These are the items included in the Game Design kit I have my students buy for my Introduction to Game Design class at the Cleveland Institute of Art.  I charge them $10 per kit, it costs us more like $20 per kit (we underwrite out of the department budget). To be at all cost effective you should purchase enough to assemble 10 kits.  Without shipping 10 kits would cost around $350. The following links are the exact items I purchase, they are affiliate links, so if you do end up purchasing anything, I thank you for your support. Everything is from Amazon except for the last item which is from the GameCrafter.

The logic behind each item in the kit can be found on this TikTok video:
https://www.tiktok.com/@jaredx2/video/7268497982989864238

60 Pieces 16 mm Blank Dice Acrylic Dice Cubes
https://amzn.to/3KMpBJU
(2) packs (each had enough for 6 kits)

Super Z Outlet Standard 16mm Black Dice 100 Count
https://amzn.to/3sesjlh
(1) pack (each had enough for 16 kits)

DND Dice Set – 20X7(140pcs) Polyhedral Dice
https://amzn.to/47zXQOE
(1) pack (each had enough for 20 kits)

Tatuo 120 Pieces 4 Inch Arrow Spinners
https://amzn.to/3E0U6rR
(1) pack (each had enough for 120 kits)

Bicycle Standard Playing Cards, Poker Size, 12 Pack
https://amzn.to/3OHx3ao
(1) pack (each had enough for 12 kits)

LotFancy Blank Playing Cards, 180PCS
https://amzn.to/3QCJmHM
(1) pack (each had enough for 18 kits)

Cobalt Blue Glass Gemstone (1 LB)
https://amzn.to/44gNxfk
(2) packs (each had enough for about 5 kits)

Red Glass Gemstone Beads (2 LBS)
https://amzn.to/3KGevGf
(1) pack (each had enough for about 10 kits)

Learning Resources Centimeter Cubes, Set of 1000
https://amzn.to/3sew4XV
(1) pack (each had enough for 20 kits)

100 Wood Meeples in 10 Colors
https://amzn.to/3YEvRJy
(1) pack (each had enough for 10 kits)

128 Pieces 1 Inch Multicolor Plastic Pawns
https://amzn.to/3E0WWgx
(3) packs (each had enough for 4 kits)

Amazon Basics Snack Storage Bags, 300 Count
https://amzn.to/449D6u1

Pint Size with Expandable Bottom, 200 Count
https://amzn.to/3DYC6OQ

Quart Size with Expandable Bottom, 150 Count
https://amzn.to/3P0FVcD

Gallon Size with Expandable Bottom, 100 Count
https://amzn.to/3sjklaw

Game Designer’s Ruler
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/parts/game-designer-s-ruler

If you have previously unsubscribed to a Walgreens advertisement and have recently started seeing emails from them again. Please reach out to their customer service and social media platforms, loudly and often.  Tell them Jared sent you.

As someone who has had regular access to email since the late 1980s, yes that makes me an old GenXer (not a boomer) and I understand this technology well.

I am inundated with email.  As a member of the media I am subscribed voluntarily (automatically) to every mailing list from every company at every trade show and conference I attend.  This is in fact legal.  And as long as the emails have proper headers, proper footers, and a working opt-out link, I have no problem with email marketing.

That being said, I am buried in email.  Buried! So many companies (and colleagues) format their email so poorly that I cannot rely on SPAM filters.  I even have to route emails that would regularly get caught by SPAM filters back into my inbox.

A few months ago, I sat down to purge my 13,000+ unread emails in my inbox. This is a grueling process.  Sometimes it’s easy. You find an email from a company that you don’t engage with – you unsubscribe – then you search for all the emails they have sent you. In a moment you can eliminate 5, 10, even 50 emails from one company at a time.

As I often use my phone to check email and this is more of a desktop task, I often have to table my cleanup activities until I have a nice block of time.

During the last purge, I remember thinking to myself that while I do indeed shop at Walgreens (for literally one item) that their advertisements never do me any good. So I unsubscribed and deleted all the old Walgreens emails.  This was more than 10 days ago.

Last week, after several weeks of having no emails from Walgreens, I started receiving emails again.  It was very curious.  One on Sunday, then one on Monday, and the Monday one was even more curious as the title was “Return to Walgreens”. At first I took the message as simply to come back and shop but after 3 of those emails – and one very peculiar email with the subject “[untitled]” the subject changed to “Let’s reconnect.”

Now I’m not just sitting here and accruing SPAM emails from Walgreens. Confused by the new emails I read the fine print:

You are receiving this email because xxx@gmail.com is signed up to receive Walgreens communications. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here. We’re always here if you’d like to come back.

Well first, it’s wrong.  I didn’t sign up. I had been signed up in the past but having removed myself from your mailing list I should have been moved to a blacklist of emails that they cannot send marketing materials to anymore.

Some of my followers on TikTok were afraid that this wasn’t really from Walgreens but a bizarre phishing exercise.  As mentioned at the start, I’m GenX, we invented phishing. The email was from walgreens@eml.walgreens.com and the reply field was to support@e.walgreens.com.

The link was a legit link BUT the link took me to a webpage that returned the following message:

It’s a shame to see you go! Would you like to fine-tune your inbox instead? Opt-out of select subscriptions to see fewer, more relevant emails in your inbox. (a warning graphic) There are no subscriptions associated with xxx@gmail.com. Manage your email subscriptions. (with no link).

This is bad.

Walgreens is emailing me, well after I have unsubscribed, falsely indicating why I was receiving the email, and then linking me to an opt-out link that reports that I am not subscribed so is therefore invalid.  All of this is in violation of SPAM laws both federal and state.

So I reached out to Walgreens customer service.

I also filed a case with the FTC. If I suspected how bad these emails were going to be I would have waited and filed a more complete version.  My interactions with customer service have been staggeringly bad.

The first reply was as follows:

Thank you for contacting Walgreens.com customer service. This is in response to your e-mail regarding unsubscribing.

Apologies for sending another e-mail but I needed to confirm this information with you. May I ask you to provide the following information so that I may mark your e-mail address from manual removal?

Name:

Phone number:

Zip code:

Thank you for allowing me to assist you. Have a good day.

First, they reframed my complaint about receiving SPAM as somehow simply having a difficulty in unsubscribing.  I had never resubscribed.  So my difficulty in unsubscribing could more easily be stated as Walgreens not abiding by their own black list.

Second, they asked for personal information. Now I understand this isn’t a lot of information, in fact most people could find those 3 items about me without much difficulty. But the idea that they wouldn’t or couldn’t help – without getting more information than just my email address is absurd.  And why would I volunteer any more information to a company that is currently abusing the information that they have of mine. I declined.

