the lavalier podcast

Dear TRON2 Filmmakers, This is What We Want in a TRON Sequel…

2009-07-23T16:20:00.001-07:00

Dear Mr. Bailey, Mr. Lisberger, Mr. Silver, & Mr. Kosinski,

Congratulations on wrapping production on the new TRON film, and good luck this weekend at Comic-Con. I’m sure everyone will be lining up to see any footage you managed to sneak off to San Diego. Oh, and nice viral site, too. “Flynn Lives” isn’t quite as catchy as “Frodo Lives”, but it’s a good tip of the hat and a nice way to start building up the ol’ mythology.

With the film in the can, it may be a moot point to discuss this, but as a fan of the first film, I have concerns about this movie. To put it bluntly, this could be a terrible film. And by all respects, it appears to have all the ingredients of a colossal failure. The original film is highly revered and considered a classic by those in my generation; any future productions related to it would have extremely high-expectations from its intended audience. TRON2 is a studio-driven project (rather than a director-driven) with a massive budget (rivaling POTC:At Worlds End, from what I hear.) I’m sure Disney is expecting to bring in massive box office receipts to match the POTC franchise. A lot of money is on the line. TRON2 headed into pre-production without input of the original creator and director. Whispers of the “R” word were making the rounds. And, no disrespect to Mr. Kosinski, a director was hired who hasn’t had a single film attached to his resume.

Not looking favorable.

Then you guys pull off that unannounced “test footage” with Jeff Bridges (leading actor of the first film). Mr. Lisberger (the primary creative force/director of the first film) is now on board as a writer and producer. Bruce Boxleitner has a role (co-lead of the first film). You announce this movie as a sequel and not a reboot. An excited fan base is beginning to form. Plot points have been revealed that make the story intriguing. Two years in post-production will undoubtedly produce eye-popping wonderment from the visual effects teams.

This could be a very good film.

However, these developments do not assure a good film. As a courtesy to you, and speaking on behalf of movie fans everywhere, I’ve compiled a list of the things I feel is important to consider as you craft this sequel. This will not guarantee that your film will be as beloved as the first one, but it may get you in the right direction.

1. Preserve the simple real world/electronic world communication perspectives established from the first film. In the beginning of TRON, there is a scene where our intrepid hero, Flynn, is at home hacking into his former employer’s computer system using a software program he wrote called Clu. Since this is 1982 - before modern graphic interfaces - Flynn is typing commands MSDOS -style into his computer. As we see him silently type, the movie dissolves into the “electronic world” where a humanoid figure is piloting a futuristic-looking tank. This humanoid looks exactly like Flynn, so as an audience we connect the two together subconsciously, even before we hear Flynn’s disembodied voice confirming the figure as Clu. Clu responds in a monotone voice, but we don’t see Clu’s mouth moving. We assume that Flynn is “speaking” to Clu through Flynn’s real world typing and what we are hearing is Clu’s own translation of the commands in the electronic world, and vice-versa for Flynn. It’s a simple technique that is tedious to explain in words, but worked brilliantly and helps us as an audience to resolve the connection between the real and electronic worlds. There is another example later when Tron communicates with Alan at the I/O tower. We would hope that this type of visual storytelling is also used in the second film, and not become needlessly complex.

2. Preserve the faith/spiritual themes & mythology established from the first film. In TRON, much of the conflict in the electronic world is centered on a clash of ideologies. EnCom’s MCP, for all purposes is a powerful artificial intelligence shaping the electronic world into an Orwellian regime; imprisoning those who profess faith in the “users” and tout free will. Flynn, who is a “User” a.k.a. “god”, arrives in the electronic world as sort of a digital Christ - taking the form of the programs. In the end, he even sacrifices himself and, if you will, “ascends to heaven.” The I/O tower is an Old Testament tabernacle, where one may communicate with their “user”. All Judeo-Christian imagery aside, the world of TRON is certainly rooted in the spiritual realm. Plus, TRON doesn’t get goofy crazy like The Matrix mythology. I would like see that aspect continued in the sequel, as faith-based issues & myths can resonate across all cultures.

3. Preserve the “analog” look of the electronic world, while expanding upon its beauty. The first film, although hailed for incorporating computer graphics, was mostly traditional animation - using layers of film, ironically. That gave the characters in the electronic world this weird look that felt “analog” to me. They blended into the painted matte backgrounds well, (and even the CG shots) but it still had this crazy aesthetic about it that I’ve never seen replicated since. I’m sure your digital VFX teams are gonna throw in every kind of wonderment possible, but It would be nice if that “analog” feel was captured… even just a little.

4. Get weird and take crazy risks with the sound. Better yet, just get Ben Burtt, a big ass computer, a long fuzzy microphone, and get out of his way. You got all that Disney cash to pay him, and he’ll love you for helping him net his third Oscar statuette.

5. Avoid “Lucas-izing” CG characters to appeal to a younger audience. Don’t even invite the dude over for lunch to watch dailies… same goes with Michael Bay. We don’t need or want short, cute computer creatures with speech impediments or Ebonics-speaking floating triangles with gold teeth. We already have enough of it in other films. We know you are thinking about it. Resist the urge. Regardless of what happens at the box office, there is a difference between enjoying your film and making fun of it. We want to enjoy it.

6. Avoid Hollywood hacker/programmer stereotypes & computer interface clichés. We don’t want to see Kevin Smith surrounded by Bawls bottles and candy wrappers saying “That’s encryption level 22329A! That’s hardcore stuff!” and he’s the only one in the world who can break it. We don’t want to see some team of “crack” computer experts in blue jumpsuits led by a tall leggy blonde fashion model, and she solves a mystery by running a Google search. We don’t want to see detailed CG computer displays in the real world that can visually track a virus running through a network or some bullshit like that. Keep it real. As I said before, TRON managed to tell the story without all that crap.

7. Avoid pop culture references for cheap throwaway gags; create your own. We don’t want to see some electronic world character burp and/or fart and say they learned it from “Master Google” standing over there, or the “YouTube” street of the electronic world city. I think you get the idea. Step your game up.

8. Pressure the studio to get TRON remastered and released on Blu-Ray sooner than later. We do not want to wait until 2011 when the TRON 2 marketing engine is in full swing. We all want our 1080p TRON now. And while they are at it, can they throw in that “test footage” in HD as well? Just asking.

Thank you for reading this letter and I hope it serves you well as you begin the long journey of post-production. Speaking from the audience, I will not hold unreasonable expectations. But remember these few simple things, and chances are, not only will you have a successful movie at the box office, but a GOOD FILM that will worth re-watching for years to come.

-Erik Stanfill

lavalier podcast episode 014

2009-06-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Erik & Peter discuss Star Trek, kids, things that grind their gears, and SABOTAGE!

AVAILABLE IN THE iTUNES STORE...

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lavalier podcast episode 013

2009-04-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Peter and Erik are back in top form, discussing iPhone apps, Battlestar Galactica, funny sound effects, & the songs that get Peter in the mood. (to relax, that is.)

Music on this episode is from:

Starf*cker
Bryan Free
Little Beirut

AVAILABLE IN THE iTUNES STORE...

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My Flip-Flop Rant from Facebook

2009-04-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Six easy questions to ask yourself before putting on flip-flops...

1. Are you currently utilizing the services of a day spa?
2. Are you on your way to/coming back from a pedicure?
3. Are you taking a shower at an athletic club?
4. Are you at a swimming pool or the ocean?
5. Are you younger than 16 years old?
6. Are you in Hawaii?

if you answered NO to ALL of these questions... NO FLIP-FLOPS.

No exceptions. This applies to dudes as well. But a note to the females...

Ladies, please.... with the emmense power of bazillion-dollar footwear marketing campaigns directed towards you, I am sure that you can find a suitable replacement for a bright nasty $5 piece of plastic and rubber you found in a barrel at Wal-Mart. Try a nice strappy sandal with a kicky heel. Or a low/medium-heeled open-toed slingback. Those would look so much better on your feet, and would make your legs look longer. You will see a distinct improvement in your "hey-cute-guy-noticed-me!" ratio. GUARANTEED. Flip-flops are no better than attaching a couple of ping-pong paddles on your feet and slapping your way around town. Not attractive. Seriously, ladies, flip-flops are NOT EVERYDAY WEAR. But if you must, please, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, don't wear them at restaurants that feature >$15 an entree. CLASS IT UP, LADIES.

lavalier podcast episode 012

2009-03-11T21:04:00.000-07:00

12!

ERIK!

PETER!

& KEVIN!

WOWSERS!

Music on this episode is from:

Alela Diane
Laura Gibson
The Thermals
Wow & Flutter

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lavalier podcast episode 011

2009-02-08T12:05:00.000-08:00

details forthcoming, but benji is back!

els.020309

2009-02-08T12:01:00.001-08:00

lavalier podcast episode 010

2009-01-15T21:58:00.000-08:00

10 is the new 9! In this episode, Peter and Kevin (filling in for Erik) talk about fake suicide, Vancouver, whiskey, and meatheads.

Music on this episode is from:

Alela Diane
Oh Captain My Captain
Hello Morning
Inside Voices
The Online Romance

SUBSCRIBE IN iTUNES...

1. open iTunes
2. go up to the "Advanced" menu
3. pull down to "subscribe to podcast..."
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If you have already subscribed, iTunes should download 010 automatically the next time you start up/refresh.

iTUNES STORE UPDATE:

Well, we were up for awhile, but got pulled due to "technical issues" with the feed. Erik is now using FeedBurner to handle all iTunes Store-related issues and it should be back up real soon. If you have subscribed via iTunes Store, you may have to re-subscribe again when it is back up. I'm not sure yet. In the meantime you can manually subscribe as described above, or direct download as described below. Thanks!

