Poetic Colossus

Ceremony

Thirty-seven years old on this day - and I have a lot to be grateful for.

A selfless wife and family that has put up with my countless eccentricities and whims, both of our parents, healthy and able to play with their grandchildren, a challenging and rewarding job and the support of exceptional friends and family.

Element Zero is still making it happen on stage, and this week, my first production deal for my screenplay "BREAK", which also just happened to make it into the Quarterfinals of the Nicholls Fellowship - ran by the folks behind the Academy Awards and a impressive milestone for any self-respecting screenwriter.

I don't want to get ahead of myself and say that the movie is a done deal given the craziness of Hollywood, but I will say that it is a very *real* possibility at this point.

Life has its ups and down, and I realize that things won't always be so rosy, but on this day, I'm going to enjoy the ride.

Also, a new song up on your friendly neighborhood MP3 player - "Ceremony" by Joy Division/New Order. Suitably ambiguous lyrics, below...

This is why events unnerve me,
They find it all, a different story,
Notice whom for wheels are turning,
Turn again and turn towards this time,
All she ask's the strength to hold me,
Then again the same old story,
World will travel, oh so quickly,
Travel first and lean towards this time.

There Is A Light (Again)...

Yeah. I’ve used that title for two entries now. I’m sure you were paying close attention, right? Ahem.

Anyways, a general update on the creative side of things…

On the music front, I’m happy to say that Element Zero is back at it again, with the addition of our superstar keyboard player - Tim Knight. Tim was a co-worker at my school and he just happened to mention that he played keyboards - next week, he was in the band. Of course, it’s always fun when Tim runs me through some insane Jazz loop, or some crazy off-time signature, or even better, when he gets on the drums and just does it himself! Whatever, man. I still, uh, like keep good time and all that.

We’ll be playing at least through the summer, which I’m looking forward to - it’s a great group of guys, and we always have a good time playing out. Or playing in? Meh.

On the screenwriting front, I’m happy to report that I finished my fifth script, a true story based on a close friend of mine, George Fullerton. George had an incredible life story, and I wanted to share it with others - thus, “BREAK” was born.

In the process of doing research for the script, I was able to learn a lot about Tae Kwon Do and hopefully, was also able to bring George a sense of closure by putting his journey on paper. That in itself was reason enough to write the script in the first place.

And yeah, if it gets picked up for a bonanza-load of cash, hey, nobody’s complaining!

Mustang Football's Newest Fan

Even though I drive myself (and my family) insane with the day to day doldrums of screenwriting, playing drums and what have you, I still actually have a regular job. It’s true! And after many years of working with the wonderful people of Pomona Unified, I managed to land an Assistant Principal position at a new, state of the art high school in Corona - Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Rest assured that I’m working my tail off to keep my foot in the door.

Of course, working as an AP at the high school ensures long hours, especially in terms of athletic supervision, with the perennial weekend-killer being Football.

Football isn’t that bad though, especially if you have a good team or at the very least, good kids. But I won’t lie. Coming to a new school wasn’t exactly reason enough for me to hand over my loyalty to unknown players and unknown coaches. It’s simply part of the job, to stand on the same sideline.

But all that changed the night of the Norco game.

Head Coach Bill Stacy had engineered a meet-up between our football players and a school designed for students with special needs, including those coping with muscular dystrophy or other degenerative ailments. Coach Stacy then invited those same students to do the coin-toss at the beginning of the game, that coming weekend. On the night of the game, their parents brought them out to our sideline, and our football players wheeled or walked with them to the fifty-yard line.

There was nothing contrived or forced in the way they interacted with them. Despite an impending game with high stakes, they were patient, kind and gentle. It wasn’t a photo-op; it was a genuine display of what it meant to be human.

I’m not the most religious guy, but moments like that give me inspiration to think that our actions do perhaps have an ultimate accounting for - and the good people at the Bowers’ school, our football team, our coaching staff and Coach Stacy are undoubtedly in the “Win” column on that one.