The response to my declining was insane:

Thank you for your response. I do understand your frustration, however I must explain.

Apologies, Under the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), we are required by law to verify certain information before accessing your account . This includes modifying, disclosing, or altering any information or settings on your account. If this information is not verified, we have no way to confirm your identity.

If you do not want to verify your information you can block the following marketing address in your e-mail client to stop messages going forward: walgreens@e.walgreens.com. This is in compliance with the Federal CAN-SPAM act of 2003 by providing an alternative method of opting out for customers who do not wish to verify or confirm the account information.

I am sorry for any inconvenience caused, but we are unable to go against Federal regulations to comply with a request and it is expected that a member wishing to opt out confirm enough information so that we can assist you. You can confirm the information or use the option above to stop the e-mails going forward, as either will solve the issue for you.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Have a good day.

We at walgreens.com look forward to assisting you.

This is absolute bullshit.

For them to hide behind HIPAA while violating the CAN-SPAM act is not just shameful but it is terrifying.  Are their marketing emails tied to HIPAA data?  Is their assertion that their possession of data protected by HIPAA somehow elevates these marketing emails so that they are exempt from the CAN-SPAM act? Again, their attempt to reframe my filing of a complaint and grievance into something transactional is terrible. And it’s scary.

At no time were either of these customer service people seem concerned or alerted to the fact that I was complaining that an email on their federally mandated blacklist was being sent emails.  If their email system is violating one federal law how do we know it isn’t violating any others?  If I did have sensitive data at Walgreens I would now be VERY concerned that their databases are combined and that something is amiss.  Somehow an email was sent to an email that was, or should be, in a database, that says never email.  How could this happen? Is this human error? A technical glitch?  A data breach? And to what extent is it happening and can it happen? Am I the only one?  Or am I the only one who thought to complain?

The second part of the email where they tell me that by telling me to block their emails they are complying with federal law by giving me an alternative way of opting out is despicable. Not only is this one of the most idiotic things I have ever read, but clearly it’s a boilerplate that someone told them to cut and paste.  It’s an actual policy to tell someone that to be in compliance with federal spam laws is to simply tell people if they don’t want anymore spam to just not read it. After all, that’s all an email block is, it’s a filter.  It’s like telling me if I don’t want to get mugged I shouldn’t walk down the street in their neighborhood.

I explained how both of these responses were bullshit and how they keep attempting to reframe my complaint into something that it isn’t.  Surprisingly I got another response:

Thank you for contacting Walgreens.com customer service. This is in response to your e-mail regarding unsubscribing.

I apologize for any inconvenience. I was unable to locate an online account using your email address, so I was able to manually opt you out of further emails. Please allow 10 business days for the emails to completely stop showing up.

Thanks for your patience and understanding. Have a great day.

None of that makes any sense!  So their HIPAA policy isn’t a policy after all? They peaked under the hood and saw it was all clear?  This person read my email and it made sense to him that the second person didn’t? How was he manually able to opt me out of further emails if I was already opted out of getting emails? There is nothing here that indicates that this is true and that anything will change.

As for waiting 10 days.  That’s also bullshit.  Federal spam laws give them a 10 day grace period when I opt-out – that’s true. But I am not opting out! I am complaining that they are ignoring the blacklist!  They don’t get a free pass and another 10 days for that!

Walgreens should know better. Walgreens is begging me to come to them with sensitive medical information about myself and at the same time being careless with my data.

Many of you probably think this sounds petty. And if you view it as simply 9 unwanted emails in my inbox you would be right.

But it is more than that.  It’s bullying, it’s bad customer service, it’s bad data management, its flagrant abuse of their blacklist for profit.

I suspect someone in marketing is using the blacklist as a tool for a marketing campaign.  And even if it is a 3rd party company, the law states that Walgreens is responsible.  The fines could be as great as $42k per email, liabilities here could be in the millions.  Customer service is so busy trying to reframe my complaint and push me away they aren’t even protecting Walgreens! They appear to be servicing no one.

Do I expect Walgreen to pay me $8 in damages for every SPAM email they send me? (That’s the most you get in Ohio per email).  Well I hope so!  Hell that’s $72 so far.  But if we look at it another way, right now it would be about $40 per week.  If Walgreens wants to send me advertisements for $40 per week they are welcome to!  But I still won’t do any extra shopping there, which is why I unsubscribed from the emails in the first place.

I’m not worried about SPAM from a random pornographer, I’m worried about companies who think the laws only apply to the random pornographers.  Let’s tell them otherwise.

Walgreens – what is going on?

If you have previously unsubscribed to a Walgreens advertisement and have recently started seeing emails from them again. Please reach out to their customer service and social media platforms, loudly and often.  Tell them Jared sent you.

This is a link to the current leftover games from the 2023 Board Game Flea Market. If you are in Cleveland, Ohio this is easy – but I don’t like mailing things unless there is a bunch.

See list here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-It-D1pGqMhWZrw-fF5WqAtP0dFa7a3zmFZAnQuGxa9A/edit

This is not my wishlist – these are just things I have suggested on my TikTok page! Yes these are affiliate links – if you don’t want to click that’s up to you!

10″ Heavy Duty Wrap it Storage Straps (instead of a belt!)

https://amzn.to/3LHcpXn

Camera Lucida

https://amzn.to/48bYL8l

Microwave Popcorn Maker

https://amzn.to/3F5Z72m

10 Color Pen

https://amzn.to/3KwbSHA

Travel Tech

VR SHINECON Virtual Reality VR Headset

https://amzn.to/3XuzZKE

AirTamer A302

https://amzn.to/3H7MOFh

Shokz OpenRun Pro

https://amzn.to/3ZBN8mI

ReliefBand Premeire

https://amzn.to/3XbimzC

EarPlanes

https://amzn.to/3kgWFzA

Zendure Power Pack

https://amzn.to/3w2744L

Mini Claw Machine Toy

https://amzn.to/3W44zdy

Horchata

https://amzn.to/3ESlS9S

Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms Second Edition

https://amzn.to/3g0MSf5

Celtic Knot Dice

https://amzn.to/3eq5Evy

Turtlemeter, The Baby Bath Floating Turtle Toy and Bath Tub Thermometer

https://amzn.to/3fLql5E

Hanafuda Games Book

https://amzn.to/3dve8RQ

Hanafuda Cards

https://amzn.to/3QYCYXL

Frankenquest

So these are the parts I use to build a more comfortable Quest VR headset. Prices and links are current for September 2022.

