Yeah. You heard it right. This time it’s the often maligned Disney Classic: TRON. Even though Roger Ebert gave the movie 4 out of 4 stars, many film reviewers didn’t care much for the 1982 flick.

This movie (in my honest opinion) is the father of digital films. In fact, TRON (according to the French) held the title of ‘Best Film with Computer Graphics” until the the overly emotional film, ‘Titanic’ arrived on the scene. For once,the French have gotten it correct. But, I can’t say much about ‘Titanic’ being it’s successor.

The Englert Theatre will be hosting Riff Raff Theater on Friday, April 25th. If their take on the Keanu Reeves horrible classic, ‘Speed’, is any hint as to what is come; This film will rock the house.

My suggestion: Be There. And that’s an order.

While I am stressing the LIFE out of me this Spring (and final) Semester here at the University of Iowa, Angie is having the time of her life in Oregon. What is she doing in Oregon? Well, not much as far as I can tell. The crew has been keeping a video-blog of their escapades for Geonetric. I don’t know what this has to do with web development, but it sure looks like they are having the time of their lives. Check out the YouTube clip below.

I sure wish I were in Oregon right now. It sure beats mid-term exams.

I received (what I will from now on refer to as ‘The Phone Call’) at 9:56pm CST. I was on the phone with my kids at the time and decided to take the call (momentarily) to see what the guy wanted. We had been talking recently about the Comics In Action website and how I wanted to take the site over to a WordPress driven site, rather than use Dreamweaver and Photoshop to assemble everything.

I told my son, Jared, to wait a second and clicked over to the other line. We said our respective, –Hey, dude, what up’s– when the caller asked, “Have you heard the news?” I replied, “What news.”, rather hesitant as to what the response would be. “It’s 100 percent sure. We’re moving back to Iowa.” I almost dropped my RAZR and shouted at the moon, “There IS A GOD!”

If you haven’t guessed, my good friend, Chris Hanel, is returning to Iowa. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know exactly why this is so important. It’s not like Chris and I have had some kind of long standing friendship that has surpassed the ages. I’ve only hung-out with the guy less than a dozen times. So, why did this news make me as giddy as a school-boy? We have a mutual project, Comics In Action, that has tied us together in a way that is beyond odd.

Comics In Action was borne out of a mutual feeling that a local improvisational comedy troupe was necessary here in the Cedar Rapids / Iowa City area. The concept started from Chris’s idea, which was expounded upon by fellow-collaborator, Abraham Peterka. Chris and Abe had been working with a mutual friend, Stephen L. Phelan, on a Star Wars Fan Film, “The Formula“. The near-feature-length film had received some critical acclaim within the Star Wars community and garnered them well-deserved ‘street cred’ among Fan Film makers in general.

No sooner had Chris and Abe held auditions for their ‘MIB meets FBI’ improvisational comedy troupe, when Chris decided to attend the DAVE school (short for ‘Digital Animation & Visual Effects’) and move to Florida. From there, Abe was left to assemble the rest of the comedy troupe. Comics In Action became a minor hit within Eastern Iowa, amassing fans from Des Moines to the Quad-Cities.

Chris was at the initial improv auditions and MAYBE one rehearsal (if my memory serves me correctly) and then I didn’t see him for a couple years. He came back to Iowa for family get-togethers and he even had the opportunity to perform with us a couple of times. Each time, I sat back and thought to myself, “Man. He’s got a pretty quick wit. I wish he would stay.” In fact, there was rarely a moment during Chris’ absence, when Abe or Steve wouldn’t comment on how much they missed him and the grand times they had putting “The Formula” together. Although I was having fun with the rest of the comedy troupe, even I began to feel as if Chris’ presence was sorely missed… and I barely knew the guy.

During those times when Chris came back, the two of us would always find time to chat about life, Comics In Action, The Formula, Trey Stokes, Pink Five, and Natalie Portman. The guy comes off as a true geek who has managed to do some things that even the ‘truest geek’ would bow down in reverence. How many people can actually say that they have met and interviewed George Takei of ‘Star Trek’ fame? Who has hung out with Natalie Portman? Chris has. Do you realize what this means? It means that I am within 3 degrees of separation from George ‘freakin’ Lucas. WOW! Do you know anyone who has met Mike Nelson, the head-writer for MS3K (Mystery Science Theater 3000)? I didn’t think so.

Somehow during those times, the two of us have garnered mutual respect for the other. We talk the same language. We both have high-hopes for Comics In Action and we both are upset George Lucas’ attempt to mask the original storyline…”Hahn shot first!” In addition, we know perfectly well that ‘Real Genius’ is the most quotable movie ever made.

