Analog-Theater 2.0

Having been a few weeks and I haven’t seen much love for the chapter I posted, I have gone back and made some major changes to the story.  I have created new characters and changed the plot.  I’ve decided that I will post chapter 2 once I get 10 clicks, instead of the 100 clicks I was asking for before.

New Chapter 1

I have been writing a few more pages of the story and got to thinking, I could make this a community project.  That might make some people more interested in the story.  So I have created a thread on the forum for discussion about this.  Readers can discuss what various characters should do and even help in the creation of other characters that have not yet appeared.

http://analog-theater.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=31.0

By the way, last I checked we have have 4 clicks on the banner ad.  I am thinking I might lower the number of clicks that I was wanting before I release the second chapter.  For those of you who don’t know where the ad is, scroll down and you will see it on the left hand side of the page.

It’s been almost a month since my last post.  A lot has happened since then.  I’ve made some progress in my goals.  I have lost ten pounds as of a couple weeks ago.  I will weigh myself again in March to see how much more I’ve gone down.  The other big event is that I have been unemployed all month.  I have been looking for a new job.  I had one interview and I have another one next week, so that’s progress.  I also came up with a few ideas outside of the box, which is what this post is really about.

One of my hobbies (I’m not sure if its really a talent since I know that I’m not as good as I want to think I am) is writing.  So I decided to try to do that to make some money.  I starting toying around with an idea the other day and got a few pages of a new story done.  This is still an early draft, but I figured why not post it.

Now here’s the deal, I will post chapter 1 here for you to read.  Once I get 100 clicks on the banner ads, I will post chapter 2.  When I get 100 more, I will post chapter 3 and so on.  There is nothing saying the same person can’t click more than once.

At some point, I will probably go back and make revisions to the story.  I will let you know as that happens so you can go back and see how much it has improved.

And here it is Chapter 1 of an as yet unnamed work

I happened to notice that it’s a little over 5 months until my birthday and its a slow day at work today, so I decided to update my wishlist for my birthday.  This is by no means a final list.  I will probably add more stuff over the next couple months.

            As I have mentioned before, I have written some fiction stories because it was a way to escape my undesired reality.  In those stories, the hero got to have all sort of incredible adventures that included doing things I wanted to do.  I’ve always wanted to actually live out some of those adventures.  I worked out a list of things that I would like to do to be like my characters.

45) Go skydiving – This is an easy goal.  All I need to do is go take lessons.

            I think that there is something liberating about jumping out of an airplane.  There is just you, the air, the ground coming up to greet you, and hopefully a parachute.  A friend of mine, Kent, has done it several times and he enjoyed it.  If I get out to Texas and he’s free, I’ll see if he wants to take me.

46) Spar with Jet Lee

47) Drive a Ferrari – I mean, who doesn’t want to drive one?

48) Bungee jump a car – Speaking of cars, I saw this in a movie once and thought, that would be fun.  Of course, the car did not survive any of the three times they did it.

49) Fly a jet

50) Ride in the space shuttle – all I need is a couple million dollars to buy myself a ticket.

51) Be in a Hollywood movie – not necessarily star in a movie, I understand that you have to start at the bottom and work your way up, so I don’t mind being a bit part.

52) Work at a Japanese restaurant making sushi – every time I go to a sushi place, I see an oriental person making it.  I always thought that it would be fun to be a white guy making sushi.

53) Walk the red carpet at some major event with tons of celebrities.

54) Get interviewed on the Daily Show with Jon Stewert – The Daily Show is one of my favorite shows.  I like how he has different people on the show each night talking about various books or movies that they are promoting.  When I finally get a book published, it would probably help plugging the book on his show.

55) Go on a date with Summer Glau – Every action hero needs an action girl to pair up with.  I think Summer Glau is mine.

56) Go on a date with Kerli – Just in case things fall through with Summer Glau, I will keep the Estonian singer Kerli as my back up plan.  Just don’t tell her that.

57) Meet the prophet – several years ago, I went to a conference in New York and had a chance to see Gordon B. Hinkley in person, however he had a busy schedule that day and left immediately after the conference. Since that day I have wanted to shake his hand.  However, he has passed away.  Now that Thomas S. Monson is the new prophet, I will hope for a chance to meet him in person.

