Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The comedy and tragedy of [NOT] writing in Hollywood
The 'Sam and Jim go to Hollywood' show expounds on the plight of the writers' strike in show #35.Show #35: WGA On Strike!
The deadline passed. Now we're on the picket lines. The latest updates, and...
why you shouldn't even think about scab work.
Is this your first time listening to Sam and Jim? After listening to their latest show, I encourage that you go to the archives and listen to the backstory shows--volume 1, 2 and 3 in the "how we got here" series. I'm sure you'll be hooked:)
Backstory volume 1: From Minnesota to L.A.
The first of 3 podcasts about Sam and Jim giving up their old lives to become writers in Hollywood.
In this episode, Sam and Jim decide to try writing, even though they have it pretty good in Minnesota. Then they got a call...
Backstory volume 2: The wonderful world of Disney
In this, the second of 3 podcasts, Sam and Jim move to LA. And while having a job on the Disney studio lot is pretty cool, it ain't easy starting all over again.
Backstory volume 3: What, we can get paid for this?
This is the last episode in the Sam and Jim "how we got here" series 1, 2 and 3.
Sam and Jim finally sell a script. Then another. And another...
Let the journey begin.
If you enjoy the Sam and Jim go to Hollywood show, subscribe to the podcast at http://www.samandjimgotohollywood.com/
The easiest way? Go to http://www.apple.com/ or http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ and download the iTunes software if you don't have it already (don't worry, it's free). Click on this link to iTunes to subscribe, and you're all set.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Robert Reich and the Writers' Strike
From Robert Reich's Blog
The Writer's Strike and Chinese Pirates
I was supposed to appear on the Daily Show tomorrow night. But I won't, because the Daily Show will be doing reruns tomorrow night. That’s because the show’s writers have gone on strike. This may look like the kind of strike that used to cripple American industry years ago when big labor was really big. But look more closely and you find an issue more closely related to Chinese pirating of American movies and CDs. You see, entertainment is coming to be a larger and larger part of what skilled and creative Americans do for a living. Watch the credits at the end of movies and try counting the names. Add in all the people involved in producing musical recordings, animated computer games, books, magazines, advertising. And the ever expanding numbers doing all this and more on the Internet – through streaming media, webisodes, downloads.Entertainment is also becoming an even larger portion of America’s exports. Depending on how broadly you define it, about 12 to 15 percent of what we sell to the rest of the world. In short, entertainment is among our most valuable properties. But it’s intangible, weightless. Easily expressed in digits, it can be sent anywhere around the world in a second. And the cost of reproducing it is close to zero. So who’s entitled to the money that comes from the sale of creative, digitized products? That’s what we’re trying to negotiate with the Chinese and developing nations around the world.That’s also what the writers for movies and television are trying to negotiate. They want more of the revenues from sales of DVDs, webisodes, and other forms their creations now take – forms they couldn’t possibly have anticipated years ago when their contracts were last negotiated. Whether the clash is with the writers’ union or the Chinese, the underlying issue is the most basic of capitalism: Who owns what? And in this new digital age, the answer has to be negotiated anew.
The Writer's Strike and Chinese Pirates
I was supposed to appear on the Daily Show tomorrow night. But I won't, because the Daily Show will be doing reruns tomorrow night. That’s because the show’s writers have gone on strike. This may look like the kind of strike that used to cripple American industry years ago when big labor was really big. But look more closely and you find an issue more closely related to Chinese pirating of American movies and CDs. You see, entertainment is coming to be a larger and larger part of what skilled and creative Americans do for a living. Watch the credits at the end of movies and try counting the names. Add in all the people involved in producing musical recordings, animated computer games, books, magazines, advertising. And the ever expanding numbers doing all this and more on the Internet – through streaming media, webisodes, downloads.Entertainment is also becoming an even larger portion of America’s exports. Depending on how broadly you define it, about 12 to 15 percent of what we sell to the rest of the world. In short, entertainment is among our most valuable properties. But it’s intangible, weightless. Easily expressed in digits, it can be sent anywhere around the world in a second. And the cost of reproducing it is close to zero. So who’s entitled to the money that comes from the sale of creative, digitized products? That’s what we’re trying to negotiate with the Chinese and developing nations around the world.That’s also what the writers for movies and television are trying to negotiate. They want more of the revenues from sales of DVDs, webisodes, and other forms their creations now take – forms they couldn’t possibly have anticipated years ago when their contracts were last negotiated. Whether the clash is with the writers’ union or the Chinese, the underlying issue is the most basic of capitalism: Who owns what? And in this new digital age, the answer has to be negotiated anew.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
NYC's High Line
Take A Walk On The Wild Side
Follow the links below to some really beautiful images!
