back to saying's / mottos

there is no love without drama

once I say you can be a bartender, that's when your barback training is done

never drink without toasting,... only drink in celebration of something, of life, of friendship, of love...  otherwise you must be drinking alone, otherwise your reason for drinking is something that may seem trivial,,,,,,,,,    still a work in progress

in between nuance and cliche

so after watching many of Chris Nolan's and David Simon's work, I've noticed they definitely make or write these amazing sayings or values, if you will.  ex: follow the drugs-all you find is drug dealers, why do we fall, master Bruce?, you either die a hero..., etc.  I absolutely love that within these great movies, they instill some of these wonderful little catch phrases that then show up again at key points in the story.

So, among many other uses for this blog, I am going to use it as storage for my own little sayings whenever I can think of them.

and.. . wow.. .  writer's block allofasudden!

he who dies with the least toys, probably had the most imagination . . .(needs to be refined)

failure is arbitrary: a man who fails out of law school to become a Father.. is not a failure

once you light that cigarette, it don't need you anymore, it can consume itself

9/16/2012

there is no such thing as love without drama

will add more

movie editing

kinda weird...  I am expecting my movie, that I just funded/filmed/acted in/produced/wrote/directed, to be edited by some nice peeps,.. and I can't help but be super criticizing of the last few cuts.. maybe because I'm just being hard on myself.  One thing I believe that will always be true for me is:  when I/you have a vision, and it is given to other people to be handled, your vision just keeps getting more and more filtered and most of the time looks unrecognizable.  I just shot something as a very 15 second small side project that took 30 minutes: of shooting on my iPhone and editing on my computer with Windows Movie Maker...

It took me 30 minutes and I enjoyed watching and re-watching it 10 times more than watching the recent cuts of my film that I spent 2000 dollars on.  Of course the film is totally undeserving of this comparison, but it's just screwed up!!  I think I shall buy an editing program now to help next time with the process... I actually like editing ... I enjoyed it before when I used to make video projects for nursing school, and I enjoyed it today.

For those of you that don't know.. I was in nursing school 2 different times.  I believe I am pretty intelligent, honestly, but when it came right down to it.. I failed at nursing/NCLEX type questions.   "choice A is 20percent right, B is 5percent right, C is 90percent right and D is 100percent right"..  that shit killed me.  But also... my heart wasn't in it.  When it came to projects in nursing school, it always had to be a video project and it was always written and directed and edited by me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxRB-2sLy2w&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpUzSbM4klg&feature=plcp


anywhooo... I'm ready already Hollywood!!!

this is a very old post... i decided to consolidate my journal here

Posted on 08/06/09 03:12 AM | Last edited on 08/06/09 03:14 AM

I find myself, angrily, at a loss. The reason being this: that this whole rotten tomatoe venue cannot be shared by most of my facebook/myspace/real-life friends. That last one "real-life" isn't actually an internet friending network. I really wish I could share my lists, reviews, blogs with all my friends. Unfortunately I don't believe most of my friends are really movie buff enough to even be interested in joining this network.

Movies are my life; not in the sense that I work in films day in and day out (not that I wouldn't invite that; in fact I would love that), but in the sense that "movies" are what keep me going. If you want me to talk about something where I can be fully engaged and show strong feelings then just strike up a conversation about film. This is complicated, though. This definitely doesn't mean that if you merely mention film that I become a chatterbox. The thing is, I don't easily divulge most of my thoughts on a film, because most of the time I am left with distaste. Distaste: when I hear someone's opinion of a movie that is sophmoric or ignorant. Distaste: when I see that another person's love for film is not as true as mine. Distaste: when people haven't seen a movie that I feel is "life-changing." This is why I mostly steady myself before walking into any discussion relating to film. I have seen thousands of films and want to ultimately see all the films in the world I can. In turn, this has made me form certain tastes and standards in film. Hopefully, I hope you don't perceive me to be a snob. The fact is, I enjoy a porterhouse steak (medium rare) with nice dark micro brew; but I also can enjoy some double cheeseburgers/McChickens after a night of drinking a half a keg of Icehouse. My point is that both can bring me to satiety as two very different films can as well.

