To You Sir, I Say No-Ster.

Here's a rhetorical question for everyone to ponder briefly before I blurt out the answer in their face-

Can we stop adding "-ster" to the ends of words?

It's really a symptom of a much much much larger problem we face regarding the squashing of originality and risk-taking amidst marketable, commercial interests.

Why do all peer-to-peer related networks need a "ster" at the end(Napster, Friendster, Drunkster, etc)? Why do personal computer devices need an "i" in front of them(iPod, iTunes, iChat)? And what about "licious(bootylicious, bubblicious, wizardlicious)?"

OK- I'll be honest (and nerdy for a moment), the last example is actually what is referred to as a portmanteau*, meaning a blend of two words a la animatronics(animation + robotics), cyborg(cybernetic + organism), or commandeer(commando + deer).

So back to my original secondary point, why can't we use opportunities like this to create brand new things that warrant brand new names? iPod is a indeed good usage. But why couldn't Friendster have become Amigomachina? How much cooler does a Grecian-Spanish mix of FRIEND MACHINE sound than blazé Friendster?

I know that I am fighting a losing battle, partly with myself, because our culture- both material and incorporeal- is rapidly approaching a massive, haphazard intersection of technology. Our TVs connect to the internet, our iPods play movies, and we talk on the phone while driving.

The way into the future is this dangerous crossroads that will undoubtedly leave many concepts and goods in ruins, while slamming newer technology on a pedestal.




I, for one-ster, welcome our shinier, glossier, flat-screen, overlords.





*Special Thanks to Andy Goldblatt for leading me to the research regarding portmanteaus and helping me learn something new today! Yay!

** Also, portmanteaus are the term for the trend of "name mash-ups" in Hollywood. Here is the one of the funniest uses of those stupid name mash-ups, From the Colbert Report

I Left My Heart

I go up to San Francisco every now and then, less that I would like, and everytime I come home I wish I was back again. This past Thanksgiving, I was in the bay area for three days and my only brush with the city was a quick drive down Lombard and Van Ness at 9 PM on Saturday night.

I love rolling past the Civic Center and that Opera House thing. I love the lights, the hustle, the people, the history, everything. In fact, I think that San Francisco is the most photogenic American city. There is so much to see and hear and do and enjoy about the city. When I travel, I never want to feel like a tourist; I like the locals bars, I don..t need to see and do all the attractions and over priced elevator rides, except in San Francisco, I always feel like a tourist and I don..t care.

It doesn't hurt that San Francisco embodies so much of what I appreciate about American culture- the thriving literary scene; citizens' love for public art displays; people doing what they want, when and how they want to; not to mention that San Francisco has such progressive thinking in it's city planning, political views and treatment of it's denizens.

My friend Kristy(bonafide Teacher-of-the-Year nominee) teaches at some fancy-pantsy academy in the city. She's a rocker and a writer and she belongs in San Francisco. Long Beach is similar in some ways to San Francisco, but it's definitely not the same.

Los Angeles is my home town, and as much as it's hard to not imagine myself living somewhere else, I think it would be San Francisco if I had to move away. I will always come back to Los Angeles, but I think my heart and mind will always reside in a San Francisco state of mind.

Videos are finally up!

Hello CrockBlog-o-sphere!

Let's give a warm welcome to naked chick enthusiast Audrey. Alright. That's enough.

I've finally beaten MySpace's gauntlet, it's virtual Logan's Run to post VideoGame Theater (the pilot; I think I've already mentioned this) and last but certainly not least, Rob Schrab's brilliant Crooked Teeth video. Please enjoy them, watch them, send them to friends.

Also, perhaps you question my blog-vailability (or lack of) in the past weeks and I'll explain by way of regalia and fanfare: Besides being busy with the TV series of VideoGame Theater (which is looking really really cool and I can't wait to share it with y'all) i was officially promoted to editor on the pot documentary and have made the successful crossover from High as a Kite production crew to Stone Cold Sober editing team. Alex Hanawalt and I are now slogging through 600 hours of "High" Definition video of pot and pot heads. Joy of joys.

