Jackin' it in San Diego

Over the past couple of weeks there seems to be a couple of high-profile sex scandals I just can't seem to escape hearing about.  On one hand, there's the story of Anthony Weiner, from what I can tell, is just kind of an idiot, and a little bit of a douche.

He was caught "sexting" pictures of Weiner jr., to a woman other than Mrs. Weiner, and was eventually pressured into resigning from his seat in congress in 2011.  Not letting that deter him, and eager to get his flaccid political career erect again, he decided to toss his junk into the 2013 New York mayoral race.  But forgetting to learn from his past mistakes, he's found himself in the same compromising position once again.  It seems like the camera just loves this mans penis a little too much.  While Weiner hasn't officially dropped out of the race, he now finds himself sunk in 4th place amongst his rival democrats, and it doesn't look like any amount of stroking is going to make his poll rise.  But that's a small hotdog compared to the current mayor of San Diego.

San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is being asked to resign over some pretty serious and substantial sexual harassment claims.  It looks like Filner is guilty from everything from inappropriate touching, to requesting female interns not to ware underwear in the office, because, you know, chicks dig being degraded in the workplace.  Oh, that's right, they don't, and so far eight women have stepped forward in filing complaints against this 1930's Betty Boop villain.

And to make matters worse, he's asking the good people of San Diego to pick up the tab in defending him.  His lawyer said in a statement today that the city should pay his legal fees because he did not receive "on the job sexual harassment training".  Isn't it part of his job that he has a grasp of city and state laws?  The mayors office presides over the DA's office, after all.  (And I kind of like to think of the relationship between the mayor and the District attorney like the one between Anthony Garcia and Harvey Dent from "The Dark Knight".)

It's bad enough that he's refusing to step down from office.  His actions make a fool of everyone living in San Diego.  So if that's where you happen to reside, I have a simple request for you all: if you happen to come across a petition outside of your local shopping center to have this man ousted from office, take the 30 seconds it takes to put down your John Hancock, it'll be just as important as signing the Decoration of Independence, trust me.  For now, I think I'm just going to leave you with this video of what this "man" is doing to your beloved city...

The crash to come

Summer's here, and it's brought with it its usual parade of mega-budget, mega-action, mega everything movies. Over the past couple of decades, it seems like each year the "summer blockbusters" keep getting bigger and bigger, and coming out with ever increasing frequency. And why not? Those types of movies have the potential to rake in upwards of a half-billion dollars domestically, and over a billion dollars when their international earnings are tallied into the mix. But over the last few years things have started to change.

It's not unusual for a studio to invest a literal Olympic sized swimming pool full of cash into a big, explosion filled movie only to have it flop harder than Louie Anderson performing a belly-flop from the high-dive, but this summer, in particular, has seen a slew of devastating bombs. So far this year, we've seen the Lone Ranger, After Earth, White House Down, and most recently, Pacific Rim not just mildly under-perform, but fail to even make back their own production cost; and that's not including the upwards of 20 million dollars spent in just promotion.

Many of you may have heard the recent prediction by industry veteran Spielberg that the film industry is getting ready for a full scale "implosion". And the signs certainly seem to be pointing in that direction.

As technology becomes cheaper and more accessible, budges for big blockbuster movies seem to be rising exponentially. And more and more, these films are relying on gimmicks like 3D and the upcoming D-box seats, to attempt to draw crowds and justify higher and higher ticket prices. And moviegoers aren't falling for it.

So what are we to make of all this? After 7 decades of celluloid, is Americas favorite pastime drawing to a close? Of course not, and we're already starting to see the first light of whats to come: Despicable me 2 made it rain benjamans over at Illumination entertainment. The third installment of Iron man 3 kicked box-office ass, and while the latest Wolverine movie opened a bit soft stateside, it's been having a much better showing in overseas markets. And upcoming blockbusters, such as the Avengers 2 are likely to see even greater returns.

So fear not, movie goers. While the next wave of cinema may not look exactly as it does now, grab a bag of popcorn, and settle in your seats; I think the lights are dimming, and I don't want to miss the previews.

A matter of numbers: embracing the outliers

Did you know that 50% of marriages end in divorce?  And of the marriages that will end in divorce, 65% will happen in the first five years.  75% of all start-ups fail, and if you're starting up a tech business, statistics say that it has a 90% chance of failure.  It seems like everywhere you look, the numbers are out to get you.  But are we giving too much power to these little abstractions called numbers?

This is a question that surfaces every-time I hear a news story that tosses out a quick statistic, then proceeds to say that it's been proven that [fill in the blank here].  We see it all over the place, 65% of people that heat eggs have significantly higher cholesterol, so it's proven that eggs are bad for you; 45 people who watch violent movies report feeling more aggression, so of course it's a fact that violent movies make you more violent!  But is all that really true?  Do those statements jive with your own personal experiences?  Have you been married without divorcing; has your marriage lasted for longer than five years, ten, fifteen year??  Does that make you an illusion?

And the answer is: of course not.  That's not to say that there's nothing valuable in statistics, it's more a matter of understanding what those numbers do then it is about letting them tell you about what can be, or should be.  Let's break a couple of those down, shall we?
 
