I normally will have a printed page showing all 24 categories, and mark off bingo-style all of the correctly-guessed picks [I got 18 out of 24 this year]. It’s something I look forward to each and every year.

During the Oscars, they show a memorial of those in the film and entertainment industry that passed on during the previous calendar year. While it’s a sad and somber moment, it’s a part of the show that I stop to remember those actors, actresses, directors, producers and screenwriters that gave us some incredible celluloid moments.

This year, they had a separate segment celebrating the work of director, screenwriter and producer John Hughes. Below is the video of that part of the Oscars.

If the video is not playing for you, click here to go directly to the story with the video.

John Hughes created some incredible movies during his career. The Breakfast Club was one of my all time favorites, so it was cool to see several of the actors that were a part of that movie [Where was Emilio Estevez?]. It was a nice tribute that deserved to be separate from the rest of the deceased.

Below is the entire video of the In Memoriam part of the Oscar event.

Who Was Missing?

Farrah as I remembered her in my teen years

I remembered her from the show “Maude”

If you watched the last video I posted above, you might have stopped to wonder why there were a few missing names from the list. Where was Farrah Fawcett? What about Bea Arthur? Ed McMahon? Well, Ed wasn’t in any movies (that I know of), but Farrah and Bea were in several roles over the course of their careers. To leave them out was just plain wrong. EPIC OSCAR FAIL!

Let’s see if next year’s event comes with an apology. I’m not holding my breath.

I Am Cooper Trooper

Let me introduce myself. My name is Cooper Trooper. My assigned number is TK-8629. I served as a senior trooper in the battles on Hoth. I spent the majority of my time stationed at the Echo base. Before that, I spent a brief time of my service on the first Death Star. Just days before it’s destruction, I was transferred to the Echo base on Hoth. I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

After my service, I went into the reserves. For now, my assigned duties are simply to keep order and to monitor suspicious activities in my travels. It’s a very free life, which gives me time to see various parts of the galaxy. For the last year, I have been on Earth and have tried to integrate myself into the population, as evidenced by the photos I’ve posted here. I will also be posting other photos and video logs showing my experiences living amongst the people of Earth.

“Learning to drive was a challenge, but I eventually got the hang of it“

“The people I am staying with own a scooter. Much slower than a speeder bike“

“It’s not easy to ride, but as with the car, I will eventually learn how“

Mission Accepted

I was contacted by Norman and asked if I wanted to participate in his project of showing our integration in society. You can read his request here.

I will be moving my logs to a new location in the coming weeks, with an announcement of each new entry located here on this weblog, complete with a link to each entry.

I hope you enjoy them. I look forward to sharing them with the collective public.

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the screen above

Vimeo version – Click Here

Big Thank You To…

I would like to thank both BlondeBlogger and Mr Shiny for allowing me to use their footage of the snow they captured on video during the big snow storms that hit their area. Without it, who knows how much longer it would have been before I posted a new episode of Snowy Sunday. [several more episodes are in production at this time]

A special shout out to Mr Shiny’s son for his brave trek through the snow-packed terrain.

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the screen above

Vimeo version – Click Here

What’s This?

I actually filmed all of this the same weekend that I was supposed to edit it and upload it [the last week of December 2009]. Didn’t want to wait 10 months before it got posted [which would have made it even more dated. Enjoy!

I’ve removed my Blogroll page. I know.. shocking.

Actually, it shouldn’t be shocking. The popularity and usefulness of the blogroll on people’s blogs has been waning for some time now. I’ve noticed a lot fewer blogrolls out on the blogs I visit and read.

Sure, it was a way to say, “hey, I like these blogs.. check them out.” But I got to wondering something. If I wasn’t looking at the blogrolls on other’s blogs, then how many people were looking at mine? If you do, let me know, but I’ll take a guess [and using my page results from Woopra and Google, it's not a page that gets hit that often] that it’s just not needed anymore.

If you miss it, then maybe I can do a post every so often where I mention blogs I visit.

