Snack Ad Contest Friday

THE FUTURIST!'s faithful correspondent in Ireland, Dara Moroney, (of Fake Dog Films) seems to have entered a Doritos 30 second advertisement contest being held across the big pond.

Good Luck, Dara.
By the way, your Dad will go through quite a lot for his son, obviously.
And good facial expressions.

And in Utter Despair we have Human pick-up day every other Thursday.
It's not an accidental pick-up, as in your ad. It's intended.
Utter Despair Sanitation Dept. is very good at recycling organic matter.

Galway Birthday

THE FUTURIST! wishes a very Happy Birthday this November 6th to one of his most faithful followers of and contributors to this blog ... young Mr. Dara Moroney of Galway, Ireland. THE FUTURIST! can't exactly recall when he became acquainted with Dara and his creative team of FAKE DOG FILMS; it was through another Internet source and not the blog you are currently perusing. Dara and his creative partner in film, Paul "Webby" Webster, have been under the scrutiny of THE FUTURIST! for some time. He has watched their films from the very first they created (a parody of the television show LOST) to the very latest they have produced. Though crude in its execution, their first short film provided THE FUTURIST! with great chuckles due to their sense of capturing the show's stop and stall sense of plot structure. It had an aura of intelligent spoofing and Dara was a perfect stand-in for Matthew Fox with his short cropped hair and rumpled suit wandering throughout a stark Irish wooded plot of land which stood in for the mysterious island. This film made THE FUTURIST! want to see what else they would accomplish. Dara and Paul continued to make more films and music videos for local and more prominently known Irish bands.

They've made several of these music videos (a style they seem very comfortable with), a couple of pieces featuring them as themselves in a situation comedy sort of manner and a short (and sequel) that tries to capture a 70s feel of "buddy cop" films. Though not THE FUTURIST!'s favorite of their endeavours, the Cannon and McGrath cop characters have a certain charm and their first "adventure" has an exquisite opening that might impress Godard. Dara, also, has a favorite look in these films that THE FUTURIST! finds perfectly retro 70s and quite amusing .. look at that moustache (below)

Whether you find their films funny or whimsical or amateurish or not to your liking at all ... well, that is not the point to THE FUTURIST!'s collection of words he has gathered together here to, hopefully, make sense of how he feels about the wonderful drive, creativity and optimism of these Irish gentlemen and their wonderful cohorts in film making. THE FUTURIST!'s main motto is "The Future is not bright", but Dara makes THE FUTURIST! smile and gives him hope. Dara's ambition and bravado to strive to be better and accomplish his dreams is to be admired. THE FUTURIST! wishes Dara the happiest of birthdays today and hopes he embraces every minute of a day he can truly call his own.

If it weren't for the wonders of the Internet, THE FUTURIST! would not be able to bring a little of Galway to Utter Despair, even though it is an ocean away. And he would not have been able to see the creative growth of Mr. Moroney and his merry men. The following videos are favorites of THE FUTURIST! and they are both music videos. Please take note of the progression in style, design, editing and thought put into each, but ... brought to a shining evolution in the second video. You will see Dara in each video as the runner in the first and the electrical handyman in the second. THE FUTURIST! must admit he does not fully understand the first in regard to song tied to visual, but he loves the idea and the mood it instills.


NEXT YEAR
music by Buttefly Explosion



BRING THE DANCE
music by Simon Fagan

Grand, isn't it?

Happy Birthday, Dara ... and thank you for providing THE FUTURIST!
with one of those little oases of refreshment in the desert of Life.

Dara and Paul

FAKE DOG FILMS

Election Day

Today is Election Day and THE FUTURIST! must make his way to the Edgar Allan Poe Elementary School 6 blocks from his home, wherein he shall enter a voting booth. THE FUTURIST! votes every year and fulfills his great freedom to express his opinion in who he wishes to represent him in the various forms of government, whether it be a national, state or local election. Today THE FUTURIST! will be voting for his state governor and other local elected positions. One of the two councilman running for a post in town was recently seen in his boxer shorts in the frozen food section of the Utter Despair Sack it Yourself Grocery. He claims they were Bermuda Shorts and not underwear. He could not explain the Kaiser Wilhelm WW I helmet he was sporting, however. There will be, also, a question concerning the building of a ostrich farm on a development in town and the right to divert water from a nearby lake to quench the thirsts of these odd birds before they are slaughtered. The owners propose to build the ostrich farm near the Utter Despair Old Age Home. THE FUTURIST! must consider the annoyance that the screams of butchered ostriches may inflict on the elderly residents. Then again, they are old and may not detect any screams at all due to faulty hearing. Then again, if they do hear the screams of the ostriches will this make them think of their own impending deaths and cause distress which may even hasten their end (due to bad hearts) sooner then expected. Serious questions are to be pondered this election day ... as well as what delicious lunch THE FUTURIST! can concoct. Maybe a nice bowl of broth with chives and orzo pasta and an ostrich burger.

