World Champs 2012

-------- Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Turning a Corner

The moment I stepped off the streetcar I began doubting why I'd come—the heavy air that had to force its way into the lungs; the stench of piss and struggle; the forgotten, wandering in groups of one. My dad had always called these people the scum of our collective generations—the worthless who refused to contribute, the weak who couldn't pick themselves up even when their lives were depending on it.

Just a few weeks ago—probably two, maybe three, blocks away—my parents and I were walking back to our car after taking in a show at the Orpheum. Turning the corner, one of them bumped into my mom. He was drunk or high, mumbling, "my fault, my bad, my fault." He reached out his hands, cupped, holding a red raisin box that carried his night's profits. In a moment of haze and confusion, my dad pounced. He grabbed this kid—couldn't have been older than me—and slammed him into the gutter, his hair and face drenched in the city's guts. I remember the kid's face as my dad spit on him; I remember how he went into a fetal position, screaming and crying like an animal that had been shot in the kneecaps. My dad grabbed me and mom, forcing us to flea.

The moment was haunting then and is haunting me now. I had to come back here, alone. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe it was to find that kid and see if he was okay. Maybe it was to spite my circumstance. Maybe it was to see for myself how life reaches this point for people, instead of judging blindly like a coward.


The Plot Thickens: (1) a first encounter, and (2) a box of raisins
(The only rule: somehow incorporate the above two plot elements into the flash)

Published on April 19, 2010 at mudjob stories & observations

Old Smokey Oak

Granddad called it the "Old Smokey Oak." To most, it was a lump of firewood wasting space in the corner, but to me, it was the only place I felt safe. At night, I'd sneak downstairs, curl up in a ball and hide beneath the wooden fortress, hoping my humming would drown out the screams and crashing glass echoing through the walls from a distant room. The ghosts were relentless. When sunrise came, Granddad would be back to normal. Steadily positioned in the corner of the coffee-dark library, he'd resume his place behind that rugged oak, hunched over his typewriter, bleeding like Hemingway.


Published March 3, 2010 on 6S by Blake N. Cooper


Blake N. Cooper is the creator and editor of ThinkingTen — A Writer's Playground. He lives in Seattle with his world, Emilia, and his mini-world, Siena Violet.

Top 10 Films of the Decade

I love acting, screenwriting, editing, anything film. Plain and simple. To close out the decade, I've committed to making a top ten list of those films that stood out in my mind as classics--the best of the best. There may be better films as defined by the critics, but these are the ones that did it for me.

Would it be cheating if I woke up tomorrow desperately needing to make changes?

I would love to see your top ten; so, get them posted and let's chat about the magic of the screen; let's discuss the power of the medium; hell, let's make a movie of our own. Call me.

1. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
2. Garden State (2004)
3. Wonder Boys (2000)
4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
5. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
6. Into the Wild (2007)

7. Avatar (2009)
8. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
9. There Will Be Blood (2007)
10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

The films that made the above task nearly impossible:

Inglorious Bastards (2009)

V for Vendetta (2005)
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
The Pianist (2002)
You Can Count on Me (2000)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
25th Hour (2002)
Gladiator (2000)
Lost in Translation (2003)
Memento (2000)
Purple Violets (2007)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

Two Best Songs, in Film, of the Decade:
"Blowers Daughter" - Damian Rice - Closer
"Falling Slowly" from Once -- Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

A top ten actors-of-the-decade may follow.

(Facebook Link)

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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Film Trailer Vault: "The Best of Youth"

Looks amazing--all 6+ hours:



(A hat-tip to the Silver Fox!)

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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

(VIDEO) MakingOf: Director Terry Gilliam Talks About The Miracles of Filmmaking

Heath Ledger's last film was almost lost to The Vault:



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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Jeopardy Training (VIDEO): Flu Attack! How A Virus Invades Your Body

Amazing how our bodies work:



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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Film Trailer Vault: That Evening Sun

Hal Holbrook--Oscar time!

Premise: An aging Tennessee farmer named Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the potential loss of his beloved farm.

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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Classic Films: The Third Man (trailer)

Graham Greene. Orson Well. Yes please.



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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Music Video: Gimme Shelter (acoustic)

Flawless acoustic of Gimme Shelter:



(Original version)
Hit-tip: @RyanCooper

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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

The Daily Show - Jon Krakauer (video)

What a heartbreaking story that absolutely needs telling. What to do with the McCrystal connection...

"Jon Krakauer (Into the Wild) explains how the Bush administration exploited Pat Tillman's death for political gain."



Book: "Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman"

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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)

Documentary Vault: The Future of Food (full length film)

Friday viewing:



Interesting documentary on the history and future of food.
Educate or die dumb.

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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)

Ken Burns on Colbert (Hulu Video)

From PBS: In case you missed it, Ken Burns was a guest on the Colbert Report this week:



Video description: Ken Burns believes if America didn't have national parks, the Grand Canyon would be lined with mansions and Yosemite would be a gated community.

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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Film Trailer Vault: "Brothers"

I think we're in for an epic year of films. Impressive cast—to say the least:



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Blake N. Cooper (ThinkingTen; Twitter; Facebook)

Film Trailer Vault: "An Education"

Oscar Watch: Carey Mulligan and the always-masterful Peter Sarsgaard.



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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)

"Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration"

Just think what the next 100 years will bring...



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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)

Thinly-sliced Trees

(#web #technology)
New layout. New blogging strategy. New energy.
For about a year, now, I've had a feeling that blogs could be dying—not the case. A resurgence is coming. The Internet as we know it, dying? Now, that's a different story. The architecture and user habits of the current web are quickly becoming stale. As the Apples and Googles continues to bring together the best minds of the times—pushing out cheaper pocket brains and robustly simple netbooks—stiffly sitting in front of a computer surfing will be like that ancient time of sitting on a porch reading those rolled-up, rubberbanded, thinly-sliced trees our parents use to read on Sunday mornings. Blogs will have their place in the new Web—they just desperately need new branding (and a new name).
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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)

Six Sentences—"Wilted"

Stay or go—just stop wasting space in the middle. We're given one shot; what's your point if not to color your time in shades of strength and strokes of pain? Carry on, people, there's nothing to see here, but a man who crept from one broken dream to another, stuck in molded memories of V-signs and wilted flowers. That's your legacy? Fight. Then, fight again.
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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)

Six Sentence Writing Exercise—"The Wanted-Man's Shack"

Describe what you see in this photo in six sentences.

For decades now, "The Wanted-Man's Shack" had been occupied by one ambitious transient after another. The redwooded escape was bare of hanging idols or cushioned distractions; a mattress, a knife, a blanket—only the essentials made up the tired space. Nailed to the door, were the rules: the playbook to change. A week is all it took. A forgotten drifter walks in; a clean slate walks out.

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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)

Video Vault: New York, I Love You, John Hughes: A Documentary, The Boys Are Back

New York, I Love You


John Hughes: A Documentary


The Boys Are Back

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Blake N. Cooper (Blog; RSS Feed; Twitter; Facebook)