The Theme: Plans

Yes, the economy.

If you have a moment, here's an article from CNN that serves up a clear explanation regarding our federal government's overwhelming bailout proposal to members of Congress: Where things stand

"It is a big package because it's a big problem."
- President Bush

Outside my paranoia over our country's future, I managed to sneak in some minor travel plans in the upcoming time ahead. If all goes well I will be heading into Boston for an extended weekend next week to visit with my brother. Rock Band 2, good food, a lot of wise cracks in store...

Video art friend Katie invited me to join a group that's planning a trip up north to Toronto for an all-night cultural arts festival called Nuit Blanche. From sunset at 6:52 pm on Saturday, October 4, to sunrise on Sunday, October 5, Toronto will explode into 155 destinations of exhibits and projects all around the city. Sounds fantastic. Here's a link to the 2008 program here.

Work continues to progress on the school front. I proposed a more in-depth approach to my short film concept and managed to activate some good advice and suggestions between classmates. I think it will turn out beautiful once I can secure a proper location.

A couple more things to note.

This is my new favorite attack ad from Mccain's campaign:

how disrespectful.

Here's a funny article I found on The New Yorker's site in the Cartoon Lounge section. Apparently there was a cartoon-off between Michael Showlater and Farley Katz a short while ago. Check it out here.

Mr. Deeds And The Fall Arrival

Too long of a hiatus. My apologies to the few keeping up to date with me.

I've passed the one month mark by over a few days now. I'm still here exploring the quirks of the city and my program, but finding myself more immersed in my own world. I watch more films and stay focused on work because when you are alone you have more freedom to observe and analyze at a comfortable pace. That's one critical thing this experience has taught me so far. It's a productive habit I want to continue to form.

Class and work are in full swing. I have my first treatment prepared and have begun to expand on my project that I am supposed to start production on in about a month. Once I flush out more ideas I'd like to bring it up in a post and maybe workshop it with some of you guys to see what you think. Speaking of which, the Potts video is almost done. My goal is to post that at some point next week. I've delayed work on it for too long. Time to wrap things up. And hey, speaking of music videos, Keith Schofield, the director who I helped as a production assistant last summer, posted one of his new works recently. It's for the track "Move" by CSS. Another fun concept and exceptional editing from an innovated director.

Business aside, I was fortunate enough to have another visitor here. Mr. Deeds made it to town and it was nothing short of extraordinary.

Proof.

I introduced her to my new Hang Zone, 2nd Story Books, Greek Row, and a bunch of fine eats around town. On our last night together we joined my pals Jeff and Ann for dinner. Before we made it to the restaurant, we were stopped by an excitable young man on a bicycle asking for donations for his rap/reggae cd. He handed us all copies of his album, Expo Zee Doe, recently cut locally. After we informed him we didn't have money to give any donations and declined, he took his CDs back out of our hands. He did however change his mind last minute and gave Deeds a copy. "I want you to have this. You're very pretty. I wanna put you in my video. Give me a call. The number is on the front here. Expo Zee Doe."

The Syracuse underground scene. Stay tuned.

It sure was no fun to say goodbye again after such a wonderful time, but the stakes are different now. Everyone is active and assembling plans for the fall season and beyond. This will be a healthy change, my friends. We will congregate soon, discuss a spectrum of topics, and celebrate Obama's victory as President. A most triumphant reunion indeed.

Out-of-this-world even...

"This Summer...He's Back..." Don LaFontaine 1940-2008

Don LaFontaine, the man with the voice that commanded our attention throughout thousands of promotional spots, has passed on. Don holds a special place in my heart as a man who's authoritative, guttural voice previewed infinite television spots, commercials, and movie trailers throughout my life. Not to mention I personally credit him for the majority of my voice over humor that I have parodied and beat to death for just about all of my friends. You can read about Don and his untimely death on CNN's site: "In a world..."

I've included some clips here. The first few are more biographical and focus on Don's unrivaled career. It's amazing how much work he's accumulated over the years. The last is a stand-up bit from comedian Pablo Francisco impersonating Don's unmistakable voice...

