Monthly Archive for November, 2006

S.K.I.P. of Nonsense Records: CoffeeMug Artist

Published on November 30, 2006 in Blogs, Orlando Video and Video. Closed


Nonsense Records is a bit of an anomaly in Orlando - they are an indie label with unique acts (in my eyes at least). Now I can’t really say I know too much about the state of modern hip hop, but I do know that this is not a rap label. You won’t find any songs by Nonsense artists about “gettin’ crunk, makin’ dollas and slappin’ a ho”. Why? because these artists actually have something to say.

Politically-minded, creative thinkers, philosophers and Sol.illaquists of Sound, the eyes and ears doing the recruiting for Nonsense Records make an effort to step over the lines. I can’t really tell you how, you just kind of have to see if for yourself. From the vocally gifted Rubox Cube to the dizzying lyrical stylings of S.K.I.P. (who always seems to go by S.K.I.P. of Nonsense Records) and the high-energy sets of X:144 and SPS, someone who might claim they aren’t a fan of rap will have to change their tune to say “not a fan of crunk music”. I couldn’t talk about Nonsense Records without a tip of the hat to Holly Riggs, who is someone I feel we may be seeing on a few other Liberatr blogs in the coming year.

This performance of CoffeeMug Artist was recorded at Will’s Pub South and was released to promote S.K.I.P.’s album “What They Never Told You…”, available for download on iTunes. You can also see S.K.I.P.’s MySpace if you like. Also of note, video recording and editing  was performed by Broken Machine Films, who lists a Brooklyn, NY area code, but doesn’t really say where they’re from.

If you want to chime in, we have this fun things called comment boxes, and if you’d like to see your film or something you have seen that came from Florida, please email me - liberatr [at] gmail dot com.

John Higgins: Lounging Around with Mark & Lorna

Published on November 29, 2006 in Blogs, Orlando Video and Video. Closed


John Higgins, AKA johnnydiggz on MySpace and YouTube, is a local musician and film producer whom I met on the set of the locally-produced indie film The Karaoke King (see our previous coverage). I came across this rough video clip today, which appears to be about a local lounge duo called Mark & Lorna.

Here’s a blurb from the Mark & Lorna website:

Lounging Around with Mark & Lorna (working title) is an independent documentary about Mark Wayne & Lorna Lambey. Mark & Lorna have been singing together for over 30 years and, over the past year and a half, we’ve tried to capture a piece of their magic at the Red Fox Lounge on film.

One thing you really feel from the people in this documentary is the love they feel for this duo. I’m sure John would love to hear everyone’s comments and suggestions, and I know I would like to see “part 2″. If these guys are as good as this clip makes them seem, I want to join the fan club.

Now for some business: In case you didn’t know, this blog is actually part of a larger network of podcasts and blogs I like to call Liberatr.net. The idea is to give Orlando publishers a forum to say something, share their experiences, and foster a sense of community in Orlando. If you go to the site you can see our directory of podcasts and blogs, and some things that fit into other categories. If you’re local and producing video, you can get some more info from me, submit videos, make comments or just have a chat by emailing me — liberatr [at] gmail dot com.

WHiRR in Toronto! And San Francisco!

Published on November 29, 2006 in Robot of Leisure and Web Comics. Closed
WHiRR laboratories is now located in Toronto, Ontario. To celebrate, we'll be participating in the Last Minute Craft Fair at Trinity-St. Paul's Centre on December 16. If you're in the area, admission is free and we're looking to meet new crafty and/or robot-appreciating friends.

If you're in the San Francisco area, take the afternoon on December 9 to shop indie at Pandora's Trunk, where WHiRR merchandise will be on display and for sale. San Franciscans should also be on the lookout for WHiRR in MILA.

Holiday WHiRR orders must be made no later than December 9 for Christmas delivery.

Comics will resume as soon as we hook up the scanner. Boris and I appreciate your patience and look forward to filling your friendly robot art needs.

click. beep. WHiRR.

