Prometheus Unleashed

Flashback Time

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 02:35:00 +0000

All right, so Pam’s tagged me with a music meme. And what the hell, I’ll play along. The idea is to go here and grab the list of the top 100 songs from your high school graduation year (though I’m not exactly sure what measuring stick they’re using to pick the “top songs”). Then mark them up as directed. (Oh, and I’ve added hyperlinks from the song titles to the track in the iTunes Store — when it’s available — in case your memory needs some refreshing... or if this little trip down memory lane inspires you to expand your collection.)

I’m going to try to do this with my high-school self in mind; in other words, this is what I thought about the songs then (and I was fairly tolerant at the time, going through a bizarre sort of pop/metal phase). In at least one case (and I’ll leave it to you to pick which one) a song I hated has since grown on me, and in several instances a tune I liked has deteriorated in my estimation into a stinking pile of pus.

I don’t think I can realistically ask you to completely withhold judgment, but I can tell you that any barbs directed my way will leave me psychologically unscathed — I’m long past obsessing over my teenage shortcomings (but if you want clarification on any of my choices, ask away and I’ll gladly address it in the comments).

So without further ado, here’s the list.

Green = Made everyone shut up so I could hear it clearly
Black = Could certainly tolerate it, but wasn’t running out to buy the single (yes, we had singles back then)
Red = Actually made the effort to get up and change the dial on the radio
Blue = Um... what was that one again?

That’s What Friends Are For, Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder
Say You, Say Me, Lionel Richie
I Miss You, Klymaxx
On My Own, Patti Labelle and Michael McDonald
Broken Wings, Mr. Mister
How Will I Know, Whitney Houston
Party All The Time, Eddie Murphy
Burning Heart, Survivor
Kyrie, Mr. Mister
Addicted To Love, Robert Palmer
Greatest Love Of All, Whitney Houston
Secret Lovers, Atlantic Starr
Friends And Lovers, Carl Anderson and Gloria Loring
Glory Of Love, Peter Cetera
West End Girls, Pet Shop Boys
There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry), Billy Ocean
Alive And Kicking, Simple Minds
Never, Heart
Kiss, Prince and The Revolution
Higher Love, Steve Winwood
Stuck With You, Huey Lewis & The News
Holding Back The Years, Simply Red
Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel
Sara, Starship
Human, Human League
I Can’t Wait, Nu Shooz
Take My Breath Away, Berlin
Rock Me Amadeus, Falco
Papa Don’t Preach, Madonna
You Give Love A Bad Name, Bon Jovi
When The Going Gets Tough, Billy Ocean
When I Think Of You, Janet Jackson
These Dreams, Heart
Don’t Forget Me (When I’m Gone), Glass Tiger
Live To Tell, Madonna
Mad About You, Belinda Carlisle
Something About You, Level 42
Venus, Bananarama
Dancing On The Ceiling, Lionel Richie (a song that I now ridicule mercilessly, but at the time, it didn’t particularly bother me)
Conga, Miami Sound Machine
True Colors, Cyndi Lauper
Danger Zone, Kenny Loggins (maybe this is a Top Gun thing, but I still love it)
What Have You Done For Me Lately, Janet Jackson
No One Is To Blame, Howard Jones
Let’s Go All The Way, Sly Fox
I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On, Robert Palmer
Words Get In The Way, Miami Sound Machine
Manic Monday, Bangles
Walk Of Life, Dire Straits
Amanda, Boston
Two Of Hearts, Stacey Q
Crush On You, Jets
If You Leave, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Invisible Touch, Genesis
The Sweetest Taboo, Sade
What You Need, INXS
Talk To Me, Stevie Nicks
Nasty, Janet Jackson
Take Me Home Tonight, Eddie Money
We Don’t Have To Take Our Clothes Off, Jermaine Stewart (this one still makes me cringe)
All Cried Out, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam With Full Force
Your Love, Outfield
I’m Your Man, Wham!
Perfect Way, Scritti Politti
Living In America, James Brown
R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A., John Cougar Mellencamp
Who’s Johnny, El Debarge
Word Up, Cameo
Why Can’t This Be Love, Van Halen
Silent Running, Mike and The Mechanics
Typical Male, Tina Turner
Small Town, John Cougar Mellencamp
Tarzan Boy, Baltimora
All I Need Is A Miracle, Mike and The Mechanics
Sweet Freedom, Michael McDonald
True Blue, Madonna
Rumors, Timex Social Club
Life In A Northern Town, Dream Academy
Bad Boy, Miami Sound Machine
Sleeping Bag, ZZ Top (I was a big ZZ Top fan after Eliminator, but this just didn’t do it for me)
Tonight She Comes, Cars
Love Touch, Rod Stewart
A Love Bizarre, Sheila E.
Throwing It All Away, Genesis
Baby Love, Regina
Election Day, Arcadia
Nikita, Elton John
Take Me Home, Phil Collins
Walk This Way, Run-D.M.C.
Sweet Love, Anita Baker
Your Wildest Dreams, Moody Blues
Spies Like Us, Paul McCartney
Object Of My Desire, Starpoint
Dreamtime, Daryl Hall
Tender Love, Force M.D.’s
King For A Day, Thompson Twins
Love Will Conquer All, Lionel Richie
A Different Corner, George Michael
I’ll Be Over You, Toto
Go Home, Stevie Wonder

