First week at Emerson and other fun...and a gripe or two.

I really enjoy writing the blog and for the most part the feedback is positive, which makes me want to continue writing it. There is also another side of that coin which is all scratched up and shitty like Harvey Dent's favorite prop. Some people assume since I put my business on front street that they know me intimately and are allowed to comment on my life or if they disagree with something. Those people are slightly off-base but I suppose I welcome it by doing this, fair enough. I've ALSO had many people criticize what a do and how I do it. Throwing typos in my face and sighting which post is better than the other. Constructive criticism is difficult for creative people (yes, I'm cocky/presumptuous enough to label myself creative) and it's something that should probably roll off my back. I will say this, typos will happen allllllllll the fucking time here and by all means tell me what you like. This blog is just for fun and updates on my adventures. What I do NOT like is being told if one is better than the other or how I could improve what I do. If you have such great and bold ideas you can do your own shit, it's really easy. Just go to wordpress and register then say a bunch of goofy shit and make sure your life is at least half-interesting.

(here is a stock pic of me eating a hotdog at Fenway to break up the tension)

I'm not saying my story is the most captivating but it's better than most. At least I paint it that way. It's intensely difficult to put out a piece of writing to the public. When I was in undergrad at MassArt for film, I would hit play on my movies then hide in a corner blocking my ears because I was terrified of how people would react or judge to my work. Creating something is a product of who you are, so when it's not received well it can hurt. But that's part of the unspoken contract. I was a weak boy while in college and couldn't face any rejection, that is not who I am today. I can laugh at flaming arrows hitting my castle walls and take constructive comments in stride. I will say to you folks who don't dare put yourself out there and still attempt to cut people down, fuck right off (you are few and far between but I see y'all). I had someone once tell me I was "rude" to my readers but they apparently didn't get the sense of humor of this dynamic. I hope I never come off as rude or dismissive, I LOVE you guys. The fact that anyone other than my dad and best friends read this blows my god damn mind.

(stock photo of me looking relaxed to further ease the tension)

Fuck a gaggle of ducks, this was a downer way to start a blog. Sorry. I'm gonna need to right the ship and steer us towards Tortuga, buckle up. Wait, boats don't have seat belts do they? Shit, ok grab some rope or something. I WOULD like to thank my friend Rose for saying extremely kind words about my blizzog, which means a lot to me because Rose is a creative genius. Rose is also about to become a mom and I'm so excited for her, she'll be an amazing mama bear and that kid will be cooler than all of us! Thanks Rose! MOVING ON!

How many of you stuck around after that opening drama? Just dad? Oh hey Chip! I'm sure you'll enjoy my tales of the past week, fill everyone else in if they ask. As of now I am still waiting for the contracts on me and Donnie Wahlberg's travel show but he hasn't been returning my texts. Perhaps he and his wife (90's icon and medical genius Jenny Mcarthy) are discussing vaccinations and how they have eleven braincells between them but get to address the masses whenever they like, yay America. Fuck. Yeaaaaa, I can have serious opinions too, refer to the fist paragraph. Alright, back to the funny. Continuing with our Wednesday tradition BB and myself packed a cooler and went to the beach after work (this was a couple weeks ago now).

The water is insanely warm which attracts sharks but I don't give a fudge because I love to splash around. Alright, I care a little. Sharks are scary as shit but I've managed to avoid them this long so I'm confident one won't kill me.

(good god I'm sexy)

After the beach we hit up a Barcade in Salem called Bitbar. This place only has the older stand up games from the 80's/90's and that's right in my wheel-house. They have Ms. Pacman, Mortal Kombat 2 (which I royally suck at but it was cool because combat is spelled wrong so fuck that game), Burgertime, and my favorireeeeeee, The Simpson's game. After dumping quarters and sipping overpriced cocktails we got the hell out of there. I was still wearing my bathing suit and sand was migrating to areas where I'd prefer to keep it out of.

(I lost at this pinball game in about one minute )

(notice the Simpsons game appears IN the game itself, fuccckkkk)

(Harley, my love) Fun fact, Harley Quinn appears to have a tattoo that reads "lucky you" right above her treasure, not the first time I've seen that in my life. wink wink.

Thursday was the big day! After over a year of waiting I finally get to see Suicide Squad! I loved it despite it getting poor reviews. Don't let poor reviews stop you from experiencing things, just go see it jerks. I could tell you all the reasons I liked it but I have too much to discuss. It was great in my eyes and my eyes are so dreamy and have perfect 20-20 vision bitch.

Twins! P.S. sorry about touching Harley's boob.

(here comes the important part!) Get ready.

While we're on the topic of movies, let's talk aboutttttttttt MY FIRST WEEK OF GRAD SCHOOL! Oh man, I yelled that so loud I woke up my parents. Chip and Val are pisssssedddddd. I was extremely nervous about this whole thing, going back to school at age 33 and paying for it myself. Last Sunday we had orientation and a meet and greet dinner with everyone in the major and all the Emerson big wigs. From the moment I stepped foot in that conference room I knew I was in the right place. The head of the department is an amazing and knowledgeable woman whom i'm excited to learn from. All the students seemed really cool but I was still nervous. The dinner was great and I got to talk to my fellow students, they were awesome! They also had free beer but the selection was rough. I had a Carona (sans lime, yuck). Then I had a chance to talk to a few of the teachers who were amazing and cool as fuck. One of my teachers wrote on Batman the animated series! I'm beyond excited about this program and I'm going to work my ass off to make the best of it. Monday morning kicked us off for the first day of the next 2 years.

