Going higher

So, I got third place.

Sorry, I didn’t express that the way I really should: I GOT THIRD PLACE!

If you can recall that post from last week, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. The What Goes Up contest that took place on BlogCatalog ended with a handful of entries, and results were posted on Monday night on the insider blog (as well as BlogCatalog itself, several times). If you’re too lazy to click, I’ll just provide a screenshot here of my small moment of glory.

Apparently, I’ve had a lifelong dream of making movie posters (wait, what?), but I thought it was funny that my entry (that poster I designed) was officially titled “Obi-Wan Kenobi”. I was glad to read that the producers liked the usage of arrows from the logo all throughout the poster. I spent many hours several minutes trying to create a good arrangement and finally got them alternating between pointing left and right. Good enough.

So, this small victory has brought me much joy because  I hadn’t won any contest of this type before, probably because I had never participated! I was missing out! In the end, I’ll be getting an official movie poster signed by cast and crew. So, I’ll be getting autographs without the whole awkward star-struck moments (phew!). Oh, and my work (along with other contestants’) may be shown on the day of the movie’s premiere at the very fancy Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, California. California!

I will definitely have to update my portfolio with my poster design, while giving credit where credit is due. Stuff like this makes it more attractive, beefs it up (and it could use an update of any kind, anyway).

While the update comes, watch first place winner polybore’s video on YouTube. Done in part using Blender and Audacity (hooray for open source!), it features the What Goes Up logo 3D-fied, a lot of BlogCatalog user avatars, a sample of the movie’s soundtrack and even a small contribution by yours truly near the end. If your connection is made of awesome (read: very fast), make sure to watch the video in HD!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to continue my efforts to wipe the grin off my face before I end up looking like Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the Joker.

Going up

Whew … my nephew’s first birthday party sure took its time, and my eyelids feel heavy. The long weekend hasn’t turned out as I wanted it to, but that’s an issue for another post. Meanwhile …

This is my entry for the What Goes Up movie contest. If you have no idea what this contest about, you better click! What Goes Up is an independent movie about a troubled New York reporter who goes to a small town New Hampshire to cover what’s being said about Christa McAuliffe, who was to become the first teacher in space, prior to the launch (the film takes place in 1986, a week before the Challenger disaster).

Now, instead of doing that, he follows an unusual group of kids whose teacher, Mr. C, has apparently committed suicide. It seems the students were very fond of Mr. C, as they don’t hold back when it comes to expressing the sadness of their loss. Rather than follow his assignment about Christa McAuliffe, the town’s hero, he decides to write an article about the students, who found a hero of their own in their teacher. Eventually … things happen. As I haven’t actually watched this film (yet), that’s as much plot as I can give away.

The movie stars Steve Coogan as Campbell Babbitt (the troubled reporter), Molly Shannon as Penelope (a teacher), and a group misfits … no, wait. There’s a group of misfits portrayed by actors, among which are Josh Peck, Hilary Duff and Olivia Thirlby. That came out better. There are many others, of course (like Third Watch’s Molly Price), but I don’t want the list to become too long.

Back to the contest thing. BlogCatalog and the What Goes Up insider have teamed up to provide this exclusive contest. As the deadline approached (contest ends on the 21st!), I decided I had nothing to lose and a lot to gain, and here it is.

And that was that. I wanted to make more posters, but it seems this will be my Obi-Wan Kenobi: my only hope (ha!). So, comment if you like it, comment if you don’t!

NOTE: the What Goes Up logo and screenshots, as well as the BlogCatalog logo, are property of their respective owners.

Game of lights

I’ll only say this:

I’m very, very bored right now.

However, there are better things that I could be doing at this moment. And, if you’re reading this blog and this is the newest post and if you also have a blog, there are also better things for you to do. For example, you can write about AIDS. No, really. Did you know that today, December 1st, is World AIDS Day? In fact, it’s been 20 years since the first World AIDS Day, all the way back in 1988. Now, that’s a heck of a long time to be raising awareness about this particular disease that’s ravaging through modern society, and that’s not even the worst part of it. The worst part is this: AIDS is completely preventable, but many people are either not aware of this disease and how it’s transmitted or are just too careless to protect themselves against it.

AIDS, as it is, is not transmittable. It is the result of the damage caused by HIV, a virus that can be contracted through various means and, if treated properly, it might never fully develop into AIDS. The problem is that not everyone has access to prevent and treat HIV. According to UNAIDS, an estimated 2.1 million people died of AIDS, and about 2.5 million contracted the virus. And that’s just last year. More than 25 million human lives have been claimed by AIDS since 1981, when it was first recognized.

Okay, enough of the creepy statistics. There is currently no known cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS (they’ve been working on that since the beginning, I’m sure), but there are such treatments as antiretroviral drugs (ARV) that have proved quite effective at slowing down HIV to keep it from developing into AIDS. Many people under ARV treatment can live their whole lives with HIV and never (or rarely) show symptoms. Like I said before, not everyone’s got access to this stuff.

The only effective method to stop HIV/AIDS from doing any further damage is prevention. The majority of HIV infections are acquired through unprotected sex. There is, of course, the case of those who engage in unprotected sexual contact and are not aware of their (or their partner’s) HIV-positive status. Since we can never be sure about this, even if we’re wise and daring enough to ask beforehand, it is important to protect ourselves. That’s right, kids! Even if you’re really, really sure that your sexual partner is disease-free (or that you are, for that matter), it never hurts to be protected.

If you’re already doing that, good for you! If, by any weird chance, you learned something here (but I think you already knew all this, didn’t you?) and you have a blog, write about it! Spread the word! AIDS is still around, but it won’t be for much longer, as the search for a cure continues. Until a cure is found, do your part. Stay protected and spread the word. Join Bloggers Unite!

Change.

Hey, U.S. of A.

Change for the better is heading your way.

Ahoy, mateys!

Arr! This be a fun day t’ speak like a pirate!

Arrr!

There, ya happy now?