My Everyday On This Planet.

My apologies if the 15th century Germanic generic term for 'repetitive movement' originally used in reference to farming (in which one plants seeds) offends. I have no control over the evolution of human symbolism. I do, however stand by it's usage in this meme as it captures the sentiment in my mind perfectly. If you are of a gentle demeanor and simply cannot stomach the energy which only primal vulgarities can carry then I offer this as a pale substitute:

What the hell is going? What the hell just happened?

Not really the same, is it? I like the original. It is raw. It is real. Now, I don't talk like this in my daily life but I do THINK like this at times. I like words which carry meaning and vitality because that's what words are supposed to do! They are our means of sharing the Life Experience, and there isn't anything more raw or real than that. Art and poetry can express the same feeling but only in hindsight. The heat of the moment demands the use of the tools in hand. So, when life takes us by surprise we fight back with F-bombs. See the relationship? And it is nothing new at all. Even the Ancient Egyptians had different forms of writing/scripts, for different situations. They had Hieroglyphs for important circumstances or people, and Demotic for the common people and common daily life. 

So what's the point? Nothing at all! I'm baffled and befuddled today. I am having a confusing day worth throwing words at and sharing with the rest of the village. I'm having a classical human day, which is in fact, the only kind of day any of us can have no matter that form it takes.

Be well. Be seeing you,

-Sam

 

Kickstarter project is GO!

 

We have an awesome Kickstarter project launched and I swallowed a bug and here’s the link below to see for yourself…

KICKSTARTER! HUZZAH!

 

This Interview Would Have Been Bullshit

HAD Matt Page agreed to an interview, this would have been the format. I sent Matt a couple of requests via YouTube and so far never haven’t back. No prob! I know the folks I hope to interview (like Tsoukalos) are busy and must pick and choose how they spend their time. I get that fact and accept it 100%. So enjoy the following Once and Future Interview and insert your own answers after you check out Matt’s work. It is very funny and very well made. Enjoy!  

Matt,
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read my email.
My name is Sam Girdich. I am a writer, life-long martial artist, and co-founder of the sequential art & graphic design project Strongarm Labs. I would love to interview you for my blog!

I understand time your time is valuable so my interview format is designed to be quick and easy. I pose three main questions with one follow-up question each if clarification is warranted. And that’s it! I do not edit your replies in any way. Not a word is touched. I send you a full copy of the interview pre-posting so you see exactly what the readers will read and give you the final word to publish it or not. My goal simply is to have fun and provide an avenue for myself and others to learn something new.

Before you read your three questions below, I invite you to visit my blog Lab Work to peruse my posts and writings, as well as our Strongarm Labs page for some of our work. I want you to know who I am and how I think so you know you can be comfortable having your name on my site. I’ll wait here while you go check me out…

You’re back! Excellent. Here we go. I made these two images for the intro.

In the early winter of 2013 I was wandering around YouTube when I stumbled into a red gi wearing, mustached martial arts instructor named Master Ken. He was proclaiming loudly -and in stunning detail- that every form of martial arts in the world except his own Ameri-Do-Te style was unequivocally, “Bullshit!” I was hooked. More than hooked, I was impressed and laughing so hard I took a two-day break from Master Ken and his students. No joke.

My new favorite instructor is the creation of actor/writer Matt Page, who also stars as Master Ken in the hit YouTube comedy web series Enter the Dojo. Now in its third season, Enter the Dojo is a mockumentary following Master Ken and his oddball students in his New Mexico dojo. Imagine the irreverent, character driven comedy of The Office and drop it into a martial arts school. Matt also delights viewers with thick, frothy bursts of instruction in his Master Ken’s Privates videos plus much, much more.
Enter the Dojo is produced through Riffraff New Media, a multimedia production company co-founded by Matt. Click on the link and check out samples of their work. You’ll recognize a familiar setting if you are a fan of the show. Matt has a long history of acting and is himself an accomplished martial artist in Kenpo karate with two black belts.
Enough intro. Let’s talk to Matt!

1. Thank you again for your time, Matt. Tell us about the origin of the series and what was it about the concept that convinced you it warranted your time and resources.

2. Enter the Dojo premieres as a web series in August 2011 and by 2014 you are roasting martial arts legends and giving seminars in the UK. That speaks to the quality of the series’ acting and writing, but was it planned? In other words, did you early on envision the possibility of expanding the production to these venues or did it grow organically?

3. How has the success of the series affected your acting career?