Thanks a million

WOAH. It's TG. Thanksgiving. The big one. Time to eat. Is that what Thanksgiving's about? Sometimes, for some people. Is it about seeing family? Sometime, for some people. Is it about the settlers and the Indians?

In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. The initial thanksgiving observance at Virginia in 1619 was prompted by the colonists' leaders on the anniversary of the settlement. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. In later years, the tradition was continued by civil leaders such as Governor Bradford who planned a thanksgiving celebration and fast in 1623. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s.

I'm home for the holiday, it's pretty great, always great. Short and great. You know what else is short and great? Thanksgiving break from last year. Here's the recap. It's short and great:


TG (Video Art) from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.


Short and great.



And you know what else? Well, school stuff, most certainly.

See that? That's my schedule for next semester. Well, for the time being. Some aspects are still a lil up in the air, but for the most part, this is the scoop. I'm generally excited, should be interesting, very interesting. I'm going to have more time than I do now which will be interesting in itself, but knowing me, that "time" will be filled up immediately. Interesting. I'm excited though, we'll see what happens. There's no telling what kind of shenanigans will go down between now and then, what opportunities will come and pass, what friends and acquaintances will do in this same time of change. Change is scary, change is good, change is necessary. It's time. BOOM.



I've got some videos for you, some super fun ones.

The first? Well, it's one of the funniest videos I've EVER had the privilege to watch. Not only does it feature Mr. Bob Ross, the mastermind of a painter, but the video as a whole is simply hysterical. I absolutely love how he gets such a kick out of cleaning his brush, laughing as he goes. What a man.




Next, is a ridiculously great commercial. Let's just say, if I was young and immature (I'm not saying I'm not), I would have the Six Finger on my Sandy Claus list ASAP. Also, advertising sure has changed these last [fill in the blank] years. This stuff is QUALITY.



Thirdski: this video getscha. It's so happy, so joyous. This blind cat, Oskar, plays with toys for the first time, toys rigged with bells so Oskar can locate the ball and have an absolute ball in the process. Brings tears to my eyes.



Last is a spectacular stopmotion and pretty philosophically deep. The point is made and makes you feel. The emotion. Definitely worth a watch.


Address Is Approximate from The Theory on Vimeo.






And that's it! The post! Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for you. Yes, you. You're a reader/watcher and possibly an enjoyer of this here blog and that means the world to me. I'm thankful for you and her and him and us. I'm thankful for it all, life experiences, the good, the bad, the ugly. Most of all, I'm thankful for a Savior that takes the weight off of my shoulders and knows me inside out, for no reason at all but pure love. Without Him, I'm a goner, TOAST. Phew, I'm thankful.



THANK YOU!

Tabled

How are you today? Weather treating you well? How's work/school/chillaxin?  When is the last time you drank a fruit smoothie?  We all have questions, and most of the time we have answers to the questions.  Right now, I have a pretty intense question: how do I fit all that needs to be done, including getting a good nights rest, into the 24 hours we are given in a day?  If I knew the answer to that question, I'd be pumped, rested, and ready to rock at every waking hour.


I have a few different things to talk about. 1st?  Justin Bieber.  You may say "What? Really? You're kidding, right?"  This is not a joke.  Over the last few weeks, I've come to appreciate Justin Bieber.  Why?  I've come to realize this dude is pretty genuinely talented, he's not your typical Disney Channel star turned rockstar overnight who just, honestly, isn't that good.  Nope, big man JB found his start upon youtube.com, impressing the masses, including Scooter Braun who introduced him to Usher who was so impressed....well it's all just history.  I'm not a particular fan of JB's music, I have not contracted the Bieber Fever, but I am going to admit he's talented, because he is.  Additionally, I have been impressed by JB's attitude and drive after becoming a world renown star overnight.  From what I've seen in interviews and such, he's just a kid having a good time, enjoys a sports-related ringtone, and actually has remarkable humility for his position in the entertainment industry.  I haven't done a whole lot of reading/watching, so I may just be speculating, but hey, JB keep it up, Buddy.  





Next, this week marks the first round of directing project.  For mine, oh mine, I'll let you just watch it, there really aren't words to describe it.  I have been calling the "craziest-video-I've-ever-made."  I don't know if that's true, but definitely makes it into the finals.


Generic from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.



Nutty.


Third, the POG revolution has arrived at Biola University.  Last week, if you recall (if you don't: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2011/02/reevaulate.html), I talked POG (Passion Orange Guava juice) up, explaining that Mr. Michael Warnecke and I took matters into our own hands and began requesting the Biola cafeteria supply it's customers with the delicable island drink that is POG: "On the note of POG, we (now a group of probably 10 people) have been asking the Biola cafeteria to supply the populous with the incredible POG juice.  We requested enough times that they claim they are finding out from their suppliers if POG is an option.  It's happening, the POG revolution is here."

