|
08-19-08
Sporksmith
and myself signed up for the Travels
of Code Monkey, a Jonathan
Coulton fan project where a stuffed monkey (from the song, Code
Monkey)
is sent to various cities to hang out with the fans and collect
photographs. Here's
our finished album.
CM was mailed to his next location, Sweden, yesterday. Happy travels
monkey!
07-27-08
Introducing,
Simon and River,
the newest addition to the blackcatbonifide team! (yes, they're cats)
Both were adopted at the Humane
Society of Western PA. They're very sweet and have already claimed
my studio desk, and keyboards, as their
new
playground:)
07-18-08
Seussical
Jr. went splendidly! Kudos to the cast, the directors, and the
camp counselors for all their hard work!
07-05-08
Quick
wrap-up of June happenings:
Guerilla Filmmaking
I found myself on dirque's 48
Hour Film Project crew. It was very crazy, very
fast,
and
fun times - our entry was titled "Checking
Out"
Origins
Oh yeah, I FINALLY made it to the gaming convention! Origins was
everything they said it would be, games, games, games, and crazy people staying
up all night
watching indy scifi films, screaming "ALL HAIL KING TORG" or asking if
you were a werewolf.... was awesome.
About Seuss
I'm stage managing and piano accompany...ing(?) for a children's production this
summer, Seussical
the
Musical
Jr at the JCC.
It is
quite a wacky show, an adaptation of Horton Hears a Who and Horton
Sits on the
Egg, combined with other Seussian characters, with music by Stephen Flaherty.
06-02-08
I'll
be singing with the Renaissance City Choir in a few weeks at the
Byham
Theater for the The
Lambda Foundation’s 25th Anniversary, a fundraising
show and concert hosted by Joan Rivers - Saturday, June 21, 2008, 8PM
05-22-08
Eddie
Izzard performed here last night... was totally awesome. If you
haven't seen his stand-up show yet, catch this one while it's still
on tour.
Awesome Funtimes:)
04-25-08
Jonathan
Coulton with Paul and Storm
When: Saturday, June 7, 2008 7:00 PM
Where: Club Cafe Live, SouthSide, Pittsburgh
04-25-08
I'm in
Norfolk, Virginia this week with Opera Theater of Pgh for our second
run of Kurt Weill's "Lost
in the Stars" at the Attucks Theatre. Its been great so far,
the Virginia Arts Festival staff have been really terrific. If you happen
to be in the area, our shows are this evening, Saturday at 8pm, and
Sunday at 4pm.
04-03-08
I have
recieved some great
news! Matt Reese and Leah Lloyd's film "Off the String", of
which I was post editor and one of the cameramen, placed Best
Documentary at the DuqFilm
Festival this year. Congrads to all who were involved!!!
- article
about the Sidney Harth documentary -
- about
the film festival entries -
03-04-08
Leonard
Rosenman one of the great film composers of scifi and fantasy cinema,
passed away today - more
info
02-26-08
The
RRCO performance of L'Histoire
du Soldat was apparently a major success,
music, dance, and video projection awesomeness:) Major thanks to
both Liz Rishel and Sporksmith for their acting skills,
without
you
the
video wouldn't have been half as sweet!
02-21-08
Lost
in the Stars
by Kurt Weill
at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh
Performances
Feb 21, 23, and 24th - I'm very excited to be stage managing for
this operetta/musical, especially since it's my first time working
at the Byham. Hope to see you many familiar faces there!
Also
don't forget Stravinsky's L'Histoire
du Soldat will be performed by the Red
Rock Chamber Orchestra this evening and tomorrow, featuring multimedia
video projection art and subtitles by yours truly. I really wish
at times like this that I could be in two places at once... bahhhh!
02-02-08
Opening
night went very well, I am mucho pleased:) Three more performances
of Attack
Theatre's Preserve and Pursue (tonight,
tues, and weds) to go!
Oh, and speaking of theatrical
activities, I have recently signed on to be stage manager for Opera
Theater of Pittsburgh's latest show "Lost
in the Stars" by Kurt Weill. Shows are February 21, 23, and 24th at the
Byham Theatre and at the Virginia Arts Festival in late April... stay tuned
for more info!
01-14-08
encore
performance
After
2 years, Squonk is performing Pittsburgh:
The Opera again at the
Kelly Strayhorn
Theatre, in honor of Pittsburgh's 250th birthday!
Three of my video works are in this show, Kids Maps, All Eyes on
You, and White Noise (previously on display last fall at the Andy
Warhol Museum). If you were unable to catch the premiere of this,
the "hometown name here" opera series, catch it while you can, January
17-20!
another attack
Attack
Theatre's Preserve
and Pursue is my second show with the company, in the role of
stage manager, and I'm very excited to be working with them again.
It looks to be a very awesome show, video and water effects in addition
to
some
really beautiful compositions. Show dates are Feb 1,2,5 and 6th at
the New Hazlett Theater.
out west we go
I have another show coming up in Oklahoma City, as I have
been collaborating with my old Cusswords
and Fire colleague Marlo
Nash, designing the multimedia backdrop and subtitles for Stravinsky's
L'Histoire
du
Soldat. It
will be performed
by the
Red
Rock Chamber
Orchestra on February 21st and 22nd - More details to come!
12-31-07
Two
new sketches have been uploaded to the Fine Arts page: HolidayCat and HolidayBunny.
Enjoy the cuteness!
12-23-07
Happy
Holidays, Everyone. The "I Feel Fantastic" Bloopers
and Outtakes Reel has been uploaded to YouTube. Enjoy!
12-17-07
This
evening three representatives of the ELPC Chancel Choir (including
myself) are joining roughly 400 other singers from the Pittsburgh
area
to form
one large
choir
performing
at
Heinz
Hall's Christmas
Festival. It's going to be a long night but definitely
musically scrumptious. It has been a long time since I've sung in
such a large ensemble, and with orchestra too... looking forward
to it:)
Selections
this evening include the Halleluiah Chorus, Jenkins' Joy to the World,
and an assortment of Holiday Standards.
12-10-07
As
mentioned previously, I was assisting with photography and illustrations
for an upcoming textbook The Complete Saxophonist by my
colleagues Eric Lauver and Jim Houlik. Well, I am happy to announce
that we
are finally in circulation thru Northeastern Music Publishing!
A comprehensive, step-by-step saxophone method. The book
is divided into two parts -- an extensive, detailed section devoted
to the development of the fundamentals of saxophone performance, and
a collection of musical studies providing the opportunity to use those
techniques. Includes an accompanying CD which provides recorded examples
of many exercises and master performances. An essential resource for
the serious saxophonist!
Copies
available thru various music publication sites including JW
Pepper and Van
Cott Information Services
12-04-07
So
far looks like the Baltimore: the Opera show has been a success.
Kudos and special thanks to Ann, Colleen, Glover, Andy and John at the
Theatre Project for making our show go so smoothly. Click below
for the reviews!
11-19-07
Squonk
Opera will be back in Maryland very soon. Hoping to see some
familiar
faces
while we're there!!!
Nov 29-Dec
2 and Dec 6-9, 2007, Baltimore
Theatre Project
11-11-07
"I
Feel Fantastic", our music
video from the PopSci contest,
is on the front page of Youtube, as a Featured
Movie this week! We have
jumped from 8 thousand views to over 140 thousand in less than a
day. Thanks to all our new fans and subscribers for watching and
for your comments!!!
10-24-07
During
the last couple weeks I have said my goodbyes to my old position
at Duquesne and begun a new career, working as Events Associate (audio,
event, and stage
setup)
for the
Heinz
History
Center
and Sports Museum in partner ship with the Smithsonian Institute.
