New Film Project!! Wanna Help?

In This Blog: Dream Boat Designs/Dream Boat Films, New Film & How To Get Involved With It.

Dream Boat Designs is the name I use for the graphics work and photography I do for other people... It's also the name I used for my first feature length documentary Mariposa in Zap Action. Dream Boat Films will be the name I use for all of my future film works.

My newest endeavor is a film idea that I and 2 other friends came up with one long night in April. My friends (Jean-Luc & Josh) and I were going to a concert in a few days and needed to get on a certain sleeping schedule, so we decided to hit the reset button... for us, that means getting two 4 packs of Monster and staying up all night/all day. In our energy high, we talked about many things... one most interesting thing being the meaning of life. We found that this topic raised many questions among just the three of us, and thought that among many people, this could make a great film topic.

So, the idea is to take the question "What are your views on the meaning of life?" and plaster it across the internet, asking people to email their video responses to meikopress@yahoo.com to be compiled into this Dream Boat Films/Meiko Press/(maybe if they want to be involved) Zombie Cow Productions film.

THIS is the first post anywhere on the internet about this film project, and it's basically just to get all my thoughts into one place. There will be other posts similar, but with more info, to this one on the internet in the near future. If you have any interest, contact me here or through the Meiko Press email address (meikopress@yahoo.com). Title your email "Meaning of Life Film Project."

Anyway! I have to go for now! I just wanted to put this up so that my short attention span would not forget!

I Spy With My LIONEYE… Xmas Approaching!! Farther Off, Daleks & Torchwood!!

I like that little phrase… “I spy with my Lioneye…”
I’m gonna keep that one… In this blog, I will discuss Christmas 2010 (plus my little challenge for all of you), Daleks, Linde @ The Rave, and Torchwood. Stay tuned, folks!!

Christmas 2010!!! This year, I was lucky. I’ve found *the* most perfect gifts for just about everyone. I honestly don’t remember a year that I’ve been happier or more excited about what I’m giving. I can elaborate more on this subject once Christmas is past, and I’ve given everything out, but I wanted to share that I am so happy.
Christmastime treats everyone differently, and everyone has different feelings on it. I for one have always loved Christmastime, not just for getting gifts, but for the spirit of Christmas in general. I’m quoting my mother when I say “every year, we have a Santa.” What she means by that, is every year, someone or something miraculous comes into our lives to put a smile on our faces and fills our hearts with joy.

One year, it was a trip to Chicago, which was truly fantastic and heartwarming. I will remember it for the rest of my life. We went shopping at a great number of stores, we took a carriage ride and met a horse named Virgil, we went to the Ritz Carlton for cocoa and music, we went to the Rock’n’Roll McDonalds… we did everything you could ever want to do in Chicago at Christmas that year. Just me, my mom, and my sister Katka.


One year (this is just my personal Santa, not one for my family), I was shopping at a Hot Topic in Cherryvale. I’d been wanting a pair of Tripp pants, because I was a cute little goth girl and I hadn’t had any yet. I was holding a shirt (my heartagram shirt) up to the pair I picked out to see if the outfit would work. I asked the married couple next to me what they thought. The woman couldn’t have cared less, but her husband told me there was no way I could buy one without the other. It turned out I was short $20, so I wasn’t able to buy the shirt. I bought the pants and mom and I went to eat at the food court. We ran into the couple again, and the man asked me if I had gotten the outfit. I told him I bought the pants, but had been short on money so the shirt would have to wait until another day. Sure enough, the man pulled his wallet out and handed me a 20 dollar bill saying again that I couldn’t have one without the other. No matter how many times I declined or what I said, he wouldn’t take no for an answer. That man was the jolliest person I’ve ever really met before. It may seem silly, but when I think of Christmas, that is one of the memories I have.

So, my challenge for you is to write about a “Santa” you’ve had in the past. Whether it was an actual person, or something you had the chance to do, alone or with loved ones at Christmastime. It can be a paragraph, it can be a sentence. What’s something you love(d) about Christmas?


Daleks!! Ok, just one in particular Dalek. I’ve found a woman online who crochets hats. She’s very good at it, too! She makes character hats… Gir, Nemo, all sorts of stuff. So an idea popped into my head… all these character hats are popular these days, maybe there’s a Dalek hat out there somewhere? No. No there is not. So that means in January, I will have the first of its kind. Yes, that’s right. I, AnnieMagus, will be the proud owner of the first ever Dalek Character Hat :D I am soooo stoked. There will be pictures. It will be fantastic. You will allllllll be jealous… well… those of you who are Doctor Who fans like myself. <3 (P.S. my boyfriend just asked me what a Dalek is… I must have him watch more Doctor Who, lol.)


