The Great North American Jax

Day 8 Dec 2 Sunday Duncasnville PA to Clinton New Jersey

2007-12-02T21:39:00.001-08:00

Day 8 Dec 2 Sunday Duncasnville PA to Clinton New Jersey
This was really kind of a day off
We slept in a little in the morning
Drove from Duncansville to Clinton New Jersey
Not far from where our interview is in the morning
We had a great big lunch at Red Robin yum
I got to try Yuengling it was tasty and I can see why people like it so much
Unfortunatly it is not allowed in the state of MI
We got to the hotel really early
I have been sitting the hotel lobby blogging all night long and texting with SenorDead all night long.
I miss my cat...
I am finally going to go now that I am all caught up on the blogging
Day 8 Map

Day 6 Nov 30 Fri Stony Brook NY to Pennington New Jersey to Breezewood PA

2007-12-02T20:17:00.001-08:00

Day 6 Nov 30 Fri Stony Brook NY to Pennington New Jersey to Breezewood PA
Whew! We are really pushing the envelope in terms of how far we can travel in one day without going crazy.
Woke up this morning and we headed to Stony Brook SchoolI didn't hang around for the interview or the tour at this school although I wish I had. Now that I am looking at the website I am realizing that this is a Christian private boarding school. I am always interested in the religious brainwashing of children. The campus of this school was not quite so remote but it was still beautiful non the less. It seemed a bit more stuffy than other schools.
To my suprise Stony Brook was the only school that I would give the "stuffy" label to with Fay School coming in second. By the end of the day today we had been to 4 schools and 2 would get the "stuffy" label from me and 2 would get the progressive "hippie" label from me. That is me speaking in gross generalizations though. All are great schools.
I instead went wandering about to the town near by that once again was historic and quaint and had a beautiful harbor. I checked things out and we shot some video and then we went to this very cute villiage inn for brunch.
Then off to New Jersey to Penninton SchoolI did not hang out for this inteview and tour either. This school seems pretty liberal from what deb communicated to me. Actually I think that I like this school a little more now that I have read this . You know I really love the fact that this school encourages everyone to come together and worship no matter what religon. Now that is amazing. Definitly a more progressive school with the thinking that they are creating and educating community leaders not more future rich people.
I once again wandered in to town and shot video of the area and the school. This school was also not as remote at all. But very much a part of a quaint town with lots of suburbia creeping up around it.
Then we had a pretty long drive to Breezewood PAAND this town was literally one big truck stop. Like gross. check this out...I was like the Sodom and Gamorah of rural PA.We had to eat at Bob Evans...not the biggest fan but it was better than our other options. I have to say Deb and I have done pretty good. While we haven't necessarily eaten all of the greatest things we have NOT eaten at a single fast food place yet.
Now this day was way longer than yesterday.
We totally crashed.
Day 6 Map

Day 5 Nov 29 Thurs Boston, MA to Southborough, MA to Connecticut to Long Island all in one day