Take A Walk On The High Line
Take A Walk On The High Line
Did you ever go to Chelsea in Manhattan and question to yourself why an old, rusting elevated railroad line existed in this area?"The High Line" Film
"The High Line", a 6-minute documentary film, offers an excellent overview of High Line, its history, the movement to save it, and designs for its reuse. Directed and produced by John Zieman.
Actor Edward Norton and Friends of the High Line Co-Founder Joshua David walk on the High Line and discuss the project's history and future. Produced as part of GOOD Magazine's debut issue.
Edward Norton on the Charlie Rose Show
A 2003 interview with actor Edward Norton discussing his involvement with Friends of the High Line. Mr. Norton became a supporter in 2001 when he read Adam Gopnick’s article in The New Yorker.
May 21, 2001
New York Journal
A Walk on the High Line [ABSTRACT]
NEW YORK JOURNAL about an abandoned, elevated New York Central Railroad track on the lower West Side that activists are hoping to turn into a park… The archeology of Manhattan is reversed: the past is not buried in the ground but held up in the air, on the upper floors…
by Adam Gopnik
High Line Supporters
Construction Update: View construction photos from the first section of the High Line (Gansevoort to 20th Streets) to open in 2008. Construction on this section began in April 2006 and is currently on-schedule and on-budget.
Walking the High Line: Photographs by Joel Sternfeld. Introduction by Adam Gopnik.In photographs that span four seasons, Sternfeld captures the unique beauty of the spontaneous natural landscape that has gradually seeded itself atop the High Line's elevated tracks since the trains stopped running. This book is currently out of print but copies are available on Amazon.com.
Caution: Do Not Trespass
The High Line is currently owned by the City of New York.
I am not recommending that one climbs up on top of the viaduct to take a walk along the right-of-way. From what I hear, the New York City Police Department doesn't take a liking to these actions, and it could possibly get a person arrested for trespassing.
It is not (yet) open to the public.
Post Script:
There are two competing groups that have different agendas for determining the fate of the High Line. Friends of the High Line would like to see the High Line remain intact. The Chelsea Property Owners group, which represents businesses in the area, would like to see the line demolished. Recently the Chelsea Property Owners, a group of property owners demanding demolition of the High Line since 1989, acknowledged that it might drop its opposition to saving the 70-year-old structure. The Bloomberg administration has been suggesting to owners of property under the High Line that their development rights could be transferred to other sites. In the past Mayor Rudolph Giuliani wanted to see the High Line razed. Each concern has their own reasons as to why they take their positions.
The Friends of the High Line are working with the Rails-to-Trails program in order to secure the High Line with a Rails-to-Trails designation. The Chelsea Property Owners would like to use the ROW (right-of-way) and air rights over the line for commercial and residential development. The long gone (good-writens) Mayor Giuliani wanted the line taken down because he felt it was an eyesore to the community. He also felt that if the line were to be taken down, continued economic development in the area would result, stimulated by extra property that would be gained by razing the line.
On November 16, 2005 the Bloomberg administration released the following announcement:
MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES CITY ACQUIRES HIGH LINE
FROM CSX TRANSPORTATION
Trail Use Agreement Signed Permitting Recreational Uses on the Elevated Rail Structure;
Transformation into Public Open Space to Begin in 2006
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that the City of New York acquired title to the High Line elevated rail viaduct from CSX Transportation, Inc. this month. CSX donated the High Line to the City, and the transfer of ownership clears the way for the structure's transformation into a public open space to begin in 2006. Open space on the High Line will run from Gansevoort Street in Manhattan's Meatpacking District through West Chelsea to the Hudson Yards. In addition, the City and CSX signed a Trail Use Agreement, permitting the rail structure to be used by the public as a recreational amenity. The first section of the High Line is projected to open to the public in 2008. Read More Here...
...
High Line Reuse Picks Up Steam
Under previous administrations, the city had sided with property owners who saw the rusting steel structure just west of 10th Ave., last used for freight in 1980, as a blight on the neighborhood. Indeed, in one of its last official acts in 2001, the Giuliani administration signed an agreement joining the property owners’ move to demolish the High Line.
“Back in 1989 city officials said the High Line had to come down. What has changed in 14 years?” asked Roger Nober, S.T.B. chairperson. Read More Here...
...
Precedent in Paris:
During the early 1990s, the city of Paris successfully converted a similar elevated rail viaduct near the Bastille opera house into a three-mile pedestrian walkway called the Promenade Plantée. It crosses the entire 12th arrondissement from the Place de la Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes at the eastern edge of Paris. For more images, visit the Promenade Plantée Gallery.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Go ahead: Find Me Guilty!!!
"One day...even a last day...
--is worth more than a thousand days of a lifeless future".
Sunday, October 7, 2007
more: DELERIUM Silence
Look here for more DELERIUM...
