Deadwood - Visual Pacing

I've been enjoying Deadwood, the HBO series via Netflix. I was watching the last few moments of a season two episode when I was taken by surprise the closing sequence. The sequence seems fat with dialogue and emotion while being entirely wordless. The pacing is boldly slow and deliberate. What I enjoy the most is that the sequence seems to be cut entirely visually, without regard to the music.

Gotta Love the WOW!

Research

I'm doing research for a video project. Here are some videos to take a peek at:

Photo Essay: Advanced Style

Face it, we live in a culture that is afraid of aging and death. I know a few elders that model aging in a beautiful way. This blog, Advanced Style, is full of them. Enjoy.

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 13/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 12/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 11/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 10/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 9/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 8/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 7/13

I really dig the hair!

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 6/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 5/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 4/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 3/13

I remember the "Indian Head" test pattern when I was kid...
This one would have scared the crap out of me.

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 2/13

Pent Up Blogging: Found Images 1/13

I like this because I'm at that point right now!

I'm working with Larry Ladig to produce a demo. We made a intro piece that illustrates his ability to make beautiful, thought provoking images in still and moving images. I'm pleased with the result.

Game of Change

A documentary I worked on, 'Game of Change' has been accepted as a selection in the Heartland Film Festival. Producer, Jerald Harkness, and I were pretty happy with this moment in the piece when the two team captains met at center court for the start of the historic game.



The documentary was produced by Pathway Productions for the NCAA.

Photo Essay

Great photo essay here on distressing jeans.

Palin

This is worth a look. I'd like to see the facts checked though.

All the good projects...

Damn! It seems like I never get the groovy projects... like this one!

It's all Projection, Baby!

"We are experiencing the initiation of the human race into a new level of consciousness, and that is a very terrifying experience. It does no good to turn and run from the terror of our darkness into light; we must sit it out: zazen.

"We must take our counsel from The Tibetan Book of the Dead and realize that these frightening projections of famines, economic disasters, ecological catastrophes, floods, earthquakes, and wars are all only the malevolent aspects of beneficent deities. If we sit and observe them, do not identify with them, but remember our Buddha-nature, we will not be dragged down by them into an incarnation of the hell they prefigure.

"If we run from them, we validate them; we give the projections the very psychic energy they need to overtake us. Then, as Jung has pointed out, the situation will happen outside as fate."

- William Irwin Thompson, Evil and World Order

Talking Stick

In August, my daughter, Sarah and I helped to create the recent Father / Daughter weekend for MKP Indiana. I was the 'man on point.' Sarah was on the leader team. Part of the weekend included a talking stick exchange. It went something like this: The daughter gives her dad a talking stick that she created and says this: "When I bring you this talking stick, I want to talk and want you to listen" The dad replies: "When you bring this talking stick to me, I will listen and not talk." Then the roles are reversed so that both dad and daughter agree to listening and NOT SPEAKING when the other person holds the talking stick.

Fast forward to last Friday night. When I came home, Sarah was watching TV. I went upstairs to change clothes and brought the talking stick downstairs with me. Sarah took one look at the stick and turned the TV off. What was said was private. We both took a turn with the stick. I felt I was heard. I judge that I heard Sarah. I hope that the talking stick remains a part of our relationship for a long time.

My Favorite Breakup Line of ALL TIME!

This made me laugh out loud! I found it here.
I've got to get the shirt. Thank GOD I'm not dating!

'Nuff Said

I found this here.

One Poem before I start my day...

