We always tear it down

Once again Knoxville chooses to destroy, rather than fix. In some parts of the world there is an appreciation of the old. It's ironic that we in the South refuse to progress in many areas (social, human rights, etc.) but LOVE to tear down old buildings to put up crappy new ones.

In this case we're losing a parking garage for a surface-only lot. Sarcastic golf claps for our city leaders, yet again.

Jack Neely asks if Knoxville is "finally learning how to try?"

For years I had a vague sense of unrest here in Knoxville. Then, after going to NY, SF and other cities, ensconcing myself in techies who were building "the next great thing" day in, day out, I realized how much we "settle" for "good enough" around here all the more.

But I do think that is changing, slowly. Jack Neely has a good piece on this, and despite lacking more data, I think he's on to something. I think outside pressures are largely what's going on here, since we live in a more connected world. It's great to consider this, no matter what.

Then you read the comment by the small town guy and wonder... I'm sure there are also people who live here who miss the "good old days" when Jim Crow laws were in effect and lynchings were back country justice. But you get that all over.

Biscuitfest!

Excuse me, INTERNATIONAL Biscuit Festival 2013! I've always wanted to go to this, but the first year I dragged my kids down there only to find the event had sold out hours earlier (we got there around 11am). The next year? Same deal. Unfortunately you have to buy tickets the day of, at 8:30am on a Saturday morning. While this ensures a highly-engaged audience of biscuit fans, it also precludes parents of kids who are not insane. I am simply not waking my kids up on a Saturday morning (here at the end of the school year, no less) just to get them to line up for tickets (maybe) so that we can (maybe) taste a bunch of crazy biscuits more than 2 hours later.

Do any of the organizers of this have kids?

I wish more Knoxville events would realize pre-sale tickets are a good thing.

Free funding sources for filmmakers, musicians and other artists

Sure, you could pay people to consider the market value of your art, but why? There are so many great ways to get funding for your art projects these days. Indiegogo and Kickstarter are perhaps the best known, or at least the ones making a big splash these days.

There's also Grantspace, Desktop-documentaries and... the long tradition of asking friends and family to help out.

Sometimes I worry that people take advantage of the fact that a lot of artists in this area are not tech savvy. Ask yourself if the money you spend seeking funding would not better be spent towards actually making something.

To be sure, festivals and fairs and the like have their place! Jobs and Wozniak demonstrated the first Apple computer at a computer fair in the 70s, which eventually led to the creation of Apple Computer. While I don't think either were seeking validation of the idea (perhaps Jobs less so), the networking and event provided an important framework in which to show off their efforts. That is important.

Less important: getting advice from a shadowy group who charge you up front for a chance to do something you could just as easily do for no money at all.

Reasons why I'm not participating in this year's 24 hour film festival in Knoxville

10. It's not a fair fight.
9. I would have to compromise my vision.
8. There are performers who can't be on camera due to schedule conflicts.
7. There are crew who can't commit due to schedule conflicts.
6. Shallow talent pool has already sucked up other talent (hazard of living in a small town, I realize).
5. Yeah, I've already been to film school.
4. I don't believe everyone is following the rules.
3. The date conflicts with a CD release party on a project I was a backer of. I'm not sure why the organizers scheduled a night of music on the same night filmmakers will be out making films -- I've never really heard of a festival which schedules over its own programming. Even SXSW splits film and music up...
2. Due to that release party/performance schedule conflict the composer I had asked to score the music (many many weeks ago) will be unavailable -- which is connected to reason #9.
1. That weekend is a rare weekend where my daughter will be on a field trip and I'll have my son (I'm divorced). Considering his age and how little time I have left with him as a "little" boy, I'm going to devote myself to him and not feeding what I think is an unfair event.

The good news is that we'll still be producing this! A bit later in the summer, but now we can focus on writing a great script, securing awesome sets and props, and most importantly use the HUMAN CAPITAL of an insanely great cast and crew. I wouldn't do this without them.

Speaking of "them"... The point of my project is to showcase Knoxville locations, and some of the comedians and musicians and other talented people here. I have a lot of pride in Knoxville's community of artists, and I think it's time we had a proper showcase for them.

I wish 24HFF well, and maybe I'll participate next year. This year, unfortunately, there's just too many reasons not to.

May Day!

I walked through the first day of the Market Square Farmer's Market today, and it was cool if pretty small. Of course, thanks to the cold weather and season in general there's not much produce to go around. Mostly "stuff" with some eggs and herbs for sale. Here's hoping Saturday is a bit bigger.

In other news, Urban Outfitters will finally open tomorrow. I had hoped to use that space some day, but tides can change... We'll see how much business they do. Probably a lot. For a while.

More on Stuck Inside Knoxville...

In a hurry for lunch?

Don't count on Cru Bistro Downtown. I came in to a pretty light crowd (zero at the bar), sat down, had 2 people ask me for my drink order only to have one guy tell me "your server is helping another table but he'll be here in a minute."

More than 10 minutes later no one had taken my drink order. So I paid $3 for my one glass of sweet tea and left, never to return.

Huge Pilot/Flying J bombshell: Haslam knew

According to the FBI, testimony directly implicates Jimmy Haslam in the rebate fraud case currently being investigated. That's huge, and sad if true. Pilot makes millions upon millions and I have to wonder how much this really mattered to the bottom line.