Jeff Milner

Informative, (though at times a little boring), the mp4 movie will make you realize how a small sample of music can become an integral part of our culture and how copyright law threatens to destroy the very same culture it claims to be protecting.

It was also interesting to see how a single drum solo could have such a huge impact on so many movies and advertisements. You’ll never experience another Howie Mandel Boston Pizza commercial the same way again.

Can I Get An Amen? (17min 46 seconds)

Recently I switched to a fixed rate on the natural gas portion of my utilities. I am really happy that I made the switch because it’s already saved me a lot of money. However, I also switched gas companies – something I didn’t really realize I was doing. Not that it’s a big deal, but it has resulted in some confusion. Allow me to elaborate:

The old supplier is Direct Energy Utilities, and the new supplier is Direct Energy Essential Services. Since I didn’t realize there was a change I continued to pay my bills online like I always do, to Direct Energy (Utilities). Well you can imagine my surprise when I started getting overdue notices. But I brushed them off thinking, well I must have just forgotten to pay somehow I’ll do it now. So I sent the wrong company more money. Pretty soon the colour of paper for my overdue notices changed – a sign that something was drastically wrong.

When I called to find out what was going on, the person I talked to was very understanding and said that it happens quite frequently. It did somewhat bother me though to hear that if it’s not paid within only a couple weeks they’re going to cut the cord. Understandable from a business point of view, but kind of rude given the particular situation from a customer service point of view.

I still need to go to the bank and see what I need to do to get back the $400+ from the my old gas service providers. I hope the process is quick and easy to that I can use that money to pay the correct people. Who would have thought something as simple as changing to a fixed gas rate could result in almost having the heat cut off.

The design agency Belief has released a short video on creative inspiration that’s worth watching.

http://www.newstoday.com/_tpl/qbn/pollinate.mov

I have no idea how long this will be up so I recommend trying to catch it now. It’s about 45 minutes long.

A comedy short detailing where they get their most rare export. Not rated but would probably garner a pg-13 rating for blood and brief nudity.

Rare Exports Inc. (Has a link to 66 MB mov)

Smaller Version: Rare Exports Inc. (36 mb mov)

If you work at a University as a cashier supervisor and “[your] programmers are testing [your] billing process and have sent the e-mail bills [for hundreds of dollars] in error” please send out a pre-emptive email instead of making students go to the trouble of emailing you to find out what the hell is going on meanwhile letting them worry about it until you respond. Thank-you.

I spent Wednesday evening with a really nice couple, the McNabb’s, talking about everything from webpage advice to antique reading lamps.

One of the things I really liked learning about was the husband’s experience with the banking industry. He is a banking consultant and even wrote a book on how to deal with banks, “The Bank and You … A Survival Manual“. It was published in 1986 and became a best-seller. Though it might seem to be getting a little old now, he explained that most of the information is still relevant.

He shared his reasons for writing the book, which are summarized nicely in the preface,

“The Banks and You…A Survival Manual has been written to assist the reader in knowing what banking today is all about. A concern I do have at this time is that banks appear to be leaning on their own staff, and if they do this and get away with it, what in the world is going to stop them from leaning on their customers?”

He goes on to say that the book was started at a time when they were “locked out of [their] business”.

“The book was originally started as a hate book and entitled How to Screw Your Banker before He Screws You! After we won the war with our bankers, I decided this book was very much needed, and the hate tones were immediately dispensed with.”

I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but the book delves into topics like:

• banker intimidation
• how bankers treat women
• the lies that bankers tell and how to protect yourself
• cultivating a relationship with your banker
• whether on not to take the loan
• signs of a pending banker – client breakdown
• what to do if you go out of business
• handling bankruptcy

The book also shares his own story of how he and his wife were able to turn things around pay back their loans for less than $.05 on the dollar.

He gave me a copy and I’m looking forward to reading it; I think it could be very insightful.

I also liked chatting with him about the process of publishing a book because I’ve got a little idea for a book that I’ve been sitting on for the last few years. Some of the things he told me were the names of people in the publishing industry, how to get an ISBN number and how to promote a book. Perhaps this new information will get me going on it again.

Oh and one last thing, the photo on the back made me smile because he no longer looks like that at all.

A couple of frogs doing reviews on websites.

So far they’ve only reviewed one site, Ticketmaster, but I’ve found their complaints to be very relevant. It’s been years since I’ve bought tickets online, but I would have thought that they would have figured things out by now.

Frog Review.

In the 1951 movie, “Distant Drums” a stock sound effect now known as the Wilhelm scream was first used. It has since been featured in dozens of movies. It is one of the most well-known cinematic sound clichés.

From the Wikipedia:

The Wilhelm’s revival came from Star Wars-series sound designer Ben Burtt, who tracked down the original recording (which he found as a studio reel labeled “Man being eaten by alligator“). He named it after Wilhelm, a minor character who emitted the scream in the 1953 movie The Charge at Feather River. Its use in Star Wars was the beginning of something of an in-joke amongst some sound designers of the film industry, especially at Skywalker Sound. They continue to try to incorporate it into movies wherever feasible; action movies are naturals, but film sound cognoscenti are particularly impressed when it is used naturally in films such as A Star Is Born (with Judy Garland) and A Goofy Movie. In a tribute to its origins, the clip was used in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the villain Mola Ram was, in fact, eaten by alligators.

Some people, once aware of it, recognize it immediately. Some feel that it distracts the viewer and interrupts the flow of the film.

See the Wilhelm scream compilation. (47 mb QT)

There are many movies featured in this compilation that incorporate the wilhelm scream, for example Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Howard the Duck, The Goofy Movie, and Batman just to name a few. After having watched the clip I’m sure it’s going to stick out everytime I watch another movie where it is used.