SURPRISE!

Busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy bee.

It's actually quite absurd. Never before have I been going, constantly, for days, weeks, months. A to-do list that is requires daily pursuit but seems to grow as the days go on. Don't get me wrong, I'm having the time of my life BUT the amount of "stuff" that needs to get done, the petty things, the social things, the school things, the career things, the identity things, the fun things, the annoying things, the required things, the overwhelming things, the underwhelming things, the friendly things, the THINGS. SO MANY THINGS. So many good things, so many necessary things.

Intentionality has become an essential part of my life. Historically, I have had the problem of overcommitting, saying "yes" to to many things. In the last few months, I have been intentional with how I spend my time and YES it has not always worked out as planned. For instance, social media often presents a fantastic way NOT to use your time wisely. This has been an area of struggle for me, so I took note and sought to eliminate the time wasted. I have to be intentional in friendships. If I let it, my schoolwork/funwork/filmwork could EASILY take up ALL my time. I have a deep passion for these artistic mediums and I could pretty quickly become a recluse. BUT, people drive me. Relationships drive me. And you know what the problem is? THERE'S SO MANY GREAT PEOPLE. How does one effectively maintain and grow friendships? Intentionality. In order for a relationship to work, there MUST be intentionality in the mix; spending time, having fun, chattin, livin life, all of the above. If I became a video-monk and festered in front of the computer, all my relationships would fall apart. It's simple. So, that said, balancing schoolwork with funwork with friendwork is no easy task. I've had a hard time with it.

And then, it's ironic, this blog. This blog is a perfect example of a "waste" of time. This blog is not helping my schooling, not furthering my career opportunities, and is encouraging the sit-in-front-of-the-computer side of me. What's funny too is that half the time, I talk about "how much work I have to do" or how "I'm SO overwhelmed with stuff," but yet I have time to "waste" writing these "useless, meaningless" words on some website. With every blog post, I seriously consider stopping. What is the point of this thing? Once a week, Wednesdays, I write about "stuff." Anything. I write on this blog about this blog. What's the point? But here's the thing, and here's what's ironic about the whole deal: this blog has proved itself COMPLETELY worth it TIME & TIME AGAIN. Looking back on old blog posts not only triggers beautiful, fantastic, priceless memories, but also serves as a record of my journey through personhood. Embedded within these lines are thoughts, actions, and ideas about how to live this bizarre thing called life. This public journal, which in and of itself is terrifying, is documenting the life of this crazy dude named Morgan Lott.

Game on.


Know what else is funny? This is a stream of consciousness blog. Nothing's planned, nothing's thought out ahead of time. I start writing and what happens happens. I genuinely was just going to write "Busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy busy bee." and THAT'S IT. And then, so typically, the words begin flowing and all of a sudden a deep, philosophical blog post is written about the very idea that this blog is a waste of time and I should be spending my time elsewhere. The irony is overbearing. This also needs to be said: WORRY is AWFUL. I am blessed to avoid worry in most situations, you know why? I'm confident God's got it all in His hands. I'm on a track, not to success, not to popularity, not to riches, I'm on a track to strengthen and grow God's kingdom through my work, relationships, family, and everything in between. I trust that this STRAIGHT ABSURDITY OF A LIFE is a training ground, preparing me for what is to come. God's got BIG plans for ALL of us. Worry kills any hope of recognizing those plans.

If you read this far, I commend you. You have just peered into one of the deeper entries of this here blog. REALTALK.



In other news, just yesterday Mr. Barack Obama was reelected to serve a second term as President of the United States of America. I revisited my blog post after t

Have a great day today. Get outside and go for a walk. Any distance. Could be 10 meters. But here's the catch: during your first step, appreciate your ability to walk.



And to those of you who CANNOT walk, get outside anyway. Fresh air is enough rejuvenate any slowing soul. During your time outside, appreciate your ability to even be outside.

Hallow

Today is Wednesday, October 31. Today is also Halloween, All Hallows Eve. I'm dressed up as an Insurance Salesman. On Wednesday. Everyone dressed up for Wednesday. It's great.

