reading aloud

It's one tip I've heard numerous times to help one improve one's writing. Read it aloud. This will give an idea of how it sounds and if it flows more. We read things silently one way, but then when read aloud, it may sound as natural as it could.

I haven't read much of my own work aloud. I have read aloud sections in my French books or some French poetry when I'm trying to improve my French. Similar concept, I guess. It helps me speak some French without necessarily thinking about it. But my own work is something a little different.

I feel odd reading aloud in the privacy of my own room (why, I don't know...it's not like anyone can hear me). Maybe it's because since there's no one listening, I'm strangely aware of the sound of my own voice. But it's helping. I've read a few paragraphs of a short story that always seemed ok in my head, but reading them aloud...well, it's making me rethink the word order. And maybe this is a good exercise. Maybe by the time I've finished reading through the short story, the sound of my voice won't seem so foreign and I'll be able to conquer the book.

Maybe.

And it'll be interesting to see how the short story reads once I've made some edits based upon hearing it read aloud.

weekend

So, how was your weekend? Mine? Well, only one way to describe it, really.

Do I need to say much more? Do I wish I was still there? Yeah.

I spent a few, too short days at the beach on the Gulf side of Florida this weekend for my best friend's wedding. There was no question of going down there, really, and not just because it was the beach, but because this is a friend I have really known all my life...for about 20 years. When I thought about it...I can't remember not knowing her.

Having friends like that is really a great thing. The internet has made staying in touch much easier. You can drop a quick email, chat or trade facebook messages. And since facebook and MySpace and all of that has become so popular, I've reconnected with many people I knew in high school and even before that. Which is great. But this stuff didn't really get very popular until near the end of my college days (back when certain universities belonged to facebook only), but my friend and I stayed in contact then. We talked and of course saw each other in breaks from school, even though we were about 1,500 miles apart with our respective schools.

And you know...on that, I have another friend of mine, a college friend, who I have not seen in about five years. And we stay in contact by phone (*gasp!* imagine that!). Sure, we're friends on these online networking sites, but rarely do we trade a message that way. There's really nothing like catching up, and every time we talk, either with her or with my friend who was married over the weekend, it's like we'd just seen each other. Even though the last time may have been six months ago, or five years ago.

I started off writing about my weekend and then ended up talking about how great it is to be in close contact with my two really good friends. But I guess that's the great thing about stream of consciousness. And though the internet has made staying in contact so much easier, there's still something to be said for working towards that contact by phone or letters. I don't know...it's just...it's nice. And it's worth that extra step of a phone call or taking the time out to write an actual letter.

But back to my friend's wedding. In a nutshell, the wedding was beautiful and it was so very much my friend. She is a very laid back kind of girl, and the beach ceremony really fit with that. We lucked out and the weather was incredible! I'm so glad I was able to make it down to the beach, not just for a very nice change of scenery, but to share that special day with her.

And it was a pleasure and an honor to have been asked to have been a part of it.

korbel and bittersweet music

The past two years when I've been back home for the holidays, I've seen the Korbel commercial many, many times. And every time I watched it, I just thought "wow...I love that song."But of course, I had no idea what it was. Yes, the greatness of the internet meant that I could probably find out what it was had I really had my heart set on it.


Only, I didn't think about it whenever I was around a computer with an internet connection. I thought about looking up whenever the commercial came on, or at random moments if I heard a song that sounded somewhat similar.

So this takes us to last night. I was watching an episode of Moonlight (since Anne Rice back in junior high, I've always had a thing for vampires) and there was this song that I thought, "wow, this is a great song. I wonder what it is." And since I was on my computer, I did a quick search for music from Moonlight, and eventually stumbled upon the details: Mating Game by Bittersweet. I downloaded the song from iTunes and, when it finished, sat down to listen to it.

And after the opening, I realized it was the song from the Korbel commercial.

And that made my night.

48 hour film project

I know...it's been awhile. But it's also been a little busy, but in a really good way. In mid-April, I went to visit some family further out in Virginia, and, like last time, incorporated some sight-seeing into the trip. One stop was something that, also like last time, I had apparently seen when I was little but I have no recollection of it. Surprisingly that was Luray Caverns. The other place was new to me, and that was Madison's home, Montpelier.

I hope to have pictures up soon. I've been working on editing through them the last couple of weeks when i had some free time, and also resizing some of them so they're not quite so huge. There are a lot. Mainly of Luray, and I'm weeding through them. I mean...how many pictures of stalactites do you need?


So last fall I wrote about working on a film for one weekend, and how much fun it was to do. And I was really looking forward to doing it. Last weekend the 48 Hour Film Project took place in DC, on a slightly tighter deadline than the National Film Challenge, but just as much fun.

It started on Friday night and I got the basic outline of a story after about an hour's worth of brainstorming with the cast and crew, and then I was sent off on my own to write a story. No pressure, right? It was really good, because during some of the writing period I'd chat with our Director and DP and others in the crew and we'd flesh out the story some more, and ultimately I was really happy with the story.

I will say that I wish I'd brought my camera with me! I meant to, only forgot early Saturday morning as I was getting ready to head out to filming. We had some really cool locations that have sparked some other ideas. And again, it's just so interesting and a lot of fun to watch the process of a film getting made, and also to be a part of the process.

I just have to ask if there's going to be another one before the fall? Anyone?