PES Imposter

Long day. Per usual.

I gotta take it easy or else I'm going to get burned out! All these hours really makes finding time for this blog challenging.

But no worries, I shall continue on!

Anyway - I digress.

I have another video for you (don't worry, some stories are coming - I just have to get the right amount of time to sit down and write). And seriously,  how many times have you heard that before? HAH! I'm like a broken record.

So you all know how much I love the director PES - whose done some great work such as western spaghetti, roof sex, etc. But today, I found a piece that seems so much like something he would do, yet it isn't. The animation is strikingly similar, but be aware - this piece is a bit morbid and attacks your childhood games.

Gross? Maybe. Still fun? I think so.

MCA

This past week, the music industry lost one of the founding fathers of rap/hip hop, Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys.

Back when they first came on the scene, well before my time, they were the first real white group to cement themselves in what had always previously been considered black music. They made it cool. They fit in. They really crossed boundaries and broke down walls. Even though I wasn't around to witness it first hand, I've read about it and appreciate what they did for the industry.

While I was a late bloomer for the Beastie Boys fan base, I LOVED them. Hello Nasty was one of the first CD's I ever owned and I just pumped it on repeat over and over and over. I knew I wasn't as cool as them, but damn, I tried hard and knew all the words. I thought I was a stud.

But lets fast forward a bit into the future, to high school when the film bug really bit me in the ass. Ever since I found my passion to be in images, film or photography, I've wanted to focus on music videos. What just happened to be one of the first videos to really grab me and never let go? The Beastie Boy's "Sabotage." It was directed by Spike Jonze and is considered one of the very first, if not the pioneering video that had nothing to do with the actual song. From start to finish, the video tells its own story, self contained and free of the lyrics in the song.

It really stuck with me.

This is why I fell in love with music videos. They gave me the ability to do whatever I wanted for four minutes (give or take). Enter my own dream world. Create my own reality.

And to be honest, I haven't stopped trying to obtain that dream ever since.

So I'd like to just say thank you to the Beastie Boys and spend a minute to remember what they gave me.

Special Day Shoutout

Today is a special day. A day of birth. For a man who watched me grow from a baby into what I am today, took care of me when my parents weren't around or able to, who inspired me in so many ways - boy scouting, integrity, my education. He was always there for me when I needed advice. Always there for moral support and comfort.

He's a great man, and I have much to thank him for - mostly in helping shape me into who I am today.

So here's to you, the day is yours.

Happy Birthday Uncle Billy!

In A Perfect World

Everyone knows I love music videos and thats essentially why I went to film school and moved out to LA. Everyone should also know that the music video world, while still alive and kicking, it not at all what it once was and is quickly dying, much to my dismay. I was taught this when I spent my first semester in LA and have pretty much accepted it to this day.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up on my dream. I am however being a realist regarding it. So, I still plan on getting my camera package, a couple lenses, and flooding my youtube account with material, but that is still down the road and bit. Hopefully that will bare some fruit and someone will notice me. Fingers crossed.

Wow. What a long winded explanation to something that could have literally lasted a sentence or two.

In a perfect world - I'd be a music video director by now, or even a cinematographer. And in that perfect world, I would make a video for the following song.

It's haunting. Melodic. Touching. Deep. Really everything I could ask for from a song when I need to add visuals to it. Every time I listen to it I have the images in my head, the film stock I'd use, the color gradient, the movements - everything.

Best part? I would show exactly what is depicted in the song. Much like the Beatles Rocky Raccoon, this is a story in and of itself.

Give it a listen and see if you can picture it as well as I can - except with your own twist.

Let's Have A LIttle Fun

Today was a good day. Much better than yesterday. It blew buy, I had a nice dinner, got a lot of work done, and the garden looked wonderful.

Yay in all those regards. Yet, it was such a good day, I really don't want to write.

So lets have some fun shall we?

Everyone knows I like Conan. He's a standup guy, who I think has an incredible sense of humor, and I really respect how he kept his entire staff from NBC and gave them jobs when he walked away from the network. Anywho - this video, which was from a recent show, shows a little glimpse of who he is. I know I've posted his commencement speech before, so this is in the same boat, kind of, but instead of speaking at graduation, he is just speaking to a local college in CA.

Nothing deep or meaningful, just some laughs, and a good deed.




And the last video - is one of those "cool" ones that I try to post at least once a week.

I've sat here, trying to figure out how I would have done this myself, and I'm still not entirely sure, since I'm not super savvy with my iphone yet.

All I do know is it took the guys behind it 238 attempts before they nailed it.

Let me know if you know how they did it...(I have my theories...)

Insta Date

Wooooh - what a long day. One of those that just dragged on by.

Coming home, all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep. Not interact with the roommates, not relax. Just hibernate. Not that I was in a bad mood or anything, just literally spent.

But, I love the internet, and all the creative people that live out there, sharing their work with the world. Before I cooked, exercised, and began winding down, I surfed some of my favorite video websites and stumbled upon this wonderful piece by the group "Improv Everywhere." I'm not going to get into a long-winded explanation about who they are and what they do - since I believe all of you are intelligent enough to get a sense of their motives based on their name.

While the are primarily based in NYC - don't be surprised if you see them anywhere else, like Boston, Phili, LA, Houston, etc. They seem to have the ability to pop up everywhere.

Anywho - moral of the story, this is a great little sketch and thing to do for people and at the end of a long day, it is wonderful to come home to something like this and end up with a smile on my face.

How Is This Real?

Again - short and sweet, but I add this because I couldn't leave you with just one quick post.

As the summer road trip approaches, I swear Yosemite just keeps popping up in my life here and there. As if it were some kind of sign as to what was to come.

I love it. I want more. More excitement. More buildup.

I can't wait to see Yosemite in person - its beauty. Just take a look at this film. I know it is real, but everything seems so perfect, it almost feels fake.

God damn, I want August now. Countin' the days Ms. PB!

The Fire RIses

Short and sweet.

It was an honor and a privilege to be able to be a part of this:



I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.