Quest Headset $500

https://amzn.to/3RRzp6t

HTC Vive Deluxe Audio Strap $80

https://amzn.to/3qM7SYZ

Adapter  $21

https://amzn.to/3DeUXpC

Battery Pack Holder $17

https://amzn.to/3eFZ1F4

Battery Pack $26

https://amzn.to/3RC5lfq

Upgraded Face Pad $35

https://amzn.to/3d4dXMZ

Desktop VR holder $28

https://amzn.to/3BvUEFL

Portable Case $43

https://amzn.to/3eFZSpf

VR Mat $65

https://amzn.to/3d1CeDi

 

Tools for researching for US copyrights that have expired into the public domain.

This is a supplement to a series of TikTok videos I made on a copyright misadventure. I will add the videos soon!

Bridgeman vs Corel Court Decision

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeman_Art_Library_v._Corel_Corp.

Stanford Book Copyright Renewal Database

https://library.stanford.edu/collections/copyright-renewal-database

Public Domain Day

https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/

Catalog of Copyright Entries page with links

https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/cce/

Copyright Office Virtual Card Catalog 1870-1977

https://www.copyright.gov/vcc/

Title II of the Music Modernization Act that explains exactly when sound recordings pass into the public domain.

https://www.copyright.gov/music-modernization/pre1972-soundrecordings/

 

The Aesthetic Approach to Virtual Reality is the technique taught in the 12 project Introduction to Augmented and Virtual reality course taught by Jared Bendis MFA at the Cleveland Institute of Art in the Game Design department.

Project 1: 3D Photography

Objective

Create 3D Stereoscopic Photographs both as Anaglyph Red/Cyan as well as side by side.

Software Needed

Stereo Photo Maker – http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/stphmkr/

Hardware Needed

Red/Cyan Anaglyph Glasses – https://the3dmarket.com/collections/anaglyphic/products/anaglyphic-plastic

3D Phone Viewer – https://www.berezin.com/3d/super3d.htm or https://www.berezin.com/3d/vr_viewer.htm

Pocket 3DVU – https://www.berezin.com/3d/pocket_3dvu.htm

Windows Computer

Tutorial

How to Shoot in 3D using a cell phone – https://youtu.be/b7NPVrZGfxw

How to Post Process in 3D using Stereo Photo Maker – https://youtu.be/PR8HHGn8J-E

Project 2: Anaglyph Drawing

Objective

To create a 3D red/cyan Analgyph illustration using layers.

Software Needed

Adobe Photoshop

Hardware Needed

Red/Cyan Anaglyph Glasses – https://the3dmarket.com/collections/anaglyphic/products/anaglyphic-plastic

Computer

Tutorial

How to Anaglyph a Drawing in Photoshop – https://youtu.be/ig_xNiZetqM

Project 3: Chromadepth Maya

Objective

To create a chromadepth render of a zmap of a Maya scene with lights and textures.

Software Needed

Adobe Photoshop

Autodesk Maya

Photoshop Chomadepth Color Palette – http://jaredjared.com/chroma/chroma.act

Computer

Hardware Needed

Chromadepth HD Glass – https://the3dmarket.com/collections/chromadepth/products/copy-of-chromadepth-hd-white

Tutorial

Chromadepth Maya Tutorial – https://youtu.be/TAcmWy13vKE

Chromadeth Web Tutorial – http://jaredjared.com/creating-chromadepth-image-from-maya/

Project 4: Chromadepth Painting

Objective

To create to create a depth painting using the Chromadepth Color Palette.

Software Needed

Adobe Photoshop

Computer

Hardware Needed

Chromadepth HD Glass – https://the3dmarket.com/collections/chromadepth/products/copy-of-chromadepth-hd-white

Tutorial

Website – http://jaredjared.com/chromostereoscopy-for-use-in-visualization/

Video Tutorial – https://youtu.be/7W56b5ZBnPY

Project 5: Laser Scan Head

Objective

To create experience and then edit a 3D model of your own head for use in other projects.

Software Needed

Blender – https://www.blender.org/download/

Hardware Needed

For Students – None

For Teacher – https://www.artec3d.com/portable-3d-scanners/artec-eva

(or cheaper equivalent)

Tutorial

Video Tutorial – Coming Soon…

Project 6: Photogrammetry Art Heist

Objective

To create a clean and watertight 3d model from photographs for use in other projects.

Software Needed

Zephyr 3D Free – https://www.3dflow.net/3df-zephyr-free/

Hardware Needed

Cell Phone Camera

Tutorial

Zephyr 3D Demo 1 – https://youtu.be/gYL_o0ZUZfQ

Zephyr 3D Demo 2 – https://youtu.be/SQ10wYirvn8

Project 7: AR Coloring Books

Objective

To color and experience AR via coloring pages and a smart phone.

Software Needed

Quiver for Phone or Tablet – https://quivervision.com/

Quiver for iOS – https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/quiver-3d-coloring-app/id650645305  or Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.puteko.colarmix

Hardware Needed

Quiver Coloring Sheets – http://jaredjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/QuiverPDF.zip

Phone or Tablet

Color Pencils, Markets, Crayons etc…

Tutorial

None – Just color the pages!

Project 8: Virtual Worlds – Map

Objective

To have an “experience” playing Zork, avoiding all Internet solutions, cheat, and walk-throughs, and to create a physical map of the journey.

Software Needed

Gargoyle Inform Reader – https://github.com/garglk/garglk/releases

Zork Data File – http://jaredjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/zdungeon.zip

Zork Directions (redacted for this exercise) – http://jaredjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ZorkDirections.pdf

Hardware Needed

Computer

Tutorial

Coming soon…

Project 9: Panorama

Objective

To create hand shoot and stitch a panorama (as best as possible). The panorama should be high quality JPG of a 2:1 aspect ration equirectangular projection that can be used as a sky box in future projects (even though only some of the full sphere will be completely by this limited panorama).

Software Needed

Adobe Photoshop

Hugin Panorama Stitcher – http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

LizardQ Viewer – https://www.lizardq.com/en/viewer/

Hardware Needed

Computer

Camera or Cell Phone with Camera

Tutorial

How to Hold the Camera Tutorial – https://youtu.be/-pDJjRtRJDI

Stitching Tutorial – https://youtu.be/oy-Vtyndpt4

Project 10: Myriorama

Objective

To create 2 panoramic strip images to contribute to the larger collection of artistic images that create an infinite panorama.

