I just heard The Decemberists on The Gilmore Girls. Awesome.
Close, But No Cigar
Tony can almost yet not quite fit comfortably in my car.
Newsbleep 004: Bloopers!
I have wallpapers! Go and be crazy. Reboot, Reboot (red), Reboot (green), Reboot (blue). Be sure to use the “All Sizes” button to download the full 1600×1200 or a smaller 1024×768.
Yes!! You’re so so SO THAT LUCKY! You get a special birthday Newsbleep, too!
This one is a compilation of all the bloopers and deleted scenes… from the previous three episodes. Alright, so I pretty much had to use everything I had for extra footage, but hopefully it came into being something good.
So, go watch Newsbleep 004: Bloopers!.
Off the Record 002
If you guys aren’t busy, you should check out the Freshmen Showcase tonight at 7:30pm at the Underground. Bring a canned food item and see Holli and three other directors duke it out in a no-holds-barred directorial cage match!
Yes! You’re THAT lucky! I made a special birthdayesh Off the Record. This one is called a Drive-by, because it’ll go quick if you like music. It’s just me, some commentary, and lots of good tunes.
You’ll get to hear: Interpol, Radiohead, The Mountain Goats, Sunset Rubdown, Snow Patrol, and In Ink Please. Or, if you don’t like music, if you hate good music, then you won’t hear any of that music because you’ll just skip chapters to listen to me talk.
Anyway, go and listen to Off the Record 002, or, in iTunes, just Refresh the podcast and it will start downloading the new episode.
Reboot!
It’s my birthday(.com)! To celebrate one year of MilesRausch.com, I’ve decided to share some of the major changes in my life so far.
“MilesRausch.com” Has Been Rebooted
The redesign (and redevelopment) boasts some new features. Along with an entirely redone design, you might spot:
- New favicon
- Four colored versions (which change on special days)
- Asides, Quotes, and Lyrics in the sidebar
- Improved “Archives” page
- Better support for Internet Explorer and Safari (but IE doesn’t work fantastic yet)
- Fluid-width layout
“The Car” Has Been Rebooted.
I traded in my POS (previously owned stupidcar) for $995 and got a brand-new (used) 2001 Chevy Impala LS for a decent sum. This was a huge step for me, and a huge amount of stress.
- Heated, leather seats
- OnStar (maybe)
- Trunk big enough to fit four dead hootchies in it
- Remote control
- Power sunroof
- tape and cd player
This is quite the story, so grab a snack. Actually, that’s what we were doing. It was Saturday, noonish, and Holli and I were going to get some beverages for our frozen pizza. If you haven’t had it, Coke with Lime is one of the greatest beverages out there. It’s got the hard, chrome-flavored kick of Coke with a hint of refreshing lime (note: you won’t get the same taste by mixing Coke with Sierra Mist).
Anyway, it’s hard to come by in Madison, so we decided to try every gas station in town. When we got up to Classic Corner, Holli noticed the marquee in front of Prostrollo’s read “Used Car Sale until 5:00 Today” or something. We went in to get our beverage (which they didn’t have!), so I totally trashed the place and left in an anger. I suddenly wanted to buy something expensive, and I wanted it to take a very very long time.
We drove around the lot, and I looked for any cars I thought I’d like. I didn’t see anything with “007 Stunt Vehicle” on it, but I did see some interesting cars, and we got out to look at them. Without warning or prompting, a salesman was upon us. I gave him my range, and the first car he showed us was a 2001 Chevy Impala. He said his cousin, Adam Pauli, owned it before and had traded it in for a pickup. He said he was originally from Summit. Then he said I could drive it.
This concept sorta blows my mind. They give you keys to a car and just let you leave. He didn’t sit with us. In fact, he used to time to find out how much my car was worth. Holli said that they use your current car as collateral (and as a reason to make you come back) but I had nothing attached to that car. We could have driven to Canada and found a better life amongst the ice-frosted stars.