As for tagging... well, since I pretty much abandoned this blog several months back, I think my readership is about nil. So that means that if you’re reading this, then you’ve been tagged. And I do expect you to participate.

And Now... Codeword Secret

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 20:05:00 +0000

Well, a trailer, anyway. And hosted by MSN Video — which naturally means it’s buggy, and may or may not be visible on a Mac (for my part, I have yet to get the audio to work properly). Gotta love Microsoft...

In any case, if you look closely, you can see me (in my role as a CIA agent extra) ducking in panic as Johnny Newman swings his “ray gun” around wildly. And if you’re particularly intrigued, you can check out some behind-the-scenes photos here.

As I mentioned before, the show will be premiering at the New York Television Festival on Friday, September 7th (and showing again on Saturday, September 8th). The comedy troupe (comprising several members of the Codeword Secret team) will be performing on Thursday, September 6th. And as if that weren’t incentive enough, all the tickets are free! So if you’re in the area, be sure to give it a look!

Stuff That Only Pisses Off a Typographer

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 18:53:00 +0000

Nitpicking time.

I’m really looking forward to the new Clive Owen/Paul Giamatti film Shoot ’Em Up. Yes, I know the movie requires a ludicrous suspension of disbelief, but it really hearkens back to the heady days of nonsensical ’80s R-rated action films. Rambo, Commando, and the like. The kind of films where you could really turn your brain off and enjoy the cartoonish action. A genre that 1988’s Die Hard — much as I love it — kind of ushered out the door.

The trailer kicks some serious ass. Makes it perfectly clear what you’re in for — either that’s your thing or it’s not.

But the logo drives me absolutely nuts. Just evidence that we are living in an increasingly computer-reliant society, without any capacity for independent judgment.

Look closely. The logo reads: Shoot ‘Em Up.

Notice anything odd?

The apostrophe — there to indicate the omission of the “th” from the word “them” — is backwards. Put simply, they’ve used an opening single quotation mark instead of an apostrophe.

Why? Because word processors automatically assume that a single quote preceding text must be an opening quotation mark. The typed apostrophe (there being just a single key on a standard keyboard for it) is automatically converted. Despite the fact that it’s the wrong character. And whoever laid out that type is too lazy — or too ignorant — to fix it.

A competent typographer would change it immediately. Hell, I manually change all of my quotation marks (single and double) and apostrophes to the correct characters even here, where I have to manually type in the character codes.

And no, the hypocrisy of my criticizing a minor typographical error in the context of a film of this genre is not lost on me. But I’m still irritated.

The Future Is Coming Back

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 17:51:00 +0000

Texas Firm Readies to Revive DeLoreans.

This excites me beyond all rational explanation. I wish I could say I’m gonna be one of the first ones in line, but alas, I don’t have that kind of scratch. Especially since you know I’d have to do the full Back to the Future conversion...

David Beckham in LA

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 01:45:00 +0000

Some friends just won a chance to perform at the New York Television Festival in September, as part of the PGP-NYTVF Comedy Talent Search. This is part of the same crew that put together the brilliant Buddy Jackson online sitcom, as well as the pilot for Codeword Secret (on which yours truly was the production designer) — which will also be showing at the festival (Friday, September ~~8th~~ 7th, at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, September ~~9th~~ 8th, at 10:30 p.m., in case anyone’s going to be in New York that weekend).