Software Needed

Adobe Photoshop / Adobe Illustrator

Myriorama Template – http://jaredjared.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Myriorama-Template.zip

Hardware Needed

Just a Computer

Tutorial

None

Project 11: Surround Sound Minute

Objective

To create a one minute surround sound experience using only public domain audio resources and no words.

Software Needed

Adobe Audition

Sound Files – https://freesound.org/

Hardware Needed

5.1 Speaker System – https://tinyurl.com/375p9cte

5.1 USB Sound Card – https://tinyurl.com/2p8xv2jz

Cables

Tutorial

Mixing 5.1 Audio Tutorial – https://youtu.be/npDaa9VDuXU

Project 12: VR Snowglobe

Objective

To create a scene in Unity that is as if the viewer was standing inside a snowglobe and looking out. The only navigation is panning and rotating the head. The scene will use the stone art model, the cleaned up scan of the head, and the panorama as a skybox. Other models and animations can be included as desired.

Software Needed

Steam – https://store.steampowered.com/

Steam VR – https://store.steampowered.com/app/250820/SteamVR/

iVRy Mobile Premium Driver for Steam VR – https://store.steampowered.com/app/992490/iVRy_Driver_for_SteamVR/

iVRy Driver for iOS – https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ivry/id1210129937 or Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mediator_software.ivry

3D Models

Unity – https://unity.com/

Unity Steam VR Plugin – https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/integration/steamvr-plugin-32647

Hardware Needed

3D Phone Viewer – https://www.berezin.com/3d/super3d.htm or https://www.berezin.com/3d/vr_viewer.htm

Wired XboxOne Controller – https://tinyurl.com/mv7aun77

Phone with a Gyroscope

Tutorial

Coming Soon…

 

The continuing saga…

The story!

I have a lot of records…

Why do I have so many records?

When I was a kid I was fascinated by records. My mom had records. They even had my initials on them – JB. It turns out back in the 60s you would put initials on your records so you could get them back when you went to parties. My father’s initials were also JB. I love my Peter, Paul, and Mary records! In fact I listed to them today!

As I got older I would purchase more here and there: Half-Price Books, flea markets, garage sales etc.

One day I got a phone call. A friend’s mother was going into a nursing home, would I want her records. Sure! A strange variety of 78s, 33s, and 45s.

I love my singles collection. At one point I had this giant trough of 45s.  Like 10 feet. I would get a lot of those at the Goodwill or other thrift stores.

One time I was at a used appliance store and there was a box of records sitting in the corner. The guy sold me the entire box for $20. It was all Kiss, Megadeath, and Led Zeppelin!

Then one day the weirdest thing happened.  I was at the local library’s annual book sale and flipping through their records. $1 each. I told them that $1 each is OK but nothing beats the thrill of buying a box for $20 and coming home to some real treasures.  The lady asked for my name and phone number. Weird.  The next day she called and told me that the deal was acceptable. What deal? $20. $20 for what? For everything. It turns out that the library was no longer lending records and for $20 the entire collection was mine.  I grabbed a buddy and a truck and suddenly I was buried in records.

Then another friend’s mother went into a nursing home, then another friend’s father died. And sight unseen people are just dropping off these collections at my house.

6 months later the library called and told me to come with another $20. I though I had all your records. They get donations, and after their semi-annual sale the rest was mine. It was a LOT! 6 months later they called again. Only a car-full but they didn’t want the $20. 6 months later I told them to stop!

During this time I’ve moved twice. And it was up to over 80 crates of records.  My basement is all Kallax furniture but I have NO idea what I have.

I promised myself – no more records until they got sorted.

Well… I was at a friends house. Little old lady. She wanted some of her records digitized. In the collection I saw some real treasures. We agreed on a trade. I got the collection as long as I digitized from her list.  Deal. But no more! I’ve been good since! Really!

And I mean it!  During this time I got rid of almost all of my audio cassettes – I had over 700, video cassettes – I had over 1,000 – 8-track tapes – I had over 600. I kept a few here and there but I’ve been making room.

So where am I at now?

I go cube by cube sorting out the ones I know I don’t want. For sure – not going to listen to.  I am keeping my eye out for anything of value though. If I suspect it could be worth something I do a quick eBay check or Discogs. If one is selling for $20 or less – it goes in the discard pile. Right now I am only culling, if I second guess a record – I keep it. This is only the for sure NOs!

My niece Olivia has become a record collector, which is good because I am sure once I weed out the bad stuff there will be dupes of a LOT of good stuff and some stuff that she will want but I won’t – like maybe all that Megadeath.

The collection is VAST.  I know I have a bunch of Yiddish humor records from the 40s. And tons of 78s. The 78s are crazy old.

A couple of years ago I had a flood. The records were fine but the mediation crew that packed them up and moved them so that the room could be re-done did a terrible job. Smashed a bunch of records.  They ended up paying me like $800 for some old 78s. I will do the 78s last because their might be some value there.

My friends all want to come over and see the collection but it isn’t a collection yet – it’s a warehouse.

I did find ONE valuable record so far. The Offs First Record has a nice street value so I put it up on eBay. I also found a Star Wars book and record I’m selling on Facebook Marketplace.  I really don’t want to be in the record selling business.  I want to listen and enjoy!

Oh, and I’m making a pile of all the Disney records. They aren’t worth a lot but someone will want the whole lot I am sure.

So originally I was going to sell them locally in batches on Facebook marketplace or to friends. I’m not interested in cleaning, grading, mailing, and waiting to get rid of these records. But no one was interested.

Then my friend Andrew called to make me a deal. He will go though the discards and take what he wants for free – but then he will load my truck, follow me to half price books, and unload. He also reminded me that between the broken 78s and the eBay record I’ve already made $1,000 off the collection so anything else is really gravy. And he’s right!

Half price books gave me $1.10 for a truck load. I’m thrilled. And Andrew for some great records. Can’t wait to do it again! Second load was work 25 cents – I think it’s because they hate me.

The first reject batch was 118 records – view them here.

The second reject batch was 167 records – view them here.

The third reject batch was 135 records – view them here.

The fourth reject batch was 299 records – view them here. 

The fifth reject batch was 615 records – view them here. 

The sixth reject batch was 349 records – view them here. 

 

 

 

Sorry this got deleted!

You can get the prints at my Etsy shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JaredBendis

Summary video:

First, a quick shout out to Dr. Charlie Harper. I knew about photogrammetry before I met Charlie, but I never knew how to make it work right. His thorough understanding of the process, his ongoing assistance, and his offhand comments about looking backwards into previous data-sets made this project possible. (Apparently he approves of this endorsement and would like to see it on all article introductions.)

