Cloverfield

I’ll make this fast. Carrie and I crammed ourselves into a packed theater to see Cloverfield. When it was over, many people in the audience were yelling or saying they wanted their money back and the film was bad. They are wrong. The movie was brilliant. Seriously. People didn’t like Arrested Development when it was on TV because it was too smart for them. Dummies just want to sit back and have predictable crap fed to them, so few production agencies have the balls to defy convention. This movie was brilliant for so many reasons. I do have one suggestion though. Go see it in theaters, because seeing this thing on DVD is just not going to be good. ‘Nuf said. Oh one more thing. SPOILER ALERT: This is what the monster looks like…
Monster

Can Dennis Cure an Itch?

Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio representative in the House, is running for President. “As a 3rd party candidate?” -My dear friends, no. He is a democrat that will never make it near Super Tuesday. In April Kucinich introduced US House Resolution 333 and articles of impeachment against Dick Cheney. He accused Cheney of ignoring or changing evidence involving Iraq’s involvement with Al-Qaeda and threatened aggression against Iran. Kucinich read from the Declaration of Independence to prove his points and eventually got some support from Congress and the House Judiciary Committee. Kucinich firmly stands for a lot of liberal policies including getting out of Iraq, gun control in the US, repealing the Patriot Act, and other anti-Bush policies. Below is a video link from back in November.

Kucinich really doesnt have the money to run a competitive campaign against Obama or Hillary or Edwards, so when he drops out (probably soon), he’ll probably lend support to Obama since they share some of the same arguments against Bush’s foreign policy. After that maybe he’ll go back to itching Cheney from his seat in the House.

Kucinichy

Scary Sand People

Edit: Giuliani and Thompson are out of the race now, so if the local kids haven’t already, lets go bash their faces in.

Myrtle Beach

The CEO of the Myrtle Beach, SC Chamber of Commerce came up with this gem of an idea. “Hey, let’s carve the faces of the Republican Candidates in sand at the beach. Any volunteers?” Nearby spectators clapped in awe, and hermit crabs and seagulls watched as the ocean swallowed these sad sculptures up after four grueling days of tedious carving. Unfortunately I don’t have a category in this blog for “when artists sell out” so I’ll just categorize it as “politics.”

Charlie Wilson’s War

Last weekend I got to see “Charlie Wilson’s War”, courtesy of my new roomate, who keeps DVDs in a big book open to the public. By far my favorite actor in the movie was Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was nominated for a golden globe for his role as a CIA agent. This movie deals with America’s involvement toward the end of the Cold War when the U.S.S.R. was invading Afghanistan. Whenever I see an all-star cast movie that deals with politics I expect to see a lot of leftist jokes that make me smile and throw juvenile “victory” punches in the air. I love that this movie deals with the Cold War, but almost constantly references our current foreign situation. I guess because the two incidents have a lot to do with one another. My favorite part of the movie is a short episode when Tom Hank’s character, Charlie Wilson is being investigated by Rudolph Giuliani for questionable sex and drug incidents. They totally made Giuliani sound like a chattering pig, without really introducing his character. Gotta love Hollywood for sticking it to the Republicans now and again. There were other references to the current situation too. For instance, the movie ended abrubtly when Charlie Wilson tried to get support for aiding rebuilding in Afghanistan after the war. This was a veiled criticism of politics under the Reagan and Daddy Bush administration for being at fault for our current crisis with the Taliban. As a graphic designer, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be rich or powerful enough to have much sway on American Politics but it’s always very entertaining to me to see how events unfold that deal with each of us. One man can make an enormous impact on worldwide situations. Charlie Wilson was one of those men.

Contemporary Issues in American Politics

This is my first blog for a class I am taking at SCAD, Contemporary Issues in American Politics. Believe it or not, my professor is hip enough to grade me based on the blog entries I add to this website so embrace yourself for some politically charged blogging fun.

beard equation

beardy.jpg
The length of one’s beard is directly proportional to the amount of time since a girlfriend made them shave it.

Procrastabitching

It finally occurs to me, (7 years and $65,000 into college) that I am going to school for more than just to acquire knowledge. I am indeed in the process of changing my habits. I am forced to develop habits that help me survive college, like organization skills. I am forced to abandon harmful habits, like sniffing glue. I am a new man, full of enthusiasm and ready to conquer the…

gotta go, my hotpockets are done.

we all turned ugly

Now I know everyone has one really cute picture of themself as a kid, but I had to post this picture of Carrie I came across. Oh, even though it looks like it, she is not from China.

carrie_orient.jpg

TIME TO LAUNCH MY WRITING CAREER!

Look I can write!

Dear Production Companies,

I find the current writer’s strike gravely disappointing. I’m not sure where those writers get the idea that they should be paid for their work when you clearly own their souls. It’s important for you to keep strong and not give into their greedy demands for compensation. Who needs ‘em? This is a great opportunity for you to wash the old tired writers out of their cushy jobs and consider a few scripts I have. I have this one that’s gold.

