I'M ONLY AS GOOD AS THE COMPANY I KEEP

My past week has taken in dark days of winter, bullshit office bullshit, approaching birthday woo-hoos, re-writes, mild food poisoning, looking at film posters and going "I (Sort of) know that guy!", random cat attacks from my devil kitty, People going: "No, leave that in! Personal jabs are justified", a cut-down in coffee, the return to the U.K of one of my co-producers (AKA Mom) and some other somethings.

Things that are helping me keep on keeping on:

411mania.com, The delightful music of Courtney Tidwell and One Young Lover (AKA Blog buddy Sally Smart), Final Draft, H & M hats, tea, the local odeon, female compliments, office mascot wrestling, mails from Stephanie, Threadless, blogs, B.S

Lists...the new 'explaining everything' in a short amount of space and time.

Kicking television,

Chris

Friday: Half day at work (yay!), Rowfers (brought a belt and a couple of trinkets), Smackdown/Raw 2007, B.S Act 1 and 2 ideas, Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny on Friday, hot chocolate.

Saturday: Work (Fucking BOOOOOO!) Blast Off in the evening with Team Splendid, apparent girl magnet, etc.

Sunday: Family time, Old Beatles promos with Dad, Borat with H, plans to devise an 'idiot-free cinema' for people who dig on films and not on mobile phones.

Today: Headache, Monday feeling, new desk at work (I really don't care anymore..just fire me already!), house hunting (Or thinking about house hunting. I need to get the holiday season over with first..but I do need to get out of Westfield ASAP..the Kingdom is dead. Long live the bad ass old days!), talking to myself, mostly.

My head has been a royal blur of late.

The lines between fact, fiction and something I like to call 'faction', seem to be pretty hard to define. I'm having trouble opening up to people, letting them in which is strange considering a lot of them are tried and tested dear friends.

Maybe it's the fact that I've locked myself away until the weekend, peeking my head out much, much less than usual or maybe it's the weather, winter makes me want to build a little nest and stay in the warm. I know I should be focused on the writing but my mind keeps straying away to other things; old, new and unknown.

Sometimes I'm hit by the stone cold fact that I mostly write about things that, although simple and real enough, are completely out of my reach.

For example, I love writing (And hearing) about two people meeting and bonding for the first time and that incredible magic that hangs in air and tracks like, I don't know, 'Once Around the Block' can be heard in the background. I yearn for the days when I didn't know what to expect from potentials, when it was all 'eek!' and butterflies..Now I know what it's like and my romantic ideals have been stripped away the fun is ruined. There are no real surprises anymore.
The 'love always' in those cards don't deliver on the promise.

I suppose it's the adult version of being told that Santa doesn't exist... I want to believe but it's a) rubbish and b) It scares me.

I don't know where I'm going with this because I'm talking (or trying to) about something I know nothing about. I just hoped that I'd have had it all figured out by now and that I wouldn't be so cowardly about matters of the heart and a hell of a lot more sure of what I want.
I suppose there's always fiction. That is something. I've been living in a La-La Land of my own creation for sometime now and it would be both foolish and unwise to snap back to reality now.
I don't know what set me off. It might be the person I've been missing, or at least the idea of that person (Reality knocks off my rose-tinted glasses)

*Meh* Whatever. It's just a phase because I'm bored and the jigsaw pieces in my head aren't coming together like I want them to.


Anyway, What do you want for Christmas?

15% off,

Chris

The mighty, mighty Blairo has the story of our freakend Friday adventures so head HERE if ye be interested in our tales of WHOA!

There are pictures and stuff but Blogger won't let me post them up. Flickr will though so NANANANANANANANANANA to Blogger and it's crooked, picture-denying ways.

I am almost 27 years old.

Another MOFO meme

1. Have you had sex in the last week?
No!!

2. Have you kissed someone in the last 2 weeks?
Yes.

3. Who's the last person you hugged?
I think it was my co-worker Lizzy Liz. I've been blue lately.

5. What is the last thing that you drank?
Some red wine I brought on the cheap. I don't drink so much these days but a glass of Jesus Juice warms me up and levels me out. It also helps me to write and stay focused.

