What. In Allah. Is going on?
Honestly, I can't remember the last time I was more confused in my entire life. There was the time George W. Bush got a second term, the time I found out Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny weren't real, and the time Dan Aykroyd was actually Bill Murray in Space Jam. Even with all of these confusions, and especially the last one, none of them are more confusing than Donald Trump leading all Republicans in the run for president. NONE!
Do you know that feeling when you just wake up from a dream in the middle of the night; just in those first few seconds, and you just have no idea where the hell you are? Everything is dark, and every strange looking shadow looks like a being from another planet. That terrifying moment is exactly how I've felt ever since Trump started running for president. And that fear is heightening every time I see that he's beating out, what I would call "legitimate humanoids" in the race to run our country.
Now, on the other hand, it could be a fantastically amazing thing for the Democratic party if Trump wins the Republican primary, because--at least you would think--whatever Democratic candidate that wins primary would be a shoe-in for president, right? Isn't that a logical train of thinking? I mean, there's no way Trump actually becomes POTUS right?
Can everyone just take a quick step back, just for one second, and think about a world with Trump as POTUS. For me, the first thing that comes to mind is a scene from any Terminator movie where the whole world is basically one fuck-storm of shit. The second thing that comes to mind is that moment where Harry's character in Dumb and Dumber-er is accused by Bob Saget's character of shitting all over the bathroom (SPOILERS: it's actually just melted chocolate, but that's besides the point).
I mean, listen, I've joked before--sometimes semi-seriously--about moving out of this country because of all of the shitty goings on here, but the fact that Trump has a chance to run this country for 4 years makes me want to start saving money now in the legitimate event that he becomes president, because our nation is still full of cluster-fucks who think it's perfectly OK to be a bigoted asshole (yes, that was a run-oniest of run-on sentences, but it was much needed OK?!). Every single progression that Obama has made for this country in the past (almost) 8 years would likely be reversed. The world's collective brain would spontaneously combust!
This is the part, in earnest, that I start yelling at the Democratic party: You. Need. To. Vote. For the love of fuck. For the love of every fuck there is, if you do NOT vote then this country could enter into the worst 4 years of its existence.
Want to know what's really scary? Every single time a president has gone two terms, whether Republican or Democrat, the following POTUS came from the opposite party. Every time. Every. Single. Time. If Donald Trump actually WINS the Republican primary, then, with history on his side, a really good chance of seeing Trump as POTUS.
If there's one thing Democrats have been awful at for quite some time, it's voting. And I'll admit, even though I've only been voting age for 6 years (voted 2 of 3 times), I started out as everyone else, "Ahh, my vote won't really matter. There's no point." No. No. Play that card any other time. NOT. THIS. TIME!
No one wants to live in fear. It's stressful. It's painful. It's exhausting, debilitating, etc. But this time...this time you HAVE to be afraid. Fear will keep us from potential and unequivocal destruction. We will see the quickest turn-around of progress to regress that has ever been observed. There is a very real chance with Trump at the helm that we go from the United States of today to the Greece of today. THE GREECE, PEOPLE! The Greece.
Think I'm joking? Here's an article on how Trump has handled his businesses:
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/06/donald-trump-companies-bankruptcy-atlantic-city
With as much money as Trump has, it's easy for him to play Monopoly on a small-scale. Yes, although owning separate businesses sounds like "big-scale" to the rest of us, it's small in comparison to, ya know, running our country's finances. Not only am I concerned about his financial dealings, which is worry enough, could anyone seriously imagine this guy being our Commander in Chief?! He would bomb everything that made him upset! It would be like that movie with Denzel Washington called "The Book of Eli." Everything would just be sand-dunes. We'd all be dead from a past nuclear holocaust. Am I over-exaggerating? Well, fuck, do I hope so.
Let's not even give it a chance, though. Please?
Thank you.
- PatInTheHat
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Monday, July 27, 2015
Let It Be Written
So, I think it's that time of the month where I write a post that's considerably less serious, and actually might be a lot more fun to think about.
I've recently been thinking about an idea for a game show. The show would be called, as the title of the post is written, "Let It Be Written." In case you guys try to stay away from cliches that your parents and grand parents used--and good on you if you're one of those people--"Let it be written" is the start of a (once) popular phrase that is said in it's entirety, "Let it be written. Let it be law."
The reason for this title, before I begin to describe the show's format: Game show networks love when cliches are part of their title. For one, the Whammy show is actually called "Press Your Luck!" Many other shows tend to do this, too, I just don't feel like listing them all. The point is, the show title already has that "catchy" value that network producers seem to look for.
The show/game: The idea for the game came from going through a list of written names at work, while also deciphering their comments. One worker, named Jamie, has what I would deem to be "masculine handwriting." However, I have no idea what his or her actual gender is, and I have not and will not ask(ed).
That said, the game wouldn't completely revolve around a document being actually written, but it's still in a part of the game and makes sense in the context of the whole game play. For example:
Phase 1: In this part of the game, contestant(s) would be given a quote on screen IN TEXT, i.e. NOT in written form, from a famous person. They would get 30 or so seconds to answer who the quote was written by and in what document/book/etc they wrote it in. If they can at least answer 1 of the 2, they get a certain amount of points (If they answer both, they get a certain more amount of points, and are given another textual quote). If they are unsure then they can say, "Skip!" and move to phase 2. If they are unsure, but still have a "Pass" option--which each contestant starts out with 2 per contest--then they can pass the doc over to the other contestant. In this case, they risk going down points, but if they guess incorrectly they lose X amount of points. So, it's a risk/reward strategy. If the contestant guesses the NAME of the writer, it will be assumed they also know the gender of the writer, therefore they win the points from Phase 2 without playing. If the contestant ONLY remembers which book, etc. the quote was written in, they get X minus 5 points of guessing the name.
