March 3, 2005 Archives

Yesterday was a joyous day in the Fox family. Down in Florida, where the sun shines and the snow never falls, my mom was elected to the board of directors for her condo's social club. This is her first try at elected office. There were three members chosen from a slate of six.

This is no small task. The social club is near the center of condo activities. The condo complex itself is some sort of 'Club Med' for seniors. The stop signs don't say "STOP," but instead say "NO EXIT." It's an ironic reminder of the social bargain residents make when they buy in.

I can't tell you how many times my parents have told me about a "show in the clubhouse," featuring a singer, dancer, comedian or multitasking entertainer who could do all three. My father would review the show and then explain it cost $3 (or $5 - whatever it was, it was small) and that "it included coffee¹ and cake."

Last night I asked my mom how they did it? How could they afford to run show-after-show-after-show and charge less than it obviously cost? She didn't know. She will soon, I'm sure. I'm guessing a small portion of the common charges each of the 600+ condo owners pays goes to subsidize the entertainment.

In the meantime, can "Betty Fox for Senate" posters be far away?

¹ - There is a clause in the Florida constitution which prohibits anything but decaf (aka - warm brown water) from being served to condo residents.

Lately, I have become fascinated with the idea of shooting a movie. I'm not talking about some Jerry Bruckheimer explode-o-rama, but a little movie. A little movie done very cheaply and very quickly.

It's a concept best explained by the folks at the 48 Hour Film Project.

The 48 Hour Film Project and other similar groups like Cinemasports¹ seem to attract a crowd of eager filmmakers. Interestingly enough, most of the small teams involved contain at least a few professionals - people who know their way around a camera and editing software. They look at these (mostly) 5-10 minute movies as intellectual challenges.

As it turns out, while I was in the midst of thinking about this while at work, in walked Ray Flynn. At one time Ray was our floor director, but he has gone on to own his own production house. He was interested - and he said he had a friend who would also be interested. This was good.

I called my friend Harold. He was in TV until a few weeks ago. His amazing skill is his attention to detail and organization - two concepts normally foreign to me. Harold was also interested.

Now we have to find a competition to get involved in. There's one in Boston in about a month but it's not a good day for Ray. So, we'll wait until later in the season and hope for something else we can all get behind.

I have read comments from people saying how difficult these 2-day projects are. It doesn't seem it should be that bad. In TV we often shoot, write and edit 1:30-2:00 packages in a few hours.

I'm probably just naive.

¹ - I'm looking for more information on other similar events. If you know of one, would you drop me a line, please?

A few days ago, on my way to work, I pulled my car into someone's driveway to take this photo. It was a really pretty picture in person - the photo only gives you a sense of what was going on.

I live in a place of exceptional beauty. Every day on my way to work I cross a babbling brook¹ as it's emptying into what I assume was once a mill pond.

Sleeping Giant Mountain, a craggy peak left here when the last ice age retreated, stares me in the face as I turn on to the main drag, heading south toward the Interstate and work.

The beauty comes with a price. During the winter it is treacherous. The windy road in the picture is no picnic for the faint of heart and not recommended without 4-wheel drive during its many snow covered days.

I so want spring. I can see signs it's almost here. Look how quickly the snowy trees and lawns gave way to an uncovered road. That's the amazing power of the Sun, now much higher in the sky than it was in December or January.

There is little spring on tap in the next week. If it doesn't come to me, I'll just be forced to go to it. It won't take much to make me.

¹ - Having taken the New York City Subway to high school for four years, I became an expert on the nuances of babbling.