I'm Presenting in Six Days...Yikes

Six days until I present and I've got to say, I am actually in a MUCH better position than I was before the start of break. I wrote some pages of the script, and, surprisingly enough, they are actually funny. Whenever I am about to write, I get nervous and develop momentary writer's block, but yesterday, I woke up and busted out a few solid pages. Needless to say, I was pretty happy. Also, a great idea popped into my head this weekend regarding my presentation. I think I am going to host a debate between whether or not marijuana is portrayed too positively in movies and if glorifying it sends the message to children that it is acceptable to do. I will also show the class a trailer for my movie starring my friends. At this point, I am very hopeful and even excited to be working on this project, considering how easily it is coming now.

UPDATE: Helen Keller, aka Erica Heller, has just given me an idea about an alternative presentation. I could show a clip from a movie portraying use of drugs as silly, not sinister, and see what the class thinks about it by making them respond to questions. As for now, it's been a fun year. Keep it real.

Final Project...or Should I Say POTject?

As school is coming to a close, I feel more and more pressured and rushed to complete this project. With the addition of the oral presentation, I feel like I will really have to work to get it all done. For my oral presentation, I am going to briefly touch upon the research I used. I will also pass around The Cannabis Companion, seeing as how it interests almost anyone and everyone whose eye it catches. I will show and describe to the class my screenplay (ie: the plot, characters, etc). Lastly, which will probably be the most enjoyable for the class to view, I will make a coming attraction for LIT, starring myself and my friends, and show it. I am sincerely hoping that everything looks professional, and that the preview is at least somewhat enjoyable for the class. My main concern is time management. Since I have not even started my oral presentation and do not have much of my script completed, I hope I can manage my time well enough to have both completed by the time I present. My goal by week's end is to have much more of my script written, so I have some idea as to what scenes to include in the preview. There is an art to the stoner film coming attraction, so I am going to watch the Half Baked Preview, The Super High Me Preview, and the Pineapple Express Preview...again.

I've Gots To Be Finishing This Research Paper

Alright, it's time to kick it into high gear. The paper is due in four days, I've got a lot of work to get done. My one huge regret is that I didn't do more of this work earlier. If only I had at least a page completed, I would feel so much more comfortable. Instead, I feel rushed and nervous about having to write this whole essay. Oh well, everyone makes mistakes. This week, my main goal is to just finish this paper. I may even finish early so I can send it to the writing cener, seeing as this is one of the biggest projects we've done all year. My sources are all very helpful and credible, so I am basically all set to knock this paper out. I think that I will have two pages completed by tomorrow night, and three by Wednesday. If I don't wrap it up in three pages, Thursday will be the night in which I complete my paper. I have REALLY been slacking on my project though. I have not written anything in so long, even though I really want to. I think I'm scared it won't be funny, and if that's the case, I will be very dejected. I've just got to really set some goals and accomplish them. I think I'll be fine.
Click here for the most helpful website I have found.

Week 3? Who Knows

Ideas have been racing around inside my head. Now that I have completed my movie outline (which I am very happy about), I know what direction I am going in, which allows me to start developing ideas and jokes. My goals for this week are to really get going on my research paper, which I have already started, and to get a good idea for the upcoming scenes in LIT. I have overcome last week's problem of finding useful websites, because I have a plethera of them now. Combined with my priceless Entertainment Weekly article, I am pretty much set for my paper. My newest problem is just pure laziness. I have to look past the fact that it's Spring, (even though it is, and I've got to be outside, playing stickball) and get my work done. I need to actually apply myself and prove that I am still capable of doing work, or else I will be doomed in college. I have begun doing research on classic stoner movies such as the Cheech and Chong films, Dazed and Confused, Half Baked, How High, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Grandma's Boy, Sean Penn's character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Reefer Madness AND Reefer Madness: The Musical. I have of course seen all of these, but am going to rewatch them in order to gain better insight on the crazy, pot-addled minds of "stoners." Also, even though it hasn't come out yet, I am going to watch, and rewatch, and rewatch the trailer for Pineapple Express, which will undoubtedly be the greatest stoner movie of ever created.

Spring Break's Over...Time To Get Some Work Done

I set up some goals for myself before my trip to Mexico, but in all fairness and honesty, my mind was already south of the border. Damn you senioritis. Now, after returning, I am focused and ready to accomplish my goals. Since the research paper is due soon, I am going to mainly concentrate on that for the time being. My research topic is society's reaction to stoner movies, and I have found one especially helpful article in an issue of Entertainment Weekly. I hope to find more, but so far no such luck. My research has chiefly been done in school, thus making it difficult when almost ALL of the websites I try to look at are blocked due to "Drugs". I am hopeful that I will find some other websites when I look on my home computer. At this point, that would be my main problem. My goals for this week are to find more websites or articles, start my research paper (at least the opening paragraph), and DEFINITELY develop some sort of outline for my script. I have so many ideas racing around in my head but I need to organize them. Without an outline, I'm lost. I am very excited to start this project, but scared at the same time. If LIT doesn't turn out to be what I expected, I will be very disappointed in myself. I remain optimistic though, and am very eager to begin.
This website will help me develop my outline.

4th Marking Period BEGINS

Alright, the exciting fourth marking period is off to a great start. I have a couple ideas that I'm spitballing. I am either going to write a series of children's books about a superhero named Forkman, or I am going to write a raunchy stoner movie called Lit. At this point, I am leaning more towards Lit. I have already started it, and I am eight pages in. When I get the How To Write a Screenplay books that Jake and I are going to share, I know I will have the tools to finish this screenplay. Some concerns I have is that I will be 50 pages in and say, "This is garbage." I would hate to expend so much effort and then end up with a subpar product. On the otherhand, if I did the children's books, they would be shorter and easier to edit.
This week, I want to add to my screenplay. I want to create an outline of what will happen in the movie and not just write what comes to mind with no structure whatsoever. My goal by week's end is that i will have at least 15 pages written and a good idea of where I am headed with this movie.
I will clearly have help along the way. I mean, I'm pretty great and all, but I can't take on this task alone. I will consult websites along the way and will also read a number of books on screenwriting. Also, in order to learn more about the plant Cannabis Sativa, I will be reading "The Cannabis Companion" by Steven Wishnia.
I couldn't be more excited about this marking period. I have always wanted to finish a screenplay, and this finally gives me reason to do just that.

Last Post (Sigh)

Ah third marking period. A joyously independent semester, but a fulfilling one nevertheless. I've learned many things during the past couple of months; some about myself and others about the subjects I have studied. First, I have learned that my senioritis is in FULL effect. It has taken over my entire way of thinking, and I am thankful there are only a few months of school left. I have decided that blogging is a rather fun experience and I may continue to update my blog as I age. It is a great way to share my thoughts on the novels I have been reading and just my general thoughts on life. One problem with my blogs is that I haven't been analytical enough. If I only delved deeper into the underlying meanings of The Sunflower and Herland, this blog would've been the best in the land. Sadly, I didn't...and it wasn't. My only regret about these blogs is that I never had the chance to write one regarding Ceremony, the wonderful novel about a Native American who returns from being a prisoner of war during World War II. I have yet to start it, but I was truly looking forward to dissecting it and seeing what is actually about. I also wish I could have posted more interesting links...such as this. If you're on any type of hallucinogenic drug, watch that and you'll be GUARANTEED to trip. Overall, I deeply cherished and thoroughly enjoyed the third marking period. I am thankful I got to try something new (blogging) and won't soon forget the great times I had throughout.