So here's what happened, we requested, we requested, they responded saying they were looking at vendors, few days pass, a note appears on one of our "current status of POG search?" request cards: "We will be serving POG starting Tuesday morning!"  We could not be more happy, because we normally do not do breakfast, we got up extra early to get some delicious POG.  We hit up the caf, had trouble finding the POG, had trouble making the juice dispecer actually dispence POG, but when it was all said and done, we had cups full of POG and, my favorite, POG Berry (POG and cranberry fusion).  Let's just say it was heavenly.  I simply cannot believe we sought out to get something, we told people about it, we requested, requested, requested, and we received.  Well done, Biola Cafeteria, you guys flew to the top tier of my BEST-EVER list.  Can't wait for my next glass.



NOW, I've got some video for you, an interesting lineup to say the least:


1_

This is "Children Go Where I Send Thee" by Tennessee Ernie Ford, and little dude on Tennessee Ernie Ford's right, our left, is PUMPED. This dude feels like beat deep deep in his soul. Good for him, let's take notes. I'M FEELING IT.





2_

Introducing the most incredible lightshow I've ever seen. I have not a clue about how they pulled this off, all I know is it is incredible, and I sit in awe from behind my computer screen. BEASTLY.


Licht Festival Gent 2011 from Mr.Beam on Vimeo.



3_


Here's how a man eats a banana, go big or go home.





4_


There's just something about this next video. I think it may be the music. I think it may be the gang of cats. I think it may be that even cats get confuzzled. I think it may be that the gentleman and the cat communicate so effectively. I think it may be this video:












And there you have it, a little tidbit of the week.  Boom boom bam.  I feel like I'm forgetting something.  Maybe I am.  Forgetfulness, now there's a topic.  I forgot was I was going to say about forgetfulness though; oh yes, I was going to say forgetfulness is a great topic.



Have a pleasant morning/afternoon/evening.  Please.

de Mayo

It is Cinco de Mayo today.  In other words, it is May the 5th.  This holiday has made a lasting impact upon me as I have forgotten to dress up on this day for the past 2 (or more) years.  Luckily, this year's Cinco de Mayo landed conveniently on a Wednesday (or else I would have forgotten once again).  However, I didn't dress up how you might expect someone to dress up if they were saying they were dressing up for Cinco De Mayo.  My clothing is simpler.  I am wearing 5 different shades of brown.  It's as simple as that.  Not much meaning; maybe the earthen tones communicate something.  What's funny is that the holiday of Cinco de Mayo is hardly recognized in Mexico, but it's widely recognized throughout the US as a celebration of Mexican heritage.  I wear brown to symbolize camouflage which represents the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

You may also notice that there are two other people in the photo with me.  We have Mr. Scott Gamelson on your left (my right) and Mr. Michael Warnecke on your right (my left).  They are enjoying Cinco de Mayo as well.  Clearly.

That said, this year is winding down rather quickly.  It really isn't that funny.  It's going to be over before I can finish this sentence...figuratively of course.  What is funny is that many colleges are already out of school, but we have a good few weeks left.  Hilarious.  It will be an interesting ride.

Speaking of interesting rides, I'm realizing this summer will be just that.  For those of you that don't know, I'm working up at Hume Lake Christian Camps for the summer, the entire summer.  It's going to be incredible and I'm pumped out of my mind, but I'm going to be home (in Simi Valley) for at most one week all summer and then I'm right back where I am right now: Biola University.  Interesting ride is right.  Keeps ya guessin' not countin' on much, don't get too comfortable and/or you'll be (un) pleasantly surprised.

Speaking of interesting rides, I sign up for next semester classes tomorrow and it has been no easy task figuring out what I'm going to be taking; in fact, I have a meeting today that has the capability of completely rearranging the pitiful schedule I have already configured.  It's bound to be interesting, I'm sure there will be issues, I guess we'll see what happens, that's what interesting rides are all about you.

In other news, I've got some videa for ya.  And they're not just straight up videas either, they are heartfelt, hit ya in the core, type videas.

First up, this old man should have been dead long ago, but no, he defies medical "truth" and teaches music to the masses.  Incredible story. 



This next video is potentially the saddest video I have ever watched on youtube.  If you don't want to get weepy, don't watch it, but I highly recommend it.  Just shows animals care for each other and knows what up when the going goes tough.  Here's part of the youtube description:

INFO: This stray cat was filmed in Turkey( Kızılsaray district of Antalya ) trying to reanimate his female friend who got hit by a car. Even though some people tried to help him, the white cat wouldn't let them come near for two straight hours. Finally a vet arrived and took the injured cat. Sadly, it was too late and he couldnt resuscitate the feline.

The words are lost.







Sorry to end on a rather somber note.  Here's my advice: you are living, live like you mean it, live like you care.