Here's a short history of Halloween.

Short History of Halloween

Just about every culture sets aside a special time to remember those who have died and give reverence to departed ancestors. Halloween started out as that kind of celebration. It has mutated since it came to America. The Mexican version of Halloween is Dia De Los Muertos, Day of the Dead.

Halloween's a pretty interesting holiday. People do weird stuff. People say weird stuff. People wear weird stuff. People think weird stuff. It's also a holiday that transcends age. Last week, we made a late night run to Denny's and a group of Halloween celebrators walked in, all dressed up and "fancy." They were probably late 20s, early 30s. They could have been standing next to the elementary kids who dress up for reading time. Transcends age. People do weird stuff.


Let me tell you something. LIFEIZCRAY.

Don't have much to talk about. Because so much is happening. So many projects to juggle, so many conversations to be had, so many passions to pursue. It's all a mad conglomerate of stuffs, compiling, compounding, abstracting upon each other. It's a world of trouble, it's a world of craziness, it's a world of learning and pursuit and excellence. This is the time for it, right? College? Be pushed further than I could even imagine? And THEN some? Yup.

Here's two examples of what I've been working on. I've been digging them BUT there's bunches and bunches of work to be done.

 

Here's a poster for the All Student Art Show that has been showing on campus all this week.

AND SleepTalk100 was shown at the gallery which was an unprecedented honor. 


Have a merry Halloween everybody. Eat some candy, down some sugar, celebrate a straight up bizarre holiday.

Overwhelm-ation

This last week. Woah. It's been a week of intensity. It's been a week of extremity. It's been a week of surprise. It's been a week of celebration. It's been a week of remembrance. It's been a week of emotion. It's been a week of assumption. It's been a week of danger. It's been a week of longevity. It's been a week since last Wednesday.

During the last week, one concept has stood out to me: LIFE IS A RIDE, so you'd better BUCKLE UP.


During this last week, one million and a half different past, present, and future events, experiences, thoughts, conversations, memories, aspirations, dreams and other "stuff" were revealed, uncovered, dug up from the mountain of my life. On Monday, while I was at work, it all hit me, like a baseball bat hitting a baseball, like a brick through a window, like an ice cream cone splatting onto the floor. So what did I do? I headed over to the fountain to "think" about it.

I was there five minutes.


On Monday afternoon, I wrote this on my facebook wall for all the world to see:

I sat down by the fountain to think about my future. "Since when did I have control?" So I left & stopped thinking about it. #lifesaTRIP

Boom. That was it, completely stopped thinking about it. It was good feeling. Now, it's not that I've forgotten about it, these issues are still very present and very relevant. BUT, when stress and overwhelm-ation set in, boy, that's no good and it's not heading in a very good direction. Why mull around when I know for a 100% fact that God's in control? What happens, happens and, regardless good or bad, God has blessed me in that specific situation for a specific reason, an experience to learn by. I have absolutely no control over anything so WHY IN THE WORLD get so stressed out about it? Life's a trip and I'm just a long for the ride. Sure it get's bumpy, the oil needs to be changed every once in a while, but hey, it's a blast.


That ended on an optimistic note. The next video may change that. This video is INCREDIBLE. It's heartbreaking, personable, and hopeful. I don't know how to put it into words other than it's definitely worth a watch. (Disclaimer: there are a few "choice" words).


Last Minutes with ODEN


Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.


Unreal. I feel for this man and his love for his dog. There's something about this story that is so easy to relate to. We all desire unconditional love; regardless of situation, the love we crave never wavers and is always there for you. While I was watching this short film, the parallels between Oden and our Father in Heaven were incredible. The most notable difference? Christ's unconditional love is TRULY unconditional. He will never leave us, will never grow old, will not die out, and will always be there even if we can't feel it.

Unbelievable. The funny thing is we do not deserve it AT ALL.



