The Inconsistent Writer

2013 was quite the challenging year. Household and auto emergencies sprung up right after Lisa and I graduated Financial Peace University  (FPU). In fact, our water heater decided to stop doing its one and only job -- providing hot water for the household -- the very next morning. Let's just say that the Eddy Household 4TH Quarter Expenditures greatly outweighed the Income Category. That being said, 2013 has provided many valuable life lessons. These learned lessons I have graciously provided below. 1. You can do a budget and stick to it. It is true what they say: "the 3rd time is the charm." After our third attempt at attending FPU, we finally graduated. I honestly believe that most of it was due to the fact that Lisa and I had finally mastered the monthly budget. Several months before re-enrolling, month in and month out, we had weekly or bi-weekly budget meetings, always going back and reviewing our spending. This was the only way for us to truly obtain financia

While I haven't written much this year -- which only means that my blog title is all the more appropriate -- I have gathered up my favorite Facebook posts of 2013. I know I have an audience out there. I've even witnessed it... occasionally. Please enjoy my "selected" status updates. Snippets of what went on in my life, my introspective commentary on certain events, or of those that I influenced enough for them to include me in their own thoughts or conversations. They're in no particular order and most of them are amusing, or at least I this so, but I'll let you be the judge. The pictures or videos in here are to help help reference what I may have been talking or thinking about at the time. "He's parkour ing the horses." A phrase I never thought I would hear. Thanks, Nathan and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Killer (Lisa) You know you've entered middle age when you look at the Top Selling Music Artists or the Best of 2012 albums and r

--DISCLAIMER-- Please Be Advised: While I will do my best not to reveal any spoilers within this series of posts, I cannot 100% guarantee that it will not happen. --READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-- "You're the smartest guy I ever met, and you're too stupid to see he made up his mind 10 minutes ago." – Hank Schrader 5. A Limited Budget Can Be Extremely Freeing The average Hollywood budget for a 2 hour feature film is $80 million (and this is somewhat low, considering that most big budget blockbusters -- or potential blockbusters, I might emphasize -- are closer to $150 million or higher). With a show like  Breaking Bad , you get more show, more character development, more New Mexico desert, and a more compelling story (over 720 minutes, just for season 5) for considerably less. The writers of Breaking Bad were limited in budgetary sense, but what they may not tell you is that hearing the words "no, we don't have it in the budget" can be ext

--DISCLAIMER-- Please Be Advised: While I will do my best not to reveal any spoilers within this series of posts, I cannot 100% guarantee that it will not happen. --READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-- "As to your dead guy, occupational hazard. Drug dealer getting shot? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it's been known to happen." - Saul Goodman The next two elements below that make Breaking Bad better than most movies really go hand in hand. Anyone who understands the entire process of filmmaking knows that the Director's best friend is the Cinematographer. (I've gone into more detail about the importance of cinematography here .) The images that Breaking Bad has been able to produce has raised the bar in what a television show can look like and really makes the big blockbusters churned out by Tinseltown pale in comparison. 3. The Direction The basic definition of a film or television director's job is to bring to life what is on the written

--DISCLAIMER-- Please Be Advised: While I will do my best not to reveal any spoilers within this series of posts, I cannot 100% guarantee that it will not happen. --READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-- "I have spent my whole life scared, frightened of things that could happen, might happen, might not happen, 50-years I spent like that. Finding myself awake at three in the morning. But you know what? Ever since my diagnosis, I sleep just fine. What I came to realize is that fear, that’s the worst of it. That’s the real enemy. So, get up, get out in the real world and you kick that bastard as hard you can right in the teeth." Walter White People have complained about the subject matter or thematic elements of  Breaking Bad , but I would imagine the hardest reality to accept is that a majority of what takes place in Walter White's world  strikes a little too close to home . It's not surprising, either. When a friend was recently recommended to watch the show, her reaction

