6.30.2005

Done! (almost)

The rendering is complete, and all that's left is the drudgery of MPEG compressing for New Spring's American Soldier 4th of July message. The opener isn't as flashy (I don't think) as some of my other work, but it fits into the full worship experience's look and feel; it's one part of a whole.

American Soldier Open (2 Mb, Quicktime)

UPDATE: I just took two hours away from this clip and rewatched it. It's starting to grow on me a little more.


AVed at 6/30/2005 05:50:00 PM | LINK |

6.29.2005

Successful evening (and movie review)

Tonight's "Lost Crew" (the group that watches Lost at our house when it's in season) got together tonight for quite-possibly-the-best homemade pizzas and movie time. Meg has a food review on her morsels site.

Lanna provided a classic (in her eyes) that I've never seen before. Before Sunrise (1995) is a quirky "boy-meets-girl" tale of two travelers that meet on a Europeon train and spend an entire evening wandering around Vienna, Austria. It's quirky in the nontraditional movie sense; it almost seems improvised. The musical score is nearly nonexistant, and the actor seem to be having an actual conversation as oppposed to reading from a script. There are strange conversations, fragmented thoughts. Themes run loosely through the film. I'd go on, but I wouldn't do the it justice. If you consider yourself a romantic, or like independent (at least in feel) movies, spend an enjoyable two hours being drawn in to this world.

Or you can read the script.


AVed at 6/29/2005 10:43:00 PM | LINK |

Just a render away

I'm feverishly working on the visuals for New Spring's 4th of July service, entitled "American Soldier." I am cooking up a version of "America the Beautiful" right now, and will have clips + clips of the opener up tomorrow.


AVed at 6/29/2005 06:14:00 PM | LINK |

worthy of a read

My wife Meg wrote a great article on her blog today. If you can spare a few minutes, I think you'll be touched by her talented writing. Take what she says to heart, as that's where her writing comes from.


AVed at 6/29/2005 10:19:00 AM | LINK |

iTunes / iPod update

OK, official review of the new iTunes v.4.9 update by Apple. The only change I am able to see as of yet is the addition of podcasting to the iTunes interface. It works fairly well, nothing too difficult. The podcasts (which, for the uninitiated, are basically online radio shows where the most recent episode is automatically downloaded to your iTunes for you) are served up through a similar interface as the Apple Music store. If you've ever wanted to hear a podcast, it's very easy to subscribe.

In a related note, if you're an iPod user, there's an update for your iPod, too. Get it here. I don't know what it fixes; I'm installing it today.


AVed at 6/29/2005 09:50:00 AM | LINK |

6.28.2005

At te Sightler Family Reunion

This is a picture of my beautiful Meg at her family reunion. I thought it was really cute, so it's now here on my blog.


AVed at 6/28/2005 11:39:00 AM | LINK |

iTunes v. 4.9 released

Apple releases version 4.9 ofiTunes. It finally includes integrated podcasting. This is potentially a big deal. I just downloaded the update and will be reporting on it's ease of use, features, etc., later this week.


AVed at 6/28/2005 11:22:00 AM | LINK |

Gardner's (Second)... Family Reunion

I didn't get photos up for the first one, but here is a photoset of Gardner's (Second)... Family Reunion. He really does enjoy going out and playing with his family. It's good to have a social baby. Until 7:30pm, when he turns into a pumpkin. But in daylight hours, he really enjoys seeing people.


AVed at 6/28/2005 07:17:00 AM | LINK |

6.27.2005

try this for Firefox

As I shared with Shua, there's a new IM extension for Firefox. It's tiny and very efficient. For those who are into such things, it could be useful.


AVed at 6/27/2005 08:10:00 PM | LINK |

Mac Update

Today's Mac update. I talked with tech support for the third time. After about 30 minutes of deliberation and three different tech support personel, we've finally decided to call my beloved Mac D.O.A. It is now tightly packed in the box from whence it came, ready to return to its maker. In California.

I will be getting a fresh, new machine within a week or two (overnighted by FedEx, nevertheless) once my D.O.A. machine makes it way back home.

Thanks to all who have e-mailed, called, or sent flowers. Your thoughts are appreciated. We will get through this time together.

