Chomping Down and Way to Go, Brad Newsham (SF Cab Driver)

There are these goats in Oakland that are rented out to keep the grass down. They were out by Park Boulevard today, chomping down.

I forgot to mention that there were some inappropriate scenes in Import/Export. The Europeans have a different relationship to showing sex in cinema than Americans. They really show pretty much everything. I'm not sure what is more artistic...the reality or the inferred. In school, I was having trouble with the inferred, but now I think I get it.

At school today, the girl that I like didn't talk to me. She was sitting next to two other boys. I think she way shy about talking to me.

Also, I saw my friend, Brad Newsham, who is a cab driver in San Francisco, on a Toyota Commercial. Here is the commercial and below that is a video that someone I know did of him a few years ago when everyone was mad at George Bush about the Iraq War.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EBXLqMEuzQ&feature=youtube_gdata

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSSuEVYcixA

Bliss

Today, I watched a film called "Import/Export." It was about two different people who were trying to get work. That doesn't sound very interesting, but the way that the director filmed it was beautiful. The scenery was stark like "Let the Right One In." The film showed the poverty of Eastern Europe...the Ukraine...through the characters. It was bleak and gritty in a "Trainspotting" kind of way. The director was Ulrich Seidl.

Later in the day, I went to a chant. Govinda Jaya Jaya! I heard it as a beautiful chant that just takes you from being intense to being relaxed. Afterwards, I picked an angel card and got "Moderation." I had to ask Mom what that is. She said, "Not too much. Not too little."

Last, but not least, I had this idea for a movie theatre in Montclair. I think that it would be a great business. So, I'm thinking about looking into it. I talked to my friend Tom Franco about it. He liked the idea, too. He's got a really cool space in downtown Oakland. We could do the movie theatre there, too. Mom likes this idea. She said it would be good to try to be in business and learn from it.

Magnificat and Food Inc.

Remember I told you that last Sunday we went to Grace Cathedral to scope out locations for a shoot? Well, we had the shoot on Sunday. The group that sang was called Magnificat. They sang a Baroque operatic chant to G-d. They sounded like Benedictine monks. The music just took me out.

I filmed it with Film Workshop. That's Max Sokoloff in the background. I tried to make my camera work look like moving painting. But, we'll see after I edit it. I'll put it up on the blog.

Yesterday, I watched Food Inc. It was really a great documentary and I was sad to see how the animals are kept out of the sun for their entire lives. Also, the way they kill pigs was really upsetting, by smashing them with this thing that looks like a garbage truck crusher. I like hamburgers, but I am going to be really careful from now on about where the meat comes from...how the animals are treated and the conditions in which they lived before they were killed to be eaten by humans.

I Am Not a Rock - I Am Not an Island

Dad and I played music together this morning. He plays guitar and I sang and played harmonica. You can't really see the harmonica in the picture, but it's there. That's me, playing it. The sun was shining in from the East. We did Simon and Garfunkel and John Denver songs. I never understood the words to "I am a Rock" until today. I thought the guy was really singing about being a rock, but today I heard it differently. It's kind of a sad song.

Then, my old friend Riley called. Good old Riley. He is a huge Matrix fan like I am. Riley has a beard. His brother, Mike, has a beard, too, and works at the Elmwood Movie theater which is a really cool theater because they show stuff that isn't always mainstream.

Mom made us move a woodpile from the backyard. We got part of it done. It's probably going to take a few more sessions. But there was a huge bumble bee flying around it and going in and out of the holes between the logs. Mom thinks there might be a bee hive there, so she said she would work around that area.

I moved a worm that lost his home because moving the logs exposed his hiding place. There were spiders, lizards, roly-polys, and some other bugs. Luckily, there were no butterflies. Remember the giant butterfly on Sponge Bob?

Stalk (n.) vs. Stalk (v.)

The Earth's autonomic nervous system is pumping out flowers, these giant flowers. Their stalks (n.) are as tall as jungle flowers. I call them Oakland's Operatic Flowers. Wouldn't they look great for a romantic opera?

Remember from yesterday about the shoes illegal aliens are supposed to be wearing so that the Arizona police can stalk (v.) them down? I thought a lot about it and I still can't figure out what kind of shoes they are. I couldn't find the definition on the Internet. Sneakers could be illegal alien shoes. Flip-flops. Hiking boots. Vans. ...These are all shoes I wear. Being stalked down where you live and work? It's so stasi.

G-d, shoes, and Jose German Barerra Ascencio

I was saying to Mom today that a lot of people think that God is a man. I think that belief makes women look weak. Who knows whether God is a man or a woman. I know that women are not weak. Woman are very very strong. So, it is possible that God is a woman. But it's hard to tell from here.

There was a man who died today in Oakland. His name was Jose German Berrera Ascencio. He worked in a recycling place in Milpitas and had nine children in Guatemala. He sent money to his family to support them. He never saw his five year old son. He was shot last week at night in Oakland when he was bringing some of his co-workers home from work late at night. I think we should think of him. He must have been a good man.