Katharine.

Dammit, Helen, I want to go to the ball!

Published on November 29, 2006 in Bingo In Smoking and Blogs. Closed

Sigh. Does anyone miss this as much as I do?

TRICKS AND TREATS

Mystik Spiral - Freakin’ Friends

Week 12 — Sometimes your season’s cooked and sometimes your eating the turkey up!

Published on November 29, 2006 in Podcasts and Student of the Game. Closed

Download Show 18
Length: 84:37

Is there still hope for the Dolphins and Giants to make the playoffs? Whose playoff hopes might the Steelers and Bucs spoil? Can the “Edge”-less Colts ACTUALLY make the Super Bowl as predicted by 2 of our hosts? These and many more questions to be answered as the SoTG, Weasel, and Drew — the Local Statboy work their magic once more.

Background music courtesy of WIRED Magazine and the Creative Commons:

  • Thievery Corporation - Dc 3000
  • DJ Dolores - Oslodum 2004
  • Dan The Automator - Relaxation Spa Treatment

To download, right click on the “Show 18″ above and Save as… or use a podcatcher like iTunes, Juice, etc.

Fringe Video Podcast

Published on November 28, 2006 in Blogging Fringe, Blogs, Podcasts and Video. Closed
Update: please click this link for a follow-up.

Over at blog.myspace.com/orlandofringe, social media director for the Orlando Fringe Mark Baratelli has begun posting a series of videos that relate generally to the festival. Mark will also be doing a Fringe Ads channel on MySpace which is basically giving the middle finger to Blogging Fringe restricting Blogging Fringe to metajournalism. I’m still not sure exactly how this will be recieved. If he is willing, I would like to contribute to this channel and help them out, but who knows what the response will be by Mark and Beth and others. I’ve only just heard about this a few hours ago, so I’m still not sure if this can really be a two-horse town.

Regardless, go check out the videos and tell us what you think in the comments.

Dodger: Live Aug 4th, 2006

Published on November 28, 2006 in Blogs, Orlando Video and Video. Closed

Dodger - Live Aug. 11th. Post*Records Orlando, FL.

Add to My Profile | More Videos
Ah, the infamous Orlando record label, Post*Records. They seem to specialize “indie rock”, if such a category really exists. It’s like saying “alternative” in the 90’s - it means, not pop, not rock - and in this case, not quite country either. Dodger is an interesting rock band in that they feature a violin/trumpet player atop sweet vocals. This video also features my friend Jeff on drums, AKA Mumpsy. At this exact moment, the Dodger website appears to be having some problems, so you might want to check out their MySpace instead.

For all of you curious Dodger fans out there, you’ll be pleased to know that this video features 4 live tunes by the group, titled as follows:

  1. Carbon Copper Mines and Wells, Inc.
  2. I’m Not There
  3. US Cargo (Sorry I’m so Extreme Sometimes)
  4. Find Another Way

The whole thing takes about 13 minutes, and appears to take place in an empty lot in an urban-ish part of town. If anyone knows where this was filmed, I’d love if you left a comment. Also, if you want to share a specific video here, please email all submissions to liberatr [at] gmail dot com.

The Chat Room of Life…with Cheese

Published on November 28, 2006 in Bingo In Smoking and Blogs. Closed

It’s tough to possess the secrets of the universe.

Day after day people approach me on the street and ask, “Aleshia, what do I need in order to live a life of purpose and fulfillment?”

And I answer: “Cheese.” Obviously. Show me a person who can think of something that can’t be improved with cheese, and I’ll show you a person who has not reached his or her creative potential.

