Here We Are…

Quite possibly five and a half years later, and I’m still at this point. Why, you may ask? Or maybe you didn’t. I don’t know. I do care however. Real life as opposed to reel life always gets in the way. I got the VCR hooked up, but then I did a quick calculation on how much extra storage I would need above what I already have, and it’s cost prohibitive for a smaller than small market studio.

I’ve been looking at alternative ways to make money. The crypto market exploded, and it imploded at the same time. People out there aren’t who they say they are, and most of them are on book of the face. If they’re not there, then they’re on the gram that is instant, then they ask you to move your “private” chat to Whatsapp.

The problem with all of this is they’re all owned by that one guy that a movie was made about. Is about a preposition? I don’t like ending sentences with prepositions. Something about formal writing should follow all grammatical rules that you hopefully learned in Elementary School, unless you had to wait until High School English.

Digression is not good when attempting to prove a thesis according to my mother the high school English teacher. She taught drama as well, and was quite good at it, until one year, she didn’t make enough money for the school, and the principal that didn’t like her took drama away from her. She was already tenured at that point, so she was afforded the opportunity to train her replacement, however, they couldn’t fire her. They could only wait for her to retire….

What’s all this have to do with getting videos up online that practically no one will see?

I’m attempting to create my high school experience movie, however, I want to set it present day. How do I do this? It’s literally a lifetime ago for most, if you’re only going to live 45 plus years…. Some would call that middle age, however, I will remind you that I have more days ahead of me than I do behind me. I’ll let you do that math, as it’s been awhile since I’ve stated that there wouldn’t be any.

I’ve talked about how the goal of AI is to create a machine fully capable of independent thought either here or elsewhere, and with the advent of ChatGPT, we’re effectively already there. Which brings me to the WGA strike.

One of the points that the two sides can’t agree on is the use of AI when writing scripts.

Aside: As a writer and producer, I should be on strike against myself. #2: I didn’t cross the picket line when I worked as an actor, because I walked with it to the studio where I was paid well to be well, me.

No writing was involved, as I was given a character description, and a situation, however, this was not a comedy. It was a court show. An argument can be made that there was writing involved in the character creation, however, I don’t know about that side of the court reality shows.

Have I gone off on one too many tangents that aren’t next to the original circle? Quite possibly, however, this will all tie together soon hopefully.

From what little I know about a lot, it is possible to program a chatbot that will hold entire conversations with you. I was approached by one recently, after “talking” to what I thought was a real person. Now, I don’t know who to believe.

I didn’t lose any money this time, however. That only makes it hurt a little less. I was truly hoping that I’d be able to make money, and then move forward with the rest of the studio plans, however, it looks like it was simply yet another scam.

There’s a few things. The devaluing of writing, and the fact that those that write want to be paid properly. The aforementioned AI’s can simply scan the ‘net for what’s already out there, and change it enough to the point where there haven’t been any laws broken.

Conclusion: The last WGA strike lasted exactly 100 days. Bet the over. Meanwhile, I will be doing unpaid writing and slogging around the ‘net attempting to find real people….

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach. e You next time.

I’m a Filmmaker, And I’m Okay…

I work all night, and I sleep all day.

If only that were the case. I received an email from the fine folks who press the word, that I’ve been doin’ this for six years. So, HB to me!!!

My problem is, are, was, were, not even grammatically correct. Damn!! Time to go back to English 10AB w/Fred Doucette.

Was @Castle recently, and started playing Fizzbin with random guests, just to pass the time. I have to create a new act that I can film and submit to the entertainment committee in order to qualify to maybe perform Close-up magic @ some point in the distant future, in the only place I truly ever want to perform it.

Life is either performance art, or a broadway musical. Make your choice, and then stick to it. Use stick ’em if you have to. I told my Executive Producer this once. Two years ago. Well, maybe more than that at this point, as the fine folks in the land of 168 have changed the dates since.

I should hold Chip Chalmers personally responsible for my meltdown this season. He was the last director I asked to direct me, before I resigned to doing it myself. But Chip’s a good guy, so, I would never do that.

Others in the land of granola that may or may not be called out during this not so random rant include but are not limited to, the 1st AD, and the 2nd Unit Director.

We lost 3 hours because of this duo, that propagated throughout the rest of the project.

We had a full post production sound facility ready for us at 9a the day before turn in. We didn’t get there ’til noon. Hard out at ten pm, therefore, well, I’ve already done the math for you.   Sol7 did incredible work under the strangest of conditions. Special thanks to them above and beyond the credits they shall receive somewhere. Well, on the finished product itself. Which may be a film, motion picture, or movie.

Wow.  Artificial word count reached!!! You should all know what that means by now.

Well, if you don’t, it means I can type faster. Like this…. Except when getting a phone call from the fine folks @ the E3 after party I just confirmed attendance. For myself, and two guests. You should know who you are, however, if you don’t, then well, it’s not you.

The thoughts in the previous paragraph may be in the proper order, if not the words. Take this into account when you post your comments.

I know I’m missing something this weekend, however, I do have the capability of walking into the LA Wine Fest with my press pass from the fine folks @Soak Magazine. I should give them special thanks, too.

So, have a lost weekend, then play video games? I wonder if that’s how Ray Milland started….

A random closing phrase here, then the directives. If this were a song, it would probably be in four part harmony.

I’ve gone so far off topic in this one….

That’s my story. Hope You Enjoyed It™

Prepare Two Envelopes

With apologies to Mark Evanier, from whom I’ve ‘jacked the original idea from, in order to either prove a point, or tell a story, which may or may not be apocryphal.

It seems that in the entertainment industry, in which I may or may not be involved, depending on who reads this, there is a high turnover rate. At the highest levels, in fact. So much so, that Executive Vice Presidents in charge of oh, let’s say Television, would have a job one day, and it would vanish the next. In today’s society, with networking and golden parachutes, the individual in question would be ok, however, he would observe the change of guard, and even shake the hands of his eventual replacement.

This individual in question, let’s call him Tom, gets fired from his cushy job at the network, and at his going away party, meets his eventual replacement, Dick. (aside: punctuation counts.) Tom and Dick share a drink or two or three, and then finally, Dick asks Tom if he has any advice.

Tom simply says, “I’ve prepared two envelopes in my upper right hand desk drawer. When you get your first crisis that you can’t handle on your own, open the first envelope, and when you get to the second, open that one.” With that, Tom walks away, never to be seen again. At least, at that network.

Dick starts his job the next day, thinking nothing of it, and for another six months, everything is fine. Until one day, Unresolvable Crisis #1 occurs. Dick reaches into his desk drawer, and pulls out the appropriately labeled envelope, and opens it. The paper inside simply reads, “Blame the previous guy.”

Which Dick does, allowing him to fight again another day. This time, three months go by, at which point, Dick again faces the no win situation, and opens envelope #2. This time, the paper inside reads, “Prepare Two Envelopes.”

What does this story have to do with anything relevant to something that you may be concerned about? It’s simple. If you’re an American, you’re voting in the election coming up shortly. At least, I hope you are. If you choose not to, then you have only yourself to blame, when the wrong guy gets in office, and that’s my point. No matter who wins, no matter who you vote for, or whatever party you affiliate with, Republican, Democrat or Independent, the winning candidate will already have used Envelope #1 to get elected.

Knowing that, what should we conclude? In baseball, you usually get three strikes. Football gives you four downs. In basketball, you can break the rules six times before you foul out. Hockey sits you down for only two minutes before you get back into the game. However, the ejection process of the Presidential game takes four years minus how ever long to his first unsolvable crisis.

Now, I’m not one to predict the future, and I’m also not one to tell you how to vote. What I will do, is tell you another story, this one science fiction, about a world that knew it was doomed to extinction, but didn’t know why. What they did was, and I find this truly unique, solve the time travel problem. Of course, I didn’t realize we had one, however, before they became extinct, they figured that time traveling to the future would allow them to find out how they wound their way down to oblivion, then return to their present, and avoid and/or fix the problem.

Now, I’m a lover of irony, so, the end of this story is thus: The fact that they had discovered time travel, is what led to the end in the first place. We don’t have any such luxuries this election. There is no undo. Command-Z won’t cut it. That’s Ctrl-Z for the Mac deprived.

So, to review: There is one envelope in the upper right hand desk drawer in the oval office, and inside, it reads, “Prepare two Envelopes.” All that we have left to determine, is, who is going to read it, and why.

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

Standard Disclaimer.

New Disclaimer: I originally wrote this for the 2008 election. Turns out it’s still relevant less than 3 weeks to go before this one. Who knew?!? 😉

What Do You Do for a Living?

 

 

 

I got asked this the other day. I didn’t know how to respond right away, however, when I want to mess with people’s heads, I reply:

 

I play poker.

 

To which they’ll almost always respond,

 

You play poker?

 

Now, since you can’t hear the inflection in their collective voices when they respond, it’s usually in one of two ways. Either, unbelievably, as in, “What, are you nuts?” or, interested like, “Cool!”

 

The “What, are you nuts?” faction, herein after referred to as simply, ‘nuts’, usually walk away with a strange look on their face, after they’ve asked the follow up question with the sound of incredulity in their voice, and goes something like this, “How can you earn a living playing poker?” To which I usually reply, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” or some such other random movie quote, which doesn’t actually answer their question, simply because at its base, poker is a game of deception. And as we know, with any game, ultimately it can’t be won, it can only be played.

