Spot On

Mr. Obama, please SHUT UP already.

2009-07-25T00:53:00.002-05:00

Look, B, I like you, you're my kind of dude, I can relate...but TAKE A DAY OFF FROM SAYING SOMETHING TO THE MEDIA! The more you talk, the less serious folks will take you, and they will tune you out.

TR spoke softly so people would lean in close and listen to him...you have to become EF Hutton, instead you are running the risk of becoming background noise. The public media are (is?) not your personal Facebook wall!

Love you, telling you this because I do.

This isn't really a post.

2009-02-22T14:43:00.004-06:00

Blah Blah Blah, I hate when this happens. I'm actually writing this on Saturday, July 25th. I've been living in Facebook land and doing other things that have taken me away from my blogging. Since I don't really believe anyone is reading this, I guess it doesn't matter.

Wired Gauge of the Economy

2009-01-26T17:30:00.006-06:00

Don't judge this by its cover - judge it by its spine.

Back in the day - the last days of the last boom economy, we're talking mid 2000 or so, Wired magazines were FAT as all get out. Everyone was making money hand over fist, start-ups and venture money abounded - it was a great time, baby. I subscribed to Wired (still do) and the line of Wireds on my bookshelf - and their ever growing girth, was a reliable gauge of the economy. Though I didn't pay heed at the time, if I was savvy I would have seen the virtual Nostradamus on my shelf. As the economy fell through 2001 and went to rock bottom (or what we considered was rock bottom at the time - silly humans) the Wired magazines got progressively thinner.

I'm sorry to report that the Wired pictured above is the thinnest Wired I have ever seen. Looking at it from the outside I can't imagine that there is much in the way of advertising in this puppy. I'm almost loath to crack it, as even though I'm sure the contents will be as entertaining and informative as always, every turn of page sans ad will remind me of the state we are in. Let's hope that thicker Wireds are on the way - that we have reached the bottom of the trough.

Piece of advice, save your Wireds and put them on your shelf, in a few years you will have a graph of the economy, your bookshelf will be a predictor of economic prosperity and depression - heed the Wired oracle.

What's NEW You Say?

2009-01-07T22:11:00.006-06:00

I've turned 43.

I've survived the holidays and the new year.

I made some homemade ravioli (see results evidenced above.)

I've been spending time on Facebook - apparantly I DO have friends, in bite-sized doses (yummy.)

My wife, knowing that this would be just my speed, bought me a "Book Of Ages" that tells who did what at what age - so I can look at people my age and older and realize that I still have a lot I can accomplish - or I can look at people younger and mourn my lack of accomplishment. (I always like the Tom Lehrer gag "When Motzart was my age he had been dead 8 years.")

I have been hosting regular movie nights - where I invite a few guys over and we cook and drink and watch a two hour movie in three hours (what with all the pauses for comments and asides and all.) These are particularly fun because we eat food related to the movie - the first film was Godfather, and we had my famous sausage and pepper sandwiches, the second film was The Quiet Man, and we had Irish Stew and Guinness. (Stew provided by one of the guests, the owner of Celtic Crossing, THE Irish Pub in Memphis TN.)

My wife and daughters make themselves scarce as apparently we are quite obnoxious, though I don't see what she's talking about.

OH - And someone sent me an email telling me what a self absorbed bastard I am (The quote was, referring to my political test below "Not Centrist, But Self Centered Egotist.")

Well, I'll have you know that I am an egoIST not and egoTIST my fine feathered friend.

Now off with you - the rest of you can stay. Come over and see a movie (still deciding on the next theme.)

Google is Watching Sposto Interactive

2008-10-09T19:20:00.008-05:00

This image of Kutztown PA was the first image taken by Google's new satellite as a prelude of their planned takeover of Sposto Interactive. They must want our extranet, or to raid the fountainhead of talent that springs forth in this place we call "The Silicon Silo."