I just figured it might be fun to give you all a look at their winning audition video. Enjoy!

Video: David Beckham in LA - Sketch Comedy

Edit: I corrected the dates above, and should also point out that the Comedy Talent Search final performance will be the evening of Thursday, September 6th.

Poetic Justice in Action

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:53:00 +0000

For the record, I would not have taken this action.

But — and I’m just speaking hypothetically here, since I’m not even a District resident — were I to sit on a jury charged with evaluating the guilt of those who did vandalize a Hummer last week, I’d really have no choice but to vote “not guilty.”

Because what happened in no way approached the level of a “crime.” Was it wrong? Sure, fair enough. But a crime? I don’t think so.

As far as I’m concerned, you buy a Hummer (particularly an H2), and you are explicitly making a statement to the world that you’re an asshole, and proud of it. (Well, you’re also making a statement that you’re a negligibly-endowed weasel living in deathly fear of your own latent homosexuality, but that’s another story.) Frankly, I’m surprised that anyone is rallying to this piece-of-shit’s defense.

Yeah, that’s right — the so-called “victim” in this case is a worthless sack of shit. Now, does that automatically mean that we, as a society, should condone the vandalism that resulted? On the whole, no, probably not. But that said, I can’t find myself working up a shred of sympathy for this scumbag.

You start saying, “fuck you,” to the world at large, you can hardly be surprised when someone says, “fuck you, too.”

Gosh, Does That Suck!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:43:00 +0000

Okay, so we just got the upgrade to Final Cut Studio 2, and I’m going through the included tutorial DVD. From the look of things, they’re using some kind of Suzuki ad campaign as demo material. Beautiful people, motorcycles riding across salt flats... certainly interesting, and visually compelling. So I look on the disc, and they mention that you can see the full ad campaign at suzukifilms.com.

Hmm... looks like a series of webisodes. Ah, I get it — they must be trying to emulate the success of the BMW Films series, only with one continuing storyline instead of a bunch of individual shorts. Hardly an original idea, but since when is the entertainment business (let alone the advertising business) constrained by originality? But still, let’s see what you’ve been able to do...

Oh. My. God.

Rarely have I seen such an utter lack of... well, anything approaching “entertainment.” This is so obviously the work of some executive whose sole criterion for production was “make the vehicles look good.” And I’ll give ’em that much. Beyond that minimum threshold, every penny was apparently spent on hiring models who can’t act their way out of a paper bag.

Spend a few bucks on a writer? Pshaw! Who needs a script? Just use that briefcase thing from Pulp Fiction. Throw in a twist, make the hot-chick motorcycle gang turn out to be cops. And then everyone chase the cars around. Done! How about hiring a competent director? Waste of funds — we’ve got models! All the director’s got to do is tell them to walk across the screen in slow-motion. How hard can that be? A moment to consider credibility (even by Hollywood standards)? Give me a break — nobody’ll care if it makes sense. I already told you — we’ve got models! So where do I set up the casting couch...?

Comparing this crap to BMW films is like... well, comparing actual crap to a BMW.

Wackity-Schmackity Doo!

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:33:00 +0000

Hey, Patton’s new CD just arrived!

Only listened to half of it so far, but it does not disappoint. Damn, this guy’s funny — his Brian Dennehy story almost made me crash my car.

Go buy it. Right now. (But be warned — don’t expect Remy from Ratatouille or Spence from The King of Queens.)

Gullibility Reigns Supreme

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:01:00 +0000

How can we still wonder at the media’s gullibility (see “weapons of mass destruction”) when they still fall for idiocy like the new “Loch Ness footage”? The ludicrously stupid CNN story would be laughable if it weren’t passing off flagrant lies as “news.”

An “amateur scientist” caught the footage? Um... no. Gordon Holmes is a fringe self-publisher who claims to have photographed fairies. Not exactly a credible eyewitness, and certainly not a “scientist” by any stretch of the imagination.

The Loch Ness monster “was first caught on camera by a surgeon on vacation in the 1930s”? Not even close. The infamous “surgeon’s photo” was a hoax.

