Archive for the ‘ Video ’ Category

The Way We Get By

So, this weekend I headed over to the IMA for the Indianapolis International Film Festival.  I honestly meant to take in more of the festival, but I’ve been kind of busy. But I told myself that no matter what I would at least make it to the screenings of people I knew. Tomorrow (or today-Wedneday the 22), I’m checking out my old friend Travis Betz’s movie Lo. It’s a fiction work, and I’m excited to go and catch up with him and see what he’s been working on. He’s always been so talented and I’m excited for this screening.

Anyway, another old classmate, Gita Pullapilly, had her documentary screen on Saturday and Sunday and I made it over for the Sunday matinee. It also opened at the IFC Center in New York this weekend as well. The movie centers around 3 elderly Bangor, Maine residents who show up to thank the troops returning home from Iraq or Afghanistan for their service. The first stop in the US on the soldiers’ trip home form the war zones is Bangor International Airport. The 3 greeters that are featured all have ties to the military, but the movie isn’t really about the troops and the wars. Instead the focus is on the 3 troop greeters who show up no matter what is going on in their own lives to say thank you to the soldiers serving overseas. It doesn’t get overly political and instead offers a glimpse into these lives, with a touching exposition of what it’s like to age in our country. Anyway, it was really good, and I cried (and it seemed like a lot of people were crying). It’ll be on Netflix soon, and you can add it to your queue. You can also head over to the site and check out the screenings page to see if there’s one coming up in your area.

Just watch the trailer, and you’ll get the gist.

Edited to add: While I think the main strength of the movie is the story of the troop greeters, I can’t believe I forgot to mention how nicely the movie is shot and edited. From a technical point-of-view I found it a joy to watch. When setting the scene, there are quick cuts used, but not at all in the “I’m trying to be edgy” sense. I found the visual treatment to be nicely styled, but not overdone and it allowed the story to shine.

Wanna go for a ride or you wanna go for a walk?



This is a classic YouTube favorite of mine (and Rob’s). We ask each other questions in this voice all the time while tilting our heads.

I’m off to meet Rob on an independent movie shoot. I’m going to do some photos from the set. It’s super hot in Indy today, and they’re shooting outside.

Train Station Choreography

So, last night I was super tired and IU just didn’t have a lot in me after doing the online tech support for my pops. Not his fault or anything, I was just tired. So anyway, last night Jen came over and I scanned some pictures for her to put on Facebook. Now, I’m inspired to do some of my own. Perhaps this weekend. Rob has a show tomorrow at Zanies with Yuki. Apparently there are 4 bands playing (really?). So tonight I sense some laying low even though it’s First Friday. I kind of want to go out, but I also want to stay home and plow through some stuff. I have a feeling with the temperature drop, I’ll end up choosing the stay in option. Because I am lame like that.

Today on Twitter Rachel Maddow shared this Dutch train station video. It seems to be inspired by one from T-Mobile last year in England. After watching both of these, I get teary that all those people collaborated to bring some random joy (and probably pimp some products, but whatever). Enjoy them!

Awwww…Kitty Plays Theremin

So, I needed a pickup, and this kitty is so darn cute. I thought I’d share so if any of you need a pick me up…

TGIF! Puppies!

Passed along from another friend…guy sings puppies to sleep. Awwww…I would have embedded it, but apparently the guy doesn’t want people to embed stuff on their sites for whatever reason.

It was a good day…brain dump…

Today was Rob’s 33rd birthday. We spent the morning having our DirecTV fixed by a wonderful tech named Frank. After the storms (I really don’t know which storm, but I am assuming it was the storm after the flooding sometime and probably the same storm in which our wireless router got fried) both of my receivers stopped working so I have been relying on Hulu to get my Shear Genius and Baby Borrowers fixes. Today, Frank installed a HD DVR and life is getting back to normal.

Anyway, after Frank left, Rob suggested leftover pizza for lunch and I countered since it was his birthday, we should go out to the Cheesecake Factory. So, off to the mall it was after a much-needed shower by yours truly. We sat outside, had a nice waiter and they brought out his Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake with confetti sprinkles and “Happy Birthday Rob” written in chocolate sauce with a candle. We took the 1974 SuperBeetle convertible that my dad so generously is loaning us for the summer (there’ll be a separate post with pics in the semi-near future) up to the Fashion Mall and had a nice late lunch and bought Rob some new kicks. I call them his driving shoes because they have thin soles so he can really feel the mechanics of the stick-shift Beetle and where the clutch actually kicks in. I have always worn thin-soled shoes when driving stick shift vehicles because it is something ingrained in me by The Wag at Frick’s Driving School in Mishwaka where I took driver’s ed eons ago. Anyway, it was raining in Anthropologie and the store was closed (I am assuming as a result of yesterday’s downpours), and we stopped in the Sharper Image- which is going out of business that advertises 50-70% off, but is really just normal prices because they mark it up before they mark it down- and laughed at the prices and what was left.