I’m going to take a break from my list of goals to talk about upcoming movies.

 It was recently announced that actor Tobie Maguire and director Sam Raimi will be be returning for Spiderman 4.  Marvel has decided to go back to Peter Parker’s high school days for this film and will bring in a younger actor.  James Vanderbilt has penned the new script.  They are anticipating release of the new film sometime in 2012. 

And now for my amazing and mostly accurate list of upcoming movies.

Joe Johnston (Director of the Rocketeer and Jurassic Park III) is doing a remake of the Wolfman, starring Benicio Del Toro (Sin City, 21 Grams) as Lawrance Talbot/the Wolfman.  The movie is scheduled for release February 12, 2010.  Anthony Hopkins will appear at Sir John Talbot. 

March 5, 2010 is the release of Tim Burton’s version of Alice In Wonderland starring Mia Wasikowska as a 17 year old Alice who stumbles upon Wonderland in the same manner she did 10 years before.  The movie also has Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Alan Rickman as the Caterpiller, and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. 

A remake of Clash of the Titans directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Lawrence Kasdan is due for release on March 26, 2010. Ray Harryhausen is involved, and Sam Worthington is in talks to star. 

April 30, 2010: Iron Man 2, with Robert Downy, Jr returning as Tony Stark.  Scarlett Johansson has signed on to play the Black Widow and Mickey Rourke as the villain Whiplash.  And with a cameo by Thor.

 June 11, 2010 the imfamous black van returns with an all new A-Team.  UFC champ Quinton Jackson will don the feather earrings and gold chains to become B.A. Baracus, Liam Neelson will play Hannibel, Bradley Cooper (All About Steve, the Hangover) will play Faceman, and Sharlto Copley (District 9) is in talks to play Murdock.  Jessica Biel is also in talks to be in the film as a woman from Faceman’s past. 

July 2, 2010 fills me with both fear and anticipation.  It is the release date of The Last Airbender which is written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan.  It is a live action movie based on the popular anime “Avatar, The Last Airbender”.  Starring Noah Ringer as Aang, the avatar.  M. Night Shyamalan has done some really good movies and some not so good movies, so I’m not sure what to expect with him.  Also, I have been disappointed with the Hollywood live action adapations of animes, so I don’t have high expectations for this.  But the trailer looks good. 

July 16, 2010: The Sorceror’s Apprentice, a modern day retelling of the story from Fantasia, which was a retelling of a 1797 poem by Goethe titled Der Zauberlehrling, starring Nicholas Cage as the Sorceror, Jay Burachel as the apprentice, Teresa Palmer as the female lead, and Monica Bellucci as the Sorceress Veronica, and directed by Jon Turteltaub. Robert Rodriguez, the director of “Desperado” and “Sin City”, has an upcoming movie with a very interesting cast. 

The movie “Machette” stars Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, Danny Trejo, Jeff Fahey and Cheech Marin. The movie is expected in theaters sometime in 2010. 

Sometime in 2010 we will get to see the Three Stooges as we’ve never seen them before, with a new cast.  MGM has casted Paul Giamani and Benicio del Toro as Larry and Moe respectively.  Sean Penn was cast as Curly, but has dropped out.  Jim Carey was originally cast as Larry, but has also dropped out. 

As part of the nine movie Avenger’s franchise, Thor will be released May 20th, 2011.  Chris Hemsworth (A Perfect Getaway, Star Trek) has been cast as Thor.  Tom Hddleston (The Unrelated) will play Loki.  And Natalie Portman will play Jane Foster.

June 17, 2011 Green Lantern, a live action movie about the Green Lantern Hal Jordan.  It will be direct by Martin Campbell.  Chris Pine (Captain Kirk from the new Star Trek) is rumored to be playing Hal Jordan.

July 22, 2011: Captain America: The First Avenger which will take place half in World War 2 and half in modern day.  I have yet to find out who is playing Steve Rodgers or any other characters.  Joe Johnston (The Rocketeer, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jurassic Park 3) will direct the film.

Also sometime in 2011: Grayskull: Masters of the Universe, produced by Joel Silver and written by Justin Marks and Evan Daugherty.  This will probably change as Sony has acquired the rights to make the movie from Warner Brothers, but WB still owns the scripts.

