Wednesday, November 13, 2013

An Actual Nice Review for "King's Highway"

If you venture over to the King's Highway page on Netflix, you'll find some pretty scathing reviews. Some people are actually pissed off at me for making the movie. A part of me would like to reply to their comments, but after 10 years there's no point. We made a feature length digital movie for $5000, before there was a digital revolution! Is it perfect? No. But it's still a quality project with some great performances and some exceptional behind the scenes work. I stand by that as the writer/director and one of the producers.

If you haven't seen King's Highway, you can get it in the mail from Netflix (like anyone does that anymore), or you can stream it through Amazon Prime. The movie stars Geoff Stults, a sincere and talented actor who has a new sitcom that premieres on FOX in January.

Occasionally I'll check to see if anyone leaves their two cents, and it's on Amazon Prime that I found this really nice review:

"Did not know the actors and had never heard of the movie, but was pleasantly surprised by the touching story, and eccentrically real characters dealing with life's unexpected challenges. This one's definitely worth your time and will leave you feeling glad you experienced it. Enjoy!"
The review was written by "Anonymous." Thank you, Anonymous! Hopefully you'll inspire someone else to check out the movie.
And hey, if you want to own your own physical DVD of King's Highway, drop me a line. I have a box of them in my garage. Unless your name is Bob Bellamy. I already owe him one.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Veterans Day 2013

I've never served in the military, so I don't understand what it takes to place your life on the line for your country. That doesn't mean that I'm not moved by the sacrifices the men and women of our military, past and present, have made for our freedoms. Today we salute all veterans, those who lived through the hell of war and came home and those who did not make it back alive.

Take a moment to listen to this majestic theme from the HBO miniseries, The Pacific. This music captures everything I wish I could say about how much I respect the men and women of our armed forces.


Saturday, November 9, 2013

Goin' Country: The CMA Awards

In case you missed it, I posted a new Goin' Country column at Popdose, the best damn pop culture site on the Internet. This week I discuss the Country Music Association Awards that were handed out on Wednesday (the same night as American Horror Story: Coven- it was a very eclectic evening).

The CMA Awards are a night of celebration of country music. If the show was just handing out awards, it would be over in an hour. To fill the other two hours, country music stars play some pretty great music.

Here's a link to my column. If you have a couple of minutes, please check it out!

http://popdose.com/goin-country-the-2013-cma-awards/

Aloha.

Distrubed Podcast #5 is Live

The latest Disturbed Podcast has just gone live. Jeff and I breakdown last week's American Horror Story: Coven episode, "Burn, Witch Burn." Happy to say that I'm feeling a lot better and I don't cough as much in this week's installment. Please check it out, and if you like it, the LIKE us at the Disturbed Podcast Facebook page... or send money. You can always send money.

Just follow this LINK .

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Thursday, November 7, 2013

Bruce Springsteen - New York City Serenade (Rome 7/11/13)

My love affair with Springsteen's music really began in the mid-90s, as I dug deeper into his back catalog. I stumbled across some bootlegs from his early years, one of which contained an alternate version of "New York Serenade" that is just as good as the released version on The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. I've never heard "New York Serenade" in concert; it's one of those rarities (like "The Price You Pay") that I pray will show up each time I see the boss, but never does.

Now I can say I've heard a live version, at least.

This is my favorite song from Springsteen's sophomore effort (which he released in late 1973... 40 years ago!). There are more popular tracks on the album, and others that have more complex lyrics, but "New York Serenade" tugs at my heart like none of those other songs. When the rest of the band fades out at the end and it's just David Sancious's piano and strings there are always tears in my eyes.

This video, shot in Italy this past July, is sublime. Watch the string section (man what a nice touch) and they way their faces light up during the pivotal moments of the song. The joy on their faces to be playing this classic song and to be on stage with Springsteen is a sight to behold.

Enjoy!


Monday, November 4, 2013

November Experiment #'s 2 & 3

Okay, my second and third experiments for the month of November go hand in hand and they're a little daunting.

Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month? I didn't either until a couple of years ago, when a friend introduced me to this special time when budding novelists try to cram 50,000 words into 30 days. Two years ago I toyed with trying to start a new book; this year I'm ready.

My very first novel, an unpublished YA romantic comedy called Legendary, was written very fast. Well, the first draft was written fast, and then I began revising for a year. But getting that first draft out is the most important step, at least it is for me. So, if I can get into a rhythm and write 50,000 words by the end of November, I could have novel #2 under my belt (again, just the first draft).

I'm cheating, a little, by adapting an old screenplay. The structure of the book is kind of in place, although I'm going to focus on just one character instead of the two from the original script. Still, writing is writing and I'll be happy if I can finally get this story out of my system.

The second part of this experiment involves a special tool that I discovered a few weeks ago. It's the
Livescribe Echo Smartpen. This magical device allows me to write freehand on sheets of special paper and the pen records what I've written. I can then upload the text to my computer and another program should be able to convert my handwriting to a Word document.

Anyone who knows me knows that I prefer to write with pen and paper. There's something about the feel of a pen in my hand and the tactile experience of pressing ink to paper. It's how I learned to write and I still feel that my ideas flow much better when I'm working this way (much better than this blog entry, that's for sure). The pen is heavier than what I'm accustomed to, but if I can get used to it I may have found the most magical device in the world.

Wish me luck. 

Oh, and if you're interested in reading my first novel, Legendary, drop me a line and I'll send you a copy. If you want to read Basement Songs, well, look to the right, dear traveller, and you'll find the links to where to buy the book.

Aloha.

November Experiment #1

The month is still fresh and I feel I should tell you about the first of my three experiments this month. It's the easier of the three and I'm doing it thanks to this video:


One of my Facebook friends introduced me to the video for the Dollar Shave Club and the video was so well done - it's funny, informative and made me want to try their product - that I couldn't resist. I wish I knew someone who could market like this so I could get Basement Songs into more hands. Maybe I should try something with the same tone as they have. Hmm.

Anyway, I joined the club and the first pack of razors arrived on November 1st, appropriately enough. So far so good. I'm supposed to change the razor each week, which is revolutionary for me, as I've been known to go a whole month before tossing out one of the Bic disposables I'm used to shaving with. I'll keep you updated.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Disturbed Podcast #4 is Live

Jeff and I break down the latest episode of American Horror Story: Coven, as I try not to hack up a loogie during the recording. TMI? Man, if that grosses you out, what does the voodoo snake slicing zombie ritual from the show do to you?

Here's the link to this week's Disturbed Podcast.  You can also download it from iTunes.

http://www.southgatemediagroup.com/disturbed-an-american-horror-story-fan-podcast/

Please remember to like us on Facebook!

Aloha