Void...

...of much to say these days. It's march and I wonder why I'm writing on this blog. Is it for me or for whoever (if anyone) reads these sporadic thoughts. Work is practically inexistant in my life. Three days of paid work in february. Only two lined up for this month so far. Where is this going? I'm trying not to think too much about it these days.
This week was quite busy though as me and the good ol' film school crew got together and shot a fun short. It was filmmaking at its barest. Guerilla all the way. One shot scenes. Improv to the max. Working the scene til we got to where we needed to be. An awesome experience. How to make a nice little thing come alive with no money and tons of creativity. Love it. Oh, and I was in front of the camera this time around. Had been years since I did anything acting wise. But definitely the most I did ever. Great times with great friends. That's what it should be about. It's encouraging and inspring to see what we could do with the bare minimum.
Switching gears, I have to mention how disturbed I was walking on State Street in Santa Barbara yesterday. I felt like Travis Bickel contemplating the cocktail of just-out-of-puberty college freshmen and human waste that floods the sidewalks and shops of the area. Did I not pay attention last time I was here or is it that something changed? The students is a given. But the amount of bums and filthy people really surprised and irritated me. From block to block, benches are occupied by homeless ranging from the younger rebel kids to the disabled immigrant playing guitar and mumbling a spanish song to the middle-aged bearded man having a conversation with an imaginary listener. From the tourist hating bum at the beach trying to get "tips" for making a sand castle to a guy up the street holding a fishing poll with a cup at the end of the line, I felt like telling other beggars along the way that they should find another occupation because there's too much competition. Walking out of a clothing store I thought I was entering a freak show. You go to Venice Beach, you expect it and it's part of the culture. But here in "gorgeous up-scale historic" Santa Barbara it doesn't quite pan out the same way. It really feels like people have a good excuse to become drifters and homeless. Being a bum is a job nowadays. And with the economy being in the shitter it almost makes perfectly good sense.
I'll end my cynical journey with a note on the oscars. Hugh Jackman started the show mentioning the tough economical times only to jump into his musical number. In a time of recession you'd think Hollywood would maybe tone things down a little and not put on a show that obviously cost millions of dollars while people out there watching are losing their homes and jobs. It's absolutely disgusting. There's no sense of moral ethics. It's all about money. Hollywood is capitalizing on the economical crisis like no other industry. They recorded the best january and february ticket sales ever. People need movies to escape. Hollywood's hypocrisy is mind blowing. One day they honor the departed by giving Heath Ledger a deserved oscar. At the same time Terry Gilliam can't even find a US distributor for Ledger's last film which also features Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Collin Farrel. Seriously?!