Kevin JT Binder: Fun

Federico Fellini's Classic "I Vitelloni" -- Filmed in Rimini Italy

Sun, 18 Apr 2004 05:32:45 GMT

The film that established Federico Fellini's worldwide renown, I Vitelloni, was initially released in American art houses as The Young and the Passionate. The title, I Vitelloni, literally means "big calves", which is slang for what we'd call "big loafers". The story strongly parallels Fellini's own life, as it takes place in Rimini on the Adriatic coast, Fellini's hometown. At 18, Fellini left home (Rimini) for Florence and worked as a proofreader and cartoonist for a comic-strip story magazine. Fellini draws on his subsequent 15 years of experience in Florence in this character study of five friends who are turning 30 yet still live at home, unemployed, indulged by their provincial bourgeois families.
Released in 1953. Cast: Franco Fabrizi plays Fausto, the lead character. Leonora Ruffo plays Sandra. Franco Interlenghi plays Moraldo, Sandra's brother. Also appearing: Alberto Sordi as Alberto, Leopoldo Trieste as Leopoldo, and Riccardo Fellini (Federico Fellini's brother) as Riccardo. Jean Brochard plays Fausto's Father. Claude Farell plays Olga, Alberto's sister.
Oscar Winning Fellini Films La Strada (1954), The Nights of Cabiria (1957), 8½ (1963, considered to be Fellini's masterpiece), Amarcord (1974)
Noteworthy Fellini Films Il Bidone (1955), La Dolce Vita (1960), Juliet of the Spirits (1965), Spirits of the Dead (1968), Fellini Satyricon (1969), Intervista (1982)
Fellini Quotes "There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life." "My work is my only relationship to everything." "You exist only in what you do." "In the myth of the cinema, Oscar is the supreme prize."

Top-most Riccardo Fellini photo (with prop) found at Istituto Italiano di Cultura San Francisco Riccardo Fellini ("loafing" on the chair) photo found at CU Boulder IFS (International Film Series) Cast photo found at filmarchiv.at Modern day Rimini Italy bridge and beach photos found at travelplan.it

GarageBand - Make Your Own Music, Play Your Favorite Instruments: Apple iLife for Macintosh

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 07:06:01 GMT

I've got music. I now have my own GarageBand, there's music in my iLife. The M-Audio keyboard I ordered from Apple arrived this morning.

With GarageBand, Apple says, "Making music has never been so natural." I agree. Not that I'm a professional or anything, as I suspect most current or would be GarageBand users are (not), but I am something of a veteran when it comes to having experience poking around on synthesizers, and making music on my computer. Not a whole lot came about in all my efforts over the years, besides the Electronic Music class I took over 15 years ago. That's where I really churned out some music (a whole two-thirds of one side of a cassette tape worth). In that class I had access to a real studio, where I'd stay up until the wee hours of the morning completing my "masterpieces" for the class. There were synthesizers, and a reel-to-reel on which I made my recordings. After that, I didn't make any more music because of all the effort it took. Without the studio, even though I had a 4-track Fostex multi-track cassette recorder, a Midi keyboard, and Midi software that turned it all into musical notation (and "vice-versa" allowing my computer to control the sound coming out of the keyboard) -- it was just too much work.
Enter GarageBand. It's hot. It's fun. Get musical.

GarageBand creates a virtual studio that lets you jam on your favorite instrument with a virtual band as backup. So what if you sold your flute or never bought a piano? GarageBand lets you be a one man band.

Not that it won't take you some time to come up with something that won't unnerve your neighbors. It'll take time, and practice. But you'll have fun in the process. And instead of sounding like you're just getting started playing your instrument for the high-school band (though it could if you don't bring on the accompaniment), it'll sound like you've invited your friends over and started your own GarageBand.
Jam on! GarageBand is currently only available to Apple Macintosh users. If you're not already, it's incentive to become one, I'm telling you. GarageBand is part of the iLife package. It comes with 4 other great programs: iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD. Buy the keyboard to go with it, you can't effectively make music without it. The one I got (pictured at top) works great and costs only $99.
For more information about GarageBand, visit the iLife page on the Apple website here. Quote and images from apple.com, keyboard image from M-Audio The Keyboard is an M-Audio Keystation, 49 Key Mobile USB Midi Controller: see M-Audio.com