6. Who is the last person you think about at night?
Dracula. Batman. People I lost on the way. Grandpa.

7. Elvis or James Dean?
James Dean couldn't act. Elvis couldn't sing. Can I go with someone else? Bill Hicks.

8. Who is one person you can't stand from high school?
Everyone apart from H, Truman and a few others.

9. What grade did you make in Algebra?
I fell asleep.

10. If you could have sex with one person right now, who would it be and why?
Lois Griffin. I don't know. I'm too busy dancing to Interpol. They can join me doing that.

12. Do you like someone right now?
A few as it goes. I never do anything about it. rejection doesn't bother me, disappointment does.

13. What are you doing right now apart from filling out this quiz?
Drinking that wine, keeping an eye out for another attack from my cat and waiting for people to come over.

14. Do you think lesbians are hot?
And slightly tacky. They're like McDonalds. I enjoy it but I feel terribly guilty and unforfilled.

16. Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I don't have what it takes for that stuff.

17. Favorite non alcoholic drink?
Tea!!!

18. If you could have one wish, what would it be ?
To write for a living. Not for fame or fortune but to make people forget their woes for however long they'll let me. I'd also like one of the following women to fall in love with me:

1. Chan Marshall
2. Patience Hodgson
3. Regina Spektor
4. Betty Boop
5. Simplicity Levy.

20. do you know what tofu is?
Is it a kind of gun-toting shark that shoots boats?

21. Have you ever eaten it?
No, but BY THE STARS I HAVE FOUGHT IT!!!!!!

22. Do you know what a colonoscopy is?
This reminded me of a story that involved a bar, a drunk gay friend and Double Dragon 2. It's mostly unrelated.

23. Have you ever had one?
Owls scare me. I don't conform to your line of questioning, 23.

24. Do you know who plays at least a small part in every Adam Sandler movie?
I know someone who edited two of his movies. I'm working with him.

25. Do you want to go back to high school?
And kick the bullies and some of the teachers.

26. Who is your worst enemy?
This is almost too easy...

27. If you could go back to one time in your life and change something what would it be?
I wouldn't go to The Beach on that hazy night June 2000.

28. This is for guys and girls - Do you or have you ever read Cosmo?
Yeah, for the hair and sex tips. It was more for the former.

29. Have you ever watched the Britney Spears movie crossroads?
Why would I? COME ON!!!

30. Do you listen to Lindsay Lohan?
She doesn't talk to me much.

31. Your favorite color?
Yellow.

32. Paul Walker or Ryan Phillippe?
Paul Walker sucks and Ryan Phillippe sucks too. Woody Allen.

33. Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera?
Christina because she can OH A-AWO-AWOWOWOWOWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! She loves doing that.

34. Smurfs or Carebears?
Funshine Bear.

35. Favorite ex? Why?
X-Com on Ps1.

36. Do you want platinum or gold for your wedding band?
Whatever.

38. Do you shave your back??
My back isn't hairy. I only started getting a hairy chest last year and that's not that hairy.

39. Have you ever watched porn and thought it was funny?
When i was sick I once watched a porno for the plot because it was the only thing in the player. People critise me for having no concept of plot or structure. I wanted to know who killed that poor actress! How many cases are solved with an orgy involving the chief of police?

40. have you ever flashed someone?
Only my bum. I was once 'mooning' my friend when a policeman tapped me on the shoulder and said: "Could you put that away please, son".

41. Do you love anyone? Who?
My laptop.

42. How many children do you want to have?
None. I'm happy being an Uncle.

45. What religion are you?
I'm into Hickism.

46. How many times a day do you watch the same movie?
I watched Bill Hick's 'Sane Man' three times in one night and 'Death Rides the Nine' about three times. I had to watch the latter that many times because of the screening. Oh, the screening...*sigh* I was so happy there; free hugs drinks and kudos.

