Archive for December, 2010
2010: The Random Recap
December 31, 2010
Best Experiences
Seeing this owl every Sunday at the dog park!
Going to NYC with Keith for a whirlwind vacation in early October
Dog Beach at Afton State Park with Keith & Freja
Biking along Highway 35 in Wisconsin around Maiden Rock and Stockholm before going to The Stone Barn for pizza and beer
Rock The Garden in June
Art-A-Whirl in May
Best-est & Most Exciting-est Purchases
Nikon D5000 Camera
Frye oxfords
Orange silk dress from sale at Spinario in Minneapolis
Show me more… »
Happy Holidays!
December 22, 2010
Have yourself a fun, relaxing, movie-watching, nap-taking, cookie-eating holiday!
Amazon Studios Embraces Sharecropping
December 21, 2010
If you’re not someone who is concerned about writing and/or making movies, you may have missed Amazon’s big announcement this fall that they have formed Amazon Studios. They are getting into the game of creating original programming rather than just distributing other people’s stuff.
I think the initial reaction by many people was HOLY SHIT, COOL! And then people started reading the fine print and the “Development Agreement” and getting disturbed by some of the rules associated with this. Here’s how it works:
Amazon Studios will award $140,000 a month to the “best movies and scripts and a total of $1.1 million to winners of Annual Awards.” So each month they have a contest going for movies and scripts and if yours is chosen that month, you may win cash and then they may further develop it.
They don’t want people to submit a completed film – they want a “test movie. “What is a test movie? “Test movies are inexpensive, full-length movies that tell the whole story of the script in a compelling way. They should have good acting and sound, but polished visuals are not required. Even primitive visuals will help people imagine what a script would be like as a finished film.”
Show me more… »
Annoying Tweet Of the Day – Dec. 17th
December 17, 2010
There’s been quite a bit of controversy over Black Swan, the new Darren Aronofsky-directed film starring Natalie Portman as a ballerina descending into madness as she prepares to dance the role of a lifetime and competes with a perceived rival (played by Mila Kunis). Is it good? Is it bad? People seem deeply divided. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times wrote that its got a, “giddy, sometimes sleazy exploitation-cinema savvy.” Some critics have said it’s cliched, others that it’s stunning. The Hollywood Reporter said, “The movie is so damn out-there in every way that you can’t help admiring Aronofsky for daring to be so very, very absurd.”
When I went to see the movie on Tuesday night the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis had a nice-sized crowd.This despite the fact that it was God-awful cold and parking was a bitch. But, then again, most of us had been trapped in our homes all weekend during the blizzard and were aching to get out. If getting out meant going to see something completely deranged, all the better. We need to take our minds off the fact that we are completely deranged for living in such brutal conditions. It’s always fun to watch people crazier than you are. Much more fun, by the way, than watching a preview of Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart alternately cry and yell at each other in a preview for thefilm Rabbit Hole.
Show me more… »
Check My Profile: Social Media Madness
December 13, 2010Now that we’ve all been in the social media game for awhile, it’s becoming evident that there are some “Dont’s” involved. Lately, some Facebook and Twitter profile photos have been standing out as some serious Dont’s for me so I decided to catalog them:
1. The Shadow Face
Perfectly fine if your name is Shadow Face and you are an enemy of Batman’s. Otherwise, no.
2. Look Into My Eyes
Seems like you have something to hide. Either you gained a lot of weight since high school or you were disfigured in a helicopter crash.
Show me more… »
Politi-Pets
December 6, 2010
When I was awakened at 3 in the morning to let the dog out, because she was whiiii-iii-ning to go to the bathroom, it suddenly seemed very important, as I was standing at the back window watching Freja run around the yard trying to find an acceptable place to do her business, that I catalog the ways in which cats are fundamentally Republicans and dogs are fundamentally Democrats.
The photo you’re seeing here captures a rare moment of bipartisanship not often seen in our household.
First, cats are very conservative. They don’t embrace change. They don’t like a new plant being added to the living room, a sudden change of food (unless it’s stinky, wet food) or a litter made from some unfamiliar material. Things should stay relatively the same all the time.
They don’t believe in welfare because they believe in the old adage, “that government is best which governs least.” It’s paws off; every cat for themselves. They also hate immigrants. I’m not saying that all Republicans hate immigrants but cat republicans are the kind of Republicans who hate immigrants. This is because they are, of course, highly territorial. If a new cat comes into their territory, the cat’s first thought is, “Shit, there won’t be enough for me. Not enough grass to eat, mice and birds to kill, garbage to pick through. KILL!”
Show me more… »
Catcher In The Rye, Act II, Part III
December 3, 2010
Despite a bit of a break, I’m still plugging away on Catcher. The next section wanders into some depressing territory that’s a bit hard to convey on-screen. There’s a lot of wandering around, indecision, memories, etc., which is a big point of the book and illustrates Holden’s state of mind, but translating this to the screen can be a challenge.
When I left off with Act II, Part II, Holden had just had the uncomfortable encounter with the young prostitute, Sunny. He sent her away without having sex with her but paid her the $5 her pimp, Maurice, said was the price of “a throw.” I really don’t like that terminology. Quite icky.
Show me more… »
