Endure

It's Wednesday. Again. Again. It's Wednesday. Again. I feel like it's always Wednesday. Actually, I don't. It just seems like Wednesday happens a lot. I guess. Again.

Life has been crazy. Trying to balance school, a business, any sort of social life, and slacking off has been difficult. There's 24 hours a day, you spend, if you're healthy, about a fourth of that sleeping. Let the balancing begin. I've been sacrificing sleep quite a bit for the sake of being social. "Oh, homework can wait, let's go to In-n-Out" or "Oh, you want to have a fun conversation that will last 45 minutes? Okay, let me put my book down" or "Oh, a client just emailed, it's time to release a video; take a seat, Philosophy." Time's like these are not opportune BUT I am grateful for a full plate. I'm grateful for the school, the business, any sort of social life, and slacking off can sometimes be relaxing. 

Similarly, I quit Facebook this week. Well, sorta. I can't "afford" to "quit." Mawwiage Films fuels off of Facebook, there a number of groups that are important to my well-being, and it's a great social tool. HOWEVER, I often turn to Facebook to slack off, to kill time I don't have. It's highly addictive and highly dangerous, BUT a necessary tool for current events and staying up to date in both my business and personal lives. SO, what did I do? I changed my password to something random, a difficult to memorize code that sits in an annoying, out-of-the-way place, so when I need Facebook, I have to go out of my way to get the password. It's worked fantastically thus far; I'm more productive, efficient, and slacking off has taken a hit. Let's see how long it lasts.

Yesterday was pretty rad. I met a new friend, her name's Endeavor. A good friend of mine, Mr. Preston Richardson, asked me if I would shoot some video of the Shuttle while he shot stills, documenting Javelin Logistics' role in Endeavor's last mission: the transport to the California Science Center. I didn't qualify that as even a question. The answer was an emphatic YES. This was an incredible experience. Being in the same vicinity as not only a space shuttle that may be the last United States craft in space in a long long while, but something that will LITERALLY be there one time EVER was almost overwhelming. It was a fantastic opportunity and it was a great time hangin' with Preston and the gentlemen from Javelin Logistics; a true once in a lifetime experience.

So, I think that's basically it. These weeks have been nuts. Weekends have been nuts. This last weekend was one for the record books. This is how Friday was described via instagram: "Words to describe tonight: #multi-fun #multi-friendz #multi-dimensional #california #class #sass #hopping #popping #town #latelatelate #interestingineverysense #timeforbed"


Friends, take advantage of the life you life. Don't slack off, don't be lazy. Take every opportunity you have and make it something great. Invest in every action. Look forward to even the mundane. Enjoy life, it's a gift we don't deserve. Be thankful.

Ge generous today.

Ness, Busy

So it is summer. Sure is. Let me tell you, it's been nonstop. If you know anything about me, know me personally, or don't know me at all, you probably know I am just a tad busy... all the time. Once the semester ended (which ended spectacularly, by the way. It's always interesting saying goodbye to friends, classes, housing, and the campus. For the time being.), the work load did not slow down. I have realized that approximately 20% of the work I do is actually school work, 80% being other "stuff," personal projects, weddings, photography, web design, and everything else. So, that said, the removal of "school" from my schedule honestly did not change the makeup of my life all that much. BUT, I'm not complaining. I am immensely blessed and honored to be able to capture life in the Morgan Lott perspective. EVERYTHING is a learning experience, whether is fails miserably or succeeds with flying colors. Learn, adjust, improve, share. GO.

For two of the four weeks we have been out of school, I have spent my time at Hume Lake Christian Camps. That place, phew. Gets me every time. I worked there as a "video guy" during the summer of 2010. Here was my farewell blog post after the summer came to a close:

http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-it-up.html

That place has a big ol' part of my heart and I wouldn't be half the man I am today with our Hume's influence. I went up orientation week to help my sis Ms. Melanie Lott move in, she's working at Hume 'n' Beans, the coffee shop, this summer. Mr. Isaac Svensson then came up so I chilled for the week with him, working on Mawwiage Films stuff. I spent the majority of the time in the media office, my old stomping grounds, working working working (thank you to the media staff for allowing me to sit in there, you certainly didn't have to) on personal projects. I worked my tail tail tail off on the brand new Mawwiage Films website which is right here for your enjoyment!

http://mawwiagefilms.com

And also this video featuring Mr. Greg Ramey.

Greg's Testimony from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Orientation week was funny. It was WILD being at Hume, around staff, during orientation week, during the week the staff are learning what to do and how to work their jobs. I worked in the office, I ate in staff dining, I met lots of staff members, I felt like I was legitimately on staff. But I wasn't. And then I left. Bizarre experience. Fun experience. Worthwhile experience.

And then two weeks later, I went back. Every summer, my family spends a week up at Hume Lake in a cabin that runs in the family. Every summer for my entire life, I have spent at least a week at Hume, basking in the place that many people classify as "the best place in the world." Like I said, blessed and honored. This week was different though, I spent very little time engulfed in the staff life. I spent a lot of time at the cabin, a lot of time working on the Hume 'n' Beans deck, a lot of time working on the Snack Shack deck.  I intentionally kept my distance from the "I feel like I'm on staff because I'm so involved!" moniker and kept to the "I worked here 2 years ago and it was great, let's reminisce" moniker. Very different week, equally as great week. It was FANTASTIC being able to use the wonderful outdoors, the forest, the lake, as my office. It was FANTASTIC working at a table by myself, and then a new friend approaches and asks to sit, establishing a relationship. It was FANTASTIC watching rec, seeing campers, seeing staff, all enjoying Hume Lake to it's fullest. It was FANTASTIC being with my fam bam at our cabin, playing games, sittin around, straight up relaxin. It was FANTASTIC seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and laughing a little bit. It was FANTASTIC getting a day full of the extravagant talents of the voice over pro Mr. John Olson. It was FANTASTIC getting blasted with some of the best weather I've every experienced at that lake. It was FANTASTIC seeing some absurdities at Open Mic Night, laughing about the most ridonkulocity Open Mic talents such as running on a treadmill or reciting the list of 1997 top 25 action movies with my little bros Mr. Connor Lott and Mr. Spencer Lott, celebrating Ms. Kaitlyn Bodin's birthday with a spontaneous midnight jump in the lake, and being taught how to handshake by Ms. Jessica Whitney and Ms. Kacie Johnson. It was FANTASTIC leaving Hume with a straight up ridiculous electro/lounge/hip-hop cd that blasts all other music out of the water.

