Waiting On The World To Change
I'm trying to finish the NYC movie by the end of the week, but that might be wishful thinking...next Monday might be more like it. This past week was great though; I went to another Mets game with Jinsoo, got a surprise visit from my old Baltimore roommate Nick, and visited the Dia Beacon with my former graduate advisor Melissa. Although the building (a museum north of the city which used to be an old Nabisco Factory) is best-known for its large installations, my favorite pieces were the photographs of industrial structures by Bernd and Hilla Becher. You have no idea why any of these environments were built, with pipes and stairways spouting out in hundreds of directions, but they're strangely beautiful.
Sunday, July 30 at 7:53 PM
Monday, July 24 at 5:13 PM
Wrong Turn
I was in DC a few days ago for some frog stuff with a couple of co-workers. We were driving back through the city on Thursday night, trying to find our hotel using the rental car's "Neverlost" GPS system. But come on, anything named Neverlost is just waiting to be proven wrong. So Neverlost blurts out a turn too late, and we're trying to get back on course. We go across a speed bump and into an area that looks pretty nice. As we drive up to a stop sign, a car speeds up from beside us and turns in front, blocking our path.
A policeman gets out of the car. We roll down the window and begin to ask for directions, but the officer speaks up first. "Gentlemen, this is a restricted area. Did you see the barricade?"
It turns out that speed bump was actually a lowered barricade that led us directly behind the U.S. Capital building, and pretty soon there were about 15 officers swarmed around the car. Awesome. Thanks a lot Neverlost. Now they think we're international terrorists. The guards soon realized that we really did just take a wrong turn and let us go. But not before taking down our names and information, so I'm probably on some No-Fly list now.
Not bad for a first business trip.
Saturday, July 22 at 3:30 PM
Faith Healer
Tonight my friend Maia was nice enough to invite me along to Faith Healer with Lord Voldemort and Emperor Palpatine. Driven almost entirely by monologues on a bare black stage, it was excellent storytelling told through three distinctly memorable performances. I really enjoyed it...now I've gotta see Uncle Vernon and Madame Maxine in The History Boys...
Tuesday, July 18 at 9:30 PM
Music
This past week flew by, and was spent tagging the wall at the Brooklyn Art Museum graffiti exhibit, watching Yo La Tengo and octopi at Prospect Park with Paris and AO, jumping off of chairs at frog karaoke night, celebrating Maia's birthday and learning how to cook with Chef Jinsoo.
And now for a pretty insane little story. Last week, a music producer called after seeing an OKSMM video on YouTube. He presented a respectable opportunity to head out to the west coast to work on a demo and pursue a music career. I say respectable because he's credited as the actual writer and producer behind one of the songs I've covered on video.
We had a great conversation; talking about the music industry, his past work, and creativity in general. It was not a hard sell at all, but rather a realistic look at the risks and difficulties that a successful music career would entail. We ended with the understanding that if I ever wanted to seriously pursue music, this was a possible open door. It certainly forced me to stop and think. Songwriting and performing have always been things I've done only for fun. Never a serious career decision. It's one of several creative outlets that seem to be in constant rotation, like illustration and film...but music and video work particularly well together. The typical length and progression of a song fits nicely into a bite-sized format for an online video audience.
Of course, I'm very happy with how things are going in New York, and the correct and responsible decision for now is definitely to continue down this path. I'd like to think it's not design vs. music, only limited to one choice. Original music really hasn't been a focus since doing those Linden Gilliaert songs back when Portfolio Center started, but I still pick up the guitar pretty much every day (rocking some acoustic Gnarls Barkley mixed in with Shakira this weekend...ha ha ha, bless your soul cuz' your hips don't lie...that sort of thing).
At the very least, it was incredibly cool and inspirational to talk with the guy responsible for creating one of my favorite songs. Okay Samurai started with music, and in some form or another, music will always continue to play a significant part in future creative projects. Shakira, shakira, does that make me craaaaaaaazy?
Sunday, July 16 at 12:52 PM
Tagging Along
This was another great weekend. Jinsoo let me tag along to a New York Philharmonic concert, which included a standing-ovation-worthy rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with some insane improvised piano solos. Then April, a close friend since 11th grade, let me tag along to an engagement party in Long Island. Everyone was incredibly nice, it was great to catch up, and I ate waaaay too many finger foods (the servers - Barbara in particular - quickly learned that I couldn't say no to mini cheeseburgers). We rounded off the weekend with Pirates of the Caribbean, Mario Kart (April's shell skills are unstoppable), and the World Cup (in a local bar where everyone else was watching the Mets or Yankees).
Sunday, July 9 at 10:35 PM
Interview at UnBeige
Check out a new interview on UnBeige here. Thanks to Alissa for the opportunity!
Thursday, July 6 at 10:15 PM
On the Rooftops of Brooklyn
Spending the 4th on a Brooklyn rooftop with Popeye's fried chicken while watching fireworks with Minus Five, Harpy, AO, FlyCon, Robertok, Jinsoo and others was awesome. It's sort of funny how we all keep up with each other through blogs nowadays...I always feel like I know what everyone is up to. Well, except Jinsoo.
Wednesday, July 5 at 5:57 PM
Got a Lot of Good Things On Sale, Stranger!
So I finally beat Resident Evil 4, which has been a long time coming (I've played it on and off for about a year and half). There are so many instances in the game where you are in complete panic and scared for your life. This is when video games, movies or books are at their best; when they give you an experience that is completely unlike everyday life (unless everyday life involves getting your head sliced off by a chainsaw-wielding maniac). I've always been inspired the most by people who create worlds (like J.K. Rowling, Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, Shigeru Miyamoto, John Lasseter) instead of flat one-off products.
Some Resident Evil 4 Videos:
★ Gamespot RE4 Review (7:56)
★ Making of Resident Evil 4 (9:28)
★ Mega64 RE4 Parody (2:06)
(Oh, and the mailbox is back up, now with some added frequently asked questions. Have a good Fourth of July!)
Sunday, July 2 at 5:51 PM
Okay Samurai Multimedia is Dave Werner's personal site. I'm currently working at Minor Studios in San Francisco. Thanks for visiting! (more...)
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