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.