Category: Life

The Hunt for Gollum: Not Your Father’s Home Movie

I noted the other day that Cassidy and I are reading The Hobbit together.  It, along with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, was a defining moment in my early reading years.  I’ve been looking forward to sharing these books with Cassidy, and we are having a blast.  She has not seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies, and I told her that we would watch each movie together after reading the book.  Just the other night we were lamenting the fact that there is not a movie version of The Hobbit.

Now, thanks to a dedicated director and a bunch of very talented actors/volunteers/fans, there is a very well-done movie inspired by these books that we can use to whet our appetites.  In our reading, we are just past the point where Bilbo Baggins finds the ring and escapes from Gollum and the goblins, with some help from the eagles.  So Cassidy knows about Gollum and the ring.

Filmmaking is not like journalism.  Unlike the ever narrowing gap between traditional journalists and bloggers, citizen filmmakers have not narrowed the gap between themselves and their Hollywood counterparts.  In fact, I think the difference between a Saturday night made for Sci-fi Channel movie and a Hollywood feature film is bigger than the difference between a good blogger and the New York Times.  Words all look the same and stand in their own merits.  Movies are multi-media events, where cinematography, special effects and other factors have a lot to do with the end result.  Accordingly, even talented actors look bad in a film with no production budget.

Which makes it very hard for independent films to measure up.

The Hunt for Gollum is a very pleasant exception to this rule.  This is an excellent 40-minute film, in HD no less.  The fight scenes were excellently filmed, choreographed and acted.  I really enjoyed the entire thing, and intend to watch it again- with Cassidy.

Take a look.  But be quick, because there’s no guarantee that some walking bad decision at New Line Cinema, who owns the rights to the Lord of the Rings movies, won’t try to squelch this little labor of love, and all the good publicity it will generate.  I hope that doesn’t happen.

Because it is a cool and well made film.

Galveston

We spent last weekend in Galveston, celebrating Cassidy’s birthday.  It rained a lot, but we still had fun.  Several of Cassidy’s friends came down and we spent Sunday at the Schlitterbahn.

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Chairs

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Cassidy and Remy handhelding

 

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Delaney playing Light Bike on the iPhone

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Luke made the best of the bad weather.

Announcing the Wake Forest Sports News & Discussion Page @ FriendFeed

In an effort to bring some of the Web 2.0/social networking flexibility and features to fellow Wake Forest Demon Deacon sports fans, I have created a Wake Forest sports page at FriendFeed.  The new FriendFeed design allows for a seamless integration of news content and message board discussion- things that have traditionally been separate.

It is and will remain a work in progress, as I and hopefully others locate and import relevant news feeds for centralized reading and to serve as discussion starters.  I have added a few Deacon sports-related news feeds.  Others will be added, and some will likely be dropped over time as we zero in on the best feeds for content and discussion purposes.

The thing I like about this structure is that discussion threads, resembling traditional message board threads, can be started by any user, via the message box at the top of the page.  Additionally, each news item has an associated comment box beneath it.  If I can get a critical mass of WFU fans to give it a try, I think people will really like the flexibility inherent in the FriendFeed design.

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Here’s the message box, where users can create discussion topics.  You
can add photos and/or links to your post.  You can also select to push
any post you make to Twitter, Facebook or other external sites.

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Here’s the way discussion threads display.  Yes, it’s different
from traditional message board posts, but the ability to import
all kinds of relevant content and to view discussions on the same
page creates a vastly improved experience.

Note that you can “Like” a news story and/or start a Comment (e.g., discussion thread) below the story.

I hope some other WFU fans will join me in my efforts to create a new and improved news and discussion experience.

Go Deacs!

Luke is a Swinger: the Tee Ball Era Begins

"Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand."
– Leo Durocher

Luke had his first tee ball practice and game today.

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Luke (in blue) heads for first.

He led off the top of the first with a single.

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Luke on the mound.

He “pitched,” meaning he played infield from where the pitcher’s mound would be if there were pitchers, and played third base.

I don’t think he has the first clue about the rules or anything else other than trying to knock the ball off the tee, but he had a good time.

Photos: Tents in Town

Raina was the chair of a fundraising event this weekend to raise money for our local parks.  At “Tents in Town” families bought campsites at one of our local parks and camped out.  There was food, music, friends and tents.  It was cold- perfect camping weather.  Everyone had a great time, and I took some pictures.


Cassidy and Evie chatting at the campsite


Evie, Cassidy, Rachael and Delaney


Cassidy on top of the fort at the nearby playground

Newsome Kids in Print

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Cassidy, Delaney and Luke are on the front page of the printed and online editions of the Bellaire Examiner, our local newspaper.  Raina is the chair of a fund raising event for the local parks.  Here’s the full story.

Cassidy and Delaney are old pros at the paper thing.  They’ve been in papers and magazines numerous times.  In fact, Cassidy’s first media experience was when she was one.  On the cover of Money Magazine, thanks to one of her daddy’s bad investments.

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