A look back in time.

In 2005, my boss at Case Western Reserve University sold me half time to the Cleveland Museum of Art as their Virtual Reality Specialist.  For 2 years I had a lot of fun working on cultural objects. While at the Museum I produced a stereoscopic art film about a piece of art (alas in SD), an experimental HD stereoscopic rig, an autostereoscopic visualization (3D without the glasses) of a French table fountain, and a hologram. An honest to goodness hologram – produced by a holographer from turntable data taken in 1/3 degree increments.  Again – I had a lot of fun.

Jump ahead to 2010. My former boss at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Len Steinbach, contacted me about a freelance project.  The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon was about to start renovations and it was suggested that since the alabaster sculptures that surround the tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy would have to be de-installed, that the sculptures might go on tour. Before they were to go on tour they wanted to produce a high-tech VR gallery of the mourners and I was hired to create VR photo objects of the sculptures.  Even though the sculptures would tour the US, for various reasons it was easier to fly me (and my gear) to France and do the shoot in the museum itself (which was the Duke’s castle!).

This was a very precision shoot. Each mourner was shot under studio lighting which was coordinated by their in-house photographer François Jay (who was awesome).  This is turntable photography and each mourner was shot in 5 degree increments from 5 different views (above, below, and 3 head on). This resulted in 360 21MP photos in camera raw for each mourner. 39 mourners * 360 photos = 14,000+ photos (in 3 days).

The photos were turned into a series of interactive objects. You could spin, zoom, change views, even view them in anaglyph (red/blue) 3D.  The objects were all put together in an amazing website designed by Rory Matthews. You could navigate around the cloisters and even download any view in full/high resolution (for non-profit use). (Which is what makes the rest of my story kosher).

As projects go I am very proud. Yes, a lot of it is in Adobe Flash, but back then you really had no choice.

A working sample of one of the original mourner objects can be found here:
http://jaredjared.com/vr/mourner/mourner.html

This project was VERY well received.  The tour was amazing (I even got to go to the opening at the Met in New York) and everyone who reviewed the project loved both the physical and the digital aspects of it.  I presented on it several times and Len even wrote an article about it for Curator: The Museum Journal.

Now the sad story.

I don’t know who to blame (and blaming anyone wouldn’t help anyways)  but the digital side of things were not well cared for.  Almost everyone I worked with on the project was a freelancer (myself included) and so a lot of things got lost in the shuffle of “who was supposed to do what” after the fact.  Len, had purchased several domain names: mourners.org, mourners.com, themourners.com, some variants in French etc. It is exactly what you are supposed to do – it makes it easier to find. The problem is that no one (of the many organizations) renewed the domain names and one by one each domain name was lost (snatched/stolen) until all that was left was mourners.org.  After I found out it had been lost, I contacted the owners of mourners.com and they tried to sell it to me for $50,000. This means most of the articles online about the project are now pointing to bad URLs (specifically themourners.org). Thankfully, mourners.org is still online.

And then someone moved servers.  We don’t know how or why but when the website was moved from one server to another it broke. Rory was freelance, I was freelance.  We offered to help but everyone said they would take care of it themselves – and 8 years later it is still broken. It is a big disappointment. That’s why I keep a working sample of one mourner on my site.

On a different front, a selection of the data had been packed and submitted to ArtStor.  For some reason they have it listed as a project but it has been in a pending state since 2010.
http://internal.artstor.org/what-is-artstor/w-html/col-mourners.shtml

OK – enough sad stuff.  These remarks are not meant to embarrass or shame anyone. This isn’t news. The ArtStor link is public, the missing URLs are public, the broken website is public. In reality it was just a perfect storm of institutional bad timing and bad luck. I would love to see the data brought back to its full glory and if the resources or the institutional desire to make this happen are brought to bear I am standing by!

Luckily, I have all the data and as long as I am working on non-profit research projects I am allowed to play (again it says so on the website).

So it is 2018 and I am working on some experiments with Charlie in photogrammetry and he asks me if I have any older data sets of sculptural things that might be good to test with? And I was like – DO I?

I started with Mourner 44 because it is a simpler model. Nothing too crazy sticking out or around. I only used 3 of the 5 data sets because 5 degrees around the center should be enough that I wouldn’t need the extra 2 orbits around the center that we used for the stereoscopic version.

It’s a long process.  It takes a while for that many photos to load and process.  A day for the rough alignment, a week for the high resolution model. This is intensive stuff and it is NOT automatic.

First you load all of the photos into Agisoft Photoscan.

I could have loaded the 3 datasets in different chunks but I opted to do them all at once.

If you do it right then you will see the cameras positioned where they were in space.  If you are moving around an item it will align both the foreground and the background, so before you move on you want to get rid of that background data so you are working on the object not the object AND the room. Since I was using a turntable I had to make sure that the software didn’t align to the background. When that happens all of the cameras show up at the same spot – the model turns into noise – and you get a perfect model of the wall behind you!

Luckily we had the proper lighting and backdrops and the software distributed the cameras perfectly around the object.

At this point I needed to remove the outlier data. Charlie came in and showed me how to keep the reliable vs. the unreliable points mathematically. This is something I would never have done on my own as it felt like I was throwing away data. I wasn’t – I was throwing away noise.  I then hand removed the big strays, the chunks of points outside of my model or at the fringes of my model. It’s tedious but straightforward. The last selection I did was by color where I was able to select data points that didn’t “look” like my sculpture and trim them away as well.

With this new cleaned up data I was able to tweak my camera alignment and then ask it to create a “dense cloud” – there are of course parameters (thank you Charlie). This took a week. My computer is top of the line, crazy video card, crazy memory card, tons of ram, SSD drive.  A week!

It looks like a 3d model but it isn’t – it is just a very dense data cloud.

The “dense cloud” is then converted into a mesh, decisions of course are made into how to deal with holes and more parameters. This only took several hours.

This mesh can viewed as a surface with or without color.

But if you want it to look awesome – you have to build a texture – more time – more parameters.

Holy moly! I have a 3D object! It’s a mourner.

I have this awesome OBJ file with texture.

Now what do I do with it?

I wanted to make one – physically.

When preprocessing anything for the “physical world”. I use Autodesk’s Netfabb:
https://www.autodesk.com/products/netfabb/overview

With it, I can load the model, rotate scale, fix errors in the mesh, and all sorts of things.

The first thing I did was to stand it straight and then create a box and subtract it from the base to make sure I had a flat bottom.

