Presumptuous

I know this'll sound presumptuous on my behalf, but I can afford it. I know for a FACT that I'm going to be attending Further Confusion. It's the first con I ever attended, and I feel it's my obligation to continue on at least attending on a yearly basis, until I either drop dead from not enough awesome or AA&E, Inc. becomes defunct and/or insolvent. Now that I've stated that, on to other cons that I'll be attending, would like to attend, or might consider attending if money wasn't an issue. First off, there's Califur. I know this year was a bit controversial, but I feel it's my obligation to go. Not because it might be the greatest convention ever, or even the greatest furry convention, but because it's right there. I live in San Diego, and seeing as how the closest con I can afford to attend outside of San Diego Comic Con (or whatever the hell it's called now) is held in Orange County, I feel it would be easy to attend. To clarify, "afford to attend" and "easy to attend" refer to my ability to afford both travel expenses and a place to stay. Sure, I may have felt a bit uneasy having a drunken frat boy with a thermal full of beer sit right next to me, offer me something, talk to me, and overall fondle me, but I take joy in knowing that, once he rushed the stage to hug the talent, con security escorted him back to his seat before eventually (perhaps two minutes later) escorting him out of the room where the Cabaret Le Fur Dance was hosted. No, please, stop, do not spam my inbox with mail saying how I'm a fool for possibly making plans to attend Califur V. I'm a big boy now, and more importantly, a masochist. I like a good challenge. It keeps me going. Moving along, there is the issue of Anthrocon. I've heard stories about how AC is supposed to be more awesome than cornbread (my simile, not actually something I heard somebody say). Keep in mind that for me, cornbread is pretty much the most awesome thing I've had up to this point. If AC > cornbread, great, I'll have to make it a point to attend AC each year, while eating cornbread as I always do. If AC = cornbread, excellent, I'll have to do both simultaneously. If AC < cornbread, then I've really not lost anything, and I'll have attended a convention in a state other than California, and even Washington, and I could continue to enjoy cornbread in my usual manner, while eating it with some salad at the Souplantation. Plus, I figure that going to AC would probably make for an awesome as hell road trip, if I can plan it way in advance. That leaves me with perhaps one more convention I can attend before going broke, and that's Eurofurence. Yes, I know, the most expensive part of attending is the plane ticket. Preliminary (and I use that term roughly to figure things out before I commit to anything) plane ticket costs would kill me at USD $3300 or so. *Floored* That is, by the way, a round-trip ticket, so at least I am able to return. Then again, how often will I be able to say that I've been in three countries on two continents in my life? And besides, if the world's going to end at that time, I at least want to be able to be surrounded by Jager. What do you think? I'd like to get some input on this. EF, or no EF? Because, if I decide to go, I very well have to decide right now, so I can save my money to buy the ticket to go there. We'll talk more about this later.

I suppose...

I suppose letting Mr. Thompson blog here might have seemed like a good idea at the time.

Oh, well. Good night.

Film project under way

I'm filming this project for my 16mm class. I've already reserved the equipment and the studio, and have the script. All that's left really is to buy the film, find my crew, and cast and rehearse with the two actors that I have in mind.

No problem. It's only a month before I have to check out the equipment. Be calm, Wolf. It's cool.

-Peace

Wanted: A Really Good Job

I'm in the position to accept employment at the moment. Potential employers must meet the following requirements: #1. No idiots. Especially those who constantly ask me "what's wrong with this picture", knowing any answer I give is the wrong one. #2. No job where I have to deal with middle-management. We all know they're power-tripping fascists who didn't have enough ambition to climb even higher on the corporate ladder. And worse yet, they all act like #1. #3. As little possible face time with the customer as possible. The lesser, the better. And no, they're not really "guests". If they were, you wouldn't be charging them to "shop" there, would you? #4. If you're going to interview me, don't ask my why I'm leaving my last job/applying for work here, because I'm going to get "cute". I'd say something like, "If I wanted to stay there, I wouldn't be here, moron!" Or, "I was busted for smoking weed on the job. And not sharing." Or, my personal favorite, "So I can make you jerk-squirts pay for an expensive drug test, just to quit the minute I clock in." My qualifications: -Lounging around on the company dime; clogging toilets if my ire is aroused; passing silent, but deadly farts and scooting away as stealthy as possible. You want to hire me, send me an email. "What's my email?" Can you tell me what's wrong with you not knowing my email? Ciao. 4 November 2021 Update: I had to edit out the word 'retard' and replace it with 'idiots' because I've grown to realize that it is offensive. It may have seemed funny to 27-year old me in 2008, but I'd like to think that I'm not as bad and narrow-minded as I used to be. Sometimes you just gotta go back and try to make things right, or at least not so wrong. Such is life.

Making a Short Film Soon

I'll be shooting a short film soon, on Super 16mm film, using (hopefully) the school's Aaton A-Minima camera, and Kodak Black and White film. I'll be adapting part of a friend's story.

Rock Band: The Billy, Ray, and Jack Story

I've got this treatment that I wrote a while ago, and I'm going to adapt a part of it for my 16mm film class. It's about this rock group that, despite going through so much Hell, still pull themselves together at the end of the day and make it happen. At the end, they don't win, but they use the energy that might have been wasted otherwise, and keep moving forward.

Price list:
Kodak 200-foot Black and White film: $36.12 X 2 reels = $72.24
Fotokem Film developing: $.10/ft X 400 feet = $40.00
Video Prep for Transfer: $30.00
Video Tape Transfer: $123.75

Total cost: $295.99

And that's just for a 3-5 minute film.

