There's no place like home

We made a day trip down to Hollywood last weekend to have some lunch on Sunset Blvd and see the Broadway musical Wicked. I will go so far as saying that this was probably the best play I’ve ever seen, but to be fair, I haven’t seen too many other plays of this caliber. I’m usually not a big fan of plays. I don’t like the over-acting and voice projection. Dramas are too dramatic; comedies, too annoying. But Wicked was enthralling. I liked the music, the visuals, the clever plot... it was an impressive show.

The weather has been amazing around here this week. Our friends in the Midwest are suffering at 40 degrees below zero while we are enjoying temperatures in the mid 70s. To top it off, the oranges on the trees in our courtyard have been ripening over the past few weeks and we have been indulging in them. This is the time of the year when SoCal really shines.

My post-work project this week has been to construct a star field generator, as seen below. Shooting an actual starry sky doesn't work because it's too dim (or my camera isn't sensitive enough), so I poked holes in a cardboard box, stuck the camera in it, and shone a light at the holes. The results looked great. I even had the ability to control the twinkling.

All of this was for a one second shot in my music video. The closer I get to finishing the video, the more excited I get about it. I also get more and more worried that my hard drive will crash or I'll fall and break my wrist before it's finished. I really need to wrap it up soon, but there is so much going on during the next few months that I have a feeling it's still going to be a while.

Next week Lost returns and the first single from U2's upcoming album hits the airwaves. It's an exciting time to be alive! I'm actually re-watching last year's finale of Lost as I write this. It just so happens the episode shares its name with the title of this blog entry.

Sk8 Jam

On Saturday afternoon I shot some footage at Wilmington's Skate Jam for a promotional video Gordon is putting together. The group of skateboarders holding the event is trying to raise money to build a skate park in the city so they were happy to have me there to help get the word out. Plus, I think they enjoyed showing off for the camera, especially the younger kids. They were always checking to see if I caught the wicked move they just pulled off. The challenge was to get close to the action without getting hit by it. It was a fun shoot.

Friday night we went to the play 12 Angry Men at DuPont Theatre. I recognized one of the actors in it, Richard Thomas, from the movie Wonderboys and the Stephen King mini-series It. It was a good show, although sometimes I wonder if plays are worth the money since, in this case, we didn't have the greatest seats in the house and since I prefer the composition of movies. And if we did have good seats at a play or some other live show, they'd probably call me up on stage and embarrass me the best they can. It's happened before. Anyway, I don't regret attending the play because it was fun to have a night on the town with my lovely wife and it's good to vary the intake of culture once in a while. Plus, it was an entertaining story with good performances and writing. I wouldn't mind seeing the movie adapation from 1957 to compare.

Not much else to report, at least not that I can disclose at this time. We have something major brewing in the background that I'm anxious to write about, but I'm going to keep quiet a while longer. Keep checking back for updates.

Sunlight

It was revitalizing to get outside over the weekend. On Saturday we spent the afternoon working on the yard and cleaning the cars. On Sunday we took the bikes for a spin through Rockford/Brandywine Park and stopped for lunch in Trolley Square. This was the first weekend of the year with beautiful weather; I'm glad we were able to take advantage of it. The only bad thing about a weekend like this is we didn't get much done inside the house, such as the usual chores and the editing of the latest BLFC segment. I'm going to be feeling some pressure during the evenings this week to get the video done, especially since R and I are going out of town next weekend. I've been cutting down the time it takes me to edit these things, but I'm still not exactly quick.

On Saturday night we went out to dinner at Mikimotos and then attended a play, courtesy of our friend Chris who had extra tickets. It was opening night of Shakespeare's Henry V put on by the Delaware Theater Company. The minimalist set and the actors playing multiple parts -- sometimes going to battle with themselves -- reminded me of a group of kids playing at a tree fort and required a stretch of my imagination. The moments of inventiveness, however, like a shadow duel behind a canvas screen followed by the characters stepping out in front of the screen and splashing cups of fake blood on it, saved it for me. As glorious as our HDTV is, a night of entertainment and culture away from it was welcomed. Plus, they don't serve champagne and dessert at our house after we watch a DVD.