The Iron Horse

Went to The Silent Film Festival at The Castro Theatre with Ronald Chase who is my film teacher and Isaiah DuFort. Last night the festival showed "The Iron Horse," which is a 1924 movie by John Ford about building the Transcontinental Railroad.

John Ford is famous for his Westerns. There was a musician there who played the Wurlitzer organ throughout the whole show. It was electifying! This is what it must have been like when people first went to the movies. It was really cool. And the popcorn is the best.

Also, Robert Illes was able to help me find out the Kubrick book. The book is called Film Technique and Acting by Pudovkin. I can't wait to look at it.

Stanley Kubrick

Yesterday, at the Apple Store in Santa Monica, a friend of my mom’s struck up a conversation with Joe Turkel who played the hotel bartender in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.”

When it came out that I am a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s films, my mom’s friend called me. Mr. Turkel talked to me and told me that there was a particular book that was Stanley Kubrick’s "bible" about film, that HE CARRIED IT EVERYWHERE. What I heard Mr. Turkel say (I was driving with my mom) was “Tudotain on Film” and that’s what I wrote down. He said it was a Russian filmmaker. But, I can't find that name anywhere.

There is a Dotan who is a filmmaker at NYU, but I think he is too young for Stanley Kubrick to have studied him. I did find Sergei Eisenstein. Can anyone help me with this?

Thanks!

A Painting Day

My understanding of painting is to make it look very Operatic. What I mean by that is that if you paint a Pastorale, the way to make it interesting is to use colors that draw the viewer in. The 3-dimensional perspective is that you are looking at one hill from another hill while the sun is going down behind you.

This is a painting I did today from my mind. I haven't put a name on it yet. But what I'm trying to do is make the hills look like gods and goddesses drenched in golden sunlight.

The reason that I haven't been on the blog lately is because this past week, I was in a meditation retreat. The retreat to me helps you to know that the reason why everything in this world is so powerful is because it is you. You are the eyes. Like I said in my profile, I see the world through my own eyes. I want to just take it in, like art, like air, like love touching love.

I'll put up some pictures of my friends from the retreat in the next blog post.

Who was that guy who apologized to BP?

This is one of the worst Histories in the world. It's like when the Asteroids hit the Earth and killed the dinosaurs. Only, this time, instead of the Sky going dark, it's the Earth going dark.

Here is my haiku about it.

frauds make world better?

with oily lies that ruin

sea and air and life

Texting, Tarot, Flu, Faust

I did the Tarot cards this morning. (They are Pagan and Roma's mostly are pagans, too. I know this because they have the Tarot cards. They have the crystal ball. They can read your palms.) One of the things I've learned from them is that if you want something so badly, you have take a path that will lead you to the thing you want the most. That's how you get there. The sign in the picture doesn't tell you where I want to go yet, but I think it makes a point.

Also, I'm sorry I haven't been on the blog. I had the flu and have been really sick for a week.

Tonight is a very special night. I'm going to see the Opera "Faust" by Gounod. I believe he was a German composer. I don't know a lot about him yet. But, I will let you know what I learn.

Mission District San Francisco

I spent the afternoon with my cousin, Tay. We walked all over the Mission District in San Francisco. There are all these totally cool murals in that part of town.

I was really happy to see a public telephone, too. There aren't always so many public telephones around here anymore.

Tree House Down

Today, mom and I tried to take the treehouse down. I can't fit in it anymore. It's nothing but like a fallen antique in our back yard.

Well, the last two weeks have been so swamped with school work and getting my film (The Math Test) done that I haven't been able to write. I think that I haven't been able to mostly...well, sometimes when school is almost over, you start to crash. You're forced to keep going because you have to get all this work in. But, for your body, school is over.

But all the while, I have learned so much about History that I am totally inspired to become my own artist in life. I did my history paper on T.E. Lawrence and Lawrence of Arabia. I think what's great about that story was that he thought he was helping the Arabs to fight for freedom. He thought he was going to leave them to freedom, but what happened was that the tribes were fighting over each other even though he was able to get them to work together to defeat the Turks. Even though they were with him, fighting the Turks, they were still at each others' throats.

