In a social media binge earlier today I took a useless news clipping that mentioned the higher percentages of oil chemicals that are in the swimming waters on beaches, thanks to our good friends at BP.  I wasn’t even trying to fear monger with it… my headline “?*yawn* Exploding water…. not nearly as cool as they made it sound!”

My childhood friend, Justin replied: Those kids’ sunscreen probably has worse ingredients. If you’re into exploding water, see Gasland. Tap water ignites right out of the faucet.

Tap water that ignites?  That sounds interesting!   I grabbed Gasland, and decided that I’d watch it with my dinner tonight… I did not expect my dinner to want to come back up.  It didn’t, but it took effort.

I like this movie, despite that it depressed me.  First of all, it takes a lot of balls to go up against an entire industry… especially a large one.  Josh Fox, the guy who came up with, directed, and narrated this documentary has a lot of balls, and my respect!

War is a business.  I had already spent the energy that I was going to spend being angry at Bush and Cheney for putting us in Iraq and Afghanistan just so they can make millions upon millions of dollars for their shares in Halliburton– a company which until today, I thought was a military contractor… but doing my research for this blog-post, I now know is an oil and gas company, which happens to do a lot of its own military contracting to get control of oil in other parts of the world. I had only known about them as the company that was doing the defense contracting with no competition, building prison camps, and now also involved with that giant BP Oil Spill.

Cheney had created what’s known as the Halliburton loophole, a law that exempted gas and oil companies from caring about such laws as the Safe Drinking Water Act, or any of the other acts that make them report any of the hundreds of absolutely toxic chemicals that they dump into the ground in order to extract the gas.

Josh Fox’s brilliant documentary, Gasland, documents the growth and consequences of natural gas production in the US.  Josh started locally in his home area near the Delaware river.  People were getting ill, animals were losing hair, and there were rumors of water that could light on fire. He got into all this because he received a letter from the gas companies offering to lease his land in order to put some wells on them.

At this early part of the documentary, I was already getting slightly irate at how the gas companies were avoiding all blame for health issues, but by the end of the movie, when Josh had traveled to Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, followed by Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana, all areas where drilling had been more prevalent and mature (by mature I mean “going on for a longer period of time”, not “done in a more responsible manner”), I was just in tears.

Peoples’ lives were completely destroyed.  The environment completely poisoned.  Josh not only spoke to the people, but also to scientists, doctors, congress people, EPA whistle blowers…..

I guess there isn’t a story to destroy, unlike if I was reporting on a Hollywood thriller.  I highly recommend this film.  It is a real eye opener.  Until I saw it, I kept thinking that natural gas was harmless, clean, and our way to break away from foreign oil…. now I am pretty much against it.  At least the way it’s currently being drilled for, with no oversight or responsibility for the chemicals it uses.

Right now, natural gas drilling – in the form that Josh reports on – takes place in 34 states, and is a growing trend… not only expanding in the USA, but also in Africa, and Europe.  The reason my heart felt broken, my meal wanted to rise, and all hope had escaped is because I had a vision of what a future like that looked like.

That future had a lot of rich dudes who own the companies, and billions of sickly, dying people whose only mistake was drinking the water, or breathing the air…  Massive animal death would also take place.

Learn more about the film, about the chemicals, about the laws, and more at http://gaslandthemovie.com/

It’s 4:30am on a Saturday, and I’m watching Julie/Julia (more on that later).  I have to pick Craig up at the airport at noon.  My day was awesome!  I jogged in the morning– which I discovered to be way easier for me than jogging in the afternoon, I’m not sure why.  I wore no shirt.  Oh yeah- I learned at the Longevity Conference that when you get sun, you get Vitamin D(3) – but your skin produces it, and it takes 12 hours to absorb into the skin, and the blood stream… so, if you go in the sun, don’t wash off with soap right away.  Use water, soap in the major area (groin and pits), and maybe strategic use of deodorant, otherwise you’re washing away all that vitamin D(3) which brings such calm and happiness.

I worked in the afternoon.  I’m still processing photos from the Longevity Conference.  I shot over 3,000 photos there.  I worked barefoot and shirtless in the back yard.  Bentley loved it.  I got a ton of Vitamin D(3) – and a nice tan! – and I’m also down 5 pounds since last week (despite having had the munchies the other day, and having eaten a giant rice-krispies-treat egg, and massive quantities of this uber-rich chocolate cake with fudge layers in between!  I even had a talk with myself on my way to my friend’s house that I would not eat sugary stuff… *sigh*).