First, take a look at the second number in the first paragraph: 65% of failed marriages occur within the first five years.  From the outset, just the way the words format the sentence are misleading, and moreover, they're misleading in a wholly accidental way.  At a cursory glance, just the way the percentage is presented, it almost seems like it's saying that 65% of marriages end within five years, when the actual number is around 35% of total marriages ending in five years.  It's only after you hit the 20 year mark that you can say half of all marriages end with an "after all, I don't".

And what about all of you starry-eyed entrepreneurs out there; with numbers like that, why bother?  Chances are you're just going to crash and burn.  But again, what those few raw numbers don't tell you is how many of those who have had one failed start up have gone on to form a successful one.

Another even bigger factor about creating a news story around a single stat, is that it ignores the question: what of the outliers?  Sure, 75% of all start-ups fail, but what of the 25% that go on to find success?  Too often, those that find themselves on the wrong side of the numbers are left out of the story, being written off as insignificant, even when the statistic that's used to spin a fact is under half.  And again, I don't think that this is necessarily done on purpose, I think it's just how our brains reduce information and comprehend numbers in general.

I'm not saying that numbers or statistics aren't important, but I am saying that sometimes  we neglect the outliers when they can have just as much to teach us, if not more, than the raw stat itself.  When you're researching your endeavor, whatever it may be, it might be good to look at the numbers at guideposts along your journey, and not as absolutes of what can and cannot be done.

Cody Hobbs

The hard truth of living in the internet age

Once again, it looks like the free-range days of the "wild west" are coming to an end.  Since its inception, the internet has allowed us to make like children and re-create the lawless days of Jesse James and Billy the Kid.  But sooner or later, we all have to grow up, and that includes you, too, dear internet.

In the recent months, there's been a lot of talk circulating about the NSA monitoring and storing our on-line activity, and recent legislative action to reign in the NSA's far reaching power was defeated. While favor for the man responsible for leaking the details of the program, Edward Snowden, is on the decline, many of us still feel violated, like we're entering the age of Big Brother.  And now, in England, massive reform is being suggested that would block users from accessing pornographic sites without first asking for permission.

Attempts to legislate the internet are nothing new; remember the debate over SOPA and PIPA, two separate bills targeted at preventing online piracy?  While they may have been defeated, it's only a matter of time before a new piece of legislation is introduced, and actually passes into law.

Look, I know we're all hoping for the final outcome to be some dream piece of legislation to pass that's going to let us have our cake and eat it, too; but the hard reality is, whatever shape these new bills take, the internet is going to change, and change can be a pretty scary thing.

I do accept that part of the problem with some current, and prior attempts to bring about this change, is the very people drafting the legislation admit to not really understanding the nature of the "internet".  Sure, it may be something we all use, and use on a daily basis, but how many of us really understand how the internet really "works".  And regarding national security, we know that the internet poses some kind of new avenue for bad people to do bad things, but how can you police it without stripping away our essential constitutional rights?

This is usually the part where I proffer up a message of encouragement and reassurance, but in this instance, the best I can say is whether we like it or not, change is coming, and there is little we can do to stop it.  The world of the internet is unlike anything that has come before it, and we can't expect to shoehorn our old methods of dealing with theft and security into the digital realm.  The internet has given us a new way of looking at and interacting with the world, and with any great privilege is going to come with an even greater responsibility, and consequences.  And maybe if we can accept this, then we can at least enter into the conversation in a meaningful way.

Cody Hobbs

Talk to me like a man

As I've previously mentioned, I work professionally in the care field, taking care of an adult with severe autism.  And while I've come to the conclusion that it's not what I want to make a lifelong carer out of, I do enjoy it, and I've learned some pretty valuable lessons.

The man I take care of is just a year younger than I.  (I'll simply refer to him as K from here on out.)  He has very limited speech capabilities: when he talks, his language is mostly symbolic, and his words come out sounding mostly like gibberish.  There is nothing about his condition he can hide; he must ware his biggest vulnerabilities on his sleeve for everyone to see and judge.  But it's different for his caretakers, isn't it.  Being NT's (neurotypicals), we can hide away our biggest vulnerabilities, our weaknesses, our shortcomings and insecurities.  And I think it's that idea, almost more than any other, that really makes us see the people we provide care to as different.

K can communicate using facilitated communication; a simple "text-to-speech" program on his iPad.  It can be difficult for him at times to collect his thoughts, and he often gets burned out quickly when typing.  But he has some pretty profound things to say, and nothing he's said has struck me more than when he told me, during my training: "Talk to me like a man who understands everything you say".  It sounds pretty basic, doesn't it?  Spend five minutes with him, and you can instantly tell that he has at least a rudimentary understanding of what is being said to him.  But it's this area that I've seen people stumble the most.

K is a constant news junkie.  He loves having conversations about current events, politics, the goings on in the middle east and, currently, Egypt.  As soon as we get into the car, he immediately changes the station to NPR, and is full of thoughts on whatever the story of the hour is.  We've had some pretty awesome conversations, too.  Like all of us, he wants to make since of the world he lives in.