The Snowman Cometh...and Goeth...

Following up on my screenwriting endeavors, Manhattan Undying actually managed to find it's way into a few studios. As with most "spec" screenplays, it didn't get bought right off the bat, but it did manage to put me on the map. A very LARGE map with my very tiny name mind you, but it was a decent step towards non-suckiness.

Flush with success (?), I was now ready to launch the nuclear missile of my combined screenwriting talent gained so far(?) - a story about the Abominable Snowman.

As a kid, I was always suckered in by the Matterhorn ride at Disneyland, my third favorite ride behind The Haunted Mansion and the Dinosaur section of the Grand Railroad. Everytime we'd pass by the Yeti, I'd hunker down in my sleigh/cart/seat and pray that it wouldn't pluck me out for a mid-afternoon snack.

So, I pitched the idea to my manager who loved it, and I got to work. In a fevered dream, I banged it out in a month. 7 days a week, 4 hours each weekday, then usually all day on the weekends (No, my wife was NOT pleased). I thought it was AWESOME. It left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Until, I let one person read it. Who kind of crapped on it. Desperate, I hit the panic button and shipped it straight to my manager, and yes, she thought the same thing - it sucked.

Which was also confirmed by three other cheery sources. Ah well. Beat the hell out of it, take the abuse, write some more, take some more abuse, repeat about three more times, THEN send it to your manager. Sigh.

The Snowman's been shelved but in a year or so, maybe I'll pull it out of the dustbin and see what I can do with it.

Doesn't Everyone in Hollywood Have One of These?

I’ve done the acting thing (even if the roles were mostly constipated henchman types). Worked in the videogame industry as a writer. Played in a band(s). Made this crappy website.

One of my last creative frontiers: screenwriting.

Long ago, I had this notion that maybe I could write screenplays. So I took a class with Mitch Albaugh at Cal State Fullerton, the same dude who wrote the movie “Trading Favors”.

Of course, I dropped out after three weeks when I found out I had to actually, god forbid, WRITE, in addition to the revelation that the meager writing I had so far, SUCKED.

Yep. Tough pill to swallow.

So, for the next seven years, I lied about my screenplay in progress, disguised as a one-page collection of itinerant ramblings.

Fast forward to four months ago. Element Zero went on hiatus and I got bored. It seemed a good time as any to take the plunge. Plus, my wife had been on my case about getting off the pot and writing about something that didn’t have the words “Dungeons” and “Dragons” associated with it. Alas.

This last weekend, I just finished my second feature-length script, “Manhattan Undying”. The first, “Gravewalker” was a total turd, but a good learning experience.

“Manhattan Undying” has a very good shot at making some noise, based on the feedback it’s received so far (no, not just from my mom, you jackasses).

When I get time, I’ll add the first five pages of each on the website. The author takes no responsibility for any brain damage incurred while reading said pages.

Thanks to Lapper of “One Lap Design” for the cool promo graphics!

Way to Go, Mom!

Agh.

It’s almost impossible to put into words how much of an inspiration my mother is.

Instead, I’ll just use one of my current exercises in screenwriting – creating a “logline”. It’s a summary of the screenplay in one sentence – it’s what “hooks” you into buying the movie.

“A single mother of two, with no college education or formal training, enters the school of hard knocks to become a successful businesswoman and receive a prestigious award in the same place where she got married.”

My writing skills, pretty crappy. But the story itself?

Awesome.

Enjoy the Silence...

"When routine bites hard…"

Lest I risk the chance of sounding like a presumptuous cod (which will happen anyways, regardless), it *was* originally Joy Division (and incidentally, their later reincarnation, New Order) that inspired me to make some sense out of sticks and large round objects, thus the homage I must pay in return.

But I never envisioned performing on the level that I did with Element Zero.