Print for Sale

I'm selling "Friday Night Light". It's an 8"X12" image on 11"X14" Kodak Supra Endura Glossy-finish paper. Going price: $150, plus $1.50 shipping and handling, obo.

Email me at crimsonfox_2000@yahoo.com for details.

The System

There's nothing more discomforting than being raised to believe in the system, only for the system to come back and kick you. Hard.

I am, of course, referring to my trouble with both the US Postal Service and the conglomerate known as AT&T. They reroute my mail to my sister's new place, and they cut off my phone service while leaving me with the internet, respectively.

Yes, it's good that at least my mail is being forwarded to someone I know, but it's a pain in the @$$. And while I hardly use the phone, it's still a pain in the @$$ because an emergency might come up, and my cell phone might have run out of minutes (because I'm using a pre-paid phone, for I don't want to get trapped into a contract I might not be able to afford sometime in the future).

Hell, I can't even afford it now. Then again, I've already been cheated by two separate pre-paid phone companies, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile. In each case, I had plenty of time to refill the phone, but was abruptly dropped from their service. The only difference is, I dropped Virgin Mobile for another pre-paid company, while I still remain with Boost Mobile because I need to use it for the Walkie-Talkie function.

There's a lesson to be learned here. It's a simple one, really. I should have thought about it years ago:

"Don't depend on the system, because the system will only come back and kick you in the balls. Hard!"

Good night, good folks, and don't let the system get you down.

AT&T Phone Problems

It seems now that my phone service has been disconnected. Amazing, since my internet service is still operating. (I'm writing this from work, by the way)

Add that to the problem I have with the post office, in which they forward my mail somewhere else (thank you very much, US Government), and the fact that I haven't received my car registration renewal notice, I say this year is starting off on a good note.

Oh, well, at least I haven't gotten sued. Yet.

Gimme Some Sugar, Baby

I took the image, found at http://kholcomb.deviantart.com/art/Gimme-Some-Sugar-Baby-74680220, using a Canon Rebel GII, a tripod, Kodak 400-speed UC film, and shutter release cable. Since the only available natural light was too far away to provide a clean, handheld shot, especially with an aperture as small as f-22, I place the camera on a tripod, and took the shot with a release cable. I think it turned out really nice.

Stats: 30-second exposure at f-22.
Camera: Canon Rebel GII
Film: Kodak 400 UC

Taking care of business

I've decided to form my own business. It'll encompass a variety of things: photography and graphic design; videography and film production; music and other audio record production; and magazine publication.

First step, naturally, is to assess the situation, fill out the appropriate paperwork to incorporate myself as a limited liability company. I also need to find out what it is I need to pull off each of the things that I feel I can do for the moment. Then, when things are picking up, I expand business.

This means that I'll have to take a break from here, until things start rolling. But don't worry, I'll be back. Back to writing in my usual take-no-prisoners, no-holds-barred ways.

So, until I write again, good night, and have a pleasant way.

The convention in San Jose, and beyond

If nothing bad goes wrong, and I have both the time and money to attend later on this year, I hope to end up attending this one convention in Pittsburgh. It's all a matter of time, money, and priorities management. For now, though, I definitely know that I'm going to San Jose. That is for certain.

Now, if anybody reading this knows that they're definitely going to there, and is willing to split the hotel room, I'd like to set things up. That we, the cost of the hotel room can be evenly and fairly split.

The only other thing that I need to consider, cost of attending aside, is how to get there. By that, I mean either the cost of the plane ticket, which can be a lot for the hassle of airport security, or the train ticket, which'd be too much, considering they take too long to get there.

Of course, I would like to save my money for the cost of attendance, which is an inexpensive $40-$50. That, compared to $631 for Round-Trip tickets on Delta Air Lines, which includes lodging, according to Travelocity. Perhaps, I reason, I should sell some of my photographic prints in eBay. I reckon I could get a pretty penny for [url]http://kholcomb.deviantart.com/art/Hanging-Avocados-72462553[/url].

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off sleep, maybe even dream of how I'll pull this one off.

Good night.

My camera equipment.

Here is a list of all the equipment that I use (though I'm not getting paid to endorse any of these companies, which would be nice):

-Canon GL2
-Canon Rebel GII
-Canon Digital Rebel XTi
-Sony VX-2100
-Rode VideoMic
-Rode NTG-2
-Audio Technica lavalier microphone
-Sony 2 GB Compact Flash drive

My loyalty normally isn't for sale, but to any of you companies that might be reading this, and I'm hoping one day you might, I may allow you to rent it for a while, just to see how things work.

Survival Mode

We're all wired into a survival mode now. No more of the fun that fueled the 90s.

That's the fatal flaw that's fueled the modern American ideology since the turn of the century. Millennium, really.

What the hippies failed to realize is, they didn't need the drugs to have fun in their generation. The drugs were just there to burn them out even quicker. And yet, through it all, they look at our generation and tell us, "No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong!" Of course, if they knew what we were really up to (ie having fun with the furry art w/o the sex and drugs), then they'd really blow a gasket. I say we keep their 'precious' rock & roll, just to teach them a lesson. They were some good tunes. You know, 'Touch Me', 'Under My Thumb', and 'I Gave Her All My Love'.

So now, forty years later, with everything just about running out of steam, all we have left to do is wait for End Times to show up, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to trumpet in the End of the World.

I've decided I'm going to raise the money needed to finance my first film. $50,000.