Impulse

Just do it

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:37:53 -0800

I always wanted to make a typographic poster… So I did.

OC Quattro nearing finish of RAAM 2009

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:59:06 -0800

Team OC Quattro, the team I filmed three years ago for my documentary, will be crossing the finish line again in the Race Across America 2009. They're currently in third place, and have maintained an average speed of 19 MPH (and that includes the Rockies & Appalachia!). Not only that, they've raised over $100,000 for their charities. By the time I wake up tomorrow, they'll be celebrating their finish (probably by going to sleep!).

I'm psyched that they're doing so well, and really wish I could be there with them. Congratulations to the team & crew!

Hello President Barack Obama

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:17:06 -0800

As thousands huddled in winter coats & hats in D.C. yesterday morning, I shivered in layers of blankets in my living room (no, it wasn't an act of solidarity--my heat's been out for a week), glued to the TV to watch Senator Obama become President Obama. It was a great moment that I'd been looking forward to for a long time--especially the inaugural address. I've long been a fan of great oratory and had high hopes for this speech from an excellent orator on a momentous, long awaited day.

I was a little disappointed. It was a scattershot speech. He was solid on each of the myriad points he made, but there was no overall message, no guiding principle that drove everything else. It was an opportunity lost. I think William Safire nailed it on NYTimes:

Our 44th president’s Inaugural Address was solid, respectable, uplifting, suitably short, superbly delivered, but — in light of the towering expectations whipped up that his speech might belong in the company of those by Lincoln, F.D.R. and Kennedy — fell short of the anticipated immortality.

[...]

A good speech has to have a memorable theme, stated early and reprised at the end. It did not emerge in this address.

To mobilize people to collective action, you have to have communicate a single guiding principle. Taxation without representation; "Free at last"; man on the moon by the end of the decade--that sort of thing. This not only gives people a framework for understanding your policy, but guides their own decisions. It gets individuals excited because they understand how they can change things. If anything, Obama's campaign was about change and grass-roots action. Having a guiding principle in the speech would have been a perfect method for launching grass-roots change in support of his policy.

Shisol was glad that "there was no swinging for the rhetorical fences". I agree. You win more baseball games by consistently hitting solid base hits than gambling on home runs. Happily, Obama's team demonstrates a lack of self-grandeur. Still, you don't have to have Lincoln-worthy rhetoric to ignite a movement. You just have to make a clear point. If Obama had done that, I would've felt much, much more inspired by his speech, making me forget my unfair expectations of immortal oratory (my expectations are my mistake).

All that said, I still can't say the phrase "President Barack Obama" without a big ole satisfied grin spreading over my face.

Observations on service

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:15:58 -0800

A recent support call proved to me a few things about service. I called to start the transfer process of my domains from register.com to another registrar. The operator convinced me to stay:

Everything is negotiable. My reason for switching registrars was price: Register.com charges $35/y/domain; the competition charges $10). Talking with the operator, it turns out that there's some flexibility in pricing. Now I'm renewing at $8/y/domain.

Small talk goes a long way. The operator didn't put me on hold while she was working--she asked about the weather. We chatted about grey winters & snowstorms between trading information for the domain renewals. The net result: I felt like I was being treated as a real human by a real human instead of being a participant in a machine-like, protocol-driven transaction. It made a huge difference and all it took was the age-old conversation tactic of talking about the weather.

RAAM: Finish line

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:42:08 -0800

After almost two and half years, I've finally completed my Race Across America movie. No, really! It's done, finished, fertig, finis. It's ready to show.

Wow! It's still sinking in that it's done. I've been working on, thinking about, worrying about, and fussing over this thing for over 2 years. It's defined my thinking for that entire time. The idea that there's nothing left to do feels kind of alien.

And extremely freeing. I've got so many projects I want to start.

This time: No projects bigger than one week. I think I'll be sticking to weekend projects for a little while.

