Howard PDX

If I gave you my number.

2011-11-07T01:02:00.000-08:00

I've been putting off this blog post for several months. The time wasn't right until now. I couldn't write this until I could use it constructively.

Many years ago, a good friend pulled me back from the abyss. I've held onto her words like a mantra:

"As long as you're alive, you have a future."

Since then, I've had three additional close calls. In 2000, I lost a girlfriend and an internship in the same week. In 2008, I lost a job and my grandmother within two days. In 2010, my wife came out to me and I started my final year at PSU.

Each time, I held onto that mantra like a life raft in a storm. I changed but I survived.

I learned very quickly that divorce is nothing like a normal breakup. It's far more difficult. Divorcing a gay spouse adds additional complication. Whenever I thought I was okay, I would return a stage of grief that I was certain was over with.

When I moved out in April, I set ground rules. I refused to use alcohol as a crutch, I refused to be childish, and I refused to hate. I restricted drinking to the weekends and concentrated on learning to be a bachelor again.

Eventually I accepted that this wasn't done to me. I had no control over it and it wasn't anyone's fault. I was bitter over the timing of the whole thing, but I can't change what has already happened.

Once the worst of it was over, I began rebuilding myself. If I had to go through this, I wanted a better version of myself to be the result.

My attitude was first. Negativity had to go. It was a waste of energy and was hindering my survival.

My body was second. Until this year, I ate badly and avoided working out. The week the divorce papers were filed, I turned 30 and joined a gym. I've been working out and eating better for three months.

So far, I've dropped 10 pounds and a majority of my bad eating habits. I allow myself one "cheat day" per week to eat junk food and pasta.

My spiritual health is third. I'm starting with writing and meditation, but it's still early days.

I haven't made it this far alone. My family and my roommate have helped me tremendously.

If you're overwhelmed and if you feel as if you're losing faith, don't suffer alone. Talk to someone, ask for help, and remember that it will get better.

As long as you're alive, you have a future.

A Book That You'll Never Forget

2011-03-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

"From a Name to a Number" is a book that you'll never forget. It is the story of a Jewish teenager who received his education in five concentration camps. After he was liberated, he found himself without a home, country, or immediate family. Most of "From a Name to a Number" is the story of where he went and how he lived after his liberation.

Alters story is tragic and inspirational. He refuses to hate the German people for the violence and cruelty that the Nazis inflicted on him and his family. If Alter can refuse to hate, we have no excuse.

The immensity and deliberate, industrialized cruelty of the Holocaust are difficult to comprehend. We know it happened because the Nazis kept meticulous records. These death camp balance sheets are evidence of an inhuman cruelty that should never be allowed to happen again.

Despite the historical evidence (films, mass graves, pictures, balance sheets, and historical sites), holocaust deniers tell others that it didn't happen. They do this to justify their own racist beliefs or because they despise the attention that society gives to victims. As the Holocaust's survivors succumb to old age, the number of Holocaust deniers is increasing.

An increasing number of media personalities will routinely blame victims or refer to minorities as racists or Nazis. They do this because they perceive victimhood as power, which they crave. If we allow hate mongers to call themselves victims, we do a disservice to past, present, and future victims of violence.

Repeated use of the word "Nazi" on political television shows is a deliberate attempt to change its meaning. If we allow this word to be watered down until it is becomes slang for "nationalization" or "jerk", the Holocaust will be harder for future generations to understand.

Survivors of genocides such as the Holocaust or the Khmer Rouge retell their stories even though it hurts them to do so. They show us their physical and emotional scars to teach us that hatred and genocide can happen anywhere.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

2011-01-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

I was hoping that my next personal blog post would not be a followup to "Playground Behavior".

I was an Arizonan for 16 years. I still have friends who live there. We may disagree on political issues, but we can do so without being disagreeable.

I want to start by making three things perfectly clear:

Conservatives are not bad people and neither are Liberals.
Each of these political persuasions has its share of mentally unstable supporters.
Several people, including a little girl, died as a result of this tragedy.

I know people on both ends of the political spectrum who want to raise families, own homes, and live without the constant threat of violence.

I have no problem whatsoever with a constructive debate on political issues.

I have a big problem with rhetoric that implies violence against other human beings, but I don't believe that Sarah Palin or any other political speaker murdered people in Tuscon. The mentally ill man with the gun murdered people in Tuscon.

The remainder of this post is about the political climate. If you don't want to hear about it, you don't have to read any further. Please support the victims and their families and pray that it never happens again.

When a person disagrees with you, it is never okay to threaten them with violence or to imply violence towards them.

As I pointed out in "Playground Behavior", supporters on both sides of the political spectrum have displayed increasingly violent and hateful behavior. Comments like this one make the situation worse.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." is a great quote, but it's lesson is too quickly forgotten. When injustice is allowed to thrive anywhere it spreads like a cancer.

When politicians and commentators speak without thinking or refrain from speaking when their supporters engage in violent or hateful behavior, they allow the political climate to devolve.

When political supporters physically harm each other during rallies or outside of town hall meetings, something is wrong. The video below this paragraph is from 2009. We should have talked about this back then instead of right now.

When American political supporters engage in this type of behavior, it hurts our status as a nation. How can we advocate democracy in other countries when we act this way?

I also have a problem with commentators who invite advocates of violence on their shows. For example:

Jared Loughner acted alone when he pulled the trigger, but he did so in a political climate that had already become violent.

In his deranged mind, the things he read and saw may have convinced him that firing into a crowd of people was okay.

Political rhetoric that implies violence isn't just immature, it's dangerous. Many of us recognize rhetorical speech and dismiss it because we're used to seeing negative political ads and comments. We should always be aware that some people take political rhetoric literally.

Politicians, political commentators and thought leaders need to be responsible for their words. Those who recklessly imply violence toward other human beings should not be listened to.

What can you do to make things better?

If you are religious, pray for the families of the dead and wounded. If you aren't religious, please send them your condolences and positive thoughts.
Don't put your head in the sand. Ignoring this situation isn't going to make it go away.
Recognize that people from the "opposing party" are also Americans.
Stop referring to other states as "Red States" and "Blue States".
Stop using hurtful names when you refer to people who disagree with you.
If a commentator uses violent rhetoric, contact the companies who sponsor them.
If a politician uses violent rhetoric, call them out on it. Many of them have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. If you have a video of their offensive speech, post the entire video on YouTube.