So, now I look forward to Mr. Hanel returning for good to the heartland. He has already put together an idea that I’m sure will be a drop-dead hit. He’s already got me hook-line-and-sinker. I’m crossing my fingers that the honeymoon will last for some time. Actually, I should be ashamed for writing that. I know Chris. I know better than that.

“Release the hounds!”

If there is one thing I distaste about most blogs, is the rambling front page with endless entries. I like my websites to be concise, organized but interesting to the eye. That’s one of the biggest reasons I am using the Gridlock theme. It has that… magazine style of front end that appeals to me. So, when my previous ‘Art of Wasting Time’ entry, I was rather upset with myself for letting it get it get so long.

So, I have decided to continue along the the ‘Best of Online Video’ theme, and continue with what I consider to be some of the greatest clips I have found.

It took me some time to think back to previous clips that I had noticed and laughed considerably afterwards (or during, if it was particularly amusing). I have to give my ‘props’ to SNL… you’ll see why.

You know… I haven’t seen ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’. I have, however, read the book. I like most Sci-Fi moral tales…. except Harry Potter. I guess it’s just me. I’m more of a ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy‘ kind of guy.

Last summer, my two kids (Jared and Haley) and myself worked on a digital-short which they had written themselves. It was a pretty novel idea. It was spawned from the ‘Intro to Film and Video’ class that I took over a year ago here at the University of Iowa.

Yes. It’s a shameless plug. But, hey, it’s my kids. They are pretty stinkin’ smart… obviously they get it from me…. maybe.

Some of the funniest clips are those that should never have been leaked out to the general public. If you know what I mean, then you’ve seen the ‘Star Wars Kid’ clips. If not… where have you BEEN!

Begin Short Break-Down: Some kid at school used their equipment to film himself doing light-saber stunts using some kind of long pole as his weapon. Someone else grabbed the footage and posted it online. It spurned a whole series of clips that placed him in odd situations, usually super-imposing him atop of ‘Neo’ of the Matrix or Uma Thurman in ‘Kill Bill’. This is my favorite clip… the Star Wars version. For more info on the whole story, read about it here. Here is more on from Wired.com.

For some time, I have been collecting links to the latest viral videos on the web. These videos have come from various people: family, friends, co-workers and fellow students. As viral video savvy as I think I am, there is far to many awesome videos out there on the Word Wide Web for even I to track.

This post will be a continually updated post. I have grown tired of trying to remember the various links when I am not sitting at my on computer, so I have decided to collect them all into a single post. But, it will be impossible for me to do all in one sitting. This won’t be a Top 10 or a Best of the Best list of stuff. This will simply be a continually updated post that will detail what I think is the best of what I think a good viral video is all about.

I remember rolling on the floor for HOURS after watching this short movie. Many of my friends are Star Wars fans and after watching Pink Five, I had forwarded the link to nearly everyone I could think of. I then proceeded to force all my co-workers to watch, including my boss. Maybe that’s why I got laid-off. Pink Five has grown into a trilogy that follows the efforts of ‘Stacey’ and the boyfriend (Han Solo) she keeps on the ‘down-low’. It’s a pretty intricate series and it winds its way and tells the back-story to nearly every Star Wars character. I can’t believe my friend, Chris Hanel, is actually working with Trey Stokes and Amy Earhart on this series. It ‘like, totally blows my mind.’ OK. Now, I am truly embarrassing myself.

What can be said about this spin on Budweiser’s ‘Whassup!” series of commercials. Of course, the ‘old granny’ version was just as funny as the first. But, these guys took that concept to a completely different level. This is by far my favorite.

There over a billion versions of this animated video on Google and YouTube. This is probably the cleanest of them all, which makes determining the original author’s name, Victor Navone, easier to determine. This clip was originally built in 1999, making it one of the longest running viral videos on the internet. This one is short and sweet and the real bonus is for those that can figure out how he trimmed Gloria Gaynor’s hit ‘I Will Survive’ to fit.

What could be funnier than watching bear Kung Fu? This would be one.

Speaking of bears, it seems I’ve seen this before. Perhaps in a Funniest Home Video contest.

This animated short takes some time to fully develop and it surprised me with its depth and story line. Not only is the digital animation top notch, the soundtrack adds just the right touch of poignancy. Look it up.

As old as I am, I have not attended as many concerts as I honestly should have. My first concert was at the Five Seasons Center where I watched Johnny Cash (aka The Man In Black) in the first row with my mom and step-father. I begged and pleaded with my mom who reluctantly allowed me to attend my second concert with my friends. White Snake was opening for Quiet Riot. I made out with a girl that night. It was awesome.

