Quality over quanity

Sorry for the long break folks. But I've amended the command sequence for this blog. I've realized that ramblings don't really count as writing. Hell, that's what Facebook and Twitter are for. So I'd rather take my time with this shit and make quality posts for ya'll to read. In short, one post a day isn't worth the the stress, so I'm changing it to three posts a week. Three good ones, not just "Russell watches the news." But don't rule that out, depending on the news week (like last week was a doozy).

But I'd like to get personal if I may. For Sarah and I, Sunday was our anniversary. 7 years (off and on). That's a loooong time. But when I took the day to look back, it sure didn't feel long.

Sarah and I have come miles from when we were young. She has at least. I'm still measuring my retrospect but I'm sure some progress has been made. That's the thing about literally growing up together. You get to reach those all-important "life lessons" at roughly the same time. Luckily for us, she's got a steep learning curve.

Anyway, I'm done boring you with my half-baked romantic ramblings of my relationship. But it was worth mentioning because it's important to me. Anyone who knows anything about knows how devoted I am to Sarah. And I'm lucky to have made it this far with her. Here's for seven more years. I love you.


Props to my friend Chris for this picture.

Now, lets talk about Libya.

I hate to break it to you folks, but the drums of war are beating. This time, we're not the ones beating it but nonetheless we're required to dance to it. In all of the mainstream news the question is: Is it in US interest to intervene in Libya? The answer has to be yes in some form or fashion. Doing nothing is not an option with Qaddafi. Christopher Hitchens in a recent Slate piece said it best: "'neutrality' will only benefit the side with the biggest arsenal." We're seeing his style of vengeance that he's taking and once he does fall that style will become more nightmarish.

The problem with 9/11, our forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and our unusually committed alliance with the continuously stubborn and expansionist Israeli administration is that we have painted ourselves as the "savior of the middle east." That's what we sold the world on after 9/11 to go into Iraq. Whether you agree with our presence in the middle east at this point is almost irrelevant. We've made it so it will be decades before we're able to leave, but now it appears we might have to be more mobile in our forces. It should bare no surprise that Qaddafi is calling his rebels "al-Qaida." A lot of these despots (Mubarak included) were counting on military funding for helping America fight al-Qaida. The reason why we suck at most things like foreign policy and military intelligence is that we let the despots in some cases define who is al-Qaida, which leads to megalomaniacs jailing and torturing people who they don't like and just justifying it by calling them terrorists. Sound familiar?

So the way I see it, if doing nothing is not an option, and I truly believe that it isn't. If you disagree with me, I suggest you brush up on Bosnia and Rwanda to show the results of inaction.

If action must be taken then the next question is what kind of action. Well, there's all sorts of talk of a no-fly zone. That seems almost inevitable to me at this point if Qaddafi keeps up his bombings, but I don't think that's going to deter him from continuing his assault from the ground. In fact, count on that.

So we're left with two options in the way I see it (which should be taken with huge grain of salt). Either a) Arm and support the rebels (Bad idea, more on that below) or b) NATO intervenes (Worse idea).

The reason why arming and supporting the rebels might eventually bite us in the ass is because EVERY TIME WE DO, IT DOES. Dig into the Wikileaks Cables a little bit and you'll find that some of our sub-contracts in Pakistan being funneled accidentally to none other than the Taliban (who are not being very quiet these days). And after all, Qaddafi is hated by al-Queda and Iran as well. How long do you think it's going to take for these mad men to infiltrate the rebels to steal themselves some guns that our own forces are shipping in? You think it's going to take long for either side to be looking at those oil fields to goat the trigger happy US into another fight?

The problem with Libya is that nothing good is going to come from this except for Qaddafi leaving. Which is great, but I wonder how many people he's going to take with him. Either way, the United is looking into the horizon of a future third world war that we didn't ask for but got anyway. It's front line won't be Libya, but it's a conflict like Libya that tests our foresight and moral fortitude. When every outcome sucks, what do we do?

Sweet dreams.

PS: RIP Mike Starr from Alice in Chains.

