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November 6th, 2009
06:52 pm - does the Hero have to be a leader? ::..
Shep Bush recently asked folks on LinkedIn 'In screenwriting, does the Hero have to be a leader?'
interesting question ... and one that i needed to answer
as much as the post pertained to the 'ani-jobs' LinkedIn Group called Animation and Film Jobs, i wanted to answer in a more general, life-oriented sense ... specifically siting certain movie characterizations and examples to point out the answer here is definitley 'no'
here's my answer
The 'hero' of a story does not need to be a leader. I guess this greatly depends on your definition of 'hero', but I am thinking of the main character or the primary target of the film or camerawork.
Although the hero or main character does not need to be a leader, as passive watchers of a film, we are following that person and therefore they can oftentimes seem like a leader.
I hope that Pee-wee Herman is not considered a leader when we watch 'Pee-wee's Big Adventure'.
The main character in '3 Colours: White' ... is he 'a leader'? We follow his life adventure. We're introduced to his world and his climb back into a productive and almost-happy life, but he is almost an anti-hero. A low movement in the symphony of life. An interesting character, but not a leader.
The characters in 'Ghost World' ... they're almost more like tour guides to a certain mindSet or vantagepoint of looking at the world. The tension comes about when the 2 friends begin to encounter other people in their town that have what most might consider a 'more normal' view of the world. Or at least a less imaginative way of seeing things. This movie is almost about absolutely nothing. And yet we follow the characters and empathize with one or the other girl in our own special way depending on which side of the fence we're standing.
And then, more famously ... 'Pulp Fiction'. Are these horrific gangsters 'leaders'? I feel there is SO much symbollic stuff going on in this movie ... the sort of 'difference between dogs and pigs' ... loveable pets vs filthy animals ... they too become our tourguides into a timeless swirling indecipherable world where the sacred and profane mingle and blur. But there are definitely no heroes here that I can see. And there is definitely a gigantic void in the realm of leadership.
And this concept ... a hero-less, leaderless environment ... this might be the state of the world today. So don't let them fool ya.
Current Location: an undisclosed location
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/happy.gif) happy
Current Music: none
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October 24th, 2009
07:36 am - shadow theory ::..
 i have this theory about shadows ... not sure if you've thought about it or not, but i was talking about it after class w/ the crew up in Mission Hill ...
so, i think of shadows as volumetric ... sort of the volumetric absence of light on the oth...er side of the bright, bright source of light ( bright or not ) ... so the shadow volume includes the area that wraps around the backside of the lit object and extends in an invisible way down to the shadow as it is projected on the ground, wall or whatever surface it fills ... the shadow itself too pours into the nooks and crannies of whatever surface it clings too ... the dits and divits in the cement on a sidewalk ( as seen here ), the grit of otherSuch surfaces, the grain in wood, the texture that makes life so much more than you anticipated
Photograph by and courtesy of Suzie Motarddelamount
Current Location: home
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/nerdy.gif) nerdy
Current Music: 'Cro-Aloha' by The Breeders ( and other iTunes songs )
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October 21st, 2009
09:39 am - the secret comedy society ::..
i took a trip out to New York City this past weekend to attend 2 seminars offered through Steve Hoftstetter's Comedy Soapbox ... both courses focused on helping comedians get serious about their work from both the business and web aspects of the industry ...
a lot of fantastic advice about brand and behavior ... good professional advice that anyone 'out there' could use for any profession ... i don't want to reveal too much here or get down into the dirt of what us comedians need to go through to make an honest living and get ahead ( laugh ), but i do need to describe an amazing event that i got to witness immediately following the 4 hours of expert insight and suggestions coming from the comedic and business mind of Hoftstetter
after we all learned the deep dark secrets Steve had to share with us ... we exchanged kind salutations, business cards and shared an elevator ride descent of 16 flights back down to the New York City streets ... some banter and goodbyes and then, standing still and looking up and down the sidewalk i watched the comedians, large and small, men and women each with their own demographically diverse backgrounds, heritage, life experiences and sense of funny fashion ... i got to see the comedians walk off into the afternoon armed with this newfound knowledge to help better their careers and help bring joy and laughter to people all around the world ( but mostly in the United States )
it was an inspiring vision ... an incredible feeling to think of our afternoon union in the sky ... to get the lowdown from a selfless professional in the industry ... we drank in his knowledge and advice and now we all bring this insight out into the world as we aim to kill audiences far and wide ... i felt a joy, a certain powerful sense of a dispersed community, a pride and happiness ... and i laughed a little to myself as i headed off into the slight drizzle and crisp air
related links
http://comedysoapbox.com/
http://stevehofstetter.com/
Current Location: work
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: some silence at the office
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October 13th, 2009
11:04 am - louddite
its almost noon on Tuesday, October 13, 2009
and i still don't own an iPod
Current Location: work
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/cheerful.gif) cheerful
Current Music: office sounds
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05:13 am - RE: Salem 'Witches'
i just saw this amazing Facebook Note posted by my good friend John Biebel ... Salem 'Witches' ... here is his original note and a very cyberSurreally crafted response ... see what you think ...
