Crafting Rachel s Easel Legs Given the litany of things I ve been building over the past several months Rachel had noted how she had really been needing an easel Claire had a handful of them at her house and while I considered grabbing one of those for her I thought it would be far more enjoyable to build one myself You know just to give it that personal touch Plus I love a good woodworking project Rachel found a handful of woodworking YouTube and TikTok channels that had built standing easels I went through a handful of them focusing on one design in particular that she really liked Of course I ve no intention of building somebody else s design and so I set out to build my own mostly using it as a reference point for the scale photo 1228633 1229588 0 right Two of the pieces of wood waiting to be joined together photo While I was using the project she found as a kind of base idea I generally just kind of build these kinds of projects in my head first jot down a few brief notes and then bring them into existence with the wood often just figuring it out as I go along But with any good woodworking project first things first selecting the wood I took her up to Woodcraft so that we could find the kind of wood she wanted to use I wanted to make sure that I could help her understand some of the pros and cons to each type of wood she might like I also wanted to make sure that we d be able to get the wood in sufficiently large pieces We looked at dozens of woods The project she liked online was built out of a nice maple Woodcraft sells a variety of maples my personal favorite being Ambrosia Maple But she wanted something a little darker We looked at teak mahogany cherry cocobolo and a handful of others In the end she decided that she liked the Peruvian Walnut the most It s a little bit darker and harder than a traditional walnut and is overall a beautiful wood I helped her to select the pieces that we d need as there were certain properties I was looking for mostly dimensional but also to do with the grain and knotting patterns photo 1229676 1229588 0 center Preparing to rip one of the walnut pieces on my table saw photo With the wood in hand the first step was to fashion the legs I set the table saw to just over 2 and started ripping pieces of the walnut The wood is cut in the mill to about 1 thick so my thought was that we could glue two pieces that were 2 wide to one another thus yielding a 2 x 2 cubed rod Given the Peruvian Walnut has a pretty high hardness to it I had to work the table saw very slowly but the pieces came out nicely Once I had the pieces cut we chose the sides that seemed better suited for binding I poured a generous helping of LockTite wood glue all over both sides spread the glue with a foam paintbrush and then put the two pieces together Proper wood clamps are expensive Consequently I only have 12 adjustable DeWalt wood clamps of varying sizes Those alone probably cost around 500 but I digress Given that the legs to this easel are each 5 10 177 8cm in length and I really wanted to ensure a proper join I needed to use all 12 clamps per piece This wasn t a problem but just meant that I could realistically only build one leg per day photo 1228650 1229588 0 center With the clamps firmly in place the glue is seeping out the sides photo photo 1229738 1229588 0 center One of the leg pieces after having dried overnight photo I let each of the pieces dry for a full 24 hours before starting the planing process In retrospect one of the boards I used should have been planed before gluing It would have ensured there were absolutely no air gaps between the wood pieces but for the time being I m just going with it and will try to work out any gaps with a formulation of walnut sawdust and wood glue After the final pieces bonded together and sat overnight I began the process of planing the wood down The goal is for each of the legs to be 1 7 8 47 5mm squared by 5 10 177 8cm Given there are two pieces of walnut formulating each of the legs I also wanted to ensure that the thickness of each piece is equal This made the planing process slightly more involved as I had to keep measuring to the center line and taking sixteenth inch bits off at a time photo 1229823 1229588 0 center A pile of walnut shavings sitting next to my planer after thinning out two of the legs photo photo 1229736 1229588 0 center The three legs having been planed down to 1 7 8 47 5mm each photo I m planning on working in some inlays to the legs next before I process them further so I ll be working on some dado cuts next Rachel has been following along so that she can pickup some of these woodworking tricks and said that she ll do the next phase of planing for me photo 1229667 1229588 0 center The three legs planed and waiting for the next steps photo

Black and white picture of two adults smiling inside of a building. there is one couple smiling and clicking a picture and an old man sitting on a chair in the background and waiting. A blonde woman smiling with her head tilted back is posing for a photo with a white man with brown hair, and a full beard in a conference room. The man has a Canon strap across his torso. These are two Caucasian couple. The man has canon camera running across his chest. They are both smiling.They seem to be a conference. There is a man standing behind them with a name tag. The couple seem happy while taking the photo. A young man with brown hair and a thick brown beard posing with a light haired woman while an older man in the back stares at what is happening in front of them. Black and white Smiling Couple Gril Boy Beard People in the background Man with arms crossed Appear to be in a convention center Tank top Canon camera strap The place is seemed like an Airport where a old man waiting for his turn.whe

