Because Scripture study is a part of my daily life, I’m hoping to use this as the jumping point for the “new” Fig. Previously, I had used other bloggers to kickstart my ideas. However, I quickly became disenchanted with that as there was way too much to read.

Withering Fig

For those who are curious, but don’t want to click through, here is the text from the About page:

The purpose of Withering Fig is to invite conversation on all kinds of topics pertaining to Christianity — both academic and faith-based. Bridging the gap between critical studies of the Bible and acting out a faith on a day-to-day basis is the heartbeat of Withering Fig. It’s what we do!

Withering Fig was founded in 2007 by Stephen Hebert. Stephen is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and holds the degree of Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. His specialties are early Christian history, biblical texts, and noncanonical literature.

Currently, Stephen lives in Friendswood, Texas with his wife. He works in the tech field and volunteers with local ministries.

Outlining — It’s in the Name!

Right there in the name: outliner. Obvious usage, right? OmniOutliner has plenty of horsepower for this task. During my college and grad school days, I used OmniOutliner for that very task almost exclusively.

When it comes to note-taking, there is only one (hyphenated) word to describe me:

anal-retentive.

Before I was fortunate enough to have a laptop, I scrawled notes in a notebook, like most other people, and was always disappointed with how disjointed and disorganized they were. Though professors may not always speak in a perfect outline format, I felt that my notes should more or less be an outline of that day’s lecture. Structure was totally foreign to these notebooks. Drove me nuts. It doesn’t help that I am also very meticulous about notebook care. Example: the pages of an sbh* notebook should be either written in pen or pencil, but never both. I couldn’t stand flipping through a notebook and seeing pen on some pages and pencil on others. Argh! OCD? Perhaps.

Summary of the above: Notebooks don’t work for me.

In January of 2004, heading into my final semester at the University of Texas before heading off to Boston for Harvard, I purchased a 12″ iBook G4 (which the wife still uses!), and my world changed. I now took the laptop to every class, and OmniOutliner became my constant companion.

In-Class Notes

OmniOutliner excels for in-class notes. I can type a lot faster than I can write, so I could take down more and more information than I ever could before. In addition to this, OmniOutliner provided a structure to my notes that wasn’t before possible. Here’s how it broke down:

• Top Level: Lecture Date/Topic
  • Second Level: Major Divisions
    • Third Level and Beyond: All the nitty gritty, hierarchically, painstakingly arranged.

In addition, I could add columns. So, I always had a column on the right-hand side for references. For example, if a professor made reference to a particular work, I’d jot that work and a section or page number if provided. This way, my notes were also cross-referenced to other works.

Further, each line had its own “notes” field associated with. I used this area to make my own comments about what I was hearing. Perhaps I didn’t quite buy what the professor was saying, I’d take note of that here. Or, maybe I had a question about this particular item that I wanted to ask the professor. I could take it down right here so that I wouldn’t forget it when the opportunity came for questions.

Looking back, my notes for various classes during my time at Harvard are often 70 pages or more. This is a lot of information, but really it’s only 4-6 pages of outline per lecture. When finals rolled around, these were invaluable resources. You never know, meticulous, well-structured notes might make you popular amongst the crowd when group studying for finals!

One final item to mention: the ability to embed files. Extremely handy. If you were to look at the beginning of all of my class notes, you would find the course syllabus in PDF or .doc embedded. This makes these files easy to reference anytime. In addition to this, you can also record sounds and have those embedded into the outline. I used to record whole lectures, but found I wasn’t using the audio, so I stopped.

All-in-all, OmniOutliner revolutionized how I organized information from class lectures and sessions, and, consequently, made me a much better student.

Paper Outlines

In addition to class notes, outlines are also handy for the writing processor. Before I write anything of more than a paragraph or two, I start with the most basic of outlines. This blog post, for example, began with me laying out each section. It’s how I work.

OmniOutliner is fantastic for creating outlines for papers. Outlining keeps me organized, and OmniOutliner allows me to keep all kinds of information handy with my notes. I can link web pages or documents to it, take notes on my outline, etc., all from the same window.

When it came time to translate my outline into a word processor, this was easily done. I prefer to use Mellel for my paper writing needs. I could simply create my big headings in Mellel and work from there. OmniOutliner was always open and readily available.

Information Repository

Beyond the nuts-and-bolts writing and note-taking processes, OmniOutliner can serve as an information repository.

Not only can you create outlines and notes, not only can you supplement those notes with hyperlinks and documents, but you can also add audio to them.

If you wanted to, you could turn OmniOutliner into your own little information repository. Sure, there are better programs for this. DevonThink for the academic, and Yojimbo for the creative-types. But, OmniOutliner can serve these functions if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution.

