Friday, October 26, 2007

Damn You Netflix - Redux

Seventeen video stores, four libraries and 3 big box retailers later, I've finally found a copy of The China Syndrome to watch for class. Now, if I can just get to Igor's video store in south Brooklyn by 6pm...

The thing that really baffles me is, this ain't Un Chien Andalou. It's a modern-day movie that broke box office records, was nominated for four Oscars, won at Cannes, and featured three silver screen super stars (Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon).

What the hell??!!

Isaac Comes Alive

Check out my playlist this morning:

Frampton Comes Alive
Muswell Hillbillies (The Kinks)
Ooh La La (The Faces)

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Damn You, Netflix!

I have to watch The China Syndrome for class next week (yes, it's a lame assignment).

Every video store in Brooklyn and near my office has been put out of business by Netflix - and Netflix does not have The China Syndrome.

My only option appears to be paying for it on Amazon.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Two Kids

Here's another video. This is a short piece that Sarah did on our kids. She's hoping to use it as a sales/marketing tool, and get paid to put things like this together for parents around town.

I'm biased, but I think it's adorable.

Berkeley Album

In the weeks before we left Berkeley to move to New York City, Sarah and I shot some random footage from around town, and threw together a short piece. It's not dazzling, but it's a nice reminder of the paradise that we once had at our fingertips.

A few explanatory notes: The pool was at the end of our block. The guy in the grocery store is my dad. The grocery store is this great place called Berkeley Bowl. It has more variety and volume of produce than you could imagine.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Response to Anu's Well-Intentioned, But Condescending Comment

Last Friday, I posted something glib about Mamaroneck being rife with zombies.

My friend Anu responded in the comments section with a head-patting note that roughly said, "you can choose whatever you like, Isaac. If you move the suburbs, it's YOUR choice."

I'm not sure whether Anu has been reading this blog regularly, but my post about Mamaroneck (and all of Westchester, actually) was not an indictment of the suburbs. It was how I felt about that particular option. And it was, by the way, vindicated and shared by Sarah after Saturday's excursion.

Conversely, we're actually quite keen on the Maplewood/Montclair (New Jersey) option. It seems to have the diversity and community we seek, the good schools, the proximity to nature, and the affordable housing. Right now, there are two things holding us back: (1) It puts us much farther away from friends and family, which means much less help with the kids; (2)It would add 30 minutes onto my already long commute.

Another option surfaced this weekend. It's a house in Windsor Terrace - a neighborhood next to Park Slope, and on the southwest side of Prospect Park. Stay tuned.

Anu, I know this is a choice. I also know it's a tough one. And I'm glad that you're here on this blog to share in my decision making process.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Slinking Towards Oblivion

Sarah is big on Westchester these days, and has lined us up with a realtor in Mamaroneck for tomorrow.


Thursday, October 18, 2007

Sick And Tired

Literally.

I've got whatever nasty cold is going around. And Leah has forgotten how to sleep at night, which means I've slept less than 6 cumulative hours over the past three days.

So, I'm working from home. No, really. I actually am working. Okay, it's true that I can't count to ten right now, and I've just spent five minutes trying to remember how to spell "cumulative" (did I get it right?). Nonetheless, it has been a relatively productive day. I've worked on some user-generated video/broadcast tie-ins, video ad inventory stuff, ABC News archives, and a bit of Politics/Elections.

It also helps to have access to all of my music. iTunes is on shuffle. So far I've heard Autumn Defense, Miles Davis, Belle & Sebastian, Ultramagnetic MCs, Elf Power, Mendelssohn, and more.

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Sunday, October 14, 2007

Hudson Valley Apple Picking



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Friday, October 12, 2007

Life Update: The Al Gore Edition

Believe it or not, it's hard to find time for meaningful posts these days.

But despair not - there are vague indications of a return to normalcy. Leah is sleeping better. I'm two books ahead for class. And work... well, the bloom is off the rose, but we're about to come out with some tweaks to the site that will (finally) make me proud to give out the URL.

On another work note, ABCNews.com was the only site to have its own byline for the Al Gore Nobel Prize story this morning. The competition all leaned on AP, but we had a four-pager in the can - complete with the greater context of the 2008 Presidential election. Smart. Does it make a difference? Probably not, but it makes me feel better that we're on top of things.

Other random notes:

  • Sarah's now jazzed about Mamaroneck. Aside from a hipper cache than New Jersey (which is debatable, btw) and proximity to water, what's it got that Maplewood ain't got?

  • If the weather holds, we're off to pick apples this weekend in an orchard north of town. Classic Autumn Fun.

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  • Tuesday, October 09, 2007

    Indian Summer on the Brooklyn Stoop

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    Thursday, October 04, 2007

    You Think You've Heard It All...

    This New York Times story is going to become a really big deal.

    Choice tidbits:

    When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret.

    Later that year, as Congress moved toward outlawing “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment, the Justice Department issued another secret opinion, one most lawmakers did not know existed, current and former officials said. The Justice Department document declared that none of the C.I.A. interrogation methods violated that standard.

    Congress and the Supreme Court have intervened repeatedly in the last two years to impose limits on interrogations, and the administration has responded as a policy matter by dropping the most extreme techniques. But the 2005 Justice Department opinions remain in effect, and their legal conclusions have been confirmed by several more recent memorandums, officials said. They show how the White House has succeeded in preserving the broadest possible legal latitude for harsh tactics.

    It adopted the new measures without public debate or Congressional vote, choosing to rely instead on the confidential legal advice of a handful of appointees.


    Never in history had the United States authorized such tactics. While President Bush and C.I.A. officials would later insist that the harsh measures produced crucial intelligence, many veteran interrogators, psychologists and other experts say that less coercive methods are equally or more effective.

    Mr. Comey strongly objected and told associates that he advised Mr. Gonzales not to endorse the opinion. But the attorney general made clear that the White House was adamant about it, and that he would do nothing to resist.

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