iPilots Do Not Exist!

A few days ago I came across a newish iPhone commercial that featured a supposed airline pilot (we can assume this is an actor) who claims to have used the iPhone to find out that the weather was clear for take off before the air traffic controllers even knew. I found this amusing, but I was quite skeptical, so I immediately sent a link of the commercial to an amazing commercial pilot and good friend of mine. This is what he had to say:

Now I don't mean to go on a rant here, but any pilot who has any experience flying in and out of busy airports, especially Chicago, knows that this is a gigantic exaggeration at best. In O'Hare, while thunderstorms are moving through the area, the controllers have an up-to-the-minute view of the surrounding weather, plus data from adjacent air traffic control sectors. You should see some of the "suicide-runs" (more a figure of speech than reality) that ATC sends planes on to find/utilize any holes in the weather for departures (or arrivals for that matter). At busy airports, controllers' jobs are to keep the runways as "hot" as possible 24 hours a day. The weather channel, however, has generic forecasts and 15 minute old radar maps displayed. People who sit in the back look out of their port-hole, see a break in the weather come and go, and bitch about why we didn't take off when we "had the chance". Maybe if they knew that the runways switched because the wind shifted, or the last guy to go through that hole got his ass-kicked, or there are 50 planes on the taxiway ahead of us that have been waiting longer who get to go first, or re-routing 300 miles off-course to get around it would land us in Kansas City with about 10 gallons of gas, they might think differently.

The only thing I can think of is that they (pilots and dispatcher together) figured they had enough fuel and re-filed their flight plan via some circuitous route around the weather to bypass the congestion and depart. This, by the way, is what has been done for decades between pilots and dispatchers, well before the i-phone (or cell-phones for that matter) were around. All this commercial is going to do is turn what used to be normal passengers into a pack of amateur meteorologists who will end up questioning the flight crew even more. Sorry, but I can already visualize that afternoon next Spring when we're on a ground stop at O'Hare and some Al Roker wannabe in the back who's late for dinner questions our judgement because he thinks he has the "big picture" on his little i-phone.

And here he is, the BUD (Bio-Utility Device) in action:

Pascal's Wager

Every once in a while, as I peruse the math section of my bookshelves (yes, I have a math section), I pick up Blaise Pascal's Penées and reread the famous chapter, The Wager. Although I had never read the original text of this famous theory of Pascal's until I was in my early twenties, I have known about it since at least my early teens. When I was 17 years old I began to seriously question my Christian faith. My chief questions, beyond whether Christ had died for my sins or not, was, "Does God exist?" and "Is there an afterlife?". To me, at the time, the only option if God did not exist, was to kill myself. I felt that there was really nothing to live for if all I have to look forward to at the end of this whole life thing was death. If there was no memory of all the difficult trial and tribulation of life, love, and the attempt to acquire as much happiness as possible, WHAT IS THE POINT? People have since explained to me the arguments for the fallacy of Pascal's proof, but I have continued on, in faith, believing in God and have since gone much further, returning fully, to my Christian faith (initially, by way of C.S. Lewis, which is another story).

After reading a bit of the Penées again today, I felt that more people really need to be exposed to his writings. So here I bring you a directly quoted, abridged version of The Wager of Pascal:

Let us then examine the point, let us say: 'Either God is or he is not.' But to which view shall we be inclined? Reason cannot decide this question. Infinite chaos separates us. At the far end of this infinite distance a coin is being spun which will come down heads or tails. How will you wager? Reason cannot make you choose either, reason cannot prove either wrong . . .
Let us weigh up the gain and the loss involved in calling heads that God exists. Let us assess the two cases: if you win you win everything, if you lose you lose nothing. Do not hesitate then; wager that he does exist . . .
And thus, since you are obliged to play, you must be renouncing reason if you hoard you life rather than risk it for an infinite gain, just as likely to occur as a loss amounting to nothing . . .
If you are unable to believe, it is because of your passions, since reason impels you to believe and yet you cannot do so . . . Learn from those who were once bound like you and who now wager all they have . . . What have you to lose? . . .
Now what harm will come to you from choosing this course? You will be faithful, honest, humble, grateful, full of good works, a sincere, true friend . . . It is true you will not enjoy noxious pleasures, glory and good living, but will you not have others?
I tell you that you will gain even in this life, and that at every step you take along this road you will see that your gain is so certain and your risk so negligible that in the end you will realize that you have wagered on something certain and infinite for which you have paid nothing.

Orlando Crash Update

So, it's all over the internet now. If you want to see me in action, fending off the paparazzi, there is a video here. Watch for me telling the photographers to back off (in the green jacket, spouting expletives). These photos I've posted are exactly the thing that really pissed me off.

