Murder Mystery

My friends and I had a murder mystery party on Friday the 13^th. It was a lot of fun. There were swanky invitations and everything. Each of us had parts to play. It was 1932, England. I was the golfing lawyer, representing the host (and victim). Others in attendance were a young American actress, the businessman nephew and his wife, the deceased's physician, his personal assistant, his long-lost (illegitimate) son, and a murder mystery novelist. And, of course, Inspector Smythe of Scotland Yard.



If you've never tried the Murder Mystery party, I would highly recommend it. Always a fun time.

NOTE: I recognize that the coloring and lighting on these pictures is all over the place. I'm trying to learn how to best fix that on my computer, and I'm not all that good yet.

Individual

I wonder if there is any such thing as true originality. My suspicion is that it's all just impressive synthesis.
I love what mixing techniques can do, in photography and anything, really.
Tilt-Shift-Time-Lapse. Reminds me of bullet-time-lapse.


Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

I attended a film lecture today for International Cinema. There were four people there, not including the host and the lecturer. We watched Central Station (English title), a stirring film I would recommend to everyone. I hope to see it again some day.

I appreciate film and other art that recognize how awful life can be, but choose hope deliberately. That kind of art does us all a great good. I hope to be able to produce that feeling in others with what I do in life.

Nothing in particular

I usually try to keep a focus to my blog posts. I'm not going to do that this time.

Skittles has a new commercial that is very funny.



I wanted to see it again, and went to their website. Here is a surprise, they don't really have their own website anymore. Get this, they're using almost exclusively social networking and other community driven websites to promote their product. YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter. Neat.

I'm interning at ABC 4 in Salt Lake City. I mostly work on the website. I post stories from the AP News wire and videos from our show. My responsibilities seem to be always changing, though. I'm trying to keep up.

Utah needs to do better making records easily available online. Carl Malamud should be put in charge of modernizing how records are accessed in this country.

I've always enjoyed Mike Rowe. Read the whole Wikipedia on him. In an industry with so many types, he is one of the few broadcasters I'd like to emulate. I've wanted to write him a letter to let him know I think Dirty Jobs is one of the best programs on television. Period. It's entertaining, educational, and morally speaking, clean. I haven't written it yet, but after watching this address he gave, I think I'll follow through.

He makes the most compelling argument for not following your dreams I've ever heard.



I just watched KINGS on NBC. I almost never watch TV, especially normal network TV, but there is always one on at work. It's a pretty good show so far. Hope it does well.

The Liberty Mutual commercials are some of the best ads I've ever seen. Funny commercials are a dime a dozen, but it's something pretty amazing when a thirty second ad can get to your heart. I don't really know what this is, but I'd like to take a closer look later.

The other night I had trouble falling asleep. I don't know why, but I was remembering the house I grew up in. I went through the whole house in my mind. The front entry and the chipped tile. The chandalier hanging after you come in. I was surprised how intimately I remembered all the details, from the stained glass window at the landing on the back landing, halfway down the stairs, to the bamboo theme all over the guest room. I could draw a detailed floor plan of the whole property.

Among other things, I want to go treasure hunting this summer. I know the idea is absolutly absurd. Maybe that's part of the appeal.

Stake Conference

BYU 3rd (Student Singles) Stake

Sitting near the back.

A new stake presidency.

Distant, muffled, echoing, baritone sermons.

An unpracticed choir with uncooperative audio.

A thousand caughs, papers, fidgets, footsteps, and whispers.

Two thousand twenty-somethings.

Two hours.

Pray I learn something here today.

Killer

Had a dream that was like a horror/slasher movie. Dead people, blood and guts...not a pretty vision. That's what I get for watching a murder mystery serial on TV and reading about the gross shortcomings of the MPAA, with a slasher movie case study, right before bed. It even had a twist ending.

A girl we thought was tied up, who we thouht was a victim, calmly walked away from the ropes that should have bound her wrists. She said something, I don't recall what, to indicate how the killer would get away, then she did just that thing.

We were near the ocean. At the end of her monologue, she ran to the end of the dock, dove in the water, and swam faster and further than any of us could persue after our ordeal. She got away.

I suppose there could be a sequel.

Academic

I just discovered that two of my very favorite professors barely graduated from BYU in communications. They started other careers in business and technology, and, for one reason or another, found themselves back in academia as respected professors.

Looks like I may be on a not bad track.

Neat.

Josh Topolsky on Jimmy Fallon's show

I read engadget pretty much every day.



Also, I like that not just bloggers, not just political bloggers, but now tech bloggers find themselves in the mainstream media.

The times they are a-changin'

Stowaway

Dreamt that I was part of a group that subverted the security on a plane. It was a big plane, and we somehow, in a technical manner, snuck on. We were in flight, near our destination, when the crew found something, I don't know what, and started looking for us.

