I’m a soldier?
Current mood: happy

After 14 weeks, 6 PT tests, 6 counseling statements, 35 km in road marches, and a whole bunch of stress without cigarettes, I have graduated Basic Training and I am a certified US Army Soldier. I don't feel all that different, maybe a little more anxious and hyper, but that's it.

I remember when I left Albuquerque and how freaked out I was. Basic Training wasn't really as bad as I thought it would be. It was tough, but I was able to get through it. There were people I will never forget and times I won't miss.

I think the hardest part of Basic was those slow dull moments, where all you could do was sit on your ass and watch the second tick by, and each time it gets slower, and slower. That was the hardest for me.

That's really all I have to say about it.

Currently listening : The Last Waltz (Remastered / Expanded) (4CD) By The Band Release date: 2002-04-23

7:54 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Off to Boot Camp

Well, it's that time. It's time for me to go to boot camp. It's quite amazing how time flies. Sorry if I seem to be mincing words bot there is not much else to say.

See you in July!

10:49 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

About Boot Camp

Boy, it's been a while since I've been here hasn't it? Anyway, I know a few of you were a little curious about that little blip of me going to boot camp. It's true. I am shipping out for Army Boot Camp on May 15th. More specifically, I am going to be in the National Guard.

I know some of you are wondering why, well here's the reason: I want to serve my country for one thing. In my opinion the country is in a bad spot and I hate that. I figured I would try to help out in some respect. If you're wondering why I chose the National Guard as opposed to Active Duty Army to do this, the reason is simple, so I can go to college and get a bachelors (I still don't have that yet, which is kind of sad). Besides, I don't the military to be my career, I want to be an actor. The National Guard let's me serve my country in my own way.

Another reason is the monetary benefits. Nice little bonuses to keep me from going under (which will more than likely become necessary in the coming times). Full tuition paid up front, a Montgomery GI Bill kicker for extra stuff, part time pay, $10K after vocational training, another $10K in three years, and the opprotunity to become a comissioned officer after I get a bachelors. All those combined with a parttime civilian job, I just might make it.

As I said, I ship out on May 15th and should be back around mid July. It might be tough, but if I can get through it, I should be able to get through anything.

1:26 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Cleveland
Current mood: angry

Some of you may be aware of the tragic shooting that took place in Cleveland, Ohio. Before I continue, I have to get this out there. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the shooting. My prayers are with you during this time of tragedy.

Okay, now to get to my point. There are some people who will not be as respectful of the event as I, these are the opprotunists. Opprotunists are probably already jumping on this event as I type this. These are people like Jack Thompson (a lawyer on a crusade against video games) who put the blame on their own enemies.
"TV is harmful to children!"
"Violence in the media desensitizes young kids!"
"Video Games are warping our kids minds!"
"Rock n Roll/Hip Hop/Heavy Metal/Jazz/Psychedelia/etc. hypnotizes teenagers!"
"The goth subculture drives children to violence!"
Blah blah blah blah blah blah SHUT UP ALREADY!

These people completely miss the point. The source of the biggest influence on any child's life is their parent! TV/Video Games/Music/what have you does not fuck up kids minds, YOU DO!

"But David, kids see people getting killed on TV every day!"
Turn it off, jackass! Just push a button and it all goes away!

"But David, kids buy violent video games all the time!"
No, you do. They can't buy them, they're not old enough. So obvioulsy don't buy them, or don't give them the means to do so!

"But David, kids listen to music with violent lyrics!"
It's fucking MUSIC, dork! Lay off the music. If it bothers you, ask them to turn it down. Oh by the way, your parents made the same complaint about you and Rock n' Roll.

"But David, every time I try these, my kid raises a tantrum."
How could you not see that coming? They're kids! Of course they're going to act out when they don't get they're way. Every kid does that. Deal with it, they'll get over it.

Now there is one solution to this whole problem that is by far the best. Just talk to them! It's not hard really, any chance you get, just "How was your day?" "What are you up to in school?" "Why do your friends keep calling at two in the morning?" Anything, just get a conversation going. The longer you stall the worse it gets!