How I Am Using It Now

Now that I am out in the real world, and no longer bound to the classroom, I am using OmniOutliner in a much different way. My need for in-depth notes and outlines for class is long gone, but it has been replaced by other, similar needs.

For the most part, I use OmniOutliner for my writing projects. I use Scrivener (see my thoughts on Scrivener) for most of my writing. While Scrivener helps me organize all of my projects into smaller units, OmniOutliner helps me organize all of my big ideas into categories.

I always have a OmniOutliner document open. This document is called “brainstorm.oo3.” This is where the magic happens. Within this OmniOutliner document I’ve got ideas for plots, characters, etc. When I finish a piece and want to start something new, the first thing I do is look at this document. When I’m reading or writing and get an idea about something else, into brainstorm.oo3 it goes!

OmniOutliner is a powerful, yet simple piece of software. If you’re a Mac, I suggest you give it a go.

Notes

¹ I believe OmniOutliner is bundled with all new macs (not the “Pro” version, though). So, if you’ve got a Mac — get your OmniOutliner on!

However, all good things come to an end. The holidays began, and I was derailed.

The creative process here really starts and stops with a little writing group that was created back in August. Every Thursday Night (hence the title of this post), I get together with my wife, and our friend, James, to discuss various projects. Originally, we said: “Hey, let’s just get together and work on some creative projects.” I really thought that this would mean short stories for me. I was wrong. James and Natalie have a real passion for visual storytelling, and indeed it has infected me. We started writing short films. The fun at the Austin Film Festival reinforced this desire in us, and I don’t think we’ll look in any other direction anytime soon.

Where are we?

At any given time, we’ve got three or four projects up in the air. Our most promising one right now is a project tentatively titled “The Alcoholic” (great title, right?). The idea and most of the script are the handiwork of Natalie. We feel like the script is kind of done, but I’m sure it needs some tweaking. Beyond this, I’ve got a coming of age “story in pictures” that I’m working on, and James has two very interesting ideas that he is working on that both stem from a notion of finding oneself.

Now what?

So, we’ve got this script in hand. Now what? This is actually the part that I get most excited about. When I write a story, I’m usually too critical of it to allow a bunch of other people to read it. The idea of sending any of these into a publisher is just silly. Why would someone want to read this drivel?

With a script, however, my urges are totally different. I want to get together gear and actors and go to a location and get it done. That sounds fun to me. I’ve spent hours researching what sort of gear we’ll need to shoot Natalie’s script. I’m excited to do it.

I’ll hit this blog with another post in February letting you know where we are on that…

• W. (my initial review)
• The Stanton Family Grave Robbery
• Shades of Ray

• Below the Law
• Space
• The Universe Connection
• Richard Cocksmith and the Above-Ground Pool
• Easy Pickins
• Miracle Investigators
• Kid Show
• Pink Shorts
  → Loved the rich, saturated colors in this piece.
• The Funeral Singer
• Career Opportunities in Poetry
  → A clever look at how a poet fits into the corporate (and not-so-corporate) world(s).
• Merrily, Merrily
• Girl Grooming
• The Optician
• The Interrogator
• Sugar
• Cupcake
• Stasis
• Martha
• I Kicked Luis Guzman in the Face
• Late
• The Great Escape
  → Surprisingly good acting for a Texas Young Filmmakers short.
• Fresh Fruit
  → A cute and clever look at what happens when the refrigerator door is closed.
• What I’ll Miss
• Enough
• Batman Rebuilt (vimeo)
  → Legos. Stop-motion. Batman. Sweet.
• Victor
• Separate Vacations
• When the Light’s Red
  → This was a fun little documentary about what to do when you meet up with panhandler’s while you’re driving.
• The Aviatrix
  → A sci-fi, cancer, dramedy.
• Death of an Ally
  → An interesting idea: A young JFK meets a young Fidel Castro in a bar in Cuba.
• Goobees
• jean=truth
• Midway
• The Last Turn
• Pop Art
  → I probably laughed harder at this one than any other.
• Three Boys
• Loneliness of the Short-Order Cook
• Chickamauga (vimeo)
  → This film was probably my favorite of all the shorts I saw. The kid that plays the lead is absolutely fantastic in his subtlety. Good work, quality work all around.
• Danzak
  → Another short that I liked very much. Great cinematography.

If you have thoughts on some of these, then feel free to comment.