TO DIRECT DOWNLOAD:

Get it here...
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lavalier podcast episode 009

2009-01-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

It's a new year episode 009 in 09. although we spend most of the time talking about 08.

This episode features music by these fine portland artists... lackthereøf, hello morning, the shaky hands, james low, & microfilm.

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If you have already subscribed, iTunes should download 009 automatically the next time you start up/refresh.

iTUNES STORE UPDATE:

Well, we were up for awhile, but got pulled due to "technical issues" with the feed. Erik is now using FeedBurner to handle all iTunes Store-related issues and it should be back up real soon. If you have subscribed via iTunes Store, you may have to re-subscribe again when it is back up. I'm not sure yet. In the meantime you can manually subscribe as described above, or direct download as described below. Thanks!

TO DIRECT DOWNLOAD:

Get it here...
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lavalier podcast episode 008

2008-12-18T17:56:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Episode! A short show this time around, but Peter shares his fond holiday memories and Erik nods a lot.

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iTUNES STORE UPDATE:

Well, we were up for awhile, but got pulled due to "technical issues" with the feed. Erik is now using FeedBurner to handle all iTunes Store-related issues and it should be back up real soon. If you have subscribed via iTunes Store, you may have to re-subscribe again when it is back up. I'm not sure yet. In the meantime you can manually subscribe as described above, or direct download as described below. Thanks!

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lavalier podcast episode 007

2008-12-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

We are back! Both chairs are now firmly filled by the regular hosts' buttocks for the 007 episode which is licensed to.... urm... thrill?

In this fine production, the lads discuss bad james bond films (there is a bunch), some stuff about thanksgiving, leaves on the patio, and goofy cartoons. That is, the character Goofy, not general goofiness.

The bumper music features these fine Portland artists...
Mattress, Aan, Life At These Speeds, Blue Giant, Ethan Rose, & Bra Strapz

Clicky clicky to get all myspacey or official webby with them.

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3. pull down to "subscribe to podcast..."
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5. Click "OK".

You are subscribed! Copy to your iDevice of choice.

If you have already subscribed, iTunes should download 007 automatically the next time you start up.

iTUNES STORE UPDATE:

You will be able to download direct (and still free) from iTunes store NOW; Erik just messed up the xml tags and he's gotta get them fixed, so no link just yet. Erik needs a web person, anyone interested?

TO DIRECT DOWNLOAD:

Get it here...
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---

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Goofy's home theater...

2008-11-24T22:18:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned this about ten years ago. now you can see it online! this is a fairly accurate representation of how to design a home theater. take me to the goof.

lavalier podcast episode 006

2008-11-17T23:36:00.000-08:00

erik is back, but now peter is on tour! sooooo benji is back to claim peter's throne for awhile.

In this fine production, the lads discuss batman vs. batman, an exploding whale, internet trolls, little girl crocs, nice things about airlines, and wilford brimley!

Here's the video that is discussed, btw...

The bumper music features these fine Portland artists...
The Standard, Stephanie Schneiderman, Horse Feathers, Siren's Echo, Holy Sons, Blue Skies For Black Hearts, & Dolorean
Clicky clicky to get all myspacey or official webby with them.

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It is a very easy process to download, don't get scared...

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If you have already subscribed, iTunes should download 006 automatically the next time you start up.

iTUNES STORE UPDATE:

You will be able to download direct (and still free) from iTunes store SOON; we just have to go through the application process first (and create a better logo, too.)

TO DIRECT DOWNLOAD:

Get it here...
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yeah i know...

2008-11-13T22:29:00.000-08:00

haven't updated anything in a while besides podcast episodes. But.... you can follow my twitter updates on the sidebar if you'd like now, without being a part of the twitter community. podcast 006 will be up shortly, and i'll get on those movie reviews that have been up since june. Plus, i'll slap up some video and pics from the fall BEDM tour.

lavalier podcast episode 005

2008-10-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

erik was in the basement for a few weeks, so we have a SPECIAL GUEST CO-HOST! benji rickard wipes the mic down for this episode.

In this fine production, peter describes it as "pretty much we talk about halloween." ever a modest one, that peter.

The bumper music features these fine Portland artists...
Gifty, Welsh Rabbit, The Beauty, & A Blinding Silence
Clicky clicky to get all myspacey or official webby with them.

SUBSCRIBE IN iTUNES...

It is a very easy process to download, don't get scared...

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http://www.lavalier.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

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You are subscribed! Copy to your iDevice of choice.

If you have already subscribed, iTunes should download 005 automatically the next time you start up.

iTUNES STORE UPDATE:

You will be able to download direct (and still free) from iTunes store SOON; we just have to go through the application process first (and create a better logo, too.)

TO DIRECT DOWNLOAD:

Get it here...
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lavalier podcast episode 004

2008-10-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

now with 23% more material than last episode! You decide if that is an improvement or not.

In this fine production, we are covering: dudes in high school, p-town's worst intersections, Wine Spectator's phony-baloney "restaurant of the year" award, hipsters who work in coffee shops that annoy Peter, and all things non-sequitur.

The bumper music features these fine Portland artists...
Boy Eats Drum Machine, Super XX Man, A Weather, Parenthetical Girls, Dirty Mittens, & The Mint Chicks
Clicky clicky to get all myspacey or official webby with them.

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It is a very easy process to download, don't get scared...

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5. Click "OK".

You are subscribed! Copy to your iDevice of choice.

If you have already subscribed, iTunes should download 004 automatically the next time you start up.

iTUNES STORE UPDATE:

You will be able to download direct (and still free) from iTunes store SOON; we just have to go through the application process first (and create a better logo, too.)

TO DIRECT DOWNLOAD:

Get it here...
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workin' for the weekend...

2008-10-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

busy at work and getting prepared to tag along with jonny on the upcoming BEDM tour. We'll be doing (possibly daily) video youtuby-like updates from the road with the smallest mobile editing system i've ever used (got Final Cut running on the maxed-out 12" powerbook). meanwhile, not many updates to this here blog, but peter and i got lavalier podcast 004 in the can. I'll try to get it up tomorrow, folks.

lavalier podcast episode 003

2008-09-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

we haven't left yet... this is 003, so get caught up, kids!

Our frame of mind is now... "we are great, but how can we make this podcast better?" Wellsir... we have now added chapters and visual elements that look just peachy on your iTouch/iPhone/iTunes/iCrapola. But in order to implement this, we've embraced the dark side and gone AAC/Mp4. All three of you who listen should be ok, because I'm pretty sure you gals/gals don't rock the Zune.

In this fine production, we are covering: toliet paper research, 82nd ave... aka.. The Avenue of the (Ho-ses)Roses, the best error messages of all time, a mysterious creature in Gresham (not involving an IROC Camaro) and all things non-sequitur.

The bumper music features these fine Portland artists...
so sadly f**ked, Ayam, Breanna Paletta, The Holidays, & Jonah
Thanks for submitting! Clicky clicky to get all myspacey with them.

LISTEN IN ITUNES...

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NOW video

2008-09-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

here's a 12-minute video that showcases journalist Amy Goodman on her arrest at the 2008 Republican National Convention. It hit hard for a person who works in media/communications like me, although I'm safe and sound in corporate-land right now. Please watch and really, really consider this election and the future of America. I don't get political very often, but I implore everyone to think/research for themselves, and not be spoon-fed by pop media, talk-show hosts, and our current presidential administration.

take me to the video

AVS Forum home theater thread build now online

2008-09-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

A journal of our progress in the garage remodel is up on AVSForum in the "dedicated home theater build" section, along with (hopefully forthcoming) comments by many of its esteemed members. AVSForum is a premier community forum for all things related to the science of sound and video, and is one of the most helpful and intelligent web forums around.

Check it out. and bookmark if you wanna keep up.

lavalier podcast episode 002

2008-09-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

We made it to the second episode! Now with 2x the hosting power... peter swenson pulls up a mic, and will be co-hosting from now on.

***EXPLICIT WARNING***

I forgot to bleep peter's potty mouth so be forewarned about upcoming crassness. Put the kids to bed, folks! We are covering: stolen radio towers, movies from the 70s, serving coffee in bikinis, the best damn bridges in Portland, and all things non-sequitur.

The bumper music features these fine Portland artists...
The Morals, Dirty Mittens, Justin Bennett, Drats!!!, & Transient
Thanks for submitting! Clicky clicky to get all myspacey with them.

LISTEN IN ITUNES...

To subscribe via itunes, open itunes, go to the "advanced" menu, pull down to "subscribe to podcast..." cut/paste this URL...

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b.melendez 1916-2008

2008-09-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

obit

rotk p341-342

2008-09-03T23:59:00.001-07:00

Time went on, and 1421 came in. Frodo was ill again in March, but with a great effort he concealed it, for Sam had other things to think about. The first of Sam and Rosie's children was born on the twenty-fifth of March, a date that Sam noted.

"Well, Mr. Frodo," he said. "I'm in a bit of a fix. Rose and me had settled to call him Frodo, with your leave: but it's not him, it's her. Though as pretty as a maidchild as any one could hope for, taking after Rose more than me, luckily. So we don't know what to do."

"Well, Sam," said Frodo, "what's wrong with the old customs? Choose a flower name like Rose. Half the maid-children in the Shire are called by such names, and what could be better?"

