweet.

Christmas Card in Sepia

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Sun, 26 Mar 2006 08:08:44 GMT

We fucking did it. Switchtrack Alley wrapped filming tonight. I feel so fucking good right now. I don't think I ever thought we'd really get to this point. There's a lot of work ahead, but at least that's what I do. I just directed 31 scenes. I've never directed a single scene in the same way I directed each and every one of those 31. Shit.

There was so much alcohol at the Music House tonight. There's still so much. I didn't drink enough, and apparently neither did enough other people. Soon I'll have a lot of cheap beer and boxed wine in my room if anyone wants any. Just so you all know.

I still can't believe we did it. I'm so excited right now.

Tortoise!

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:57:52 GMT

So I don't ever really make posts this random, this seems like a Martin thing to do, but I was just reading a BBC article about a tortoise and how it died and was probably like 250 years old. And it apparently belonged to some guy, Lord Clive, who lived in the 18th century. After talking about the tortoise for the whole artice, they end on these two sentences:

He won the key Battle of Plassey against the Nawab of Bengal in 1757.

Lord Clive later became an opium addict and committed suicide in 1774 at the age of 49.

What? It just seemed so random. I thought it was kind of funny. If anyone cares about the tortoise, by the way, you can read more about it here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4837988.stm.

That's all.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 03:12:27 GMT

We have 8 scenes left to film for Switchtrack Alley in 5 days. Also I need to register a party for Saturday night. And I need to figure out what I'm doing this summer soon-ish, so I know if I need to look at home or make sure I get a room here or something. Crap. Also I have a paper due in a week that I won't be able to even think about until Sunday because of filming. I'm sure it'll be fine in the end, I'm just a little overwhelmed now. But I think mostly I'm excited to finish filming and move on to editing, because I want to watch this movie as much as anyone in the cast seems to.

I hate to have to do this here, but if anyone is willing to work security at the party Saturday either during filming from 6-about 10 or for the actual party until 2-ish (in hour-long chunks, obviously), please let me know and I'll make it up to you big sometime, I promise.

Moving on, I need to make another appointment with the dean to talk about my proposal, and I have given up caring if I get the project at all. If I do, awesome, it's a lot of money, but if I don't, that's fine too, I really don't want to make that kind of time commitment. So it would be kind of a relief to not get it. I do, however, need the money. And I don't think I have a chance to make that much money any other way this summer, especially with the money I'd make at CELEB as well.

Also, if you didn't get the e-mail and you are in Beloit, party scene shoot this Saturday from 6-10-ish. Y'all should come, there'll be plenty of drinks on me.

Gah!

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 06:43:37 GMT

I posted both Mysterious Mysteries (my 48 hour film for this year's contest) and the teaser for Switchtrack Alley at youtube.com today. I hope that maybe generates some more excitement for the movie, although I don't know how anyone will end up seeing the trailer there if they don't know to go. I just thought those of you who aren't at school here and are interested may want to check it out. I don't actually know how the site works, so I can't tell you how to find the videos. I would assume, however, that if you search for either 'Mysterious Mysteries' or 'Switchtrack Alley,' you'll find them.

In other news, I hope not to catch the bird flu before I finish this movie. That's only two more months, so maybe by May sometime it would be okay if I catch it. I still hope never to catch it, really, but if I have to, I hope it waits to find me for those two months.

That is all.

EDIT: Apparently the videos aren't currently found by searching. I'm working on remedying this by figuring out how the site works. In the meantime, here are the direct links:

Mysterious Mysteries
Switchtrack Alley Teaser Trailer

Gla. Glorg.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 01:50:41 GMT

I got two e-mails from the LSSC today, to tutor for two classes. The classes were Econ 151 (macro with Kreider) and Math 106 (stats). Apparently both Bruce Atwood and Emil Kreider recommended me for this position. I'm sure I wasn't the only one recommended, but still I'm rather flattered that both of them said they thought I'd be good at it. Kreider is the one that really weirds me out; I only got a B in his class and didn't really like it that much. I don't think I ever talked to him outside of class or expressed great interest in the material outside of passing the class, so it is strange to me that he would recommended me to be a tutor. Unless he just went through and recommended everyone who ever took his class and didn't fail, which would explain it. In any case, while I won't be doing it because I'm already busier than I can handle, it was nice to see that two professors thought I was good enough to tutor for their classes.

The bar shoot last night went well. I think we got some cool angles. We're shooting all of the scenes in WAC Thursday and I'm excited because I think the possibility for awesome angles are all over the place in that building.

All of you at Beloit should go to the screening of the 48 hour films this Saturday at 9. Not only is the movie I put together a week and a half ago going to screen (not that I can take much credit for anything besides running the camera and editing it, most of the ideas were Liz's or Erin's or whoever was acting at the time), but the more exciting part is that we're going to run a teaser for Switchtrack Alley. It's going to be short, but I'm excited to see how people react. So you should all be there to see it and cheer loudly.

That is all for now.

Jimmy's a slut.

Nathan_FK13@yahoo.com — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 05:45:28 GMT

Filming started a week ago. It's going really well, I think. One of the two biggest shoots of the whole production, the first party scene, was this past Friday. I had to go through a whole pile of bureaucratic bullshit to register it with Res Life and Security just to not have security stop by once that evening. But I guess that was a good thing since we were never interrupted during shooting, nor was our post-shoot viewing of Trapped in the Closet raided. The shoot went pretty well though. I also think that the scene we shot earlier that day went really well, as did the scene in the Mail Center we did this early evening. All in all, shooting is going very well, I'm really extremely happy with all of my cast and crew. Alex Taylor was particularly impressive in his first stint as gaffer on Friday night, taking it upon himself to unpack and then pack without my instruction while everyone was sitting around drinking or waiting for specific instruction.

This whole director/producer thing is extremely stressful though. I'm sure everyone who was there could tell quite easily, but I was ready to explode with too many things to do/people to keep track of on Friday night. Granted, that was one of two of the busiest and biggest shoots of the whole movie, but even though we actually finished early based on my most liberal idea of a schedule, it was three and a half hours of stress. Actually, I think the least stressful time was when I attempted to be a nerd that fought Scott. It was a lot of fun, but damn, I'm no actor. I really appreciate what all of my actors are doing for me and how good they have all been so far. I just need to learn to prepare myself better for shoots and be able to relax when I'm not on a shoot so I don't get so stressed out.

After two scenes tomorrow, including one at the C-Haus, we'll all have two full days off. I think I'll take those days to work on some editing, or at least put together the trailer, or most of it, that I was invited to show at the screening of the 48 hour films next weekend. At least I think it's next weekend. Thursday we have a full day in WAC, which I hope goes well since there will be classes then, but I'm hopeful.

After spending some time importing some footage and copying a few CDs downtown, I locked my keys in CELEB. The ones that will let me back into CELEB, and the one that lets me lock my room. At least Martin never locks the room, so I won't have to worry about that one, but with editing needed to be done, I really need to be able to get into CELEB at my convenience. I feel like a jackass. Oh well, I hope to get in there tomorrow.

Now I should do some reading or something for class tomorrow. Except I think I'll just get some sleep, I think that's more important now. I think it's pretty obvious that my priorities these days are not classes...at least I still think about them, right? That's all for now.