2007-12-02T19:05:00.001-08:00

Day 5 Nov 29 Thurs Boston, MA to Southborough, MA to Connecticut to Long Island all in one day!
Oh my God!! This day was crazy!! We did so much driving!!
This is the day we start taking Hwajin to boarding schools to look at. And we are going to about 2 a day. The poor girl has jet lag so bad she could hardly stay awake to talk to anyone.
My job at this point is to now chaufer and to shoot video of the schools campus and such so that Hwajin can actually remember what she saw later. I didn't mention I don't think that she is only 13. Plus she is as I did mention very jet lagged plus we are taking her to a ton of schools so we want to make sure she can remember it all later. Cause I am not sure that she will.
So we left Boston MA and headed to Southborough, MA to the first school.
Fay School . Well here is where I get introduced to the wonderful world of junior boarding schools and the affluent and elite of america. Our future leaders whose parents can afford to buy their kids an education that everyone deserves but only if you can afford it.
You know I am not knocking it actually. There is a very small part of me that might be a little resentful. BUT here is the big thing...these are really really really great schools with awesome programs!! Truly more than anything else I am sad. Cause I think every child in america deserves the kind of education that these schools give. I would totally send my kids to any of these schools I will be introducing you too. In fact if I have kids I am going to make it a point to try to be rich just so I could send them to one of these schools. I resent the fact that these opportunites are not given to all children that is what I resent. I don't resent the people who send their kids to these schools.
I shot some pics of the campus and went into the town to check out the community and per usual now everything was cute, quaint and locally owned. This was a particularly small town hidden away from things. In fact most of the schools are. If you were driving around you would never know you were driving in around or past anyone of these boarding schools. Especially since so many of them are so remote.
Then we were off to Washington Depot CT and Rumsey HallI suggest if you are really interested in learning about the intesity of these schools go and check out the admissions and academics section of the website I included. Wow. This campus was beautiful but very very very very remote. I have never seen houses and living like this ever in my life. I really don't know what to say about it. I wander in between "hese people are so lucky and they must be so smart to have gotten themselves to this place" to "you live in a world where you have no clue" It was truly truly beautiful school though and very progressive in its thinking. there seemed to be a big push for the students to find their own true full self erxpression whatever it may be. from art to music to math to science.
You know I really had the impression that these schools would really push and train these kids to a life of politics and buisness but really its not at all that and I guess I am glad for that. They are definitly being trained and educated to live in high society though. I can't even imagine the opportunites these kids are going to have that other (and the majority) of kids Don't have. Once again I found my self sad.
The assistant headmaster of this school was a bit of a tool. I don't even want to get into it. I do a great impression of him so if you want to hear it sometime just ask. Despite him though Rumsey Hall was a great school and is on my favorites list already of the schools.
And I don't think there are many pictures of the campus on the website. Really it wouldn't suprise me if there were Secret Service agents in the woods watching us. So they probably want to keep the place secret and remote for a reason...you would understand if you saw some of the houses around there too...it makes me wonder whose house we might have driven by.
THEN WE ARE OFF TO LONG ISLAND!!!
hahahaha this really was a crazy drive. I was driving and Deb was navigating and mapquest missed giving us a whole chunk of highway we needed to take and it was dark and raining and we landed ourselves right in the middle of New York City traffic. However stressful it might have been I really thought it was fun and funny. Deb and I managed to troubleshoot our way out and around and headed in the right direction while Hwajin sat in the back seat and laughed at me and Deb try to get our selves out the the pickle we were in.
We ended up catching a great very of the New York City skyline which I love to see. Over the Throgs Neck Bridge and into Long Island.We finally landed at our hotel at 9pm I think. whew!!!
Loading and unloading really sucked tonight cause we were on the fourth floor through a complicated lobby and it was a drag to have to wheel everything around
Once again a day of great scenery and lots of food for thought about society and how it all works.
Public radio was listened to on and off in all states we crossed into.
Hwajin is holding up ok but it was evidant in her interviews today that she is a bit tired and she is sleeping constantly when we drive. poor kid.
Day 5 Map

Day 4 Wed Nov 28 Portsmouth, New Hamshire and to Durham and back and finally to Boston, MA