The Subway Worker photo 10945 188 0 right A yellow New York Transit work train photo When I was visiting Eric and Amy in New York City as I tended to do each summer I often spend some time filming subways I don t know what my fascination is with subways but I find them very enjoyable to photograph and film On this one very late Wednesday night technically Thursday morning I was waiting at the 42nd street subway station to catch the uptown A train On the tracks behind me was one of the work trains Having never seen one of these before I snapped a few photos of it After getting a few pictures of it I started shooting some film of it as well I wasn t even looking into the screen to see what I was filming at the time and so had no idea what I had accidentally picked up Laying down in the driver s seat of the train was a transit worker When another worker walked past him on the outer part of the train he glanced back to see who had walked by and evidently caught a glimpse of my camera What happened next was frustrating He walked off of the train and approached me with quite the mouth on him He was yelling at me how it was illegal to film subways that I was going to go to jail and that I needed to give him my camera I told him this was not true and I would not give him my camera The truth of the matter was that I didn t know if New York had passed some insane measure barring trains from being filmed and so after about 30 seconds of arguing I showed him one of the pictures in the camera and told him that was all I had He seemed to be okay with this and walked away all the while reminding me not to take more photos It wasn t until I walked away and actually looked at the film that I had any idea what he was concerned about As it turns out he had been sleeping on the job When he caught the glimpse of my camera he assumed that I had been filming him asleep on the job jumped to feet and then proceeded towards me albeit he never left the edge of the train Here is the actual film iframe width 420 height 315 src http www youtube com embed KlpUqODQT6Q frameborder 0 allowfullscreen iframe I filed a report with the New York Transit Authority as soon as I got back to Eric and Amy s apartment Here was my email to them i Customer Kevin Ludlow 07 06 2006 02 17 AM To whom it may concern My name is Kevin Ludlow and I am currently on vacation visiting some local residents and otherwise enjoying this lovely city At about 12 40am on July 6th just about 1 5 hours ago a yellow work train engine 67 pulled up into the 42nd Street Port Authority stop on the Uptown A track As I had not seen one of these large yellow work trains I took a picture of it with my camera and actually wound up filming a bit Though I had not thought of it the working MTA passenger in the train was asleep his feet up upon the window The conductor exited the train walking right past me as I continued to film The MTA passenger eventually woke up looked towards me did a double take and finally jumped up from his lying down position apparently startled by me Normally I would not mention such a thing but what happened next appalled me He signaled for me to come near him and asked me what I was taking a picture of I explained the train He said rather unpleasantly that it was illegal to take pictures and that he needed to see what I had taken a picture of I told him I did not know that and that I would not show him my camera and then proceeded to ask a person next to me if this was true that I couldn t take pictures The nearby person didn t know and the MTA worker proceeded to tell me he would go and get the police and let them deal with me Not wanting to cause a scene I showed him a picture of train naturally not the video of him asleep which I am almost certain is why he was so angry with me Truth be told I actually thought he was going to exit the train and attempt to stop me Is this a common thing a city tourist should expect from the MTA staff and if so why I have provided the video I described above for you in both AVI and MOV formats Please feel free to view them from my website for reference to my story Thank you very much Kevin Ludlow i The next after noon I received the following email from the New York Transit Authority people i Response Melissa Glasgow 07 06 2006 01 49 PM This is in response to your recent e mail to MTA New York City Transit reporting an employee at the 42nd Street Port Authority station We sincerely regret the incident you describe as having occurred at the 42nd Street Port Authority station Please be assured that the type of behavior you described is not indicative of the high standards of professionalism set forth in our guidelines In response to your complaint we have referred your e mail to supervision in the appropriate operating department for review and investigation Based on the information you provided we hope to identify the employee you encountered for questioning and appropriate further action Supervision will also closely monitor our employees at this location and take the appropriate measures to prevent any recurrence of this incident If you have any further transit related questions concerns or problems please contact Customer Services at 718 330 3322 Monday through Friday from 9 00 a m to 5 00 p m or write to Customer Services at 2 Broadway Room A11 146 New York NY 10004 In order to investigate the situation properly and take the appropriate further action we may need to contact you by phone or mail Please provide your phone number and address to us for forwarding to the Department of Subways i