Today was my 2nd day of eating 100% raw.  I’m not trying to do a 30 day raw challenge like last year (though it wouldn’t hurt), I’m just trying to eat more healthy… and it’s working.  I’ve also been taking Magnesium, L-Argenine, Fish Oil (Omega 3′s supposed to help ADHD people, which I suspect I am…. you don’t need a richter scale to know that you’re in the middle of an earthquake, if you know what I mean), and… hmmm.. can’t remember the other one.

I’m making my 1st Coconut Kefir.  I’m almost nervous.  How will it turn out?  Will it taste good? Will it be poisonous?  It was really easy to prep– just chop open 2 coconuts, pour ‘em into a 1 quart pot, heat up to skin temperature, and pour in the starter pack.  Yup, I got a starter pack.. I don’t feel like poisoning anyone by playing with probiotics (the friendly bacteria that live in your digestive tract).

With Craig being in California, I’ve been using the blender on my own.  He is the smoothie king, but now, left to my own devices, I’ve gotten to do the typical Ori thing… experiment!  Yesterday’s smoothie was a total success.  Coconut,Avocado (really thickens things up– I added it last, and saw just how much!), cacco, macca, shilajit, strawberries, ataulfo mangoes, cayanne pepper, cinnamon, a tiny bit of OJ (because the Shilajit or Maca made things a bit bitter).  Before I left to Dallas, I had blended up all sorts of stuff including cucumber, and other stuff, and it was way too bitter, so I poured in a can of Red Bull, and that did the trick.

That brings me back to the movie that’s currently on pause, ’cause the urge to write was too strong… that, and it practically made me cry (ok… it made me cry a little… ’cause I can relate to it. *sigh* way to admit stuff publicly).

I started watching this movie with Kathryn in Dallas… but the internet was crapping out, so we blew it off and slept instead.  As I watch it now (as background material while I process through all these photos), I’m moved by it.

It’s about this girl who has a stressful and unrewarding job… heck, let’s just say it.  She has a shitty job! She’s at the place where people call to complain about medical problems after 9/11, and they’re all getting dicked around by the system, so they take it out on her.  She’s really passionate about cooking though, so she sets up a blog. In her blog, she tries to cook the entire Julia Child cook book in 1 year.

That’s the plot- I didn’t ruin anything for you.  I’m 1 hour 33 minutes into it.  It’s great seeing someone do what they’re passionate about.  There’s her interactions with her family, and with her husband…. a lot of it hits home.  Talks of “I never finished anything in my life!”  That seems to be something a lot of people feel, me included.  It also talks about the narcissistic nature of blogging!  I never thought of it. This blog, while it covers marketing, while it covers photography, adventure, travel, humor, and whatever else…. it’s about me – no matter what I might tell myself.

Guess I’m a narcissist, eh?  There’s worse things to be.  But, I think every blogger should watch this.

I was originally told that it was so-so, and a chick-flick… but it’s a lot of fun!  Julia Child’s character is so adorable! The story is actually pretty deep, and learning about Julia Child’s life is fascinating.  I can’t even tell you how it ends, because I haven’t gotten that far.

Damn it! I did it again! It’s titled “Just a quick note” and it’s another frigging novel!  I just like writing.  I feel like I’m telling a dear friend what’s on my mind, or the occasional useful information.

Just remind me to tell you in another blog post:  What’s going on with my photography.  What’s up with my art.  Whatever did happen with those fried pies in Oklahoma?  Tony Hsieh’s new book.  The latest movies I’ve seen (Slumdog Millionaire was really great). And… since it’s now 4:55 (now you know how much I can write in how little time) – I’m going to go back to processing photos and watching this movie.

I just didn’t want the site to collect too much dust… and I’m not very good at writing short/meaningless posts to “just write something”.

Oh yeah- I need to post my last 3 episodes of CouchSurfingRadio.

Yup, never enough to do.

So, since there’s more than one of us, I”m setting up National Casablanca night!  A night where we all watch Cassablanca on our own computers, phones tvs, ipads– whatever….

Join us, as we watch what is supposed to be a classic  (I presume that means the special effects will suck).

What night (after SXSW) is good for you??

