It’s the eve before I depart NYC. I’ve filmed for a month. I should know what I have, but I won’t truly know until I watch all of it. I took the last few days off and enjoyed what the city has to offer, namely Broadway. Saw Avenue Q, Forbidden Broadway: SVU, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and tonight Mamma Mia in as many days (my wallet is still smoking). I mostly saw the last one tonight because a friend of mine from UNC was starring as Sky on Broadway. 21 bucks for a standing room ticket wasn’t too bad. He’s been doing the show since October. If I had to do a show like that for that long I’d probably shoot myself. But it’s steady work and probably good pay and probably kinda fun, so nevermind.

On a discussion board I frequent, the question was posed, “Is MTV chronicling the demise of our society or assisting it?” and I suggested the reply:

The original question suggests a larger question: does art immitate life or does life immitate art? I’m not calling MTV art (I never watch it but I am part of that generation), but being in film & video production myself, I have to believe in the latter. The filmmaker interprets life into his “art,” which is then reintegrated into his environment by those who view it. The filmmaker’s responsibility is awesome: the ability to shape the very foundations of his society. The filmmaker’s power is not as obvious as that of an E.R. doctor nor are the results as immediate. In fact the results may not even be too late.

The excitement and the bustle and the lights and the crowds. The energy of the city. The city that never sleeps. All of that gets a little wearing after three weeks. Then you start to notice the trash on the streets, the graffitti on the walls (and doors and windows and mail boxes), and the blank stares of oppressed apathy on the daily train commuters. Nobody smiles in this city. You either adapt or the city devours you piece by piece. Or maybe that is adapting.

Some people love it here. Good for them. I’m sure if I stayed here longer (much, much longer) that I’d learn to tolerate it. But I see no scenery and would hardly call a 10 square foot triangle of grass a park, so I’m leaving soon. To return, yes. Either for business or—if I’m wealthy enough—pleasure. And I can’t tell you how pleased I am to be leaving town soon. Oh wait—yes I can. I’m very pleased.

The Onion did a radio news segment recently on AOL e-mail. And although it was a joke there was a lot of truth to it. It’s unfortunate but every time someone gives me an e-mail address that ends with @aol.com, a little alert goes off inside my head that says “warning: this person hasn’t yet left their internet training wheels behind.” I used AOL at one time. It’s fine for anyone who doesn’t want to venture out onto the internet or for folks just getting started. But do not get AOL confused with truly being connected online. Not everybody has to host their own e-mail and web servers, but just be warned that “@aol.com” to many people means internet diapers.

We should stop giving hurricanes human names. It is most unfortunate for the people who happen to have the names of these storms. You can bet for sure that Katrina was not a popular baby name last year. The American Indians believe that naming something gives power to it. Just as Hitler ruined the name Adolph for a lot of people, let’s stop giving these hurricanes names that could give them more power and ruin the day for the people who have those names. I wouldn’t mind using the Greek alphabet to start, instead of using them as a backup in case we run out of “regular” hurricane names.

Do not take your video camera in there without prior permission. They will quickly ask you to stop, drop, and leave. It’s worse than trying to shoot in New York parks with a tripod. But seriously folks, everyone who works there says it’s next to impossible to shoot there. They offered no explanation as to why. I guess it’s just corporate policy. It’s not like I had planned on getting anything interesting there: just Rachel sitting behind her desk answering phones. But that restrictive a corporate policy doesn’t foster warm and fuzzy feelings in my corporation. They still have a chance to redeem themselves by calling me back and asking me for some specifics about what I want to shoot and why. But a flat out rejection with an unsatisfactory or absent explanation means they wouldn’t get NVP’s endorsement, a “special thanks” credit, or any recommendations on our part, and that’s just bad business. That’s their prerogative of course, they can do whatever they want. But if corporations are legal people then Del Frisco’s would not be out of line with my impression so far of New Yorkers.

You can read the official blog on the company’s web site, but personal posts will always remain within my realm. Unendorsed, unsponsored, and unauthorized.

As my readership may or may not know (though I know not whether I may or may not have a readership), I’ve moved to Denver to start a production company. Our first order of business is to produce a short internet reality/documentary show presently called Living the Dream. It’s about my sister and her move to NYC in pursuit of her acting career.

Right now I’m the middle of production for the first episodes: her life in Colorado before the move, the move, and her establishment in NYC. I’ll be here in New York until the end of August, at which time I will hit the road back to the company homebase in Colorado to edit it together. Any post-/production assistance is appreciated, on scene or remote. Specifically: original music, OMF digitranslation, editorial, and such other items can all be done over the internet. If you’re interested in helping out then let me know. The company does not have any money for payment up front just yet, but we can defer for points. 1% on a 99¢ download may not seem like a lot until you factor in the potential size of the internet audience.

I don’t get it. I understand that pro athletes have great abilities: speed, agility, stamina, whatever their particular sport demands. I’m not knocking that ability; I have a great respect for their discipline and determination. But when it comes to professional, televised sports, what’s the big deal? What benefit, besides great entertainment, are they providing to the world? How are their sports playing abilities contributing to a better future for mankind? It’s good entertainment, but I think pro athletes make way too much money for what they do. Why can’t we spend some of that money on medical research or public infrastructure or social services? Because public good isn’t exciting?