Argotnaut had LASIK a couple of months ago. She loves her fancy, unbespectacled eyes, and she's prattled on an on about how much more vibrant and big everything looks. As there's nobody more zealous than a convert, she has been encouraging me to undergo the same procedure.
Now understand. I have worn glasses since I was in the 5th grade. When I couldn't read the blackboard anymore, I asked the kid at the desk in front of me what was on the board. When I couldn't see the kid in front of me anymore, I knew there was no escaping my destiny. I was to be a four-eyes. A Mr. Peepers. A buck-toothed, glasses-taped-together nerd. As of last month, my eyeglass prescription was -9.5 in the right eye and -10 in the left. This is on a par with somebody with normal vision looking through window that's been smeared with a bucketful of Vaseline. But surprisingly, even my pathetic and pitiable eyeballs were not outside the transforming power of the latest LASIK technology.
So I took the plunge, and last Tuesday I let some complete strangers hack into my corneas, flip part of them back like the top of an PEZ dispenser, burn off a few microns of corneal tissue with a laser until my corneas were more or less normally shaped, and then flip the caps back.
There are a few crazy YouTube videos of this procedure that you can look up at your leisure. But I have to admit that I'm pretty impressed with the results so far. Currently, my vision is about 20/25, which I haven't had with my unaided eyes in about 35 years. So no more fogging up of lenses coming in from the cold, no more groping for the bedside clock, no more flying off of glasses when I pull a t-shirt on over my head.
The only drawback is that I can't see things up close anymore without some reading glasses. So I've gone backward in time to my old, youthful eyes, but at the expense of having to do like the old folks do and don reading glasses to look through the morning paper. It's a fair trade, especially now that I can wear sunglasses, and I can work out at the gym without the sweat making my glasses slide down my nose. When I'm fully healed, I'll be able to swim and actually see where the hell I am in the pool. If my vision stays as sharp as it is now, cycling will be a whole new experience...my contacts enabled me to see fairly well, but nothing really like this. I'm sure the Columbia River Gorge will take on an entirely new level of grandeur.
I'm also certain that watching football in high definition will now be ultra-impressive. If only the Bears were, too. One miracle at a time, I guess.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
German Voodoo Doughnuts
Not much exciting to post about, so I haven't posted lately. But here's a video I made for my German language class. The assignment was to create something for this year's batch of German exchange students that would show them a part of Portland that they wouldn't find in travel books. I chose to do a little film on Voodoo Doughnuts, in operation since 2004. Even if you don't know German, you'll still get the gist, especially when it comes to my opinion about a certain U.S. President. Enjoy!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The times, they are a-changin'
Sorry about the eon that has passed since my last post. Not sorry about the eon, I should say...it was a great eon. I'm just apologizing for the lack of posts during the eon.
Also, I don't have a lot of time to wax on about all the stuff that's happened in the past...er...six weeks. I will soon, but because I've gotten a few requests for the photos below, here they are.
First, a bit of background.
When I was in my early teens, my Dad would always make me get a crew cut. This was at a time when all the kids wanted to look like Peter Frampton or Robert Plant, or (shudder) David Cassidy. My Dad was very sneaky about getting us to the barber shop. For instance, because he was a private pilot and licensed instructor, he would often give us kids flying lessons, and say "Hey, Andy! How about we go put some flight time in the airplane!" "Great, Dad!" I would squeal. So we'd climb into the car, but on the way out to the airport, he'd say:
"But first, a haircut!"
This phrase became infamous in my family, and came to mean anything horrible that has to be endured before you can get to the good part.
Last week, I returned to my hometown for a family reunion, and I decided that, for old times sake, me and my Dad would go get matching haircuts. Thus, I would transform the hideous and painful remembrance of those times into sweet nostalgia. Here are the before-and-after results:
My brother, who went through the same torment, looked upon my new 'do and shook his head as if I'd just gotten a swastika tattooed on my brow. "Come on, Steve!" I said. "Become one of us!"
I think he's still running.
Also, I don't have a lot of time to wax on about all the stuff that's happened in the past...er...six weeks. I will soon, but because I've gotten a few requests for the photos below, here they are.
First, a bit of background.
When I was in my early teens, my Dad would always make me get a crew cut. This was at a time when all the kids wanted to look like Peter Frampton or Robert Plant, or (shudder) David Cassidy. My Dad was very sneaky about getting us to the barber shop. For instance, because he was a private pilot and licensed instructor, he would often give us kids flying lessons, and say "Hey, Andy! How about we go put some flight time in the airplane!" "Great, Dad!" I would squeal. So we'd climb into the car, but on the way out to the airport, he'd say:
"But first, a haircut!"
This phrase became infamous in my family, and came to mean anything horrible that has to be endured before you can get to the good part.
Last week, I returned to my hometown for a family reunion, and I decided that, for old times sake, me and my Dad would go get matching haircuts. Thus, I would transform the hideous and painful remembrance of those times into sweet nostalgia. Here are the before-and-after results:
My brother, who went through the same torment, looked upon my new 'do and shook his head as if I'd just gotten a swastika tattooed on my brow. "Come on, Steve!" I said. "Become one of us!"
I think he's still running.
Monday, July 09, 2007
How does your garden grow?
Pretty darn well, thank you.
Not much going on of note right now. I'm taking Liguistics 390 over the summer and so far I'm enjoying it very much. But exciting reading it ain't.
