Rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America

Some people think Kevin Smith's films are nothing but a slew of vulgarities.

Apparently, they're right!

Here's a Youtube version of Smith's epic movie "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back!" that delivers all the R-rated goodness with none of that wholesome excess dialogue that can be so boring (and, this ain't for kids, so f**k off go away if you're under 18):

St. Pat's parade video

Here's a little 70-second video I shot and edited from my digital camera of the parade. I edited it after drinking three or so Guiness Stouts, which will be obvious when you see the results.

I guess St. Patrick's Day is sort of a religious holiday over in Ireland. Here in America, we have parades and puke green beer (not me, I was fine).

Actually, I haven't seen anyone selling green beer in years...I think the custom has finally gone the way of the mullet.

Parade
Uploaded by CTBob

Another incomprehensible film from David Lynch

I haven't actually SEEN "Inland Empire" yet, but I know enough about Lynch to realize that there's not going to be any audience "spoon-feeding" in this latest flick.

As expected, this movie will be filled with plenty of Lynch's trademark "weirdness"; the kind of faintly uncomfortable atmosphere that pervades many of his films.

Ah yes, who doesn't love Lynch's rabbits? Between "Donnie Darko" and David Lynch, I'll never see rabbits as those cute little furrballs again. And speaking of "Donnie Darko", Darko-director Richard Kelly is also about to release his long-awaited "Southland Tales". It's going to be a wonderful year for weirdness.

Laura Dern in a predictable moment of angst. Lynch shot this movie on video (not quite typical "consumer video" as is being reported, but also not the Speilberg super high-end stuff either; he used a $3,000 Sony PD-150, and I have no idea if he used any expensive lens) and I'm sure it'll show in places. But video also can add to the weirdness, by making the image "come alive" in ways that film doesn't.

It should be interesting. For info and trailers, visit the Inland Empire website.

And after you see the movie, go online and search for an explaination.

My "Rails to Trails" Documentary

I finally got around to uploading the full-length version of "The Airline Rail Trail" documentary onto Youtube. It runs 13:45, and previously I needed to split it into two pieces to keep to the 10-minute limit Youtube had; since then, I've attained "Director" status and the limit has been lifted.

So here it is!

The $13 Shoulder Brace

Early this week a friend of mine (Spazeboy) emailed me a link to this device, called a "Spider Brace" (www.spiderbrace.com) that allows you to support a mid-sized DV camera without getting tired. The heavier Canon GL-2 gets very shaky after I hold it for more than 10 minutes, compared with my ultra-lightweigh Panasonic GS-150.

The only problem is, it costs about $60.

I love home-built video gadgets, and I figured I could do better, so I went to Home Depot to look at some PVC piping and fittings.

Here's what I came up with...the fantastic $13 "Bob-o-Brace 2000"!

Here's how I built it - I purchased the following items from Home Depot:

(all PVC is 3/4")

1 3/4" x 10' pipe $ 1.82
2 PVC RUN TRAPS (@ 1.37) 2.74
2 90 deg. PVC elbow (@ .25) .50
4 PVC Caps (@ .22) .88
2 PVC Couplers (@ .23) .46
1 1/4" x 1" Steel Wingnut .88

I used eight 1.5" drywall screws, a scrap piece of pine board (4.5" x 8.5" x .75"), and a can of PVC glue that I had in the basement; those items probably cost about $6 or $7, so the cost of this entire project should be about $12 or $13.

I started with the pine board, then I cut two pieces of PVC pipe with a hacksaw to about 11" each; I made the one on the left a little shorter since the device would be on my right shoulder, I figured my left arm would have to come across my body to hold the brace.

I used masking tape to hold the two pieces of pipe along the edges of the board, then I drilled a 1/8" hole through the pipe and into the wood. I screwed in a drywall screw, then drilled and screwed in three more screws on both pipes. I ended up with about 1" of the pipe overhanging each end of the board.

Then I fitted the two couplers to the back end of the board, and the PVC run traps to that. Then I capped them. DON'T GLUE THEM YET! The PVC pieces should fit snugly enough to hold together without the glue while you build this. You might want to change some lengths of the PVC pipe to perfect it, and with ten feet of pipe you can cut a lot of different sized pieces.

The "PVC run traps" are what really makes this thing work! They fit nicely on my shoulder and give the entire brace its stability. As soon as I found them in the PVC pipe accessories section of Home Depot, I instantly knew there were perfect for the job.