FANTASTIC.

We'll see if I make it back again this summer.


And then we made it down to Reedley to celebrate my Great-Grandpa Walter Warkentin's 97th birthday, as well as send off my cousins the Hiett's as they are moving to Oklahoma in a matter of weeks. When the whole extended family is together, it's nothing short of a great time!


SOOOO this summer's been busy! I'm just going to embed some videos for your enjoyment:


CROOK: my final project for my Typography II class at Biola:


CROOK from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.


and five Mawwiage Films Teasers!


Karley & Lauri Mase :: Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



Bradley & Taylor Zeller :: The Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



Mr. & Mrs. Wilson Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



Carter & Chelsea Sapp :: teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



David & Stella :: The Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.




You know what that means right? 5 Mawwiage Films Moments that coming up real quick. YIKES! Gametime.







So that's how this summer is looking this far. Pretty wild, man. Like I said, this summerz NUTZ!


Whether your summer is or is not NUTZ, enjoy it with all you got. Serious!

APE 4

It's APRIL 4th. What on this planet?! Not only is time flying, but time is flying. I came to a realization the other day, April Fools Day to be exact. Exactly one year ago this week, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I, or as we're professionally known: Mawwiage Films, flew to Scotland for a weekend to film the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Ichikawa. This was the trip of a lifetime, a trip I will NEVER forget. And you know what's cool? Modern technology allowed us to film our experience. Modern technology allowed us to capture the ABSOLUTE ABSURDITY that was our weekend trip to Scotland. This video is a doozy and it never gets old. Very highly recommended. The emotions in this video are REAL, it's almost eerie (especially near the end when we have absolutely no idea what we're doing in a foreign country by ourselves).

MF in Scotland: The Documentary from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.





On March 31, something absolutely wonderful happened. My favorite band as a kid, Relient K, came to Biola University to play a show. I was stoked beyond words. Here was my facebook status following the concert:

If you know me well, you know that I don't hear lyrics. It's a weird phenomenon, hard to explain. But for some reason, there's one band, and one band only, that I know a whole lot of lyrics to. That band is Relient K. Relient K played at Biola University tonight and ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT. And it will be the first and probably last time I will have the privilege to SING and SCREAM lyrics with the band and fans, all while going APE in the PIT. An absolute BLAST of a show. I can honestly say, my childhood dreams have come true. Thank you, gentlemen.

Everything stated here is a fact. Relient K rocked Biola, absolutely rocked it. I must admit, I was a little worried. You see, Relient K has evolved quite a bit since their self-title album came out in 2000. Their sound has evolved throughout their career, and when Mmhmm dropped in 2004, I heard an inkling of what was to come, an inkling I wasn't particularly digging. Sure enough, the Apathetic EP came out in 2005 and I disappointed for the simple reason that the "fun, immature, punk" Relient K was old news and the "serious, mature, indie" Relient K was here to stay. Their music changed, for the better in a lot of ways, but the new stuff was simply not the Relient K I knew and loved.

So this same Relient K was scheduled to play at Biola and we were all wondering what their set list was going to be. Were they going to play old stuff? All new stuff? Combo meal? I wanted wanted wanted the old stuff, but was ever so nervous they weren't going to pull out the fun stuff. BUT, sure enough, the dudes pulled off a BRILLIANT set. Here's a picture of it for you:

PERFECT mix of old and new, super pumped. We went ape, got a gnarly pit going, getting our mosh on. SO FUN screaming those lyrics, never experienced anything like it and will never again. Once in a lifetime experience.

Two crazy things happened.

1. I have a good friend named Mr. Scott Weir that also goes to Biola. His father, Dr. Paul Weir, and my father, Mr. Ned Lott, were roommates at Biola back when they were students. From what Scott and I have heard, there was this band Toto that was popular when our dad's were in college, repping a song called "Africa" that topped the charts when our dad's were in college.  Now, Relient K has produced two cover albums, and on one of these cover albums, they cover Toto's "Africa." Do you know what this means? This means that Mr. Scott Weir and I are jamming to "Africa" while we were in college, just like our dad's jammed to "Africa" while they were in college. You know what's even crazier? Scott and I are going to be living under the same roof next semester. If that's not unbelievable, I don't know what is.

2. After the first two songs of the encore, the lead singer of Relient K, Matthew Thiessen (who is a BEAST of a lyricist) told us that his grandfather passed away this week and he would have given anything to be there with his family, but was commited to this show at Biola. Not only is this incredible dedication, but RK closed the night with Deathbed, an incredible 11 minute song that delves deep into the concept of death and our eternal meaning. Matt Thiessen performed this song BEAUTIFULLY, with emotion that can't be put into words. Straight from the heart. Take a listen, it's unreal.





And here are two pictures from the night, straight from the camera of Mr. Job Ang.

Excellent.

So that closes out the week. Next week is spring break. Which is wild. Animal Fiction has my name written all over it. 

Animal Fiction is a film I'm editing. Here's the trailer. It's going to be incredible. I'm pumped.

Animal Fiction - Official Trailer from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.