Ken


AVed at 6/27/2005 05:30:00 PM | LINK |

6.25.2005

Don't you want your very own?

Just think about it, we could each get our very own and have head-to-head duals. Get your very own Hamster Fighting Machines.


AVed at 6/25/2005 10:28:00 PM | LINK |

for your computer

a new desktop (1280x1024). Or the smaller size here (1024x768).


AVed at 6/25/2005 01:02:00 PM | LINK |

6.23.2005

Chicago trip reflection

I have spent the last two hours working on the Mac to discover that there's something seriously wrong and it must be taken in to a service center. It is, however, a machine and machines are subject to breakdown. No bother. I won't rant. I won't rave. Instead, I'm going to switch gears and write briefly about a few of the revelations I had on my recent trip to Chicago.

"You have to hone your craft. Know it, so you'll have the skills when you need them."

"There are many answers. Don't always settle for the first answer, which may be good. There may be an even better answer out there."

It takes around 14,000 photos to get the 30 used in a National Geographic article.

Put yourself in the place of greatest potential.

The biggest difference between you and God is He doesn't think He's you.

Don't underestimate the power of unresolved tension.

"People don't remember what you tell them. They don't remember what you do. But they do remember how you made them feel."

Creativity is not doing what's always worked before.

"The less you say, the more they remember."

Silence is a powerful weapon in your arsenal.


AVed at 6/23/2005 05:59:00 PM | LINK |

Gardner's First... Fort - a photoset on Flickr

My son, Gardner, got his first fort yesterday. I built it from the boxes our Dell server came in. Enjoy the photo set on Flickr.


AVed at 6/23/2005 08:39:00 AM | LINK |

6.22.2005

I'm impressed

Oh my, go watch the Ronin's new Black Day to Freedom. It's dark, but amazing pacing.


AVed at 6/22/2005 10:15:00 AM | LINK |

The forbidden fruit (and other news)

Today's Apple news. The Mac is still pretty, but pretty don't edit the video. I was able to install OS X and all of the Adobe products yesterday, along with Magic Bullet for After Effects. Then I began the Final Cut Pro Installation Saga. It stated "Estimated Completion Time will be 8 hours, 56 minutes." Considering it took AE only 5 minutes to install, that seems a little hefty. I waded through the mess. And then the final disk (there are 6 DVDs) hung up. It said "please try reinstalling."

Yeah.

So I bailed out of the process and decided to start again today. Once we tweak this baby out, it should be awesome. In the meantime, however, what a mess. The Finder (Apple's version of Window's Explorer) says my program is installed. I'll update you as the day goes on.

In other news, because of this ad, I now want a Peugeot. Not really, but it's a nice piece of composite work. Be sure to watch it through to the end... the car in the tree is worth it.

Also, this AT&T video by studio bangbang is really slick. Worth a watch.


AVed at 6/22/2005 09:35:00 AM | LINK |

6.21.2005

New photos / Mac update

There are some new photos up on my Flickr page. Go and partake.

Mac update: The tech support folks are very nice, if not a little hard to understand. We basically surmised that I had a bum installation of OS X, and needed to reinstall the operating system. I'm not mad. There was nothing on the computer. Now if this happens again, my demeanor may change a bit. Right now, the Mac runs fine and I'm reinstalling Final Cut Pro... all 6 DVDs of it! That's a lot of content, ya'll.

Also, for those of you who like such things, Benz released a Mixed-Tape special today... they've just completed their first year of tape (or CD, or playlist) mixing. Go download and enjoy.


AVed at 6/21/2005 11:53:00 AM | LINK |

6.20.2005

Willow Creek trip - photo batch #1

The first batch of photos from our trip to Willow Creek Church in Chicago, IL. These photos are all focused on the worship arts conference, itself.

Tomorrow, I'll post the additional photos.


AVed at 6/20/2005 07:05:00 PM | LINK |

Apple - Power Mac G5 - is here

The Power Mac G5 arrived last week. I used it 2 hours. It is now crashed in a unusable state. But I'm currently talking to the most wonderful tech support person in the world. Hopefully he can help me.