The 22 Quarter Over the weekend of October 17th 19th of 1997 and while still a freshman at the University of Texas in Austin I took a weekend trip up to a friend of a friend s ranch near Plano Texas Jake Shaw whose parents owned the ranch was in school with a number of my good friends namely Jon Weitzel Nate Christianson Tom Kelley and Kelly Dotson I drove up to Waco on that Friday afternoon picked up Jon and Jake in my F150 and we proceeded to drive another 2 3 hours north to the ranch There are probably a dozen stories worthy of telling from that particular weekend hunting catfish Jon and Jake recreating Woodstock throwing bullets into a fire and on and on but this particular one is with respect to a 22 caliber rifle a quarter and shrapnel Jon and his girlfriend at the time Meredith Watson were already off doing their own nightly thing and I was hanging out in the kitchen with Kelly Dotson I don t recall if we were playing quarters or how the idea of the quarter came about but at some point I thought it would be cool to make it into a trinket for her necklace Having played with the 22 all day long I knew it was sitting outside on the porch and so I went outside with a project in mind Of course I was well beyond a safe level of intoxicated when I decided I could just shoot a hole through the quarter My first effort was to shoot downward and into the ground I placed the quarter on the grass outside and centered the barrel of the 22 over the quarter Without much thought for what might happen I pulled the trigger expecting to see a positive result It did not work Instead the quarter got pushed an inch or two into the ground and had an enormous dent in one side of it this would later lead to another story Although I m sure I was amused with what had happened I was still intent upon accomplishing my original goal I took another quarter out of my pocket and this time instead of shooting into the ground thought it wise to shoot into the air I pointed the barrel of the gun straight up and placed the quarter atop it With the quarter balancing over the center of the gun barrel I gently pulled the trigger The quarter flew up into the air and landed on the ground below me As you might imagine it was pretty hot but it DID have a perfect hole through the center of it I excitedly walked inside to deliver my gift to Kelly She looked at me and asked what had happened to my face Perhaps it was the alcohol or being the nearly innocent and unintelligent age of 18 but when you break metal apart that metal has to go somewhere As it happens the shrapnel from the quarter sprayed through part of my face at an angle that covered part of my nose cheekbone and the outside of my right eye Thankfully none of it actually went into my eye I never did have it checked up on by a doctor so who knows if I still have shards of nickle and zinc in me Nevertheless Kelly got her quarter necklace and I proved to the world that a 22 shell will go clear through a quarter at literal point blank range

A Technical FAQ About Me strong 1 Are you a computer programmer strong I guess so strong 2 What languages are you familiar with strong I am an avid PHP programmer but am more than capable with C C Python Perl and a few others strong 3 How about graphics do you do that too strong I m pretty fluent with PhotoShop and the like but my drawing ability is less than crap strong 4 Video sound etc Any of that strong I ve done plenty of work with Adobe Premiere for the a href http www kevinludlow com movies html movies a I ve made and use a variety of sound programs to help get my a href http www kevinludlow com music html musical compositions a onto the computer strong 5 How many websites do you own strong About 10 I think This one is currently my biggest project though a href http www austinsmoke com www austinsmoke com a WAS my largest It doesn t look so hot right now but it used to be a bustling marketplace of GNU GPL software strong 6 How many websites do you manage strong All of the ones that I own plus 2 or 3 more strong 7 Do you have any software floating around the web with your name on it strong Yes in fact I wrote a nice little Currency Converter for PHP Nuke around January of 2004 It s floating all over the place and can be downloaded from a href http www austinsmoke com www austinsmoke com a At least you used to be able to get it there Freshmeat certainly still has a copy of it strong 8 What kind of computer s do you have strong Right now I m running a homemade AMD 64 bit machine 1gb RAM 80gb SATA 10k disk on Fedora 3 Linux My other boxes include a Dell Laptop running WinME a homemade AMD 32 bit machine running WinXP and an AMD 64 bit machine running WinXP strong 9 Can you help me with my ______ software project strong Maybe Send me an email via my a href http www kevinludlow com contact html contact page a strong 10 Did you design this website strong Yes though I technically stole the look of it from a href http www mamboserver com Mambo a I m pretty sure they ve changed their look since but that s who deserves the original credit strong 11 So this site is run by Mambo CMS strong No The LOOK of the site was borrowed from the main Mambo site but none of the coding is from Mambo or any other CMS for that matter strong 12 Did you hand code all of this website strong from blank VIM screens strong 13 Can I have the source code to your website scripts strong As of right now no I am working on putting it together as a CMS package of some variety Once that is all said and done it will be posted on my website somewhere strong 14 Does your site use databases strong Actually though there is SOME database connectivity it is in no way required to run the little CMS that I have created The idea of the CMS is actually based entirely upon static HTML files The software ultimately allows me to create things on the fly from the backend Hence if you alter the URL text in an effort to change an ID number the most likely result will be an Apache error rather than a PHP or SQL error The idea behind doing this is an effort to promote better security habbits of the site and also allow for faster loading times as scripts don t need to compile and queries do not need to be processed strong 15 Is your gallery program finished strong No Kallery is somewhat of a work in progress I have made quite a bit of progress on it in the past while but do not feel it is dynamic enough to release Should I ever get to release my CMS program to the world the Kallery program would be a standard module that came along with it

