Also known as, “What I Did Last Saturday Night.”

Last week director Dave Campfield (we worked together on the award winning feature film “Under Surveillance“) called me and asked if I would help him shoot a short spoof video for a project he is working on. Here is the result:

If you want to know more about how I lit this, check out the article I posted on my indie film blog.

If you like the movie, please vote for it at YouTube.com and tell your friends.

The Go-To Guy

“Everywhere is not like here and everyone is not like these people. Whether that brings comfort or distress depends on where you are and who you are with.”

That thought occurred to me today and I liked the way it sounds, so I thought I would share it.

I’m not sure if it is original. I may have read it somewhere before. It has a lot of the same appeal as the blessing/curse, “May you live in interesting times.”

If you’ve heard it (or a variation of it) before, let me know where.

If it is, in fact, wholly original, please spell my name properly when quoting me – it’s Andrew Seltz!

The Go-To Guy

“What happened?” “I don’t like it!” “You’re a brave man!” “Let’s pin him down and shave his eyebrows too!”
These were just a few of the comments I got when I suddenly showed up one day with a bald head.

Much as some people would like to disagree, I have not gone crazy. I’ve been curious, for a long time, to know what I would look like bald. I’ve had generic ‘short back and sides’ hair, I’ve had flat tops, I’ve had long hair and pony tails. I’d never been bald – until now!

A couple of months ago I started thinking seriously about it and asked my wife if she’d mind. She wasn’t crazy about the idea but said it was fine by her. I figured I would wait until June, because I could let it grow out over vacation if I didn’t like it. June arrived, and it brought razors.

It has been interesting seeing how people react. For a number of them, it’s been inspiring. Even if they don’t like the look, they like the fact that I was willing and able to do something bold. The more traditionally ‘macho’ guys I know keep talking about my having ‘the guts’ to do it.

The funny thing is that it wasn’t a big deal and I really didn’t think about it that much. I knew that people would react positively and negatively and some would just laugh. I looked forward to the banter. But mostly, I just wanted to know what it would look like so I did it. (Anyway, the worst that would happen is people might laugh – and that happens anyway!)

It’s been a week. I’m slowly getting used to the reflection in the mirror. It looks much better than I had expected.

The maintenance is pretty high. I have to shave my whole head every 2 days because it grows back so fast. Great big lumpy heads are challenging to shave.

I’m going to keep it going until July 11th and then let the flat top grow back in. My wife said that she wouldn’t mind at all if it grew back in!

Hope you get a kick out of the picture,

The Go-To Guy

Is it time to send your computer to see Dr. Phil?

While reading an article about the growing list of security vulnerabilities on Macs, I was suddenly struck by the similarities between digital connections and personal relationships. Now that Macs are becoming more prevalent, more people are looking for ways to exploit them with viruses and other computer hacks. In other words, now that the Mac has come out of its shell and become more sociable, it’s at a greater risk of being hurt!

Can the answer be to crawl back into a protective cocoon and not risk further pain? Will disconnecting from the Internet make it all better (this goes for Windows users too!) Is perpetual loneliness and isolation the cure?

It appears that computer relationships have the same risks as human relationships. If you want the good things that come with interaction with others, you have to run the risk of being hurt. You have to learn to identify computers that are up to no good and avoid hanging out in bad neighborhoods.

You have special relationships with those you’ve learned to trust (you even sign-in to their websites and accept their cookies!) You set-up multiple email addresses with various names and only give out your ‘personal email’ to those you trust. When you sign-up for a newsletter from someone you don’t know, you give them one of the buffer emails. (When you just want that free PDF but don’t want to be on a mailing list, you give out your junkmail address at Yahoo.com – Anyone out there ever been surprised to reach the local pizza joint when calling the number you got from the person you chatted-up at the pub the night before? Does this feel familiar?)

Don’t even get me started with computers trapped in abusive relationships running illicit code for their ‘partners’ who constantly ask them to do aweful things for them like harvest personal data from unsuspecting people or launching DOS attacks on innocent websites who’ve become the targets of these bullies.

The similarities should not be surprising. After all, humans designed the whole system and are behind most of the bad stuff (they’re the little devils sitting on the edge of the monitor whispering, “Go ahead and spam 3 million people with a Viagra email – you’re not really hurting anyone!”) Whether we like it or not, the baby resembles the parents – warts and all!

So all you mean hackers out there, the next time you see a shy young Mac working up the courage to ask a PC to dance, take it easy on the little fella!

The Go-To Guy!

P.S. I’ve got nothing against Macs! I just happened to be reading a Mac related article when the brilliant insight above struck me. Please, no hate mail.

Recently I was digging through some old papers and found this funny little joke that a friend emailed me back in early 2001. I meant to put it up on one of my production websites, but it got lost in the shuffle. Now it has a home.

You’re a Producer, Aren’t You?

A man in a hot air balloon realized that he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted to her, “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The woman below replied:

“You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”

“You must be a Production Manager,” said the balloonist.

“I am,” replied the woman, “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost! Frankly you haven’t been any help at all.”

The woman below shouted back, “You must be a Producer!”

“I am,” replied the balloonist, “how did you know?”

“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to your lofty position due to a large volume of hot air. You’ve made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you show up expecting me to solve your problem. The fact is, you are in exactly the same position as before we met, but somehow, now, this is all my fault!”

This was one of those anonymous email forwards, so I don’t know the author. But I get a kick out of it everytime I read it!

The Go-To Guy!