Phase 2: In phase 2, the document is shown WRITTEN by the original writer. They have a 50/50 shot at guessing if the document is written by a man or woman for X minus 5 or 10 points of getting the name right in Phase 1. This might seem a little cheesy, but it will help keep contestants in the game simply by guessing.
The game is played in 3 rounds with each round having at least 3 sets of 2 phases as time permits, and each round getting harder--i.e. the quotes and writers will be deemed more obscure than the previous rounds. At the end of round 2 a winner is named for the amount of points they have over the other contestant. They move to round 3 to get two "very hard" difficulty level quotes. If they get them right, they win the game and the grand prize. In round 3, the winning contestant has a certain amount of money locked that they could walk away with if they so chose. But here's the interesting part: In order to use "Clues"--a lifeline only accessible in the grand-prize round--they will have to pay X amount of money from their bank to access them (this is similar to buying a vowel on the Wheel of Fortune). And the kicker is, they get an UNLIMITED amount of clues and 2 skips, which means they will have to use clues sparingly if they hope to go home with X amount of money plus whatever they would win for the grand prize. (Obviously the time they have to answer would get harder in rounds 1 and 2, but perhaps more time given to them in the final grand prize round since the quotes are harder)
Now, as many of you know: I love being creative. It's an avenue I use basically on the daily with music, writing, etc. That said, I also love getting feed back! Let me know what you guys think of the idea, and hit me back with suggestions to bolster the excitement of the game! I'm sure there are other ways that could get people glued to their television screens! I feel like this kind of show would have a Jeopardy type audience and contestant field. So whatever ideas you have, gear them along those lines!
If I get more ideas, or you guys can think of ways to tighten up the format, then I would seriously consider pitching this to a network! And, of course, anyone who has usable ideas will be granted the title of Co-Creator!
Thanks a bunch!
- PatInTheHat
I've recently been thinking about an idea for a game show. The show would be called, as the title of the post is written, "Let It Be Written." In case you guys try to stay away from cliches that your parents and grand parents used--and good on you if you're one of those people--"Let it be written" is the start of a (once) popular phrase that is said in it's entirety, "Let it be written. Let it be law."
The reason for this title, before I begin to describe the show's format: Game show networks love when cliches are part of their title. For one, the Whammy show is actually called "Press Your Luck!" Many other shows tend to do this, too, I just don't feel like listing them all. The point is, the show title already has that "catchy" value that network producers seem to look for.
The show/game: The idea for the game came from going through a list of written names at work, while also deciphering their comments. One worker, named Jamie, has what I would deem to be "masculine handwriting." However, I have no idea what his or her actual gender is, and I have not and will not ask(ed).
That said, the game wouldn't completely revolve around a document being actually written, but it's still in a part of the game and makes sense in the context of the whole game play. For example:
Phase 1: In this part of the game, contestant(s) would be given a quote on screen IN TEXT, i.e. NOT in written form, from a famous person. They would get 30 or so seconds to answer who the quote was written by and in what document/book/etc they wrote it in. If they can at least answer 1 of the 2, they get a certain amount of points (If they answer both, they get a certain more amount of points, and are given another textual quote). If they are unsure then they can say, "Skip!" and move to phase 2. If they are unsure, but still have a "Pass" option--which each contestant starts out with 2 per contest--then they can pass the doc over to the other contestant. In this case, they risk going down points, but if they guess incorrectly they lose X amount of points. So, it's a risk/reward strategy. If the contestant guesses the NAME of the writer, it will be assumed they also know the gender of the writer, therefore they win the points from Phase 2 without playing. If the contestant ONLY remembers which book, etc. the quote was written in, they get X minus 5 points of guessing the name.
Phase 2: In phase 2, the document is shown WRITTEN by the original writer. They have a 50/50 shot at guessing if the document is written by a man or woman for X minus 5 or 10 points of getting the name right in Phase 1. This might seem a little cheesy, but it will help keep contestants in the game simply by guessing.
The game is played in 3 rounds with each round having at least 3 sets of 2 phases as time permits, and each round getting harder--i.e. the quotes and writers will be deemed more obscure than the previous rounds. At the end of round 2 a winner is named for the amount of points they have over the other contestant. They move to round 3 to get two "very hard" difficulty level quotes. If they get them right, they win the game and the grand prize. In round 3, the winning contestant has a certain amount of money locked that they could walk away with if they so chose. But here's the interesting part: In order to use "Clues"--a lifeline only accessible in the grand-prize round--they will have to pay X amount of money from their bank to access them (this is similar to buying a vowel on the Wheel of Fortune). And the kicker is, they get an UNLIMITED amount of clues and 2 skips, which means they will have to use clues sparingly if they hope to go home with X amount of money plus whatever they would win for the grand prize. (Obviously the time they have to answer would get harder in rounds 1 and 2, but perhaps more time given to them in the final grand prize round since the quotes are harder)
Now, as many of you know: I love being creative. It's an avenue I use basically on the daily with music, writing, etc. That said, I also love getting feed back! Let me know what you guys think of the idea, and hit me back with suggestions to bolster the excitement of the game! I'm sure there are other ways that could get people glued to their television screens! I feel like this kind of show would have a Jeopardy type audience and contestant field. So whatever ideas you have, gear them along those lines!