I understand that for some — bless their little cottons — cheese is not enough. Which is why, like all things worth mentioning, there is a “top five” list of life’s bare necessities:

1. Cheese
(Previously discussed.)

2. Entrance Music
I think everyone will agree that there is no better way to announce to the world that, yes, you have arrived and yes, your arrival implies awesomeness than if Funkadelic’s “Freak of the Week” played every time you walked into a room. This could be decidedly inconvenient if walking in late for a final or if you (accidentally or intentionally) entered an “opposite” restroom. I suppose since we are operating within the city limits of Hypotheticalville, we could amend the entrance music to sound only when we need it most and not necessarily always in an entrance-type situation, like when we get strikes in bowling or when a salesperson is helpful.

Five Really, Really Good Entrance Music Songs (in no particular order)

1. Europe - The Final Countdown
2. Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone
3. Johnny Rivers - Secret Agent Man
(commonly mistaken for “Secret Asian Man,” thus making it ideal for individuals of oriental descent or those who would like to be)
4. Lenny Kravitz - American Woman
5. Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar on Me

3. An Alias
Above any other human right, everyone deserves an alter ego. If for no other reason, you always have a reliable person on whom to blame your shortcomings and the deletion of answering machine messages.

Five Notable Musical Aliases

1. Elvis “Napoleon Dynamite” Costello
2. Garth “Chris Gaines” Brooks
3. Prince “Alexander Nevermind”/”Joey Coco”/”Jamie Starr”/”Paisley Park”/”Camille”/”Weird Symbol Thingy” (Rogers Nelson — who’da thunk?)
4. David “Ziggy Stardust” Bowie
5. John “Mel Torment” Lennon

4. A Signature Sign-Off
Of equal importance to trumpeting your arrival, your exit, when you choose, should be solid and finite. We can pretend all we like, but there is no better way to control an unruly crowd of admirers than to answer everyone’s impending questions with a single comment.

Top Five Signature Sign-Offs Which Most Readily Leap to Mind

1. “Seacrest out!” - Ryan Seacrest
2. “And that’s the way it was.” - Walter Cronkite
3. “Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” - Jimmy Durante
4. “Take care of yourselves and each other.” - Jerry Springer
5. “Bon appétit!” - Julia Child

5. Bacon

TRICKS AND TREATS

Funkadelic - Freak of the Week
Sheena Easton - Sugar Walls, as written by Alexander Nevermind
Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust

CFLBars.com: Medici Cigars

Published on November 28, 2006 in Blogs, Orlando Video and Video. Closed


Searching video on MySpace will bring up some very interesting things, but disappointingly most videos have the same three links at the postroll, and one of them is extremely gross… they should really censor that stuff.

On a lighter note, I found at least one video I’d like to share with you all, and that is the first in what hopes to be a weekly installment by a website called Central Florida Bars. The idea is to provide a directory of bars and drink specials, with videos to help you decide where you want to go.

This video is a snapshot of the opening party for Medici Cigars which recently opened up across the street from UCF. The place looks pretty nice inside and I bet they are getting lots of business, this seems like the kind of place you would see college-aged partyers, club rats and bar hoppers. In addition to the bar and the obvious cigars, it looks like they also have billiards and hookahs.

This website isn’t exactly my cup of tea, but I can see why someone would want to make a business out of it. Personally, I think they need to get a better site design and post all of their videos exclusively to a monetized service like Revver to help them earn a little dough. They do have a MySpace page, but they don’t as of yet have many friends, and it doesn’t look like they’re using their blog to its fullest extent.

I have to hand it to them on one thing, though: they know exactly who their audience is, and they are starting with one niche. That’s something Liberatr is working on developing right now, and I would love to be able to say “we do this one thing and we are the only ones in town doing it”. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment, and if you want your video to show up here, email liberatr [at] gmail dot com.

Jen Vargas: MyPlace for O36 Festival

Published on November 28, 2006 in Blogs, Orlando Video and Video. Closed


Every year the Orlando Chapter of the Media Communications Association International hosts a 36-hour film festival called O36. The idea of such festivals is to create a film from concept to completion including writing, shooting and editing in just 36 hours. Lots of caffeine, little sleep, and good old-fashioned elbow grease makes an event like this come off. Lots of local sponsors and filmmakers get involved, then they throw a party.