We Did Not Make Ourselves
by Michael Dickman September 1, 2008

We did not make ourselves is one thing
I keep singing into my hands
while falling
asleep

for just a second

before I have to get up and turn on all the lights in the house, one after the
other, like opening an Advent calendar

My brain opening
the chemical miracles in my brain
switching on

I can hear

dogs barking
some trees
last stars

You think you’ll be missed
it won’t last long
I promise

I’m not dead but I am
standing very still
in the back yard
staring up at the maple
thirty years ago
a tiny kid waiting on the ground
alone in heaven
in the world
in white sneakers

I’m having a good time humming along to everything I can still remember
back there

How we’re born

Made to look up at everything we didn’t make

We didn’t
make grass, mosquitoes
or breast cancer

We didn’t make yellow jackets

or sunlight

either



I didn’t make my brain
but I’m helping
to finish it

Carefully stacking up everything I made next to everything I ruined in broad
daylight in bright
brainlight


This morning I killed a fly
and didn’t lie down
next to the body
like we’re supposed to


We’re supposed to

Soon I’m going to wake up

Dogs
Trees
Stars

There is only this world and this world

What a relief

created

over and over

Don't tell anybody...

It's really like this!

Progress Bar...

These are the things that caught my eye while I was capturing video today...

Farts

After living alone for two years, I've returned to my natural state... I'm not ashamed that I think this is funny! As Benjamin Franklin said... "Fart Proudly!"

Tunes

Listening to Everything that Happens will Happen Today.

The Devil Dances

The edit room is a cozy creative space. Clients and producers often 'open up' and it seems like I should be charging a therapy fee on top of my normal day rate. The Four Agreements states that words are magic, they can do great good or great harm. The words of a producer popped into my head yesterday as I drove home from the grocery store with the week's load of bachelor chow. He said that 'every time there is a divorce, the devil dances with joy.'

Back then, married, I thought it was an odd belief. Now, divorced for a year and a half, I strongly disagree. These words of belief could do incredible harm to those in a flock who need to leave a failed marriage. I think that living in a bad situation is so spiritually harmful that a higher power would HAVE to support ending it. I simply don't understand the 'stay together at all costs' believers. My guess is that if someone believes that 'my reward will be in heaven' then a lifetime of sucking it up is a good trade off. That just dosn't work for me.

So, once again, I'll have to disagree with conservatives. The producer that told me that God hates divorce would not be surprised, he knows that I'm a spiritual liberal. The statement that works within my spiritual framework is: 'The God of my understanding, my higher power, smiles when I take action to heal and grow.'

I thought this was a cool idea... I got it here.

Tunes

Listening to: My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges.

More Sunday Morning

I got this from here. It's a awesome image blog.

Sunday Morning

The NYTimes has a cool piece on how computer passwords aren't working.

The underlying problem, however, isn’t their simplicity. It’s the log-on procedure itself, in which we land on a Web page, which may or may not be what it says it is, and type in a string of characters to authenticate our identity (or have our password manager insert the expected string on our behalf).

The solution urged by the experts is to abandon passwords — and to move to a fundamentally different model, one in which humans play little or no part in logging on.

Read more here.

I'm listening to Jakob Dylan's new disk, Seeing Things. A review I read compares the disk to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. It's good Sunday morning disk.

Jeeze, this is great!


I found it here.

Packers

Last season I applauded Bret Favre for graciously ending his career.  I take if all back.

Progress Bar...

I watching the progress bar on this edit system, when it reaches 100% I get to leave...  I often catch up on my RSS feeds while exporting.  Here's what catches my eye...

A suburban DC SWAT team raided the house of it's mayor and killed his two retrievers in the process, even though they didn't have a 'no knock' warrant.  The last line raises an interesting point.

This also raises an interesting question: If this illegal raid had been visited on someone other than a white mayor, would it be receiving the scrutiny it deserves?

A good reason to keep an eye on our rights during our government's 'wars on terror/drugs.'

Also, there's an 'instructable' on how do give yourself elf ears.  Explain THAT to your kid's kindergarten teacher!  A sleezy back tatoo is one thing but elf ears?  

Freelance Freedom

This is the downside to freelancing... the up side?
Working less for more! It's an even swap.

I got the cartoon from here.