2007-12-02T18:00:00.000-08:00

Day 4 Wed Nov 28 Portsmouth, New Hamshire and to Durham and back and finally to Boston, MA
Wow what a day this was.
So we having been waking up pretty early by the way. Alarm usually goes off at about 6 am. Which I guess isn't bad...i have had to get up earlier on productions before.
This morning was a beautiful morning and the sun was out in full thankully. It was pretty cold but that was ok.
We stayed in Portsmouth for the night but we didn't need to be anywhere until later in the day. Deb and I both needed a post office so we inquired for one and were told to head into downtown Portsmouth.
HOLY SHIT!!! What a step back in time. What a beautiful old city. The cutest most wonderful little old town ever. Deb and I were so struck by the whole thing. Check out all the pictures and bio at the link i provided. I will totally come back to visit this place again someday. What a great vacation to take and you are right next to Maine too. all the town x-mas decorations were out and it was just so awesome.
Well we also had a tentative schedule with a former Governor today. So former governor Jean Shaheen we were trying to get an interview with at her house in Durham. but her scheduler Dan eventually just told us no cause she is running for senate and just doesn't have the time for us. which was fine with me and Deb. We just decided we would go to the campaign headquarters and shoot some b-roll and see if we could at least catch a couple questions with her. We were totally ready to do this gorilla style. Dan her scheduler said it was ok that we come to headquarters as well so we weren't completely unexpected.
Well Deb and I left Portsmouth and headed to Durham to the address we were given. So we drive 30 min back into Durham and we are looking for this address and we aren't finding it. So Deb calls dear old Dan the scheduler and says "Dan we can not find this address in Durham that you say is the headquarters." and Dan says "oh thats cause the campaign headquarters are in Manchester." (which by the way is another hour in the opposite direction that we need to go) So when Deb and Dan were talking before we left Dan never mentioned oh by the way since you are not interviewing the governor at her home in Durham you can come the headquarters but they are Manchester.
(the link above is to her own website so I do realize it is not necessarily and objective opinion of who this woman is and her history as a politician but it was all I could really find about her)
so what for my moment of gorilla filmmaking. I was ready to shine baby!!!
Next Deb and I need to head to Boston. This is the day we needed to pick up Hwajin ( H wa gin) the korean girl and start taking her to boarding schools to look at the next day.
So Deb and I worked our way to Boston and drove around for awhile. You know Boston is really gritty. It looks a lot like Chicago but with out the charm and culture. and of course very Irish. We picked up Hwajin without issue and went to hour hotel.
We had a lot of time to relax this evening and I might have taken the opportunity to go downtown and see the city a bit but to be quite honest I am completely broke until I get paid for this so I really couldn't afford it.
There are really only two things I would have wanted to do. Go to Cheers and they have a movies shot in Boston tour that you can take and I would have totally done that. But oh well maybe another time. Boston did not strike me as must to revisit. I really didn't get out much to see it though so maybe I didnt' give it much of a chance.
Our hotel was a Hampton Inn. So far this has been my favorite hotel on the trip and we will be staying here serveral more times in the future. They have cookies ready for you at the counter when you come in. That alone is awesome.
Loading and unloading is becoming annoying but I am trying to have a good attitude about it. I will admit I over packed a little. Rather have to much than to little. Deb packed a little differently and has like 10 different small bags...which is cheating. She tried to make it look like she didn't pack much but I am not fooled
Debs eye is starting to look pretty messed up too from hitting it on the bookcase. It has bleed into the tissue around her eye so it really literally looks like someone punched her really hard. I am sure this will impress the affluent boarding school headmasters and governors we are going to meet. hehe We are laughing about it but Deb is doing her best to at least have her hair cover her forhead but her eye can not be covered.
hmm what else happend today...
we listened to New Hampshire Public Radio and Mass Public Radio
I have discovered that I like to drive a lot...I will drive anywhere...maybe I will just become a driver for a living.
Day 4 Map

Day 3 Nov 27 Tuesday Burlington, Vermont to Portsmouth, New Hampshire (and Maine)

2007-12-01T21:26:00.001-08:00

Day 3 Nov 27 Tuesday Burlington, Vermont to Portsmouth, New Hampshire (and Maine)
This morning was our first interview with our first govenorGovenor Madaline Kunin of Vermont
I was nervous...I hadn't set up or done and interview like this in awhile and of course I just had the first day jitters of any production I guess. It was great to drive into Burlington during the day and see it and of course it was all very old and historic and "cute". The university was every old and I could have walked around all day and shot stuff but we were on a time crunch.
We went to the interview at 10am and I started to set up. Deb was trying to help me and she ended up hitting her head on a bookcase and gave herself a huge knot on her forhead. Luckily her hair covered it.
Once things were set up I was feeling better. It was a small office with all white walls which really pissed me off cause the light bounced everywhere so I went really simple with the lighting. Thats neither here nor there to most of you.
Theinterview though is what was most unbelievable. I am just amazed at what she had to say and it is all ringing and running around in my head right now. Once the interveiw gets transcribed I will revisit somethings with you all and share. I love being a woman...we have such amazing stories to tell that men will never have.
Deb and I ate lunch in downtown Burlington at a bistro that cost more than we expected. we paid 6.50 for a liter of water. The govenor recommended the place...the food was great. There was a downtown outdoor mall too. Its something that Grand Rapids has been trying to do with the Monroe Mall for so many years and has failed. There is a formula for it but Grand Rapids just isn't getting it...they need to talk to Burlington Vermont and get the recipe for downtown success thats for sure. It doesn't include a movie theater and another indoor shopping mall!!!
We start to drive through Vermont and we make the stop that I have been longing to make for ever so long
BEN AND JERRY'S!!!!!!!!!I can now die happy...I had the best ice cream there and you can only get it at the factory. It was called Chocolate Therapy...it was like mud only made out of chocolate. Awesome. Brings new meaning to the words sexual chocolate for me.
This is by far my favorite drive so far...Vermont is gorgous and it is now my new favorite state. I would totally come back here and live. I love it. I can't believe how quaint all the towns are in all the wonderful mountains and valleys. WOW there are not words. Deb and I just couldn't believe it all. I was glad it was a nice day and the sun started to shine and the gloom was gone.
I was dark by the time we got into New Hampshire. We couldn't see much.We stayed in Portsmouth for the night. But we drove into Kittery Maine to a Warrens Lobster House for dinner. I did not get lobster however I got salmon but it was all worth it. Just the the experience of it all. So now we can add Maine to the list of places we traveled.
Listened to Vermont Public Radio and New Hampshire Public Radio
New goal is to listen to the state public radio station of every state we enter...
Day 3 Map

