Matt Said, Matt Said

Very good video

2010-07-01T12:11:00.001-07:00

Browsing the the Discover section at Vimeo, I came across this. I thought it was really good and wanted to share it with you.

Your secret from Jean-Sebastien Monzani on Vimeo.

ACA Softball girls

2010-06-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

Got to work with the ACA softball girls for their season-ending video. They made it to the state championship game, but lost out to become Runner-up.

In making their video I also got to dabble in some experimental things, and here's some footage from the team in a film grain and film flare test project.

Film Burn and Grain Project from mister wolfe on Vimeo.

Moe's Queso Contest

2010-06-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

So I entered a Moe's Queso Contest, and I didn't win. But here is the video I made.

Moe's Queso Contest Submission from mister wolfe on Vimeo.

Memorial Day

2010-06-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

A day late, but my tribute to my dad and granddad who served in Desert Storm and WWII respectively. Thanks.

Memorial Day from mister wolfe on Vimeo.

Contentment in Work

2010-05-28T10:04:00.001-07:00

I found this very interesting because I think it's very cool and very correct.

I don't deal well within the stereotypical sterile corporate environment that seems to permeate the Western business mindset.

So seeing stuff like this makes me think I'm not crazy!

Swell Season and Iron Baby

2010-05-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

Saw Swell Season in B-Ham at the Alys Stephenson PAC at UAB.

Quite possibly the best show I've seen in my entire life.

Seriously.

It was bamf-tacular.

I tried to get their stateside manager to let me do some video, he e-mailed me back once, but not a second time. But I don't hold a grudge. Because I waited so long for a response, I ended up buying tickets the day before the concert and ended up with seats in the middle, fourth row from the stage due to a cancellation.

Ridiculously awesome.

Bare, the infamous Bare, got tickets the week before, and he was in the last row on the balcony.

BWHA AHAHAHAHA.

On a side note, here's an awesome video, Iron Baby.

IRON BABY from Patrick Boivin on Vimeo.

Peter Kohn Documentary

2010-05-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Found a fantastic documentary on Peter Kohn that I commend you see. Beautifully moving if I may say so.

"Don't Tase me, Bro!"

2010-05-04T10:10:00.001-07:00

This is funny to watch. I couldn't help but repost it.

Been busy

2010-04-27T10:48:00.000-07:00

So we've been totally busy.

Sorry for no new info!!!

Will post something kewl in a little bit.

But right now I have to go and pee.

And I'm thirsty.

I'll not mix the two.

Slow motion test

2010-04-07T07:33:00.000-07:00

Wanted to do a slow-motion test on the 7D.

Since we can shoot 60fps at the 720p level, we decided to slow it by 50% and see if we could get a good looking slow-motion.

You might appreciate the homage.

Copier from mister wolfe on Vimeo.

Colbert interviews Dean Kamen

2010-04-06T10:40:00.001-07:00

I really liked this bit, even with Colbert's comedy interjected.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Dean Kamen

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Reform

P 9-Billion Parody

2010-03-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Jason wanted to make a video for Tracy --- and we shot this thinking we had more of a storyline, but we didn't. In fact, the guys showed up and just goofed around. When they left - Jason apologized for wasting everyone's time, because obviously the footage was horrible and because we never did anything.

Well, I strung the footage together anyway. Here's what I got.

P 9 Billion Expermient from mister wolfe on Vimeo.

Interesting Interwebs

2010-03-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

Browsing around while at work, here are some interesting things I found.

Paris in 26 Gigapixels....

And if you are Conan O'Brien fan, he's taking off on a comedy tour. Check here for dates and locations!

More awesomeness for your day

2010-03-05T09:32:00.001-08:00

The Final Countdown....

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

TV Chuck - Vs. The Fake Name - Crock Pots - and Life

2010-03-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

The Olympics are over and our favorite Chuck has returned back to Monday nights on NBC.

For those of you, like myself (not Clower, he's had a pretty mellow attitude about the whole thing) who watched Vs. The Mask and saw Hannah and Chuck and Sarah and Shaw seeming like a possibly and got pissed, via invested emotional attachments in fictional television characters, I have a few things to say to that, and a short video.

The video first. One of my roommates loves the tv show, Lost, I found this video by Rett and Link - very apropos.

Perspective - and all is not lost.

I think both last night's episode - Vs the Fake Name - and what the show's producers have said will help put things into perspective.

