So, I just got back from my free trip to Vegas! Overall, it was an awesome time, got to show Anthony around for a few days and hang out with some of my good buds from Valpo. And of course, I lost some money, drank a shitload, ate some delicous buffets, and oddly enough, actually learned some stuff at the NAB! 4 free nights at Caesar's Palace and 1 night at the Stratosphere, and of course airfare and transportation, all paid for by Dean Hamm... I love that guy! Here's a little summary of my trip, I decided to split it into NAB and Fun. Enjoy!
The National Association for Broadcasters Convention
Well I must admit, I was pretty intimidated when I first got here. I did attend a few workshops, where I learned After Effects, Motion, and how to create a reel in about 4 hours total, all taught by pro's. Once Monday hit, the convention opened up, and there was some COOL SHIT there! The first cool demo I saw an Ultra Hi-Def TV. This projection was about 40' x 100', and it also included 22.2 surround sound. The picture quality was unbelievable. In one clip, they showed a Pacer's game, and it was so realistic looking, it felt like you were watching the game from the bleachers at the fieldhouse.
The Next real cool thing I saw was a live band. They were all playing electronic instruments, and the only noise you could hear was the faint tapping of the drum pads. But if you walk over to the demo, you could put headphones on. Once you put them on, the band sounded like you were at a concert. You could even adjust the lows, mids, and highs of each individual instrument (including the electronic flute!) The sound was so real and amazing, I can't wait to see this thing really hit!
The last real cool thing I enjoyed wasnt even a specific event, but the free shit. At one stand, they had a live DJ, free beer, free crackers and cheese, and frickin massage chairs! Another stand had cigar-looking girls carrying around trays of margaritas. And then I used the internet (which didnt have a toolbar, so you couldnt type in an address, so I just used the F1 key to get into the help mode, go to MSN.com and used the search bar.) The security guy was amazed and thought I was a hacker, and he the went and stole me a laptop bag that only speakers got for free. Ah, I love free shit!
Vegas, the Fun stuff!
And when I wasn't dressed up like an office worker at the convention, I made the most out of my trip as possible! One day, we chilled out at 1 of the 4 outdoor pools at Casar's. Another night, Neil and I went to the rides on top of the Stratosphere. At 1100' off the ground, we went even higher on their "big shot" ride which shoots you up at like 4G's. That was freaky but cool. The other ride we rode was the "x Scream", not cool. Basically, it teter totters you over the side of the building, and drops you til the metal bar catches your cart. Yes, we put our lives in the hands of a few metal bars holding us in, created by a Vegas casino. Not one of my prouder moments. And I have NO intention to EVER ride that thing again!
The last day I was there, I actually ran into some other college film makers, who were attending the NAB. I hung out with them for a while, and they invited me to Hooters, but I knew I didnt have the time. So I traveled down the strip with a bottle or Bacardi and a bottle of coke. I then ran into a girl who was taping the strip. I talked to her, only find out she graduated IU and works for Discovery Channel Travel! She interviewed me and I helped her with some camera shots. Maybe I can even persuade her to give me a job!!!
The last adventure I had in Vegas was getting to the shuttle to the airport on time. I had to be there at 1030, so I took the monorail at 10pm. BTW, the monorail stations are so far of a walk through the casinos, dont ever ride them if your in a rush. I get to it, take it to the 2nd last stop before mine, and it says its turning around. Im like WTF! So I get off, then see it go to my stop. So I have to wait for the next rail 6 mins later. Its now 1025. I get on it, get off at Sahara and RUN to the Stratosphere. Luckily, the Bond theme song "Live and Let Die" was playing in the casino, so it pumped me up. I got to the shuttle a few mins late, but then saw him and asked him to wait. He waited and asked me if I wanted to run to a store for some water. I just laughed. I actually enjoyed the shuttle ride, as we were big dorks and talked about wiring surround sound.
Got to the airport, and flew to Minnesota at 1am. I then flew from MN to Indy and arrived around 10am. Took the 1040 shuttle to Btown, and then got the first shut eye I had since Monday morning. Overal, it was a kickass trip, but I have to admit, its nice to be home! Now it's time to get my work done!!!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
TShirts when I get bored
OK, this is what happens when I get real bored! BTW, these images are copyrighted, if you would like a TShirt, please send $15 to me!
