With a lot of help from my brother Jacob and my son, Guthrie, I have somehow managed to post my first video podcast.  Be forewarned that it’s very, very, very low-tech.  Anyhow, here it is:

A few annotations: After recording the podcast, I checked out the Freedy Johnston video I mentioned — for “Bad Reputation” — and the framing issues weren’t nearly as egregious as I remembered. … Many, many thanks to my friend Anthony Sandberg, the folks at OCSC Sailing, and all those nice people on my boat. … Also, I would like to note that iMovie should not be used by people with high blood pressure or with any plans to sleep.

My tentative goal is to try to use my new Flip HD camera (which I love) to shoot a second video podcast tomorrow, commemorating Memorial Day.  I welcome — nay, crave — your comments on this one … but as noted, it’s my first time, so please try to be gentle.

Posted: May 24th, 2009 under Gentleness, Sailing, Video Podcasts.
Comments: 9

I’m thrilled to announce that my website has been treated to a fabulous makeover, through the genius of designer Joe Pignati. Please check it out — and give me your feedback, pro and con, by clicking on the “comments” link below this blog entry. We’ll keep amending and tinkering the site based on what we hear back from visitors.

And please also check out my brand-new online store — which you can reach through my website, or by clicking here. You will find there — available for the first time — the fantastic concert-film DVD of my monologue Red Diaper Baby, along with the Red Diaper Baby book (which contains the text of that piece plus two others, Haiku Tunnel and The Mathematics of Change).  If you buy both the DVD and the book, we’ll throw in a complimentary mini-canister of baby powder (a product that features prominently in Red Diaper Baby).

Again, your feedback on the website and store would be vastly appreciated!!

Posted: May 22nd, 2009 under Baby Powder, Book, DVD, Red Diaper Baby, Store, Website.
Comments: 5

We’re going to be having kind of a release party for the brand-spanking-new Red Diaper Baby DVD — a concert film directed by the great Doug Pray.  It’ll be at Saul’s Deli in Berkeley on June 2 at 8 p.m.  You can call in advance (510-848-DELI) and make dinner reservations, or just show up for the screening.  (There will be free popcorn — not sure whether kosher or not, depends on whether they’ll be using cloven kernels.)  I’ll introduce the film, then take questions afterwards.  I think it will be fun!!

Posted: May 21st, 2009 under DVD, Red Diaper Baby, Saul's Deli.
Comments: 4

My brother Jacob and I — who only a few short years ago collaborated on the movie Haiku Tunnel — are now working on another film, titled Love & Taxes.  It’s a sequel, of sorts, to Haiku, since it also stars me and will have many of the wonderful people working on it who were in our first film (along with a bunch of new wonderful people).  And, like Haiku, it is based on a theatrical monologue of mine — this one done in collaboration with my theatrical director, David Dower.

Working with producer Raub Shapiro, Jake and I have already done a “test shoot” of a short sequence from the film — and if my blogging skills are up to it, you can see the resulting clip (still in “rough cut”) right here:

We’re planning to shoot this film (at least to start with) as a sequence of these “test shoots” — with our hope being that they will be of good-enough quality to make up the actual movie.  And we’re trying out a new technique of raising money and awareness for our projects — by making use of a cool new website called IndieGoGo.

It would be hecksa-fantastic if you would take a few moments to click here and go to the Love & Taxes IndieGoGo page.  There (starting in the left column) you can (if you wish) donate to the production (and get a cool “perk”!), and/or sign up as our “Friend” (which, besides helping us greatly, entitles you to see the “private” documents on our page), “endorse” us, rate our project — any way that you’d like to become part of our process.

This is an exciting (and somewhat scary) experiment to see if we can make use of the power of the Internet (and of our friends) to grow a feature film entirely from the grassroots.  If we can raise $15,000 this way, we can go ahead and do another “test shoot” — an action sequence involving tax law!  (Bet you haven’t seen that before, either!)

So if you can, please do check out our IndieGoGo page — and become an integral part of creating a cool new independent film!

Thanks!!

Posted: May 4th, 2009 under Love, Love & Taxes, Taxes.
Comments: 13