Johnson City Recap and Prepping for the Carolinas

Been a few days, I 'pologize.

Well let's get started where we left off.  Went out to Johnson City last week, to East Tennessee State University, and had a blast.  The usual modest size crowd showed, but as a plus, seemed to get a few more folks from the community than usual.  What was most rewarding was the enthusiasm from the audience and from the hosts.  I definitely got a genuinely enthused vibe from the crowd, and was glad to be a part of it.  Thanks guys.  Even got to talk in detail about some of the media tie-ins to the film, and some of the more peripheral elements of the film's/continuity's story, which was a nice treat.

Johnson City was a surprisingly big town, and to avoid the usual Eastern Time Zone trap I get myself into, I wound up being extremely early, and went for a drive around downtown.  The downtown area reminded me of Birmingham, or maybe Nashville's downtown over near Vandy.

On the way home (only about a four hour drive, five taking into account the time change), stopped in Knoxville for some Jimmy Johns, had a few exchanges with the UT crowd down on the strip, and was reminded why I'm glad I'm no longer in college.

This week I've been enjoying a "bye", gearing up for our first big, overnight trip-- two days and some change up in the Carolinas, at East Carolina University and the University of South Carolina, the second big SEC school of the tour.  Be looking for some "previews" of the two towns I'm visiting up there, Greenville, NC and Columbia, SC, early next week.

To the Mavericks

Just some food for thought for all you Mavericks out there.  I'll see y'all out in Johnson City tomorrow.

"A Genesis Found" now on Video on Demand!

Little aside from the tour travels-- just got word from Amazon that A Genesis Found is now available through their Video on Demand service!  The film is available for rental, for streaming, or for download to own (with varying portable device/TV formats available).  If you're looking to see the flick, can't make a screening, and refuse to pay for the two-disc DVD (though I worked so hard on it, sniff, sniff...), this is the best way to see it.  Plus, it's the cheapest.  7-day rentals are $2.99, while you can download it and own it forever for $3.99.  Big price difference there Amazon.

I haven't downloaded a copy yet myself, so I can't vouch for the quality, but I can vouch for the flick-- this is the "Final Director's Cut" that's on the DVD release, so you're getting the premiere version of the film.  So now there's no excuse not to see it-- HOP TO IT!

Buy/Rent the Film on Video on Demand

Patton and Dr. Jones can't believe they're on VOD

Opelika Orange

Back from Auburn and gotta say, I was quite impressed with the campus and the environment down there.  I'd never really been to that part of the state-- and I suppose if the tour amounts to nothing else, at least I'm gonna get to visit a lot of the South I've never had a chance to visit.  As I told my wife Peyton (the costume designer for A Genesis Found and The Nocturnal Third, who as an added bonus got to come along with me last night)-- I get to pretend I'm a four or five star athletic recruit, visiting all these colleges-- except nobody really gives a damn I'm on campus, and I don't have the hair.

Regardless, Auburn ain't a bad drive, and Peyt and I both dug campus.  We got there via back roads, so it's kinda like driving to Tuscaloosa through Cottondale-- there isn't a sign of civilization until about two minutes from campus.  So just when I thought all those Auburn jokes about pastures and mules were true... boom, there's the Plains.

The school's Anthropology club sponsored the screening (that's something a lot of these screenings have in common) and we had about the current tour standard number of students/ community folks show up for the screening.  Regardless, it screened well, and I got to wander around a nice campus for an hour or so with my wife (during the cave scenes that just don't age well the more you see them).  Plus, the Padres lost, so now the Braves, who've been trying their best to give their playoff spot away despite it being Bobby's last year, are now a win or so away from the NL Wild Card.  And Auburn has a Jimmy Johns, which is always a treat.  All and all a good trip.  No worries, though, Tuscaloosa, we still got 'em beat.

Just ol' Luke sportin' them locks of Opelika Orange

Not much great insight here.  I did have a nice talk with my contact Arianne, a anthropology professor, originally from urban Massachusetts (where my step-brother-in-law currently calls home), and an alum of the University of Southern California (where she worked some with their now nonexistent ethnographic film program).  She mentioned, with future screenings, I might want to try and get Student Associations involved, like the viewing societies who are ahead of getting those almost-out-on-DVD Hollywood flicks screening at the on campus theater for like a buck a ticket.  I initially started that route, when I first starting trying to organize the tour, but aside from one nice young man at Kentucky who politely sent me in another direction, I never heard back from a single one of them-- that's like one out of forty-six.  So, obviously, not a great place to start-- but, it might be a good group to get involved once the film is locked for a screening on campus-- I certainly need to get better at finding easier ways to get these screenings "buzzing" on campus, which, aside from Pearl River Community College (where my contact also worked in the PR dept), I haven't really been able to accomplish yet.

Here's hoping Johnson City is "hopin'" like Auburn-- we'll see you folks at East Tennessee State October 6!