I was listening to Off the Wall two nights ago thinking about remixing it with something for a gig I’m dj’ing tonight. Then to my horror MJ dies the very following day. It’s rare that I put on a Michael Jackson album but I own all of them up to History so it was strange when I heard the news. A coincidence by all means but the 10yr old boy in me wants to put some part of the blame on myself. Not sure why that is. Then the more awful thought came into my mind, I can’t play a remix tonight. It would be too cliche. *sigh*
I’m getting into the Kevin Pollak Chat Show as it begins to evolve. It’s very much a Charlie Rose, inside the actor’s studio kind of show but less drivel and more nonsense. I’m endeared by the nonsense, little things that no one would get to in an interview in normal TV space. I also enjoy the comfort level of the actors on the show. There have been some interesting actors that have come to the show, not necessarily the same actors that would be on the Tonight Show but a good set of interviews none-the-less. There are also interviews with web stars, which is a nice change. To get a more in depth interview with someone like Felicia Day for example is a nice touch. There is definitely an audience for this show, if it doesn’t drown or run out of funds. Check it out if you get a moment, it’s major draw back and greatest asset is that it is a long form video. An hour plus per interview.
p.s. Will someone over at Mahalo learn how to use Motion. I’m tired of the same standard templates for all their title cards and lower thirds.
Two of my newest geek crushes are Boxee an internet on your tv solution and BuzzFeed which is one of the best viral web blogs of all time. If you haven’t checked out either please do so. Today Boxee released a method for getting Vimeo channels onto Boxee with ease. Vimeo is one of my favorite video sharing sites and they maintain a spectacular product. So, I eagerly created a Boxee app for my own channel. Considering I only have 5 videos on vimeo I decided I should make one for a more productive channel. My thoughts turned to BuzzFeed and one of my favorite video bloggers Ze Frank, who’s been doing a rather interesting series on BuzzFeed and Vimeo called HardTimes. Anyway, here it is, the HardTimes Boxee app.
You’ll have to install it manually for now.
::Link Fixed::
Download the app here and extract it to ~/Library/Application Support/BOXEE/User Data/Apps
Then edit up the sources.xml file under ~/Library/Application Support/BOXEE/User Data/Profiles/<username>
and add this peice of code in the video section.
<source>
<name>Hard Times :: Ze Frank</name>
<path>app://zefrank/</path>
<thumbnail>http://images.vimeo.com/11/30/60/113060111/113060111_300.jpg</thumbnail>
<private>false</private>
</source>
You may need to restart Boxee after doing so to get the app to appear. I submitted it to boxee, who knows maybe they’ll put it in their repository.
I usually spend the days staring at computer screens all the while pretending you’re in the other room reading, hiding from the volume of life in the living room. I’m getting surprisingly good at pretending so; I usually walk into the bedroom with a question in mind. How’s the book going or are you hungry? I find myself saying questions aloud to an empty bed ruffled on one side. I dismiss it and go through my suitcase or nightstand in hopes of picking something up, in order to give the trip to the room some purpose other than…
I pour a large glass of water for myself and sit in the living room and watch Mexican television with my parents. I sometimes slosh the water around a bit to get the proper splash sound. I like to pretend that you’re simply bathing in a makeshift bathtub comprised of a large beer cooler and water cooler with hot and cold spouts for temperature control. However, I eventually just take a sip.
There is no logic to these elaborate daydreams other than my mind simply cannot comprehend your extended absence very well. It starts to plot against me. But like a child’s elaborate lie that sometimes involves mythical creatures and feats of super human abilities, it gets away from me and collapses into reality.
Made my way to a local theatre called the Ringwald last night. They put on a production of Killer Joe which was really well done. The theatre seats about 60 people which is a perfect for creating a true intimate setting. The company was immensely talented and every member pulled their weight. A few of the actors stood out right away and received a well deserved roaring applause from the audience.
The play itself was violent and beautifully horrific at times. There are a few scenes that are very difficult to watch; suddenly your chair is very uncomfortable and the back of the persons head in front of you seems like a new friend. There are some twists to the play but nothing that a veteran culture whore wouldn’t see coming. I take some issue with how blatant the Dottie character is but I loved the interpretation by Christa Coulter. She was meticulous in her facial expressions and not a single muscular effort wasted.
Despite the dark overtones of the play there are some amazing comedic moments through out the piece. Often at the expense of peoples genetalia but a good gates of hell joke should not be wasted.
I must make note of the set design, mise en place, a place for everything and everythign in its place. From the Texas flag magnet on the fridge to a bar beer mirror on the wall, it simply needed to be there.
The play runs until April 27th, if in the Detroit area I implore you to see it. Sunday’s performances are Pay-What-You-Can, for those of you on a budget. Those not on a budget please Pay-What-You-Can and help out local theatre.
I find myself having less and less in common with Texas each time I return. Yet when I’m there and someone asks me if I’m going home I imediately think of my parents house. In any other part of the world I think Detroit.
I was having lunch with my parents at a Hospital cafeteria and we had all pretty much gotten the same thing. So there was little debate as to weather each others food was good or not, we all knew after the first few bites first hand. With that out of the way there was plenty of time for people watching. I managed the good seat and had a perfect view of all the people paying for their meals. Watching people in line has been a favorite past time of mine. I love how people leave their bodies in line while they do other things if they happen to be eating alone. It becomes obvious as to who and who are not together in line. You can point out the single quite easily, they all seem to shatter like glass when the line moves.
After a rather violent destruction of glass I began to notice that the table next to us were also engaged in people watching but they seemed to be vocal about it. I almost never let the thoughts leave my mouth for fear that similar thoughts escape people in my direction. I don’t run fast, they are liable to catch me and take me down. Suddenly they both focused in on a person with a single item on their tray. The woman at the table thought it was a giant salad in a bowl of lettuce. While correct about the salad, she was wrong about the bowl. The bowl was made from a tortilla that had been colored green. The woman in the group however just could not grasp this simple concept. That a food item that was traditionally yellowish was now green. I remember seeing my first bottle of food coloring when I was about 10 along with its magical powers. Maybe she never experienced it, maybe in her house all the food is simply the color it is. Which must have sucked come birthday time. I imagined her cakes as she was growing up with white on white icing and her trying to read the raised lettering of Happy Birthday Michelle. Maybe the candles cast enough of a shadow to make it legible. Probably not until she was about 8 though and only if they used individual candles and not those large number ones.
Her friend tried his best to explain that the tortilla could be green and he offered up a solution of using green maize. Now, I’m no corn expert but I’ve never seen grass green maize before, I would have guessed either mixing it with some legume like spinach or that they simply used some sort of chemical dye. Suddenly the bread I was eating seemed unusually yellow.
I wanted to test out my new gorillapod and I felt like painting so I killed two birds with one stone and made this. I haven’t decided if the painting is finished yet.
Two of my newest geek crushes are 