Sposto Interactive facilities are a few blocks north of here - most likely the center target of picture 2.

Apparantly the Google folks think SI is more important than Redmond, more important than Sunnyvale. Eat your heart out Googleheads - come and get a job at a real company.

Treehouse Party

2008-10-05T23:25:00.005-05:00

I've often said that Memphis has the very best houses in the US (it's true, they don't call it "The City Of Good Abode" for nothing) but it goes much further.

Friends of ours invited us over for a party - in a tree house.

That's me and Caroline on the left. I love it here.

Damned good abode.

Sposto Intern Site

2008-09-23T16:22:00.003-05:00

We get interns at Sposto Interactive - sometimes I run across their sites about their experience there. This one was fun - thanks David, nice work.

I Am Become "Billy Pilgrim"

2008-09-16T20:48:00.005-05:00

I have become unstuck in time. I blame it, like everything, on the media.

Here's my logic, follow along. I'm driving down the road, and I have my XM sattilite radio running, and I'm jumping through the channels, listening to standards, listening to music from the 40s, listening to music from the 90s, the 80s the 70s - And it is ALL relevant to me in some way. I turn to a themed station and the Police "Don't Stand So Close To Me" that came out the year BEFORE I graduated from high school is playing. I listen, and am transported back to the year one of my favorite teachers was the subject of lurid rumors that mimicked the song.

I've become unstuck in time.

I'm watching Casablanca at the Orpheum Theater in Memphis - folks of ALL AGES are there - and enjoying the hell out of it, I'm about Bogey's age in tha film now, so I relate to it far better. (Maybe I should find a cause and run some guns or something - no damned romance.) Anyhow, the whole film is absolutely contemporary.

Nothing changes.

I can no longer remember what decade it is. (I know intellectually what decade it is, I can do the Deja-Vu check and KNOW that I've never been here, at this time, with this MacBook Pro, in this yellow shirt, and this black jacket, in this airport - I'm in Charlotte again.) I look through a magazine while sitting here waiting for my plane. Esquire - it goes through the decades, the styles change, but the patterns all come back around, to the point where the 2000s seem to rehash every decade before into a singularity style mashup.

Sure it's an IPhone Now, and a 8mm camera then. Hat, no hat, one button, two button, red button, blue button. I've become unstuck in time. My 30s and early 40s are a blur. My children have grown overnight, I've passed the point where my father is over twice my age - I'm catching up.

Maybe Kurt Vonnegut was embroiled in Mid Life Crisis when he wrote Slaughterhouse 5. He would have been in his late 40s - dreaming of another time, a HORRIBLE time in his life, and getting it out on paper, through the lens of a science fiction plot line.

My novel will be "Searching For Tralfamador". Or maybe just Vallerie Perrine.

2008-08-14T16:29:00.002-05:00

So, I am a
Social Liberal
(65% permissive)

and an...
Economic Conservative
(60% permissive)

And according to this test I'm best described as a:

Centrist

What are you?: The Politics Test

Dr. Horrible Rocks

2008-07-24T09:58:00.004-05:00

Ok, I'm not usually a big fanboy about these things, but on a whim I succumbed to an ad on iTunes for Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. I paid my 3.99 subscription and low and behold, it was damned fine - though at the beginning it reminding me of my Designer Speaks piece, and I will steal the device of reading my responses to user mail (you've heard it here first, and BTW, the designer gets REAL user mail.)

Obviously NPH (That's "Neal Patrick Harris") is a talented cat - being one of the most redeeming things about Starship Troopers, especially in brown-shirt garb, but this musical blog is so well put together - so tight - so well done - and what makes it is the music, it is a musical, and though I'm not above penning the random tongue-in-cheek broadway number, they've done it with heart.

Yes, you've heard it here folks, Dr. Horrible has HEART, Baby!

Chipoffdaoleblock

2008-03-23T16:54:00.005-05:00

My Daughter is working on a comic - about her, of course.