Did I mention the Mac is beautiful?


AVed at 6/20/2005 03:24:00 PM | LINK |

6.18.2005

Summer Mix Series :: presented by yewknee.com

Yewknee.com's yearly Summer Mix Series is active again. Go get you some mp3 mixes and let the good times roll.


AVed at 6/18/2005 06:15:00 PM | LINK |

6.16.2005

This is telling

Confession time. I have a gay cell phone ring. It really is. Everyone I know has the same cell phone, and we can never tell who the incoming call is for because the "decent" rings are all the same. So, I've changed my ring to one of the really annoying songs. I hate it. But I do know who's calling, now.

To make it just a little bit interesting, I do a little dance (I'm not kidding here) when the phone rings. It keeps things interesting. Then my wife sends me this. I'm not quite this bad... I don't think.


AVed at 6/16/2005 08:00:00 AM | LINK |

Chicago Trip

I owe you all a lot (and I mean we took over 400) more photos and details about the trip I just returned from. The worship group from New Spring just returned from Chicago to attend Willow Creek's Worship and Arts conference.

My mind has officially been blown.

We learned so much. The speakers were top notch, and much more than I was expecting. I gleaned much wisdom. The greatest thing I took away from the trip was the newfound closeness with our team at work. I love that God revealed the same things to all of us, and I feel very unified with the people He has allowed me to do ministry with.

I will publish thoughts, photos, and much more later. Right now, I'm heading to the mountains for a day or two to rest, reflect, and spend time with family. And there's no internet.

For now, enjoy just one fleeting shot of Willow Creek's stage setup. That's Lincoln Brewster leading worship. Amazing.

(sidenote: there are a few photos on my flickr page, too... and in the calendar, too)




AVed at 6/16/2005 07:53:00 AM | LINK |

Willow Creek Praise team



AVed at 6/16/2005 07:51:00 AM | LINK |

6.13.2005

Dear FedEx

Dear FedEx,

Please bring my Mac to me. I am ready to start using proper editing equipment just like the big boys. Your site says it is somewhere in California, and I hope to see it soon. I have the software, monitors, and manuals. Now I just need that computer.

Don't let what happened to Shua happen to me.

Sincerely,
Ken Wilson


AVed at 6/13/2005 09:42:00 AM | LINK |

6.12.2005

Buck™ | 2005 MTV Movie Awards

Buck™ is one of my favorites, and they created an awesome package for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. Go, watch, be impressed.


AVed at 6/12/2005 10:03:00 PM | LINK |

6.11.2005

Week for firsts

Just wanted to toss a quick note out there that my son, Gardner, just stood up for the first time. And I actually caught it on film (or DV, as the case may be). I'll post the video later.


AVed at 6/11/2005 06:33:00 PM | LINK |

Cell Phone for people who are really, really good-looking.

Because I'm a huge fan of Zoolander (or here), I'm considering building one of these. And just so you know, "it's MAN. Mer-MAN."


AVed at 6/11/2005 01:51:00 PM | LINK |

6.10.2005

If you haven't seen these yet...


Gardner 3
Originally uploaded by Lanna Grace.
Lanna did a wonderful job photographing Gardner a few weeks back. All of her photos are beautiful, take a look.



AVed at 6/10/2005 04:31:00 PM | LINK |

CreativeInspiration

One of my favorite design collectives, WeWorkForThem, update with a new motion piece for Fuse network. WeWorkForThem = awesome. Fuse = awesome (great music channel, brilliant motion graphics, not afraid to take a stylistic risk). Also, yesterday the mail brought me a YouWorkForThem-sponsored book, 1000 Type Treatments. It's brilliant, and very inspiring. I love inspirational art books. They're wonderful to read when you're hitting a creative wall (I can feel one coming on so I'm going to be ready for it this time).

What do you do to inspire creativity?


AVed at 6/10/2005 11:28:00 AM | LINK |

6.09.2005

How do you consume?