"I suppose you're right, Mr. Frodo," said Sam. "I've heard some beautiful names on my travels, but I suppose they're a bit too grand for daily wear and tear, as you might say. The Gaffer, he says: 'Make it short, and then you won't have to cut it short before you can use it.' But if it's to be a flower name, then I don't trouble about the length: it must be a beautiful flower, because, you see, I think she is very beautiful, and is going to be beauti-fuller still."

Frodo thought for a moment, "Well, Sam, what about elanor, the sun-star, you remember the little golden flower in the grass of Lothlórien?"

"You're right again, Mr. Frodo!" said Sam delighted. "That's what I wanted."

---

elanor lorraine stanfill - 2009

lavalier podcast episode 001

2008-08-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first episode of the lavalier podcast. This is a rough trial run, so bear with me on this first one. Here's some links I refer to during the show...

phelps' preparation
ken rockwell's rant
p-town heatwave
sunroof scare

LISTEN IN ITUNES...

To subscribe via itunes, open itunes, go to the "advanced" menu, pull down to "subscribe to podcast..." cut/paste this URL...

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august update

2008-08-12T19:01:00.001-07:00

///I'm kinda sorry and kinda not sorry for the lack of attention to this li'l page. I'm sorry if you come here on a regular basis to glean great pearls of wisdom and leave empty-handed day after day, but as this has been a personal online journal, I only devote as much time to it at the direction of the wind sees fit. It takes a couple of hours or so to update this page each time (posts, reviews, links, template updates), and a spare couple of hours is a lot of free time for me. I've looked into bloggie thingies like Wordpress and the like, but when it comes down to it, i don't have the energy to learn more software packages. Plus, I don't feel invested in something that gets less than a handful of hits.

Much has been happening in b and i's lives. a peanut is on the way, a wife needs attention, a house needs fixing, and a certain microprocessor corporation needs a lot of video work done and will not hesitate to put me on a plane tomorrow to interview a man/woman in a suit in Folsom, CA. I've thought quite a bit about my leisure time and how to make it more productive, but there are times where i just sit and stare and let my hard drive of a brain reboot. I can't even imagine what life will be with the peanut.

I've been working on a music project of sorts, but it still is very early in the (frustrating) writing process. I've also been kicking around ideas for a better website - more ME in a promotional sense, but as i'm not a good web programmer, nor do i, as I've said before, have the patience to learn yet another software/computer language thingie, that is a likely hopeless task indeed. However, there is something i'd like to launch on this site soon that may be fun, or it may be a colossal waste of time. When I say soon, i mean in a week or so. It would make this less personal, may require a bigger commitment from you (and me), but, hopefully, loads more entertaining.

So... I'm giving up on lavalier, or i'm not giving up on lavalier. Confused? I am too... stay tuned, but don't check back every hour///

-e.w.s.

we have sighted a peanut.

2008-07-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

coming february 2009.

(click peanut to embiggen)

Nothing is better than being drunk in Dublin

2008-07-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

But i wouldn't know about that..

The map indicates what we covered. red was planned route, with purple additions being on-the-fly changes. click the map to embiggen.

Check it on b's picasa site.

token hiatus post

2008-07-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

hi, back again.

Update up this Wednesday... err... Thursday NOW

2008-06-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

took a break for awhile.

not very timely, but here goes...

2008-06-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

I shot some live vid of strength last month @ holocene... check'r out...

knockin' back a few pins

2008-04-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

as a response to my current state of unfitness, i have resolved, for the time being, to not drink alcohol on the weekdays... no matter what life throws at me these five consecutive days. all bets are off on weekends. no, seriously. just trying to cut down a bit and it's working. no more headaches on the way to work. No more wondering what happened to all the bourbon. but i'm mowing through lemon-lime gatorade like there's no tomorrow. it's too bad water doesn't taste like anything. I'd drink it all the time.
b is at the fitness club pretty much everyday now, i'm having a hard time getting into it. i feel good once i'm there; it's just getting my butt there is tough. plus, i'm not particularly fond of all the wheezy dudes and the poodle-like gals who inhabit the gym culture. it's like being at a bar, where i feel i'm being sized up all the time. Or maybe it's my self-esteem coming through. i'll pound out a half-hour on an elliptical machine and call it good. there is a ton of gatorade at home waiting for me.

I heart asian tv, part two.

2008-04-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

I heart asian tv, part one.

2008-04-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Rome back on Portland radio? Kind of.

2008-04-15T00:06:00.000-07:00

Jim Rome, host of the nationally-syndicated, L.A.-based sports radio show "The Jungle", and likely the most loved/hated sports talk-show host ever, is off Portland's airwaves for the first time in ? years. But hope is on the horizon for all you p-town clones...

A little history first.... from Dennis Glasgow, 1080am's Program Manager...

"The decision was tough – but after we were dealt some brutal cards from ESPN Radio with the new afternoon lineup of Tirico and SAS – we took SAS off the air right away – and decided to air the final our of The Herd with Colin Cowherd (who's from KFXX and legendary in Portland) so Rome got caught up in the dominos… Long story short – Rome insisted on being live for two hours from 10am-12noon and then they wanted the first hour played last on tape delay – so you can imagine how bad that sounded on the radio – eventually – both parties decided that it wasn't working – and we parted ways – that's when I brought DP aboard to run 12noon-3pm and run Tirico live from 10am-12noon – sounds much better on the air… Plus – Rome found a new home at another station here in town – so everyone is a winner…"

Huh? Really? Who could that be? Well, KXL announced they were the new home of the Jungle just this morning, live from 9 to 12....but Romey wasn't on today! Just Bill O' Reilly, what gives!?

From Martin Melius, Rome's PR guy at Premiere Radio...

"You can listen online at www.kxl.com for now, but while I cant speak openly about it yet... it wont be long before you can hear Jim live on the radio in Portland again and trust me its a good move for all of us."

How will Romey fit in at KXL will all those FOX-y news and conservative talk shows, why does Martin not want to spill the beans?

Here's a rumor that is going around on the Stucknut forums, the official unofficial (and highly-ridiculed by callers) Rome show fansite... sounds great... if true:

"Apparently Jammin 95.5 FM will be switching formats to all sports in the upcoming months featuring Blazers, Ducks, Seahawks, ESPN, Jim Rome and Westwood One programming. An entity of Paul Allen owns KXL AM & 95.5 FM so they already have broadcasting rights to the Blazers, Ducks & Hawks via the KXL contract."

Possibility of Romey on FM RADIO = NICE!

For Further Reading: Read about "Chad in Portland" the first PDXer in a Jungle Smack-Off in the Willy Week HERE.

bookmarking - you didn't demand it, but you got it.

2008-04-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

in order to attract more readers than just my dear mother, i've added a bookmarking function for your social bookmarking pleasure - you can now submit my entries/site to digg, stumbleupon, fark, delicious, reddit, or whatever else turns you on. "enjoy my leeeetel button!"

the shat is 77!

2008-03-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

in honor of The Shat's 77th birthday, trekmovie.com presents 77 reasons why he is awesome. read and educate yourself!

things i didn't used to care about

2008-03-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

it's march and the u.s. dollar is in the toilet.

right now, i'm watching my vacation to ireland get more expensive each day. the balance due for my rental car went from $488 to $530 dollars in just three days. i'm blaming you, america.. get out there and buy anything that can be taxed, so my budget doesn't get shat upon any more than it already has been, dammit!

it is your duty, my fellow americans, to make sure that when you get your "stimbate" in may, to BUY BUY BUY BUY BUY (as long as it can be taxed!). get that second home you always wanted! a condo in the pearl! a shiny new BMW M6! a swimming pool! a sidewinder missile! a copy of rock band for the xbox! heck, even an extra quarter-pounder w/ cheese for the dog! ANYTHING PEOPLE! i don't wanna pay $8 for a pint of guinness on my vacation! DO YOU HEAR ME AMERICA!

happy pi-day on fri-day

2008-03-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

3.14159265...

garfield - garfield = heelarity.

2008-03-11T09:15:00.000-07:00

one of the great mysteries of life is how a comic strip like "garfield" has managed to survive 25+ years in syndication, being green-lit for two awful big-budget films, while having the honor of being the second-most unfunny comic ever in my opinion (bested only by "the family circus".)

however, if you erase all traces of garfield from his namesake strip, what remains is accidental pure genius.

observe.

(thanks to mikey for sending this our way...)

Special Guest Film Review Time!

2008-03-10T19:29:00.001-07:00

Since i gave "beowulf" a less than stellar review (see right sidebar). I'd thought i'd give you a second opinion, transcribed by me, from our kitty-cat Atari (whose name really should have been 8-Bit). Plus, i how can i be a serious blogger without a few annoying entries from pets. So, here is her first review.

Beowulf, 2007, Paramount Pictures. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. Running time: 114 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence including disturbing images, some sexual material and nudity). Starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, & Angelina Jolie

"let me up. i wanna get on your lap. not yet. what's behind the chair? nothing. what about over here. it smells interesting. not anymore. let me up. i wanna go out. no i don't. ok, i'm up. pay attention. get my ears. pay attention. look at my butt. get my ears. pay attention. enough. i want some food."

Ed note: she screened the unrated Director's Cut.

b's coming home soon.

2008-03-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

look busy everyone.

corporate media event.... take 1. marker! action!

2008-03-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

it's interesting to dissect social behavior whilst one is holding a video camera, whether it is on or off.

So I present to you the cast of gifted people you will meet... guaranteed... if you hold a video camera in your paws for a significant amount of time at a public or private event. Which i do. Quite often.

Here are the speaking roles...