Now, both my kids are getting to that age where they too will be asking to attend concerts with their friends. The current favorites are Nickelback, Linkin Park, John Mayer and The Family Values tour. The trick is getting them involved in watching their favorite artists ‘LIVE’, but not so involved that it becomes dangerous. So, when the opportunity came to watch one of MY favorite artists, Weird Al Yankovic, how could I not resist the chance to take my kids to concert that would be as exciting as it would be lame. I mean, Weird Al fans aren’t notorious boozers and drug fanatics. Simply put; they are geeks.

My kids have grown up with my fondness for Weird Al’s music. During every drive I have made while transporting my kids between Tennessee and Iowa, we listened to Weird Al’s latest CD at least once. It takes 10 hours traverse that distance and I made that drive six to eight times a year. That’s a LOT of Weird Al. I may have to re-purchase ‘Running With Scissors’ as the surface has become so worn that the CD is nearly impossible to play.

Weird Al performed at the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids and it marked the second time I had seen his ‘LIVE’ performance. As with the first, Sunday’s performance did not disappoint as Al and his crew played almost every song I could remember from his albums. Most of the night was spent listening to his latest hit albums; Running With Scissors and Straight Out Of Lynwood. Somehow I forgot about his Green Day parody,’Canadian Idiot’, which completely rocked the house. Haley, Angie and I commented on how Weird Al never misses a good lyric. I don’t know how he does it. What surprised me the most, was his encore song. My kids have been rockin’ with me for years to the tune, “Albuquerque” and when Al’s band played the first bar, my mouth literally dropped. The song is SOOOOOOOOOOO long and the lyrics are eleven minutes of rambling. How ANYONE can remember that much dialog is amazing.

Still, the most disappointing aspect about the evening had nothing to do with the performance. My son, Jared, was in the middle of a school sponsored trip to Washington D. C., so he was not able to attend the show. I knew he was enjoying himself in the nation’s capitol, but his presence was sorely missed.

Haley took most of the pictures from that night. Every time I looked over at her, she had her eyes fixed upon the LCD on the back of her digital camera, bouncing back-and-forth and singing the lyrics along with Weird Al. The smile on her face was priceless.

After the show, Angie, Haley and I waited for nearly an hour trying to get Weird Al’s autograph. I’ve never waited to get anyone’s autograph before. But, Angie insisted and we scampered to the back of the Paramount, giggling like a pack of teenagers. The mood was light and the fans were an eclectic bunch. They ranged from grade-schoolers to grandparents. Some had brought CD covers from home, while others (like us) didn’t think about an autograph until later. All we had were the show tickets that Angie had so elegantly procured in the first place.

Angie mentioned that she had actually ran into Weird Al while she was living in New York. They bumped into each other, walking in opposite directions. It wasn’t until he had apologized for not watching where he was going, did Angie realize who she was standing face-to-face with. He continued walking down the street, leaving Angie a bit dumb-founded at the encounter. I can’t honestly think of what I would have done.

After nearly an hour, we were informed to form a line and told NOT to take any pictures. We hurried together and filed one-by-one past the entrance to Al’s tour bus. Weird Al appeared tired, as he sat in the steps to his bus. I handed him my ticket-stub, telling him, “Welcome back to Cedar Rapids.” Al commented back, “I’m trying to remember exactly when we were here last,” handing the freshly signed ticket back to me. I glanced at it and shook his hand. “Thanks for an awesome show”, I replied. He simply smiled back at me awkwardly. I was struck by how soft-spoken he was. It hit me afterwards that Al was just another guy. He’s just a guy that got lucky enough to do exactly what he wanted and make good money doing it.

I’m crossing my fingers that I get just as lucky. Wouldn’t that just be a hoot.

Absolutely nothing.

I finished my taxes last night and am ready to sign my name, write a check for $170, affix a stamp and toss that darned thing into the mail. The only possible reason I like doing my taxes is the software I use to help me. Like most people, I’ve been using Turbo Tax for many years and each year, they make the process easier and easier. Turbo Tax asks the right questions, prods me along the way if I make a mistake, and guides me into utilizing tax deductions I never would have thought of. Of course, my life is rather financially simple at the moment. However, dealing with IRA withdrawals, reasonable University of Iowa tuition expenses, and scholarships should be handled by those that know what they are doing. I don’t. That’s why I use tax software. There’s no way I could possibly determine what to deduct from what and when and where. I’m not that bright.

I’m still under the impression that this should be a straight tax, instead of the graduated system we have now. There are those that say that a straight tax would be difficult on lower-income people, but I am a low-income wage-earner and I still think that a straight tax is the way to go. Of course, it wouldn’t work if we were to immediately switch gears. But, if the concept was phased-in over a period of 10 to 20 years, I think the economy would chug-along just fine and lower-income people wouldn’t be caught in the cross-fire. Now, we still wouldn’t be able to track cash transactions, but we can’t catch those now, so that’s not an issue. It puts everyone on an even keal and levels the financial landscape.

What do I know? I’m just a computer engineering student.