Jason Van Orden’s Personal Blog

My Documentary Summarized in One Short Blurb. Thoughts?

I’ve spent all day writing and editing my documentary. Turns out I haven’t touched Final Cut once since I woke up. Instead, I’ve been in a mind map hacking, slashing and refining the story that I want to tell with the film.

To help me focus, I simplified the story into a short teaser blurb summarizing the latest (and hopefully final) version of the story for the 10-minute film.

Now I need your input. After you read the following description, I’d love to hear what’s on your mind. Is it compelling? What do you want to know more about? Did you fall asleep halfway through the first paragraph? Here’s the blurb. Read more

Processing the Battlestar Galactica Finale

The finale of the finest sci-fi (and even one of the finest dramas) that TV has ever seen has finally come and gone. It’s a bitter sweet experience that I’m still processing, but the show gives us a lot to think about. I feel compelled to gather my thoughts on the finale here (which is probably a good thing in of itself that a TV show would get me to write a post like this).

(Warning: there are spoilers in this post, obviously, so stop reading if you don’t want to see them.)

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Top 5 Movies of 2008

I thought after a top 5 music post I ought to do a top 5 movies of 2008 as well. You’ll soon notice that I like top 5 lists. You’ll also notice that along with listening to music, I love to watch movies.

Melanie and I don’t have a TV and we haven’t for over four years now. This means we rent and watch a lot of movies when we want to unwind and, when a movie warrants it, we go to the cinema. So, here they are. My favorite movies of 2008 along with a bit of commentary for each. Read more

Top 5 Best Albums of 2008

I’m constantly on the lookout for new music to listen to. Not a day goes by that I don’t download a song or two or ten.

At the end of each year I like to take a look back at my collection to find the best gems. I look for albums that changed things up, brought me back over and over and contained a solid collection of songs throughout.

After careful consideration, here are my top five albums for 2008.

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A New Personal Blog

I’ve decided it’s time to start a personal blog. I’ve contemplated this for awhile and a new year seemed like a great time to get started.

I want a place that is differentiated from my professional blog where I can talk about whatever else I want. And sometimes 140 characters is just not enough.

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