Day 2 Monday Nov 26 Toronto Canada to Burlington Vermont

2007-12-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Day 2 Monday Nov 26 Toronto, Canada to Burlington, Vermont

Well Day 2
Here is what I have discovered

Canadians love Home Depot...in fact the Home Depots there look to be twice the size of out Home Depots. Its rather scary.

Tim Hortons...wow...need I say more...I thought Starbuck was bad...there is a Tim Hortons in every Home Depot for crying out loud...they squeeze a Tim Hortons where ever they can.
Canadian love Home Depot and Tim Hortons

The GreenbeltThe Greenbelt in Canada protect from urban spral and has left the coutry side of Canada just beautiful....We were traveling on a very gloomy day once again but wow...I really appreciate what they are doing here. I never realized there was so much farm land in Canada.

Also once again I would like to mention NO billboards...love it.

I also love that the rest stops there are actually gas stations...love it.

The first thing we saw when we drove into Northern New York was a sign that said THIS IS MOWHAWK COUNTRY NOT NEW YORK!!! Northern New York really was not like I had imagined it. There were lots of trailers and shoty towns. There was a lot of history coming out though.

At this point the further east we go the older things are getting and i am loving it...right down to the creepy old century old cemetaries and houses. Wow. This is also the introduction of everything being "cute" to me...some of the things we are seeing are just so darned quaint I can't believe it!!!

Lake Champlain is gorgeous and what an amazing sight with all the history...I was just struck by it all. I even looked for some images on the internet of what I saw but nothing really represented what I saw with my eye. No picture I saw really did any justice. There were so many old buildings including a very large old abandoned building on the edge of the lake...it look like and old hotel...very creepy. Totally something out of a movie.

By the time we made it into Vermont it was dark. We stay in Burlington and went to the Vermont Brewing Company for dinner. I had a great dinner and an even better raseberry brew that I really loved. It wasn't overly sweet and tasted like real beer. Some fruity beers can be to sweet. This one was award winning.

The Unversity of Vermont is here and I can wait to see it in the morning. It looks very old but it is dark and raining right now so we will see.

Listening to Canadian Public RadioNew York Public RadioVermont Public Raido

I did a lot of the driving...I really like to drive...it helps me experience the landscape and travel better.
Day 2 Map

Day 1 Nov 25 Grand Rapids MI to Toronto Canada

2007-12-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Day 1 Nov 25 Grand Rapids MI to Toronto Canada
Well I have made the trip from the west side to the east side many times and there is nothing new to report. However it is not every day that I take the bridge over into Canada. In fact I havn't been to Canada since I was well...19.

It took us 2 hours to get across the bridge.

Things I like about CanadaThere are NO bill boards at the side of the road!!!
The landscape is beautiful...despite the fact that it was a very gloomy day I really enjoyed not having advertising shoved down my throat at every exit.

We made it Toronto by night fall. I have never been to Toronto before...really didn't get to see much of the city though really at all. But I got to be there and see what it looked like. We went some place local to eat that had a bit of an Irish twist to it and that was cool. I think it was called Ye Old Jester or something like that.

Good first day of driving.

Listening to Michigan Public Raido/Canadian Public Radio

Knitted a scarf on the way in the car...great stuff to pass the driving time

The Project

2007-12-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

The Project
Ok, I have sometime to blog so I am going to catch up a little bit on what is going on right now.

The project I am working on right now.

My friend and mentor Deb is getting her PhD in Education from Eastern which is requiring her to write a dissertation. She has written a 185 pg proposal titled Women Govenors:the influence of gender on public policy. So as a part of this proposal she is going to interview former woman govenors to start research on just that the influence of gender on public policy. I sugessted she shoot the interviews and turn it into a documentary if she wanted to later. She asked if I wanted to do it and I said yes.