Actually, neither is an update on how the back garden is doing, but at least I can offer some nice before and after pictures:
The corn is waist high by the 4th of July, and the tomatoes are going gangbusters. The peppers are bringing up the rear right now, but since tomorrow will begin a series of days near 100 degrees (which, I understand, pepper plants thrive on), we'll see how it goes. As for how me and Argotnaut and the boys bear up under triple-digit high temps with no AC, well, I think it'll be time to organize the basement.
Not much going on of note right now. I'm taking Liguistics 390 over the summer and so far I'm enjoying it very much. But exciting reading it ain't.
Actually, neither is an update on how the back garden is doing, but at least I can offer some nice before and after pictures:
The corn is waist high by the 4th of July, and the tomatoes are going gangbusters. The peppers are bringing up the rear right now, but since tomorrow will begin a series of days near 100 degrees (which, I understand, pepper plants thrive on), we'll see how it goes. As for how me and Argotnaut and the boys bear up under triple-digit high temps with no AC, well, I think it'll be time to organize the basement.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Geekfest!
Okay, first I was going to title this post "Nerdfest," because it's nerds who are scientifically-oriented, social misfits and geeks who are circus performers who bite the heads off of live chickens. But after consulting Dictionary.com, I find that, while "geek " does have its basis in circus lore and describes a "peculiar person," nerd can be a "foolish person," but nowhere does it say that a geek is stupid. And so I hope that makes me a geek and not a nerd.
Got that? OK. And YES, I know that language is constantly changing and YES I know that dictionaries can't possibly keep pace with the changing American vernacular. Argotnaut.
Anyway.
A couple days ago I saw an article on Yahoo.com regarding an upcoming celestial event. The International Space Station and the Space Shuttle were going to be visible together in the night sky. The Shuttle had just undocked from the ISS so they were going to be traveling as a close pair across the heavens. (Close meaning about 10 degrees, which for the astronomically challenged reader means roughly the width of a fist held at arm's length). Those who know me are aware that I've been an astronomy geek since about, oh, birth, as the previous sentence suggests. So I couldn't pass up a chance to run out into the back yard and look up like a little kid.
The article was kind enough to contain links to sites designed to help observers find out when the pair would appear in their local skies. This site is the one I used and it's very cool.
So at the appointed hour (10:34 pm), my lovely and equally geeky wife and I went out and watched as the two star-like points of light chased each other, gliding purposefully through the celestial vault, over the tea house and behind the swaying bamboo trees silhouetted against the gently glowing summer night sky. Their journey took just three minutes, and then they winked out above the southern horizon and were gone, off to visit the skies over Mexico, then Latin America, and then the bottom of the world.
Sometimes it's great to be a geek.
Got that? OK. And YES, I know that language is constantly changing and YES I know that dictionaries can't possibly keep pace with the changing American vernacular. Argotnaut.
Anyway.
A couple days ago I saw an article on Yahoo.com regarding an upcoming celestial event. The International Space Station and the Space Shuttle were going to be visible together in the night sky. The Shuttle had just undocked from the ISS so they were going to be traveling as a close pair across the heavens. (Close meaning about 10 degrees, which for the astronomically challenged reader means roughly the width of a fist held at arm's length). Those who know me are aware that I've been an astronomy geek since about, oh, birth, as the previous sentence suggests. So I couldn't pass up a chance to run out into the back yard and look up like a little kid.
The article was kind enough to contain links to sites designed to help observers find out when the pair would appear in their local skies. This site is the one I used and it's very cool.
So at the appointed hour (10:34 pm), my lovely and equally geeky wife and I went out and watched as the two star-like points of light chased each other, gliding purposefully through the celestial vault, over the tea house and behind the swaying bamboo trees silhouetted against the gently glowing summer night sky. Their journey took just three minutes, and then they winked out above the southern horizon and were gone, off to visit the skies over Mexico, then Latin America, and then the bottom of the world.
Sometimes it's great to be a geek.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Lovely Creatures
I saw this flower on a walk the other day and had never seen anything like it:
Guess I'll have to dig around for our "Flowers of the Northwest" book and see if I can find out what kind of flower it is. Sure is something, though...doesn't even look real.
Also too cute to be real was this guy I saw recently at the vet:
He was tiny and had food on his nose. He was available to a good home, but that was all I needed after finding out my cat Cookie is going to have to undergo Iodine 131 therapy. Cookie's prognosis is good: his kidneys are in great shape and he's in otherwise excellent health. But it's still going to be a costly and inconvenient procedure. So no, we're not really in the market for ANOTHER pet right now, thank you. But he sure was a cute little dude, and if Argotnaut had been with me, we may have had another member of the household. But as lovely as he was, Kitty I'm sure found a good home.
Guess I'll have to dig around for our "Flowers of the Northwest" book and see if I can find out what kind of flower it is. Sure is something, though...doesn't even look real.
