The Horror! The Horror!

A few weeks ago I participated in the first ever Pittsburgh 48 Hour Horror Film Project, and guess what...?  My team's entry "RUNNER" won best actress, best villain, and runner up for best film in the festival!  If you're not familiar with 48 hour film projects, then let me get you up to speed:  The 48 Hour Film Project is an event that takes place in different cities internationally throughout the year.  Each team entered attends a meeting where they're given a movie genre, a character, a prop, and a line of dialogue.  They then have 48 hours to write, film, edit, and deliver a short film using all of those elements.  Fun, huh?  I'm really proud of how the movie turned out and looking forward to working with Locust Street Entertainment on a lot of projects in the future.  What do you think of the film? Check it out below. 

(Warning: This is a horror film.  It gets a little creepy) 

And while you're at it, check out Locust Street's Podcasts here: LocastNetwork.com  They talk everything from politics to mixed drinks to alien world takeovers.  You're sure to find something you like on their network.  

Have a horrible day!

Back to Wolf Rocks

     I revisited Wolf Rocks last weekend with Eva in hopes of using my new equipment and my one year sharper eye for videography to remake the wobbly video I made when this blog was just starting out.  Perhaps you remember me ranting about needing a glidecam and complaining about the shakiness of the shots?  This time I was equipped with not only my camping gear, but about fifteen extra pounds of camera gear to get the job done right.  We hiked in on friday expecting to stay for two to three days to film, but were once again prevented from completing the task -- this time weather was the enemy.  The snow on the ground wasn't much of a problem, but after a night of 24 degrees in my 45 degree rated sleeping and no sign of raising temperatures on the following evening, we left without a completed video.  I did, however, manage to snap a few good photos to share.  Another video will be up shortly, and hopefully sometime in the future I'll be able to show you wolf rocks in a movie that's up to my standards.  Until then enjoy these.      

Spring is finally here.  

Have a warm day.  

Old Video!

     

     It's tax time so I've received and spent my tax return on camera equipment once again.  The majority of it was spent on a brand new GoPro HD Hero3 Camera and some accessories.  Black edition, of course. Woo!  That should come in handy in the coming months.  I'm still planning to make a new biking video when the weather warms up, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy this this old video of me riding that I found tucked away in a back corner of my computer.

Have an enjoyable day!

Video!

I visited my aunt's house on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest a few weeks back and came up with this short video of my cousin.  Hope you enjoy!

Better late than never

     Well, I'm right on time again--about a week late. . . I think bi-weekly is a reasonable timeframe for blog posts though.  Maybe I'll adopt that for now, and hopefully there will be some bonus blogs for you along the way too.

     The world didn't end (damn mayans), so I guess I owe you another post now.  In these past  snowy weeks, I've been putting my east coast BMX adventure to words in what I hope one day will be an entertaining book.  I've also started noting--each day--my accomplishments in a journal.  I haven't yet devised a penalty/award system for myself, but it is rewarding regardless.  Today's list included selling my old computer and (finally) putting together a (joke) slideshow using my pictures from Europe. Productive. Once I remove some faces that prefer to not be shown, I'll probably post it up here.  I've taken some pictures recently too, but haven't had time to do the editing on the majority of them, but here's what I have for you now.

  

Have a snowy, productive day.

Thankful.

     It's a day for giving thanks, and I am very thankful today.  I've got a belly full of turkey and all the fixin's, but only cause I was pretty lucky this week.  I crashed my truck coming home from work on saturday night, and came very close to not walking away from it.  There was a winding road, some gravel, a guard rail, a big hill, and of course, the tree which I barely missed.  After a short head-trauma-induced nap, I managed to get myself home without the car.  Talk about bad stories!  So, now I'm mostly incapacitated with a bruised ribcage and a pounding headache, and without a truck to get around, but you can bet I'm grateful to be with my family today.  

Have a thankful day.  

Better learn quick!