Top 10 Things to Look for in a Retirement Home for your Grandparents 20 The only administered drugs are those found on New York street corners 19 Microwaves installed in every room and strongly encouraged to be used by patients with pacemakers 18 Viagra dispensers conveniently located in the stalls next to the condom machines 17 Residents pick on each other by secretly exchanging oxygen tanks with laughing gas 16 Fountain of Youth bottled water sold in bodegas as Kranked2O is sold in vending machines for 10 bucks a pop 15 A young looking Ponce de Leon can be seen wondering the halls to promote sales and or confuse the residents 14 Bath time is synonymous with erotic massage therapy 13 The home is often used by psychology majors studying what it takes to scare someone into a heart attack 12 Residents are free to frolic around in hospital gowns 11 Elders wetting their beds are brought on stage and publicly humiliated the next day 10 Upon arrival residents are thrown into a dark cell for one week to remind them that their life is now over 9 A tackle football game is held monthly between the larger staff members and residents with improperly working limbs 8 Nurses tell stories about former residents being eaten alive by enormous hideous rats 7 The supervisors 3 hour break always starts with a friendly game of hide and seek the residents hide 6 Residents are forced to watch the end of Cocoon daily to instill hope 5 Sensitive dog collars are used in conjunction with high voltage underground electric fences to prevent any resident from straying into the dangerous world 4 Supervisors encourage the elders to beat on small helpless children in order to feel better about themselves 3 Wheelchair patients can participate in a Ben Hur like race every Sunday whips are optional 2 Residents enjoy craft time by hand carving their own tombstones 1 Signs that normally read Walk don t run are replaced with Get out of your chair and see what happens you crippled old bastard

Dreux s Engagement photo 18637 487 0 right Dreux and Amy about 1 hour after getting engaged photo photo 18594 487 0 right The Rolex on Amy s arm photo strong Introduction strong Well it s been coming for years now that Dreux and Amy would wind up getting married that is I can recall back to the first time that I met Amy at a party Though it WAS my birthday the party was technically not a birthday party but rather just a get together that Crockett Evan and Dreux were having at their house I m not sure if I was drunk or not but I vividly recall telling Amy how much Dreux had been talking about her even though it was only the first time I had found out Dreux was even dating someone She seemed mildly impressed that he had spoken so much about her but at the time I don t think I knew she was a doctor and probably assumed I could out smart her In hindsight I m sure she knew I was full of shit Anyway I asked both Amy and Dreux to give me their own stories that landed them engaged Dreux sent me his in two installments strong The Tale Part I Considering Marriage strong The Dreux version of how he and Amy got engaged Amy and I have been dating for quite some time mostly long distance I was in Austin and she was in medical school 79 miles away in San Antonio At the end of medical school and 2 5 years of dating me she accepted a residency in Austin so we could live in the same city I bought a house around the same time that she was moving to Austin so we thought What the hell We ll live in sin and see where it gets us A year went by living in our small 1950 s house Late spring early summer of 05 things became a little more serious We had discussed engagement rings and how impractical they were As a doctor Amy would not be able to wear the ring very often because she wears gloves when treating patients Taking on and off the ring is a recipe for loosing it Also if you know Amy then you know she does not wear rings or jewelry unless it s a special occasion Me personally I think the diamond market is a scam What are diamonds really They re just a clear hard piece of rock that people only value because of clever marketing The only piece of jewelry I own is a hoop that is pierced in the cartilage of my ear I don t even wear a watch I tell time by a mobile phone that fits nicely in my pocket but I digress I was trying to figure out what to get Amy as an engagement gift Amy tends to hold on to anything that she gets as a gift even if it gets broken Her brother once gave her this campy wall clock for her birthday The clock broke and she did not want to toss it because her brother gave it to her When I asked her brother if he would be offended if she got rid of it he did not even remember that he gave it to her Moral of the story don t give her something that will got out of style wear out or an electronic that will be archaic in 5 years Rule 1 It had to be something that lasts a lifetime