Oh and if you like AD, I also did this when I was really hungover and bored with FaceBook:
GOB
Oh and if you like AD, I also did this when I was really hungover and bored with FaceBook:
GOB
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Friday, April 14, 2006
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirates Life for me
So, as I was driving around Wed night (with the doors off my jeep), I got extremely sleepy in about a second. Not thinking anything of it, I went home and we watched some Arrested Devolopment. Throughout the 5 episodes we watched, my eye began to hurt worse and worse. I rubbed my eye, attempted to flush it out, and even used eye drops, but no love. Finally, I look in the mirror only to see a tiny black spec just under my pupil. I attempt to fish it out with my finger, and no go. So I decide to go to sleep, or atleast attempt to with something lodged in my eye.
I wake up the next day in sheer pain. I go to the 10am Advisory Board meeting looking like I just did a whole lot of drugs. Nose running, eyes bload shot, couldnt keep them opened I struggled through the meeting. I then went to the health center and told them my problems. As I went to the doctors office, he numbed my eye and attempted to get it out with a cotton swab. No go, again. So he escorted me to the eye clinic. There they shined this bright ass light in my eyes and noticed I actually got a piece of asphalt in my eye. Fuckin fabulous! So the student doctor in training used something that she described as a "mini golf club" to "flip" it outta my eye. They then dilated my eye and sent me off on my way.
For the rest of the day, my left pupil was huge and a looked like a freak. Not to mention, looking at any light killed. So I went to the banquet wearing my sunglasses inside. Funny enough, no one really questioned why I was wearing them, they just thought I was being an ass. So, to the after party, I wore an eyepatch, which helped with light, but completely fucked my depth perception so anyone who waved their hand at me quickly freaked me out.
Today, I went in for a check up. The first thing the new student doctor said was "how the hell did you get asphalt in your eye?!?". He then looked at it, dilated it again, dyed my eye yellow (which was really weird) and scheduled me to come back again in on Mon. Yippee, now my eyes will be dilated for another two days. This is what happens when you take the doors off your jeep...
I wake up the next day in sheer pain. I go to the 10am Advisory Board meeting looking like I just did a whole lot of drugs. Nose running, eyes bload shot, couldnt keep them opened I struggled through the meeting. I then went to the health center and told them my problems. As I went to the doctors office, he numbed my eye and attempted to get it out with a cotton swab. No go, again. So he escorted me to the eye clinic. There they shined this bright ass light in my eyes and noticed I actually got a piece of asphalt in my eye. Fuckin fabulous! So the student doctor in training used something that she described as a "mini golf club" to "flip" it outta my eye. They then dilated my eye and sent me off on my way.
For the rest of the day, my left pupil was huge and a looked like a freak. Not to mention, looking at any light killed. So I went to the banquet wearing my sunglasses inside. Funny enough, no one really questioned why I was wearing them, they just thought I was being an ass. So, to the after party, I wore an eyepatch, which helped with light, but completely fucked my depth perception so anyone who waved their hand at me quickly freaked me out.
Today, I went in for a check up. The first thing the new student doctor said was "how the hell did you get asphalt in your eye?!?". He then looked at it, dilated it again, dyed my eye yellow (which was really weird) and scheduled me to come back again in on Mon. Yippee, now my eyes will be dilated for another two days. This is what happens when you take the doors off your jeep...
Saturday, April 08, 2006
An adventure through the sticks of Indiana
So Saturday was our IUSTV executive retreat at Waycross Christian Camp located in (or you could say around) Morgantown, IN. It all started at the IUSTV offices. We had to meet at 10am on a Sat which I was still exhausted from taping Multivisions and attending a Formal the day before. I arrive with Jenny around 10am, and sure enough am not the last ones there. In fact, Anthony was late along with Kyle, but not as late as Kaylyn's 30 min delay. So we all split up, and I chose to ride in Kyle's car along with Brian. And then the journey begins...
