The Luck of the Draw

As it turns out, I was the winner of the raffle at the Arlington International Film Festival!

The prize was a rug, donated to AIFF by Dover Rug of Boston and Natick. Pictured with me below is Hasan Jafri of Dover Rug's Boston location.

It was a pleasure to meet and talk with Hasan, and my long-suffering and ever-more-beautiful wife and I look forward to enjoying the rug for years to come.

New Film Released

I am pleased to announce that my second short film, Why We Went to the Moon (2015), has just been released.

 
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Said to be culled from NASA archives, and including recently “de-classified” videos, a fictional US government agency reveals for the first time the true nature of the Apollo space voyages. “Why We Went to the Moon” explores the history of man’s fascination with our near-Earth companion - especially the longing for exotic sexual adventures with the women who must live there. These (mostly) suppressed fantasies achieve unstoppable political potency among American men when the shortage of women during the Eisenhower administration becomes an existential crisis.

One government official (who has asked not to be named) said, “Ha! Very clever...I like it as is.”

Running Time 6:14

Festival Success Again

Having a good fall on the film festival circuit.

In September, Pastiche Vol1 No1 was made an Official Selection of what looked like a very cool festival in Bilbao Spain.

And then in October, Pastiche made its North American Premiere as an Official Selection of the Arlington, MA International Film Festival. The venue was the well known Kendall Cinema in Cambridge.

Pictured with me (below) is Jade Bryan, Director of The Shattered Mind.

Both Jade and I had the opportunity to interact with our audiences in Q and A sessions after the screenings.

Many thanks to Alberto Guzman and April Ranck, the organizers. Thanks also to the sponsors and great audiences.

Swim Free or Cry

When last we left The Aquanuts, they were enjoying well deserved adult beverages in York, ME after completing an unprecedented eight beach one-day "adventure." Fearing a mutiny, I decided that in 2015 we would have something more closely approximating "a day at the beach." I thought that a swim in each of the five oceanfront towns in New Hampshire would be both fun and memorable. And so, on July 6 we set out.

Beach One
Great Island Common 
New Castle NH

“Left on Sagamore Road.”

“Should I go around again?”

“It SAYS Left on Sagamore Road!”

(pause)

“Should I go around AGAIN?”

Beach Two
Wallis Sands State Park
Rye NH

“What IS the problem with the seaweed?”

Beach Three
North Hampton NH

"The cure for every human sadness is salt. Tears, sweat, the ocean."
Attribution required

Beach Four

Hampton Beach

Hampton NH

(Overheard at Hampton)
“So how was the rest of the night?”

“A shitshow.”

“What happened?”

“You know, people started fighting and puking.”

“OK”

Beach Five
Seabrook Beach
Seabrook, NH

“I suppose you’re wondering what we are doing parked here.”

“It’s none of my business.”

So ends the tale of Swim Free or Cry. Fans of The Aquanuts can look forward to our 2016 offering

The Sweet Sixteen

Rhapsodes

Yesterday I had the privilege of joining my old mentor and good friend Bill Burke in delivering some short readings from the Classics to a group of students at Boston University. 

We were invited to perform the Invocations from and provide brief commentary on Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid for my brother Chris' class titled NARRATIVE: Theory and Practice.

http://youtu.be/xHRvVnYx8l8

Je suis