John Farrow, Feeling Evil, Maddie and Oscar's First Date, and Dimitri Ellerington

1. Had a fun time-traveling dream.

I push through our bedroom window and end up in a family's house, in the 1960's or 1970's. I talk to a woman about when I'm from—or at least I try to. I have trouble remembering things.

We try to have a conversation about Doctor Who. She tells me her doctor is played by a William something. I tell her the names of more recent doctors but can only remember first names. When I get to the David one, the only name that I can get out of my brain is David Koresh. I then try to tell her a bit about the Waco event but don't get very far.

We get onto the conversation of the current US president. I struggle to remember who our president is. I tell myself it's the fault of all the 2016 campaigning. The candidates have overshadowed the actual president.

Then I remember. The American president is Julia Gillard. I'm a bit shocked and disappointed in myself for forgetting. How could I have forgotten a president who's Australian!

A moment or so later, I start realizing I must have things wrong. US presidents need to be born in the US, so Julia Gillard can't be the right answer.

2. Remembered that Mia Farrow has some Australian connection.

She had a cameo in one of my dreams last night, but I don't remember what it was all about.  

3. Consulted Lord Wiki.

He says Mia Farrow's father, John Farrow, was an Australian-American film director.

4. Saw that John Farrow also wrote books. One was about Father Damien; not the one who fought Regan's demon but the one who lived among lepers.

5. Learned that Farrow won a best screenplay Oscar for Around the World in 80 Days.

6. Googled and learned that there's another Australian celebrity named John Farrow.  

He's an athlete—a skeleton racer.

What's a skeleton racer?

I'm picturing a snow thing.

7. Realized I'm picturing a snow thing, because Google has a photo of John Farrow wearing winter clothes. 

8. Learned from Lord Wiki that skeleton racing is a snow-sliding type sport.

9. Learned there's a cyclone named Stan coming to Western Australia.

I hope he tries to be gentle.

10. Started watching an episode of Wicked Science

11. Disturbed that I'm finding myself relating to Elizabeth.

It's not her desire to do evil (Fortunately) or her magnificent brain power (unfortunately).

It's more about her being rejected and feeling she has to rely on herself.

I also feel I have a low tolerance for the behavior of most other people.

Humanity annoys me. And it seems to me this is the beginning of the makings of a villain.  

Maybe I'll end up a Batman villain.

12. Decided I'd rather be a Farscape villain. 

Maybe I'll have an affair with Scorpius.  

13. Reminded myself that there's a part of me that actually adores people. So maybe I will manage to stay on the side of good.

14. Decided I have a love-hate relationship with the human race.

As long as it doesn't turn into a full-hate relationship, I'm probably okay.

15. Decided to cut myself some slack.

Humans ARE pretty damn awful.  If someone doesn't have any negative feelings towards our species, they're probably in denial.

16. Started watching an episode of Home and Away.

17. Had a feeling Maddie (Kassandra Clementi) isn't going to be pleased with Spencer's (Andrew J. Morley) fun run for cancer.

In the pre-episode flashback segment, they show the scene with Maddie saying she's tired of people talking to her about cancer so much.  I think they're reminding us of what she said, so we'll understand why she's angry later. 

18. Thought the first date between Maddie and Oscar (Jake Speer) was very sweet.

Oscar confesses that he's fantasized about the date for a long time. When he says he wishes they were in a universe where he was a less a geek and she didn't have cancer, Maddie says she's happy with the universe.

She's saying that her happiness with Oscar outweighs the badness of the cancer. 

That's really lovely. I'm even having some teary eyes.

19. Thought about how long time crushes can be very sweet, very sad, or downright scary.

20. Decided long-time crushes are sweetest when it eventually turns into mutual love.

They're saddest when the person ends up putting their life on hold. If a crush paralyzes someone—keeps them from moving forward; that's not good.

They're scary when the crush turns into stalker-behavior.  I don't mean stalker as in checking someone's Facebook three or four times a day. I'm talking severe delusions of mutual love, showing up on the person's doorstep, kidnapping, murdering, etc.  

21. Started to maybe understand Oscar's reluctance to get int a relationship with Maddie.

I thought he was being ridiculous—hesitating with her, because he believed she was only loving him because of her cancer.  I think maybe that was just an excuse.

I think the truth is, it's sometimes hard to go from fantasy to reality.

If we dream of having something and then it becomes available to us, it might be hard to adjust to that.  

There also might be a sense that it's a trick from the universe. It's dangling in front of us, but if we reach out to grab it, the universe will zap it away.

22. Felt sorry for Maddie, because Oscar is being overly careful with her. She wants to have fun. He wants her to be a proper cancer patient and take it easy.

But then I decided that's better than her being with an asshole who doesn't take her cancer seriously and pushes her to do more than she should.

A balanced attitude would be the best, but if I had to choose between the two, I'd rather have the overprotective one.

23. Read more of The Rosie Project.

I'm liking it.

The guy in the book is trying to find a partner and is using a picky questionnaire to find his perfect partner.