I can’t believe there are still people who cling to the idea of a mysterious “monster” in an enclosed body of water. Now, would one — or even a handful — of such creatures be able to escape detection? Perhaps. But seeing as how these stories go back nearly a century (and the creature would presumably have to have been there for some millenia before that), we’re talking about a breeding population. Sorry, but there we’re talking about hundreds, even thousands of animals.

I suppose to the die-hard true believers, it’s something akin to the “intelligent design” argument: This is an instance where God just waved his magic wand and went “poof” — spontaneously generating either an immortal beast or an animal that can miraculously overcome the restrictions of genetics to reproduce indefinitely with only a Noah’s ark-sized gene pool.

But I suppose it’s to much to imagine that the supposedly intelligent mainstream media would have outgrown fairy tales.

I Tried, I Really Tried

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:49:00 +0000

I wanted On the Lot to succeed, to be good. For crying out loud, I’m an independent filmmaker — you’d think I am the target audience for this thing. And if there’s one think Mark Burnett knows, it’s reality TV.

Even once I found out (and you’ll have to trust me on this) that the initial selection process was completely rigged — the show was totally precast — I gave it every benefit of the doubt. I was pissed off at the deception, but I can understand the motivation.

Hell, I stuck with it as long as I could. But last night was the last nail in the coffin.

Initially, the show looked like it had promise. It began as an interesting look at what goes into film production — a behind-the-scenes look, à la The Apprentice — so far, so good. Then out of the blue, they skip an entire episode? Excuse me? They go from teasing a one-page production challenge with 24 contestants one episode to making no mention of that challenge and just 18 contestants the next? Did I miss something here?

Then they change hostesses, drop one judge in favor of a “guest judge” position (maybe I should give Brett Ratner credit for noticing something here), and turn the whole thing into a cheap American Idol knockoff. Burnett, what the hell are you thinking? (Let’s be honest, Spielberg’s just a name on a marquee for this thing. Well, that and money.) The first “results” show was no more than 10 minutes of content stretched out to an hour. Seriously groan-inducing. (Thank god for the “skip forward” function on the DVR.)

And then they sink even further. After having gone through several “challenges,” they decide to throw the idea of actually giving the directors something new to do out the window altogether: They go back to the three-minute shorts the directors did to get into the competition in the first place. And even that they’re dragging out for three weeks.

Sorry, two weeks was all I could stomach on this one. I’m done.

I’m willing to bet that they started with one vision of the show, and then after showing it to test audiences, they radically revamped it, and now they’re just filling time until they can figure out what to do next.

Now, if I were in a position to offer advice, the pragmatist in me would know exactly what to tell the producers — pull the plug. This experiment failed. Give it up and move on. (And I think I can bring up some ratings to back me up on this call.)

But let’s say they insist on going ahead. I don’t think I’m bringing up anything radical in offering some pretty basic solutions, things that they should have thought of beforehand.

Go back to the original format. Seeing how movies are made, how these directors work is the interesting part. Really, that’s all you’re bringing to the table. Having directors sit on stage while you show their films? Tedious and pointless. This is a reality show — we have to care about the contestants.

Come up with new content each week. For crying out loud, you can't go from step D in the competition all the way back to step A and expect it to mean anything. And don’t give me any crap about not being able to make a movie each week. I can show you right now that that’s horseshit.

Figure out something for the judges to actually do. Michael Bay is far from what I’d call a great director (am I the only one on the planet who thinks Transformers is going to suck hard?), but he was the only one in last week’s episode that had anything constructive to say. (If I hear Garry Marshall give one more “I didn’t like this film, but we need more women directors” comment...) And if “America” votes, then really, what’s the point of the judges anyway? Which brings me to...

Drop the whole “America votes” concept. Bad idea to begin with. So far, some of the best directors have been cut, and some of the utter hacks are continuing (and I don't mean the “Getta Rhoom” guy — as offensive as I thought the film was, it was definitely well put together). The whole thing just becomes arbitrary. Survivor had a solid advancement/rejection concept. The Apprentice had a firm (and qualified) judge, not to mention the outsized personality of Donald Trump. American Idol really is a popularity contest, so the voting is fine there. But this totally doesn't work.

Get a real host. Adrianna Costa may be (as Marshall is keen to point out) nice to look at, but she brings nothing to the proceedings. They need someone with industry experience, or at least stage presence. (Okay, so she’s really nice to look at. But still...)