I’m not sure if *everyone* knows this about me, but I LOVE the band HIM. I do love Ville’s voice, Mige’s skills, Burton’s lovely keyboarding, and Gast’s drumming, but the thing that most keeps me tranced is Linde’s guitar work. Mmm. I love how that man can make absolutely pristine works of art come out of that instrument of his… I don’t know how he does it, but the notes he puts together put me in a state of complete transfixion.

Anyway… point to my Linde-rambling… Daniel Lioneye is touring with Cradle of Filth… and they are coming to The Rave. I’m almost as excited as I was when HIM was there… maybe a bit more, because there’s a slight chance I could m…m-m…meet…!!... Linde. Linde is one of two people who, if I ever met, I’d hope I’d be able to say more than “Hi… I… Annie… You… Excellentamazingfantasic… picture… hugs… p-please??” O.O I’ve loved Linde’s music since I was about 12 years old, and he’s an amazing artist in my opinion, despite what anyone else thinks :P


TORCHWOOD!!!!!!! Ok. Torchwood is a spin off series off Doctor Who. It’s about tracking down alien life on Earth and arming the human race against the future… quoted Captain Jack Harkness… anyway, there were 2 full seasons and a miniseries, and I thought that was all there was ever going to be, therefore I stopped watching at episode 2 season 2 because I didn’t want it to end. It turns out that Torchwood is RETURNING THIS SUMMER!!!!!!!!!! I’m super excited. I’m going to watch the rest of season 2 on Netflix, and then hopefully the miniseries (Children of the Earth) will either be available on Netflix as well or will be available for purchase inexpensively somewhere.











My Doctor Who Nerd Friend Kyle is a huge fan of Torchwood, and he is the one who told me about this awesomesauce returnage series so kudos to his cool self!!!


But anyway!! I must stop writing this blog, or I shall never sleep!!! Please don’t forget to comment with your Christmastime stories, or anything else you’d like to say!!! <3 I leave you with a quote from The Doctor!!!


“Jackie, Mickey, blimey! No, no, no, no, hold on. Wait there! I've got something to say. I've got something I had to tell you. Something important, what was it? No, no, no, hold on. Tch tch tch tch... Oh, I know! Merry Christmas!”



Signed,
AnnieMagus

Grannie Annie

(Photo left to right: Me (Annie), Grannie Annie, Katie (my sister), Katie (Grandma's sister.)

Anne E. Curtis (Mikulin) 12-13-1924 ~ 5-14-2009

Today is the day that in 1924, my grandmother, who has the same name as me, was born in Croatia. She grew to be an amazingly beautiful woman who fell in love with a man called John Curtis. Ever since I can remember, and pretty much as long as my father and his siblings can remember, they lived on Hickory Street in Wood River, Illinois. My memories begin every Thanksgiving since I was a baby. Every year, my dad, sister, and sometimes mom would get into the car and drive for hours, stopping halfway (Bloomington, IL) for food and restroom. After we’d ordered food, dad would call Grannie Annie to let her know where we were and how long we’d be. We’d eat and then climb back into the car to finish our long journey. It always seemed like it took sooo long to get there… longer than it actually did. That was probably the anticipation. Arriving at Grannie Annie’s meant seeing her, Grandpa, Aunt Jeanna, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Johnny Wayne, Kris, Karey, Johnny, and sometimes, Johnny’s kids. It also meant Grannie Annie’s chicken and dumplings. She made the absolute BEST chicken and dumplings in the entire world. No one’s been able to master that recipe since. When we were kids, our grandparents started buying our favorite cookies/other random food they knew we liked about a week before we showed up, and also stocked up on soda and chocolate milk… usually Yoohoo. Grannie Annie was the funniest old lady I’d ever met when I was younger… she always made jokes about things I didn’t understand though, lol. Mainly because I was far too young to understand them. Once Thanksgiving dinner came around, Grannie Annie had turkey, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, stuffing, cranberries, green beans, pumpkin pie… you name it, Grannie Annie, and sometime Aunt Jeanna, cooked evvvvvverything. After Thanksgiving Day, we stayed at Grannie Annie’s for 2-3 days. Grannie Annie always asked my Dad to sing and play guitar, and she’d sit at the table with her pad of paper, writing who knows what down, and she always had an extra pad for me, because she knew I loved to write and draw. With this entry, I’m posting a picture. The picture is of Grannie Annie and her sister Katie… along with me, Annie, and my sister, Katie. There are other pictures of my grandma, pictures I saw at her funeral, that I wish I had so I could post them. One in particular, when she must have been about 25… she was sitting at a kitchen table smiling that biiiiiiig Anne (at the time) Mikulin smile of hers… it was gorgeous, I will have to get a copy of it from my aunt soon. I miss her so much. Grannie Annie passed away on May 14, 2009, my 17th Birthday. I only wish I could have known her more. I love you Grannie Annie, and I always will.