I'll end the post with this video. I am not a viewer of Olbermann's show, but I believe that he makes several relevant points in this video, regardless of his political affiliation. He also apologizes for his own uses of hurtful language.

Playground behavior

2010-10-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

After I watched this video, I realized that I needed some context. The best article I could find was from the Charlottesville Daily Progress. I used that article to construct a rough timeline of the events that led up to the video.

1. Jon Taylor RSPV'd to Cantor's event on the senators website.
2. He parked his car, which contained a campaign poster for Cantor's opponent Rick Waugh, at a meter in front of the coffee shop.
3. Taylor then entered the coffee shop with three other Democrats.
4. The coffee shop owner asked Taylor and his friends to leave and they refused.
5. Police officers arrived and asked the men to leave. They refused.
6. The police officers threatened to arrest them for trespassing.
7. The police chief quoted Taylor as saying "Then arrest me."
8. What happened afterwards was caught on video by Taylor's son.

Cantor won't comment on the incident, but one of his campaign consultants called Taylor a thug. I think that this campaign consultant is not helping the situation.

In this incident, it appears that poor planning by Cantor's staff gave Taylor the impression that he could attend the event. Taylor says that he decided to attend the Cantor event because he wanted to debate him. His belligerent behavior implies that his actions may not have been that peaceful.

I've been watching members of both major parties demonize each other since 2004. This is dangerous behavior because it eventually leads to acts of violence. One side will antagonize and the other will respond badly with violence. Both types of behavior are immature.

The man who taught me not to demonize the opposing party was Congressman Dennis Kucinich. I did some local videography and canvassing for his 2004 presidential campaign.

Sadly, Kucinich and other politicians who can "agree to disagree" seem to be in the minority.

Daily Progress Article

Movie Mashups and Jailbreaking Are Legal.

2010-07-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

The Library of Congress doesn't usually make news. I don't usually yell "Yes!" repeatedly after reading a news story. Especially one about the Library of Congress.

On July 23rd, the LOC made it legal to circumnavigate technological restrictions on Motion picture DVDs, wireless handsets, video games, computer programs, and e-books.

What it all means:

Breaking CSS encryption on DVDs is allowed if the individual is using the content to create a documentary film, a non-commercial video, an educational compilation, or criticism.

"Jailbreaking" a smart phone is allowed if the user wants to enable a lawfully obtained application. It is also allowed if a user wants to connect their smart phone to a different wireless network.

Videogame DRM can be bypassed if the user wants to perform security testing.

Computer program DRM can be bypassed if access is being restricted by an obsolete "dongle". A dongle is a piece of hardware that restricts usage for a piece of computer software. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongle)

E-book access controls that prevent read-aloud function can be bypassed if all other editions have similar access controls.

Two examples of CSS breaking that are no longer illegal:

During a recent film studies class, the teacher informed us that watching the YouTube video of "Schwarzfahrer" in class was technically illegal. Since she had no other way to obtain the film, we watched the YouTube version.

During another film studies class, I wanted to perform a shot by shot analysis of a scene from Casablanca. To obtain the screenshots for my analysis, I had to bypass the CSS encryption on my Casablanca DVD.

What this means for the future of cinema:

I was yelling "Yes!" repeatedly because filmmakers like Craig Baldwin cannot be criminalized for making "found footage" movies. I took one of Mr. Baldwin's workshops in 2008 and I learned a great deal. I learned more about culture jamming and image appropriation when I watched "Sonic Outlaws", his documentary about Negativland.

The official LOC ruling

Schwarzfahrer

Craig Baldwin on image appropriation

Some of the Phil Patiris television mashups that appear in the "Sonic Outlaws" DVD extras

Sonic Outlaws Trailer

Printed books for everyone

2010-07-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

I just read "The premature obituary of the book." by Mario Vargas Llosa and I completely agree with him.

I often refer to my house as my library. Every room has at least one bookshelf and almost every room has piles of books that won't fit on the existing shelves.

Literature has always been my gateway to the world. The bookless utopia proposed by Bill Gates (in 2001) is a nightmare.

I think it would look like "The Obsolete Man" (one of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes).

If printed books are abolished (fat chance), I'll change my last name to Wordsworth.

The Obsolete Man Part 1

"The Premature Obituary of the Book" by Mario Vargas Llosa

NASA and privatization

2010-06-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

My current opinion is that NASA should be slowly transformed into a regulatory agency as the space industry emerges.

I have this opinion for several reasons.

1. NASA is extremely expensive. The tax dollars that are currently used for NASA might be better used for infrastructure improvements (highways, dams, etc.)
2. Businesses have flexible organizational structures, the ability to attract talented scientists, and external funding (stocks and bonds). These factors allow businesses to innovate at a much faster rate than government agencies.
3. NASA is using outdated technology for many of its larger projects. This is due to its dependence on bureaucracy and tax dollars. The Space Transportation System (which ends this year) received presidential approval in 1969 and was designed in the 1970s. The launch of the Hubble Space Telescope was originally planned for 1983, but was delayed until 1990. A design flaw prevented the Hubble Space Telescope from achieving its full potential until 1994.
4. Manned spaceflights haven't moved beyond low Earth orbit since 1972 (Apollo 17). This fact is particularly important because a new lunar spaceflight would allow the placement of a lunar observatory.

Placing an optical or radio observatory on the lunar surface should be NASA’s primary objective. The scientific advances allowed by a lunar observatory are too important to ignore.

NASA does not appear capable of achieving new milestones such as a lunar observatory. Full or partial privatization might allow new achievements in manned exploration and deep space astronomy.

I've included links to 2 articles on this subject.

The Viability of a Lunar Observatory
A Concept for a Simple Radio Observatory at the South Lunar Pole

Fun with Facebook

2010-05-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

The Facebook privacy situation is difficult because my relatives are on Facebook. If I quit using it, then I destroy my only way of communicating with them.