Command Image: Mike Starr's Killer Riff Command

So you haven't guessed, I've given up on my initial premise unofficially of writing a blog post at least once per day. I figured that I do need a weekend to not do anything and I don't regret. It's not that I'm not going to try to post on my weekends, but I'm not going to whine about not getting any thing done. On the other hand my ACTUAL writing on this screenplay has reached really new heights. I've actually started the first act and the plot point is in the horizon.

So there's that.

Last I left you with a legitimate blog it was right before I was heading to the Weedeater show in Manhattan. It was awesome and massive. I think I gave myself whiplash. If you are any fan of this style of music I "high"-ly recommend that you a) see them live and b) cop their new album Jason...The Dragon. They are probably the best act this year that represents the genre honestly. If I were to chose an ambassador for the genre, it would be something like Weedeater. It turns off a lot of people, but the few that it does appeal to, you'll know what I'm talking about.

I can't believe the hacker group Anonymous these days. I wrote a blog post many moons ago about this group and I still remain fascinated and it has only grown. Now they're starting to go after targets that are not just jokes (like Scientology), but now they're taking on some serious hornets nests. Even they're tactics have changed from attack to defense. Creating internet connections to people and helping getting the word out to the people of Egypt and Tunisia (and those are just the ones I know about). As well as defending Wikileaks. Now, they're sticking their heads out more and more. They also kind of stole my idea for this movie I'm writing. Connecting a cultural icon like Stephan Colbert to virtual sub-culture of hackers. Anyway, I know it's criminal activity, but there are very rich people who do far worse things with incalculable consequences. Two wrongs don't make a right for sure, but you'll forgive me if I don't weep when Visa, Bank of America, Church of Scientology, those cross-eyed inbreeds at Westboro Baptist Church, and the Koch Brothers have too keep buying ink cartridges or restart their computer constantly. In my opinion, a little irritation is justified.

As Jello Biafra once said: A prank a day keeps the dog leash away.

But now Anonymous just released a letter to the world. More of a statement of their long term goal. Which is really all of our goals. We the generation that got totally ripped off. What kills me is that we know who did it and why. And it's because they've trapped us haven't they? Who has time for a revolution when there's rent to pay? Who can fight the power when there's groceries to buy?

The cool thing about the Internet is that we are the revolution. Or at least pretend we are. We've been doing it for years and we didn't even realize it. Even those of us who knew it's potential used it play video games and jerk off to each other pictures. The more clever of us chose to make money off of it. The even more brilliant have been using it as a weapon.

Shit is quiet in Libya. But we need to honest about what this has become in that country. It's Civil War. All started by a little protest. Keep that in our revolutionary eager minds. The reality of a grim fight.


In order to participate in a revolution, the simplest thing one can do to help is show whose side your on. As they start fielding republican candidates to win our broken hearts and minds, the eye rolling cynics like myself can buckle up for the endless rectal exam of election season. Let's all try to remember there's a larger picture here. It's a tale as old as time. The haves and the have nots.

Anyway. Sarah and I continued our way through the first season of Veronica Mars. It honestly had me for a good chunk of the season but it reached a brick wall with me when the show became more about her soap opera relationships. Yawn. Sarah still likes it because it reminds her of Gossip Girl and the OC.

Anyway, it's late.


Command Image: Dream street artist gimmick command

Location:Broadway,New York,United States

Another Short Post Tonight.

I'd say sorry for ripping you off.

But we both know the truth.


Command Image: Laatste Uur Afgewerkte Command

Fast and loose.

I'm going to make this fast because I'm going to see Weedeater, ASG, and Naam tonight at Santo's Party House. I've been excited for this show for a while, although the original announcement for this show was Zoroaster instead of Naam, which I would have preferred. Not because I don't love Naam, which I do, but they play here all the time and I'm dying to see Zoroaster live. One day it will happen I'm sure.

I know I promised you guys a story a week and so far I'm a day late. And it will be a short one in any case. But I do have an idea of what I want to do.

In other news, I've started reading Matt Taibbi's book called Griftopia. It's about the 2008 financial crisis. Depressing stuff. When you really think about who's ripping us off and why, it makes you wonder if those Wisconsin people are protesting at the wrong buildings. They're downtown from where I'm at now.

Well, my friend from jersey is about to land at Penn station and she still needs someone to hold her hand through the subway. I do not understand her. She's lived in NJ and visited NYC more times than I can count and she still panics when it comes to this whole train thing.