[show spoiler]

So Chuck learns Sarah's real name is Sam. Sarah is concerned about Chuck because he's changing - he's no longer Chuck. Which is true - he's been so caught up in being a spy that he ditched Sarah for Hannah. For almost every episode Chuck is always the "good" / "nice" guy. He's the one getting dumped on. Even when he dissed Sarah (Sam) at the beginning of this season, it was because he wanted to be worthy of the person he thought everyone thought he was. She doesn't like what chuck's becoming --- perhaps a foil to her becoming what she already is and how she doesn't want to be that. In a sense, both Chuck and Sarah are evolving in character. For Sarah, the issue of redemption of heart, the struggle to work out what one believes and what one wants --- for Chuck, regret and being human and that not everything is so simple and without ramification. Sarah's arc is that she's always done the job. What happens when she wants something other than the job. We saw it sort of with Chuck - but not really in a humble way - the kind that comes from realizing life is heavy and burdensome, and you sometimes just make it, but that that's okay and good, too.

At least, that's my two cents on the take, and what I'd been pondering when I came across this snip it from producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak:

Q: Did you anticipate that the episode would elicit this kind of reaction?
SCHWARTZ AND FEDAK: We knew it was going to cause a bit of angst in some viewers. We didn’t expect this level certainly, though we are appreciative that our fans are this invested in the characters. One thing we didn’t anticipate when we made this episode was that it would be the last episode before a three-week hiatus.
Q: Why did you decide to have both Chuck and Sarah embark on new romances (with Hannah and Shaw, respectively) in the same episode?
SCHWARTZ AND FEDAK: Because we are masochists. We kid, we kid. It happens sometimes in life. If you see one person moving on, it can spur you to move on as well. But we want to stress, Chuck and Sarah are not emotionally in the same place at the end of this episode.
Q: Which of the two relationships poses the bigger threat to Chuck and Sarah?
SCHWARTZ AND FEDAK: There are things far greater than a relationship that threaten Chuck and Sarah… Stay tuned.
Q: Can you offer any hope to Chuck/Sarah fans?
SCHWARTZ AND FEDAK: As we’ve said before, [Monday's episode] was Chapter 7 of 19 of this season. We love and appreciate our fans. We know our fans are why we’re back this season. But we need them to trust us to tell the most emotionally satisfying story possible. This has been mapped out from the start, and we always knew telling this portion of the story would be difficult for some. But we need people to come to back to the show March 1st — now more than ever — and we think if they do take this journey with us, they will see what we had planned the whole time. This is part of a bigger story than just “will they or won’t they.”

Whether or not Chuck and Sarah consummate their feelings, and whether or not it's to satiate the desires of morbid Chuck fans, there's this idea that Schwarz and Fedak are alluding to - and it's growth. And just like in last night's episode where the CROCK POT showing en masse at the Buy More, patience leads to seeing a better understanding of what is really going on and what is really happening.

Which leads me to life in general. Raw emotion often can become the lens by which we perceive the world around us. If we're not careful, we often don't see the filter we're using and then make incorrect hypotheses. We see crooked and we still interpret anyway, and often wrongly so. If you don't think this is true - look at any teenager going through a break-up from their respective boyfriend/ girlfriend. If anybody needs perspective - it's them, no?

If you believe in God, and that He does have your best interest at heart, sometimes He's taking you to the most emotionally satisfying turn - even when you don't see it. Even when you don't feel it. Even when you're ready to give up and move on - to another "show". And even though you emotionally move at the microwave level - 60 seconds and it's done - life may move more at the crock pot level - hours upon hours to serve up the best dish that it can.

Just some thoughts...

There is still hope

2010-02-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

So lately I've been in a slump... but all was made well today with Krispy Kreme donuts and this video:

Awesomeness - that's all I have to say...

EPIC WIN.

Great CHUCK clips

2010-02-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

So Matt and I love Chuck. Even Matt's wife loves Chuck. [Yes, I (heart) Agent Sarah Walker.]

So to celebrate the new season of Chuck I thought we'd post some clips to support one of our favorite shows.

And because I (heart) Agent Walker...

Zach Levi, aka Chuck, imitating Yvonne's, aka Sarah Walker's, accent.

Some co-star chit chat about Best Buy...

And what's a post without some bloopers...

So support one of my favorite shows already. Watch it. Love it. Live it. And buy the t-shirt.

Why Fight?

2010-01-18T18:41:00.000-08:00

I think that life comes with many ups and downs and that part of growing up is seeing those once high expectations come crashing down; the youthful dreams of what life should be - regardless of what influences were wrought into shaping those expectations.

