Photo Journal of Austin Series, Part 8: Water

Images by Meghann Sumner:

The following images were taken from a kayak on the Colorado River with a disposable camera (purchased at the local drug store, i think) - while ACL 2010 shared its music from the bordering shore.

Bressonian Quote #20 - Notes from a Master Filmmaker

"Nothing rings more false in a film than that natural tone of the theatre copying life and traced over studied sentiments."  - Robert Bresson

Photo Journal of Austin Series, Part 7: Nature and City

Images by Meghann Sumner:

Photo Journal of Austin Series, Part 6: Postcards of Austin

Photo Journal of Austin Series, Part 6: Postcards of Austin
The next few posts to this series will consist of images from the same period of time and shoots as the original posts. I recently revisited my photo collection from the early Austin days (oh so long ago, 9 months i think it is now) and found a few gems that i had yet to share - so here they are. There will be four posts total to complete this collection, the images divided by photographer - Luke Bruehlman, Meghann Sumner (2 posts), and myself. After these posts, the Photo Journal of Austin Series will continue, but will expand (and hopefully evolve naturally) to broader visions of the city, people, and culture of Austin.  Luke's images are leading off with Part 6 of the series (appropriately, as his upcoming visit - round 2 - inspired me to revisit the photos).


Images by Luke Bruehlman:

American: The Bill Hicks Story - Highly Recommended Film of Interest - Trailer

Link:  American: The Bill Hicks Story
- an extraordinary documentary of Bill's life, professionally and personally (really one in the same). The filmmakers utilize and interweave multiple filmmaking techniques including animation, still image manipulation, and other experimental modes as well as plenty of traditional interview footage and, of course, live stage footage of Bill. It received endless interest and acclaim on its film festival run, was picked up for a limited release, and is now being distributed on dvd. It can currently be viewed on Netflix Instant Play. I will be posting more about the film and the particularly interesting screening that I had the privilege of attending here in Austin with the filmmakers (Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas)  in attendance as well as an extra treat for the audience. Highly recommended.

Portishead - Roads - Song for the Day

"How Can it Feel This Wrong" - Posted by NY Times columnist and Princeton professor Paul Krugman to his blog - The Conscience of a Liberal - in response to the recent debt ceiling/spending cuts "compromise" passed by congress.

I do not join in the applause for the children of congress that supposedly came together to accomplish something, nor any other major participants. Shame, sadness, and disillusionment is what i have come away from the recent political (not legislative) debacle with - as we have observed from oh so far away.

Bill Hicks - It's Just a Ride - Video

This is a documentary/live performance footage of Bill Hicks. Numerous individuals from the industry, the comedy circuit, and Bill's personal life offer interviews and insight intercut with various bits from Bill's stage act. I wish the video quality was better, but just for your viewing, comedic, and mental pleasure - Bill Hicks, It's Just a Ride.

It's Just a Ride (41 mins.)

I also encourage everyone to see American: The Bill Hick's Story - an extraordinary, more recent documentary of Bill's life, professionally and personally (really one in the same). The filmmakers utilize and interweave multiple filmmaking techniques including animation, still image manipulation, and other experimental modes as well as plenty of traditional interview footage and, of course, live stage footage of Bill. It received endless interest and acclaim on its film festival run, was picked up for a limited release, and is now being distributed on dvd. It can currently be viewed on Netflix Instant Play. I will be posting more about the film and the particularly interesting screening that I had the privilege of attending here in Austin with the filmmakers in attendance as well as an extra treat for the audience. I highly recommend the film to all.

Artists Announce They've Found All The Beauty They Can In Urban Decay - The Onion Reports

News in Brief            
DETROIT—After spending more than a century exploiting urban decay to create deeply moving, socially conscious works of art, the art world announced Tuesday that it had captured all the beauty it was going to find in rusted-out cars, abandoned houses, and condemned industrial sites. "These modern ruins speak to the very heart of the human condition, but at this point every last inch of Detroit and Oakland has been documented in photographs, on film, or as part of a multimedia installation," said artist Devon Gerhart, who told reporters that devoting so much time to contemplating the wounded grandeur of blighted cityscapes had led him to the point where he just wanted to see the places cleaned up. "I made my career portraying the plight of the homeless, but now I'm starting to wonder whether they'd prefer it if someone just helped them find a place to live." The world's artists later confirmed plans to spend at least another 50 years churning out heavy-handed depictions of the inherent soullessness of suburban sprawl.


Link:  The Onion - News in Brief
This completely nullifies a film concept that i've been working on - damn!  Well, off to the suburbs to do some research.