Since I was a teenager, I have been telling stories for the fun of it through film, video, audio drama, and more, all under the auspices of Blue Towel Productions. View and listen to many of those projects here, or read on for comments on other stories or items that catch my interest.

My Mise en Scène is Tingling

I don’t really know what to say about this project.  It was conceived of and written in 2009 in Kyrgyzstan, but not produced until 2012 in Indonesia.  It’s full of a number of obscure scriptwriting and film references that most people wouldn’t get, but I think that’s okay.  And it’s loosely…very loosely…based on a real conversation.

Strange Sightings

Staying in hotel in Chiang Mai, Thailand for a couple of days.  It’s near a new little open air mall, which inexplicably has a bit of a Maritime theme going on (for the uninformed, Chiang Mai is literally hundreds of kilometers from the ocean).  Walking around, one also cannot help but to notice various statues of figures from mythology – western and otherwise.  But just in case this isn’t random enough, my family and I rounded one corner and found ourselves looking at this:

From the Family Vault – The Adventures of Baby Elissa, Explorer Detective

I recently ran across this little piece that I did nearly ten years ago, not long after my oldest daughter had turned one year old. It was part of an annual “family movie” that I do to celebrate all that God’s given those closest to me in our lives and in each other.

I had the idea of doing a bunch of these little “Baby Elissa” adventures, all with more or less the same punchline (ie, something extremely ordinary), but this is the only one I ever got around to.

Can I Possibly Recommend It?

Today we’re talking about a film that has an absurdly contrived plot, paper-thin characterizations, and simplistic dialog.  It favors broad slapstick over dramatic nuance, and has a very predictable ending.  Is there any way I can in good conscience recommend such a film?  Well

500 People in 100 Seconds!

Look what I found!

There’s still lots of fun short film out there to be discovered, and this is something I just stumbled across that is well worth a look. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Three Summary

Some argue that Season 3 is the best season of Next Generation.  I am withholding such judgments until I finish reviewing the whole series, but it is certainly miles ahead of what went on before.  Where Season 2 definitely displayed an overall upswing of quality, it’s with Season 3 that the show truly hits its stride, producing more than just a handful of truly “great” episodes.

Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds [3.26]

As they finally arrive in Federation space, the Enterprise encounters the Borg, who have specifically targeted Picard to be their “spokesperson” to humanity prior to their assimilation.  Commander Riker clashes with Lt. Commander Shelby, who is spearheading Starfleet’s attempts to develop a response to the Borg.