So for awhile we were not quite sure when this project was really going to take off UNTIL Debs son Ian called her from Korea. Ian (Debs son) who lives in Korea with his wife and kids. It just so happens that he has started his own buisness helping Korean parents find shools for their kids to go to in the states...boarding schools...the rich expensive kind. So he called Deb and said "Hey mom I am sending a Korean girl over to look at schools in New England, will you take her around to these schools." Deb said sure and while I am there I have former govenors that I want to interview in the New England area so I will do that as well.

So Deb said I am going to do this and I said are you still going to shoot the interveiws and she said well yeah I guess I will do you want to come along? and I said sure...so here I am.

I have already learned quite a bit. Here are just a few things.
There are only 29 female govenors ever. That's it.
12 are still alive.1 has already turned down being interviewed cause she does not want to recount the horrible expereince she had
1 we can not interview cause she is running for a senate seat and is too busy

You know I really can't even go into how much I have learned from this little project of Debs...we have had so many long conversations about the history of women. I thought I knew a lot but man do feel that I really have to start reading up on this more. There are so many amazing stories to tell.

So we leave Sunday November 25. We are on the road for a few days working on our project then we pick up the Korean girl in Boston and have her for about 4 days showing her around and the a few more days on our project.

Stay tuned for highlights

GR Press Incentives Article

2007-01-23T16:22:00.000-08:00

MOVIE MOGULS IN MICHIGAN
Friday, January 19, 2007

Michigan made its fame on the motorcar, but movies can offer the state a different brand of stardom. New tax breaks for film makers, which go into effect this year, will help draw producers, actors and directors -- and the considerable economic activity they generate -- to locations as diverse as Detroit and Grand Haven. But incentives alone won't do the work. The state's film office, overseen by Janet Lockwood, should now aggressively market these sweeteners to Hollywood moguls searching for a different backdrop.

This legislative magnet for the celluloid set is the handiwork of state Rep. William Huizenga, R-Zeeland. Mr. Huizenga shepherded the incentives through the Legislature, despite setbacks and challenges, earning him the nickname "Hollywood Huizenga." Future film makers who find reduced production costs on the shores of Lake Michigan or some urban mean street owe Mr. Huizenga a credit.

So do state residents. Movies are big business, and they generate spin-off economic activity that benefit construction trades, restaurants, hotels and others in a local community where filming occurs.

Allegan and Ottawa counties saw that potential six years ago when actors Tom Hanks and Jude Law, along with a crew from DreamWorks Pictures, came here to film the final scenes of "The Road to Perdition." Their community cameo poured hundreds of thousands into lakeshore tills and ledgers.

The incentives, which took effect two weeks ago, will give a 12 percent to 20 percent production cost tax rebate when $200,000 to $10 million is spent. The total the state will forgive is capped at $7 million a year. The legislation sunsets in 2011.

If experience in other states is duplicated here, lawmakers may want to renew the incentives at that point. Four years ago, Louisiana began offering incentives and watched the film industry's spending skyrocket from $12 million in 2002 to nearly $600 million in 2006.

Michigan beaches hold at least as much appeal as Louisiana bayous. But right now, feature-film spending in Michigan is about at $2 million a year. The state has lost business because it has, until this legislation, not offered competitive incentives. The Golden Globe winning picture "Dreamgirls" considered and rejected Michigan because the state lacked lures. Pitching Michigan as a film setting can't stop with tax breaks. Other states are in the hunt and either pursuing or offering similar incentives. Michigan has to sell itself aggressively as it competes for its piece of Tinseltown.

Those two steps together can realize Mr. Huizenga's vision of increased money and exposure for the state. When that happens, Mr. Huizenga will deserve a standing ovation for his leading role.

A little education on the incentives package

2007-01-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

Recently WMFVA member Chris O'Hara was featured on Michigan Public Radio as
part of a report on the new motion picture incentives signed into law by
Governor Granholm last week. Take a listen - Chris, great job!

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/michigan/local-michigan-
558321.mp3

Welcome to 2007

2007-01-14T19:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you but I would say an update is in order so here one goes!!

I am not quite sure where I left off with everyone so I will just start with getting off
the island for the summer.