 Sometime in 2011, Director Scott Derrickson is planning to film Paradise Lost in 3D. Discussing his interpretation of the story, he sees Satan as an anti-hero and not the villain, and that it shall be a “litmus test” for the audience when they stop sympathising with the character. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are producing. Also in 2011, Keanue Reeves will have to work hard to impress us as Spike Spiegel in the live action Cowboy Bebop movie.  There is no news yet about who the rest of the cast is, but Sunrise Inc and the creators of Cowboy Bebop are involved in the production, so there is hope that the movie will stay true to the series. In Mid 2011 we can plan on seeing more of J.J. Abrams alternate Star Trek time line as the crew of the Enterprise launches again on its mission to find hot new aliens for Kirk. May 4th, 2012: Avengers with Robert Downy, Jr., Edward Norton, Samuel L. Jackson, and whoever plays Captain America and Thor. Micheal Bay is planning on a third installment of the Transformers series for July 4th, 2012. 

In 2012 Johnny Depp will be back as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 4. Geoffrey Rush has expressed interest in returning as Barbossa, but has not signed on yet and Director Gore Verbinski will not sign on without a complete script.

I have a few other goals that I want to include as the Little Things in Life.

42) Make a new friend – Since it is a new year, I might as well make a new friend or two.  Especially since I recently moved to a new place and I am now attending a new ward and I don’t know anyone there.

43) Keep in touch with old friends – I’ve found several old friends from high school on Facebook, however, I haven’t really kept in touch with many of them.  I write to my friend Kevan occasionally (usually only when I have a question to ask him).  My dad does much better, he sends out a regular newsletter to people.  I could try the same thing, though it doesn’t seem very personal.  I guess I could start that until I get letters back from them that I can reply individually to. 

44) Find Melanie – Going a little more specific, I want to reconnect with Melanie.  Melanie Hutchinson was a very dear friend of mine from Key West.  To be completely honest, I was in love with her, but she only wanted me as a friend.  I moved to New York and Melanie moved to California.  Naturally we lost touch some time after that.  Then I moved again.  I still care a lot about her and would like to know who she is doing.  I have asked this before in emails and on Myspace and Facebook, but ff anyone knows her, please help us to reconnect.  One of these days I want to go out to Los Angeles and see if I can find her again.

I would like to say that before I posted this, I have completed goal 44.  While I was preparing this post the other day, I did another search on Facebook and found Melanie.  That is 1 goal down, 99 to go.

 I got a played a few games of chess on my computer this week.  My rating is hovering around 1000.  Raj (a computerized opponent rated at 1046) is giving me some trouble.  I’ve lost two games against him.  I will beat him tomorrow.

Just to update my progress, I bought a scale last night and weighed myself this morning.  I refuse to believe it and will double check with another scale, but it says I weight 306.  I refuse to believe that I weigh more than 260.  Right after that, I did 15 minutes with my dumbbells while I was getting ready for work.  Tonight I am stopping buy the store to buy a bunch of stuff for salads.  I am also cutting out all sodas from my diet.

On the plus side, after mentioning my goal about finishing my book, I wrote two paragraphs last night. 

Now, here are my next goals:

27) Explore New England – The best place to start seeing the world is probably my own back yard.  I’ve been to some of the local Smithsonians, but there are tons of other places worth checking out.  My friend Alan and I once made up a list of places to see, but we never got around to going.  I think it is time to go on that trip.  On the list of things to see, we had the New Port Tower in Rhode Island, the skeleton in armor in Massachusetts, America’s Stonehenge in Hew Hampshire, and the Westford Knight in Massachusetts to name a few.

28) Go to Japan – A few years ago, my friend Eric came up with the idea that after he graduated college, we would go to Japan together.  However, it seems that that plan has changed since he’s now planning on going to pilot school after graduation.  I still want to go.  First off, as they said in the webcomic Megatokyo Japan is a Mecca for gamers.  Japan is the home of both Sony and Nintendo, along with other video game companies.  All of that aside, there are also more historical and cultural reasons to go there: Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji Temple, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Heian Shrine, and others.  And lastly, Japan is where anime comes from (or at least to some extent since they are outsourcing most of it to Korea now).

