It's on!

Ok, so there is a serious lack of film festivals in the Raleigh area. The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival sells about 30,000 tickets a year, so there is definitely a market for it, too. I think I am going to start moving ahead on getting something together.

So, here are the next steps. We need a name and something official, like a website, that I can use when I'm calling around to find a venue to rent out, so that we look organized and have more leverage to make a deal. I have scoped out some of the local independent theaters and they do rent out space, so this is probably the best place to contact first. Maybe they will even sponsor the festival if I am charming and show how organized we are.

Who has a good name for a film festival, and should we have some kind of theme? I think it would be cool to limit entries to digital formats. We can celebrate low budget guerrilla film making. I'm blanking on good names, though.

Our media sucks

Here's a very comprehensive blog post about the state of American media over the past 8 years from Glen Greenwald on Salon.com. I highly recommend reading that blog regularly. Just click the "enter Salon" link on the top right of the screen once you click that link.

No more posts

After blowing his 2nd game in as many nights, Latroy Hawkins is not my favorite Yankee. I am going on protest and refusing to make any more posts until he is dipped in feathers and covered in hot tar. Or at least until his ERA goes below 6.00 (currently at 6.75). So to all my friends, good bye for now, it could be a long break.

Mikey O O O signing out

Film Festivals!

DrX implanted the spectacular idea in my head of starting a film festival. The first thing to do, I guess, is to see how flooded the market is with film festivals. So, this is where you guys can help. I'm going to use this post to make a list of all the film festivals in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area so I can get a good idea of whether the area needs another film festival, and the best time of year to have one. If you find a film fest not on my list, please post it, with a link, in the comments.

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (Documentaries) - April (This one is huge)
Pinwheel Film Festival (Short Films) - April (1 day)

Ok, I really can't find many easily and I have to get back to work. Help me out my friends!

I'm so tired

I'm back from my trip to visit DrX and I am exhausted. I actually got back at around 10AM, but I went into work all day. Anyways, I had a good time, despite being surrounded by plague. I got some good ideas, on which I will expand upon in future posts, and we drew some political cartoons, which I'll try to post tomorrow. Right now, I am very much tired and need some sleep. Until tomorrow folks!

Kev to do something not useless?

There is a new contest from the Union of Concerned Scientists:

This spring, creative minds throughout America will have the opportunity to show off their artistic and comedic talents in support of independent science by entering the third annual Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest.
...We're looking for your creative take on the issue of political interference in science and the tasks that await our next president. Submit one-panel or multi-panel print cartoons that address the misuse of science on a specific issue or in general, the affects of this abuse on our society, or your hope for the new administration.

So, obviously I have to use my incredible sketching talents to send an entry in. Any ideas?

A pic in lieu of a post

To prove I was in Florida yesterday, here's a pic I took of a gator on the UF campus:

I ended spending the night in Gainesville, due to storms up here in NC. I'll try to post again before I leave for Rhode Island on Friday, but I have a visitor tonight and lots of work to do tomorrow, so I'm not promising anything.

I know I won't get lucky tonight

So the annual NBA Draft Lottery is going to happen tonight. As a long standing T'Wolves fan, this night has traditionally been a big let down. Like the night we had the worst record and ended up with the number 3 pick and Christian Laettner instead of Shaq. As a matter of fact the T'Wolves have never improved their standing in the draft in the last 16 years even though they've been in hte lottery about 10 times. My only hope tonight is that Memphis gets the top pick and takes Beasley, allowing Derrick Rose to fall to Minny at No. 2. Otherwise if we get the 1st pick, good ole Kev McHale will mess up once again and take the wrong player. I've finally found out what its like to be a Lions fan with Matt Millen. PLEASE FIRE MCHALE!!!

Dropping the axe....

This info came from IGN, which I know, is by no means an authority, but seems legit. Was happy about K-Ville, unhappy about Moonlight.

http://tv.ign.com/articles/874/874745p1.html

Our prayers are with you...

If I ever become very ill or injured, please don't pray for me. Get off your ass and actually do something to help, eh? Is there a bigger nonstarter than prayer? It's pretty obvious that prayers aren't for the people to which they are directed, but rather to the prayer. Oh, it makes you feel so much better that you did something to help, doesn't it? You took a few seconds out of your busy schedule to ask your imaginary friend to make me better! You, sir, are a hero! No need to bother visiting me, comforting my family and friends or helping me pay my medical bills. You prayed for me! Gee, that's just swell.

You know, if there actually were a God, I bet It would be pissed that people always shove all their problems on him. I imagine It would want you to take responsibility and solve your own damn problems and make your own fucking decisions. You're going to anyways, because if there is a God, It does absolutely nothing to influence your life. So you'll take something natural as a sign, and do whatever the fuck you want anyways. So, cut out the middle-man, and just say no, to prayer.

Trivia... because I'm bored

Who was the first person to complete a powered airplane flight in Australia? First to answer gets a sketch of their choice. I haven't made one of those lately and I miss it.