Anyway, I eventually decided to get the Impala. We walked in and began the process. There were some awkward questions, mostly about work, like what does my employer do and what is my job title. Because I don’t have a job title, I just kinda explained what I do and we made something up with the word “manager” in it. Then he passed the paperwork off to the business manager guy, and we sat in the customer lounge.
We sat there a long time. We watched, like, 10 “Trip My Truck” episodes, and I got increasingly panicked about my purchase. It’s a lot of money for a long time and my old car was still running. Oh, man. Why did I agree to this? It got worse and worse, and then we talked to the business manager.
So, for a car they don’t take credit card. They take cash or check, which means you have to have that money, which means if you don’t, then you have to get a loan, which I hadn’t yet, which they were going to find for me, and without this loan, you can’t get a car. So, the long wait was because “It’s not that you have bad credit; it’s just that you don’t have enough of it.” Right. So, the only loan he could find me was 16.99% interest. I didn’t know what else I could do, so I accepted it, but I didn’t have insurance yet, and I said I was going to research that over the weekend, so the loan was put on hold because they need that info.
Eventually we were allowed to leave with the car, uninsured and unpaidfor, and I drove it to my apartment. I was in a daze the rest of the day, placing calls to dad, Bryce, and sending pix, plus getting calls from mom and Tony, and Holli calling her parents, I was just kinda numb to all of it, and still am a bit. Dad keeps saying, “You just have to do it” and “Are you smiling yet?”
There are pictures of the car and the free swag I got from the dealership in my My New Car – 2006 photo set.
P.S. It appears that Coke with Lime isn’t sold in Madison; we ended up getting Pepsi with Lime, which isn’t even the same thing, don’t get me started.
“The Job” Has Been Rebooted.
I’m full-time at Certus Managed Hosting Solutions of which, CRESH is now CRESH.NET, a division of said company. Some of the high points of that are:
- Decent salary
- Decent Benefits
- Commute to Sioux Falls 3 days a week
- Head or manager or whatever of something or other
I’ve also decided to pursue writing as a career. I’m not quitting my day job, yet, but I am working on getting into festivals and contests and stuff. This means that:
- Writing “table”
- Joined The Dramatists Guild of America (and got a card)
- Currently working on: 3 novels, 12 short stories, 1 poems, 1 screenplays, 0 short films, 0 music videos, 3 one-acts, 3 three-acts, 5 sketches, 1 musical, 1 television show, 1 mini-series
- Currently completed are: 0 novels, 1 short stories, 20+ poems, 1 screenplays, 3 short films, 2 music videos, 11 one-acts, 1 three-acts, 2 sketches
- Currently published: 1 short story, 2 poems
- Currently performed/recorded: 3 Newsbleeps, 2 Off the Records, 4 one-acts, 3 songs, 1 poem, 2 prize-winning speeches, 1 short film, 1 sketch
- (numbers may be adjusted for inflation of ego)
It seems fairly overwhelming when you list it out like that, but I try to work on one thing at a time. Holli’s been very supportive, helping to keep me on track when I start things, and helping me to not get all crazy even after finishing things. An interesting development has been that the new Tech Director at DSU has a master’s degree in playwrighting, and I hope to talk to him soon (as soon as I have time).
So, romp! I hope you guys enjoy the new theme. I really like it.
Radiohead – Let Down
you know / you know where you are with / you know where you are with / floor collapsing / falling / bouncing back and one day
Newsbleep 003: All’s Not Well-a In Pella
There’s a new Newsbleep up! This one was recorded on a Gregg family gathering in Pella, IA, nearly under everyone’s nose (except Holli’s). That’s right. It was kinda spur of the moment, and I didn’t have a script going into it, so I just filmed stuff and contrived a story later on, but little ideas of what I was going to do along the way.
There is an entire other website devoted to Newsbleep: http://newsbleep.milesrausch.com. And it’s a vidcast-enabled site, so that means you can subscribe using iTunes or you can use any other Vidcast program by subscribing to the feed. And, as if that’s not enough, you can watch to the vidcasts on the website itself using a nifty quicktime player. To watch the video, go to Newsbleep 003: All’s Not Well-a In Pella.
