Mardi Gras and Mike's March Mustache Madness

So last night was the Mardi Gras Parade. Just to let you know Mardi Gras here is not like Mardi Gras in the states. It is Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. So basically Sydney turns into one big gay club. It was crazy and awesome. Everyone dresses up in crazy scandalous outfits and parties hard, both gay and straight. About a million people lined the streets to watch the parade go by featuring erotic and fun floats and thousands of participants. I have never seen anything like this. It was all in good fun and it is great to see so many people so accepting. There was no acts of violence or any negativity the entire night. I went to a friend of a friend's house which was on the very street the parade ran down. So we had a great view of the parade.

Aside from that, yesterday was a beautiful day. Finally the sun was shining and it was the perfect weather. I went to Bondi Beach to meet a friend and just hung out, relaxing. A very enjoyable day overall.

I need to start watching my money more. I am spending like 50-100 a weekend on various activities and going out and such. I really need to save my money.

So it is the last day of February, which means a few things. One, March begins tomorrow and time has flied. Two, I have only 1 month left at my job, which means I need to get on finding another job, even though I am aggressively looking for industry work I might need to find a part time random to tie me over while I look. Third, Summer has officially ended here in Australia and the Fall is coming in. And lastly, Mike's March Mustache Madness will commence.

For those of you who do not know what MMMM is, I'll give you a short rundown. On Feb 28th (or 29th) one must shave their mustache clean. Then let it grow out for the entire month of March. You may shave any other part of your body if you wish, but you cannot touch your mustache. The only circumstance you can touch is the sides, in which you can choose to let them grow down into a handle bar or cut them for a short straight mustache. But the immediate mustache above the upper lip must not be touched. If your name starts with an M, this event is mandatory. For everyone else it is optional, but highly recommended. So lets begin.

Currently Listening To: Shout Out Louds

Recently Watched: Say Anything- I liked it a lot. Great 80s movie.

For your enjoyment. Another reason to love the A's. Our mascot gets down:

Tropfest

What is Tropfest? Well I'll tell you what it is. It is the largest short film festival in the world and its free!!!! Yes thats right. I went to Tropfest yesterday. It is held in the Domain (a big park) on the grass. There are 4 giant video screens back to back on a circular stage in the middle of the park. So you can lay down on the grass and watch from everywhere in the park. The guess judges this year included Elijah Wood and Toni Collett, among some other "famous" people whom I did not recognize. It was great. Free entry and BYO, which means you can bring as much food and alcohol as you want and just have a picnic all day and night. Live music before the show and during intermission. Very cool concept and a very cool festival. Much more chilled out then any other the formal film festivals set in theaters. There were probably about 50,000 people there. This years theme was dice, so every movie had to have dice in it somewhere. I saw some great films and some not so good ones, but still had a great time. I do believe they are beginning to do Tropfests in other places of the world. I think there is one in New York later this year. Below are some pics I found on the internet:

Awesome.

Currently Listening To: Fleet Foxes

Recently Watched: Mad Max, Mad Max 2- Super cheesy but entertaining none the less.

Crazy Rain and the Job Hunt plus a Little Chinese

It rained like crazy this past weekend again. The streets were flooded and the roads were blocked. Last weekend when I told you about how hard the rain was I really meant it. Just last Sat and Sun, two day rain total was 108.6mm (4.3 inches) and this weekend was almost as bad, 80mm (3.15 inches). To put that into perspective: You know that big storm all you Californians complained about? Well I'll add that and the entire rain total in California for the year 2010 so far and it equals 175mm (6.9 inches). It rained more in Sydney in a 4-day total between this weekend and last, then it did for the entire year of 2010 in California. Lawyered! I walked home with an umbrella which is pretty much no use to most of your body when your my size. When I arrived home my pants were soaked, my sleeves were soaked, and my shoes were soaked. Luckily they were Sperry Topsiders, so no need to worry there. God bless the boat shoe. But seriously, its summer time here?