John posted: Salem 'Witches' on October 12 at 7:16am
OK, maybe someone can help me out here... for all those people fascinated by the famous Salem Witches of the 17th century, what's your opinion - were they witches?
It gets confusing since there are so many practicing witches active today in Salem. Do these modern witches stand by the Salem witches and say 'yes, they were witches and we support them'? It kinda doesn't make sense since the whole controversy is that they were wrongfully accused and therefore innocent victims of a rush to judgement. It is MORE likely that these women WEREN'T witches, and just scapegoats for an over-zealous puritan community.
So... why do modern witches flock to this place, then? It would seem to be a relic that represents the evils and sins of man's cruelty to itself...
One would have to gather, then, that those who believe there is special power in Salem DO believe that the 17th century witches WERE in fact actual witches, and that their sickness, convulsions and visions (aparently Satanic) were legitimate and to be emulated and applauded... but wait: is this the kind of witchery that they're supporting? In order to believe that these women were witches but MISUNDERSTOOD witches, well, that's asking us to believe HALF of the history of Salem, and toss the other half out (i.e., yes they were witches BUT they were not EVIL witches, as the assorted townsfolk said they were...)
Wait - this doesn't make sense, especially for those witches now who practice 'storefront' witchery of White Magic, and who are trying desperately to legitimize Magic as authentic.
Can someone explain this inherent contradiction?
Or is it simply that Salem is a nice historic old New England town where people like to hang out and buy love potion candles?
... and then on October 13 at 5:07 am I posted ...
I think the answer actually has something to do with the neighboring township of Danvers ( or as I say it, somewhat jokingly and somewhat w/ seriour New Englandesian cant ... Danviz ) ... Danvers was originally part of Salem and broke off following the horribly bad kamric energetics following the Salem Witch Trials ( or at least this is how I am recalling how the story goes ) ... the strangest part of all of this is that Danvers ( and Peabody ... aka Peeb'dy ) legend has it such that early Wiccans that fled from Great Britain to The New Land were actually Satanistically blessed by frequent meetings with The Greys ... oftentimes, real practicing 'witches' would wander off into the thick wooded patches of the now-Danvers-area forestScape and meet with The Greys and discuss potential peaceful union ( and sometimes have intergalactic bacchanalian festivals out in nature ) of the human race with these pristine and oft misunderstood otherBeings ... husbands, boyfriends and other curious ( and lustful ) men that lurked a bit along the periphery were so wrought with jealousy that they eventually brought the news of these bizarre events back to the Salem PD and there began the party raids and eventual arrests of numerous Wiccan women in the area, thus starting a wave of suspicious jailings and trials that came to be known as The Salem Witch Trials
horrible stuff
the potential promise for intergalactic union and peace was still thick in the air during the torturous questionings and imprisonment of a fairly innocent bunch of women ( and men, although the marketing of The SWTs tends to leave the male element out ... I get concerned, as a man, to think our society is so terribly frightened by the penis ... so much so as to only have it visually portrayed { or represented } in underground cinematographic film circuits of pornography ... why is it we can see breast and ass, but never { or rarely } a prick? And then why, I need to know, is it only depicted { or depricked dead } in its flaccid and sad hangning state and never in its vanglorious 'awake and ready' mode of play? hmmmm? hmmmmmmMmmMMmM? ) that came to be known as The Salem Witch Trials
and the women never uttered a word of their provocative interracial relations in the woods ... why would that be, one might ask? well, perhaps for the very same reason the government hides some of the debris from September 11 ( for further forensic investigation and study ) in hangers and other large mysterious warehouses like the ones found out off of 495 in Littleton ... do a little investigative reporting ... they won't let you know what's in there ... they won't even entertain the notion of being somewhat 'matter of fact' about what is being covered up there, how they can manipulate and hide the truth behind such an event ... very mysterious
well, at a certain point the ones that were capable of keeping the deeper secrets of these orgies were rewarded by some of the upper crust of Danvers ... they were given quaint shoppes and told how to help market the event in a more positive light ( as if early New England's pre-echo of waterboarding and other torturous 'freedom preservation' activities could ever truly be spun w/ threads of positive gold ) ... how to turn the horrible, horrible burnings, drownings and mutilation of those 13 teenage women into something more sublimely menstrual and fun ... nothing, mind you, to celebrate the wonderful 'Big O' activity that really went down in the furtive forests of 'Salem' as we know it today ... that would perhaps anthropromorphize The Greys a bit too much for our liking ( they are always depicted as these tall and rather cold somewhat sterile heady beings ... great mystics from the sky ... their visits here showing influence in some of the local nomenclaature ... Mystic River Parkway ... Ayer ... Mass MoCA ... iHOP ... and perhaps the most famous, Pizza Hut ( this is more of a visualization ... the roof and major logo brand depicting the now overGeneralized shape of their craft ) ) yes, we like to depict 'them' as being emotionless and remote ala The Vulcans from the original Star Trek television series ... the aliens are awkward, strange 'others' that are 'out there' among us
Current Location: home
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/lazy.gif) exanimate
Current Music: the sound of rain pitter patting on the roof
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October 12th, 2009
05:44 am - a monument
recently ERP/PLM Administrator at NDS Surgical Imaging Chris Ciraulo asked the following question up on LinkedIn Answers ...
