Real news

Just got a tweet from Mr. Wes Craven himself (I hope) that Kevin Williamson, who revitalized the “horror” genre with the original Scream (as well as their sequels),  is on board for Scream, 4,5 and 6! If you’re a fan of the franchise this is good news, if you’re not, then too bad!

Ok, so this is one of those things that you had to see coming. Despite there being a mixed bag of emotions regarding this film, (loved it, hated it, egh it was OK) one cannot deny the fact that this movie certainly raked in the money from an unsuspecting general public who, and let’s face it, expected so much more from this movie. I have to admit, that I did enjoy this movie even though I had to sit in the movie theater and endure hundreds of nervous snickering teen-aged little girls. Ugh, it was scarier than the movie! Frankly, the hype of this movie is what murdered it, but then again, the hype is what gained the film notoriety and fame. If you haven’t seen the first Paranormal Activity ( and if you haven’t… really?) I suggest you stop reading now as there may be some spoilers ahead.

With Tod (Kip) Williams slated to direct the next installment of this movie (franchise maybe?), I couldn’t help myself but to ask the very same question I’m sure many of you are asking at this precise moment, “Who?!?” Exactly, but a quick search on IMDB quickly made me ask, yet again, “Who?!?” Yes, it is an unknown, but then again, so was Oren Peli, the director of the original film. Thus far, and we’ll have to wait until after Paranormal Activity 2 is released, the only saving grace of this “Kip” is the fact that he is a native of NYC. Rejoice!

So now the only other question I was left with asking was, how are they going to make a sequel out of this movie? There is no doubt that Hollywood will come up with just about any type of plot-line just to make a sequel and make more money out of this beast (see Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 AKA atrocity of a movie). No matter what, this movie is getting made, and that is a fact as contracts have already been signed.

Quick recap:

• Couple terrorized by what is thought to be a ghost
• Alleged ghost turns out to be demon (yikes!)
• Demon possesses Katie
• Katie Kills her boyfriend, Micah (theatrical version)
• Katie goes BOO and “scares” aforementioned little girls

That’s it! So where is there a sequel? Well, it’ll soon be in someone’s wallet. Details as to the plot are hush, hush by the way. Get ready for another cavalcade of over-hype!

NYC tenants are engulfed with fear as there may be a potential strike by… wait for it… Doormen! That’s right, rich sophisticates throughout NYC may be forced to do the unthinkable, open doors for themselves, operate an elevator and even take out their own garbage! It is unfathomable and the thought simply breaks my heart! Good luck rich-folk and I pray that, if there is a strike, it will be a swift one! Godspeed!

Finally got my Copaxone Meds about a week ago after “fighting” with the insurance company because they wanted to charge me $3000/month (no I didn’t type in extra “0″ by accident)! Fortunately, the good folks over at NORD (National Organization of Rare Disorders) granted me a years’ worth of meds at no charge! That was very kind of them and I must say, I really wasn’t expecting things to swing my way. So, I’m happy, sort of.

Of course I’m happy that I am getting a year’s worth of medication, however, I’m not happy that I have to take the medication in the first place. Sure, maybe if it was a pill that I would have to swallow on daily basis it would probably wouldn’t be that bad. Not the case. In my case, or at least the way these particular meds work, is that I’m going to have to inject myself for the rest of my life until a cure is found for Multiple Sclerosis. Yay! (sarcastic “yay!”) I guess it’s a little taste of what a diabetic goes through.

Not only do I have to inject myself daily, but they have to be at different spots each day and rotate spots throughout the body. Ugh, hate needles, not afraid of them, just hate them. I was given an entire kit and a nurse had to come to my home and show me the correct process of how to stick myself with the needle.

No fun.

There are two ways that I can stick myself: the manual way and the automatic way. The manual way consists of simply taking the needle, plunging it into my flesh as I squeeze out about two inches of fat. I then push down on the needle until all of the fluids have been transferred into me. This is the “no thanks” method.