I left my seat and went to other sections, hoping to not be found. I walked further and further back on the plane, and when I reached the back and still felt like I might be discovered, I hid in a closet of some kind. It was small and cramped. I stayed there, quiet and still. The door slid open a bit, and a hand reached in and immediately met the back of my neck. I was found, surely, and forfeited my hiding place. I came out.

The hand that met my neck belonged, not to any air marshall, but a woman looking for her coat. She gave me a puzzled smile, as if to say, "What are you doing in the closet?" An aloof smile is all she got in return.

I walked back toward the coach seating area, keeping my head down. I don't know why I hid my face, because I knew they didn't know what I looked like, the stowaway, the illegal passenger. They only knew they were looking for an American. I kept my mouth shut.

I wondered how many of our group were caught, if any. I sat next to a woman with dark hair.

I woke up.

Found

I try to keep my eyes open. It's helpful for a reporter, but really a trait everybody should strive for.

I was at D.I. yesterday, and looked at an old digital camera they had. It was a Kodak Easyshare, just like one I still have and use. They're simple but durable. My 2 MP still works after 5 years and gives crystal clear pictures, plenty big (don't believe the megapixel myth).

This camera still had shots on the internal memory, and one video.

I copied them to an SD card I had in my pocket*.



I wonder if they have copies of these pictures? Seem like memories they'd want to keep, missions and weddings and all. Maybe they copied them to a card like I did.



*Yes, I keep a variety of flash memory on my person at most times.

Also on Friday, I found this note on campus. I submitted it to Found Magazine.



Sounds like she loves you, Bradley. That's great, man. The best of luck to both of you.

I had some more pictures found on memory cards from Seattle this summer. I went to the Value Village there all the time. Being spitting distance from Microsoft headquarters, there were plenty of old digital cameras there, many still with memory cards, many still with pictures.

I'm really sad I deleted them, now that I have enough content to post.

Everything's Amazing, Nobody's Happy

This video passed through my facebook profile. I saw that somebody else had posted it, thought it was fantastic, and reposted on mine. Then my friends did the same. Apparently, we're not the only ones. Louis CK became an Internet sensation from this interview he did last Fall on Conan O'Brien.



He is, of course, talking about me and mine. But I was glad to have it pointed out. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing as I watched. Believe it or not, there are those who know me who think I could do with more of that smiling and laughing.

So thanks, Louis.

via CrunchGear via Jaunted via The Economist.

Bald and Beautiful

I heard about this right when it happened, right when a woman in Springville sent an email and picture to us here at the station.

Why, then, didn't it occur to me to go down there myself (or send a friend with a camera and steady hand) to get some pictures and footage of the Bald Eagles to sell as stock footage? How often am I going to see a bunch-o-Bald Eagles? I've only ever seen it once, just outside tiny Oroville WA, in the Fall of 2003. Why didn't I think of that then?

I swear, when I am a self-employed man, I'm going to be doing this kind of thing always.

Urban Camoflage

I post this mostly for one reason. That is so Rob can share it, and get it circulating through GReader.

Rob, no pressure. You just do what you feel is right.

via BoingBoing

Nate and Annelisa's Reception

I'm going through some old things of mine, and found these Polaroids form last Summer.

These are my friends Nate and Annelisa. I went to their reception at Annelisa's house, which is more picturesque than you know, at least in Summer. I'm sure they were surprised to see me there. I don't know them all that well, and it was quite a drive from Seattle. But I wanted to go, and I'm glad I did.

I've wondered if there wouldn't be a niche for a photographer to specialize in old looking photographs by old photography methods. It would be interesting to have a contemporary daguerreotype hanging up in your house. These Polaroids are anachronistic enough, the options are pretty wide open.













I like couples. They're happier.

The end of the story

Paul Harvey died today. He was a great broadcaster. I hope to learn things from his life. Thanks for your stories, and your story, Paul.

Sunrise

This is the thought that was floating through my head upon waking this morning: Would the major world religions (Abrahamic; Jewdaism, Christianity, and Islam) be monotheistic if the Earth orbited a twin star, or had multiple moons?

That's the kind of head I have stuck between my ears. I've been watching and reading too much science fiction. Three silly old sci-fi movies in the past 2 days (for class) does strange things.

The viewing list included:
-Quatermass and the Pit (1967) in class Thursday.
-Village of the Damned (1960) in class Thursday.
-The Last Woman on Earth (1960) while interning at ABC 4. It was on the Utah Education Network's Sci Fi Friday, a good thing to know about when I'm stuck working Friday nights.

Now you know, if there were any doubt left. I'm a genuine nerd.

Trashout

This is pretty heartbreaking. I knew things were bad, I didn't realize it adds up like a house-fire.



"What happens to junk left behind in foreclosed homes?" via boingboing.