miscellaneous ramblings.

how about it?

So I have decided to do a little ramblings post because I just love how Carlotta at Pastor's Girl's Ponderings does it.  As you have probably seen by my style of blogging, I take the best of other people's blogs and I mix it into my own.  Some may call that copying, but it is the highest form of flattery, right?




followers.

I know that for most people, 10-15 people looking at your blog in a couple of days isn't that big of a deal for me, but I really am excited that people are taking a look.  The majority of the people that take a look at my blog aren't bloggers, but I really encourage you to comment and follow my blog.  Non-bloggers don't really know how much it means to get a comment and to get a follower.  You don't need a blog, you just need an email or facebook!

some rest.

I have been getting tons of rest this last week and am still not to 100% because of my surgery.  I thought that my surgery would give me so much time to blog but my creative juices have seemed to run out for some reason.


summer.

It is so weird thinking that summer is already fast approaching and that I have to start doing the deadly "Spring- make-up-your-mind-what-activities-you-are-going-to-do".  It really stinks that I have so many opportunities and I really wish I could do them all.

another shoot with grace.

I did another shoot with Grace.  We have a new website, and we also have better editing software so our photos look so much better.  You can check out our website by clicking here!

where did they go?

I am currently looking for some lost photos of a great time Grace and I had baking cookies in my kitchen.  A cookies post inspired me to put them up but as of now, they are just not coming out of their hiding place.  I'll look for them and try to post them.

a challenge.

Here is a shot I took of Grace that I am entering in a photo challenge at Live Every Moment.  This picture of Grace is one of my favorites.  The positioning, the background, everything!  It just makes me so happy!  Also, you may have noticed that we have a logo watermark! 





I hope that my creative juices come back and that I can be blogging a lot as we approach the end of the school year. 

Just Me,
Jack

"I, the Lord."

Today I had a great opportunity to attend a watch fire at church that my parish starts at the beginning of the Triduum and ends at the end.  It is watched, and it runs throughout the night and day by willing parishioners who tend to the fire.  I had only been to the watch fire once after our Easter Vigil service, but after mass one Sunday, our family friends decided to sign up so I threw our name up there.  Although, I knew we weren't going to have school being that it is Good Friday, and the only time slot left open was 7-9 AM I wasn't really thinking twice about it.  At the time I didn't really think of how hard it would be to have to get up at 6:30 in the morning on a day off and I was not ready, and didn't want to go this morning, but it was really a blessing.  My mom left early for a doctor's appointment and my brother and sister went in the parking lot and played while myself, our family friends, and a few other parishioners sang songs.

As we were singing the song "Here I Am, Lord" we were approaching the lyrics... "I the Lord of wind and rain" the rain started sprinkling and as the lyrics approached "I have heard my people's pain" I smiled and knew that it was a sign.  I may have not known it right then and there, but as I think about it now, it was a sign that God is going to bring hardships and challenges in my life and he is hearing my pain.  This past year has been really hard for me and my pains have been difficult to over come and long-lasting but it was He who told me that He is hearing me and that He is with me.  He loves me and He is my savior. 

"God gave his only begotten Son so that he who believes may not die but have eternal life." - John 3:16

(Two Photos of the Watch Fire taken with my phone)

I really hope that everyone has a blessed Easter and a great end to the Triduum. 

With love,

Just Me,

Jack

Today

Today we kicked off a campaign that myself and 5 other middle schoolers that I go to school with have been working on for the past six months.  The campaign is entitled Project Bully.  WE made an 8 minute long video complete with 6 different scenes of bullying scenarios that we believe happen daily in the life of a middle schooler.  It was really fun but frustrating and a lot of work at times.  We also will be giving talks in front of about 150 people on Thursday afternoon.  I'm really excited about this because throughout the whole project I was basically the leader of the majority and it feels great to finally see it come together at the end.

The bad news about today, though, is that it was too cold or rainy or something to play tennis so our first tennis match against Mound Middle School was cancelled.  It did give me more time to work on the posters for Project Bully though so it can't be too bad.

I also have a little more news about my photography.  My friend Grace and I are starting a little "Photography Business" or whatever you want to call it.  We are just starting and are looking for people who would like to come and volunteer to do some small photoshoots.  The pictures I showed last week are not the types of photos that we will be taking, because I am so excited to say that I got some new photo editing software.  If you are interested in modeling, or know someone who is, please contact us at ellislynchphotography at gmail dot com. 

By contacting us, you can also see some photos that we have done in the past also. 


Just Me,
Jack

Weekly Obsessions

So I'm back with another Weekly Obsessions!  This one has taken a long time to put together because of my wonderful procrastination techniques.  Enjoy!

1) Culvers - I love Culvers so much!  Whenever I go there I get a butter-burger plain with cheese and a small chocolate concrete mixer with Andes Mints.  It is delish and it is captured above with my camera phone!

