Big Screen!

Spiral Staircase
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

So we wrapped up the 2nd Year Films screening today. Honestly, it was a lot of fun to see everyone's films up on a big screen.

Actually, the big screen was the best part. My work has never been shown on such a huge screen and space. It brings everything into perspective.

I was kind of disappointed with my screening though, because the projector was quite dark, and my film is in black and white, so some scenes just didn't look great. Also, the sound mix sounded 'wrong'. Being in a large space really changes the way things sound. It was virtually impossible to test things before hand, so I didn't get a chance to fix it.

Oh well! My actors were, so I'm happy they were able to see themselves on a big screen.

After the screening there was a party at school, and it was a great time. Everyone (students, faculty, friends) all come out and shake their booty's. Free liquor and food!

Thanks to everyone that showed up!

Dinner for Two (and a movie)

Yuck
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

Tomorrow is the big screening, and I'm still at school putting the last touches on my opus.

I went up to 23rd St to pick up the brilliant score from the composer. On my way back to the subway, I decided to treat myself to some soup.

I've been sick this entire week, and right now I have a bad sore throat. So I decided that some good soup would be in order.

I went to Rickshaw Dumpling Bar because I remember an article saying how quick they are, and it was right on my way back to the train.

i got the Szechuan Chicken Dumplings (steamed, we're trying to be heart healthy!) in their vegetarian soup.

Took the train back to school, and dug into my meal. Way too salty. I'm really hungry so I ate a bit more, then I looked down and low and behold there's a dead fly staring right at me!

I've worked in the food industry before, so I'm not that grossed out about how unsanitary food can be. I'm sure it's an isolated incident. I wouldn't go back there though. Their food isn't that good.

Sun Setting on this Year

No Photoshop Required!
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

So the academic year is winding down. I'm busy re-editing my 2nd year film for our public screening this weekend. It's going to be a lot of work, but it should be a good time. This weekend is also the big end of year party, which is always a blow out (free liquor!).

Anyhoo, if you've got nothing to do this weekend, take a jaunt over to the Anthology Film Archives on Saturday and Sunday between 12 and 4pm and watch our films. Mine will be playing on Saturday at 1pm.

Roseanne is my Internal Body Clock

On Monday mornings I wake up at 7am and set my alarm accordingly. I had a dream early this morning that I was friends with Roseanne, and she walked by. "Hey Roseanne, what time is it?" I asked. She said "Twenty of".

I didn't believe her because it was a dream, and I'm always paranoid on Monday mornings about oversleeping. So I consciously woke up, grabbed my phone to look at the time, and it was: 6:41am.

Thanks for keeping me on time Roseannee!

Not only is Roseanne my Internal Clock, Bill Cosby is my Biological Clock.

The Night The Lights Went Out in Toronto

In a move that is already done in Australia, but not anywhere in North America, Toronto has passed legislation to ban the sale of Edison's incandescent bulb by 2012.

Personally, I think this is a great move. It saves SO much energy (about 75%) to move to fluorescents and LED type lights. Saves money and energy; there's no reason not to switch.

Most of the lights in the Subatomic Films office has been switched over, and I'm happy to say that on the last Subatomic Films production we used a set of LED light panels. I wonder if most studio lighting will switch over too?

Running First

Last night marked the end of NYU's First Run Film Festival, which is a yearly festival showcasing the work of NYU's film community. Unfortunately, none of my films were eligible (but they will be next year), but I went last night to check out some of the offerings.

On display were a selection of Undergrad and Grad Student films. I don't know, but the difference between the two groups are glaringly obvious. Most of the undergrad films have high production value and just look great. Unfortunately, the writing isn't as good. The grad films are usually lower budget but with better performances and writing.

One notable entry was The Soft Asylum, which is going to be tough to beat. Visually stunning, the complex story is weaved masterfully between two worlds. The sound work is equally impressive. A perfect mixture of sound and image.