After the latest Facebook update, I finally decided to fill out my profile information, which had been (mostly) blank since I joined Facebook. However, the information I used was fake.

Here is my official Facebook biography:

"I hail from the mountains of Mordor and I have a large collection of mismatched socks. As a child I lived in a large variety of places including Aruba, Jamaica, Key Largo, and Montego. A typhoid outbreak forced my family to abandon their dream of reaching Oregon. We settled in the Midwest and I earned my B.S. from the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople. I am an avid swimmer and I have severe allergies to air and water. I enjoy brevity and long walks off of short piers. My favorite memories are of summers spent in Martinique and Port Au Prince. However, my dream vacation spot is Kokomo."

My favorite quotation (from the Principia Discordia):

"To diverse gods

Do mortals bow;

Holy Cow, and

Wholly Chao."

According to Facebook, I currently live in Poop, Yucatan, Mexico. Poop (also known as Pop) is a real city located near Chichen-Itza. Facebook also believes that my hometown is Weiner, Arkansas (also a real place).

My interests: "Brevity"

My activities: "Taking long walks off of short piers", "Making fun of Mark Zuckerberg", and "43 Man Squamish"

Favorite Music: "Beer and Yo-Yos Saved My Life” by Von Hib

Favorite Books: "Financial Insecurity" by Wilma Moneylast, "Baseball Tales" by Homer, and "All Alone" by Saul E. Terry

Favorite Movies: "Rochelle, Rochelle", "Prognosis Negative", and "Checkmate"

Television: "Monsterpiece Theater", "Mock Trial with J. Reinhold","Mumford the Yodeling Mutt", and "Fershlugginer Theater"

The best part: Facebook's new software creates a page for everything that I add to my profile.

I’ll explain some of the more obscure jokes. Most of the movie titles were fake movies from Seinfeld. 43 Man Squamish and Fershlugginer Theater are Mad magazine references. The song title I used belong to a real song.

What does my Facebook profile prank say about me?

I don’t trust a corporation with my personal information. I don’t think anyone else should either.

I turn to my sense of humor to make best of a difficult situation. There are usually positive things to take out of bad situations. If there aren’t, then my advice is to approach those situations with a positive attitude. Expect the worst and hope for the best.

The FCC's decision and its effects

2010-05-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to make sense of the FCC's recent decision to reclassify broadband service as a telecommunications service. There's enough legalese to make an educated persons head spin.

This is how I see it.

The FCC was faced with two eventualities after last month's federal appeals court decision.

1. Regulate the traffic and not the pipes
Allow Comcast and the other broadband providers to regulate traffic on their services. This would have created faster service for the average consumer. It would have also created a "survival of the richest" system within the "pipes" that the broadband providers were regulating. Internet companies rich enough to pay would receive better bandwidth and those who couldn't pay would be shoved into the slow lane. Comcast's regulation on the economic system living inside of its "pipes" would have had the same effect as a government regulation.

2. Regulate the "pipes" but not the traffic
Reclassify broadband service as a telecommunications service. Once this occurs, the FCC can apply telephone regulations to broadband. This decision allows the free market to work inside of the systems that Comcast and other broadband services own. The prices paid for this decision are overloaded networks and a possible loss of innovative power for the broadband carriers.

In capsulated form this means that option 1 turned Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T into broadband governments with the power to regulate according to the whims of their shareholders. Option 2 gives the government power to regulate the "pipes" which carry the Internet.

Both decisions were wrong for different reasons. I would have preferred a decision that found a middle ground between both extremes. The compromise solution for this issue would have allowed the broadband providers to regulate their traffic, but within acceptable boundaries written by the FCC.

When you give the government an inch, they never give it back. We can only put pressure on our elected representatives to use that power wisely and hope they listen.

FCC details plan to reassert authority over Internet

"A Little Nightmare Music" and the forefathers of classical music comedy

2010-05-04T01:34:00.000-07:00

I suspect that most people have watched "A Little Nightmare Music" on YouTube. Igudesman & Joo are very funny and I'm hoping that they will do a U.S. tour.

I'd like to give some credit to the forefathers of classical music comedy: Professor Peter Schickele and Victor Borge. I'm fairly certain that the name "A Little Nightmare Music" is an homage to Schickele's 1983 album of the same name.

I'm a big fan of the work of PDQ Bach, which Professor Peter Schickele has spent his life performing and teaching. He teaches at the University of Southern North Dakota at Hoople.

My wife and I went to a PDQ Bach concert when we started dating. Professor Schickele and company performed PDQ Bach's "Oedipus Tex" that night.

A little history on PDQ Bach:
P.D.Q. Bach was born in Leipzig on April 1, 1742, the son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdalena Bach; the twenty first of Johann's twenty children. His work can be divided in three periods:
1. The Initial Plunge, which he spent in Vienna learning the basic rules of musical composition
2. The Soused or Brown Bag period which he spent forgetting the basic rules of musical composition.
3. The last period was Contrition, which he spent in the southern German town of Baden Baden Baden working off a monumental hangover.

Using the sophisticated "alcohol dating" technique, it has been estimated that PDQs last hangover has a half life of about 245 years. PDQ was an incorrigible plagiarist and was the only composer who worked on tracing paper.

Some of PDQ Bach's most important works were:
Concerto for Piano vs. Orchestra
Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice (an opera in one unnatural act)
The Seasonings
Fanfare for the Common Cold

PDQ Bach's biography
PDQ Bach, The Farmer on the Dole
"New horizons in music appreciation"

My late grandmother introduced me to Victor Borge. Of course, she wasn't dead at the time and I didn't actually meet Mr. Borge. She had a collection of Victor Borge videotapes that she would play whenever she visited. Borge introduced me to comedy and classical music. I've been friends with both of them ever since.

Victor Borge & Dean Martin

Victor Borge - Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1

Victor Borge, The History Of Piano

The Comcast ruling and its effect on film/video distribution

2010-04-08T01:35:00.000-07:00

The Comcast ruling is important for a number of reasons. Some of those reasons are related to film and video.

A little background:
For the past two years, I've been researching digital video distribution. My long term goal is to build a viable distribution model for micro-budget filmmakers.