Also too cute to be real was this guy I saw recently at the vet:
He was tiny and had food on his nose. He was available to a good home, but that was all I needed after finding out my cat Cookie is going to have to undergo Iodine 131 therapy. Cookie's prognosis is good: his kidneys are in great shape and he's in otherwise excellent health. But it's still going to be a costly and inconvenient procedure. So no, we're not really in the market for ANOTHER pet right now, thank you. But he sure was a cute little dude, and if Argotnaut had been with me, we may have had another member of the household. But as lovely as he was, Kitty I'm sure found a good home.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
"Three hunnert" old and new
The mighty Laurelhurst Theater has been having a '60s film fest of sorts during the last few weeks, which has given me the rare opportunity to see some of the favorite films of my yoot on the big screen. Those of you who grew up in the Chicago area during the 60s and early 70s may remember as fondly as I the venerable "Family Classics" with Frazier Thomas that aired on Sunday afternoons on WGN -- or, and one must adapt an "old man voice" here: "in my day it was just channel 9." Apparently, Frazier picked out the films himself that he thought would be good viewing for the kiddies, and ran them in heavy rotation. So I had the chance to get to know some great films that were made before I was born, like "War of the Worlds" and "The Time Machine." Fortuitously, the films the Laurelhurst is playing intersects nicely with the Family Classics films, so I couldn't pass up the chance last Saturday to see "Mysterious Island," the film that first made me recognize the importance of a kick ass film score, and yesterday the unassailable awesomeness that is "Jason and the Argonauts," both on the big screen. Actors? Directors? Pffft! Who cares when you have the legendary Ray Harryhausen doing the special effects, and the even MORE legendary Bernard Herrmann doing the music? Blissful, I tells ya!
A couple of posts ago, I mentioned how much I liked the movie "300," despite its pedestrian script and flagrant historical inaccuracies. I based this opinion largely on its jaw-dropping visual style. But watching "Jason and the Argonauts," which was made in 1963, made me wonder how well "300" would hold up in 40 years. I mean, answer this question:
Who's the bigger bad ass?
I gotta say, I think it's the guys what ain't got no skin. But it does make one wonder if the ubiquitous, push-button nature of CGI has robbed film of some of its magic. Or maybe I'm just getting older and the final product means more if I know that some old dude in his garage took 4 months to produce a fight with skeletons that only lasted two minutes on screen. I guess it's just the heart involved. You can feel the passion in "Jason and the Argonauts." Passionate CGI, well, perhaps that's just a little bit harder to render.
A couple of posts ago, I mentioned how much I liked the movie "300," despite its pedestrian script and flagrant historical inaccuracies. I based this opinion largely on its jaw-dropping visual style. But watching "Jason and the Argonauts," which was made in 1963, made me wonder how well "300" would hold up in 40 years. I mean, answer this question:
Who's the bigger bad ass?
I gotta say, I think it's the guys what ain't got no skin. But it does make one wonder if the ubiquitous, push-button nature of CGI has robbed film of some of its magic. Or maybe I'm just getting older and the final product means more if I know that some old dude in his garage took 4 months to produce a fight with skeletons that only lasted two minutes on screen. I guess it's just the heart involved. You can feel the passion in "Jason and the Argonauts." Passionate CGI, well, perhaps that's just a little bit harder to render.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Gardening!
OK, first, the title of this post comes from an article I read once by one of Prince's sound engineers. The article still makes me laugh/cringe.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we cleaned out/up the garden and put in some new plants -- my first attempt at...GARDENING! The weather has been mostly sunny and warm since, and after watering on alternate mornings, things are starting to look pretty good already!
My planting choices were entirely practical -- stuff we would eat, not just look at. So we have green beans and corn!
Strawberries! (a few of which I suspect have already been eaten by "Masky," an interloping raccoon we've seen from time to time).
Tomatoes and peppers! Planted in hopes of, later in the summer, making some homemade salsa, plus perhaps some pasta sauce seasoned with thyme, marjoram, oregano and basil that we are also growing in the garden.
I'm sure a lot can go wrong between now and harvest time -- I fear if the corn comes up well I'll have to have Buddy and Pepe sleep in the garden at night to discourage Masky's nighttime visits. But so far so good!
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago we cleaned out/up the garden and put in some new plants -- my first attempt at...GARDENING! The weather has been mostly sunny and warm since, and after watering on alternate mornings, things are starting to look pretty good already!
My planting choices were entirely practical -- stuff we would eat, not just look at. So we have green beans and corn!
Strawberries! (a few of which I suspect have already been eaten by "Masky," an interloping raccoon we've seen from time to time).
Tomatoes and peppers! Planted in hopes of, later in the summer, making some homemade salsa, plus perhaps some pasta sauce seasoned with thyme, marjoram, oregano and basil that we are also growing in the garden.
I'm sure a lot can go wrong between now and harvest time -- I fear if the corn comes up well I'll have to have Buddy and Pepe sleep in the garden at night to discourage Masky's nighttime visits. But so far so good!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Triple feature (sorta)!
Now that Argotnaut and I are back in the southeast part of Portland, we are much closer to several of the second-run theaters that are near and dear to my heart. My love of the Laurelhurst Theater is well known. But we are also within walking distance of the Bagdad Theater. This gives me a chance to go catch a flick at a moment's notice whenever A has a bunch of homework that will keep her confined to her office and I'm a bit at loose ends. Such was the case last night, when I decided to go see "300" and "Grindhouse," two movies -- actually three if you count "Grindhouse" as two, because it's comprised of both "Planet Terror" and "Deathproof" -- that I'd been waiting to show up at the second-run theaters.
So here are my one sentence reviews of each flick:
300 review: I gotta start to do some crunches.
Planet Terror review: Rose McGowan; god -- DAMN! But I bet the machine gun was easier to walk on then those shoes.
Deathproof review: Kurt Russell is awesome.
Okay, seriously (sorta) I kinda liked 300 the best. The story was juvenile and the history fast-and-loose at best. But for a visual experience, it was breathtaking. Hell, the closing credits sequence alone had more visual ingenuity than most movies made today. Movies are hands down THE media for delivery of images, and "300" is the kind of thing only movies can do, and one of the reasons I think big screens will always be with us regardless of how big our plasma TVs get.