Spencer Tunick - One Day in a Photographer's Life - 450 Unclothed Women at NYC Grand Central Terminal

Mon, 27 Oct 2003 01:54:44 GMT

I've always wondered what it would be like to be a professional photographer.
Spencer Tunick In this photo: 450 women show up at New York's Grand Central Terninal at 3 AM Sunday morning, Oct. 26, strip off their clothes, and compose their bodies into sculptural shapes and formations for Spencer Tunick.
More Fun? Perhaps it's time to take photography a little more seriously. Or is it less seriously? At any rate, my question is: do photographers have more fun? (Speaking of who has more fun, I see only one blond in this picture. How about you?) Photo found here.

Rabbit-Proof Fence

Sun, 27 Jul 2003 19:42:39 GMT

I really enjoyed this true story about the challenging life experiences of three Australian Aboriginal girls who were forceably removed from their parents to be assimilated into white society more than half a century ago. At times there can be no dampening of the human spirit. The leading young Aborigine girl in this movie is exemplary in this regard.

Love Me - A Story by Garrison Keillor

Sat, 26 Jul 2003 19:21:10 GMT

Garrison Keillor's upcoming book Love Me looks like fun reading. I got a kick out of this short story excerpt that I found on The Atlantic web site. There are some very funny parts, including numerous entries from Mr. Blue's Minneapolis Star Journal advice column that had me rolling with laughter. Here's a little snippet / intro. (read the whole thing for the best laughs!):

The Star Journal printed a quarter-page ad for Ask Mr. Blue ("Lonely? Confused? Angry? Tell your story to Mr. Blue. Offering commonsense answers to life's persistent questions, twice weekly in the Star Journal "), and fifty e-mails arrived instantly, immediately. Lonely was lonely, and Angry was disappointed in love, and Disappointed had a wonderful husband who was crippled by jealousy, and Brokenhearted was missing her boyfriend who was happily dating other people.

Garrison Keillor's new book, with the same title Love Me, is scheduled to be published by Viking Penguin in September.
Read the short story Love Me by Garrison Keillor here. Garrison Keillor photo source: the Oklahoma KCSC/KBCW FM web site here. The Atlantic image source: theatlantic.com

Technology Meets the Mob

Wed, 16 Jul 2003 20:12:37 GMT

I like this one:

... at 7:12 the 250 mobsters broke into spontaneous, thunderous applause for 15 seconds. Then, its job done, the mob dispersed.

Here are some of the details:

The net is being used to summon up spontaneous crowds that are being put to artistic, charitable and social ends. The craze began in New York in June. Many of the city's net literati were invited by e-mail to take part in an art event that called itself the Mob Project. The e-mail asked people to synchronise their watches and wait at 7pm in one of four of Manhattan's bars. The first mob, which involved 100 people, convened in the ninth floor rug department of Macy's department store and gathered round one particular carpet. [As far as I know, they were not naked, as those in this picture.] Any member of the mob approached by a sales clerk was told to say they all lived together in a warehouse on the outskirts of New York and wanted a love rug to play on. The second mob, of 250 people, took place on 2 July and initially gathered in Grand Central Station. [Policed moved them to the Hyatt and at 7:12 the 250 mobsters broke into spontaneous, thunderous applause for 15 seconds.]

I'd like to get in on some of these (though not likely one of the "nude art" ones, as pictured above). Seeing how as there's no mention of Denver/Boulder in the article I'd probably have to initiate it myself, or catch one the next time I'm in San Francisco... we'll see. Though, seeing as it's a fairly new phenomenon who knows whether it'll last, or perhaps more importantly where it will lead. There's a creative element here that sparks my imagination, how about yours?
See the full BBC News article here. Images: BBC News

Matrix Revisited? HotZaz #1 Matrix-XP

Tue, 15 Jul 2003 20:28:51 GMT

Video spoof Matrix-XP currently stands at #1 in Net Zaziness. Matrix-XP, the Quicktime movie, is a must see. Adam Curry calls it excellent, Orange Dungarees say, "You gotta watch this," and it's currently rated #1 on HotZaz.
Click here to watch the QuickTime movie now. Need QuickTime? Get it here from Apple.

Found link on Adam Curry's weblog. Visit the Matrix-XP website here.