Thoughts on my June Drought

Due to a number of factors in my life this month has set a new low in the number of movies I have seen.  Luckily I was barely able to break into the double digits with a trio of superb videos one weekend, and then a late night outing to see The Perfect Storm on another.  Counting my second viewing of Three Kings could be considered cheating; I wouldn't protest, this month has been really dry in the movie viewing department.

First of all, the redesign of this site took a great deal of time, and an unpleasant side effect was that not only did I not want to work on the site further by adding reviews, I didn't even want to watch movies knowing that I would have to report them to the journal. 

Then there's my brother who is home from college and on a mission to occupy my time with baseball games, "Survivor" Wednesdays and general nuisance.  Anyway, I'm glad he's around. 

On a happy note, I set to work on another video -- and this time I was paid! One of my mother's friends, who happens to be the manager of the Pacifica Libraries, hired me to make a short promotional video demonstrating the need for a new library building in Pacifica.   Shooting took four separate days over a three week period, and since then I've been editing on good 'ol (or not so good 'ol) Adobe Premiere on a G4 at work, slipping in around the work schedules of the people who are supposed to use the G4.  This is Malcolm X filmmaking -- "By any means necessary!"  

Finally, the supposed bumper crop of summer movies has proven to be a real bust.  Who can blame me for not wanting to watch the big June releases like Big Momma's House or Battlefield Earth?   Even the indie and foreign film circuit left my interest unpiqued.

So what does this all mean for the future of this website?  I've felt a certain lagging of thought put into my reviews of late. This may pass, though I would like to ensure a level of consistency from now on (but I wish that of every aspect of my erratic life).  What really concerns me is the likelihood that my involvement in a production this month compromised my ability to maintain this site.  If I am to continue in productions... how do I manage my time more efficiently, and maintain my energy level to carry out all of my ambitions?  For instance, I haven't worked on any of my script ideas in months -- writing the content of this site seems to take a lot.  It's like one of my good friends who has designs to be a creative writer, and is getting by in the meantime by writing content for a news website.  The means end up consuming the end. 

I've always held an "anything goes, just go for it" philosophy towards my work, which perhaps has gotten me into periods of overwhelming confusion more often than it should.  I don't like to feel like I need to do less and concentrate more on one thing, but maybe I do.  Sometimes I feel that my family commitments eat into my time, so my upcoming move will free me of those constraints.  But I have a feeling that with more freedom will come more idleness.  It's quite the dilemma...

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