Enjoy:

The Warehouse

Damn my inability to keep a camera on me at all times.

I'm going to illustrate this post by explicitly using clips or picture references from outside sources...

I've spent the past few consecutive nights hanging out with the same people - grads from the photography and video art programs, specifically. They have undoubtedly made this transition easier by actively pursuing me to hangout. I half-expected to fall into some sort of clique after getting here. It's natural. Though, I couldn't have anticipated how fast it would approach. You are more or less surrounded by your colleagues throughout the entire week during seminars or cinematheque so a shake up in any static activity is imperative. Summer breaks, new people, etc.

Last night we headed downtown to meet with Chris and the group's other friend, Guy, who rents a room in a large building dubbed "The Warehouse." The place is essentially a large warehouse with some remodeled rooms located on each level. Each one of the many levels has a ridiculous amount of open space for the tenants to do whatever it is they desire. It's their community area that they are allowed to customize.

I'm going to walk you through this place as best I can because I want you, my reader, to truly understand how much of a spectacle it was to visit. This clip from 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will serve as my preface:

Note: Sam Rockwell as Head Thug

Ok, save for a bunch of arcade games, twelve-year-olds drinking Dad's Rootbeer, playing hold'em, and Master Tatsu looming around challenging fights, there was an amalgamation of absurd toys. It was as if a large Boys and Girls Club center finally buckled under the pressure of the most angsty of teens compelled to take over.

I jammed on what appeared to be a 25-piece drum kit, rode wheelchairs and scooters in huge square formations, skateboarded on a small ramp, played ping pong, swung on a swing set, played with a leaf blower, etc . Those were just a few of the options I took advantage of. The real beauty was in the decor. Multitudes of chairs, televisions, projector screens, lamps, mannequins, tables, all from various time periods, occupied, but not completely filled, just the one level I was on. All of it was neatly arranged for guests to be fully enraptured by.

You could turn the ordinary:














Into a true video armageddon:











Honestly, even Rufio would jump at the chance to pay rent here and he thinks all grown-ups are pirates...

Film School

Shaffer Art Building

Class began today with a collective of first, second, and third year grad students. One requirement course is a graduate filmmaking seminar that is structured for students to create and experiment with film or video, and to evaluate and critique each others work. Early into the first several weeks, we conduct discussions based on treatments we bring in for short film ideas, and introduce some of the work we've already produced. What are we trying to pursue? What methods have we adopted and from where? It's an academic environment that applies heavy critical thinking and discourse in order achieve some sort of creative production. The process essentially repeats in a nonthreatening, informal way. It's very inviting.

I have now been acquainted with all of the faculty and film students. The two other first year grads are enjoyable and less timid each time we meet. I will be working closely with them as we familiarize ourselves with lab equipment and course curriculum. Sook Hyun Kim is from Korea and practices documentary work. Ying-Chin Wang is interested in teaching film and has studied independently in China. Aside from class, we will have equipment workshops, the first being this friday, learning the Arriflex SR1 Super 16 kit.

The film cage is where I report for work. Twice a week I maintain and properly check-out equipment to grads and undergrads in film and computer art. All of the equipment is at my disposal. Quite convenient. John, my supervisor, is also a bit of a crack up. Over beers, he discussed his thoughts on the film program, his career and his family. As it turns out, he's very into the Pacific Northwest and has frequented Snoqualmie Falls on a number of occasions with his wife. John also extended an informal invitation to work on set on two projects this summer, both shot exclusively here in town. Germ is a send-up of Zombie horror films with a modest budget that he is set to direct. Hotel Syracuse, is a more an elaborate thriller-drama under the helm of an Israeli director, Haim Bouzaglo. Supposedly, the producers of Hotel Syracuse are in negotiations to land John Malkovich and Martin Sheen as two of the leads. I've yet to get started and job opportunities seem to be coming around already.

Otherwise, I'm maintaining well now that I've surpassed my limbo state. Emily made an incredible cameo this past weekend by coming to visit. We bonded over Ms. Pac-Man, garlic naan bread, and beers.

