da blogs da thang

… to inform me of suspicious activity on my debit card. So I get online and check my account and yes, there is some charge from yahoo mail that I know nothing of. (Once cleared I can file a claim for that via phone.) I call the bank and they tell me that someone tried to buy goodies from Overstock.com to the tune of $1,500!! Of course it was declined. (I never have more than what to pay the bills with and a little spending money in my checking… a lesson I learned a long time ago.) (Whew!) They promptly cancel my card and will be sending a new one in the mail.

Here is the kicker… no more than 20 minutes elapsed between the transactions and them informing me. Howzat for service? So glad their cyber detectives were vigilantly on the prowl. I really never thought the day would arrive when the banking industry would give me a serious case of the warm fuzzies.

Didn’t get a lot of sleep last night as I was editing a video for a client. OK… some of you know that I do have a propensity for absurd challenges. Well, this was one. Friends of mine (an artist and a musician who are married) did a joint project a few years ago. A collaborative piece involving music and painting. This was then presented at Rogue 2004 or 2005. Neat… right?

Yeah, well they asked me if I could package them together in digital format. Sure… no problem. I could have created a web styled file that included each of the pieces as a joint presentation… I’ve actually done it before. But… NOOOO! I open my trap and said I would create a DVD of the project! OK… so, I’ve done my share of creative slideshows in video format but those involved several different pictures that I could string together. This project involved 5 pieces of music each connected to 5 different paintings.

So, one painting is on the screen while a 2 to 5 minute piece of music connected to the art is playing. Hmmmm… how so I make this interesting? Added to this was my own demand that each one have it’s own motif and feel. (I know… what a totally idiotic fucktard thing to attempt, huh?) Anyhoo, to make a long story short… I started at 1 PM yesterday and completed the project at 10 AM this morning. How did they turn out? Some of the pieces are better than others… but I’m just pleased for the accomplishment. Now, I really want a beer or 5 (how very blue collar of me)… but there are other clients waiting in line for completion of their projects. Oh, will you get to see the finish works? Perhaps… if you really nice to me ::wink::

Well, that’s it from this nuthouse. Hope your week starts well and ends better. Oh yeah… and I actually replied to comments in the last 2 posts.

… between web work and video editing that I’m planning today. Not in a bad way though. They both fall into the creative realm and requires obsessive focus… so it feeds into my nature quite well.

• On the video front… I attended a rehearsal of Theatre Ventoux’s production of “Lear” last night. Yes, I was there on a shoot for a promo video I was commissioned to do. (Hopefully, you’ll be able to see it here later today or tomorrow.) As I went about shooting while they rehearsed Act 1, I noted how comfortable the players were this time out. This is the new company’s third production and it is evident that a lot of the “formality” that existed in in their first two productions has given way to an easier trust among the actors. (Many are by now much more at ease with each other as well as the company’s style and process.) This in turn seemed to raise the performance levels all around. It speaks well for the show because any production of Shakespeare (“Lear” especially so… adapted or not) provides an automatic built in challenge for an audience. Unless one has weathered through a generous portion of living out a few hubris induced regrets it is really tough to connect to, be compelled (and empathize with) the title character. (Seriously, the old man’s monumental fuck up early in the play sets in motion a lofty fall into a dark madness for the rest of the of it – by any stretch a tough sell on the empathy scale to an audience.) It is one of the last plays (that we know of) the Bard wrote and presumably a subject he (as many of us getting older) knew a bit about. So, the gateway to audience engagement has to begin with a strong performance level in my humble opinion – and what I witnessed last night seems to be cutting a path in that direction.
• On the web work front… I’m building sites for a Violin Camp out of the New Jersey area plus a site for an actor friend. Added to that I’m sprucing up some of the many sites that I have direct professional and personal ties to. I have to also develop a more assertive marketing thrust to my various business concerns. Yeah, be assured that you will be boringly updated as these roll out.
• After the shoot last night I ventured out with Solitaire (who was my lovely shooting assistant) for a spot of dinner. We stayed out a little later than anticipated engaged in some sparkling conversation with some others we met. I will say that it was a refreshing change from my usual hermitizing.
• The third anniversary of HNT is coming up. Now that my busy time is a little less busy I just may throw my hat into the ring again… at least once in a while. Though I’m not sure if I’m posting anything for this week. I’ll have to gauge as the day unfolds if a bolt of inspiration strikes and I have the time to get into that loop with any level of creativity. Who knows… perhaps in the weeks to come I’ll crank out a new epic on a scale that I was known for some time ago. Let’s see if I can come up with a concept and partners in crime for that.

Now to start my work day and hopefully I’ll be google eyed with a sense of accomplishment by the end of the day. And if that does happen I will reward myself with a couple of cold beers. Have a great Hump Day y’all!