I hope everyone else is doing well tonight. Sorry for the briefness of my posts these days but I'm busy and more tired these days. I'll buck up.

In case you want some rocking to hear tonight, here's a the band I'm seeing tonight. WEEDEATER!!!



Command Image: Bored at work command

Location:Broadway,New York,United States

iPad apps suck

Had longer blog. Now it's gone. Sucks for you.


Save your brain.

Command Image: technology command

Pop Culture

Today was a good day. It started with me giving Sleepy Sun's new album Fever.

But a strange thing happened at work today. Last night I got an e-mail from my boss about a meeting regarding the marketing strategy of this web series we've been working on. The e-mail was addressed to two other co-workers. My boss walks in and says that three of us are the best options the company has about pop culture. Here's the thing. I have no idea what gave him that impression about me. I would lying if I said I don't know ANYTHING about pop culture, but to call myself an expert in any way would be shocking. But nonetheless the meeting went on and my ideas were heard and discussed.

I guess I bring this up is because I find it strange when people give me credit for something that I had no idea I deserved credit for. I mean sure, I'm hip to things but only because other people had turned me on to such things. I don't think trends are in any way mysterious, they just have a funny speed to which they are revealed to people. Some are quick to the take, others have to play catch up, and the rest just ignore it. This statement is relative to the persons taste and the longevity of said trend.

Anyway, the point is I have no idea what pop culture even is. I'm sometimes inclined to think that it doesn't actually exist, but I'm more likely to believe that it is forced on us in some way. Take Lady Gaga (please). It seemed like within a few months she was an unstoppable phenomenon. Or Justin fucking Bieber. Seriously, where did that kid come from? One day he's nowhere and the next he's everywhere.

Too busy today to go much further. Tune in tomorrow where I will no doubt have an angry comment on watching Inside Job in regards to that Wisconsin governor.


Save your brain.

Command Image: Boss Command

Sleepless in Soho

So I didn't get a chance to sleep last night. One of the reasons I hate waking up so early is 9 times out of 10 I spend the night worrying about being able to wake up. Its the worst kind of cycle. Working as a Production Assistant without any sleep wears shard on your mind and body. My only solution is to keep going as hard as I can, fueled by a coffee frenzy. Luckily the shoot is easy enough. Easy in production world means low maintenance. And low maintenance in a Production Assistants' world means a good amount of down time. It's the down time that is killing me right now. But that gives me a perfect time to bitch and moan to you folks.

When you're sleepy and you're on the subway you have to perfect a very rare skill. To be asleep while being completely aware of your surroundings. Its a necessity in New York City for countless reasons. There are way too many dangers in falling completely asleep. Relaxing your body and mind while at the same time keeping your nerves sharp. So you have to fake this weird sort of half-sleep. You don't feel fully rested but you have to take solace in the fact that that's the only respite you're going to get for a while.

To give you some context this is the third shoot I've had at this location (Old Saint Patricks Cathedral) and for the third time in a row the weather has been shitty. Perhaps my ramblings against god have gone noticed...? Or god has a beef with my production company. Probably neither. In any case it's starting to wear on me. Winter in New York City sucks in general. But this winter has been soul crushing.

I will say it's fun working with real acting talent. I feel weird announcing who I'm working with on this blog. Call it professional courtesy. Or you can call it gutless. I'll just say today it's two Lost Boys and a stand-up comedian. But you give any performer a script and some time to play with the rhythm of speech, you can really feel what it takes to do what they do.

Last night, while tossing and turning trying to sleep, I did finally have a major breakthrough in a movie script I'd like to write. I was able to see the act breaks very clearly. That's a huge speed bump for me to get over. As I mentioned on the maiden post of my Lack of Command re-launch, that I have a problem with structure. I think the problem is knowing where and how to start structuring the hurricane of people, places, and platitudes. But once I see the structure and see the pattern that makes the most sense, its easier for me to run with it. So I think this blog is helping in that respect.

But I am tired. So tired. I took a picture of Sarah and Coco sleeping on the bed to remind myself where I actually want to be today.

Save your brain.

Command Image: Hope command.