Ok, I'm an actor. As an actor, I hear that I should be more outgoing and a "people person." Of course this is true for the business side of acting. Actors, at times, do have to pimp themselves out and be comfortable around large groups of people because if an actor ever does become a celebrity, we want that actor to be an attractive, confident, approachable person. I mean, what kind of celebrity has no confidence and doesn't know how to handle interviews. The thing is, where is there room for the talent? I believe that an actor should be a film buff first. In a strict business sense, how do you know what you're getting into (with a film) when you have no idea what the screenwriter has already done or what the director has done beforehand. On the other hand, why not know or see a lot of films since you (as an actor) are planning to be in them for the rest of your life. For me, I gain inspiration and knowledge whenever I watch a movie. I am exposed to a different take, a different style, a different eye, a different ear. In fact I believe an actor should try to not only watch more films but learn as much about film as possible. But the opposite is true of most aspiring actors. I believe the majority of actors are lazy, and this is begining to stray from my original thought so let me wrap it up. Actors, I think, are wrapped up in a fantasy land of celebrity glamour and dirt and believe that their whole career depends on luck. I don't think this is fully true. There are, yes, actors that have been struck by luck, but I still think that if actors would know more about films then they would help their own cause.

Back to this: film... and my love for it. I can't help but feel that I'm stealing from a Doogie Howser episode when I continue this thought: I remember movies acting as a buffer. Whenever my parents had a fight or there was drama, I can remember all of that dissipating when it was movie time. In a certain Doogie Howser episode, Doogie's best friend pretty much says the same thing when he proclames his reason for becoming a film maker. But this still remains true. Whenever I want to bond with my family, usually it happens with watching a movie. In general, I believe movies are great tools of diffusion from everyday life, why not? After a depressing week of work and many arguments of money, why not an inspirational drama with a sure-bet hollywood ending? You deserve it. Or after a day of looking at a computer and sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours, why not a jam-packed action thriller? And so on..

I go to films for inspiration, education, entertainment and mainly... mainly to feed my soul with art. I think of myself as an artist and there are many ideas that I have yet to portray in film. Film is my art, and I love filling the paint palette (this being my brain) with as many colors and ideas as possible.

sick sea sonnet form

familiar was the journey at the start
familiar was the destination
familiar filled and felt my joyous heart
I, awaiting the tide's gestation
but you, familiar lighthouse, I'm to lose
curse your unfaithful, smiling beam of light
this smell of earth, unburden from my nose
adrift i'll set forth for my chosen plight
familiar upsets my rash soul, my sea
and fills my sails to steer t'wards the abyss
that's where familiar ends, it's where i'll be
my home. i'll cast my seeking anchor thus
familiar's now my foggy freezing sea
familiar can now you no longer be

written  by me

Michael Rausa

one more thing fresh in my mind

Coloring inside the lines may be boring, yes. But we learn to do it to show our skill. When we color outside of the lines, I prefer you show that you have made a clear choice to color outside of the lines. If you want to color outside of the lines, make a statement with it; have a reason; make something spectacular, beautiful or even a big, wonderful "Fuck You." Otherwise, when you do it just for the sake of doing it.. I feel you chose to not see the lines because of laziness. I see it as a cop out. Then I question if you even possess the skill to color within the lines.

long time no speaky speaky

ok ok i know
i been berry berry bad about this blog
to wrap up the rest of '07: i had a job
as of '08. . . i am waiting to have a job... but first i am waiting for my new apt, which is hard when the roommy i want to move in with has bad credit... eh.. dats ok
so as of now i am living in the LBC with my lil cousins.
It's really refreshing at times hanging out with such innocence. I bought them "Stand By Me" and they loved it, as I thought they would. I gots till this coming Friday to get my new apt or I'll have to wait till March. Wish me luck.