April 30

Sorry for the random timing of this update. It was a LATE night last night and by the time I got back home, I really didn't feel like doing anything but sleeping. And man, did that feel GOOD!!!

But seriously, today was Rhett's final day in MI. I got to his place around 7 and helped him pack and hung out a bit. As I said previous to this update, the 2 years we've known each other he's been one of the best friends I've had. I can't think of a week where I wasn't in contact with him in some way. He's been responsible for some of the more entertaining jobs I've done (including Cornerstone last summer), helping me pick out my camera and other equipment, getting into AE, etc. Hell, he's the main reason I'm in my current position at Spencer. Always fun to be around and never let work (which he was doing ALL the time) distract him from entertaining his friends. Just a great guy and a better friend. And, as it goes with my good friends, he's moving away. Sir, thanks for the good times in this state. When I make it out to D.C., hopefully more will be had. Have a safe drive in the morning and I'm sure I'll be talking to you via AIM Monday through Friday.

While all of this was going on, Rhett's dad had the Bulls/Celtics game on in the living room. I kept sneaking a peak at the action. As the entire series has been - minus one game - it was back and forth, lead changes, ties, etc. I left with about 6 minutes left in the 4th and headed on back to Flint. Thanks to Brandon and Mr. Hockin for providing me with text updates throughout my drive. Long story short, I was informed it was going into O.T. then double O.T. I was getting back in town just before the 2nd O.T. tip, so I drove straight to The Cage where Brandon was (closest TV and company) and took a seat. We were treated to yet another extra period after Ray Allen hit a crazy 3 (like he's done every game). So, third overtime, back and forth, and we saw two of the best highlights of the playoffs; Noah stealing the ball and dunking on Paul Pierce (The Truth fouled out after that) and Derrick Rose blocking Rondo's shot to pretty much seal the deal. I say pretty much, because the way these games have been going, I would have expected Allen to hoist from mid-court and win it. None-the-less, there have been 6 games and 7 overtimes played. Game 7 is on Saturday. I'll be watching.

Hmmm...what else happened today. It was my first solo day at Spencer. Not a bad one to have, as there were minimal changes that needed to be made on some spots and it was relatively quiet. Not sure what to expect on Friday, but usually they're slower too. Oh, and Shannon, be certain I'll be coming to you with things to talk about. Haha. Thanks.

Well folks, I'm plumb out of ideas. I guarantee I forgot something...but if that's true I'll just post it tomorrow.

Happy "last day of April,"
B

April 29

And you though yesterday was crazy at work? Ha. Wow. "Last minute" is the name of the game with a lot of Spencer's clients. How last minute? Well...let's just say we kept receiving emails regarding changes and updates almost an HOUR AFTER we sent the spots in to air. So, I guess you could say calling them "last minute" is an insult to people who are truly last minute. They're just late. Late and lame. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are going to be insane.

I did some laundry once I got home and started looking through some of the hard drives, trying to determine which one I should install permanently. Or at least until I get a new computer. Snow Leopard better get here soon...

Oliver T's smart turkey sandwiches are where it's at. Spicy mustard burns the nostrils, but in the best way possible.

I think that may be it for tonight. I'm looking forward to getting a list of changes a day late tomorrow. Haha.

Eugene Mirman is hilarious,

B

April 28

Got back a little bit ago from Buffalo Wild Wings with my friend Josh. Can't beat the BWW's, especially when they have specials like "Buy one, get on free" going on. 24 for the price of 12, thank YOU.

Work was crazy today. It was relatively slow until about 5:10 (when I should have left) and about 7 different emails came in with locations that needed to be updated/made. Thing is...they probably should have been sent about...oh...a day earlier. Rhett was right, this last minute stuff gets real old real fast. Oh well, I'll just push through it.

The Chicago Bulls were SO CLOSE to winning game 5 in O.T. in Boston. Free throws are called "free throws" for a reason. The series is now 3-2 in favor of the Celtics. Hopefully the next game falls in favor of the Bulls and we get a game 7. This has been the most entertaining series I've seen in a while. 4 periods of O.T. played in 5 games = awesome.

