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That’s it right now. Be sure to let me know if you see anything that piques your interest!

Troll Hunter is a Norwegian film (with English subtitles) in the found footage genre. It’s about a college film crew that stumbles upon a hunter who is actually tracking — you guessed it — trolls. You’re best off knowing nothing else about this one. Don’t watch any trailers, any videos, or read any reviews. Just see it.

Honestly, I think the movie probably could have worked even if it wasn’t found footage. But it doesn’t really get in the way of the movie at any point.

So there. It’s on Netflix at the moment. Go watch Troll Hunter.

I don’t know what to say. They just fit me so well, and I bought them.

Columbine, by Dave Cullen, is probably the best piece I’ve read about the Columbine shooting. The book is great for three reasons.

1. It has the perspective that comes with being published more than 10 years after the event.
2. Cullen makes the point that Columbine should be seen as a failed bombing, and not a shooting.
3. He also discusses the psycopathy of Eric Harris to a satisfying degree, and illustrates the differences between he and Dylan based on their writings.

It’s not an easy read at parts, particularly if you (like me) don’t think about Columbine all that often. It’s a tough reminder.

This was the first full book I read through on my Kindle. Yeah, I know, I’m way behind the times. I love the super simple version of the device. I’ve been reading more since I picked it up.

When I was in high school I used to make short videos for school and elsewhere, and always really enjoyed it. Heck, one day I would like to film a documentary — or even short film — of my own.

For now, though, I want to mention a handful of documentary films that I can recommend. Each of these films is quite a bit different than the other, but I think they all share the distinct quality that makes them good documentaries: they make you more interested in the subject matter than you were before you watched it.

6 Days to Air

If you haven’t had a chuckle or two from South Park yet, you’re truly missing out. As much as I like the show’s funny social commentary, their method is even more fascinating. 6 Days to Air documents the production of a single episode of their show, which happens in less than one week.

American Movie

American Movie chronicles the efforts of one Mark Borchardt to finish his flim project Coven. It will resonate with anyone who has ever made their own productions, or aspires to, as well as those who grew up in small towns with bigger aspirations.

This one is definitely funny, has its share of awesome one-liners, and is also uplifting in its own strange way.

Burzynski

Burzynski is a documentary I’m not sure I’m really qualified to comment on, since I’m far from a science expert. But what I do know is that the film sets out to tell the story of biochemist Stanislaw Burzynski and his controversial — and often entirely successful — cancer treatments and his struggles with the Food and Drug Administration and the rest of the medical community. I had never heard of him before, and found it really fascinating.

Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop

Conan O’Brien took over Late Night in 1993, when I was only six years old. I don’t really remember a time watching Late Night when he wasn’t hosting. Perhaps because of this, and because I’m a fan of his, I paid close attention both to his ascent to The Tonight Show and his walking away from it on principle. This documentary picks up after those events wrapped up, when he takes a tour on the road during the months when he was legally forbidden not to appear on television.

For both fans of Conan and creative, motivated people who have seen frustrations of their own, I highly recommend this documentary.

Hell House

Hell House is a challenging movie to watch, particularly for those that have grown up within a religious family or community. It depicts a haunted house run by a fundamentalist Christian church, specifically for the purpose of converting those who walk through it. No matter who you watch it with, it’s bound to stir up a discussion, likely before it’s even over.

For me, the movie is unsettling and a bit sad. But the story told is striking and worth revisiting every now and then, I think.

Indie Game: The Movie

I just reviewed this movie earlier this weekend. It’s fascinating for those who love gaming, but in particular it inspired me as a creative person. It documents the passions, frustrations, and successes of a few developers working to build independent video games. If you need a good dose of inspiration and motivation, give this one a go.

Jesus Camp

Much like Hell House, Jesus Camp delivers a non-judgmental story of a camp designed for fundamentalist Christian children. I would echo everything I said above about Hell House here, and perhaps recommend a freaky-sad Christian movie night with these two movies back to back.

The King of Kong

It’s a great movie for retro gaming buffs, but honestly it’s fantastic even if you have no interest in games whatsoever. I’ve watched this film with a few friends who aren’t into gaming, but convinced them that the underdog competitive story within would be compelling. Without fail, everyone ends up enjoying the movie and rooting along.

Loose Change 9/11

I’m a sucker for conspiracies, and Loose Change 9/11 is the definitive question-asking documentary focused on 9/11. It covers a number of angles that other documentaries I’ve seen don’t, and is also a solid primer for the most common concerns surrounding 9/11. It’s worth it if only as a primer, really, since there are probably more documentaries focused on 9/11 than on the Kennedy assassination.

Resurrect Dead

Resurrect Dead is a fascinating film of obsession and mystery. Literally, the main character is obsessed with solving a real-life mystery. It centers on strange tiles that have been showing up all over the east coast, into the midwest, and even around the world, for the last 30 odd years. Many of the tiles simply read: “Toynbee Idea, in movie 2001, resurrect dead, on planet jupiter”.

The research and lead-tracking the main characters do kept me hooked the whole way through.

The People vs. George Lucas

For many, their love of Star Wars is only matched by their frustration with George Lucas over his consistent tweaking of the original trilogy. Well, that and no longer releasing the original untouched films. It pisses people off.

I’m not quite at that point, but I can certainly understand the arguments of the frustrated. I’m not against a director having control over his creation, but I don’t see the benefit in locking away original versions of films.

Anyway, if this issue piques your interest at all you’d like this documentary.