If I get more ideas, or you guys can think of ways to tighten up the format, then I would seriously consider pitching this to a network! And, of course, anyone who has usable ideas will be granted the title of Co-Creator!
Thanks a bunch!
- PatInTheHat
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Stone Glass pt. 2
"Jenny!" Merlot calls out from the crowded first-floor hallway. The mornings right before classes start and the afternoons right after classes end are when the halls are basically a sea of people. Think the worst rush-hour traffic you've ever been in, except with people. Almost impossible to hear anyone over the endless sound of footsteps and teenage gossip, and good luck finding someone recognizable. On the flip side, if you're into someone particularly cute, like ourschool'sstartingquarterbackJoshBrennan it's easier to ogle at them without being noticed--ya know, if he or she can even be found. Good thing Josh is 6'6", and easy to spot anywh....Jesus, Jenny, snap out of it!
"Merlot! Meet by the bathroom!" I shout as loud as I can. Once I'm able to gather my things from my locker, the bathroom is, for whatever reason, the least crowded place before class. Though that fact shouldn't bother me, it sorta does. Whatever, I'm weird. I swim through the sea and finally reach the bathroom. Merlot is already there with cell-phone-pasted-to-eyeballs waiting for me. She looks up.
"I was just texting you! It's about time you got here." Merlot whines.
"I would have been a lot quicker if I were Moses. Anyway, have you seen my brother?" As the question slips out of my mouth, I realize how dumb it was. We're Seniors. My brother is a Freshman. Sea of people. Etcetera, etcetera..
"Nevermind, dumb question," I edit a loud, "but do me a favor and keep an eye out. He disappeared on our way to school, and I haven't seen him since.
"Yeah, no problem, Jenns. So, did you see Josh this morning?" She asks with a wry all-knowing grin.
"Did anyone not see him, jerk? He's the tallest guy in school, and you better be keeping this a secret between us!"
"Relax, Jennzers. Your crush is safe with me," she says with a wink as if to say safe-with-me-in-my-possession.
Like the wine, sometimes Merlot is a perfect combination of friend and foe. Friend when you drink it socially to relax and have a good time with; foe when you drink enough to have the worst hangover-induced headache the next day. I love Merlot, but, boy, is the hangover part of her a huge bitch to deal with.
Most of the time I've known Merlot I have felt like I'm constantly trying to catch up. First off, she's gorgeous. I'm a straight 18-year-old girl. I have a firm grasp on my sexuality. I'd make an exception for Merlot. That is something that is hard for me to admit, but true nonetheless. Ya know, like how Dr. Who fans lust for David Tennant. Much the same between Merlot and I. Secondly, she's brilliant, but I admit her work-ethic, especially this year as a senior, is bar-known. And she's kind. Yes, she can be a jerk to me sometimes, but Merlot is loved by everyone. So, anytime she makes a semi-wanting sarcastic joke about a guy I like, I automatically assume that the potential of her snagging him is very real. I hate feeling like I'm less than her, but I appreciate her being my friend. Her biggest saving grace is that she's loyal to a point. Really, with everything other than men, but even then she's gotten better over the years. It's not like we've been in the dating game for very long anyway, so there's only so much I have to judge her for.
Do I ramble about pretty people? Yeah, I'll try to stop that.
Just before I enter my first period class, I see Ben running in the opposite direction towards the gym. There isn't a 1st period gym, so I'm suspicious. At least he's safe and at school. I'm sure I'll find out what's going on later. For now: Trig.
"I was just texting you! It's about time you got here." Merlot whines.
"I would have been a lot quicker if I were Moses. Anyway, have you seen my brother?" As the question slips out of my mouth, I realize how dumb it was. We're Seniors. My brother is a Freshman. Sea of people. Etcetera, etcetera..
"Nevermind, dumb question," I edit a loud, "but do me a favor and keep an eye out. He disappeared on our way to school, and I haven't seen him since.
"Yeah, no problem, Jenns. So, did you see Josh this morning?" She asks with a wry all-knowing grin.
"Did anyone not see him, jerk? He's the tallest guy in school, and you better be keeping this a secret between us!"
"Relax, Jennzers. Your crush is safe with me," she says with a wink as if to say safe-with-me-in-my-possession.
Like the wine, sometimes Merlot is a perfect combination of friend and foe. Friend when you drink it socially to relax and have a good time with; foe when you drink enough to have the worst hangover-induced headache the next day. I love Merlot, but, boy, is the hangover part of her a huge bitch to deal with.
Most of the time I've known Merlot I have felt like I'm constantly trying to catch up. First off, she's gorgeous. I'm a straight 18-year-old girl. I have a firm grasp on my sexuality. I'd make an exception for Merlot. That is something that is hard for me to admit, but true nonetheless. Ya know, like how Dr. Who fans lust for David Tennant. Much the same between Merlot and I. Secondly, she's brilliant, but I admit her work-ethic, especially this year as a senior, is bar-known. And she's kind. Yes, she can be a jerk to me sometimes, but Merlot is loved by everyone. So, anytime she makes a semi-wanting sarcastic joke about a guy I like, I automatically assume that the potential of her snagging him is very real. I hate feeling like I'm less than her, but I appreciate her being my friend. Her biggest saving grace is that she's loyal to a point. Really, with everything other than men, but even then she's gotten better over the years. It's not like we've been in the dating game for very long anyway, so there's only so much I have to judge her for.
Do I ramble about pretty people? Yeah, I'll try to stop that.