It is a very wonderful place, seven floors of exhibits and constantly
hopping
with activity.
Since coming on we've had a variety of celebrities in here from the
Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney, to Theresa Heinz herself! If you
are ever in the area I highly reccomend checking it out!
10-06-07
Phew....
been a long 2 weeks, still the show went very very well. Last night's
show was definately the best of the run, selling out days before
and spotless performance by all. Now that the curtain is down, and
the set struck, here are some reviews and
postings
about Attack
Theatre's Someplace,
Not Here
Many thanks to Buzz n Kunz for helping to pull me on board:)
09-27-07
I have been recruited as stage manager for Attack Theater's latest show, "Someplace, Not Here". It's a very creative performance, and the venue is phenomenal considering they built the stage and seating inside a warehouse. It all gets torn down next saturday, so catch it while you can!
Someplace, Not Here
Attack Theatre
4801 Penn Avenue (adjacent to Attack Theatre Studios)
September 28, 29, October 1, 2, 4, 5 - all shows 8 pm
A world-premiere, site-specific romp through fantasy, reality with a few drinks among friends along the way. This bar room tale will lead the performers through the minefield of dating and chance encounters with the full throttle energy of Attack Theatre dancers and the heart rending sounds of band Local Honey. Tickets: $18 advance; $22 at the door; $35 premium seating (includes reserved seating and pre-show mixer), $15 students and seniors. For more information call 412.441.8444 or visit www.attacktheatre.com. To purchase tickets call 412.394.3353 or visit www.ProArtsTickets.org
08-31-07
Hi guys.
I'm mentioned in an article of today's "The Washington Times", about the music
video we made for the Popular Science Jonathan Coulton Music Video
Competition:
"Geek
Rock's New King" By Jenny Mayo
(our
video is mentioned on on page 2)
Many
thanks again to Barry, John and Jim. The video would not have become
such
a hit without your help! To date, it has been viewed
5,696 times!!!
08-25-07
The
Arts section has been renovated and reorganized.
Enjoy!
08-24-07
Upcoming Squonk
Opera performances;
Nov
29-Dec 2 and Dec 6-9, 2007, Baltimore, Baltimore
Theatre Project
Dec 31, St. Louis, First
Night St. Louis
Jan 16-20, 2008, Pittsburgh, Kelly-Strayhorn
Theater
Mar 20-21, 2008, Bloomington, Buskirk-Chumley
Theater
May 10-11, 2008, Newark, University
of Delaware
June 27-28, 2008, Charleston, FestivALL Charleston - West Virginia
08-12-07
Resume,
Curriculum Vitae, and Special Projects List are now updated on resume
page.
07-30-07
I have
been busy writing some music for CyberCadets:
the MySecureCyberSpace Game -
"...boys and girls enter the Carnegie
Cyber
Academy to have fun and earn prizes while they learn
about the dangers caused by Internet viruses and battle cyber criminals..." It
is a very nifty project, and my colleague, Liz Rishel, is one of the
voice actors!
07-25-07
I have
given into my choral appetite for the second time this summer, this
time joining up with the ELPC
Chancel Choir at the Cathedral of Hope. They had a need
for altos, and I love to sing. Great combination:) Concert info to
be posted in as available.
06-20-07
The results
are in- we are 5th
runner up in the JC PopSci
music video contest!!! Here's an unofficial playlist
of all the entries. Thanks to everyone again who helped with this
project, it was way too much fun and we are happily planning to shoot
many more JC videos in the future:)
06-13-07
"The
Journey Below" to Appear on the PROGPOWER USA 8 Showcase Sampler!
KRONE
fans will finally get a glimpse of the project team's upcoming operatic
release at this year’s PROGPOWER USA progressive and power metal music
festival in Atlanta, GA. "We selected The Journey Below for this year's
submission," says director and principal vocalist Jen Martire, "because
we wanted to treat fans to a single that, we feel, best captures the
spirit of the work as a whole. It also gives us the opportunity to
showcase our wonderful choral team, who have done an excellent job
in performing this track."
In
addition to exhibiting the writing talents of the Lehmier/Martire
team, The Journey Below features the arrangement
work of Bonnie Bogovich, who played a key role in scoring the choral
harmonies for this single. The vocal talent on the track features
Jen Martire (Lead), Elizabeth Rishel (Soprano 1), Bonnie
Bogovich (Soprano 2), Deena Hower (Alto), Bob Miller (Tenor
1), Sean Martin (Tenor 2), and Jim Newsome (Bass). Mixing and mastering
of the single was done by Chris Lehmier at Runway Studios in Pittsburgh,
PA. ) - Krone Productions Website
With
the success of our ProgPower submission, I am more excited than ever
to be a part of the Krone music team. Great things await, stay tuned
for future epic/rockopera/choral adventure updates!
06-18-07
I'll
be in Columbia, Maryland this week as part of the Columbia Festival
of the Arts with Squonk Opera. This will be my third time performing
with them in Maryland, looking forward to seeing some familiar faces.
If you are free saturday night, check out Squonk
Opera's "Columbia: the opera"
06-15-07
COMPLETE!!!
Our
entry to the PopSci
music video contest is finished, posted, and sent off to the judges:)
Cross your fingers, we just might win! This was one crazy project, I'm
very grateful to all those who participated; Spork, Barry, and Jon.
You guys rule!!! Seeing that there was roughly 3 hours of footage, for
a 3 minute long video, I see a blooper in the future. Click.Watch.Enjoy
"I
Feel Fantastic" the music video.
06-11-07
Jonathan
Coulton has posted a music
video contest on PopSci's website. The song to be video-ized (sure,
let's say that's a word) is "I Feel Fantastic". Storyboards
were quickly drawn up this past Friday and off we went (a small team
of myself, Spork, Jon, and Barry) to the park and other locations to
shoot over 60 shots in 2 days. I'm very excited about this project.
With less than a week to edit and post, the race is on. Wooohooo! Wish
us luck!
05-09-07
Well,
I finally did it; bought another domain name. Now you can reach this
website by typing Bonnie
Bogovich dot com AND BlackCatBonifide dot com:) Yey I own myself
now! Enjoy:)
05-07-07
The New
Jersey show ruled. Major kudos and thanks to the SOPAC
stage tech crew and house management staff for helping make this weekend
go so smoothly!
04-22-07
We've
just returned from yet another Squonk
Opera performance, "Albany:
the Opera" at the PAC at the University of Albany in New York.
This show definately goes into my list of favorite performances so far.
I would like to thank the house crew of the PAC for being so helpful
and suportive this past week, and extra kudos to our two interns Andrew
and John. Here's
a review of the Albany show. Next stop, New Jersy for SOMA:
the Opera May 5th and 6th!!!
03-06-07
As of
this weekend I have been cast as a female vocalist (mezzo-soprano) for
Krone,
a rock opera, currently in production.
"KRONE
is a Celto-Germanic epic, sung in three languages: English, German
and Gaelic. It is a hybrid work of progressive metal, power metal
and traditional Baroque and orchestral elements. KRONE’s libretto
is inspired by Celtic and Germanic mythology, as well as fictional
works, such as The Lord of the Rings, the Conan series by Robert E.
Howard and Wagner’s Ring Cycle." - Jen Martire
I am
especially excited to be cast alongside my longtime musicmates Deena
Hower (alto) and Liz Rishel (soprano). Check out the
Krone website for an article about the female chorus!