I am still at the job hunt. Applying left and right. Still no luck. For those of you who aren't updated on this part of my life, here is a quick overview: I have a film degree, I want to use it. Working at Brightstars pays my bills, thats good, but its not what I want to do. Also my contract is up March 31st. So I need a new job anyways. So for the past month I have been looking and applying to various companies and contacting various production managers and such. Nobody is giving me the chance to prove myself. Its like LA all over again, except I can actually get through to more important people. But still get a rejection or an excuse. It seems like everyone in this industry worldwide is selfish. If your not a relative or a good friend then you are nothing to them. I can't wait until I'm in a top dog position and shove it in all their faces by employing those who are best suited for the position and have gone through the schooling and have a passion for the entertainment industry. Not just some producers son who wants to make films like daddy.

I also need to work on my creative stuff. Which is pretty much writing only right now because I have no camera or the means to make a movie. So I need to write. I get in those moods and I think of great ideas, but it is so hard to put them down on paper. I still need to do a final edit of "Miss Mystery". I want that perfected then I can submit it to a bunch of script contests at film festivals. I also want to write some more scripts. Maybe go away from comedy for a little bit and work on a good indie story.

It is Chinese New Years now. Yesterday I ate Chinese food in China Town. That is a big step for me since I despise China Towns. But, I did it and it was alright. Next weekend is the big parade and show which I will be attending.

In The News: The Olympics started. Thats cool. I still haven't seen a single event because I work all day, and all the events are at the morning and day time here.

I am really trying to find some good news items to talk about, but there really isn't much. Or maybe Im just not reading everything.

Currently Listening To: Dr. Dre; and other various hardcore rap artists. Yeah, thats how I'm rolling right now.

Things going on in my life.

Lets start this thing off. It rained all weekend. Really really hard. Im talking some of the hardest rain I have ever seen. Straight up movie rain status. Californian's you have no idea what the meaning of "raining cats and dogs" is. Not even after that storm that just hit.


My house threw a big party on Sat night. It was a huge success, there were loads of people and it was fun. We still have about 10 litres of boxed wine people left here.


Avatar passed up titanic. It is now the highest grossing movie of all time, both domestically and internationally. It is also the first movie ever in history to hit the $2 Billion mark. Congratulations James Cameron and FOX. Especially FOX because they took a huge risk funneling more than $300 Mil into this movie, with no guarantee of success. Well, it paid off. Hats off to you FOX studios. Now just let the Oscar wins come in and James Cameron once again proves why anyone would give him money to make a movie. AKA King of the world. Yeah, I made a Titanic joke.


My housemates and I found a baby mouse yesterday. We took it in and are attempting to raise it. It is dying. We are trying to feed it and we made a home for it in an old Thai take out container. It doesn't look like it is going to last long. But the pic below is adorable.



In other very important news... Tomorrow 2/9/10 marks my 3-month anniversary in Sydney. I have completed 1/4 of my stay here.


Question Of The Day: If in the slim chance the mouse survives, what should we name it? I think its a boy, but I could be wrong, Im not gonna touch it to find out.


Currently Listening To: The Helio Sequence, Grand Archives

UPDATE 9/2: The mouse (whom I named Superman, in an attempt to keep it from dying) died this morning. RIP Superman

The Oscars

I see nobody commented on my new look. I'll just take that as you think it is so good your speechless.

Lets move on to the Oscar noms. They came out this morning. They are all pretty predictable, not much surprises there. I haven't seen all of the movies nominated, but so far I have no complaints about the nominations. Except now there are ten Best Picture noms instead of five. I do think that is a little excessive.

So, lets break down my Top Ten Movie List Of 2009 to their Oscar nominations.

Up In The Air- 6 - Best Actor, 2 Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture

Star Trek- 4 - Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Makeup

Avatar- 9 - Art Direction, Cinematography, Best Director, Film Editing, Music (Original), Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, Best Picture

Twilight: New Moon- 0

The Brothers Bloom- 0 - Here is a snub I'm upset about. This should have gotten at least a screenplay nomination.

(500) Days Of Summer- 0

Inglorious Basterds- 8 - Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Best Screenplay (Original), Best Picture

X-Men Origins: Wolverine- 0 - Overlooked because it came out too early in the year, academy forgot about it. Im not a technical guy but this should have had some Sound and Editing noms.

Watchmen- 0 - Again, overlooked because it came out too early. I would easily nominate this for Best Screenplay (Adapted) as well as Editing and Cinematography.

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince - 1 - Cinematography

Currently Listening To: Ra Ra Riot