1. The Howmuchdidthatcameracost? Guy. You will meet him every time. Usually with a buddy, whom he's trying to impress/make a bet/bum a free drink from. You see, he has a rudimentary interest in film/video, but fails to realize that asking the monetary value of my equipment immediately puts him on The List; as in, if the camera is missing at the end of the day or my car is jacked, I got me a prime suspect. Now, I don't really think that he would rip off the camera; it's just a weird, and kinda dumb, question to ask somebody who is working in a (somewhat) professional manner. I don't go to shows or clubs and ask the sound tech the retail value of the mixing board (minus the mj under the desk, and PBR cans on the top). We assume it is expensive, and that's all we need to know. "Under 10,000 new for the kit." I tell him. He responds "Really, are you sure?" Uhhm. Yeah. I'm sure. Trust me.

2. The Wheredidyougetthatcamera? Guy. Pretty much the same as above. "Pro Video & Supply in Tigard." I say, as if he really intends to drive the 217 slag to pick up one for his kid's sweet sixteen. Once, i'd like to whisper "...from the terrorists." just to see the look on his face. But I won't do that. Because they will win if i do.

3. The Dontyoudarepointthatcamerainmydirection! Woman. I get a lot of these. Usually admins. These people will be the first I shoot. Always. Get over yourselves. You are not as pretty or as ugly as you think you are.

4. The Amigonnabeontv?! Guy. No, you are not going to be on TV. You are gonna be on the internet. That is worse.

5. The Canyoudigitallyaltermyface/eyes/buttbecauseihatecameras? Guy/Woman. I wish i could. Again, get over yourselves. See #3

non-speaking roles in part two...

new nin record!

2008-03-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

holy crap. talk about coming out of left field. and check out the buying options! wow.

my wife has a crush on cthulhu

2008-02-29T20:22:00.000-08:00

good story. i'll update after i've recovered from this fine 2004 umpqua valley syrah.

(art by shawn the touched.)

zooming through

2008-02-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

just four hours away from leap day, and my PowerBook is making an awful buzzing noise every now and then. bear with me.

b is doing well. and life continues. beth r. brought some guinness over the other day, and as I don't have any spare $ for real beer until tomorrow, i'm drinking it like the nectar of life. I now know what i won't be drinking in the emerald isle. not a stout guy, ya know. gimme a lager anyday.

my work badge now opens the fitness center at my office, so know there is literally no excuse for me not to work off this elegant belly that only a steady diet of Full Sail LTD & dry salami can bestow upon a man. believe me, it is a blessing.

speaking of the office, tomorrow the new office setup will unveil at my workplace. Even a camera crew from the local station will be there to show it all off to the p-town masses. However, it didn't look like the workers got the memo until this morning, as there was a mad dash to get all the signage, plasma tvs, espresso machines, and cisco phone systems all set up. Part of the idea was to get away from the whole "parking pole" idea (i'm next to "C-12"!) and name sections after concepts that people care about regionally, or at least what corporate services thinks is relevant to their workers, THEY THINK WE ARE ALL BOOZERS! so we have section named "Pinot Noir", "Cabernet", and my personal favorite "Chardonney" (sic), which was noticeably absent a few hours later after much hard-hat scratching. good lord. what about "Two Buck Chuck"?

not a dad right now...

2008-02-22T17:27:00.000-08:00

after i watched b get probed and prodded like an extraterrestrial at area 51 (i'm glad i'm a boy), we proceeded with the first ultrasound. Now, i'm not a m.d. and i certainly have no experience reading these machines (my knowledge of medical equipment irritatingly tends to come from House); but i knew something was wrong in the first 15 seconds of imaging... without the doctor saying anything. there was nothing in there that resembled a fetus.

b had developed a sac for the fetus, and certainly her hormones were responding as if she was pregnant, but there wasn't anybody home. as far as i know, the genetic software didn't load and her uterus is due for a reboot.

we were sad, angry, disappointed. then felt peace about things. then i was sad and angry again. then wondering if this was a cruel joke from God. then peaceful again.

we were given a book and a stack of pamphlets from the staff, who hoped that the more info we have, the better we might feel. and we left. the uninformed receptionist asked if we needed to schedule another appointment. no, not for now.

design alert!

2008-02-19T21:05:00.000-08:00

changed the masthead, if you haven't noticed yet. i took the photo from Hong Kong International, which is, by far, well... the longest airport i ever have been in, with the cleanest restrooms, and has the best typography; can't go wrong with the helvetica neue, folks. avoid the ramen place next to the burger king, though. not nice to the tummy. UPDATE: my intestines wanted their say as well. "not good" was the verdict. I told them that my readers don't wanna hear from them, but those guys never listen anymore.

It takes an hour and a half to get home...

2008-02-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

on most days. I'm not complaining that much; I have music and podcasts to keep me busy and to distract me from my priority of driving safely, but it takes awhile. And by the time i'm home... it will take an act of God, or usually a stern facial expression from b to get me back on the road again.

I sometimes imagine that I have a big laser gun that I could use to shoot people off of the road. Not a fatal one, just the kind of laser gun that would provide enough force to move them out of my way and envelop them in a marshmallow-like substance, so any vechicular damage and personal injury is avoided. If you see some sweet sugary jetpuffyness flying down the 205, you know i've been there in my mind.

The worst part is the downtown approach on 26 through the tunnel onto the 405 south. Just typing that seemed to take a long time, and each previous word seemed to follow the next one too closely. The exit spills into a acceleration lane for the 12th ave. on-ramp and the deceleration lane for the Ross Island off-ramp. Three different paths trying to go three different ways. Basically, the ramp designer must've known he/she was gonna get fired for the Marquam Bridge design, and decided to royally screw things up here before he/she got the boot. I can imagine this person living up on the hill above Montgomery Street from a fat ODOT severance pay, rubbing their hands together in gleeful abandon, while surveying the scene outside the tunnel every afternoon rush hour.

However, Portland is a city of progress, and tries to work with it. It is against the law to change lanes 1/4 mile before the approach,through the tunnel, to the exit ramp. And that would theoretically work, assuming people care about obeying the law. I've found most don't, and will do anything possible to avoid a stackup, even if it means creating a stackup to avoid. After entering the queue as far back as the PGE Park offramp, I feel like i've spent my dues and earned my spot in that lane, and by golly, you can't get in. After going through the tunnel, inevitably someone will shoot past me in the center lane and try to sneak in right in front of me as the lane turns towards the 405. I never let them in. They are breaking the law and, besides, they haven't paid the dues. This usually ends with middle fingers and honking and lights and starbucks coffee cups thrown at my car, but i'll take it; it's the rule of the road, baby. What gets me is the softies in front who let that guy in which causes people to brake and, you guessed it, stops the whole affair up like a low-flow toilet; lining folks back up the hill.

For cryin' out loud people, respect the solid line, or it may be smoresville for you soon.

it's over...?

2008-02-19T12:13:00.000-08:00

Toshiba flipped its king over today, ending the format war to determine whose shiny round thingy will reign when DVD goes Fidel Castro on us. What may really shock us geeky gadget types is that a format created by Sony, yup, S-O-N-Y, has made serious inroads into being a consumer electronics standard. Remember Beta tapes, MiniDisc, ATRAC compression, 10-CD changer magazines that were incompatible with industry-standard 6-CD magazines, & the rootkit fiasco? yeah. Well, the question going around may be: now that the "war" is over, when are you going to finally upgrade to a Blu-ray player in your home entertainment system?

But the real question is: who really cares?

By now, the idea that retail Compact Disc is a dead format should not come as a shock to most. Digital internet distribution is seemingly recommended by four out of five dentists who have patients who chew gum. A few years ago, there was a bit of a format war as DVD-Audio and (another Sony invention) SACD duked it out like a pair of drunken frat guys to be the successor to the CD. What happened? The girl they were fighting over went home with the nerdy mp3 guy. I don't know very many people that have a dedicated SACD or a DVD-A player (unless it was an add-on to their DVD deck), much less have any music on said formats, but there were (and still are) a lot of iPods in everyone's mitts. True, SACD and DVD-A were marketed toward the "audiophile" market, those who buy $100K speakers, tube amps, $7000 cables, and can claim to hear a difference between 48 and 96 KHz sampling frequencies, ya know, things the average ear-bud-wearing consumer couldn't give a horse's patooty about.

However, Blu-ray and HD-DVD were (still are) marketed towards Joe & Susie Six-Pack. Do they know the difference between 1080i and 1080p? What are the pros and cons of LCD vs. Plasma? What is the differences between all the audio formats: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital TrueHD, DTS-HD, & DTS Master Audio? What does HDMI 1.3 mean? What does Profile 1.1 and Profile 2.0 mean in regards to Blu-Ray players? Why is all this important? Joe and Susie Six-Pack will need to consider this before they go to shop smart, shop S-Mart. I've met S-mart salespeople who don't know this stuff.

While Joe & Susie will have to learn a few acronyms and industry buzzwords that seemed reserved for audio/video techs, they may opt-out of the shiny round thingy market entirely... heading to products like AppleTV HD rentals, HD-DVRs, HD-VOD, maybe even a HD set-top box from Netflix, basically, a simple, one-click, dedicated home network for hosting and licensing HD software. (real story behind link, btw.) An "ipod" for cinema. All your HD movies and tv shows in one box, from your computer and your plasma... an HD solution for those whose VCRs always blinked "12:00"; making getting up to load a disc in a deck so 1999. Granted, they still will have to understand the HD basics, but why start collecting a bunch of movie titles all over again, or rent discs via mail or a depressing corporate video chain, when HD films can be downloaded and ready to go in minutes over a high-speed internet connection?