• AFF2008: Th. 12:05-12:25p – WELCOME
• AFF2008: Th. 1:00-2:30p – SHOT OF INSPIRATION
  Moderator: Karl Williams
  Panelists: Polly Platt, Herschel Weingrod
• AFF2008: Th. 2:45-4:00p – COMMON MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE
  Moderator: Greg Beal
  Panelists: Stuart Kelban, Yaphet Smith
• AFF2008: Fr. 9:00-10:15a – TV DEVELOPMENT
  Moderator: Stuart Kelban
  Panelists: Mark Stegemann, Robert Markovich
• AFF2008: Fr. 10:45-noon – THE DRAMATIC STORY
  Moderator: Karl Williams
  Panelists: Alex Smith, Andrew Smith, Boaz Yakin, Jeff Nathanson
• AFF2008: Sa. 9:00-10:15a – DIALOGUE: FINDING VOICE
  Moderator: Tom Copeland
  Panelists: John August, John Lee Hancock, Stephen Harrigan

I attended a few other panels, but these were the ones where I really took some notes. Others were about distribution, and topics that I have no business thinking about!

The Festival conference (panel discussions and whatnot) look quite interesting. Most sessions are really geared toward writers, which means they align with my interests. Consequently, I think it might be a good idea for me to blog about the experience. I’ll update this post periodically with news. More frequently, however, I imagine that I’ll update my tumblr. Check both of these for the latest and greatest from AFF2008.

If you are curious about what all I plan to do and attend you can look look at my tentative schedule.

Speaking of suffering through, last Friday (July 25), Chris Carter & co. released what will probably be the last X-Files movie: X-Files: I Want To Believe. Why do I think it will be the last? Well, the box office results aren’t looking great so far.

I Want To Believe is an okay movie. Actually, it has some stuff to recommend it. It’s a tight thriller (only 104 minutes long) without a single explosion or gun shot. In fact, the special effects for this film probably could have been done back in the 1950s without any issue whatsoever. I like that. That is one of the reason I like the first three Indiana Jones pictures — old school special effects.

Unfortunately, I Want To Believe does not have the greatest plot ever. The story is less an X-File and more a rumination on the complex relationship between Mulder and Scully many years after their FBI days. As such, it’s kind of boring. I suspect that this would have made a great two-part episode for the small screen, but as a feature length film, it is not terribly exciting. When you hold it up next to the other X-Files movie (Fight the Future), it is not nearly as exhilirating, nor is it as important to the overall X-Files storyline. This keeps it from being a “must-see.”

That being said, for the true X-Files fan (the X-Phile), there is much to recommend this film. Heck, anytime Mulder and Scully are on screen together, you’ve got to be excited. Billy Connolly also turns in a nice performance as recovering pedophile priest Father Joe. While Connolly and Duchovny do a fine job, it seems that Gillian Anderson had some difficulty getting back into character, something she had admitted. There were even times when her voice did not sound like Scully’s. Still, the chemistry is there, and that’s why a lot of us watch, right?

If you’re an X-Files fan, I’d give this movie a 4 out of 5. If you’re not, I’d probably give it a 2 out of 5.

Stay tuned through the credits for what might be the dumbest credit sequence in the history of film!

WRITING PARTY

The friend is John Ramsey. You may have seen him in some of the Ramsey Bros stuff that I post from time to time. John is an attorney by day and a comedian by night. I think he’s funny, and you probably do too. I can’t, however, say much about his lawyering skills (I try to stay out of legal trouble as much as I can).

Anyway, John had a bunch of new material that he wanted to write. I suppose he just had kernels of jokes, seedlings that required developing, nurturing, germination, etc. Both of our wives were out of town at the same time, so John invited me up to Austin for a writer’s weekend.

Allow me to first say that this was in the midst of a huge literary drought for me. Not only had I found it impossible to move forward on my many writing projects, but I had also found it difficult to read much. In reality, it had become too easy to switch on the TV and watch a movie or whatever (witness my recent posts on The X-Files). John’s invitation couldn’t have come at a better time.

Essentially, our plan was this: shut up and write.

When John and I get together, we can talk about anything and all night long. Not that we didn’t have a marathon conversation Saturday night, but, for the most part, we curbed these urges and stuck to the script.

John lay on the couch in his living room with his laptop and notebook nearby, thinking and writing. A lot of thought goes into comedy. Who knew? I suppose he was trying to find the funniest ways to express whatever he was writing. I was standing in the kitchen, with my laptop on the counter (I have read somewhere that Hemingway preferred to stand for fear that his ass would get fat…), clacking away at the keyboard.

At first, it felt totally staged. I was really forcing the issue. I wrote ten pages of drivel about some poor idiotic soul who was working his tail off, performing various tasks, and documenting them, all in hopes of turning that documentation over to his local church officials so that they could make him a saint. It sucks. It stinks. Let’s not dwell it. Nevertheless, a breakthrough was in the making — I had written something substantial for the first time in weeks.