I think the idea of the story is he shouldn't be so picky. He should compromise and lower his standards.

Personally, I don't think it's a bad idea to be picky.  If you're already in love; then drop the standards. You might as well go with your feelings. But if you're looking for someone, why continue testing out someone who already doesn't meet up to your standards?

In the book, the guy's standards are mostly about superficial things—acceptable BMI, not vegan, no- smoking, not late, not picky about ice-cream flavors, etc.  

If I was making a list about deep things, it would probably be quite long. I could probably write a book on that. In fact, if one would go through my blog and cut out all I've already said on the topic, it would probably equal a whole series of books.  

When reading The Rosie Project, though, I wondered what would be my superficial things (IF I wasn't already married)

No smoking would probably be number one.  

Since I have a phobia of vomiting, I'd not do well with someone who has a strong gag reflex.  I also wouldn't want someone who gets drunk to the point of vomiting or takes food risks that would increase their chance of getting food poisoning.

On that note, I've become quite a germaphobe, so I'd probably want someone equal to me in that regard. If they're too less of a germaphobe than me, that will make me anxious. If they're much more of a germaphobe than me; then that will be really annoying. I mean I'm quite bad. So if they're much worse than me, that might be very extreme.

Last, but not least....

I have an aversion to tuna fish salad and mayonnaise, so I'd prefer someone who doesn't eat those things on a regular basis.  

24. Started watching a 2009 Tropfest finalist film.


Sometimes I wish I could dream what I wanted to dream. But for the most part, I love the dreams given to me.

25. Wondered if this film is actually about a dream.

That would be cool. 

26. Got idea that it probably is a about a dream.

Strange things are happening.

27. Realized the title is probably literal.

The film seems to be about lucid dream control.

28. Thought about how I like being lucid in my dreams. I don't care much about having control.  I think if I had too much control, it wouldn't feel like a dream. It would feel like a very vivid fantasy.

29. Thought that I'd like enough control to be able to travel where I want to travel.

Last night I tried to get somewhere in my dream, and the journey was horribly slow and tedious. I wish I had enough control to have dream teleportation—or at least a super fast, flying car. 

However, once I got to where I want to go, I wouldn't want to decide what happens there or who's there. I certainly wouldn't want to have to come up with the dialogue.  

30. Saw that Dimitri Ellerington has been second unit director or assistant director on many projects.

I forget what those things are. Or I might not have ever known.

31. Thought that maybe the second unit director is the person who gets the shots that do not contain the storyline.  

32. Googled and saw that I'm actually right.

Go, me!

I'm so proud.

The second unit director gets the supplementary footage.

So...anyway.  

Dimitri Ellerington did this for The Babadook.  Looking again at his filmography, though, it seems he usually is the first assistant director.  I don't know what that is.  

33. Got the definition from IMDb. They have a glossary—didn't know that.

It seems the first assistant director does a lot of work with scheduling. Honestly, it doesn't sound like a very fun and creative job. 

Actually, it would probably be fun for someone who is into making lists and planning—someone who is very organized. 

I'd feel bad for a person who is stuck working in the job as a stepping stone for their own directing career.  It's probably great for an aspiring director to take on the job for a few projects. I'm sure it's very educational. But if they had to do it for a long time, I imagine they'd get frustrated.

34. Wondered about Ellerington. He's done a few short films, but it seems mostly he does assistant director work.  Is he happy with that?

I can picture two scenarios. In one he wants to direct his own full-length films but hasn't managed to get a project together. OR he's very happy with being an assistant director but sometimes likes to try his hand at directing short things.  

35. Saw that Alan Flowers, the star of "Dream What You Want" recently appeared in a movie called Psychoanalysis.  It's a comedy (presumably dark) with this premise:  When a psychologist loses five clients to suicide in a one week period he becomes obsessed with the idea that they were murdered by a rival psych.

It sounds interesting to me.

36. Watched the trailer for Psychoanalysis.

I think IMDb got it wrong about it being a comedy.

Well, they say it's a comedy-drama, but it looks much more like a drama.

37. Saw that Alan Flowers played a florist on All Saints.

I thought maybe I would have seen him, but he wasn't there until season six. I've only seen the first season, and the close-to-the last season.

38. Saw that Anna Lisa Phillips, the actress in "Dream What You Want" has a very long and impressive filmography.

She was in the miniseries The Devil's Playground—the new one, not the old.

39. Learned from Lord Wiki that the new The Devil's Playground is a sequel to the old The Devil's Playground.

I'm really loving all these sequels to old things.  Or at least I love the idea of them. I don't think I've actually watched any.

40. Saw that Anna Lisa Phillips is in a horror movie about wild dogs.

According to IMDb, it's going to be released in the US on February 5.  It doesn't have a release date for Australia, although it's an Australian movie.

41. Saw that Anna Lisa Phillips is appearing in an upcoming supernatural film called Backtrack.  It's about a psychologist who learns his patients are ghosts.

