Marc It Off.

Since undertaking this project I have found myself busier and busier with other things that are unfortunately not on this list.  But this is not a complaint, nor will I allow such a position to hamper my progress on the 101 list.  There is no point in making excuses, as excuses signify that I have already accepted defeat.  That might seem a little too harsh on the Sun-Tzu scale, but I really don’t see a point to saying, “well I was too busy to do (insert task here).”  Instead I will simply resolve to finish the goals, regardless of how timely they are on a monthly/weekly basis.

What’s all that mean?  Well, I didn’t write a short story last month, and I doubt I’ll get to one this month.  But all that requires is that I be more productive in the coming months.  I’ll still write 33 short stories.  I did read a book last month, John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, and while I enjoyed it I found myself wanting more.  It felt short, but I suppose that is a reflection of Steinbeck’s writing – it is descriptive while maintaining simplicity.  Perhaps the small boy inside of me just felt that the adventure could have been greater, but that is most likely my affinity for cinematic granduer.  The realist in me can acknowledge that the general timeline of events in The Pearl most likely end closer to “real time” than any stretch of scope I would desire, just as the realist in me knows that Jack Bauer cannot possibly accomplish everything in his allotted timeframe.

Regarding my other goals, I am still terrible about flossing (although I have returned this week with renewed vigor), and I’ve done two more interviews for H-Town Rock’s Get to Know a Houston Band…, but I have yet to solidify its status as a weekly feature.  I tried my hand at screenprinting for the first time this weekend, and there is admittedly a learning curve to the process.  The act itself is not hard, however, and I feel that after a few more tries I’ll have it down.  Prairie Cadets played the show at Dean’s in October, and we also went into the KTRU studios to do an on-air session that afternoon.   Our next show will be November 27th [aka Black Friday, aka Turkey Hangover] at Avant Garden with The Tontons, Finnegan, and a player to be named later.

I took a notch out of my cinematic goal of the IMDB top 250 list by checking Reservoir Dogs off the list this week.  While there were several moments that I found really appealing, I’m not certain how a movie like that would fare after multiple viewings.  I’m sure if I watch it again I’ll notice some of the details I missed, but it seems that once one knows the ending to a movie of that nature the suspense will lose its hold rather quickly.  I also felt that there were more “shots” to be had in the warehouse space – the wide shots of characters felt both oversaturated and  poorly planned.  Again, I felt that there was more “story” available to be told. Overall, I enjoyed the film.

Hopefully my next update will be more timely than this one.

- Marc