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The VTIFF is in town this week. I caught Men Who Stare at Goats and the Vermont Filmmaker showcase (aka The Michael Fisher Film Festival).

Overall pretty fun. MESaG is as funny as you might agine given the cast and that it’s about the New Earth Army. VT filmmaker showcase had some gems including Anti Di Presence, a great trick film. Also the BHS film club had a solid entry about man’s inner dialog regarding trying to pick someone up at an art gallery. And of course, Michael’s piece, Reap, was gorgeous.

There are some Cuban films I hope to check out on Friday if I can pound through the work I currently have on my plate.

I’ve been trying out the Saigon Bistro down on College Street past city hall park. It’s a new $10 entree sort of place.

Definitely prefer the place in the old north end. But having cheap eats downtown is good too.

Service is a little off kilter. Slow side of off kilter. I hope they get that worked out before winter. Service is friendly and nice though.

The salty limeade is tasty and umm salty. The dish I’ve had so far is also a little salty and oily.

Hmmm. I’ll probably stick to Asiana Noodle for my cheap eats at the Church Street Marketplace. But Saigon will provide the occasional diversion.

One of the most fun theater institutions in Burlington, Vermont is the Spielpalast Caberet. A bunch of the town’s dancers, theater people, musicians and so on get together an create a burlesque show of pretty women dancing in very little clothing while an absurdist and random plot weaves through the night.

This isn’t a strip show and is pretty tame by comparisons to other shows that fall into the burlesque revival genre. But you can count on seeing some Bob Fosse inspired dance numbers, hear some unbelievable singing, and expect to be confused and surprised throughout the evening.

Not that you’ll need any help enjoying the show, but if it’s your first time to the Spielpalast here are a few suggestions:

Dress up

Not mandatory but everyone else will be dressed up. And it’s more fun that way. The scene is usally vaguely 1920s-1930s style so if you’ve been looking for an excuse to wear that fedora or flapper dress the time has come.

Arrive early

There’s a cocktail hour ahead of time and actors, actresses and volunteers will be in character from the moment you arrive. Give yourself a little time to relax into the atmosphere. Also, the seating is general admission. All of the seats are good, but in case you really want to sit in the middle or near the aisle or whatever you’ll want to get there in time to get in early. The show is interactive, so if you sit near the aisle prepare to be interacted with.

Bring cash

There will be numerous opportunities for you to buy memorabilia throughout the evening and you’ll want something.

Read the handbill

The background of each of the dancers, the band and players is all in character and worth reading.

Have fun and enjoy this #BTV specialty!

Just a quick announcement that I’ll be presenting at Burlington’s Web Analytics Wednesday event on May 27th, 6pm at the Red Square on Church Street. The topic will be Measuring Social Media. I’ll be talking about a few of the tools I use and also why I think it’s important. Hopefully you’ll come and add some of your own thoughts.

Web Analytics Wednesday is always fun and a lot of the town’s web geeks tend to be on hand. It’s great for web analytics practitioners (finally, there’s a party where people speak your language), people who use web analytics to make decisions (like business owners) and others who just want to learn more. It’ll be geeky and fun.

The folks over at the Vermont Film and Media Coalition have produced a short video on why Vermont should pass a tax credit for film production. It features Bobby Farelly, Writer and Director “Dumb and Dumber” and “Me, Myself and Irene” as well as William H. Macy, Actor “Fargo” and “State and Main.”

I’ve always been happily surprised by the number of filmmakers and media producers who live and work in Vermont. Some went to school here at one of the several schools with excellent filmmaking programs. Others moved here because they could and continue to work due to proximity to contracts in New York and/or being situated on a good internet pipeline. I’ve been fortunate to meet and work with excellent film editors, directors of photography, actors, grips, sound crews, lighting specialists, animators and a horde of hard-working production assistants. All of whom live in Vermont.

As media production in all channels from print to 3-D animation to radio to video continue to experience changes in their production and business models, I think anything that helps develop talent and experience is a good thing and worth pursuing.

A commenter over at Bill Simmons’ Candleblog, stated how having a tax incentive has had an effect on the commenter’s boyfriend: “it means he doesn’t have to move to LA to work in film.”

Here’s the video and a transcript: Read the rest of this entry »

I recently heard that Burlington Vermont web host Silicon Dairy disappeared and turned off all the websites of their clients. They stopped returning calls. All the sites just disappeared. There were a number of non-profits that worked with Silicon Dairy that are now without websites.

I would like to help.

Read the rest of this entry »

Burlington VT is a great town to walk around in. As long as there’s no ice or water of any sort. The sidewalks are, frankly, a mess. That means that entire stretches of pavement are better traversed with ice skates much of the year and in a raft for another good portion. Also, some sort of shielding from the tsunami in the wake of 4WD vehicles is recommended.

Today was my first walk to work in which I didn’t wish I had crampons handy.

First motorcyclists (and the very first one had nothing above his shoulders but a shit-eating grin) and first time noticing outdoor seating at the Radio Bean.

I should probably note that maybe two weeks ago I heard my first flock of geese.

First-of-the-season will probably be coming fast now. Almost made the first day with no ice on my walk today.

Garage door/window open at the O.P. and Radio Bean door ajar. Also, Neo-hippies tossing frisbees barefoot.While I’m at it, a couple weeks back I heard geese.