Just before I enter my first period class, I see Ben running in the opposite direction towards the gym. There isn't a 1st period gym, so I'm suspicious. At least he's safe and at school. I'm sure I'll find out what's going on later. For now: Trig.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
November 9
Panic is crippling.
I don't normally gush about people or events I find fascinating. For those closest to me, you KNOW that one person I can gush consistently about is David Tennant and not feel an ounce of embarrassment in the world. He's a gentleman and a scholar--oh, and a damn good actor.
That's not what this post is about, though. This post is about a Dark Horse. OK, so on the poker circuit, he's certainly not a dark horse among peers, but he's a Dark Horse in my book.
From 2005-2009, I went to school with Joe McKeehen. Joe McKeehen is a professional poker player from North Wales, which is not far from where we went to high school at LaSalle. There was 250-something kids in our graduating class, and, before I go any further, I will not claim that we were some kind of butt-buddy friends, because we weren't. That said, we generally sat at the same lunch-table with a cavalcade of other mutual friends.
As far as me and Joe go: We laughed about dumb things. We argued about even dumber things. Generally, though, we maintained a decent acquaintanceship through our high school years, and we continued that acquaintanceship in the following years--though our contact definitely dwindled.
It wasn't until some time last year, just as summer was approaching, that I noticed his Twitter/Facebook posts detailing that he had a final table on an off-shoot tournament at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) in Las Vegas and that it would be featured live on the internet with play-by-play analysts and everything. Another mutual friend of ours from high school, Matt, had also heard about this and saw that I showed interest in watching from commenting on one of Joe's final table-related posts.
Matt and I watched Joe as closely as a teenage girl would watch a pit-level Backstreet Boys concert from back in the 90's. Joe's demeanor stayed firm and steady the whole time while he slowly chipped away at the 8-man final table to make it to heads-up (final 2) play. Meanwhile, Matt and I were freaking.
"Joe should look for a hand he KNOWS he can push in on," I said acting like a junior poker analyst.
"Oh! Baited him into the bet!" Matt retorted.
"He's reeling in the fish! Yes, Joe! HERE COMES THE TRAIN!" Analogies about just about everything would fly to my fingertips as I typed to Matt. All of them were stupid. But all emotionally charged analogies from a tired student watching poker into the wee-hours of the morning will be. As my high school Trig teacher Mr. Rad would say, "It's the nature of the beast."
Joe ended up losing that night, but he was a major winner in our book. Poker--we're talking Texas Hold'em, here--is far from an easy game. There's a type and a ridiculous amount of mental, emotional, and sometimes even physical fortitude it takes to play hour after hour without bleeding money. Joe. Did not. Panic. There were times Joe made it look like a walk in the park; an ice cream cone on a hot day; a piece of cake, and other terribly cliched analogies.
So, why am I considering Joe a Dark Horse? It's simple: The journey.
Think about this for a moment: Joe, for all intents and purposes, graduated high school, and then pursued a career in professional poker almost immediately--while he went to college!! Do you have ANY idea how ridiculously difficult it is to do that? To fund yourself as a poker player coming from ANY time in life, you have to win to keep going or else your career is ridiculously short-lived. For that, Joe is a Dark Horse, but don't expect his competition to look at him that way.
Ultimately, Matt and I watched greatness unfold (fold, check, bet, raise, and re-raise) a year ago. And now, the world is witnessing Joe's greatness.
Today, Joe is the big stack going into the WSOP Main Event Final Table--the November 9, they're called. The last 9 people in a poker tournament that started with thousands of people. Anything can happen. In the last 7 years, only 1 person with the Big Stack going into the final table came out on top.
To Joe: I don't care if you win or lose. Right now, you're on top of the poker world, and all the greats are recognizing. You are now among them. Even if you lose, they will know for the rest of their careers that you are not someone to take lightly. I wish you luck. I wish you the same mental and emotional strength that you have shown thus far at the final table. And overall I'm ridiculously proud of you and could not be happier for you.
I look forward to watching you in November, and I hope I can get you a few more supporters with this.
All the best,
PatInTheHat
I don't normally gush about people or events I find fascinating. For those closest to me, you KNOW that one person I can gush consistently about is David Tennant and not feel an ounce of embarrassment in the world. He's a gentleman and a scholar--oh, and a damn good actor.
That's not what this post is about, though. This post is about a Dark Horse. OK, so on the poker circuit, he's certainly not a dark horse among peers, but he's a Dark Horse in my book.
From 2005-2009, I went to school with Joe McKeehen. Joe McKeehen is a professional poker player from North Wales, which is not far from where we went to high school at LaSalle. There was 250-something kids in our graduating class, and, before I go any further, I will not claim that we were some kind of butt-buddy friends, because we weren't. That said, we generally sat at the same lunch-table with a cavalcade of other mutual friends.
As far as me and Joe go: We laughed about dumb things. We argued about even dumber things. Generally, though, we maintained a decent acquaintanceship through our high school years, and we continued that acquaintanceship in the following years--though our contact definitely dwindled.
It wasn't until some time last year, just as summer was approaching, that I noticed his Twitter/Facebook posts detailing that he had a final table on an off-shoot tournament at the WSOP (World Series of Poker) in Las Vegas and that it would be featured live on the internet with play-by-play analysts and everything. Another mutual friend of ours from high school, Matt, had also heard about this and saw that I showed interest in watching from commenting on one of Joe's final table-related posts.