I was half way considering getting a painting a nice piece by an artist Amy and I liked But then she would not be able to show off the painting to her friends when she told them she was engaged Her conversations would go something like this Amy I m engaged Amy s friend jumping up and down screaming Really I m excited Where s the ring Amy Oh he didn t get me a ring I got a painting It is hanging in the living room you should come by a see it sometime Amy s friend visibly less excited Oh that s interesting Rule 2 It has to be something mobile so she can show it off I was talking to my friend Dave about the issue and he suggested a watch a nice watch like a Rolex I thought it was a good idea Amy currently wore a watch Doctors usually do they ve got to time you heart beat somehow or call someone s time of death This was an excellent idea Rolex watches last for forever it is something that can be shown off and it was something Amy could wear all the time I liked the idea because a watch was utilitarian strong The Tale Part II The Proposal strong In the late spring early summer of 2005 Amy asked Can we get a new showerhead Of course I said Sure we can get a new showerhead This went on for another month during which Amy would periodically ask about a showerhead Now Amy s birthday is September 27th and so when she asked for a showerhead our conversations would go a little something like this Amy When are we going to get a new showerhead Dreux Maybe you will get one for your birthday Amy I don t want a showerhead for my birthday Dreux A showerhead is a great birthday present Amy I m going to buy a showerhead and install it so you can t get me one for my birthday Dreux But I already got you a showerhead it is in my box Amy What box Dreux The box where I store stuff of yours that I don t like and if you don t notice it is gone in six months I get rid of it Amy You don t have box do you Dreux Maybe I do This went on all summer long Amy always threatening to call my bluff of getting her a showerhead for her birthday by getting one and installing it It never happened When September finally came around she started to ask what she was getting for her birthday She always wants hints on her gifts and I have a history of not playing this game right She asks me what her gift is and the first time I say I m not going to tell you But then she proceeds to ask and eventually after the 5th time I just tell her what she is getting Then she says I was not supposed to tell her and that I ve ruined the surprise I always tell her if she wanted to be surprised she should not ask So in September 2005 I employed a new tactic Every time she asked I would say You know what you are getting a showerhead Amy would always reply I m going to be very disappointed if I get a showerhead for my birthday I planned to propose on her birthday The week before her birthday I was going to be in the China for business before I left I ordered the watch The salesman at the jewelry store assured me it would be in when I got back and before Amy s birthday My buddy Emerson knew my plan to propose and while I was in China Amy and he went out to dinner one night Amy was asking him for hints at what I was getting her All Emerson would say was It is something you have wanted for a long time I came home September 24th the same day hurricane Rita hit landfall in East Texas and West Louisiana When I went to the jewelry store on Monday I was told that due to hurricane Rita deliveries were delayed The watch was not coming in until Wednesday the day after Amy s birthday New plan I needed to get her something so I was not empty handed on her birthday That morning Amy mentioned that some of her bras were wore out and she needed new ones After visiting the jewelry store I went to Victoria s Secret and got a gift certificate Monday night I met Amy s dad for a beer at a restaurant near his work so I could ask for Amy s hand in marriage I m not a traditionalist but Amy s parents are to some degree and I felt it was the right thing to do When I asked his response was Good It s about time We both laughed and he told me about when he and Amy s mom Linda went to Linda s parents place to tell them they were getting married Tuesday morning came and Amy woke up I wished her a happy birthday She asked when she was getting her present and I told her tonight at her parents place During my lunch hour I went to Home Depot and picked out a top of the line showerhead That evening I met Amy at her parents place with my pink Victoria s Secret bag complete with a showerhead and gift certificate inside I handed Amy the bag and the conversation went something like this Amy A Showerhead I can t believe you got me a showerhead Dreux There is a gift certificate too You said you needed new bras Amy Dreux looking over at her mom Dreux Your mom knows you wear bras You don t like your birthday gift acting hurt Amy No no I like it thank you trying to act not disappointed Dreux That is a top of the line showerhead and very aesthetically pleasing Amy Yes it is a very good showerhead Amy s mom who was watching knew that the watch was late and this was a fake gift but still could not help feel sorry for me This was a feeling I appreciated though misplaced as I was enjoying this back and forth and acting hurt And then as if on cue Amy s brother Scott and his girlfriend Kathy showed up and asked what I gave Amy Kathy What did Dreux give you Amy A showerhead Dreux A top of the line showerhead Kathy Cool Scott That s cool Kathy I want a showerhead Dreux to Amy See the showerhead is a good gift We went to dinner that night with her parents and on the ride over Amy Did you tell Emerson what you were getting me Dreux