The Couchsurfing Radio Host- Couch Surfing Ori

[podcast]http://www.couchsurfingori.com/couchsurfing-radio/couchsurfing-couchcasts/CouchsurfingRadio-Couchcast-number-10-Hippyband-sxsw-pet-mountain-lions.mp3[/podcast]

All sorts of crazy, but you definitely want to catch the replay!  There’s a ton of awesome SXSW insider info on how to party for free, mingle with the stars, and all sorts of great reasons to go into town… with or without a badge.

My guest, Chase, talks about his pet mountain lion.

I tell jokes.

There’s a lot more– just listen, it’s fun!

[podcast]http://www.couchsurfingori.com/couchsurfing-radio/couchsurfing-couchcasts/CouchsurfingRadio-Couchcast-number-10-Hippyband-sxsw-pet-mountain-lions.mp3[/podcast]

I even include some music in this one– let me know what you think of it.

NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) has really come back strong.  His appearances in Harold & Kumar were funny, but short.  This movie really shows off his skills.  Did you know he can sing? He can sing really well!  In this movie, NPH plays Dr. Horrible, a video-blogging super-villain applicant, who likes a girl, and has to deal with his arch nemesis.  I suppose this movie answers the question “What would happen if someone wanting to be a super villain was a blogger?”  I can’t do it enough justice by describing it.  It’s on Netflicks, Amazon, and Itunes.

NPH is not the only talented singer/actor.  The arch nemesis is non other than Nathan Fillion, whom you may know from Serenity (Firefly), and apparently, he’s in a TV show called Castle.  We just watched Serenity the other day, so had remembered him as the disestablishment guy with an attitude. This movie comes on, and all of sudden there’s Nathan singing like a bird– while saving the day.

We couldn’t stop laughing, clapping, and high fiving each other.  This movie definitely gets 5 couches.

Another neat movie that I really enjoyed -- it made me think, and had a lot of cool explosions – is Gamer.

I was actually shown the preview last year, while couchsurfing with Caleb Jennings.  I thought it was badass then, now that I’ve seen it, I still like it (You know… there’s all those trailers you see, that show you the whole movie basically, and then when you see the actual thing, it’s lame).

In this movie, the prison system is funded by a video game where the prisoners are controlled by people that play the game (usually teens), and if they can survive, they can win their freedom.  That’s the short version.  There is much more to it than that.

It’s actually a statement about governement, and big companies, and the things they do behind closed doors.

It’s about people not taking responsibility for their lives, or knowing how much their lives are worth.

I’d say more, but I don’t want to ruin it.  I definitely enjoyed it, and definitely would recommend it.

My friend Sheila really wanted to see this movie. She asked me way in advance, and she only likes her movies at the Alamo Draft House, an Austin tradition.  I of course agreed, but as I announced on Facebook that I was going to watch this, many people told me that it’s lame.

A lot of people know me pretty well, since I”m fairly transparent about what I do, like, and don’t like.  So, they warned me, but I didn’t have the heart to tell Sheila, since she really wanted to see it, and I was just fine spending time with her, no matter where we go.

This is not a new werewolf movie.  This is The Wolfman. They tried to have a plot twist, but it’s not very exciting.

Despite that the effects were done by Rick Baker’s creature shop,  they are not that impressive.  The animation (running werewolf) is great… but this is not a particularly great werewolf– they tried to stay true to the original wolfman look…. a guy with furry sideburns.

I found it to be boring, not-surprising, and even Sheila said it sucked ass.

Rick Baker- I expected more! Anthony Hopkins, that’s about what I expected

Super Capers is funny… but lame.  It’s very unoriginal… in fact, the lack of originality is part of the plot!

In this movie, Ed Grouberman is a wanna be superhero, who gets sent to a superhero halfway house, while dealing with his past.

It spoofs Batman, star wars, Back to the Future, and X-Men.  Maybe a few other movies are stolen from.

This is something that may be fun for children (It was in fact in the kids category of Netflicks), but not necessarily for grownups.

If you’re trashed, you may enjoy it… other than that, watch real superhero movies.

The Bok of Eli movie poster

“Book of Eli looks awesome!”  – that’s a random text I got from Craig.  Response “Was it something you found while cleaning your bookshelves? or is it a movie or something?” — for once, I was not near the internet, so I couldn’t look it up, as that is a total “Let me google that for you” question.  Turns out it’s an action movie… one with great action, and something I have to warn you about….

