My short film Personal will be making its world premiere (outside of Chapman University) at the 2006 Wild Rose Film Festival in Des Moines. Personal stars TV's Alex Fernandez as a lonely man who places personal ads, but then must take action when a woman literally appears on his doorstep.
I've also been nominated for Best Director of a Mini-Pic for Personal. The festival defines "Mini-Pic" as any film less than 10 minutes in length.
But wait ... there's more. My short film The Persecution of Al Kida will also be screening at the festival. Having previously screened at the Cedar Rapids Film Festival and on TV as part of the Iowa Independent Filmmaker Showcase, this should cement the film's star, TV's Dan Cole, as a household name in the state of Iowa.
The festival runs Wednesday, Oct. 18 through Sunday, Oct. 22. Both Personal and Al Kida will screen during a series of short films on Friday, Oct. 20, beginning at 5:15pm. Tickets are available for individual screenings or for the entire festival, with more info at: http://www.ariesworks.com/schedule.html All screenings take place at The Fleur Cinema & Cafe.
New York Short Short Film Festival
The Persecution of Al Kida is an Official Selection for the New York Short Short Film Festival. It will screen at 3:45pm at the Anthology Film Archive Theater in Manhattan.
The festival showcases films of less than five minutes in length. Categories include Music Video, Documentary and Animation. My film will be competing in the Narrative category.
So, if you're in the Lower East Side of Manhattan this Saturday, May 20, why not check it out? Then afterwards, you can mill around the lobby and talk loudly about how great my film was.
The festival showcases films of less than five minutes in length. Categories include Music Video, Documentary and Animation. My film will be competing in the Narrative category.
So, if you're in the Lower East Side of Manhattan this Saturday, May 20, why not check it out? Then afterwards, you can mill around the lobby and talk loudly about how great my film was.
TV Script Quarter Finalist
This morning I learned I was a quarter finalist for the Scriptapalooza TV writing competition. My script was a half-hour spec for Scrubs titled "My Grown-up Pants." It's the first television script I've ever entered into a competition, so I'm very happy with the result.
Iowa Independent Filmmaker Showcase
My short film The Persecution of Al Kida is screening on television throughout Iowa as part of the Iowa Independent Filmmaker Showcase. It is featured in Episode 1 of the series, which is airing on the Mediacom Connections channel. The series premeired in January and continues to air in February. Dates and times vary by market, so I suggest checking your local listings.
I also reccomend checking out 'Round Midnight, a short documentary by my friend and fellow filmmaker Andy Brodie, which is featured in the same episode.
I also reccomend checking out 'Round Midnight, a short documentary by my friend and fellow filmmaker Andy Brodie, which is featured in the same episode.
A walking tune
I just got aboard the MP3 player bandwagon, and my little white jukebox is taking me back to my college days. And not just because I downloaded a bunch of Guided By Voices.
What’s really taking me back is the fact that I can take my player with me. Walking across campus, running an afternoon trip to the Post Office – I’ve always got music. And that makes listening a completely different experience.
I used to be a Walkman junkie. In fact, my relationship with handheld music boxes goes all the way back to around the third grade, when my parents bought me a little red FM radio. I had a habit of waking up very early in the morning, and the radio and headset were a great companion.
A few years later I entered the workforce as a paperboy, and soon after got my first Walkman. Walking the same route and lugging a sack of newspaper is a dull way to spend an afternoon, but it’s a much more tolerable experience with music. Those were some formative years, and I’m not proud of the playlist. Bon Jovi, NWA, maybe even a little Paula Abdul thrown in. Then there were the three months or so when I listened to nothing but Appetite for Destruction. I still know every lyric and believe Nighttrain is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
Through high school and into college, my Walkman stayed on my hip just about anywhere I walked. Whenever I remember the long hike between campus and my dorm, the soundtrack is crunching snow and indie rock.
My walking soundtrack ended soon after, thanks to the compact disc. Sure, I bought a Discman. Didn’t you? Not only did I buy one, I bought into the witch doctoring called "skip protection." At least until I walked out the door and my music started stuttering like a teenage boy in front of a pretty girl.
I didn’t go cold turkey, but my music collection migrated to CD and the only way to listen to a CD was to stand completely still. So it’s been a good seven years or so since I’ve carried my tunes around with me.
It’s not just that a well-picked album hits the spot – that’s true on foot, in the car or in the living room. When I’m walking, there’s nothing else to focus on but the music. That leads to those discoveries that make good music a necessity for good living. Ever since I started listening to my MP3 player, I’m reminded of all the discoveries that came while I was walking.
The first dozen or so times I heard "Desolation Row," it seemed like just a series of clever observations. Then one day, I was passing Alumni Hall at Iowa State when I really heard that last verse. I could try to tell you what it means, but I think it’s better if you just listen to the song. And I suggest you listen while you’re taking a walk.
What’s really taking me back is the fact that I can take my player with me. Walking across campus, running an afternoon trip to the Post Office – I’ve always got music. And that makes listening a completely different experience.
I used to be a Walkman junkie. In fact, my relationship with handheld music boxes goes all the way back to around the third grade, when my parents bought me a little red FM radio. I had a habit of waking up very early in the morning, and the radio and headset were a great companion.
A few years later I entered the workforce as a paperboy, and soon after got my first Walkman. Walking the same route and lugging a sack of newspaper is a dull way to spend an afternoon, but it’s a much more tolerable experience with music. Those were some formative years, and I’m not proud of the playlist. Bon Jovi, NWA, maybe even a little Paula Abdul thrown in. Then there were the three months or so when I listened to nothing but Appetite for Destruction. I still know every lyric and believe Nighttrain is one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
Through high school and into college, my Walkman stayed on my hip just about anywhere I walked. Whenever I remember the long hike between campus and my dorm, the soundtrack is crunching snow and indie rock.