File Photo

We sat in 2nd Story Books, read magazines with our bevs and browsed books. On the way back, I declared to Emily that I had found my new favorite spot to visit. Although we didn't get our 2am Insomnia Cookie order in, we managed to squeeze in some time for Wii Sports. It was damn good seeing those Miis again. Emily visiting is a true testament to her loving character. Dodging my way around a room packed full of bros and bro-girls just won't be as funny for a while.

Kervin Brisseaux

When I reported last Thursday of the progress being made, I underestimated the speed at which it was developing. It's enjoyable and slightly odd to find myself in the constant company of architect students. They are already a year into bonding over the stress of school work and social aspects of Syracuse. Yet, Kervin and I seem to have the strongest rapport. He is charismatic and has an exuberant personality that tends to grow when we discuss personal, creative work. Last night we hung out with his roommates, also architect grad students and most of whom I already met. He showcased some pieces from his online portfolio, but we didn't get a moment to jump into in an in depth talk. I thought I'd share with you some of his talents in Photoshop and Illustrator:

You can find out more about Kervin and his work here.

He explained that he has been practicing graphic art and illustration for years as a hobby, but would ultimately like to incorporate it into his profession as an architect. All of his techniques with Adobe software continues to be reinforced with self discipline and independent learning. It's inspiring. He talked of a online collective he'd like to start that spans a variety of expressive mediums. Perhaps this could lead to some really constructive work between us.

In addition to artistic pursuits, we find a lot of common ground in our appreciation for Lost, Battlestar, and Rock Band - shit that opens up a world of conversation.

Treasures

I'm glad you're nearby, Ithaca. You have a lot of qualities about a small town that I enjoy. You're seemingly pretty liberal, have a flourishing artistic community, and from what I observed, a proponent of strong sustainable values.

This past Saturday began with an eruption of rain and thunder. After Andrew entered town to pick me up and we started south a short ways, the weather seemed to calm and the storm clouds dissipated. Sun glinted down on us as we drove through surrounding dairy farms and untold rows of corn fields until we finally made our way to Ithaca. We hung around the Commons, an area primarily occupied with local shops and performance venues. Out of all of the places I've discovered since the move, I found this stretch of city blocks to be the most welcoming. I walked at a leisurely pace and listened to Andrew tell stories of coming out here when he used to live in Auburn six years ago. Moments later, I spotted a curious sign overhead pointing to a cinema in between two buildings. "Look at this treasure!" I examined the alley and found this:

Alley Cinema

We stumbled around some more and found a decent record store followed by a late Thai lunch at an overwhelmingly vacant restaurant. I neglected the secondhand bookstore across from the record store the first pass and decided to go back and give it a try after food. Autumn Leaves Used Books is also a record shop and cafe turns out.

The familiar atmosphere lured us in: Not uncomfortably quiet, antique smells, an abundant amount of obsolete technology, etc. Desperately, I looked to see if I could find some great used titles. Not a whole lot. I think the store gets cleaned out pretty regularly. Before stepping out, I peeked at the rare collection displayed behind the counter. It was beautiful...

You will be mine someday.

Subsequently, Andrew and I had some beers and watched the Olympics at a sports bar. I watched the springboard and diving events and reminisced of Railroad Ave back home. The Ithaca commons are very much like that part of Bellingham, just more elaborate and developed. There was an impromptu jaunt up the hill to Cornell University. Why? No particular reason. It was in close enough proximity. Result? Kind of ordinary. Although, there was a dazzling cricket near what appeared to be some sort of engineering building. Driving back through the barren small towns on the way home to Syracuse, I had recharged some motivation. It was encouraging to find instances of home on the opposite side of the country.

This House Is Growing

Manita was the first face I'd seen to inhabit this building opposite me. I still don't know where she's from and what she studies, but she has a puppy and isn't too timid to strike up conversation. She lives directly next to me in a larger space, but the view out her window is lackluster. So far I know we will be splitting internet costs. Jeffrey lives further down the hall and I've seen him once or twice. He's quiet and we have yet to communicate about anything, really. No matter. There are several others supposedly moving in this week. How close or estranged will we be over time? We'll see. It's good this place is growing a pulse.