The trailer looks pretty damn cool.  Post apocalypse movies tend to be cool, and this one has some great action. However, it has a serious religious agenda, and that bothers me. Unlike most movies, I will reveal part of the plot (but not the major plot twist, so it’s cool). It feels like we had to pay to hear that the Bible is what will save humanity.

The camera angles, footage, effects, and colorization of the film are all pretty stunning.  It’s a captivating film for sure.  The characters seem like they were borrowed from Water World…

The characters all wear the dusty jackets… many have those grizzled beards, bad teeth, are violent, and all wear those goggles.  They behavior and speech patterns also remind me of the typical post-apocalyptic thug.

Now for the plot (This may ruin it for some of you… though… the trailer kind of gives it away)

Denzel’s character is a n ex K-mart worker, named Eli who had a voice in his head tell him where to find the last King James Bible on Earth (They all got burnt after the war… since many say that’s what caused it… finally something in that movie I agree with), and walk it to safety (something which takes him 30 year to do).

There are those that want the book as a means to control the masses (another thing I agree with), and Eli kicks their asses with his trusty knife, and his bow and arrow.

Whenever Solara spoke, I thought of Meg Griffin

Of course there’s gotta be the girl – though, not a romantic interest – name Solara.  She’s played by Mila Kunis, and does an ok job not reminding you of that 70′s show.  But I gotta tell you… I couldn’t stop thinking of Meg Griffin from Family Guy (who Mila plays the voice of).

There’s really not much else to say.  The villain Carnegie, played by Gary Oldman, is smart, and kind of funny, but he too is so stereotypical.

Some of the scenes and logic is original, and witty.  The movie has a cool 10 minute intro to demonstrate what post apocalypse life might be like.  I like how Denzel talks about the old world, though I don’t think that’s their agenda so much as to say “God exists, he still works miracles, and the bible that’s worth saving is the King James  version.”

If you’re just looking for cool cinematography and action, go see it.  But most of my friends, I would not recommend this movie for because of that religious agenda…. I know that it would turn them off too.

Coincidentally, there was a trailer beforehand starring Mel Gibson

This came later in the night though. And if you don’t recognize my weird noises, I’m making a tribute to the Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody video.The one who’s being quiet in the video is Will’s friend from Sweden.

I had couchsurfed with Kevin & Will before.  This time I was just visiting, because I’ve been in town for nearly two weeks, and we had yet to hang out.  His mom was in town too, and someone as crazy as Will.. I gotta see where he came from.  She was pretty damn funny!  In fact…..  Since she was prepping dinner, and Fried Deer was part of it, I described the episode of the Chapelle Show where Tyrone wins on Fear Factor… after eating Deer Penis.

She started talking about the various balls.. testicles if you prefer… that she’s eaten.  Talking about Calf Balls for example, so… me… being a goofball… I say “You know… I’m from Israel, and us jews have this one animal called a Matzoh.  We castrate them, and we use their balls specifically for soup.  You ever heard of Matzoh Ball Soup?”  She has heard of it.  I wasn’t even trying to keep a straight face– she didn’t notice, since she was prepping dinner.  She thought I was being serious.  Will set her straight, and I laughed my ass off.

I was able to tell her many jokes which I normally wouldn’t tell peoples’ parents!  Lots of fun was had.  While dinner was prepping, we watched Rambo, First Blood…. or at least a portion of it.  But then once the food was ready, we popped in Fight Club on BlueRay.  Holy crap!

I’ve seen Fight Club.  We all had.  In fact, 5 of us had it memorized, and Kevin had even me beat as far as being able to recite more quotes from the movie than me.  All in all, you could have muted the movie, and we would’ve recited it just fine.

Everything looked amazing on this tv!  Seriously! It was a Samsung UN46B8000 LED HDTV if I’m not mistaken.  It was as thick as my cell phone!  Rambo was being broadcast in high-def, and the thing that didn’t match up to the amazing feel of the movie was the audio… the sound effects back then are not what they are now, that’s for sure!

So… Fight Club in Blue Ray was amazing on the Samsung UN46B8000!  At first I wasn’t paying attention, I was watching my friend Brendan’s new ustream show… then I glimpsed up and saw the movie, and was stunned.  Whatever it is they did to this movie, it did not look or feel the same as the Fight Club I had seen so many times!  It was so sharp, and vivid, and I think they did something to the footage.  It looked like HDRI to me.  It had so much depth.  It was like being there in the movie!  I got off the couch, and sat in a chair which I moved even closer to the tv.  This needed to be watched up close!