Religulous

I’m not always a fan of Bill Maher’s methods, and I think his demeanor might turn some folks off from this movie. Even so, I think the film is worth it. Aside from the interviews with various religious people, Maher also shows a surprising amount of vulnerability and honesty when reflecting on his own history of religious beliefs.

Whether you’re a religious person or not, I would argue, there is something to be gained from this film.

Special When Lit

Special When Lit covers the history of pinball and spends a good deal of time with many of today’s most avid collectors and players.

My brother-in-law turned me on to this one due to his interest in pinball machines and his increasing involvement in the pinball community. I’d never thought too much about them, but as any good documentary film will do I’m quite a bit more interested in them after watching it.

It’s not something I ever knew to look for before, but it seems there is a strong pinball community in just about every major city nowadays. Who knew?

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

If you’ve ever been frustrated or confused by the state of movie ratings, track this film down and watch it. The film combines interviews with filmmakers who are effected by the ratings negatively with an investigation into the members of the entirely secretive ratings board. Interviewees include Matt Stone, John Waters, Kevin Smith, and many others.

Best of all, this film will open the eyes of those who maybe never considered the source of (or implications of) the MPAA before. Watch it, and show it to your friends.

Any suggestions of your own?

That’s my list of documentary films, at least as far as I can recall. Are there any that you’ve seen and would recommend to me?

Indie Game: The Movie is about independent game development, but not nearly as directly as I thought it would be. IGTM is really about the stories of three indie game developers, the creation process, and the feelings that go along with the successes and failures along the way.

The stories are framed with a bit of an introduction to the state of indie gaming, but it breaks away from that sort of history-by-interview snippet style that so many documentaries opt for. IGTM pretty quickly jumps into the stories of the developers behind Super Meat Boy, Fez, and Braid.

The designers and developers behind these games — one, two, and three person teams — talk about the reasons they do what they do, the frustrations they feel, the pressure, the fears, and the way their successes bring them meaning. I know some of those feelings, and hearing their stories is inspirational. It’s like a pep talk from a kindred spirit.

Jonathan Blow reflects on his experience developing Braid, since it was released a number of years ago. I found myself connecting with less of his segments, I think because his perspective is post-success. The others, fully engrossed in their own game’s development during the course of the movie, were far more interesting.

Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes made Super Meat Boy, and IGTM tracks their work in the seven months leading up to their game’s release on XBOX Live. Phil Fish, on the other hand, is profiled as Fez‘s development time reaches into its fourth year without a set release date. The contrast between developers experiencing their launch and another struggling to reach that point resonated with me. I’ve been in both positions, albeit on a bit of a smaller scale than theirs.

I enjoy documentaries, and this is indeed a good one. But on top of recommending it as a good movie, I’d like to recommend it to the creatives, entrepreneurs, and independents that I know. This movie inspired and, in a way, motivated me. If you could do with a dose of inspiration yourself, then go watch this movie now.

This summer I started a coworking space called Founders here in Fort Wayne, IN. I started it with Ray Angel and Steve Franks, two prominent members of the startup community in our city.

Founders opens every day at 8am and closes, well, whenever. It’s completely free to use, and supported by our Power Founders system.

You can read more about Founders at www.atfounders.com.

A few choice photos from our first three months

Nick Arnett, one of the coworkers at Founders, said this a few days into the space being open:

Throughout the past five days, Founders has already seen over a dozen people use it as a place to work out of and dozens more pass through to see what all the excitement is about. I’ve spent the last few days observing how people interact with the space and “founders” calling it home, and one thing is clear: Fort Wayne’s startup scene has finally hit a critical mass of people to be able to support a location like this.

There was also a nice story about the opening from the News Sentinel.

I’ve always liked the idea of starting a collaborative workspace, though I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity for another couple of years at least. The situation to found Founders sort of snuck up on me, but I’m really glad it did.

The growing community at Founders is really awesome. Since launching we’ve hosted a number of community events including a guerilla website redesign and our own version of a hackathon called 48hrs. The community itself has furnished all 3,000 square feet of our space so far, at least until we pull together a Kickstarter to take it to the next level.

The work in starting a second venture

I’ve also discovered that being a part of two distinct businesses is a bit difficult. Who knew, right?

I’ve spent a good deal of time working on Founders since July, but am finally at the point where a balance can be struck. It’s no doubt a challenge, of course, but it’s one I think I can make work. I’m working that pendulum back in the other direction right now.

In any case, if you are heading through Northeast Indiana any time soon and want to visit a cool new coworking space, swing by and give Founders a try. We’d be happy to meet you!

Great song. Can’t wait for the movie.

[Example:] A user is about to enter his username and password for a program or website when he receives an instant message. Some instant messaging clients will immediately grab the keyboard focus and move it into their own response field, because they assume the user will want to respond to the new message immediately. In reality, the user may be astonished to find that they have just typed their password into their IM client and sent it to their friends. This conflict arises because the two programs are not aware of each other’s existence, and cannot easily determine when they might get in each other’s way. To avoid such conflicts, operating systems may restrict the interaction of different programs, for example by preventing the IM client from stealing the focus.

Via the Wikipedia page. Kudos to Alex King for making me aware of this principle.

The Bechdel Test, sometimes called the Mo Movie Measure or Bechdel Rule is a simple test which names the following three criteria:

1. it has to have at least two women in it, who
2. who talk to each other, about
3. something besides a man.

Turns out it’s not very common for movies to pass this test. I’ll be on the lookout for this in movies from now on. (via BechdelTest.com)