Tigers were murdered in the 7th by the Yankees. It was a pitchers duel until Jackson came out...then the hits came raining down. Rubber game tomorrow night.

Tomorrow is also Rhett's last day at work. Lunch should be a good time. Hopefully we can knock out some videos before then.

I really hope Un1ty Studios get their Michigan website up with contact information quick. I've been anxious for about 2+ weeks now.

Stay away from STD's,
B

April 27

Good news, everybody. I'm typing this from my G5 right now. Not so good news, everybody. It's a G5 that currently is without 500GB of hard drive space inside it...because those F*&^#% at the Mac store refused to re-install it and then, when I did it myself, I get a red LED that just screams SOMETHING'S WRONG. Sad trombone. So, of course, after I took them out again everything is running hunky-dory. Needless to say tomorrow I'm going to be looking into this a little deeper. If nothing works out, I'll just take one of the hard drives off the mount, install it back in the computer, and get an external casing with firewire 800 for the last. Also, probably will get another TB external and transfer all of the information onto that. Everything looks to be running great, so that's a plus. Oh, I probably should have clarified; The 500GB that's not currently installed is my Capture Scratch - a.k.a. the hard drives that hold ALL of my footage I uploaded from Final Cut. So...yeah...it'd be nice to see that again.

Other than that:

• Music - CHECK
• After Effects - CHECK
• FCP - CHECK
• Illustrator, Photoshop - CHECK, CHECK
• Important Information - CHECK

Very good things there.

What else. Had a good time at work today. A nice lunch in the sun and wind today resulted in tangled hair and, surprisingly, sun-burnt forearms. Haha. Seriously, it look kind of funny. And no, I wasn't being sarcastic, I did have a good time at work. This makes tomorrow and Wednesday as Rhett's final 2 days. Sad trombone.

Pistons. Sad trombone.

Had to get that last one in to make 3. It's the magic number.

Tigers won again tonight beating the Yankees 4-2. Justin Verlander looked fantastic striking out 9 and allowing no runs in 7 innings. Hopefully he'll use this game to turn it around and be the Justin of 2006.

Honestly, I'm a bit worn out. Like I said before, I hope to fix whatever else is wrong with my computer tomorrow. It's probably a good idea for me to sleep on this and not get too frustrated.

Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England,
B

April 26

Long story short for today, I'll be picking my computer up after work tomorrow. Haha. Let's hope nothing else changes.

I just finished the last piece of apple pie.

Goodbye, Pistons,

B

April 25

I should be a little more tired today then I'm feeling right now...but I guess that it's a good thing that I'm not. Worked all afternoon at the Buy. It was dead. I hadn't heard back from Apple at all during this, so in the middle of a break I gave them a call. Funny story (not really a funny story), but apparently my computer had been done since Friday but nobody had bothered giving me a call. By the time I got out of work and back home, there was no way I was going to make it there in time. So, it looks like TOMORROW I'll FINALLY be getting my Mac back - and dropping a few bucks on the repair costs. It's all good, baby. It's all good.

Still reminiscing about the concert last night with some friends. I'm telling you, next time Flight is back in MI, I'm getting online the minute tickets go on sale. It was that good. Also last night - after I got a text around 11:30-ish - the Lions apparently agreed on a contract with Matthew Stafford which solidified him as their first round pick. 41.7 MILLION GUARANTEED!!! Really...really? I should have been a QB in high school...gained about 60 lbs...grew about 5 more inches...and played football. Wow, looking back, that would never have worked out.

Also, the Pistons lost again after supposedly keeping it close for 3 quarters yesterday. This information was given to me by a friend today. I hate to say it...but I wouldn't be surprised if we get swept tomorrow by the Cavs. LeBron James is a genetic freak with even scarier Nike endorsements. He's also looking to make out like a bandit next summer when he becomes a free agent. I should have been a small forward in high school...gained about 120 lbs...grew about 9 more inches...and played basketball. Wow, looking back, that would never have worked out.

