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What you see above is not a woman playing her cello to a bunch of pre-recorded tracks. What you're hearing is live. As the video demonstrates, she is controlling how her computer loops what she's playing with some software and a pedal board.

Almost miraculously, Zoë Keating has learned how to use some really cool tech to compose and perform entire songs by herself. And the result is absolutely gorgeous!

If you like what you hear, check out her website. zoekeating.com

Yes, yes, I know, my blog has been on hiatus for many moons. Normally, I would apologize for something like this, but that would seem to imply that I was promising to blog more. I can't promise this. So, you guys are just gonna have to take when you can get. ;)

So...  Avatar...

This is one of those movies that I have an extremely difficult time talking about, because there are essentially two aspects of the movie to talk about: The technical mastery on display in the film, and the story itself.

The story? Well, its a take it or leave it kind of thing for me. I am a huge fan of the universe James Cameron created. The world of Pandora feels fully realized. Creatures and plants make sense on this planet. But the story itself...  well, it's a thinly-veiled Hollywood love story, with a tinge of environmentalism. Pretty standard stuff in Hollywood these days.

And then there's the technical side of things. Holy cow does this movie look amazing! The Na'vi characters all look astounding, and it's, by far, the best motion captured performances I've ever seen. The environments are bursting at the seems with life, and it's very easy to get wrapped up in what's happening on screen instead of how it's happening.

Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to say: 3D is not a fad. Right now it seems pretty much split down the middle, the number of people who either love 3D or hate it. Lots of people I know call it a fad or a gimmick.

I'm sorry to say it, but I think 3D is here to stay this time. Sure it came and went in the 1950's, but with Digital Projection and Polarization systems, 3D looks better, brighter, and more colorful than it ever has before. In fact, the only way 3D can get any better is if they find a way to recreate the effect without the glasses. (I know there are some prototype television sets that can supposedly do this, but I keep hearing their tech is ultimately flawed.)

Personally, after I've seen a film in 3D, I have a very difficult time going back and watching it again in 2D. I feel like there's a whole dimension to the film that I'm missing, mostly because, in fact, there is.

So there's a long, rambling collection of thoughts from my brain to yours. Again, no guarantee I'll be able to keep up the blogging, but, hey, I need to justify paying for a Squarespace account somehow! Oh yeah, and here's a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Avatar, for your trouble:

If you grew up as a Christian in the 80's and 90's, chances are pretty good that you grew up listening to Christian music. Some households (such as my own) went so far as to ban all music that was not Christian!

Surprisingly, I'm not bitter about this fact.

And though my taste in music has improved greatly since I began exploring the world of "secular" music, there are still a few, choice, Christian albums that I listen to every now and then. I call them "guilty pleasures".

I am convinced that all Christians have certain old Christian albums they still pop in and enjoy from time to time. Albums that they know they would be ridiculed for listening to, were any of their music-snob friends to find out that they still do.

A couple of my "guilty pleasures" are Amy Grant's "Lead Me On" and DC Talk's "Free At Last".

What are some of yours? Go on, don't be shy. This is a safe place.

There are very few directors who I would say have a distinctive style. One they can call their own. Tim Burton is one of those directors. Another is Wes Anderson.

Now, it seems, Anderson is taking his style and applying it to a stop-motion animated movie. Namely, Fantastic Mr. Fox. While the animation isn't quite as silky smooth as, Coraline, the other stop-motion animated movie that was released this year, Anderson's penchant for wide-angle lenses, profile shots, and quirky dialog is clearly evident in the trailer above.

I'm not sure if I'll walk away loving this movie, but it is now guaranteed at least one ticket sale from this moviegoer.

What you see above is an example of why it's vital to bring bug spray on location shoots. I was sucessfully able to remove the flies that were buzzing around Jud Wilhite's head, but it was a tedious, frame-by-frame paint job. I don't wish it upon anyone.