Matt and I watched Joe as closely as a teenage girl would watch a pit-level Backstreet Boys concert from back in the 90's. Joe's demeanor stayed firm and steady the whole time while he slowly chipped away at the 8-man final table to make it to heads-up (final 2) play. Meanwhile, Matt and I were freaking.
"Joe should look for a hand he KNOWS he can push in on," I said acting like a junior poker analyst.
"Oh! Baited him into the bet!" Matt retorted.
"He's reeling in the fish! Yes, Joe! HERE COMES THE TRAIN!" Analogies about just about everything would fly to my fingertips as I typed to Matt. All of them were stupid. But all emotionally charged analogies from a tired student watching poker into the wee-hours of the morning will be. As my high school Trig teacher Mr. Rad would say, "It's the nature of the beast."
Joe ended up losing that night, but he was a major winner in our book. Poker--we're talking Texas Hold'em, here--is far from an easy game. There's a type and a ridiculous amount of mental, emotional, and sometimes even physical fortitude it takes to play hour after hour without bleeding money. Joe. Did not. Panic. There were times Joe made it look like a walk in the park; an ice cream cone on a hot day; a piece of cake, and other terribly cliched analogies.
So, why am I considering Joe a Dark Horse? It's simple: The journey.
Think about this for a moment: Joe, for all intents and purposes, graduated high school, and then pursued a career in professional poker almost immediately--while he went to college!! Do you have ANY idea how ridiculously difficult it is to do that? To fund yourself as a poker player coming from ANY time in life, you have to win to keep going or else your career is ridiculously short-lived. For that, Joe is a Dark Horse, but don't expect his competition to look at him that way.
Ultimately, Matt and I watched greatness unfold (fold, check, bet, raise, and re-raise) a year ago. And now, the world is witnessing Joe's greatness.
Today, Joe is the big stack going into the WSOP Main Event Final Table--the November 9, they're called. The last 9 people in a poker tournament that started with thousands of people. Anything can happen. In the last 7 years, only 1 person with the Big Stack going into the final table came out on top.
To Joe: I don't care if you win or lose. Right now, you're on top of the poker world, and all the greats are recognizing. You are now among them. Even if you lose, they will know for the rest of their careers that you are not someone to take lightly. I wish you luck. I wish you the same mental and emotional strength that you have shown thus far at the final table. And overall I'm ridiculously proud of you and could not be happier for you.
I look forward to watching you in November, and I hope I can get you a few more supporters with this.
All the best,
PatInTheHat
Monday, July 13, 2015
...of a Quest (An Abundance of Katherines)
LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!
It is time for me to start a quest. This quest will involve/need the support of many many many people, but as difficult as the proposition seems at its current state, I refuse to believe that the prospects are impossible.
I am a fan of John Green's. I'm sure I mentioned him in previous blogs, but in case you forget, or for some reason have not discovered him yet, he is an author, vlogger, Nerdfighter, etc. He has written (in their entirety) 4 books. His books are: An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska, and The Fault In Our Stars--there are others he has co-authored as well. You may have heard of at least one of those titles as TFIOS is a movie that came out a couple years ago, and Paper Towns is a movie that is coming out this July. Looking for Alaska has just been given the green-light to be turned into a film as well, leaving the only book John Green has written that is not (and may never be) a film to this point at An Abundance of Katherines.
As you can probably infer from the previous paragraph, my quest is to ensure that An Abundance of Katherines becomes a full-length featured film.
Where this is all coming from:
John Green was recently asked in a Q&A about AAOK on whether it will become a film. Without ruining the story for those that might want to read the story after reading this post, his main issue with the story is that it's not written in 1st person. The entirety of the book is written in a third person narrative. Now, John Green, for me, is a great writer, and I consider him a pretty brilliant individual, especially as it comes to this book AAOK. That said, I find it strange that he would so easily write off the story simply because it's in third person. Like, as if there are no ways around that. As if you can't create the film in first person in the eyes of the main character. Hollywood tends to have the ability, and writers, to do pretty awesome stuff. That's all I'll say about this for now.
For those who have not read this book, please read it! I'll preface by saying that John Green is basically a young-adult romance writer. For the life of me, I've never been into the romantic genre at all, but John Green has done well to stitch a series of pages together that don't make you feel like any of it is too much/over-the-top. In fact, in each of his books (I have yet to read Looking for Alaska, but it's on my to-do list. So aside from that...) there are other parts of the plot-line that make the characters considerably more intriguing than just the potential for a love-affair. In particular, I think AAOK does the best at this (though I'll admit TFIOS is a close second), because the main character is...Well, OK, I won't give away what's special about the main character, but I feel like the uniqueness of the main character is reason enough to create a story around him. The thought process behind the creation of this book in particular had to be most arduous, as there are references to complexities that make the way he wrote the book particularly difficult.
In this particular regard, I feel that people need to see the genius of John Green more than just, "He's the guy that wrote TFIOS and does a silly Vlog with his brother." I mean, hey, you could think he's brilliant for those things, too, and I think he is! But AAOK is in a different realm than the majority of other works out there in my humble opinion.
So, PLEASE HELP! Spread the word like wild-fire! Share this! Get other people to read the book especially if you found the book intriguing ultimately!
This is the first step of many. I plan to eventually create a FB page to figure out the total interest level. If that goes well, I'll move on to creating a vlog of my own dedicated to making mentions of the book (maybe even fielding questions from other interested parties) and I'll hope to get the attention of Mr. Green in the process. It's a tall order for someone as ridiculously busy as he is, but I feel like if there's a Will, then there's a PatInTheHat ;)
- PatInTheHat
It is time for me to start a quest. This quest will involve/need the support of many many many people, but as difficult as the proposition seems at its current state, I refuse to believe that the prospects are impossible.