02-28-07
My artwork
and photography will be featured in an upcoming textbook, "The
Complete Saxophonist" by Eric Lauver and James
Houlik. So far looks like they are planning to publish as soon as
this Spring. I'm very pleased to be working on this project, as Eric
has been a great colleague of mine for many years (he has even been
gracious enough to play winds on many of my compositions). This has
been in the works for a while now, currently we are in the final touches/tweaking
phase, as far as drafting and layout. More info as it develops...
02-12-07
If anyone
is in the Malvern/Philadelphia/Chester County region this Friday, we
will be in town doing another show. In case the expected ginormous snow
blizzard does not destroy us all, it should be a fun performance - Squonk
Opera presents Chester County: The Opera - Here's hoping for safe
travels for cast, crew, and audience!
02-02-07
Happy
birthday Barry, early birthday to Liz, and best wishes for a happy marriage
to Leah and Jeremy!
01-18-07
Photos
from my most recent trip to New York City are now posted on the Sceenshots
page. We visited the city a few days after the massive new years
celebrations had calmed down a bit. Much fun was had, many sites seen,
and a very welcome escape from the busy family and friends visitation
season.
01-07-07
Let's
ring in the New Year with some long overdue video and animation updates.
I present to you two videos/animations,
produced for Squonk Opera's Hometown:the Opera series; "White
Noise" (aka "Television") and segment 2 of 3 of "Map
of the Heart" (animated crayon sketches). Enjoy
12-13-06
Hiya
peoples. Just finishing off a long day, time for some updatin'
Electronica Concerta
This evening's recording featured the Duquesne Electronic Ensemble in
its first ever fall recital. All in all was a very excellent time, including
performances of Philip Glass's Metamorphosis I & II, a medley
of Super Mario music arranged by Greg Davis, and a very bizarre rendition
of Burnin' Down the House by David Byrne. Kudos to all who performed:)
Squonk News
The
new Squonk Opera website has been launched! Here are some quick
links to the recent stuff:
pictures and videos from "Pittsburgh: The Opera"
(you may recognize the person holding the tshirt in one photo)
the Bio page
(I now have a spot on as part of the main group and under 'additional
video design' and my lovely former-roomie Liz is listed as one of the
'artisans':)
Photos from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Gala
(the last five photos in the cluster are from the PCT gala we held down
by the river... was pretty fun, video projections on the insides of
tents which I remember describing as "a Bruce Wayne style party... somthing
so elaborate you would see it in a Batman film"
12-06-06
Happy
Birthday to me! Many thanks to those of you who joined me for celebrations
and such. Photos from this year's Sushi Bash will be posted soon.
11-21-06
Been
a very productive month, lots of things happenin'
More Squonk Success
We returned last week from yet another Squonk
Opera performance, this time at the Clarice
Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park, Maryland. Many thanks
to my friends ArcaneMatt, Erin, and Michael for attending the friday
night performance:)
Film Dayz
This weekend filming began on the new independant film, "Intellegent
Designers" by Barry Bogovich. The shoot went very well, kudos to
both cast and crew! My roles on this film include production design
and sound/audio. Stay tuned for more info.
Museum Spots
Just a reminder; in case you haven't been able to swing by the Andy
Warhol Museum lately, one of my video pieces ("White Noise")
will be on display thru new years as part of Steve O'Hearn's Creative
Heights Award Exhibit.
10-31-06
Happy
Halloween!
10-11-06
Been
so busy catching up on life, I almost forgot to explain to many of you
what I've been up to for the last 2 weeks. Long story short, I've been
on tour doing shows, and now I'm back before I go again... here's an
extended version;)
Showtime in Baltimore
We (Squonk) headed
up to Baltimore two weeks ago for the 2006 PAE (Performing
Arts Exchange) where we presented 2 showcase performances for the
opening of the convention. This was my first out-of-state show on the
tour, so I was a bit nervous, but everything went fine. One huge benefit,
I've noticed, of doing tour shows is there are times where you are not
allowed to be onsite. Performing at the American
Visionary Arts Museum, this was the case, so I was pleased to have
one evening free to visit my dear friend Erin.
We caught up on the last year and had some delectable Italian food:)
Busy in the Burgh
We returned to Pittsburgh that Friday, last-minute preps underway for
the Andy Warhol Exhibit (installation of the video loop including
one of my works, entitled "White Noise") in addition to moving all our
sets and props onto Fort Duquesne Boulevard for this year's Pittsburgh
Cultural Trust Annual Gala "At Home in the District". Quite a change
from the normal show we've been touring, the Cultural Trust event was
completely designed by Squonk Opera from the tent and reception hall
designs, to the video projections on the ceilings. In addition to the
general artsy atmosphere created, we also had a theater tent setup in
which we performed 3 shortened shows, back to back, on the hour. The
turnout was quite impressive, over 600 people in attendance, all the
higher-ups from the city, decked out in gowns and tuxedos. The best
way I can describe the evening would be "Just like a party Bruce Wayne
would have in the movies" from every detail, sans evil villains! Click
to read the newspaper review of the Gala Event
What is Next?
We're on a hiatus from heavy shows (squonk at least, the fall season
at Duq is starting up, so its good I'll have the break) the next ginormous
Squonk performance will be College
Park:the Opera, held at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
at the University of Maryland on November 9th and 10th. (Jim Henson's
alma mater, btw... I plan to get a photo or 3 of the statue of Jim and Kermit on my trip down there)
09-15-06
What
can I say, things are busy around here lately, and boy howdy I like
it that way:) My work load with Squonk
Opera has been growing, lots of video to work on, schedules, set
lists, etc.
And the Tour Begins
We performed "Martha: The Opera" this Monday at the Phipps
Conservatory. It was a great experience, being my first tour show
since the premiere in June, and in such a beautiful environment. Two
more weeks and we're off to Baltimore to perform a Showcase at the American
Visionary Arts Museum. Stay tuned for more news!
I'll Be at the Warhol
An exhibit of Squonk's artistic director, Steve O'Hearn, will be opening
soon at the Andy Warhol
Museum. In addition to his own works of art, the exhibit will also
showcase video projection work by various artists used in the Squonk
Shows, including one of my own pieces, "White
Noise" also known as "Television".
The exhibit will run Sept 30 - December 31, 2006.
07-27-06
Wow...
such a busy month, finally a moment to type a brief update.
Techie Tykes
This summer's Telecommunity
workshop went very well. The art gallery was a huge success, many thanks
to all those who contributed and to the parents who helped bring goodies
for the opening reception. Editing the reels was quite the task, as
we had more collected animations and flash movies than ever before!
This week also marks the end of my instruction during this summer's
semester of T:ME,
as well as the Guitar
and Bass Workshop, where I once again acted as chaparone. Three
jobs a day... wow this was a light summer! *chuckles sleepily*
Time
to Breathe
Quite the packed schedule for the last couple of weeks, I am definately
looking forward to this weekend. Plans to catch up with family and friends
are in order, in addition to the production of a music video, entitled
"Code Monkey" (more info later). I have a few weeks to myself
before schedules get crazy again, hopefully they won't go by too fast...
On the Road
I have been asked to continue working with Squonk
Opera when they go on tour in September! Looks like they're gonna
keep me busy, but I am definitely looking forward to the experience:)
07-10-06
Many
thanks to Spork's family for a wonderful 4th of July vacation. We headed
up towards Detroit from Pittsburgh last Friday and watched the fireworks
at St. Clair Shores. The next day we started an even longer drive north
to the Upper Penninsula, our campsite was right alongside Lake Superior.
Wait...You Went Outside?