47. Do you think that the tobacco companies should pay for people's medical bills?
*Meh*

48. What scares you?
Letting myself and guard down again.

49. What makes you happy?
Team Splendid (Blair AKA Dutty Styles, Treacherous Skillz, Coolington), The Fabulous Philly Spicer, Portman, Lizzy Liz, Dominic 'The White Kanye West' Tibbetts, Gaz 'G-Money Viking' Moran') , The Conversational Balloonists, Writing, The Sirs of Sirs (Nick, Matt, Steve, David J, Truman), The Three Amigirls (Linz, Charlie V 2.0, Amy) D.J McNeil, Lester P. Mason (When he's not trying to kill me), Woody Allen, banter-filled movies, Rocky fucking Horror, Ryan David Adams, Sigur Ros, Jinx, back tickles (Been a long time), Dad when he's singing, My Sister and Brother in law, Ellie, Little Jake (I want to buy them toys, toys, toys and be the best Uncle I can be), Calling Nan and Grandpa B, Tea, Aaron the Fragrant Heffman and Orange Wednesdays, Smackdown, Biographies, Brighton, Dirty dance floors and people that go hi, Everyone who comments here (You're all friends and you keep me amused, intrigued and going. I owe you more than you'll know. I want to meet you all), Pro Plus, Threadless, PUNK ROCK, Rowfers (Kick ass trinkets)

50. If you could have one person in your bed tonight, who would it be?
You.

Edit

The song below just about sums me up the moment...tired and tender...a little nervous, confused, excited and a bunch of feelings new to me...My lights are on but nobody is at home at the moment..

Kyle/Ryan,

Chris



'Little Else' by Howtocuredyslexia

L.A La!

Hey folks,

How are you? Did you have a good freakend?

Boo to Mondays, huh?

Freakend was pretty swish; a mixture of laziness and craziness (Well, the ratio shifted more to the latter)

I had the phone call, Hollywood called Q.B for the first time in history. I'm still digesting the overall strangeness of the situation. I made a ton of notes which I've been working through and things are looking good for the second draft.

The film is going to change a little; more visual and, refreshingly, more crazy. The set pieces that were suggested will enhance proceedings and make a very, very talky film more flashy and 'showy'.

Mr Lewis has a good, surreal sense of humour and he didn't once suggest tacking on a love story or watering down the jokes to make them more digestible.
I'm going to go back and rebuild it from the ground up; adding new parts, characters and change scenes around to suit the new location...L.A. I'm planning to do an act a day whilst getting used to Final Draft.

Mr Lewis was very complimentary and it's looking to be a very collaborative process. He said: "It's up to you" a number of times and he seems to dig my work ethic.
He kept saying how excited he was about making the film and how much promise it has.

That's got to be a good thing, right?

We also had a chat about London, Steve Coogan and 'Round the World In Eighty Days', 'The Office' and Hollywood eccentrics that operate questionable organizations that celebrities go crazy for.

And I thought Scientology was weird...

I'm been getting a real education of late. I'm learning..

Whatever happens in the future, it's been pretty rad so far. It'll please my parents anyway :)

From L.A to Q.B

This Sunday I will finally speak to the man interested in 'Bent Soul'.

The glitz-ridden, hey-hey land of Hollywood calls a small place in the West Midlands, U.K that nobody has ever heard of (Not even the people that live here)

I doubt it happens very often to people around here unless the old lady over the road wrote Basic Instinct 2 or one of the ragged chaps I see staggering around the park used to roadie for Sabbath (The Dio days, not the Ozzy days. Old Ronnie James never gets the props he deserves...)

Nervous?

Of course and for two reasons. One is the overall surrealness of the situation and the other is that I hate using the phone. Seriously, I'm lousy. Give me face-to-face or written communication anyday.

It's probably just me.

In other news, I have a rad new pirate t-shirt which amuses me (and most likely only me) and H gave me a pretty guitar for no apparent reason.

I'll be playing both that and the new Smackdown while I wait for the call. I'm 50/50 about going out on the town on Saturday. I could do but I'm not sure.

What do you think? About anything; me, the whole shebang, Britney and K-Fed, Pirates, The various Sabbath line-ups over the years, Smackdown 2007, what I should wear should I go out, what YOU'RE doing/wearing this weekend...

Dear Couples..