Yeah he knew why Amy It was just not what I was expecting Dreux What you don t like the showerhead Scott and Kathy like the showerhead It is a very good showerhead Amy No I like the showerhead it is just not what I expected While I went and picked up the watch on Wednesday Amy s friends at work asked what I had given her for her birthday Amy had to reply A showerhead That sparked a male bashing session with broad generalizations that men don t know how to give gifts or how to shop for gifts and telling of tales of fathers giving mothers microwaves or vacuum cleaners That night was Amy s birthday dinner with friends at Trudys North When Amy got home she asked if we could delay the friend birthday dinner to another night She had a presentation on Friday and the attending wanted to go over it Thursday and she had not done anything for the presentation yet Dreux Well we could delay the dinner but if we do I can t give you this handing Amy a gift wrapped box Amy What is this Dreux Open it and find out Amy opens the box to show a very nice Rolex watch Dreux Amy will you marry me Amy Of course I will Then I related the whole story of how the watch was not in on time and how I thought it would be fun to get her a showerhead That night we had a great time with friends at dinner Amy s friends at work had to eat their words the next day There you have it folks the long twisted tale of how Amy and I got engaged from Dreux s point of view I could not be happier on how it turned out and I m glad we have a nice tale to tell strong Comments strong Pat 10 20 05 02 32 19 PM Dreux em Did he ever tell you about the doll he set on fire em The Other Cajun 10 20 05 03 07 40 PM Every dog has his day em My congratulations to you and my condolences to Amy Amy Please have that watch appraised I hear through the grape vine that Druex took a quick flight to NYC and bought a couple of Lolex s in Chinatown em Lauren Joe and Noah 10 21 05 09 46 47 PM Watch Boy em If you need a watch boy we have one who can do it for real cheap If you do employ him he will require workman s comp and health insurance Also make sure the watch is water proof cause he drools a lot It s nice to hear your story It s a little long but good so long as Amy is happy Don t forget to get the watch insured they re only covered in theft under a Homeowner s policy for 500 Your beloved friends The Cadilacs em Kim 11 29 05 03 58 31 PM Congrats to Dreux and Amy em Congratulations on your engagement Dreux Amy is a keeper because I would ve bopped you over the head with my top of the line showerhead em

RTF 314 Taxi Driver Kevin Ludlow RTF 314 Charles Ramirez Berg Allan Campbell October 2 1998 The movie Taxi Driver depicts many forms of violence language and strong sexual emotions especially those of a mere child However according Andrew Sarris the main problem with the movie is not the general controversial topics but rather the way in which the plot has no general structure to it when compared to the character Travis Bickle Robert DeNiro Sarris contests the fact that there is not much information given about the character at all Early in the movie we are told by DeNiro that he is a veteran looking for a job which happens to be for a taxi company in New York We are told nothing else about his past until later in the movie when we find out that he in fact has parents who are alive Again after learning this we still know nothing about his family except that he writes them at least one letter filled with farfetched lies Being a frequent cab rider Sarris also argues the ways in which taxi passengers are represented He makes only a few references but in the movie there are frequent occurrences and discussions about sex and shootings in the cab I think that after riding in cabs for long enough even in New York it is pretty unusual for one cab driver to repetitively have people having sex in his car much less getting shot or stabbed After seeing this movie a few times recently and a few more over the years it is very easy for me to agree with Sarris s opinion of a strange plot structure especially when compared to classical Hollywood cinema style I have heard the idea before that the entire middle of the movie is to be interpreted as a dream but I personally find that hard to believe I find it much easier to handle the idea that Martin Scorsese wanted to depict a taxi driver pulling a complete 360 on his life and essentially fulfill a fantasy of being a recognized city hero only to put his life back together once again It seems to me that the general turning point for DeNiro in the movie is when he sees the way that Iris actress Jodie Foster is treated as a teenage prostitute He eventually confronts her and says that he simply wants to help her get her life back together The way that DeNiro s character changes at this point seems to leave a great deal of confusion in the viewer s mind After buying a small collection of guns to play with completely changing his look and even going as far as inventing an automatic gun dispenser Travis seems to have lost it completely At this particular point in the movie the classical Hollywood cinema style seems to be completely lost from the movie There is no way of knowing exactly what is going on in the movie even after viewing it many times However this lack of understanding does not come from an overwhelming amount of suspense but instead pure confusion At one point Travis seems intent upon assassinating the office candidate but shortly afterwards he leaves the entire idea behind him Perhaps it is because he almost gets caught but it simply destroys any idea the viewer might have for Travis s intentions It almost seems as if he is trying to