Monday, March 28, 2011

Videos from SWAN DAY CT

Here's two videos I made on Saturday at SWAN DAY CT.

The first is the band Waking Elliot playing "Affliction":



The second is artist Kerry Kozaczuk painting in fast motion while Waking Elliot plays another song.



Be sure to visit the SWAN DAY CT site for more info on this great event, and make plans to attend next year!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

A possible second career


This may look like any old car parked at a gas pump, but what you can't see from this photo is that it's MY old car, and it's LOCKED with the KEYS still in it!

On my way to a video gig last night I stopped to fill up, and I stupidly locked the car because I had all my camera stuff in the back seat. When I went into the mini-mart, I mentioned that I locked the keys in, and an older fellow suggested I call the local police and see if they'd open it.

I thought they discouraged that sort of thing these days, but I gave it a shot. Surprisingly, they did dispatch a squad car to help out, possibly because I told the dispatcher that I was blocking a pump at the gas station and I wanted to get the car moved to allow them to do business (they did have 8 pumps at the station, so I don't think it really caused them much harm).

Officer Darby showed up, and had the little flat tool that car thieves everywhere have used for years to pop the locks on older cars. The newer cars are more theft-resistant, but my 1994 Chevy wagon was a bit more agreeable to thievery. Working together for about ten minutes, we managed to pop the passenger side lock and, after thanking him profusely, I was on my way to the gig, and got there in time to set up and shoot the video I needed.

I don't know if I'll add this skill to my resume, but it's always good to know that I have a new career option if I want to get in the business of stealing crappy old Chevys!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Fargo: Yeah!

How friggin' AWESOME is the movie "Fargo" (1996)? I just watched it again for the probably twentieth time, and every single time I enjoy it!

I saw a webcomic a few weeks back where the artist said she'd just watched Fargo for the very first time. And I was jealous of her, to be able to see the film with brand new eyes! She even made a comic based on the movie (with a tie-in to Charlie Sheen, which is wicked funny!)

The Coen Brothers are already well entrenched in American movie history, even though they're far from done with their careers. And how friggin' great were Frances McDormand and William H. Macy in this flick? Steve Buscemi was terrific, too.

So yeah, watch this clip, and see how many times they say "yeah" in this movie!

Yeah, you betcha!



"Hon, prowler needs a jump."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

Fifteen years later, this movie still holds up!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Wow

Despite the terrible losses in Japan, we should acknowledge the engineers and builders who saved countless lives during the earthquake. If it weren't for the tsunami, the death toll would probably be in the low triple-digits at most, due largely to the government-mandated building codes.



To help Red Cross relief, you can donate $10 by texting REDCROSS to 90999, and the funds will go toward helping victims of the disaster. See AmericanRedCross.org for details.