What would your monument be?
The Pyramids of Egypt, the Roman Colleseum, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China...
If you were given the task of creating a new monument to stand the test of time and unlimited resources, what would it be and where would you put it? Be creative!
As much as I know my recent thoughtworks veer toward nature ... both natural elements from the woods and from the oceans ... items like pinecones and seashells, acorns and sea-polished stones ... I was nicely surprised by my answer to Chris' question ( see below ) :
the willow heart of human hope
I would create a concrete tree ... a very large tree ... concrete or marble ... some sort of stone ... leaves and all ... a tree of North America ... lights, there would be lights inside the canopy of the tree ... maybe a huge willow tree ... something you could go into and witness together with others ... you could look up into it and it would be like an internal constellation of sorts ... it would represent the human heart of hope ... light ... joy ...
It would represent enlightenment and protection. Shelter. Natural shelter. The sort of comfort you can only feel when embraced in the arms of nature Herself.
Not the tree that they nailed Jesus Christ to. Not the tree of eternal suffering. Suffering of the child. No, no ... nothing of the sort.
The tree ... this natural willow heart of human hope ... she would stand alone, larger than life ... offering comfort ... the tree would have a halo. A tree that somehow achieved martyrdom ... a saintly status in the form of a weeping willow. Perhaps the tree Herself is also a fountain. A fountain tree of hope and light and trickling streams of joy ... warm water. A true symbol of growth and healing. Growth, healing and comfort.
Current Location: home
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/thoughtful.gif) thoughtful
Current Music: silence
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September 5th, 2009
07:02 am - FB conversation about 'saving the world'
I just posted to the DMI Seminar 2 blog 'out there', check out this quote today: i think my point is that, with the incredible level of disorder and disfunction we encounter in our greater ( heh ) worldSystem … a rather undertrusted, underrated force … like the power and message of poetry … could be the real answer … NOT political intrigue … NOT war … NOT diplomacy … NOT anything else … just little ole poetry, sitting there the entire time, RIGHT under our nosesdmistudio.org, Design Seminar 2, Sep 2009 Read the whole article when you get a chance ...
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: : Poetry
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August 31st, 2009
01:31 am - livejournaL vs WordPress ::..
woah ... aight ... cool
i was JUST about to pull all my sh!t outta this here LiveJounral account ... just bein' honest ... i have a few other bloggish experiences set up out there and 3 out of 7 of 'em use WordPress and i have been enjoying the setup and the flow you get when posting, so i thought ... let me just put each a my blogs into the WP and run w/ it ...
BUT
i just posted for the first time in a while here on LJ an' i have ta say ... they really stepped it up and put the same sort of add-ins right into the LJ interface ... so that's cool
can anyone suggest how to switch up my archived entries though? i apsolutely HATE the little LJ calendar ... it is sooOOOOOooOOooOOoo difficult to navigate ... i would just love a little list of chronologcial hyperlinks or something to get people into archiveLand and then into an entry ... to just 'show me the blogPosts' and jump right back into reading with this sort of unrelated and irrelevant interaction with a rather useless time construct ... who thinks 'WHEN did i write about the day i bumped across the circus midgets and the clydesdales in Kittery again?'? ... ya know? ... don't you just want to see the title of the blogPost in a list of other titles going backwards in descending chronOrder or something?
is there an app fer THAT?
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: electric fan
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01:25 am - a little twitPic :: send a laugh :: won't you pleez give? ::..
too funny ... here's a Q for ya ... can a photographic still, like this one, inspire laughter and happiness? would video be more infectious | inspiring of further laughter? does an audio track of laughter alone become more effective? or perhaps cause a different effect? what about good old live laughter? is that THE most powerful way to experience &/or inspire the infectious qualities of laughter?
what's your take Mandrake? everybody laughs when they come to my house
Current Location: Home
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: None ... the sound of a small electric fan
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June 3rd, 2009
07:17 am - Up ::..
Carol + Maceo + i went + saw Up last weekend + i have to say it is one of the best 3D animated movies Pixar put out ... + just an fyi here, as much as Carol + i follow animation, + specifically 3D animation, we tend to NOT love a movie just for using the latest + greatest technology ... the Pixar difference, from film to film to film, is their emphasis on developing a good, solid story ... + Up focuses nicely on the story of a unique relationship between this little Forest Wilderness boy + the little old manfor me, on a more interesting level ... the wonderful visual symbolism of this house, flying through the sky under a colorful mass of balloons, the image of the balloons + the house floating through the sky quite literally painted a fantastic picture + came to represent a liberation from the mundane, a sort of wake up call to get out into the world + fulfill your dreams ... a big, beautiful blue sky w/ fluffy white clouds ... a cute little house, the point at the bottom of an exclamation point ... zipping through a dreamscape ... an impossibility ... a voyage of love, journey into the heavens, to finally make the dreams of this man's wife finally come true Paradise Falls ... the ultimate destination ... the unreachable dream
Current Location: home
Current Mood: impressed
Current Music: morning preparations
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