I have a B.A. in Film which I am not using in any career. I have made a couple movies since graduating, but I don’t think I really gained any skills at school that I did not already have.
I didn’t learn much. I don’t think my education was particularly good — it was during the last gasp of a tired faculty that gave up on the promises of 1970s independent cinema 10 years before I got there. I’m a little sour on the whole experience.
However, one really neat thing I cherish was seeing lots of documentaries and experimental films that I would likely never see otherwise.
Experimental films and documentaries are not readily available. One thing that really kills me about the show Documentary Now is that it parodies lots of real documentaries that most people have never seen. Hey, assholes, why don’t you show people the real Salesman or Original Cast Album: Company as a public service instead of poking fun at something really hard to find. Assholes!
Anyways, I saw lots of documentaries and experimental films. Experimental films are even harder to find than documentaries. I can find some online, but the quality is often pretty bad. I found several bad transfers of the 1970s silent film Serene Velocity with audio added. NO. NO LIKE.
One of my favorite experimental films I saw at school is the Standish Lawder film Necrology. I found a copy of it that has pretty nice resolution and preserves the soundtrack, even if it is a bit faint.
Enjoy! (or Don’t!)
P.S. After I wrote this post I had a sinking suspicion I might have talked about this film before. I mentioned it in passing and shared a video of it (now gone) in 2007.
I think it warrants a mention every 16 years. Don’t you?
An appeal to the NASCAR DadsTugging on the patriotic heartstrings of Gondor“Yes, this is the Gorn speaking. No, I’m not running for office. What? What? WHAT?!!”
FranIAm: First I had FranIam from 2007-2009 and that is no longer visible to the world.It was a snarky blog mostly about politics and other kind of shitposting! That is where I met so many of you beautiful bloggy people. In 2009 I started There Will Be Bread, a blog about the intersection of faith and life. It has kind of died off now, but is still online.
S: When and why did you start blogging?
FIA: I think it was around 2006 and my friend (the blogger formerly known as Distributorcap) had me start reading some blogs – Princess Sparklepony and also Daily Kos. I wrote something for Daily Kos and did a few times. They had a sister site at the time, Street Preachers. Its focus was politics and religion, and I had (still do) had a lot to say about that. Then one day in 2007 I started FranIam. It was fun to write about funny, snarky things. Once I remember posting a photo of George W. Bush in crocs, with some smart-assy commentary. That was where I was at! It was fun and funny all at once. That blog connected me with so many people, including you. It is weird because at first I met all you funny, crazy, politicalish, snarky people and then I also got hooked up to a group of far-left Episcopalians. In the end there was overlap, which was great! It is just funny how it all evolved very organically at a unique moment in internet life. It was wonderful.
S: Did you stop blogging?
FIA: More or less. I want to keep writing but am unsettled about how/where. Not a blog though, maybe a substack. I did start a substack before I sent you this. It can be found here – Not What You Might Think. It is pretty lame so far!
S: When did you stop blogging?
FIA: My blog just kind of died out over the past couple of years. Lack of time, interest, energy. Facebook sucked a lot of life out of it too and politics were not as much a factor during the Obama years. He will always be my favorite president.
S: What were factors that contributed to stopping?
FIA: A lot of things, primarily energy and focus. It just was hard to find time to do it. Plus social media (Facebook) kind of broke blogging. It just all felt like so much!
S: Do you ever miss it?
FIA: All the time!!
S: Do you think you’ll ever pick it up again? Why or why not?
FIA: I will give the substack a go, but honestly – we lived in the Golden Age of blogging, and I do not think we will ever see that again.
S: Did you feel part of a larger community when writing your blog?
FIA: I did.
S: Do you have people you regularly interact with? How large a group is it? Are they also bloggers?
FIA: I have a pretty solid circle of people that I met through social media that I am still in touch with. Many of us have met over the years, and I am in regular touch with more than a few people. And that blogger formerly known as Distributorcap? I talk to him almost every day, pretty much via texting.
S: How do you feel about social media? Does it give you the same feelings as blogging? Why or why not?
FIA: Social media is a mixed bag. Love/hate for sure. Same feeling? A little bit the same, but the blog world felt much more communal, less cruel!
S: How do you feel about the state of the Internet in general? This is a very broad question, so feel free how to answer as you see fit.
FIA: The internet is the best and worst thing in the world. I could wax on for hours, but overall I think it often does more harm than good. But yet – where else would I find all you beautiful people? The internet has been and remains a source of great information mixed with shitty information and disinformation, it is a place full of wisdom and love, except when it is not, which is often.
Let me use Twitter, I mean Xhitter, as an example. I grew to love that place. When I finally found my people, not unlike with blogs, I really loved it and found real community. But then that monster bought it and it is really awful. Honestly though, I cannot quit that xhit! 🙂
I am so glad you undertook this little project – what a reminder of days gone by, a ton of laughs, creativity, bold political thought and action, and so much more.
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Thanks for all your thoughtful answers, Fran!
And I’m glad I did this project, too. It’s so nice to hear from all my blogging buddies. Oh, if Distributorcap wants to be interviewed, please let me know! I’m sure I’m not the only person who misses him.
It was started by two guys as a weekly drop-in singalong in Toronto in 2011, and has transformed into a really amazing phenomenon that tours around the world. If the show comes to your town, you can buy a ticket and join hundreds of others for several hours to learn a song split into choral arrangements, and then after the rehearsal you will perform it.
They have come to Chicago multiple times. My wife has participated in several concerts — I have made it to one with her and some friends. We rehearsed and sang the Chicago song “25 or 6 to 4”. It felt really special to be part of something that is creative, communal and all-too-brief. I still think about that night from time to time.
Choir! has a lot of these collective concerts on YouTube. The majority of the videos there are only the two founders, Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, plus the choir/audience. However, sometimes they will have special guests. David Byrne joined the choir to sing the Bowie song “Fame”, Rufus Wainwright sang the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah”.
My favorite of these “celebrity” choir concerts is the one with Patti Smith. The song is “People Have The Power”. You can feel the energy and warmth during the performance. I can’t imagine being in the choir for this — it must have been overwhelming. Smith herself seems pretty emotional about the whole experience.
Oh, Stewart Copeland is there too, for some reason, playing a skillet. I like Stewart Copeland, whatever and whenever weird place or time he shows up.
I hope you love this video as much as me. People have the power.