I export this model as an STL and I am ready to print.

The first one I made was going to be small (just a few inches) – actual size is 16″ tall!

While Netfabb prepares my models but I use Simplify3D to prepare the object for my 3D printer:
https://www.simplify3d.com/

Simplify3D allows me precise control of everything you can imagine, supports, infill, temperate(s), raft etc. It makes all the difference in getting the most out of your 3D printer.

Also I like printing in a PLA wood filament. Very easy to play with after:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1192382-REG/afinia_af_pla_1_75_250_wood_specialty_pla_filament_1_75.html
https://www.amazon.com/HATCHBOX-1-75mm-3D-Printer-Filament/dp/B01092XXD4/

I print on a FlahForge Creator Pro. It is a dual extruder unit but the wood filament is a pretty good support and breaks way nicely.

Small cute and effective.

Voila!

I was going to print a bigger one on an industrial printer at thinkBox (The University’s Center for Innovation) but solid it would have been thousands of dollars and even hollow it was going to be between $500 and $900. (Netfabb can the hollow model / shell for you which is cool).

Instead I opted to print it on my own 3D printer in 4 sections and then glue, fill, and paint.

The head took 8.5 hours and 37m of filament, the torso – 18 hours and 80m, the legs 13.5 hours and 58m, and the feet 17.5 hours and 75m. This used a honeycomb infill.

Total for this model: 57.5 hours and 250m of filament (which is around $40).

There was some pullaway at one corner of the base, so each piece isn’t as flush to the others as I would have hoped. I used a wood glue and some wood fill to create the solid model.

I then primed and painted it with acrylic.

Voila & Voila!

Last year as a retirement present for a friend and coworker, my boss asked me to 3D print a bust of JS Bach. I thought I could do something more artistic and instead sliced the model into thin sheets which I laser cut and assembled. (I did all of this at thinkBox).

I now own a laser cutter at home and decided I wanted to do this process again. The cutter is a Glowforge and it is amazing:
https://glowforge.com/

First, I to decide on the materials I am going to use.  The thinner the slices the higher the “resolution” of the final model – but the more you have to cut. I found a very inexpensive 2.6mm wood veneer at home depot.  I had them cut it into 19.5″ wide strips which is all I need because the laser cutter has a pass through.

In Netfabb I scale the model to the right size and then slice it to the correct thickness.

Before I do that I add (well subtract) from the model two 1/4″ by 1/4″ rectangular prisms (not shown in the previous image). These small square holes are placed to run strategically through the entire model as close to the top as possible – but not all the way. I later use 1/4″ square steel rods as an armature to align and hold it together through these holes.

From Netfabb I export a zip file of DXF files.  Each DXF file I then load in Adobe Illustrator. When the file is imported it asks how to scale it: 25.4 units = 1 inch keeps everything scaled properly from Netfabb to Illustrator (which is mm to inches).

I arrange the shapes into sheets (as large as the Glowforge bed) as many as I could cram on (and in order). With the Bach I engraved numbers on each slice. This took hours to add and added hours to the cut. Instead I just quickly wrote on each slice with a pen as it came off the laser cutter.

Many cuts later….

It is very spongy. I pushed down on the slices to figure out the most amount of metal I would need and still be most of the way up the head. I then marked it, removed all of the wood slices from the metal, and cut the metal with a Dremel.

I also laser cut a base with deep holes cut into it to hold the metal armature.

I then put the cut end into the base (so I wouldn’t have to worry about burrs) and then stacked it back up – gluing along the way – touch a touch of wood glue).

Cleaning the edges of the wood can be tricky. Some use acetone or alcohol. I often use fast orange hand cleaner. For this model I used a little steel brush and some fast orange wipes because I planned on painting it. I wanted something closer in color to the original. Also from experience I knew I couldn’t get the entire thing FLAT FLAT unless I clamped and cleaned up the squeezed out glue non-stop.  Instead the paint would fill some gaps for me just like with the 3D printed version seen here unpainted.

Painted the laser cut slices and the 3D print.

Now I have 3 copies. Voila, Voila, & Voila!

I had an idea about doing a clear version. But instead of tightly arranging the slices on the laser cutter I was going to create a rectangle around each slice. This would allow me to cut 2 at once, both a positive and a negative shape.  In Netfabb I subtracted my model from a larger rectangular prism (creating a giant hollow) and sliced it thinner (to match my clear plexi – I used the good optically clear plexi $$). I didn’t add the alignment holes because I didn’t want a bar to be visible running inside.

This took a lot of plexi. Home Depot doesn’t cut your giant sheets of plexi for you. I did find however that per square foot it was cheaper to buy the 48×36″ sheets instead of the 48×96″ sheets.

Also, all I needed to do was to cut each 48″x36″ sheet in half and I would have 48″x18″ which I can run through the cutter. Lots of scoring and snapping later and I was ready to laser cut.

The model assembled beautifully. I made a few mistakes in illustrator – I printed a few extra slices  and then later shuffled a few and had to reprint the head – but in plexi everything was gorgeous.

Now I would have to align everything permanently. I created a jig which I could lay on top of each slice (both outside and inside still together) and then added 2 dots with a black sharpie so I could align them later. I used the same spot the metal bars went through.

In my initial tests it looked like both the glue and the sharpie wouldn’t be visible.

It took an hour or so to mark all 175 sheets.

However at certain angles you can see a blue line running through the plexi (which is still cool). I should have used 4 pinholes.

I was going to weld each sheet using acrylic weld but I am allergic to a lot of chemicals and instead opted to use a super glue gel. (The aftermath of which was me being deathly ill for 2 days anyways). The gluing went well, you can’t see it from the side. But several slices weren’t as flat as they needed to be and the adhesive just wouldn’t work.  For those few spots I used a clear epoxy (more death for me) and that explains the duller lines you see on some of the slices because – they just don’t lay as flat.

The negative space model is amazing. But I am afraid to glue it, so for now it is just a careful stack. I created 5 sides of plexi which I used scotch tape to hold as a sort of box until the weather turns nice enough outside to play with the acrylic weld.

Next time I am going to cut things out of a circle!

So 5 copies in 3 materials!

But wait there is more!

And in a future post I will discuss how we got the object to work in augmented reality with HP Reveal, augmented reality again with the Microsoft Hololens, back on the web using HTML5, and a few other interesting output techniques!

Hope you enjoyed.

One last note: Take this all with a grain of salt. This is just how I do it – or did it – this time. I am sure there are better ways – there are always better ways and I appreciate learning new things as I go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back by popular demand – Jared’s favorite holidays toys for 2016!

