SMiXeL

Let me get this straight. As Mayor of Wasilla, and Governor of Alaska, a huge percentage of the people Sarah Palin hired to official positions in her administration were childhood friends, members of her own church, and supporters of her campaign (aka cronies). And many of these appointees had no qualifications for or experience in these critical government jobs.

And she pushed out professionals from government in order to settle personal scores, and to the benefit of her financial supporters (and I’m not just talking about the State Trooper issue).

And she runs a secretive, closed administration, where staff members are actually instructed to use personal email addresses for state business in order to avoid possible subpoena?

And she spent an inordinate number of days away from the Capital, increasing her isolation from the actual workings of government, and prompting state legislators to wear “Where’s Sarah” buttons?

Does that sound like someone else we know?

By the way, my source for all this isn’t some other blog or a political organization, but is a piece of investigative journalism from the NY Times. Read the article here.

OK, I’m fascinated (again). The latest love child between IT and art is called the Twiller, and it’s a spontaneously created novel, published 140 characters at a time, on no particular schedule, on Twitter.

This may be the seed for the next iteration of an Exquisite Corpse, like SMXL has going on over at Tagfilm.com.

I have to admit, I don’t twitter. I’m not a big enough fan of the text message as a medium. Plus, I only pay for 200 of the things a month before I get overage fees (thanks, AT&T!). But I’m reconsidering all of this, knowing I can read a novel or two this way.

Maybe I’ll have to join the movement, and start directing a film that I distribute over AIM, using my webcam…

Read about the Twiller here.

from McSweeny’s:

CORRECTIONS TO LAST MONTH’S LETTERS TO
PENTHOUSE FORUM

BY DAVID COPPER

In the letter “And Wifey Makes Three,” the letter writer stated: “My wife was eager to engage in a threesome with me and our incredibly hot 19-year-old babysitter.” The sentence should read: “My wife was disgusted, repulsed, and, in every imaginable way, opposed to the thought of engaging in a threesome with me and our incredibly hot 19-year-old babysitter.”

Way to go, dude!

Not sure why, but I find this very funny…

Found in Dumbo. Tenacious little vine, ain’t it?

Had the pleasure of working with Rosey Media on Saturday Night Live’s May 10th digital short. It was a music video featuring Andy Samberg, Shia LeBoeuf, and about 20 guys with no pants.

Nothing starts the day like a man with no pants shouting your name and asking “What are you doing here?” That’s what my friend Adam did to me in my first 30 seconds on set — he was playing one of Andy’s pants-less minions in the music video. “Funny to run into you here,” just didn’t cover it. Now pants — pants might have covered it just fine.

The shoot was, of course, loads of fun and as always, hilarious. Shia LeBoeuf turns out to be a super nice laid back guy (I thought Hollywood A-list actors were supposed to be divas?). And who knew Andy has such nice legs?

We shot with a Panasonic HPX3000 camera, recording onto P2 cards. For some reason, SNL editors really appreciate the speed of a tapeless workflow. Might be because we shoot all day on Friday for a show that airs Saturday Night…

I especially liked the totally rockin’ look of Andy and Shia singing in front of a bunch of moving stage lights and stage fog.

Check out the video here:

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/play.shtml?mea=250060

-=D=-

All in all, I like to be as polyamorous as possible when it comes to camcorders. But I do have a special affinity for Panasonic’s gear. In fact, Small Media Extra Large is the proud owner of a bouncing baby HVX200 camcorder.

I just saw Panasonic’s press release for the new HPX170:

Panasonic Debuts Ag-HPX170, A New Fully Solid-State P2 HD Handheld Camcorder

Basically, the HPX170 looks like it mirrors the features of an HVX200, with three main differences:
1. - No MiniDV tape deck. Bye-bye tapes.
2. - Adds HD-SDI out.
3. - A wider-angle lens

What’s really cool is that assuming this camera sells for around the same price as the HVX200, it means you’ll be able to output full-raster 1920×1080 over HD-SDI to a computer, from a camera that costs around five or six thousand dollars. Looks like it will output 1080 24p or 30p over 1080i.

My big question is will this thing record in DVCPRO HD, or AVC-Intra, or both?

Just noticed something cool on the high-res photo of the camera. There’s a switch on the side that changes the function of the focus ring from focus to iris. This would be a nice plus when using a 35mm lens adapter. When I shoot with our HVX200 and Redrock M2, I always have to worry about bumping the focus ring and screwing up the backfocus.

Can’t wait to play with one of these at the store, when it hits shelves this Fall.

-=D=-

From the folks at Team Forty

After seeing a few of these today, I wondered how many I could find in 15 minutes. Here’s what I came up with:

Create. Organize. Share. Connect. (blist)
Experience. Share. Connect. (geotract)
Connect. Share. Live. (KIJIG)
Create. Share. Connect. (Factory Joe)
Discover. Share. Connect. Discuss. (InfoAddict)
Play. Share. Connect. (PSC Site)
Express. Share. Connect. Enjoy. (Gapuchi)
Share. Connect. Grow. Act. (Get Real)
Remember. Share. Connect. (Memoloop)
Watch. Listen. Share. Connect. (Ruckus Network)
Create. Share. Discover. Connect. (Fraxi)
Create. Connect. Share. (MateCube)
Share. Learn. Connect. Make a Difference. (Care2)
Connect. Share. Care. (UPHS)
Connect. Share. Grow. (Annese)
Share. Connect. Grow. (4marks)
Create. Share. Change the World. (connect2earth)
Connect. Engage. Innovate. (I-Open)
Engage. Learn. Connect. (TeachTown)
Connect. Attract. Engage. (Xuropa)
Think. Engage. Connect. (OPB)
Create. Share. Sell. (Hurox)
Create. Vote. Share. (Twiigs)
Dream. Create. Share. (Pod Collective)
Play. Create. Share. (Yuva)
Create. Share. Earn. (open4)
Create. Send. Share. (MPLIX)
Print. Create. Share. (hp DP)
Create. Attract. Engage. Connect (TM2)

..and that’s just barely scratching the surface.

Which brings up this old chestnut from 37 signals…