     It's getting cold!  But it's still warmish for now.  I was rained out of a little photo endeavor I had planned, so I spent the week doing things I haven't done much recently; playing poker (I thought I'd be rusty, but actually winning!) and during the dry days riding flatland BMX; both things at which I used to be quite adept, but which I've practiced much less than necessary to stay on top of.  Poker went well, as I said, but I still need a little work on the bike to get back all of my old tricks. I'm hoping to relearn enough before the winter rolls in to make a video for the site.  I was watching videos online to get some inspiration, and came across this:

GoPro HERO3

Great... a new toy I have to buy!   Maybe later, but if anyone would like to purchase me one of these, or purchase yourself one for that matter, you can do so here:  Gopro.com  I'll take the black edition, please!

Have a warmish day.

And in record time...

    The Hilton Head Island video is done.  This is a first cut of the footage, so I may be piecing together a few other edits using the same clips.  Who knows!  I sure don't.  I hope you all enjoy it.  Let me know what you think.  I'll be camping this weekend and filming for the next addition to my video collection.  This one should top all the rest if all goes to plan.

Have a pleasant day.

So... I guess you've noticed...

     I missed last week's post.  No... the blog isn't dead... I was on vacation with my family and for that I apologize.  What I don't apologize for, however, is the all the spectacular video footage I got while I was away.  It was a huge success, even though I probably did more work filming and photographing the whole endeavor than I would have done if I had stayed home at my job.  No matter.  If I wanted to rest I could have stayed in bed.  So, anyways, blog posts will now continue as normal, and I'll have the footage (about 300 video clips to be exact) put together to show you all within the next few weeks.  Until then you can look to these great videos which I'll be viewing for inspiration in making mine.

Have a successful day.

New VENTURES

       Busy, busy, busy.  Trips to plan. . . weddings to attend. . . ideas to crystalize. . .  My friend is getting married this weekend.  There's one of the few adventures I don't think I'm ready for at the moment.  On the topic of adventures I am ready for, however, I'll be going to South Carolina next weekend, and if I can keep myself from getting too distracted with the fun I'll be making a video for you all to see.  Apart from that news, I've been talking about Rube Goldberg a bit with another friend of mine. . .  you know, the ridiculous, overly elaborate machines that people engineer to do mundane tasks for no particular reason other than having some fun. . .  well anyways, she and I may have a little something fun to exhibit ourselves in a short while.  Stay tuned for the South Carolina video, and the other little surprise we're planning in the coming weeks.    

       You may have noticed there are some extra buttons at the top of the screen.  They'll help everyone keep up with all of my ventures outside of this blog.  I'm most excited about the trading post.  I've wanted to do something more with my photography for a while, but didn't know what until just recently.  It only has one item for now, but it'll grow in time.  I'll let you check it out for yourself, but heres a little hint of whats inside, or rather a dead giveaway. 

Have a ridiculous day.

No blog this week. Wait, never mind there is one.

       There was to be no blog to read this Friday as I had planned to be exploring the wilds of Pittsburgh on my bike and my newly purchased $19 inflatable raft and making a film of the journey, but now there will be one... this one.  Due to a torrential downpour and a lightning strike within throwing distance of myself within a mile of my starting point, I've chosen to postpone the trip until next week (weather permitting).  This will be the first of my 'Mystery Adventure's of the Month'. (Sounds dumb, I know, but it'll be fun.)  I will be accepting ideas for short (2-3 day max.) adventure challenges (preferably outdoor ones, but I'm open to your own interpretation of 'adventure') from my friends and the readers of this blog each month, then I'll take the best ideas, throw them in a hat, and pick one at random to attempt.  The outcome will be presented to you as a blog entry, and usually (hopefully) a video accompaniment.  I'll be setting up a way to submit ideas soon, but if you can't wait 'til then, feel free to comment on any of my posts with your challenge.  There'll be a few other new additions to the site coming soon as well, but I'll leave you to wonder about them yourself for now.  (wow there were a lot of parenthesis in this post!)

Have a mysterious day.  

The days are getting shorter!

