Blogging is so 2005

Scott Kieran, Memory Holes (Random Access) II

Blogging is so 2005. My students, most of them in their early-twenties, had no idea what a blog was when the word was mentioned in class. When told to research a film blog for homework, they found the format confusing and the text hard to follow. How do I know how many friends this blog has? and Where are all the tweets? quickly led to Do you really want me to read all this? Students felt unable to follow the date, post, comment logic of each post and became lethargic when faced with so many words to sift through. Is this really how people used to communicate? they asked, shaking their heads in shock. One clever student, using the scroll bar on her mouse, realized there were even more paragraphs beyond the initial ones first seen on screen. Amidst the jaw droppings and guttural mumblings, I realized a simple class in film production had turned into a valuable history lesson about arcane forms of personal expression.

Woman sets fire at yoga class

sculpture by heidi johansen

Woman sets fire at yoga class. While struggling to make it to her once-a-week much-needed yoga class, woman rushes in and pays for class at crowded register to suddenly smell something funny. When other patrons begin to yell smoke and point in her direction, woman looks down to see her jacket's sleeve aflame from one of many scented candles lining the studio. As the other women push her out out the door and throw her jacket on the ground and stomp on it vigourously, woman mourns the loss of her newly purchased, off-the-rack winter coat. When they finally throw water on the frock, she sheepishly looks for a way out of this moment but remembers that she has already paid for the class. After stuffing her wet coat into the yoga cubbie, she enters the yoga studio to whispers of what's that smell and oh, some woman caught her jacket on fire around her. Woman sits Shavasana admist the not-to-subtle fingers pointing in her direction and wonders if anything like this has ever happened before.

Therapist likens patient to Border Collie

Liu Bolin from The Invisible Man series

Therapist likens patient to Border Collie. While patient freely admits to being born in the Year of the Dog, patient secretly begins to mistrust therapist. Therapists points out the Border Collie's many wonderful traits excluding their well-known nervous temperament such as loyalty, acute awareness to surroundings, and tenacity. Patient leaves office unsatisfied and more depressed than ever.

The house alone

From Empty LA by Matt Logue

The house without the boyfriend feels big. Like one could suffocate in an ocean of too much space. The bed is too wide now, the ceilings too high, the couch twice as long as it should be. The list could go on. Everything feels suddenly new and completely worn out at the same time: the stains in the carpet, the scuffs on the wall, the chips in the paint. And I guess that holds true for me as well. Caught between the newness of being alone and the familiarity of having been here before. I think they call that deja vu.

And so we trudge onward. Trying to hang our head high and look at the bright side. Now I have this awesome space to myself. The dishes will more or less get done. The pantry will lean towards stocked. And I suddenly get to be the steward of my own imperfect life.

Ideas for Student Films Part 1

From the series, Midway, Message from the Gyre by Chris Jordan

The Best Fight Scene Ever was in script form, to be precisely that. After the first round of shooting the title was downgraded to The Fight. When outdoor scenes were overexposed due to "too much sunlight" a decision was made to switch locations to the basement rec hall where the Christian Youth Group meets on Sundays.

The above photo is not related unless you think of my role as an instructor.