I mounted the right side 90 degree elbow in a verticle downward position, and put a roughly 5" piece of pipe in it. Then I mounted the left side elbow in a roughly 45" angle and cut a longer piece for my left hand.

I capped both pieces and adjusted the two front legs so when I placed the brace on a table, the camera is level (left-to-right level; it angles up about 20 degrees, which is what I want anyway, for use as a low angle camera platform).

I drilled a 1/4" hole in the board for the wingnut bolt to hold the camera in place, and made sure I liked the alignment of the camera and brace. Then I glued the pieces together.

One thing I wish I didn't do was glue the left hand leg into the 90 degree elbow. That way I could remove the leg and store it in a smaller area. But I can always saw the pipe just below the elbow and fit another coupler in there and leave it un-glued, so if it becomes a hassle I can fix it.

The last thing I'll do is paint the whole thing with black paint to make it look cool, but that's completely optional. The main thing is that it's really lightweight (about 1.5 lbs) and super strong.

And it works great!

I shot the NH Coliseum implosion today

After a week of major work and hectic political events, some people might enjoy having a nice Saturday morning in which to sleep late and maybe read the paper and have coffee in bed.

I'm obviously not "some people".

Because I happen to think it's a swell idea to wake up at 4:15AM and get dressed, then hop in my chilly car for a nighttime journey to New Haven. To shoot video of the New Haven Coliseum implosion.

In January.

Before dawn.

Yes, it's obvious that I was dropped on my head as a toddler.

Technical Stuff: I used two cameras for the shoot; my Panasonic GS-150 handheld and zoomed in on the lower level, and the Canon GL2 on a tripod set to capture the entire field of view. When I edited the video below, I used the audio from the Panasonic, because the Canon's built-in mic is actually a pretty good directional mic, and it didn't capture everyone's comments and yells as well as the Panny. The Canon mic is great for taping someone speaking, but if you want to capture the ambience and sounds off-screen, the Panasonic does that better.

Anyway, back to the Coliseum and my pathetic teenaged memories. I've loved the New Haven Veteran's Memorial Coliseum since I was a teenager in the '70's...when I've spent many an evening watching a Steve Miller concert, or Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Queen, Foghat, or Jethro Tull. I even saw Abba.

Hey, it was the '70's...we didn't have the musical choices that the kids have today.

So it was a bit sad and nostalgic to see the ol' coliseum come to its end early this morning.

And yet, when I consider the awesome rock shows I've seen there; Ozzy both with and without Black Sabbath; Aerosmith; Stone Temple Pilots; and many, many more...I think, maybe this WAS a fitting end.

It's always better to go out with a BANG than a whimper.

BBC showing of "Blog Wars"

For all my friends across the pond:

Blog Wars on BBC 4
17 January 2007 - BBC4 - 10.30pm
blank

2006 was the year that blogs bookmarked their place on the political scene. Brook Lapping Productions’ ‘Blog War’ team was there to see it happen.

Blogs are dismissed and heralded in equal measure. Some call them a platform for unpublishable nerds and obsessives. Others say they have renewed American democracy.

Conservative blogs came from nowhere in 2004 to help tilt the Presidential election in favour of George Bush. In 2006 liberal bloggers hit back, landing punches across the country as Bush ‘took a thumping’.

The ‘Blog Wars’ team interviewed the biggest players in the blogosphere and gained intimate access to the hottest primary of the year, where a blog-driven campaign in Connecticut tried to force 18-year incumbent and Washington heavyweight Joe Lieberman off the Democratic ticket.

Executive Producer: Phil Craig
Producer/ Director: James Rogan
Editor: Brett Irwin
Assistant Producer: Will Dixon

17 January 2007
10.30pm
BBC FOUR

The new camera is in!

I just received the brand spankin' new Canon GL-2, and used it on the evening of the "Blog Wars" screening we had. Click the link to see the details of the event.

Blog Wars airs on American television on the Sundance Channel on Dec. 28th at 10PM and on Dec. 30th at 7PM. The BBC will broadcast the show sometime in January, probably. Our friends in the UK can watch the Brook Lapping website for details.

(Photo by Caffeinated Geek Girl)
I haven't downloaded the video yet, and judging from how many warning lights were flashing on the LCD display while I was shooting, I probably had all the settings wrong and the output will look like crap.

Anyway, now that I've got the new camera, I can't wait to use it to annoy Joe Lieberman and other politicians who routinely betray the public trust.

And if I have time, I'll also make cool videos like this:


(Disclaimer: No bulls were harmed in the making of this video; but one of 'em got really pissed off about it!)

