I tried to confront Joe Beets today and ask him what his goals are and he punched me!
Plus he stole my Camp Magic Macguffin flip flops.
FIND JOE BEETS but be careful, he is out of control, and dangerous.
Archive for the ‘magicmacguffin’ Category
I tried to confront Joe Beets today and ask him what his goals…
Tuesday, July 10th, 2012DS106 Confidential 2012-07-09 21:12:00
Tuesday, July 10th, 2012CAMP MACGUFFIN DIRECTOR SPOTTED IN AREA 51 SHED!!!!
The mystery surrounding Camp Magic Macguffin and its parent organization CVI deepened this week as DS106Confidential reporter Joe Beets, on assignment in Arizona, caught Camp MM director Alan Levine far from the camp’s rural location in Virginia. Mr. Levine, who seems to spend little actual time at the camp, was spotted entering a black helicopter at a small private airport at a secret location in the Southwest. Beets was able to follow the helicopter for its short trip to the top secret testing facilty in Groom Lake – aka Area 51. Entering through a hole in the barb wire fence, Joe was able to snap one photo of Levine inside a shed housing a very unusual craft.
Beets was unable to take more photos, but did catch Mr. Levine at the same airport the next day. While he was not able to enter the secure area he did get manage to get a picture using his telephoto lens.
It is interesting to note that in this photo Mr. Levine appears to be markedly younger! Are the rumors of some sort of alien presence at the Area 51 site true? Could Mr. Levine have undergone some sort of anti-aging process? What does this mean for Camp Magic Macguffin? Is there some sort of link between Levine’s youthful appearance and the disappearance of the campers in Bunkhouse X?
And why is it called Groom Lake? Take a close look at the patch on Levine’s shirt. Is it just coincidence that the counselor in charge of Bunkhous X is none other than Jim Groom?????
And the big question —– why does a super hi-tech organization like CVI, with ties to the military and alien visitors, run a summer camp????
Filed by Kim Beets (for Joe Beets who is still on special assignment.)
Random Thoughts from ISTE
Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
I noticed a trend at ISTE that I had not seen before (quite possibly because I just wasn’t paying attention in the past). The title on most people’s nametags was long. Sometimes this was because the individual is a central office person with a long title; sometimes the title involved some sort of consulting or educational business title. Others were teachers whose titles were quite specific: Language Arts Teacher Upper Elementary or such. My nametag (and I certainly wasn’t alone) said, “Teacher.”
My first reaction when I noticed this was that my nametag was a bit lame. I should have been more specific, maybe First Grade Teacher. As I thought about it I changed my mind. “Teacher” is my title, it is my job, it is what I do.
I don’t mind the more specific, longer titles. That said, I do begin to wonder if the title of “Teacher” is viewed negatively. Do people feel a need to put more elaborate titles because those will be treated with more respect?
The Northern Virginia Writing Project Summer Institute started today so I’m trying to wrap up writing about my thoughts from ISTE, knowing that soon they’ll be lost in the new thinking.
Video of Camper and Furry Pet(?) Raises Eyebrows
Monday, July 9th, 2012I’ve been really busy lately at camp. Keeping an eye on everything in Shed #4 and all. A few campers have asked if they can come and see the contents of the shed. Please stop asking. I simply can’t grant permission at this point. It’s complicated.
Meanwhile, some more strange footage has emerged. This time it’s a video I found on one of the digital cameras we lend out to campers. (PLEASE PEOPLE, remember to delete your stuff when you return equipment!!)
Once again, I’m not sure what I’m looking at. I think this might be the inside of one of the bunkhouses, but I don’t recognize that camper or his pet. . chinchilla? Does anyone know the source of it, and should we be concerned that someone’s been spiking the KoolAid? Or perhaps this camper has stumbled upon those strange spores I inhaled out by Paddock 77 a few weeks ago?
It’s possible this was an attempt to complete a video project, since we’re smack in the middle of the video unit at Camp Magic MacGuffin. But, if that’s the case, I just have to say: go back to the editing room. This needs work.