I spent Halloween weekend on Mackinac Island as Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas. My Birthday was of course on October 30 and I turned 27 this year. I am not sure what I am going to do yet at 27...I've never lived this long before but I seem to be finding things to keep busy with. I had a wonderful evening in Detroit for my B-day then I headed off to
Chicago for a week.

I stayed at a hostel in Chicago and met some really cool girls and we kicked around the city for a couple of days. Of course I visited the Museum on Contemporary Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago is actually free on Thursday nights and so me and Amy did this thrilling turbo 3 hour tour of the museum. If you know anything about this museum that gave us enough time to see not even one quarter of what they have there. I was happy to see a great photography exhibit while I was there though.
http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/story/
If you have a chance to look into any of these artists please take the time. I spent 2 of my hours looking at this exhibit and then the last hour running around trying to catch a little Dali and O'Keefe before the museum shut down. NOTE: Does anyone else besides myself think it should be the Chicago Institute of Art so we can call it the CIA?

As some of you know once I got back from Chicago I had a hell of a time with unemployment. Finally everything got straightened out and mid December I finally started getting my checks. Things were a little hairy there financially for a little while.

I was happy to spend Thanksgiving with my family this year as well I didn't have to be working at a video store some where like I usually am.

During November I had a lot of ideas about what I wanted to do next but wasn't quite sure which was going to work out for me. Obviously I decided to stay in GR for the winter and have been busy with a lot of things actually. It took sometime and research before I decided what I was going to pursue...but if you read on you will find that I found plenty to keep myself busy.

As some of you know I am on the Board of Directors for and organization called the West Michigan Film Video Alliance. We have been working very hard to drum up support for the Motion Picture Incentive Package. This bill was finally passed in December. This is good news for Michigan and hopefully we will start seeing its effects within the next couple of years.
It was just signed into action by Governor Granholm last week. You can check out more about the bill and what I am talking about at:
www.wmfva.org

The WMFVA is also working on other big things right now as well. We have had a task force in place since last summer planning and researching the creation of a regional film office in West Michigan. We are currently planning an Oscar Party on Feb 25 that is going to be a fundraiser for the WMFVA and the West Michigan Film Commission. We are hoping to have this office open this summer of 2007. I would love to see as many people come and support our efforts
on February 25 so if you are interested save the date on you calendar. The event will start at 7pm at Celebration Cinemas North off of the East Beltline. You have the time and the place and its Oscar night! What more could you ask for!!!

So between an Incentive Package, a Film Commission, a planned Film Office, and a Oscar Party Fundraiser the West Michigan Film Video Alliance has a lot to look forward to this year.

That doesn't necessarily take care of my future though. I have been working on a little application myself this past month which recently have been taking up my every waking moment. The Directors Guild of America has been taking applications for its Assistant Directors Training Program and I just sent mine in this past Friday. Check more of this program out at:
www.dgatrainingprogram.org
Pretty much its like applying to graduate school only maybe a little harder...I guess that depends on the graduate school you compare it to. I sent in a very complicated resume and two letters of recommendation. Plus I needed to write a letter of purpose. It only needed to be one page and I spent a month writing it. Over and over I wrote it and I was never really happy with it at all. Of course the day before the application is due all my thoughts come together for me!! No matter how hard I try to get it done in advance still to this day my words don't come together until the day before the paper is due. I was very happy with the result though and proud of what I sent in...until the day after I sent it and I noticed 2 typos that got past me and the 5 people who proofed my letter. How they got by all of us is beyond me. I am in a bit of an upset over it but I guess I have to give it up cause its on its way whether I like it or not.

The program takes place in New York city. It is a 2 year program where the Directors Guild finds productions for you to work on and its PAID!! Plus they provide health care at no cost. SWEET!!

So the deal is I have just sent in my application and I am assuming I will receive some sort of information on the next step soon. Phase 2 as they call it is a test that I have to go to New York to take February 24. A battery of tests they call it...hmmm...something involving temperament. Wish me luck, pray, meditate and throw pennies into fountains for me wishing that I get into this program. Or whatever you do.

Now that I don't have that application to work on I don't quite know what I am going to do with myself...but as you can see even though I am unemployed I have managed to keep busy.

This Holiday season was one of the best I have had in a long time and very relaxing. I am pretty sure I ate more this year than I ever have. Christmas Eve at my sisters was a tapas
type of dinner. Then Christmas morning at my house with my roommates and I made a huge breakfast. Then Christmas day at my moms...the best steak I have had in a damn long time.
Then I traveled to Mt Pleasant for a couple of days. I was happy to see friends that I have not seen in so long from Blockbuster to college friends. Then up to my Dads in St Ignace for Christmas up there and another big dinner. Then New Years Eve weekend in Detroit with my best friend Liz. What a week. Fun Fun Fun...