I was asked at work today if I believed to be true the maxim, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"I think what doesn't kill you can make you harder..."

Dashed expectations have a habit of making one colder. More lethal. And I think that if one is not careful, you can miss out on what exactly it is that makes fighting - well - worth fighting for.

There's the great quote from the Lord of the Rings movies - The Two Towers to be exact, and Frodo, in the middle of his journey to destroy the evil Ring of Power and despairing at his plight, turns to his ever faithful friend, Samwise Gamchee....

Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding on to Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

If you forget the goodness - it makes fighting for it somewhat moot, doesn't it? Not the goodness, but the fighting. It means it's easier to blow off relationships with significant others because you've already forgotten why you even wanted to be with them to begin with. Maybe it's your wife, your family, your God... It's easy to forget. And it's easy to just arbitrarily fall into a direction and let the ship sail to wherever for however long... At least, it's easy for me to do it this way, and see it this way.

One of the senior high youth guys just asked me, as I'm writing this, via text: "What's the point in investing time outside of school with friends that I'll pretty soon leave and never talk to again? Why bother?"

I'll end with my answer to him.

The sum total of your life isn't what's practical or rational, it's how you choose to deal with what you've been dealt.With that logic why do anything in this cursory life? Why kiss the girl you love? Why climb the highest peak? Why anything...

I think I'm beginning to understand why Wilcox would say that we always have what we give to love --- why it is that the sum of the law and prophets can be found in, as my friend Erin would put it, passionately loving God and passionately loving other people.

Well, just some thoughts from watching another episode of Chuck.

I heart Chuck (well, actually) Agent Sarah Walker.

Bon Iver

2010-01-18T09:04:00.000-08:00

So Peggy gave me a CD with Bon Iver a long time ago - and for some reason when I first played it I just wasn't feeling the sound. When I found out that Bon Iver had songs on two episodes of NBC's Chuck. When I found that out - I decided I needed to try and give Bon Iver a second chance...

So, Bon Iver is not the name of the lead singer. The lead singer is Justin Vernon. Bon Iver is a play on the French bon hiver, which means: good winter. Apparently Justin wrote all this songs while in the woods of Wisconsin at his father's cabin while afflicted with mononucleosis and recovering from some emotional setbacks. I guess he hit near the bottom of the proverbial emotional barrel. And since Chuck has this way of exposing emotions - thanks to the interesting depth between the Chuck and Sarah's relationship, or lack thereof - Bon Iver's music makes sense to be used.

I found this video on Bon Iver sining A Capella the song For Emma, Forever Ago.

And that's what sold me on Bon Iver. I can't stop listening to them. Maybe you'll like them too...

Almost Universalist

2010-01-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

So I attend a Presbyterian Church. Which is a pretty conservative denomination, very heavy-leaning in theology and in covenant families and the proper training thereof. But I don't tell my fellow attendees that once, a few years back, I was on the door step of becoming a universalist.

To my knowledge there are two basic distinctions of universalists - at least of the ones I've met. You have the God/Being universalists, and the Jesus universalists.

God/Being universalists essentially believe that God is good and will save all people, everywhere, and at every time, because God is love, and if you are love, that's what you do.
Jesus universalists believe that God will save all people because God is good, is love, and is saving all people through Jesus who died on a cross, with Jesus' death being the pinnacle expression of how much God loves people. (This delineates from traditional Christianity which says only believers will be saved, and unbelievers not.)

I don't tell Presbyterians about this experience, or the majority of them anyway, because one time my friend, Lucas, whom I am very fond of, replied immediately upon my confession: "What were you thinking?" (He grew up a Presbyterian. I did not.) I could have said that it was quite, in fact, the very reason that I almost became one; because I was, really, thinking. I don't think he would have understood. I don't think he'll understand now.

I almost became a universalist because they, wittingly or not (for even a broken clock is correct twice a day), focused on an aspect of God that really spoke to me. And that is that God really is Love. That He really is beautiful, and worthy, and mesmerizing, and wonderful. Of course, you would have had to have seen glimpses, shadows, of this in your own life experience to be able to relate. If nothing has ever been beautiful, nothing ever worthy, nothing ever mesmerizing, nothing ever wonderful - then all of this is but a glib vapor of romanticism; of no substance or rationale, I suppose.