I moved on to the next story…

…and the next…

Before I knew it, I had churned out many thousand words on various topics. I even gained the courage to begin developing an idea that I’d had in my little brainstorm repository for quite some time. I’m still working that story (the memoirs of a man afflicted with dementia/Alzheimer’s).

By faking it through those ten pages of disgusting prose, I had manufactured a snowball. By muscling through for the rest of the weekend, I had started rolling it down hill. The snowball grows as it moves, gaining in size and speed.

My only fear: hitting the bottom of the hill.

That will come sometime. I know it for sure. I just hope it’s later rather than sooner.

Need a snowball? Lock yourself inside, perhaps with a friend to hold you accountable, and just fake it until you feel it.

3×01: The Blessing Way (II)
With Mulder’s life hanging in the balance, Scully is at a loss as to where to turn. This episode, a continuation of the season 2 finale “The Anasazi”, is a great way to start off season 3.

3×02: Paper Clip (III)
Thanks to a very speedy recovery, Mulder is now able to assist Scully in their quest to discover the truth. Mulder finds a photo that features his father and some very curious individuals from a post-WWII era science project known as “Operation Paper Clip.” Where this leads our agents is quite a surprise, and in West Virginia of all places!

3×04: Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose
This episode guest stars the late, great Peter Boyle (who won an Emmy for his performance here), as Clyde Bruckman — an insurance salesman who reluctantly possesses psychic powers. Truly a tender episode with its fair share of pathos.

3×08: Oubliette
Mulder takes a case in which a woman who was kidnapped 20 years ago seems to have some psychic link with a recent kidnap victim. This is one of those great episodes where we really see Mulder and Scully get at each other. Scully is concerned that Mulder has grown too close to the victim; so close that it’s blinding his judgment.

3×09: Nisei (I)
The first part in another two-part conspiracy episode starts off with Mulder purchasing an alien autopsy video (“Not [his] usual form of entertainment” as Scully says). Of course, this is a comical premise since FOX was running its own alien autopsy video at the same time. As they investigate, however, they find an international conspiracy as well as some disturbing news about the implant in Scully’s neck.

3×10: 731 (II)
In hopes of finding proof of alien existence, Mulder ends up locked in a railroad car with a killer and a bomb. Meanwhile, Scully has found evidence of a conspiracy in which the US Government was using humans as test subjects. She is given a great deal of help and information from a conspiracy member known as “The Elder.”

3×11: Revelations
In spite of a terrible child acting performance (I’m sorry, but it’s just dreadful), this episode gets my seal of approval thanks to more insight into Dana Scully’s faith. When Mulder and Scully track down a man who is murdering stigmatics, Scully begins to wonder if she has been chosen by God to protect the one true prophet in the group.

3×12: War of the Coprophages
If you like Mulder and Scully being somewhat flirty/cutesy, and a storyline that constantly makes fun of the X-Files — here’s your episode!

3×13: Syzygy
This is not a great X-File, but it is a lot of fun to see Mulder and Scully get snippy with each other as the universe’s negative energy reaches a peak.

3×14: Grotesque
I particularly enjoy this episode because of Mulder’s obsession. Occasionally, in the X-Files, you get an episode that really focuses on Mulder or Scully. In this case we get a lot of good character info about Mulder as he tries to track down a copycat killer who may be possessed.

3×15: Piper Maru (I)
This first part of a two-parter is hugely important in the X-Files conspiracy canon. When a French ship attempts to recover some World War II wreckage in the Pacific, an evil force is unleashed. Here we have the first appearance of the famed black oil!

3×16: Apocrypha (II)
As Mulder and Scully continue to investigate the mysterious illnesses that have occurred in conjunction with the World War II wreckage previously mentioned, the government conspirators attempt to block their access.

3×17: Pusher
Oh my! Robert Modell has one of the more devastating paranormal powers. Known as “Pusher” he is able to force his will on others in a unique and deadly way. When he forces Mulder to turn on Scully, things get particularly interesting. This episode has one of my favorite endings of any X-File.

3×20: Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space’
A great comedy episode guest starring none other than Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek! Must see.

3×23: Wetwired
Scully’s paranoia reaches a fever pitch as she and Mulder investigate a rash of killings by normal suburbanites which may have been triggered by secret government experiments. Watching Scully turn on Mulder over the course of this episode is suspenseful and heartbreaking.

3×24: Talitha Cumi (I)
“Talitha Cumi” has always been one of my favorite season enders. An older gentleman, Jeremiah Smith, appears to possess miraculous powers. When these powers draw attention to him, the agents are drawn once again into the government conspiracy which hits a little too close to home for Mulder.