Angels Camp World Mercantile Open Mike

There's a cafe/art gallery in Angels Camp that hosts a weekly open mike night. I'm thrilled about it - so much so, I'll be shooting a video exposition on it this weekend. I hope to make it the first in a recurring, local-oriented video series, but we'll see how life goes.

I've chosen a title for it, and based on that have almost finished a brief 3-D animation for its opening. I'll post it once it's complete, but where? MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, this blog? If anybody has advice on how they prioritize their blog, video or other postings across various web presences, please leave me a Comment here, or an e-mail. I could use the advice!

Gollum lives

I've been ogling and coveting a new gizmo for a while now. Normally I quietly hug my knees and whisper: "my preciousssss..." under my breath until the feeling passes.

Not this time. I earned the money it costs. I went further and earned some extra cash and put it towards the household (which sorely needs it). I went even further still and performed tireless research to ensure I got the right product with the features I wanted (not easy), at the best price I could find (surprisingly easy). This ensures bang-for-the-buck confidence and minimizes disappointment. Buyer's remorse makes fools of us all, even with the best of intentions.

Soon, my precious will come to me, and I shall dance a little jig and revel in the euphoria that retail therapy brings.

Volunteer video gig

I had the spare time and good fortune to donate my time and effort once again to the local Public Access Television Studio last Thursday night. I was a cameraman for a local human interest/interview show, called Kathy's Window on Calaveras. It was energizing and a little challenging.

It was energizing to perform a function in a new field that is valuable to someone. Honestly, the job was pretty easy for any sober Joe, but it needed done, and they appreciated me taking the time to do it. A very positive environment, I guess that's the point.

It was challenging just because it was new, and I did a good job.

I was also fortunate to speak with local television personality and political candidate, Kathy Mazzaferro. I have helped tape a few of her shows now (including an interview with this guy), and I am always impressed with her presence on-screen. With no apparent pre-show preparation, she takes the show's intro, exit and interviews smoothly from start to finish. I interviewed her myself after the final taping, and she shared with me her background and some information on how she is able to carry on the show, virtually wrinkle-free. I was surprised to learn that it involved very few juicy secrets and behind-the-scenes witchcraft - it mostly involved decades of voracious consumption of all events under the sun, and a genuine interest in any topic. As I asked her: "Well, how am I supposed to fake that??" At least I got her to laugh...

Video Assistant

I got a voicemail last night asking if I'd like to help a local TV station and video producer record a little project. Since my free time is more precious now than ever before, I almost begged off. Instead, I called and agreed to do it.

I didn't know if I made the right decision until the words were out of my mouth, but
I immediately felt better, having said yes. Odd how you don't know always what's right until you've committed.

Crew call's at 4:30. Cool!

"Speaking of Art," Impending Debut

I recently mentioned a video project that is reaching culmination. The video project itself is a done deal, but the first time I cut it to a VCD and DVD for review, it didn't seem to burn right, and the resultant videos were jagged and choppy, respectively.

I am re-exporting the work to another format and re-burning the DVD as I blog this. Hopefully I'll have chased out the last bug on this project, and begin to obsess on the next. Not to mention, I'll be able to hand it over for run for cable distribution, and show it off a bit!