Felling down? I don’t blame you. The economy is in a nosedive. Seems like some teen killed himself on streaming video while people watched but didn’t try to help, our KittyGenovese.tv. Even the astronauts have dropped the bag. Free to Be…You and Me is a comforting book/movie/soundtrack in these uncomfortable times, and I am happy to introduce Rosey Grier singing, It’s Alright to Cry:

Guest blogger Jane shares her director’s commentary and production notes for the short film Nanjing Road exclusively with Mer-chan. Get updates on her film here at nanjingroad.mer-chan.com

This didn’t make the final cut in Nanjing Road. The editor said it was too random and it takes a few viewings to understand what’s happening. We only had a film permit for the taoist temple; the park police couldn’t issue one for the outdoor scenes because it was the height of tourist season. So we played it cool, hid in the bushes to let the tourists wander by, and shot our footage like film trolls under the temple bridge. But a tourist spied us and chatted. He asked to take a picture with Jingle. I took it but I think it came out blurry.

Zai jian, Jane

The Ad Council, makers of those public service ads, will not to use any more “great apes” in its ads. No silverbacks, chimpanzees or orangutans! This could be a trend affecting ad agencies and major advertisers, so check out the video clip from back in the day, when we were able to subjugate gorillas for cheap laughs and award winning ads. Lesser monkeys are not exempt, which is why they must join forces with robots to protect themselves (and destroy humans).

We just voted! It was early voting, so you didn’t miss it. Election Day is on November 4th, NOT the 5th as fraudsters would have you believe).

A technocuddly collective did it, a dead goldfish can do it, and you can too. If exercising your rights isn’t incentive enough, Wilco offers a free download of their version of “I Shall Be Released” w/Fleet Foxes if you promise to vote. To get the download, all you have to do is go here and pledge to vote in the 2008 Presidential Election. Do like Jimmy Carter and say YES!

Guest blogger Jane shares her director’s commentary and production notes for the short film Nanjing Road exclusively with Mer-chan. Get updates on her film here at nanjingroad.mer-chan.com

Jingle and I shot a lot of tape. We were in Shanghai for two and a half months, and we often used a multiple camera set up. This is probably what kept us together. The cameras were always rolling. As soon as the film was in the can, I guess so was our relationship.

Most of the shots were useless since the completed film clocks in at not even 12 minutes. In the final film, I used the most tape from the camera that he controlled. It looked more intimate to pretend it was a single camera. Single camera setup — sounds like what happens to a camera who’s a great catch but can’t quite meet the right one. This is a rare outdoor night scene. I like the way Jane (that’s the character in the film; I’m not a third person self-namer. The girl in the film just happens to have the same name as me) gets reflected off the glass wall on the right. This ends up in the final film, but is seen through a computer screen as footage that Jane is editing.

zai jian, Jane