The Seventh Seal: Mindful, Minimalist Movie Poster
Monday, July 9th, 2012
Design Assignment 43: Create a tv/movie poster that captures the essence of the story through the use of minimalist design/iconography.
Inspiration
I’m no Bergman connoisseur nor real film buff for that matter, but Bergman’s The Seventh Seal has a scene that is pure poetry, verbal and visual. To set up the scene, a knight, Antonious Block, returning from the Crusades, challenges the devil to a game of chess believing this to be a clever ploy to stall for more time, life. Delaying the inevitable, the knight along the journey back to his castle meets a juggler, Jof, and his wife, Mia, and young child, Mikael. The wife shares the family’s meal, strawberries and milk, and Block remarks:
I shall remember this hour of peace: the strawberries, the bowl of milk, your faces in the dusk. Mikael asleep, Jof with his lute. I shall remember our words, and shall bear this memory between my hands as carefully as a bowl of fresh milk.
[He drinks from the bowl.]
Block’s comments really resonate with me and remind me of my constant quest to live in the moment or hour and make the most of the rich yet simple encounters that make up a life. I think that for all of the pleasures and opportunities that the digital world brings that it also antes up the challenge to live mindfully.
You can watch this scene on YouTube and if you’re as intrigued by Bergman’s work as I am then you’ll enjoy this retrospective on his work by Woody Allen. Allen was seriously influenced by Bergman’s work and work ethic and believes that Bergman’s films will stand the test of time and still be enjoyed and studied when the trendy films are long forgotten. It is both the soul and the technique of Bergman’s work that inspires Allen.
Process and Reflections
A minimalist poster seemed quite appropriate for Bergman’s metaphor-rich film.
I knew immediately that I would integrate a nod to chess and to the bowl of strawberries in my poster. The simple black and white squares I think conjures up a chess board and hints at the good/evil dichotomy of the story. I placed the bowl of strawberries on a diagonal to draw the eye immediately there. The one red strawberry adds a touch of the surreal and lets the viewer know that all is not as it seems. Finally, I used the Google Languages tool to translate the title into Swedish, Bergman’s native language.
Aspirations
I cut the bowl of strawberries from clipart and made some effort in GIMP to smooth the edges. I’d really like to learn to use a program like Illustrator that I’ve heard others mention to draw an abstract bowl of strawberries in black and white. Then I’d colorize the one strawberry for effect.
Or I’ve seen Giulia Forsyth create amazing drawings on her iPad. I’d wonder if that would be a good approach to create drawings. I love to draw.
It just occurred to me that my friend Norm always closes with “That’s my story. Any questions?” and I always seem to end with a question to help me tell my story better. An appropriate sign-off for me.
Home Stretch!
Monday, July 9th, 2012Sorry for my voice on this recording. I had my first major set of technical difficulties, which is why this is may be a little late. My microphone stopped working so I had to borrow my sisters laptop to create my video and her microphone is horrible, but it works. I was able to actually edit everything on my computer though. It was fairly simple, I just inserted my daily creates at the end and then in the middle of my video I inserted a segment from my Schneider’s List clip.
Parent Traps and Dance Battles?
Monday, July 9th, 2012I absolutely love the Parent-Trap, it is one of the few movies I can watch over and over again. This is one of the funny prank scenes from it and I thought with the action in this, you do not really need words to describe what is going on so it would be perfect for the silent film assignment. For this movie I would probably just change the contrast so that it is in all black and white. I would also split the scenes so that it is more choppy looking, like old films were.
My other Pre-Production assignment is the play by play video assignment. I recorded a “dance battle” between some friends at a wedding a couple months back and I plan on voicing over a play by play on it. Unfortunately I recorded it with a friends camera so I cannot upload the video right now. But he is going to send it to me via email so I can do the voice over. I am able to watch the video from his Facebook right now so i can get some ideas of what I want to say.