Poem

From the New Yorker

Time Waster

http://www.warninglabelgenerator.com/

Use at your own risk!

Buddy Christ

I had never heard of Buddy Christ before. I saw this image and decided to do a little research. I'm just enamored with the image for some reason.

Numb Nut?

This is worth a look... I actually LOL'ed.

Poem

Buddha in Glory

Center of all centers, core of cores,
almond, that closes tightly in and sweetens,--
this entire world out to all the stars
is your fruit-flesh: we greet you.

Look, you feel how nothing any longer
clings to you; your husk is in infinity,
and there the strong juice stands and crowds.
And from outside a radiance assists it,

for high above, your suns in full splendor
have wheeled blazingly around.
Yet already there's begun inside you
what lasts beyond the suns.

—Ranier Maria Rilke,
translated by Edward Snow from New Poems

FCP: Duplicate Frames

I think I like the way Final Cut Pro handles duplicate frames better than Avid.

Impeccability of My Words

In the book, The Four Agreements, Miguel Ruiz, outlines four simple agreements that can transform your life. The first of those agreements is to be impeccable with my word. Words are magic. They can do incredible good or incredible harm. They can heal and bless, or maim and cripple.

Gary van Warmerdam at Pathways to Happiness has written a great essay about being impeccable with words. The video is powerful and shows how a group of teens explored the power of words in their lives.

Poem

Sometimes, when I read a poem or see a piece of art, something touches me in a way words can't express. This is one of those times.

The Evening Is Tranquil, and Dawn Is a Thousand Miles Away

by Charles Wright

The mares go down for their evening feed

into the meadow grass.

Two pine trees sway the invisible wind—

some sway, some don’t sway.

The heart of the world lies open, leached and ticking with sunlight

For just a minute or so.

The mares have their heads on the ground,

the trees have their heads on the blue sky.

Two ravens circle and twist.

On the borders of Heaven the river flows clear a bit longer.

From: The New Yorker

China

I usually don't read articles about the global economy... This article about China caught my eye:

Back in 2001 when the International Olympic Committee chose Beijing as the site of this summer’s games, the event was meant to mark China’s debut as a player on the global economic stage. But a recent study by the economist Angus Maddison projects that China will become the world’s dominant economic superpower much sooner than expected - not in 2050, but in 2015.

I had long since known that China holds a lot of Treasury Bills and that roughly coincides with the U.S. turning a blind 'civil rights' eye toward them but the idea of China being the next economic super power is a surprise to me. Perhaps I need to read more current events...

Charlie Brown Revised

My daughter sent me this...



Should I be alarmed?

Website Revisions

I just finished the revamp of my editing website. Janet Brown made a great logo for me and now it's public. I might even have business cards some day! Adulthood is creeping up on me. Speaking of adulthood, quarterly taxes are due Tuesday. Are you ready?

Playground Rules

Sara over at Dumb Little Man has written about the 5 playground rules that still apply:

No takebacks.

No cutting.

Take turns.

No do-overs.

When it's time to go home, find a partner to cross the street with.

And she's got a good point. It's not the lessons or the rules that change, but the context. As we get older, things make sense in a different way. It's good to be reminded that the rules of life don't change when we get older and that like the Robert Fulghum's book said, All I really needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten.

Stuff

Get Rich Slowly has a great post about the story of stuff.

The Story of Stuff is an interesting short film, particularly in its last half. Writer and narrator Annie Leonard explains that the “golden arrow of consumption” is the heart of the modern economic system, a system that’s really only existed since the 1950s.

The excerpt makes an interesting point tying planned/perceived obsolescence and the general happiness decline since the 50's.

Quotation

"The Hindu teacher Swami Muktananda was once asked why he didn't work miracles. He replied, 'I have no need to work miracles. The circulation of blood through my body is enough.'"
- Wes Nisker, The Essential Crazy Wisdom

World of World of Warcraft!

When will it stop?