Comcast vs. Peer to Peer (P2P):
A P2P system such as Bit Torrent could have been an audience building tool. Since Comcast's new power allows it to slow P2P traffic, I won't consider it. P2P already has several problems. One of those is the popularity factor. If a file placed on a P2P network isn't popular, it is difficult to download.

Another issues is speed. P2P networks can be very slow and many "seeders" (the people who host the files) will sign out during a download. Before Hulu was released, I used to download t.v. episodes via Bit Torrent. It was a painfully slow experience which I am happy to trade for the occasional Hulu advertisement. I'm also not interested in participating in a network frequented by movie pirates.

Why the Comcast ruling creeps me out:
Comcast and NBC are currently trying to merge. If their merger is approved and this ruling stands, services that legitimately distribute non-NBC video content might be slowed down. The ruling allows Comcast to slow down any service which it perceives as a traffic hog. Competitive services can be legitimately slowed down, if Comcast can prove that they are traffic hogs. Skype is a prime target since it uses Comcast's network to offer a competitive phone service.

A possible post-merger scenario:
In this scenario, the merged Comcast/NBC decides to place NBC content exclusively on its own streaming video service. The merged company also decides to remove its support and content from Hulu. Once it no longer needs Hulu, Comcast slows down Hulu's traffic. After all, Hulu does attract a large amount of Internet traffic. YouTube, which is attempting to offer legitimate content, faces a similar dilemma.

Deja Vu:
A merged Comcast/NBC will own content creation and distribution. Before 1948, movie studios owned content creation and distribution by vertically integrating (owning) theater chains. These studios participated in several types of monopolistic behavior until United States v. Paramount forced them to sell their theater chains.

Effect on Internet radio:
Comcast offers the Rhapsody Plus service to its subscribers for free, but is not otherwise involved in internet radio. Likely targets are services that use large amounts of bandwidth. My favorite Internet radio station, Pandora, draws enough traffic to be a target for Comcast. My 2nd favorite station, Radio Caroline, is my backup option.

Conclusion:
If Comcast is allowed to control the traffic on its system, the world isn't going to end. If P2P (which I don't use) is throttled down, Comcast customers will receive better bandwidth. As a potential customer, I'm not completely against Comcast's new ability to control traffic on the network it owns.

I am against a merged Comcast/NBC that can legally slow down competitor services. Monopolistic behavior creates entry barriers for small companies and stifles competition. I'll update this post when a decision on the Comcast/NBC merger has been made.

What happens when we "protect what is ours" ?

2010-02-27T01:36:00.000-08:00

Those who equate government assistance with socialism are deluded. Americans help each other whenever taxes are taken out of their paychecks.

I have created a list of services that would not exist if every American decided to "protect what is theirs". This includes paying taxes and giving money away.

1. Homeless shelters

2. Prisons
3. State hospitals

4. Subsidized student loans

5. Scholarships or grants

6. Veteran’s benefits

7. Social security

8. Medicare

9. Government subsidies to businesses of all sizes

10. Bailouts for "too big to fail" businesses

11. Public education system
12. Police and firefighters

13. U.S. Postal Service

14. NASA

15. Free meals from your parents from age 1 to age 16
16. S.S.I.

17. The military

18. Unemployment

19. Public libraries

The point of this post is to point out how silly an ideology can be. If Americans stand together, they are united. If they divide into ideological groups, they fall.

Above all, what we need is a balanced view of the government's role. My view as a Moderate is as follows:

Government should help individual citizens who cannot help themselves. This includes college education, unemployment, and healthcare. If tax money is paid to fund these three services, income levels and quality of life will increase for all Americans. When a person is healthy, their productivity goes up. When a person has a college education, their income level increases. Right now, income levels increase after college bills are paid. If taxes paid for 100% of college education, income levels would rise faster.

Government should limit or eliminate corporate welfare. Corporations are not people and should not have the rights afforded to people.

Government should be accountable for every dollar it spends. There should be a rubric or criteria that spending is measured against. Spending that doesn't meet the criteria should not occur. There is no reason that Americans should not be able to view government spending (and its effects) on a website. Government contractors should not be paid for work they have not done.

Government should avoid excessive economic tinkering. This includes bailouts and tax cuts for the wealthy. The Federal Reserve should handle economic tinkering. Government spending during a recession should be directed to areas where it has a long-term economic effect (job creation, education).

Government has no business regulating the personal life of a citizen unless that person is harming themselves or others. I'm specifically talking about laws that ban marriage between same sex couples and criminalize end of life decisions. Banning gays from the military also falls into this category.

Environmental regulation impacts the economy and public health. The ideal environmental regulations should balance environmental impact and economic impact.

And last but not least...

Lobbyists need to be banned from Capitol Hill. When lobbyists influence members of congress, they steal influence from voters.

My two cents on Avatar

2010-01-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

I was hoping to like this movie as much I like Aliens (my favorite Cameron movie). Avatar is nothing like Aliens. It is most similar to Titanic and True Lies, which are my least favorite Cameron films. These three films have many of the same weaknesses. Their plots were drawn out in crayon and their characters were cardboard. The characters seem as if they were only created to occupy a carefully constructed setting.

Good actors, such as Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, were wasted on stereotypical characters and given bad dialogue. I didn’t know C.C.H. Pounder was in this film until I saw the credits.

Avatar could have been much better if someone had worked at building a decent screenplay. This was really apparent in the Giant Tree destruction scene. This scene was moving, but it didn’t affect most of the human characters. It was also a lost opportunity for Ribisi’s corporate character to transform.

I didn’t regret leaving the art house and seeing this with an audience. I paid $10 to ride a new type of rollercoaster, which is what this film was. I got my money’s worth, but this is not something that I want to re-watch.

Will the long tail wag the dog?