As we leave Bloomington, we glance at the directions and Kyle says he knows where we are going. The first direction is to get on 45. Brian suggests we take 10th St. but Kyle takes 3rd. No biggie, or so we thought. As we drive and tell old stories in the car, Jenny calls to make sure we are on track. This is when we realize we are headed off course. We stare at the shitty map with no street names and have an idea where we are. Kyle suggests we just take 46 til it loops around, then head down to Waycross. This seems like a good idea at the time.
Now we are heading through Nashville, approximately 15 miles out of the way. We start heading north to Morgantown, where the camps address is supposedly located. As we drive through the small town, we decide to take the first big highway (and the first light we've seen since Nashville) and head west towards the camp. This miserably leads us to Painted Hills, which is located just east of Martinsville, way the hell outta the way. We then decide to stop at the biggest (and scariest) church Ive seen. (Un)Fortunately the doors are locked. We decide to head back to the town of Morgantown...
As we pull back into town, we stop at cafe to ask for directions. Of course, there is a sign out front reading "Closed for Memorial". Just our luck. I get a call saying the guys are begining to eat lunch and I am now pissed. As Brian and I wait outside the car, Kyle runs into a tiny gift shop. There, Kyle got very vague directions, and to help further our adventure, he pointed in the direction we needed to head. The only prob was this guy only had 3 fingers. God knows which finger we were to follow. As a confused Kyle walks out and explains us he got nothing, I decide to take things into my own hands and go to a place all answers can be told; a local bar. As I entered the smoke filled space, I notice an akward looking couple eating at the bar, and the other side loaded with a bunch of "locals" eating lunch and drinking Budweiser at 11am. I ask the waitress if she knows how to get to Waycross and immediatly the guy next to me yells out "my mother used to work there!" Excited, I ask him for directions. He turns to his buddies and they all argue/discuss the quickest way to the camp. While I am waiting, I notice they have $2 beers... ironically enough, Kyle entered the bar as soon as I see this sign from god. He makes sure I am n ot drinking, and then the waitress asks if we want a pepsi to go. I then respond with, can I have a bud to go? A disgusted eye roll was all I got back. The local "boys" finally come to a decision. The guy then takes a notepad and starts drawing a map, with no street names of course. I grab the pad and ask him to describe the directions as I write them down. They consist of: go to the light, take that road til it goes over the big hill, turn left, then turn right at the T, then vear off to the left when the road Y's. There will be signs. As detailed as these directions were, they were wrong. Basically, we got into the woods, then took every road and backtracked til we thought we were going the right way. At one point, we drive by a house and a church with many cars outside. The guys nominate me to go ask for directions. I knock at the house, no answer. Then I go to the church, knock and peak inside. I was staring at what looked to be a church from the 1800's. We then quickly left. We drove around some more, only to find some dirt/gravel covered roads. We take a few more Y turns and finally we see somewhat walking their dogs whom didnt look like they were going to jump us and "make us squeel like pigs".
We ask the nice lady how to get there and she tells us. Take this to Richards Rd and take a left. THe only thing was, she pointed to the right. So we are like WTF! We follow her directions, only to end up back to the creepy chruch. We turn around on the dirt road and go the opposite way. The woods are begining to break up and we see power cables. In fact, one power cable is hanging so low I couldve reached out the sunroof and touched it. We FINALLY see signs for Waycross. After driving through the backwoods of Indiana past Cattle x-ing signs, and looking for a bridge that didnt have any water underneath it (one of Kaylyn's wonderful directions) we got to waycross, only to realize we didnt know which cars were Nate's and Kaylyn's. We go to the entrance that looks like it is where they are. Its locked. Fortunatly Kasey comes and gets us.
We enjoy our lunch and discuss our topics. We get done on time and leave. This time, it's me Kyle and Anthony. Of course, Anthony doesnt know how to get back and we are in the lead. We go until we find a road to turn on and take it. The car behind us follows. We are relieved. Then Kaylyn goes the other way. We are freaked out. Thankfully it was correct and took us to 45. And that was my Saturday, how was yours???