Enjoy your day. All of it. It's been beautiful here. I've gotten a little sunburned. 

Drink something with two ice cubes. Just two.

L E A P

IT'S LEAP DAY 2012!

Friends, Leap Day comes once every four years, but actually every seven years. Last time, Leap Day came was 2008, that was four years ago. Today is Leap Day. The next Leap year will fall on 2016, four years from now. So we've got three years on both sides of us.

My numbers are off. WHATEVER. IT'S LEAP DAY! Get psyched, amped, jazzed, pumped, GOING ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC!

Leap.






Friends, this blog post is a sad one. I'm here to report that I don't know how I will humanly possible be able to maintain this blog to the extent I would like to and the extent you deserve. You see, last weeks didn't even make it out in time (here's the link, there's lots of fun photos there. For seriously. http://emliv.blogspot.com/2012/02/pictorals.html). And this week I'm crunched for time as well. It simply isn't working out as well this semester as every other semester.  It's a sad moment.  So here's a survey:







So, friends, we'll see what happens. It really pains me to drop to such drastic measures.

This last weekend was seriously one of the most ridiculous weekends of my life. Here's the rundown.


Fri: Film my good friends Chase Wagner and Paige Echarte's wedding with Mawwiage Films. This wedding was absolutely 100% breathtaking. I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE IT. So beautiful. I can't wait to show you our video(s).  Here's an image or two from Smetona Photo (http://smetonaphoto.com):

Sat: Film the Spring 2012 Adamo Collection clothing line launch party in Huntington Beach. INTENSE! Lots of people came out, art was displayed, music was blasted, all in all, good time. The video will be posted here when completed!

Sun: Playing drums drums drums for House of Worship at Biola. So good to get behind the set again, especially while worshiping our God. I have some video of that as well that will hopefully get edited into something worth watching/listening.


Madness of a weekend, and it doesn't stop! This kinda stuff comes up, goes away, more comes up, goes away, as it goes. As it goes. This is life and it's going at millions of miles per hour. I keep catching myself blinking. It's not healthy. I'm going to miss this life of mine.







Have an excellent excellent week my fellow internet browsers. Enjoy something you've never enjoyed before. Like salted peanuts. Or knocking over pylons.



Enjoy life. And don't blink.

Marvel

Friends and neighbors, it's been a good week.  I'll just run through it.


For a while now, Mawwiage Films knew this weekend was on its way.  Mr. Eric Funk and Ms. Stephanie Wiens were set to be married on Sunday, June 19th, 2011 and MF had the pleasure to capture their wedding.  There was a little something that we were particularly excited about though: not only was the beast of a photographer Mr. Nate Goins (nategoinsphotography.com) going to be photographing this particular wedding, but the delightful Ellie Mullins (mullins2.com) was going to be second shooting for him.  Do you know what this meant?  This meant that basically half of the Hume Lake Summer 2010 Media Crew was reuniting to collaborate.  Put it in a word: krill. So, because of this, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I drove up to Fresno a wee bit early in order to capitalize on this unique opportunity.

Saturday night, the crew headed to the Mullins² Studio in Fresno to chill and watch a movie.  And who shows up? Well, another Hume photographer, Ms. Kim Sheehan. What commenced can be described in one word: FUN.  It was great reuniting.  What's cool about friendship is you can pick up right where you left off, whether thats a day, a week, a month, a summer, a school year, a full year, a decade.  It was enjoyable.

The next day was the wedding. I don't want to spoil too much, we've got a teaser coming your way real real soon.  Let's just say, it was a beautiful wedding in Oakhurst, CA.  Nice and warm, lots of happy happy people, including an ecstatic bride and groom.  Plus, shooting with good friends, boy, that's begging for the "GREAT" label.

Now heres the deal with Oakhurst. Oakhurst is right near Fresno, and Fresno is right near Hume Lake, our home away from home. We had already driven 3+ hours for the wedding, we were now a little over an hour from Hume, so clearly, Hume was our next stop. Mr. Nate Goins and Ms. Ellie Mullins are productive workers, so they were not able to join Mr. Isaac Svensson and I on our expedition. After saying our goodbyes for the time being to our good friends, we took off for the mountains.

As we were driving, I noticed flames. I assumed they were crops burning, clearing a spot for a fresh start. As we continued, I realized these weren't crops... this was an actual fire. We began up the 180 towards Hume and in the first 5 miles, sure enough, an entire hill was on fire. As we were driving past, we discussed stopping: we had camera gear, we had time, we had fire, OF COURSE we need to stop.  We pull over to the side of the road amidst the fire crews, pull out the gear and began shooting away.  Here are two shots from the event:

Read this: http://mawwiagefilms.tumblr.com/post/6848925892/a-continued-lesson for continued stories.


After our little run-in with one of the most confusing phenomenon's that is FIRE, we continued on our way up the mountain. We were fortunate to borrow the Goins' family cabin, which was INCREDIBLE. We had a place to sleep, which is a big deal. Because of this, we ended up staying an extra day, simply because we had a place to sleep.

Hume was incredible. This is what I've been telling people: Rekindled friendships, made new friendships, and even made a little video for the campers. It was great great great to see many old friends from last year, friends from Biola that ended up at Hume, friends I knew from other places that ended up at Hume, friends I didn't know too well before but now do more-so, friends that didn't exist before this visit, my sister ROCKIN' the pantry, and some of the Friesen family who were visiting for the week. (Here's the deal, I thought about naming names, I thought about naming lots of names, I thought about for each of these "categories" naming names. But here's the deal with naming names, naturally, there's going to be a hierarchy, there's going to be "favorites." Now, obviously, we all have "favorite" friends, we have friends we get along with better than others, but they are all still friends. So, if I was going to name names, naturally, I would start with friends who I "like" more than other friends, even though they are still friends, perhaps even good friends. But here's the deal, ranking can be sticky business. If you saw yourself on my list and you were first, what would you think? If you saw yourself on my list and you were last, what would you think? If you DIDN'T see yourself on my list, what you think? So for this reason, I did not name names. If you read my categorical list, you know which category you fall under. You know if we're good friends. I know if we're good friends. You know if we're normal friends. I know if we're normal friends. We're all friends.) I enjoyed seeing and talking with every single one of you. I enjoyed our conversation. A lot.

