the indoob! network

October 24, 2012

the garden hose

Over the past month or so, and especially the past two weeks or so, I’ve been on an intense path of getting myself aligned with God. I don’t talk about my spirituality too much on my blog, but just so you know, it’s paramount to me and I feel as though I should explain why I do some of the things I do and it’s influence on my social networking life.

My sister gave me Destined to Reign: Devotional by Joseph Prince. For those that don’t know, a devotional is a daily reading of the Bible but with some commentary on a verse or verses, with a thought for the day. Some have themes like living healthy or being successful or prayer, or are geared towards men or women. Typically, you’d start the day with it, maybe before or after a morning prayer or worship, whatever your personal routine may be if you have one. I usually keep it next to my bed so as soon as I wake up, it’s one of the top 5 things I look at before officially declaring myself to be awake and/or up and at ‘em. On occasion, I’ll bring the book with me wherever I’m going if I forget to read it or don’t have time. (Click the picture for a link to the book or click this link to see today’s reading.) (more…)

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February 4, 2009

ready to read about writing right: "how to write a movie in 21 days"

Filed under: birthday,books,Friends,sam cooke,scripts,writing — t. sterling @ 8:49 pm

The truth about me is pretty sad: I’m practically an anti-reader. It’s true for a lot of people I know, they have a hard time picking up a book. I don’t have a hard time picking one up, I just have difficulties opening it. Then, the chances that I do open it, it’s finishing it. That’s why I think it was such a big deal that I finished reading Watchmen. But I can hear critics saying now that that isn’t considered a real book. Well, I beg to differ. It made it on the top 100 novels and it’s the only graphic novel on there. Sure, it’s mostly pictures, but you really can’t figure out what’s going on without reading it.

Anyway, you know you are a sad reader when your friends have to mail you books to read. Peopel can suggest books to you all day, but when it’s hand delivered to you by your local postman, then perhaps it’s time to read the words cover to cover.

Granted, I still haven’t finished Our Uncle Sam by Erik Greene… but I say that’s a wee bit different. I started reading that because our cable went out before I decided to pop in a DVD. Again, I know… I’m a sad reader. I’ve been tryin’ to told ya!

So my friend, whom I dub as my “cinematic soul mate” (and I could write an entire post about, but I’m not going to but will thank her for this book and a birthday card she stuck in it), sent me Viki King’s How to Write a Movie in 21 Days. Hopefully I can read it in at least 7. If I’m not mistaken, I think she wants this book back, so I will get my reading on so I can ship it back to her ASAP whilst I look into buying my own copy. Or buy her a brand new one since I’m too lazy to ship anything myself that can’t fit into a envelope. I have no shame.

By receiving this book, I think it means it’s time for me to head back to the “studio” to start penning a script. February just began. In my dream world, perhaps I’ll wriet a script every month. Hey, I’m a firm believer in making my dreams come true, so if I could write a script every month… Good googamooga! Of course I’d come back to them a month later to tweak and tweak until I see no more need for tweaking until others say so. I haven’t forgotten my mentors Mrs. Rogers and Jaden, plus countless tips I pick up from various trusted sources.

But first, I must read. That’s one piece of advice I haven’t followed that even my idol, Sam Cooke, said to do: read as much as you can. I seriously doubt I can count Wikipedia.

November 9, 2008

’tis the season

Filed under: babbling,books,charity,Christmas,Friends,holiday,kids,mall,poetry — t. sterling @ 7:04 am

So I’ve been having the hardest time writing this particular post, because as most Indoobians know, I go into great detail, painting wordy pictures just to get to a point. And each time I begin writing this one, I go from talking about a lost article/essay I wrote for a high school newspaper, to childhood memories and epiphanies after watching a favorite Christmas-themed film from my youth, to how I’ve learned to cherish and appreciate my dearest loved ones and the material things I’ve been blessed with over the years. All and all, the post got seriously mushy and sentimental. Like a movie found on the Hallmark channel. And that is a stone’s throw away from Lifetime! [Shudders.] Granted, having some sensitive material isn’t harmful and shows that I do have a caring heart from time to time, but I want this blog to put smiles on the faces containing eyes that are reading. So all that stuff isn’t bad… I just don’t feel like writing that today. Plus I have a reputation to uphold being a lovable sarcastic smart mouthed jerk.

So I’ll save my count-your-blessings and APPRECIATE speech for another day (because there are some people who really need to look at their life so far and realize they have nothing to complain about). Instead, I’m going to talk a little bit about charity.

With the festive holidays fast approaching, I don’t want people to forget about the less fortunate. I went to the mall, as I usually do every few weeks, just to wander around and my friend noticed what she called “the baby tree.” It’s got wishes from children (actually children and adults) who are in hospitals, shelters, or being sponsored by foundations or something. These are hanging from the tree like ornaments, and the wishes are what that child wants.

My friend does this kind act every year, picking a boy and girl. I immediately decided to pick one too, so I looked for a wish that wouldn’t make me broke… like a PS3 game, and wasn’t too general… like “educational toy.” I picked an 8-year old boy who wanted a book of all the maps of the world. Simple, specific and convenient. The tree was set up a few feet outside of Borders! So my crew and I went in search for a book, and found one in the kids’ section with the help of a tall salesperson who looked like he goes surfing in the summer. Buying the book was a good feeling. Similar to warm and fuzzies. Fortunately it wasn’t mold I had eaten this time. After the purchase, I dropped it off at the information desk like instructed on the little card I detached from the tree along with the original wish. The lady there seemed frustrated before I got there about something, but apparently by me giving this gift, it cheered her up tremendously, like I got the book for her or something. Silly lady. It’s for the kiddies!