"Blog Wars" Screening in Milford

Today I received my screener's copy of "Blog Wars".

It's a lot of fun!

But boy, we bloggers need to do something about our potty mouths! (Tim and Keith!)

We're going to schedule a public screening next Tuesday so anyone who was involved in or simply followed the campaign can see it before it airs on "The Sundance Channel", on December 28th and rerun on the 30th. Details below.

CT Keith is the undeniable star of the show, and deservedly so.

There's no shortage of Connecticut Bob, either; I can't tell you how fucking relieved I am that they didn't use the majority of footage that shows me looking silly.

And there was a LOT of it!

You get to see Spazeboy's hair change colors repeatedly in the course of sixty minutes!

Here's how YOU can attend the special, RSVP-only screening of "Blog Wars":

RSVP Required for admittance. You may bring friends, but you have to list them. Email me at:

blogwars@yahoo.com

to get on the list; the room is limited to 100 people, and there are a lot of people who want to see this, so sign up and get there early to guarantee admittance.

Date: Tuesday, December 19th

Time: 7:00PM Pre-screening cocktail party (bring some cocktails)
8:00 Screening

Place: Howard Johnson Lodge, 1052 Boston Post Road, Milford

Directions: I-95 North or South to Milford Exit 39A - stay right, hotel driveway on right. The "Harbor Room" is in the 2nd Building, ground floor.

The year's best movies

This has been a real busy year for me, so I didn't have a lot of time to see all the movies I wanted to, but I did manage to catch a few. Here's my list of the five movies that I liked the most this year, in no particular order:

Baghdad ER - A harrowing documentary about the efforts of military surgeons in the Green Zone trying to keep people from dying. Brutal, but necessary.

An Inconvenient Truth - Al Gore examines the inevitability of global consequences to an out of control species (humans). It's time to clean our own house.

Candy - Agonizing portrayal of a couple's decent into drug addiction, from the Luke Davies novel. With Heath Ledger, the always great Geoffrey Rush, and Abbie Cornish. Disturbing.

Scoop - Woody Allen's movie (and I'm not much of a fan of his work these days) starring Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, and Woodrow. What can I say? I'm a regular guy. I lust for Scarlett. So sue me.

The Illusionist - Edward Norton and Jessica Biel, with Paul Giamatti in a mysterious and convoluted period piece set in 19th century Austria. Beautiful cinematography.

Less stellar movies:

Little Miss Sunshine - A quirky "road movie", with a great cast. Not a home run, but ultimately a fine story well-told.

The Departed - Scorcese missed on this attempt. Better than "Gangs of New York", but not in "Goodfellas" neighborhood.

Jackass 2 - I dunno, but I think I'm getting too old to cringe for 90 minutes non-stop. I think they're getting too old, too.

Clerks II - Yes, I'm a Kevin Smith fan. Reasonable follow-up 10 years later, even though the "donkey scene" was too long. Rosario Dawson dancing more than made up for it. Dante and Randal still have great slacker dialogue. A slew of cameos from Kevin's friends.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend - Fun comic-book concept, but a weak script and awful cast ruined it. Uma Thurman is getting too old for this stuff. Maybe it's time she starts looking for some Meryl Streep-type roles.

And the most anticipated movie of the year:

BLOG WARS - Yes, that's me in that image. This is the BBC/Sundance Channel production about the bloggers involved in Ned Lamont's campaign this year. Premieres on December 28th at 10PM on the Sundance Channel, with a repeat on December 30th at 7PM. It will be broadcast in the UK sometime early next year. Click here to see the Sundance Channel's description.

Time lapse Roofers

This was a fun little experiment.

Last week we had the roof replaced on our house. The boys did a fantastic job, and it came out great. Here's the house with the brand new roof:

While they were tearing off the old shingles, I set my camera up on a tripod across the street and taped them for an hour. Then I took the video, speeded it up about 100 times, set it to some rippin' rock & roll music, and now you can see how it looks here. Enjoy!

Getting closer to my next camera

I've owned a Panasonic GS-150 for nearly two years now, and while it's been a great camera in a lot of ways, I feel like it's time to move up a step and get something a little more professional. Now that the election is over, I've got some time to look at my financial situation and figure out which video camera I can afford.

My dream cameras are the Canon XL-2 or the Panasonic DVX-100B, but they both run around three thousand dollars, so it's unlikely I can justify spending that much for a while.