You know what else was incredible? Getting all nostalgic-like; going NUTS in rec chapel, hanging in the media office with the old and new staff, enjoying a 7AM pancake breakfast, skating to and from boys town (my residence last year), enjoying POG, getting my consistent styrofoam cup of water from the G-Store, and finally, working on a short video with the new rec dudes, Nate and Louie, that was played in rec chapel the next day. There's honestly nothing like watching 1000 high schoolers go ABSOLUTELY APE watching your video, definitely top 10 best feelings.

Leaving was tough, we had been engulfed back into the Hume culture, just give us a camera and we were back in business.  We took off into the 100+ temperatures and said adios to our home away from home, a home that is responsible for our current lives, a home that is responsible for us not returning back to work at "home" (which is a bizarre thing to think about).  In fact, one of my art films from a while back was literally the BEGINNING of Mawwiage Films. Hume served as training, we were prepared, this was the BEGINNING:


Profession (Video Art) from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.




All this to say, the last week has been marvelous.  Such good times, such good experiences, such good memories.  Not only that, but Hume Lake is going to influence thousands of kids lives, God is going to work wonders through Hume this summer, it doesn't get better than that. Period.  I hope you enjoyed the story, good stories are always fun.  I hope your week is as marvelous as mine was. Seriously. In fact, to kick things off right, go out and drink out of a drinking fountain. Think about it, public, free, water, free for quenching your thirst. That's a pretty good way to start off a marvelous week.

Seriously folks, thanks for reading. Enjoy your fountain.

Skip-skip

WOAH folks! Wednesday came and gone. Wednesday came and gone without a blog post. This is not the first time it's happened. It's still "not good" though.

BUT, here's why. Yesterday (and the day before), I spend the day(s) at the Paramount Studio Lot in Hollywood, prepping and working at the Annual Billabong Design For Humanity event. I'll tell you about it, but I need you do something for me first. Mawwiage Films (mawwiagefilms.com) has just engulfed the world of Twitter, so please follow us! You won't regret it, not one bit.

Follow @mawwiagefilms

Back to the story.  One of my professors, Mr. Daniel Chang, presented his students with an opportunity to volunteer at the Billabong event, so naturally, I snatched up the chance.  What followed was long long hours of unpacking, preparing, arranging, rearranging, measuring, and hanging 70+ pieces of art in a makeshift gallery space.  It was a good time, a mighty good time.  And let me tell you, figuring out the order to place the diverse art on the walls was one of the most complicated things I've ever been a part of.  Figuring value, significance, medium, and flow into the precise placement of every piece of art is no easy task.  All that to say, we eventually got the Art Auction ready for auctioning.  We were ready to roll.

The event itself on Wednesday went rather smoothly. I, along with Ms. Vanessa Watts, worked with Mr. Morgan Maassen to help promote and sell his photography.  Check out his work at http://www.morganmaassen.com.  I enjoyed working in this small space, the people watching was incredible.  If you want specifics, ask me in person.  I have one good story though.  Mr. Morgan Maassen is a 20 year old male.  Mr. Morgan Lott is a 20 year old male.  Mr. Morgan Maassen was in and out, mostly out, of his gallery while Mr. Morgan Lott was always in his gallery.  A number of people walked up to Mr. Morgan Lott and asked "Hi, are you Morgan?" to which I would normally answer "Yes."  This situation, however, was different.  I could not answer "Yes" no matter how much I wanted to.  This was an interested dealing with honesty.  Is it honest to say "Yes, I am Morgan?" Well, I am telling the truth, I am indeed Morgan, but am I THE Morgan they're looking for? No. I would be deceiving them. DISHONESTY.  Is it honest to say "No, I am not Morgan?" Well, I am lying, I am indeed Morgan, but am  I THE Morgan they're looking for? No. I would be telling the truth.  DISHONESTY.  All that to say, I got a kick out of it.  Through the fashion show, the art auction, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, and approximately 4000 people attending, the 2011 Design For Humanity was a ball.

And then it was time to clean up.  After packaging up the art that was sold, packaging up the art that was not sold (I love how the complexity of such a task can be so easily stated in a simple sentence), it was 3 AM.  And what happens at 3 AM? Well, you head to Denny's.  We enjoyed a late night meal together to finish out the night.  And then, a typical "Morgan Lott Moment." On the way out, I somehow missed the freeway entrance, I drove right passed it. So I kept driving. All of a sudden, I was in residential area, and I cleverly thought "I don't think I'm going the right way." I didn't assume I had missed the freeway, I assumed I had went the wrong way in the first place.  So, I started driving, I started exploring.  After about 15 minutes, I realized I was in what I think was Thai Town.  It was at this point that this driving around looking for the freeway was not fun and games anymore.  Frustration began to set in.  Luckily, somehow, by the Grace of God, I found the 101-N minutes later and set on my merry way home.  I proceeded to write "I just added "Getting lost, alone, in Hollywood at 4 am for 30 mins" to my list of things I never want to do again."  It's true.

All in all though, an excellent two days.  I am grateful for the opportunity and seeing the event become a success? I'm always a fan.  Makes the hard work pay off.




