courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/
Weinergate - First of all, it's rather Orwellian that we put the suffix -gate on any scandal. It's very similar to newspeak. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read 1984.
Second of all. This "scandal" is embarrassing and humiliating, but let's put it out there : We all masturbate. Many of us get freaky about it, stimulating ourselves with internet porn, or chat sites. But it's supposed to be private. To have it exposed publicly is devastating. I would be destroyed with embarrassment if any of you found out about my extensive collection of pictures of my junk on my computer. oops...
However, I'll say it. Rep. Weiner should NOT have resigned. As embarrassing as this is, his private escapades ultimately have no bearing on his ability to lead, or do his job. Just as your private sexual activities do not make you any less of a businessman, teacher, or plumber. But on the other hand, the word Weiner from now on will have a completely different meaning. So it's unlikely that this will be avoided in future political campaigns. "My Republican opponents want to cut back on social programs which benefit so many Americans." "Yeah, well... he showed his junk!"
Also, let's put THIS out there. The chicks broke the code! Come on... they aren't victims here... many of them requested the pics be sent, and hey, they were sexually tweeting with the congressman, too. When two people choose to do this, they enter into a pact. No one is to know about this. I'll bet you that some female politicians do the same or similar things in THEIR private life, but the men they do it with understand the code, so we never find out about it.
The "Sarah Palin Tour." Does anybody REALLY not get that she's running for president? Really? Is there anyone who is such a mental midget that they believe that she's just taking a vacation? I'm going to Disneyworld with my family in a few weeks, and I'll tell you... I'm thinking of decking out a tour bus, giving all the media outlets an itinerary of where I'm going; and while I'm there, do a couple of interviews.
Speaking of Orwell... did anyone catch the re-writing of history Palin and Fox did? She royally screwed up her answer to that question about Paul Revere, then instead of taking the hit, and clarifying, you know, like Miss South Carolina did; she went out and told us that HER version of history, turns out, is TRUE! Not, I wasn't prepared for the question, or I misspoke; but Paul Revere DID ride to warn the British, and that the British DID want to take away our guns. Winston Smith had the exact same job. Winston Smith? Oh, Come ON people, READ 1984!
Marriage Equality - The bill is up for a vote in New York. Yay, Cuomo finally did something good! For my thoughts on the Gay Marriage Issue, Click Here.
Tonys I usually do a rant about the Tony Awards, but you know what? This year was pretty good. I got no problems here. In fact stay tuned for a review of the nominated musicals' cast albums.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Project 52 - Weeks 11-20
courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/
Have I mentioned how much of a fan of Sean and Christine Fitzgerald I am? They make up most of SLTM Films, along with Matt Bowden and Dave Cohen. They are currently engaged in something they call Project 52. This was inspired by the fad on facebook of doing 365 pictures, and posting one a day; or the "30 Day Song Challenge" where you post a link to a different song every day for a month. Sean wanted to try to make one short film every week for the entire year 2011.
I love this for a few reasons. A) They're all VERY talented. Sean and Christine at Directing; Christine at Producing, Matt and Dave for writing and acting and everything else that they do. 2) I know how it feels to put yourself out there creatively and have only crickets respond. The Fitzgeralds aren't doing this for the applause or recognition, but especially when there's so much genuine talent behind it, they should get that recognition. And D) It's being done in the interest of learning and growth. Every week, random cast members select the genre, theme, and random elements to be used in each film. The crew then have a week to turn those suggestions into a film. It's a challenge, but can yield amazing results.
I've already blogged about their first 10 films. So, now let's go through the next in their journey.
Lets start with their "wild cards:" They've given themselves the leeway to occasionally stray from the format of this project and just make whatever movie inspires them. They did this three times so far:
Follow Our Journey (Week 12) Sean and Christine promised themselves if they could get a certain number of hits and subscribers, then they'd go to Florida for "Playlist Live," a YouTube fan convention. They chronicled their trip, and talk a little about what they're doing with Project 52. A nice starting point for anyone who'd like to catch up with the Fitz's.
If Only You'd Listen (Week 16) Both Sean and Christine's lives have been touched by Autism. They took two weeks to devote to Autism Awareness. In the first film, they show how Autistic people are just like you and me. The images are powerful, as are the words expressed by the people from all over Long Island. It's a beautiful film.
Autism: A Parent's Perspective (Week 17) They had so much footage left over from "If Only You'd Listen" that Christine put together another documentary, this time focusing on the issues facing parents who have children with Autism. This one is more informative. It's like a next lesson in the unit. Week 16 introduced the issue, and Week 17 gives some perspective.
But they didn't just do docs. They also had some fun. Here are the other films in order of my personal preference:
Goodbye Cruel World (Week 13) In the first batch, Sean tried a few comedies. I commented that even his comedy has a kind of dark sense of humor. So, of course when someone draws "Black Comedy," you know it's going to be amazing. Ed Heuther and Brian Smith are hysterical in this film, in which two friends have difficulty executing a suicide pact. And HILARITY ensues!
The Return (Week 18) - I was almost in this one. It was beautifully acted and written and directed. Chris has been gone for 10 years, and through a metaphysical phenomenon, comes back to see his wife, who has moved on. Bonus: It stars my daughter as Chrissy, the little girl.
Bystander (Week 11) I have only left a film viscerally feeling the gut wrenching emotion behind it twice in my life. Once was Se7en, and the other was Bystander, where a guy witnesses a murder in progress and must choose whether or not to get involved. (Spoiler alert: He really should have.)
SPLAT (Week 20) In this Slapstick Comedy, Christine gets a taste of something that every new parent has experienced, the joy of feeding an infant. It's gross, silly, and a lot of fun.
