Thursday, October 16, 2008

Mission Statement + CEDs

Ok. I have a new goal, actually an old goal that I am finally implementing, that I'm going to post something every week. Either it's got to have some sort of video/multimedia or be about film/video related material.

Many things have been plaguing my life over the last few months, both negative and positive, but my default "my life is great" catch-up topic is that I've come into possession of almost 600 CEDs. Don't know what they are? Probably before your generation (and sadly, nobody's). Capacitance electronic discs - also dubbed 'videodiscs' - these analogue home movies were first on the scene in the early 80s, and rapidly declined after the general populace realized how ridiculous and cumbersome they were compared to VHS. At 13"x10" or so, the casing for these things is enormous, and with six hundred, my garage is filled to the brim. God forbid I have to move. They are identical to vinyl records, except they just have video on them. And it's read from a stylus, a freaking stylus! I will post a video soon of how they work in the player (sort of like an a-track, which is also something I knew zilch about before a few years ago).

In organizing these beasts, my excitement level has only risen. I've come across (and already made it through) movies like "Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone," "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" - both versions, and "Playboy: 1983." From film noir to music videos to Bond to Star Trek TV episodes, I own more movies & videos than I would ever think to rent from Movie Madness down the street. For the first time ever, I have my own film library that isn't limited to my favorites. They're shitty quality (and God help us, 4x3), granted, but that doesn't mean I'm not still watching the movie, experiencing the story, and absorbing the audiovisuals.

Suffice to say, next time you see me, you can expect that my English will have devolved completely into movie lines. There's simply no time for books when you've got a year-long education in the world's most collective medium. If I start transitioning into Quentin Tarantino, please, stop me, for the sake of anyone who has to watch MY movies.

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