So now, I have a video for you. I give you: Mr. and Mrs. Adam and Karielle Rivadeneyra!  Mawwiage Films had the pleasure of capturing the special day of these two and now it's your turn to experience the marvelous occasion!

http://www.mawwiagefilms.com/rivadeneyra 

Adam & Karielle Rivadeneyra from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

Follow @mawwiagefilms

And then one more video.  This guy has been around for a few weeks now and I've been meaning to post it on this blog for a few weeks now, as well.  Now's the time.



This little guy is simply a sport.  He's the boss.  He's an inspiration to us all.  If we all approach our obstacles based on this dude's encouraging words, the sky isn't even the limit.

Let's change the world.





Have a great day today.  You should read a random sentence out of random book.  And then write your favorite phrase out of that sentence.  On the refrigerator.  With refrigerator magnets.

Reviewal

**Yes, I know, there isn't a picture.  And yes, I know, that threatens the well-being of this blog.  I apologize, my camera is still packed away somewhere in the multitudes of boxes that sit stacked in my room.  Thank you Mr. Michael Warnecke for presenting this awful occasion.  BUT, it's also summer, so you might not get the normal Wednesday attire consistently. We'll have to see.**

Summer has officially started. Spring of 2011 has officially ended. School is at a standstill for a few months.  What a feeling.  This summer's an interesting one and will continue to be an interesting one.  The reason?  I don't know what I'm doing.  The reason?  Due to the nature of my job at Mawwiage Films, weddings aren't always scheduled way ahead of time.  So what does this mean?  It means my summer will be free-form, my summer has the potential to be extremely busy, all the while having the potential to be not busy at all.  It all depends.  This is different for me.  The last two summers have been very "strict" in their scheduling, playing drums with Remember at Hartland and then being a videographer at Hume Lake Christian Camps last summer.  These were not free-form summers, these were very regimented and planned out summers.  I enjoyed them, a lot.  I think I'll enjoy this summer too.  It's a breath of fresh air, well, I hope it is.  Seriously, its got the potential to be EXTREMELY busy.  I don't know how I'll feel if that happens.  BUT, am I complaining? Absolutely not.  I would way rather be head over heels in work than sitting around, doing absolutely nothing.  The two extremes, I'd pick business.  Hopefully it doesn't get to either of those points.

Speaking of summer, this was last summer: http://emliv.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-it-up.html.  This summer, I am not working at Hume Lake, but my sister, Ms. Melanie Lott, is.  I have a feeling it's going to be surreal and here's why: my family history at Hume Lake is pretty wild.  My Great-Grandpa Walter Warkentin was one the founders in 1946 and then from then on, my entire extended family has been very much involved.  Every summer of my life (basically), I have gone up at least once, either to camp or to our family cabin.  Last summer, I was on Hume Staff as a videographer.  I have had my fill of Hume, to say the least.  Now, this summer, I will be going up a number of times.  I don't know for sure, but I can take an educated guess that I'm going to view Hume in a different way from now on. The memories that were made, the relationships that developed, the skill-sets that were perfected; Hume Lake is responsible.  Here's the surreal part, I think it's going to be strange heading up that mountain knowing I'm not on staff.  It's going to be weird waltzing around Hume without responsiblitly, with a camera in my hand.  It's going to be weird still knowing a majority of the staff and having conversations that I would be having as if I were on staff.  But at the end of the day, I can leave.  I can drop my faux-commitment and drive down that mountain.

This seems jumbled, I think the moral of this story is: IT'S GOING TO BE WEIRD. And that's okay. In fact, it's great. I'm excited.  Know who else is excited?




I've got some presents for you.  1rst:

A MAWWIAGE FILMS teaser: you're in for a tease.  Get the hint?

http://mawwiagefilms.com/hollenbeck


Tyler & Kelsey: A Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.




2cond:


During this last semester, I took two art classes: Integrated Design 1 and Letters & Symbols.  I'm just going to say straight up, these two classes rocked my world.  I had never taken a formal design class before these two and these two, boy, were brutal.  It's one of those super super good brutal classes.  It's hard for me to express how much I learned, let's just say I am pleased with the work that came out of the end of the semester (I probably wouldn't say that about the work that came out of the beginning of the semester). So now, down below, enjoy some of the work I spent hours upon hours developing.  I must say, it feels great to be done.


Description: Explore image/text/location relationship. Post-it Notes.

Description: 1" thick plywood. 10" x 17". A puzzle of sorts.

Description: HUGE poster. Somethin' like 3' x 2'. I don't remember. Pretty big though. 26 letters of the alphabet stenciled and spray-painted onto balloons. Concept? United 93 vs. Titanic. Believe it or not.

Description: ZINE. A 24 page zine on airplanes. I really liked how this book turned out. I had a lot of fun with it and learned a whole bunch. 7" x 8.5".

Here's a selection:

And that's the first post of summer.  I'm still in the midst of unpacking, so I didn't have too much time to prepare and surround you with rockin' material.  This was something a little different though, stuff created by me.  I hope you enjoyed the show, the exhibition.  Let me know what you think if you feel led to.  I really would appreciate.  Constructive criticism is ALWAYS appreciated.




Enjoy your day(s)!  Rock the world of the people around you.  Give a random person a high-5.

PLANK'D

What you see above is my WEDNESDAY PUDDLE PLANK and HOMEWORK STATION PLANK.  What is planking?  Well, let me tell you:






Australia knows how to start the party.  My good friend Mr. Stuart Weir and his pals at his house in La Mirada viewed this Australian video and took a look around the the US of A.  No planking to be seen.  Mr. Stuart Weir and his pals spread the disease, QUICK.  Before long, planking was all I was seeing/reading about on the facebook and pictures were popping up like Whack-A-Mole.  I think it's great, relatively safe, except for the gentleman that died planking (I guess it's only safe if you want it to be safe), and it's hilarious.  I stated earlier in the week that my first PLANK would be Wednesday.  Today is Wednesday. SO BEGINS.