Yes sir, we shed our Computer Tans in the great outdoors. It was a wonderful
time, smores, bbq's, hiking, biking, waterfalls, tourist traps and more.
Click
to see Photos
Dive Back In!!!
We returned Friday, enough time to prepare for the very busy remainder
of July. I'm back to my normal double-back summer schedule, teaching
stop-animation to my Telecommunity
students by day, and assisting with the T:ME
workshops by night. Many thanks again to Spork's relatives for their
hospitality in MI, it was just the breather I needed:)
06-29-06
The Squonk
Show was amazing! Congrads and mucho kudos to all involved! I had
a marvelous time working with such a talented group of techies, artisans
and musicians, can't wait to get started on the next installment! Video
clips, photos, etc will be available on the Squonk site in July.
Let's Get Critical
Oh, and before I forget, here are some of the newspaper reviews from
the premiere:
Tribune
Review
Post
Gazette
City
Paper
Bonus Feature
Look for a cameo of yours truly in the Tribune Article. HINT: I'm
wearing blue!
06-16-06
We had
our last in-studio rehearsal today after a very long week of details,
notes, do-overs, and such. Maaaaan I'm exausted! But wow, everything
seems to be going great, and I'm really looking forward to the show.
We started striking all our sets and props this evening, I can't wait
to move into the theater this coming Monday. For those of you who are
planning on attending one of the Pittsburgh
performances, remember you can buy your tickets at the door, or
call ahead for reserved seating.
06-03-06
Information
about Squonk's
latest show, "Pittsburgh:
The Opera", is now available on the main site. For those of
you who cannot make it to the Pittsburgh premiere, check the tour
schedule for locations and times of our future performances.
06-01-06
Welcome
home, Barry! My brother has been in Chile over the past month working
on a documentary with a crew from Robert Morris. More information on
the finished film as it develops.
05-31-06
Month
in Review:
- My work
with Squonk seems
to be going great:) I am now helping on three videos in addition to
my production mananger duties
- Started
taking Server-Sided Scripting, a graduate multimedia course, at DU for
non-credit (for prof development and fun... I'm such a nerd:)
- attended
a They Might Be
Giants concert at Mr. Smalls Theater
- got
my 5K in with Spork during Pittsburgh's
Race for the Cure
- Recieved
my certification in BlackBoard while attending a variety of instructional
technology seminars organized by the ETC
- attended
a performance of ThouShaltNot
and BellaMorte at Dead
Man's Party (location moved to the Sphinx Cafe)
05-21-06
Links
page updated! Been soooo busy lately, much to do and little time! Never
fear, an update will be posted soon with more details of what, and why,
and who, and where, and when, and how.... but not yet:)
05-06-06
Congratulations
to the Duquense University Graduation Class of 2006!!!
04-28-06
Happy
Birthday Brian!
04-22-06
Looks
like my passion for stage screw, multimedia, and electronic music is
soon to have a new creative outlet. I am pleased to announce that I
have been offered the position of Production Manager for the premiere
of Squonk Opera's
newest show, Pittsburgh
the Opera, June 22-25th at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. I am very
excited at the opportunity to be part of the company, especially since
I have been also asked to assist in editing some projection footage
for the show!
What is a Squonk?
The group specializes
in original musical performances, combining synthesized and acoustic
instruments, obscure props and sets, as well as projected live and edited
video footage. (yes... some of you may be saying, like Cusswords and
Fire???.. and I say yes... scarily so and oh so much more advanced...
)
04-10-06
This
weekend marked my return to the Big Apple, yes, New York City, for the
first time in about 9 years (we're talking business class back in 9th
grade here). Through my mother, I became aware of a New York tour bus
deal, created by one of her coworkers at Mercy Hospital. The gist of
it, enough people reserve spaces on the tour bus, we all get a cheap
rate for the whole weekend in NYC, in addition to group rates on our
hotel rooms in NJ. Mom, Dad, Spork and myself went and we had a very
much awesome time. We did so much and yet it's amazing how much we still
did not get to visit in our weekend stay. Even though the weekend felt
short, we got so much accomplished; Chinatown, New York Public Library,
Empire State Building, NintendoWorld, FAO Schwartz, The Museum of Television
and Radio, scottish bagpipers parading, and Avenue Q on Broadway!!!
I will post photos as soon as there is a free moment to do so. Now,
back to work!!!
04-06-06
Happy
birthday Jim, aka Spork!!!
03-27-06
Latest
version of my interactive portfolio CD-ROM is finished!
*Breathes major sigh of relief!*
03-26-06
After
what seems a lifetime, the first legible draft of my curriculum vitae
is finally complete! I would like to extend special thanks to Amanda
and Spork for helping me with the terror that is organizing the past
6 years of a workaholic on paper and MSWord. You can view the latest
versions of my Resume and CV on my resumes
page.
03-22-06
After
some editing (mixing footage from the concert itself with the actual
projection footage) now you can finally watch
Cusswords and Fire, from my Synthesia multimedia concert! I plan
to make a more detailed page about the piece, all in due time.
03-11-06
I have
added a recording of Dance
of Deceit (pizzacato plucky string quartet piece) to my
concert recordings page - violins, Austin and Kendra Osterhout,
cello, Rob Saunders, doublebass, Malo Nash
03-04-06
On a
roll, I made some more changes on my latest
videos page. Now, thanks to better compression technologies, all
files on this page are now streaming quicktime videos, with better and
more manageable file sizes than their predecessors. Spiffying up the
Past Videos Page is next on my codec compression agenda.
03-03-06
Finally
had a moment to compress some new videos for the website. You may recall,
I have started teaching a stop-animation workshop at Telecommunity.
I tried a new demo this past weekend, showing examples I had filmed
at home. Now, pasted on my latest videos
page, you can view two examples I used for last weekend's class,
Sneakin' and Construction
Confusion (available in both medium and low quality quicktime
downloads). Enjoy!
02-27-06
Resume
page has been updated.
02-25-06
Major
congrads and kudos to all who were involved in last night's production
of "Squeezin' it Out", the new musical by Spence and Buckley!!!
02-21-06
Tension
is high, many things to do so little time to do them in. Concert season
is getting busy, as predicted, and this weekend will be the premiere
of "Squeezin' it Out", an original musical by Randy Spence
and Brian Buckley, at the PNC Recital Hall. Final dress rehearsals are
this week, and with luck my lighting design will be perfected and ready
to go for the Friday and Saturday performances. For those of you who
are interested in attending (as apparently both shows are almost completely
full now) I strongly suggest you get tickets ASAP. Seats are free to
the public, available by contacting the cast or crew, or the main office,
but you are not guaranteed a space if you do not reserve ahead of time.
02-14-06
Happy
Valentines Day! It was a relief to be able to take a break Saturday
night and attend CMU's Computer Engineering Winter Formal with Spork.
The theme was "Casino Nights". We had an awesome time!
Winter
Party Photos
02-05-06
From
The Duq Spiritan
Weekly
The
mandate of Spiritan Founder Fr. Libermann was to spread the good news
of the Gospel even "to the ends of the earth." This has taken on new
dimensions with recent compact disc recordings by Stephen Steinbeiser,
Duquesne's Director of Liturgy...More recently Stephen recorded the
beloved Irish Spiritan hymn Go Ye Afar on the University Chapel pipe
organ. Thanks to Duquesne's School of Music engineer,
Bonnie Bogovich, the Duquesne Chapel organ will be heard throughout
Ireland and England as it accompanies a presentation on the history
and works of the Spiritan Congregation.
02-02-06
Entry
deadline for the third annual Duquesne
Student Film Festival is fast-approaching! Best of luck to all entries!!!