The weekend was neat. We first went to Hawarden, and watched their Homecoming game, which they won. Marissa’s boyfriend was king, and I got a video of it, called J-Rad Is King.
Then we rose really early to drive to Council Bluffs to pick up Holli’s grandpa, Lauren Leaders. He remembered my name, which was neat. Eventually we made it to Pella, IA, where we watched Central College play The Knights (Wartburg, I think) and I got this video of a touchdown, which was completely by accident.
This Newsbleep was interesting because I experimented with changing contexts; taking a video or picture that is in one context and then using it for another. It made writing this a little challenging in that I wanted to weave a cohesive story that made sense within it’s own context by taking elements out of their context. But, I enjoy the end product, and I really like this guerilla method of Newsbleeping, where people have no idea what I’m filming them for or how I’ll abuse their likeness.
If you have a chance, watch the show Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip. It’s awesome. Pictures from the weekend are in my Newsbleep 003: All’s Not Well-a In Pella.
iTunes
If you want to reinstall iTunes in Mac OS X, make sure to delete the .app (usually found in /Applications) and the receipt (found in /Library/receipts).
Off the Record 001: Death
Guess who’s still getting the most out of his MacBook? That’s right. I’ve made a podcast. It’s called “Off the Record”, and it’ll hopefullly be entertaining to listen to. I plan on updating Off the Record more than I’ll be updating Newbleep because it’s a lot easier to just talk than it is to be in two places at once. Plus I do all my podcasts naked. The topic for this one was “death”, but you can’t listen to it here.
There is an entire other website devoted to Off the Record: http://offtherecord.milesrausch.com. And it’s a podcast-enabled site, so that means you can subscribe using iTunes, subscribe using Odeo, or you can use any other Podcast program by subscribing to the feed. And, as if that’s not enough, you can listen to the podcasts on the website itself using a nifty flash player. The mp3 version of the podcast is album art-only, but the m4a version is an enhanced podcast with chapters and multiple album arts for your enjoyment.
This podcast I had a lot of help, and I think having group involvement really makes it interesting. Participants were Bob Davidson, Holly Smith, and Holli Gregg, with a special segment by David Rausch. Also, Holli made the awesome graphic. So, please head on over to the Off the Record 001: Death post and give it a listen!
Also, this weekend was spent in Hawarden, Iowa. David was nice enough to come with us, and we all had a good time. We saw a West Sioux football game, which was nice, since they won. We also met and talked to more family (which always makes me nervous), but it went well, and I really like Holli’s aunt’s voice. I know that sounds weird, but you should hear her voice, then you’ll see what I mean. It feels odd to meet her cousins because they are so much older than her. Her cousin Brody, for instance, is 30 years old. I didn’t even know that they made cousins that old.
No, but seriously, it was nice. We watched some Office, Carol had a birthday, and got a MacBook on Sunday. And, on the way back, we had a stimulating conversation about religion and it’s misuses and the way the public shapes and is shaped by religion. It was enlightening.
In Other News: Mom, the reason I didn’t answer my phone is because I was performing with Comedy Bytes from 7 until 11ish. But, yes, if I could have planned it I probably would have avoided your call. And, no, I haven’t seen the Gilmore Girls yet this season, so don’t ruin it.
Yes, that’s right. I thought last semester was my last show, but I agreed to stay on until auditions, which meant entertaining Freshmen during the first week of school, doing a quick 10 minute bumper at Monday night’s Coronation, and a full 45 minute show last night in the Underground. I think the show went really well. The turn out for the show last night wasn’t as big as I would have liked, but it was still a major crowd, and they laughed. Afterwards, they gave Holli, Mike, and I long underwear and a card with no money inside. It was touching.