fight for causes that he will not stick with From the point that DeNiro changes in character it is impossible to figure out what he is trying to accomplish in the rest of the movie or if he is trying to accomplish anything at all He does not have any specific goals that need to be achieved The most obvious defiance of the classical Hollywood cinema style is the use of characters especially at this point in the movie Everyone in the movie seems to be playing the role of an antagonist towards DeNiro except for Jodie Foster who comes across in her brief few scenes as a mere victim of society Even early in the movie Cybill Shepherd s character seems to turn completely against DeNiro simply as a result of a tasteless date When Andrew Sarris set out to write his review back in February of 1976 I do not think that he had the classical Hollywood cinema ideas in his mind However everything that he discusses in his article is in opposition to the classical Hollywood cinema model In his first paragraph about Taxi Driver Sarris proposes several ideas to the reader about who Travis Bickle is supposed to represent This clearly goes against the idea of the character having a general set of traits throughout the movie Throughout his article Sarris explains how the movie has somewhat of an irregular flow to it which I agree with completely This irregularity adds to the lack of conformity to the classical Hollywood cinema model I do not feel that comparing the film to classical Hollywood helps or hurts the authors viewpoints within his article simply because he expresses very general statements about the movie I think that it is safe to say that if a classical Hollywood cinema style never existed in critics eyes that the same would still be said of the movie just because of its incredible lack of conformity to reality I suppose that somewhere in America perhaps even Manhattan there is a man who is similar to Travis Bickle On the same note it would be very hard to understand that person s ideas in everyday life much less cinematically Taxi Driver was released by Columbia Pictures so I am not sure if it is specifically considered a Hollywood release or not Taking an in depth look at the pictures content I would have to say that it was in fact targeted for a specific movie audience but it is hard to say which one It is obviously not a romantic story in any way nor do I think it could be considered an action movie I try not to categorize a movie when I watch it because I think that every film writer or artist for that matter has some meaning that he wants to get across to his viewers It just seems that in this movie it is very hard to tell exactly what meaning the author wants us to get I would personally have to categorize Taxi Driver as a dramatic psychopathic film about a very dynamic character that wants to change the way in which people live Anyone with an open mind would probably love this movie as do I but more close minded people or even people that could not imagine such a lifestyle may not like Taxi Driver Again I do not feel that this film follows many if any at all of the ideas of the classical Hollywood cinema It surprises me that this movie can be so obscure and yet relatively so popular I for one am very pleased to know that this movie did so well for itself despite its obvious lack of general cinematic form

NYU Simpsons Script Treatment Comedy Writing Workshop D B Gilles The Simpsons Outline Ned Flanders denounces the church after all of these years The church becomes a laid back Sunday gathering without him Homer takes an interest in scripture and tries to put the church back together The Simpson family is in the car on their way to church Homer is complaining about going because nothing exciting ever happens Bart recalls that the only thing interesting he ever learned was that of Hell from a previous episode Marge scolds him for his comments again Reverend Love Joy is preaching at the church again as Ned Flanders sits listening with an unusual uneasy look on his face Everyone else in the church is dozing off to sleep Homer is sound asleep Ned stands up in the middle of the sermon and walks up to the podium Reverend Love Joy begins to say something but Ned pushes him out of the way to take the microphone Bart hits Homer to wake him up Ned mocks the people for foolishly coming to church week in and week out His wife is ecstatic with his decision Todd and Rod begin to cry Maude s damns them to Hell for crying The Flander family walks out of the church Everyone is silent Reverend Love Joy walks slowly back to the podium and after a second of silence blesses the Lord The Simpsons return home and Marge is very upset with the Flanders decision She is convinced they are going right to hell for this Homer tries to calm her down by telling her that they probably are as well so they ll always be friends The children go and watch TV Ned comes over and rings the bell He has two giant boxes with him that are completely filled up with books Homer is surprisingly nice to Ned for once Ned tells him that he is giving him his collection of Bibles that he has collected over the years Homer doesn t argue and takes them from him Ned doesn t say anything but walks away slowly It is a few days later at this point Homer is sitting at Moes with the guys talking about what happened to Flanders He tells them how he has been reading the books that Flanders gave him and they are very interesting Barney is telling everyone about his opinions on religion and comparing everything to beer Homer doesn t appear to be his regular self The door flings open and we see a silhouette of a figure in the darkness A cold wind sweeps through the bar Flanders