(Peoples' Choice winners of the last two festivals included a very funny
ninja short, by Josh Bales, and my personal black comedy, The Sweet
Tooth Stratagem, starring the marvelous Liz Rishel and Jeremy Sment.)
02-01-06
Thanks
to Epor, the new DNS is set!!! Now, as you are hopefully noticing on
your web browser, there are no more funky links to pages!!! (again,
special thanks to VirtualEpor.com for hosting my website)
01-29-06
To any
of you who have ever suggested that I take yoga, to which I probably
scoffed or giggled, I humbly apologize. In my exercise routines these
days (which includes a very awesome 5 mile run with Spork last weekend
around North Park) I finally gave in and tried out my first yoga session.
After the initial pain and interesting joint-popping-cracking sounds,
the exercises have become very
helpful. I feel healthier, more relaxed, and more energetic than
I would have thought possible from such a curious fitness technique.
All Concert Technicians Could Benefit
The workouts have been much appreciated, I might add, since lately we
are taking on more and more technically and physically challenging concerts
at work. Lots of lifting, wiring, light adjusting, and such going
on, so it helps to be on your toes and ready for anything... including
the occasional amplifier that might try to leap onto you, or in my case,
an evil marimba.
Easier Dealings with the Young
In addition to helping with the above-stated, I've found that its also
been a great boost to my teaching chops with Telecommunity.
Working with children ages 8-18 for 5 hours straight on a saturday is
usually a very stressful environment, they have so much energy you know?
It seems to me that this past session (I was teaching stop-animation
videography with a new group of students) went a little easier, not
as exhausting.. mebbe the yoga helped? Who knows:) Anywho, hope everyone
is having a great winter!
01-26-06
Happy
250th Birthday to Mozart!!!
01-22-06
It's
that time again! The Great Lakes Film Association has opened its Call
for Film
Submissions and is also accepting screenplays for its Scriptwriting
Competition. This will be our fifth year, and it sure has been quite
an experience being a part of the GLFA. In the last five years I have
helped out as much as I can, going from volunteer film projectionist,
to a producer of the Run and Guns, to Board Member and judge of the
animation category. We are getting more organized, more members and
support than ever before, so I have agreed to take a seat on the new
Advisory Board and I shall continue judging the animation films.
01-20-06
The Halloween
2005 and NEW Michigan
Trek 2006 photo pages are finished!
01-19-06
The moment
you have been waiting for... Sushi
Birthday Photo Page is complete! I am sort of working in reverse
order, fine-tuning the Halloween, Michigan, and Vacation pages next.
Stay tuned!
01-13-06
Finally
found a moment to update on my resume and CV (still a work in progress).
I have added a new section to my resume
page, a "List of Original Works and Projets". A spin-off
of the constantly evolving curriculum vitae, this new segment contains
a list of films, exhibitions, associations, music compositions, awards,
and other such activities to date. Enjoy!
01-12-06
Life's
a Show, and We all play a part...
This will be the busiest concert season of the music department,
we have over 20 shows and a large number of student recitals to run.
I'm looking forward to using our new and improved PA system and video
projection setup in the Recital Hall (installed over Christmas Break).
In addition, I have been asked to do lighting design for a new musical,
written by some colleagues of mine, which will be performed this February.
Will be interesting to see, the storyline is quite humorous. More info
later.
Mink Stoles can bite 3 years later...
My, the weather
has been crazy lately. Pittsburgh has been bounding between freezing
and startling warm temperatures. I've been sick now, off and on, for
almost 2 weeks now, and hoping its only weather related. Could be a
combination of that and perhaps a reaction to helping clean out the
opera department's storage closet last week (many props, sheet music
and costumes, some over 30 years old). Seeing as our first class of
Telecommunity is this weekend, I am hoping this cold will be over very
soon.
Thank God for Michigan...
I'm very glad to have taken this past weekend
off to relax, seeing how it seems it will be a while till there's such
an opportunity again. Busy busy busy!
01-09-06
Happy
New Year, everyone! One of my New Years resolutions for 2006 was to
definitely find more time to travel. The opportunity came up much quicker
than I had anticipated as I have just returned a weekend trip to Michigan.
Sporksmith invited me to join him on a trip to visit his family in the
Detroit area. I had personally never been to Michigan, and for once
I had an opening in my work schedule that allowed me this chance. We
had lots of fun, and many adventures ensued;
(see run-on sentence below);
I was given the shortshortshort tour of Detroit, rode the People Mover
(yes that's what it's called), ate flaming cheese and Baklavah in Greektown,
gambled away 3 dollars at the casinos, stared across the lake at Canada
and waved, tasted the delight which is EggBake, snuck into the Cobo
Center while they were setting up the Auto Show, toured the University
of Michigan campus, drove through Grosse Pointe (from that wonderful
John Cusak movie), and as far as was determined 'safe' thru 8 Mile,
watched a child express her geek roots with a video game, and played
with a dog that is smaller than my cats!
And back to the chaos!
All in all a very nice weekend, a fine vacation, and great way to break
in the new year (before the heavy work load ensues, as concert season
begins in a few days). Oh yes, there are photos
of the weekend... for now a few are posted on my Flickr site, but
I will have a more detailed bonifide photo page up here under "screenshots"
soon:)
12-30-05
Happy
Holidays, everyone!
12-06-05
Happy
Birthday to me!!!
Been so busy in the last 2 months I apologize for not posting an update
sooner. I will be posting a number of backdated statements summarizing
up the events of Oct and Nov soon, I promise. As far as server issues
go, Phred will not be brought back online, so VirtualEpor is now our
home server. Thanks again to Epor for letting BlackCatBonifide make
its home here.
11-12-05(backdated
entry)
I
was asked to lecture for the School of Education again and gladly agreed.
The students I would be speaking to had been developing an educational
television program for their final class project, made up of a variety
of skits and commercials. I was told that any information or demonstrations
as far as music and sound would be helpful. After a few weeks of preparation,
and hitting up as many children's videos I could from the public library
for source material, I gave my presentation, entitled "Enhancing
the Learning Experience through Music and Sound, Roles and Influences
of Audio in Educational Television". I did my best to be as thorough
and fun as I could, and seems the talk was a success. I'd like to extend
a personal thank-you to Kermit the Frog, as he was in the majority of
my video examples. Sometimes there's no competition when you have classic
Sesame Street.
11-04-05(backdated
entry)
On
the side, in those minute gaps of free time, I've been helping with
the creation of an upcoming documentary on world-renowned conductor,
and violin virtuoso, Sidney Harth. I have been running camera 2 for
some of the behind the scene footage during rehearsals, backstage, and
even managed to sneak shots of the WQED interview with the Piano Trio
(man that room was tiny, thank god for handhelds). I must say it is
an exciting process. Aside from Geeks IRL, which was proudly deemed
a 'mockumentary', this is my first time helping with an actual documentary
project. For now, we are looking at a spring completion date. I'll keep
yah posted.
11-03-05(backdated
entry)
A
few weeks ago I helped do boom/sound and some post-production work on
a movie my brother to be entered in the Chimera Online Student Film
Competition. (some of you may remember the film shoot as one I talked
about where we shot two nights in a row, in the rain, till 4am... cold,
wet, and very much fun!) For such a film shot in 2 nights, and edited
in 2 days, I think Barry did an awesome job and our cast and crew were
remarkable! The main rules for the contest were make a film, and it
must be under 5 minutes long. Watch
"Code 99" - by Barry Bogovich. It was wonderful working with so
many familiar faces again, I hope we can make another hit soon!