And of course, if there’s a blog I like, I’ll add it to my feed reader and visit, read and comment.

So long Blogroll. You served your purpose back in the day.

I grew up listening to music on vinyl records – 45’s, 78’s and 33 1/3’s. From the time I was just a kid listening to those Disney songs, then graduating to pop music, rock and roll and heavy metal, I loved putting a record on the turntable and playing my favorite artists.

As a teen, my favorite was always to play the entire side of an album, letting each song track into the next. By the end of the last track on the album, I was in musical ecstasy.

Going back as far as thirty-two years, there have been three albums that I listen to on a regular basis where I really love the flow of the last three songs on each of these albums. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t listen to all three and sometimes more than once [seriously]. There’s just something about each one of these that really resonates and connects with me.

But it goes beyond how these songs sound to me. It’s how they were originally placed onto the album by the band. They are all connected, running from one song to the next without a break – most prominently on two of the three albums. The term is called gapless playback and the design of many albums that incorporated this were most likely attempting to connect them all together in a way to create a musical montage – a story to be told, note by note – without interruption.

So without further explanation, here are the 3×3 albums/songs.

The Cars “The Cars” – 1978

Click the album name above to link to the MP3 album page and listen to samples
Track 7 – “Bye Bye Love”

This song and the two that follow it were sung by Benjamin Orr, who was the bass player for the band. While he is most famous for the lead vocals of the song “Drive” on the album “Heartbeat City”, it was his powerful voice, which is similar to that of Ric Ocasek’s, that cemented the beauty and awe of this song as a stand out track on this debut album. “I can’t feel this way much longer/expecting to survive” then the common musical keyboard riff on repeat. Add in a guitar solo, the enunciated and sped up vocals “Substitution/Massconfusion/Clouds Inside Your Head” and then bring back the repeats towards the end of the song as it works right into the next track.

Track 8 – “Moving In Stereo”

The last few bars of “Bye Bye Love” flow into the eery and haunting reverb of this song. The lyrics are simple, yet strong. “Life’s the same/I’m moving in stereo”, brilliantly mixed in stereo. Listening to this song in an acoustically-sound room [or at least a nice room with hardwood floors] provides a type of echo that only this song can be enjoyed in. Now put on a pair of nice headphones, preferably over the ear. Wow. Just Fucking Wow. The back and forth stereo mix adds a trippy level as the sound moves from left to right.

Track 9 – “All Mixed Up”

As “Moving In Stereo” fades out it’s psychedelic sounds, it’s morphs into the calming “All Mixed Up” Part love song, part regret and part guitar solo genius. But all of the keyboards and synths are where the real meat of the song takes place. Benjamin sings “She tricks me into thinking/I can’t believe my eyes” on the vocal track, keyboards in unison on another. Let’s add the sythesized cymbal tings and the repeated ending lyrics of “she said to leave it to me/it will be alright” and you have one of the best endings to an album.

Tears For Fears “Songs From The Big Chair” – 1985

Click the album name above to link to the MP3 album page and listen to samples
Track 6 – “Broken”

Technically speaking, it’s the last four songs that are connected without gaps on this album, but for me specifically, it’s the final three that have always spoken to me. Not that I don’t like “I Believe”, it’s just a bit out of place when played with the final three. “Broken” is one of those tracks that starts off strong and ends strong. The repeated chorus of “We Are Broken” flows well with the musical arrangement and I always like the vocals of Roland Orzabal sung as powerful as the music builds.

Track 7 – “Head Over Heels”

As the words “.. funny how time flies” escapes the lips of Roland, the first keyboard strikes of this song quickly rolls into the depth of this track. It’s another Roland lead vocal masterpiece. But then we add the harmony vocals of Curt Smith throughout each lyrical segment. Not to mention Curt’s bass notes adding even more to this popular yet addictive song. The lyrics don’t make much sense, which is sometimes the case with love songs. “This is my four-leaf clover” starts the end of the song as the multitude of “La La La La La La” chant easily moves into a final, yet fast arrangement.