"Grindhouse" was good, too, and I recommend it for those who like their humor grimy. Some of the conventions were a bit too precious for me -- the fake negative scratches, the low-fi soundtrack, the bad framing -- given the CGI machine gun attached to Rose McGowan's leg and the obviously high budget necessary to pull off the awesome car chase at the end of "Death Proof." Also a bit precious is the fact that Rodriguez and Tarentino both are such clever filmmakers that they couldn't help but do accomplished work even while trying to pretend not to. But at the same time, I like that the directors obviously wanted to do something fun and different, and the "coming attractions," like "Werewolf Women of the SS" alone were worth the price of admission.
Now I'm afraid I must venture to the multi-plex and see "Spider-man 3," since it's one of the few films I think will be necessary to see with the full "Doubly" treatment. But probably I'll go see "The Lives of Others" first. Damn, I'm elitist.
So here are my one sentence reviews of each flick:
300 review: I gotta start to do some crunches.
Planet Terror review: Rose McGowan; god -- DAMN! But I bet the machine gun was easier to walk on then those shoes.
Deathproof review: Kurt Russell is awesome.
Okay, seriously (sorta) I kinda liked 300 the best. The story was juvenile and the history fast-and-loose at best. But for a visual experience, it was breathtaking. Hell, the closing credits sequence alone had more visual ingenuity than most movies made today. Movies are hands down THE media for delivery of images, and "300" is the kind of thing only movies can do, and one of the reasons I think big screens will always be with us regardless of how big our plasma TVs get.
"Grindhouse" was good, too, and I recommend it for those who like their humor grimy. Some of the conventions were a bit too precious for me -- the fake negative scratches, the low-fi soundtrack, the bad framing -- given the CGI machine gun attached to Rose McGowan's leg and the obviously high budget necessary to pull off the awesome car chase at the end of "Death Proof." Also a bit precious is the fact that Rodriguez and Tarentino both are such clever filmmakers that they couldn't help but do accomplished work even while trying to pretend not to. But at the same time, I like that the directors obviously wanted to do something fun and different, and the "coming attractions," like "Werewolf Women of the SS" alone were worth the price of admission.
Now I'm afraid I must venture to the multi-plex and see "Spider-man 3," since it's one of the few films I think will be necessary to see with the full "Doubly" treatment. But probably I'll go see "The Lives of Others" first. Damn, I'm elitist.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Wild Kingdom
It was an all animal all the time day today. My cat Cookie has been diagnosed with a thyroid condition and we've started him on some pills. He's improving, but slowly. He been spending his time in the basement in a box of books, but felt good enough to venture out a little bit today. I've been taking him food, water and treats so he doesn't have to deal with the doggies.
Perhaps one reason Cookie was feeling better is because Buddy and Pepe were off getting a pre-summer trim at the dog groomers. Or as they call it, "It's a madhouse! A maaaaadhooooouuuuse!"
Here's some "before an after" shots. The first two are Buddy and the second two are Pepe.
I know they'll thank me in their own way when they're comfortable on our long noontime walks in the 90 degree heat. Buddy particularly, because he's been known to just spontaneously lie down frog-style with his belly in the cool grass when he gets too hot. That yak-like coat of his must be really warm.
And just for fun, I decided to make a little video of Lisa feeding the goldfish in our goldfish pond. When watching, keep in mind Quint's immortal lines from "Jaws": "A shark's got lifeless eyes, like a doll's eyes. When it comes at you, it doesn't even seem to be livin'." I don't think these guys are far removed from ol' Bruce the Great White.
Perhaps one reason Cookie was feeling better is because Buddy and Pepe were off getting a pre-summer trim at the dog groomers. Or as they call it, "It's a madhouse! A maaaaadhooooouuuuse!"
Here's some "before an after" shots. The first two are Buddy and the second two are Pepe.
I know they'll thank me in their own way when they're comfortable on our long noontime walks in the 90 degree heat. Buddy particularly, because he's been known to just spontaneously lie down frog-style with his belly in the cool grass when he gets too hot. That yak-like coat of his must be really warm.
And just for fun, I decided to make a little video of Lisa feeding the goldfish in our goldfish pond. When watching, keep in mind Quint's immortal lines from "Jaws": "A shark's got lifeless eyes, like a doll's eyes. When it comes at you, it doesn't even seem to be livin'." I don't think these guys are far removed from ol' Bruce the Great White.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Party like it's 1989!
Hey! Look at that! Finally a post!
I've actually been pretty busy, but with a lot of stuff that is of absolutely no interest to anyone but me. And often even *I* don't give a shit about what I'm up to.
Anyway, last night Argotnaut and I went to see Bad Brains. That's right! And it was even an all ages show -- what is this, 1989? I won't go into a lot of detail about why I was motivated to see a live rock n' roll show by a major act for the first time since Bush the First was president because, again, who cares? but Bad Brains was one of my favorite bands in the ancient and bygone days when I actually listened to new music. And the BB's guitarist, Dr. Know, was a big influence on my guitar sound. Since it was one of the bands that Argotnaut also enjoyed, we got us some tickets and went to do what the young folks do -- actually be out and about after 11 pm rather than a) in my case collapsing in bed with a pile of dogs and cats, or b) in A's case doing homework and puttering around on-line until her natural sleeping time (say around 1 am) rolls around.
Here's a nice, blurry, cellphone photo for ya:
It was good to see the guys back in action, and comforting to know that a bunch of 50-year-old guys can still bring it when the spirit (in this case, Jah) moves them.