Yeah, that's my daughter Gina. I actually can't claim all the influence - her mother provides much more talented genes.

Hey Kool-Aid!

2008-03-04T22:25:00.005-06:00

I'm driving down Poplar Avenue - the main drag here, it has some nice homes...many of these homes have big fences around them. Big brick fences - and I have no idea how this car landed here, looking like it burst from this estate in a fit of driveway rage.

But it's funny.

My Dad - on the News

2008-02-20T09:10:00.002-06:00

Check out this vid - my pops Gene is the guy with the mandolin and playing guitar at the end.

Woo Hoo

2007-12-31T22:24:00.000-06:00

This is footage of the last parabola from our Zero-G test shoot. I handed the camera to the flight director. You can see and read more about our experience in Zero G at the Stardance Movie blog and at the official site stardancemovie.com

Enjoy

Stardance Blog

2007-12-26T21:18:00.001-06:00

If you don't hear from me at Spot On in the next few days, it's becuase I am posting at the Stardance blog.

I promise I will update update update. By the way, finally a new User Question came to my Designer character. (The Designer answered promptly - take a look.)

Gotta fly, literally.

Serious Art

2007-12-02T10:39:00.000-06:00

As some of you may know I am making a film with Choreographer and Author Jeanne Robinson called "Jeanne Robinson's Stardance Experience" - an IMAX feature. We are in development - read more at the Stardance Movie site.

In our collaboration we are sharing various pieces of art, philosophical takes, visions and goals, music, films - anything that we can think of to communicate to each other things that will influence the final film. Toward this sharing and discussion of form (especially the possibilities of "Dance in Film") Jeanne sent me a DVD of a dance film by Edouard Lock.

The piece, "Amelia" was presented on Canadian Television. Wonderful, inspiring - my Daughter (who is very serious about Dance) and I watched the piece mesmerized.

One thing that struck me is how the piece was presented on the show. It was presented with a true seriousness and respect for the art, a respect that in recent years has seemed to disappear from popular media in the US. Some would probably quip that Canada is simply 20 years behind the times and will soon be as quippy and disrespectful of serious art and artists as the US is.

That attitude - spoken in a jaded tone - is the exact symptom of this disease of degradation. Somehow it has become pretentious to take art, artists, intellectuals and scientist seriously - to bestow respect on those accomplished persons and their contributions to humanity seems antithetical to our "democratic" ideals. The only repsect bestowed seems to be in response to the financial reward gained by certain artists. The money "validates" the artist - and then respect is bestowed.

It's time to again lift public discourse up - to take ourselves seriously. (Upon reading many of my postings below I know that I am a product of my times - self deprecation works for comedians and talk-show hosts.)

And let's stop peaking at the man behind the curtain - and enjoy the show.

That's It - I'm shaving my beard!

2007-12-02T10:36:00.000-06:00

Mother Puss Bucket - they said I am 43 (see previous post) - and I'm 42 dammit! Curse of curses, I look my age.

Well, I can take it like a man - hand me that razor.

UPDATE - Only three lousy people voted - and I was one, and I voted my age. So forget it - this particular statistical universe is suffering heat death. Or to paraphrase, if 20 people say you look 44, buy a Porsche, if 1 person says you look 44 - say "What do YOU know about age, whippersnapper?"

Am I Old?

2007-11-26T22:05:00.000-06:00

I have succumbed to the Age Project - if this gets embarrassing I will remove this post.

See my page at the Age Project

No Crap Allowed

2007-11-25T22:06:00.001-06:00

So Carol and I went to a store called "Tuesday Morning" the other day.

It's one of those overstock style stores that have a few gems among the loads of unsellable crap that gets manufactured by the containerful these days. This means that alongside s perfectly good cut and blown glass piece from Poland and a serviceable Cusinart blender/food processor you are presented with tiny, cheaply made and useless "inventions" for the kitchen and - I kid you not - a motion-sensing barking plastic gaurd-dog for one to place in their golf bag.