The next video is an interview with Eliot Rausch, the director of "Last Minutes with ODEN."  This man is truly inspiring, using his gifts to tell a story, an extremely real story. As I continue in my film studies, messing and fooling around with different subject matters, content, etc., I am learning more and more that I am intrigued with REAL life. Capturing life as it plays out with as little "Hollywood" influence as possible. That's a completely different topic though. Enjoy this interview, I know I did:



Eliot Rausch on "Last Call" with Carson Daly from phos pictures on Vimeo.





Speaking of filmic inspiration, I've been chugging through some fun little shorts.  They're all short, under 1 minute each, and they're all happily unique, bizarre, and promotional, all in the same.

1. SPOOKTACULAR: This is a promo for HME's dance Spooktacular going on at the end of this month. I decided to act a little, this is what happened.


SPOOKTACULAR IS COMING from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.
.

2. UP: THE MAN IN THE FLYING CHAIR: This is a promo for a theatre/film production directed by Mr. Ian Mayta.  I very much enjoyed developing this idea of using stock footage as the main content. The opening video to the production will also be a video in this similar style, I'm excited to begin working on it.


The Man in the Flying Chair from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.



3. ANIMAL FICTION: This is a promo for a short film directed by Mr. Zack Campbell that I will be editing in the near future. I'm PUMPED to be involved on this project.


Animal Fiction: A Promo from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.







And there! There you have it!


The blog post for the 26th of October.





Have a most excellent day today. Take a short brisk walk around the neighborhood. Say hello to a neighbor. Talk about something you've never talked about before.



Enjoy life, it only happens once.

Fabl

Things might be changin' around this here parts.  But, that's for me to know and you to find out.  Who knows?  Maybe there won't be any change whatsoever.

Fact is, the weekday "Wednesday" is now the busiest day of the week.  Here's the breakdown:
  8:30-9:30 CLASS
  9:30-10:30 Optional Chapel
       MEAL TIME
  12:00-1:15 CLASS
  3:00-5:50 CLASS
        MEAL TIME
  7:00-10:00 CLASS

That's a lot of time I do not have to do whatever I want.  SO, you can maybe figure out what the change may involve...

But who knows, maybe I'll find time, like I am right now...



The picture signifies something.  Try and figure it out...


Here it is: in the picture, there is clearly a wall in the way of the subject.  This is a very literal symbol.  It symbolizes something.

Think about it.  This does not only apply to me.  We all run into hypothetical walls.  How will you get past it?


I have something for you:


One Heart EP - Haiti Relief from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.


"On January 12th, the earth quaked beneath the country of Haiti, resulting in extreme damage to every aspect of the already poverty-stricken nation.
It’s estimated that 1 million Haitians have been left homeless from this disaster. They are without food, water, shelter, or proper sanitation. These 1 million Haitians are men, women, and children- image bearers of their creator. Each one has been created by God for a purpose and an eternal destiny. In this moment, Haiti is overwhelmed.

As Biola Students- Disciples of Christ- we are called to run to the broken. feed them, clothe them, and we have to do whatever we can to help.

We’ve decided to quickly record a four song worship EP that were going to be selling for 3 dollars- 100% going to support World Vision’s relief efforts on the ground in Haiti. The Ep is going to be available outside the caf starting on Valentines day.

Together we can make a difference and extend Christ’s love to Haiti."

The words above/in the video explain pretty much every aspect I would even attempt to explain.  Just a couple: I'm not in the band putting out this EP, so this is not self-promotion; I fully support this drive to help Haiti in their time of need.  Also, the video is specific to Biola, but if you want to contribute, I'll be posting other ways you can participate shortly.  

Either way, Haiti is struggling and we have the means to help.




In other news, I have a couple videos for you and they are rather interesting, perhaps random, but incredible in their own way. 

1irst: some solid driving.  Reminds me...


2econd: The Death Swing: looks like a good time:



That's all I have and I apologize. Hopefully it won't always be like this, yes? Unless you like it like this...

Have a brilliant day.






I'm not sure why those videos are so small. Fullscreen them if you need to.