I've also been spending a lot of time editing together videos of Argotnaut's performances in Heidelberg with her theater group in 2005. It was a good exercise in using Final Cut HD and figuring out which video export options provide the best combination of small file size and acceptable quality. Again, you probably won't be excited by this unless you speak German, but all the videos are now posted on my YouTube page in case you're curious. A appears in "Polizeiwache," "Das Mauseproblem," and "Alte Freunde."
Other than that, I've been cycling and enjoying some long walks with the boys before I start classes in a couple of weeks. Now it's time to take Buddy and Pepe in for a clip and a bath before the year's first hot spell hits tomorrow. I'll be sure to post some before/after pictures...at some point.
I've actually been pretty busy, but with a lot of stuff that is of absolutely no interest to anyone but me. And often even *I* don't give a shit about what I'm up to.
Anyway, last night Argotnaut and I went to see Bad Brains. That's right! And it was even an all ages show -- what is this, 1989? I won't go into a lot of detail about why I was motivated to see a live rock n' roll show by a major act for the first time since Bush the First was president because, again, who cares? but Bad Brains was one of my favorite bands in the ancient and bygone days when I actually listened to new music. And the BB's guitarist, Dr. Know, was a big influence on my guitar sound. Since it was one of the bands that Argotnaut also enjoyed, we got us some tickets and went to do what the young folks do -- actually be out and about after 11 pm rather than a) in my case collapsing in bed with a pile of dogs and cats, or b) in A's case doing homework and puttering around on-line until her natural sleeping time (say around 1 am) rolls around.
Here's a nice, blurry, cellphone photo for ya:
It was good to see the guys back in action, and comforting to know that a bunch of 50-year-old guys can still bring it when the spirit (in this case, Jah) moves them.
I've also been spending a lot of time editing together videos of Argotnaut's performances in Heidelberg with her theater group in 2005. It was a good exercise in using Final Cut HD and figuring out which video export options provide the best combination of small file size and acceptable quality. Again, you probably won't be excited by this unless you speak German, but all the videos are now posted on my YouTube page in case you're curious. A appears in "Polizeiwache," "Das Mauseproblem," and "Alte Freunde."
Other than that, I've been cycling and enjoying some long walks with the boys before I start classes in a couple of weeks. Now it's time to take Buddy and Pepe in for a clip and a bath before the year's first hot spell hits tomorrow. I'll be sure to post some before/after pictures...at some point.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Videos, Music, It's An Extravaganza!
As promised, for your appreciation or ridicule, here are the two main projects I did for my Digital Video Editing class at the Northwest Film Center School of Film.
The first one, "Slacker Manifesto," is the final project. The point of the project was to create a portrait of a person, place, or thing. As often happens, I had an idea that just would not go away, and despite its somewhat tangential relationship to the project's stated goal, I went ahead and did it anyway. This despite the fact that the portrait is of an imaginary person -- well, sort of an alter ego, really. Plus, the last few videos I made were pretty arty and heavy, and I wanted to do something fun and frivolous. I will preface the video by saying that the views expressed in the film are not necessarily those of the filmmaker, even though the filmmaker wrote, edited, and "stars" in it.
For the second video, each student was given a tape with 60 minutes of stock footage and told to edit down to a 1-2 minute piece to accompany a haiku that each student wrote based on the film. We had no say in what footage we got -- we simply had to make something of what we were given. It was an interesting project. The footage comes from the Prelinger Archives, a foundation whose goal is to preserve old films that otherwise would be lost. These aren't movies, usually, but instead are old industrial/trade/educational films, student films, home movies, old short films and other footage. I highly recommend visiting the site and cruising around. The search function is very good and you'll turn up some interesting stuff that you won't find anywhere else. (A high-speed connection is highly desirable, however.) Anyway, here's my haiku.
In other news, "The Unlikely Event," the electronica band of which Argotnaut and I are a part, have finally posted some songs. You'll find them here.
Enjoy!
The first one, "Slacker Manifesto," is the final project. The point of the project was to create a portrait of a person, place, or thing. As often happens, I had an idea that just would not go away, and despite its somewhat tangential relationship to the project's stated goal, I went ahead and did it anyway. This despite the fact that the portrait is of an imaginary person -- well, sort of an alter ego, really. Plus, the last few videos I made were pretty arty and heavy, and I wanted to do something fun and frivolous. I will preface the video by saying that the views expressed in the film are not necessarily those of the filmmaker, even though the filmmaker wrote, edited, and "stars" in it.
For the second video, each student was given a tape with 60 minutes of stock footage and told to edit down to a 1-2 minute piece to accompany a haiku that each student wrote based on the film. We had no say in what footage we got -- we simply had to make something of what we were given. It was an interesting project. The footage comes from the Prelinger Archives, a foundation whose goal is to preserve old films that otherwise would be lost. These aren't movies, usually, but instead are old industrial/trade/educational films, student films, home movies, old short films and other footage. I highly recommend visiting the site and cruising around. The search function is very good and you'll turn up some interesting stuff that you won't find anywhere else. (A high-speed connection is highly desirable, however.) Anyway, here's my haiku.
In other news, "The Unlikely Event," the electronica band of which Argotnaut and I are a part, have finally posted some songs. You'll find them here.
