The paint was a bright, bright red and immediately reminded me of the color of fake blood used in low budget films from the 70s, especially of the exploitation ilk. This is the red of red hots (both kinds), Red #5 (the dangerous kind, from the 50s), and Glacé fruit (the kind of fruit that is actually bad for you) read more

The lower east side of my hometown was an RV park at the County Fairgrounds, but if it had been a thriving arts community maybe we would have had similar programming. read more

This year's workshop was called "Imagining Access to Audiovisual Heritage" and focused on developing project plans and funding proposals specific to the institution's mission, user needs, collection risk, available resources, and rights. The aim was to give the participants the tools to perform a collection assessment and develop priorities for short and long-term collection ... read more

And then finally, it stumbles into full blown Las-Vegas-pills-and-booze-bloat. read more

Whatever the case, I recall that I could never get rid of any cards, no matter how many duplicates piled up. Five 1988 Topps Oddibe McDowell cards, one with a gum stain on the back? Keep 'em all and let me sort them out, in increasingly smaller piles arranged by number. read more

The cycle of generational context would suggest that I scoff at such softening as I continue to cling to my childhood anger at the dismantling of social, educational, and arts support in the 1980s. Reagan, too, has been making a comeback of late as both sides of the aisle fight over who best represents his ideology and his legacy. Either I'm a stubborn-headed fool or this is a good sign that I'm not too old yet. read more

Do we know what we are preserving, and are we making the right choices? Have we developed good practices for working with the private sector? Do we have adequate funding models for sustainable digital preservation? Do we know how to best valorize our collections in today’s evolving landscape? read more

I like to think, I absolutely have to think in order to maintain momentum, that there is a value beyond kitsch or other forms of ironic re/mis-appropriation. I really hope my work is about more than saving audiovisual works with funny outfits and hairdos that people can giggle about or use in mash-ups. read more

This post was written in support of the 2011 For the Love of Film (Noir) Film Preservation Blogathon. The Blogathon is a yearly event that helps raise money to preserve a film and also raise awareness of film preservation in general. Donations that go directly to preserving "The Sound of Fury" can be made at ... read more

Because "Love is in the Air" (1979)... Portions To Be Archived: Skilled house bands Portions To Not Be Archived: The idea that Tom Jones needs show girls to be interesting; Disinterested cover songs based on lazy, cliched selection process Portions To Be ... read more