After a four-years-in-the-making out-of-town vacation, I'm back to work.  Still ramping up, trying hard to convince myself lazy self to get back to work, but tonight's four hours should help me get there.  Aside from the weekly two hour Birmingham Weekly site update, I tidied up the last bit of Stuart McNair's site.  Got a little more to do to finish up the Dorothy McDaniel site -- just waiting to get the server package upgraded so I can add database functionality and get the guestbook and mailing list going.

Next up, hopefully this weekend, I'll draft a few ideas for Catchfire, and lay out some templates for Beth Young.

Also, Saturday, I'll be doing some IT work -- rewiring and tidying the network at Dorothy McDaniel's store.

The one note of interest from the vacation is that I spent 20 minutes interviewing Norah Jones -- that feature will appear in the 8/12 issue of Birmingham Weekly.

I need more hours in the day, to work on some music and some screenplays.

posted by Kenn 8:53 PM

Oh, sure I'm gone for a few months. Don't call it a comeback -- I've been here for years.

Ack.

Been busy, needless to say (when you don't sleep but two hours a day, you've got to do something to prevent suicidal levels of boredom from sinking in). Doing what, you ask? Well...

• Films: finished acting in LILAH AND THE ALIEN, and then edited and scored it. Worked a bit with Sam Frazier on PROGRAMMING TO DIE FOR -- mostly a two day bit of tech work, but it's possible that he'll use me for some ofthe voice over stuff. Got a few ideas in my head to turn into short scripts and storyboards at some point in the next year. Completed my submission for the Sidewalk Film Festival -- should know soonishly if SILENCE made it in or not. Also finished a short screenplay for the Sidewalk SIdewrite comp -- GOOD MORNING, APOCRYPHA. It's a lighthearted romp at the end of the world. And I've been serving on the Sidewalk Screening Jury, helping to shape the programming at this year's fest.

• Music: The Exhibit(s) plug ahead, playing 2-3 nights a week (except this month, since Chance and I are both on vacations and Eric's catching up after having spent June in Hedwig's band, The Angry Inch). We should be stepping in to the studio -- I believe Walon Smith's -- to help Eric work on the score to Chance's Hide & Creep.

• Writing: not much going on here, except for a little work for Birmingham Weekly (most notably the local band pages for the official 2004 City Stages guide), and a piece on the Birmingham film scene that should run toward the end of July. Staying in practice with some short writing each day, though -- and I find (not surprisingly, mind you) that daily exercise is extraordinarily stimulating.

• Design & Programming: Ah, yes, the reason that Insomniactive got registered with the Federal gov't. Plenty of happening in this area, too -- from redesigning the Exhibit(s) and Birmingham Weekly websites (finally) to new sites for Stuart McNair, Catchfire, and Beth Maynard Young's Kingfisher Editions, as well as continuing work on various UAB sites, Dorothy McDaniel's Flower Market (getting close!), AIDS Alabama (waiting on their new server), and Workplay (completed, but the direction has changed).

And now -- back to work. Stuart McNair needs a new picture, and rumor has it my girlfriend is in town this weekend.

posted by Kenn 12:52 PM