It made me sad to think that I was taking all these beautiful pictures of Oakland while Jose German Berrera Ascencio was dying and his children were hoping to hear from him again. And then on TV tonight they had this weird thing about Arizona and being able to tell undocumented immigrants from their shoes. What kind of shoes?

LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY!

Here are some pictures that I took of natural beauty in Oakland.

I hung out with some of the kids in front of the school today in the rain. We talked about music. And I got to give a beautiful necklace to the girl of my dreams.

Here is an excerpt from my Biology paper--Autism From the Inside:

“When I screamed, I was just trying to communicate. But the words didn’t come. I didn’t know how to say what I wanted. I wanted to look at things, but I kept getting pulled away from them. I tried to say, ‘No, I just want to look at this!’ Since I couldn’t say it, I just thought, ‘Scream, Rocket! Scream!' It made me feel lonely that people didn’t know what I wanted, how I was seeing it, what I felt.”

[C-G-T][G-C-A] [G-A-T] and Duck Uber Oakland

Okay, I admit it, I rushed through the STAR test so that N wouldn't leave the classroom before I did.

Now, I'm home, cramming for the Biology portion of the test. I can't believe that 18% of the STAR Biology test is about Genetics. I think with Genetics, you can come up with many different color eye pupils. If you are a combination of one specific person combined with another specific person, you are seriously genetically combined.

I just took a break from the grind of studying and went up high in Oakland and took pictures. Can you see the duck in the clouds? And Oakland looks very cool from here.

Sunny Sunday

Wow! Today was Film Workshop. FINALLY! I really don't like when there is a long break, but there was with Easter and Passover. Or Passover and Easter, in that order.

We scouted this location--Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. I love it there. I sang there with a boychoir when I was in 5th grade. Today, we went around inside looking for where we will film next weekend.

Later in the day, I got to hear the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra playing Stavinsky and Mozart at the San Francisco Symphony. Mozart's Violin Concert No. 2 in D major. K.211 totally took me in.

Violin, Schubert Mass, BbTt = BT, Bt, bT, bt and 10110101101

Fridays are good because I get to go to violin. We played a bunch of cool stuff ...Arkansas Traveler, a "Russian Folkdance" by Beethoven, a Chinese round called Hun He Ho.

Oh, and Mom and Dad took me to hear the San Francisco Choral Society. The singing was like waves of magic floating in the air. They played Schubert. He only lived to be 31 and his music is awesome. There were three pieces in Latin and one in Hebrew.

Today, we all went to the 1st birthday party of a friend. His name is Olin. His moms were so happy and we all had a great time. I used the FlipCam to film the party. And tonight I worked on editing what I shot.

After the party, Maive made me read about Genetics for the STAR test. It made me really anxious. BbTt = BT, Bt, bT, bt. And I'm going to need this when I'm singing? One-zero-zero-zero-one-one-zero-one-one-one-zero-one-zero-one...

Tomorrow, thank Dog, I'll be back with my friends at the Film Workshop.

Capoeira Music

Here I am learning the music of Capoeira with one of my teachers.

I played for two hours last night. There were congas, tambourines, and other things. Each instrument has a special name in Portuguese, but I haven't learned the names yet. We sang, too. I didn't understand the words, but it was easy to sing.

Capoeira is like a life force because there is dance and music and playfulness. It becomes a sort of language of it's own and draws you in. I read about the history of it this morning on the Internet. It was developed in Brazil by slaves. They added the music and adjusted the movements to look dance-like so that the slave masters would not know they were practicing a deadly martial art.

Today is more exam cram for the STAR tests. I don't know why they do the High School Exit Exam and the STAR just two months apart. What a stupid waste of money. How much more are you going to know about a student in that time period? No wonder they don't have money for the schools. Mr. Haket says, "They're spending billions of dollars on these tests." He says, "Don't get me started!"

A Happy Day

Well, today was the day for me to finally feel like I'm back in the saddle. What do I mean by that? I can pay attention today. I went to school and saw my crush, N(xoxoxo). She talked to me. I think I probably sounded stupid because I didn't give her a straight answer about the high school exit exam. She looked beautiful, like a goddess. It's hard to think around someone so beautiful because beauty is hypnotic.

On to other things, my teacher Mr. Haket (that's him in the picture) was impressed that I'm reading Howard Zinn. I have a picture here of Mr. Haket. He's the cooliest teacher on the planet. He even snowboards, but I think I told you that already.

Now, I'm off to singing and later today to Capoeira which I just started last night. Today is the music portion of the training and I'm going to love the berimbau, I am sure.

S.A.D., B.S.A.T., C.A.S.H.E.E., R.A.C.E., U.S.A.

The rain has been getting to me. I think I have S.A.D. You know, when the weather is bad, you feel S.A.D. I couldn't think yesterday. It was like being a tiger in a cage. I couldn't sit down. Then Maive (my mom) got really loud. My ears hurt when she talks like that. It was about reading and school and what am I going to do. I already know what I'm going to do. I'm going to sing and act and make films.