The automatic way is a bit simpler. I take the auto-eject that was provided by Shared Solutions (sounds like it would futuristic-looking but its really not), place the needle inside, press it against my skin, push a button and presto! Needle goes in, juices go in and I’m done! Sort of…

After I am injected, I pull out needle, careful not to angle it and break it off into my flesh, dispose of needle in “special” dispose needle plastic tank, “dab” the injected area with a cotton ball then endure the slight pain that comes with the injection. The pain is tolerable, in a way. According to the nurse it is equivalent to a bee sting, but since I’ve never been stung by a bee, I wouldn’t know what that felt like. Again, the nurse says the pain should last for only 5-10 minutes, but, in reality, it lasts for almost half an hour. Still, it’s not too bad. So far, no side effects. I can only keep my fingers crossed and hope that no side effects ever surface.

Routine, routine!

I have to make this a part of my daily routine so that i don’t forget to take it. I don’t think anything will happen if I miss it, but the way it is supposed to work is to take it on a daily basis right around the same time each day so it can work to its full potential in the long run. I picked 8:30pm.

Will keep everyone updated on this situation if anything new comes to light. Here’s a look at what I like to call my “sick kit”. Just click on image for bigger picture:

They also gave me a magnet so that I can place on the fridge as a constant reminder as to why I am taking the meds. I was angry at having to take them in the first place, so my wife answered for me and made it perfectly clear. This, ladies & gentlemen, is one of the many reasons why I love her

Yesterday, I was itching to go out and take some photographs.

I recently reverted back to Film Photography, thanks to a great photographer and new compadre, Antonio Alavarez (you can check out his blog by clicking on his name). Of course, it was a little daunting simply because I feel like I take less shots because I no longer have the luxury of shooting almost limitless amount of photos via a memory card. No, I’m relegated to just about 24 exposures so I must choose my shots wisely. What Mr. Alvarez has also inspired me to do, is to develop my own Black and White negatives. This makes the whole process much more fun!

Back to the story! I went to a Historic Street named Huguenot Street (Or, as I like to call it, Huge Nut Street) and felt that, at the moment, the lighting was perfect as the sun was close to its setting below the horizon stage. I snapped away with my “new” Nikon FE and caught what I thought would be marvelous photographs. A wild cat even approached me and made for some great photographs! Unfortunately for the cat, I don’t carry food in my pockets, not anymore at least. After it realized that I had no food, it took off nearby to a dirt driveway where it started to playfully roll on its back. It was modeling for me! Great shots!

I pressed the shutter to my heart’s content until I realized the counter read “30″. Hmmm, is this possible that I purchased a 24 exposure film and it was packaged incorrectly with 36 exposure film? As I snapped away at a couple more pictures which marvelously captured the shadows caused my the setting sun, I looked down at the counter and it now read 39. Ok, something’s not right. It was something I tried to ignore and thought this was how this “new” camera operated. Every time I cranked the film forward, I felt no pressure and it proceeded very smoothly. As a matter of fact, a little too smoothly. So I did something risky. I opened the camera’s back and exposed the film. To my horror delight, the film was never proceeding and all those great, marvelous photos that I took, never happened! Of course I was upset!

Quickly, I took out my Nikon F4 and loaded the very same film into the camera hoping that only a few frames were exposed and I immediately retraced my steps. Only problem was that the sun was closer the horizon and I was losing light. I found the cat again, only this time it was laying on a porch and no longer wanted to move.

Suffice to say, I got home, developed the film and I was happy to see that only two frames were exposed and left me with 22 exposures that all came out! So, in the end, it was an itch that was barely scratched!

No longer wants to play

Side note: Developed first roll of Kodak Tri-X 400, like it so much better than Ilford Delta 400! Done with Ilford chemicals.

Just saw a commercial last night for a new product for women called BootyPop. Now, the purpose of this product is so that a woman’s butt can look more, how can I put this, shaped when wearing jeans. I have to admit, the person who came up with this is a genius. It’s the booty equivalent for a push-up bra! For those who don’t know what it looks like, here’s an image:

This is a reely big example

This can be very deceiving to all men out there. Can you just imagine a removable butt? Kind of freaky huh? It’s one thing for the eyes, as I’m sure this contraption would have many heads turning, but how good is it for that other sense called touch? I’m still waiting for the men’s equivalent for the crotch! It can be called the CrotchPop. Oh wait, we’ve already have something like that since the invention of socks!