In Related News: I got Digital Cable today, and the guy who hooked it up was a sexist. He had on The Price Is Right, and they have glamorously dressed girls, but I would say it’s quite tasteful. Camera pans to a girl. He says, “I think she should take her shirt off.” I was floored, not at the joke, because I’ve said so much worse, but at the fact that he was assuming I was the kind of person who would enjoy a joke like that. That, and she wasn’t wearing a “shirt”, it was a dress. There is nothing in my apartment to suggest that: no rifles or antlers, no posters of half-naked chicks fishing, no swimsuit calendar. There was a slightly awkward silence. The camera pans over to another woman, African-American, dressed in similar attire. He says, “I think she should, too.” So, feeling that I needed to respond, and knowing that he wasn’t yet down installing my cable, I said, “Well, if they did things like that, I don’t think they’d be on CBS anymore.” Laugh. He says, “Yeah, but I would watch religiously!” Ironic choice of words. I smirk, and go into the kitchen. That’s the last time I make small talk ever again.
Happy Birthday, Welcome, and Thank You
Happy Birthday to:
Sue Rausch
Jeff Gabhart
Tony Rolfes
Lindsey Nelson
Welcome to:
Dan Rausch. He has a new MilesRausch.com blog (which some people jumped the gun on commenting on). Check him out at MilesRausch.com/dan. Let’s all give him a big welcome because it took a lot for him to take that first plunge.
Thank You:
Sue Rausch. She sent me (and David and probably some others) a very packed care package the other day. Unfortunately, I have to share with Holli (greed is good), but luckily she packed doubles of a lot of stuff, so it made it easy, and it put me in Holli’s good graces. So, thank you, Sue.
I Hate You, Mike Shinoda
How dare you pen such catchy beats and riff such rockin’ rhymes! I remember when I first heard of Linkin Park. I remember seeing them on a show called Pharm House (or something) and they were an up-and-coming musical act. I lived and breathed Linkin Park. I went to fan sites and downloaded B-Sides and rarities. I memorized trivia. And now he seems to have done it again, Mike Shinoda, with his band Fort Minor. I got the CD for that one song (Where’d You Go?) and I (as a joke) listened to the whole album, and I liked it. I really liked it. Who’s heard this? What did you think?
But one song struck me (besides that one song) like [your mom reference] hit [sexual reference]. It’s called “Believe Me”, and I noticed something strange about it. I played againa and again, and then I noticed it. I recognized the violin line. I thought on it the whole day at work, and then I realized, it’s the exact same violin line from a song called Alessandra by the band Unorganized Crime. It’s a lower pitched, a little slowed down, but it’s unmistakeable. I wondered how he got away with that (if at all) or if the two struck an agreement. Then I was messing around with Garageband working on some music and guess what I discovered. That exact same violin line! Yeah! They both got it from Garageband, which, I suppose, makes it public domain, but it was odd.
Last week Holli and I took a walk and took some pictures. Her pictures are in her Walkaround DSU – Sept 2006 set and mine are in my Rendered DSU – 14 Sept 06 set. It was neat. I don’t know much about night photography, so it was a learning experience. Also, using long exposures sure show you how dirty your lense is.
Then, this weekend, we basically just lounged around hanging out. There wasn’t much on the agenda. Monday, however, I went on a spending spree. I had just paid off the last of my bills that weekend, and I still had over half my paycheck left, so I bought Ghostbusters 1 & 2 DVD set, The Office: Season 2, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Directions ( a Death Cab for Cutie DVD), and The Gilmore Girls Season 4 ($20 marked down from $50). It was awesome. So, now Holli and I have a problem. Continue to watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force or go ahead with The Office. It seem that our unofficial plan of action is The Office, and I’m okay with that. Who’s seen these? What did you think?
I would like to thank everyone for your comments on the Newsbleeps. I plan on making more. My eventual plan for content on MilesRausch.com is going to be two text posts and two multimedia posts per month and all for free! I have some things planned, some things incomplete, and somethings very nearly ready to disclose in the coming weeks. Something to think on, MilesRausch.com turns 1 on October 9th. So, hopefully, I’ll have some surprises for you. *wink*
This past week I’ve watched the movies Dune and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and I have learned something about the future and space: both are very weird. I hope I die before 10191, because I don’t think I’d like it much. Also, I’ll be much more careful about what seasoning I use on my food from now on. Who’s seen it? What did you think?