I'm fascinated with RSS news and the ways people consume information. I've recently delved into the world of bloglines, and I must say, it's becoming very useful. I currently read 31 blogs a day. Using bloglines, I was able to skim over all of them this morning in about 5 minutes. 5 minutes to stay on top of the world's news, technology news, design news, church news (leadership, technology, etc.), and family / friend news. Yeah, it's working for me. (and as an added bonus, on the right side of this page, you can see the blogs that I'm currently reading... fed from bloglines).

In my skimming today, I came across this. Speakwire actually translates the text content of your RSS news into audio for you to listen to. Why bother reading when you can have a computer read to you?

Well, for one, it sounds really creepy. (Meg, I wouldn't visit this site if I were you). Two, it's faster to read and skim. Still, it's a good effort and worth a visit.


AVed at 6/09/2005 09:18:00 AM | LINK |

6.08.2005

and for that, I am thankful

There are times when I am reminded how thankful I am for what God has done for me. This is one of those times. Here is a picture of where I used to work. That, there, is Isola Laminates, located in Ridgeway, SC. No, I'm no longer working in that very tall treater tower, but instead I'm utilizing the creativity God has gifted me with for His glory.

In the Isola days, I was able to see plants shut down, people laid off, myself (and family) transferred. The only way we stayed afloat was by our own doing. And it didn't always fare so well. Now, the stability that I experience comes from Christ and Christ alone.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..."
Hebrews 12:28


AVed at 6/08/2005 05:06:00 PM | LINK |

Flickr color picker

Now this is just plain cool. And it's all "jello-y."


AVed at 6/08/2005 10:45:00 AM | LINK |

6.07.2005

More RSS, Easier to manage

I'm looking into ways to make site content easier to track for all of my readers out there. You'll notice on the right column, I've added some new links to various services that track blog content. I've been an RSS user for a while, primarily using desktop aggregators for everything (my current favorite is RSS Popper). However, I'm considering a few new options.

Bloglines and Feedburner are peaking my interest at the moment. Click their icons on the sidebar and let me know what you think. Does this make it easier to read your favorite AV Club news?

If this works, I'm going to outfit PerryNoble.com with these services. The AV Club is a good testing ground for that sort of thing.


AVed at 6/07/2005 04:56:00 PM | LINK |

I couldn't resist

I must share this with you. I'm thinking, once we move into the new New Spring building, I may have to build one of these for by edit station.

Thanks to Lee for this.


AVed at 6/07/2005 01:54:00 PM | LINK |

6.06.2005

Road Trip Survival

Meg and I survived our first road trip with Little G. Meg recounts the most memorable parts of the trip in this blog post. Also, you can visit this page for photos (all 143 of them) of our trip.


AVed at 6/06/2005 11:02:00 AM | LINK |

6.04.2005

We're off

I woke up at 5:45am on a perfectly good Saturday. We're heading off to Greensboro, NC for a wedding shower, wedding reception, and all around good time with friends and family. Think of me as I'll be at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church on Sunday. It was Meg's Dad's second church he ever pastored back in the day. All I'm sayin' is that I'm expectin' some covered dish like you wouldn't believe. And if not, I think that Greensboro offers some wonderful food selections.

Expect photos... the hotel is wireless!


AVed at 6/04/2005 06:31:00 AM | LINK |

6.03.2005

Star Wars: Episode III | Episode III Easter Egg Hunt

More fun for Star Wars fans, Star Wars: Episode III | Episode III Easter Egg Hunt.


AVed at 6/03/2005 01:44:00 AM | LINK |

6.02.2005

Ken Wilson, Action Hero.

Playing frisbee Monday night, waiting for the fireworks display to begin. It didn't. The so-called rain caused cancellation. Oh well, at least I got to work out my frisbee skillz with Matt and Sara.



AVed at 6/02/2005 10:19:00 AM | LINK |

For the Star Wars Fans in you

Jason sent me this today. It's pretty fun, even if you're not a Star Wars fan. I particularly enjoy the Vadar taunts and ridicules.


AVed at 6/02/2005 08:59:00 AM | LINK |

6.01.2005

New AV Club desktop

It's Wednesday, and I'm on vacation until the following Monday. So to celebrate, here's a new desktop to make your computer pretty. And if you're the weird wide-screen-monitor-person, here's a bigger one.


AVed at 6/01/2005 05:29:00 PM | LINK |