In other news, Mawwiage Films (http://mawwiagefilms.com) has been busy!  I now introduce to you Matt & Emily Mongeon, tying the knot April 9, 2011 in San Diego, California.  Let me tell you, you're in for a treat.  This wedding was OUT OF CONTROL, so much energy, so much heart, so much FUN! I've never seen the dance floor erupt like it did at this fantastic wedding.

ENJOY!



Matt & Emily from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.




And here's something: you may have seen last week our wedding video from Scotland (If not: mawwiagefilms.com/ichikawa).  Well now, I present to you, our Mawwiage Films documentary.  Throughout the trip, we took footage of anything and everything, documenting this trip in the fullest.  This is what came out of it.  WORD TO THE WISE: it's kind of long, almost 18 minutes.  Think of it this way: you'll be going from California to Scotland and back in less than 18 minutes.  That's flyin' folks.  Plus, our trip was NUTTY, so definitely worth the experience.



MF in Scotland: The Documentary from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.




And that's it, friends.  Little writing, lots of watching.  I hope you enjoy it.  You may have already seen it, if that's the case, I'm pumped.  If you haven't? I'm pumped too because now you have the opportunity to see it.  You're the best.



Have a delightful morning tomorrow.

Rebuttal

What a week it's been! This post is going to be short for two reasons:

1. Finals are approaching and oh, there's much work to be done.
2. I wrote a surprisingly long post the other day about the viral video phenom that is "High Five for First Kiss." If you haven't read that, you need to, it's definitely worth the read: "High Five for First Kiss: The Birth of a Viral Video."

Since I wrote that post, the video has gained a few million more views and has (along with the families) appeared on Good Morning America, Jimmy Kimmel Live, as well as graced the homepages of Youtube, Yahoo, among others.  I still can't believe it.  I think it's super watching from the inside.  Even though I can't take any credit and have no affiliation with the video, it's been a trip watching the chaos ensue from the beginning.  I'm a fan.


I've got exciting news:

Coming straight from the United Kingdom, Jonathan and Carrie exchanged vows on April 2, 2011 in St. Andrews Scotland.  Mawwiage Films is proud to present the brand new Mawwiage Films Moment!  Sit back, relax, and take a trip to Scotland!



Jonathan & Carrie from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.
.

http://www.mawwiagefilms.com/ichikawa

What a beautiful wedding and what a trip!  I'm still in shock that this trip even happened.  Be on the lookout: Isaac and I shot a short documentary-esce about our trip to Scotland, it'll be finished soon.  It's WILD.



Here's one more video, imagine that!


Here's a really well done commercial I stumbled upon.  I dig it.  I think it's clever. I think it's daring. I think it's funny. I think it subliminally advertises it's product well. I think it pulls off advertising two completely different products.  I dig it.








And that's the story folks, that's all I have for you today.  Here's the deal though, you got a bonus, and I already told you about that.  HOORAY!


Have a mightily pleasant day today, you should go make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grab a crisp apple, and eat it.  Delicious.

Goes

What. A. WEEK.  Not sure where to start, what to say, what to do.

I guess I'll just run through a few things:

Thursday: On Thursday, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the folks at Hume Lake Christian Camps down in Long Beach to produce a video highlighting the mission field right in your backyard.  We spoke with Pat and his wife who go out on the streets of Long Beach every Thursday and simply provide a place for the homeless to "hang out."  Pat provides coffee and various other treats and simply loves the homeless of his community, being a friend to the hopeless, displaying the love of Christ through his encounters.  It was a really interesting time and the video will be a fun one to work on.  Thanks Hume for having me!

Friday: On Friday, I went to Burbank with my pop to put money away for my retirement.  From what I've heard, it's a good thing (and practice) to get into.  I'm 20 now, growing up.  60 isn't all that far away.  Following? I don't know if you remember me talking about a particular website competition.  "The Crexendo Website Competition is an event in which individual students or teams of students compete to design, manage, and launch a fully functional website using the eCommerce Content Management System (CMS) software provided by Crexendo." - http://up.crexendo.com/biola

Biola University, the university I attend, allowed Crexendo to come in a sponsor a massive website contest.  Naturally, with a budding business building in Mawwiage Films, MF entered the contest, spent many many hours perfecting and allocating the webspace, and waited.  Friday was the awards ceremony held at the Immagination Summit at Biola.  I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this thing, I was hopeful, but couldn't pin it down.  I'll just cut to the chase: MAWWIAGEFILMS.COM won FIRST PLACE!  Not only bragging rights, but also a pretty hefty cash prize of $7500.  $7500?  $7500!  Here's the cool thing: because of this website and the adjoining competition, MF has put itself on the map, meaning investment is now required to improve our company, meaning the majority of the cash prize is going towards equipment, advertising , and other business like things.  The hope?  The investment will pay off in the long run.  CRAZYYYNESS.


Saturday: On Saturday, Mawwiage Films had the opportunity to capture the beautiful wedding of Mr. Adam Rivadeneyra and Ms. Karielle Saario.  It was a pleasure to be given the chance to record the events of this special day.  Are you ready for a tease?  SHOOT: 


Adam & Karielle: A Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

http://mawwiagefilms.com/​rivadeneyra

Get pumped for the finished product, we've got three coming your way!



GREAT story right here.