Tigers won today, 9-1. We homered 3 times, which means if you bring in a copy of the box score to your local Arby's you'll get a free regular roast beef sandwich. Cool beans burrito.

I'm about ready to bite into some of my Grandma's AMAZ-ZA-ZING homemade apple pie. Nothing beats this. Nothing.

Better make sure your game is tight,

B

April 24

Well, I just got back from the Flight of the Conchords "concert." Not going to lie, outside of some pretty lame merch, it was one of the best shows I've been to in a long while. I didn't stop laughing for about 2 straight hours. The highlights came during a few songs when Bret flubbed the lyrics. Jemaine caught it real quick and there was some hilarious, improv'd back-and-forth. Eugene Mirman opened with a great 30 min. set that included a great story involving Delta Airlines (with souvenirs). The guys played to their second Detroit crowd of the night and had a great 3 song encore-encore performance. Seriously, I will be seeing them again.

For a better description of the night, you may want to get a hold of me. I'm so freakin' tired right now and even had to stop typing for a second to regain my train of thought.

High five to sleep,

B

April 23

There is a ton of craziness happening around me. Wow. My friend, THE Mike Coburn, was just informed on Tuesday that the position he currently holds within his engineering company will soon be eliminated...with the majority of the company. Biomet will apparently be moving production to China and Warsaw, IN. Correct. Warsaw, IN. What the F&*!? The guy deserves way better and it just doesn't seem fair, especially considering that he and Meagen recently moved into a home in Jacksonville. The bright side is he's probably one of the most intelligent and driven people I know, so there's no doubt he'll land on his feet. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he digs up an even better job with the experience he's gained the past few years. Keep your head up man, you've got a lot going for you.

Rhett will be leaving the state of Michigan in less than one week. Crazy. I've been learning a lot about his routine at Spencer and hopefully the transition won't be too painful. He's a good teacher, for sure.

Some good news to report. I received a call from the Apple store in Twelve Oaks around 9:13pm in which they informed me that my computer seems to be working fine after connecting a new power supply. They also informed me that the reason for the "blackout" could have been caused from some "modding" my Uncle may have done to the video card and additional hard drives. Basically, it was like a Chevy Cobalt trying to drag a motor home. I told them I'd call them back in the morning after I had the chance to go over a few things. Regardless, this is fantastic news as everything on my hard drives seems to be intact - everything meaning LITERALLY everything. This is a huge weight off of my shoulders.

Flight of the Conchords' concert is tomorrow night and I can't wait. Ryan Bell and I will be heading down to Detroit for the late night encore performance slated to start at 11pm. Haha...it's going to be an early morning type of night. I love it.

You can say no to being a man-hoe,

B

April 22

Well, this morning I started learning the inner workings of Spencer with the help of Rhett. I came prepared with a pen and some paper...but honestly only took about 25 minutes worth of valuable notes. The rest of the time I watch his routine and we hung out. Got some amazing sandwiches at the Oliver T's for lunch. Pretty spicy, though. And I love me some spicy, so you could imagine. "Work" got done at 5 and I headed out to see Brandon for a quick second. Got back to my house just in time for dinner and spent the rest of the night watching some Tigers baseball, NBA playoff games, and comparing different Mac Pro's and Macbook's (just in case).  Still haven't heard back from Apple. I'm hoping that's...good news? Eh?

Life goes on,

B

April 21

Well, things have gotten a tad better today. Started out with early morning text messaging and calls. A couple hours later I was at the Spencer Agency where I had a meeting with Josh regarding taking Rhett's spot. I'll be going in tomorrow morning again to possibly start the learning process. I'm not sure if anything's official yet, but it's getting that way.

After that, I stopped on by Brad's 85% finished condo where we met up with Joe and got some lunch. Mr. Sollinger mentioned that he remembered seeing a grill on sale at Lowes that Brad might be interested in. So we had to go check it out. And he had to get it. A few dollars and grilling utensils later, we were in the kitchen putting together a grill. We even picked out some steaks and spices and cheese to cook up...but it kept raining. Oh well. They'll be sitting at Brad's waiting to be eaten.