I think I just needed to see that again, at least at that point in my life, I needed be able to know the nearness of God. I needed to be able to see the lines of His face and hear the laughter of His voice, and in these things I needed to be able to rejoice again.

I wished Lucas would have instead asked: "What did you learn?" I think that we are, more often than not, consumed with the safe path than we are with the good path; the authentic path. By authentic I mean genuine. I mean you being you and not you trying to imitate Billy who is running around trying to imitate Greg who is imitating Susy, and she doesn't even like Greg, but she's also trying to imitate Calvin - and Calvin, well, he just really wants to be like Billy.

I respect, and I guess I understand, why a universalist would choose to be so. I don't think they're right, or at least as correct as they think they are, but I understand why they're on that boat. It's a mooring for those who both know they have no hope unless God saves them because they aren't good and those who think that if God isn't good, then He's not really much worthy of being called God.

The reason I don't believe God saves everybody, aside from where I believe He says He doesn't, is because when someone writes a story, some characters are written in as protagonists and some as antagonists. And when the story is over, when the hero wins (if there is one, depending on your story, let's just say there is) - we are glad he triumphed. I've never heard anyone say, "Gosh, why did the douche bag character have to be a douche bag, couldn't he have been better?" It's just the nature of the story - some things are antipodal for the very reason of juxtaposition, of comparison, of highlighting, I suppose.

Now maybe someone might say, "Well, if you're in heaven with god and you aren't sad everyone isn't there with you, then you don't deserve to be there and that heaven sucks and that god sucks." And we understand why he might say that because it seems to spit in the face of love. And that's what we really want, right? Love, that is? But love is an interesting thing and I think, for the finite mind, that it can only be taken in in certain parts, or at least, not all at once. In one part, delight, and delighting in. If I am with a girl, in a dating relationship, and I delight in her, in her presence and ability to create an aura of clarity and appreciation, I don't sit back and think about every ex-girlfriend and then no longer delight in my current situation. I remember them perhaps, and I know I'm grateful for the experiences that led me here, the things that grew me up and matured me even if they didn't always feel kind. Yet I am still in the moment of delighting, and it is because it really is delight and not some fabrication or manipulation I've conjured that I really do feel - well - delight. The sensation she creates, the emotional, the biological, the spiritual, they are here. Does that mean she'll be around tomorrow. No. It just means that it exists, that it is happening, that it - is. Perhaps this is a shadow of what it means to be before the face of God; to know just as we are fully known. No longer will we see as in a mirror or glass blurred or dim, but we will see, clearly. And I think to be before the face of God is to feel that delight, fully, and not merely the shadow.

Another thing I think gets mixed up is what parts people play in the story. There's this story called the Song of Solomon. It's a bit of a love story with some really weird imagery.

1 Behold, you are beautiful, my love,
behold, you are beautiful!
Your eyes are doves
behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
2 Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes
that have come up from the washing,
all of which bear twins,
and not one among them has lost its young.
3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
and your mouth is lovely.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate
behind your veil.
4 Your neck is like the tower of David,
built in rows of stone;
on it hang a thousand shields,
all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle,
that graze among the lilies.
6 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
I will go away to the mountain of myrrh
and the hill of frankincense.
7 You are altogether beautiful, my love;
there is no flaw in you.

There are essentially three characters in this story: HE, SHE, and OTHERS (or the chorus, and sometimes that chorus is broken up into the chorus for HE and the chorus for SHE). If I could just posit before you this - what if the HE and the SHE are both God, and we, the people, are OTHERS. What if the main character is God, and we're just minor characters in a sweeping drama, meant both as participants and as witnesses, in the greatest love story ever - God's love for Himself. Sounds egomaniacal, perhaps? What if there is one thing in the universe that is the most lovely, most beautiful, most worthy thing to be loved? What if that one thing really is God? What then should God love the most?

The implications of such a thing, I leave to you. Until the next time - here's to beauty, and being grateful for it.

Cheers.

Epic Zombie Defense, Ep 2, Bass Pro Shop

2009-12-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

Scenario - Author and three others arrive at a Bass Pro Shop at the outset of a zombie boom. Can they survive???

First, I'd just like to say that if there is ever a zombie outbreak near you - head to a Bass Pro Shop. Why? They have guns (rifles, pistols, shotguns, scopes, laser sights, ammo out the wazoo, etc) , ATVs, boats, food, clothing, survival gear, camping equipment, shoes, camo, bows, CROSSBOWS... pretty much everything you would need to survive.