10-29-05(backdated
entry)
- Time
left before work to invent a costume - 1 hour
- blue
long sleeve shirt from goodwill - $3.99
- plastic
shotgun - $2.99
- children's
battery-operated chainsaw - $6.99
- the
look on many geek males faces when I came to Masquerade as the female
version of Ash from Evil Dead? PRICELESS!!!
10-28-05(backdated
entry)
I
was teaching a demo on music concrete and came up with this little experiment
- journey into a cat's dreams with A
Cat Caricature.
This work is made entirely of cat sound effects, with a tidbit of drumbeat
for support. Take a listen, I hope you like it.
10-09-05
I've
been so busy in the last two weeks I don't know if I have the energy
to finish typing this update...
10-06-05
Time
for a scare! The GLFA Eerie
Horror Film Festival is this weekend! Guest stars include John Hancock,
Alice Cooper, and Gunnar Hansen!
9-26-05
Many
congratulations to all who helped make this year's Great Lakes Film
Festival a success! Special kudos to the cast and crew of Artisan
of Tangibles, this year's Run and Gun project. It was definitely
our best film to date and could not have been completed without the
hard work of so many talented people. (It was by far one of the most
challenging film shoots I have ever been on). Kellene, it was wonderful
to meet you in person. I hope you continue to write more screenplays
as charming as Artisan. With any luck we will have a finished DVD ready
for press in a month!
9-21-05
Don't
forget, the Great Lakes Film Festival is this weekend! I am heading
up tonight for the Run and Gun pre-production meeting. This year marks
the fourth festival ever and our third Run and Gun!
<more
info>
9-20-05
Sorry
to those of you who have been trouble accessing my web site in the last
couple days. The server (phred) went down and still hasn't been fixed.
For the time being my site will be hosted on VirtualEpor. Special thanks
to Epor for hooking me up so fast, blackcat bonifide was only unaccessible
for a day! (while the move/temp site is up, you may notice that some
links are not working. I will do what i can to fix this issue while
we try to figure out server problems)
9-13-05
Starting
today I am Part Time staff at Duquesne University School of music, assisting
the AV/Audio Recording Department. Its great to be back working here,
helping with concerts and recitals, and I'm looking forward to getting
my hands deep into microphones again.
9-12-05
I just
returned from one of the best vacations ever. I know I know, you're
all saying "but Bonnie, you never take a day off?" and I guess thatÂ’s
usually true. According to those who know me personally, I havenÂ’t
taken an actual vacation (i.e. non-work trip out of town) in over 7
years. Any trips away from home always had a meeting, convention, or
some sort of non-relaxation connection.
Planting the seed
A few months ago my good friend Epor invited me to South Carolina to
spend Labor Day week with his family. Imagine the shock on both partiesÂ’
sides when I finally said yes. I havenÂ’t regretted the decision since.
Since I was going to be down south, I contacted my cousin Tom in Savannah.
We continued to make plans to meet up while I was in the vicinity.
Well-deserved rest
So, end result = Sept 3-8 I spent a very fun and relaxing time with
the Epor family around Hilton Head, SC, and the 8th-11th I visited with
Tom, Barb, and Alex in beautiful Savannah, GA:) I had such a good time
it is near impossible to write all about it in one update. Thank you
all very much, you guys, for helping to force me to take a break from
life for a week. I had so much fun; I'll even forgive you for making
me tan for the first time in years (omg my paleness is gone!!!)
WhereÂ’s the proof?
Stay tuned for a plethora of photos and journal entries from BlackCat's
Southern Vacation
8-31-05
The Run
and Gun crew position of Sound/Audio Recordist is still open and needs
to be filled ASAP!!! We need someone who understands the nuances of
the proper collection of sound, from the proper placement of mics, and
mixing levels (sound shaping), to understanding what is good sound (vs
volume). We need this person to work with the camera and post production
crews. <more info>
8-28-05
Incredibly
busy the last few days. The auditions went very well. Thankyou all who
attended the casting sessions for Run and Gun 2005: Artisan
of Tangibles. In addition to RnG business, we wrapped up shooting
for Opposition
this Saturday. Though we were attacked by scattered rain showers in
the afternoon, we were able to film the needed sequences. I did my best
to get ADR recordings and othersuch sound accomplished while on site
with all the actors available. We are shooting for an early screening
date, Sept
22nd, at the Great Lakes Film Festival. Can't wait to see how things
turn out!
8-22-05
Reminder:
Cast and Crew auditions for the Run and Gun Thursday and Friday!!!
<more info>
8-21-05
Barry and I headed
up to Dayton, Ohio this weekend to hang out with elder sibling Brian.
I must say, the state of Ohio is much flatter than I remembered it,
though my opinion of roads is swayed by Pittsburgh's many potholes I
suppose:) We had an ultra fun time, going out to dinner, watching Star
Wars Episode III on the big screen for the last time (yeyyy a dollar
theatre in the area still had a copy of star wars, what luck!), playing
atari and other oldskool video games, cooking up a very tasty brakfast,
finally getting Barry to see the BBC Hitchhiker television series...
the list goes on. Thanks Brian, for a very fun and relaxing weekend.
We approve of your new apartment, it r4wk5!!!
8-15-05
Updated the movie
and rambling
pages, as well as added new banners to the links
page.
8-14-05
Happy Birthday, Mom!
8-07-05
The Run
and Gun has now opened its official call for
Cast and Crew. This year we will be holding auditions/interviews at
two locations, Pittsburgh and Erie, PA. For more information, visit
our
info page on the GLFA website. We are looking for actors, artists,
sound engineers and much more this year, so please stop by the casting
sessions and contact us if interested!
8-06-05
Congratulations to
Eggman and JillJill who were wed today in Conneaut, Pennsylvania. It
was a beautiful ceremony, and I wish you both the best and a happy life
together:) Additional thanks to Dreck for giving me a ride to the ceremony.
7-21-05
Quick Updates:
Run
and Gun Film picked!
The winner of this year's Run
and Gun screenplay competition is Artisan
of Tangibles by Kellene Kneale!!!
The first runner up is Sheila Bloom, by Patty Penalosa, and
the Second Runner Up is The Freelancer, by Nathaniel Wellplay.
Info on cast and crew auditions coming soon...
Caffiene
strikes again!
I was recently given a Starbucks gift card and due to the exhaustive
schedule of at least two summer teaching gigs a day this past couple
weeks, in addition to the scorching temperatures outside, I stopped
in yesterday seeking a cold beverage. I was very pleased to see a new
treat, the Green
Tea Frappacino!!! I strongly recommend (helps if you have a gift
card or coupon though, Starbucks is crazy expensive)
Beam me up Scotty
Another very sad moment in Star Trek history, Scotty
died yesterday. I know many who didnt think he would last this long,
but James Doohan left this world at the age of 85. He was one of my
favorite original Trek characters of all time, I am sure that the trekkies
of the world will all remember him for ages to come. I wasnt suprised
to find out that in the end, Scotty will find his resting place in outer
space, as his family plans to have his
ashes 'beamed up' into the stars, like Gene Roddenbery.
7-19-05
The
more I teach, the more certain I become that I shall never have the
desire to reproduce...
Now,
cats, however....
Yes, I shall have many cats... They dont eat sugar...