So there's nothing wrong with the store, if you are willing to look around for a bargain, and just need a nice bowl or towel or curtain rod or high end chef's knife at a discount. And you are willing to ignore the CRAP...and I couldn't, it bothered me.

All I could think of was:

A. What a waste of resources.
B. What a waste of productivity.

and

C. What idiot thought this "product" was a good idea?

I know that it is often said that one can never grow broke underestimating the taste and general sense of the American public, but please. The fact that most of these "surplus" items are made to begin with is criminal.

One could make an argument, I suppose, that even though this stuff will never make a profit for the creator, nor are these items likely to enhance the life of any single human being - forget humanity in general - that the economic benefit to the third world country where these are manufactured creates SOME good. To that argument I would say PHOOEY! This stuff is all the more criminal because it was probably made by enslaved children chained to the production line of the sub-contractor who bid this job out at a cost that gave the misguided entrepreneur a glimmer of hope at recouping his or her cost and actually turning a profit. UGH!

I'm usually a very "free market" kind of person, the government's only job is to guarantee fair trade and commerce, consistent rules and promotion of general safety and protection of the populace/consumers from fraud and injury. In other words, don't hurt anyone and HAVE AT IT. Try to make your fortune with your crazy idea, it may not be so crazy after all, and the folks who vote with their pocketbooks in your favor will turn your product into an acceptable, if not tasteful, item.

Well, after this experience (and similar ones at Bed Bath and Beyond and the worst offender The Sharper Image) I am proposing that the US government create an ANTI CRAP law. Every potential new product would be screened for 8 criteria:

Quality
Desirability
Taste
Design
Usability
Utility
Beauty &
General Value to Humanity

If, in the eyes of the panel of judges, the proposed item or product gets a "pass" on 6 of the 8 criteria set forth above, the product will get the NOT CRAP seal of approval.

If it doesn't pass, then the product will not receive the seal and will not be allowed to be imported into the USA and certainly not manufactured here.

If the company seeking import of manufacture of the product wishes to, they can pay a "crap tax" that goes up exponetially with each additional criteria not passed. If they prove a market for their crap they can then ask for a review and change of status.

---

All this may seem harsh and draconian, but look at it this way. All that brainpower, all those resources, all those man-hours, all that transportation - is WASTED on this crap, and we can't get those resources and hours and greenhouse gas emissions BACK.

All of it can be better spent, and even though I'm not a religious man I find it downright sinful that so much ill advised crap is made in the name of commerce.

Let's make the world a better place - support the No Crap Allowed movement.

What, Me Uptight?

2007-09-15T11:23:00.000-05:00

I am here to admit to something. I can be, what some might call, "Uptight".

I'm not always uptight, I can absorb coolness, flow with relaxation, and embrace free-flowing chaos, as long as I don't have to live with them day to day. Case in point: Last evening a good friend of mine, Andy, invited me to his home for Shabbat (complete with home made Challa bread - Arable does pretty well for a Shiksa - some delicious Salmon and other assorted goodies.) What a relaxed, fun, wonderful time I had - met some nice folks (mostly other professor types and their spouses).

But what struck me while I sat there is this, this home is one that Carol and I used to own. When we lived here, we did have parties - some good ones - but I remember them as feeling stiff and formal (probably because our parties are usually a little more formal - coctails and such, and we like to dress up, whatever.) The point I'm making is I'm jealous of my friends ability to be such relaxed hosts, and I'm jealous that they seem to be so much more at home in this home that I used to call home but never quite felt at home in.

I told you I was uptight. Maybe intense is the word ("Repo man is ALWAYS intense".) If I invite you to a party you WILL have a good time, and there will be good food and drink and happiness, but I will be stressed beforehand making sure everything is in it's place and perfection reigns. Two scotch's later I'm as relaxed and fun loving as you can imagine...at which point any residual stress gets transferred to Carol. (Stress shared is lessoned for the one doing the sharing.)