This weekend Holli and I are heading to Hawarden. She has some family gathering there, and we haven’t visited since May, and her dad is directing their musical this fall. It’s Little Shop of Horrors, and Holli and I are acting as Executive Producers. Well, not really, unless he wants us to, but that’s what I told Bryce so he would be impressed with me. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the movie yet, so we have to do that like right-quick. Who’s seen it? What did you think?
By the by, I injected this post with comment starters. Can you spot them? What did you think?
Newsbleep 002: All Night Long
Also, view CiCi and Sliding Drawer also taken this weekend.
This time almost all of this was scripted or planned. Not so much a video blog as an internet TV show, but it’s one where I’m in control of everything. This weekend, on Friday, Holli babysat CiCi, so I brought supper over (despite feeling really under the weather) and we ate and took a walk, and I took some video and pictures (see above and below, respectively). Also, on Friday, Dave joined Holli and I for a go of it down south. I decided to jump the Steve Irwin fan club bandwagon and make a “tribute” video to him. To be fair, Steve did entertain me, and I have nothing but good will towards his conservation and relocation efforts, but I got a little sick of how many tributes to Steve there were on the internet (and almost every art-upload site was full of them), so I shot right back. That day, however, we spent the entire day with Jenny and Molly Brass, eating out, going to Target (I bought the special edition of Narnia and shampoo), and finally we went to their house for supper and some home videos. A good weekend. Then I spent the rest of it editing this thing while Holli felt conflictingly more and more proud and more and more annoyed that I was ignoring her for my MacBook once again. I’m sorry, baby! I love you!
Shownotes:
MilesRausch.com Newsbleep 002: All Night Long
at least one person liked the Newsbleep, so I’m doing it again
Firstly. Night Stalker
Thanks, M-train. And good evening to all you wannabe Newsbleepers. I’m here, in the field, on location, right here in my apartment. The same apartment that you see in the opening animation. I am sitting mere feet from the very table at which I broadcasted the original Newsbleep, #001, in 2006. I know!
But I’m not here to rehash old (bleep)s. I’m here to investigatorially journalize the amazing night life of Madison, SD. One of the amazing features of my MacBook is the iSight camera, built right into the lid. It’s this same camera that I’m using right now, and that comes with time lapse capabilities.
My first experiment with this feature materialized in the form of a music video for a Radiohead song. See the show notes for a link. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it captured the imagination of the nation. My second experiment was of myself a few nights ago. I wanted to see what it looks like when I sleep. I’ve never been able to watch myself sleep despite my numerous sleep/mirror inventions and experimentation with LSD. Also, I’ve been a sleep dancer ever since I was an infant, when my mother played Elton John to get me to sleep. I’m sorry to everyone who’s had to endure that, but I wanted to see just what moves I really have. But the footage was too dark, so I deleted it.
(crickets)
What makes this experiment worth it is that I live above the only traffic light in Madison, ergo the busiest intersection in town, which nearly guarantees good footage. Now, it’s very nearly 11pm. I’m going to set this up, and, always the devoted reporter, I’m going stay up all night long, watching along with you.
(timelapse and shots of me sleeping)
So there you have it. Madison is a town of freaks who come out at night to feed on the dreams of the living, turning the streets dark-red with nightmarish blood-lust. Anyway, back to you, M-train.
Secondly, Ghost Stalker
Thanks, M-ego (amigo). Over two years ago, the Newsbleep offices received an unmarked package in the mail. We naturally thought it was sars, and we beat the package until it was unrecognizable. After calming down and smoking a joint or two, we inspected it to find this spectacular home video. Take a look.
The video shows what appears to be a misty-like ghostly apparition dissipating into the window. Naturally, we thought nothing of it, until the studio moved into the very apartment where the video was taken.
So they did call the landlord, but the story he had was neither convincing, nor worth filming. So nothing happened until we located the author of the original video, and the story he gave us was much more better.
A fascinating story with humorous commentary. Thank you, Miles. And we we turn to our final story of the evening. Some of you may have heard that Steve Irwin, a man who’s enthusiasm for the ugliest, dangerousest creatures on earth has horrified and entertained the world for years, passed away while playing with fish or something. Newsbleep, always one to jump on the bandwagon, presents this “In Memorium”.