Track 8 – “Listen”

Towards the end of “Head Over Heels”, you think the song is just going to end, with the crowd cheering. But as it migrates into a zen-like atmosphere of sound, “Listen” becomes pretty much the only lyric you remember from this calming tune. Not much more to say about this song. It’s nice. It flows. It has some oddness to it. And yet, it’s the perfect ending to a great album.

Radiohead “OK Computer” – 1997

Click the album name above to link to the MP3 album page and listen to samples
Track 10 – “No Surprises”

The first time I heard this album wasn’t until it had been out for almost three years. Tracking through the first nine songs left me breathless. But once the defined guitar picking notes of this song start, it quickly becomes obvious that this is the beginning of the end. The song builds into multiple facets. It’s bright and cheery, even given the gloomy vocals of Thom Yorke. Like a walk in a field of flowers, you want to jump around and smile and enjoy each and every note.

Track 11 – “Lucky”

While there is not a gapless transition from the previous song to this one, the flow of happy to a sonic sound of deep guitar and defined vocals begins to tell a story… “Pull me out of the aircrash/pull me out of the lake”… Doesn’t sound happy, but it is. It’s the hope of being the superhero that saves someone. And at the end of the second chorus, when the solo guitar strums take center stage, it speaks out… “We are standing on the edge” at least in musical form.

Track 12 – “The Tourist”

Again, lacking a gapless transition, the soulful guitar of Jonny Greenwood starts, soon to be joined by an even more soulful vocal yearning. “Hey man, slow down, slow down” The song is already pretty slow at this point, even with the guitar kicking it up a notch. The low and faint tone can seem to be a drop off. But just as it starts to drop, the guitar once again picks up and keeps going, right up until you hit the last few notes. Then we have that slow down that Thom has been singing about, ending with a single hit of the chimes.

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Any albums or sets of songs that you like? Please share. And go into detail. As a music lover, I want to hear.

Besides the couple of gin and tonics I had last night, I’m now Buzzed – that’s Google Buzz.

While I’m still trying to figure this out and what it will become overall – a Twitter or Facebook competitor – I’ve found an immediate use for it: allowing me to easily scroll through my Google Reader shared feeds.

So are you on Google Buzz? Are you already following me? Am I already following you?

Or is this a Buzz kill for you?

This Sunday is one of the biggest days for advertisers. It’s Superbowl Sunday and people pay attention to the ads – sometimes more than the game itself.

One of the ads that will be shown is from the conservative group Focus on the Family. Their $2.5 million will buy them 30-seconds to tell the story of Pam Tebow and her son, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow from the Florida Gators. The tag line of the ad is “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life”, with the word abortion never being mentioned.

But whose version of Family are we celebrating with this ad?

The details have been told numerous times over the last month, but in summary, Pam was a missionary in the Philippines, pregnant with her son. She fell ill and was given the option by doctors to either continue with the pregnancy or abort it. Her choice is obvious and the focus on having a successful son in sports is celebrated.

Never mind that since 1930, abortion has been illegal in the Philippines and remains that way to current day. So in 1987, when Pam was pregnant with Tim, her doctor was recommending something illegal to her, according to her telling of the events as they played out. Also factoring into the decision was her belief system, which is obviously pro-life. So under logical thinking, Pam’s decision to both follow her beliefs and not break the law of the country she was in at the time, resulted in the birth of her son.

The birth of a child is to be celebrated, especially if it was planned. But not all pregnancies are planned. And the woman who becomes pregnant should be allowed the option of terminating her pregnancy, taking into consideration the legal status of abortion where she resides. But I’m not here to advocate abortion. Personally, I think it’s an option that I wish most women would not choose. I am not going to force my personal opinion on others. And neither should anyone else. That means no government, no religious person, no conservative organization, no right-wing radical or anyone that is passionate about their stance on abortion should take away the decision to abort a child away from any woman for any reason.