2009-12-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

Given a choice between the Paranormal Activity and Avatar models of filmmaking, Hollywood is likely to make more Avatars. Whether the long tail will wag the dog is still in question. There was a 2008 Harvard Business School study which proved that the importance of blockbusters is magnified by the Web. It would be foolish to dismiss this study because it proves the power of web marketing. I think that the market will fracture as the web allows niche movies to increase their dominance. Consumer attention spans and involvement could eventually limit growth. The keys to success in the long tail of movies are marketing and competitive advantage. Movies that cost under 500,000 can be shown on any website that plays video because there is no risk to free distribution. We'll be lucky to see an Avatar-sized movie on the web due to the risk of piracy.

(This was my response to the title question when it was posted on Facebook. I'll be expanding on this in the near future.)

Mise-en-scène in "Black Rider"

2009-12-18T00:08:00.000-08:00

Mise-en-scène is a phrase often used to describe film production. It translates to “setting the stage” or “setting the scene”. It describes the elements within a frame of film that affect the look and feel of the movie. When mise-en-scène is used correctly, a movie appears to have continuity and the world portrayed within the film is believable. This paper will describe the mise-en-scène of Black Rider’s opening sequence, which lasts for 1 minute and 43 seconds. The opening sequence ends when the train arrives at the station.

The setting of a movie shows the viewer the world that the story will take place in. Shooting the film in a natural location, such as the city of Berlin, adds realism, while shooting on a studio set is perceived as less realistic. Studio sets require stronger artistic direction to increase their level of believability.

In Black Rider, the setting of the movie is described in a series of opening shots that are set to music. These shots depict a light rail commuter train as it travels through the city. The audience sees close-ups of trains passing each other, passengers disembarking, close up shots of feet, and customers heading toward the train. These opening shots also depict city life by using jazz music that evokes the dreariness and angst of the city.

Key props support the film’s authenticity and enhance its believability. The key props shown in the opening sequence are the train and the décor of the train station. The train is the most important prop in the opening sequence, while the décor of the train station supports the films believability. The train comes toward the camera in the first frames of the film. The train is also seen rushing past the camera and “snaking” through the city. The shots of the train used in the opening sequence portray it as enormous and dominant. The life of the city seems to flow in, out, and around the train.

Actors create believable characters that the audience can relate to or follow. This is done through acting and directing. The role casting plays is subtle, but important. Black Rider had a diverse cast of unknown character actors and a talented director who worked together to support its realistic tone. The director's role is to help the actors navigate the screenwriter's vision.

If Tom Cruise had been cast as the biker and Denzel Washington as The Black Guy (that's the actual name of the character), this would be a very different movie. No matter how hard Washington or Cruise would try to sink into their roles, the audience would relate Black Rider to their previous films.

A film that excels in all other aspects of mise-en-scène but neglects acting is not perceived as believable. Black Rider’s actors do a fantastic job. They make us believe that they inhabit the cityscape that the audience was introduced to in the opening sequence.

The film frame registers smaller movements than the theater stage. As a result, actors who are versed in theater’s broad movement style train to use small gestures and micro-expressions for film. At the train stop, two girls are talking and laughing. When one of them looks up at a boy who is standing nearby, her expression informs the audience that she has a crush on him. Her head movement and facial expression portrays joy, infatuation, and embarrassment. The actress was able to communicate three emotions in a scene that lasted for two seconds.

Actors wear costumes that match the culture and roles of their characters. In a 10-minute short film, there is no time to learn each characters background. The costumes, culture, and preferences of the characters are “coded” into their costumes.

At the train stop, several types of characters are introduced. The boy wearing a soccer jacket is a student athlete or sports fan. A grey haired man wears a golf cap, casual shirt, and thick glasses. This costume identifies him as a retiree. He stands near a woman in a business suit who holds a briefcase. Her earrings are tightly wound hoops that match her tense expression. The audience can infer that she is both impatient and unapproachable. Her costume and acting combine to enhance the impersonal “feel” of the city that is being communicated throughout the opening sequence.

In the film noir genre, makeup was often used to express the nature of a characters personality. A nervous or unbalanced character would appear to be greasy or unshaven while a femme fatale would wear noticeable makeup that would express her devious intentions and her beauty. A movie that places a high priority on realism uses makeup that is “invisible” to the audience. This is the type of makeup used in Black Rider.

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of mise-en-scène. Expressionistic films use lighting to express a character’s internal mood. Realistic films such as Black Rider use lighting to communicate the “reality” of the setting and characters to the audience. The lighting in the opening sequence is bright, with hot spots and minimal shadows. The audience will believe that they are seeing a bright, sunlit day. This is because they see hot spots, which come from a bright key light (the sun) with a minimal amount of shadows. The shadows that do exist are cast by outdoor structures such as the train stop.

Composition is the method that filmmakers and photographers use to arrange subjects and key props within the frame. To compose the frame correctly, the cinematographer and director must coordinate character blocking and camera angles.

Pepe Danquart and his cinematographer, Ciro Cappellari, carefully crafted the composition of Black Rider to match the themes and focus of the film. When the characters are shown at the train stop for the first time, the businessmen appear in a low-to-high angle medium close up shot. From this angle they appear to be dominant figures within the city.

The Black Guy and his white friend appear to be equals when they are shown at a table near the train stop. A closer look reveals that the shot is angled so that the white character is closer to the camera and The Black Guy is further away and therefore smaller within the frame. The composition of this shot also favors the white character since he is closer to the camera, and therefore larger than The Black Guy.

In conclusion, mise-en-scène is important because it maintain audience interest in the film and in the world it depicts. In Black Rider, the length of the film increased the importance of cohesiveness and believability because there was no time for flashback scenes or expository dialogue that would have described character motivations and attitudes.

Works Cited

Black Rider. By Pepe Danquart. Dir. Pepe Danquart. Perf. Paul Outlaw. 1993.

Kasdan, Margo. The Critical Eye. (pages 69-96)

Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2008

Outlet Publishing

2009-11-25T00:33:00.000-08:00

I am starting a new company called Outlet Publishing. I'll be helping independent filmmakers market and distribute their movies. They will retain their rights and I'll take a fee from each sale.

The Outlet Publishing Motto is "Your Audience Is Waiting"

This means that if a filmmaker went to the trouble of making a good movie, they deserve an audience.

Most filmmakers don't know much about movie marketing and if they do, they don't have the time or energy to devote to it. As a result, there are many independent films that are never seen by the general public.