After 30 minutes, my brain forgot that everything was so amazing, and I was back to just enjoying the movie.  But then, every time a scene that was artfully lit, or had some effect in it.. .I would remember again, that this was some new alien technology.  Look at my Avatar movie review, and read my future predictions…. I didn’t even take into account the improved quality of the displays.  People are just not going to leave the house!

It was after the movie that they showed me the apps you saw in the video above. We jammed out on Ipods for a bit.  Then they showed me a clip that is not on this blueray, but is on another one… not sure which one has it-  this is Brad Pitt & Ed Norton singing about a Penis.

This is not to be confused with Rodney Carrington’s song “Dear Penis” -

Movie Poster for Avatar by James Cameron

I wanted to see it opening night. I wanted to be there at the Imax 3d, and to tell you the truth… I thought I’d also eat some shrooms before going. I have not been excited about a movie in years. Not like I was about this one. One thing that made me so excited (other than the obvious- seeing the trailer) was this article about James Cameron, and how long he’s been thinking of this movie. That article not only made me want to see the movie more (and be able to get other people more excited about it), but it also added James Cameron to that extremely small group of heroes I have…. currently it’s just him and Sir Richard Branson. Why? ’cause he knows how to pursue his dreams, and he goes scuba diving above undetonated watermines from World War II.

You know how I said I wanted to see it opening night? Yeah.. well.. that didn’t happen. They were sold out. My parents got to see it on Christmas on Imax 3d… I argued with them for a while that it would be worth the 40 minute drive, and line-waiting to see something so epic on Imax. They thanked me for arguing, and winning. I mention them, ’cause they saw it on Christmas — right after I posted that awesome Chinese Food On Christmas post. But as for me.. I didn’t get to go, ’cause I’m not in Florida. The same friends I invited to go on opening night had made it out another night… and from the time they got their tickets to the time I tried to get mine.. sold out again.

I wasn’t worried! I mean, it’s playing in Imax 3d until February, and I work whenever… so I can really catch the 3pm showing every weekday between now and February, and probably not have anyone interrupt my viewing experience, as I memorize the different scripts. While I had thought of that, I really just wanted to see the movie. Tonight was that glorious night. I’m couchsurfing with Craig & Suzanne, and they leave on a New Year’s snowboarding trip tomorrow morning… leaving me with their St. Bernard & Golden Retriever (who like Craig & Sue eat raw). Craig said “We leave in 30 minutes” – I didn’t bother asking where. I love random trips. In the car, Sue had brought up showtimes, so I instantly knew. We saw it at the Alamo Draft House — which is an Austin tradition. You watch a movie, and they bring you dinner and booze.

The only remaining seats were in the very front. This took away from the movie a little bit, but here is my review, and where I see things going (keep reading, ’cause I tell you how to make your own Pandora-like worlds and creatures).

The trailer, in case you haven’t seen it yet.

James Cameron and this movie will forever go down in history. Why? Because James had the vision to do what no one else had the balls (or budget) to do. He refused to make the movie until it was ready to be made. He refused to make it until the technology was ready… and I’m glad that it was ready now! He made the 1st movie where special effects were used for what they are supposed to be used for: a tool for story telling. Movies and TV shows are getting to that point (I thought District 9 did a great job), but James created an entire world, where all the creatures and plants were in 3d, and they interacted with the real actors so well that you didn’t sit there ooh’ing-and-ahh’ing about how real this looks or that looks… you just sat there and enjoyed the story that James was telling.

Let’s talk about the story real quickly. Some paraplegic ex-marine goes to a foreign planet to become a spy on a native species that lives where the people want to mine for expensive minerals. He has to do this by remote-controlling a native-like body that’s got some human DNA in it. Now, don’t get all pissy at me… the trailers show you all this. Is it a strong plot? Eh. It’s so-so, but.. who cares? I mean, frigging Titanic – highest grossing film of all time, at $1,842,879,955 worldwide – is just a chick flick about a boat ride, right? Shuffle board, buffet, dancing, tanning, oh-shit! Iceberg! Something about a diamond and some nude art-modeling.

