This seems particularly poignant right now as I watch the dismantling of democracy - well at least democracy of the until just recently American variety.

TODAY:

Polarization & Dysfunction – Gridlock in Congress, government shutdowns, and an inability to pass meaningful legislation.

1. Executive Overreach – Presidents expanding their power through executive orders and emergency powers, bypassing Congress.

So heres the deal - since I bought my new Mac Mini (which is an absolutely sexy little beast if I do say so myself) I have been looking for projects to explore the abilities of the magnetic mask. I love how it can basically key out/invert mask to allow for some really cool layering examples.

Ok. If you know me at all, you are aware that I am a bit of a Darth Vader enthusiast…okay that statement is patently absurd: I am obsessed with Darth Vader and I know him to be the greatest cinema villain of all time. And its close, ya know like earth from the sun. Or close like my almost becoming a ballet dancer. It is so not even a tad bit close that I feel that this is a senseless waste of my time. Vader’s honor as greatest villain, however, has been besmirched, and I detest invalid besmirching so here I am. Standing up for the obvious.

I have been thinking about a project for my video productions kids are a while now; it is known as the 250 picture project. It is where they take a series of 10 pictures 25 times totaling 250 pictures. The idea I had was that they would start in one spot and move towards or away from a place, person, or thing and then once imported to FCP they would be able to speed them up perhaps making for a cool effect. I thought that it could be thematic, so I began thinking about what I would do my project on. As it turns out, the Friday after Thanksgiving was totally open for me and since the theme I had chosen was ‘urban’ I went downtown camera in hand to start my project.

This is a stupid video in response to constant persecution from the Morgan boys.

Linkin Park's music often channels anger, frustration, and raw emotion because it reflects the challenges and struggles many people face in their lives. Their songs explore themes like pain, betrayal, loneliness, and personal turmoil, which resonate deeply with listeners who feel overwhelmed or misunderstood.

There is a great deal of emotional catharsis with personal experience in their lyrics. It is deeply felt by many because they feel the same way.

If you have the IQ points to spare, please feel free to watch the videos that you can find inside this post.

This is my son, Jason. He is a renaissance man and fancies himself an artist and cultured. While he is still a very young man I have great hopes for him. I am now going to brag on him something fierce. So leave if that bores you.

This is one of my very favorite short films. I show this video on one of the very first days to my video productions class students. I do this for many reasons.

Yep, this is what I am talking about today. How did this come up one might ask — I don’t know the answer to that, but I am going to take a look at this concept and whether or not I am going to go build out a pit in my basement.