Scotland Part I

It’s been awhile since I’ve updated the world on my many adventures. Have no fear, I have returned to bring you up to speed. But in the wake of a lovely weekend in Scotland, there are many tales that lest they be told may be forgotten.

Our story begins at 12:00 AM Friday. With my alarm set for 3 AM, I found myself too restless to sleep prior to our 4 AM departure to King’s Cross. Delirious and definitely silly, the lot of us strolled into the station around 5 AM leaving plenty of time to visit a Harry Potter landmark, Platform 9 ¾ (which is not actually between the real platform 9 and 10), before our train to Edinburgh at 6:15 AM.

My lovely travel companions circa 4:00 AM

The five hour ride seemed like a flash for thankfully I was able to sleep through a good deal of the trip. We arrived to a rainy Scotland with our tour guide (who would later be nicknamed Fabio) and our group of 52 (a grab bag of Asians, students, and obnoxious Peruvians).

After taking a leisurely ride around the town of Edinburgh, stopping at some key locations to take quick photos in between minor drizzles, we checked into our hostel. Of course my room wasn’t ready yet, so I dropped off my bags in the storage closet and rejoined my companions to some lovely overpriced Italian food.

Returning for a quick nap time before hitting the bar at the hostel, I soon learned (and much to my dismay) that my roommates in the hostel would consist of a loud group of rude Portuguese speaking travelers who we learned at the end of the trip. My experiences with them would only become more pleasant…

With a 7:45 call time the next morning, we decided to have a low key night at the hostel bar. We met an outrageous group caught in the celebrations of a stag party that night – one of whom decided to steal our subpar mac and cheese. After some free drinks on their tab, I hit the sack and slept soundly… or did I?

Portobello Film Festival

First free weekend in London. What am I doing? Coughing, sneezing, withering in my flat. Being ill is just so grand! Despite my zombie-esque existence, I was able to get out of the house long enough to visit the Fuller’s Brewery ( a one hour tour that ended in an hour of all you can drink “beer tasting”) and a student film screening at the Portobello Film Festival.

The films we saw were unbelievably poor. The best of the series we saw was a music video which, unlike its peers, had mastered basic aesthetics. But overall, the films were what you would expect to see from a batch of first Elon FreshTV projects. Definitely makes you appreciate the level of excellence Elon’s programs have in comparison to other schools.

The festival does have other films I hope to see later in the week. One unique exhibition they offer has been coined as the “Video Cafe” where viewers choose what film to watch off a menu – a very interesting expression of the “Me-Media” trend.

Stonehenge and Bath

8:20 A.M. Saturday Morning. What am I doing awake? Stonehenge and Bath, that’s what. Apparently the bus ride in between the sites was long. I wouldn’t know seeing as each of these wonderful excursions were sprinkled between one to three hour bus ride naps.

Fast forward to Stonehenge. As I stumbled off the bus in a tired stupor, I was overwhelmed by the number of Asian tourists gallivanting about. I graced two of them with my presence as I screamed “Excuse me please” to the couple blocking the walkway. Seriously, it’s a walkway, not a talkway.

Stonehenge was certainly a site to see. But the next chapter in the day is much better.

Fast forward to Bath. The honey colored limestone gives the city a quaint aura. With empty stomachs, we hit up a small Cornish bakery where we enjoyed what would be most comparable to a hot pocket yet fresher and European-er.

Our next venture was into the Roman Baths. The ruins-museum combo testified to the deep history of the UK which I love so much. However, the city outside was calling, and a friend and I breezed through so that we could explore the town some more… and a slice of fresh fudge!

Overall, good Saturday! Click through slideshow below for more pics:

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Culture Shock

First week in London. Wow. When I set foot in Newark’s airport, I thought the most stressful thing I would do is fight with the possibly menopausal Continental Airlines employee over the weight of my bag.

Two inflight movies and a time zone later, Heathrow Airport seemed surreal. As our bus pulled out into the sunlight (a rare sight for the fall apparently), I found myself overwhelmed and lightheaded (though mostly due to exhaustion and starvation).

I soon found how different two cultures can be even in the simplest of areas. Never have I been so bewildered or stressed at a grocery store in my life. Homesickness became just another symptom of my severe case of culture shock.