Avatar is kind of like Dances With Wolves. I mean, the frigging Na’vi (That’s what the giant blue creatures are called. Did I forget to mention they are giagantic?) even do their hair, and fashion after the old Indian look. I’m not complaining. They’re beautiful creatures. In fact… They’re all very scantily clad. I was on the search for some Na’vi nipples in 3d, but didn’t really notice them. Craig & Sue said they spotted them. I also noticed that there’s no fat or obese Na’vi. Clearly McDonald’s and Pizza Hut haven’t hit this planet yet. Consumers complain that Barbie gives little girls all sorts of inner issues when they grow up, because she’d have back-pain with such large boobs, and she’s so skinny, and she has all the toys. Well.. I guarantee you that there will be many Na’vi toys sold! There will be a lot of Avatar lunch boxes sold! So… everyone’s gonna feel fat again.

The aliens of the planet were very diverse, and James had actually had boatnists and taxidermists help him classify every creature. There will be a book selling soon called Pandorapedia, which will detail all the creatures in Avatar. I thought that many of the creatures resebled Earth creatures, but… why wouldn’t they? I mean, there’s plants, water, some gravity… why wouldn’t things evolve Earthlike (Remember I did say the Na’vi are good looking? Well, while their eyes and nose are cat-like, their bodies look very much like athletic humans… with a tail… and they’re blue.)? The movement is what got me. Everything felt so real. It’s almost hard to explain. Being in the front row, we could actually feel some air moving from the bass of the speakers, so it really felt like we were moving along. The planet, Pandora, is very beautiful. The myst, the alien lighting, the size of the trees, the diversity of wildlife, and of course… the bio-luminescense. Oh yes my friend, Pandora would definitely be a cool place to throw a rave!

I shed a few tears. I notice that being a trend as I get older (and maybe give less of a shit what people think). There were a couple spots in the movie that make you sad, despite that you saw them coming a mile away, and they are cliche. There’s also a few points where you want to throw your hands in the air, and scream “Woo Hoo!!!!!!” as a Banshee (the flying creatures) dives off a cliff, or someone jumps throught the branches of a (really frigging humungous) tree. The thing is the overall feeling I walked away with. I long for adventure in general. Playing Bull Poker, training with UFC fighters, jumping off a cliff, flying, scuba diving, skydiving… they’re all fun excursions…. but it’s not “REAL” adventure. The main character got to explore a whole new world, discover new creatures, bang a giant alien chick (oh come on…. you can’t sell a $300,000,000.00 movie without a love interest) , fly off cliffs, lead a race of creatures against some Earth military (again… all stuff that the previews show). That’s adventure!

I know there’s lots of things on our extremely beautiful planet to explore, and I’m working on it. But I grew up on Indiana Jones, King Solomon’s Mines, and even ET (again… alien, running from the cops, flying bicycles…. that counts as adventures). These days, I get a rush from Crank (1 better than 2), Matrix (part 1 way more than 2 or 3), and one of my all time favorite movies, Gattaca. Gattaca is not about adventure, but about the big dreams required to get it… being able to overcome the odds if you put everything into it, or “The ultimate triumph of the human soul” as I like to call it. So.. yeah… I watch this movie, and I’m bored with my life again. I figure Richard Branson has the power to make me the 1st CouchSurfer in space. That would certainly help my mood.

Let’s go back to having to do what it takes, and have the big vision. That’s the reason that most people have mediocre lives. Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living”, and I think he was right. So, why is this movie so monumental? Because James Cameron had a vision of making this thing since he saw Star Wars in 1977. He wrote a treatment in 1995, but shelved it ’cause the technology wasn’t ready yet. When the technology was resembling what he wanted, he went out and invented technology to make it so the movie could come out. He reinvented the 3d Camera, projector, and glasses… to make a more realistic 3d, and to make nausia / headaches from 3d go away (apparently, that was an issue with previous 3d… Did he reduce it? Hmmm.. I don’t know, Sue had to go purge– could’ve been the fish and chips though). James had created a world unlike any other, animated more creatures more realistically than anyone before (Lord of The Rings did a pretty nice job too),made more realistic 3d than ever before, invented a new language, a whole set of creatures and plants…. not bad for a few years worth of work. You have to be pretty f’in focused to do that! You’re also not going to get the world’s largest movie-making budget to date on something you just came up with (though, I think James can now get any size check he wants from now on).