I found this video on MySpace of all places, ironic as it is, made by Jen Vargas and company. I do know Jen, but I had never seen this video and she didn’t ask me to post it - I found it through search. This means that if your videos are out there, they’re fair game for this blog.

Considering that this film was made for about 3 shoestrings in less than 36 hours, I say bravo. If you agree or disagree, leave a comment. If you want me to post your low-budget films, send them to liberatr [at] gmail dot com

Just a bowlful of superstition helps the Thanksgiving go down (as in “occur”)

Published on November 23, 2006 in Bingo In Smoking and Blogs. Closed

As any red, white and blue-blooded, well-versed, gen-u-ine Ameri-person will tell you, one’s cultural identity is based upon the events that take place on the following dates:

April 16: The Day After Tax Day
Key ingredients: Large quantities of alcohol to drown out the undeniable fact that you have just spent upwards of $12 to send forms (probably filled out incorrectly) to the IRS overnight. Somewhere between “sober” and “unable to control bodily functions,” you will inevitably realize that you make little enough money that you could’ve just done the whole thing over the phone.

July 4th: The Fourth of July
Key ingredients: A pontoon boat homemade by your male relatives out of empty plastic drums and plywood; several large and noisy and orgasmically menacing pyrotechnic items; and lots and lots of very cheap beer. Somewhere between “sober” and “Hey, let’s run an extention cord out to the boat from the house so we can hook up some lights and the stereo!” you realize that you have inadvertently driven your truck into the lake.

The third Thursday of November: Thanksgiving
Key ingredients: Food. Namely, a dish suggested by NPR’s The Splendid Table which calls for - when one doubles the recipe - 2 small cloves of garlic. You and the artist formerly known as your boyfriend make this dish; unfortunately, you have the combined culinary prowess of a large rock and mistake a bulb for a clove, thereby multiplying the intended garlic content of said dish by six. Furthermore, in the absence of a food processor, you combine the cheese and liquid items in a blender.

Though specific traditions will vary depending on the family you’ve been bestowed upon, they invariably involve the exponential increase of any and all neuroses. By which I mean “creating a seating chart.” Despite any amount of planning to keep families together and the silly idealism of casting aside generation gaps, the arrangement was some variation of this:

Age-Biased Thanksgiving Seating Chart

While the adults’ table was adrift in the calm seas of Thanksgiving merriment, the kids’ table was without fail a proverbial monsoon of pandemonium: Aaron spills Kool-Aid all over Tiffany, Tim eats all of the mashed potatoes without making sure that everyone has had first helpings, T.J. is on Megan’s “side” of the bench (as if there were enough room to allocate personal space), and two of the little ones, whose names everyone has forgotten, have to eat under the table as there is not enough available seating at ground level.

We loved it.

I must say, though, that celebrating Thanksgiving in Britain was quite a change of pace. There was no raucous air of impending disaster, no forceable pie consumption, no even remembering it was Thanksgiving until receiving a MySpace comment asking whether or not Thanksgiving is celebrated in the UK. Apparently not. Especially since my Thanksgiving dinner consisted of some Brazil nuts, rice and a bowl of Lucky Charms, which my mother transported from the homeland in October. There is no better way to give thanks than over a bowl filled with tiny marshmallow manifestations of someone’s paranoia.

TRICKS AND TREATS

Bring Lucky Charms to the UK!
Big D and the Kids Table - Can’t Be Caught
Give Thanks for Mad Libs

Orlando Fringe 2007 Shows Announced!

Published on November 23, 2006 in Blogging Fringe, Blogs and Events. Closed

I got a chance to attend the lottery drawing for the Fringe Shows and Play in a Day this week. Beth said they had 91 applicants this year, which I’m sure breaks some sort of record.