            There are programs where you can volunteer to teach English in Japan and you don’t even have to know the language.  They even pay you to do.  I’m going to have to sign up for one of those.  Or I could save up some money and buy a plane ticket.

29) Learn Japanese – when I get to Japan, it would be nice if I could speak the language.  I picked up some cd lessons a while back, but I never got very far along.  I will start setting aside time to go over the lessons.  Perhaps during my walks.

30) Get a real katana – I like swords.  I have a few katanas in my room, however they are all cheap, mass produced swords.  One is a movie replica.  I would love to have a real one, one folded in the traditional manner.  However, they are rather expensive.  I have heard of a few people in Japan that still make katanas.  When I’m there, I can see about purchasing one.

31) Run with the bulls in Spain – I’ve heard about running with the bulls and it sounds like something I would like to do.

32) Go to the pyramids

33) Go to Stonehenge

34) Go to the ruins in Central America

35) Sail through the Bermuda triangle – As I grew up, I watched a lot of shows about the Bermuda Triangle (and UFOs, ghosts, and various other things).  Now I want some first hand experience.  While numerous planes and ships have disappeared there, others travel through those waters daily without incident, so I will probably be safe.  But with my luck…

36) Go to Jerusalem

37) Spend time in a Tibetan monastery

38) Climb Mount Everest

39) Work at a base in Antarctica – I just finished reading a book that takes place in Antarctica.  I think it might be interesting (not to mention cold) to go down there and work at one of the research bases.  I’m sure that there is some job down there that I can qualify for.

40) Go to India and go out with a woman that wears a choli – I was on a Bollywood movie kick for a while.  It started with Paheli, and then I watched several others.  I find the Indian women to be fairly attractive and the traditional clothing to be attractive too.  During my world tour, I’m going to have to make sure I stop in India and find me a woman there.  Maybe I can work on hooking up with a Bollywood actress.  Unfortunately Rani Mukherjee is going to be getting married, so she is no longer available.

41) Visit Australia – none of the above goals will take me to the land down under, but I want to be able to say that I’ve been to all the continents, so there you have it.

My previous goals were very ambitious, I will admit that.  Kevan, a friend of mine, suggested that I make smaller, easier to achieve goals, so I decided to tone down the next set.  I think there is something to what Kevan said, by setting these goals, I have a sense of having accomplished something sooner and it will motivate me to keep working on the others.

 21. Clean my room (and keep it that way) - I moved a little over a month ago and still have a bunch of boxes on my floor.  I think its about time to go through everything and put everything where it belongs.  There is something to be said about having a clean room and I’m sure given the chance my dad will say it.

However, the real trick is keeping the room clean.  I need to schedule a little time each day to straighten things up.

22) Read the scriptures from cover to cover – The scriptures are the word of God.  My goal #4 was to get more spiritual.  Reading the word of God should help me achieve that.  So, I will read the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price from beginning to end this year.  I read a chapter a day usually, however I’m going to have to step it up to get them all in.

23) Be more active in church activities – in the last 3 or 4 years, I have hardly attended any sort of church activity.  I went to one dance in 2008 and I went to one family home evening.  By attending these activities more often, it will get me out of the house and away from my video games and allow me to meet more people (maybe a few attractive women).

24) Put $5 a paycheck in a special savings account – This would be separate from my normal savings account and would be money that I would not touch unless it’s an emergency.  While $5 is not much, it will add up over the year and earn interest.  Assuming I have no emergency in the next few years, it could amount to a nice sum.

25) Finish writing a Plan of Happiness - I started writing that book a long time ago and for the last few months I have had just one chapter left.  However, I have never got around to working on that chapter.  I need to make the time and finish it up so I can send it to the publisher.

26) Take Melissa to the movies - this one should be easy.  I have already been talking to Melissa about going to Alice in March.  I even put in for a couple days off to do it (she doesn’t live close by, so I’ll have to drive up to see her).

Just to report, I did 40 push ups yesterday (not the 100 I want to do each day, but its a start).  I had to come into work at 7am today (after getting home at midnight last night), so I didn’t play any chess this morning, but I will play a game when I get home this afternoon.