To make things worse, the office below ours was gutted over the weekend sending plume after plume of red-brick-dust cascading into our office covering ALL our equipment with a fine layer of disgusting, choking, dehydrating powder. My hands are dry, my eyes are sore, and I can't concentrate. Blech.

All this excitement has left little time to blog about such trite cultural phenoma as the Leonid meteor shower, The DOW closing at a record peak, and the imminent destruction of mankind. So for that, readers, I blog-pologize to you.

I'll get back on my horse for Black Friday. Have a good Thanksgiving everyone!

Robot Art-tack! and assorted weblinks and vidclips!

Word up!



Florida based illustrator Damon Gentry just drew this Robot Butler "production sketch" for me. I completely love it. Damon's a brilliant artiste and will have a story in the new volume of the comic "Hard Eight." He is also the person that I am in a bitter MySpace Blog Battle for who can get the most blog subscribers, which means if you're on MySpace and enjoy this blog, we can't continue this fight without your help! Besides, if I'm correct, I'm currently losing.

But seriously, go check out his blog for all things Guitar Hero and awesome art.

In other news, CrockBlog subscriber Scott Chernoff and I are finishing up work on Scott and Frank Meyer's(formerly of the kick-ass Streetwalkin' Cheetahs) show VideoGame Theater(link is to the pilot we made a year ago) for MTV-Italy's new network FLUX. I guess they are launching Flux in Europe before it launches here in the states.

I wish I could link to the completed Donkey Kong/Mario episode as it's completely brilliant. Not to mention I'm pretty proud of the opening title sequence I designed last night. Be patient and good videogame things will come to you.

And finally, my lovely lady friend is in a Butterfinger commercial for their zany web video contest "Follow the Finger." Enjoy HERE.

That's it for me this morning. Everyone have a great day and a great week! I'll be back soon!

Jack Palance WASN'T Dead?!

I don't mean to disrespect the man, but I thought Jack Palance has been dead for YEARS. Didn't they have him in one of those Oscar montages? You know the one I'm talking about. That wasn't him? Who am I confusing Not Dead Jack Palance with? I guess he's not Not Dead now. It's a shame that the only movie I know of Jack Palance's is the one he won an Oscar for, and it's a double shame that movie is City Slickers. And it's a triple shame (which may be why I thought he was dead), that they made a sequel to City Slickers.

Wow. Now I'm REALLY depressed.

RIP Jack Palance. GFY Billy Crystal.

Another for the Stoners

Wins and losses for the stoners yesterday.

America voted and pot was NOT legalized in Colorado, South Dakota, or Nevada. More on this later.

However, for you Californians, I'd like to thank voters in Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, and Santa Barbara, for voting YES and winning, making marijuana arrests the lowest priority for law enforcement. So head over to the pier and spark up; or more accurately, stay home and spark up.

Let's get back to the three states whose initiatives failed. South Dakota voted NO on legalizing medical marijuana by a mere 15,000(4%) of votes.

But here's the craizest part- Nevada and Colorado weren't legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. No no, their ballot measure was for legal and regulated availability of marijuana to all persons over 21, with possession being limited to an ounce(in CA, you can have up to 8 Ozs of medical marijuana). Even those these didn't pass, just barely in Nevada, the precendent is starting to be set and the choice is going to the voters where we're seeing the margin shrink rapidly.

The only thing more appalling is that America would rather see pot legalized than same-sex marriage, which is disturbing and frustrating.

That's my Poll-Merica recap.

I should be blogging more, but I've been hustling towards my deadline for Scott Chernoff and Frank Meyer's VideoGame Theater, all the while being promoted to 2nd editor on the pot documentary we're finishing. Stay tuned America, I'll be with you shortly.

If you haven't seen Videogame Theater, I posted the original under My Videos. Go watch!