From the running around waving your hands in the air frantically desk

Why does this story just seem to be typical of Utah--the state that proclaims ultra-competence in everything but in the long run is completely incompetent in most things: Salt Lake Tribune - Confusion clouds Utah vote recount.

creative ape, indeed

Well looky here, someone I know actually has a film listed in IMDB: Way of the Puck (2006). I'm sure Sleepy E was there before, but it is good the film finally has its own entry. I occasionally search for all the creative folks I know in IMDB just for the hell of it--an odd hobby, I know, but no worse than facial hair experiments:

Happy 4th of July

Burn out
Originally uploaded by Theorris.

Enjoy your independence, folks.

I am quite pleased that I did not hear the term "4th of July Eve" yesterday.

JUST BECAUSE IT IS THE DAY BEFORE A HOLIDAY DOES NOT MAKE IT AN "EVE." Oy!

Rant off.

Go overthrow some tyrant today.

Wannabe

If I wasn't doing what I want to do as a career, I always thought I'd like to give photography a go. While I think I can catch a scene occasionally, I don't think I'm that particularly talented for it nor do I have the technical expertise (and I'm too impatient to take a class to learn it.) I do consider myself an avid hobbyist, however, and keep the Flickr site for that reason.

My hobby seems to be paying off in attention, however, as my stuff has been picked 3 times for various things over the last 6 months. Now one of them is kind of an inside job in that Lis over at Assertively Unhip used some of my photos for a writing contest/whatever at the SLCC Community Writing Center. I see that the contest deadline is 1 August 2006.

The second honor was completely out of the blue. A French publisher contacted me about using this spiral jetty/Great Salt Lake picture for some new atlas they are making. Supposedly it comes out in the fall.

The third honor is some online do-hickey called Schmap. They chose a picture that I took of the Delta Center sometime last winter.

I have a creative common license on all these and don't care if folks use them for non-commercial purposes, but I also granted the last two companies the right to use them for commercial purposes. Their products seem ok. I probably should have demanded compensation beyond just receiving copies of said publications, but being an academic that's the kind of compensation I'm used to, I guess. The question is--do I put it on my vitae?

File this whole thing under self-indulgence, I think.

Pine grove

Pine grove
Originally uploaded by Theorris.

Being in a pine forest in the mountains of Utah causes one to go hyperbolic: I was contemplating writing an extreme statement such as "there is nothing comparable to being in a pine forest in the mountains of Utah on a hot summer day." While the experience is quite nice, I bet there is something to compare to it.

In any case: eat your heart out flatlanders!

"Who Killed the Electric Car?"

Hopefully this movie will catch as much attention as Gore's with less of the political ranting against it: Who Killed the Electric Car? The problem with Gore's movie is, of course, that by featuring himself so prominently in the narrative role the movie has necessarily become a target for political windbags to carp on. Gore should have stayed behind the scenes.

Sadly, I will be unable to see Who Killed the Electric Car in good old car-obsessed Utah. Oh well. I'll just drive down to the WalMart and get myself some cheap crap at low low prices.

Fuck that shit.

Update: I just wrote the following to Tori Baker of the Salt Lake Film Society (they run the Tower and the Broadway theaters in SLC.)

Hi,

I wonder if there is anyway of bringing Who Killed the Electric Car to SLC? (http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/) The movie was featured on NPR's Science Friday yesterday. Sadly I noted that it is not playing anywhere in Utah.

Keep up the great work. I really enjoy going to the Broadway and the Tower.

--[Theorris Boonasty]

I encourage you to write to the SL Film Society too if you are at all interested in seeing the movie play in Utah. Here is Tori's email address: tori_baker@saltlakefilmsociety.org

Update 2 (3 July 2006):

Good news, sort of....

[Theorris],
Keep an eye on our website and e-mails we're trying to get this film, but I'm not sure if Sony is going to sell it to us.
Best,
Tori

"Take on the grand themes in the grand manner"

The Penguin Podcast this week has been featuring a reading/question-and-answer-period by Britsh novelist Will Self. Self is reading from his new novel The Book of Dave. The book is a satire on religion and man's religious impulse. It tells the story of a group of London civilization 700 years in the future. Civilization has collapsed when (I assume) the polar icecaps melt and everything is flooded. The people living on the Island of Ham have created religion based on the rantings of a London cab dirver Dave Roth.

In the question and answer portion of the podcast (episode 4 on the web site), Self discusses how he believe religion develops and how religions are often used to make people do things they aren't inherently inclined to do. He also discusses his writing process and making it as a writer.

The books isn't available in bookstores outside of Britain yet (as far as I can see--I looked it up: it isn't going to be in US bookstores until November). I'm probably going to just by it straight from Penguin.

Update: Bah!

Unfortunately, as you are a customer from the USA we are not allowed to sell to you. However, if you click here http://us.penguingroup.com you will be redirected to the Penguin Group (US) who will be delighted to help you.

Asshats. I blame the gov'ment!

Update 2: BWAHAHAH! Thank you amazon.co.uk.

Thank you for your order.
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