Preventing Nap Time

One of the things that always gets me in trouble is the attitude of "I can do that!".  How many times have I tackled a project at home as a result of I can do that, then in the middle of it, Im thinking, maybe I bit off a little too much.  Except it is too late.  Engineers are famous for that.  My wife (teachers) is also famous for that.  I have a history of taking on things at her encouragement.

As I contemplate ideas for a new short film, it is a combination of what the hell am I doing and hey, wouldn't it be neat if I could do the film on.....   But it come down to this is a story that needs to be told.  It is obvious that there are more folks out there that believe I can, but there remains the time and creativity to put it together.

I look at the styles that I can emulate.  I tend to find them on TV.  NHK is one of the channels I watch with a simple style of story telling and narration, I love the opening of the series the Closer.  I always liked the style of 60 minutes and it's format.  I like the theme songs of the Andy Griffith Show, WKRP, and of course Hawaii five O.  I tend to watch old tv shows late at night for ideas.

I notice on some shows the background music is the same or inappropriate, music rights are complicated and expensive.  It has gotten to the point what few movies I see, I look for music incorporation.  But our class is teaching us about the things that are not only basic, but what makes a good film.

All of these nuances enhance the film.  There is a difference between talking heads and an entertaining film.  30 seconds is an eternity on film where most cuts in TV are 5 to 10 seconds long,
We have an obligation to tell a story, but we have an obligation to create a film where people feel and understand the story and not want to walk out or take a nap.

The Sounds of Silence

I have noticed that which each visit to the hospital ERs, I find new rooms and additions I haven't seen before.  Wait, just how many times have I been in the ERs of Torrance Memorial and Providence Little Company of Mary?  Today was another visit, in a section I have never seen.  For some reason my BP was elevated and would not go down. Now my normal BP is on the high side with meds, but this time there were associated side affects that freaked Gayle out.

You know it is serious if you are taken in right away when you check in and never see the waiting room again.  The frequency of Nurses and Doctors coming in and out of your room indicates how serious your condition is.  Did you know that at 3 in the morning there aren't that many people in there?

I'm used to being in the hospital and it's procedures.  Go there and wait, get up and go over there for this test, return and wait.  Strip down and put on this gown, open side in back.  Roll over and let me perform these invasive procedures.  It's time to suck more blood out of that tube in your arm and by the way,  it's time for your hourly temp, BP and oxy level check, did I wake you?

Side note:  Gayle did not drop me off across the parking lot, but in front of the front door.  Which brings up the other side of these visits.  While it has become familiar and almost comfortable to me, it drives Gayle up the wall.  I can lay there in calm, pain or nauseousness, but she sits in constant turmoil and worry.  Something I tend to not see.  It is the family that suffers in silence.

You Might Be a Psychopath if You Like Your Coffee Black

A 2015 study from the University of Innsbruck in Austria found a trend that suggested a correlation between preferences for black coffee and other bitter tastes, and sadistic or psychopathic personality traits.   Wait,  I like it black........

Senior Occurences

Senior Occurrences is my euphemism for elderly events.   Or maybe Elderly events is a euphemism for old folks accidents.  Last week I was attending a series of lectures held at the Center for Democracy across from the JANM.  It conflicted with my video class at the Visual Communications Center around the corner and across the parking lot.

In my rush to get to class, I had asked a question of the guard as I was leaving the Democracy Center and turned to smash into the glass window with a bang. I quickly recovered and exited the center through the glass door and noticed I was bleeding profusely.  We all know nose bleeds can be a bit of a mess, and as blood was pouring out of me, I was rushing across the parking lot to the class.

As I entered the class I rushed by my classmates dumping my notebook and headed straight to the restroom.  It was there that I started to realize how much I was bleeding.  It took about a good 30 minutes for the bleeding to stop and puzzled looks from my classmates.  They were more worried about my condition than I was, but then I didn't really see all the blood over my face and clothes.

