My Vision Statement
October 12, 2007
Vision Boards are a great way to help you visualize what you want. Now with the help of all the robust multimedia that comes with the average new computer, you can make a movie about your life mission. Here’s mine.
Halos and handcuffs
October 10, 2007
Marion Jones, is not an angel or a crook and does not deserve to endure this performance art ritual known as A Fall From Grace. She should be remembered for being a spectacular athlete who enthralled and entertained us. Athletes, at the end of the race, the game, the playoffs, are entertainers. So why don’t we cut them the same slack we give entertainers like Robert de Niro or Will Smith, when they dramatically reshape their bodies to play top athletes as de Niro did for “Raging Bull” and Smith did for “Ali”? We didn’t scrutinize how they did it and make them submit to random testing on their jobs. Just do it, we say collectively, better than anyone else. We’re in awe of their commitment to their craft that they would make this superhuman transformation. So why do we wag our fingers at Marion Jones or homerun king Barry Bonds (allegedly) for using performance enhancers? Everyone has used them. Coffee is a performance enhancer. So are vitamins. Now should each of us who has performed faster, better and with greater focus at work, after a trip to Starbucks or a vitamin store be singled out for public humilation? No. Let’s get some perspective. It’s entertainment.
Faster and furiouser
October 4, 2007
One of the cool new innovations that I have discovered are microblogs. Let’s say that you have discovered and enjoyed someone’s point of view and you’d like to get a quick hit of their eloquence, or style or discoveries. Microblogs are a perfect instrument for a quick dose of what you need without having to to commit to a thick blog. Here is my microdose of the moment. My tumblr microblog. Try one out and let me know how it works out.
Genesis of Etherwood
October 4, 2007
I grew up watching, eating, breathing, craving television. I zealously followed pop stars, evening news, cartoons, comedians, award shows, car chases, the whole parade. I was programmed to. That’s why they called them programs. But now, with the internet, particularly the Web 2.0 version, and even more particularly, Stumbleupon, I don’t have to see their endless parade of pop stars, news, cartoons, comedians, award shows, car chases, and all that unless I want to, unless I give it a thumbs up. The web is superior to television for that reason: because it encourages and requires dialogue rather than dictation. I do not have a say in what news is going to crawl along in that trail of infosludge that creeps beneath CNN’s anchors while they prattle on about their one big story of the day. Twenty-four hour TV news acts like a cyclops with amnesia, that can only see one thing at a time, and then keeps repeating to you about what it saw.
Look, if I want to find out what Britney Spears is up to, I’ll go to Chris Crocker (warning mature language, nsfw, etc.,) on Youtube. He’s a far more interesting performer and is a more credible source since he’s upfront about his bias. So I’m here to explore this brave, better world we have at our fingertips. I’m calling this space Etherwood Studios, because while Hollywood was the old way to express our culture, the new, more democratic, global way is the internet, a culture that exists in the ether, thus Etherwood. So that’s the genesis of this blog and now I make my exodus.
Lies, Truth and Art
September 4, 2006
I wish I could constantly surf the internet looking for the best videos.
But to do that I have to take time away from what I should be doing: making my own media.
Some procrastination is okay. After all, Leonardo da Vinci was a great procrastinator and one of the greatest minds this world has ever met.
Actually, is it really procastinating to look at other people’s short films for inspiration? I mean, who am I to judge me? As a video craftsman, arguably everything that I see and do can be considered part of the process of creating.
It is up to me to make sure that I am not lying to myself and that I at least produce something. Although what is a lie when it comes to art? Pablo Picasso said that, “El arte es una mentira que revela la verdad.” Or: “Art is a lie that tells the truth.”
So I kept my promise to you. I gave you some lies, some truth and now some art:
For me, La Chute de l’ange was like being in the front row seat of someone else’s dream. Directed by Geoffroy Barbet-Massin of Mikros Studios.
This is a sad story about what it means to do work that has no soul and no fun. But it is a great flash animation.
“There She Is!” takes some time to load, but it is a funny story about falling in love, so it is worth the wait.
I just think this guy is great. He tells simple stories with simple animation. Written and scored by Jerry Zucker. Animated and directed by Orrin Zucker.
I have noisy neighbors, who are evil, so if you do too then you can relate to this.
This is what happens when your computer pretends to go to sleep.
What are your cells doing inside your body? Now you know thanks to lead animator, John Liebler and his team at XVIVO, a scientific animation company near Hartford, CT.
First. Blog. Ever.
August 13, 2006
Sorry I’ve been away for awhile…. I actually haven’t been away but I have noticed that is how many of the world’s best blogs begin so I want to follow the format.
I also noticed that you should have at least one sentence that ends in periods after each word, thus the title: First. Blog. Ever.
This blog is about my life and times in the cutthroat world of viral videos.
So you’ll be able to feel my pain as an MYOM mogul–Make Your Own Media mogul–and if I can just help one person to learn more about how to make a great viral video then I will have accomplished something.
Okay so that’s it for the moment.
Here’s some different links to my video:
