~ ‘Blog’ ~
Ok. This is Part 3 and Part 1 and Part 2 came out months ago. I am a lame blogger. There. I’ve said it. Now let’s move on, shall we?
Starting somewhat where I left off, I want to do a little thought experiment with you. Einstein did it and you can too. All he did is think about things a little more deeply than most of us tend to do what with life and television and all.
So I’m asking you to step back in time and imagine that you’re one of the first beings that we now call humans. You’re living your life. The men are hunting and the women are gathering and taking care of the kids — probably cleaning the cave and washing the furs too. Anyway, the men probably started trying to kill animals with their bare hands and teeth. Then they figured out they could use a rock and then spear. The women made baby carriers out of skins and baskets for gathering berries and nuts out of reeds. Us humans started making and using tools because it made doing the regular work of staying alive easier and more efficient. And here’s where the real thinking comes in. Read the rest of this entry »

Yup! I'm passionate for chocolate too. Hmmm...chocolate vid...where's Willie Wonka?
In life, as in film, there are an amazing number of things that all must come to bear, together, to create success of any kind. Three of those things inhabit this series. Next up? Passion.
Passion. We’re those crazy, wacky things called humans. And if we just knew what it was that we needed, we could become adept at life, and everything would be peachy. Juuuust peachy.
But wait! We do know. At least, part of us does. What is it for you that drives you bananas – in a good way? That just makes you tingle even thinking about doing it? (Yes, including that. I think that’s, potentially, a completely valid life choice, at whatever level.) Writing? Eating? Playing wit da kitties (or puppies or bunnies or…)? Seeing the smile on a child’s face when s/he figures something out? Feeding others? What is it for you? Read the rest of this entry »
My last installment was an introduction to my rebellious nature and how now, with the economic collapse, I am feeling vindicated about many of the unconventional choices I’ve made. So what else exactly do I feel vindicated about? Here are just a few examples of conventional societal advice and how not taking it has panned out for me:
1 – You need to work hard, earn at least a Master’s degree and plan your career goals carefully to be successful and “get ahead.”
I never planned my career or ever really picked one thing to be.
Well, I did want to be an Elevator Operator at one point. Pushing the buttons and going up and down all day looks like the best job in the world to a 4-year-old. Then there was the Movie Star phase… Read the rest of this entry »
I have never been what anyone would call “career driven”. I have an Associate of Science degree in Physics, the only one I’ve ever heard of. After earning that, I went to work as various types of electronic technician and programmer, and Admin, Executive, Development and Special Assistants. For most of my adult life, I fell into jobs through temp agencies or friends. And once I was working at a place, they never wanted me to leave because I always know too much about too many things too fast. I have too much fun filling in the organizational gaps and inevitably become the magic glue that holds everything together. And in the past decade, I started to have the great ideas just a little too soon and from a position of a little too little power. These ideas usually ended up getting considered a year or two later when someone higher on the food chain or a ridiculously high paid consultant “suddenly” presented it in a report. Read the rest of this entry »
In life, as in film, there are an amazing number of things that all must come to bear, together, to create success of any kind. Three of those things inhabit this series. Next up? Perspective.
If we go to dictionary.com, we get several views on this word. Here’s one that’s particularly appropriate to film: “a visible scene, esp. one extending to a distance; vista.” What is film, but visible scenes, strung together? We’re all fairly familiar now with the idea of individual frames of film, individual pictures shown to the human eye, one after the other, many times per second. Even digital video, which doesn’t truly exist as different frames of film, is presented to the human eye in this fashion. In order to represent movement, we parse it out into thousands of individual, static pictures, each with its own perspective. Read the rest of this entry »
When doing a recent shoot for the Hornman Project, we stayed with some lovely people who have one of the most beautiful, homey kitchens I’ve ever seen. And they love to bake and love chocolate. So I decided to send them this recipe as a thank-you gift with some chocolate to get them started. I thought that while I was at it, I’d share with all of you too. If you bake them, let me know how they turn out… or send some!
Infamous Nieman Marcus Cookie Recipe
I was given this recipe as a copy of a copy of a copy that an old friend’s mom supposedly got clandestinely from a sales person at Nieman Marcus. Read the rest of this entry »
In life, as in film, there are an amazing number of things that all must come to bear, together, to create success of any kind. Three of those things inhabit this series. First up? Persistence.
Yes, it’s possible to get what I want without doing a darned thing. Just sit around, thinking about nothing, doing nothing. A knock on the door, and there’s the guy with just that exact thing I need/want/crave! Possible? Yes. But not bloody likely.
Like this post. I really would, right at this moment, rather be asleep. It was a long and fulfilling week, with a killer weekend right behind it. And now I’m up too early because I have a schedule to keep. And part of that schedule is writing this post. Fortunately, it’s fairly quiet, even here in the big city, and I have a kitty on my lap to keep me warm. There are perks, after all.
Read the rest of this entry »

Perhaps the glass wasn't broken enough?
Just got back from seeing the new Alice in Wonderland. Not as bad as I’d heard, just as beautiful as I’d heard. Sometimes the 3D was cool, sometimes it was just annoying. All in all, 6.5 out of 10.
I found the advertisements at the beginning fascinating. They were all aimed at kids from 5-15, and heavy on the girl (buying) power. I had heard this was a dark movie. And there were dark moments to be sure, but no real menace. Some of the character performances were strong, if not great (not sure where the writing / directing was really going). I’m a big fan of Crispin Glover, and except for some digital / irl mash-up problems (his physical head didn’t really move with his digital body), I enjoyed his performance a lot. Read the rest of this entry »
Inspiration. Something that is said to come and go at its own behest, and not at ours. Sometimes true; and in my experience, sometimes not.
Inspiration, for me, is often a matter of getting down to it. It’s my understanding that many writers (for instance) get “writer’s block.” Well, when I’m writing, at least for the past 7 years, I don’t have any problem actually writing. The words come. The trick, for me, is getting to the computer. I get, “sitting down at the computer” block. Read the rest of this entry »
Part 3 of 3 in a vlogging series done around a fabulous day location shooting. The day ended at Baker Beach here in SF, with some amazing shots of the Golden Gate. Read the rest of this entry »