Odd that I have so much to say about a show that I’m not even going to be watching anymore. I suppose it’s just that I had such hopes, and it proved such a grave disappointment.

But the most important thing to remember is that the show sucks. That’s my point here. Let’s not forget that.

Makes me want to try my own stab at television programming...

I’m Not Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:31:00 +0000

Don’t get me wrong — I’m not sure how frequently I’ll be back around. But I suppose that every once in a while something happens that you just have to talk about.

Just saw the Sopranos series finale.

WTF?

Okay, so I like Ron Moore’s take on it, but still...

Don’t know that I’m actually pissed off, but I am damned stunned.

Paradigm Shift

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:17:00 +0000

Well, the inevitable has finally happened — my PDA has died. The battery won’t hold a charge more than an hour or so, after which point it promptly loses all data. Oh, I can restore from my laptop, of course, but after doing that three times (and hosing my mailing lists once again as the hacked-together assemblage of syncing tools tries to merge data), I’ve come to accept that it ain’t coming back.

So now I’m in a bit of a quandary. It’d be easy if the iPhone were here already (and had passed through its initial growing pains), and I hadn’t just dropped a decent chunk of change on a new RAZR V3i, but that’s not the case. So any real solution is probably a year down the road.

I suppose I could go out and get a low-end PDA. Or try something with GPS capability (a gadget I’ve pretty much figured is an inevitable investment at some point), which even the amazing iPhone doesn’t offer.

But really, I think I might try going without the PDA for a while. Yes, it’ll mean looking at my calendar via iCal a lot more — though my phone does have limited calendar functions. And I’ll find myself taking notes on old-fashioned paper a lot more — though I find that, as a manager, I have more credibility that way anyway). And I’ll lose some of the cool PDA apps I’ve been using — though I don’t really look at pictures or (bad) video that often on it; I don’t cook enough to use the cookbook app (or at the least I could get one for my laptop, as I only cook at home anyway); the old Infocom Hitchhiker’s Guide game is available online (and we have high-speed access at home); and if I really apply myself, I can probably find a decent Java-based Sudoku game for the phone.

Still, this is a really tough decision for me. We’re talking a major lifestyle change — at least emotionally, if not practically. So if I start calling on you people for support, please be understanding. I’ve lost my assistant, and it looks like we’re not planning to backfill the position.

Secret Identity

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 14:18:00 +0000

Okay, so Geoff is secretly Batman. Crap — he gets the coolest superhero on the planet. How the hell can you top that? Well, I may not have been able to quite do so, but I certainly performed respectably.

You Are Superman

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
And pretty cute too. No wonder you're the most popular superhero ever!

What Superhero Are You?

This I can definitely live with. Up, up and away!

Robert Anton Wilson, 19322007

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:09:00 +0000

Alas, I just got the news that guerilla ontologist Robert Anton Wilson has shuffled off the mortal coil. I can’t overstate how huge an influence Wilson has been on my own work — hell, the very name of this website, “Prometheus Unleashed,” was directly influenced by concepts he espoused.

I do think it a fitting tribute that the soon-to-be-shipping Protégé poker chip line sports a decidedly Bob Wilson-influenced design. Not that I knew it would be a memorial tribute when I designed it, but it is a decidedly curious coincidence. Or synchronicity, perhaps: It’s as if the production delays existed to allow this tribute to be more than it was originally.

I think Bob would be pleased.

Bicoastal Machinations

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 01:41:00 +0000

Hot damn. I’m about to become a festival-screened director (I find it hard to count the Georgetown/Adams Morgan fest, as it basically had zero attendance — and certainly doesn’t qualify for IMDB inclusion). Okay, so I was a festival-screened executive producer already, but it’s not quite the same thing. And on top of that, we’ve also got a screening coming up next weekend right here in DC (well, Arlington anyway).

Okay, some details. First, “Machinations” has just been accepted into the Science Fiction Short Film Festival, taking place February 3 in Seattle, Washington. I’m pretty damned proud of this little accomplishment, and am really excited about the opportunity.

I had actually checked the notification date on the Without A Box website, and was saddened to see that it was past, and that accepted filmmakers had already been notified. Since I hadn’t gotten any such notification, I figured we were out. And then I opened my email — which I hadn’t checked since Friday afternoon — and sitting right there was the acceptance notification. I’ve pretty much been walking on air all day. Hell, I didn’t accomplish squat. I didn’t even shower. Be thankful the Internet doesn’t convey smell.