So, based on my financial constraints, I'm almost sure it's going to be the Canon GL2. It's around 2 grand, which is a bit out of my price range, but a little scrimping might put me over the top. Plus, Canon has a $250 rebate on the GL2 good until January 31st, so that's roughly 1/8 off the price.

It's a solid prosumer video camera, with some advanced features that will hopefully allow me to produce better videos.

We'll see how it goes...

Happy Halloween

How CAN'T this be a great movie?

Bob Saget wrote and directed this movie. A slew of great actors and comedians do the voices. And it has PENGUINS!

Sounds like a sure winner to me.


"Farce of the Penguins", rated R (how do you make an R-rated PENGUIN movie?!?) "What happens in Antarctica, stays in Antarctica".

My two camera interview

Yesterday I taped an interview of CT Senate Republican candidate Alan Schlesinger with Online Journalist Pat Carroll doing the interviewing honors.

This was my first properly set up two camera shoot. I chose the use the traditional dual "over-the-shoulder point of views".

I used my camera and mic on a mic stand, and I set up my two China lamps to provide additional light, then set up Spazeboy's camera and mic stand, wired both mics into a dual jack then plugged them into my camera, and started both cameras and let Online Journalist Pat Carroll take it away. (And she did a fantastic job!)

I edited the two tapes for a good seven hours last night before uploading it to Youtube. It was a learning experience on how to edit a two camera shoot. The important thing was to run both mics into the same camera, and use the "B-camera" only for video.

It helped that once I started both cameras, I let them both run non-stop for 55 minutes. Once it was synced on the editor, it stayed synced for the entire length.

I used Pinnacle Studio v9.43 for PC to edit it.

The technique for doing the two camera shoot is to put the main video with audio on the Overlay track, and the B-roll stuff on the Primary track (don't know their official names, that's what I call 'em) then lock the audio on the Overlay track, so when you snip the video out of that track for a cutaway to the B-roll, the audio is maintained.

Once I got the process down, it got easier. The main thing is to have the two cameras running non-stop, and use a clapper board (or clap your hands) to sync up the two tracks. I had to shave frames to get them perfectly aligned.

Here's the interview...it's 24-minutes long, but you will pretty much see in the first 2 minutes how it looks and sounds.

Video of the Senator about the Speaker

This one made some news. My question to Senator Lieberman about House Speaker Dennis Hastert. See this article, for instance.

I learned how to import wmv files into Pinnacle, and created a coherent narrative using freeze-frame images with text asides. The repeating use of video clips helps enhance the message also.

The media that was there, including Fox-TV and Swedish TV-4, finished their interviews and turned away when I started asking the senator my question, and they were immediately back to catch his reply. You can see the Senator turning to his right to better frame himself for the cameras.

I'm back to discussing movie making

I'm going to start posting my campaign videos here, since this blog is primarily a filmmaking site, and all of the elements of creating videos are addressed in the clips I produce. I'll keep the political banter to a minimum; check out Connecticut Bob for all the campaign talk. Here we'll discuss the actual creation of the videos.

Here's a fun little video I made yesterday to encourage people to volunteer for the campaign. Since I started working with video blogging about 6 months ago, I think my skills have gotten a lot better.

I now realize that I really enjoy working with music and time compression/expansion. The hallway scene looks especially theatrical (with an obvious nod to Quentin Tarantino) and I'm going to remember that location if I ever need a really cool looking hall.

Watch it and comment on it if you want.

I'm really happy with this video

Yeah, this is a campaign thing, but I really had a great time making it.

One result of my being so involved in Ned Lamont's campaign is that I'm really learning about video production and editing. Check it out.

What I do when I'm NOT blogging

After an exhausting blogging campaign for Ned Lamont, Joyce & I took the following weekend off for a sailing getaway.

I wanted to put together a little video about it, and even though I put it together in under an hour, I think doesn't look too bad.

Here's the results:

Lamont won!

Thanks. Now it's time to start thinking about November.

It's all about the Primary

If you're a Democrat, August 8th is the day to take some time and vote. Ned Lamont is battling an entrenched career politician, who has publicly stated that he will turn his back on the Democratic Party should he lose tomorrow rather than support the rightful winner of the Primary.

Is this the guy you want governing your state for the next six years?

And to follow the campaign with live blogging and video, check out "Connecticut Bob" on Primary Day.

I've set a personal record...

...with the number of people who have seen this video that I created yesterday and loaded on Youtube.

Here in Connecticut, we're in the midst of a major political battle. Except all the battle is coming from ONE party. Yeah, that's politics for ya!