People I want with me:

B.A. Baracus (Mr. T from his A-Team days, not his World of Warcraft commercials now). This guy could build a Sherman tank out of Yugo or a Gremlin, in and he can do it in about 1.4 minutes - even though it might look like it takes longer, that's about how long it takes for him to build anything on the show.

Lt. Commander Data, from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Why? 1- He's an android - why would zombies want to eat him? 2 - he's got superhuman strength. 3 - he's pretty much smart about everything, that computer brain and all.

Natalie Portman, because, well... she's, in the immortal words of Wayne and Garth: "[if you were a president you'd be] Babe-raham Lincoln". Plus, every adventure needs a leading lady.

The results: We would arrive in time to know the end is near. Natalie would be wondering if all her Vegan ways really mattered anymore - after all, what good is being a Vegan when a Zombie wants your brains? Mr. Data would be really interested in the biological happens in the organisms now violently running rampant and would begin analyzing potential origination scenarios. But he still wouldn't use a contraction when he talked about it. BA would be wondering what in the world was going on, and talking about how he pitied the fool that started the whole thing. Assuming the Bass Pro Shop is something like the one nearest me, we'd secure the first floor exits and place barricades in front of them. BA would stockpile the ammo and guns in a three-tier fall back position, with the last one leading to the stairway leading to the roof. Mr Data would inventory food and supplies and give us a time table. He's also frequently leave to gather fuel for the ATVs and boats we may need later, as well as bash in some zombie skulls to collect scientific data. Of course, all the while there would be time for Natalie I to get to know each other. Because that's what happens in those life and death moments.

Did we survive? OF course we did. Not only did we survive, but one of the following would have happened:

Mr. Data discovered a rational and scientific reason behind the outbreak of zombies, and then found a cure (but being as I would be the comic relief, Natalie Portman would still fall for me)
With's Mr. Data's knowledge of starships, BA would build a spaceship and we would leave the planet behind and start a moon colony (that is, Natalie and I would)
We would simply outlast all the zombie horde and rake in about a billion zombie kills, and I would still say to Natalie: Someone's ear is in danger of having hair brushed over it... (Columbus in Zombieland anybody? Anybody???)

RESULT:

Some post Christmas thoughts

2009-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, sorry we've been out of it for a bit. Clower was moving up here to the Gump, and I've been trying to keep my sanity amid an ever changing world... maybe not successfully. But we're still here, and still going to write it up.

Have you seen Disney's UP yet? Fantastic movie. Watched it two nights ago. Some beautiful moments in that very first part.
Interesting article on the notion that sex actually doesn't sell, at least not in Hollywood movies. Does Sex Sell in Movies? My favorite line from the article is: "It's about wooing, not winning." Makes me wonder, is that the big difference between guys and girls. Hahaha. It was my initial thought. So run with it and let me know what you think.
I told this girl at work that I was going to ask her out every day for a year starting in January. She laughed. I think I'll log her response everyday. Like a science experiment. Along with what and how I said it.
If you've got the post-Christmas blues - you know - like that feeling of something so close, so real, so good, just disappeared and you're wondering if it ever appeared to begin with and now you're at a loss... well, here's some medicine for the soul... (I'm always glad for some Wilcox...)

Some Christmas Awesomeness

2009-12-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

Some awesome things...

Psych is coming back in January:

And Psych is always awesome.

Second - I watched the entire first season of Community - it's actually pretty good.

Third - Borderlands for Xbox 360 - is awesome.

And that's all I've got right now...

Happy Holidays!!!!

2009-12-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

Looking for metaphors in all the wrong places...

2009-12-04T13:55:00.001-08:00

I realized I do that - a lot, actually.

But, I think I learned something today. The first step is getting to acknowledge the truth. I guess that's why in AA, or whatever rehab, they always get you to say you are a drunk, or addicted, or whatever. You gotta know what is, and what isn't. Getting to the truth doesn't mean everything is fixed right after that. It really just started, but it doesn't start until you get to that point first. All the preparation for the journey can ensure your arrival at your destination, but the journey never starts without the first step.

Hmmm....

So you gotta get to the truth first. And then, after that - that's when you start walking.Ahhhhh, I get it now. And the truth will set you free...

Talking with one of the senior high youth I said regarding his entrenched sin, "You let Jesus deal with the sin, you just deal with Jesus."

"I don't get it, what does that mean?"

"I know. Exactly. It's as bad as dealing with a girl, 'cept God is invisible..."

My one-liner thought for the day.