Study Makes Perfect & A Big Break

Hello ~

Ahhh, the rainy season has officially descended onto San Francisco. Although quickly darkening Autumnal skies and an abundance of rain help usher in the transition of summer to the rainy season (the only other season in SF), the good news is that soon snow will be falling in the distant Sierras and ski season will begin.

If anyone out there has advice or words of wisdom on the GRE, I would love to hear them.
My GRE exam, a wonderful and exciting gauge at your prospects of grad school is on November 17, so my life has pretty much been non-stop studying and ostensibly brushing up on high school math skills that have evaded my mind as well as studying the vocabulary and analogy questions that are going to determine my future. In fact, I think that the test along with the application process is the grad schools only way of getting to truly know a potential applicant. The long list of instructions on these tests is a built-in mechanism for admission committees to determine if a student will be a good fit at a school. To complicate the issue further, some schools place heavy emphasis on your GRE score than others. Berkeley's Journalism school does not care what you get on the GRE, rather, they care that you can show them upper-level writing techniques, that will be elude to success at their school. Stanford, on the other hand, does care about scores and wants to see that a high score on the GRE test that can show great success and the level of knowledge acceptable to an upper-echelon university. Other schools, like Columbia in New York, nix the exam altogether and require their students to take a special journalism exam proctored by an alum.

Currently I am also working on a really innovative and interesting project that will help distribute news to the masses differently than current methodology. It will place newscasts on the internet and downloadable to your iPod or mobile device. The news is called StoryToday and will allow the user/viewer to come up with ideas and thoughts on the news, rather than have us tell them what we want them to think. Today, news is heavily biased. Whether you feel it is more biased against your political beliefs is your opinion, but the news has an agenda and typically it is slanted due not to the viewers demands, but rather to appease management and the lowest common denominator of the masses; typically inducing news about celebrity and issues that end at our nation's borders. Our newscasts are going to bring you news all over the World, not just in California or the United States. You get to hear the story as it came from a different news location or source, and make a decision. You have the power here, and it will be neat to see where it goes.

For now, there is a funny promotional introductory trailer you can view.

Point your browser to; www.storytoday.tv & click on the download .mp4 link below the QuickTime logo. The trailer should immediately play.

Also, I received word that I have been cast in an actual, physical role of a motion picture. Tentatively titled, "Strap-Off" it is a comedy feature that is currently in pre-production. Right now a director has been hired, and casting is negotiating the appearances of big names like Natalie Portman and Eugene Levy. Obviously, if all goes well, this could be a huge break. My role is going to be an ER physician, and I will have more than one line. It is scheduled to be filmed in LA before and after the Christmas holiday, but in any event, I will keep you all posted on any exciting news, wish me luck on what hopefully could be a huge break!

I hope to update more on life out here before Thanksgiving. I may visit a friend who just moved to Oregon and a nice drive up there could be in order. I hope to hear from you guys, feel free to write.

Until then,

Cheers!