Today my mom called to tell me that our dog “Belle” died. We had her since I was 17. Now I’m 29 and I’m sad that she’s no longer here. I’ve heard about people that get so attached to their pets that they take them to the studio for family portraits. Well, we never did that but it’s still hard to say goodbye to a pet that’s been a part of our life for 12 years. In dog years, as they say, she would’ve been 84 years old. All our family and friends knew Belle really well from over the years. She had a mean little bark and could do some serious ankle damage if you messed with her. As you can tell, she looked like a little cow because she was a Toy Fox Terrier/Chihuahua mix.
Bell gave us great times and in memory of her, bellow are two songs that remind me of her. The first is “Belle” for obvious reasons and the second is an old favorite of mine called “Goldie’s Last Day.” (Forward to 40 seconds)
For some reason, I’m often reminded of this guy and his legacy. This man was a genius in the field of mechanical and electric engineering. His life is the source of much mystery. He was a man that was way beyond our time in terms of what he achieved and discovered. I’ve been producing a short film about him as I have time and hope to release it within a couple of years. Check out the test intro below. (I’ve got too many things on my plate, but I hope to fully produce this one day.)
Check out his bio below as featured on Wikipedia:
“Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was an inventor and a mechanical and electrical engineer. Tesla was an ethnic Serb born in the village of Smiljan, Vojna Krajina, in the territory of today’s Croatia. He was a subject of the Austrian Empire by birth and later became an American citizen.[2] Tesla is often described as an important scientist and inventor of the modern age, a man who “shed light over the face of Earth”.[3] He is best known for many revolutionary contributions in the field of electricity and magnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla’s patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current electric power (AC) systems, including the polyphase power distribution systems and the AC motor, with which he helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution.
After his demonstration of wireless communication (radio) in 1894 and after being the victor in the “War of Currents”, he was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America.[4] Much of his early work pioneered modern electrical engineering and many of his discoveries were of groundbreaking importance. During this period, in the United States, Tesla’s fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture,[5] but due to his eccentric personality and his seemingly unbelievable and sometimes bizarre claims about possible scientific and technological developments, Tesla was ultimately ostracized and regarded as a mad scientist.[6][7] Never having put much focus on his finances, Tesla died impoverished at the age of 86.
The SI unit measuring magnetic flux density or magnetic induction (commonly known as the magnetic field “B”), the tesla, was named in his honor (at the Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures, Paris, 1960), as well as the Tesla effect of wireless energy transfer to wirelessly power electronic devices which Tesla demonstrated on a low scale (lightbulbs) as early as 1893 and aspired to use for the intercontinental transmission of industrial energy levels in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project.
Aside from his work on electromagnetism and electromechanical engineering, Tesla contributed in varying degrees to the establishment of robotics, remote control, radar and computer science, and to the expansion of ballistics, nuclear physics,[8] and theoretical physics. In 1943, the Supreme Court of the United States credited him as being the inventor of the radio.[9] Many of his achievements have been used, with some controversy, to support various pseudosciences, UFO theories, and early New Age occultism. Tesla was awarded the highest order of the White Lion by Czechoslovakia.”
This week finds me in a mournful place because of the loss of Michael Jackson. Like other people, I was at odds at how to feel about the king of pop because of his tainted image from over the years but I never stopped loving his music. He was a one-of-a-kind and we probably will never see someone like him in music ever again. I remember listening to his albums at a very young age and was so influenced by his music that I purchased his album Thriller at the age of 10. This was very significant for me because it was the first CD I purchased with money saved from my birthday as a kid. I remember listening to it non stop and was amazed by the sounds that were produced in that album. Along with “Off The Wall,” It was also the album that played at our local skating joint called “Skate Junction. Skating to songs like Thriller and Human Nature was pure magic! It really used to take me away. Over the next several years, I ended up buying “Bad,” Off The Wall,” “Dangerous,” “History,” and a few others.
I totally “got” his music as a kid and couldn’t figure out why he was so misunderstood. I mean here was this guy who became electric every time he stood on stage. Every song he recorded, he put his personal stamp on. Every music video and film, was magical. His music really used to take me away. I think as a kid, when I started to explore new music, his is what I gravitated to. I was also influenced by some of the people he’d work with like Slash & Paul McCartney, Eddie Van Halen, & Vincent Price.
Later, I’d end up ditching all of his music for newer music like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and NWA. I immersed myself into hip-hop and completely left anything of Michael’s behind. This too ended as I discovered the great bands of the 60’s and 70’s and then delve into learning how to play guitar. I tried to emulate the greats and eventually found my way back to Michael. As soon as I started to record my own songs, I pulled out Michael’s albums and found their production value to be simply astonishing. They were chock full of vocal flourishings, harmonies and unique guitar riffs. I instantly remembered how I felt as kid listening to his music and being taken away.