--DISCLAIMER-- Please Be Advised: While I will do my best not to reveal any spoilers within this series of posts, I cannot 100% guarantee that it will not happen. --READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-- "Chemistry is the study of matter, but I prefer to see it as the study of change ... It's growth, then decay, then transformation." Walter White On the eve of the  Breaking Bad  series finale,  my wife  and I began to discuss her recent disinterest in movies. Whether it was going to the theater, or selecting a DVD rental off of the wall at our local  Hastings , we've generally become dissatisfied with most recent releases. Her interest has waned considerably because character development and story has taken the backseat to car chases, explosions, high octane action, comic book franchises, and special effects. As I began to rack my brain over my first 'hit' of  Breaking Bad  (bad pun, I know), it made me start to wonder why it is that  Breaking Bad  was better

--DISCLAIMER-- Please Be Advised: While I will do my best not to reveal any spoilers within this series of posts, I cannot 100% guarantee that it will not happen. --READ AT YOUR OWN RISK-- Prologue. "Watch this," is all he said as he slapped copies of season one and two into my hands. "You'll thank me later," he then said, with a brief pause followed by a wry smile and a reassurance of, "trust me." His final words resonated as I exited his house, looking down and seeing the dad from Malcolm in the Middle standing in front of an RV, missing his pants and holding a gun. That's peculiar , I thought as I got into my car and tossed the DVDs onto the passenger seat. Little did I realize, that what I would soon watch, would change the way I looked at television forever. I knew that television had come a long way in its ability to tell good stories. Most of them, however, were not on Network TV. The first ripples of this change came wit

Disclaimer: Yes, this is a bit of a re-hash, but I still wrote it... a couple of years ago. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, while I transfer the posts I made to a website that no longer defines who I am. Please sit back and enjoy it. Again. After being on the short end of the employment stick too many times these past few years, let's just say I know what it's like to look for work. However, in the world of make-believe, where anything can (and will) happen, these are Top 5 Companies that I would gladly submit my résumé. You might think that some of these choices are a little crazy, but wait until you see my other list next week. 1. Callahan Auto Parts | Tommy Boy Their business model was a bit flawed, and leaving it in the not-so-capable hands of the incompetent and dimwitted Tommy Callahan wasn't exactly the smartest decision (at first), but Callahan Auto Parts was built on hard work and is full of heart. Anyone who's willing to sacrifice t

"Men fear most what they cannot see." Henri Ducard, Batman Begins 2005 Unfortunately throughout most of history, man often turned his fear into hatred and prejudice -- mostly due to his ignorance. Knowledge is power and it should eventually lead to personal insight and growth and hopefully in the end, wisdom. Bruce Wayne knew this when he embraced the symbolism of the bat that scared him so much when he was child when he fell down the well and into a bat cave. When he transformed his fear into becoming Batman, he turned it on his enemies and those who also lived in the shadows and preyed upon the weak.

Yes, this is a bit of a re-hash, but I still wrote it... a couple of years ago. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, while I transfer the posts I made to a website that no longer defines who I am. Please sit back and enjoy it. Again. Throughout the history of cinema, people have been fascinated - and often terrified - of movie villains. There's just something primal in all of us that usually results in one of two polarized reactions when encountering a villain: either it's (A) run for your life, or (B) wow, this guy is kinda interesting and I'd like to stick around and pick their brain to see what makes them tick. For years I had been firmly planted in group A. More recently, however, I've found myself slowly shifting towards the dark side of the force. So, in honor of my favorite baddies, here's my Top 5 Film Villains. 1. Dr. Hannibal Lecter | The Silence of the Lambs | 1991 "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with so

New York City. The most famous metropolitan city in the United States, quite possibly the world. No, I did not take this picture, but honestly wished I had. My wife and I just recently visited the Empire State, along with taking the train into the city for the day. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge , ate at Carnegie Deli , searched for spooks at the New York City Public Library (as well as a clean restroom and free water), watched children dance with joy on the "Big Piano" inside  FAO Schwarz , walked around Rockefeller Center (which was surprisingly smaller in person compared to how it looks on TV), visited the 9/11 Memorial , and charged my dying iPhone at the Apple Store inside Grand Central among many others. Here we are on our way to New York via Connecticut taken at the Baltimore Int'l Airport. (Confusing, I know.) Ahh... the real New York City. And yes, I took this picture. Thousands of movies have been filmed here. Below I'll list my p