How do I know?

I have made several movies that have never been seen. There are several reasons for this.

1. At least one of them is a student film that features a branded product. There is no way that I'll get permission to show it.
2. Some of the other films are rough, early films that I don't want anyone else to see. You have to get the bad art out of your system before you can make good art.
3. There was never a place to show or sell the good movies. Since I am my own worst critic, I define good movies as "movies my friends and family like".

If a filmmaker is brave enough to want distribution for their early works (the ones they are too embarrassed to show) we'll help them distribute. If the movie doesn't sell, we don't get any money either.

The good movies are the ones I hope to see. There are plenty of viewers who have overloaded on the current Hollywood fare and require a palate cleanser. In my opinion, good independent movies are that palate cleanser.

Outlet Publishing has four requirements:
1. The filmmaker has to guarantee in writing that they have the rights to every part of their movie.
2. The movie cannot be a pornographic movie.
3. The movie cannot be a self help or exercise video.
4. The filmmaker has to tell us where the movie is currently being distributed. We get in trouble if we submit a movie to a website that is already selling it.

If you made an independent movie that you want to distribute, send an email to outletpublishing@gmail.com. Your audience is waiting.

Basic Survival Tactics for Small Businesses

2009-09-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

Basic Survival Tactics for Small Businesses in Portland, Oregon

Accounting:

Accounting is boring but if you don’t use some form of basic business accounting, tax time will be very difficult.

If your company is a start up, you’ll need software and basic knowledge (until you have the money to hire an accountant). Start by getting user-friendly software like QuickBooks and take a night class at your local community college.

If you have no time for classroom education, a good book on this subject is The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Accounting Course, 4th Edition.

Market yourself to your customers:

You may have the greatest idea since the invention of the personal computer, but if your potential customers can’t find you, you’ll go out of business.

First, make a profile of your target customer. Find out which places that they will look for products or services like yours.

Don’t spend your entire budget on marketing. Instead, find cheap ways to market your business. The following five ideas are just a few ways to market on a tight budget.

1. Join a local directory for your type of business. For example, sustainable businesses in Portland, Oregon use the ReDirect Guide.

2. Use social networking services, such as Facebook and Twitter. Advertise on FaceBook itself if you can afford to.

3. Advertise or rent a booth at local events that are related to your business.

4. Join a community group or association related to your industry. If a group doesn’t exist for your industry, create one.

5. Create or sponsor a podcast. A podcast costs a fraction of what you would pay for a radio ad. Podcast marketing could be as easy as finding a struggling local writer and paying the expenses for their Podcast. All they have to do is read their stories and give you a shout out at the beginning of the podcast.

A good book on this subject is The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly by David M. Scott.

Build relationships with your customers:

You’ll need to develop a good customer base to be successful. Loyal customers create repeat business and good word of mouth, which is the best form of low budget marketing.

Do whatever you can (within reason) to keep your customers and be the expert on your type of business. Give out free pamphlets or a company newsletter that contain helpful advice that is related to your business.

A good book on this subject is Hug Your Customers by Jack Mitchell.

Make a good website:

A good website serves a dual purpose. It allows you to build an ongoing relationship with your customer. You can give them the “inside scoop” on your business by creating a blog.

Find a company that is willing to work with you on your website. In Portland, small companies like Forix can help you create an effective website for a decent price.

Maintain your website. Since your website is your presence on the web, not updating it for six months looks bad. Eventually you can hire someone to take it for you.

Don’t grow too fast:

If your business does well in the short term, don’t grow it too fast. Growing too fast before you are ready can cause all kinds of problems.

Move your business forward at a regular pace and try to plan ahead as much as possible. This means saving the profit from a good year to cover a bad one.

Portland has more than a few empty storefronts from businesses that didn’t survive the recession. Being careful will keep your business from becoming a statistic.

Learn to delegate:

There will be a point where you are no longer the entrepreneur who created the innovative business. You’ll be the manager and your job will be hiring qualified people to perform the tasks that you used to do.

Eventually, you will hire a manager and you won’t be part of day-to-day operations. You’ll need to trust that manager and your employees to do the jobs that you hired them for. If they weren’t qualified, you would not have hired them to begin with.

A good book on this subject is The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber.

Look for help (you are not alone):

If you need outside assistance, you can go to the Small Business Administration or you can locate local non-profits that specialize in small business development.

In Portland, Oregon, you can go to the Business Outreach Program (BOP) at Portland State University. This is an excellent program that uses a combination of industry experts and business students who can help you create a business plan.

Another great place to go to in Portland, Oregon is the Oregon Microenterprise Network (OMEN). This is a statewide association of micro-enterprise development programs. If you need training or small business loans, this is a great place to go to.

Written by Howard DiNatale (http://howardpdx.blogspot.com) in cooperation with Forix Print Bridge (http://www.forixprintbridge.com), affordable web to print software.

© Howard DiNatale II 2009

How to Buy a Small Business Website in Portland

2009-09-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

How to Buy a Small Business Website in Portland

There are many things to consider if you want to buy a website for your small business. If you live in a town like Portland, Oregon, which has more than its fair share of web designers, buying a website can be overwhelming. This handy guide will help you with some of the basics.

There are five “ingredients” that you will need if you want to create a successful website for your small business in Portland.

1. Hosting: You’ll need to find a hosting company that gives you a good price and allows enough bandwidth for what you want to do

2. Domain name: Is your domain name already taken? In that case, how much does it cost to purchase it? Many small business names now originate from available domain names.

3. Planning: You’ll need to plan out the design for your website before you begin talking with a web design company or a web developer. The planning stage is crucial and it will save you time and money.

Clearly articulate who the audience is going to be.

What type of website would you like to have? Your site can be informational like a high tech marketing pamphlet. It can also be an e-commerce storefront or a social networking hub. Or it can be a hybrid of several different types. There are no limits to what an affordable small business website can be.

Make a list of your websites contents. Will it have video or will it use Flash? Will your customers be able to contact you from your site?

Make sure you know why you need the website. Try to write down in two columns the features your business needs and wants from a website. A needed feature is one that you cannot continue without having. A wanted feature is one that you can postpone until phase 2.

