Some new stuff, and Merry Christmas!

I'm sorry, but I have to do this:

(rant mode ON)
Counting down to Xmas...only four more shopping days. Christ, I fucking HATE this time of year! I HATE that I have to be nice to people I would otherwise gladly skewer with a rusty fork; I HATE shopping, and the crowds of slack-jawed microcephalitics that get in my way; and I TOTALLY hate the traffic during the so-called "holiday" season! MY holiday starts AFTER Xmas, when the idiots retreat to their filthy hovels and quietly scheme for next year's Yuletide fun.
(rant mode OFF)

Boy, did THAT feel good! It's been building up for a while now, and I figured that a healthy hate-filled outburst right about now would be better than a horrific booze-fueled bloodbath later at the mall.

I'm fine now...

Really...

Merry Christmas!

Besides all this holiday fun, I've been working with Anthony via the phone on the script, and we've been discussing various details of the shoot. I'm also considering taking a class in "Journalism: Writing News and Feature Stories" at Housatonic Community College. It's located right next to Soundview TV, so I can take the class one night a week, then go over to the studio for an hour or two and use their editing stations.

I have to check to see when registration closes...the class runs for 10 weeks, from Feb. through April. By the end of the class Spring will be here so I'll start getting my boat in shape for the sailing season. It'll be nice to have something different to do over the Winter. It's been about 20 years since I went to school, so I'm looking forward to getting back into learning mode.

Today I tested my fog machine. I filled my den with fog in about 45 seconds, then took pictures with my digital camera. I think that the digital will see things a lot like a DV cam will. I also took shots of a flashlight beam in the fog, and a red laser. The laser looks totally cool, especially when the POV is near the line of the beam. Also, I used a mirror to reflect the laser, and the camera picks up the beam quite clearly in the mist. Any time I need to show a light in the dark, I'm gonna spray some mist into the scene first.

It looks like my special FX department is officially established! Cool.

(See? I managed to end this entry on an up note!)