Political Hooligans

English PM Tony Blair has gone ahead and said publicly what alot of people think: "black culture" is the cause for violence.

Never mind that England is steeped in hundreds of years of bloody colonizations and war.

Never mind that England is completely embarassed by, but still condones their ignorant hooligans in most interenational soccer stages.

Forget that. Let's blame Biggie Smalls .

All you Kids out there...Listen up!

Beware all long haired, European hockey players, Don Cherry is going to appear on NBC.

Most people south of the 49th Parallel will not know that Don Cherry is a commentator on CBC's famed Saturday night show anchor Hockey Night in Canada that doesn't know how to dress and is always giving out 'advice' on how to play the games properly.

Cherry is one of the most hated and cherished Canadian personalities. He's become more of a celibrity as the years and his opinions have become more outspoken.

I don't expect him to last too long. Cherry is something that grows on you, and it took me about 20 years to actually listen to what he has to say. NBC won't give him that amount of time.

Costly Mistakes at the LHC

The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) is turning into the Chinese Democracy of particle physics.

The collider was supposed to be ready and taking data two years ago, but it's still not online.

The way most accelerators work is by using magnets to "stear" beams of particles around a circle faster and faster.

Last week there was an accident involving one of the magnets designed over in Fermilab, which could delay the LHC even more.

Of course, accidents happen and everyone wants the machine to get going as quick and safely as possible.

There's a saying in the film industry that can be applied here: "Fast, Good, Cheap:pick two"

Let's hope the particle physics community picks the right ones.

April 16th: Save the Date

If you've ever gone to a restaurant with me for breakfast, you know my (literally) unhealthy affinity for Eggs Benedict. Basically, if it's on the menu, I have to order it.

I hate to admit it, but I think Denny's has the best (although I don't think that they serve it anymore). The local diner here in Bay Ridge, does a good one (and cheap!).

Well April 16th is National Eggs Benedict Day. I will be observing. I think you should too.

The Times has a great article on the history of the dish, plus the drama surrounding the invention.

Either way, raise your fork for a good ole eggs benny.

A little Too Opinionated

This morning, I almost spit out my oatmeal whilst reading Joe Fiorito's opinion piece in The Star.

The author tells a tale of a recent subway ride wherein two frisky 'kids' (probably teens) are all over each other on the same train as him. Loud, obnoxious and rude. Fine. He then goes on about how they moved towards the area between (ignoring danger signs) trains where they continued to make out and be stupid about it, much to the disgust of everyone on the train.

So far, I'm with him, as pretty much every day there's obnoxious people on the train (and let's be frank, obnoxious behaviour knows no age). Then he closes his piece with what he thinks is going to happen to the said young couple:

"The pale girl is going to get knocked up and her boyfriend is going to run away
because he isn't man enough to stay and be a father, and the girl's life will be
poor and grim and she won't quite know why, and her baby will learn its lessons
in life from her."

HUH?!

Joe, you just lost me. How does it follow? I think the author forgets that kids do stupid stuff all the time. His comments are offensive and completely ridiculous. Get a grip.

New York the Good? The Bad?

I'm not sure what encompasses NYC more: this or this?

Either way, Bello should know better. Or did all that hair product finally seep into his brains.

Best City in North America?

According to the annual list that just got released, Vancouver, BC is the best city to live in North America. It ranks 3rd in the world (behind Geneva, and Zurich). Toronto (my hometown) ended up being 15th internationally.

The list considers 39 quality-of-life measures that include social, economic, environmental and safety factors.

I've been to Vancouver, and it's a beautiful place surrounded by mountains and water and all that stuff. As a city though, it just doesn't measure up. I've been wrong before though.


What I find interesting, is that NYC is considered the 'base city', the one that all are measured against.

I've got a new Roommate!

Little Baby Theo
Originally uploaded by Ewwwwwwww.

There are some things in life that I never thought I would ever do. One of them is watch American Idol, the other is own a cat. Now, both of them have shown that I am a sinner.