Make sure that you articulate how the website will look before you present it to a web designer. Browse other websites that you like, and feel free to draw sketches of your web pages. You can even draw a map of where the pages will be in relation to each other.

4. Promotion: This may be the most common stumbling point for all new website owners. It is not as simple as “if you build it, they will come.” Just like a brick and mortar storefront, you have to promote it.

Your website is where your brand lives in the online world. Take advantage of every opportunity to direct people to it from the physical world. Put it on your business cards, stationary, and marketing materials.

There are many ways you can optimize your site for search engines as well. This is called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, and it is the crucial difference between getting zero visitors or millions of visitors. Many Portland web designers offer at least a minor degree of on-page SEO, so make sure your site is optimized for search, no matter what.

5. Maintenance: This would be the care and feeding of your website. Your website is not static like a neon sign. It is a powerful way to communicate with your customers. To make it work, it will take time and effort.

Set aside time to post a regular blog, videos, and press releases. Your customers need a reason to visit your site regularly.

Web developers can maintain your site, or you can do it yourself with special editing software.

A Content Management System, or CMS, can also be used to edit your site without the addition of expensive software. Most CMS systems pay for themselves in the first 2 hours of use, rather than paying hourly rates for web designers.

Ask these questions and more to ensure you have a solid understanding of what is involved in setting up your website, and getting it found in the Portland, or Pacific Northwest’s regional markets. Soon you will be on your way to finding a great web development company, and an outstanding deal on a website design.

Written by Howard DiNatale (http://howardpdx.blogspot.com) in cooperation with Forix PrintBridge (http://www.forixprintbridge.com), affordable web to print software.

Web to Print Overview

2009-09-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

An Overview of Web to Print Software and Web Technology

For most modern printers and print brokers, the world of web-to-print (a.k.a. web-to-print or W2P) is either currently in use by their shop, or is being rapidly adopted. It has migrated from a “nice” feature to have to a full blown requirement of printers handing large accounts or even managing small retail operations, no matter what region they may cover. The following is a simple overview of web to print technology, and why the demand for it only keeps growing.

What is Web to Print?

“Web to Print” or “Remote Publishing” is a type of digital printing software that lets your customers create print jobs on your website. Once they create and submit their digital print jobs, you can either do the printing internally or forward the print information to a fulfillment house.

What kinds of problems can be solved with Web to Print (W2P) Software?

Web2print lets the end user do the design work without visiting your office. This allows you to reach more customers and spend less money on job preparation.

Web2print allows your company to use a print on demand ordering model. This saves money on inventory because you only print what the customer orders from the website when they need it.

Variable data printing allows the end-user to mass-customize their print products. Marketing companies place a high value on this aspect of W2P because it allows different text and image elements to be used on each printed piece.

Web2print allows customers to create a relationship with your product through design customization. They can see the final result before they submit the order.

Payment, data capture and PDF creation processes are all automated, reducing steps and time delays.

Customer retention increases due to the speed of the process and the level of interaction.

If your business is printing, it eliminates design work and lets you get back to printing.

If your business is design, it eliminates lengthy meetings and costly last minute changes. It will also increase customer empowerment over their own print collateral.

What can my customers use it for?

Identity products like: business cards, brochures, labels, newsletters, letterhead and more.

Marketing items like: T-shirts, coffee mugs, door hangers, direct mail pieces, catalogs, and advertisements.

Internal business products like bank statements, invoices, internal memos, letterhead and envelopes.

How easy is it to use?

The end user does not need to own or know how to use professional graphic design software.

How do I get started?

Forix makes an affordable software solution called PrintBridge. I’ll list a few of the things it lets your company do.

- Accept orders and files through your website

- Provide customizable designs to your customers

- Use targeted mailing lists (for marketing campaigns)

- Track orders in real time

- Automatically outsource jobs to your vendors and fulfillment houses

Written by Howard DiNatale (http://howardpdx.blogspot.com) in cooperation with Forix PrintBridge (http://www.forixprintbridge.com), affordable web to print software.

3 Women Critique

2009-08-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

3 Women is an experimental movie based on a dream. (Criterion Commentary, 2004) As such, it is open to multiple interpretations. This essay will attempt to show that 3 Women is an artistic work by describing the feel of the movie, the technique used to create the film, and its separation from story driven films. One possible interpretation of the film will be presented.

The opening shots are composed of slow dissolves and extreme close-ups of young maidens attending to old men and women at Desert Springs. This geriatric spa introduces the elements of water and loneliness to 3 Women. Secondary characters in Desert Springs are either bland or two-dimensional. They exclude Millie (Shelley Duvall) and Pinky (Sissy Spacek) from the workplace social scene and ridicule them.

The Purple Sage Apartments is the second of 3 Women’s settings. The apartments are built around a large pool, which contains one of the three reptilian frescoes used throughout the movie. These frescoes, painted by Willie (Janice Rule), represent the struggle for identity shared by the three women. The pool is used as a gathering place for the Purple Sage residents, who also exclude Millie and Pinky. Their ridicule of Millie is a cruel rebuttal to her attempts at gaining their acceptance.

The only place the two main characters are accepted is Dodge City, a saloon/racetrack/shooting range owned by Edgar and Willie. Dodge City is the only one the three settings that does not contain water. It is here that Edgar (Robert Fortier), the only male main character, is introduced. His character is a feminist’s worst nightmare. He swaggers drunkenly through the film, womanizing both Millie and Pinky and abandoning Willie during labor. (3 Women, Roger Ebert, 2004) He is represented on Willie’s frescoes as the lone oppressive male.

The second half of the movie begins after Pinky falls into the pool. The heavy symbolism of the pool sequence implies a birth, rather than a death. Roger Ebert describes this scene as a “tear in the structure of the film”. (3 Women, Roger Ebert, 2004) The pool scene has an emotional, rather than logical, impact on the viewer. It is best described through shot by shot analysis.