I keep saying this, but I really need to start bringing my camera with me and taking pictures to document these random adventures specifically for Indoobian purposes. Plus this would prove I leave the house and I do have friends.

So to conclude what I attempted to not be a long post: don’t be afraid to do a random act of kindness, even when money is involved, and especially around this time of the year. Pay it forward, anyone? More on charity another day. In complete unrelated news, I’ll debut a fresh new poem later this week. Maybe poems… maybe.

October 8, 2008

books? what the stank are those?

Filed under: blogging,books,sam cooke,writing — t. sterling @ 1:16 am

So I stole this from my good friend Melissa whom I keep stealing things from… I blame her, it’s all her fault. But this is about books. All about books. I want people to know I do read occasionally… But let me remind you, its occasionally. Plus you guys know me, my thing is cinema. But as a writer, I know the more you read, the better writer you’ll be. It’s gotta be true, my hero Sam Cooke said it!

What was the last book you bought?
Literally, it just came in the mail: The Purpose Driven Life and a supplimental book to that called Daily Inspirations.

Name a book you have read MORE than once
Superfudge… But for something more grown up, I “read” The Purpose Driven Life via audio tapes/CDs.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?
Again, Purpose Driven Life and 23 Minutes in Hell.

How do you choose a book – eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews
Let the record show, I’m not an avid book reader. So I used to read when required (in school) but lately, if a book arouses my interest based on description/summary, I’ll possibly pick it up. Reviews and recommendations help a lot. But usually, it’s my own interest in seeking the book out.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?
Hard to say. Two out of the three books are self-help/DIY/instructional… But one of them is non-fiction. Past books I bought we novelized screenplays… So perhaps it’d be fiction?

What’s more important in a novel – beautiful writing or a gripping plot?
Plot. You can lost in beautiful writing and have no clue what happened for an entire chapter.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)
Farley Drexel aka Fudge from Superfudge.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?
There’s a sketch book on my make-shift night stand. Half of my bed also acts as a night stand, and yesterday I had Illustrations for Biblical Preaching and that’s still there now, but I added Playing the Harminca (which has been living in my bookbag) and Our Uncle Sam (which I bought a month ago and only read pieces).

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?
In it’s entirety–23 Minutes in Hell and I finished that about three-four months ago. I’ve started three since then that I haven’t finished.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?
Yes. I tried reading a Sherlock Holmes novel. Didn’t finish it. I tried reading Lord of the Flies. I lost interest. And I was supposed to read that for school. Guess what, I still passed that test with flying colors. WOOT! WOOT!

October 7, 2008

guess who’s (what’s) back?

Filed under: babbling,blogging,books,car,food,money,office,rant,Spanish,WAH — t. sterling @ 11:39 pm

SAM’S BACK!!! Finally, after about two months, Sam finally comes home from the hospital and sounds better than ever. It better, costing me about 2Gs. I only paid half because that’s all I can afford right now. The longer the doctor made me wait, the more the money burned in my pocket. And it wasn’t really me that wanted to spend it… It was the bills that took it.

Fortunately, I negotiated to have my car loan extended, and my car insurance payments dropped. That allowed me to pay off other things like my speeding ticket, AAA membership (I’m now a Plus member, yes yes yall!) and my Espanol classes.

What’s left on my tab is paying off Purchase loans and Middlesex loans. My wallet won’t ever stop crying. Middlesex first, so I can go back to higher education in January. That’s the plan anyway. If I can’t make it–prostitution. I JEST! I jest. Drugs. Definitely drugs. Again, jokes. I may just take another adult education class, possibly Spanish Dos, or something else like “How to get published”… I think that’s what I saw in the catalogue. But that will be a fun class for me. Then I could put some of my typing energy to use, other than entertain the thousands that read my blog.

I wrote another post earlier today which I don’t think I’m going to post, or maybe I’ll post it later. It was more of a rant on the bipolar disorder, and how it possibly may be linking it to creative people, like myself. I stopped everything to read it, then I responded via my blog in a much longer entry than I usually write. Like I said, it was a rant. To make a long story short, people have suggested I’m bipolar because of the way I am, how I act, and how I feel which changes on a daily basis. A lot of those traits I have are symptoms of bipolarism. I don’t think that’s a word, but go with it. According to what I read on CNN.com, those same symptoms can be applied to just being human. A crazy human, but a human nonetheless. I go into more about the crazy part, but I’ll save it for later.

I had a long meeting today. It was more of a training class. But it was kinda long. Learning a new process to process our files. It’s not important. But I love not having to go to the office for these things and practically everyone is on the phone. Unfortunately, people still don’t know how to use the MUTE button. Sigh. Moving on…

I also wrote about some redecorating in my office, but I’ll save that for later too. I want to try to take pictures and post them at the same time for once. I was going to take a picture of my car, but I had to get back to work and didn’t have time. Plus right now, it’s not that deep.

What I really want to do is go to sleep. But I want to watch the debate (on CNN). Then tomorrow, I need to make sure I’m registered to vote. I don’t think I am. Before I hear gasps across the nation, let me explain–I am registered to vote, I just need to make sure I’m registered in Connecticut. The last time I voted, I was in New York schooling at Purchase. See? Fortunately, CT laws say I have until the day before Election day. Again, don’t worry, I’m not going to wait that long. I’ll do it a week before.

I may have another post before the night is through, dealing with books. Why the stank would I have a post about books? Well, it interested me when I read it and I want people to know I read more than just Entertainment Weekly. But don’t hold your breath… it’s not much of a reading list, but possibly insightful nonetheless. (That’s twice I used that word today.) Plus it’s me we’re talking about, of course you’ll be interested in what I do when I’m not writing, watching movies or stuffing my face with nutrients. Cinnabon, anyone? (I wish.)

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