Tech Tips for Catholics

Last November, Fr. Augustino and Br. David flew out from the Bronx friary to MC and gave a talk at Catholic Underground LA.  It was great!  Fr. Augustino was supposed to preach at 6:45 p.m., but instead led the core team and the few early birds up to the church to pray a Divine Mercy Chaplet and a Novena.

I was really really excited about meeting Fr. Augustino for the first time.  Fr. Stan was the first CFR I ever met when he came and performed at my high school once upon a decade ago. I think Fr. Stan would leave an impression on just about anyone, so I checked out the community’s website, which has an e-letter of spiritual thoughts and advice posted every week.

I am not embarrassed to say this—I’ve been reading the CFR e-letter off and on for years, and since Fr. Augustino writes for the e-letter often I guess you could say I’m kind of a fan…in addition to being a CFR groupie : )

If you need some more CFR goodness in your life, watch this short documentary on them. It must have been made a while ago as some of the friars are still being called “Brother” but have been introduced to me as ordained priests:

Pax Christi,
Rebecca

I was fortunate enough to attend World Youth Day 2008 this past summer in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, I lost my Apple IPod while I was there!

Once I arrived back in the States, I hopped on to my favorite website to buy gadgets…Ebay…and started looking for an IPod Touch.

Eventually, I won a brand new 32GB version complete with a software upgrade for about $410 with shipping included. (This model retails for $499 on Apple.com.)

I have had my IPod for about four months now and can say positively that I love it. It’s sleek and stylish and has a multitude of new features the other IPod models could only dream of.

Pros:

1. It’s pretty (like all Apple products.)

2.  The program features are similar to that of an Apple computer: Safari, Stocks, Mail, Photos, Calendar, Contacts, Weather, Youtube, etc. You can also add additional applications free of charge from ITunes.  I have added a Facebook application as well as various movie applications such as for show times and trailers.

3.  There are more ways to get to what you want faster. Instead of always pressing the back button like on an IPod Classic, the IPod Touch has a bottom menu in the music application to easily select playlists, artists, songs, albums, and “more” options which leads to another menu for genres, podcasts, etc.

4.  The IPod Touch has two design options. If kept upright as in the photo above the text reads vertically.  However, if turned to the side the entire face of the screen flips horizontally. This is especially useful if reading a website on the Safari application or watching a video stored on the device or through the YouTube application. If you’re listening to music it also feels way more “gadgety” to flip through the albums like so:

Cons:

1. The IPod must be completely still to switch in between vertical and horizontal faces. If you’re on the treadmill at the gym, this can be difficult.

2. The headphones plug in at the bottom of the IPod. This isn’t really a bad thing, it was just strange to get used to as all of the other IPod models are the opposite way.

3. And then there’s the Wi-Fi connection… In order to use Safari or an application that needs the internet like Facebook or Google maps, you must be near a wireless internet connection.  Being that I live in a major city (Los Angeles) I find that it’s not difficult at all to find a wireless connection, even if I’m driving through a neighborhood. I’ve even pulled over in my car when lost to use the maps application. However, if you live in a rural area, this scheme might not work for you.

All in all, I love my IPod Touch and would totally save it if my dorm caught on fire. It’s pretty expensive, but in the end it’s like a small computer, which can be handy in a number of situations. I am still a committed Apple Macintosh fan and hope you are too.

Pax Christi, Rebecca.

It took me a long time to arrive at the conclusion that I wanted to be a screenwriter. I started out wanting to be a doctor, then a marine biologist, then a journalist…well you know how kids are. Now that I am a full-fledged screenwriter, there are certain things I do to help myself along the way during a project. Here are ten tips I use that can possibly help you get started:

1. Write every day.

When I say “every day” I really do mean every day. Record your dreams, write a blog post, jot down a grocery list, it doesn’t matter. But you must write every day because it’s the only way you’ll ever become disciplined.

2. Read screenplays.

This may seem like a given, but you’d be surprised at how many people don’t do this. There are plenty of websites that have copies of thousands of screenplays for FREE. (My particular favorite is Script-o-Rama.) By reading other screenplays you can learn about format, genre, and how to develop your own style. (And yes, each screenwriter has his or her own writing style just like any novelist.)

3. Watch a lot of movies.

Duh!

4. Watch a lot of movies with the sound off.

Seriously, try it. And then try to describe what’s going on. (It’s how I learned to write good action.)

5. Read lots of fiction.

Did you know that the modern day screenplay format was developed from Victorian novels? Yes indeed. Plus, there are many “adaptations,” or movies based on books or some other format made every year. Harry Potter anyone?

6. Go people-watching.

This isn’t an excuse to Facebook stalk, but I can’t tell you how many characters I’ve developed from watching some weirdo in West Hollywood. Movies are about life, go live it.

7. Watch the box office.

I don’t believe in spending months working on something that I can’t make any money off of. Maybe when I have a few million in the bank I will, but at this point in my career it’s just not an option. By watching what’s at the box office, you can see what’s making money, what isn’t, and what hasn’t been made in a while.

8. Create that circle of friends.

I have about two or three people in my life who I completely trust when it comes to my work. If I bounce an idea off of them and they look at me with a Scooby Doo face, I know I need to go “back into the lab” and work on that idea some more until it makes sense. It’s a great asset to have some friends who are just as obsessed with movies as you are.

9. Work on multiple projects at one time.

This is something that may not work for everyone, but I find that when I get bored or stuck with one screenplay, I can jump to another one to give my brain a rest. And I usually find that an idea for the first screenplay will come to me as I’m working on the second one.

10. Get your rest, work out, and eat healthy. (And pray, pray, pray!)

This tip may seem random, but the mind is an organ. If the mind is not healthy, how do you expect it to create anything? And keep your spirituality in order. If God and I are out of touch, I find that it’s near impossible to work.

Finally, relax and be patient. It takes a lot of hard work to write a screenplay. And once you finish one draft you’re going to have to write another. I had a professor who once had to rewrite a screenplay 12 times before the studio would buy it from him. 12 times? I call that dedication. I call that screenwriting!

Pax Christi, Rebecca.
(www.catholicinfilmschool.stblogs.com)