(photo courtesy of buycellphoneaccessory.com)
2) My Green Phone Cover - I got a new phone case/cover from a little kiosk in the mall near my house and I love it so much.  It keeps my phone from getting dents and scratches and breaking when I drop it, and it hides the black color of it.  It looks almost exactly the same as the one above (I have the same phone) except my cover is a little darker.

3) Black and White Photography - I believe that Black and White Photography is one of the greatest inventions ever.  It adds that little something you need in a photo, whether it is sophistication, innocence, humor, or happiness.  It is a perfect editing option with people as your subjects too.

4) Lists - I make lists for everything!  Absolutely everything!  It is the funniest habit in the world.  Whether it's cast lists, homework lists, to-do lists, or any other type of list my whole desk and planner is filled with them!

5) My Avenue Q Book - When my mom, sister, and I went to New York for Spring Break we went and saw the musical Avenue Q and I loved it so much.  We were at a little Broadway store and I saw this book and started flipping through it.  It is complete with the entire script, director's notes, and even the process the playwrights took when trying to make the show.  I love it and it is a big inspiration.

(photo courtesy of urbanoutfitters.com)
6) Urban Outfitters Sweatshirts - Also when we went to New York, we went into the Urban Outfitters store and I fell in love with their zip-up hoodies.  They are really versatile and comfortable and can be worn super casual or semi-fancy.



So I hope you liked this Weekly Obsessions post and I will promise you a little update on my photography soon okay? Okay!


Just Me,
Jack

My Blog.

Through some close friends of mine I have heard of some opinions on some recent posts of mine, especially my post, An Actor. 

The world will always have opinions.  Some of them will be good, others not so good.  Nevertheless, the world is based on opinions.  Being an artist I believe that opinions are some of the best things in the world and I love hearing peoples opinions on my work, writing, persona, etc. 

This may be weird to some, but my favorite opinions to hear are the ones that are telling me to change something, some constructive criticism.  It truly makes me a better person.  In every aspect of my life I welcome opinions of others and constructive criticism.  Now, I am not saying that the criticism that I am given I will always follow, because I need to do my own thing, and sometimes I believe things will work better the way I see it.

Especially in terms of my blog, I would love some comments of constructive criticism whether it be a text or a facebook message, or even just comment below my posts.  It is great to hear what people like and dislike about my work.  The most important thing, however, is that the person who is giving the comment remembers that.  It is my work.  This blog is for the joy of myself.  When I don't have an inspiration or a feeling to post, I don't!  I do it for me and for no other reason.  With saying that, I would like to remind everyone that if you truly dislike my work, either it be my signing, acting, blog, or just who I am as a person, please tell me.  Come to me and tell me. 

Now what I am really trying to say here is that there are better ways of handling it then talking behind my back.  Please just stand up for what you believe in right in front of my face.  Don't be a coward.
Stand up to me and tell me what you really think before you go spreading it around. Have some respect for me so that I can have some respect for you.


Just Me,
Jack

Today

Today I had my first

photoshoot with a friend in

my neighbors yard.

She took some of me and  

I took some of her and

I think that they turned out

really nicely and I really hope

to do this again.

What do you think of the photos?  I edited them for a couple of hours and think that they turned out really well.  I really am excited for these and will be doing more shoots with Grace soon.  She is a great friend and I have a post coming up about her soon.

Just Me,

Jack



An Actor

So I am going a little out of order today because my Weekly Obsessions post isn't quite ready yet (what I have been waiting for all week.)  Here is the next one on my list. 


****

*I would like to make note that all views put forth in this post are that of the author's and there are many circumstances that this is not the case*

According to Dictionary dot com there are a lot of different definitions for “actor” but two stood out to me right away. Here they are:

1. A person who acts in a film, play, broadcast, etc.

2. Informal a person who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others.

So when I looked at both of them the first one was very common and exactly what I expected. The second one was not. It is true, from the sense that when one goes on a stage and acts as if they are Fanny Brice or Albert Peterson they are putting a manner that is untrue to them and are trying to cover up their true identity, but I looked a little closer into that one.

You don’t choose to be an actor. You are born an actor. A girl is born with the name Lily with brown hair and blue eyes yet her parents know nothing about who she is going to become. They can force her to play soccer and softball, they can have start her with dance lessons at the age of two, or they can give her a very sheltered life, but everything has a purpose and she is going to become what she is destined to.

I also believe that everyone has free will. I don’t believe however, that you choose to be an actor. You can choose whether to pursue the career, do stage shows or huddle up in your room all day never letting anyone see your true talent, but you don’t choose the talent.

Many people I know who are not actors would choose to be one any day. It seems like such a wonderful thing: to be able to put forward a persona that shows you aren’t who you are, but someone completely different.