Anyway, I managed to corner two United States Senators like a pair of surly possums, and made them answer some questions. And I was helped greatly by Maura, a fellow concerned citizen and a woman who knows no fear.

So, here's Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) along with Maura and myself. Since I posted the video (about 32 hours ago), it's been seen over 32,000 times! Right now it's the ninth most viewed video of the day on Youtube.

Which kind of saddens me, because I'm worried I'll never again make a video that has such an impact.

But then again, there's no telling what a determined blogger with a video camera and a bad attitude can accomplish!

And to you Brits reading this out there: the BBC is producing a documentary about the Lamont campaign, and I'm gonna be a part of it. You'll get to see the master at work on your very own tellys! Enjoy!

"Clerks II" July 21st

Kevin Smith's new movie, "Clerks II" is coming soon, and to promote it he appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The clip below features a funny but really gross story, which will literally have you on the edge of your seat (ha-ha-ha!)

Enjoy.

"Lucky Louie" on HBO

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything interesting. I think that with this post, the string will safely remain unbroken.

"The Sopranos" just ended it's season with a whimper, not a bang, and "Entourage" is looking more and more like "The O.C." with naughty language (although I immensely enjoy Jeremy Piven's characterization of a sleazy Hollywood agent), so I thought there'd be nothing interesting to watch on HBO for a while.

Then I caught the premiere of "Lucky Louie", the Louis C.K. vehicle that HBO just launched. It's wonderfully crude, raunchy, and foul-mouthed. Just the sort of thing that HBO lives for! Plus, it's got old-time, gritty "Honeymooners"-style sets, and is filmed with a live audience, which gives it a nostalgic, early TV feeling.

Jimmy Norton, as Louie's friend and a pot-dealer, is probably the creepiest looking character that's ever graced a sitcom, but then again, creepiness is part of Norton's charm. He has the off-putting look of a prepubescent serial killer, which makes Louie's character look quite respectable by comparison. And he gets to deliver the best lines (and by "best", I mean "most horribly offensive and hysterical").

I do have some minor complaints, though. The acting is of journeyman quality, and the writing can be punched up a bit, I think, but overall the effect is sort of like watching a bunch of talented amatuers put on their own show, and somehow manage to pull it off successfully!

Sundays on HBO.

Let's Rock the Boat here in Connecticut!

Sorry to go off-topic today. This is a short personal message. Please read it and let me know what you think. Thanks!

I don't know how you feel about this situation, but I think there is a growing problem in our country. George Bush's presidency is becoming more and more unilateral in it's actions, either ignoring or bypassing the checks and balances of the Constitution. The Republican majority dominated House and Senate, along with an increasingly conservative Supreme Court, make it easy for the Bush/Cheney administration to do anything they want.

What is even worse is that so-called moderate Democrats are siding with Bush on many important decisions, like the war in Iraq and appointing right-wing Supreme Court justices. Joseph Lieberman is one of these enablers.

For many years, Joe Lieberman was a true Democrat, who believed in the principles of our government and the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution. But something happened to the man over the last three terms, and he's become an active participant in the erosion of our rights and the good standing of our government. His endless support of Bush's war is just plain wrong, and 2,500 brave American military personnel have paid the ultimate price for what is increasingly becoming an unwinnable and immoral war.

I don't want this country to go from one extreme to the other, not by any means. I'd like to see our nation make reasonable decisions regarding our security and our economy. But it's important to realize that by supporting Bush and his deliberate misuse of the public trust, Joe Lieberman is complicit.

There is an alternative. His name is Ned Lamont.

Ned Lamont has watched the decay of our great nation's standing because of Bush/Cheney, and he decided that it was time to do something about it. Lamont has selflessly volunteered to challenge Joe Lieberman, and help get the nation back on a middle course. On August 8th, Connecticut registered Democrats will go to the polls and choose our next Senate candidate. And whoever wins, he will easily defeat the Republican challenger in November.

But Ned Lamont can't do this alone; he needs our help. Here's what you can do:

* Be sure you are a registered Democrat, and vote on August 8th.
* Please donate by clicking the sailboat graphic to the right of the page.
* Go to www.nedlamont.com for more information.
* Volunteer at the website to help the campaign.
* Feel free to contact me to discuss the issues.
* Visit my political blog "Connecticut Bob" to see the latest news.

We can win this. We can turn our nation around and begin to fulfill the intentions of our founding fathers. We can ALL make America something to be proud of once again.