Back to winning

The Hoffs used a 5 run first inning led by Stefen's 3 run homerun over the rightfield wall (first time it has happened all season) to remain undefeated in a 5-3 victory over PPL. The game was not as close as the final score indicated, as The Hoffs dominated from the 1st inning on. Next week similar to MLB, The Hoffs will play Interleague rival NKO (New Kickball Order). The Hoffs improve to 2-0-2 on the season and 3rd place (2nd in the division) in the 16 team league.

I'm a traveler!

So, next week I will be leaving North Carolina to go to Florida, then it's back to NC and then to Rhode Island two days later. I got the East Coast covered! DrX, if we have time, we have to come up with lots of script ideas while I'm visiting. And then we can dress like pirates! That's not lame at all!

Could W be your friend?

Ok, I really don't get into movies too much, so on to another topic. Could you be friends with George W Bush if he weren't our president?

I just watched a clip on W doing a Dr. evel impersonation (front page of yahoo.com), and my first thought was, hmmm what an idiot. Then I thought of my friend Danimal who does a similar impression, and he's not an idiot (at least not all the time).

This got me to thinking, if W was say, a mid-level manager at UPS and your neighbor, would you be friends with the guy. He seems likable, smiles a lot, like to joke around, plays a little golf, and drinks some beers. Plus he seems to hook his friends up, I mean look what he's done for his fellow oil buddies.

I think maybe he just choose the wrong career path. I mean if I was president, I don't think I'd do a good job, but that wouldn't mean I'm a bad person or an idiot. I just shouldn't be president.

Maybe these are just the ramblings of a bored accountant after 3 espresso's, but I think W is a good guy. I'd never vote for him in a million years, but I'd like to go watch a Texas rangers game and get smashed with the guy. I bet he'd be a riot.

Another pre-mid-life crisis

If we were all to get together to make a short film over the summer, what would be a good time and place to do it?

Yay! It's massive depression time!

Hey, you guys and gals want to read something that will depress/enrage/make you sick to the stomach? Of course you do! Read this article from The Guardian. If, for some reason, you don't want to be sent into a fit of near comatose depression, I'll sum up the story for you. There's this young 17 year old girl in Iraq. She developes a crush on a British soldier. Her father finds out she's been talking to the soldier and, as any good, god fearing father would do, beats her, strangles her and stabs her to death with the help of his sons in front of the crying mother. Well, at least he was punished, right? Nope. The police agree that he did the right thing. But at least he has to live with the remorse of killing his only daughter, right?

For Abdel-Qader Ali there is only one regret: that he did not kill his daughter at birth. 'If I had realised then what she would become, I would have killed her the instant her mother delivered her,' he said with no trace of remorse.

Yeah... The article has lots of choice quotes from this guy, like this:

'I have only two boys from now on. That girl was a mistake in my life. I know God is blessing me for what I did,' he said, his voice swelling with pride. 'My sons are by my side, and they were men enough to help me finish the life of someone who just brought shame to ours.'

And this:

'I have alerted my two sons. They will have the same end [as Rand] if they become contaminated with any gay relationship. These crimes deserve death - death in the name of God,' he said.

But Ben Stein told me atheistic Darwinist scientists were responsible for all the evil in this world...

More film crap

I was going to leave a comment in the last post, but it was getting rather long, so I decided to make a new post of it. Here's my response to DrX's comment defending remakes. For one thing visual storytelling styles and structures are NOT dramatically different now than they were 50 years ago. What is popular may be dramatically different, but the influences all go back to the great eras of film. Let's take Tarantino for example. His films have had as much influence on popular film making of the past 15 years as anyone, but there really isn't anything revolutionary or new about his style. Same with Scorsese. They are both incredible film buffs who developed their style from watching the greats, and watching those films (the originals) you gain a much greater appreciation of not only those, but of the films that they have influenced.

Now, I see remaking a great film on par with remixing a great song or repainting a masterpiece. Sure, other people may be able to paint the Mona Lisa with as much, or more skill than DaVinci, but it will never be a masterpiece. And anyways, what the hell is the point? The masterpiece is already there for everyone to see, why remake it? Now, there are exceptions. Special effects have obviously gotten better over the years, and some older films could benefit from it. I have no problem at all with George Lucas reediting the original Star Wars films to add CGI and give said films a more modern feel. The problem is, currently films have an awful tendency to rest on their impressive special effects and are completely substance free. The Time Machine and Planet of the Apes are two big reasons I hate remakes. The shame is, films like this are so goddamn awful that it completely discourages people from watching the originals, which were great movies. Flawed, maybe, but still an infinite amount better than the remakes.

