Not Tonight Dasha, I've got a Headache

Yesterday's Times had an amusing article about the rising middle class in Russia, and their penchant for remaking the American Situation Comedy.

What better example than to remake Married...With Children. It's a funny article, only because of the clips also attached show an exact replica of the Chicago home of Al and Peg Bundy.

The US, is of course no stranger to stealing shows from another country. Three's Company, The Office, American Idol etc... have all been pilfered for American sensibilities.

Sucker!

So, Apple reduced the price of their iPhone by $200. Awesome. Great news, except for the suckers that bought one a couple of months ago.

The snobs are PISSED! Which, quite frankly, I don't understand. The chumps have raised such a stink that Stevie Jobs is giving them all $100 to use on Apple stuff. What a mistake! Any high school kid can tell you that it's simple demand and supply economics.

If you just had to have the latest gadget, and you clearly have six bills laying around
not doing much, then you got to be cool for a couple of months.

Let's be honest, a $400 price tag is still out of reach of the average person, so the iPhone is still a status symbol.

So stop your cryin' you spendthrift elitist suckers.

Light-en Up New York!

The City that Never Sleeps has been dozing while many cities have been staging all night culture fests. One night per year, several venues/locations open up all over a city for the entire night, where contemporary artists can do their thing.

Some will argue that you could do that in New York on any night. There is a difference though. It would be free, open to the public and it becomes and event. People get excited about events and are more likely to go out and support the arts. It also gives parents an option to take their kids to a family friendly late night party.

A few years ago, I did the L.A.T.E. Ride through Chicago (ride throughout the city late at night) and pushing your body through fatigue was one of the best times of my life.

Tha Real Gangstaz

Although it's old news, the Times has an article today about the many towns in America that are trying to make saggy pants illegal. I've heard that story before, but it looks like it's reaching a head now.

My favourite quote: . “We used to wear long hair, but I don’t think our trends were ever as bad as sagging,”

....uh actually, it's the EXACT same thing. What did people think of the long hair hippies, and remember the Zoot Suit Riots? It's called a fashion trend. Albeit, not a good one. One that will go away, hopefully soon.

However, we all know that the bad men that steal millions of dollars from thousands of people and kill tons more people, and get away with it don't wear sagging pants. They wear suits and ties.

Japanese Monster Movie - For REAL!

The ugly cicada is wreaking havoc in Japan. They love to munch on Fibre-Optic cables, thus cutting people's internet. They also emit that annoying noise. Couple thousands of them together, and they could make you deaf. For real.

Did you need another reason to hate them?

Google Earth, now with more Sky!

I got so excited when Google Earth first came out. Who knew that so many people in my 'hood had swimming pools?

Well the nerds have compiled another huge dataset and have added the sky to Google Earth.

Not geared towards the nerds, or professional astronomers, Google Sky looks like it should be just fine for the lay person, and perhaps turn some of them into astronomers.

You can search for astronomical objects by their NGC number (nerdy), their Messier Catalogue Number (geeky), or their common name (why bother then?). You can also choose a piece of the sky and zoom in to Hubble Space Telescope grade images or zoom out.

Although not as useful as Starry Night (still the standard), I'm sure Google Sky is on it's way to putting them out of business.

They Call Me Mista Silva Fox

I was brushing my teeth last night, and in the mirror, much to my horror, I saw one massively long grey hair.

Apparently, I have another one near my ear too.


It's all downhill from here, folks.

Two Middle Fingers

Oh, Po-Po why are you getting so ridiculous?

At a seemingly peaceful protest in Montebello, QC three obviously different looking protesters started making a big deal. Most protesters were middle-aged middle class folks. These guys were dressed like stereo-typical anarchists.

The three outsiders turned out to be a bunch of cops acting as 'provocateurs'.

I couldn't make this stuff up. The video is something else.

Totally Trippy....

A really interesting story about nerds being able to produce 'out-of-body' experiences for subjects.

I think it works something like this: They get a volunteer to put on virtual reality glasses. The image they see is of their self. Then they stimulate the person, like rubbing them with a stick. They see an image of themselves being rubbed with a stick.

Then, they stop rubbing the real person, but the volunteer sees their image still being rubbed. Then the nerds pretend to like smash the virtual volunteer. The real volunteer will wince in pain, as if they had really been struck. Freaky.

They say it could explain other out-of-body experiences.

Like, Whoa. Duuuuuude.

Vawoooosh!: An ode to Al Bundy

Growing up, my parents were pretty liberal in the music, tv and movies that my sister and I could watch. However, Married With Children was where the line was drawn. When my parents weren't at home, I'd always sneak an episode in, and always enjoyed it's low brow jokes.

Somehow, I stumbled upon this page that celebrates Al Bundy and his trusty Ferguson toilet. The source of the page is The Poop Report. A site where a big ol' dump is celebrated. My kind of place.