Joe left to go back to the Port and I headed on home. Chatted with my Uncle about different companies that he knows that fix Mac's (free shipping) for a bit cheaper than Apple might. Definitely peaked my interest, but I still don't know specifically what's wrong.

I just looked up and saw something that saddened me. TNT just showed a replay of Dikembe Mutombo defending Portland and falling to the ground grabbing his knee. I like Mutombo. His career just could have ended. Damn.

Honestly, today was exponentially better than yesterday. I'm looking forward to starting something new tomorrow.

Man does not fly in the house of Mutombo,

B

April 20

I don't know why I'm still up.  I've had a lot on my mind today.  I'll shorten it to this: It's amazing how we've become so dependent upon - and, essentially, a slave to - technology.  Unfortunately it's hold on me is quite strong.  When something goes wrong, it really goes wrong.  I'm hoping this "thing" will only cost me a $300 power supply...but let's just say the news was far from good after my visit to the Apple store.  FAR from good.  I'm trying to be positive, but sometimes you have to throw you hands up and just yell, "MOTHER F*&^ER!!!"

Needing a bit of good news,

B

April 19

I woke up a little calmer after yesterday's computing fiasco. A little calmer. Arrangements have been made to head Novi's way tomorrow. I really, really hope it's just the power supply. We'll see what happens.

Sunday (early) dinner resumed this week at Laura's; Chicken and rice with some broccoli and dinner rolls. Pretty good. Afterward was some Hasbro Wii game action and a strange show on National Geographic called In the Womb: Cats. It was one of those television programs that you couldn't turn away from. Sometimes you wanted to, too.

I was busy earlier and didn't catch the Tigers' game, but we won again. And the 76ers defeated Dwight Howard and the Magic in Orlando. That wasn't in the script, but I love me some upsets (CHICAGO...BOSTON...HAHAHA!!!).

Early start in the morning. Should be...interesting.

Penny Hardaway is rollin' over in his grave,

B

April 18

The day was going smashingly until a couple hours ago. I was on my G5 working and web browsing when all of a sudden...BLACK SCREEN, POWER DOWN, BURNING SMELL!!! The timing of this couldn't be worse. I called up my Uncle and he told me it could be a number of things but if the smell is emitting from the bottom (which it was), it could be the power supply. I plan on heading to the Apple store in Novi either early tomorrow or Monday. I'm hoping for the best. I can't afford to have anything happen to any footage or programs I have on that machine. Especially since I was working on a couple projects when it happened. I'm more pissed than I can even describe.

I just read my friend Shannon's response to a comment I had posted earlier today. I got so caught up in the stuff above I didn't even head out to Owosso for the sosaveme "Farewell Rhett" performance.  I'm more pissed, now, than I previously described. Seriously. I might be able to make it out for a little after-party hangout. We'll see once I get a reply via text.

Just got it. I'll be patiently waiting for any more news.

Anyway, it all started so well. Beautiful day. Cleaned the house in the morning. Amazing NBA playoff game to start "40 Games in 40 Nights" - BULLS WON IN O.T. IN BOSTON! Headed over to Brad's digs. Came back here. In between, I finally got a hold of Meagen and we caught up a bit. Same thing with Mr. Strong. I was feeling good. Then...

I want to end this day on a high note. Hopefully Rhett and the crew will have something going on later tonight.

Meagen...helllllloooooooo,

B

April 17

We've now come to post #101...and nothing exciting to report. Haha. Sorry. Yesterday's post was fun, but I can't do it today. Maybe it's because I'm writing this one out on a foreign computer (Matt's house). Or maybe it's because all I did was spend time in front of screen, go to the bank, run some last minute errands, head over this way, head to the movie theater, and head back over this way, and have a late night chicken dinner. Hmmm. Relatively uneventful. Well, I'm going to continue eating now. I hope you all have had a wonderful day.