     That's because the summer solstice was a few weeks back.  Bar 11, the strangest bar in Pittsburgh, hosted their annual party on that day, which I mentioned before.  Here's the video I came up with...

     It was a little dark in there, and my gopro ran out of batteries about halfway through the night, but I think I still captured the feel of the occasion.  I hope you all think so too.

P.S. The song's copyright owners won't allow the video to be played on mobile devices, so you'll have to watch it on a computer.   Sorry!

Have a strange day.

Happy birthday to me.

  
    Maybe not the most appropriate picture for a birthday celebration, but whatever.  I like it.  Got a GoPro HERO2 for my birthday on Monday.  Awesome!  Now I won't be having to purchase one for my next video endeavor.  It wasn't even a year ago that I thought these little cameras were toys, but then I saw what they can do in many videos online.

     I couldn't wait to try one myself.  I've talked to Rob at bar 11 and will be filming for my next video this and next weekend.  If I can get the hang of this new camera then it should be a good one. Pictures are fun.  Heres a few from a short trip to McConnells Mill state park a few weeks back.

Sorry about the less than eventful post, but hey, its my damn birthday!

Have a productive day yourself.

The video is done!

So, my entry into Alastair Humphrey's micro adventure film festival is finally ready for your viewing pleasure and critique.  Let me know what you think of it on here, or on youtube.  You'll probably find it a little cheesy, but hopefully in an uplifting, motivational speaker kind of way, not a hacky bad comedian way.  I'm happy with how it turned out for the most part, and I think it embodies the feel Alastair is going for with this contest, and with his micro adventures.

Here it is:

My next video will be about rain...  inside...  hopefully...   Stay tuned in june to check it out.


Have an uplifting, motivated day.

Good use of the 5-9

So, this past week was spent cooking up half baked plans to travel, to live without a traditional 9-5, and myriad other pipe dreams.  For now they are just that, but I am making progress (at least in my mind) on the blog, photo, and video front.  Just yesterday I finished filming for my entry into Alistair Humphreys's micro-adventure film festival.  The adventure was quite micro, and mostly a mental one I suppose, but a fun one none-the-less.  You'll have to wait until it's fully edited next week or so to find out exactly what it is, though.  Make sure to vote for me on his website when the time comes (I'll remind you).

Until then, have a splendid day.

More potential than you think.

        Life is so busy!  The video of Eva with her bees is mostly done, but I won't have it up until tomorrow or sunday.  It's not my best work but it certainly isn't my worst.  I have to use whatever music I can find that's free to license, so I'm not always happy with the audio track, but I do with it what I can.  I'm just glad to be behind a camera again.  I let myself fall through the cracks on that and some other things in the recent past, but I think I'm on the right track again.  It would have been nicer if I hadn't fallen off them in the first place though.  Have you ever imagined what it would be like if you never stopped pursuing what you wanted in life?  As a child, maybe you played a sport, maybe played an instrument, maybe you wrote stories; you had dreams that you put a lot of time in to is the point.  But adulthood reared its ugly head and those dreams were probably pushed to a back burner, or off the stove entirely.  I had these thoughts while looking at my young cousin a little while back.  He was about four at the time and I thought to myself for the first time "Wow! He has all the opportunity in the world.  No commitments to hold him down. He can go any direction he chooses  and he has all the time in the world to perfect whatever his pursuit might be."  Then I thought of how I had let life get in the way of some of the things I used to pursue and realized that he too probably wouldn't understand his potential until it was too late -- but wait -- then I took a step back for a minute.  If I, a twenty-something wanna-be-adventurer, could see this in my little cousin, what did the forty-somethings lamenting their own direction in life think of me, and the sixty-somethings of them.  Its never too late to make a change and to choose the life you want for yourself.  I guess if you're a fifty-eight year old trying to break into the professional stunt unicycling circuit you might get some laughs from the younger participants, but what else are you gonna do? Not go after what you want?  So, I fell off the rails for a while.  Oh well.  Time to play catch up i guess.  Unless you're a total pessimist, or a total procrastinator, or a hundred years old (and that one's debatable), there is always potential, and I hope I can always keep that idea with me.