If anyone wants to fly out — or if any of you West Coasters want to give it a look-see (not to mention giving us the chance to catch up) — let me know and we can get tickets and coordinate schedules!

More locally (well, for our DC-based contingent anyway), the film will be screening at 4:00 p.m. on January 13 at the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse. This screening will be a showcase of locally-produced films for the National Film Challenge (I actually put together the little “title sequence” for the event), and I’m really happy to have this venue in which to host it (sure beats the hell out of my office’s common room). Tickets are only $5 apiece — and since it’s a restaurant to boot, there’ll be plenty of food and drink available as well. I really want a big turnout for this one — especially since theater revenue (well, once we recover the amount we paid to get the theater in the first place) will be divvied up by which film attendees are there to support (you’ll have a chance to express your preference upon entry). Frankly, it’d be nice to make back some of our expenses for a change... So while I’ll understand if you can’t make it all the way out to Seattle, this one there’s no excuse for missing...

Well, unless you’re a left-coaster, of course.

Holiday Giggles

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 13:34:00 +0000

First, a quick little tidbit. For my new Christmas decorations this year, I picked up a set of Palz block-figure toys from the movie Die Hard (yes, it is a Christmas movie — just look at that box art).

Some of you... well, die hard Die Hard fans may remember Al Powell’s sarcastic line (referring to the FBI agents), “They’ve got the universal terrorist playbook and they’re running it step by step.”

So what’s the little FBI agent figure carrying? Yep, the Universal Terrorist Playbook.

(Special holiday bonus: Things I Learned from Watching Die Hard. Don’t say I never gave you anything.)

Second, a confession to all of those who may have been baffled by my unorthodox “holiday card” this year — yes, I was the one who sent you the “Your New Monkey” letter. I figured it was a hell of a lot more fun than the usual family-update newsletter.

Monkeys are funny.

Okay, so here’s the real holiday story. We had two Christmas celebrations this year — one with my family (on Christmas weekend), and one with Pam’s (on New Year’s weekend). Unfortunately, Pam’s brother had picked up some gifts for the girls that they’d already received the weekend before. Our ten-year-old was fine, gracious — she gave no indication that the gift was a duplicate. But the seven-year-old was not so subtle. Pam tried to goad her out of her melodramatic pout, making every effort to save face, but the little one wasn’t catching on. “But we already got it!” she finally cried out, to Pam’s consternation.

“Honey, when we get a gift we already have, we say, ‘Thank you for thinking of me,’” Pam offered in a brief attempt to explain proper gift-receipt etiquette. “We can always trade it for something else later.”

Her pout still not quite erased, our youngest went on to open her next present — also from Pam’s brother... and also, alas, a duplicate gift (in this case, a new book).

Without missing a beat, she turned to him and deadpanned, “Thank you for thinking of me.”

What’s in a Title?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 14:20:00 +0000

Courtesy of Tom Bridge. I don’t often do memes (or if I do, I rarely publish the results), but I thought this result was oddly appropriate.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Reverend Lord William the Mystical of Colquhoun St Cahoon
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

In Full-On Promoter Mode

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 16:55:00 +0000

Given the length of time since my last entry, a lot of you have probably figured out that my attentions have largely drifted elsewhere. I actually debated shutting Prometheus Unleashed down altogether (having been at this for four years now), or just going on a more formal “hiaitus,” but I think I’ll just let this be what it is. I may update on occasion, may vent when the mood strikes me... but in all likelihood I won’t be posting here as often as I have been in the past.

But I did have one favor to ask...

I’m trying to promote the hell out of our short films lately, and to that end, we’ve posted our entire catalog on both MySpace and YouTube. While ideally, we’d get people coming to our site to watch, it just seems counterproductive to forgo the larger audience that is out there watching videos via those third-party distributors.

So here’s my request — and it’s a multi-part one. First, go to our film catalogs on those sites and watch our films (our MySpace catalog can be found here, and our YouTube catalog here). Second, tell your friends and neighbors about them (either as a collection or on a specific film-by-film basis). And third, rate and comment on the films; add us as your friend, subscribe to our film channels, add individual films to your favorites lists. Whatever you can do.