Now, one more thing before I go. Right now it seems the main driving force behind sequels is laziness. Why bother with original ideas when you can remake a film that has a familiar name already? Just add some CGI and explosions and you're all set. Now, there have been good remakes, and they all seem to have something in common. They took an idea from the original film and developed it's own identity and maintained some originality. I'm thinking of Reservoir Dogs or 12 Monkeys or A Fistful of Dollars or The Magnificent Seven. I mean, let's take The Magnificent Seven as an example. It may surprise you that I included it this list especially since it was a remake of maybe my favorite films of all time, Seven Samurai. Now, there is no point in remaking that film as is, since it is pretty damn near flawless, in my opinion. What The Magnificent Seven did was to just take the basic plot and add it's own characters, and completely different scenery and time, thus making it it's own film. It didn't try to improve the original, it was more of a homage to it. I'm not saying it is anywhere near the brilliance of Kurosawa's greatest film, but it stands on it's own merits as a successful film.
I guess that's all for tonight. Feel free to yell at me in the comments.

Happy Mother's Day!

Consume!!!!

Movies that are pissingme off

I watched Before the Devil Knows You're Dead last night and was very disappointed. Now Sidney Lumet is a great director, and has had a long, distinguished career, but this film just pissed me off. I am really getting sick of movies with a nonlinear storyline, which jumps back and forth in time. If you have a good story to tell, this is absolutely unnecessary and just kills the natural flow of the film. It's one thing to have occasional flash backs to explain events, but some of these films just seem like the editor cut a bunch of scenes, threw them into a hat and picked them out at random, splicing them together in that order. Listen, all you directors and editors out there, if you have a good story with solid characters and plot, there is no need to get fancy with your editing. Just make the fucking movie. Could you imagine Casablanca if the movie starts with Rick at the airport giving the "maybe not today" speech and the rest of the movie jumping back in time to random intervals? It would suck! Just make the fucking movie! Thank you for your time.

De Ja Vu

No not the head shop / sex store in Albany. I'm talking about The Hoffs 2nd straight 3-3 tie. While remaining undefeated (1-0-2), the Hoffs let what should have been a victory slip away. Falling behind 2-0 in the first, The Hoffs rallied for 3 runs in the 4th to take a 3-2 lead. But the Ball Busters responded with 1 in the bottom of the last inning to squeak out a tie. Next up for The Hoffs is PPL who is winless. The Hoffs are pissed and promised to kill PPL like a yankee fan slaughters a red saux fan.

Who would play you?

I was just talking to Fish about who would play us in a story about our lives. He recommended John Cusack for me, and Robert Downey Jr. for DrX. I could see those. I'm trying to think of someone good for Fish. Let's hear it in the comments. If there was to be a film made of the story of your life, who would play you?

I know, I know..

Yes, it's been a pitiful week for the blog. I've been busy as hell at work and addicted to GTA IV at home, so blogging has been neglected. I'll try harder this coming week, because the week after that I'm going to be traveling all over the friggin place, including a visit to the DrX residence. Anyone else doing anything fun over the Memorial Day weekend?

I don't see a problem here

This is illegal?

A New York Yankees' fan was accused on Monday of murdering a Boston Red Sox supporter and injuring another by running both down with a car after a heated argument over one of America's oldest sporting rivalries.

Hmmmm, so Red Sox fans have the same rights as everyone else, including not getting run over by a car? When did this happen? I figured they forfeited all of their rights as a human being by having such poor taste in sports teams.

Wow

I am truly a miserable bastard when I don't get enough sleep. I have hated with a passion pretty much everything I've seen today. People, I can't stress this enough, let me sleep as long as I want. That way I won't go into a blind rage when I see that Carlos Mencia has a new stand up on Comedy Central. I was hoping the guy died, or at least disappeared, never to be heard of again. Other people I wouldn't mind never hearing from again: Keanu Reeves, Terrell Owens, Michael Bay, anyone from any reality show ever made. There are many more, but I'm too cranky to write them all. Please feel free to add any names to the list in the comments section.

Derby Time

Anyone get any favorites for the Kentucky Derby today? I like Pyro and Colonel John in an exacta box. For long shots I am looking at Cowboy Cal (with the always dangerous Pletcher / Velazquez combo) and Bob Black Jack. Can I ILLICIT any other tips or suggestions?

Back to normal

You know, we actually had a ton of visits to the blog on the Ben Stein email days. It goes to show you, if you want a popular blog you should write insightful, critical posts on topics pertinent to popular culture. Personally, I'd rather make sister jokes and sum up entire films in single, poorly sketched scenes:

It's Like Kissing Your Sister

The Hoff's had their second game last night and it came down to the last inning. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead after the 1st, The Hoffs had a 2-1 advantage going into the last inning. After some dramatic play and questionable umpiring The Rockstars scored 2 runs in the top of the 5th to go ahead 3-2. Not to be detered though, The Hoffs battled back. After the first two kickers got out, three straigh singles by T-Bone, Mikey O (I'm going third person on ya), and "Stande" loaded the bases. John "Maniac" Murman then delivered with a key infield single to tie the game at 3. Unfortunately that is where the game ended as the next batter flied out. The Hoffs move to 1-0-1 with a +6 run differential. Still undefeated The Hoffs look to dominant next week against the winless Ball Busterz. Stayed tuned for more.

Is Hugh Hefner a Pologimist???

That's all, just a question. I illicit your responses Bacon eaters