'Warcraft' Sequel Lets Gamers Play A Character Playing 'Warcraft'

FCP

Free FCP Plugins here.

Reading List

I almost put this book on my reading list:

SNUFF
By Chuck Palahniuk.

I like Palahniuk's work, even though I've never mastered pronouncing his last name. I'm not often swayed by book reviews. I made an exception for this one.

Something to Give a Damn About

I ran across this image the other day... it got me thinking about my actions and what they say about me and my values. Am I in integrity? Are my words and actions congruent?

Photo from: http://www.thingsihavelearnedinmylife.com

Poem

Hafiz is one of my favorites...

MANIC SCREAMING

We should make all spiritual talk
Simple today:

God is trying to sell you something,
But you don't want to buy.

That is what your suffering is:

Your fantastic haggling,
Your manic screaming over the price.

- Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, I Heard God Laughing

Blog Meat

My favorite fitness writer, Lou Schuller, has an interesting bit in his blog:

* Scientists believe that Americans have screwed the pooch when it comes to our international reputation, primarily because of "a perceived high-level disdain for science." So there's a downside to promoting intelligent design and abstinence-only sex education while suppressing evidence of climate change? Damn! Who saw that coming?

Reading List

Recently added to my reading list:

RED SUMMER
The Danger, Madness, and Exaltation of Salmon Fishing in a Remote Alaskan Village.
By Bill Carter

Good Morning!

I subscribe to the RSS feed for the New Yorker Cartoons.
Here's one that was a bit TOO close for comfort.

Procrastination

I'm procrastinating before I tackle my to-do list. This is my last day off until after the Indy 500. Here's what I using as procrastination fodder:

Rocket Pictures
New Yorker Cartoons
















This picture is from the caption contest... My caption would read "I think it's time for you to start dating again."

Stop it!

I wish that self improvement was just this easy... Say 'Stop It' to myself over and over until it goes away. Unfortunately, it seems that I need to peel back the onion until I find out the 'why' or the 'how does it serve me?' Only then can I both rid myself of the unwanted action and heal the part that was served.

Lunch Reading

Lou Schuler at Male Pattern Fitness has a great post about human evolution:

Human Evolution: The Few, the Proud, the Really Persistent

I love looking at the New Yorker Cartoons. I'd get the magazine but they would just stack up and I'd feel guilty for not reading them!

Now... Back to work!

Easter

Driving to work
Mini-Vans full of
shiny suits and dresses
pass on both sides

Wal-Mart and church
parking lots are both
half full

Andrew Birkhead
3/23/08

Bunny Contest

Happy Easter!

I need to write more... In the meantime, Happy Easter!

Ready for Change

By all appearances, February is winter. It's cold, it snows, and in central Indiana, the sun rarely makes an appearance. I prefer to think of February as 'pre-spring.' If you spend a little time outside you might notice things are starting to happen. The buds on the trees are getting fatter, geese are gathering for migration, and the birds are beginning to sing more. It's still winter AND the natural world is waking up, brewing coffee and getting ready for change.

Spring is the season of change, for the natural world and for us. What are you dissatisfied with in your life? What needs to change? Look at the natural world, and follow the examples you see. Wake up, gather support, communicate. Get ready for the change you will create in the springtime of your life!

Name Change

I was opening coupons at lunch today. You know, those envelopes full of helpful coupons that come in the mail? I was amused by the last one in the envelope... Smart Smoker.com! I mean, really! Isn't that like military intelligence? Jeeze... I gotta get back to work.

I saw this in the New Yorker RSS feed:

A Measuring Worm

by Richard Wilbur February 11, 2008

This yellow striped green

Caterpillar, climbing up

The steep window screen,

Constantly (for lack

Of a full set of legs) keeps

Humping up his back.

It’s as if he sent

By a sort of semaphore

Dark omegas meant

To warn of Last Things.