To explain, under the rules laid down by the Canadian Ass’n of Fringe Festivals (CAFF), our festival must reserve 20% of their spots for international shows and 20% for shows from their home country. Our Fringe is the oldest in America, coming up on the 16th year, with over $175,000 going to the performers last year and projections for this year are higher as we are adding a new venue. The Silver Venue will be in the Orlando Rep, which I believe is where they have held Kid’s Fringe in the past, but I could be wrong.

Beth told us they are expecting 60-68 shows this year with 84 approved from the lottery drawing, which is great compared to last year’s 58. Best of luck to all the producers and performers, as well as a Happy Thanksgiving to all their friends and families! (except the Canadians and the one company from overseas, I guess)

(thanks to the Fringe Blog for the info)

SILVER VENUE:
Armando Simon Local
Futura Bold Local
Jessica Mariko and Marla Mirabal Local
Maf54 Local
NOTCO Local
PB&J Brewery Local
Peter Alden Entertainment Local
InFlux Dance National

ORANGE VENUE:
Big Sandwich Productions International (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Guys in Disguise International (Edmonton, Alberta)
Babyblue Star Productions LLC Local
Doodie Humor Local
Douglas Productions (Boys) Local
Excellent Adventure Productions Local
Watson Arts National (Brooklyn, NY)

PURPLE VENUE:
Ricardo’s Flamenco Flow International (Edinburgh, Scotland and Bolivia)
Angel Kiss Productions Local
Dr. Smyles Circus Inc. Local
Kevin Gavin Local
SoundStage Local
The Green Room Company Local
Winter Springs Performing Arts Local
Yellow Light Productions Local
Six Characters National (New York, NY)

YELLOW VENUE:
Voci Dance Local
Chipped Paint Productions International (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Goddess Productions International (Toronto, Ontario)
Out of Pocket International (Edmonton, Alberta)
Tethersend Productions International (Toronto, Ontario)
The Roodie Pancake Experiment International (Toronto, Ontario)
CineDance Jazz Dance Local
Aspen Comedy Works National (Aspen, CO)
Courtney Cunningham National (Brooklyn, NY)
theater simple National (Seattle, WA)

PINK VENUE:
Brett Nicholson Local
Duck Church Productions Local
Last Minute Panic Productions Local
Micai Productions Local
Michi Productions Local
Orlando Gay Chorus Local
Penguin Point Productions Local
Gemma Wilcox National
The Studio Theatre of Wellington National (Wellington, FL)
Too Much Religion Inc. National (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)

GREEN VENUE:
4:2:Five Local
Baggypants Theater Company Local
Carbon Productions Local
Cattle Prods. Local
Clarion Refugees Local
Everybody Dance Local
Green Lunch Box Productions Local
LMW Workshop Local
Matanzas Project Local
Bashful Scandinavian Productions National (New York, NY)

BROWN VENUE:
Dewie Chaffee Local
Douglas Productions (Saint Kristie) Local
Kangagirl Productions LLC Local
Kirk Marsh Local
Nothin’ Productions Local
Orlando Youth Alliance Local
Peripheral Vision Local
Randy Productions Local
The Living Room Players Local

RED VENUE:
Boutwell Diniz Productions Local
Playwrights Roundtable Local
The Sturm und Drang Company Local
Awkward Moment Productions National (Minneaplois, MN)
DeXdance Contemporary Dance Company National (Wall, NJ)
Judith Black: Storyteller National (Marblehead, MA)
Magic Taylor’d for You! National (Indianapolis, IN)
Matheatre National (Austin, TX)
The Habit Productions National (Seattle, WA)
Too Much Free Time Productions National (New York, NY)

BLUE VENUE:
Endangered Productions International (Edmonton, Alberta)
ReAL Theatre International (Toronto, Ontario)
DnA Productions Local
DnA Productions/M-n-N Theatrical Local
I.D. 10-t productions Local
Mark Baratelli Local
Slothco Productions Local
Tod Kimbro Local
Name Change Pending Extreme Improv Troupe National (Boytnon Beach, FL)

SPECIAL EVENT SHOWS:
Wanzie Presents: Forbidden Fringe (Silver- 2 shows only)
Brian Feldman: Photobooth Marathon - (Bring Your Own Venue)

Expect to see lots more about all of these shows here at Blogging Fringe.