I have final cut in my contract,
B

April 16

This post marks the 100th entry in B.3.6ixty.Five. Crazy. Crazy that I've kept up with it for this long and crazy that some days warranted more than one entry. I do plan on carrying this out until the end. And yes, I have a feeling there will be more days of multiple postings. As I'm typing this, the Red Wings are currently leading the Blue Jackets 4 to 1 in the 3rd period with 9:37 left. At least one Detroit team will be making a deep playoff run (smeh to the Pistons - for this season). Don't get it twisted, I still love me some De-troit Bas-ket-ball. I know I'm spoiled from the past 6 seasons. I know the trade that brought in A.I. was done for salary cap reasons only. Still...it's a tough pill to swallow. Oh well.

Today consisted of a lot of time on the phone with various people and a going over some Photoshop/After Effects stuff with Matt. We went to BWW's for their $.50 boneless day and headed back to my place to become inspired. Becoming inspired to me is as simple as popping in the Work of Director Michel Gondry DVD and crying at how good he is. SERIOUSLY...DO YOU KNOW HOW GOOD HE IS!?!?!? I'm surprised that DVD isn't completely worn out the number of times I've watched it. "Sugar Water." "Come Into My World." AHHHHH!!! If I'm lucky, one day I'll get the chance to talk to him and pick his brain for at least 5 days. Straight. I have a feeling that's how long it would take for him to explain how he storyboarded the Chemical Brothers' "Let Forever Be" video. AHHHHH!!! Google some of these videos and prepare to have your mind blown. OH, by the way, I URGE all of you to go to MichelGondry.com and order Michel Gondry 2: More Videos (Before and After DVD 1) that was released exclusively via his website on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll be receiving my copy in the next couple days. Did I mention I love this man? Whew.

One more time, I have to mention:

• CONGRATS TO TORI FOR DECIDING ON REDLANDS!!!
• CONGRATS TO RHETT FOR GETTING A KILLER JOB IN D.C.!!!

In the coming months, if any of you are watching Discovery Channel or TLC or Spike or a Washington Wizards, Capitals, etc. game, you're going to have to think to yourself, I wonder if that intro or that transition was made by one Rhett Blankenship? Because more than likely, it was. And more than likely, this man will be getting a few Emmys. No joke. Seriously. No joke.

My dog just came trotting in my room and jumped on my bed. It uses pillows. What a strange, cross-bred dog.


News FINALLY broke today about the Beatles: Rock Band game. Rather, details about the contents of the Limited Edition Bundle. Supposedly it looks to include a microphone w/ mic stand, Beatles-inspired and Ludwig-branded drum set (with a pearl finish and a vintage replica Beatles kick drum head), Hofner bass, "aditional special contents," and the game itself. Mmmm...I'm excited.

I've been listening to a lot of QuESt lately. If you don't know who this is, I recommend you cop that Distant Travels Into Soul Theory mixtape and get taken a-back. What else. Some KiD CuDi, more Charles Hamilton and Bobby Ray, and some fun. Speaking of fun. (for those former Format fans) you HAVE to find their latest track entitled "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)." Supposedly they used the same people for their upcoming album that were used on Dog Problems. After listening to that song, you'll see what I'm talking about. Amazing.

Well folks, have a wonderful night. I wanted to go a little deeper into things on the 100th post. Who knows what number 200 will bring.

One last thing. 2Pac's Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. is a very underrated album. Whenever I hear people talking about their inspirations and albums that influenced them, I never hear anyone bring this one up. Between "Holla If Ya Hear Me," "Papa'z Song," and "Keep Ya Head Up" I consider this one of MY all time favorites. Just wanted to mention this.

"You know it makes me unhappy,
When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be a Pappy.
And since we all came from a woman,
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman.
I wonder why we take from our women,
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women,
Time to heal our women, be real to our women.
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies,
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies.
And since a man can't make one,
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one.
So will the real men get up.
I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up."
- 2Pac "Keep Ya Head Up"

Bring it on home to me,
B