4:16 PM - 3 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Minutes to Midnight

One of my favorite bands of modern times is Linkin Park. Say what you will about them, but they definately, at the very least, deserve some respect. They burst on the scene in 2000 with Hybrid Theory. It was an album that highlighted all the good parts of their genre, and it also sent them rocketing to success. Songs like Papercut, Crawling, One Step Closer, and the oft overlooked Forgotten (ironically), showed the true potential of Rapcore and Nu Metal. Their second album, Meteora, took everything from the first album to it's natural end. Songs like Somewhere I Belong, Hit the Floor, Don't Stay, and the phenominal Breaking the Habit all were the very best of their genre. It was about this time that they noticed a couple of problems. One, mixing Rapcore and Nu Metal was not yielding as much as they needed. It definately worked in the beginning, but as the band grew they realized just how little there was. The other problem was that the mix of rapcore and nu metal was fairly simple and, since the reservoir was fairly shallow to begin with, it usually yielded the same results. So with their third album, Minutes to Midnight, they broadened their horizons.

The first aspect of the album one notices upon first listen is how different it is from the other two. This is both a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing as it is a breath of fresh air, but it's also a curse for this reason. Hybrid Theory and Meteora pretty much established Linkin Park's career, and as such, they had to perform the same songs over and over several times. Venturing into new territory, while a good idea, takes a certain amount of patience and adjustment. Linkin Park's lack of experience in the area's is the second aspect one notices on the album. While Linkin Park made the (often times) smarter decision to try to have the album work as more than a sum of it's parts, with Minutes to Midnight it does more harm than good, as the arc is more or less murky. The album as a whole is a single huge growing pain for Linkin Park, that is to say it's an adjustment to their new sound that requires a lot more work and a lot more experience. I have no doubt they will eventually master it, but this foray falls well below the mark. I do not blame them, as virtually no one can get something perfect the first time they try.

One thing to remember is that while the album leaves something to be desired, this does not mean the songs aren't worth it, although some of them aren't quite up to snuff and a couple are major letdowns. The biggest letdown is the song What I've Done which has a strong beginning and deep lyrics, but everything flies to pieces with the music itself. The melody is a bland sleepwalk that only keep going be cause of it's accomanying lyrical phrases. You are going to want to skip this one. The songs Shadow of the Day and In Between are awkward titles that truly highlight the bands inexperience. By contrast, Given Up and Bleed it Out are full of the frenetic energy and joy Linkin Park is known for. Given Up is a punk/industrial song (quite unexpected to say the least) with some spice with the extra sounds added by Brad Delson. Bleed it Out is probably the closest Linkin Park gets to the older material, although it has very little in common with songs from the other two albums. Hands Held High features Mike Shinoda rapping the most compelling lyrics to date. The rest of the album is okay, but nothing too endearing.

So finishing up, I refer back to my previous statement. The album is worth a buy if you're a fan. If you aren't, wait a few years as they perfect their methods and ideas. The album is not perfect, not even great. However, it's a noble effort that doesn't quite live up to it's potential. Patience is key here. Who knows? Maybe their fourth will be much better, maybe their fifth will be extraordinary, maybe by their sixth album they'll be the biggest band in the world. It could happen, but just not yet.

Currently listening : Minutes to Midnight By Linkin Park Release date: 15 May, 2007

12:12 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

On The Set
Current mood: excited

Right now I am on the set of "Conspiracy" starring Val Kilmer. I've been here two days and the experience is pretty far out. Unlike when I did "Beerfest" where the set was completely overloaded, I am one of about six extras. I was used in one shot throughout these two days, but it's been enough. I've met some really cool people too, including Garnett, Sheila and Sara who are makeup artists, Adam Marcus the director, and a bunch of others. The production is also small enough that people will remember your name. As an added bonus, I had the esteemed priviledge of being flipped off by Val Kilmer himself. That is something I will carry with me as a badge of honor for the rest of my life.

"I'm homeless but I GOT FLIPPED OFF BY VAL KILMER!!"

10:35 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Current mood: blah

Before you ask, no this blog has nothing to do with Warren Zevon.

You don't know who he is? Well then, never mind. Moving on!

