For the majority of 2009, this site has been without any blog posts. Since my first short film “Hubris” had gotten off to a good start this year, I felt it was a maturity move on my part to remove my ramblings and thoughts about random personal stuff, and focus on a professional site. I mean, does anyone really care about what I’m up to with my friends & family, or how much I hated “Transfomers” the movie, or why I’d prefer zombies and werewolves over vampires…. (Apparently, a few of you did.) *shrug* But, that was how rayhom.com was.
And that is how rayhom.com will continue to be. I’ve decided for continuity, as well as familiarity, I’ll stick to what I’ve always intended…
Initially, back in 1997, my intention for having put up a personal site was to communicate, with this new technology called the Internet, my latest personal writings and pics that involved my circle of family & friends. Those few that came and read what I had to say understood that my desire was to be a good writer. And, I had gained a lot of support throughout the years because of the site, as well as new friends. I am humbly grateful for the number of relationships I’ve fortified, and, I do my best to keep connected with the majority of them. But, unfortunately, space and time constraints restricted my ability to be attentive to so many people at once. Therefore, rayhom.com will continue to be a beacon of communication between me and the rest of the world. And, I definitely thank the gods of Kobol, for AIM, email, and Facebook, eh?
rayhom.com continues to propel me in pursuing the writing and filmmaking path, and it will forever remain so.
“The man who does not read good books
has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”
- Mark Twain
I was suppose to have done another book challenge with my good buddy Matt. Originally, we were going to do 8 books within the month of July. But, within a few days of the month, I pleaded to Matt that we should cut it down to 6, as I have to prioritize some film books I been meaning to finish. And, I had two Ayn Rand novels listed within our challenge. I enjoy her writings, but they require a lot of time to absorb. Now it is a few days into August, and I am weak. Only 1/3 into Rand’s “Fountainhead” and the first couple of chapters into Shermer’s “The Science of Good & Evil“. The month of July was too much happening for me, esp. with the festivals and exposure that “Hubris” was getting.
But, no more excuses, I will attempt to finish up the 8 books ASAP. And, also, I had made it a priority to finish all my books that have accumulated unread on my book shelf, which you see above. With what ever life experiences, friendships, travels, movies, etc., etc., etc. I have been lucky (or unlucky) to have made my life colorful as it is, the written word is still powerful to me in my maturity. I remember having read the “Basic Teachings of the Great Philosophers” almost a couple of decades ago. These timeless thinkers provided no answers to life, no glimpse into the future of my fate, nor any direction on where to start “seeking the path to understanding”. I had no clue what Plato, Nietzsche, Descartes, and Sartre were saying to me. To this day, I now have even more questions… but, I’m beginning to understand that that is the answer. To question.
“The people long eagerly for only 2 things – bread & circuses.”
- Decimus Junius Juvenalis, Roman poet
I may be stepping on some sensitive toes here, but, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. I rely on it to network/communicate/KIT with friends and ppls who have common interests. But, I find that 95% of the info shared and networked is utterly useless. FB-users are falling for marketing ploys by taking quizzes that nurtures their need for external validation. Or that I’m reading what they have accumulated in Mafia Wars (Who am I to say, since I spent countless hours playing the latest Grand Theft Auto on my PS3). Or the type of user that updates his/her status every hour telling the world how “bored” they are, and that today is the day they will try and make something of themselves. *sigh* “Friends don’t just randomly shout into the darkness hoping someone would listen… People, you do exist, but you’ve become reliant on these self-affirmations.”
There is a great article I came across entitled:
How to Avoid Annoying People on Facebook
and Looking Like an Idiot
I’m personally on Facebook to share info with friends & family about what are the latest happenings, and share mutual interests. There are criticism about whether this hampers on social skills. Well, you’re reading this, aren’t you? The world is changing, keep up. This type of communication represents 65% of the people who are my personal friends on Facebook. Another 25% are people in the film and entertainment industry. FB was instrumental in promoting my short film “Hubris”. In fact, previously, I spent most of my social networking the ghetto-way through MySpace and Friendster (remember them?) until I met filmmakers who kept connected through FB. And, finally, the last 10% are people who network and promote the New Atheist Movement.
A good number of my friends & family are non-believers. But, some of my other friends are surprised that I am an admitted atheist. And, it gets me when someone says to me – “I never met an atheist before.” I find that rather odd. Either people don’t pay attention well enough within their circle of friends and family, or they don’t get out enough. (There’s a few amongst you, my friends.) The number ranks about a billion of us who don’t associate or affiliate with a religious movement. Non-believers are ranked the 4th largest group of people within the world. *shrug* Live and let live, eh?
Anyways, about this site… all the original content from the past decade or so is back up on rayhom.com. Every blog posts since 1997/1998 are here. My writings which includes articles, interviews, and short fiction – The Kristine Sa interview, my club and restaurant reviews for Karma Magazine, my attempt at an online eNovel entitled the Asian American Eves. And, of course, the latest news on my path to filmmaking. Mind.Erase.Media will be back up permanently in a few days, and eventually asian-america.com will be resurrected.
I am currently writing articles/Q&A stuff for Miss Misery’s Last Doorway Productions site, reporting on related horror stuff. Two Q&A’s are up:
I will be writing an entry about once every week, aiming for every Monday, to keep connected to the world. I will mirror a condensed version on Facebook. And, I will no longer be maintaining a newsletter, as it’s too much work, and unnecessary. My supporting readers will find their way here on rayhom.com. Otherwise, you can rss feed me here. Stick around, I’m only gettin’ started. Thanks!
See everyone around…
by Jerry Heller – Way before Snoop Dogg or Eminem… even before Dr. Dre and Ice Cube went solo… there was N.W.A, which were handled, promoted and made infamous by “super producer” Jerry Heller. And this is his account of how it all happened.
by Roger Ebert – The famous film critic meets the famous filmmaker, compiled in interviews, essays, and articles.
by Jack Ketchum – I had watched the movie based on the book last year. Rarely does a movie emotionally anger me the way the movie did. For once, I hated the world. The movie did it’s job! And, Wiki-ing the background of Jack Ketchum and the plot of the book, I had discovered that it was loosely based on the real-life abuse of Sylvia Likens and her siblings. I hated the world even more. Now, the hate has gotten me curious of this book.
by Ben Mezrich – The book that the upcoming David Fincher “Facebook” movie – The Social Network is based on. From the writer who wrote “21″, “The Accidental Billionaires” is a dramatized account of how Mark Zuckerberg founded and established “Facebook”.
