"Fishing in the Wild" - FITW Episode 101

So I've got a show in the works. I'd love you all to check it out! It's a fishing show. I think it's rockin', even if you think fishing might not be your thing! There's more to come on www.FishingInTheWild.com, but for now here's the first episode...

The Milky Way

Tempest Milky Way from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

The Art of David Lynch

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Neil Young

On Media Bias

"The journalist's job is not to achieve some mythical state of equilibrium between two opposing opinions out of some misshapen respect — sometimes, alas, reverence — for the prevailing consensus among the powers-that-be. The journalist's job is to seek out and offer the public the best thinking on an issue, event, or story."

-Bill Moyers

"W"

Beach Memories

Winning the Peace

A Monk's Awakening

Special Effects

The FX Movie (A Tribute To Visual Effects) - HD version from Spinning Blade on Vimeo.

Czech Dream

I just finished watching an amazing documentary that has been circuiting festivals around the world this past year. Czech Dream tells the story of how two film students fabricated the launch of a Hypermarket, along the lines of a Walmart superstore. Complete with all the glitz and intrigue of a modern advertising campaign these filmmakers drew the attraction of a few thousand people for the opening day ribbon cutting...led to an open meadow these people were forced to deal with the fact that there is no Czech Dream Supermarket!

"People follow advertising, even if there is nothing tangible to grasp" -The Czech Dream

West Wing

There is a wonderful write-up that gets to my recent obsession with the West Wing. It is absolutely amazing. "An alternate universe that soothes." And what can I say other than Alan Alda! If you haven't watched any West Wing- Rent it!

Below is the post, stolen from here.

"West Wing RIP
My growing immersion in an alternate universe isn't particularly unusual. My favorite science fiction show of all time has been canceled. The West Wing is a wonderful alternate universe that soothes, reassures and uplifts.

In my alternate universe, the United States of America is run by people who share my values. They aren't perfect, indeed as a group they are flawed and human, but they are also heroic and loyal. They are witty and their conversations are literate, skewed to the left, and their compassion for the little guy is woven into every word they utter. In my alternate universe, the President of the United States can use the word nuclear without making me ashamed. He agonizes over policy that goes against his religious beliefs but would never force those beliefs down the throats of others. In this wonderful universe the president is surrounded by people who worry about the quality of our schools and the environment. They have fought to improve healthcare and raise the standard of living for every American. They don't serve the interests of big business or betray the trust of the people who put them in office. They haven't pissed off overy other country on the planet and I am not ashamed to have them represent me or speak on my behalf to the rest of the world."

The IT Crowd -- The complete first season! Works everywhere!

Guys this show is brilliant. Well worth checking out if you have a minute. Check the links below to either watch all 6 episodes here directly in your browser or download them. Permalinks are included. I have included alot of info about the show. Make this your one stop to learn everything about the IT Crowd, a wonderful show. View from anywhere not just the UK!

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Good Night and Good Luck

"To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful. "

-Edward R. Murrow

This quote gets to the core of my interest in film and the arts.
Anyone who hasn't seen Good Night and Good Luck yet...get out there.

There's A World of Possibilities

Just a quick note to share an awesome radio program that I discovered on this world of wired communications we call the internet. A World of Possibilities is one of the few politically geared programs that gets it; as opposed to ranting and raving about everything that is wrong with the West, it gets working on finding solutions.
It has programmed intelligent discussions on Globalization, climate change, poverty, Katrina, the Tsunami; really all of our current and looming global problems. But as opposed to culture jamming, it is action oriented.
I've always been interested in solving problems bigger than myself; perhaps just the study of problem solving itself. It is a wonderfully complex study!

One thought provoking show is entitled Global Media and the Conversational Commons. It deals with how new forms of media (such as internet radio and podcasting) are transforming how we communicate as a global culture. With the introduction of cheap cell phones, internet radio, video and the likes of Skype, etc. we are now able to communicate globally. And I don't just mean the elite classes that could afford to travel and pay long distance phone rates...now everyone can join in the discussion! We can share in the lives and stories of other cultures. In fact A World of Possibilities often airs the stories of people living in small, troubled parts of the world that rarely get a global audience.

I still remember the day when I was in the Dublin airport, and first caught a full half-hour BBC newscast devoted to the continent of Africa. In the West, growing up, it was as if there was a media blackout for anything that wasn't internal.

Just check it out: A World of Possibilities

*I'll work on fixing that link in the side bar...right now it links to
Microsoft.com not A World of Possibilities, perhaps the root of all things evil.