Like the successor to the CD, the likely true successor to the DVD is intangible.

Does this mean I recommend against purchasing Blu-Ray players? Hardly. I will likely get one as players become more affordable and the specs are fully realized... but purchasing with the understanding that Blu-Ray will soon have another war on its hands - against an opponent that is far more elusive and widespread than HD-DVD could ever be.

myPhone

2008-02-12T21:27:00.000-08:00

i've kissed my little samsung goodbye, shelved my ancient 3rd generation iPod that many of you make fun of, and finally stepped up to the ubiquitous apple iphone. by now a review may well be worthless, because whether a reader has one or not, they probably have an opinion on it. since this is my sounding board, though, i'll give you my thoughts on it, whatever it is worth. to the point, it is an amazing device that exceeds any electronic gizmo i've ever used in regards to user experience. i'm discovering new tricks with it daily and love toting it around. part of the magic in this little glass and aluminum shingle is the simplicity and organic heavy feel of it. it just "feels" right, as opposed to some clunky plastic sidekick, or sony mobile crazy device-of-the-month. i was worried about the motion sensors and the keyboard, but they work great. i was concerned about the use of AT&T's slower EDGE network for data transfer, but for basic usage, it is speedy enough for my tastes. i normally use wi-fi whenever i can anyway. Multi-touch is fantastic; i wish all my computers used it. The amount of features packed into this thing is mind-boggling. my gripes... which you've probably heard before from others... the recessed headphone jack. the lack of third party apps (soon to be rectified) and getting used to the virtual keyboard, not to mention the constant worry of smudgy screen, even though i have a case and a protective film over the thing. there has to be a better way of loading photos onto iPhone than making albums in iPhoto and booting iTunes just to sync. It seems so... un-apple to do it that way. and way can't iPhone calendar sync to Google calendar (without third-party help)? but these are nitpicky gripes. i have a unique gripe, though: purchasing an 8GB model, only to witness the release of a 16GB version two weeks later. grrrr!. regardless, well done, apple. I can't wait to see what may come next.

trajan is the movie font

2008-02-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

i don't post youtube stuff normally, but there is a valuable lesson here..

the corporate droning

2008-02-12T20:14:00.000-08:00

after five months at my hi-tech corporate job for the man, i'd say things are going pretty well. since i'm getting comfortable here, i can now branch out into other projects after work, like... well... let's say... HAVE A BABY!

yup, genetic material of b and i will combine to create something that may look like this. of course, this is a early prototype design and final specs haven't been incorporated into the production model. i shall keep you posted as the project goes beta in october and ISO 9001 certified shorty thereafter.

meanwhile, we've been planning an expedition to the emerald isle of... er... ireland. to do what you say? not kiss any moldy castle parapet that's been slobbered on since the dawn of post and lintel construction, that's for sure.

ireland is freaking expensive, and they drive on the wrong side of the road. since my ordeal in malaysia, i've been wary of drivie leftie, but it looks like we may have to rent a car in certain parts. and i'll, gulp, give it a whirl. unless i've had a bit of the stout, of course. plus, all the traffic jams... well, we'll see if we can make it happen.

other news, it's 44 degrees outside and a little sprinkly. a crazy woman plowed into a PGE substation this morning; we were out of power for awhile, but everything turned out ok. b and i were back asleep, however, keeping each other awake with my snoring and b's tossing about in no time at all.

i have some more posts planned, including a riveting tell-all about the real deal on hoity-toity men's salons, comparing my experiences at two top p-town places to preen your male 'do , the fate of HD discs: why nobody but me cares, an iPhone review: why nobody but me cares, and why this book should be in everyone's hands immediately.

12.21.07

2008-02-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

Willis H. Stanfill Sr.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007, in Holman's Funeral Service for Willis H. Stanfill Sr., who died Dec. 21 at age 89.

Willis H. Stanfill was born June 21, 1918, in Portland, where he lived all his life. He attended Commerce High School and later received a GED. He owned Welders Supply for more than 17 years. In 1942, he married Lorraine O'Brien.

Survivors include his wife; daughters, Linda Andrusko, Joy Stanfill and Patricia Hull; son, Bill; brother, Robert L.; nine grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Remembrances to Medical Teams International.

11 best records of 2007

2007-12-19T22:08:00.001-08:00

since my friends are doing it, here's my grand cliff jump.

in no particular order....

stars - "in our bedroom after the war"
nin - "year zero"
blonde redhead - "23"
matthew dear - "asa breed"
MIA - "kala"
boy eats drum machine - "two ghosts"
klaxons - "myths of the near future"
kathy diamond - "miss diamond to you"
battles - "mirrored"
chromeo - "fancy footwork"
justice - "†"

honorable mention...

metric - "grow up and blow away" (i know it's not technically a 07 release)
maps - "we can create"
radiohead - "in rainbows"
menomena - "friend and foe"
pepe deluxe - "spare time machine"
retina.IT - "semeion"
arcade fire - "neon bible"
the cinematics - "a strange education"
feist - "the reminder"
mark ronson - "version"
underworld - "oblivion with bells"

the wisdom of the ages

2007-12-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

apparently, I haven't posted my activities in a while. well, if you are one of the approximately five people that read this thing and know me outside this internets, you probably know where i've been lately. let's just say i mostly survived the malaysian ordeal with my dignity and nine HDV tapes intact. :)

SI

2007-11-28T22:53:00.000-08:00

anime peanuts...

2007-11-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

done by an artist who goes by the name of gNAW. Here's a japan-influenced look at the best comic strip ever. wow. my personal favorites are marcie... what geeky dude cannot resist her with that pout and laptop she is holding? and the one of charlie and sally with the rollerblades. schultz never would have drawn that, but it is totally in character for those two. looks like gNAW is still sketching ideas on snoopy.... enjoy. CLICK EACH PIC TO EMBIGGEN.

OiNK :(

2007-10-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

I was going to rant about the shutdown of OiNK, one of the most influential sites i've ever seen on the web, but I found another blog article that sums up EXACTLY how I feel/felt about the changing face of music distribution, and music piracy in general... written by rob sheridan, whose most well-known work is as the graphic designer and video/photo artist for nine inch nails. Kinda long, but well worth it! REQUIRED READING!

take me to the article!

life at the office now

2007-10-29T18:37:00.001-07:00

erik's music video festival 07

2007-10-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

i would like to show you all some of my favorite music videos (not on the Director's Label DVDs) that have influenced me in my video work – and some that i think are just great. enjoy.

Herbie Hancock: "Rockit"
1983
Directed by Godley & Creme

an influence for 3000 flares.
---

DJ Shadow: "Six Days"
2002
Directed by Wong Kar-Wai

wong kar-wai made a music video for dj shadow? i'm speechless.
---

Elton John: "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore"
2002
Directed by David LaChapelle

starring justin timberlake as sir elton and paul reubens as his manager.
---

The Eurythmics: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
1983
Directed by Dave Stewart and Jon Roseman

if unavailable, due to Sony BMG being stingy, go here.
another influence of 3000 flares.
---

Jason Forrest: "War Photographer"
2005
Directed by Joel Trussell

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Kidz Bop: "Since U Been Gone"
2005
Directed by Wormseye Films

the shot of the kid at -0:55 = priceless. amazing video.
--

Kraftwerk: "The Robots"
1978
Directed by Bill Plympton

another 3000 flares influence.
--

Röyksopp: "Remind Me"
2002
Directed by H5

often this is how i see the world... as art/data.
---

Vitalic: "Poney (Pt. 1)"
2006
Directed by Pleix

i'm waiting for the sequel with cats. good luck with that.
---

Fiest - "1234"
2007
Directed by Patrick Daughters

wow. how did they do that? here's the answer!

my nerdiness is getting in the way of my geekiness

2007-10-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

if you can name all the nerd toys that have wound up in my office, than you are bigger geek than I, since I don't know what half of this stuff is for.

my job

2007-10-20T00:46:00.000-07:00

let Conan be your guide...

Yes, that's what the insides really look like in all the buildings, whether you are in America or Argentina. Every employee, from the lowly data cruncher to the CEO, has a cube - no offices.. My cube is in JF1-2 next to pole F10. Fortunately, 99% of the time I'm in a colorful video production suite in JF1-2 next to pole C12 (with tiki decor!)

Somebody already stole my cube chair. I blame Conan.

four out of five dentists agree...

2007-10-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

that this is the best pic ever taken of me. kinda hennessey from "royal tannenbaums" meets daft punk helmetude - that's what i was going for. a little tipsy i think; and i wonder, why is there a miller in my hand?

what's new pussycat?

2007-10-20T00:33:00.000-07:00

'ello.

let's run down the things in my life right now.

- got a new imac! i've got the most beautiful computer in the world.

- got a new job! i loved the imac so much, i decided to work for the people who made its guts! i've got the most beautiful team in the world.

- however i have the most horrible commute in the world.

- where's my first paycheck? the maker's mark is getting low.

AiPD commencement speech. Sept. 15, 2007

2007-10-20T00:28:00.000-07:00

First off, thank you to the faculty for asking me to be the student
speaker. It is an honor. To my fellow graduates, I'll try to keep this
as brief as possible; You are all sitting quite close together and I
realize these robes don't breathe very well. I'd like to add that this
might be the only time you will see the graduates from apparel design
wear a gown that is 100% polyester.

So here we are. All this work... for this moment, our degrees finally
bestowed upon us. Well, granted, we do have to allow 6 to 8 weeks for
shipping on those certificates; but that's how it is.