I have many theories on how one becomes a good actor, but I also believe that it is always within you. I believe that homosexual men tend to be good actors because they are used to showing off a different person to the outside world then who they truly are. I also believe that many actors go through odd stages in their life where they might act “different” and pretend to be an emo, a nerd, etc.

But I believe that the best actors have the hardest challenge ever.

Find out who they truly are.

Now I am not saying that all of the good actors need to go on a trip to the hills of Tuscany and go soul searching until they have found who they truly were made to be, but the best actors go through lives where they naturally act as if they are someone else, hiding their true selves to fit in. The best actors are so good at what they do because they truly live the life day in and day out. They have to pretend to be someone else, to enjoy different things, to act a different way just to fit in. Just to be that person.

After a while they don’t know who they are. They have lost the real person. They have locked up their true self for so long that they can’t even find who it is. It is just one out of many faces that doesn’t match what they are wearing now.

You lose yourself.

2. A person who puts on a false manner to deceive others.

Sometimes that false manner is there for so long that you don’t know where the true one is. It is a viscous circle of games that never come to an end: looking forever to find your true self when it is already gone.

New York, in Pictures!

So I've added something that may be temporary, and may stay.  AS of now, I kind of like it, but as I am changing around my blog a little bit, it might just have to go.  But as you can see you you look at the top, right side you see a side bar column that says "coming up...."  That is a little sneak preview of whats happening next on my blog.  Let me know what you think about it!

Also, I am changing the design and layout of my blog, so if it is closed, or is looking weird.... Don't worry! It is probably just myself, or my blog designer working on some changes.  I am kind of thinking that I want to change it to something more simple, not so focused on theatre, more on me.  Maybe some of my photography, or something else.  We'll see what happens in the upcoming days.

Lastly, I did promise via my last post and my sidebar that I would share some New York Photos!  Note: All of these pictures were shot via myself or my mother.  And they are all *SOOC

*Straight Out Of Camera.

A self-photograph of myself in front of the Avenue Q sign.  Probably one of the top 12 nights of my life.  And I had a cheap umbrella in my hand because it was hailing on our way to the theatre.

I took these after the show at Roxi's, the best restaurant in the world.  We went there for dessert after Avenue Q and then for breakfast the next morning.

Another shot of the best cheesecake in the world.

The aftermath.

I loved Dylan's Candy Bar.  My sister loved it a little too much, but I thought it was really cute.

A frozen hot chocolate that we got at Serendipity 3.

Myself and the M&M guy.  He's my friend.

Look at all those colors!

Yummy pancakes at Roxi's!

View from the Top of the Rock!

New York, New York!

     So New York was nothing last of a blast.  I love the city and can’t wait to go back again.  I am really convinced that I am going to live there someday.  I have really been trying to live by the saying “you only have one life to live so why not live it” lately.  I don’t know, though.  I really want to rent an apartment with not enough room, but right in the city with some friends.  I want to have 4-5 people in a 2-3 person apartment and just go with the flow.  I have a plan that is kind of crazy with my life.  I’m going to New York University and I am double-majoring in Business Management and Theatre Arts.  I am also going to have a focus in journalism.  And maybe something to do with being a lawyer but WHATEVER!  My senior year I am going to live off campus in my little dream flat that I told you about above and then I’m going to be auditioning for shows and working at a little coffee shop or deli for the rent.  I really want to do this for about ten years and then maybe land something more permanent.  

     One thing I know, though, is that I can never give up theater.  It is not only a dream, but it is truly a lifestyle choice.  I have a great quote for all you theatre people.  “This is the life we choose to live, the life of a theatre kid”.  It is so truthful.  There is just nothing to it.  We just choose it because it is us.   It isn’t part of us, it just becomes us and encircle our body and mind.  It wraps you up emotionally and physically and spiritually and mentally.  You can never let go, but that part of the story is meant for my new post. 

     Back to New York.  I didn’t take many pictures because I thought to myself “just enjoy it while you’re here!.”  And that is EXACTLY what I did!  I went shopping a lot and got some cool stuff.  We ate at one of my favorite restaurants in the world, Roxy’s Deli.  It is so tasty.  I love it there.  Especially there scrumdideleyumptios cheesecake.  Dang.  And also we went to this really cool restaurant, Serendipity 3.  It was so nice and little.  It had nice food too.  We stayed at some nice hotels and stuff along the way too.  I really love new York, and my favorite part of it is the theatre.  We only could see one show, and it was my choice so I chose to see Avenue Q.  It was amazing.  Even though it was off-broadway it was still worth it.  We got an amazing deal at some front row tickets so it was a no-brainer for me.  And I had a blast.  I got a t-shirt (I’m wearing it now ) and a book about the musical that is so cool. 

Just Me,

Jack