Recently, I've had the opportunity to help train a couple of new members to his care staff.  And the number one thing I've noticed, time and again, is any time a "controversial", or "difficult" item is brought up, they go silent, like they're afraid to have a serious conversation with him.  They'll immediately try to steer the conversation to something more lighthearted, like video games, or whatever cartoon show he was watching earlier in the day.

I'm sure that this is done with the best of intentions, but sometimes it's our good intentions that can do the most harm.  By not engaging him, or so many others like him, in deeper conversation, aren't we, as care providers, cutting them off from the world around them?  Do they not have a right, like everyone else to be curious and inquire about the very world they live in?  I think in order to engage in such a conversation requires a certain vulnerability on our, the care takers, behalf.

When a subject isn't a simple black or white, we expose bits of ourselves that are so easily hidden.  I understand that it can be so easy to get caught up in the day to day routine of providing care; cleaning up after them, making sure that their cloths are on the right way, etc; that you can almost forget that its not just a human being, in a biological since, that your taking care of, but a person, too; a member of our collective society.

And maybe that's a lesson we can all learn from, in all of our relationships.  It can be easy when a topic is hard to shut ourselves off and protect our own vulnerabilities.  Some times we need a reminder to look at the people in our own lives as people, and not just breathing hunks of flesh, and "talk to them like a man (or woman) who understands..."

Cody Hobbs

A Kick Start

As I talked about in my last post, I'm a screenwriter, and recently, I've been going over a few of my past scripts, deciding which of them to keep, polish up, finish, or abandon.

Some projects I'm abandoning because the verve to finish it has ran out, while others I just don't see as being marketable, at least not any longer.  Zombie Santa is one such example: there's already a slew of killer Santa flicks on the market, and the whole zombie thing is reaching its over saturation point.

I have some of the same trepidation with "Generation Z", the "zombie" web series.  Without giving too much away, I think it has an aspect of originality surrounding the genesis of the zombie outbreak, and much of the story is about anything but zombies: it's a tragic love story, it's about a sibling connection, it's about a war veteran coming to terms with the reality of fighting in war.  And the whole zombie thing is more of a shorthand for "post-apocalyptic" than it is about zombies in any traditional sense; and the turn at the end of the first season... I'm not quite ready to give that one away yet.

But I digress, the question is, where to go from there.  Don't get me wrong, having a finished script, or a finished series of scripts is an accomplishment in itself, but at some point I'd like to stop playing just the tip and move on to the next step.  And thanks to you, dear internet, I think there may be a solution: crowd funding.  The most notable crowd funding site, Kick Starter, seems like the perfect place to start.  Over the next week, I'll be researching ways to launch a successful campaign, and also looking into some alternatives to Kick Starter.

So once again, dear internet, I'm coming to you for any advice you may have.  The road ahead is long, but I can feel myself picking up a good stride.

Cody Hobbs

The hard climb

So, I've been sitting here trying to think of what to write for the past hour or so, and today is just one of those days that I can't seem to get my brain to rev up.  I'm sure you've had those days, dear internet, where nothing seems to gel quite the way you want it to, where your thoughts jump from one place to another so fast and so randomly it feels impossible to catch one of them, and formulate it into anything cohesive.  So, I think that's what this post is going to be: pushing through the block, even when it's hard.

Like I said, I'm a writer who's let himself get into the habit of procrastination, giving into the void of writers block.  In those situations, of course it's always easier to say that I'll put it off for another day.  But no more.  Even as I write this, I can feel my thoughts coming into a clearer focus.  In between bouts of trying to come up with what to write for today's blog, I glanced over a couple of old scripts I had written for what was originally intended to be a pseudo-zombie web series, titled "Generation Z".  I definitely can see some places where it could be tightened up, and I think the first three or four "webisodes" may need to be re-written entirely.  But, after having it sit on the "shelf" for nearly two years, I think the spark is still there.

And, dear internet, that's the way it goes sometimes.  Sometimes you need to give something a little space to gain perspective, to see if the idea still works, is something that still excites you; and let me say now, the idea still excites me, and that's kind of a nice feeling to have.  It's like getting re-acquainted with an old friend.  It also helps me to find some direction on where to go with my immediate screenwriting endeavors.

I'm going to make a confession: re-starting my journey as a screenwriter/filmmaker is a scary one.  It's a passion that I just can't let go of, a dream that follows me wherever I go; it's something that I think I tried to convince myself that I should grow out of, but that hasn't been the case.  I've tried a few times to make a go of it, and haven't succeed yet.  But that's not to say those experiences were a waste of time, either.  I've learned from all of them.

So, maybe today's blog has more of a focus than I originally thought.  Just because you don't succeed at something on your first outing doesn't mean it should be immediately abandoned.  A period of evaluation should be taken, for sure, but even a step that ends in a stumble can still be a step forward; if you have the wherewithal to pick yourself back up again, that is.  Getting back on track is rarely easy, but what comes easiest is rarely the most rewarding.  And this is a lesson that I think can be applied to just about every area of life.

In moving forward, I can only try not to repeat my past mistakes, or let myself get discouraged by them.  If I can look at them as learning experiences, then I know that I can make the next step.

Cody Hobbs