SILENCE
By Delerium
Give me release
Witness me
I am outside
Give me peace
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
Passion chokes the flower
Till she cries no more
Possessing all the beauty
Hungry still for more
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave
In this silence
I believe
I can't help this longing
Comfort me
I can't hold it all in
If you won't let me
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave
In this silence
I believe
:)
Monday, September 24, 2007
Nikon D300 On Order!!!
I have this camera on order from my local camera shop. It should be in stock by November! Look here at KenRockwell.com for a very good overview. Look here at NikonUSA.com for more info. Oh ya, and here is the lens I'll be using which is also reviewed here at Ken's site.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Briscola
Briscola The Classic Italian Card Game
Briscola is a very famous Italian card game. Briscola is a classic Italian card game. Briscola is very popular in Italy, Portugal, and Spain; but can be enjoyed by anyone with a deck of cards. Briscola is a multi-player game for two to six players.
The original game of Briscola is played using an Italian deck containing 40 cards of four different suits; cups, coins, batons, and swords. But Briscola can be played with a normal deck of card by removing three cards from each suit. The deck contains the ace through seven, plus the jack, queen, and king. The eight, nine, and ten of each suit have been removed. The ranking of cards for any given suit from highest to lowest is ace, three, king, queen, jack, seven, six, five, four, two. However, only certain cards have point values, the remaining cards have no value.
Card Points: Ace 11; Three 10; King 4; Queen 3; Jack 2, the remaining cards have no value.
Learn more about Briscloa here: http://www.pagat.com/aceten/briscola.html
You can find a downloadable game here:
And here:
You can play online here:
Monday, September 10, 2007
That's here. That's home. That's us.
Our mission is to awaken the broadest possible public to the wonders of nature as revealed by science.
From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species, lived there on the mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam.
The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel, on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity--in all this vastness--there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. The Earth is the only world known so far to harbour life. There is nowhere else--at least in the near future--to which are species could migrate. Visit...yes. Settle...not yet. Like it or not, for the moment, the Earth is where we make our stand. It has been said that astronomy is a humbling, and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
Four Eyed Monsters .com
Watch Section 2<<~>>Watch Section 3
See the story of the film created in Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8
NY Times Article
Mr. Crumley and Ms. Buice spoke about their 14-month ordeal making "Four Eyed Monsters," which dramatizes how they met online, and in which they co-star. The movie was well received at its Slamdance Film Festival premiere in January and screened at 16 other festivals. But like so many independent labors of love, it has yet to attract a theatrical distributor.
"If the result was going to be this," Mr. Crumley mused, "a film with no distributor, no way for anyone to ever get a chance to see it beyond those who saw it at a few festivals, would I have done it? That's a tough question to answer." Ms. Buice added: "The answer is, 'no,' it's not O.K. for our film to have been mildly successful on the festival circuit. But otherwise, it was just a jaunt into the abyss and now we have financial hell to pay."
The first-time filmmakers used their $10,000 in savings to begin production and borrowed $55,000 on seven credit cards to complete the film. Ms. Buice's parents have contributed $20,000 more for film festival travel and living expenses.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Teacher's Nightmare: Ogling Video on YouTube--Internet Videos Such as 'Hot for Teacher' Clip Raise Privacy Concerns
Former elementary school teacher Keri McIntyre discovered someone had taped her and posted the video online without her consent. (ABC News)
The scene was a fifth grade graduation ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., and the star of the amateur video was not exactly the student body, but a teacher's body.
"The video was three and a half minutes of me. It would go to my face, to my butt, to my face," said former elementary school teacher Keri McIntyre. "And then he had his fun zooming in to my butt."
The scene was a fifth grade graduation ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., and the star of the amateur video was not exactly the student body, but a teacher's body.
"The video was three and a half minutes of me. It would go to my face, to my butt, to my face," said former elementary school teacher Keri McIntyre. "And then he had his fun zooming in to my butt."
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Chocolate Rain
WARNING! WARNING!
-Warning Will Robinson-
If you click on the above link you will see the following message.
-This video has been removed due to terms of use violation-
That's because it is linked to a video clip of VH1's, 'Best Week Ever' on Google's, YouTube.
This is the ongoing battle of content and privacy rights. I guess VH1 would rather have people come to their own website to view what they produced.
You can find it on VH1's Web site but good luck...Look here for Best Week Ever on VSPOT; then look for week of August 6th. If you wanted to send a link for a specific video, to a friend, you will have to give VH1 your email address, and your friend's email address.
You will also be swamped with junk mail!!!
They hide the links pretty good.
You could, once you download the video clips, save, and play them on your computer, using your own player.
When you play a file in Windows, it is stored in \Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files. You can save and rename the file keeping the .flv extension. YouTube uses .swf file extensions that can be changed to .flv. Here is a simple standalone cross platform player called Wimpy Desktop FLV Player (FREE).
For Mac or Windows you could use Firefox with an extension like DownloadHelper.