James – and Sony – pulled off a 1st. And for that, they’ll get the big rewards, and go down in history. Just like Roger Bannister who ran the very 1st 4-minute mile in 1954. Prior to that people never really tried to run a 4 minute mile, because they thought your heart would explode. Why do I mention Roger Bannister? It’s not just that he was the 1st, it’s the fact that after he did it, his record was broken within 6 weeks… within 3 years, there were 16 runners who broke 4 minute miles. Yes folks, it’s a metaphor. I’m saying that now that Cameron’s had the vision and guts, he’s going to get the glory in the history books – like Bannister — but we can expect to have many more incredible movies unfold before us.

I predict that movies will have more of a focus on amazing stories, and incredible acting. Acting no longer means having to look like Brad or Angelina, or being in shape like Jason Statham. It will just mean being able to convey emotion and personality with your voice. Being able to make a character believeable. Just like how music producers can take someone who sounds like crap, throw some auto-tune on it, fix some pitches, edit out breaks, and voila… you have a very polished sounding product (or… the hell that I go through as a Photoshop artist / compositor, when clients are like “yeah.. we don’t have the ferrari.. but can’t you just photoshop or after effects that in? (usually I can… but that’s not in the cheap budget area, and it takes time!). Well, now you’re going to have people who are ugly and obese, but can deliver lines so well that people want to laugh/cry, they’ll be acting out bodies that do look like Brad & Angelina. Those bodies will do stunts that require you to be in shape like Jason Statham. How appropriate that this is a review about Avatar… because that’s a symbol for those bodies. Acting will go digital! And just like in the cartoons, if an actor wants to be really stubborn, or demand more money than they command, the studio will just find another voice for that character.. hopefully it’s as good.

We’re not too far off from virtual actors. There was that one movie, Simone, that kind of spoofed the topic. In it, a virtual actress was created, and no one knew she was virtual, and she got all famous.. yada yada yada. James Cameron’s actors are still human, with an army of animators kicking ass to make the characters convincing. It’s not automated like Simone was. But the realism of his characters and environments is far from where Final Fantasy was in 2001. In 8 years, emotions can be conveyed. Not that the characters in Final Fantasy didn’t look good, but there was something “not quite human” about them. They were still a little stiff. Sure, it was supposed to be stylized, but in Avatar, nothing looked CG. The faces would crease properly, and you could see the pores in their skin.

Let’s see… so I said there’d be more emphasis on acting ability rather than looks. I said there will be more of an emphasis on incredible stories, rather than effects. There will also be more use of CG… Computers are getting way more powerful, and each year I watch as the software available gets more powerful (often times improving its own coding to compensate for hardware not being able to keep up with the effects that are doable). Not only will we see better effects, and better stories told in other worlds/times, but there will be more 3d… as in the glasses requiring type.

This is the first time that I had been in a a movie, watching previews, when “Please put on your glasses” is projected… during previews! The remaining previews were in 3d, and there were plenty of them! The new Alice in Wonderland looks pretty amazing…. it’s Tim Burton, so I”d see it anyways, but wow… crazy story telling brought to life.

The way I see it, we’re about 4 years from having technologies that make 3d so good that you can have an “out of this world” experience right at home. You’ll be able to play video games that are so real that people will be traumatized by them (Recently, while couchsurfing at Eric Farewell’s place, I played Medal of Honor (or something like that) on Xbox 360 — it was farily realistic, and very fast). Microsoft has already shown off concepts of their full-body motion games, which make the Nintendo Wii look like child’s play.

If this is the preview they can make of it now.. imagine it in 4 years, with processors that can display infinite lights, fog, and polygons, advances in AI, social networking built into games, and of course… 3D displays right at home (Blueray 3D standard was just officially finalized… a day before Avatar came out… coincidence?). People are really going to be obese and never leave the house… unless of course those games will actually make you walk to explore those other worlds. I gotta say, I just saw Wii Fitness, and I was very very impressed. In fact, I said “Wow, this is sci-fi”.

Speaking of games… Avatar already had a game come out for Xbox 360. The neat thing is that when UbiSoft approached James Cameron, they wanted to make a game that was not jsut retelling the story the movie was made of, but rather let you explore the world that the movie created. While watching Avatar, you only get a small look at the planet, the creatures, and the battles. In the game, you supposedly get to explore the planet more, and run across more missions. James Cameron had his hands in it since he started working on the movie. So, I predict it should be interesting. Fast forward a few years though, and the games will interact with us. The 3d will be so amazing, some people will even prefer their game characters to real people, and again… won’t leave the house. This will cause a boom in the pizza (and regular groceries) delivery business. I also predict a giant spike in the sex-toy market… once people make sex toys (for both genders) that interface with the major game consoles. The warranty / repair industry will boom once those things come out

