A Note on Unity

McCain's recent terror tactics is unacceptable. We need to remember what separates us from them. Today, at a rally, McCain instigated the racism and hatred that he vowed to rise above; today I am embarrassed by some of my fellow Americans. Obama's vision of hope and unity are strong ideals, but I have no interest in uniting with ignorant fools who think the hatred drenched in our past is the ideal for our future.

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A frothy Guinness to you for stopping by and another for coming back,
Stagekid

Branding and History

Random:
The branding of history is everything. Film will always be synonymous with the glitz, glamor, and the golden age of Hollywood; because of its branding of history, no other country or region will ever be able to truly compete with Hollywood. It's the same reason Paris will always be one of the destinations for people around the world.

Robert Scoble recently published an great blog post capturing his documentation of The New York Times' new Time Machine. The Times' investment in re-defining (as well as sustaining) their brand is nothing short of brilliant; they are the Hollywood of publishing.

The same goes for New York: it will always be the most popular destination in America. Its branding (art, culture, progress) and history will never be matched. Other cities may, within time, establish their own history and unique branding, but they will never rival the original.

Brake in the Action

Just wanted everyone to know that I´m traveling through Paris and Spain and will be bloggiing more as soon as I get back. Access to the Internet is not exactly easy in Comillas :)

It looks like Obama had a huge day on Tuesday. While I can barely understand the French, a lot of people seem to be very interested in America´s election. Obama is an inspiring figure over here--an inspiring American: an uncommon sentiment the last 7 plus years.

I think Spain might be one of the my favorite countries: perfect pace, amazing food, ancient landscapes, beautiful everything.

I hope you come back soon...

A New Profession for Blake: Modeling

Seriously? Modeling? Now, thanks to the University of Washington, I am forced to re-evaluate my entire career path; will an industry shift soon follow? Stay tuned.

Witness the first (and currently only) contents of my modeling portfolio:
http://evans.washington.edu/admissions/pdf/Bulletin.pdf

Daily Randomness: Photography

Nothing like a little photography research project to start off my Wednesday. I'm starting to get the bug: thoughts of being a great photographer; the need to learn every aspect of the art; researching the profession in correlation to my starting-to-rust-but-I-won't-let it passion: travel; wanting to buy a subscription to National Geographic. I have a tendency for this type of life changing-tangent (I drive Emilia crazy, pretty much daily, with my grandiose--but usually exciting, with a touch of stress--standards for tackling a day): ingredients for love, right?
Wiki Portal
10 Tips
Another
Oh Snap!

Chennai, Time Continuum, & Walt

I just wanted to say hello to all my fans in India (Chennai) and Eastern Russia. Other than my obvious skills in pottery theory and orchid pedal manipulation, I'm not really sure why all the traffic from these regions. I am definitely not complaining--more readers the better. Spread the word, young bloggers. Come often.

Welcome to Facebook, wife of mine.

Craig: The fact that I am the only one, now, who has not met you is an interesting mystery: I look forward to that changing soon.

Father and Mother Cooper are both coming: thank you Time Continuum for your always interesting versions of ten-year intervals.

Walt's Auto Shop: Sometimes, during pre-Primetime Jeopardy commercial breaks, I see my brother's mug on the T.V. screen--no heads up, no warnings: just my brother, pursuing a dream in my living room. Congratulations Brother Cooper!

Travels: Randomness to the East

The grass is always greener—an overused cliché, but a valid one nonetheless. I tend to seek new beginnings as a way to combat complacency; I entertain ideas of moving to random places, looking for the perfect spot—seeking an area that fits. My trip to the East Coast opened my eyes to the fact that I'm proud to be a West Coast kid: I'm proud to have been raised in sunny California; I love being from a place that leads the world in innovation, ideas & action, and, of course, film & art (having lived abroad, the level of influence that California has—with regards to art and entertainment—is insane); I love being from a place that values good health, good sushi, and good coffee.

More on grass chat some other day.

A quick side: It's not easy to maintain a blog. There is a ton I want to write about, but finding the time/setting is tough. I'm one of the people who needs a comfortable setting to write: dim lighting, no surrounding chaos, etc. To those who care, hang in there.

I've decided to suspend the beginning-middle-end writing rule—such posts are becoming a bit daunting and trite. Randomness is much more efficient and fun. Let's try:

More NYC/Maryland pictures (taken from my brother's camera) will be posted soon.

I wonder if I still have any readers? I use to have thousands.

I think I am going to start a screenplay; I think I've been saying that for years. I think I'm serious this time. You can't quit if you haven't started.

My brother passed along a good article on making the perfect cup of coffee—Thanks Ry.

If this happens I would cry—seriously.

Is it weird that I love using the emdash (—)? I use it way too much, but I can't help it—I love it. It's almost as good as the colon and semicolon. Sometimes I convince myself that I use these 3 tools correctly.

I think it's time to go.

Coop

Randomness: An Ode to Chabon

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: a near-flawless book--without a doubt one of my favorites. I first started reading Chabon's comic-book/Superman inspired novel during the first half of my senior year in college--right after boarding the plane to Europe that would prove to change pretty much every direction my life was taking.

For those who haven't read it, I'm jealous.

Randomness: Pointless

The old man looked like life had won: his face was defeated: the wear and tear tore: he was done. I couldn't, for the life of me, understand how anyone could get to such a place. We all get kicked around by life--loved ones die, people disappoint, temptation aims to dominate--but (at least in this country) we're all given choices: what to do after we wake up in the morning; are we going to approach the day with a purpose? are we going to be respectful? are we going to get mad, but stay rational?

Why do people give up? Why are we surrounded by weak people who repeatedly throw in the towel for a quick fix or a cheap grin? Everyone is worried about what everyone will think; nobody is thinking about thinking anymore; nobody is taking the time to stop. Stop. Values, integrity, and passion have been replaced with minimizing goals, complacency, and apathy. The same song and dance--whatever. Find a point if life is getting to the point of pointless. Be great or get out of the way. You're wasting my time.

Randomness Unveiled

Enter Randomness—a free association if you will. A new addition emerges; welcome to my head: a blog degeneration or an inevitable evolution? we'll see. Most won't care for these daily/weekly tidbits so instead, enjoy my article links and hopefully you'll come back soon. If I lose you, onwards and upwards.

Speaking of "onwards and upwards," does anyone know where this overly-used saying originated. I actually don't know for certain so please refrain from quoting me for your own dissertation, but I believe this comes from a play by the great Thornton Wilder: Our Town. I miss those days of playing George Gibbs. Sometimes I dust off the cover and start memorizing the lines again just to see where my emotions go. For anyone who has acted, falling into such a state is, on one hand exhausting and on the other hand, addicting. Even with a character as innocent as George, the mind immediately jumps back into the preparation: you become the character again. My stage experience is limited so I don't really know what I'm talking about.

Until tomorrow, next week, or later in the day, of course...