 

The fact is, I do, and it’s really none of their business how I do it. Unless, they wish to pay me for the privilege. Rates are available, and pretty steep. Just because I have the ability to teach, doesn’t mean that I want to. I feel that this reaction is judgmental as they’ve formed an opinion based on what I do, and not who I am, and I don’t need them as friends.

 

On the other hand, those that reply, “Cool!” usually become some of my newest best friends. People that I’d want to hangout with, when I’m not playing poker, or doing whatever else it is that I do on any given day.

 

Of course, the context of the question is sometimes taken into account. It comes down to where I am when I get asked. I was once at a poker tournament when someone made the grandiose statement, “There are no professionals here.” To which I replied, “I guess I’m not here then.” Now, at this point, I could’ve gotten up and left, however, I did achieve the desired effect, and took all his money later in the tournament. Then he got up and left, shaking his head all the way.

 

Usually, if I get asked the question at the poker table, I tell the other players that I’m a filmmaker, except as noted above. I do this, simply to mess with the players’ heads. Most of the time, if I can get you to talk about anything else while at the table, you’re not going to be concentrating on the game. It also helps that I am indeed a filmmaker, and a pretty good one at that.

 

Yes, there’s more to poker than life. No matter what it is you’re doing for a living, ultimately, it’s none of my concern. Tell me what you want. I’m not going to check you out or anything. There’s no background check involved. Of course, I’m not going to ask in the first place. Unless of course, I want to mess with your head, or, put it on virtual film.

 

Disclaimer: I originally wrote this in late November of 2008, and it was published shortly thereafter on the now defunct Idea Masters™ site. This was #6 in that series.

 

I Recently Discovered….

That a site that I contributed to has permanently shutdown. As a result, I can no longer link to those articles. I’m going to use the next seven posts to remedy that, and I’ll send them out over the next 24 hours.

Stay tuned…

The Olympics 2012: The Social Media Rules

The Olympics 2012: The Social Media Rules.

Simple, right? The fatal flaw in the system should be obvious, but for the right-handed people, let me explain. I am neither a participant, worker, or volunteer at London 2012, therefore, these ‘rules’ don’t apply to me.

Thanks for playing, IOC. We have a lovely parting gift for you.

 

They Keep Changing….

The Rules, that is. Anyone who’s played any game knows that for the most part, you read the rules, and follow them, and play by them, and eventually get better at said game, and maybe even win on occasion.

If only life were that simple.

I’m reminded of Animal Farm, actually. The animals made what was it, seven rules that they posted on the barn, and about mid way through the book, they started changing. Subtly at first, and then towards the end, more blatant, to where they were worse off before they rebelled and decided they needed their own rules.

Corporate entities are much like this. And working for one for so long, after awhile, you think you know all the rules that allow you to function successfully within that corporation. However, miss a memo, get shifted into another department, and before you know it, the rules have changed.

And you might not find out before it’s too late.

72 and sunny in Redondo Beach.

e You next time.

In Lieu of Actual Writing….

I present to you, today’s edition of, It’s, The Law!!!

I’ve been receiving some random tweets lately, as @replies, or @mentions for those that know. Actually, they really aren’t that random.  The latest one looks like this….

Now normally a Block and Report Spam action makes these go away pretty quickly. Tried that, didn’t work.

Sent a friendly tweet recently to the offending party. It may be a ‘bot. Ok, I can handle that. Found out who controls the ‘bot.

Got into a heated conversation pretty quickly. The next step is to report all accounts to the fine folks at Twitter, and get them to take action.

Now, to be fair, he says it’s a but that they’re attempting to fix, however, as I’ve written previously elsewhere, this may have taken place intentionally.

I will give them 24 hours to fix.

Stay tuned.

Oh, and as always, adjust your expectations accordingly.

The Rules

Or, they may be guidelines. Not sure, as that’s for you to decide. What inspired this random rant? Unknown at this time, however, that’s the beauty of it. You don’t need to know that.

Disclose Classified information, only when a need to know exists. That’s a rule of those of us, or, those of you at this point, with a secret clearance, as mine has probably long since expired. That’s right, I’ve gone through the federal rectal exam as I called it for the first time over 25 years ago at this point. What that allowed me to do was program, update, troubleshoot, etc. hardware and software that most of you have probably never heard of, or will hear of. This is not the first rule, just the first one that came to mind.

Other rules which may or may not be Rule #1 include, but are not limited to, well, I’ll maybe make a list for Guy Kawasaki to read later, in another post. He likes reading lists for some reason. He explained why once, however, to find that link would take time. Which I don’t necessarily have. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Extemporaneous writing, if that is indeed what I’m doing now, might have some rules. I may not know all of them. That’s not what this post is about either. All I know is, there are rules.

There was a movie I saw in 1984, with the title, Hot Dog, The Movie, which was an opportunity for a young impressionable boy of 24 at the time to see big tits on the big screen. Not what the movie was about, unless you read more into the review by some guy on IMDb than I do, as I actually wanted to see it for the skiing. Which was pretty good, as I had just graduated from the green to the blue runs at Sierra Ski Ranch the December before.

The climax of the movie is a race for the mountain, which I’m sure is typical for the genre, at least at the time, in this case, called a Chinese Downhill. There’s an Asian guy in the movie that until this point, only spoke his language, not sure if it was Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, you get the idea, some Asian dialect. The funniest laugh for me, at least in this movie, was when they took a closeup of Kendo, ok, he was Japanese, as I just looked it up, and he says in perfect English, “What the fuck’s a Chinese Downhill?” One of the three times I’ll actually use the F word, as it loses its power with shall we say a colorful metaphor.

Anyways…. The guy with the bullhorn at the top of the mountain says,”The rules are, there are no rules.” Then, he fires the gun, and our hero and the rest start skiing down the mountain. One guy has a helmet with fireworks that lights as he starts. It sparkles and smokes, both giving his position away, and creating obstacles for those behind him, as they can’t necessarily see where they’re going. Amazingly, the smoke clears in time to see some incredible wipeouts. Those that were skiing for the prize alone, except our hero of course, met various challenges on the way down the downhill, and wipe out. (Insert Wipeout theme here, like this 🙂 The bad guys all worked in tandem, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think you were watching roller derby, as some of the weaker skiers were effortlessly knocked down by various members of the team of bad guys. Of course, the last two guys that make it ever closer to the finish line, are our hero, and our villain, and you probably don’t have to guess too hard who wins.

In conclusion, a small town just outside Redondo Beach, it follows that every situation has various rules, some are guidelines, (See Ghostbusters for relevant quote), however, coming into a situation, you may not know what the rules are. There are three ways to remedy this, and I’ve chosen actually a 4th, because well, I’m me. We’ll discuss the three ways to deal with, The Rules, next time.

Adjust your expectations accordingly.

I Don’t Know What I Know…

But I know that it’s big.

Either a line from a Mel Gibson movie that nobody really saw, or, my actual feelings at the moment. You may decide at the end, and comment. Of course, that might require that you read all the way to the end, so, you’ve been warned.

In an effort to gather thoughts for another blog post at a different site that nobody reads either, I’ve come to the following conclusions, in no particular order….

Of course, I should probably put a list in here, so that Guy Kawasaki will read further, however, that’s not the point of this rambling that may have a point to it, either.

Mark Cuban has a blog, where he wrote something about Fakebook privacy. That may or may not be what this is about. I’m actually more concerned with his copyright notice at the bottom, which reads, “All contents copyright © 2010, Mark Cuban. All rights reserved.” Therefore, if I comment on his blog, he owns it? I don’t think so, Tim.

It’s my understanding of copyright law, that when I put something in a fixed form, like this blog entry, or a comment on another blog, that I indeed own it. Of course, it could be argued that anything posted online is inherently fluent, and therefore, not fixed, as it can be edited by whomever has permission. The DMCA was written to prevent just this, in reality, of course, The Law!!! being what it is, affected this attempt to bend the will of copyright law to those who would claim ownership of all things ‘net, (Read, Disney, et al), and created new categories heretofore unforeseen of intellectual property.

Which may allow Mark Cuban to own my comments. It will probably never be tested in court, however, it would be fun to try. Of course, he has more money than I will ever have, so, he’d win. Does that matter to me? Yes!!! I don’t think he can own my thoughts in this way, however, the legal system being what it is, at least in this country that I love, would allow him to stifle any opinion contrary to his, simply because he has more money. Fair? No, of course not.

But it is what it is, and it beats whatever system is in second place by far. I’m thinking that I should like the fact that Mark Cuban feels he has to own my comments on his site, because it means he feels that they’re important. Which they are of course, or else, I wouldn’t be making them there, or anywhere else for that matter.

Have we in Web 2.93 terms, advanced to the point where nobody owns anything? I know that nobody knows anything, but of course, William Goldman said that first. And he was right. But he may also have been wrong. Unless it’s the Universal Nobody. Because clearly there are many nobodies who do indeed know a lot of things. But none of them are in power.

Like Mark Cuban.

Who needs to own the comments I make on his site.

Adjust Your Expectations Accordingly.