My walking soundtrack ended soon after, thanks to the compact disc. Sure, I bought a Discman. Didn’t you? Not only did I buy one, I bought into the witch doctoring called "skip protection." At least until I walked out the door and my music started stuttering like a teenage boy in front of a pretty girl.
I didn’t go cold turkey, but my music collection migrated to CD and the only way to listen to a CD was to stand completely still. So it’s been a good seven years or so since I’ve carried my tunes around with me.
It’s not just that a well-picked album hits the spot – that’s true on foot, in the car or in the living room. When I’m walking, there’s nothing else to focus on but the music. That leads to those discoveries that make good music a necessity for good living. Ever since I started listening to my MP3 player, I’m reminded of all the discoveries that came while I was walking.
The first dozen or so times I heard "Desolation Row," it seemed like just a series of clever observations. Then one day, I was passing Alumni Hall at Iowa State when I really heard that last verse. I could try to tell you what it means, but I think it’s better if you just listen to the song. And I suggest you listen while you’re taking a walk.
Outside Baseball
I'm proud to announce my affiliation with a new baseball blog, Outside Baseball. We aim to give The Lord's Game the consideration and scrutiny it deserves, but so rarely recieves from the barking dogs of talk radio. I hope you will make it a regular destination.
Tragic Communication
Like many people, I went to sleep last night believing twelve of the thirteen West Virginia miners survived the mine explosion, only to learn this morning they had not. But as I watch network news correspondents asking mine officials what went wrong, I for one want to ask these news agencies the same thing.
It’s obvious there was a tragic miscommunication between rescue crews and the families of the miners. But what about the miscommunication between network news and millions of viewers?
Late last night, NBC (and I’m sure their peers as well) ran a ticker announcing that twelve of the miners were alive. Did that mean they were alive and out of the mine, or alive and still trapped? It was all a bit vague. So I swallowed my better judgment and flipped to CNN for details. Handsome Anderson Cooper stood right beside the mine, but he didn’t know anything else either. Of course, that didn’t stop these news whores from reporting obviously sketchy information as fact and bringing out their resident "experts" for even more speculation.
I shouldn’t be surprised. The transition from "get it right" to "get it first" has been in motion for years, but even at this low ebb of news reporting last night’s events seem pretty egregious.
It’s obvious there was a tragic miscommunication between rescue crews and the families of the miners. But what about the miscommunication between network news and millions of viewers?
Late last night, NBC (and I’m sure their peers as well) ran a ticker announcing that twelve of the miners were alive. Did that mean they were alive and out of the mine, or alive and still trapped? It was all a bit vague. So I swallowed my better judgment and flipped to CNN for details. Handsome Anderson Cooper stood right beside the mine, but he didn’t know anything else either. Of course, that didn’t stop these news whores from reporting obviously sketchy information as fact and bringing out their resident "experts" for even more speculation.
I shouldn’t be surprised. The transition from "get it right" to "get it first" has been in motion for years, but even at this low ebb of news reporting last night’s events seem pretty egregious.
The Writing Archive
Suck.com
From 2000 to 2001, I was a regular contributor to Suck, one of the first editorial content sites online, under the pseudonym Alice The Camel. My Contributor Page links to my full-length features. I also wrote a number of the brief Hit & Run pieces that ran during that time.
Ames Tribune
You can read any of my columns for the Ames Tribune here. I also wrote movie reviews, arts features and covered the education beat. Those articles are searchable through the Tribune Archive.
Los Angeles Times Community Editions
I covered the police beat in Burbank & Glendale. Those hard news stories have been moved around as the paper has rebranded its local coverage over the years, but can currently be found in this archive.
Iowa State Daily
My weekly column was syndicated by U-Wire. I also served as Arts & Entertainment Editor and covered a variety of beats. You can read any of it in the archive.
The Effenheimer
The online site I co-founded which aimed to be The Onion of college newspapers. Long since vanished from the interwebs, most pieces remain through the Web Archive. I also wrote a remembrance of our little baby and times past.
Other Freelance Pieces
They Love the 60's for Film Threat
Unfortunately, pieces for Feed Magazine, Television Week, MLB.com and others are no longer available online.
From 2000 to 2001, I was a regular contributor to Suck, one of the first editorial content sites online, under the pseudonym Alice The Camel. My Contributor Page links to my full-length features. I also wrote a number of the brief Hit & Run pieces that ran during that time.
Ames Tribune
You can read any of my columns for the Ames Tribune here. I also wrote movie reviews, arts features and covered the education beat. Those articles are searchable through the Tribune Archive.
Los Angeles Times Community Editions
I covered the police beat in Burbank & Glendale. Those hard news stories have been moved around as the paper has rebranded its local coverage over the years, but can currently be found in this archive.
Iowa State Daily
My weekly column was syndicated by U-Wire. I also served as Arts & Entertainment Editor and covered a variety of beats. You can read any of it in the archive.
The Effenheimer
The online site I co-founded which aimed to be The Onion of college newspapers. Long since vanished from the interwebs, most pieces remain through the Web Archive. I also wrote a remembrance of our little baby and times past.
Other Freelance Pieces
They Love the 60's for Film Threat
Unfortunately, pieces for Feed Magazine, Television Week, MLB.com and others are no longer available online.
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