Hello. I’m actually very good at keeping up on other blogs I maintain. It’s just this one I can’t seem to update. Oh and pardon the post title - StrangeLove has been running through my head all day.

So what’s going on?

Work:
I’m in the thick of producing a web-tv show - it’s a small operation, but I’m truly enjoying the work right now. We’re getting good bit of traffic on youtube, and the aforementioned blog. It is busy, the studio also has outside clients, so on any given day I’m working on everything from web and video production for nude women to high fashion women’s shoes.

On the art side recently interviewed a fine art photographer friend, Sid Ceaser, for a post and just today I was shooting interviews at a Gallery in SoHo. I still haven’t seen much of the city, but that’s ok right now.

Play:
To address my insatiable need to play something with keys I recently picked up a Yamaha Cs1x synth on the cheap. There are some great sounds in it, but it could be a little bit before I can use them the way I’d like. I’m still learning how to program it. I’m also digging the tactile knobs. It gives the board a great analog feel.

Here’s a quick snapshot - as you can see, I was in a hurry to try it out. [For those wondering, that's an M-audio FastTrack Pro in the background]

With this purchase, I’ve given up on buying a Yamaha DX7. Though the DX7 is a great synth, it is heavy, and notoriously difficult to program. Instead I picked up FM8, a full featured software synthesizer, that supposedly does a good job of emulating the DX7. We’ll see - up until I’ve been mostly using Reason as my primary software synth.

When I do sit down to compose, I find myself creating landscapes that sound like they belong in an episode of The X-Files. Coincidentally, I’ve been watching quite a bit of X-Files lately. Maybe I’ll gush about Mark Snow in a different post…

Somewhere in between:
My screen writing endeavor is ongoing. It is slow, but I hope to have a completed draft before January. I’m encouraged by the responses that I’ve received from people so far. When I described the opening shots of the film, one friend said it was “brilliant.” I believe she was drunk and well meaning! I don’t think this is “brilliant” material - at least not yet. I suppose at some point I should register my work with the Writers Guild.

Other projects are not faring so well. One of the casualties of moving to New York is a podcast I’d been producing since 2006.  It was my first foray into podcasting and focused on Japanese Culture, specifically anime and manga. I’m still very much interested in those things - but I just don’t have the time to work on something I essentially started as a lark. I’ve learned lots of great lessons on producing serial audio though.

Like many, I’ve always been intrigued by Salvador Dalí’s work. Most people usually don’t think much past his iconic work The Persistence of Memory. His imagination was vast, sweeping all corners of the human psyche and beyond.

So, what an opportunity this past Friday when I visited the Museum of Modern Art and see the Dalí exhibit. For the first time in my life I was able to view his painting and film work in person. It was an enthralling and exiting evening, packed with hundreds of people. [Apparently, Friday night is "free museum night" in NYC. Who knew?]

I began by watching Un Chien Andalou, a 1928 short film by Dali and Spanish director Luis Buñuel. The film depicts surreal moments of death, and in one particularly wince worthy moment, actress Simone Mareuil’s eye lid is held open and a straight razor blade is slit across the pupil. As the eye split down the center, an exhibition hall of probably 50 people winced and groaned audibly, myself included.

For those brave enough to brave the film in the comfort of their own home can do so by downloading it at the Internet Archive, as the film is public domain.

Given the sheer number of people at the exhibit, there were many paintings I wasn’t able to view in prolonged detailed, but I did get to look at the vivid production sketches for Destino. The animated film Destino has a unique production history as it began as a collaboration with Walt Disney in 1945. It was not until 2003 that the project would see completion. It’s a great animated short, that was nominated for an Academy Award, and I’d love to see it again.

There was so much more there, and I’d like to go back to the exhibit when there are not so many people. But alas, it will have to wait until after the Olympics. You can also check out the interactive exhibit or make your way out to the exhibit before it ends on September 15th.

-M