Learned a lot today

I'm so proud of myself...

Today I learned a bunch of stuff about video editing. Here's a list:

1) I can import .mov files (or almost ANY type of movie file) into DVD format using "DVD Santa" (thanks, Gazza!), then can upload it directly from the temporary directory to my Pinnacle video program, without having to burn a DVD first.

2) Learned how to split a clip, insert something else entirely, but keep the sound track of the original clip.

3) Inserted a video clip, and added old film-like effects and B&W movie look.

4) I can now make titles scroll from bottom to top of the screen.

Here's my video, entitled "Mr. Lamont Goes to Washington", with Ned Lamont being substituted for Jimmy Stewart's character in the original Frank Capra classic "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington".

My new external drive is here!

I just received my new external drive.

You see, I do all my editing on a 2 year old Toshiba notebook, with a tiny little 40GB drive. Besides all the regular programs I have on it, I need some space for my video footage.

An hour of mini-DV tape usually takes up about 15GB, and on my best day, when I've dumped all the episodes of "The Sopranos" off of it, I rarely have more than 18GB available. So I ordered this new drive.

Isn't it sexy? A 250GB, 7200 rpm, combo Firewire and USB external drive; delivered from Torrence, CA got here in two days, for $159 total. I found it by Googling "external drive firewire", and by sifting throught the results I got that killer price on it.

(Gee, I wonder if anybody will notice the copy and paste construction of this post?)

Anyway, today I was trying to load DV footage, but it kept cutting off the file size at 4GB, which is about 18 minutes. I did a little research, and figured out that the drive was formatted for FAT32, which limits total file size to 4GB.

So I'm reformatting it with NTFS, which I hope will resolve the issue. I'll know later today, 'cause I'm going sailing right now. Wheee!

At some point I'll get around to this

Things have been crazy busy for me lately...I'm heavily involved in the Ned Lamont campaign for U.S. Senate, and this coming weekend I'll be covering and taping the State Democratic Convention for the blogs, including "Connecticut Bob". But there's a project I've been wanting to get to for a while.

Milford, the town in which I live, has a long and interesting history, dating back to it's founding in 1639. Part of that history is documented in paintings, drawings, and photographs, many of which are included in the collections of local historical societies.

Some of the landmarks featured in the old pictures are still around, and I've been wanting to take my camera and capture modern pictures of them, from the same point of view as the original photo. Then I'd work that into a historical documentary about my town.

Here's an example:

This is the Memorial Bridge downtown, photographed in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

Here's the bridge from roughly the same perspective, this morning. The rushing water is a result of the record rainfall we've been having in New England this week. The sun came out today, so I detoured from an errand and took this photo.

I'm thinking of using maps, reproductions, the new and old photos, interviews with historians, and period music to tell the story. It's an idea that I'd really enjoy doing.

All I need to do this is a little research, an interview or two, and some spare time.

That last bit is the tricky part...

A quick video from last week

Here's a short (97 seconds, about 2.7MB) video clip showing the Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival, where Ned Lamont supporters Edward Anderson, Keith Crane, and myself turned out to help collect petition signatures, along with future Peabody Award-winner Spazeboy, who filled in as interviewer for our "man on the street" interviews, and did a fine job at that.

We stuck to a simple topic: Lieberman's support of the massive energy bill which gives oil companies huge tax breaks while they're making record profits. Check out the video, and remember if it starts playing choppy, hit the PAUSE button on the window and give it a minute to download.

I know this is all kinds of political and stuff, but it was fun to make, and was good experience for doing on-the-fly interviews. From one of my other blogs, "Connecticut Bob".

Our "Rail Trail" Documentary is online

As I discussed previously on this blog (HERE and HERE), we made a 13:45 documentary about the Air Line Rail Trail in upstate Connecticut. Joyce and I took a day off back in late October and brought our bikes and video camera to East Hampton, where we rode about 13 miles on the trail.

We taped a lot of very scenic fall foliage, with awesome views of the hills and rivers in the area. Then I collected the best footage, added titles, music, old photos, and archived films to create this documentary about the trail.

UPDATE: The entire 13:45 documentary is now in a single video. Remember, if the video gets choppy be sure to hit the pause button on the window and give it a minute or two to load, then hit play to continue.

UPDATE 2: I've recently (Sept. 2008) uploaded a higher resolution version of the video.

You can view the regular quality video below, or click on this Youtube Link and then immediately under the video player window you can click on the "full screen" button for an exceptional viewing experience (so says me!)