7-12-05
Today was day 2 of
this summer's Telecommunity
session. We added some new projects, I developed a new stop-animation
video workshop for some of our more advanced students, and things are
running smoothly. Right now I have them working on basic motion tests
with wooden bendable figures (sound familiar?) and today we did a chalk
board draw and erase animation experiment that turned out awesome. I
feel like I've been coughing up chalk dust since 4pm, probably so, but
still its the taste of success:) I will look into getting permission
to post a clip on my website in the near future. Its like... man I keep
suggesting wierd and crazy ideas and these guys actually understand
what I'm talking about... I cant wait to show them some Jan Svankmajer
next week:)
SummerTime...
stay cool
The summer has been very long and too fast at the same time. I cant
believe the 90 degree temperatures we've been experiencing constantly,
ended up making me rather ill for the past week or so. I guess being
a computer addict, you cant argue with the stereotypes... perfer indoors,
moniter tan to sun tan, and AC to humidity... (laughs quietly).
Busy busy... full schedules
Many projects are underway, and I find myself at the busiest part of
the summer. I had to take this week off from my Mullen internship to
survive the rest of my schedule, teaching with Telecommunity up till
4:30pm, then instructing adults from then till 9:30pm at Duquesne for
the TIME workshops
(this week is Digital Audio, yey Protools!) So basically I am spending
more than 12 hours a day in various computer labs instructing... funfunfun...
well, it is fun but man I could use a nap:) Yup, lots going on... preparations
for an upcoming film, Opposition, by Atticus Cain, are underway. We
are also wrapping up on the last pile of screenplays to judge before
announcing the Run
and Gun screenplay winner this monday. Good luck and thanks
again to all writers who submitted this year, and special thanks to
my wonderful judging panel for volunteering their time!!!
7-10-05
It
is Run
and Gun screenplay judging time again, and we should be announcing
the winner on Monday. Lots of entries this year, which may be
tons of extra work for me and my judging panel, but I'm very pleased
with the quality of the writing. No doubt, this year's Run and Gun production
will be better than the last two:) BTW as of this past month, you
can now order dvds from the last two run and gun projects!!!
- click to view or order Wrong
Number and Dualife
- each purchase helps to support the film association:)
6-26-05
Busy busy busy! Lots
of things going on, I will write more later, promise:) Oh, and check
out my compositions
page for three new pieces!
6-24-05
Happy Birthday, Dad!
6-23-05
Its going to be a
long day... I'm working about two jobs a day now, morning internship
with Mullen up till 3:30ish, leaving me time to hustle over to Duquesne
to run the 4-9pm night class of the TIME
workshops, aka teaching teachers to teach music with computers. So far
I'm pleased with how the summer courses are running, and thank god the
air conditioning is working this summer, since it is 92 degrees outside.
Yey Burnin the Candle at 3 Ends
Things will get interesting as soon as Telecommunity
kicks off in July. I'll be bouncing around 3 jobs a day then for about
two weeks straight... just gotta remember to eat and sleep... how hard
can that be... *wimper* Just kidding. You know what I say, sleep...
bah... what a waste of a good 5-8 hours of the day! You dont get anything
done:)
The King of Evil Dead is in Town
This evening, as soon as 9pm hits, I'm gonna hightail it over to the
Oaks Theater because tonight, yes friends, tonight, Bruce
Campbell himself is in town to introduce a special sneak preview, and
Pennsylvania premiere, of his film The Man with the Screaming Brain!!!!
Liz and Hunkie are going to head up ahead of time and try to save me
a good seat, hope they are successful. Muchos Gratzi to Liz also for
reserving tickets ahead of time, since the show is completely sold out!
5-23-05
My god, has it really
been 2 weeks since graduation. My diploma is in the mail as we speak...
wow... Masters Degree... still makes me tingly all over... I'll be posting
graduation pictures soon, I promise.
Edit Edit Edit
Adapting to the post-college experience has been quite an ordeal, but
I'm taking it pretty well. I started my first week at Mullen
and so far I'm loving the internship. I am really looking forward to
working with the creative team this summer, as the people are awesome
and I will be working on developing a few commercial/video editing projects
using FinalCut Pro HD and other fun softwares. Its going to be a bit
of work but its what I love and I just know I'm going to have a great
time.
Fun in the Sun with a Chum
I had a really great weekend. Epor came down from Rhode Island to go
to a wedding of two of his best friends from college and asked me to
tag along as his date. We had a fun time, and did tons of side things
such as dinner at Molly
Brannigans, running around the and having a picnic on the beach
at Presque Isle,
and seeing Star Wars
Episode III (Anikin finally gets turned into Vader and JarJar Binks
has no lines... thak you god). Seeing how it was really my first actual
go-out-and-do-non-work-things vacation in a long while, it was a really
awesome time and very relaxing. Thank you Epor!
Run and Gun Productions Reproductions
On a side note, I finally finished the cover
artwork for the last two Run
and Gun films, Wrong
Number and Dualife
(yes, we are on IMDB
now:). We are sending the master film copies and lables off to Cineflix
so duplication will kickoff before you know it. Stay tuned for info
on how to get copies!
5-10-05
Updates Updates Updates!
Finding lots of stuff to keep me busy on my first week off since...
when was I in Middle School again? Anywho, my Resumes,
Webcaptures
and Siggraph
2002 have been fixed up, and more improvements on the way including
photos from this and last year's graduation ceremonies:)
5-07-05
I am now officially
a graduate of Duquesne
University with a Masters of Science in Multimedia Technology!!!
I'd like to thank all of those who have supported me, my family, my
friends, and the wonderful faculty of the Liberal Arts and Music Technology
department. Also, I'd like to congradulate all my friends who graduated
this semester as well:)
Let the Geek Times Roll
Today was a very long day, but it was nice to be able to spend quality
time with the family after the graduation ceremony. Brian gave me his
old laptop as a graduation present, a nifty little iBook I lovingly
renamed ChiBook, from which I am typing right now:) We ran out to catch
an afternoon showing of Hitchhikers
Guide to the Galaxy, and then dinner at Mallorca's in South Side.
We swung by my grandparents for a Mothers Day visit, and then I headed
off to Gwen's graduation party spectacular at the Colony. It was nice
to see so many familiar faces, many of whom I havent had time to visit
in such a long time. Its been a busy 5 years, hard to find free time
when you're doing two degrees side by side, planning concerts, and helping
run 3 film festivals.
Back.... to the future!
Yup... Long... long day, but very much fun and I'm so relieved that
school is behind me now. Time to take a break and prepare for the next
wave of things to come. I am still teaching this summer, through Telecommunity
and for the T:ME workshops. I begin a video editing internship with
Mullen next week,
and I'm really looking forward to the experience. In addition, there
are some film projects and music concepts in the works as well, more
info later:)
5-05-05
This evening was fantastic.
My friend Kenneth had an extra ticket for the famous Cirque
Du Soleil and their performance of Varekai. The show was amazing,
beautiful lighting, gorgeous costumes, and the stunts were very well
choreographed. It was like Squonk Opera and ninjas combined:) Again,
thanks Ken for bringing me along!
5-01-05
This weekend I was
lucky enough to have Friday night open, so I dashed up to Erie for the
Great Lake Film Association's 2nd
Annual Music Video Festival. Last year's fest was such a hit that
I'm glad we were able to swing another one. Even though we were competing
with many events around the area, college graduations, a monster truck
rally nearby, and many others, we still had a great turnout! The videos
were very professional this year, and my favorite was definitely "Crushed"
by Lareau, incorporating the sad tale of an action figure (played by
Skelator from He-man) when he discovers that his whole life has been
misguided, as he is not a hero but 'the bad guy'. Very amusing! We showcased
many bands as well, including a very cute girl 80s rock band, the Killerinas,
the marvelous Phantasm, and we were fortunate to be the USA premiere
of Bedouin
Soundclash, a reggee rock band from Canada. I'd like to commend
those who really ran the whole show this year, Frank, Steve, and Ropp;
hats off to an excellent start to the 2005 GLFA events!