While I was the last band member to join, I was the first official fan. These guys had an incredible sound that translated so well to live performances. Having been in a few bands beforehand, it was an amazing thing to think that they had never played live, yet were able to pull something off like they did at the House of Blues (with panache' might I add), in such a short amount of time.

While I'm sad that the band's current incarnation is ending, I'm grateful for the two years (a lifetime in music) that we spent playing together, both in the "Dungeon of Groove" and on stage. Besides Patrick, Jeff and Dave, I also owe an enormous amount of gratitude to a select group of people for supporting my affections the last two years…

- Mr. Phil Roach, my mentor in drums – an awesome source of inspiration and was always ready to answer any inane question that I might've had concerning drums or life in general.

- My mom and my sister – sorry we never played "Brown Sugar" or "You're My Puppet", but you've always supported my affinity for music and I'll always be grateful.

- My sister-in-law Patricia and the LE Crew – they showed up to nearly all of our gigs and in true rock and roll fashion, almost always got kicked out for being such awesome and rowdy fans.

- My faux agent/manager/drum-tech, Jason and wingman-extraordinaire Patrick for suffering through "Under the Milky Way" repeated times.

- Charles Newton, our sound dude, for blowing my ears out every time we played "The Forest".

- My wife for being merciful and letting me sleep in, while "Todzilla" destroyed our kitchen – that is *true* love.

- The rest of my friends and family for not laughing out loud when a deaf guy told you he was going to be in a band all those years ago.

- Myself, for Jedi mind-tricking the band to hire me two years ago – beware the drummer who provides gratuitous alcohol at an audition!

Did I mention above how I'd end up being a presumptuous cod no matter what happened?

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out...

September 13, 2008 at 8:06 am, we welcomed the newest addition to our family – Matthew Eli.

Matthew weighed in at 8.6 lbs and stood tall at 19 inches – he’s already eating like a champion and letting us all know that his digestive functions are at peak levels.

Evie was glad to meet her little brother – she only got to see him for a bit on the day he was born, but she did give him a kiss and a hug.

Liz is recovering well and ready to handle mommy duties for two – I’m already plotting how I can justify a killer entertainment system to her for Matthew, Evie and myself to frag noobs on Xbox Live.

Good times ahead!

The Heroes' Stone Launches...And I Get My LIfe Back!

Victorious!

Almost a year spent on this thing, but it's done - my final tribute to the great institution of Neverwinter Nights.

For those wondering what this nerdiness is all about, I assembled all of my past work from the Game/Toolset, "Neverwinter Nights", into a Persistent World. It's a bit like a World of Warcraft where anyone can log and play 24/7, but free, and set in the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons and Dragons.

In other news, my wife almost throws me out the door after obssessing with minutiae detail like whether Rondor's +3 sword can actually bypass a damage reduction of...well, you get the point.

But now, I'm back in the mix after unloading this thing on the general populace.

Click on the picture above to see my uber-geekly promo video!

Leaving the Ranch

After ten years working at DRHS, seven as a teacher/wrestling coach and the last three as an assistant principal, I’m moving on.

With the second baby in the works, I needed a bit more time for family and all of my other eccentric craziness – working as an assistant principal at the middle school level seemed to be the perfect fit for now.

While middle school kids will be a bit more rambunctious, I already have plans for getting a wrestling mat in the gym and choking a bit of sense into them.

Er, well, not choking per se, but you get the general idea.

I remember interviewing for the teaching and coaching position ten years ago – I was 24 years old and dumber than I am now, if you can believe that. Back then, it was just a series of portables – the actual school had yet to begin construction. I nervously fumbled my way through the process – despite *zero* teaching experience however, my wrestling credentials were enough to land me the job, and it was out of Grandma’s house and off to the races.

I owe this school a lot and mere words will never be able to describe how many doors it opened for me. Everyone I met along the way who helped me and more importantly, helped the kids to achieve their dreams, will always have my gratitude.

Pride of the Panther – I’ll always have it.