Mr. Isaac Svensson's laptop computer has a half-busted screen that he has dealt with for weeks/months (I don't know, I'd have to ask him).  Finally, it was time.  Mr. Svensson headed to the Apple Store to finally fix his frustration.  The way the Apple Store works, especially  with inquiries, is through appointment.  I believe it's called the Genius Bar (I don't know, I'd have to ask them)?  For whatever reason, Mr. Isaac Svensson, Mr. Kenny Becker, and Mr. Drew Eccleston (who had appointments as well) arrived late at the scene, too late to salvage their appointment times (I don't know why, I'd have to ask them).  I am relaying this story, so this is where it gets a little gray: something happened to where Mr. Becker received a new time, but Mr. Svensson did not.  Mr. Svensson then proceeds to speak with the Apple representative, explaining the situation, asking if there is anything he can do to pick up an appointment.  The rep proceeds to tell him there is little he can do, naturally.  So Mr. Svensson asks if the rep could at least call him if a appointment is cancelled or something opens up or anything else of that nature.  The rep agrees, so Mr. Svensson pulls out one of our Mawwiage Films business cards and hands it to the rep.  At this point, the rep reaches into his pocket and fumbles around in his wallet.  He laughs and pulls out of his wallet OUR BUSINESS CARD.  Turns out, this particular Apple representative was Mr. Louie Huesmann, the new rec guy for Hume Summer 2011, the same Mr. Heusmann who I had worked with in Long Beach the night before, the same Mr. Heusmann who I handed my business card to.  There are two people in the world who carry that business card around with them, and Mr. Louie Huesmann ran into both of them, separetly, in completely unique situations, having no idea Mr. Isaac Svensson and myself were affilated.  Perfect.

To end the story, Mr. Svensson's laptop computer is in the shop getting fixed.  Rockin.




And that's the post.  Some words!  That's a somewhat rarity!  Wow!


In other news, the year is ALMOST OVER.  Spring Break is next week, then it's just a few short weeks after that.   WHAT?






Have a brilliantly brilliant day.

The Reds

Oh boy howdy, do times roll.  Day's are crazy, weeks are crazy, months are crazy, years are crazy.  You may ask "What are you talking about?" and I may answer "I don't really have a clue, I'm just kind of blabbering."  Let's just put it this way, life is flying at 1,000,001 miles an hour, it's wild.  Just recently, the Fall 2011 class list was released so naturally we all began sorting out our schedule for next semester.  Didn't this semester just start? Yes. So fast, so fast.  Next semester is bound to be an interesting one, I'm looking forward to it.  I'm also going to learn how to cook, like, well.  We're going to have a kitchen in our apartment, so we, the 4 of us, are going to become culinary chefs and make some foods.  Now we just have to see if we'll actually do it.  Top Ramen may replace us top chefs.  Perserverance.


So today I am spending most of the day sitting behind the computer.  It's okay.  That is what happens when you major in film and minor in graphic design.  I'm wearing sweats today for the comfortability factor.

As a segway, Mawwiage Films has been busy!  You know we went to Scotland two weeks ago and then last week we had the privilege of capturing the now Mr. and Mrs. Matt Mongeon wedding in beautiful La Jolla.  Great experience?  I'd say so.  Plus we had the pleasure of working with Nate Goins, a good friend from the Hume days.  Want a few teasers?  Well here you go, here's a few teasers:

http://mawwiagefilms.com/ichikawa

Jonathan & Carrie: A Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.

http://mawwiagefilms.com/mongeon

Matt & Emily: A Teaser from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.




There you have it.  Expect another one next week!  It's really been a blasting working with these couples, they are all so unique!



I've got a few videos for you know, hope you like music, music drives.  This first video is just simply incredible.  Don't know how long it took, don't know how they did it, the end result?  Beautiful.






That was beautiful.  Know what else is beautiful?  This video.  This is Eric Whitacre's "Sleep" performed by 2052 separate people throughout the world, performing via their webcams on youtube.  This video/song is INCREDIBLE.  I've listened to it 10 times at least in the last few days.  YESSS:






And here's Eric Whitacre himself talking about the project.  Incredible. Simply incredible.







And that's it.  Sorry if the content was kind of lacking today, video video video!  Nothing wrong with that, yeah? 



I hope you have a marvelous day.  Enjoy the sun, enjoy the wind, enjoy life, drink some water, hydrate.

The Shack

Good morning sunny California.  The sun's out and we're loving it.  Mr. Michael Warnecke said I worked at the surf shack.  I can take that.


Hey, so this week has been intense, super intense.  So intense, I'm not really going to get into it.  But here's the moral of the story: life is intense, it's going to be intense, might as well buckle up and enjoy the ride!  Sometimes there's bumps, you might get a bruise or two, but that's not going to stop this ride from flying around the next corner.  I guess you could call that a word of encouragement, maybe a few words of encouragement; it actually encouraged me, in fact.


So, I've got some exciting news: Mawwiage Films has officially entered the Crexendo website competition hosted by Biola.  They are looking at a whole lot of different factors, but, as a shameless plug, if you wouldn't mind spreading this guy around, that'd be awesome, especially to people who are looking at getting married.

Link: http://mawwiagefilms.com   
Los Angeles and Orange County Wedding Videography

Hey, and if you like what we do, if you've seen Mawwiage videos and enjoyed them, take a second and like our facebook page!  Click the banner below:

Mawwiage Films

Awesome.





So, the topic of Biola University the last few days to few weeks has been Mr. Justin Bieber.  A phatty rumor was started: Mr. Justin Bieber has applied to Biola University for the Fall 2011 semester.  All of a sudden, Mr. Justin Bieber was the talk to the campus; was it true, was it false, was it cool, was it incredible?  People tweeted, people facebooked, in one particular instance, a fake facebook profile was created for the singer in order for Biola people to become "friends" with the legend.  As I watched the internet meme form, I really wondered what could come of this.  If Mr. Justin Bieber actually did come to Biola, how would people react?  I would hope that people would treat him like a normal person, not flip out when they walk past him in the caf, say "What Up Justin" in passing.  This is what I would hope.  However, what I watched form on the internet was a ridiculous fanfare of posts, a surefire way to hestitate Mr. Bieber.  It got to the point where Mr. Bieber was said to be replacing the Eagle as the Biola mascot.  Now, if you were Mr. Justin Bieber and you saw someone post that about you and your potential future school, would you really deep down want to go there?  I can't say I would.  Maybe Mr. Bieber is different.  Either way, people around Biola bascially flipped and went NUTTY over this rumor.  It was the talk, it was the life.  I got asked 3,231 times by people who knew I worked in Admissions if I knew the real answer.  I told them I did, but I wasn't going to tell them the real answer, got to keep the rumor a rumor.  Earlier this week, the Chimes, the Biola newspaper, broke the story, Mr. Justin Bieber was in fact NOT coming to Biola, at least for next semester.  People reacted, but the rumor did not fizzle.  The next day, Mr. Andre Stephens, the head of Biola Admissions (my boss in a sense), received this:

Think what you want.



