The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
You really should go watch it in full screen just to bask in the detail in everything. I watched very closely and couldn’t find any of the normal cheats you find in CG that break the illusion. Yes, there are things towards the end that aren’t actually possible, but they’re totally convincing. Unbelievably gorgeous and melancholy.\
Melancholy fits my mood this week. I found out on Monday that one of my favorite people and one of the first people I met at SxSW, Brad Graham, died over the weekend. Brad is (I still refuse to say “was”) one of those people totally filled with light. He makes everyone feel welcome, included and loved. He’s an infamous flirt, raconteur and wit and I loved cracking vulgar with him, usually in our now-infamous Kevin Smokler hosted dinners at SxSW.
For someone I only see once a year, and talk to only a couple of times a year, Brad’s death at 41 is hitting me hard. He’s such a life – the life of the party, conversation, etc. He’s such a fixture on both the web and at SxSW that I thought he was an immovable object – and for my own selfish reasons, I hoped he’d always be there. I love hanging out with him. He’s one of those rare comic minds that can make anything both vulgar and hilarious at the same time, being so offensive and outrageous that no one gets offended. For years at those dinners, we had people afraid they would pee their pants with laughter and afraid to take a bite at dinner. Every time I ran into Brad was an experience never to be forgotten…\
And I keep playing them over and over again in my head because those chance meetings outside the convention center, lunches and dinners with friends won’t happen again… because Brad’s gone.\
I miss him.
“For someone I only see once a year, and talk to only a couple of times a year, Brad’s death at 41 is hitting me hard.”
And that about sums it up. It’s very telling when someone you see so infrequently instantly makes you feel welcome the moment you meet again. Brad could do that every time and, like you, did it the *first* time I came to SXSW.
We will all miss him. What a prince he is.
I’m thinking an empty chair next to you at dinner this March. To illustrate that Brad is still there, even though we miss him terribly.
I remember the year I had the priveledge of sitting at the Brad table at Kreate Kookies. Don’t think I ate much cos I was laughing so hard. I believe that was the year of B.A.P.
I didn’t know Brad but I am a friend of someone who knew him and will miss him tremendously. As a Buddhist I see death as an inevitable part of life and when we lose someone we love it’s a chance to broaden our perceptions and grow rather than shrink. Here are a few links with some thought-provoking comments.
Peace.
http://www.cyberpat.com/shirlsite/essays/death-budd.html
http://www.urbandharma.org/kusala/dad.html
I had been following Brad on Flikr and had I not lost your link for ficklets, I wouldn’t have known about his passing. I am so sorry. The world is at a loss now.
I don’t think it is going to really sink in until we’re in Austin this year. I’m totally bringing Pimp Kermie with me. He still has chocolate on his pants from Brad’s vulgarities at Kevin’s dinner. *sigh*