NEW HOME

this blog is done. check my personal site here. there is also a new dumping ground here.

CROCODILES

here are some screen grabs from a new video i just shot for san diego's bastard children crocodiles. if you care to see a few more check here. the video is on the fast track so it should be posted soon.

PORTRAITS OF PEOPLE I KNOW

SLEEPY SUN "OPEN EYES" VIDEO

Sleepy Sun - Open Eyes from ATP Recordings on Vimeo.

thanks to everyone for all of their hard work and dedication getting this bad mother done.

THE END

here is a photo of a closed gas station in evanston illinois. i imagine we'll be seeing more and more scenes like this in coming years. party.

SLEEPY SUN

here are some screen grabs from the new video i directed for northern california's sleepy sun. if you don't know the band... you should. great music. wonderful people.

we are currently embroiled in post production here at radar. things are looking great and i can't wait for all to see.

PLACENTA

my friend and co-worker mr. graham gangi and his lovely wife rebecca (she really likes maxwell) just had a kid. the young boy is named griffin. every male in the gangi family starting way, way, way back with graham's great great great grandpappy GAYLORD GANGI has been given a "g" name. so the tradition continues.

what i can only imagine is NOT a gangi family tradition is placentophagy. Placentophagy is the act of mammals eating the placenta of their young after child birth. the new parents chose to go the way of placenta encapsulation. this is where the placenta is cooked ala jerky, ground up and put into pills. folks believe that eating the placenta prevents postpartum depression and other pregnancy complications. regardless of what one believes, i for one like the idea for the simple fact that it seems completely far out.

for more photos click here.

SWAN MARKINGS

in twelfth century britain swans were hunted and eaten to the point of near extinction. these birds were seen as a delicacy not to be wasted on the likes of commoners. laws were enacted forbidding anyone to kill swans without direct permission from the crown.

"the privileged few who were allowed to breed and own swans were granted a "swan mark," the oldest of which dates to 1230." -christopher turner

these marks were cut into the swan's beaks with sharp knives. as the birds matured their black beaks would turn orange, and the markings - sometimes referred to as cigninota - would become even more pronounced.

"swans remain a royally protected species: the maximum penalty for killing a swan is a 5,000 pound fine and/or six months in prison. the last person to be prosecuted for this crime was a welsh muslim, shamshu miah. in 2006, he chose to break his ramadan fast with a feast of swan. he stabbed one by a boating pond with a knife and was caught carrying it home in a plastic bag."i was so hungry," he told police, adding, " i hate the queen." He received a two-month prison sentence." - christopher turner

thanks to my friend faythe for sharing christopher turner's fascinating article in the most recent issue of cabinet. look for these images to show up in an upcoming video i will be shooting for the excellent band from the west sleepy sun.

SIGN PAINTER

just got back from our first weekend of shooting the sign painter documentary. seattle was great and everyone we shot with were beyond inspiring. more here.

GUNPLAY

more photos here.

SURVIVAL GUIDE

just returned from visiting some good friends in tucson arizona. in between bouts of poor behavior we headed south into the desert to the titan missile museum. amazing would be an understatement. easily one of the best tours i have ever been on.

the gravity/significance of this site - the incomprehensible destruction this facility was once capable of unleashing - was not lost on our brilliant tour guide hans. after he and i turned the keys that would have initiated the launch during the silo's years of operation hans said the following...

what we have done here is irreversible. there were no systems in place to stop the launch once it was initiated. after launch you would have one of two options. one would be to climb up the ladder within the air intake duct, and go topside to whiteness a world that could very possibly be unrecognizable to the one you once new. or two you could wait for communication from the outside world, and possibly die within twenty-five days from lack of oxygen, food, or water.

all delivered in a cinematic-ly heavy voice. heavy to say the least, and i believe he followed it up with a great joke. if you find yourself out that way check it out. meanwhile here is the museums official site. you can also read up on how to survive a blast here.

ORTOLAN

traveled to minneapolis this weekend to shoot with my friend eric anderson. he is head chef at an excellent restaurant called sea change. more on the why, what, and direction of this project later... on eric's hand is a tattoo of an ortolan. i had never heard of this tiny bird who's popular name is given by the french. these creatures have a special, and uniquely gruesome, place in france's gastronomy.

ortolans would be netted in large numbers, and overfed by disrupting the bird's feeding schedules. they would be kept in artificially darkened and lit rooms. millet and oats were traditionally used to fatten the birds.

"For centuries, a rite of passage for French gourmets has been the eating of the Ortolan. These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God."

NEW SITE

my new personal site is currently up and running in a not so completed form. i'm still working some bugs out, adding videos, changing shit no one but myself will notice, etc... but if you care to check it out it's here. within the next week (or so) samueljmacon.com will drive straight there instead of to this blog. then i can really start contributing some mental diarrhea in blog form.

SIGN PAINTER DOCUMENTARY

my dear friend faythe levine and i have begun work on a new feature length documentary on the art and craft of hand painted signs/signage. i am beyond excited to examine this time tested method of visual communication... one that blurs lines between aesthetics and information, art and advertising, gallery and streets.
please keep an eye on the project here.

SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE

i highly recommend spending sometime with the miniseries version of igmar bergman's powerful scenes from a marriage .

DRAWINGS