Lastly, Steve Irwin Stalkers
Reporter: Thanks Vitamin ‘M’. I’m driving down South Dakota Highway 19, heading towards what APPEARS to be the city of Sioux Falls. In the vehicle with me are David Rausch and Holli Gregg, two self-proclaimed Major Steve-Nerd Irwinites.
This In Memorium celebrates the life of famed South American Actor/Comedian Steve Irwin who coined the famous phrase “Crickey, dat croc done ’bout took me arm off!”
Montage of driving.
Turns music off, “Hey guys, story time. Name 10 to 15 of your favorite Steve Irwin moments. Dave, go.”
More driving. Make it up. Eat at Chile’s to celebrate his South American heritage. Tie-in to bringing Jenny Brass her shirt back.
As always:
check for more Newsbleeps or other info
read other MR.com blogs
All photos from this weekend can be found in CiCi – 8 Sept 06 and The Brass House – 9 Sept 06
Newsbleep 001: Courtship, Cards, and Competition
Newsbleep 001: Courtship, Cards, and Competition
I’m certainly into video lately. I was experimenting with my iSight camera at home this weekend, and I decided that I’ll try a vblog entry. I don’t know how often I’ll do it. If I use my iSight camera, then I can do it whenever I want, but if I use a better camera (like one of them from campus), then it might be less frequent.
Shownotes:
MilesRausch.com Newsbleep 001: “Courtship, Cards, and Competition”
hopefully more entertaining and saves me typing
great sound effects like this
awesome visual effects like this, and this, and this, and this, and this
3. Courtship
Alicia and Doug
tiny, lonely church
guy I called for an address used the phonebook
timed it to sit in the front
Went: “Weddingingly”; Was: “Weddingy”
no photos (crickets); moment of silence
Related News: bryce called to say that he and I have a bond that no one else can have
2. Cards
a lot of poker
a lot of peanuts
a lot of arrested development
surprise poker shark: Micaela Rausch; had Dan’s friend Jon and Uncle Frank scared of her, something I’ve been for years
Dave gave us a tour of his house (Jenny, Holli, and I); ended in philosophical discussion in Micaela’s room
Related News: I got Arrested Development 3
1. Competition
annual Labor Day softball tourney
won first game, lost second and third
Members of the team were: Dick, Barry, Keith, Unknown Guy, David, Chris Smith, Chris Fellows, John, Guy I Should Know, Dan, Uncle Tony, My Dad, Mike G., and Uncle Mike.
Nicknames: D-saster, Scooter, F-stop, and D-rail
Related News: Seeds are addicting, and we should keep them away from Holli
Related News: Tony likes to touch people’s faces
Related News: Chris Smith will answer to any nickname you give him, with a smile.
As always:
Check Newsbleep for more Newsbleeps or other info
Read other MR.com blogs
All photos from this weekend can be found at the 2006 Labor Day Softball Tournament set.
Grounds For Divorce
This music video is for a band called Wolf Parade. The video was shot around last St. Patrick’s Day (hence the snow and the green shamrock on my right hand). I remember it being a slightly boring weekend. David was originally supposed to be in it, but he found a ride home, and took that ride. Which, it turns out, was just as well, because I hardly had time to fit all the footage in as it was.
The idea was born from the song itself. I often found myself bouncing along to it, and I thought it would be funny if we followed a guy and a girl who find themselves inexpicably bouncing to this song, in beat. Of course, there’s also a “surprise” ending.
I worked hard on this. It was my first real music video. Sure, we’d done music videos before, but this was going to be the first one where some out-of-camera editing was going to take place. Where would my career be without our first Weird Al and Beck music videos? In any case, I went so far as to storyboard this, not realizing how difficult it can be (and how far off you can get) storyboarding something with such specific timing. The trick for most of it was to have the song playing everywhere. I put it on my iPod, and hooked up my iPod speakers, and we went crazy.
Be sure, if you like the video, to rate it on Google Video. Share it with your friends.
You can view pictures from the experience on Flickr.