The camera shows a pregnant belly on the pool fresco. It cuts to a reflection of Pinky falling upwards toward the surface of the pool and crashing into it. The water explodes as she breaches its surface. In the last shot, Pinky is floating facedown, as if dead. Her position and the blue lighting imply that the birth is stillborn. The Mother, Willie, and one of the apartment males wade into the pool to deliver her to the outside world.

After her rebirth through this near-death experience, Pinky is a changed person. No longer introverted and childish, she is outgoing and flirtatious. She pushes Millie from her role as Maiden and exerts her sexuality on the males at the Purple Sage and Dodge City. Confused and humiliated by her loss of identity, Millie withdraws into herself. The banal façade of the first half falls away into a string of dreamlike scenes that lead to the film’s finale.

As the ending nears, she gradually takes on the role of Mother. When Willie becomes the Crone, after the stillbirth scene, Millie’s transformation is complete. Having claimed identities and independence from Edgar, the three women form a family unit and move into Edgar’s house. Their family unit is as barren as the arid landscape around them. It has no men, and therefore no children or future will be produced. The final shot is of a pile of discarded tires, which Altman jokingly refers to as Edgar’s grave. (Criterion Commentary, 2004)

3 Women does not resemble a typical Altman film. Shots are understated during the first half of the film, which is concerned with banality and un-fulfillment. (A Cinema Of Loneliness, 1988) Active zoom shots are slow or barely noticeable. Long pans accentuate the dreariness of Desert Springs and long shots are used to accentuate Millie’s confusion. Overlapping audio, Altman’s signature technique, is used sparingly. Altman uses mirrors and expressionistic framing techniques to reduce or split his medium and close-up shots.

3 Women is an unusual, interpretive film that premiered in a year that would define the blockbuster era. Experimentation, and Robert Altman, would soon be pushed out of mainstream American cinema. (3 Women, David Sterritt, 2004) Altman’s 3 Women won awards from the 1977 Cannes Film Festival, L.A. Film Critics Association, and New York Film Critics Circle. (Allmovie.com) It currently stands as one of Altman’s most unique works and is being rediscovered by modern audiences.

Bibliography

Altman, Robert commentary. 3 Women. Dir Robert Altman, produced by Scott Bushnell. Perf. Shelly Duvall and Sissy Spacek. 1977. Criterion Collection, 2004

Ebert, Roger

3 Women, 2004

Chicago Sun-Times, c2004

Reprinted on rogerebert.com

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040926/REVIEWS08/409260302/1023

Kolker, Robert Phillip

A Cinema Of Loneliness: Second Edition, 1988

[Oxford, N.Y.]: Oxford University Press, c1988 (pages 372-378)

Sterritt, David

3 Women, 2004

Reprinted by the authors permission on Criterion.com

http://www.criterion.com/asp/release.asp?id=230&eid=347&section=essay

“3 Women”

Allmovie.com, 3 Women: Awards Tab

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:113641~T4

Robert Altman: Director / Producer / Screenwriter

Scott Bushnell: Producer

Charles Rosher Jr.: Cinematographer

Dennis M. Hill : Editor

James D. Vance: Art Director

Chris McLaughlin: Sound/Sound Designer

Richard Portman: Sound/Sound Designer

Jim Webb: Sound/Sound Designer

Monty Westmore: Makeup

Tommy Thompson: First Assistant Director

J. Allen Highfill: Consultant/advisor

Bodhi Wind: Mural Art

Performers: Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule, Robert Fortier

Your doctor’s office: coming to a mall near you

2009-08-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

Your doctor’s office: coming to a mall near you

Emergency rooms are being flooded with patients who don’t need to be there. These patients have minor maladies such as the flu, small fractures, or sinus infections.

The cost of treating these patients in the E.R. is about three times higher than it would be at an outpatient medical or urgent care clinic.

Retail outpatient clinics, such as Minute Clinic and Wal-Mart’s in-store clinics, provide a convenient way for patients to deal with minor medical problems. They like to call it healthcare on demand.

Consider Zoom Care, a retail healthcare company that operates three clinics in Oregon.

Zoom Care patients already know the length of their wait time and the price of their visit before they arrive.

This convenience is made possible by a web-based software system connected to each of Zoom Care’s clinics.

Online healthcare information is available through audio and video clips posted to the Resources area of Zoomcare’s website. This information serves a dual purpose of providing healthcare education and marketing to patients interested in changing their lifestyles.

The type of treatment available is outlined in a customer friendly “menu”, also available on the website. Services include vaccinations, physical exams, strains, sprains, and fractures.

The patient leaves the office with a receipt for the exact amount of services and can ask follow up questions using an online form.

Wal-Mart’s in-store medical clinics take this a step further by storing patient health records electronically and making them available online.

In his excellent article, “The Wal-Martization Of Health Care”, William Sage notes that retail clinics start with electronic record keeping. Businesses following the old "Primary Care” business model store records on paper before digitizing them.

When this emphasis on electronic medical record keeping is combined with the low rental costs of a retail space, overhead costs drop dramatically. This results in lower costs for the customer.

While effective use of healthcare management software makes it possible for retail clinics to lower costs and increase convenience, the lack of innovation taking place within primary care clinics is disappointing.

A visit to the websites of the larger HMO’s revealed few features that increased patient convenience.

Unfortunately, good care does not always occur at retail clinics. Browsing a customer opinion site such as Yelp! yields good and bad stories about retail clinic care.

Many of these clinics employ nurses with advanced degrees and physician’s assistants. Most problems occur because the supervising doctor is not always onsite.

It is interesting to note that HMO clinics, such as Kaiser Permanente, also rely on a high percentage of R.N.A. nurses, student physicians, and physician’s assistants.

While retail clinics might represent a big change for community healthcare, they will not replace primary care.

It is likely that retail clinics will reduce the volume of patients who are flooding primary care facilities for minor medical issues.

It is clear that the “Health Care On Demand” model, which effectively uses online interaction, transparent pricing, accessible locations, and electronic medical records, creates strong competition to HMO businesses.

What isn’t clear is how good the quality of care actually is.

Written by Howard DiNatale (http://howardpdx.blogspot.com) in cooperation with Forix PrintBridge (http://www.forixprintbridge.com), affordable web to print software.

© Howard DiNatale II 2009