We are fostering this little guy, that I have named Theo Smokestack. That wacky cone on his head is because someone was mean to him and he got a huge gash on his back leg. They've given him some stitches, hence the cone.

He's been here for a couple of days now, and he pretty much occupies my room. He's still scared of us, but he's coming around: last night he walked right up to us and decided he wanted to watch TV with us. We didn't try to pick him up or pet him, and he soon got bored with us and went back to his chillzone (i.e. my bed).

Are you ready for a deluge of cat pics, and "awww, my cat did the cutest thing today!" posts?

Stephen Colbert Wears a Pink Visor!

Oshawa, Ontario is about 30 minutes drive rast of Toronto, and is mostly known for it's big GM plant and the Oshawa Generals, a minor league hockey team that some greats have played for (Eric Lindros, Bobby Orr etc...).

I was a huge fan of the Daily Show when I had cable, and I've caught the Colbert Report a few times (when at a place showing it), and I must admit his pseudo-right wing caricature is brilliantly funny.

Due to a joke made on Stephen Colbert's show about the Generals playing the Saginaw Spirit (Colbert's hometown minor league hockey team), the mayor of Oshawa ran with it, and declared yesterday "Stephen Colbert Day".

No kidding. A band played, some comedian performed and Don Cherry headlined. I never knew Don Cherry could headline something. There was even a look-alike contest.

Everything was taken in jest, and the mayor got a ton of free publicity out of it. There was just one thing missing. Stephen Colbert never showed up.

Grown Ass Man on Spring Break

Flying the Friendly Skies
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

The entire Subatomic Films office went to Canada for Spring Break.

The week also proved for a much needed R&R, catching up with old friends, eating a lot of food and just goofin around.

The apex was my parents' 35th Wedding Anniversary party, which we helped plan. The food was excellent, but more importantly my parents had a great time.

It was great to have everyone that I really care about under one roof.

Shut Em' Down, Shut Em Shut Em Down!

Closed For Business
Originally uploaded by subatomicfilms.

I think Chuck D wrote that song years ago because he knew the problems that would plague NYC these days with dirty eating establishments.

Yet another restaurant is complaining about the 'witch hunt' going on with NYC health officials shutting down restaurants in light of the Taco Bell/KFC fiasco a few weeks ago.

Give me a break! Officials are doing their job, which is public safety. Also, in ALL cases the shut restaurants have had MULTIPLE infractions and multiple opportunities to clean up their act.

As a former food service employee, there are times when even I wouldn't eat the food that I'd be serving. The health inspectors didn't shut down the place I worked for, but they totally should have.

No Justice No Peace

I ain't gonna front: I watch American Idol. I've watched it for the past few seasons, and I schedule my weeknights accordingly (unless I've got class that night).

I still have no clue how Sanjaya is getting through week after week. He's painful to watch. I'd be the first person to be giving up props to a halfway decent brown guy. I'd write some C++ code to jam the Idol phone lines for him.

Perhaps the old culture-jammers at Vote for the Worst do actually have some clout in the tallying after all?

cos tan sec csc sin

Wednesday is Pi Day. How will you celebrate?

I think I'll sit down with a piece of Pecan and watch Darren Aronofsky's masterpiece.

Nerds of the world unite. Everyone should nerd out.

"There's a beauty to pi that keeps us looking at it... The digits of pi are extremely random. They really have no pattern, and in mathematics that's really the same as saying they have every pattern."
- Peter Borwein, 1996

Health Kick

It's no secret that I gained a bit of weight over the production period. Craft services on film shoots is a killer, with it's donuts, pop, chips, chocolates etc...

So, I've been on a health kick for a bit now, and yesterday was my true test: blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol test.

I am happy to report that Subatomic Films is in great shape, the consultant said to continue doing what I'm doing, because it's working. All my results were in "normal" range.

I think I'll celebrate with some wings & beer. With EXTRA celery.