You just never know.

Warning:


I do not claim to be coherent or organized. 


You have been warned. 


***


It just surprises me how many people I influence. How many lives I seem to touch.

And the fact that most of the time, I am completely oblivious.

It totally blows me away, really.

'Cause most of the time I'm like this:

(Okay not all of them at once... well, I don't know... anyway...)

With no thought at all to much else but whatever I'm flitting around in. 

And sometimes, I'm just like, 

And yet somehow, I'm not an utterly useless human being. 

Every once in awhile, I'll get an email from someone telling me how much they love my blog. Or someone will write on my wall on FB about how I'm one of their best friends and love hearing about all my songs and screenplays that I'm working on. Or I'll just get a sudden flood of totally sweet comments on a post I hadn't even thought twice about. Or I'll get some way out-of-blue message from a follower who, believe it or not, wants my advice for something. 

And I'm like, 

Not even kidding. 

Those kinda things make my day. 'Cause they're so unexpected. 

But the thing is, those little things remind me that we, as human beings, are always affecting each other, and even when we can't see, other people are moved by the things we do. 

I don't know if I explicitly said this when I posted that song "Knife" that I wrote, way back a couple months ago, but the beginning of this year was a little rough for me. I... naturally have mild suicidal tendencies. Mild, mind you. 

But it's still something that I've had to struggle through, and take to the Lord and let Him deal with. To stop wallowing in self-pity and just live, do the next right thing and stop angsting about stupid stuff. 

I'm pretty good right now, so don't get all concerned ;) ;) ;)

But anyway. 

That something in me that people seem to see and love, it isn't me at all. It's the Spirit of God inside me, and using me in spite of myself. 

And that's encouraging. 

When you're walking in the way of righteousness and you're in the will of God, even if you can't see, you never know what's the Lord's doing, or who He's blessing in all your little insignificant things. 

Who knows who's watching you? Who's affected and influenced by you?

We have quite a responsibility, us humans. 

But it's not on us. It's doesn't have to be on us. 

If you let Him, someone else is quite willing and far more capable of scripting your life than you are. 

You are all writers, on some level or another. You know how it feels to construct a character's life, the joy and thrill of shaping a lowly MC into something incredible. Creating something amazing. Spinning tales of adventure. 

We know all this, and we are but mere mortals. 

So how much greater will the adventure of our lives, if told from the pen of our Everlasting Savior, be, if we let him? 

Also, we all know the feeling of frustration when dealing with a character or situation that just won't cooperate with us.

But He's not frustrated.

He's just waiting for you to willingly surrender the pen to Him.

Trust me.

He'll do a great job.

This is to any of you who feel like nothing special ever happens; that nothing you do matters. That nobody sees; that no one appreciates anything you're doing. That no one cares.

It all matters. People do care. And you were created for a glorious purpose.

Surrender that pen... and just keep doing the next right thing.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

~Ephesians 2:10

gah

This is where I'm at today.

People, I am so brain dead.

This script is going to be such a "first draft" it's not even funny.

My current brain power is not going to help this script achieve it's full potential the first time around.

Anybody else have these kind of days? 

Trailers are powerful things.

So are spontaneous crushes.

Three guesses as to what convinced me to watch Rise of the Guardians in November:

I also hope it will be a good movie. I hope it has no crude humor. And I hope the plot is good.

I promise to give a fair review.

But regardless, I will be spending $10.50. at least once... for one reason.

The Idea Pool is OPEN!

I delayed this so long because I wanted to come up with some sort of fun logo-picture. But laziness has kept me from it o_O Google saved the day.

So, anyway, this is to say that from right here, right now, until August 1, you can submit your things for the idea pool!

If you want something featured in the post you have to submit it to me before the deadline.

Here are the guidelines:

There are two types of submissions: Freebies and Problems.

Freebies are ideas that YOU have that you want to just throw out there for other people to use. There will undoubtedly be many of those after the pool has begun-- but if you want to submit one that will show up in the initial post and not in the comments, go ahead and email me with the subject line "Idea Pool Submission: Freebie." These things include character/place names, a storyline, sentences and titles.

Problems are things that you are struggling with-- need a bio for a character? Need a name? Some help with your plot? These are the things that we can all help and brainstorm together with. To submit a problem that needs some help, email me with the subject line "Idea Pool Submission: Problem," with a summary of your problem and what you are looking for help with. If you need to explain the current plot, or describe a character, be as clear as you can while being as efficient as you can.

My email address is acertainjedi[at]gmail[dot]com.

A submission email should include:
-subject line
-the content you want published in the post
-a name, and a link if you want credit linked back to you

Ah, yes, that matter of credit:

Warning! If you submit ideas for other author's use:

Freebies, ideas, may be used or altered by whoever chooses to use them.

You may or may not ever get credit in people's finished products. If work is published on blogs, I would expect that authors would be courteous enough to link back to whoever inspired them.

But outside the world of blogger, there can really be no guarantee that you will ever get credit. If you have a problem with that, don't submit an idea.

You have been warned ;)

***

Now, since this is the first time, I don't know what will work and what won't. So this first go is a bit of a test, and your input is the most helpful thing to make this epic for everyone. So, if you have an idea to make the idea pool better, or if you want to see something added to it, whatever, be sure to let me know! Honestly I don't know what I'm doing :P

Well, I can't wait to see how this will go! See you all soon!

Teaser For The Chesney Script

(source)

What if the world you knew was destroyed? What if you were floating through space on an artificial Earth where the economy is restricting, life is harsh, callous even, and you have the sudden murder of your father to investigate?