I am a fan of John Green's. I'm sure I mentioned him in previous blogs, but in case you forget, or for some reason have not discovered him yet, he is an author, vlogger, Nerdfighter, etc. He has written (in their entirety) 4 books. His books are: An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska, and The Fault In Our Stars--there are others he has co-authored as well. You may have heard of at least one of those titles as TFIOS is a movie that came out a couple years ago, and Paper Towns is a movie that is coming out this July. Looking for Alaska has just been given the green-light to be turned into a film as well, leaving the only book John Green has written that is not (and may never be) a film to this point at An Abundance of Katherines.
As you can probably infer from the previous paragraph, my quest is to ensure that An Abundance of Katherines becomes a full-length featured film.
Where this is all coming from:
John Green was recently asked in a Q&A about AAOK on whether it will become a film. Without ruining the story for those that might want to read the story after reading this post, his main issue with the story is that it's not written in 1st person. The entirety of the book is written in a third person narrative. Now, John Green, for me, is a great writer, and I consider him a pretty brilliant individual, especially as it comes to this book AAOK. That said, I find it strange that he would so easily write off the story simply because it's in third person. Like, as if there are no ways around that. As if you can't create the film in first person in the eyes of the main character. Hollywood tends to have the ability, and writers, to do pretty awesome stuff. That's all I'll say about this for now.
For those who have not read this book, please read it! I'll preface by saying that John Green is basically a young-adult romance writer. For the life of me, I've never been into the romantic genre at all, but John Green has done well to stitch a series of pages together that don't make you feel like any of it is too much/over-the-top. In fact, in each of his books (I have yet to read Looking for Alaska, but it's on my to-do list. So aside from that...) there are other parts of the plot-line that make the characters considerably more intriguing than just the potential for a love-affair. In particular, I think AAOK does the best at this (though I'll admit TFIOS is a close second), because the main character is...Well, OK, I won't give away what's special about the main character, but I feel like the uniqueness of the main character is reason enough to create a story around him. The thought process behind the creation of this book in particular had to be most arduous, as there are references to complexities that make the way he wrote the book particularly difficult.
In this particular regard, I feel that people need to see the genius of John Green more than just, "He's the guy that wrote TFIOS and does a silly Vlog with his brother." I mean, hey, you could think he's brilliant for those things, too, and I think he is! But AAOK is in a different realm than the majority of other works out there in my humble opinion.
So, PLEASE HELP! Spread the word like wild-fire! Share this! Get other people to read the book especially if you found the book intriguing ultimately!
This is the first step of many. I plan to eventually create a FB page to figure out the total interest level. If that goes well, I'll move on to creating a vlog of my own dedicated to making mentions of the book (maybe even fielding questions from other interested parties) and I'll hope to get the attention of Mr. Green in the process. It's a tall order for someone as ridiculously busy as he is, but I feel like if there's a Will, then there's a PatInTheHat ;)
- PatInTheHat
Friday, July 10, 2015
Stone Glass Pt. 1
Wading through her underwear drawer, she materialized a flashlight. The power went out just after the sun set on a Friday evening, and eighteen-year-old, five-foot six-inch Maggie Marlot was home, half-naked after just taking a shower, and alone. Her parents were out celebrating their wedding anniversary at a local Northeast Philly bar owned by a friend of theirs, and Merlot--that's what I call her--was losing her mind.
-------
It was one of the more beautiful days of the year. It was early May. Spring, although it technically started in late March, had finally sprung after an ungodly long winter, and my allergies were killing me.
"Gemstone!" My mother called from the downstairs kitchen. I'm 5"5' brown hair, green-eyed, slender Jennifer. My friends call me Jenny. My brother's name is Ben, which makes our names hard to distinguish when we're being summoned by our parental overlords. My parents were never traditionalists--they never did all the popular things that everyone else did. So, ya know, no diamond rings, no gold anything, strange-colored interior wall-paint, no simply calling me Jenny, like my friends, or Jennifer like my actual name, etc. The wedding ring my mom does have is a custom-made copper ring with an Amethyst gem. I was born in February; Amethyst is my birthstone; thus, my nickname: Gemstone.
"Come get breakfast! Eggs today! Getting burrrrrr!" My mom loves substituting words for sound-effects even though neither of her children have been 3 years old in 12 years.
I sneeze, "Ughhh, JUST BRING IT TO ME. My FACE is exPLOding."
My mom was already upstairs. Part of her morning ritual is leaving her keys up in her room and realizing that fact right after she already closed the front door behind her. She passed by my room.
"It's 7:30am and you're already whining about something? I'm not a very go..."
"Not a very good lapidary." I cut her off, "Yeah, I know, mom, but today I'm your beautifully polished, splendiforous Gemstone who needs your love...and mostly the eggs you made." I put my hands on my cheeks. "My FACE is exPLOding!"
"Sorry, honey, late for work! Allergies again? Just get Ben to help you!" She screams as she runs down the hall to her bedroom.
Before I could even scream "Ben," a flying saucer in the form of a plate with eggs and bacon within its real estate came into my room and hovered at the foot of my bed. It was being flown by a well-manufactured toy-helicopter my brother made last Christmas. He's exceptionally crafty, and even custom-attached a type of grill above the rotor so it could carry objects. He stood at my bedroom doorway.
