Dirty Night Clowns

I had a chance to chat with Dirty Night Clown's Director - Ryan Gibeau at the NH Film Festival yesterday. Ryan is from NH and does his work from Brooklyn, NY. Pretty cool stuff huh?

The story behind the song is one of child abuse. Apparently, the pedofiles would dress up as clowns and lure victims. Yikes. Accepting that as the premise, the lyrics speak about the pain of the experience. "I will never be dirt free." Wow.

Also check out the behind the scenes - making video here below.
Quite an effort here. Fabulous work.


Chris Garneau - Dirty Night Clowns from ROCK*iT FiLMS on Vimeo.

The Buick Umbrage and the Dodge Ram-It - ha

Semi-organized, general complaint

I'm not judging - just observing.

The "protests" on Wall Street in Boston and other cities seem to be a little peculiar. I mean it's almost as if people come together to complain about things in general - more or less to express the idea that something isn't right here. The repeat-after-me chants are awkward. People aren't sure what the leader of the chant, is going to say. They're hoping it will make sense but often it doesn't. It's really quite odd isn't it? It would seem that the wants are fragmented, loosely defined, numerous and having variety even in scale. Wouldn't it make more sense to decide what exactly we (the group) would like to have changed and be very specific? It is very difficult to get a large group to agree on what might be a good thing to change and how (be specific) to change it. What will the new rules (laws) be? To get that done (in a broad sense - not to mention the details and the language etc) is really something people will debate over. That's what government and democracy and an orderly society struggle to do all the time. That's why we have a political system in the first place. It's a way to shape the world we want. It isn't easy - it's practically impossible but we try anyway. Smart people, stupid people, the tall and the short - we try to work it out. It seems like the current protesting groups - having no way to be "specific" without grinding, debating and considering the downstream consequences of things we'd like to change, have decided to skip the process all together and go directly to protesting "things in general".

In a way - I get it but have a tough time seeing how a non-specific argument can be won. Today I read Bob Lefsetz blog piece. Bob makes a lot of sense most of the time - and sometimes he makes none but after reading his thing today, I felt like it explains part of what I didn't really understand about the situation. There's a quote by Italian journalist Corrado Alvaro, quoted in the Sydney Australian:

"The blackest despair that can take hold of any society is the fear that living honestly is futile."

What the non-specific complaint is about is that people believe the game is rigged, that if they play by the rules they just can't win. And winning doesn't mean a private jet and an island vacation but the ability to put food on the table under your own roof after doing a hard day's work. It's not that rich people should cough up all their dough, but how is it that hedge fund management fees are taxed at capital gains rates when they're guaranteed?

What's up with that. Aren't we somehow getting hosed by this stuff - the people in the streets are saying.

I get that. I get it today better than I did yesterday. I still say that it would be better to be specific about what you want but I do get the general idea that if the game is rigged, we've got problems. The idea that a group gathers with the sole purpose of putting up a fuss - a general-fuss, just to bring attention... I think I get it.

Here's a link to Bob Lefsetz piece.

Layoffs Are Necessary If We Want To Keep The Lights On,' Says CEO Halfway Through Tasting Menu

Byatt explains the dire need to cut costs before enjoying his tuna tartare with a basil emulsion.

PHILADELPHIA—As the fifth plate of his 10-course, $150 prix fixe tasting menu dinner was carefully placed on the manicured table in front of him, Kohl-Strauss Media Group CEO Tom Byatt reportedly told a colleague Tuesday that in order for the company to stay afloat in this adverse economic climate, staff layoffs would likely be necessary.

"The fact of the matter is, our financial outlook is just not what it used to be, and if we want to keep the lights on, we're going to have to start making some tough choices," said Byatt, cutting into a piece of seared foie gras subsumed in a rich pheasant consommé. "Personally, I wish we could keep everybody. But unfortunately, I'm in the position of having to decide what the best direction for our company is, and I don't see any other option than reducing our overall cost structure and finding some way to trim payroll."

"It's far from an ideal situation, but we have to cut corners somewhere," Byatt added as a second waiter arrived with a $110 bottle of Château Figeac from the wine cellar. "That's just a reality of our business model."

Following a 20-minute period in which the executive and his colleague sampled a lobster broth hors d'oeuvre arriving compliments of the chef and listened to the maître d' explain how the lobster had been flown in from Maine that morning, Byatt reasoned that, although it pained him to say so, his company could definitely stand to lose about a dozen people in sales, and roughly another 15 or 20 in the marketing and production divisions.

As the pair continued through lavishly designed plates of haute cuisine at a table situated near the window so that Byatt could keep an eye on his valet-parked 2011 Jaguar XJ, they discussed the unfortunate challenges of today's market and the tremendous stress placed on those at the management level to keep their businesses financially solvent.

"As you know, nothing about these layoffs is easy for me," said Byatt, lifting his arms so that a waiter could gently sweep tiny morsels of gourmet artisanal bread off the table with a stainless-steel crumb comb. "I'm going to have to go into the office Monday morning and tell Mark to tell these people that they're going to be let go, all while trying to maintain employee morale. You can imagine how heavily that weighs on me."

"But I think our remaining staff will certainly recognize everything I'm doing to keep us competitive," Byatt continued before deeply inhaling the aroma of a dry-aged bison filet mignon lightly coated in a truffle glaze and resting on a bed of imported fiddlehead ferns. "I just hope they appreciate the kind of pressure I'm under."

After consuming his dessert courses of lavender crème brûlée and a caramelized brioche with a strawberry foam, restating his belief that payroll cuts are simply part of what a modern company has to do, and offering to have further talks on the subject of reducing company expenditures this weekend at his country house, Byatt thanked his colleague for working with him to "do right by this company" and snapped his fingers for the bill.

"Oh, no, no, no, please," said Byatt, waving away his colleague's hand and putting down the company credit card. "I got this."