A note on the Special Event Shows: Blogging Fringe friend Brian Feldman has said he is going to be spending 24 hours in a photobooth at the Orlando Rep opening weekend, making a Guiness World Record attempt. Also something very exciting from Michael Wanzie this year: he will be attending all of the shows and writing a musical that will play on Patron’s Pick day in the new Silver Venue. I’m not sure what the second show will be, but Beth said something about the awards show…

Week 11 — Strides Made and Lost Throughout the League

Published on November 22, 2006 in Podcasts and Student of the Game. Closed

Download Show 17
Length: 63:11

The Niners, Dolphins, and Tampas rise, but the Colts fall. What made it happen and what it may mean in the eyes on the SoTG, Weasel, and Drew — the Local Statboy.

Background music courtesy of WIRED Magazine and the Creative Commons:

  • Thievery Corporation - Dc 3000
  • DJ Dolores - Oslodum 2004
  • Dan The Automator - Relaxation Spa Treatment

To download, right click on the “Show 17″ above and Save as… or use a podcatcher like iTunes, Juice, etc.

Pee-wee’s Exposition (Pun probably intended)

Published on November 22, 2006 in Bingo In Smoking and Blogs. Closed

It has been brought to my attention that I seem to be catering to folks who may have a deep understanding of adding unnecessary letters to words and pronouncing the last letter of the alphabet incorrectly, but who have little background information on Paul Reubens.

But first, a conundrum.

Family Guy has been a part of my life since my sophomore year of high school when Gary Winchester and I would phone each other so that we could watch it and then talk during the commercials. It has gained momentum on the Isles, too, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it strikes me as more than a little zany that a show is so popular wherein the references made are understandable largely only by Americans.

Now, for your enjoyment: a segue.

This reference is, of course, a parody of the introduction of Pee-wee’s Playhouse, a children’s program that aired on Saturday mornings before some show featuring Jim Varney, or, to lesser mortals, Ernest. My father, known to lesser mortals as William C. Haselden (or to scattered individuals in the ’70s, “Wild Hair”) and I watched Pee-wee’s Playhouse religiously, often combining this activity with cereal followed by general living room roughhousing, sometimes breaking things and then blaming it on a cat.

But I digress.

The point is that this icon of my childhood Saturdays was arrested in 1991 for not concealing the duckie at an adult movie theater. Also, in 2002 he turned himself in to L.A. police after being charged with misdemeanor possession of kiddie porn. Today, he is making something of a comeback, as Pee-wee’s Playhouse:The Movie is in production.

Oh God, PLEASE let it be rated R.

TRICKS AND TREATS

Pee-wee’s Playhouse Opening Sequence
The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

How YOU Fit In:

KevinBacon

Bugs Bunny & The Monkees - Kool Aid Commercial #6 (1969)

CHALLENGE: Can you link Leon to Paul Reubens? S/He who can do it with the fewest links wins my respect and the possibility of a secret prize.

Justin Beckler: Oh! My Troubled Mind

Published on November 20, 2006 in Blogs, Orlando Video and Video. Closed


I’ve only just seen Justin Beckler perform live for the first time a few days ago, playing solo outside in the cold at Dandelion CommuniTEA. If I’d had any idea his album sounded like this, I would have bought one straightaway. Justin says in the video that he produced the album himself, but it really sounds like a big team of people from Nashville had their hands all over this one. If you don’t believe me, check out the video.

You can also hear full-length samples of Justin’s songs at his MySpace page. If you want to share your own videos send an email over to liberatr [at] gmail dot com.