Posts published by “Joe Dillingham”
When you didn’t think The Black Laser could get ANY dorkier, here’s a 30 minute program from 1986 about (then) moden computer music technology. Seriously, check this shit. It is SO HOT.
In another 25 years, it will be amazing to look back at our current ZOMG SO HIGH TECH stuff right now with the same sense of quaintness that I feel about this show. 8mb hard disk? Floppies? 1200 baud Hayes-compatible modems? 7000 1986 dollar CD burners ($18,587.63 in today’s dollars)? EGA screens capable of displaying 16 colors? THE FUTURE WAS THEN!
After the unmitigated disaster that was my Theme for 2010, it’s time to reevaluate the way I intend to approach 2011. But first, let’s explore what I set out to do for 2010 and where I think everything went wrong because, without exaggeration, everything went wrong.
The thing you’ll notice first when looking over at the tally for the year in the right hand column is that I accomplished basically nothing of what I intended at this time last year. My grand plans to write something substantial every single month AND make three music videos fell right through the floor. Whose fault is that? Mine, of course. But, the other question is am I upset about it? Nope. Not at all.
Where was all the work? It was there, but not in the places I intended. 2010 was a very busy year for me professionally and with other personal projects. As it turned out, I engaged in a ton of projects through the year.
What the hell did I spend all year doing? Well, I cut a film, 6 other videos, a bunch of commercials, I took the whole summer off, I moved out of my old apartment and adjusted to life as a single man, I traveled around the country, I reconnected with old friends, I made new friends, I made music, I partied way too much, and who knows what else. The bottom line is that I was busy busy busy and I enjoyed (almost) every moment of it.
So, I didn’t get the things done I wanted to get done this year, but in the face of a major shift in my life, I was able to accomplish a number of other things. I feel good about how 2010 turned out overall and have no complaints. Sure, in retrospect I could have slowed my roll a little bit and gotten more done, but I needed to get it out of my system too. I also think that the important part about the theme is not that I make something specific, but that I make something no matter what it is. The idea is to be creatively active, engaged, making things.
The theme for 2011 will be…
The Year of 12 Projects (and Slowing My Roll)
What does this entail? Simple. For each month of the year I will do something creative that requires more than one sitting. It’s not going to be one-per-month to allow for me to do 2 at once or skip a month if needed, but as there are 12 months in the year, so will I walk into 2012 with 12 projects finished. What the scope or nature of these projects will be I cannot say. The only requirement is that they are creative. It could be anything. Right off the bat, I am thinking of redesigning The Black Laser, getting josephdillingham.com up and running, a short story set in OUTER SPACE!!!!, some music, a music video for my friend Mandy, and whatever the hell else my brain comes up with. Make make make.
The other half of the theme is to slow my roll. If you don’t understand what I mean, it can be boiled down to two words: party less. I’ve gone a little nuts this year and it’s taking its toll on me. It’s been the default mode for me this year. When I don’t have anything to do, I go out. Bad news. I need to figure out ways to entertain myself that don’t end with an empty wallet and a scarred liver. Common sense, I think. Besides, I have some trips planned for later this year and it would be nice to be able to afford them.
There it is. Look out for posts tagged “The Year of 12 Projects”. When the first one is done, I will make a new box on the right. Or I won’t. Wouldn’t you like to know?!?!
I hope you’re having a festive Christmas with your family. For those of you who don’t buy into the whole “God impregnated a little Jewish girl who then had the baby in a fucking barn while three Asian dudes checked her shit out and brought her a bunch of crap she didn’t need and, oh yeah, there’s some farm animals hanging out too” spiel, then I hope you’re having a nice time off work. And if you’re unlucky enough to be working, then may god (the virgin impregnator) have mercy on your soul (such as it exists).
To celebrate this festive, made-up holiday, let’s watch some fucking videos, eh!?
First off, GWAR!!!!!!
Will Ferrell and John C Reilly’s Little Drummer Boy!!!!!!
Brett Domino doing Fairytale of New York!!!!!!
Majela ZeZe Diamond singing her Christmas hit!!!!!
A Very Tron Christmas Special!!!
This morning on the train I was staring through the subway window letting my brain go where ever the hell it is my brain wants to go when I’m well rested (read: all over the fucking place), when I remembered a scene from the 1987 live action He-Man film that, for some reason or another, has always stuck with me.
It goes something like this:
EXT. DAYTIME BUSHES – MAN AT ARMS, his DAUGHTER, and the little WIZARD dude are hiding in some bushes. TEENAGE LEAD approaches them with a bucket of fried chicken. They commence to eat said fried chicken while still hiding in the bush.
What is this? It’s quite delicious!
MAN AT ARMS
Chicken. Pretty good too.
DAUGHTER
A chicken? Like the animal?
MAN AT ARMS
Yup.
DAUGHTER
You mean this was alive? They eat animals?
MAN AT ARMS
Yup. We used to eat like this back in the war.
Daughter and little Wizard look disgusted an drop their chicken back into the bucket. Man At Arms keeps eating, enjoying every bite.
Barbaric!
I don’t know WHY this has always stuck with me. The movie is wholly unremarkable, even to a 7 year old. But there’s something about Man At Arm’s “fuck it” attitude here that resonated with young Joe. I have snippets of other stuff from the film—the time key, Courtney Cox, Skeletor turning into super Skeletor at the end, Dolph Lundgren—but this scene is easily the clearest.
Weird how that happens, eh?
You’ll remember a few days ago that my friends Charles and Matt came out with their Better Names for Baby book. Well they’ve been getting some decent press across the old interwebs and I thought it worth sharing with you.
The first, and best, was when they were featured at Boing Boing.
Appropriately, the readership of Boing Boing got the joke and overall people were pretty positive about the book. And why shouldn’t they be? It’s hilarious. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for other sites.
From Church Crunch:
It looks like the author of the post didn’t even bother to read the book at all, but one of the commenters did.
AAAANnnnddd clearly he didn’t get it at all. Oops!
They got a similar reaction to this post about the book from The Bump:
Though the author of the post gets it, some of the commenters seem a little lost.
It was also posted about on the CH Runners forum. The initial post is right on, but some of the comments are damn strange.
…and then they get weird.
Well maybe it’s just that one dude. Overall, the rest of the commenters got it. And then Charles chimed in.
A couple months ago at a screening of The Frontiersman’s Wife, a film I edited, I shocked myself by heckling my own film It was then I realized I am an inveterate heckler to the point that even my own work is not safe from my snarky commentary. Charles is the internet version of that trolling a thread about his work. Hilarious.
If you haven’t yet bought a copy, do. Better Names for Baby.