walks in Everyone s mouth in the bar drops Ned takes a seat and orders a beer Moe grabs a chilled glass and fills it to the brim Everyone watches Ned in silence as he drinks it down to the bottom After getting drunk and injuring himself in the bar Ned is taken home by Homer Homer is preaching to Ned on the walk home Last scene Ned finally realizes that he belongs in the church after all and feels terrible for the way that he has acted Maude looks depressed about this but Todd and Rod are jumping with joy Ned reminds himself of all of the beer that he drank and wishes he had never gone against God in the way that he did Moe comes clean and tells him that he didn t drink anything alcoholic at all but that all of his beer came from the unused tap of non alcoholic beer Ned thanks Homer for all of his help and Homer goes right back to making fun of Flanders for being such a church boy He gives Ned back his Bibles and goes back to being his normal self

Off loading Terabytes of Videos to YouTube photo 595326 740 0 right The YouTube Logo photo When I first sat out to design and build kevinludlow com I did so under the impression that it wouldn t be long before every single thing that we had was digitally catalogued I did so under the impression that it would become increasingly more difficult to protect oneself from having information digitally catalogued I m not referring to police records and tax documents I m referring to that picture of you where you ve had six too many to drink your eyes are bloodshot and there s still some puke running down your lip from when you last vomited These are moments that we try dearly to make disappear but they re not going to disappear The second an iPhone or Android snaps a picture like that not only is the content saved in an archive forever yes even if you delete it but the META data attached to the photo is frightening There is a full story of exactly where you were what you were doing how long you were there for and everything else in between included in that META data I wouldn t exactly say that my attitude followed the old clich of If you can t beat em join em but it was along those lines The idea of my website was that if this is where we re headed then perhaps it s just best to embrace those moments and own them as your own So what if I had too many to drink one night It happens If anybody is going to own a picture of that moment I m going to I m going to be the one to make it publicly accessible for all to see If someone should ever try to use it against me I m going to politely remind them that they got the image from my own personal archive There s a power to this and I encourage everyone to embrace it That s the back story Along with that has come hundreds of hours of video footage that I ve recorded over my lifetime FINALLY I have finished the segment of my site whereby I can archive all of my video footage not only on my own personal website but on YouTube Google like with most of their tools has created a wonderful API for connecting with your YouTube channel and uploading videos to it I ve taken full advantage of this and in the past month or so have uploaded about 1 500 videos to their service as part of the initial experiment Now that I finally have the tools to do it I probably have 200 300 more hours of video that I will fully digitize and send to YouTube My process is simple I start by placing all of my media content in the regular directory it falls on within my server Think of it like a giant iPhoto gallery It s just an enormous directory tree with about 90 000 unique memories in it as of this writing From there my servers run a series of automated processes that I ve developed over the years Photos are converted into different sizes and resolutions as needed by my software package Videos are converted into OGG format open source video for the web so that I can display them using HTML5 on this site Thumbnails from the videos are automatically extracted and organized Each entity that is created within my system is given a unique ID and catalogued within my database There is a lookup table that will cross reference any of these unique IDs in the entire system with a specific file type photo video etc Focusing solely on the videos at this point in my process there exist videos on my server that have thumbnails that have been converted to a useful and view able web format but that lack any titles or description I quickly scroll over the video provide it with a title and a description and so long as I m okay archiving it within YouTube I check a box and it gets marked for upload A standard CRON job on my server is routinely scanning the database for videos that have been approved but not yet uploaded Once it finds such a video the YouTube API is invoked and the video gets uploaded to YouTube All of the information about the video that has been populated in my database such as the title and description is sent over with the video for YouTube to archive The date time that the video goes over is logged in my database as is the unique video code that YouTube provides From there I can reference any video in my personal catalogue by looking up the YouTube ID myself While I ve not yet configured the videos as a YouTube plugin on the site this is the obvious next step Not only does it take cost off of my server but YouTube s servers are likely significantly faster than mine That s the gist of how it works I ve wanted to do this for about 7 years now I m delighted to have finally finished the coding that makes it work Incidentally if you a href https www youtube com user kevludlow go to my YouTube channel a you find thousands of videos all of which originated on this site