Para-sight (Week 19) This Sci Fi/horror film involves a documentary film crew who go around researching paranormal phenomena. They uncover the secret of the "Montauk Monster." This stands on its own, but I hear it on good authority that there is a special alternate ending that adds the trademark "Fitzgerald Twist."
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Flagwaver and the Boy Scout - Episode 1 (Week 15) Just when you think Sean has that dark sense of humor, by week 15, I started to realize that he has a very silly side as well. Dave Cohen wrote this one, a parody of superhero movies. It resembles "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog," but then again, so do all superhero parodies. At least this one wasn't a musical. (Spoiler Alert: That comes later.)
Gone (Week 14) Now that I'm so "intimately" involved with the Fitzgeralds, I get all kinds of insider information. Like the fact that this film remains unfinished. It's supposed to be a mystery, but as it is now, it isn't really. In true Sean Fitzgerald form, what you think is going on at the start of the film, isn't what's going on at all. So, consider this a teaser, meant to draw you into an eventual long form version of this where the truth will finally be revealed.
Please subscribe to SLTM's channel, and be on the lookout for the next 32 films. (I hear that Week 29 is going to be amazing!) And please share the links with everyone you know who loves film.
Have I mentioned how much of a fan of Sean and Christine Fitzgerald I am? They make up most of SLTM Films, along with Matt Bowden and Dave Cohen. They are currently engaged in something they call Project 52. This was inspired by the fad on facebook of doing 365 pictures, and posting one a day; or the "30 Day Song Challenge" where you post a link to a different song every day for a month. Sean wanted to try to make one short film every week for the entire year 2011.
I love this for a few reasons. A) They're all VERY talented. Sean and Christine at Directing; Christine at Producing, Matt and Dave for writing and acting and everything else that they do. 2) I know how it feels to put yourself out there creatively and have only crickets respond. The Fitzgeralds aren't doing this for the applause or recognition, but especially when there's so much genuine talent behind it, they should get that recognition. And D) It's being done in the interest of learning and growth. Every week, random cast members select the genre, theme, and random elements to be used in each film. The crew then have a week to turn those suggestions into a film. It's a challenge, but can yield amazing results.
I've already blogged about their first 10 films. So, now let's go through the next in their journey.
Lets start with their "wild cards:" They've given themselves the leeway to occasionally stray from the format of this project and just make whatever movie inspires them. They did this three times so far:
Follow Our Journey (Week 12) Sean and Christine promised themselves if they could get a certain number of hits and subscribers, then they'd go to Florida for "Playlist Live," a YouTube fan convention. They chronicled their trip, and talk a little about what they're doing with Project 52. A nice starting point for anyone who'd like to catch up with the Fitz's.
If Only You'd Listen (Week 16) Both Sean and Christine's lives have been touched by Autism. They took two weeks to devote to Autism Awareness. In the first film, they show how Autistic people are just like you and me. The images are powerful, as are the words expressed by the people from all over Long Island. It's a beautiful film.
Autism: A Parent's Perspective (Week 17) They had so much footage left over from "If Only You'd Listen" that Christine put together another documentary, this time focusing on the issues facing parents who have children with Autism. This one is more informative. It's like a next lesson in the unit. Week 16 introduced the issue, and Week 17 gives some perspective.
But they didn't just do docs. They also had some fun. Here are the other films in order of my personal preference:
Goodbye Cruel World (Week 13) In the first batch, Sean tried a few comedies. I commented that even his comedy has a kind of dark sense of humor. So, of course when someone draws "Black Comedy," you know it's going to be amazing. Ed Heuther and Brian Smith are hysterical in this film, in which two friends have difficulty executing a suicide pact. And HILARITY ensues!
The Return (Week 18) - I was almost in this one. It was beautifully acted and written and directed. Chris has been gone for 10 years, and through a metaphysical phenomenon, comes back to see his wife, who has moved on. Bonus: It stars my daughter as Chrissy, the little girl.
Bystander (Week 11) I have only left a film viscerally feeling the gut wrenching emotion behind it twice in my life. Once was Se7en, and the other was Bystander, where a guy witnesses a murder in progress and must choose whether or not to get involved. (Spoiler alert: He really should have.)
SPLAT (Week 20) In this Slapstick Comedy, Christine gets a taste of something that every new parent has experienced, the joy of feeding an infant. It's gross, silly, and a lot of fun.
Para-sight (Week 19) This Sci Fi/horror film involves a documentary film crew who go around researching paranormal phenomena. They uncover the secret of the "Montauk Monster." This stands on its own, but I hear it on good authority that there is a special alternate ending that adds the trademark "Fitzgerald Twist."
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Flagwaver and the Boy Scout - Episode 1 (Week 15) Just when you think Sean has that dark sense of humor, by week 15, I started to realize that he has a very silly side as well. Dave Cohen wrote this one, a parody of superhero movies. It resembles "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog," but then again, so do all superhero parodies. At least this one wasn't a musical. (Spoiler Alert: That comes later.)
Gone (Week 14) Now that I'm so "intimately" involved with the Fitzgeralds, I get all kinds of insider information. Like the fact that this film remains unfinished. It's supposed to be a mystery, but as it is now, it isn't really. In true Sean Fitzgerald form, what you think is going on at the start of the film, isn't what's going on at all. So, consider this a teaser, meant to draw you into an eventual long form version of this where the truth will finally be revealed.
Please subscribe to SLTM's channel, and be on the lookout for the next 32 films. (I hear that Week 29 is going to be amazing!) And please share the links with everyone you know who loves film.
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