There have been several times that I thought I'd never finish this thing. Heck, I didn't think it was even possible, for a while there. Thanks to everyone who kept encouraging me. You've made my life better by helping me achieve one of my big goals in life.

And a word to any aspiring feature-length filmmakers out there: don't try to do everything all by yourself. True, it makes the credits really easy, but everything else takes a lot longer.

What's next for this project? I'm going to make copies for all those who helped out, enjoy the holidays, and have a big party in January. No plans for festivals right now; I've missed all the festival deadlines for this season, and there's a bunch of legal legwork to do first. Meanwhile, I'll just bask in the glow of having accomplished something I've wanted to do for years, and see what the future brings.

A good day

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:50:06 -0800

(poster designed by the talented Jonathan Hoefler)

The die is cast; just desserts

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:58:51 -0800

I meant to post this a few days ago after finishing my ballot. It was to be accompanied by inspiringly patriotic text. Now, though, I'm just glued to my browser; too addicted to the statistics and tallies to even go make myself dinner. Instead, I guess I'll just look at this cupcake (from world renowned Trophy Cupcakes down the street).

Thumbing the scales of democracy

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:19:46 -0800

There's a guy standing outside the coffee shop I'm typing away in. He's canvassing our very blue neighborhood, raising money for Democratic candidates in battleground districts throughout the country. I know it's legal and that everyone seems seems to be doing it nowadays (moveon.org and the DSCC are constantly at it) but I don't like it. I don't think it's my place to put my thumb on the scales of another district.

Here's an example: Across the lake from me, Darcy Burner is running for US Congress from Washington's 8th district. I really like Darcy. Instead of just talking the talk about pulling troops out of Iraq, Darcy went and talked to a retired general who had overseen troops in Iraq to get his opinion, and that of other experts. She put this all in an analysis paper she published on the web. That's ballsy, thoughtful, and proactive -- all good traits I'd like to see more in Congress. But I won't donate to her campaign. I don't live in her district (I live in WA-7th), and I don't know if she represents the 8th district's thoughts and values.

I pointed this out to the canvasser. He thought it didn't matter: in DC, they make decisions on a national level, and not decisions specific to a particular district. That's true -- they make national decisions by representing the values of local districts. Each representative applies their local values to national problems. It's the diversity of opinions that makes a plurality work. It's what makes the wisdom of crowds work.

Once upon a time, there was a very opinionated man named Sir Francis Gaulton. Sir Francis believed that crowds just multiplied the ignorance of its individuals, thus producing horribly bad decisions. One day he was at a fair and stumbled upon a contest to guess the weight of an ox. Sir Francis thought that these uninformed people couldn't possibly guess accurately. The guesses ranged across the spectrum and a few were close enough to award prizes. After the contest, he took all the guesses and did some math: he found that the median of all the answers was frighteningly close to true answer. Since then, countless classrooms of students have guessed the number of beans in a jar and, despite class clowns and earnest over-achievers, the median is always incredibly accurate. The diversity of opinions makes this work.

So, back in D.C., if you actually want Congress to work well, you want a broad array of opinions. You get many opinions by making sure that representatives actually represent their home districts. Anything that gets in the way of that representation -- lobbyists, Party dogma, and yes, outside campaign donors -- gets in the way of democratic decision-making working at its best. I really don't see any difference between my donating to a campaign outside my district, and big oil pouring money into campaigns.

(Special thanks to the always fabulous RadioLab for the ox-weighing anecdote above. Listen closely to the episode, and you'll make out Oliver Sacks in the background doing all the voices. There's nothing quite like hearing one of our most celebrated contemporary scientists doing goofy voices).

I am powered by Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:08:14 -0800

I'm convinced that I run on chocolate chip cookies. In the last two weeks, there have been a number of times when I felt unproductive, slow, moody, ill. Each of those times that I then had a chocolate chip cookie, I soon became happy, productive, and loving life.

Proof positive that cookies make Robs go. If I donated blood, it'd probably be 65% cacao.