"Ben! You're the best!" I exclaim. My fifteen-year-old brother Ben stands a couple inches taller than me with straight brown hair and glasses. He sort of looks like a rocker who is also a nerd. Ya know, if you kept up with all of the stereotypes of the world. He's actually just a big dork.
"Just for today Germstone. Just. For. Today." he says with a sardonic smile and dramatic inflection.
I took the plate, ate as fast as I could, since my nose was so stuffed the food was practically tasteless, got changed, and headed out the door to school with Ben sluggishly moving behind me. The one good thing about where my parents lived is that we were in walking distance to me and Ben's high school. Other than that, the Morrel area of the city, designated as such due to a winding road called Morrel Avenue that connects to two major roadways, was pretty boring. Ben and I never walk together so I don't mind that he's sluggish today. It's normally the other way around, and with my face near critical mass, I'm starting to wonder what's going on with him. I turn around.
"Ben! Wait. Ben?" He's not behind me. I immediately feel like he's about to pull a prank on me and start feeling a slight jolt of adrenaline enter my bloodstream. The positive is that my nose isn't as stuffy because of the nerves.
I get to school, and Ben never appears, so for the moment I stop worrying and proceed with my day. He's a smart teenager that does all sorts of weird teenager things nowadays, so I'm not concerned. I look for Merlot.
-------
It was one of the more beautiful days of the year. It was early May. Spring, although it technically started in late March, had finally sprung after an ungodly long winter, and my allergies were killing me.
"Gemstone!" My mother called from the downstairs kitchen. I'm 5"5' brown hair, green-eyed, slender Jennifer. My friends call me Jenny. My brother's name is Ben, which makes our names hard to distinguish when we're being summoned by our parental overlords. My parents were never traditionalists--they never did all the popular things that everyone else did. So, ya know, no diamond rings, no gold anything, strange-colored interior wall-paint, no simply calling me Jenny, like my friends, or Jennifer like my actual name, etc. The wedding ring my mom does have is a custom-made copper ring with an Amethyst gem. I was born in February; Amethyst is my birthstone; thus, my nickname: Gemstone.
"Come get breakfast! Eggs today! Getting burrrrrr!" My mom loves substituting words for sound-effects even though neither of her children have been 3 years old in 12 years.
I sneeze, "Ughhh, JUST BRING IT TO ME. My FACE is exPLOding."
My mom was already upstairs. Part of her morning ritual is leaving her keys up in her room and realizing that fact right after she already closed the front door behind her. She passed by my room.
"It's 7:30am and you're already whining about something? I'm not a very go..."
"Not a very good lapidary." I cut her off, "Yeah, I know, mom, but today I'm your beautifully polished, splendiforous Gemstone who needs your love...and mostly the eggs you made." I put my hands on my cheeks. "My FACE is exPLOding!"
"Sorry, honey, late for work! Allergies again? Just get Ben to help you!" She screams as she runs down the hall to her bedroom.
Before I could even scream "Ben," a flying saucer in the form of a plate with eggs and bacon within its real estate came into my room and hovered at the foot of my bed. It was being flown by a well-manufactured toy-helicopter my brother made last Christmas. He's exceptionally crafty, and even custom-attached a type of grill above the rotor so it could carry objects. He stood at my bedroom doorway.
"Ben! You're the best!" I exclaim. My fifteen-year-old brother Ben stands a couple inches taller than me with straight brown hair and glasses. He sort of looks like a rocker who is also a nerd. Ya know, if you kept up with all of the stereotypes of the world. He's actually just a big dork.
"Just for today Germstone. Just. For. Today." he says with a sardonic smile and dramatic inflection.
I took the plate, ate as fast as I could, since my nose was so stuffed the food was practically tasteless, got changed, and headed out the door to school with Ben sluggishly moving behind me. The one good thing about where my parents lived is that we were in walking distance to me and Ben's high school. Other than that, the Morrel area of the city, designated as such due to a winding road called Morrel Avenue that connects to two major roadways, was pretty boring. Ben and I never walk together so I don't mind that he's sluggish today. It's normally the other way around, and with my face near critical mass, I'm starting to wonder what's going on with him. I turn around.
"Ben! Wait. Ben?" He's not behind me. I immediately feel like he's about to pull a prank on me and start feeling a slight jolt of adrenaline enter my bloodstream. The positive is that my nose isn't as stuffy because of the nerves.
I get to school, and Ben never appears, so for the moment I stop worrying and proceed with my day. He's a smart teenager that does all sorts of weird teenager things nowadays, so I'm not concerned. I look for Merlot.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Breaking Out of the Mold
Marching to the beat of your own drum in this world is not an easy thing to do, but it's what we're judged on by our peers.
Try not to pretend that other people don't influence you, because that's ridiculous. Every single person you meet from the time you're a child influences you in some way whether you like it or not. Hell, even people you've never met that you see on the news/on TV, i.e. the President(s), perhaps Donald Trump, perhaps Muhammad Ali, etc.
Some people have more of an influence on you than others because of the way you were raised. Some influences are absolutely disastrous while others are progressive--these people have the society as a whole in mind when they make decisions. I could get all psychoanalytic about how you like a particular sport, a particular political party, a particular vacation destination, and that you like particular people based on how your parents raised you, but I won't. I'm sure that sounds common-sensical at it's core, but there are people out there that we all follow no matter how wrong they might be based on cognitive moments in our lives.
Oh, right, I said I wouldn't get psychoanalytic...
So then how do we become unique enough to get noticed? Well, that's a great question, and there are varying answers.
