Hugo 3D directed by the great Martin Scorsese. A film I strongly, strongly recommend. Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, It tells the tale of a young orphan named Hugo Cabret who lives in the walls of the train station:

It’s a friggin’ masterpeice! Defintely the best film I’ve seen all year, if not one of the best I’ve ever seen. It had all the production value of a Scorsese film with magic and wonder of movies likes Big Fish and Amelie. The acting was incredible. Ben Kingsley is a BOSS and Sacha Baron Cohen was great. Visually stunning in every possible way. The color palette, set design, and visual effects were incredible, especially towards the end of the film when Scorsese recreates some amazing pieces of film history…

In a time where digital has become the norm, and analog slowly continues to disappear, it was incredibly refreshing to have a film heavyweight like Scorsese point out the importance of analog cinema, and the craft it took to make movies before any of today’s technology. It brings important figures like Georges Méliès to a new audience, and hopefully a deeper knowledge and respect for the cinema, wrapped in the beautiful tale of a young boy trying to hold on to the memory of his father. Please go see this movie.

Found this awesome video titled Macro Kingdom III, by video director Clemens Wirth. It’s awesome. Love the sounds they used to illustrate the different movements. For a full write up and more from Clemens, check out his Vimeo page.

Black Friday. For most, a day for people to revert to caveman ways and fight each other outside of a WalMart for TV’s and discounted Lee jeans, for me, Christmas tree shopping. It’s definitely one of my favorite things about the holidays. When we were kids we had real trees up until I was 5, then we realized my big brother was allergic and it was fake plastic trees from then on. I missed the smell so much. Thankfully I can buy my own damn tree now, and I take it pretty serious.

This year, I had Lindsey to help me pick out the perfect tree. We dug around for a bit at the Home Depot with the sounds of chainsaws and Metallica blasting in the background. We picked out three and took home the fluffiest of the lineup. It’s funny how you don’t realize how big the thing is until you’re standing at your door trying to figure the best way to get it inside.

Success! We put that guy up and decorated into the early morning in front of an artificial, yet HD, fireplace. The smell is incredible! Someone should bottle that shit.

My Copy of INNI arrived today. Super excited. The Limited Edition came with a series of prints, a pretty fancy looking 7″ vinyl, INNI on CD, a pin, light sensitive paper, DVD, Blu-Ray, and a small swatch of fabric from the costume of one the band members during their final performance together.

INNI has been playing in a few select theaters and from what I hear, it’s been stunning. Can’t wait to find out for myself.

Last Wednesday Steve Jobs passed away at the age of  56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. I was definitely shocked by the news. Like so many other people, I was at a loss for words. It is truly a shame. Reactions to his death have been all over the place. You have some people claiming to be crying for days on end and others who could care less. Some argue that this loss is huge for humanity, which I think is a bit extreme. Personally, while not life changing, it does make me stop and think. I owe a lot to Apple, and therefore feel a great deal of gratitude and respect for Steve Jobs. While I never knew him personally, his work, and his products have greatly affected my life.

Growing up, my first encounter with a computer was with a Mac. A Macintosh II to be exact. It lived in the library at school underneath a protective vinyl hood. It was “the little television with the typewriter,” which is how I used to describe it to my mom. I played Pitfall and this weird little karate game on it during recess. It was chained to the desk and could only be used when there was someone around to supervise. It felt very exclusive and inaccessible to us kids. We had a Nintendo at home and that appeared to be as close as I’d ever come to having some sort of “computer.”

As I got older, I started to notice computers more and more. Mainly in a  business atmosphere. The computer wasn’t something that could be found in many homes, especially in our neighborhood. We had a typewriter my dad used for invoicing. It was definitely a luxury. We learned to type on it, and up until the ink ribbon cartridges got discontinued, it was used daily. My dad ended up bringing home a Brother word processor one day to replace it. I went through all the handbooks and pamphlets looking for any mention of games or activities. Nothing. The damn thing did one thing and one thing only: word processing. It was disheartening for sure. I thought it would be the same if not better than that little Mac from the library. My parents attempted to make up for it by getting us a V-tech activity center thing. It was like a kid computer. It was basically a tool to learn how to type. It felt very restricted and was pretty much just a giant Speak N’ Spell.

The memories of that little Mac eventually left my mind and instead were replaced with the reality of boring computer interaction. At that point computing came in the form of some sort of typing tool, or the crappy PC’s at school that were used to run Mavis Beacon. As a matter of fact, the association between boredom and computers was a common one amongst kids my age. Nothing good came of them. At one point I remember it being used as punishment. Detention consisted of sitting in the lab doing typing lessons. It was looking bleak. I hated computers and was sure that these things would eventually be forgotten. That all changed in 1995.