And then the Sykes-Picot Agreement (the British and the French) divided up the Middle East. Of course, Prince Feisal shouldn't have gone along with it, but he thought he needed the English to create a united Arab nation. He was a man ahead of his time. Way way ahead...cause now it isn't even close to happening. Seems like Prince Feisal can see past our future.

Ja Mata Ashita!

What a day! I filmed with Duo Dynamic (that's Robert on the left, coaching me on my scene), my favorite production team for another "World's Most Astonishing News!" which is a Japanese TV game show. They reenact these terrible events that happen in the most dangerous country in the world (the USA) and then make it into a game show with clues. Today's episode is called "Pool Boy." I won't tell you about it because I don't want to give it away. I got to jump in the pool with all my clothes. No, I am not the Pool Boy. Ja Mata Ashita!

After that, I went into San Francisco to work on preparing my singing. I love singing and my teacher is really great.

But, I couldn't wait to get home to take a bath. I was cold and chorinified from the pool.

Dance Yellow

In sunshine

outside, the Carnival

Belly dancing women

and bare-chested men

wearing feathers

spin drunken happiness

at Mariposa and 18th

We hide in our studio

making movies

with yellow umbrellas.

It's fun.

We ignore

the reality outside

make non-reality inside

and it pleases the cameras

Two worlds like

magnets repel

and the yellow umbrellas

spin

turn

dance

yellow

The camera is so happy.

Full Moon

Today was a day I learned more how to sing. I'm working on a Duke Ellington early jazz piece called "In a Sentimental Mood." Later, I went to San Francisco Symphony. I invited my friend, Hayley, who is home from college. There were three pieces: Mozart, a piece about Persephone; a piece by an English composer named Robin Holloway. He came out for the lecture about his piece. He was expressing how he wanted the music to sound...that he wanted the instruments to be talking, to be saying words. The last piece was by Schumann, his 3rd Symphony, a gorgeous piece. I learned that he became very depressed at the end of his life and died of a broken heart. Even though he was depressed, he made music that was really happy. Now, I'm home and my dad is playing Jerry Garcia and David Grisman's "Pizza Tapes." All of the above is great FULL MOON music.

Still Working on the Film

Today I got to do the voice over with the actors in my film--Sebastian Kleppe and Margaret Weir. Also, we had to drive around to find a place where we could shoot an image of Sebastian walking on railroad tracks.

When we were on the train tracks, I was afraid the train was going to come. We finished the shot and got off the track and, all of a sudden, the train gate came down and the warning bell came on and we turned to see a train coming pretty fast. I still had my camera on, so I was able to get some footage of it passing by from the safe side of the gate. That was cool.

That's show biz!

Rocketfilmmaker-xd...signing off!

The Way We Get By

Life can only be understood living it backwards, that's why you have to study History. But we have to LIVE life forwards.

Today, to prepare for my World History final paper, I watched "The Way We Get By." It is a documentary about three old people who decide that their mission is to greet Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans as they leave for the war(s) and as they return home to the U.S.A. The troops come back at all hours of the day or night. They old people in the film call themselves "Troop Greeters" and they get other older people to join them, too. The leader of them said, "We support their dedication to the country, not the reason they were sent there. When Mr. Bush said, 'Mission Accomplished!' he didn't know what he was talkin' about."

The Bangor, Maine International Airport is a main exit and entry point for troops going to and from Iraq and Afghanistan. I didn't know that. Did you?

The film is also about old age. It has excepts of these people's lives. One guy said, "When I'm waiting for the planes, I sit and think about my time on this little green planet and the opportunities I've had. Some of 'em, I blew. Some of 'em, I didn't."

The Good Guys TV Pilot

Tonight I watched the pilot of The Good Guys. My friend is on it. He's one of the cops. I liked it a lot. It was a really funny show. You could watch it, too, when it comes back on in June. June 6 or 7 on Fox Channel, same Channel as The Simpsons.

Today, I edited my film for Film Workshop. I'm beat. I'll write more tomorrow.

Your friend, Rocket

PS: Invite your friends to my blog. Then they can know about all this cool stuff.

Happy Birthday!

It's my birthday! And also my neighbor Sam's birthday, too. We had chocolate ice cream with one candle each while everyone sang Happy Birthday to us. Then, we watched Dr. Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick. Also, my mom and dad gave me Citizen Kane by Orson Welles and we watched it until we had to go to Sam's house for the birthday celebration.

