Blog-o-STIFF

STIFF Alum vs. Tea Baggers

 

Filmmaker D.C. Douglas is in hot water for calling the astroturf organization Freedomworks and leaving an impulsive voicemail in which he asked how many staffers and follwers were mentally retarded and wondering whether or not they already had a plan put together for spinning the eventual news of one of their members turning violent and killing someone.  D.C (who screened the films Duck, Duck Goose in STIFF 2005 and The Crooked Eye in STIFF 2009) has since apologized for calling them retards.  But the story about the blowback that has happened since actually makes for a pretty good read.  If you have a few minutes to kill, check it out here.

Emmett Montgomery's Puppet Show

 

My friend and host of the STIFF Awards Ceremony, Emmett Montgomery makes stuff.  Sometimes that stuff includes weird little puppets made out of paper bags.  He is showing off a bunch of them at the Faire Gallery and Cafe at 1351 East Olive Way until April 18th (so hurry!).  They are actually really neat and incredibly detailed and if you swing by to check them out, make sure to check out the backs.  Above is a short film that we made a couple years ago with a few of his earlier creations. 

Couch Film Fest - Saturday November 7th

This Saturday, one of the strangest and most inventive film festivals I have ever heard of kicks off in Seattle. The Couch Film Fest isn't held in theaters.  It is held, as its name implies, in the living rooms of hospitable strangers all around Seattle.  For a total of ten bucks (all inclusive, not per-screening), you can walk from one home to another, plop yourself on their couch and bring your own snacks (bonus points if you can blame a fart on a nearby dog). 

Many of the films sound interesting, but the most intriguing program is titled "INAPPROPRIATELY AWESOME" (which will be screened at 5504 Brooklyn Ave)  >
5504 Brooklyn Ave., Seattle.

Big Brother is Watching (still)

Are you curious about what happened to our stats the day after I posted this blog about our stats being viewed by the army and department of defense?  They suddenly went to ZERO for two days. 

Admittedly, we just had a submission deadline on January 15^th and things typically cool off immediately after a deadline, but I know for a fact that we couldn’t have zero visitors because I was actually visiting the site during that time so I could make a list of changes for our designer.  Obviously, I think the two incidents are related and I’m sure this will make some people worry that I ran out of medication or something. 

But if I did clue in somebody that I could see them watching and they fixed it, what exactly does that mean?  Should I be less concerned?  Once these folks realize that I haven’t done anything wrong, will they notify me that I am no longer under investigation?  Will I get reimbursed by the government for the performance hits that my phone and internet services have taken?  The next time our web stats report zero, should I be suspicious?

I love my country.  I fear my government.

Clint