Biola caught Bieber Fever.  Mr. Justin Bieber, we would love to have you study here, just be warned, you're going to have an audience.  I have a theory though, once you step on to campus, everything will change.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.



I've got a video for you, it's a good time, a little drumming, took me straight back to winter drumline.  Sometimes I miss it. 













That's the post.  Got a little Bieber, got a little drumming, can't go wrong.  Fun stuff 101.



Have a great week, drink a strawberry-banana smoothie.

Artismic

I quite possibly think I maxed out the amount of work possible to do in a week.  As I say that, I know I nowhere near maxed it out.  The human body is incredible in that way, you honestly have no idea about how much, if you really put your mind to it, you are capable of doing in a week.  Here's what I'm talking about: not only do I have a 4 hour Spanish class every day of the week, I also work a part time job 3 hours a day.  It's not too bad.  Here's the thing, this last week, Mr. Isaac Svensson and I launched a new wedding videography company.  You may have seen something about it, you may not have.  This past week was absolutely INSANE, trying to get our first video finished, trying to get a suitable website in action, trying to get all the logistics in place so we could officially launch on Saturday.  That's what we did and we did it.  I'm just telling you all of this for a bit of perspective on the week.  Want to check it out?  This is our website: http://mawwiagefilms.com.  Yes, MAWWIAGE FILMS is the name.  I posted on this blog a little blurb about it, so here is the link to that.  Lastly, here is the Mawwiage's first wedding video, made for Mr. Randy and Mrs. Megan Marshman.


Randy & Megan from Mawwiage Films on Vimeo.



All that to say, it's been a crazy week!  BUT, it gets better.  Last Monday, Mr. Dustin Laemmlen called me up and asked if I'd be down to play drums for a winter camp at Hartland Christian Camp.  Yeah, that weekend was going to be my only relaxation for the entirety of the 3 weeks of interterm, but how could I pass that up?  10 hours of driving, and 4 sets later, I returned to Biola, glad to have the opportunity to play drums again.  I really enjoy it, I really do.  Hartland was a good time + we jammed Aaron Gillespie's new worship single "We Were Made For You" which turned out to be a hit for both the campers and for all the members of our band.  This song touched lives this weekend, as I'm sure it's touching lives all around the world.  All in all, great weekend.

Oh, I forgot one thing.  Saturday night, the only full day we were there, I spoke in my sleep.  Mr. Cameron Toews heard me, and in the morning told me "Dude, you were speaking a different language or something!"  I have no reason to believe it was not the Spanish language.  I've been living and breathing Spanish for the last two weeks.  If I really was really speaking Spanish in my sleep, I am absolutely, positively, 100% PUMPED.  Incéible. 




I've got something for you,,,pretty exciting.

I just discovered this new publication called C A R S O N; when I saw the image above, my heart leapt a little.  "Could this be by David Carson, one of the most influential graphic designers of all time, not to mention perhaps my favorite graphic design?"  Indeed, C A R S O N is a new magazine that shares graphic design, fine art, photography, the list goes on and on.

Here's why I'm pumped: David Carson is known for his extremely experimental approach to magazine design, reinventing the way the magazine should be read.  C A R S O N is taking David Carson's inspiration, collaborating it with multitudes of other artists and writers and compiling the collection of ideas to form a new type of journalism that strays away from normal tabloid-journalism.  Here's a quote: "C A R S O N is a way of seeing our world in an exciting way, which in these times can often seem confusing, overwhelming, and/or soulless."


I am extremely pumped for this, it looks like it's going to be steady, revolutionary, look into what print is today and what it is going to become.  Print fascinates me and I want to learn more and more and more about it....this is definitely a start.

If you're interested, check out the C A R S O N website at "http://www.carsonmag.net."  Perhaps a subscription?

Dig it.



Quite the aside, huh?

I guess you could call this the art-fied blog post, because the video I'm going to show you next is from a video installation in a Best Buy.  What?  Check it out:




Best Buy As Art Gallery from PopSci.com on Vimeo.




This is crazy.  Number 1, the artist sought out Best Buy because no art gallery (or anywhere else for that matter) can supply enough HD televisions to properly display Borna Sammak's work.  Number 2, the way they convinced Best Buy to let them have an art show in their store was by telling them the show will generate foot traffic from potential buyers that wouldn't normally step into Best Buy.  Number 3, take a look at what is on the screens, can you get any nuttier than that?  Chopped up video, going CRAZY, all saturated a such.  Pretty cool.  I dig I dig.





Well, I think that concludes this post.  I hope you enjoyed yourself, I know I have.  In the mood of art, I'm going to search "random art" on google and find a truly random piece of art.  Then I will post this random piece of art right below this paragraph.  In the meantime, I hope you have a brilliantly artistic day.  Take the next writing utensil you hold and take the next suitable writing surface, such as a piece of paper, a napkin, or even your hand, and doodle.  Maybe write something, like something inspirational or something.  Or doodle a little dude holding a shovel.  I don't know, you do what you do, you artist, you.