Pictures of My Childhood

While I was out of country, my Mother discovered a couple of boxes of old things I had been storing in my brother's closet space for many years. (I am so evil) Upon removing them to MY closet, I started to go through them and enjoyed a voyage into the mind of a child. My mind, that is. When I was a child. (Would it surprise you if it wasn't all that different from how it is now? Some of you it might. Those who know me...maybe not...)

My Film: Test The Spirits

Greetings, dear friends,

Last Wednesday, my brother and I threw together a little illustration video for my dad's sermon this past Sunday. The source Bible passage for the sermon is found in 1 John 4. I selected the first three verses as the material for our video.

For more information about our church, you can visit kirtlandchristian.org.

Enjoy!

~Tommy

Short Fiction: One Hundred Minus One,

The following is a writing assignment I had for school way back in 2008. It's a means of showing the nature of one of the creatures of my fantasy novel that I've been working on off and on for the past...wow, almost seven years. I think these little things are important in fantasy world-building. I love all the poems and songs and little tidbits of culture that permeate Tolkien's work. Half the reason I have been working on the novel for so long is because I am really shooting for that depth of creation that Tolkien had. I want my world, the peoples and places and creatures, to feel real to the reader.

One Hundred Minus One

The full moon shone brightly over the earth, filling the sky with its ethereal light. The stars glinted in the sky, little pinpricks of light, forming the constellations of the heavens. All was peace and tranquility under that heavenly beacon. Below the moon, a hundred throats lifted their voices in song, weaving a melody of beauty and wonder. The Elorí watched the moon as they sang their song, wondering at its light and majesty; reveling in the touch of its glow.

Excitement, Depression, Impatience, Hope

The more I think about being a filmmaker, I feel both excitement and depression rising in sufficient amounts to all but cancel each other out. Excitement because of the stories I'll tell, the power of the moving image, the breathtaking visuals I will compose. Depression because of the high expense associated with the telling.

For a wannabe indie filmmaker, money is a big thing. Anything I do will be either self-financed or financed by a small number of contributors giving very modest sums. That's hard for me, because the stories I want to tell tend to be epic. Like, the original meaning of the word epic. But whatever I do not already have, I have to buy. Which right now, is just about everything. And it can be hard to work creatively when it's one guy and a camera. Heck, I'm blessed to even have a consumer camcorder with which to work.

But I know that God has promised to work all things for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 NIV). God has set me on this path, and I will walk it, for better or for worse. It may take me years before I can begin to tell the stories I want. It may take me many more years before I can effectively tell the stories I want. Rome wasn't built in a day. And God's times are not my times.

Lord, help me to be patient, to wait on Your provision, and to seek Your will every day of my life.

~ Tommy

Those Who Came Before

Minas Tirith - Screen Capture from the Film

As a creator of artistic works, I owe a huge debt to those who have gone before me and paved the road as far as it has led me to this day.

In the realm of writing, Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robert Jordan, L.B. Graham, Orson Scott Card, Asimov, among others.

In comics/graphic novels, Bill Watterson, Jeff Smith, Stan Sakai, Travis Hanson, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, among others.

In film and cinema, Nolan, Spielberg, Lucas, Peter Jackson, Ryan Connolly, and many, many others.

In LEGO even, Nnenn, Jordan Schwartz, Michael Jasper, DNL, also among many others.

I admire these people even as I grow frustrated over them, for my works in any field will constantly be--even if unconsciously-- compared against theirs. Theirs is the talent, theirs is the past, theirs is the foundation or the continuation, each a Citadel or a Tower, either anchoring the rest or passing all others to reach the heavens. Theirs is the shadow that threatens to starve the budding artist for want of light.

I don't expect to become famous in my lifetime. I don't expect to become well known in my life time. I fully expect to die penniless if not homeless, a starving artist to the bitter end. Well, maybe not THAT bad.

But it is a strange place to be in. To create something that will stand on its own is nigh impossible these days. And it certainly will receive its share of assaults and sieges. So to look at those who have carved their niche and receive adulation for it...sometimes makes my blood boil. Not anger. But frustration.

Where the future leads? I do not know...where my future begins? Heh...a depressing oxymoron, that.

What even to classify this post? Not really Scholar, not really Dreamer...perhaps I need another voice? The Ranter? The Knave? I shall think on that...

~ Tommy