In the meantime, THE FUTURIST! asks you to watch this delightful little short made by his whimsical friends in Ireland. The following film was made by Dara Moroney and his brother Gearoid and their Fake Dog Films production company. It was entered in the Darklight Film Festival's Democracy and Dialogue Competition. It features THE FUTURIST!'s favorite European pen pal, Dara, as John Iver, a very persistent politician who goes beyond the "foot in the door" practice of door to door canvasing.

Introducing The Gentleman of Leisure

The Gentleman of Leisure relaxes

More of THE FUTURIST! news from The Emerald Isle.

THE FUTURIST! has been in contact with The Gentleman of Leisure. As many find THE FUTURIST! to be a mysterious figure, so does THE FUTURIST!, likewise, finds The Gentleman of Leisure. The only information THE FUTURIST! has ascertained is that The Gentleman resides in Galway, Ireland, drinks Jameson Whiskey, is not employed, appears disheveled in appearance (though he does dress very impressively), is overly confident and must own a laptop. Why must he own a lap top computer? Well, this is how he communicates with THE FUTURIST!. Recently, he even sent several communiques while riding public transportation.

The mysterious Gentleman is a very amusing debonair fellow and THE FUTURIST! will continue to engage him in electronic communication. Asking for a photograph, THE FUTURIST! received the visual above. The Gentleman looks very relaxed and cool and straight out of a 1960s Fellini or Richard Lester film. THE FUTURIST! likes that.

In honor of SHOCKtober, THE FUTURIST! asked The Gentleman for his five favorite horror/scary/thriller films. The Gentleman wanted to add many James Whale films, since he admires his work, but refrained to provide variety. Perhaps, in the future, The Gentleman will provide more lists ... we shall see.

THE GENTLEMAN OF LEISURE'S
FIVE FAVORITE SHOCKtober FILMS
(in chronological order and with his own commentary)

1. Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)
A bizarre, silent "documentary" that features the director as the
devil at one terrifying point. Whereas most horror films become cheesy
with age, I think silent ones become eerier.

2. The Invisible Man (1933)
I've included only one of James' films, for variety. This was the film
that got me into classic cinema. Aspects of the film might seem
laughable now, but there's still something quite scary in Claude
Raine's demented vocal performance.

3. Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Not a great film, but one with some really eerie moments. Also, a
Billy Idol song.

4. Don't Look Now (1973)
Nicolas Roeg's bizarre tale of loss is the one film out of this list
that genuinely freaked me out. Also, has Julie Christie in the nip.

5. Scream (1996)
A clever take on the slasher film. It dissects the genre, while still
fitting nicely into it. I remember the opening scene being scary when
I was a lad, though I haven't seen it in years. Very influential on
popular culture, for better or worse.

THE FUTURIST! approves greatly in the choosing of THE INVISIBLE MAN and DON'T LOOK NOW. The Gentleman has good taste in his horror, as well in his clothes.

Thank you, Sir.

The County Claire Witch Project

Oddity of oddities, but THE FUTURIST! has some faithful followers in Ireland. Yes, Ireland. Why this is so is just too complicated to delve into at this time, suffice it to say that THE FUTURIST! is honored to have such a cult following, of sorts, on The Emerald Isle. Through his communications with his Irish contacts, THE FUTURIST! became aware of a young poet, teacher, goal keeper and musician named Tommy who not only writes magnificent poetry, but occasionally creates this low budget series of videos under the title TRAFFIC. Tommy wanders about his environs with a friend (or two) and just films and verbalizes.

In honor of SHOCKtober, Tommy has made a special video for THE FUTURIST! It takes place in the dark of night, well, it starts at 8:18 pm ... okay? ... well, anyway, it takes you on a creepy ride into the spooky night to a place called The Cherry House. This abode is Tommy and his friend's destination to investigate rumors of strange noises, a strange death from climbing a tree and a rocking chair that moves by itself. Do ghosts exist there? Is James drunk? Can you hardly hear their narration? Did they bring a poorly powered flashlight? Is it anti-climatic? No matter. THE FUTURIST! is tickled pink that the lads took the time to create this video in their free time.

Oh ... and it has an eerie conclusion. Perhaps this video was found after something happened to the lads ... it ends, yet it continues in silence as someone walks rapidly away with the camera still on. Oh, the low budget, grainy video gives THE FUTURIST! the creepy crawlies. All it needs is a chainsaw or a zombie. THE FUTURIST! (in a non-Fascist manner) salutes Tommy and (the possibly inebriated) James for this Halloween themed addition to SHOCKtober!

PART 1



PART 2