 Now, here are the next ten goals.

            People who know me know that I am really into chess.  In fact, one of the first ten goals was about chess.  When I started putting together this list, I had several goals about chess.  I ended up getting rid of a few because they were repetitious.  Like playing in the US Open and the World Open (I’ve listed a couple different tournaments already) and playing against Hikaru Nakamura (I’ve listed enough different people I want to play with).  I think that the ten goals I kept are enough to represent that facet of my life and my dreams.

11) Get my rating on Chess Master over 1200 – The first step I need to do to complete all my chess goals is to become a stronger player.  Like real chess ratings, the ratings on Chess Master go up as you win and down when you lose games.  Right now I have a rating around 900.  To get it over 1200 I will need to continue to win games and win games against higher rated opponents.  Part of my plan to get stronger to become an International Master is to play a game every day.  As I play games and beat higher ranked opponents, my rating will increase as will my strength.

12) Play a lot of pick up games – While playing daily against the computer is great for getting a lot of practice in, chess is best when there are two players involved.  I used to keep a chess set in my car so that I had it handy if someone wanted a game against me, but I have since taken it out.  It is time to put in back in my car so I can start playing at work, at the anime club, and at my friends’ houses whenever someone is up for the challenge.

13) Win the Virginia Open – The Virginia Open is a chess tournament that I have gone to a couple times.  It happens every January.  Both of the times that I played, I lost every game.  While I did learn something from those loses, I also realized that losing sucks. After the last tournament I decided to quit competing until I got better at chess.  I plan on attending the one next January.  By doing what I mentioned in goal #9, I should have improved my skills considerably and might be able to win some rounds, if not all of them.  It will be my triumphant return to the world of chess.

14) Play a game against Gata Kamsky and

15) Play a game against Susan Polgar – I’m going to talk about both of these goals together.  Gata Kamsky is currently the highest ranked chess player in the United States and Susan Polgar is one of the highest ranked players in the world.  Both of them have competed in various international tournaments, included the World Championship.  It would be an honor to have a chance to put my soon-to-be-improved game up against their championship level game.  I don’t expect to beat either of them, but it should be a learning experience.

16) Play a game against Josh Waitzkin and spar against him – Josh Waitzkin has been a hero of mine.  He was a chess prodigy.  He was the US under 18 champion three years in a row and was on the verge of becoming a grand master when he quit playing chess professionally.  The movie Searching for Bobby Fischer was a dramatization of his childhood.  He has since started practicing pushing hands tai chi and has won several tournaments.  I would like to be able to test my skills both over the board and on the mat against him.

17) Get a grand master norm in the Gibraltar Open – I have read about the Gibraltar Open several times in Chess Life (a monthly chess magazine).  It has been something of my dream tournament.  It happens each year at the end of January or the beginning of February (it is too late for me to plan on competing in this years tournament, but I have time to start preparing for 2011) and it seems that everyone goes there to get grand master norms (a grand master norm is a requirement to become a grand master in chess.  You have to play in tournaments against grand masters from different countries and receive favorable results). Many of the prominent chess players compete there, including Irena Krush.  Which leads me to my next goal…

18) Go on a date with Irena Krush – if I’m lucky, I will have a chance to meet her at the Gibraltar Open.  Irena is a rising star in the chess world.  The twenty-five year old international master first got a name for herself on the message boards during the Kasparov vs. the world match where she demonstrated considerable analytical skills as everyone discussed the next moves.  She’s been on the cover of Chess Life a couple times.  The last issue I saw her in was about her earning a grand master norm in the Gibraltar Open.

19) Become a grandmaster of chess – if I can achieve all of the above mentioned goals, this one should be easy.  Of course, I probably will have to be a grand master or at least an international master before I can consider playing seriously against Kamsky or Polgar.

20) Play in the World Championship – I think this goal might be one of the hardest to achieve and I’m not sure I should even include it on the list, but it does give me something very high to shoot for.  To play in the World Championship you have to be one of the best players in the world.  I would have to be able to beat Kamsky and Polgar and any other player I have mentioned.  I will keep practicing my game and see how far I can go.  Maybe you’ll see me on the cover of Chess Life after I beat Anand.