(Rodneyyyyyy)

Ok, this program is the first of its kind that Emerson is offering and I'm excited to be a part of it. This is the first Film/TV writing MFA program ever offered and it's a low-residency one. What that means is one week on campus in the beginning of each semester. First one in Boston, second in LA, Third in Boston and final semester in LA. The Boston residencies will be Film writing and the LA ones will be TV writing. After the first week of every semester the courses will be online. I have a lot to say about this week but it would come off as rambling so I'll try to condense it. haha just kidding, you guys know I have no ability to condense myself while writing. So suck it. Monday made me realize the density of this program and I was terrified but ready for the leap. Tuesday we had a class with a two-time oscar winning screenwriter who I will not name but she was amazing. Beyond knowledgeable (obviously), honest and truly inspirational also a hard ass no nonsense blunt genius. She asked us to pitch a feature film and then write a 3-5 page scene from said  pitched feature, which was due the next day.

(learnin')

All of the students were put up in a hotel around the corner from the campus and originally I declined then realized that was foolish so Tuesday I asked if I could stay in the hotel. The head of our program kindly made it happen (which was so great of her to do). Tuesday night we got out of class at 10pm. Afterwards I drove home, packed a bag, had a beer, drove to my old apartment in Brighton to leave my car, took an Uber back to the hotel and around 12:30am I started writing. I was pleased with the result and got a couple of hours of sleep, yayyyyy. Wednesday was a really big day for me and I'm going to share a little bit of it. I met with with my (Oscar-collecting) teacher around 9pm and we went over my script. I won't get into the details but it was great and one of the most creatively validating things of my life. Once the pressure was off the whole class decided to go out and have some drinks. We met up at the best dive bar in Boston, The Tam. The cheap beer flowed, stories exchanged and favorite movie debates rang throughout the narrow bar. After the Tam we headed to a Karaoke bar and belted out deep cut hits for an hour. After that we partied in one of our rooms in the hotel and saw a naked man in the adjacent building, so that was fun. Wednesday night was one of the best of my life and I have to thank Emerson and my incredibly fun and talented classmates. The rest of the week was great and I can't believe it's over. I learned more in one condensed week at Emerson than over half my time at MassArt (sorry). Perhaps it's that I'm finally studying something that I'm passionate about so every class is a treat (oh shit! I'm a nerd now!). One night we had an optional 3 hour block to go over any writing sample with our classmates and we took full advantage. We sat in the lobby of our hotel with our laptops doing table reads of one another's scripts and stayed past 11pm (over  hours). It was incredible, the concentration of talent in this program is indescribable. The notes were helpful, constructive and never negative. I am beyond excited about sharing the next two years with these 12 (counting me) people. Emerson Mafia for life. Week one is in the books and if i'm not around for the next couple years, I'm working on shit. Sorry. I will make time for my work, friends, family, this blog, fucking around but school is my top priority. Enough about school, moving on!

(who shot ya?) That joke only works for old western fans AND Biggie fans, small intersection I know. Still gold.

Moving on! The show Stranger Things on Netflix is great and worth watching but you probably already have or heard it from all your friends. They are right, go watch it ya jerk.

I got 2 new pairs of shoes in the mail and they are beautiful but subtle (unlike myself).

I saw Big Lebowski on 35mm at the Mighty Coolidge Corner theater for their annual showing. Me and Powers got there nice and early to snag a good seat. They had bowling on stage and a costume contest. A woman dressed as Maude Lebowski won and made me realize that I need to find someone like that, a dame who will dress like Maude Lebowski and show it off proudly for strangers. The 35mm print was great and that film plays perfectly to a sold out audience (all the jokes hit harder).

(Midnight Mark, master programer of the Mighty Coolidge)

(Maude)

I killed a spider with a nerf gun and documented it with multiple videos on my instagram, check my shit fool.

Caught a Piebald reunion concert with my man B and mended a friendship that experienced a strain a little while ago and I'm beyond relieved it's back to normal, I won't get stuck again. Great show, beer flowed and nostalgia was had by all!

(future father living out his own childhood)

Blink-182 was my favorite band growing up and they broke up because Tom was chasing aliens but has been replaced with Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio (that's a band). Fun fact, I once knew a dame with an Alkaline Trio tattoo but I forget who it was (I don't really) and I forget how we met (psst, I remember that too). The old days of Boston were fun but sadly we all grew up. That was weird Matt, what did that mean by that? Don't worry about it! So nosey. The show was a lot of fun, not their best but I had a blast. Rode down with Keegan and his lady, met my homegirl Nicole and partied with her and her hubby for a few songs. Then I got drunk and explored, ran into my buddy Matt (too many Matts). After the show it took us 3 hours to get out of the parking lot but I passed out at hour 2 I think. Sorry Keegan.

That should catch us up on everything! sorry for the weird beginning but I had to get it off my chest. Maybe I didn't? Who knows, I don't keep much to myself and you're here so I'm gonna tell ya! Thanks for reading kids! See ya next time! Also my birthday is coming up so I'll expect well-wishes! (August 30th).

(in case you were wondering what to get me for my birthday)

Keep smiling and keep you eye out for your breadcrumbs (figure it out).

(cheesy but I adore it)

Thank you sir...