Well here I am mid January... where are you? what are you doing?
Keep in touch and I will keep everyone updated as to what
happens with the Assistant Directors Training Program.

Peace, Love and Production
Jax

Grasshopper Syndrome

2006-12-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

Æsop. (Sixth century B.C.) Fables.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

IN a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about,
chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by,
bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the
nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper,
“instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and
recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got
plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and
continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no
food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants
distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they
had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:

“IT IS BEST TO PREPARE FOR THE DAYS OF NECESSITY.”

Skydiving

2006-11-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know I am a little behind on my blogging compared to when all of this shit is happening but at least i am putting it out there. So I got into skydiving this summer thanks to my dad really. My dad turned 65 this summer and for his birthday he wanted to go skydiving. So thats what we did. If you go to my video section you can see the video from my jump. I actually jumped twice that day. I jumped once with my dad and then quickly threw done another 100 bucks and jumped again right away with my step brother. The video you see is actualy a combination of both jumps. The second time I jumped was a bit of a thriller. A small corner of our parachute got snagged and you can see in the video that we start spinning uncontrolablly. He had to release the main parachute and pull our reserve parachute. It was quite the ride let me tell you!!!I was instantly addicted though. I have since gone one more time. So I managed to squeeze in 3 jumps before the end of the jumping season there in Harbor Springs. I actually hope to continue this and getting into skydiving as a major hobby for myself. After 3 tandem jumps (which I have completed ) you can go on to train to jump solo which takes the necessary training and about 7 more semi tandem jumps. By semi tandem I mean you jump with someone but you are not attached to each other. You kind of jump holding hands and you have a radio on and you get coached through your jumps that way.So once again check out the video in my videos section. That is only a very short version of the video. I had to edit it down cause myspace could not hold the whole file. Oh and by the way I didn't pick the music that was edited in there for me by the guys running the operation. Oh well.Much love
Jax's Skydiving Video

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The Twenty

2006-10-23T14:46:00.001-07:00

So here it is a little post to show you a few pics from the film shoot.
I was just up in Mackinac Island working for the summer and never expected to run into something like this at all. Thanks to my good friend Deb who sent me a email when she heard about this little project. I emailed David the producer and after a little bit of negotiation I was on the project as a Production Assistant.

The shoot was really split up between being right in Soo Saint Marie, Mi and Neebish Island which is just about 30 minutes south of the Soo and its famous Locks. People are not so familiar with Neebish Island as they are the Locks. However Neebish is a very interesting little place. The island is about 21 square miles and has maybe MAYBE a year round population of 66...that's from the Internet research I did (cause I am a dork). However having been there I have a feeling the population 16 in the winter. Mind you Mackinac Island is only 8.2 miles around and has a year round population of over 500. Neebish Island needless to say is very remote and rustic despite being as large as it is. We stayed in some amazing cabins on the island. Right on the St Mary's River. You see, the St Mary's River runs along both sides of the island. One side is the northbound side and the other is the southbound side. Why? cause that is the channels the freighters take to get to and from the locks in the first place. This channel may look wide at first glance but when you see a huge freighter passing through you are amazed it even fits through the channel. If you are standing on the shore the freighter is maybe 60 feet away from you. Check them out here:Neebish Island
( if you click on the picture during the slide show you can view descriptions that I may or may not have added)

Anyways...enough about that. This project was just so much fun it I can even describe it. The people I met and shared time with everyday were awesome. I should probably tell you about the movie huh?

"The Twenty" is a feature film written and directed by Chopper Bernet. The storyline: A struggling alcoholic seeks the origin of a mysterious message written on a twenty dollar bill believing the source will lead to his redemption. The journey reveals his own weaknesses and ultimately provides solitude.

The cast includes: Clancy Brown (Carnivale, Shawshank Redemption), Stephanie Niznik (Everwood), Rodney Scott (Dawson's Creek, NCIS), Laura Jordan (Brothers & Sisters), Lisa Darr (Strong Medicine), and Laraine Newman (7th Heaven, Saturday Night Live).