Trips, falls, wrong turns, mis-identified facts, forgotten names are becoming more frequent.  I first tried to attribute it to the heart attack or chemo brain, but I am realizing that it is more about old age.
I was hoping to be one of those old folks whose brain is still sharp as a tack.  In fact one of my classmates can be defined that way.  But I am starting to doubt my brain will outlast my body.  Of course it helps to have an exceptional brain to begin with.....

This week as I attended my VC class, I was able to follow my trail of blood up the back stairs and was relieved that it stopped at the door.  Did I mention that the sun was shining brightly through the glass? Or at least I think it was.....

                                             The window is on the right, door on the left.

Adding Insult to Injury

I have be watching the World Series between the Dodgers and Red Sox.  Or more accurately, dozing off during the World Series.  Don't tell any one, but I'm not a fan of new baseball.  Analytics, the in and outs of multiple pitchers, but I do admire the many 100 mph pitchers with multiple Tommy John surgeries.

Im still mourning Vince Scully and yes I'm still ticked at Time Warner, now known as Spectrum for stealing the last years of listening to Vinny. As a Angeleno that once moved away for awhile, growing up with Vinny's voice is one thing, missing that voice from far away as you listen to vastly inferior story telling is torture.

The new replacement (I still don't know his name) and his partner Orel, are ok.  But they talk way too much.  Vinny was the master, fewer words, better stories and descriptions of the game.

The Insult?  Fox is running two commercials with his voice over.  One for the Children's Hospital and once of him reading a poem for T Mobile.  Everytime I hear them, it jogs the memory.  The brain goes, wait..... hey, isn't that Vince Scully? and I miss him more.

Here's to Vinny and his many years of comfort listening pleasure.

In House Support

One of the advantages of having a son who graduated with a Computer Science degree is that we have free computer support 24hrs. a day.  Remember the Wada game of Chicken where those of us that are at home play possum when mom yells for help in the middle of the night?  Well that game went away after he graduated and moved back home.  What about the times he is not home?  Never ending Text messages until he responds, then transferring to face time.  There is no escape 😂  And we have a never ending list of tasks that need addressing, fill her iPad with songs for her class?  Instructions on how to hook the iPad to her projector?  It was worth the 4 years of tuition.

Being There

I'm sitting in the first class of the video senior class, and I'm going, what am I doing here?  They are asking what your favorite film was and favorite director.  They are showing experimental avant guard films that drove me crazy when I was younger.  Folks are commenting on the hidden meanings or altered reality or the message.  I'm seeing crazy people that may be affected a little too much by consuming illegal pharmaceuticals.  Really, this is a guy who has trouble sitting through a full length movie in a theater.  I'm ready to leave after the previews.  I haven't paid to see a feature film in years.  It is easier to watch it in bits and pieces on TV.  I can get up and go to the bathroom at any time with the knowledge that the film will be replayed over and over again.  I still haven't seen the first Star Wars movie all the way through.

I am a fan of 60 minutes.  I have been watching that show since it's inception.  I am fascinated that they can delve into a subject for 20 minutes.  And yes I loved the Mike Wallace ambushes and his confrontational interviews.  "some people say...., not me of course, but other people........"  Before that, I used to watch the documentary series CBS Reports.  My reason for being at the senior video class is to document people's stories, especially those that get overlooked.

I'm finding the focus of the class is slowly shifting.  The heart of the program is shifting away from the stories.  The simple stories of life.  But I'm finding I'm also there to improve my story telling. to make it more interesting than just watching talking heads.  I still feel guilty that my first video did not turn out that well.  I am almost ashamed to have folks view it.  I know every mistake, every spot where I could have done better, areas where if I had short some other footage, etc.  I was hoping to do better for those who consented to be interviewed.

I'm also finding that I'm being connected or exposed to other areas of the community other than basketball.  There are a lot of issues out there that affect our unique community.  Little Tokyo still exists, our unique history that influences our local communities, the aculturalization of the fourth and fifth generations.  The huge issue between us and the other JA communities up and down the coast and across the nation.

Can my voice make a difference?  I'm not sure, but at least I may be able to let people access stories that are often ignored and overlooked.  There is an endless list of possibilities.  I guess I'm sticking it out another year.