So today, Michael Jackson’s funeral takes place and millions of fans around the world will watch in as Michael is laid to rest. For better or for worse, he will go down as the greatest entertainer of our time and I’m happy to know that he gave us his gift of music. I’m glad that my song writing was influenced by his and that I got to experience the 80’s with Michael Jackson’s music.
I saw this wicked-awesome De Lorean on the way to my brothers house in San Diego this Memorial day. The guy driving the car was totally in character when he went on his loudspeaker and called me a “butthead!”
As I was filming a wedding last week in Pasadena, I met Pro skater & star of MTV’s “Rob & Big,” Mr. Rob Dyrdek. He was a pretty down to earth guy and cracked me up with his uber suit! He’s the boss of the groom who designs wicked awesome toys for his company Wild Grinders over at : http://www.wildgrinders.com/
I have a blast filming weddings especially when I meet some really cool peeps!
Today is April 20, 2009 and It’s been a month since I got married and I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been able to blog about it but here it is! I got married on April 21, 2009 to my beautiful bride Desiree. We got married at Red Hill Country Club in Upland, Ca. The day had so many highlights and I’ll share a few of them here. I got to spend my last night as a single man hanging out with my brothers and the following morning, my uncle flew down from Arizona to not only attend my wedding but also to be my emcee. As family poured into to the venue, and the wedding just minutes away, I remembered all of the many weddings I’ve had the privledge of filming and thought to my self, “Now it’s my turn, I’m finally here! I’ve got 2 brothers and 1 sister and I was the last to tie the knott!
One of the biggest regrets about my wedding was that I knew my best friend wasn’t going to attend my wedding because he’s right now serving our military over in Iraq. I did however have a plan. We arranged for him to be here virtually and we pulled it off. With a laptop, a wireless internet connection and Skype, we were able to connect with him. His dad walked around the reception with the laptop and got to see just about the whole thing! That really made our day! I also had my friend ” Jason Tucker DJ the wedding and that was super cool too as he controlled it all from his iphone………wireless! We also got to hire one my favorite photograpers, Danny Cortez of Danilo Photography. The weather was perfect, the food was great, everyone we love was there and we were blessed tremendously with gifts!
So………..after about 8 years of dating. I am now a married man. It’s still so new that I can smell the fresh paint on the walls!
…this Saturday eve, I’ll be playing about 2+ of my songs over at Home Brew Coffee in San Dimas. It’s a small place so if it packs out, I guess we’ll have to sing that much louder. The showcase will feature about 14 singer/songwriters who’ll debut new songs written during February for http://FAWM.org. The songs I wrote last month can be heard right here: http://fawm.org/fawmers/jacobmorales/ It’d be cool to see you if you can make it. If not, I’ll be filming it as well and you’ll be able to view it live on the internet. Also I have no idea what time I’ll come on so if you can’t stay the whole time, no worries. Just come for some good music, coffee and general “kick it” time. Come out or view it online at (7-10 PST): http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-moving-pixel
Oh yeah, it’s totally free. Just show some love to Home Brew Coffee if ya can with buying a beverage : )
What, When, Where:
FAWM SONG WRITING SHOWCASE Saturday, March 14 (7-10PM)
Home Brew Coffee
661 W. Arrow Hwy
San Dimas, Ca 91773
FAWM is here once again. FAWM stands for February Album Writing Month. On its website, http://FAWM.org, thousands of writers and lyricists congregate to share and collaberate with new music written in that month. It challenges people to write 14 songs in one month. I did it last year and wrote about 7 songs. You can hear those songs over here.
Let’s see if I end up completing the 14 songs this year! I’m super excited to be writing again. I met lots of great musicians and writers last year and hope to meet even more this year. It really is a great mix of talented people.
I was stopped at a red light today when a bus stopped to the right of my car and I saw Thom Yorke looking straight at me! Yes, Thom Yorke of one of the best bands ever, Radiohead. Well, of course he wasn’t in the bus but his face was plastered to the side of it. Apperantly, Radiohead will be playing at the Grammy’s (Which I don’t typically watch) this year. The ad that features words all over his face details songs that influenced Thom. It is part of the “Celebrate the Music That Made Us” campaign. I can’t stand much of Radiohead’s newer music but seeing this ad brought back memories of earlier Radiohead days. Let it be said that OK Computer is one of the best albums of all time….well in my opinion anyway. (Check out a larger version of the Thom Yorke ad here.) I also learned that Paul McCartney of the best band in the world, will also be performing that night! Maybe I’ll watch it afterall.