XO,
Anne E. Showers-Curtis [Mikulin Clan]

Trying New Things In The Art Department

Recently, I’ve been thinking about trying out other types of art. I’ve always been into drawing, and graphic design. Now I’d like to try things like collages and painting, maybe even sculpting. I’m going to start with collages. Mom has some old books filled with pictures of other countries and such that she doesn’t want anymore, so I’m thinking about using those. On the weekend, of course. But I think it will be a fun experience  I once made a collage out of a bunch of magazine clippings and a wooden crate. It is hanging on my wall in my room right now. It’s 11 year old quality, because I was 11. But now that I’m older, I’m definitely interested in doing more. I will post pictures here when done. I used to paint, when I was like 5. Recently I found a nice set of water color paints, and started thinking about making something with them. My friend Hayley is VERY good at painting, and I thought maybe I will be too. And sculpting… that’s something I’ve never done. I mean I’ve done those little projects with clay they make you do in elementary school, but I’ve never actually spent real time on a sculpture. Some people make absolutely gorgeous things out of a lump of clay, and it seems like fun.


Well, I had 4 other topics I was hoping to write about tonight, but alas I am too tired, and I must wake up for school tomorrow. I don’t have class until 5 p.m. but I have some catching up to do. I will touch on my other subjects tomorrow night. See you all then. Leaving you with a quote from Captain Jack Harkness…


“Who has a sonic screwdriver? Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, ‘Ooh, this could be a little more sonic?’”


-XO AnnieMagus

Thoughts from the Lonely Day of December 4th

Today while at our rummage sale at the old house, I was bored, upset, and very self conscious. Out of boredom and the fact that my mind was all too crowded, I took up a pad and paper and started getting my thoughts of the day down. This is the result of my brain-brainstorm.


Thought 1: Strange Coincidences Of My Life…
I’ve noticed over the past couple of years that if I pay attention, chains of events lead to one big picture. For example, throughout the past 2 weeks, I’ve been seeing, smelling, feeling, and experiencing things that remind me of a certain person. Every day, at least once, I run into something that makes me think of said person. Usually when something of this nature happens, something significant happens either to that person, or between me and that person. Today, I experienced about 3 things, and that’s why I started thinking about these coincidences in the first place. I was thinking on it, and started wondering whether others experience things such as this as well? I’ve talked to some friends of mine about it, and none of them have ever seemed to notice patterns such as the ones I described. It’s a strange thing, once you notice it. You begin to wonder over the period of time when you’re experiencing these things what it is that will happen with that person…


Thought 2: Children & Their Tolerance For Snow.
Today while sitting beside the window writing, I watched some children in the neighborhood sled down the side of the hill in their yard, over and over again. It’s just a small hill, maybe 7 or 8 feet. Nonetheless, the kids would walk up to the top, sled down, laugh, walk back up, sled back down, laugh, etc… it made me wonder: how is it that children can stand being out in the snow for so long? Adults go outside and within 30 minutes are more than thrilled to return to the indoors, but children can go outside, stay outside for 5 hours doing the same thing over and over, and then cry when their parents tell them it’s time to come in… Does this mean that children have more tolerance than adults? Or does this simply mean that adults need to loosen a bit and play in the snow for a few hours? Snow angels, anyone?


Thought 3: Writing Down My Thoughts Of The Day…
I don’t usually write down all my thoughts of the day, but since all I have to do today is sit and wait for people to come buy my stuff, I have been. I’ve only written down 2 thoughts, and my mind is already feeling less stressed and more open to new ideas. I think I should do this more often. Hmm. Maybe I will blog about it later o.o


Thought 4: Scared to Death…
Link to Scared to Death by HIM Music Video


Thought 5: That Slightly Mad, Philosophical Thought About Whether Or Why We Exist…
Ever since I was about 6 years old, I’ve wondered whether or not humanity actually exists, and if so, why. When I was about 8, I came up with the theory that maybe we are all just characters in someone else’s novel on the Bestseller’s List. When I was 12 and contemplating the existence of God(s), I wondered if maybe we were all the dreams of dreams in the lonely mind of a slumbering god. Now that I’m 18, I wonder both of these things, and many more. If we are the creations of some traveling bard, do we really have memories, or simply chapters? If we are in the dreams of gods, is nothing truly impossible? I’ve found in the past that when I do start thinking about these things, my mind gets very fuzzy, foggy, dim…


