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Day One

ben smithson — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:48:26 +0000

Erin and I just bought a house! We are super excited and there’s a lot of work to do. But we’re taking it one day at a time. Over the weekend, we painted, packed the old apartment, had appliances delivered, had a new hot water heater installed, and moved. Lots and lots and lots of work. I feel exhausted, but happy that the move went okay!

Our living room, day one

Fall 2010 Reading List

ben smithson — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:46:01 +0000

I started my Fall 2010 semester at UTD today. I’m excited to take 2 courses, but I am feeling a little bit freaked out about the required readings.

Course – EMAC Readings Course

We Live in Public (Film)
Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives
You Are not a Gadget: A Manifesto
Ripped: How the Wired Generation Revolutionized Music
Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do
The Chaos Scenario
The Book of MPub
The Medium is the Massage
The YouTube Reader
Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age
Hamlet’s Blackberry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Course – Aesthetics: Beauty

The Republic
On the Aesthetic Education of Man
Time, the Familiar Stranger
Biopoetics
On Aggression
The Language Instinct
Chaos: Making a New Science
Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny
The Fractal Geometry of Nature
On Aesthetics in Science
The Power of Limits

Whew. That’s a lot of books for a slow-reader to read in one semester!

Raising Foodies – Berry Crisp

ben smithson — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:12:49 +0000

Erin and I shot this piece a few weeks ago, and I finally wrapped up the edit over the weekend.We are happy to help out Joslyn with her raising foodies project and help her to create new content!

Marfa, Texas

ben smithson — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:05:12 +0000

Here’s some video I shot while on last weekend’s road trip to Marfa, Texas.

Tame Impala / MGMT at House of Blues

ben smithson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:51:38 +0000

Here are photos from Tame Impala and MGMT at the House of Blues on June 8, 2010. House of Blues has a strict camera policy, but it was nice to be able to stand on the stage-facing side of the barricade to get my shots. That was super helpful! The full set of photos is available on Flickr or at PegNews.com.

Visit here for the full set.

Miike Snow

ben smithson — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:47:34 +0000

The group Miike Snow (don’t be confused by the singular name that represents the entire group) dazzled at Granada Theater on Monday, June 7, 2010. I was blown away at the energy of the crowd. It felt like a giant dance party. Here’s some video I shot at the event. Shot on a Canon 7D with standard kit zoom lens. Audio recorded using a Zoom H2.

Wes & CJ’s Wedding

ben smithson — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:35:29 +0000

I took my camera on last weekend’s trip to North Carolina. I shot some photos at the wedding we attended – you know – something to do! Half-way through the evening, I decided to shoot some video. So this projects combines photo and video together.

Bud’s 1969 Stingray 427

ben smithson — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:04:22 +0000

Here’s another weekend project. Bud is selling his 1969 Stingray 427. Please contact me if you’re interested and I’ll pass the info along to him! I’m still learning how to shoot video on the 7D – each project gets a little bit better than the last.

“We Are All Homeless” Interventionist Art Project

ben smithson — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:06:38 +0000

My friend Willie Baronet organized a second flash mob event to raise awareness for the homeless. I had a lot of fun shooting this event. For more information, visit We Are All Homeless.

We Are All Homeless

ben smithson — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:19:17 +0000

I will be live streaming (along with my mobile lab video group) the “We Are All Homeless” flash mob event on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Here’s our video feeds so you can either watch live or view replays of the event.

Kyle Kondas

Mike Stephens

Mary Skinner

Ben Smithson

Chelsea Conway