beyond the clouds

…since I last posted. This was not from lack of want, but rather lack of time. April is usually a blur, and 2005 is no exception. So much has been going on lately. The primary time-sucker would have to be a program I put on for Owen last Saturday. Like I wrote earlier, I secured a $1,500 grant from Purdue Student Government to show three films this semester, as well as create an “experience” around the actual showing. Last weekend, I showed Field of Dreams, and it was an immense success. There were sustained crowds of over 100 people, and I imagine it reached 150 at one point. Unlike most of the programs I put on, I could find very little in terms of flaws with this program. We served hot dogs, peanuts, cotton candy, Sn0-Kones, popcorn, ice cream, and drinks, and built a screen (8′ x 6′) for the showing, which we hung from the front of Owen. The only things I would have improved would have been lighting and identification for the food stations (noone knew there was any ice cream), music beforehead, and less ice (bought 18 22lb. bags, and used about 7). Other than that, I was completely happy. The program cost a shade under $600, which leaves me with $900 for the remaining two. This weekend will be Super Size Me, which unfortunately will be low-key because of lack of ideas on how to make a whole experience around it. I will, however, be making a ton of food for people to eat durning the movie; this will all be good-tasting, good-for-you food that will help people appreciate the taste, while understanding that food does not have to be laden with sugar or fat to taste great. I also hope to distribute info packets with information like recipes for what they ate at the showing, nutrition tips, exercise routines, information about smoking/alcohol dangers, and similar material. The weekend after will be the next Big One. I’ll be showing Jaws, and am formulating a Hawaiian/beach theme, complete with leis, grass skirts, pools to sit and watch the movie in, and shish-ka-bobs on the grill. Since I don’t expect to spend a ton of money on this weekend’s film, we’ll go all out for the last weekend. If you’ll be in town and want to help out, let me know.

Other than the films, various other things have taken place, like: I installed Tiger, and am moderately happy, but not impressed, with it; I was reelected Vice President of PUMUG; I was officially accepted by Purdue into graduate school; I built a 6′ x 8′ screen for the showings with $50 in materials (I just like this point, as I impressed myself); and other things which I cannot remember.

Speaking of the screen, I think that everyone should build one. Think about it. At owen we have a (discontinued) InFocus X1, which you could pick up now for under $1,000. It’s 1000 lumens, and projects up to 200″ diagonally. How much would a 50″, 60″, or 70″ TV cost (plasma, rear-projection, or otherwise)? The screen is framed with 2×2’s, faced with panelboard (the one with a glossy white front), and then wrapped in a flat bed sheet. It looks professional, and I’ve been asked multiple times who’s getting it when we’re done with it. I’ll have pictures of it online once Mike gets around to uploading them from his camera.

Any other news? Not really. Final Symphony concert of the semester is Sunday at Elliott. The lineup’s pretty bad, but we just played in Indianapolis 2 weeks ago. Jay has addressed the “issue” of too much pops and not enough classical, but skirted around the real issue, which is that the Circle Theatre concert is 100% fundraising-driven, but he’s never said anything about fundraising, etc. in class. I’m still not sure if I will play next semester; Jay wants to turn Monday’s (or Friday’s) into chamber rehearsals, with the entire group practicing the other two rehearsals per week. Again, not sure about it, but we’ll see.

I’ll move into Shreve in 2.5 weeks. It’s bittersweet, to say the least. I think I’ll build a screen for the room to start off. And then a projector. We’ll see.