4-27-05
Excellent News! I
guess award-winning blood runs in the family because Barry has informed
me that his film, "the Brotherhood", won Best
Film of the Robert Morris University Film Contest!!!
(you may remember me mentioning the film shoot in a previous post, as
I was brought on as sound design and 'boom' operator) Congratulations
to everyone from the cast and crew, especially to my brother for writing
such a nifty screenplay and pulling it all together.
4-17-05
Spent a long time
today designing the DVD case artwork for the last two Run
and Gun films, Wrong
Number and Dualife.
Yes, thats right folks. We are finally going to be part of the media
distriubution world very soon! Check back later for info about how to
obtain a copy of the Run and Gun projects, or email me with any questions:)
4-08-05
Awesome news! Last
night Liz Rishel and myself attended the Duquesne Student Film Festival.
I walked away with not only Best Overall
Film (and best drama) of the fest, BUT ALSO the People's
Choice Award!!! Thanks to everyone who helped out with
The Sweet
Tooth Stratagem, especially to my wonderful cast, Liz and Jeremy,
to the Ricks for their technical support, to Scotto for writing such
a wonderful screenplay, and to my family! (click here
for more info)
4-07-05
Had a
moment, between moments of chaos and final projects, and updated the
webcaptures
page (photos of yours truly). Thanks to my buddy Vincent for the black
and white picture of me at work in the labs. This picture is, I
believe, from the first day back after Spring Break. Wow.... I look
tired....
4-03-05
Wow, march went by
too fast. So much going on! I was informed this weekend that my short
film, The
Sweet Tooth Stratagem, has been accepted into the Duquense
Student Film Festival! It will be screened with the other finalists
this thursday at 9pm. Who knows, maybe this pastry dark comedy will
win best drama of 2005??? Also, best of luck to Julia Hannan, a fellow
musician, and Run and Gun's Josh Bales, whose films Introspection
and The Craving (winner of last year's fest) have also been
accepted into the festival. Stay tuned!
3-26-05
Yey! Been very busy
lately compressing video and music files for an upcoming interview,
and for the evergrowing CD-ROM project. I FINALLY posted some new tunes
so check out my
Concerts Page for audio clips from Synthesia, my concert last spring.
For now I have posted the infamous, and ever amusing, Vox
Layers 3.0 as well as all three movements from Cusswords
and Fire and Verbum
Supernum Prodiens, my choral work!!!
I'll be uploading video files from Cusswords as soon as the month settles
down a bit. Enjoy!
3-24-05
Been a very busy week,
thankfully it is spring break so I dont have to go to class. Graduation
day is creeping up on me very fast, I get my Masters the first week
in May. I've been spending lots of time on my curriculum vitae and gathering
materials for my newest portfolio/resume CD-ROM (expected completion
date April 22nd.) I added a few things to the graphics
page this morning, more to come including plans to fix the broken links
on my movies page. Stay tuned!
3-16-05
The GLFA is still
accepting Music
Video entries till March 31st! Check the website
for details and information about our other current competitions, the
Run
and Gun screenplay competition and the 2005
Film Festival.
3-03-05
The longest weekends
are those that seem to run nonstop from thursday till sunday night and
you're still mentally asleep by the time tuesday comes around.... I
had a grand time, did my lighting design for the tango concert, worked
sound on set, indoor and outdoor scenes, for my brother Barry's film
shoot all weekend, two hours of sleep between friday and sun... tired
as hell and still in pain from overwork.
*happy wheezy sigh*
I am not complaining, at least not in a way that you might think I would.
I enjoyed every moment. Getting to do lighting design, to hang from
a ceiling covered in dusty gels was so much fun... I miss working technical
theatre. And to do sound on a film shoot with an honest to god crew,
half of them my cohorts from the Run and Gun projects, was like returning
home after a long voyage. Yes, I am tired. Yes, I hurt all over. Yes,
the outdoor shoot all sunday was 10 degrees and I swear it will take
a month before I can feel every part of my toes again. But, hey. At
least I know why I'm in pain, I did too much, I teched too much, I gave
my all... and... enjoyed every moment of it:)
On a side note...
Barry's film is going to be awesome when it is complete. Unfortunately,
due to weather and rented film equipment not always working as much
as you want it to, we had to stop the shoot early. We shall resume filming
on sunday March 20th. Stay tuned for more info about his latest short,
"The Brotherhood".
2-22-05
Sorry if I've been
distant lately, guys. Lots of things going on, and some of them really
great. The latest is I have been asked to do the stage and lighting
design for a concert by my dear friend, Jeremy Sment. I had another
meeting this evening with Jeremy, some of the dancers, and Lea, the
artist and creator of the videos to be projected, and so far we seem
to be headed in the right direction. The performance space is far from
ideal, but I'm hoping to make the most of it and add whatever color
and flavor I can to match Jeremy's vision, a non-conventional performance
artwork. I cant wait to start ripping out gels and gettin my hands scorched
on the lights thursday morning, and you know I'm serious:)
Thursday, February 24 at 8pm: Tangueros
de Ley
in
Gran Concierto Gran
PNC Recital Hall Duquesne University.
"Pittsburghs premiere
tango ensemble revives the full tango orchestra from the Golden Age
of Tango. Come to listen as Tangueros de Ley and their orchestra play
Piazzolla, Mores, original works by Jeremy Sment and more. David Stock
Conducts. Admission is $10 at the door. Special Guest Performers and
Dancers will be there." For
more info..
2-07-05
Posted a new
rambling and some new
graphics today. Enjoy:)
2-05-05
Time for me to get
back up on my filmfest soapbox: Now, on the Great
Lakes Film Association website,
we have information and forms up regarding entries for this year's Music
Video Film Festival (April 2005), the annual International
Film Festival and Run and Gun Screenplay competition (September
2005), and the Eerie Horror film festival (October 2005). Please
check out the website and feel free to email me with any questions:)
2-01-05
Man... things are
crazy... graduate school is lots of work but you know me, workaholic
till the death! Honestly, I'm enjoying all my classes this term, taking
Cross-Platform Authoring, Streaming Media, and Typography. I'll try
to post some of my projects as time goes on, text is really addictive
once you start studying it as an artform, lemme tell yah. Oh, and stay
tuned for some updated artwork, ramblings, music, and videos (including
the oh-so-anticipated Sweet-Tooth Stratagem.)
1-17-05
I have another film
credit on IMDB now! I am listed as Co-Producer of Wrong
Number. Its almost hard to believe that we did that film two
falls ago. Dualife was this past season's Run and Gun project,
our second film after Wrong Number, and I cannot wait to see
what screenplays are entered this year. If you
know anyone interested in submitting a screenplay for the Run and
Gun Project for this fall, September 2005, there will be information
posted soon on the main website, but for now feel free to email me with
any questions.
1-13-05
I attended a job fair
this past week, hosting 20 Pittsburgh radio and television stations,
including WTAE, Fox22, Disney, ESPN and WRRK. Passed out a bunch of
resumes, maybe somthing will turn up. It was rather startling how many
different people gathered at this fair, a wide variety of ages and degrees,
resulting in waiting in line for at least 10 minutes for some of the
recruitment booths. If anything, at least I got a good impression of
what the competition is, and what to change/prepare for the next time
I try applying for a position in that field (porftolio cd-roms, and
audio demos, etc).
1-04-05
As winter quietly
slips |