More than anything, though, if you can out-creative someone, that's generally your "in." What makes that idea baffeling is that there are people out there in the limelight that emphasize the opposite. Ya know, that we should be working Americans. But that's not how THEY got in the limelight. They didn't get there by simply working. They got there because they created an idea that no one else ever created. They got noticed for whatever that was, and then continued to stay in the limelight. As someone in a band, I'll admit how hard it is to get INTO the limelight even if you have talent or good idea, but I've noticed that it's even harder to get OUT of the limelight once you're in. Take Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes as examples.
If I were to give one amazing example of a person who just understood what it meant to be famous--actually I'll name 2--Arnold Schwarzenegger first comes to mind. Talk about a guy who just kept reinventing himself, right? First a body-builder, then an actor, then a governor(?!), then back to an actor. It's like, Jesus hell. If you could wrap success in a box with a bow, it would be Arnold's life.
The other person I had in mind to how someone handles fame is John Green. Don't know who John Green is, yet? That's ok, I'll give you some background from my standpoint. Years ago I found John Green making vlogs with his brother Hank on YouTube--and they're coincidentally called the Vlog Brothers. They're both hysterical with their witty bantering back and forth. Unbeknownst to me at the time, John Green is also an author. he wrote some notable novels that I'm sure you heard of, because it looks like all of his books are becoming movies: The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska, and my personal favorite that may never even become a movie--An Abundance of Katherines. He handles fame like he handled his life before he became this well-known author. He still makes Vlogs, and he's super personal with his fans by holding Q&As about his books often.
All of this said, and the reason I'm posting this, I believe that if you can't be yourself and be creative, then you missed the entire point.
This past weekend I got to meet Vinny from Vinesauce--a YouTube channel that displays video game walk-throughs and corruptions among other things--at the Too Many Games Convention in Oaks, PA. I was fortunate to go with someone who knew him, so meeting him was as easy as walking up to him and saying "hi." As you can imagine, he was a super down-to-Earth guy who just so happened to be relatively famous. You might not know who he is, but he's the gaming community's version of Mark Wahlberg. He only ever had seconds to breathe before he was whisked away by his crew for interviews and other convention-type events. (He even had his own crew, kinda like Entourage.)
If you can't be you and stand out. Go back to the drawing board. Like way back.
- PatInTheHat
Try not to pretend that other people don't influence you, because that's ridiculous. Every single person you meet from the time you're a child influences you in some way whether you like it or not. Hell, even people you've never met that you see on the news/on TV, i.e. the President(s), perhaps Donald Trump, perhaps Muhammad Ali, etc.
Some people have more of an influence on you than others because of the way you were raised. Some influences are absolutely disastrous while others are progressive--these people have the society as a whole in mind when they make decisions. I could get all psychoanalytic about how you like a particular sport, a particular political party, a particular vacation destination, and that you like particular people based on how your parents raised you, but I won't. I'm sure that sounds common-sensical at it's core, but there are people out there that we all follow no matter how wrong they might be based on cognitive moments in our lives.
Oh, right, I said I wouldn't get psychoanalytic...
So then how do we become unique enough to get noticed? Well, that's a great question, and there are varying answers.
More than anything, though, if you can out-creative someone, that's generally your "in." What makes that idea baffeling is that there are people out there in the limelight that emphasize the opposite. Ya know, that we should be working Americans. But that's not how THEY got in the limelight. They didn't get there by simply working. They got there because they created an idea that no one else ever created. They got noticed for whatever that was, and then continued to stay in the limelight. As someone in a band, I'll admit how hard it is to get INTO the limelight even if you have talent or good idea, but I've noticed that it's even harder to get OUT of the limelight once you're in. Take Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes as examples.
If I were to give one amazing example of a person who just understood what it meant to be famous--actually I'll name 2--Arnold Schwarzenegger first comes to mind. Talk about a guy who just kept reinventing himself, right? First a body-builder, then an actor, then a governor(?!), then back to an actor. It's like, Jesus hell. If you could wrap success in a box with a bow, it would be Arnold's life.
The other person I had in mind to how someone handles fame is John Green. Don't know who John Green is, yet? That's ok, I'll give you some background from my standpoint. Years ago I found John Green making vlogs with his brother Hank on YouTube--and they're coincidentally called the Vlog Brothers. They're both hysterical with their witty bantering back and forth. Unbeknownst to me at the time, John Green is also an author. he wrote some notable novels that I'm sure you heard of, because it looks like all of his books are becoming movies: The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns, Looking for Alaska, and my personal favorite that may never even become a movie--An Abundance of Katherines. He handles fame like he handled his life before he became this well-known author. He still makes Vlogs, and he's super personal with his fans by holding Q&As about his books often.
All of this said, and the reason I'm posting this, I believe that if you can't be yourself and be creative, then you missed the entire point.
This past weekend I got to meet Vinny from Vinesauce--a YouTube channel that displays video game walk-throughs and corruptions among other things--at the Too Many Games Convention in Oaks, PA. I was fortunate to go with someone who knew him, so meeting him was as easy as walking up to him and saying "hi." As you can imagine, he was a super down-to-Earth guy who just so happened to be relatively famous. You might not know who he is, but he's the gaming community's version of Mark Wahlberg. He only ever had seconds to breathe before he was whisked away by his crew for interviews and other convention-type events. (He even had his own crew, kinda like Entourage.)
If you can't be you and stand out. Go back to the drawing board. Like way back.
- PatInTheHat
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