Some are new releases – some are classics and some are just great gift giving opportunities.

Jared’s Ultimate Top Tech Holiday Gift Guide – 2012

Back by popular request – Jared’s top 10 holiday tech toy presents.

	It is the 2012 holiday present – the new Furby – sure some think they are creepy looking but these new versions can interact with an iOS app and get a distinct personality based on how you raise it! It’s more than a present its a long term commitment!  OWN IT!
	I have an Apple TV (and I love it) but the Roku2 HS does what it can’t – it has 1080p and can stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Vudu (and Ultraviolet movies), HBO2GO, Epix and more – it even plays Angry Birds! OWN IT!
	Kindle Fire HD! It reads books, plays movies, and has apps – easy to use, perfect size and a great price. OWN IT!
	The Ultimate Harry Potter Box set, DVD, Bluray, & Streaming Copies!  I put this under tech toys because unlike many other box sets it includes the Ultraviolet streaming copies and that means I can stream them from anywhere and even download them.
	The best point and shoot 3D camera on the market – easy to use – and it has a built in 3d screen on the back. It even shoots 3D movies.   OWN IT!
	LG has a new line of 3D TVs that use passive (not shutter) glasses. Technically the resolution is less (because it uses half the resolution for each eye) but the glasses are really cheap so that an entire family can afford to watch at one time. This is the 42″ model (Personally I want the 55″ or larger).
	Not just for using your phone out in the cold – these gloves allow you to use your iPad without getting fingerprints all over the screen! OWN IT!
	The ultimate it camera gadgets – you focus after you shoot. It changes what photography is and the software just keeps getting better! OWN IT!
	1080p video recording in your sunglasses – the quality is great and it is easy to use – I even had prescription lenses put in mine! OWN IT!
	Nothing is more fun than chasing your cat or dog around the house with an app controlled rover that has a built in video camera. It is major fun. OWN IT!

I am pleased to announce that this summer I am teaching an intensive multimedia course through the Art Studio department at Case Western Reserve University. This 3 credit course ARTS 350/450 takes place Mon, Tue, Wed, & Thurs Evenings (5pm-8pm) from  June 4 – July 6 (with no class the week of June 11-14 or on July 4) in the Kelvin Smith Library.

In this course you will learn Photoshop – it is a baptism of fire to be sure – but when you are done I promise all fear of Photoshop will be gone.  We also produce a “How To” video using Adobe Premiere Elements.

Tuition in the summer is half-off! More information on how to enroll can be found here:
http://www.cwru.edu/academics/summer/

Spread the word and tell your friends!

It takes a lot to get me to write one of these but I’ve been watching all this vitriol pour out again on the net towards Trump’s sons and their hunting trip.

I’ve spent the last week grading papers in which my students had to talk about an issue of privacy or piracy.  The reason I make them write about this topic is that everyone has a feeling or an opinion but few can truly express in words or in logic what it is they mean and then to truly defend their position.

Let’s cut through all the emotions and look at this clearly.  Two brothers went on vacation, signed up for an ‘experience’ package, broke no laws, and had photos taken.

So what are they being accused of?

Animal Cruelty.  They killed animals.  Is it murder? No – because the animals weren’t people.  Was it poaching? No – because it was legal to kill where they killed and what they killed.  Was it hunting? Sure. You can argue how “challenging” it was but that’s something else entirely.  People go hunting in overpopulated areas or in stocked lakes when they know they will catch something.  We don’t get angry at fisherman.  We don’t get angry at most hunting.  If the Trumps had gone somewhere in the mountains and hunted deer – would there be this uproar?

What’s the difference between this and going deer hunting?  And again – let’s stop – if you find yourself equally angry at them if they had gone deer hunting then say that.  Say “I don’t like people who like to go hunting”.  The rest of the situation is irrelevant to you.  They went hunting – you don’t approve. I get it.  That’s a fine argument.  It’s a fine opinion.

So we continue.  What’s the difference between this and going deer hunting? It cost a lot of money.  That’s one issue.  Clearly this is a luxury thing.  And for some people the argument is “These people have too much money and shouldn’t be wasting it.”  Its a fine argument. But it is their money and they can spend it how they like.  Rich people can do rich people things.  I am not rich but I am sure a lot of people judge me on how I spend my money.  And they shouldn’t.  The Trumps have a lot of money and I would be offended if they weren’t out there enjoying themselves with it.  So – you don’t like rich people?  Say that.  I get it.  That’s a fine argument.  It’s a fine opinion.

But the animals are exotic/cute/endangered etc?  There is no question that for some seeing dead animals is difficult.  I lost my 19 year old cat 2 weeks ago and when she finally passed they asked if I wanted to stay with her a while. I said no. She was gone and I wasn’t going to hug and cry over her corpse.  It was a personal decision.  I don’t think hunters are sociopaths.  If I thought hunters were sociopaths I would have to think that all carnivores are.  I eat meat.  I have a hand in the death of the cow.  No I didn’t kill it myself – but I’ve killed and gutted a fish.  And when I reeled it in – I was excited – but I wasn’t in a frenzied blood lust.  There was a physical and mental challenge and I was caught up in that moment – not in the spiritually life ending murderous rampage that people are accusing them of.  (If the Trump boys are indeed sociopaths then you should be glad that these outlets exist for them. And if you don’t get that this last sentence was a joke then I plead you to stop reading.)  People are protesting that they wouldn’t kill a leopard.  I get it.  And you didn’t. No one is accusing you of killing one.  They admit they did it.  What don’t you like about it? That it is pretty? That is is rare?  It’s not a threatened or endangered animal.  Just because you wouldn’t do it – doesn’t make it wrong.  Even their father made basically the same argument.  People do have a right to live their lives the way they want – even if it offends you.

Then there is the elephant tail picture.  I don’t argue with PETA or side with PETA – ever – they are crazy – we know they are crazy – they know they are crazy.  But this picture shocks a lot of people.  Several years ago I was in Cameroon and when I came back I gave several talks about my time there.  While I was waiting to give one of these talks people were giving me deadly stares and really upset looks.  Why? Because I was wearing traditional Cameroonian ceremonial dress.  You could feel their venom.  How dare I?  And then I played the video.  The video of the local King in front of hundreds of people putting this garment on me.  Commanding me to wear it in pride and to go home and tell others about his people and my experience.  You want the world to be smaller you have to live in it.  If the custom was to hold the elephant tail – then you do it.  Going along with it is the right thing to do – in fact – that part of the story is what makes it have heart.  It wasn’t about pulling a trigger and walking away – it was about having a cultural experience.  At this point you can argue that you wouldn’t want that experience.  Fine.  You can argue that the world is full of backwards traditions and practices – and while it might be true – they are fewer than you think.  I get it – you are shocked and offended first and calmed and informed later.  Most people don’t get to the second half.  How many people bothered to look up what that tradition was before they condemned it? Because now you aren’t talking about the Trump brothers – now you are talking about being offended by another culture or that they wanted to take part of another culture. How small minded is that?