Thought 6: Spore.
Mom and I went to Goodwill after the sale to donate the remaining books and VHS tapes from said sale. We decided to look around for a while, looking for a specific movie that we’ve both been wanting to re-watch. Instead of finding Smoke Signals, we found a game that we have both been wanting to play since its release in 2008, Spore. Spore is a game in which you create your own universe, starting with a single cell and ending with entire civilizations. Why this amazing game ended up at the Janesville Wisconsin Goodwill for $3.99 is beyond me, and I couldn’t really care less because I now own it. One thing I want to mention about this game is the amazing artwork on the covers and in the manual. I mean WOW. If the game graphics are actually this good, I am thrilled. Another thing I was hoping to mention in this blog was how this game fits into thoughts 1 and 5. It fits into thought 5 because it’s another one of those things I’ve always wondered about humanity. Maybe we’re just video game characters. Or maybe I belong in a loony bin :P but I mean how do we know? Anyway… It fits with thought 1 because I had been thinking about the existence and origin of a civilization earlier in the day, and found myself looking at Spore later in the day. Coincidences *sigh*. I am very much looking forward to this game however, and will be blogging about it once I get around to playing.


Side notes of the day:
1. Lyrics to “Believe” by Hanson
2. That little ink/pencil mark on the side of your hand from writing all day: Writers Blotch.
3. Who IS Katherine Wheel, and why is Ville Valo burning for her?


Thought 7: End Of Today’s Blog…
Wow… looking at all my thoughts together in one place makes me realize… I think *way* too much, lol. But the things that come out of my mind and onto paper/a Word document are pretty interesting and thought-provoking… if you’re anything like me, that is. If not, you probably just think I need to be put away :P Anyway, I will be signing off of BlogSpot for the remainder of the night. I’ll leave you with a quote from The Doctor…



“1979! Hell of a year! China invaded Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. I love that film. Margaret Thatcher. Ugh. Skylab fell to Earth with a little help from me. Nearly took off my thumb. And I love my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to— *sees the armed men on horseback*¬— my thumb. 1879. Slight difference.”


XO-AnnieMagus

Everlast, Milk, & Dumbledore

My first post for this blog is one dedicated to Harvey Milk. (Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected into public office.) I'm a few hours late, because the anniversary of his assassination was actually yesterday (November 27) but it's better late than never in my opinion. (Btw, my name is Annie and welcome to my blog.)


Music Video: What It's Like by Everlast

Despite how I'm feeling right now, I feel the need to post this. After all, this is the day a figure of hope was shot down 32 years ago. I post this video, because although Harvey Milk's biggest activism issue was LGBT, he also stood for everyone mentioned in this video.

There's a reason I get offended when people say certain things. I'm sorry some of you don't agree with me, but I'm on the same page as Harvey Milk was. When you target a group of people for being a bit different than you, I will get offended and I will speak my mind.

In an age where people of my generation are fighting for so many different causes, things become chaos, when what we are aiming for is peace and acceptance. It’s a very sad thing, in my eyes, that we seem to be getting exactly the opposite – segregation. I may sound like a crackpot hippie, and that's ok.

What I know is people of all different ethnicities, sexual orientations, social classes, disabilities, etc. are killing themselves because they are being discriminated against. Believe me, I know that if we stopped using all the words that offended people, there wouldn’t be many words left that we could use. But what we can do, is stop and think before saying something hurtful. Stop and think before you do something that may make someone sit up at night and make a pros and cons list of life.

You may think that since you’re only one person, what you say won’t affect a person to the point of suicide. But how do you know you’re the first person to remark negatively to that person, about who they are, or where they come from? Many, many people could have said these things before you. I say this about protesting and voting, and I will say it about this as well: never, for one instant, believe that just because you’re only one person, what you say or do doesn’t have an impact, because if everyone thought that, then nothing would get accomplished. Everything you ever say or do will always have an impact on someone, whether it be a negative or positive impact, large or small, it will be there, with someone.

So, tonight on the anniversary of Harvey Milk’s last day, remember that you make an impact with your words and actions… and remember that it’s not only LGBT people he supported and spoke for. It was everyone who has ever been discriminated against. I leave you with a quote (no matter how corny you may think the source is) by Albus Dumbledore:


“And though we may come from different places, and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one…”


Good night everyone,
AnnieMagus