Enjoy!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Chicago visit highlights
Every once in a while I get an urge to make a pilgrimage to Chicago to visit old friends. Such an urge was triggered a few weeks ago when some old buddies informed me of a couple of very cool bands playing during the weekend of April 6-8. As it happens, the Cubs' home opener was scheduled for April 9. Thus, a road trip -- or more precisely a "crammed in economy class for four hours" air trip -- was born. A quick search of Travelocity.com turned up a good deal at Hard Rock Hotel Chicago . Here were the highlights:
Friday night: I arrived in Chicago to one of the coldest April days on record. Figures. Fortunately for the pigeons, they could keep warm around the "Eternal Flame" in Daley Plaza. One can almost hear them say "Coo! Coo! Thanks for the flame, Chicago war veterans!"
I dumped my stuff at the hotel, scored my Cubbie ticket via the concierge (aided by another Travelocity perk: a $25 ticket voucher),and then it was off to see "Led Zeppelin 2",at Martyrs'. The band was quite good (although they had decided only to do material from the first four LZ records, so no "Achilles Last Stand") and I had a chance to catch up with many folks I hadn't seen in a long time.
Saturday I test rode a new/old bike, a P-38 recumbent. I owned a P-38 in the summer of 2002 and loved it, but had to sell it in the wake of the calamity, because we needed the dough. The Bacchetta Giro I have now is a nice bike but the seat is very high and I'm uncomfortable balancing precariously on one tippy-toe whenever I have to stop. I had been thinking about going back to a P-38 but wanted to test ride one first just to make sure I would be comfortable on it -- the seat back on a P-38 is relatively vertical which makes for a somewhat "closed" riding position, as opposed to the more laid-back Giro. There are no P-38 dealers in Oregon but Rapid Transit bike shop in Chicago had not one but two for test rides! After a few seconds on the P-38, I felt as if I'd been reunited with an old friend. An added bonus is that I got the floor model and saved a few bucks. It's a lovely fire-engine red and I'll be sure to post pictures in a few days when it arrives.
Sunday I went visit Millennium Park in Chicago. Very impressive, and I imagine even more so in the summer when the gardens are in bloom. As it was, the brisk, mostly sunny spring day helped provide some nice shots even with my crappy phone camera. Here's a long shot showing the "cloud gate" sculpture at the left, and the stage for the outdoor arena in the background:
The "cloud gate" sculpture -- known affectionately in Chicago as "The Bean" is a giant kidney-shaped, chrome-skinned orb. As you might expect, the reflections are very cool:
If you walk under the crease of the sculpture, the reflections become more abstract:
On the other side of the stage is an enormous, winding, chrome-and-wood bridge. Here you can better see the ornamentation over the stage, which kind of reminds me of an enormous watch spring that has become permanently unsprung, or perhaps a pair of wrecked "Chinese handcuffs" of the gods.
Sunday, Yakuza at Beat Kitchen. Also very cool.
Monday, the Cubbie home opener. The weather relented a little bit and graced the crowd with a high of 43 degrees -- for about three seconds. As is my usual approach when I go to a game alone, I got my scorecard, two hot dogs and a pretzel. Awesome. Plus, pretty good seats:
The Cubbies lost, but it was still cool to be at the park. Afterwards, a dinner at one of my favorite Chicago pubs, the Duke of Perth:
Tuesday, back home. And none to soon. Tuesday's Cub game was even colder, and Wednesday's was snowed out!
The trip was a great time but it's good to be back home with my lovely spouse and stinky little boys. And actual springtime weather!
Friday night: I arrived in Chicago to one of the coldest April days on record. Figures. Fortunately for the pigeons, they could keep warm around the "Eternal Flame" in Daley Plaza. One can almost hear them say "Coo! Coo! Thanks for the flame, Chicago war veterans!"
I dumped my stuff at the hotel, scored my Cubbie ticket via the concierge (aided by another Travelocity perk: a $25 ticket voucher),and then it was off to see "Led Zeppelin 2",at Martyrs'. The band was quite good (although they had decided only to do material from the first four LZ records, so no "Achilles Last Stand") and I had a chance to catch up with many folks I hadn't seen in a long time.
Saturday I test rode a new/old bike, a P-38 recumbent. I owned a P-38 in the summer of 2002 and loved it, but had to sell it in the wake of the calamity, because we needed the dough. The Bacchetta Giro I have now is a nice bike but the seat is very high and I'm uncomfortable balancing precariously on one tippy-toe whenever I have to stop. I had been thinking about going back to a P-38 but wanted to test ride one first just to make sure I would be comfortable on it -- the seat back on a P-38 is relatively vertical which makes for a somewhat "closed" riding position, as opposed to the more laid-back Giro. There are no P-38 dealers in Oregon but Rapid Transit bike shop in Chicago had not one but two for test rides! After a few seconds on the P-38, I felt as if I'd been reunited with an old friend. An added bonus is that I got the floor model and saved a few bucks. It's a lovely fire-engine red and I'll be sure to post pictures in a few days when it arrives.
Sunday I went visit Millennium Park in Chicago. Very impressive, and I imagine even more so in the summer when the gardens are in bloom. As it was, the brisk, mostly sunny spring day helped provide some nice shots even with my crappy phone camera. Here's a long shot showing the "cloud gate" sculpture at the left, and the stage for the outdoor arena in the background:
The "cloud gate" sculpture -- known affectionately in Chicago as "The Bean" is a giant kidney-shaped, chrome-skinned orb. As you might expect, the reflections are very cool:
If you walk under the crease of the sculpture, the reflections become more abstract:
On the other side of the stage is an enormous, winding, chrome-and-wood bridge. Here you can better see the ornamentation over the stage, which kind of reminds me of an enormous watch spring that has become permanently unsprung, or perhaps a pair of wrecked "Chinese handcuffs" of the gods.
Sunday, Yakuza at Beat Kitchen. Also very cool.
Monday, the Cubbie home opener. The weather relented a little bit and graced the crowd with a high of 43 degrees -- for about three seconds. As is my usual approach when I go to a game alone, I got my scorecard, two hot dogs and a pretzel. Awesome. Plus, pretty good seats:
The Cubbies lost, but it was still cool to be at the park. Afterwards, a dinner at one of my favorite Chicago pubs, the Duke of Perth:
Tuesday, back home. And none to soon. Tuesday's Cub game was even colder, and Wednesday's was snowed out!
The trip was a great time but it's good to be back home with my lovely spouse and stinky little boys. And actual springtime weather!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Multi-media fest
The clamoring throngs have insisted that I write a new post (actually, one person asked because, I think, he was afraid I'd passed on or something). So here it is. The crank in me lately has considered abandoning the blog thing because it's just so overdone. But then my family would never know what the heck was going on with me. The one thing I do less often than post on my blog is call members of my family. And they are all kind of the same way, which is weird because we're such social blabbermouths. So I shall make an effort to update more frequently.
There has been one notable development: I believe I have decided on a course of action for the immediate future. As regular readers know, I've been unable to come to a decision about how to best apply myself. Many factors are involved: making a living, doing something meaningful, utilizing my talents, acquiring skills that would be transferable to Europe if Argotnaut and I end up there in a couple of years, etc.
A few weeks ago it occurred to me that perhaps teaching English as a second language (TESL) might be an excellent choice. It meets all the above criteria and addresses an interest that my vocational survey turned up: a bias towards teaching. My vocational guidance counselor even suggested teaching, and she'd known me for all of two hours. Must be SOMETHING there.
Portland State University offers both a certificate in TESL and a Masters Degree. Of course, the degree would make me far more attractive to potential employers. The downside, obviously, is two years of full time Graduate school, or as John Irving calls it, "Gradual School," because it's where you gradually learn you don't want to go to school anymore.
There are several aspects to be investigated -- such as do I REALLY want to go back to school full time for two years?, considering that I haven't done that since Reagan was President. But hey, that's just more blog fodder! I'll be sure to keep my restless readers informed.
In the meantime, here's a little movie I did of our pets:
And also, here's what Argotnaut did on her Spring Break! Maybe this full time student thing isn't so tough after all! (That's a joke, my dove!)
Please note how often we change the sheets!
There has been one notable development: I believe I have decided on a course of action for the immediate future. As regular readers know, I've been unable to come to a decision about how to best apply myself. Many factors are involved: making a living, doing something meaningful, utilizing my talents, acquiring skills that would be transferable to Europe if Argotnaut and I end up there in a couple of years, etc.
A few weeks ago it occurred to me that perhaps teaching English as a second language (TESL) might be an excellent choice. It meets all the above criteria and addresses an interest that my vocational survey turned up: a bias towards teaching. My vocational guidance counselor even suggested teaching, and she'd known me for all of two hours. Must be SOMETHING there.
Portland State University offers both a certificate in TESL and a Masters Degree. Of course, the degree would make me far more attractive to potential employers. The downside, obviously, is two years of full time Graduate school, or as John Irving calls it, "Gradual School," because it's where you gradually learn you don't want to go to school anymore.
There are several aspects to be investigated -- such as do I REALLY want to go back to school full time for two years?, considering that I haven't done that since Reagan was President. But hey, that's just more blog fodder! I'll be sure to keep my restless readers informed.
In the meantime, here's a little movie I did of our pets:
And also, here's what Argotnaut did on her Spring Break! Maybe this full time student thing isn't so tough after all! (That's a joke, my dove!)
Please note how often we change the sheets!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Super Blah Sunday
Wow! No posts in nearly a month.
Worry not. I'm still alive and have managed to survive the crash and burn of my once-mighty Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. In fact, I celebrated the occasion -- I mean, the occasion of their APPEARANCE in the big game, not their shocking and disgraceful performance IN it -- by allowing the crazy woman who cuts my hair the opportunity to exercise her creativity:
And while the Bears' almost comic ineptitude was reminiscent of the "Upper Class Twit of the Year Competition" on Monty Python's Flying Circus, I still wear my Chicago "C" logo proudly, because the Bears are competitive with the best teams in football (rarely the case in the past) and I have faith that the team's management will actually correctly identify the Bears' problem areas and fix them, as opposed to prior management's usual approach, which often has been to open the door of the clown car and pluck out the most unpromising of the clowns that tumble out.
Okay, enough sports. While my hair stylist is flexing her creativity with dye and hair clippers, I'm using my cleverity (all six atoms) and creativity (maybe up to double-digit atoms) on my video editing course. I finished the first of the three course projects last week -- a re-editing of an action sequence in the old TV series "Gunsmoke." And I do mean OLD. The clips we're using are from the early black-and-white days, and feature Dennis Weaver as "Chester." That's before MY time even, so you KNOW they're old.
All twelve or so people in the class have the same assignment: use about 15 minutes of rough takes to create a tightly paced sequence with good flow and good continuity. It's been interesting to see how everyone's approach to the same source material has been a little bit different. There are a lot of parallels between music composition and film editing. You must work to find the right rhythm, pacing, emotion, and determine the most important elements and then figure out how to emphasize them while maintaining a pleasing balance. And also like any artistic pursuit, film editing is incredibly time consuming. The "Gunsmoke" sequence is an amalgam of probably 10 takes of varying quality. My final sequence is just shy of three minutes, and it took probably five hours of niggling around to get it there. I cannon IMAGINE how much time must be involved in editing something like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Months and months of work by dozens of people, I'm sure.