I was up watching cartoons early one morning, when an infomercial came on. It was called The Martenettis Bring a Computer Home. A 30 minute film told in 3 parts starring “Squints” from The Sandlot. It was highlighting the Macintosh Perfoma 630CD. The latest and greatest from Apple. I was blown away by all the awesome things it could supposedly do. My little head exploded. It was something that trumped any video game or TV show. Looking back now, I think it was the concept of interactivity on such a large scale that really blew my mind. It wasn’t about mashing buttons, but rather inputting information. I was hooked. The infomercial played several times throughout the week and I found myself going out of my way to not miss it. I had to get my parents to see it. How would they not be wowed by such a breakthrough in technology, and such a convincing advertising campaign? Christmas was right around the corner, too, so I had to implement a strategy. It was a little desperate, but kids can get crafty when they want something bad enough. I taped over some of my favorite cartoons in order to record the commercial the next time it came on. I was going to play it back the next time my parents were anywhere near the TV. Everything went off without a hitch. Mom was impressed, dad was pumped, but then the reality kicked in along the lines of “it’s too much money” and “but we have the word processor.” The ultimate kick in the pants was one that really makes me laugh today. My dad, just like the dad in the infomercial (see below), threw out, “What if we get one and you guys don’t use it?” That question gives me goosebumps, but it totally made more sense back then. Computers are such an active daily part of our lives. It’s hard to imagine a world without having to interact with one.

It seemed as though the Brother was as good as it was going to get for us. Christmas came and went. We got the usual, socks, but socks and literally nothing more. It was beyond depressing. There was usually at least one novelty, but this year nothing. Sad and a little upset, days went by and I kept thinking about how amazing it would have been to get that Performa. About a solid week after the holidays, my mom and dad came home and asked for some help unloading the car. We unloaded this large box. “Office supplies,” my dad called it. We brought it into the living room, and it sat there for about a week. Our curiosity definitely grew. What the hell was this box doing kicking it dead center of the living room for so long? Then one morning, my dad came up to us and said, “Wow, a whole week sitting right in front of you? You guys should open that.” Slow at first, but then in a frenzy, we unveiled our Apple Macintosh 630 CD. I can’t put into words the sheer elation, panicked breathing, and heck, tears of joy even. It was perfect!

Life changed almost instantly. I found myself learning about everything and anything. It came with an encyclopedia and a Mayo Clinic Family Dr. thing. I could sit there for hours just reading about all sorts of shit. Then there were the games. Oh, the games. Interactivity took on a whole new role in my daily life. I had no idea, up until our mac, that it was possible to problem solve that way. I was playing adventure games, like “Full Throttle,” “Day of the Tentacle,” and my all time favorite, “Sam & Max Hit the Road.” Seriously mind blowing gaming experiences that taught me to think outside the box.

Then there was the whole creative aspect. Talk about life changers. It came bundled with this awesome comic strip / greeting card creator program. I’d sit there for hours playing with type and images. I’d make signs for people, headers for my dad’s invoices, all sorts of stuff. I was really blown away by the way this computer allowed me to be creative. Eventually came Print Shop Deluxe, and eventually Photoshop and Illustrator.

Throughout the years I dabbled with PCs, but nothing could really touch that Mac. It was, different. I’d notice the way I felt sitting in front of one vs. the other. The experience was different. The Mac was just better. And just to be clear, that is my opinion. I’m not trying to get into a whole PC vs. Mac debate. PCs are great, but I’m speaking purely about my own experience. It definitely laid out the foundation for my future. A large part of who I am today wouldn’t have been possible without that Mac, and therefore, Mr. Jobs.

In the grand scheme of things, everybody dies at some point, and given Steve Jobs’ health history, it was only a matter of time. The people who should really feel for his loss are those closest to him, family and friends. People claiming to be “changed forever” need to seriously reassess that feeling. Steve Jobs was a man, a brilliant man, but a man nonetheless. He created a product that has been a vital part of the lives of many of my peers. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today, doing what I do today without the dude, but again, that’s just me. I owe a great deal to those products which continue to blow my mind to this day. You’ll be missed Mr. Jobs. Thank you for the technology and the tools that shaped my professional career, and allowed me to think different.

I found that infomercial I was talking about on YouTube. Definitely check it out. Some pretty serious production value, and “Squints.” The concept of not wanting to buy a computer out of fear it won’t get used is strange to think about today. Hard to imagine there was a time when owning a computer was questionable. Oh, and the grandpa at the end talking specs with the old chick, AMAZING.

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A look behind the scenes of the Gatorade: Go All Day shoot with Chaz Ortiz. Again, a huge pat on the back to everyone involved.

It was a total team effort.

This is going to be awesome! The first Muppet movie in 12 years. Starring Muppet aficionado Jason Segel, and Amy Adams. The icing on the cake? Musical supervisor…Bret McKenzie! Always solid films, can’t wait for this one. In theaters Thanksgiving of this year.

Was fortunate enough to be on set for the filming of this Gatorade spot directed be Colin Kennedy. Was amazing to see it all happen, and I’m even more impressed with the how it turned out. Chaz is a machine. The behind the scenes photos are coming soon.