Posts Tagged ‘Hey Porter’
Help Make This Important Book Happen
Just over a month ago, my good friend writer/director/producer Scott W. Smith put up his 1,000th post on his Emmy-winning blog Screenwriting From Iowa. For the last several years, Scott has posted Every Single Day. Stop and think about that: even the bad stuff we do, we don’t manage to work it into every day, right? Much less so, the good stuff. Amazing accomplishment.
But more than just being prolific, Scott is insightful. A true student of screenwriting, he has ingested every school of thought and book on screenwriting out there. The suggestions and inspiration he offers on his blog come from these teachers, from writing his own scripts, and from his experiences in traveling the country and world.
Now, Scott has taken the best of his Screenwriting From Iowa writings and put it into a book form. He’s using Kickstarter to get the initial funding together to get this thing off the ground. As of this writing, there are 7 days left in the campaign with about $3,000 in backing to go. If you love films like me, please consider getting involved. Great movies come from great scripts and Scott’s book will, without a doubt, inspire screenwriters in “Iowa… And Other Unlikely Places.”
Screenwriting From Iowa… And Other Unlikely Places Book on Kickstarter
- Matthew Porter
Great Quote Monday — Eleanor Hibbert
“Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.”
- Attributed to Eleanor Hibbert, British author
While the above quote is overly broad, I think it’s useful in the context of work and accomplishments. I mean, if you are addicted to clubbing baby seals, well, maybe you should give that some thought and perhaps a dash of regret should be part of that cognitive cocktail.
Is regret bad? Good? Useful sometimes? Overrated? What do you think?
- Matthew Porter
Great Quote Monday — E. B. White
“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
- E.B. White
Quoted in profile by Israel Shenker, “E. B. White: Notes and Comment by Author”, The New York Times – July 11, 1969
- Matthew Porter
The Squaris Wheel
Behold, the Squaris Wheel...
Would you look at this thing? I am in love with this design. It’s fun, dangerous, and an obvious zoning violation. Further, setting this baby up over a weekend would without question make a homeowners association board wring their fretful little bureaucratic hands with worry.
And that makes me smile.
But beyond this, it reminds me of a time now long gone. Before the dawning of the Age of Oprah. Back when wax was something guys put on their car, not in their hair. Alas, now all I’m waxing is nostalgic.
So even if it’s only online, I hope you enjoy the Squaris Wheel. And hey, if you’re feeling froggy, you can find the complete Squaris Wheel plans here.
- Matthew Porter
PS: Click the pic twice to see the glorious full version.
Great Quote Monday — Bill McKenna
“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well-preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!”
- Attributed to Bill McKenna
Professional motorcycle racer
Cycle Magazine, February 1982
- Matthew Porter
Great Quote Monday — Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau: Poet, Thinker, Dapper Dan
Depending on how you look at it, today’s Great Quote could either be inspiring or kind of sober, a’ la J. M. Barrie. Maybe it’s both. In any case, hope it helps get your week started well…
“The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.”
- Henry David Thoreau
July 14, 1852 — Journals (1838-1859)
- Matthew Porter
Great Quote Monday — Jesus
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
- Jesus Christ
John 15:13 (NIV)
Great Quote Monday — Harold S. Dodge via W. Edwards Deming
W. Edwards Deming: The management guru women wanted and men wanted to be...
Today’s quote– about quality– comes from Harold S. Dodge as delivered by management guru W. Edwards Deming (also a statistician, college professor, author, lecturer, and consultant).
‘Quality’ isn’t the sexiest of concepts, as concepts go. Still, the idea of quality is inextricable from the idea of excellence. And, of course, the phrase ‘striving for excellence’ is just a fancy pants way of saying ‘we aim to stare our competition directly in the eye, except that the competition will be lying on the ground and we’ll be standing over them.’
Hey, when you put it that way, I think I could get behind this ‘quality’ thing.
Dodge’s / Deming’s quote reminds me of the work of Phil Crosby and his ‘quality is free’ and ‘do it right the first time’ concepts. Mr. Crosby was an author, management theorist, and quality management guru whom I had the pleasure of meeting several times. Which is to say, he attended the same church I did when I was growing up and I later dated his daughter for a time. Which is to say, now I’m not saying anything useful whatsoever, just doing some ham-handed name-dropping. [Shakes head] Not efficient at all…
“As Harold S. Dodge said many years ago, ‘You cannot inspect quality into a product.’ The quality is there or it isn’t by the time it’s inspected.”
- W. Edwards Deming
Out Of The Crisis (1982)
- Matthew Porter
Great Quote Monday — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Note from Matthew: Thanks to the wifey for turning me on to this lovely quote / poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. And this would be as good a time as any to say I welcome your suggestions for Great Quote Monday. Drop your favorite quotes (and anything else that’s on your mind) to me here.
Now, on with the show…
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries…
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Aurora Leigh (1857) Bk. VII, l. 812-826
- Matthew Porter
Found Comedy — Mega Brand Smackdown
'Oh No, You McDidn't!'
Came across this signage today. It caught my attention, but I do think it’s a little off-brand. And when I say ‘a little’ I mean ‘a lot.’ Sure, everybody has been taking a shot a Starbucks the last few years. And it’s understood that in a down economy, competing brands get very direct– even aggressive– in comparing themselves to each other. Still, this sign has a certain ‘rogue graphic designer’ quality. A robust ‘not fully approved’ aura. I see this pic and can’t help thinking that somewhere there’s a guy at a bar, whining to his friends over beers saying ‘I don’t care if they did fire me. It’s funny!’
And off-brand or not, it is funny.
- Matthew Porter