P.S. If any hundred year olds (or even ninety year olds),  are for some reason reading this, get in touch with me, cause I bet you have some awesome stories to tell.  And if anyone reading has any music tracks they would like to allow me to use in future videos, please get in touch with me as well, and I'll see what I can do with them.   THANKS!

Have an optimistic day.

   

Hopes for the future, thoughts from the past

          I finally caved and bought myself a Glidecam to steady up my videos... and it is totally worth it.  I can't afford it, but I figure $400 more indebtedness to help myself do what I really want to do is worth it in the long run.  Expect some (steady) new videos soon.        

         I'd really like for this to be a travel blog, but because of my current employment situation, I don't have much time for travel or adventure, except the micro kind. But if things go to plan, I might be doing a lot more in the near future... more on that as it develops.  For now, though, I'm going to focus on some musings of mine made in the past in journals, phone notes, napkins, and whatever else I had around while I was traveling.  I think it's a good insight into my philosophy of travel, and life in general, and it'll be fun to share.  So in the near future you can expect to see some blogs about:

       - The two questions to ask yourself before diving into something.

       - Looking forward to looking back.

       - Being where you are.

       - Keys.

       - Problems that money can't solve.

       - The best beer I ever had.

       That's all I really have for now.  So I'll leave you with an entertaining pic of myself with Jedi Mickey at the Brandenburger Tor. 

Photo credit for this blog post goes to Mr. Broox

Deadgar.

My pet rat Edgar died this week.  He was due I guess.  He had outlived his life expectancy by over 25% so thats pretty good.  Of course we gave sent him off to Valhalla with a proper viking rat funeral.

 I had worked on a dumb little video with him, but never finished it so I decided to throw it all together as a little memorial for him.  Here it is:

Yes, when I said dumb I wasn't lying.

Filler

Went camping last weekend at wolf rocks and loved it.  I have some videos in the works as we speak.  Until they're done (assuming they are up to standards) heres something for you to watch and think about.  I couldn't say it better myself.

I'll end this post just as an older woman ended her conversation with me earlier this week.

Have a nice life time.

Woods.In the woods.

Eva and I went for a walk in the woods yesterday.  It was fun.  I took all these (and many more) photos along with some videos that didn't turn out so well.  I need a steady cam to balance my shots out.  I woke up today with my first ever tick bleeding me dry from the back of my calf.  The sucker almost made me late for work (god forbid!).  In other exciting news, I found a counterfeit $100 bill at work today.  It is amazing what they've done with these things! They look identical to real bills, they have blue and red security threads throughout the paper, magnetic strips in the paper that read 'USA 100', a watermark, and they even pass the counterfeit marker test that is the standard in checking for bad bills.  The only thing wrong with the bills is that the serial number for the bills is incorrect for the year they claim to be issued in.  So, looking at all the bills in front of me, one fake, the rest real, I got to thinking what the real difference is.  I already harbor great disdain for our money system, so it didn't take a big effort to jump to the side of the counterfeiters.  If we had any integrity in our economy I might be upset with people trying to cheat the system, but when the system is cheating us, I'm the first to cheer on the little guy, big as they may be to have the resources to make such pristine fake bills.  If you don't yet know how our money system works you should look in to it.  Money as Debt on youtube is a good, if cheesy, intro. It may be a little boring for some but the information is extremely valuable and not enough people take the time to familiarize themselves with it.  Sorry to turn this into an economy rant, I'll stop now.  I'll be purchasing my steady cam with my tax refund (taxes, don't get me started on those!) and should be updating with some nice stable videos soon.  I also have three other vids in the works and on the verge of completion.  You'll see them soon enough.  For now, heres some woods photos.

Swamp

Nicely framed picture of nothing in particular

I love this thing! ^^^ as far as i can tell a twig was stuck in the ground when a flood happened and the twig collected various floating debris until it came out looking like a strange flower.

Eva loved this Red fungus so we put it near this nice green moss.

Thats all for now.  Have a relaxing day.