After we left, it was off to the Urgent Care for me as I am developing an ear infection which I just thought was from sleeping weird and maybe with my hand under my head (sometimes I do this and I wake up with a sore ear) until I noticed the right side of my throat hurt when I was swallowing. Just prior to 6 PM must be the perfect time to get to the Urgent Care because I was checked in without a wait and when I came back out to meet Rob the waiting room was full. I guess people get home, eat, and then go to the doctor. After that it was off to CVS where this lady told me I looked so happy and healthy and commented that the car probably contributed to that (which is totally true- it is like Prozac riding around in that thing).

Then I got home and watched some TV, ate some Parmesan breadsticks from Papa John’s (seriously the best breadsticks from a chain pizza place ever available), and saw that my cousin April started a blog about my Grandma and her paintings. That chick is so stinkin’ cool. It’s always cool when you grow up and you realize there are people in your family that you have stuff in common with and you’d probably want to be friends with them even if you weren’t related.

So, it was a good day. And because I’m not leaving you with a photo, I do want to leave you with this super cute doggy video. I could watch this guy’s YouTube video’s all day:

Song of the Day “Pounding”

Happy 4th of July. It was a good day all in all. Got off to a rough start since I didn’t sleep well, but the day ended well, as I ate really good watermelon with Rob as the sun went down. I hate fireworks that people do at their homes though. I’m kind of a curmudgeon that way.

Anyway, this song is doing great things for my mood right now, and I thought I’d share it with ya. Enjoy the UK’s Doves with probably one of my favorite songs of theirs “Pounding”.

Quite Possibly the Cutest Thing Ever

Cats don’t like water normally. Usually they will do anything they can to avoid it. Some cats will splash in really shallow water (like ours), but they sure as heck don’t like being submerged. I give you the bathtub kitty.

Songs of the Day

Robbie Williams – “Angels”
When I was watching this video today I couldn’t help but singing along at the top of my lungs while Rob started organizing his stuff we had to evacuate. The version on the DVD I was watching has Bonnie Raitt taking on the guitar solo. It seems more appropriate though to show tis version from Glastonbury Festival 1998. As with Woodstock it seems that teh weather is always a little wonky at the festival, and it is kind of a running joke that if you go, it will involve people mudsliding in their swimsuits (or naked) at some point. Well, this performance by Robbie was during a break in the rain an the sun started peeking through and I thought it was totally appropriate for what we’ve been going through here.

And as a bonus, because I think every day deserves a Kylie Minogue song, here’s “Spinning Around” with Kylie workin’ her famous gold hotpants. Like Madonna, Kylie excels at booty-shakin’ pop/dance music. I just wish I had her butt to shake.

Cleaning Out My Closets

I have been attacking my closet with a slow and steady pace. Sunday night I started going through my closet. I needed something cheesy and mindless to watch and our DirecTV box is out in the bedroom, so I grabbed our Apple TV from the living room and brought it in the bedroom. I tested out the movie rental feature by renting 27 Dresses. It was exactly the kind of light-hearted, predictable rom-com that I was in the mood to watch. If you can believe I had 22 black dresses in my closet ranging form casual to dressy and my goal by the end of the movie was to halve the number of LBD’s in my closet. I am proud to say I achieved my goal.

Yesterday I got rid of more dresses in various colors.  While undertaking that feat, I streamed episodes of AMC’s Mad Men on the Apple TV.  I love the show and am so excited for the new season on July 27.  Plus, the costuming is so wonderful and I imagine myself to be as hot as Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway (the redheaded office manager), so it made it easier to let go of clothes that didn’t make me feel great.

Anyway, tonight was skirt and pant purge night.  So first I started with YouTube ABBA videos, but I was getting tired of finding a new one after one ended.  Rob suggested hitting up our DVD closet.  There was no ABBA, but there were tons of other musical goodies.  I tried to watch Later…with Jools Holland on DVD, but it kept screwing up.  So, I moved on to Kylie Minogue’s Body Language DVD.  There were some skippable moments, but overall it’s a joy to watch.  She has such great style and  she’s just so cute (well, when she doesn’t look like Joan Rivers).  

Anyway, when that was done, there was more work to be done in the form of folding clean laundry, so I popped in this Michel Gondry video anthology I have.  Side A is pretty good, and I’m not familiar enough with his earlier work or the artists he worked with to be interested in Side B yet- maybe another night.

I have been watching the videos going chronologically backward starting in 2003 with the White Stripes “Hardest Button to Button”.  I like how Gondry riffs on repetition in this collection.  Visually, he uses two different views or combines takes and has lots of dreamy repetitive people walking around.  Anyway, Michel Gondry is one of the things on the list over at Stuff White People Like.  I do recommend at least heading over to YouTube and watching some videos.  They are such nice eye candy and he definitely has a unique point of view and even when using the same “gimmick” of repetition in a few videos, he manages to keep it fresh.

Here are a couple of my favorite videos:

“Come Into My World” – Kylie Minogue – Kylies EVERYWHERE!

“Let Forever Be” – The Chemical Brothers – Hard to tell on YouTube, but uses video and film in a nice contrast.

“The Hardest Button to Button” – The White Stripes – Just a great pairing of simple visuals that really work with the music…