As we leave Bloomington, we glance at the directions and Kyle says he knows where we are going. The first direction is to get on 45. Brian suggests we take 10th St. but Kyle takes 3rd. No biggie, or so we thought. As we drive and tell old stories in the car, Jenny calls to make sure we are on track. This is when we realize we are headed off course. We stare at the shitty map with no street names and have an idea where we are. Kyle suggests we just take 46 til it loops around, then head down to Waycross. This seems like a good idea at the time.
Now we are heading through Nashville, approximately 15 miles out of the way. We start heading north to Morgantown, where the camps address is supposedly located. As we drive through the small town, we decide to take the first big highway (and the first light we've seen since Nashville) and head west towards the camp. This miserably leads us to Painted Hills, which is located just east of Martinsville, way the hell outta the way. We then decide to stop at the biggest (and scariest) church Ive seen. (Un)Fortunately the doors are locked. We decide to head back to the town of Morgantown...
As we pull back into town, we stop at cafe to ask for directions. Of course, there is a sign out front reading "Closed for Memorial". Just our luck. I get a call saying the guys are begining to eat lunch and I am now pissed. As Brian and I wait outside the car, Kyle runs into a tiny gift shop. There, Kyle got very vague directions, and to help further our adventure, he pointed in the direction we needed to head. The only prob was this guy only had 3 fingers. God knows which finger we were to follow. As a confused Kyle walks out and explains us he got nothing, I decide to take things into my own hands and go to a place all answers can be told; a local bar. As I entered the smoke filled space, I notice an akward looking couple eating at the bar, and the other side loaded with a bunch of "locals" eating lunch and drinking Budweiser at 11am. I ask the waitress if she knows how to get to Waycross and immediatly the guy next to me yells out "my mother used to work there!" Excited, I ask him for directions. He turns to his buddies and they all argue/discuss the quickest way to the camp. While I am waiting, I notice they have $2 beers... ironically enough, Kyle entered the bar as soon as I see this sign from god. He makes sure I am n ot drinking, and then the waitress asks if we want a pepsi to go. I then respond with, can I have a bud to go? A disgusted eye roll was all I got back. The local "boys" finally come to a decision. The guy then takes a notepad and starts drawing a map, with no street names of course. I grab the pad and ask him to describe the directions as I write them down. They consist of: go to the light, take that road til it goes over the big hill, turn left, then turn right at the T, then vear off to the left when the road Y's. There will be signs. As detailed as these directions were, they were wrong. Basically, we got into the woods, then took every road and backtracked til we thought we were going the right way. At one point, we drive by a house and a church with many cars outside. The guys nominate me to go ask for directions. I knock at the house, no answer. Then I go to the church, knock and peak inside. I was staring at what looked to be a church from the 1800's. We then quickly left. We drove around some more, only to find some dirt/gravel covered roads. We take a few more Y turns and finally we see somewhat walking their dogs whom didnt look like they were going to jump us and "make us squeel like pigs".
We ask the nice lady how to get there and she tells us. Take this to Richards Rd and take a left. THe only thing was, she pointed to the right. So we are like WTF! We follow her directions, only to end up back to the creepy chruch. We turn around on the dirt road and go the opposite way. The woods are begining to break up and we see power cables. In fact, one power cable is hanging so low I couldve reached out the sunroof and touched it. We FINALLY see signs for Waycross. After driving through the backwoods of Indiana past Cattle x-ing signs, and looking for a bridge that didnt have any water underneath it (one of Kaylyn's wonderful directions) we got to waycross, only to realize we didnt know which cars were Nate's and Kaylyn's. We go to the entrance that looks like it is where they are. Its locked. Fortunatly Kasey comes and gets us.
We enjoy our lunch and discuss our topics. We get done on time and leave. This time, it's me Kyle and Anthony. Of course, Anthony doesnt know how to get back and we are in the lead. We go until we find a road to turn on and take it. The car behind us follows. We are relieved. Then Kaylyn goes the other way. We are freaked out. Thankfully it was correct and took us to 45. And that was my Saturday, how was yours???
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