I'd like to reflect on some experiences I've have at the Art Institute
that may be common with the rest of my fellow graduates…

Learning 25 different styles of side chairs, end tables, buffets,
davenports, and, in the next class, debating the finer intricacies and
symbolism of Tobe Hooper's cinematic masterpiece "The Texas Chain Saw
Massacre."

Discovering that the stairs are faster to get around, but you wait for
the elevators anyway.

Informing new students who are lost that it is helpful to think of
Floor 2 as being Floor 3's "li'l buddy".

Finding out that food is a motivating factor in students, as most
on-campus events promise some type of quick and, usually, pie-shaped
sustenance to lure you in. And it works well.

Realizing that three-quarters of your spending money goes to Whole
Foods AKA Whole Paycheck. A tip: at the buy-it-by-the pound lunch bar,
they don't appreciate it if you just put ranch dressing into those
take-away boxes.

Sometimes there is new gear available to check out in the equipment
cage that is not listed in the brochure. If you are nice to the staff,
they let you know about it. The cage is like Q-Branch from the James
Bond movies: hooking you up for the field. But without the batty old
British guy… and the cage's gear doesn't explode. Or, at least, not
intentionally.

Speaking of exploding…

Grieving the loss of decent street parking, as the Pearl neighborhood
exploded in commercial growth these past four years – adding to all
the other 100 reasons not to take a car to school.

And remember: the streetcar waits for no woman or man.

Another common experience I share with you tonight is celebrating our
accomplishments, and undertaking the next step in reaching our goals.
We all set our mind to a goal and have attained what we worked toward.
We all made a choice to seek, or complete, our education here and
have stuck to that goal.

I'd like to tell you how I set my mind to this goal. It was on a
sudden whim. A sunny day four years ago, I was walking downtwon and I
saw the main entrance to the school. I stopped in to take a brief
look, and ended up having a meeting with admissions. I had some
college experience but I had never finished. I hadn't made school a
priority. There was nothing wrong with that. I needed time to figure
out what I wanted. I was living on my own, working full-time in
printing, and enjoying my 20-somethings lifestyle.

However, after I was married my printing job wasn't satisfying. My
wife Bonnie and I were enjoying our status as DINKs – Dual Income No
Kids, but I now wanted to go back to school. I wanted to work in a
creative environment that made visual stories. I discussed this with
Bonnie, and we made a decision.

I enrolled at the Art Institute a few months after that impromptu
meeting, as a digital media production major. I had no idea what
MiniDV tape was, never once used Final Cut or Avid, and I had never
written a script. My only film-making experience was in high school;
borrowing my dad's Video8 camcorder and making horrifically bad home
videos that would make M. Night proud. But, I knew I loved being
behind the camera. I found out later, that was a common story among
my classmates and, seemingly, how a lot of people in the business
started. I discovered that this is what I wanted to do.

After a while, it was obvious that keeping my job and maintaining 4-5
classes a term wasn't working for me. Again, Bonnie and I made a
decision, and I quit the print shop. We were going from dual income to
single income – we were now SINKs. Which, metaphorically, also
described the impact to our bank account balance. But we've made it,
and leaving my job was an important step in gaining a new career.

I am grateful for the experiences I've had, and the people I've met.
I can already see that I will love my new career. I'm also grateful
to the people who've encouraged and supported me.

We all owe thanks to the parents, family, friends, partners, and
spouses, who supported us in myriad of ways during our education.
Thanks to the outstanding administration, faculty, and instructors for
being there for us, working hard to make sure that we know what we
need to know to survive in this world, and keeping on top of those
required plagiarism statements on the syllabi.

The thought I want to leave you with is that you define your own
success. It is about your effort and your attitudes. The fact that we
are sitting here, voluntarily wearing these ridiculous and impractical
hats, means we are mentally ready for success and the work ahead.
Marty McFly told his dad, George, "if you put your mind to it; you can
accomplish anything." It may be cliché, or
chicken-soupy-for-the-souly, to say that in a graduation speech, but
that doesn't diminish the profound sentiment behind it.

Completing all these college credits, while dealing with what life
tossed at us, has been a lot of work. There is still a lot of work
ahead for all of us. Some of us will go on graduate school, some of us
may take a vacation, but Monday will come. On that Monday morning, we
will have to find a job, and no one worthwhile will hire someone just
because they have a degree and a charming smile. We have to prove that
we are better for the job, and that we can do it better. How are we
able to claim this? Because it is something we love to do, we have the
talent to do it, and we have wanted to do all our lives. This is our
passions, our dreams, and after tonight we will be living it.

My fellow graduates, congratulations! Celebrate! Enjoy this time & be
safe. Realize that there is a lot of work to be done on Monday, but is
it still two days away and the night is young. Thank you.

when you see a fork in the road, take it.

2007-08-29T12:22:00.000-07:00

i've been busy for the last three weeks working for red door/opb on the math project, now that production is wrapped, i have time to do things, like type stuff here. I still have some work ahead, but not anything wickedly daunting. my three and a half years as an aipd student will have come to an end on september 14th, so there is a crossroads approaching, so to speak.

many challenges lie ahead, like: where are we gonna get money to eat and pay the mortgage? but, i'm not particuarly worried, we've always been taken care of in the past and we will continue to be in the future.

A big unknown looms ahead, and i'm pretty excited.

being said, I'll likely be shutting this particular blog down and doing something different, as I focus on creating a professional web presence for myself and my work. I'll work on migrating these entries to an archive of some type for friends and family, but it will probably be an offline archive, inaccessable by web.

I'll continue to update through september 07, and shut down lavalier.blogspot when erikstanfill.com comes online.

is walmart good for america?

2007-08-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

watch and decide

007 in 07

2007-08-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

swenson and I are finished! in less than six weeks. whew! a lot of great production design, corny one-liners, 64 PG-rated sex scenes (estimated), 101 smarmy grins, 20 verbal sparring matches with the administrative assistant, aka, the resident spinster moneypenny, and plenty o' cold-war butt-smacking male chauvinism galore, was enjoyed by all, or at least tolerated with a groan. look to the right for my rankings in order of, relatively-speaking, quite good (casino royale, from russia with love, etc.) to downright torture-to-behold (moonraker, diamonds are forever, die another day) let the disagreeing begin!

UPDATE: no, we didn't watch "never say never again"... only EON films here, kiddies.

a month later...

2007-08-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

hip hip tallyho!
an update!

yay!

so tired...

2007-07-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

I need to go to bed earlier. i'm feeling haggard and slumpy, and i still have an hour of work ahead. i'm sure the big honkin' plate of kung pao chicken didn't help.

today's random thought

2007-07-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

sometimes i wish that i was as handsome and ripped like mr. clean, but then everyone would want me to clean their toilets.

BEDM cd release video up at Pampelmoose

2007-07-24T09:34:00.000-07:00

cupcakes? invisible cd covers? the appeasement of vegans?
yessir, see the grisly details they didn't want you to know, captured in quicktime... right here!

and half a measure of kina lillet...

2007-07-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

i've been watching the EON productions' 007 series with sloop, to complete all 21 films in chronological order in under 8 weeks... it sometimes takes a bit of effort. we've been going three weeks now and we are almost in the middle of the roger moore era. it's actually interesting to watch these tidbits of pop culture in order... kind of like a thermometer measuring the audience over the years. my faves so far? well, we are ten films down and here's how it stacks up so far. 1 being my fave, 10 being the, well, not so fave. i'll put this in the sidebar to keep it fresh...

7/26 UPDATE: moved list to the sidebar

BEDM cd release tomorrow

2007-07-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

you know you want to go. i'll be there with a camera to capture your riotous self.

the band
the place

more man in the hat...

2007-07-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

short, but sweet.

video spotting

2007-07-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

3000FLARES spotted on willy week's local cut...

and not to be outdone, looks like it found it's way onto the Merc's blog, too.

right on.

token apple geek editorial (not about iPhone)

2007-07-07T11:27:00.001-07:00

as reported here, apple is planning on introducing a new line of imacs in august - that features the brushed aluminum design common with the "pro" line (macbook Pro, mac pro) with faster clock speeds (2.4GHz) on the core 2 duo processor (this will max out the current chip config for this platform.)

sounds good to me.

the mac mini is rumored to be discontinued.

ok, never really thought of getting one.

however, i've been looking at the mac pro for quite some time... considering my student discount window is drawing to a close... and the mac pro is the prime candidate for replacing my aged G4 tower from 1999. speaking of 1999, it's bizarre to think that something from 1999 is considered, in marketing terms, ancient technology. i remember when 1999 was THE FUTURE, and we'd all be living on the moon. i must be getting old, too.

I need a scalable, upgradeable design that can stay with me for years, and will be able to handle video/audio editing with ease. but the mac pros are quite expensive - even with my student discount, a system that manages to meet my needs runs about $2600, and has options i'll probably never use. (FOUR hard drive bays!?)

i do not want an imac configuration; I want to be able to replace the monitor, video card, & hard drives as future needs allow... not happening with the imac.

what do i want doesn't exist... a desktop mac with a $1000 to $1600 price point... user upgradable... offers multiple choices for video/audio peripherals. I don't need four hard drive bays, only two. I don't need two or four x two core (!?) xeon processors, just throw in a desktop version of the intel core 2 duos like the rest of the lineup. Less ports... three usbs, two firewire 400s, one firewire 800... 1,2,3... ok by me. support for up to 8 gigs of memory, not 16. slimmer chassis, or use the current one to save money on manufacturing a new one. (thanks to cubess from macprocube.com for the fan-created mod-design above)

the desktop mac for the masses... enough "hands-on" to make a PC geek happy, and a better value than a mac mini.

i'm sure apple's been quite busy with the iphone launch, leopard redesign, and evidently polishing up the imacs... but i think a mid-range mac desktop would be a fine addition to the lineup and sell considerably well, maybe even better than the imacs.

and your point is...

