LIFE: 101Besttips.com

WHAT: It's a new website dedicated to encouraging people to lead happier, healthier lives in three areas: body, mind, and life.

WHY: What better way to hit the mid-year mark than with a new conversation starter that's about a website community where you can share your tips, solutions, and seek advice - not letting little things like an "economic crisis" get you down!

Divided into the three general areas mentioned above, 101Besttips.com covers tips on topics intended to lead to a fuller, richer life, varying from good things to eat (I have allowed them to use two of my blogs!) to healthy exercise. Right now, they even have a free ebook course called "Mindful Breathing," intended to help cope with stress and anxiety by learning how to engage in mindful breathing.

The site also includes a community board, and is growing daily with new content. On the downside, it is new and has a way to grow, but their hearts seem to be in the right place, and the community is sure to only grow with as new members contribute to the board.

www.101Besttips.com

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FILM TERM: Swamped

WHAT: Being swamped is having so much going on at one time that you have very little time for sleep, and even when you sleep, you're still thinking about all the stuff you have to do.

WHY: We start shooting HEAD IN THE SAND on Friday, and production has ramped up in the last week and a half. Add with that the remain projects and assignments due for my final courses, and you begin to see why I'm writing about being swamped.

Even so, in film production, the "pre-production" seems to be the most stressful: it's the time when there are so many variables and unknowns. Once shooting starts, it's simply a matter of controlling the chaos. Prior to that, it's a matter of staying afloat until the first frame is shot and the film crew take on a life of their own.

As soon as events even out - hopefully mid-next week - I will return with new Conversation Starters. In the meantime, please browse the archives for gems that you may have missed.

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FILM TERM: Gaffer

WHAT: In motion picture and television production in the United States, the head of the lighting and electrical department is the Chief Lighting Technician, most commonly referred to as the Gaffer.

WHY: The Gaffer is one of two department heads responsible for light and shadow that report directly under the cinematographer, or Director of Photography. While the average citizen knows the term "grip," they often falsely attribute that name to all the people they see moving any equipment on a film set. The Gaffer's equal and head of the Grips is the Key Grip. Both the Gaffer and the Key Grip have their own respective "Best Boy" (yes, females too are called "Best Boys") who usually keep their equipment orders and personal in order.

It's not really that difficult to understand: to light a film or tv set, light and shadow is used to define objects that expose and are captured on film. Anyone on set you see moving a light or running power is a Set LIghting Technician (a.k.a. electrician or juicer) - they deal with light and answer to the Gaffer. The grips operate similiary, but tend to provide support equipment and deal with shadows - cutting the light with opaque materials, gels, or some sort of diffusion - they in turn answer to their boss: the Key Grip.

By the way, the photo is misleading: that guy wouldn't be a Gaffer: although films tend to be run slightly differently, on professional Hollywood film and television productions, the gaffer and key grip rarely move equipment. Just one of the perks of being boss.

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TECH: Real Time Rome

WHAT: Real Time Rome is MIT's SENSEable City Lab's project that collects and tracks real time cell phone data, bus, and taxi information in Rome with the hopes of helping individuals better plan their time by knowing congestion conditions on foot or vehicle.

WHY: Simply put, it's a way of mapping information how many people are where at any given time. By using cell phone technology - which the majority of people now have - the plan is to help curb Rome's congestion by mapping the pulse of the city.

Using your phone or kiosks displaying maps placed throughout the city at bus stops and the like, individuals can see how busy it is at a major plaza, which roads are congested, or what night clubs are the most popular.

It's really a simple idea that is pretty cool; it's using exsisting technology to help people be more efficient with their time. In a dynamic scenario, it may even allow buses to alter their routes as necessary, and by providing information to riders, help lessen stress levels by answering the unknown variable: when exactly is my bus going to arrive?*

http://senseable.mit.edu/realtimerome/

* In London, the transit authority conducted research that demonstrated that stress levels were reduced when riders knew the arrival time of late trains versus waiting without knowledge, hoping - yes, praying - that sometime their train would in fact arrive.

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SHOPPING: Costco

WHAT: The largest "membership warehouse club" chain in the world based on sales volume, Costco offers low-priced, bulk packaged goods aimed at larger families, businesses, and filmmakers...

WHY: According to my brother, Costco doesn't carry crap. I'd confirm this if I had a Costco card, but that's probably a few months away. I do remember that in the past, though, yes, in fact, most of the products I've ever eaten or bought with somebody else's card were actually good.

Now, while I'm not a big fan of building large corporate chains that may treat their employees poorly or that drive away family owned businesses, Costco seems to have built a solid, reputable business: in 2006, they were ranked number one by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Besides some electronic items, customers can return any item - or their membership - for a full refund. This place is crazy: they sell more wine than anyone else in the United States, are the third largest pizza chain, offer travel services and insurance, and will even change your oil. Oh, yeah: they even have an optometrist!

www.costco.com

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DRINK: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

WHAT: From the north valley of California comes a variety of remarkable, award-winning micro brewed beers. The Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, established in 1979 in Chico, California, brews over 700,000 barrels of world-renowned beer a year, ranks consistently on BeerAdvocate.com's Top 25 list, and has been featured on television shows such as FRIENDS and SEX IN THE CITY.

WHY: I usually only drink beer on special occasions, and last week was one of them. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company is the second best-selling "craft beer" in the United States - behind Samual Adams - yet it's exceeds the competition. I write this as unbiased as I possibly can, having spent my secondairy education in Chico, where the brewery also has a very nice restaurant that was opened in 1989. More recently, they opened "The Big Room," a venue for live music that has featured bands as diverse as Huey Lewis & the News and Steve Cooley Band.

Their most popular and widely distributed beer is the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - this is the beer that made the brewery famous. It's great with a meal or straight out of the bottle. While I currently prefer their Celebration Ale, my brother likes their Stout - yet they brew a selection of seasonal, classic, and limited selection beers numbering somewhere between 10 and 12 -- you can search their website for a distributor near you, or visit the brewery itself in beautiful Chico, just 70 miles north of Sacramento.

http://www.sierranevada.com

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HOME ENTERTAINMENT: Slingbox

WHAT: If you've got a broadband connection at home, Slingbox is a piece of hardware that you hook up to your television at home, allowing you to watch your TV while you on the go: from another computer or your mobile phone.

WHY: Alright, so having a DVR is pretty cool: it's the big fad right now, allowing television viewers to basically "mash-up" network programming, effectively creating your own programming channel. Viewers no longer need to decide between two competing shows that are on at the same time; watch one, record the other - and best of all, skip the commercials.

Not so cool for the networks or advertisers, though.

Then came Slingbox. You hook it up to your AV stuff at home, and voila! You can continue to watch what you want no matter where you are. Watch all your channels from your office desk - or on the otherside of the world. Prices start at $129.99, with no monthly costs. Yes, you can also watch your recorded shows that are on your tv. For television addicts, the drugs just keep getting stronger.

http://www.slingmedia.com/

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