Graduation is nigh, seasonal depression kicks in

Like any teacher who tells the truth, I could not be more excited about getting another school year on the books and having a month or two to recharge. But there are always a couple of students who graduate each year who I know I will miss terribly. Sometimes we keep in touch, more often we don't, and life goes on. This year, Mel is graduating and I am seriously sad. This kid has been a T.A. for me, a musical collaborator, a constant source of amusement, a rock during my wedding planning stress, and a true friend. She will be going to college locally in Raleigh, but I will sincerely miss seeing her every day. I am so proud of her, but this is the definition of bittersweet. Cheers, Mel! 

Don't Worry ...

New Fap Fap Fap Hold Fap Fap Fap Steady Fap Fap Fap!

Teeth Dreams will be out March 25 according to Rolling Stoned.
First Single: I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You

Passage à l'acte By Martin Arnold

Wikipedia says:

Martin Arnold (born 1959 in Vienna, Austria) is an experimental filmmaker known for his obsessive reworkings of found footage. He is also a founding member of the Austrian film distributor Sixpack Film. Arnold studied psychology and art history at the University of Vienna. He has taught filmmaking at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, the San Francisco Art Institute, the Academy of Fine Arts in Frankfurt, the Kansas City Art Institute, Bard College, and at SUNY Binghamton. His films are distributed by Canyon Cinema in the United States and by Sixpack Film in Austria.

Arnold's films are intensely cut sequences in which several seconds of found footage are taken and stretched out into much longer works. The figures on the screen flip back and forth between frames, as the motion is repeated, reversed, and numerous single frame cuts are made. His intent is to create, or possibly unearth, narratives concealed within the mundane films from which he samples. Passage à l'acte (1993) uses several seconds of the film To Kill a Mockingbird to create a bizarre story of aggression and tension within a traditional American family.

Martin Arnold is representative of the generations of artists making the transition between experimental film and video art. Pieces such as Passage à l'acte (1993) were composed on film, with Arnold writing an edit decision list (EDL) for a film editor, who then recreated the choppy and intense works from the found source material. In the mid-1990s, Arnold was given access to an Avid digital editing machine, which allowed him to work directly with the footage and cut it into the intensely repetitive sequences himself. His first digitally cut project, Alone: Life Wastes Andy Hardy (1998), made use of footage of Mickey Rooney's character Andy Hardy from the popular film series.

Joe: Why Do You Live In That State Again?

Seriously. We may have to perform an extraction.

Happy End of Days!

See you bastards in the hazy cosmic jive!

Remember The Onion?

I Almost Threw Up

Holding Steady, Staying Positive

Craig Finn from the Hold Steady has a fantastic Tumblr. He's been chronicling his time in Austin the past few days, which included this juicy tidbit:

The Hold Steady start writing for record #6 in September. Meanwhile, I’m down in Austin making a record with Mike McCarthy. This one is a solo project.

Needless to say, I'm excited. Really, really excited.

Let Me See Your Surprised Look

From The New York Times:

When talking about the Tea Party movement, the largest number of respondents said that the movement’s goal should be reducing the size of government, more than cutting the budget deficit or lowering taxes.

And nearly three-quarters of those who favor smaller government said they would prefer it even if it meant spending on domestic programs would be cut.

But in follow-up interviews, Tea Party supporters said they did not want to cut Medicare or Social Security — the biggest domestic programs, suggesting instead a focus on “waste.”

Some defended being on Social Security while fighting big government by saying that since they had paid into the system, they deserved the benefits.

Others could not explain the contradiction.

“That’s a conundrum, isn’t it?” asked Jodine White, 62, of Rocklin, Calif. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe I don’t want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.” She added, “I didn’t look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I’ve changed my mind.”

Week Twelve Weigh In

184.4, a one week loss of ... .8 pounds.

Total weight lost so far, 11 pounds.

Four pounds to go, ladies. I attended a surprise party last weekend that I forgot about in my last post and still managed to lose some weight after eating like Mr. Creosote. This weekend, no social engagements, so hopefully I'll lose more. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. The part I always struggle with is maintaining when I reach a goal.

Week One Weigh In

194.2, a one week loss of 1.2 pounds.  I'll take it.

I'm not expecting you guys to weigh in this week, I just needed to see results.  And document them.

Shat

Happy Friday, ladies.

A Known Issue

You more observant bastards may have noticed that our comment count is fucked. It shows 0 for all of our recent posts. Blogger is aware of the issue.

But don't hold your breath for a speedy resolution. Peeps have been reporting this to Blogger's help forum since March. Yay.

And Why Do You Keep Going To His Car?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Hold Steady - Hurricane J
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

God, I love these guys.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Hold Steady
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News