Positivity and rock brilliance
Current mood: trying
I have decided that I will focus on the positive for as long as I can stand my own annoying cheeriness. Go-go-gadget optimism!
In keeping with that goal, I figure now is a good time to explain my current happy distraction. People have been asking me “What’s the deal with you directing a music video? That’s cool but… so random.” I couldn’t agree more.
This is what happened. I was just minding my own business when I got an email from my pal Del, who is a music promoter. (See that picture on my front page of me standing next to my idol? Del was the one who hooked that up. Del is the one who convinced musician extraordinaire and all-around-amazing-super-person, Justin Furstenfeld, to come on tour with me and make my signings awesome. Del is all things bright and beautiful.) Del tells me that Jack’s Mannequin–one of my favorite bands–was interested in going outside the normal music channels with their new video. They saw that I was a big fan, and they wondered if I would be interested in writing a treatment for this new video. Oh and here–do I want to listen to the brand new song that isn’t available yet? (It’s called The Resolution and it’s on the radio now and it is beautiful and brilliant and so many other words. Go listen to it.) And I’m trying to pay attention but mostly I’m thinking, “Holy crap, Jack’s Mannequin KNOWS MY NAME.”
Well, I don’t say no to offers like that. I say, “I am absolutely on board. By the way, what is a treatment?”
Turns out, a treatment is the visual story that goes along with the song. I always come up with stories in my head when I listen to music, so this is not a stretch for me. I listened to the song and it was so full of possibilities that I came up with a bunch of ideas without even having to strain myself. I wrote up two and sent them to the band. They wanted to do one of them. I was slightly dumbstruck that they really chose it. Then they tell me that, in order to preserve my vision, they want me to direct the video. I was more than dumbstruck by that–I was (dare I say it?) CHAGRINNED (bwahahahaha). I have seen a director in action (Catherine the Amazing), so I know that directing is brutally hard and is not for people who don’t know what they’re doing. People like me. But all is well. A real director who DOES know what he is doing is going to make sure I don’t destroy the entire planet with my ineptitude. I’m nervous that I still might destroy at least one continent despite his help, but how could I not do this? When I’m sixty, I don’t want to look back at a life of amazing things I might have done.
The story is a very pretty, very dark little fable. I’m really excited to see how it all turns out. And–if I’m brave enough to ask–to get a picture with another one of my favorite musicians
groggy
vibrant 
ninja