This usually will require that you establish accounts at those respective sites. And I know that for a lot of people, that’s more trouble than it’s worth. But I’m hoping that — for at least some of you — my plea will drive you across that threshold.

(Oh, and for at least one of the films, “Quite Contrary,” you can actually rate and comment at the Internet Movie Database as well. Talk about official.)

More Surprises

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:52:00 +0000

Wow, who knew Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was gay too? I sure didn’t. Just goes to show you that you can learn something new every day.

No Spot-Changing in Evidence

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 15:46:00 +0000

“Remember all that talk about wanting to work together? Yeah, well, that was all just a lie.

“What did you think, that just ’cause people started realizing I’m a tinpot dicator — not to mention a mouth-breathing right-wing lunatic — that I’d stop acting the part? Wow, you really must not know me that well...”

A Fitting Tribute

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 12:23:00 +0000

Over at Penn Radio, they’ve done a really moving show in honor of departing defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, where hosts Penn Jillette and Michael Goudeau (along with several callers) share their “Absolutely True, Swear to God, Rumsfeld Stories.”

Given it a listen.

Machinations

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:34:00 +0000

No, this isn’t a politically themed post (well, not directly anyway). I just wanted to pass along the news that — along with the recent DC Shorts selection “Quite Contrary” — my short film “Machinations” will be screening at the Georgetown/Adams Morgan Film & Music Festival next week. Which I’m pretty jazzed about. No, the Georgetown fest isn’t quite on the scale of something like DC Shorts, but it’s still a pretty big vote of confidence (though no word as to whether it qualifies the film for inclusion in the Internet Movie Database — I’ll be checking).

For those of you who might be interested, the screenings are at the DC Arts Center Theater in Adams Morgan (2438 18th Street, NW), and tickets and passes are exclusively available at the Idle Time Bookstore (located right across the street). Tickets for a film block are $5 apiece, day passes are $50, and all-access passes are $100. Both films are being screened the afternoon of Friday, November 17th; “Quite Contrary” as part of the 1:30 block, and “Machinations” with the 3:30 block.

It’s funny — I find my feelings about this film swing wildly, and I’m coming to realize that a big part of that is audience reaction. I was really excited about the film once we finished it and showed a few people, all of whom really got into it. Then I showed it to some folks here at the office, and it didn’t get as overt a response; not that they didn’t like it, but they didn’t really show anything one way or another. I was kind of bummed about it after that. Then we had our cast and crew screening — definitely a positive response — and I was back on top again (which is when I submitted it to Georgetown). Another screening for the creative department at my office, and another lackluster reception — a Q&A with no “Q” doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Crap.

And now — after sending out the news to the Tohubohu mailing list, I find myself checking my inbox every few minutes to see if anyone’s responded.

You know, for an “artist” who’s supposedly self-driven, who isn’t supposed to care how the audience receives my work, I’m not doing a very good job of staying aloof.

Why Can’t We Be Friends?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 12:07:00 +0000

So now that the GOP has been spanked, Duh-bya just wants to work together. As if six years of unbridled hostility, criminal negligence, and offenses against the Constitution of the United States could just be written off as bygones.

Screw you, dumbass. Paybacks are a bitch.

Who Knew There Were That Many?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 03:02:00 +0000

Wow. And here they say that homosexuals make up somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the population. Well, apparently not in Virginia.

Who would have thought that 58 percent of Virginians were actually closeted homosexuals so desperate to hide their sexual orientation that they’d actually vote for such an overtly fascist measure as this Constitutional amendment?

Actually, you have to figure that the percentage of homosexuals in the state is much higher, as you’ve got to count on those who actually aren’t so uncomfortable with their sexuality (closeted or open). But man, that’s still a much higher number of gay people than I would have expected. And it’s so strange — in this day and age, we have support systems in place for people undergoing such a struggle. Sure, we may not live in an altogether tolerant society, but you don’t have to be an outcast.

So Virginia, you’re gay. And conflicted. We understand.

I think I’ll make it my goal in life to reach out to these poor folks and help them come to grips with their true natures. And the first step is making absolutely sure they understand themselves — and in no uncertain terms.

What? An Evangelical Activist Is Secretly Gay?

noreply@blogger.com (Bill) — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 19:51:00 +0000

Why am I not surprised in the least?

Pretty much just proves my point — the folks who rail most loudly against gay rights are in fact gay themselves. Pretty much across the board.