Welcome to the world of "The Clerks of Chesney Street."

Here's an itsy bitsy peek!

I think I'm getting better at this pitch/hook/summary thingy! How did that thing at the beginning of the post sound? Intriguing? ^_^

Movie Review: Thor

And the reviews begin! Yay ;)


★★★★☆

Thor

The Rating and Cautions

Rating: PG-13 (for adventure action violence, and brief language)

Objections:

Violence- Large amount, minimal blood/gore though

Language- Also minimal, but there. 

Sexuality- Chris Hemsworth missing a shirt at one point. And an unnecessary kiss. 

The Credits

Directed by Kenneth Branagh; starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, and Anthony Hopkins. 

Screenplay by Ashley Miller, and  Zack Stentz among others. 

Based on the Marvel comics. 

The Summary

When the young god Thor rashly disobeys his father and brings about the threat of war, Odin Allfather strips him of his power and casts him out-- and straight down to Earth, where he learns about the true sacrifice of leadership . 

The Director's Take

This is coming long after the Thor hype, and Avengers hype too, for that matter. But for those that still haven't seen it....

It is very wonderful.

Never fear, I shall elaborate!

Thor's homeworld of Asgard is so well done and gorgeous. I announced while watching that I wanted to live there. I still do ;) Generally speaking, the sequences on earth are quite believable, and humorous as well. And as with every other Marvel film, this one is full of crossovers and cameos (we get to see Hawkeye as "Agent Barton" make a short appearance here), and there are so many things that set up for only the bestest film ever, Avengers.

Thor is epic on an otherworldly scale, with action and humor and yes, romance, scattered throughout. It leaves you with a heroic feeling inside. My only complaint was the length. Too short. I've seen some of the deleted scenes, and I wish they kept everything. Thor and Loki's relationship could have been set up more, as well as everything going on once Thor gets to earth.

The sense of adventure in this film is a little irresistible. Asgard and Jotunheim are incredibly real, and I loved the rather "old-fashioned," maybe even Shakespearean feel of the Norse world (yes, that was a slight allusion to Iron Man's line from Avengers).

Also, I really liked the way all the characters played off each other. It felt really natural to me, though a lot of depth you wouldn't notice as much in the viewing as in retrospect.

It was actually interesting for me: I saw Avengers before Thor, so I had met the more completely developed Thor and Loki before I saw their origin film. And actually, I like the order I saw them in, strangely enough. For me it added more depth, more than I would have perceived if I had seen them in the "correct" order.

But anyway, it is a fantastic film that I would willingly watch over and over again.

Cinematography: Fabulous. A little overly fond of Dutch angles but I'm not complaining.
Music: Patrick Doyle nailed it. Heroic and epic and absolutely beautiful. I'm aching to have it in my iPod. 
Editing: Two thumbs up. 
Effects: Perfect. Couldn't have been better I think. They completely blended in and were part of the film. 
Plot/Script: Like I said, great, great story. They could have taken even more time with it. 

As well, there are some pretty quotable one-liners. ANOTHER!

The Cameos (Biblical Application) (HERE THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!)

My mom was actually the one that pointed out the great Biblical parallels. Here they go, speed-style:

Putting aside the fact that it was because he was being disobedient, Thor was sent to Earth stripped of his godly figure (and power), and made to walk among men. It is after he sacrifices his own life that his powers are returned to him and he is resurrected. And at the end of film, where do we see him? Standing at the right hand of his father.

It totally sounds like Jesus. Waaay too cool.

Obviously, there are some serious flaws in the analogy when you view the whole story. But the film still echoed so much truth that was hard to ignore. It made me very happy that even a superhero film about Norse gods can reflect Jesus to such an extreme.  

10 Things I Learned from Thor:

1. Chris Hemsworth has a great smile. Don't get concerned, though, Loki is still my favorite :P
2. Norse gods can get hit by cars and be fine.
3. ...but after getting tasered, not so much. 
4. Loki is just like Scar. You know, Lion King. Thor is obviously Simba.
5. Coulson isn't quite the wonderful hero I thought he was merely from Avengers....
6. .. yup, he's still from S.H.I.E.L.D. -_-
7. It pays off to always sit through the credits of films. Always. Otherwise you would miss epic extra clips that set up for epic extra movies. 
8. Adopted kids are waaay the big thing in epic tales for some reason.
9. Never call your dad an old man and a fool. You might get exiled. 
10. It's not easy being blue..... :P

The Closing Line 

Thor is the perfect film to satisfy the craving for a epic, action & adventure superhero film. Supremely casted and acted, great graphics and a compelling story with a couple laughs along the way. Light enough to enjoy more than once but deep enough for it to be worth every view, this is definitely in my Top 10 favorite movies. 

It's not a bad thing finding out that you don't 
have all the answers. You start asking the right questions. 

What if...? (input needed!)

What if we turned the Script-A-Month title thing into an idea pool?

I mean, you all are writers working on stuff.

So, I still need help coming up with an idea each month. But what if people emailed me things they needed help with too, and instead of posting just the monthly title, I could post all the things that people have requested help with?

Consequently, the comments would be one huge mound of unorganized and uncategorized ideas, but it would still be a mound of creativity and awesomeness.

It could be one huge brainstorm party!

Except we would call it the Idea Pool. If that sounds cool. Enough o_O

So, whaddya say? Would you participate? Speak up now! :)