UPS Truck featuring sign for 2012 Olympics

All gets better in time right? Apparently not soon enough as I learned at 4:50 a.m. when insomnia became the next of my culture shock symptoms. At least I got a good laugh at the discovery that late night British television caters to the deaf with signers (even in music videos).

The city is truly beginning to grow on me though. After 3 days, I can truly say I love this place. Yeah, the food pretty much sucks, and, unfortunately, they don’t have a Walmart.

A street sign I found rather humorous

My favorite part about the city so far is how easy it is to get around: Taking the bus, the tube, or simply walking. Adventure literally lies in front of our every step.

Today’s journey? The hunt for Abbey Road which I learned today was famous thanks to the Beatles (I’m a big fan, can’t you tell?)

I offered to take a photo for Julia and Sarah that is reminiscent of the album cover that made the street famous (fortunately a woman had it on her shirt to help me find the correct framing).

A week’s worth of adventure and these are just the cliff notes. Look forward for more to come!

Jumbl3d Catch-Up Pt. 1

This past year I’ve worked on a variety of films and projects throughout the spring and fall semesters. In late spring, in collaboration with 3 AM Productions director Aaron Moger, I produced and wrote a french short “Le Miroir S’est Brisé”. Inspired by a poem titled the same, the film was authored in French with script editing from Elon French professor Olivia Choplin.

Featuring Jimmy Dolphin as Henri and Evelyn Frederickson as Catherine.

Special thanks to Olivia Dubendorf and Alli Brewer.

Return of the Jumbl3d

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated, but what better time to do so than now?

Firstly, as a part of the Elon in LA program, I have produced my most recent film:

Murmur

Starring Barret Wilbert-Weed and Corey Warren

Other things you may have missed:

This video was made as part of the Ashoka and GOOD Magazine “Everyone a Changemaker” competition. Featured (in order of appearance): Evelyn Frederickson, Lindsay Humbert, Julia Gallagher, Rebecca Smith, Luke Lovett

More things to come later!

“Forgotten” is up on YouTube!

Battle of the Two Hour Premieres

House brings home the gold for FOX in its fall season premiere.

Monday night brougt two television giants to a clash during the new season premieres in the 8pm and 9pm time slots. FOX’s “House” won in a landside in the ratings to NBC’s “Heroes”, both of whom started their fall season with two hour premieres.

“House” not only brought home the gold for FOX in the overall nightly scoreboard, but also was one of the few shows to do better than it has in previous seasons. “Heroes” on the other hand has been suffering a loss in viewership since its first season in 2006. Despite this, “Heroes” has a large international market and remains one of the most illegally downloaded shows.

Are these numbers setting the trend for the rest of this Fall’s Mondays? Only time will tell.

For full scoreboard and ratings for Monday, click here!

“Ekleipsis” work begins

Dancers From the Atlanta Area at the first day of shooting "Ekleipsis".

In collaboration with choreographer Monica Hogan, I began work this summer on a film-dance piece as a part of the Duke University Dance Project Award, a grant for a dance show in which the piece will be featured.

The composition is named “Ekleipsis” for the greek word for “eclipse” which in the verb form means “I cease to exist”. Representing the toil of a soul in limbo, “Ekleipsis” was filmed in Roswell, part of the greater Atlanta area, featuring several local college dancers.

Long days of filming passed now brings us to this past weekend. Monica and I spent 7 long hours digitizing footage and editing to only get so far as the basic time-line. But, as a little treat to our dancers, friends, and family, I’ve posted a nice little screen capture above! Look forward to more updates in the future!

“Bones” Premiere Boosts FOX Thursdays

Emily Deschanel as 'Bones' and David Boreanaz as 'Agent Booth'

FOX’s “Bones”, starring Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan, made a strong season start this past Thursday. According to Nielsen Overnight Ratings, the show boosted viewership by 3% in adults 18-49 with a rating at 3.0. Experts admit this is quite a feat for any show in broadcast in the current market. In subjective reviews around the board, the premiere was well received by both critics and loyal fans (a point of view to which I am in much accord).

The overall scoreboard for Thursday proved that competitors like NBC, whose strong comedy line up of “The Office” and “30 Rock” has clinched the lead in the past, now have FOX to look out for.

For full scoreboard and ratings for Thursday, Click here!