The Real Surreal Life

A little over an hour ago I was saying goodbye to the girl I am dating when I heard a car accident nearby. As I walked up the street towards my car I noticed the accident was right at the intersection (Vista and Fountain) that I was headed to. Although there didn't seem to be any ambulances, I could still see flashes of light that appeared to be coming from an ambulance. As I walked closer to the accident it became apparent that the lights were not, in fact, those from an ambulance, but rather . . . drum roll please . . . from paparazzi. The crash scene was peppered with these guys. This whole scene just didn't make any sense to me: There were two cars, that I could tell, that were involved in the accident - one small, black hatchback, VW golf type car and one Porsche Cayenne (an SUV), along with two other cars surrounding the scene that were either almost involved in the accident or just there to help - not too sure. About 4 guys and 1 girl were trying to pull another girl out of the small black car while, get this, the paparazzi flashed away and filmed the scene! Honestly, it took me a few minutes to put together what was happening here. I was so confused - was this a film shoot and this was a controlled accident? No, couldn't be - there wasn't enough crew for that sort of shot. What the hell are all these cameras here for??? Was this a reality tv show? Then I realized the simple answer was paparazzi. There had to have been about 6 guys snapping photos and about 4 guys filming the scene with video cameras. As I tried to comprehend the situation, the paparazzi just became more bold as time went on, leaning in closer and closer into these poor people's faces, flashing bright lights into their eyes, including the victim they were trying to help! I really could not believe this was happening! I couldn't believe that the paparazzi had the selfishness to continue bombarding these people even after they just got in an accid- wait! And that is exactly when I realized that it was most likely the paparazzi that caused this whole thing! I've never had so much disdain for these people and their "work". So, I decided to do what I could to help and got into the paparazzi's face, yelling at them and berating them for their lack of integrity, as well as, hopefully, ruining their shots. Meanwhile, the police arrived on the scene. This, of course, did not stop the paparazzi, but at this point I think I had done a fine job of fending them off. Although I never ended up being able to tell who the main victim was, who was pulled out of the car, I am sure that one of the prime targets of the paparazzi was Orlando Bloom. I overheard Orlando tell the police that there was at least one other car involved, and that it was paparazzi who were in the other cars. The paparazzi, it turns out, did indeed instigate this whole situation.

Funny thing is, just last week I ended up as a VIP guest at Area, a nightclub in West Hollywood that apparently the cast from MTV's The Hills frequents, among other celebrities. As I walked out of that club, I will admit that I felt special with all the paparazzi around (I later found out Mark Wahlberg was in there with us). I felt, this must be what it's like to be famous - not as bad as I thought. Tonight changed my opinion for sure. I feel bad for celebrities. They have no peace in public - not even in times of dire, even life-threatening, need. Odd thing is, their jobs are to entertain the public - to make our lives more enjoyable, and the thanks we offer back is "Entertain us in your personal lives too!", thereby ruining their lives to a certain extent. Moral of the story: please leave these people alone, they also deserve a certain amount of privacy.

Film Pairings: They Call Me Trinity

Welcome to, what I call, Film Pairings! Similar to the way a glass of wine can be paired with certain foods, I want to provide some movie pairing ideas. The difference between wine pairings and my movie pairings is that unlike wine parings, I have a specific reason for why a certain dish should be served with a particular film - namely, the fact that that dish was featured in the film. I know it's very simplistic, but I intend on getting more creative as time goes on.

They Call Me Trinity/104min./1970: It's a very odd little comedy starring Terrence Hill, as Trinity, a fast as lightening, gun-slinging cowboy. Although there are a few different "Trinity" movies that star Terrence Hill as the same character, but not always with the same name, I want to focus on They Call Me Trinity for one reason - the opening scene. In this scene Trinity scarfs down an amazing looking pile of beans. He looks so hungry, that no matter how much food you've just eaten, you all of a sudden start to feel hungry again, starring at this lovely plate of beans. Although there isn't much to the dish, I enjoyed the fact that Terrence Hill found it important to include the "recipe" on his "Official International" website. Here's what he calls for, word for word:

For the sauce you need chili peppers, olive oil, tomato sauce, onions, salt and a lot of pepper! Fry the onions in olive oil in a saucepan, add the remaining ingredients and cook until the beans are tender. It should be spicy!

Introductory, Celebratory Post

Disclaimer: No offense to the rest of the bloggers of the world, but I have always felt a sense of arrogant smugness in blogs that has steered me clear of them for most of my World Wide Web life and I don't want to exclude my new blog from that feeling I get, although I will try my best to disguise that disagreeable scent.

This blog was created after I noticed that my mind began to wonder and became restless as I spent my late evenings cooped up in production offices all over Hollywood with nobody to talk to. As I sat in a dark edit bay in Westwood one evening I began to wander what I might have to say that most people in the universe don't know about and might want to hear. I decided that this unique thing I have to say is, in fact, the very thing that is driving me to blog - my position and insight into the film industry. I know that I am not a totally unique voice into this industry, but I figured just the fact that the film industry is practically exclusively located in Hollywood, save for a few small exceptions, puts me in a position to tell some entertaining stories, provide interesting insight, and review some films and television.


Another thing to point out that separates me from some of the rest is my age and stage of my career. Most books that are published regarding the "how to's" of the entertainment industry are written by people who have already "made it". Since their insight is not fresh they tend to focus on the later stage of their careers, rather than speak in terms of the new student's perspective. When I was just starting out in 2003 I felt discouraged by the stale opinions of those seasoned professionals books. They all seemed so burned out and unenthusiastic; they had lost all the verve and optimism from their early years.


As a reviewer I am not extra special. I do set myself apart from other amateur film reviewing bloggers in some respects though. I do get access to early releases occasionally due to my position in IASTE (International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees) and more specifically, MPEG (Motion Picture Editors Guild), which does give me a bit of an edge over those other bloggers who have to wait to review a film after it's official release.

Also, I am a Christian and a conservative, which will more than likely give my reviews an edgier, almost controversial prospective (as things go in this "post post-modern" age).

Finally, of course, from a technical perspective - I can be counted on. As an editor, it is my job to closely examine ever aspect of footage down to the smallest details - I promise though, I won't burden the blissfully ignorant public of these pointless details. This point of view can be helpful though, for those who are looking for someone to tell them about the highest quality films (and sometimes the lowest, for fun). And that is going to generally be my style - to talk about only the best films and every once in a while, the worst or mediocre ones - I will not be giving constant updates on every newly released film.


What is the aroma of arrogant smugness at this point? Whatever it is, let's just hope I actually continue this thing - I easily get distracted with other interests. I am really just looking to keep my mind running and words flowing with this thing, so if that gets accomplished, well then I've done my job; if I inform and entertain some people in the meantime, then great. Enjoy.