My Grammy’s Ring
Monday, July 9th, 2012One of this week’s Daily Create’s (http://tdc.ds106.us/) couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. The assingment was to make a video, telling everyone about your favorite piece of jewlery and to tell everyone how it became yours. I decided to tell the story about how I recieved my grandmother’s wedding band and why it means so much to me. A few weeks ago my dad gave me my grandma’s wedding band, which is not out of the ordniary for familys to do, but in this situation it meant a lot. My dad who raised me is not my biological dad, although you would never ever hear him utter those words because he never saw me as a ”step kid”, and out of all the other girls that are on that side of the family, I was the one to receive the ring. Not because he felt obligated, but because I am the oldest daughter of the oldest male and nothing less.
Heart Wrenching
Monday, July 9th, 2012We had an assignment to pick a movie that represents the best qualities of a compelling film, I choose “Schindler’s List.” It was listed on AFI’s list of 100 best films, and I remember seeing it in high school and how, well heart wrenching it was. If I had to classify it into a genre I would say documentary. I mean the movie is called SCHINDLER’S List, it is mostly about the actions of Oskar Schindler during World War II. Based off of the TV Trope Site, it could also be specifically classified as a Military and Warfare Troupe, a WWII troupe. The story itself is what initially makes this movie stand out amongst others, but after doing some reading from Roger Ebert, I realized that there was much more to it.
The above video is of some different clips I put together from Schindler’s List. In the first few scenes you see Schindler, played by Liam Neeson who I am a big fan of, being shot at an angle that is above us, the audience, and he is to the right. This could symbolize his superiority over what he is looking down upon, which is the chaos from the Nazis attacking the Jews. Since he is positioned to the right of the screen I think it is symbolizing that he is above his fellow Nazi Germans. He is different, good. Following this we see a little girl in red, she is the only color in the scenes. The fact that she stands out from the chaos and oblivious represents her innocence, and at this point in the movie, Schindler’s view on the treatment of the Jews is changed.
The next segment we have a man offering a ring to Schindler and the man says “whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” He and everyone else is thanking Schindler for saving over a thousand Jewish lives. The fact that Schindler is to the left in the scene probably represents the guilt he feels for not saving more lives or changing his attitude about the Jews sooner.
Analysing the Basterds [sic]
Monday, July 9th, 2012I really didn’t want to believe it. Wouldn’t films that follow rules just seem formulaic? How could following the “rules” still produce a good film after over 100 years of cinematography? I hoped it wouldn’t work but as I completed this ds06 assignment, I realized it was more true than I thought!
Week 7′s assignment encouraged us to
Write a blog post that explains your selection by identifying key scenes that use some of the elements described by Roger Ebert in his article “How to Read a Movie” essay
As I started to think about movies I liked, I came up with just about everything by Quentin Tarantino. Yes, there tends to be a lot of violence in his films and, as someone who doesn’t generally condone gratuitous violence, I find it amazing how much I enjoy his movies. I am always really impressed with how he can often make me laugh at what should be the most inappropriate times (i.e. often in the midst of a very violent act).
I decided to see what clips I could find of Inglourious Basterds. Since I was really impressed with Christoph Waltz in this film, I watched one of his opening scenes and couldn’t believe that it followed Ebert’s rules to a T! Maybe that’s the genius of Tarantino – combining very familiar camera work with an complex character, setting and/or plot.
Following the Rules
In the movie, Colonel Landa is both charming and evil. In this early scene that dichotomy is set up according to Ebert et al’s rules:
I neglected to mention that Colonel Landa is constantly moving in and out of the light. This is confusing as the audience isn’t completely certain if he is a good or evil character.
Although I couldn’t find a version of this scene with English subtitles, maybe it’s better that way – you can see the full effect of the visuals and the music regardless of the dialogue.
Great opening sequence!
Breaking the Rules
Part of this assignment was to also determine and justify the genre. Is this possible with a Tarantino movie?! My best attempt would be to go with “Alternate History”. This is a Tarantino re-visioning of World War 2 that, thankfully, allows for some complex characters that are neither wholly good nor wholly evil. The world is rarely black and white; it is usually many shades of grey.