Many people don’t know that I used to be a 3d animator. I’m worked on a few small video games, commercials, music videos, corporate trainings, etc… So, if you want to create your own worlds and creatures right now… you can! Here’s some of the best tools I”ve found:

E-On Vue Xstream (the Xstream edition plugs into the major 3d applications: maya, 3dsmax, softimage 3d/xsi, lightwave, cinema4d- which are other applications that let you create, texture, and animate your characters/vehicles/etc)- lets you create and animate your worlds. You control everything… wind-direction, clouds, sun(s), rock-types, water types, fog types, moons, planets, and of course you can import 3d stuff from other software. Now if you have a scene in mind, and are thinking “Gosh! I can’t create the world, and the spaceships, and explosions!”, you might be wrong. Check out TurboSquid, you can purchase various 3d models and textures there. Oh yeah… there’s a PLE (personal learning edition.. i.e. FREE to use) of Vue Xstream 8!
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If you’re into painting or sculpting, or 3d modeling, or just always wanted to get into that… basically, if you’d like to create your own creatures (which you can later animate, or pose, or just send photorealistic images of them to your friends), I highly recommend Pixologic’s Z-brush. I have watched this software evolve from what seemed like a joke with version 1, until version 2 when it became the de-facto tool, and now at version 3.5, it’s just sheer mind-blowing… and now if your software doesn’t work with Z-brush, you’re a loser. Just about every movie and game studio has this. It is very powerful (though, it does take a little getting used to- compared to other 3d applications), and it’s a lot more artistic, and less “technical” than most other 3d applications – such as 3d studio max, or softimage. There is massive support, tons of tutorials, and it’s extremely affordable. Check out the Zbrush gallery for inspiration… if nothing else, it’s very appropriate that someone’s modeled some Avatar characters in it.

The other thing that I had to explain to my parents… who kept arguing about how that couldn’t've all been CG, because it didn’t look like CG (back when I was doing 3d and effects, we’d always say “the best effect is the one you can’t tell you’re seeing”), I told them about the new camera technology, and the advances in software, and the adances in computing power… but then I mentioned something I’ve totally forgotten to mention in this post! People! As 3d has gotten more popular, schools have embraced it, and there are a lot more people now who can work on the effects. Back in the day, studios had a harder time finding qualified artists that could crank out the creatures and worlds they wanted, or that knew how to program custom effects for their Flame* compositing systems… these days, there’s a lot more animators, modelers, virtual lighting artists, compostiors, and programmers.

As they say “We stand on the shoulders of giants.” Our achievements grow and grow, because we use the life-work of others who came before us. Someone can make a movie, because someone’s already invented film, the film camera, the projector, the editing systems, and of course, the centuries of script-writing…. fast forward to computers and software, and new hardware…. Students these days can reverse engineer amazing works that came before their time. The future of film and games is a very bright one (and I”m not referring to just the brighter bulbs they have). If the first moon landing was a fake, the other world exploration we’ll be seeing soon will seem very real. The government will make more propaganda for the news, and we’ll think that’s real too.

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added in:  I don’t think any of the creatures on Pandora had any fur! wtf? (actually, it probably saved them thousands of rendering hours)… but was just thinking, there’s no fur on anything!

*If you’ve seen “Team America” you MUST watch this Avatar Spoof!

What did YOU think of the movie?

dolphins getting slaughtered in japan

Do you like Dolphins? Some say they are more intelligent than we are.  Thousands of them get caught for your entertainment- they sell to theme parks for $150,000 (well up to that) per dolphin, while the other 23,000 get sold off as whale meat… despite being highly highly toxic.

Where do I know this information?  I just saw a most disturbing documentary — a must see most disturbing documentary – called “The Cove”.  It is beautifully done, an adventure, suspenseful, and moving.  The footage is epic, the soundtrack is haunting.  The story they uncover is really disturbing.

The only way to change the world is to take action, get the word out, and do what you can.  With thousands of subscribers and visitors, I’m hoping that this blog post gets people to watch the movie, and become aware… then take what action they can to make a difference.

http://www.takepart.com/thecove is where you can go to find out some things that you can do.  I suppose you can buy the DVD and support the cause.  But I highly recommend you go to your local video store (or web-based video shipping service), and watch this movie ASAP.  Please comment if you’ve seen it, and let me know what you thought of it.