This makes me pro-choice, which some have re-labeled that to mean “pro-abortion”. Um. Read the above again if you are one of these people. Being pro-choice does not make someone pro-abortion. Neither should I, or anyone else that is pro-choice, be labeled a “baby killer”. The rules are simple. A woman makes her own reproductive decisions without involvement or interruption from anyone, with the exception of her doctor she is consulting with.

And being pro-choice shouldn’t be just some political stance or something that makes you feel better about yourself or a way to fit in better. If you are pro-choice, you need to really let the woman choose for herself, regardless of how you personally feel about the practice.

But when media people like Sally Jenkins from the Washington Post say they are pro-choice, labeling a group of people pro-abortion pretty much dilutes their announced stance. I really don’t believe there is anyone out there that is pro-abortion. Even women that choose abortion as an option are not skipping happily to the abortion clinic, smiles on their faces and exclaiming, “Yeah, I get to have an abortion today.” Abortion is a tough choice and it’s an emotional disconnect. Having talked to women that have had abortions before, it is a decision that was not easy for them to make.

No, these groups are more about not wanting the majority rule – regardless how specific or generic the message – to dominate the discussion of choice. Sure, Pam had a choice. She choose to have the baby. But at the same time, what was her decision doesn’t apply to every one else. This is called supporting the woman’s right to choose for herself.

Mad about the Ad?

So given all of that, CBS certainly should be allowed to pick and choose what ads they want shown on Superbowl Sunday. They are in the business to make money. But they also should be under scrutiny when they allow one ad based on content, yet reject an ad based on similar content rules they recently lifted. As a for-profit business, playing favorites while proclaiming they are not, will open up discussions on fairness in advertising. Allowing an ad promoting a general pro-life message, yet rejecting a gay dating service, at the same time airing ads with beer and boobs, their argument about “not within the Network’s Broadcast Standards for Super Bowl Sunday” starts to lose credibility.

After everything I’ve said above, I’m ok with the ad being broadcast, but I do question several things. One, are women that watch the game and viewing the ad going to consider its message the next time they have sexual relations? Two, will this spur other companies to consider next year’s big game for placing their 30-second conservative message to the masses? And three, will CBS actually consider running other ads from the likes of gay dating services without using their standard “network broadcast standards” rejection message?

Only time will tell. For this pro-choice viewer, in the midst of the majority rule, I’ll be placing all of my bets on the underdog minority. Go Saints!

UPDATE

Here’s the Mancrunch ad that won’t air during the Superbowl:

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON ABOVE or double click on the screen above

Vimeo version – Click Here

Still Catching Up

Honest, I do have many more episodes to film, edit and post before winter ends, including a Christmas episode [damn, I am behind, aren't I?], Clay the snowman, a Pulp Fiction remake [a different scene than the one I did last year, with a bit of my own creativity thrown in], an all new sledding episode and much more. Now that’s a lot to get done in eight weeks. Let’s see what I can make happen.

As Winter/Lex so very well explained in her blog post a couple weeks ago, she had a project that she was working on back in April 2009 and asked if I would be interested in submitting a short story. She and I had talked before about my previous writing experience, which most of it was software reviews and technical columns in various publications over the years.

I decided to take on the assignment and spent a good deal of time going over a story I already had, polishing it up, learning how not to “head hop” and going through several edit sessions with the main editor.

Weirdly III

The cover of the story compilation

The end result is called “Double Or Nothing”, which is just one of the 15 odd, weird, creepy, demonic and paranormal tales included in the Weirdly III compilation book from Wild Child Publishing. The short story is about a talented and energized singer who makes a wish to have more than one of him, causing his real and surreal worlds collide.

Lex Valentine, aka Winterheart from Sunlight Sucks, also has one of her signature erotica stories, “Ain’t Nuthin’ but a Hellhound” which is a very good (and very erotic) read about a demon who tries his best to take over the souls of the misguided.

To purchase a copy of Weirdly III, head over to this link. It’s initial release is an ebook in PDF format. If sales are good, it will go to print, which would be exciting to have my first work of fiction in print.

I want to thank Winter for this great opportunity. I am hoping this will be the first of many published works you will see from me.