Although he doesn’t know it,

He will soon have wings,

And I, too, don’t know

Toward what undreamt condition

Inch by inch I go.

ChChCh Changes!

I wish I had edited this!

Divorce Shadow

The shortcut to understanding Jung's concept of shadow is anything I hide, repress or deny. I saved this New Yorker cartoon without thinking. As with most things that I do without thinking... THERE'S A REASON FOR IT! The reason is that I've been keeping my sadness around my divorce safely tucked away so it would be invisible to myself and the world. Did I already mention, hide, repress and deny?

I hid my sadness to stay safe and to appear strong to myself and others. It served me well by keeping me employed and alive. There is little room in society or business for someone who is perpetually unable to function because of sadness. The problem with many coping mechanisms is that they can turn from useful tool to debilitating shadow when their usefulness expires.

That's what happed with my divorce sadness. After I no longer needed to 'tuck away (repress) my sadness' to function, I continued to hide it. Now it likes to surprise me from time to time. It seems to enjoy hiding behind trees and walloping me upside the head as I stroll by. Then it giggles and runs away while I reach for my big assed bottle of ibuprofen.

How do I deal with a shadow? My first step is to name it: "I know you, you're my Divorce Grief." Naming a shadow takes away some of it's power. The next step is harder. To keep a shadow from walloping me, I must drag it forcibly into the light of day, the light of my awareness. If I'm aware of something, I can make conscious decisions around it. The best way that I know to keep a shadow in the spotlight is to talk about it. If it's not a SECRET to others, it's not a SECRET to me!

Happy shadow hunting!

Tuesday Blog Meat

The Daily Saint has a cool post on how to easily live a more spiritual life.

I've been meaning to read this post on Freelance Switch about Freelance Accounting for quite awhile. Now that I have, I'm happy to report that I already do most of these.

Freelance Freedom

These cartoons do a great job of illustrating why I switched from 'freelancing because I was laid off' to being a 'freelancer by choice.' I'd take a good full time position if it was offered, but I'd miss the thrill of the hunt.

The comic is from here, this guy does come cool artwork!

Drive By Shootings

I often carry a camera in my bag. It's a laptop bag, but lets be real, it's my purse. I keep all the crap in there that I need during the day.

Back to the camera. I've taken a lot of pictures that I call 'Drive By Shootings.' As an American, I see a lot of the world from the inside of my car and I try to show that through the pictures. I made this picture on the way to my daughter's school for a meeting. The sky was clear but it was snowing! I grabbed the camera to try to capture the snow and the light turned green. I quickly snapped the photo without composing the shot. I should take more pictures with my eyes closed!

Best Editing 2008

View the complete list here.

Catching a Mouse

I saw this cool post on how to catch a mouse using a toilet paper tube! I thought it was clever. Of course if you don't really care about being humane, you could always drown the little bastard!

Teenage Angst

I'm the parent of a delightful 14 year old young woman. The good news is that she talks to me. She still tells her dad the important things in her life. It's amazing! The bad news is that these things are often very negative. Sometimes it bums me out and I just can't take it anymore.

This happened again this morning. I drove her to the bus stop and waited with her. It gave us about 10 minutes to talk. I got to hear about how crappy school is, how people mistreat her, and how the best part of the day is going home. My answer to the blessing of her sharing her life with me? Shaming messages about how she should be more positive! My fear is that if I continue this behavior, she may stop sharing her life with me.

What I want, and hold on it's not healthy, is to have it both ways! I want a daughter who shares with me AND I want her to be like me, trying really hard to be positive!

With that said, my parenting work is to welcome her connection and EVERYTHING that comes with it. My vow is that when I take on negative messages, to examine why I'm taking them on instead of telling her to stop.

Feelings

After being involved in Men's Work for three years and our emphasis on emotional literacy, I found this cartoon to be pretty damn funny.



Try one of of the big five: mad, sad, glad, fear, shame!