A lot of my friends wished me Happy Birthday on Facebook. It was cool to get messages from all over the place.

A Beautiful Train Day...More Filmmaking

I'm still working on my film. Saturday, I went up to the foothills and shot footage of the actor who is the protagonist in it. We rode an old train and everyone was so nice to us.

One thing about me. My ears are sensitive. I had to hold my ears when the train was coming because the sound of the whistle hurts my ears.

But, all in all, it was a great day. Also, when we were done shooting, one of the docents gave us a tour of the Round House. There are only two working train round houses in the US and this is one of them. The train from "Back to the Future" was there and I got to stand where Doctor Emmett Brown stood. That was cool.

The trains blew my mind. I learned about the ring of fire which heats up the rim that goes around the train wheel. It's called a "tire." It's about as thick as a dime. The fire heats it up so that it can be slipped onto the train wheel and have a snug fit. Also, there was something called the sand dispenser. That is a contraption that drops sand onto the track to create traction so that the train can brake.

Rocket's Recipe #1

Mexican Spice with Noodles

Hi there! I thought I'd share my favorite snack recipe.

First add water to a pot. Then, when it boils, you put in noodles. Then, you pour Mexican Spice into it. A lot of spice. It's called "Mexican Blend" -- (cumin, garlic, paprika, white pepper, and onion). Let it all cook together until the noodles are soft and ready to eat. Then, when you put it in the bowl, you add Hummus. And Voila! You have a Paul Newman way of cooking.

By the way, last night I was at fundraiser for my film workshop at the Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. http://www.fraenkelgallery.com/ My mom brought her camera, but forgot to take pictures. Michael Tilson Thomas, the conductor of the SF Symphony was there. I got to meet him. He was a very quiet person. It's amazing how such a quiet person can make all those instruments sound so big and beautiful together.

Making a Film

There are many artists out there that have different interpretations of filmmaking. They all have their own ways of how a scene should work in a film. Today, I filmed with Film Workshop and my film teacher. I knew what I wanted, but everyone expressed their opinions. I was the director and I listened to their input. Some ideas were good and some didn't help, but mostly their input was helpful to bring out my ideas.

Here are some pictures of me with my film teacher, Ronald Chase, with Max Sokoloff, and with me working with the actors, showing them what I wanted.

This is a picture of Director Clay David and me. I went to his production at Contra Costa College tonight. They have a terrific Drama Department. The show was a tribute to Michael Jackson. It was really beautiful and it would have made Michael so proud. I wish I'd been in it, but it's been a crazy busy Spring and school year...all those stupid standardized tests.

I went into San Francisco by myself on the BART today. It's the first time I ever did the whole round trip on my own. I felt terrific. And, by the way, I got carded yesterday on the Muni! That was another first. They Muni driver thought I was lying about being under 18. She thought I was older.

San Francisco Bay Day

Yesterday, I was coming down with a cold. I had to stop the cold because I have too much going on. So, I took like 6 hot baths and tried to sleep all afternoon in between. And I got up at 3:30 a.m. and took another bath which woke Mom and Dad up.

I didn't want to miss the field trip with my school today. We were going on a catamaran on the San Francisco Bay. My dad went with me and mom stayed home to write. She told us when she picked us up at the BART that she wrote a treatment for Oprah's new network. I'd really like to meet Oprah because she does a lot of good things for people. Maybe if Oprah knew about me, she could get more people to sign up for my blog. I want to do good things for people, too.

Temporary Fix

I had so much going on this week, didn't make it to Capoeira.

But, I did get to the gym. I like all the machines the best.

This morning, I woke up wondering if I was in the moment. So, I asked my mom, "Am I in the moment?" And she said that she thought I am in the moment. But, she also said, "Just to be sure, you could pick up your clothes. That would help you get into the moment."Now, I am getting ready for making a film. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon writing my shots down on index cards to organize them. Organizing is not my strongest ability. After a while, I felt shakey and needed to hang out with some friends. I went over the Nick's. Moses was there. We watched "The Shining" with Jack Nicholson. Watching Stanley Kubrick films calms me down because he was a master filmmaker. I've only seen it about 15 times. I like that it is a story that builds up to madness.