The meat didn’t go to waste.  That’s a point of protocol. And again they are being harassed for it!  People are saying that those people didn’t want the meat or if you really cared about them you would have just given them money.  How dare you? It’s not your or my place to tell these guys how to spend their money. It’s THEIR money.  I’m sorry you don’t like that they are rich. Let’s be really practical here – for most people complaining the fact that they went on vacation was wasteful itself.  That’s not right.  They stimulated the local economy.  You might not like it but they did.  I have traveled all around the world and trust me – people want your business.  And more often than not – people wanted my business NOT my handouts.

And they took photos.  And yes – we all have to admit this is terrible PR.  No one should have seen these photos.  And who posted them? The photos were from the travel company – and the stupid macho slogans bantered around are from the travel company.  Do you really want people judging you by accusing you with the slogans of the products you use?  The Trump brothers didn’t come out and do a commercial – we don’t have video of them acting the fool here and being all gun crazed yee-haw nuts.  As a photographer and a traveler the reality was probably a lot more sedate (and at times more chaotic).

Before I wrote this I reminded myself of the old axiom: “Never argue with an idiot.  They drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

And then I read this tweet by Donald Trump Jr.: “I don’t apologize to cater to public opinion when I did nothing wrong. To do so would be to sell myself out.”

Amen.

 

 

Today was a very sad day.  I had to put Puppycat, my 19 year old Siamese, to sleep.

We came home last night to find her in front of her water bowl unable to move and soaked in her own urine. It was sad to see her suffer and not how I want to remember her.

19 years ago…

My friend Barbara told me her landlord said she couldn’t keep her Siamese kitten Tasha.  Even though she was just a kitten Barbara was already her second owner.  The original owner was very wealthy and paid $1,000 for her and had her 4 paw de-clawed (which I know is cruel and they missed a single claw) and then decided she didn’t want her anymore and gave her to Barbara.

I had played with Tasha a bunch of times and I always thought she was cute.  When Barbara told me she needed to find a home for her I asked my girlfriend Suzanne if she knew a good home and Suzanne suggested that I take her (which it turns out was what Barbara wanted as Tasha was only ever nice to me).

I never meant to ‘rename’ Tasaha but I started to call her Puppycat and it stuck.

She was a very unusual cat.  She never cleaned herself, she never covered her litter, she would burn her whiskers in candles.  The vet said that she had instinct problems because she was taken away from her mother to early and was mildly retarded.  That aside she was loving and clever – sure she ran away from the litter box every times she pooped but she came when called and was always there when I needed her.

She also knew she had that single claw.  She would come at you with it if she needed to.  When she first went into heat she was crazy and when I took to get her fixed they agreed to remove the last claw.  The vet was very nice and told me that the first vet was a butcher and he removed bone fragments from all four paws.  It left with her one flabby paw – she would nurse that paw and hated anyone touching it.  After that though she became a biter – she would warn before she bit – and she would bite very deep – it was the only way she knew how to express herself.  She never really bit me – but then again – I was the only one she every really liked.

For 19 years she was my loving companion.  She would often play with other cats and she came to tolerate the dog (who really wanted to be her friend) but I think Junior is going to miss her most of all. When we got Junior (my Manx) as a kitten, Puppycat really changed and her maternal instincts kicked in.  Puppycat started to groom Junior (though still not herself) and the two wrestled and cuddled every night.

We all have stories about our pets.  I could tell the story about the time I took her to the mall in a bag, the time she tore open a friend of mine’s bag and ate all his pot, the time she knocked over my friends 5 year old little boy and stole his pizza, or that she would play with a ball of yarn so fiercely that she would tie the chairs to the table.

Her last few years have been quiet ones.  She spent most of her time sleeping on the ottoman and playing with Junior.  I had hoped she would die in her sleep and putting her down was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.

Goodbye Puppycat

I am pleased to announce that today I posted 2 episodes of From Castle to Castle: Ireland – Day 1
(This is a re-cut of the previously released episode 1)

From Castle to Castle: Ireland – Episode 01 (Day 1)

From Castle to Castle: Ireland – Episode 02 (Day 1)

These 2 episodes chronicle the first of my 12 days hunting castles in Ireland in 2003. This was killer low budget (don’t full screen it) and it represents my first time in front of a video camera (as well as simultaneously behind it). No mics, no lights, no crew just a video camera, a still camera, and a killer mullet. Some fun/weird things happen in future episodes and I think these set the tone for what I will be doing in future episodes.

Enjoy

And here are some great castle resources!

 

A strange thing happened last night at the movies.

The film broke.

I haven’t seen anything like it in so long that at first we all thought it was part of the movie – the pause of the film and then the burning of the frame until the screen was a pure white.
I kept having flashes of The Muppet Movie. But after a few moments we all realized that the film had gotten stuck and melted.

So we waited. About 2 minutes later the lights turned on.
No one came out to say anything and we just waited realizing that if the lights were on that someone knew what was happening and probably splicing the film.

We waited.

About 5 minutes later – the lights when ALL the way on and a manager (and a security guard) came in to tell us that they would not be able to repair the film and that if we would leave the theater he would be giving us replacement passes.

So we left and he handed us each a movie pass.

We were at most 5 minutes from the end of the film. I don’t know how it ends (well it was J Edgar so I do know how it ends) but I don’t care to sit through the entire film again to see the ending.

As a regular of the theater I told another manager that this wasn’t acceptable – it wasn’t enough. They ruined my evening – they didn’t get that – sure I got my ticket money back – but what about my time (or my popcorn) or my general disappointment. Was I going to blow this pass on a movie I had already seen most of and didn’t want to sit though again? She said that later in the week I could come back and just pop in to see the ending. This was nice and I might do that but what about everyone else? What about the fact that the free movie ticket was done to make them feel better – to scrape by with the least amount of effort.

No one left that theater happy.

And when the manager brought security with him to inform us we needed to leave – he knew it too.

He just didn’t care.

Shame on them.

I have moved!  I am now blogging directly from JaredJared.com!