Oh lordy it's been sooo long since I last posted anything!
I'm hoping that this post will get me back in the habit and through the writers block :)
To be honest, I'm blaming Twitter and 12seconds for my lack of blogging because the micro-blogging is like micro-scratching an itch that previously could only be done with a big ol' back scratch against a tree.
So what's new? Well, Obama is president and American Idol is back on TV! It's such a great time to be in America and in SF particularly where I can hardly walk down the street without seeing someone wearing an Obama T-shirt. I also like the Obama street art - some of which I'll post later. Strangely there's not the same enthusiasm here for American Idol....
In many ways I'm pleased that Obama is president because I think it sends a big message to the world about the America and the Americans I love - and I think he stands the best chance of making the world a more compassionate place than McCain was going to. McCain basically lost the plot when the financial troubles hit hard and decided to throw away his economic principals for cheap political gain... which didn't materialize. Picking that woman from that cold State as his running mate didn't help either - it was another cheap stunt I thought that damaged his credibility. Personally, for 2009, I'd like to see the Republicans ditch all the crazy religious Christians and ask those guys to start a their own party. Either that or maybe Ron Paul could start his own party?
Back to Obama and I'd like to share a little-known fact about my friend, the author William Scheinman Jr. Obama is in office because Bill's father (William X. Scheinman) paid for Obama's father to come study in America. It just shows that the single actions of one person can have enormous historic repercussions.... that's kinda obvious but often lost in the blitz of everyday actions. Best be mindful of what we do, hey?
I do have to say, however, that I'm quite concerned about the hero-worship and idolizing of Obama, particularly among young people. Whatever happened to anarchy?! The young seem ready to place a lot of power & trust in the hands bureaucrats. Let me say that any government is bad and big government is worse... on this I'm afraid Obama loses points from me. I'm also doubtful of (and to be honest, against) his economic policies. But he has called a halt to Gitmo and torture so that's a pretty good start.
Regards American Idol, the one unsavory aspect of the show I dislike is the humiliation of people who don't look fit to defend themselves. Now if someone's arrogant and cocky I can see the pleasure in busting their hubris but some of the contestants - and you'll know who I mean - genuinely look like people with serious social or mental problems. Humiliating these people is plain and simple bullying. I think it's unacceptable and all those involved should be ashamed of themselves. Following someone with a camera after they've left the interrogation (oops, I mean audition) room as they're crying or swearing is pretty shameful too.
And so to 2009 and the prospects for this year...
..well, I'm attached to direct a vampire feature about the last four female vampires on earth. I guess you might say this is one of the outcomes of living in San Francisco. The movie is written and produced by Scott C. Sanford and Ron R. Anand who also collaborated on "Go Straight to Hell" which is in pre-production and stars Karen Black and Tony Lo Bianco.
And then I've been invited back to Bangkok, Thailand to run a directing course for Learn Film Asia - which should very rewarding. It's a four-day course intended to help people get up and running on their first directing gig. The only trouble for me is it'll take me a couple of weeks to get all the course materials together.
Finally, I've been working with a social media marketing company based in Boston on a service we hope will help creative people get discovered and get paid. It's a little hush-hush right now but it should start coming together this quarter so stay tuned....
Ok, this is finally... checkout this author, Adam Maxwell. A friend recommended his stories to me and I've been laughing out loud listening to the podcasts and reading the flash fiction.
No, no, THIS is the last paragraph.. The word for 2008 that kept coming up again and again was "counter-instinctual". I wonder what the word will be in 2009?
Oh... forgot to have a dig at Gordon Brown, the man The Economist said had an anti-Midas touch: everything he touches turns to shit. Let's hope we have a regime change in the UK this year - OUT with the useless and wasteful ID card, OUT with the super database that'll snoop on all our emails, telephones, SMS etc., OUT with continued infringements on our civil liberties and OUT with Brown.
Phew! Did it!