Things have become painfully slow around here. Partly because I'm being a little pick-and-choose-y, but also because there really isn't much going on out here right now. I'm trying to find something that fits my schedule (afternoons) which is fairly easy, however I'm also trying to find something that fits my abilities (i.e. no song and dance) which is considerably harder. I would like to be a movie extra, but that doesn't fit my schedule very well. I would have to miss classes, which would (a) make do the homework early and attempt to second-guess who's going to call me when and run the risk of flunking the class (should I miss the mark), or (b) do my homework late and run a higher risk of flunking the class. Niether choice is really suitable for me, but I am still scanning the Venue and Alibi constantly so maybe one day I'll get lucky.

In other news, I had signed up for an acting class at CNM, unfortunately, it was cancelled, so now the most exciting class is Accounting (ugh!). Some of you may know, but those who don't, this is the third time I've taking this class. At least I don't have Mr. Gordon like my first time (god was he a loser). I also have to retake Business Law this semester which I am dreading because it kicked my ass last time, here's hoping it's kinder this time.

Here's the good news, I've found something to reduce my stress, BOWLING! I recently got turned on to bowling when my friend invited me one night, and now I don't want to stop. So yeah, if you see a guy in an alley by himself, it's me reducing my stress. Feel free to say hi. Sometimes my dad will be there to give me some pointers. Also, my brother is back from NMSU and is going to be an intern for the summer, and want's to go with us, so he'll be there too this summer.

Currently listening : Wolfmother By Wolfmother Release date: 21 February, 2006

7:32 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Friend requests

I like to think that I've been pretty friendly with handling friend requests. Strangers come up and say they want to be my friend. That's wonderful! It's exactly what myspace is about. Meeting complete strangers with the protection of distance, along with meeting other people in your hometown. It's much more efficient than the bar scene.

Now most of the time I usually don't deny a friend request. But send me a friend request instead of some bizzare message saying that you are on your friends account. I don't listen to those. If you want to chat with me on AIM, then... well, actually your out of luck on that one. My AIM doesn't work right anymore. However, I do have a Yahoo IM, and if you want to talk to me on that, then do so, don't use myspace to get to me if it isn't going to be our medium of communication.

Anyway, like I said before, I'm pretty generous with the friend requests. I have to admit though, if profile is mostly blank, I get suspicious. I will still add you, if for no other reason than to boost your ego. I often get annoyed when girls want to add me to promote TRUE.COM or some other hookup site. Why? What's the concept behind this? Is myspace or the other site not good enough for you? Use myspace to stay in touch with your friends and tell others who you are, but don't turn it into a billboard for another site, it defeats the purpose. Another thing, stop spamming! Nobody want's to read it.

One final note. If I get two friend requests that have different names but the SAME photo, you can forget it. I know some people have more than one myspace, I have two myself. But at least go through the trouble of differentiating them a little bit. My other one is a private site where every request is turned down. That's right, it's an invitation only affair. However, my private site looks much different than my public site. If some of you are wondering why I have two myspace accounts, it breaks down like this: One to meet people (public) the other keep in touch (private) and don't think you can ask me to add you to my private site if we haven't met in real life. That's the policy. When I get two sites that look exactly the same, have the same photo, but have a different title, that's it, game over. You are obviously up to something but you have such a sheltered life you do not have the imagination make them different.

Anyway, it's not all bad, I have met a couple of people that are worthwhile and I have been able to reconnect with old friends. So in general, outside of a few bastards trying to screw everything up for us, myspace still serves it's purpose of connecting people who, up till now, could not be connected (at least not easily).

1:06 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

The next step
Category: Jobs, Work, Careers

Well, now that "Jerry Springer is God" has finished it's run, it's time for me to find another job. Since moving out of Albuquerque is going to be impossible for a while, I'll have to make due with what I have, which isn't much. Such is the life of an actor, work tends to be piecemeal.

8:33 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

My first job

Well, after serveral bouts of depressing stories, it's time for a bright spot in the news.

I was cast in the CNM Spring Production. It's ten short plays and it runs from Thursday March 15, to Sunday March 18 down at the Vortex Theatre on Buena Vista just south of Central. All the shows are at 8pm except the sunday show which is at 2pm. I will be playing the role of Mark in the short play "Game Theory." It's a very fun script. Some of the other plays are "Jerry Springer is God", "At Sea", and "Lynette at 3am". They're all short productions so the whole experience won't last more than an hour and a half. I'll send out a formal invitation some time next week.

Till then, adios!

10:54 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment