48-hour film festival
Just got back from the 48-hour film festival. Nope, not a marathon movie-watching session, but rather a contest where teams of local filmmakers are given a genre, a character, a line, and a requirement to include some sort of prop, and are given 48 hours to turn in a finished film. Different teams get different genres, but they all must include the same character (Joe Fitzsimmon, senator), the same line (“Is that the way it goes?”), and the same type of prop (a figurine). Our friend Dan Parsons was in charge of lighting for the film “Slim & Shorty vs. Evil,” of the spy genre. This was by far the cleanest production of the ten or so short films we saw. It struck me that this was a professional production right away, and I was really amazed that it had been produced over such a short time. Really cool! There certainly were others that had quality editors and produced a fine finished look, but several were quite amaturish. Everyone had a great time though, and I suppose that’s probably one of the grand goals of the sponsors. Good job, Dan! Don’t forget the little guys.
By mike | Posted in journal | 1 Comment »anthropomorphizing
The other day I heard our air conditioner on the radio. It said something about how we treat our vehicles so well; how we maintain them and get the oil changed on a regular schedule, but how we’ve been neglecting it. I was confused and hurt. Somehow, our air conditioner had run away and was announcing over the radio that we were bad parents. Then it asked me to get it serviced at Strand Brothers. It was then that I realized it probably wasn’t really our a/c system. It was just an actor! Whew.
Well, I got to thinking about how much we anthropomorphize stuff, especially if we’re trying to sell something. Who can forget Mrs. Butterworth?
The occasional arguments with the Parkay margerine tub about its qualities as a butter substitute were particularly creepy.
So, I was going on and on about how annoying this marketing trend was, until I discovered myself anthropomorphizing a spatula. The plastic one was so proud to be used on the new grill that was normally reserved for the much bigger and rugged metal spatula. *sigh*
redesign
This redesign is killing me! IE requires a pile of hacks to perform even close to Mozilla and is generally harmful to your health. I’ve implemented several styles, none of which are complete because I still need to set up the html to have the proper <div> enclosures. I may have to settle on a specific layout, and just go with that. As it is, I’ve been having so much fun with CSS that I’m trying all kinds of layouts.
By mike | Posted in journal | 1 Comment »switched at birth?
I’ve had a lot of people tell me I look like Toby Keith. Others say it’s Kiefer Sutherland. What do you think?
it’s rad!
Jodi and I just bought a new grill yesterday with our wedding gift cards. I wish I had seen their web site before we had made the decision on which one to buy. The web site promo sounds like it was written by a 16-year-old in the mid-eighties:
“… truckload of rad features …”
“It’s rad …”
“And its looks are truly radical …”
The rest of the VC web site is even worse.
By mike | Posted in journal | 2 Comments »weird dream
Last night I had a dream. It wasn
By mike | Posted in dreams | No Comments »Movie Etiquette
I just got back from watching Hidden Fortress at the historic Paramount Theatre downtown. The movie itself was entertaining, but the activities in the row in front of us were even more so. I sat to the right of Keith, who sat directly behind most of the action. I sat behind the action
By mike | Posted in journal | 3 Comments »today
I never know what to call the entries that have a lot of just random stuff in them, so I think I’m just going to start calling them “today.” It’s simple, makes sense, and doesn’t give preference to any one topic…as though their feelings might be hurt.
An old friend of mine has had a chat room on his web site for quite a while now. The guys in his bible study use it, along with some others, myself included, to pass the time at work. Often, this is where we find the weirdest stuff. Someone will have heard some strange news or seen a crazy photo, and we share it at the chat room. Two things from today struck me as extraordinary.
- The old friend shared the scariest commercial I have ever seen. The text at the end says “you were never so awake” and “coffee in high dosage.”
- Some news was shared that clearly shows a loss of creativity in the film industry.
By the way, ex-lax works, in case you had any doubts.
By mike | Posted in link | No Comments »lupin
Ok, this is funny, so I had to put it down in the journal. Jodi and I just went to see the latest Harry Potter movie, and one of the characters was named Professor Lupin. The word “lupin,” I remembered, is French for werewolf, but I wanted to verify it, so I typed it into Google. Without thinking, I clicked the first link (always a bad thing to do in a search engine). It was a link to the Lupin Naturist Club. The really funny part, though, is this quote from their website:
Common male fears of erotic embarrassment are very rarely realized in Lupin’s depressurized social environment. (The omnipotent mind controls inappropriate timing.)
hmmmmm… rarely?
By mike | Posted in journal | No Comments »Charlesisms
My friend Charles has lived in Austin many years, and over that time, has come up with some “Charlesisms.”
- Whole Foods = Food Hole
- Central Market = Central Markup
- Lincoln Village = Stinkin’ Village
- Home Depot = Home Despot
And others have come up with some good ones as well:
- Inks Lake = Stinks Lake (James)
- Hyde Park = Hype Park (Jodi, but accidental)
Jodi’s mom responded to the last entry, and promptly asked how we would insure the Jag. As it turns out, she was concerned about us driving a rental car that could do 0-120 in 4 seconds. While I will admit that I have done 120mph in a vehicle in my lifetime, I must say that I have not arrived at that speed in anywhere near four seconds! I would be a dangerous man in a car that powerful…not to mention the winner of every streetcar race in the world. I wonder if she was worried about our lives(?) (Oh boy I’m dishin’ it out now!! Watch out Glenda!)
FYI, the Jaguar XJ8 costs about $60,000 (too much), and does 0-60 in 6.3 seconds. The XJ website lists this car’s maximum speed at 121mph, electronically limited.
I love my mother-in-law!