For Mac there are other convoluted ways to locate the .flv file. You could purchace a Safari plug-in called FLVR, or use a standalone utility like Tubesock.
Or you could also use the activity trick: If you go to the activity window in Safari it will show the various parts of the website and the largest file is usually the video file. Also usually in .flv format though sometimes in others. Simply double click the .flv line and it will begin downloading through Safari. You can then convert the movie with Isquint or QuickTime Pro with the Perian plug-in. Or just view it using VLC.
Here are some other free players.
Chocolate Rain
Original
:
Parody
:
Simpsons
:
Jimmy Kimmel
:
John Mayer
:
Chocolate Rain Lyrics
:
Chocolate Rain - Some stay dry and others feel the pain
Chocolate Rain - A baby born will die before the sin
Chocolate Rain - The school books say it can't be here again
Chocolate Rain - The prisons make you wonder where it went
Chocolate Rain - Build a tent and say the world is dry
Chocolate Rain - Zoom the camera out and see the lie
Chocolate Rain - Forecast to be falling yesterday
Chocolate Rain - Only in the past is what they say
Chocolate Rain - Raised your neighborhood insurance rates
Chocolate Rain - Makes us happy livin' in a gate
Chocolate Rain - Made me cross the street the other day
Chocolate Rain - Made me cross the street the other day
Chocolate Rain - Made you turn your head the other way
: (Chorus)
Chocolate Rain - History quickly crashing through your veins
Chocolate Rain - Using you to fall back down again [Repeat]
:
Chocolate Rain - Seldom mentioned on the radio
Chocolate Rain - Its the fear your leaders call control
Chocolate Rain - Worse than swearing worse than calling names
Chocolate Rain - Say it publicly and you're insane
Chocolate Rain - No one wants to hear about it now
Chocolate Rain - No one wants to hear about it now
Chocolate Rain - Wish real hard it goes away somehow
Chocolate Rain - Makes the best of friends begin to fight
Chocolate Rain - But did they know each other in the light?
Chocolate Rain - Every February washed away
Chocolate Rain - Stays behind as colors celebrate
Chocolate Rain - The same crime has a higher price to pay
Chocolate Rain - The judge and jury swear it's not the face
: (Chorus)
Chocolate Rain - History quickly crashing through your veins
Chocolate Rain - Using you to fall back down again [Repeat]
Chocolate Rain - Using you to fall back down again [Repeat]
:
Chocolate Rain - Dirty secrets of economy
Chocolate Rain - Turns that body into GDP
Chocolate Rain - The bell curve blames the baby's DNA
Chocolate Rain - But test scores are how much the parents make
Chocolate Rain - Flippin' cars in France the other night
Chocolate Rain - Cleans the sewers out beneath Mumbai
Chocolate Rain - Across the world and back its all the same
Chocolate Rain - Angels cry and shake their heads in shame
Chocolate Rain - Lifts the ark of paradise in sin
Chocolate Rain - Lifts the ark of paradise in sin
Chocolate Rain - Which part do you think you're livin' in?
Chocolate Rain - More than marchin' more than passing law
Chocolate Rain - More than marchin' more than passing law
Chocolate Rain - Remake how we got to where we are
: (Chorus)
Chocolate Rain - History quickly crashing through your veins
Chocolate Rain - Using you to fall back down again [Repeat]
Chocolate Rain - History quickly crashing through your veins
Chocolate Rain - Using you to fall back down again [Repeat]
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Battle at Kruger - Over 13 Million Views
Views: 13,809,815 and counting...
Very amazing video--shaky cam and all.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
We All Hear The Call of High Places
Go here for a look at some unbelievable base jumping!!!
SILENCE
By Delerium
Give me release
Witness me
I am outside
Give me peace
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
Passion chokes the flower
Till she cries no more
Possessing all the beauty
Hungry still for more
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave
In this silence
I believe
I can't help this longing
Comfort me
I can't hold it all in
If you won't let me
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave
In this silence
I believe
:)
SILENCE
By Delerium
Give me release
Witness me
I am outside
Give me peace
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
Passion chokes the flower
Till she cries no more
Possessing all the beauty
Hungry still for more
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave
In this silence
I believe
I can't help this longing
Comfort me
I can't hold it all in
If you won't let me
Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
That I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides
In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave
In this silence
I believe
:)
Thursday, August 2, 2007
The Simpsons Quotes
Homer: Here's to alcohol, the cause of—and solution to—all life's problems.
Homer: Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.
Homer: You don't like your job, you don't strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way.
Bart: I am through with working. Working is for chumps.
Homer: Son, I'm proud of you! I was twice your age when I figured that out.
Homer: Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.
Homer: You don't like your job, you don't strike. You go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way.
Bart: I am through with working. Working is for chumps.
Homer: Son, I'm proud of you! I was twice your age when I figured that out.
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