I'm unlikely to post the results of the "Gunsmoke" exercise because I can't imagine anyone being interested in it. But the next project, if it turns out well, might be worth a You Tube distribution. We'll see!
Worry not. I'm still alive and have managed to survive the crash and burn of my once-mighty Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. In fact, I celebrated the occasion -- I mean, the occasion of their APPEARANCE in the big game, not their shocking and disgraceful performance IN it -- by allowing the crazy woman who cuts my hair the opportunity to exercise her creativity:
And while the Bears' almost comic ineptitude was reminiscent of the "Upper Class Twit of the Year Competition" on Monty Python's Flying Circus, I still wear my Chicago "C" logo proudly, because the Bears are competitive with the best teams in football (rarely the case in the past) and I have faith that the team's management will actually correctly identify the Bears' problem areas and fix them, as opposed to prior management's usual approach, which often has been to open the door of the clown car and pluck out the most unpromising of the clowns that tumble out.
Okay, enough sports. While my hair stylist is flexing her creativity with dye and hair clippers, I'm using my cleverity (all six atoms) and creativity (maybe up to double-digit atoms) on my video editing course. I finished the first of the three course projects last week -- a re-editing of an action sequence in the old TV series "Gunsmoke." And I do mean OLD. The clips we're using are from the early black-and-white days, and feature Dennis Weaver as "Chester." That's before MY time even, so you KNOW they're old.
All twelve or so people in the class have the same assignment: use about 15 minutes of rough takes to create a tightly paced sequence with good flow and good continuity. It's been interesting to see how everyone's approach to the same source material has been a little bit different. There are a lot of parallels between music composition and film editing. You must work to find the right rhythm, pacing, emotion, and determine the most important elements and then figure out how to emphasize them while maintaining a pleasing balance. And also like any artistic pursuit, film editing is incredibly time consuming. The "Gunsmoke" sequence is an amalgam of probably 10 takes of varying quality. My final sequence is just shy of three minutes, and it took probably five hours of niggling around to get it there. I cannon IMAGINE how much time must be involved in editing something like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Months and months of work by dozens of people, I'm sure.
I'm unlikely to post the results of the "Gunsmoke" exercise because I can't imagine anyone being interested in it. But the next project, if it turns out well, might be worth a You Tube distribution. We'll see!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Video saved the radio star?
For a little while now, I've been trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. And by "a little while," I mean about 30 years. Last September I went to see a vocational guidance counselor to help, which it did, in a very general way. However, while I wasn't expecting "you should be a professor of astronomy in a mid-sized university just on the northern outskirts of Cairo" kind of specificity, I do need more than "well, something arty and also a bit science-y."
I asked a few friends in Portland about it, and those who've seen my short films said that I should do that. Which, again, is helpful in a general way but there are other factors involved besides doing something creative. I would like said occupation to have the potential to provide me with a living wage. (Filmmaking is almost on a par with commodity trader or music producer as far as likelihood of losing vast sums of money in a hurry.) It also has to be a transferable skill -- Argotnaut and I will likely be leaving Portland in 18 months or so when she goes to graduate school for her linguistics degree, and I'd like to be able to get a job wherever it is we end up.
But a few days ago, I started thinking more seriously about an occupation Argotnaut and I have bandied about before: video production, and in a perfect world, music video production. This would enable me to use my skills as a filmmaker and audio engineer, is creative and science-y, offers the potential to actually earn a modest living and also is highly transferable, even overseas if necessary.
The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. So I have decided to pursue that. Starting this Monday, I am taking a video editing course at Northwest Film Center (the same place I took the Filmmaking class) and this Spring I plan to start work on a Video Production Certificate through Portland Community College. Therefore, in the next few weeks, expect to be tortured by more of my short films, this time shot on video.
For now, enjoy this very cost-effective and creative "OK Go" video if you haven't seen it already:
Or, if you prefer, here are a couple of nice pictures of Pepe with his tongue sticking out:
I asked a few friends in Portland about it, and those who've seen my short films said that I should do that. Which, again, is helpful in a general way but there are other factors involved besides doing something creative. I would like said occupation to have the potential to provide me with a living wage. (Filmmaking is almost on a par with commodity trader or music producer as far as likelihood of losing vast sums of money in a hurry.) It also has to be a transferable skill -- Argotnaut and I will likely be leaving Portland in 18 months or so when she goes to graduate school for her linguistics degree, and I'd like to be able to get a job wherever it is we end up.
But a few days ago, I started thinking more seriously about an occupation Argotnaut and I have bandied about before: video production, and in a perfect world, music video production. This would enable me to use my skills as a filmmaker and audio engineer, is creative and science-y, offers the potential to actually earn a modest living and also is highly transferable, even overseas if necessary.
The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. So I have decided to pursue that. Starting this Monday, I am taking a video editing course at Northwest Film Center (the same place I took the Filmmaking class) and this Spring I plan to start work on a Video Production Certificate through Portland Community College. Therefore, in the next few weeks, expect to be tortured by more of my short films, this time shot on video.
For now, enjoy this very cost-effective and creative "OK Go" video if you haven't seen it already:
Or, if you prefer, here are a couple of nice pictures of Pepe with his tongue sticking out:
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