2007-07-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

i have some personal guidelines about posting here; one being that my posts don't name or infer specific people that would likely read it and potentially be hurt or offended. i've heard more and more stories lately (particularly with myspace users) about people with grievances toward someone else and blogging/posting about it for the world to know, instead of privately dealing with the issue. i can't stress enough how wrong this is. myspace pages (and blogs) are a public forum, remember that. I know you have to log in on myspace to read the blogs, but seriously, deal with the issue, instead of posting it here... in unrelated news, i'm tired of my cat peeing on my barbeque! omg, what kind of cat pees on a barbeque, anyway? I wish she would stop. could someone tell atari to stop it? she's driving me crazy.

more "eunuch" love

2007-06-28T14:16:00.001-07:00

looks like "eunuch" was mentioned in an editorial about local music video directors in the last issue of willy week. check it out.... thanks to peter for the heads up.

the man in the hat is back...

2007-06-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

... not me, this guy. shooting started ~~in new haven, connecticut~~ on thursday, so the director snapped a photo to give us something to talk about.

UPDATE: looks like they started in new mexico. here's a short video with quick highlights of the first day. no spoilers. just filmmakers looking like they are having a great time. i'd love to be on that shoot.

///3000FLARES/// up at pampelmoose!

2007-06-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

my latest in the boy eats drum machine film saga is up exclusively at pampelmoose, a nifty music/culture blog/label ('nuff slashes for you?) hosted by gang of four legend dave allen. sorry, kids, no you tube 4 U. you can also snag a mp4 suitable on iPod video for portable consumption. ENJOY!

UPDATE: Looks like it made it onto portland mercury's pod n' vod page also. another sighting... if you have a musicnation account, you can vote for it here.

tired.

2007-06-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

thursday's screening went fantastic. we had a great time there and afterwards... just pretty tired after the last two weeks of getting everything into place. i must say props to jonny and tami "frezzi" g. for working hard to get the sound/muzak finished on t16. 3000flares will be posted soon on a webby near you and t16 will be making a few festival rounds. meanwhile, i'll be taking it easy this summer by working for these guys, writing, and finishing up my last two classes before grabbing a BS on my way out the door in september. (erm, that'll be a bachelors of science degree, not the other thing that you were thinking.) In august, the long awaited website will be up, and i'll start blog v4.0.

3000 flares and t16 is finished

2007-06-12T21:10:00.001-07:00

catch the premieres this thursday night at the AiPD digital cinema showcase at the hollywood theater. doors 6:30, show 7ish.

salt lake eunuch

2007-05-31T21:06:00.000-07:00

"eunuch" will be exhibited at the utah arts festival, June 21st @ 1pm and June 24th @ 3pm as part of the "subculture" block of films. I guess if you happen to be in salt lake city these days you could check it out, but likely no one reading this will be. also, my friend autumn's "a generation of airplanes" will also be screening. it's up to us to represent p-town.

///3000FLARES///

2007-05-25T21:35:00.001-07:00

cutting... (click pic to make big)

new BEDM video shoot

2007-05-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

yup, another one. lots of cement floors, broom fightings, and strange computers this time around. 3000FLARES is the lead-off track on the new BEDM record "2 ghosts", and it will be a fine listen indeed. (click pics to make big time where available)

t16 update

2007-05-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

editing is nearing completion. my friend autumn worked on it for awhile and took it a direction that was needed. should have picture lock in a few days. screening june 14th at the hollywood theater. sheesh, i'd better get a move on! (click pic to make big)

been awhile... oblig. catch-up post...

2007-05-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

ok, here's somethin's that been on my mind...

1. TRON is 25 years old. underrated film. Same with STAR TREK II:THE WRATH OF KHAN, uhm, not as underrated, but still a good film.
2. LES SCHWAB is dead. :(. everyone in oregon knows this guy like he's some distant uncle in prineville who hooks you up with tires and free flat repair if you ask nicely.
3. the PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS have the #1 draft pick in the NBA! YAY! with brandon roy, 07 rookie of the year, and the chance to get greg oden from ohio state (dumb not to), portland has a team that will make the town proud again real soon.
4. STAR WARS is 30 years old. This movie had an impact on my generation... and many... like no other.
5. i'm obsessed with BBQ-U WITH STEVEN RAICHLIN. nightly on OPB.

mind the equines!

2007-05-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

have you seen those plastic horses on curbsides around olda streets of portand (i.e. downtown, pearl, north- south- eastside under 60-ish)? well, they are all part of a voluntary community art project to once again use those rusty iron rings that kept your primary mode of transportation from running away - back in the day before model-t fords started to putt down belmont and burnside. here's the... urm... scoop, and here's a map of current prancing ponies.

goofy takes on 5.1 on his own terms

2007-04-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

i'm ecstatic over the news that disney is back to producing shorts in good-old fashioned 2D cell animation. One of the first shorts to debut this fall is goofy in "how to hook up your home theater"! Yeppers, a return to the classic "how to..." series! remember when goofy (or multiple goofies) would attempt a sport or pastime - with a dead-pan/throat-clearing/stuffy narrator providing instruction? let the heee-larity begin! my old faves included "the art of self-defense", "how to swim", "how to dance", "goofy's glider", and the all-time classic "the art of skiing." (or shee-ing) "...home theater" is destined to be a classic for me, considering the subject matter. We'll see goofy try to figure out 1080i vs. 1080p and component cables vs. HDMI cables... will he choose plasma or LCD? I dunno, but goofy seems more like a LCoS guy to me. will he decide on 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound? what calibration DVD will he use? will he plunk down the 30 bucks for a radio shack SPL meter? but the bottom pre-production sketch looks like he is getting ready to patch his moog modular synth... maybe the back of his rackmount cabinet?

I can't wait until goofy demos his new room! Lemme venture a guess and say that goofy will go blu-ray disc over hd-dvd.

the hybrids vs. the hummers... a draw?

