Flipmation + Sketchmation

VIDEOGIOCO by Donato Sansone from Enrico Ascoli - Sound Design on Vimeo.

The FRAY - Heartless from IE HAGY on Vimeo.

SNL: James Carville

In my opinion, this little segment was the highlight of snl this weekend. And that's saying a lot because this weekend had Gilly. Not only was Hader's impression spot on, but the content was smart and funny. That's the trifecta in my book.

Do Something

Earlier this week I had a sushi lunch with a coworker where we talked about the creative process. Lots of good food and conversation but one part stood out. We were talking about how you go from having an idea to actually doing it. This coworker shared that often he'll have a great idea but then pretty quickly a voice in his head will explain why he could never pull it off. That's pretty common I think. But then he told me that lately he's realizing that this negative knee-jerk reaction to ideas/dreams/goals/etc. might be related to his early days. He grew up in a "That's great... but" family.

"Mom/Dad, I learned this new riff today, it's awesome. I think I wanna be a musician someday."

"Honey, that's great... but being a professional musician takes years and years of practice."

"Right. That's why I'm in lessons."

"Which is great... but it's more than just practice. Listen, all I'm saying is that it's always smart to have a plan B."

So now, as a "grown up," my coworker battles this negative knee-jerk mentality. He says that even though he doesn't want to he always finds the negative aspects of ideas/dreams/goals/etc.

I grew up in a "That's great" family. When I told my dad that I wanted to win the Heisman Trophy he said, "That's great. We should go play catch." My parents' knee-jerk reaction was to convince me that anything was possible. So when I say silly things like we're going to make enough money doing films that we're going to pay off the Healing Center.... I'm only half kidding. My inner demons are the opposite of my coworker's. The trick is in figuring out how to manage them. Believing you can do something/anything is great if and only if you act on those beliefs. Action is the key. And it works the other way. If your inner demons are constantly feeding you excuses and reasons you can't do something the only way to beat them down is thru action. You gotta do something.

Legacy

This is just about the most depressing thing ever.



Based on our history I fear this will never happen...

That's silly

This inspires me. When I have silly dreams and goals that are far fetched and statistically improbable, stories like this remind me to keep dreaming instead of thinking "rationally."

Prom

The Prom was exactly what I expected this past Friday- simply amazing. My highlight was dancing with a dude in a wheelchair. We're working on a video piece but until then, here's a piece the local news put together.

Giantfaces

Nick the Giant

I don't know why but this really cracks me up. I can't take credit for it. I found it on the internet. I'm 49% inspired to photoshop other people's faces onto Andre's body. If I end up getting 89% inspired I'll do some post em up here with Nick. Until then, Nick is plenty.

Man vs. Animal Flu

This weekend I was in Omaha, NE for my cousin's wedding and not only did I have to deal with the language barrier, but I'm pretty sure I have squirrel flu. It's not as bad as pig flu but it's worse than your average cold. I maintained a steady intake of uppers, downers, herbs, dietary metallic elements and vitamins just to stay functional. It was a blitzkrieg of liquid confusion that half worked. But, I managed to rally and even dance a little at the reception.

I've decided two things. 1. Once I'm over this I don't want to ever get sick ever never ever again. 2. We all need to start washing our hands like we have OCD. This is a new leaf for me. I've never been an advocate for hand-washing. I'm not opposed to it, obviously. It just hasn't been a priority. Until now. All it took was for my body to get held hostage by squirrel flu to realize how much I dislike germs. And what I realized is that sick people are everywhere. They are touching things with their germ-covered hands. Things that you're going to touch. Then you're gonna get sick and touch things and the vicious germfest gains strength, disables humanity and squirrels and pigs take over the world. Our only defense is hand-washing.

Leah taught me this weekend that you're supposed to wash your hands for :30 seconds. And we're supposed to do that ten times a day. Is that insane or what? They say you should sing the happy birthday song while you scrub. I really hate that song. I won't sing it at your birthday no matter how much I love you. So I found another song option. Sing about Johny, wash those hands obsessively and let's beat this onslaught of animal influenza. The primal, evil genius of birds, squirrels and pigs won't be able to defeat us if we hold our clean hands together.

Paradoxicombinations

I know talk about this a lot, but I really like paradoxical combinations. Mashing together seemingly absurd or self-contradictory things to create something pleasant fascinates me. I just watched this video and appreciate that Jay-Z can combine Kenny G's instrument with phat (pronounced: fat) beats and make it hot.


I'm drawn to Jesus because his absurd call to change the world through self-sacrifice and servanthood creates tiny nuns who do just that. M.T. is a classic, paradoxical mash-up. Frail yet powerful.


I really like it when the result of a paradoxical combo can redefine the original. The word "prom" used to mean an event that I'm glad I'll never have to go again. But now, because of a contradictory combination of celebrating the uncelebrated, I am thrilled that The Prom happens every year.


Or who would've thought combining Tom Cruise with Ludacis could create something so beautiful? If you haven't seen the credits for Tropic Thunder you should pop over to youtube and check them out.


I know some people who think syrup and eggs and cheese and pancakes and sausage and love don't go together. Those people are tongueless and silly. The McGriddle is plucked straight from God's hip bone. Holy McMash-up.


Think about any good love story. Opposites attract, paradoxical peoples find love and spend their lives complimenting each other. Leah and I polar opposites in so many ways. She's a fly by the seat of her pantsuit, freelancing, adaptable woman. While I am organized, precise, planned-out, and full of structure. Classic, match-made-in-heaven, paradoxical mash-up.


This post is a paradoxicombination. Jay-Z + Mother Teresa + McGriddles. I don't know about you, but I'm stuffed.