As I'm writing this, I realize that since I wasn't the host, I had no cause to be uptight...so it was naturally better for me, my job was to sit back and experience it. But even so, perhaps it's in my personality. I'm not the slow and steady type, nor am I able to separate my expectations and preconceived notions about how things are supposed to be from how things are. I want to control it, I want to own it, make it mine. That's why I was born to be a director - out of some infantile urge to control my environment in any way possible. And if I'm not in control, I'm not happy.

But generally I'm happy - so I must be in control.

Go figure.

Boikarabelo Needs YOU

2007-08-31T09:51:00.000-05:00

Carol and I have been doing this whole interactive communications business thing for a while (Here we are Circa 2001), and we've done pretty well. We've created opportunities for the folks who work with us and helped a lot of companies with the noble cause of increasing their brand value and marketing their products (which in turn keeps our clients in their jobs, and help those companies keep making money so they can employ more people and return investment to their shareholders, and those shareholders can invest more and create more opportunities in the great circle of life. See, everything is noble if you view it with the right spin.)

But there is always need - and ways one can help beyond just being a productive and responsible member of this society.

In steps Mandy, one of our copywriter/PMs at SI who went to South Africa last year and brought back a cause. Boikarabelo, a village and aids orphanage that two fine folks gave up their upper middle class existence to dedicate their lives to. Mandy wanted to do something for them, having been very impressed and moved by the whole operation.

She pitched the cause to Carol and I, and to make a long story short we said "Hell Yes, let's make a site for them."

So the Sposto team has created a beautiful, touching and informative OFFICIAL SITE for the orphage, very nice work all around and one of our first "SpostoLIFE" initiatives. The village is also the subject of a documentary called Angel's in the Dust that will probably be winning an award in a film festival near you - check local listings.

Now here's the thing, we've been getting lots of visitors to the site, and the money donated through the DONATE button goes directly to the orphanage (no middle man). But we haven't seen a lot of donations.

Here's the pitch, folks. We've done our part - I'm asking you to give a little for your part. Read the site, learn what it's all about. Go to Boikarabelo.org and click the Donate button.

These folks have very little money - and a lot of mouths to feed.

Damn Ameriprise and their Chair

2007-08-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

So I finally get to the point in my life where I can go ahead and get a couple of Eames Chairs (you know, the red ones).

Here I am sitting in one of them - they are strategically placed in the lobby of our firm to inspire creativity and good design and all that. (Really, it's so I can own a couple of Eames Chairs. They are so comfy.)

As soon as I get these things unpacked, I look at the TV and there's my "Beat Junior Hero" Dennis Hopper standing on MY CHAIR and telling his boomer buddies to go out and do whatever it is they want because their retirement "ain't no sitting around the fire, shuffle board, yadda yadda yadda retirement" thanks to Ameriprise financial.

He's sitting in my chair...

OK, At first I think it's cool and all. Kind of zeitgeisty and everything - I'm right on top of it, I'm hep.

But now that damned chair is everywhere...dozens of variations of the campaign in print, on TV, on the Web. I still love the chair, it's still the most comfortable hunk of plywood you will ever sit in - and the lines are to die for. It just makes me feel...older I guess. I'm not a boomer, I'm a Gen Xer - the chair wasn't for the boomers anyway - it was for their parents, fresh from the war and looking for a new future. Sitting in a Medallion home (for the uninitiated, a "Medallion" home was ALL ELECTRIC...YEAH!) on clean wooden floors with a Harmon-Kardon cabinet stereo.

The chair is for ME - the un-jaded embracer of the future who looks with longing on those Raytheon Tube Advertisements and as a kid read the World Book encyclopedia from cover to cover and thought the coolest thing to own would be a Nike Hercules missile.

I hope old Charles and Ray are getting royalties wherever they are, I hope Ameriprise is paying through the nose.