A Quiet Night of History and Innovation

Tonight there was a huge thunderstorm here in NY, the first one in a while. I took the opportunity to spend a quiet night inside. First I had to go out into the pouring rain to pick up buffalo wings and vitamin water. Then I settled in for my two DVD rentals of the night: New York: A Documentary Film, Part 1 and Time Code.

For the past few months I have been somewhat obsessed with New York and its history. This heightened interest reached a pinnacle as I sat through parts 4, 7 and now 1 of the Ric Burns documentary on NY from 1999. It great to learn some fascinating things about the city I love so much. Ignorance is no longer my cloak. I can now talk knowledgably about Henry Hudson, Peter Stuyvesant, Dewitt Clinton, Robert Moses, Fiorello LaGuardia and even some interesting nuggets of trivia about all 5 boroughs. My answer to the hackneyed question of "Why do you love NY so much?" can finally be a more in depth, detailed and educated answer.

I recommend the documentary series to anyone who is interested in NY, wants to move here or needs to be reminded of why NY is so amazing. Click here for the DVD set on Amazon.

My second DVD of the night was Time Code, an experimental film from 2000. The film is a series of 4 stories which come together during 90 "real-time" minutes in the characters' lives. It doesn't use a single cut or edit and was shot using 4 cameras recording the whole 90 minutes of action. The film is shown in 4 quadrants, with the audio shifting focus from one camera to the other, sometimes letting them all overlap. Confused yet?

What starts out as a gimmick turns in to true genius when you realize that the actors, cameras and indeed the whole crew had to be perfectly synchronized yet allow for screw-ups and lots of improv over the length of the single, 90 minute shot. Preparation and choreography of everyone had to be perfect. They spent 2 weeks making the film - every day was another complete run through. The DVD includes both the final, 15th version as well the very first. Other bonuses include a "making of" documentary and the ability to remix the audio to your liking - letting you raise and lower the volume on each of the four quadrants at will.

If for no other reason than seeing that innovation is still possible I highly recommend renting Time Code. Make sure you pee and prepare your popcorn beforehand because you won't want to miss a second of the intricate action. Here's an Amazon link.

Enjoy your sunday!

Looking for a delicious snack idea? Or, better yet, how about an idea for a delicious snack?

Take a cucumber, slice off the edges and then peel a single strip down its length.

Cover the exposed part with spicy Dijon mustard (Grey Pupon).

Pour salt onto the mustard.

For added flavor drop a few drops of Tabasco onto the salt-encrusted mustard.



As you bite down into pure, hard heaven, think of me and enjoy!

New Subscription

While on a recent 2 hour wait in an airport I decided to buy something I've never bought before - the latest issue of Jane magazine.

Previously, the only non-fashion woman's magazine I had ever read was Seventeen (my sister subscribed to it at 14 years of age). I found it very demeaning, uninformative, and overall a silly joke put on by older women trying to be hip and connect with young girls. But Jane is different (at least based on the one issue I read). The magazine was a fun airport layover read and I even picked up some good makeup advice.

It was a real benefit to me to step out of my normal life and indulge in something I seldom would. You never know what can happen when you do something totally random. An easy way to do this is to read a magazine you'd never even give a second look to under normal circumstances. I found it interesting to see how women's magazines depict "young and sexy celebrities." In this issue of Jane there was a pictorial on Jennifer Love Hewitt which looked nothing like her spread in MAXIM.

Have a great weekend, spend your Saturday in the sun and read a magazine you've never considered reading.

Stupid Journalism

Primetime network news continues to wallow in its own filth with this latest bit of journalistic excellence from Peter Jennings of the ABC Nightly News:

"It is called viral marketing. We think it comes from the word virus." That's the line that kicked off a story about Sony hiring actors to pose as tourists in New York's Times Square and ask people to take their picture with Sony's new camera-phone. It seems to me as a great marketing tactic since people obviously become curious and want to know more. Sure it is deceptive but so is the credibility of news.

Is this a scam?

A friend recently came across this website, which invites people to leave messages (along with detailed demographic information) to be placed aboard an actual satellite launching in 2003 for a 50,000 year journey and ultimate return to Earth in the year 52003.

I am very interested in these kinds of things. This project is reminiscent of the 10,000 year clock being built by the folks at the Long Now Foundation. 50,000 years is a long time and there are lots of issues with humans of the year 52003 walking up to a satellite that crashes on earth, fliping open the lid, finding a CD-ROM and popping it into the local Kinko's to read messages from thousands of people who lived 50,000 years ago.

Will it happen? Is this a scam? That's for you to decide. The website is well-done and has loads of info to pour over and at least dream about.

Hmmm

When I was young there used to be signs in restaurant bathrooms that read "employees must wash hands."

Now there seem to be more signs that read "save water."

Why?

I'm no political strategist... but I play one on this blog

One-

Saudi Arabia (among other countries) makes it clear that they will not assist in a war against Iraq.

Very soon afterwards the media frenzy of "Is Saudi Arabia a friend or foe" hastens and now even the most strident "we gotta be friends with them" dove sees them as the enemy as well.

Two-

The media compares Iraqi opposition groups to Afghanistan's Northern Alliance. The verdict? Iraqi opposition can't offer nearly as much help as the Afghani's did.

Very soon afterwards the Iraqi opposition leaders visit the US, meet with the Vice President and do an hour on Wolf Blitzer, pledging their support.

Last week American and British Air Force planes struck targets in Iraq (called a "defensive operation").

And today Iraqi opposition troops (not related to the other opposition group) take over control of the Iraqi embassy in Berlin, Germany. They claim it is "the first step in the retaking of their fatherland." Click here for the CNN story.

Similar to how most people can't tell you what led up to and started World War I, I bet that 80 years from now most people won't remember all these details that are leading up to World War III.

Love to Love

After recently being a part of a wonderfully loving event (the surprise 60th birthday party of a dear friend's parent) I'd like to post about love. This is one of the few times I feel compelled to cross-post the same piece of writing on both my online journal and GAZM.org.

There are all kinds of love, at many levels, shared between many kinds of people. But there is a different love which I am grateful for having had the chance to discover and experience in all its beauty - one which I didn't know existed.

I am referring to the love that can not be shared between just two people but rather only exists as a shared experience between a whole group of people. There is a love that emerges from the communal sharing of souls dedicated to a single, common purpose that shadows the love shared between two people.

I hope that everyone, at some point in life, has the chance to experience that kind of love - the bond between people that can not be described, spoken or passed on to those not present. May we all be lucky enough to live and connect with others in this way.

Enjoy your week.... and remember that every single is a chance to turn it all around.