I’ve started to record an audio book of Rice Tea. You can download it here for free. The aim was originally to do a chapter a day, but it’s been very hard for me to keep up lately. I’ve started a second job, and layoffs at my old job have increased my stress level by quite a bit. I’m now doing the work of three people, which is both highly stressful and frustrating.
Back to Rice Tea, the production of the audio book has been very beneficial to me. I didn’t realize to what point some of the dialog was bad – I literally laughed out loud in some bits. I haven’t had the chance to read over the whole thing like this, so it’s been nice. I’m thinking of making a film out of it. What inspired me was seeing the great film Primer, which was done on a $6,000 budget. If they can do it, I can do it.
I’ve been reading a few books as of late. One is “The Rebel Sell” by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter. The book is a critique of the notion of counterculture as it is applied in the mainstream, and why its actually all just part of the ever ambiguous “system.” The other book I’ve been going through is called “Inside the Machine”, by Jon Stokes and published by the ever-excellent No Starch Press. This last one is an introduction to microprocessors and computer architecture. It’s target audience is the average enthusiast, and the author does his best to make sure that you understand the concepts at hand.
I’ve also gone on a book buying binge, and have purchased within the last month: Applied Cryptography; Secrets & Lies; Mathematics: In Content, Methods & Meaning; An Introduction to Environmental and Applied Geophysics; Learning SQL; The Filmmaker’s Handbook and Spook Country.
In other news, I’m almost 24 now. The last few years have just flown by, and that’s making me panicked a bit. It seems like just yesterday I was at HOPE – and yet that was three years ago. I used to think that I needed to accomplish more to justify the time that went by. I don’t know if that’s so true anymore. What I do know is that I’ve been too passive lately. I need to do something. I can’t let this year slip between my fingers.