Script #1) Okay so, it starts off with a kid who has an imaginary dinosaur friend which he takes everywhere he goes. Yeah and the parents get all pissed off at him for talking to his imaginary dinosaur, so the dinosaur (Frederick) slaps the HELL out of the dad with his tail. Oh, and at the end of the movie it turns out that dinosaurs aren’t extinct, they’re EVERYWHERE, except they’re all invisible from the radiation from the asteroid that hit in Mexico. Trippy, huh?

No good? No problemo, I have another idea.

Script #2) Okay so this one is about this chick who gets in a bad accident and has amnesia. The day she gets out of the hospital she doesnt know where she lives so she just walks around and goes down a dark alley where she gets mugged and assaulted and raped by this dude, and then suddenly she remembers her identity - CHUCK NORRIS!

Too predictable? No worries, I have another one.

Script #3) This is more like a series. We do a whole series of movies with awesome titles and trailers and then totally shock the public with different movies than they expected. For instance, we advertise trailers for “Mission Impossible IV” using old clips of Tom Cruise from Top Gun and that girl from the Transformers movie - except when people get to the theaters, it’s actually the original version of The Wizard of Oz. Because, I mean that way we don’t need no stinking writers.

asian mafia

Chinese Kingpin

Recently Roger and I discovered a delicious asian food restaurant near our apartment. We decided to give it a try and the events that followed are completely real.

1) Roger calls the restaurant to order pick-up from his cell phone. He does not introduce himself, but the man on the phone mysteriously asks, “Is that all for you, Mr. Wong?”

2) Roger and I went about our normal lives.

3) Later that week I call the restaurant from Roger’s phone to place a pick-up order. “Hello, George Wong. How can I help you?” Okay now we’re getting concerned. Roger’s cell is on his dad’s (George’s) family plan and it’s a Maryland area code. But aren’t cell phone numbers unlisted?

4) Days later, I place an order online for pickup, using my email (kevin[@]kevingalls.com). When I get there and pay cash for my pick-up, the name on the order is George Wong. WTF?

5) This is the weirdest one. I have never called the restaurant from my cellphone, which has a completely different area code than Roger’s. I decide to dial in a pick-up order while driving home from class. The phone rings until I hear a voice. “Hello, George Wong -what would you like to order today?” answers Satan.

6) Okay this has gone on long enough, a few days later I call in an order and when I go to pick it up and pay for my bag that says “George Wong” on it, I ask the restaurant owner, “Why do you keep calling me George Wong?” “What is your name?”, he responds. I look down at the handful of cash I was paying with. If I used a credit card, they’d know my name and I’d be in their enormous database of lies. “Roger”, I replied.

tunnel vision

I’m kicking this website off with a little rant about politics. I apologize.
As a graphic designer, I am taught to think differently- outside of the conventional theories and explore new options every day. I live in Atlanta, Georgia right now which means I live in a liberal city scattered with extremely conservative people. Usually those people are kept at bay from populated areas because they are afraid of diverse thought and cultures. They get spoon fed propaganda without knowing it- or worse, agreeing with its opinions. Justin and I referred to people’s mindset in these confederate states as “tunnel-vision.” You will inevitably find people with tunnel vision in the south, especially if you are driving after a short rain. The second a raindrop hits the pavement in Georgia, 20% of vehicles immediately and spontaneously crash into the nearest object. Tunnel Vision effects everyone to some degree - we all look out for ourselves and interpret what we see based on our own belief system rooted in our upbringings. This is understandable. Albert Einstein was said to have the gift of creativity. -His reply was that he merely had the gift of viewing the world as though he were not in it. This freed him from conventional wisdom to make his own observations and draw his own conclusions. Imagine if you were born into a world without psychological influence. What astounding conclusions would you make about the world around you? We may not all be Einsteins, but our brains are capable of much more than we use them for.

Kevin’s eyeball

Today you can’t even get to work without being bombarded with influence; billboards, radio, conversation with ghosts. Just kidding -or am I? Even the fact that you go to work and where you work was partly decided for you by the society you live in. Just remember that your brain is capable of filtering information. Every now and then stop and examine your environment. What is your location? Think universal location. Now think, molecular location. Look at your clothes if you’re wearing any and consider why you are wearing these particular clothes. Consider the fabric, the color, the stain on your pocket. Did you make it yourself? Did you get it from Walmart? How much fresh water was used in a poor nation to grow the cotton that became your shirt? How about that cheeseburger?

I don’t mean to extend my political influence on you, just encourage internal thought. The next time you are faced with a decision, consider what your society expects, then consider our global society, then consider the best course. That’s good, I knew if you thought about it you’d get a Mac instead of a PC. You win.

Welcome to the new Digitalblog!

We are a skilled and diverse group of friends who grew up in Montgomery County, MD. This website was started in an effort to keep our group of friends in contact though we live across the country from one another. I know it has been a while but now we have the new and improved DIGITALBLOG 2.0!