Today, I happened to be awake around 4am which for me is quite normal as I work into the night somedays. I am quite the night owl. It was something to see Washington DC coming to life in the early hours of the morning and in High Definition! That was about 7 am EDT, 4am PST. I’ll be upfront in saying that I didn’t vote for President Obama but am hopefull that he’ll deliver on some of the goods he’s been promising. Some I don’t agree with, some I do.
Change, the word that has been on everyone’s tounges is most definitely going to come but to what extent. I admire his confidence and hope that he is steadfast in maintaining those ideals which have always made America great. His speech was very moving and great even reading through the proverbial lines. His honesty will be remembered this day as we are in a time of turmoil and it wasn’t the least bit sugar coated. It was also good to see that when Bush appeared, people were respectfully quite and didn’t vocalize their disdain for him. That moment as small as it was actually also gave me hope.
I’m hoping for this economy to turn around but the thing I hope for the most is a change in the people’s hearts. I’ve seen our people grow restless with many different issues but mostly what I see is anger for the administration that Bush lead. How can people pit so much on the actions of one man? Many of the problems that we have as a nation have nothing to do with “Washington or Bush.” I really hope to see a nation that is not as diveded as it is now. I’m Christian and I would like to say that I hope that our nation goes back to it’s roots in being a God fearing nation. I know that this might not transpire because in reality, many Americans believe many different things so I guess what I can hope for is that among the many differences we have, we can be peaceful about them and together move towards the America that has made us great; one that is united. I guess time will tell but I’ve got to say that today was an experience that I’ll never forget and as an artist I can appreciate what so many are feeling today. Today, President Barack Obama has a blank canvas and clean slate and the future holds so much possibility. So cheers Mr. President, God be with you.
Well, I lost my girlfriend’s camera and after having searched for it for a couple of months now, I’m now ending the search. In time, little Canon, you will be replaced by a model of more sophistication & class but never as charming as you.
Today I joined Twitter. The one last sight or service that I never really cared for. So why did I join? Well, I attended a meetup for podcasters at the OC Podcasters group. I got to film tonights meeting but more importantly, I saw a group of people who are passionate about what they do and were willing to freely share their information. It seems that they’re all on twitter so I got to ask some deep questions about twittering. I heard some pretty good responses and to make a long story short, I at one in the morning, signed up for a twitter account on my iphone at Mel’s Drive-In in Hollywood (which believe it or not, is a diner!)
….since I last posted. This act of balancing things can be tricky and as life passes by, It’s hard to keep up with everything. So I guess I’ll share what’s new in my life since my last post in June. Where do I start? Well, This summer has been a roller coaster in so many ways. In June & July, I prepared for participating in a protest in China for human rights. My pastor planned a very controversial protest which found him painting anti-oppression slogans on upscale hotel walls. My part was to get this video out and release it onto the internet. Well it worked, and amid much criticism, The Gadfly Project, was off the ground and gained wordwide exposure. Just about every news source covered our story and just about every news anchor came out to my church for interviews. I also produced about 30+ videos during the month of August to keep the project going and I maintained our website called Exodus8one.org. For what it’s worth, this was one of the boldest things I’ve ever done. In hindsight, it was worth it all the while.
The problem with these types of things is that no one ever speaks up. The injustices in China and around the world get overlooked or ignored. We had this opportunity to do something so we did. It was amazing because the essentials of our plans were succesfully executed. Well, it’s now said and done and the olympics are finished. My involvement with this project is being furthered. I’m now in the middle of producing a full length documentary film for The Gadfly Project. This means I might make my way back to Europe to film all over again. I’ll keep you posted with the developments! Ask me about if you ever get a chance because there’s too much to put in this post!
Another thing I’ve been working on is revamping my company. I now have a brand new website for Moving Pixel Films and fresh new content. It’s made also in the form of a blog as I’m publicly sharing my work as it comes. You can now view my videos in a nice big player. If you get a chance, check it out and send people my way. I’m going to take the wedding market by storm next year!
On a side note, sadly, I’ve neglected my other project is called This is NOT a diet. Because some really serious projects demanded my attention, it fell to the wayside. I will however be back to blogging about my health very soon. As I said, balancing is hard but I can say that the essentials of my life are in balance and my company is growing! I haven’t been writing any new music lately. I wish I could just dedicate another month to doing this but that’s not reality. I do however, want to start writing music for some of the film projects I have coming up so I might just pull out the GuitFiddle sometime soon!
Today, I happened to be awake around 4am which for me is quite normal as I work into the night somedays. I am quite the night owl. It was something to see Washington DC coming to life in the early hours of the morning and in High Definition! That was about 7 am EDT, 4am PST. I’ll be upfront in saying that I didn’t vote for President Obama but am hopefull that he’ll deliver on some of the goods he’s been promising. Some I don’t agree with, some I do. 