2007-04-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

As gas prices frequently make top-of-the-hour newscasts, and car manufacturers market how fuel-efficient their vehicles potentially are, it is clear that saving money at the gas pump is a concern for this country. Also, with the ongoing wars in the Middle East, the uncertainty of the world's future oil supply and the challenge of global warming, hybrid vehicles like the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius seem attractive options for those wishing to reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gases. Television advertisements with Kermit the Frog tout how wonderful a Ford Escape Hybrid is for the environment. Glossy ad pages in technology magazines like Wired boast about high mileage ratings. But, as the famous frog once sang, it's not easy being green. To determine the impact of a vehicle on our environment, a holistic approach needs to be considered; not limited to just fuel consumption and efficiency. From birth to death, from the mining of the raw materials for manufacturing - to the eventual crunch in a landfill, the vehicle's entire lifespan and existence is the real impact on the environment.
As many of us (hopefully) know, global warming is a certainty and knows no political affiliation. Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (NO2) trap infrared radiation in the atmosphere, causing an overall raise in average global temperature and giving them the apropos name of “greenhouse” gases. Part of these gases come from natural occurrences (volcanoes, dead plants, animals), but a significant part of them come from human-produced sources (mines, factories/power plants, landfills, cars.) A century of busy mining, rapid industrialization, and exponential world population growth has taken quite a bit from our planet. CO2 levels in the atmosphere are at an extraordinary high, and, unfortunately, we humans don't breathe CO2 very well. The amount of additional carbon into the atmosphere should be the measure on how “eco-friendly” a vehicle is, and I'm not talking about what comes out of the exhaust pipe.
The amount of carbon that a process, lifestyle, or technology contributes to the atmosphere is commonly referred to as the “carbon footprint.” I can calculate my personal carbon footprint by analyzing how many miles I drive, products I buy, electricity I use, how many miles I flew on a airplane, how much trash I throw away; the list can go on for as many iterations I want. Then I think about what came before and after my actions, for example, the time the sanitation truck spends time idling in front of my house to empty my trash bin can be calculated into my carbon footprint. The shiny new Weber gas grill we purchased last summer came from the local Home Depot. The grill was shipped to the store from a warehouse, likely by truck, which came from a manufacturing facility, by truck or train, which parts came from overseas, by boat, which raw materials came from all over the globe, by boat, train, or truck. All this transportation adds CO2 to the atmosphere and compose the carbon footprint of the Weber grill; purchased a mere 1⁄2 mile from my house. Now reducing one's carbon footprint to zero is impossible, unless you stop breathing, but chipping away at your footprint by asking your utility company to switch you to renewable energy, buying local produce from a farmer's market or co-op, or planting trees can help. Taking a closer look at the hybrid vehicle you may be thinking about purchasing is wise.
The most successful hybrid vehicle, in terms of sales, is the Toyota Prius. Introduced in Japan in the late 1990s, the North American release in 03 was met with outstanding sales. Waiting lists were common, some reaching up to six months in length. Hollywood celebrities were seen driving the car; owning one became a status symbol. The Prius was marketed as the most eco-friendly around, in terms of gas mileage and emissions. Certainly, the Prius is a logical choice for the smog-ridden areas of Los Angeles County. Magazines and critics praised the car for being one of the most technologically advanced vehicles made, with numerous industry awards bestowed upon it. The basis of hybrid technology is the combination of an electric motor and a traditional combustion engine, commonly called a petroleum electric hybrid vehicle (PEHV). The Prius can run using one or both of the motors, using the combustion engine and regenerative braking to recharge the nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries used in the electric motor. As shipped from the factory, the NiMH packs cannot be recharged from a external source. Aftermarket products can be installed to convert a Prius PEHV into a plug-in version (PHEV), such as the PRIUS+, adding the convenience of charging the NiMH packs through an ordinary household 120V plug, and using the combustion engine as a back-up, if desired. One particularly interesting application with a PRIUS+ system is Vehicle-To-Grid, a process of using home photovoltaic panels to charge the vehicle, providing supplemental power to the home, and uploading and any excess to the power grid. This sounds like the ultimate in eco-friendliness, but this technology has a price that is not necessarily paid by your wallet.
Since a Prius is technologically more complex than a traditional vehicle, there are more parts, subsystems, and components that must be assembled for the whole thing to work, and these parts are not made in the same place. NiMH batteries are the latest and greatest in rechargeable technology. They last longer than older tech like Ni-Cad, and are generally more friendly environmental wise than older batteries containing cadmium and mercury, which are quite toxic for life. I am speaking in respective terms, because the process of recycling NiMH batteries is a complex and expensive endeavor due to the large amount of metals involved and the wide-range of sizes and compositions. According to an article in London's Daily Mail, the nickel used in factory-installed Prius batteries is mined in Ontario, Canada, shipped to the U.K for refining, then sent to China for further refining, then finally, off to Japan where the batteries are actually made. Eventually, the batteries head to Toyota manufacturing plants in Japan or the United States. That results in, potentially, a worldwide trip for the nickel. And, just like my Weber grill, all that shipping and trucking creates a large carbon footprint, just for the raw materials for one single part of a Toyota Prius.
In the same article, the nickel mine in Sudbury, Ontario is under scrutiny for showing poor concern for the surrounding environment. It is important to note that the text and headline is a bit misleading and baiting, as Toyota doesn't own the mine in question, and the author infers hypocrisy between people who have purchased a Prius out of environmental concern, and the damage to the surrounding landscapes during the raw mining of materials for said vehicle. Mining and refining is a messy business across the board, adding tons of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. I'm concerned with the process involved in acquisition of the materials, but I am also quite concerned with the expended energy in the transportation of the materials, which tends not to attract much attention.
CNW Research in Bandon, Oregon has built an impressive 500-page report of the energy costs of building, owning, operating, and disposing of a vehicle through its entire life. Appropriately titled “Dust to Dust”, this report chronicles costs of specific vehicles to see the actual economic and environmental impact in dollars per mile of the life of the vehicle. The results are enlightening, to say the least. A Toyota Prius in 2005 had a $3.25 per mile energy cost, while the Hummer H3, a vehicle that is frequently targeted as the “poster boy” of American self-indulgence, had an energy cost in 2005 of $1.95 a mile, about 60% the energy cost of the Prius. Now granted, the Prius has better fuel economy than the H3 (about 45mpg for the Prius, 16mpg for the H3 - for the first four years of ownership, according to CNW), so for a commuter or a family on a tight budget, a Prius makes a lot more sense economically. Why does a Prius have a higher energy cost? The batteries, the electric power plant, the combustion motor, and the electronics all are more specialized, originate from different parts of the world, and has consumables that are difficult to recycle.
The point of this is not to infer that a hybrid vehicles are bad for our environment and an H3 really is, but to encourage people to examine and think what goes into making and disposing a vehicle of this type, and to make an informed decision about purchasing a hybrid vehicle. Like I stated, a vehicle that has the fuel economy and emissions of the current hybrids is a good thing, but let us not fool ourselves into believing marketing hype that hybrid vehicles are the absolute environmentally friendly choice.

6_07

2007-04-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

my wife hates tweety

2007-03-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

she doesn't have a strong dislike of tweety, she loathes tweety. the mere mention of that yellow bird will send her into a fit that rivals luke skywalker's pummeling of darth vader after he dropped his sister's name on him. it's a sure way to get a stern look and a verbal warning if i even am hinting toward any kind of mention of tweety. i'm not sure why she does. i searched the web and found many people who sincerely hate tweety, and have compelling reasons why. most mention that tweety reminds them of a kid they went to grade school, who would cause trouble and, when confronted, blame it on other innocent students. i can relate to that. there was this one kid in my first or second grade class who was like that. he was the teacher's pet, so his word had a higher authority. I get socked by an eraser. he'd snicker about it. the teacher would turn around, and he say i was picking on him. i get in trouble and have to move a little felt dog into this paper doghouse on the wall, indicating my current status in the behavioral pecking order of the class. i rarely ever had a day got by that i wasn't bound for the doghouse. I also noticed that female classmates of mine never got into the doghouse. I hated that doghouse, it was a daily reminder that i never measured up. if i acted up again, or was the victim of this cheeky little eraser-throwing bastard, i'd get a check mark by my name and have to sit out in the hall. it was a no-win senario back then. students in grade school today have it easy. if a teacher humiliates them, they can sue. why didn't i learn about lawyers in first grade? that would've helped with the ol' college loans. now i think i'm starting to hate tweety, too.

the tunnel. 12:43. wednesday.

2007-03-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

we were gathered in the giant glass tunnel and ready to roll. "this time, lets kick up the wind a bit!" the director said. the previous takes had wind, but not enough to get the pink cape on the squirrel really moving. this time it was a reverse to the ringmaster cracking the whip and the costume needed to move . i call camera action... wind action... slate... and run out of the way. the turbines start up and i hang on to the nearest light stand. a high pitched whine turned into a colossal roar as cold frigid air from the swan island inlet rushes into the room as if it was a giant vacumm cleaner. the camera rolls, and the roar is louder. two grips hug c-stands like cats climbing a tree, and the silk that the stands are supporting begins to go airbourne. i look at the director. Her face is pink and her hair is flying straight back. i can't hear what she is yelling. my feet begin sliding across the floor. it takes all my energy to keep the light stand up. the two guys hugging the c-stands are sliding on their butts backwards towards the intakes. the director slashes her free hand across her throat as frantically as she can. I skid a foot or so back on the smooth floor, but right before I lose the light stand, the turbines die down to a soft whine. everything is ok. the engineer in the control room apologizes over the walkie; he turned it up a little more than intended. "that was great!" the director yells, "let's roll it again!"

star trek fun! caption this!

2007-03-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

"...and he says, 'yeah, didya really think i wished for a 12-inch pianist?'"

"... and after scotty fell on the floor, there was only about this much left in the barrel."

"look through my hand, jim! doesn't it look like i'm squishing the klingons' heads on the viewscreen? die! die! die!"

"well, if you must know, jim, based on your physicals, i'd say spock's got this much on you in the... uhm... well, you-know-what department."

"jim, it had to have been this big. seriously, sulu's not going to be able to sit down at the helm for a week."

"i'd say move the stools over a bit, and bring the taps up just a little higher... are you sure starfleet is ok with having a wet bar on the bridge?"

"jimmy baby, this was about as much as I could grab of nurse chapel's butt before she decked me. ok, smoothy, what else do you suggest?"

"jim, if for some crazy reason i ever have to wear a red shirt on a landing party, here's what i'd like my epitaph to read."

"dammit, that should read 'Deforest' not 'DeForest' they can't even get the credits right in the remasters! and i'm still behind that green-blooded sunuvabitch, too!"

"ok, bones, if i wanted an visual opinion of my acting talent from you, i would have asked for it."

reznor, you are freaking me out.

2007-02-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

don't mean to get all fanboy on you, but hop on over to yearzero.nin.com and check out the trailer (?) for the new NIN record. hint: make sure your speakers are going full blast..

freaky.

this is just a small part of a massive online (and real world) campaign that seems more like a film release than a cd release. the fans and media are eating it up; it's working. I'm particularly interested in this (and not just cause i'm a fan of the artist), because it is a new twist in viral marketing... purposeful and intentional leaking of new songs, hidden websites and messages, images hidden in static, and giving fans stencils for spraypainting resistance logos.. errr... just art for fun. the marketing itself is becoming an art form. it is almost to the point that the music is secondary to the overall story here...

a familiar paranoid corrupt government in 2022, a totalitarian society ruled by christian fundamentalist zealots, citizens slipped a drug called "parepin" in the water, freedom to worship, marry, and have children requires a license, there is a resistance that is seemingly fueled by art, people are killing each other, and an errie ghostly entity, known only as "the presence," is moving its giant hand around everywhere.

sounds like the end times/end of the world to me.

this would be a great film. looks like we'll just have the soundtrack, though.

rolling stone online has a great recap on what has happened and what going on right now, but evidently more things are planned. can't wait to see what is next.

certain interesting things.

2007-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

ten things that have fascinated me this week, in no particular order of importance...

10. airports in different cities. (exploring them via google earth)
9. nine inch nails' ongoing viral campaign.
8. how my mac G4 computer keeps running - it will be 8 years old in october. that's 140 in computer years.
7. the word "ossify."
6. terro ant traps.
5. free beef from les schwab tires. (got some)
4. what would happen if mt. hood, a stratovolcano in my nearby proximity, would erupt right now? (I have volcano insurance)
3. a half-order of hawaiian style ahi poki from noho's. yum.
2. the dialectic approach: thesis + antithesis = synthesis
1. apple already "new daylight savings time" savvy, so we can avoid yet another nasty y2k-style apocalypse. (remember that? tough times back then.)

in the can

2007-02-16T15:03:00.000-08:00

production

2007-02-16T14:31:00.000-08:00

production

2007-02-16T13:50:00.000-08:00