Humor aside, the site is actually interesting with some good writing.

Breakfast for Dinner

Who's Hungry
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

I've been working on a commercial/film for Johnnie Walker the last few nights. We've been shooting in a pretty cool space in the hipster wasteland of East Williamsburg called 3rd Ward.

It's been pretty straightforward, as I'm recording sound on it. However, there really isn't that much dialogue in the piece. However, it's still fun to be on set and learn from what's going on around me.

The one drawback, we are shooting nights, from 6pm to 6am. It's taking me a while to get used to the switched schedule, and so I've been exhausted the last couple of days.

Red Envelope, Never Blue

We here at Subatomic Films have been Netflix subscribers for years. The overhead at the office is high, so we can't afford cable. But for $17/month we watch a lot of DVD's. TV Shows, indie movies, classics or even heavy metal shows, Netflix has never let us down. In fact, they've completely changed the way we watch movies.

On the other hand, we hate Blockbuster. They ripped off millions of customers for years, and are finally feeling it. Unfortunately, their home delivery service (a shameless ripoff of Netflix) is getting larger and larger.

Netflix though, always has the upper hand and are the true innovators. They've done away with email support completely, and offer proper US-based customer service 24/7.

Watch for Blockbuster to make similar moves next year.

The Office is Open

DNA Inspiration?
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

The Subatomic Films office took a little jaunt down to the Dominican Republic for a little R&R. It was actually a friend's wedding, but a lot of R&R was had.

Haven't been on a vacation in many many years, so it was great to do absolutely nothing for a change. Some may question that last sentence completely, but whatever.

I had no clue that there was so much important history in Santo Domingo (namely, it's the first city in the New World).

Either way, we are back in the office, and regular blogging shall return.

Obnoxious Cat Post #1: Smokestack, we love you.

Wink Wink
Originally uploaded by Ewwwwwwww.

I've resisted posts about my cat for far too long.

I've heard rumours of it, and I've seen evidence of it before. I saw it with my own eyes last night. Theo tracked down a bug in our kitchen (just an itty bitty one) and killed him. I think he ate it after.

Go Theo Smokestack!

Pictures Flying through the Air: RIP Tom Snyder

We here at Subatomic Films are saddened to hear about the passing of Tom Snyder.

He had a show after Carson ages ago, but I got to know him once he started to host the Late Late Show after Letterman moved to CBS. This is before Craig Kilborn.

He had the most chilled and relaxed set, with no audience and a very simple set. The guests genuinely enjoyed themselves with a break from the usual dumb interview questions.

Above all, it looked like he was having a good time.

I'm such a nerd that I even sent him a fan letter back in highschool, and he responded with a cool autographed pic.

The best part of the show was before the first commercial when he'd fire off his eloquent catch-phrase: "Fire up the colortinis, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air"

Oh America

Making the "Pilgrim"-age
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

The production has moved to the East Coast, namely Coastal MA. We've been shooting at this amusement park named Edaville Railway. The park is pretty much for train enthusiasts and their families. I've got to admit, I think I'm a train enthusiast in training. I've always wanted to yell "All Aboard!" and travel across the country, picking up hobos and other good people. One day. One day.

I also made the trip to Plymouth Rock, and that was kind of cool. It's kind of cheesy and touristy. But I'm able to look past that.

Hershey = Poor Man's Cadbury's

The Times has a great article confirming what we here at Subatomic Films already knew: you can't get a decent chocolate bar in the United States unless it's imported.

To think that people here think that Smarties are something other than chocolate with candy coating.

It's like Looking in the Mirror -again!?!?

Some of my faithful readers will remember my post about my Francis Ford Coppola alleged look-a-like.

Well on this shoot, working with the same people for 13 hours a day, people usually have nothing better to do than makeup nicknames for each other.

Mine has become "Sully", after the Monster's Inc. character. Here's a description of the character: " Sulley is a gentle and easy-going creature"

Usually, I'd be offended by being compared to a hairy, huge beast. However, Sully is just so cool. I'm taking it all in stride.

A Whole of Trubble

WTF?
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

Shooting continues on the movie that I've been working on. No major developments. We've even made it into the local paper. Unfortunately, you have to subscribe to the paper to read it's online content. I've got a newspaper clipping which I will post later. After a few personnel changes, I think the crew is settling in quite nicely together and I've made a few new friends.

Theo's People

I'm King of the Castle
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

A new study outlines the history of the domesticated cat to earlier than what once was expected.

The theory suggests that all house cats can be traced back to one of six mothers in the Middle East.

We all thought Theo came from Egypt, with the Sphinx and all that, but that's not the case. In fact, Theo's have been scrounging for food and playing with feathers for hundreds of years before that.

If you're a cat person, and even if you're not, you should read the article.