One of the actors in it is Michael Whalley. I just saw him on the cast list of the OTHER psychologist movie.

So Alan Flowers and Anna Lisa Phillips have two links that I know about. First they both starred in "Dream What You Want". Second, they both appeared in a 2015 psychology-related film with Michael Whalley.  

42. Watched the trailer for Backtrack.

It looks like a good movie.

I'm wondering if it's a ghost movie or if it's a maybe-ghost movie.

It might be one of those movies where you have to try to figure out if someone is seeing ghosts or if they're having hallucinations.

43. Saw that Anna Lisa Phillips played Julie in three episodes of The Secret Life of Us.

I don't remember who that is.

44. Consulted The Australian television website.

Julie was connected to Will (Joel Edgerton). She was around when he was going through his daredevil stage. I vaguely remember that.

45. Went to the Vimeo page of Dimitri Ellerington. He calls himself a freelance director.

I'm guessing he'd rather direct his own films than be the assistant on other films.

I could be wrong.

The other thing is, he could be happy doing short projects.

He might not be aspiring to make a full-length project.

46. Imagined that most directors probably want to make full-length projects.

47. Thought maybe I'm wrong.

With YouTube and all these film festivals, short films can probably be very rewarding.

48. Saw that Ellerington has a video featuring Don Hany—"The Road to Success"

I'm going to watch that.

49. Saw that the video was a trailer.

I'll have to see if the actual film is on Vimeo.

50. Found it.

51. Liked the film so far.

It's about annoying self-help books that end up causing anxiety and self-doubt rather than the success they promise.

Or at least it's what I think it's about.

The theme of this film somewhat connects to "Dream what You Want". One is about dream control; then this one is about life control.

If people can control their dreams and get what they want in their sleep; can they also control their real lives by having a positive attitude?

I don't think so.

What I'm wondering is what Dimitri Ellerington thinks about the whole thing.

52. Finished watching the film.

I like it, but I'm not sure what the message is.

I can't tell if it's in support of the positive thinking/laws of attraction mindset or against it.

So, what happens, is this guy is listening to a self help guru while trying to make breakfast.  He's trying to convince himself that he's a Ferrari type guy rather than a Ford one.  But it's hard, because he can't seem to make a simple breakfast. Everything goes wrong. Very wrong.  Ultimately, a toaster falls on his head. He goes unconscious. His breakfast aspirations have failed.

OR have they?

When the guy awakens, he finds himself in a hospital bed with a perfectly cooked breakfast.

53. Felt at first the film was mocking the laws of attraction idea. But then in the end, it seems to say if you want something, you'll get it even if your initial attempts fail.

54. Went to Dimitri Ellerington's website.

He's Romanian-English-Australian.

He grew up in London.

His film company is called Sixfoot6 films. Is that Ellerington's height?

I think it's a cute name.

55. Wanted to say that when I was into making my edited home movies, I called my films Flying Monkey films.

Yeah...just wanted to share that.

56. Learned that Ellerington was a production runner on Babe, and that's what inspired him to get into film.

That's sweet.

57. Saw that Ellerington IS (or was) working on a full-length film. It's called The Watched.

The description says it's a thriller that takes place in the Emerald City?

As in Oz...with the wizard?

Or is it Oz as in Australia?

Or does some other place use the name Emerald City?

58. Learned from Lord Wiki that Sydney, Seattle, and some city in the Philippines has the nickname Emerald City.

I'm going to guess that Ellerington's film refers to Sydney.

59. Went to Ellerington's Twitter which is pretty much all links to Instagram. So I'm just going to look at that.

60. Saw that Ellerington went to a Taylor Swift concert.

Is he a fan?

From what he says in his comments, it doesn't seem he looks forward to being swarmed by all the teens.

Does he like Taylor Swift enough to endure the crowd? Or did he go for a favor to someone else?

61. Saw that Ellerington was celebrating David Bowie weeks before Bowie died.

Of course, Bowie has many fans. He's been very famous through the years.

But it does seem like when someone famous dies, a huge number of people suddenly become vocal and demonstrative fans.

Were that many people talking about Robin Williams in the weeks before he died? Michael Jackson? Whitney Houston?

I saw this sweet Tweet around the time that Alan Rickman died. This person Tweeted that she hadn't realized he died. She thought people had just decided to randomly talk about how wonderful he is.  

62. Liked that Ellerington has a photo of himself with a zombie.

Speaking of....

Tonight we're planning to watch the last episode of Fear the Walking Dead. Or really, the last episode of the first season.

63. Saw that Ellerington has a photo of a girl with Rainbow Loom bracelets.

Maybe his daughter?

And maybe that's why he ended up going to a Taylor Swift concert.

He could be a fan, though.

My dad is a huge fan.

64. Saw a photo of the maybe-daughter eating bread with avocado and popcorn.

Interesting!

I think it would probably taste quite good.


How would our world change if we knew for sure there was life after death, and it was easy for our dearly-departed to talk to us via the Internet?   


The Dead are Online  a novel by Dina Roberts