Cast and Crew
The Twenty
(once again if you click on the picture during the slide show you can view descriptions that I may have added to the pictures...click a second time to restart the show)

As a production assistant I pretty much did a lot of stuff to help out. I did a lot of work with Meg Bernet the Art Director and Choppers sister. Meg is now someone I consider to be a very dear friend of mine and I hope to see her soon. She is so fun and amazing.
There was lots of gopher work and playing security occasionally too. One night I spent 3 grueling hours playing "hangman" even. Its rough.

Well that is all I have to share in this post about this. If you want to hear more ask me sometime. I actually have about 350 more photos on my computer that I didn't put here.

Much love.

Summer 2006

2006-10-22T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been gone working on Mackinac Island all summer but how did I end up here. So I will give a quick run down on the events of the past 5 months of my life.

In June I got fired from Family Video. Which is fine by me. I was fine with it then and I am even more ok with it now. No one likes to get fired. Except in this case. Anyways...having just been fired I decided to take off up north to my dads for a little bit and visit and regroup. While I was up there I thought. "You know Jax you have been coming up here your whole life and you have never stayed here for a summer and worked. Why after all these years don't you give it a whirl." And so I did. I went home for a week packed up my stuff and headed to Mackinac Island for the summer. I was only on the island for 15 minutes and I found a job serving tables at a very popular restaurant on the island called the Pink Pony.

I was here by 4th of July. Which was very fun for me. I can't remember the last time I actually got to celebrate or do anything on the 4th since I have always been working on any holiday I might want to enjoy. This year I spent the 4th on a catamaran sailboat with a bunch of new friends watching the fireworks out on the water from 5 different cities: Mackinac Island, Mackinac City, St Ignace, Cedarville and Cheboygan!!!

Next came Yacht Races. The first was the Port Huron to Mackinac Yacht Races and the next weekend was the Chicago to Mackinac Yacht Races. The are a crazy bunch!! They want 3 things. 1) RUM 2) HEINEKEN 3) WOMEN
It really was a fun time to work and make some money although the bartenders are the ones who really rake in the cash and it was also a fun time to party. I learned more about sailing than I ever thought I would know as well.

July was a beautiful month and we had great weather into august too. I spent most of my days getting up and either taking a bike ride or running and laying out in the sun. July and August were really one big working vacation. I hang out in the sun all day and go to work for a little bit later. Make good money and not hate my life everytime I wake up in the morning.

August brought another great opportunity. I found out about a movie being shot in Soo Saint Marie MI by a group of great folks from LA. Long story short I ended up on board for the project!! I got the job to work on the film as a Production Assistant. The project started August 26 to September 6. So for about a week and a half I got to take off work and go actually shoot a movie for once. That was my New Years resolution this year too was to get off my ass and quit being scared and find a project to get on. It happened and WOW what an amazing time we had. The crew became fast friends and we had a fabulous time together. I will be honest I didn't know what to expect when I got into it but it was by far more than one of the best experiences of my life mainly because of the awesome people I met and became friends with while shooting that movie. I miss them. Maybe LA is in my future? I will keep you posted...
I will post an overview of the shoot soon with pics here so you can get a tasty taste of what I was up to.

September I found my new favorite drug of my life...Its called SKYDIVING!! My dad turned 65 in August and that is what he wanted to do for his birthday. So in September when I got back from the movie we went skydiving. Me, my dad and my step brother Karlton. I went twice in one day I loved it so much. I have video and a whole story to go with this as well. As soon as I get the movie shoot post done I will post my video of my skydive. I have since gone a third time in October. I have working on being certified to jump solo and have a training class and 7 more jumps to go before I am certified if I do everything right. However that may have to wait until next summer since skydiving doesn't happen in Michigan in the winter. Unless I follow my instuctor to Phoenix to try to keep up with this through the winter. Who knows maybe Phoenix is in my future? I could do this in LA as well...Who knows I will keep you posted.

Well it is now the end of October and it is really really cold on the island now and it is really slowing down. I have one week as of today until I am done here for the season. I am ready for it. I have Halloween to look forward too and of course just in case you need a reminder it is my birthday on October 30. The new Deftones album comes out on the 31st. I am taking my niece Mackenna trick or treating when I get home. I am going to be Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas this year myself. Then I am going to Chicago for a week from November 1-8 then I will be back in Grand Rapids for a bit.

So this is my blog now as well...If you want to check out what I am up to here is a good place to do it I guess.