You can bleat on about great it is to be 'with' someone and hearts and hearts and hearts but I don't want to subscribe to your magazine..

Finding someone is way down on my list of 'To Do's'

- Work on Bent Soul

- Help with DRTN

- Work on whatever

-Read Blogs

-Feed cat

-Play with band

-Sleep

-Play Smackdown 2007

-Drink tea

-Listen to music and dance around

-Find the Holy Grail

-Buy various hats


I could go on and on and on.

I'm sure you get me. Just because it's winter it doesn't mean I want to cosy up with someone..










...I totally do

"Very Missionary"

In the spirit of spreading the Neko love, here is a picture of yours truly with a t-shirt brought from the recent Glee Club show in Birmingham. It's the same t-shirt that the more photogenic Stephanie and Corinna have captured themselves wearing on their recent Neko Case posts. It was a challenge I duly rose to. Please forgive the 'gone away' look. I don't like looking directly into cameras.
Neko was, of course, frickin' awesome and I, front row and very close, caught hold of a smile I decided to keep for myself. She covered 'Buckets of Rain' by Bob Dylan. It was, it has to be said, far sexier than old Bob's version. Oh, and if you're buying any merch from her friend, the girl will do anything for Lion bars. I didn't get a chance to ask what exactly but there is always next time. The shirt was enough for now, it always is.

WHATEVER AND A DAY

Hello, each, all and everyone else. To any pirates I say 'ARRRGG!' and to any Ninjas I say nothing (I let my chops do the, uh, chopping)

*Shrugs*

Anyway, I hope you are all well and ready for the FREAKEND. It's the best time of the entire week because you can let it all hang out, mentally and physically. (Be careful with the last one)
Me? I'm going to a house party/bonfire tomorrow and Neko Case on Sunday with my friend Linz.

Today (and for the quieter moments of the weekend), I've got to crack on with re-jigging 'Bent Soul'. I've had some feedback and it's clear that, as it stands, B.S needs to be fleshed out and have a plot strapped to it (Kind of a running theme with my stuff) Mr Lewis is keen to work with me on expanding things and making it rich in visual sylisimo (Remember that show on MTV? Terrible) as it is in blah blah blah.

It all seems to be pretty positive and it could lead to something pretty terrific. We're both on the same page so our jobs SHOULD be fairly easy; we just need to dig around, trim the fat and beef things up. He is actually going to call me this weekend to chat about it.
I wasn't going to bleat on about this but if I didn't there would be a gaping hole in entries. Succeed or fail, it needs to be chronicled and I don't want to bore you with the ins and outs of my office job.

Also, I was contacted by Christopher T Bate. A man on a Dave Gorman-like quest to contact his namesakes. It was pretty surreal chatting to him but I loved the randomness of it all and he seems like a nice guy. It's been a pretty random week overall.

Look what cool bloggers Stephanie and Chloe got up to! I am in pure awe, ladies! Dining with HEROES!!!

This is for they:



Have a good one, each and all

Rollercoasters,

Chris

TRANSEXUAL TUESDAY NIGHTS

Last night was fun on the bun. Rocky Horror was an awesome show and a great party.
I wish I'd taken the time to dress up as something, anything because I looked woefully undressed.
H dressed up as Frank N Furter much to my surprise and discovered how hard it is to walk through the city in heels.
Still, he had a fun birthday present and it was money well spent.
If you're a fan of R.H and you live in the U.K, I would recommend catching the show if you can.

Earlier in the day, before all the cross-dressing shenanigans, a guy came up to me and said, for reasons unknown to me, the following sentence:

"Are you still laughing about that cat?"

Answers on a postcard (and by postcard I mean comments box) because I'm all out of clues as to why a complete stranger would come up and say that to me. I did my best smiling and nodding but it couldn't completely hide my bewilderment.

I turned in another draft of Bent Soul along with some alternative scene/location ideas. They seem to want to keep even the most bizarre scenes and we're currently trying to work out how we can film scenes featuring a large galleon on a modest budget. I have ideas and they seem to be going down well.

If this ends up being some kind of cult group then I'm going to cry.