It's this BSAT Official Study Guide book. It stands for "Bull Shit Academic Test;" like PSAT only with BS. It's written as funny, South Park funny, irreverent funny, so you can pay attention to it. It's supposed to make you laugh while you learn how to take standardized tests which I am really bad at. It does make me laugh. But I just don't like studying stuff I don't like to study--especially tests. And I hate Math. But then Maive told me that I got my best score on the High School Exit Exam in Math Logic. That doesn't make any sense.

So, she stopped trying to drag me through the BSAT and we read Howard Zinn's Young People's History of the United States and started on Middle Passage, by Charles Johnson. I read Chapter 2 in Howard Zinn which is about the roots of racism in U.S. History. Then, Maive got an email from a distant relative who is a rampant racist. She told Maive that "people in your part of the country don't know what's going on!" That woman said, "You don't get the real news." And Maive told her that she was "probably right, that it's been difficult to get the Pony Express out here on the Frontier."

Garden, Symphony, and Loneliness

Today, the folks had these guys over from early morning until late afternoon. They savaged the garden and my good old treehouse is going to go, too. Check out this video I took of them. I helped move a woodpile, worked off some time that I owe mom.

I tried all day to find someone to go with me to the Symphony. Brian was supposed to go, but we don't know what happened. He didn't sound right when I called. He didn't speak into the phone. Mom called later and she said he said only a few words, like, "Oh, yeah. I can't go. I was going to call." So, I called some of my other trusty friends, but no one could go. Violet was going to go, but she had a sleepover last night and was too tired.

The Symphony really cheered me up. It was Gounod, his ballet music from Faust. I enjoyed it as if I were dancing to the music. I imagined a carousel organ. A lot of the composers whose music is in carousel organs sounded like this. Then, we got to hear Duncan Sheik, the song suite from Whisper House. At first, I was disappointed because it sounded so like a modern Hollywood musical. But then my teacher explained that this is music that is very unusual for the San Francisco Symphony. I appreciated it more after that.

Last, was Vivier, his "Zipangu." That is an early name for Japan. It was mostly violins, cellos, and bases. They stayed on particular notes and it sounded like electronic music. It was kind of like something I'd expect to hear from John Cage. After that, we heard Poulenc. I love Poulenc. It had a similar vibe to Mozart. That would make sense since Poulenc is heavily influenced by Mozart.

Here are some pictures of my singing class yesterday. Peter is my teacher. He's really cool. I'm singing in Italian. Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile! Opera is on my list of things to do with my life. Then, this beautiful young woman came in and he asked me to sing to her. I felt so happy singing to her even though I felt a little shy. Isn't she beautiful?

I Hate Math, but...

Woah! Maybe it's too early to tell, but I see the start of a pattern. The first day I got one follower. Today, I have three. That's 1, 3.... Next should be 5. Following this pattern, how many days will it take for me to get to 1000? Is there someone out there who can figure this out? Hey, Mr. Haket, if you're looking at my blog, are you still snowboarding?

Math can be pretty hard to figure out because it's easy to miscount on your numbers or leave something out when you add it all up. I don't mean to get political on you, but I think President Bush had the same problem. Maybe Violet can figure it out. She's my sister and a brainy yack.

I'm still working on getting up the picture of me with Brian at The Ghost Writer the other day. Stand by.

Oh, I forgot to mention I'm working on an edit this morning for a graveyard piece called The Stunning Scilence. It's like Sci-Fi and Reality all wrapped into one.

Painting Greek Temples and Pink Kitchens

Well, I said I was going to Polanski's The Ghostwriter again and I did. This is my friend, Brian. We're standing in front of The Ghostwriter poster, outside the theater. This time, I learned that if you reveal secrets from the CIA, the CIA might assassinate you. I think the CIA is going to get me now for saying this.

Today, I prepared a canvas for my painting project. I talked my teacher into letting me do a bunch of paintings instead of taking History tests. I'm good at History anyway. It's going pretty well, I guess. Sometimes, finishing the art that you have can take a long time finishing it. So far, I've got one canvas about Time and one about a never-ending Greek temple. When I finish them, I'll put them up on the blog.

My mom (her name is Maive) painted the kitchen while I was working. It's pink. None of the other colors she's tried to paint it have worked. This one might be the winner. It looks pretty good.

I feel like having excitement on me today, but it's been pretty slow.

The Ghost Writer

A film by Roman Polanski. It's his latest film that he edited from jail. Maybe they let him have more than one phone call or maybe they brought a laptop over to his jail cell.

I'm going to see that film again for the second time today. The ghost writer is a writer from England. He is hired to write about a retired prime minister (guess who?), the prime minister's biography. It takes place on Martha's Vineyard, but was really shot in Northern Germany...to look like Massachusetts. The locations look a lot like Cape Cod, but Martha's Vineyard is flatter. (I've skateboarded there, so I know.) It looks more like Montawk, Long Island. And my mom said that the currents didn't resemble the East Coast of the Northern part of the USA.

My first experience of the film was politics vs. politics, good guys vs. bad guys. But after a while, you can't tell who the good guys are. The bad guys see themselves as the good guys or they don't care how anyone sees them because they have the power.

It is politics that goes over the edge because they've been going over the edge since long before 9/11, making people feel fear, taking everyone with them.

I'll write more after seeing the movie again.