James Brown - Heart Failure
Gerald Ford - Natural Causes
uh,
Saddam Hussein - Hanging
It's the last Cheese Friday™ of the year.
When you care enough to send the very best, send the gift of Cheese.
I don't think it works to good for me. My head is too skinny to be a Southpark charater. 
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle. Shown here waving to Brett Favre.
So, I'm going to the bathroom (I mean going TO the bathroom, not you
know... poopin' as I type) and as I open the door I can tell that there
is a dude in the stall (it's a one-staller). He comes out of the stall
and leaves (no handy washy) when I enter the stall it looks like i
caught him in his office. There is an Arrowhead water bottle (cap off,
half full) a copy of Skateborder magazine on the floor and the old
throne has NOT been floosh'd. Awesome.
I guess the trip to the potty was this guy's first 'break' all day.
So I ask you dear reader, should I have chased the guy down and said
something? Or do we agree that other people's bathroom protocols
(however weird) are their own business?
Have ever eaten or drank a beverage while in the can? Wait a sec, mebbe
I don't want to know.
Needless to say, I ain't shaking hands with any new people I meet
today.
--thePrisoner (from his real off, not 'the office')
Orange Alerts notwithstanding, I am back in Orange County.
The flight was rough and the movies were rougher.
I paid five bucks for cheese crackers and vacuum sealed salami - what
has happened to flying?
Anyway, back to work tomorrow and pretend none of this ever happened.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
All over now except the crying.
Since Sunday Nels and I have been performing the most unglamorous part of the film fest process. Returning tables, packing up equipment, and answering e-mails from filmmakers who just don't get it.
Some of the prints got picked up by their owners.
Mute, by Melissa Joan Hart (yes, Sabrina the Teenage Witch) is playing at a fest in Fort Lauderdale next week, so we dropped it off at the Post Office personally.
The sun is going down and the forecast is for heavy rain (last night it was a cloudburst I couldn't believe it) and we are rolling west towards the expressway that will take us to O'Hare, and take me home to California.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
Hey, we played your film. Remember like 6 hours ago when you were
talking to us? Now the screening is over and you totally blew us off,
that ain't exactly polite, not cool. You didn't even have the customary
1 drink at the meet and greet.
Bad form ladies, bad form.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
This industrial container holds the delicious 'buttery' topping that the
Davis uses on it's popcorn. You might notice the small, incredibly
slick puddle just to the top of the frame.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
Second show is Nels' third smoke break.
A light drizzle hasn't stopped the turnout.
A local guy has brought in about 40 friends, all ticket buyers, we love them.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
Dan is a three year veteran of the show.
He should know better.
Me? I'm in it for the chicks.
I should know better.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
The first show has begun.
"Growing Up Sucks" is a show we've done every year.
The fest is officially under way.
I could use a coffee.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
I feel that we may have lost momentum. I thought we were done, but it
looks like we aren't.
The two photos or my watch were taken 24 hours apart. I have made a
bunch of show reels (right now I'm making the 'best of..' reel, the
audience's favorite will be dropped in at the very end).
I'm kinda burned. A lot of the grief I forget about is back with a
vengeance. Nels has stopped answering me when I ask him what it is
Scott actually does. Nels did a lot this year (even more than usual)
but I think he's a bit fried too. He's being a bit snappy and I resist
the urge to tell him that he must have forgotten who he's talking to (it
worked last year).
In 12 hours we'll be at the theater. Nels will be setting up the
projector, we'll all pretend that the hum isn't anywhere near as bad as
it was, Scott will walk around saying what 'we' should have done but did
not (just like last year) and no one will pay the slightest bit of
attention to him (just like last year).
This year we have a sponsor that might actually put butts on seats, the
Chicago Sun-Times has slapped their name upon us. I wonder what that
might mean...
The King Tut hat was just to help me feel good about myself.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
Today we inspected the sound system at the Davis, the theater we are using this year. It is not as old as the 3 Penny Theater (our first home) but still has little in common with the larger chain theaters. Of course we'd never be able to get into one of those places.
It's a nice old theater. The manager is very accommodating, but he got very nervous when we broke out the RadioShack™ bag o'cables to wire us into their audio system. It must've been like when Joe Morton gets that Terminator arm in T2 because our technology was light years beyond the stuff we found in the projection booth. The manager immediately fell to his knees and began chanting. Talk about awkward moments...
Like I said this is a nice old theater, the kind of place that will surely be gone before too long. All the signs were made on the managers Windows95 Paintbox program, there were lots of labels made out of papertape and a general lack of knowledge when it comes to figuring out how this stuff all works together. Guess what? It doesn't.
There is a slight hum, a ground hum. It's not terrible, but if it were gone we'd be really happy. After much speculation (but decidedly little action) I found myself behind the screen tracing the audio cables to the speaker. It is cramped and dark and dusty with cobwebs. When I find a link in the cables I'm surprised that we're getting any sound at all. In my hands I was holding exposed wires and the twist caps holding them together. When I give them a jiggle I am both surprised and disappointed. The audio is not interrupted. So the twist ties work, which is good. But I haven't found the source of the hum, which is bad.
Chalk this up as, To Be Continued...
I have to go and make some more show reels.
--toby wallwork (from Sidekick)