(And yes, earlier today, I did the calculation of how many cookies I would have if I were paid in cookies instead of dollars (market resources report that the cookie is up vs the dollar and euro in late trading today)). (photo by wenday :D)

The wisdom of cartoons

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:10:39 -0800

It's always entertaining to watch as an adult cartoons that I'd seen as a kid. It can be very disappointing (which is why I'll never re-watch the classic Speed Racer cartoons). Sometimes, though, it's fascinating: seeing all the little jokes and subtext that no child can decipher. Chicken Little just blew me away. Sure, it's the story of Chicken Little, but the political overtones are huge. Watch it and think about politics over the last 10 years, or the recent economic crisis (or any recent crisis). It's a good example of how we retell stories to teach ourselves, and how to make a clear political point using creative media. (Thanks to 4HWW for reminding me of the cartoon).

Back in Seattle

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:51:45 -0800

The Race Across America took a detour to the UK the last few weeks as I headed off to Cambridge. A very nice city Cambridge is; I'd happily spend more time there. The place positively reeks of knowledge & learning. Great ancient buildings (giving it a Harry Potter atmosphere), twisty roads, good curry, and I got to work with very cool people.

In the meantime, though, I'm back in Seattle where a little work on the titles for the movie, and a lot of reading await me.

RAAM: nearly there

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:00:52 -0800

Well, I didn't quite hit my 8/31/08 deadline, but I'm close. I've finished the first pass of color correction (during which I learned so much about the subtlety of that art - I'll blog later about it), and have finished mixing the first act of the movie.

Audio mixing is turning out to be much slower work (1 hour of work for 1 minute of movie), not only because the process is just plain slower, but because I can only do it for 1-1.5 hour chunks of time. Just like during a concert, my ears get fatigued and it's hard to hear the full spectrum of audio. So, I alternate: 1 hour mixing, 1 hour quiet.

Today, I decided to be a little less of a perfectionist, so I suspect I'll be able to go much, much faster now. It's not like I'm trying to make a surround sound, theatrical mix; just something good enough for your TV.

Seeing colors

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:19:09 -0800

I just spent 2.5 hours color balancing 6.25 minutes of my movie. At this rate, I only have 27 more hours to go - and then I get to do the audio. Wheee! Looks a whole lot better, though.

Amanda Koster: Can I Come with You?

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:36:12 -0800

Speaking of new works of art, my friend Amanda Koster is coming out with her first book next month. By day, Amanda is a full-time assignment photographer. She dedicates the rest of her time to social documentary (and cooking fabulous meals). This book, made up of her photographs and personal journal entries, describes how everyone use their creative talents to change the world.

I love Amanda's work -- in fact, I have at least 7 of her photos hanging in my house right now -- more than any other photographer (including me!).

Amanda's book is available for presale at her publisher's web site. She's also having a lecture & signing on September 18. Those who buy a ticket get a free book (or, if you prefer, you get a free ticket for buying the book). Either way, go here right now to buy one or the other. I've already got my order in.

RAAM: Locked and Loaded!!!

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:06:34 -0800

I hereby declare picture for my first documentary film, LOCKED! Sure, it took 2 years, 1 month, and 28 days to complete the story edit, but hey, who's counting, right? It got done and that's all that matters. Now on to the technical dotting of the i's and crossing the t's: mastering the audio tracks, completing the titles and bottom-thirds ("bottom thirds" are the text & graphics that pop up at the bottom of your screen, used ridiculously often in news programs), color balancing and visual polish, and music.

For the end credits, I'm planning on using some music written by my friend John Pilafidis, to which this film and the race in the film, are dedicated. The song's intro is a little long, but I've got John's master files. Always wanted to learn how to edit music...

I want to thank all of my friends who gave me feedback through the editing process. Your feedback made this a much, much better film. Thanks Amanda, Karen, Becky, Linda, Mike, Will, Susan, Helen, Bernie, Laurie, Tom, Marisa, Mark, and Harvey.