On the occasion of his 34th birthday, Patrick O'Brien is not only happy to be alive, he is beaming over the near completion of his first major film.
Only a few years ago, Patrick, then known as the wildly outrageous "Transfatty" to the New York City creative underground, could not have imagined a more perfect or compelling story line. Always fascinated with the disabled (his short film "Deep in the Heart of Nexus" chronicles a young disabled woman getting dressed), he had long searched for a story like his own. At age 34, he never thought he would be on the opposite side of the camera, much less that he would be enjoying it.
Patrick began to chronicle his terminal illness in the fall of 2006, just months after receiving his ALS diagnosis. Leaving the high paying world of commercial directing wasn't easy, but necessary to focus on his life's work: a feature length documentary about the disease. ALS, commonly referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease", aggressively kills motor neuron cells in the body causing paralysis and eventual death, with the average lifespan being three to five years. Knowing time was in short supply, Patrick gathered his friends and other creatives to start documenting the disease as it unleashed itself upon Patrick's body, the film's moving canvas.
Currently in post production, the film will highlight all aspects of the disease with humor and grim honesty, something Patrick is well known for as a director. Controversies aside, Patrick hopes the film will get the attention of the media to spread the word about a disease which has little research funding. From protesting naked outside the White House in his wheelchair to having a true "love child", every step of his journey has been filmed, much of it captured on breathtaking 35mm film.
True to form, Patrick titled the upcoming film "Everything Will Be Okay...or How I Learned to Transcend Form, Live in the Now, and Make Love in My Electric Wheelchair." His ever loyal fans are looking forward to the new film, which will not fall far from the Transfatty tree.
This is his current note to the fans, as posted on K10K:
–
"My nurse/speech therapist: Therese, is helping me transcribe this message under the Baltimore sky. A device tracking my eyeball, on the first day of spring, reminds me of months gone by since January 1st, when the MRSA, found me, caused a viral blur until tonight's hurried email, version six. The only way of communicating with you is the imperfect, mass email. I've tried and failed to send this email hundreds of times. Drafting ceilings of questions about what is happening with families, friends, hallucinating my son's laughter in the hospital hallways. I miss that. I have a trach and can only communicate using my eye gaze computer device Hope everyone is doing well, I would love to hear from you all."
Love, Patrick
–
Support the Patrick O'Brien Foundation.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Everything Will Be Okay - Patrick O'Brien
Nigel Godrich - From The Basement
In September 2006, it was announced that Nigel Godrich was shooting 'From the Basement', a new series for television. It was to focus on intimate, live performances by musicians, with the first episode featuring The White Stripes, Thom Yorke and Four Tet. The second, reported to be in production, would feature Beck and Jamie Lidell. Because it was deemed too uncommercial without corporate sponsors, the series was reimagined as an Internet podcast television show, with individual videos available for purchase through iTunes and elsewhere.
Versatile Records
The Versatile Records blog, home of Chateau Flight, I:Cube, Gilb'R, and the occasional Daft Punk. One of the more seasoned French dance labels, there's obscure tracks, DJ sets and track infos aplenty.
Monday, March 23, 2009
All Back To Mine.31 / 28th March / Zouk Winebar
The 31st set, come on down this Sat from 11pm onwards at Winebar. Expect a mish-mash of sounds from obscure classics, mid tempo tunes to recent singles.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Peter Saville at D&AD
Peter Saville Q&A: What's wrong with design education? from D&AD on Vimeo.
Peter Saville Q&A: What is that? from D&AD on Vimeo.
Peter Saville Q&A: What inspires you? from D&AD on Vimeo.
Peter Saville Q&A: What do you think of Banksy? from D&AD on Vimeo.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Saturday Morning Watchmen
What the fuck...
But the women do kick some arse here indeed.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Have iPhone will jam
The Mentalists play 'Kids' by MGMT on their iPhones and iPod Touches, using only apps downloaded from the Apple App Store.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Green Porno
“I was always fascinated by the infinite, strange and ’scandalous’ ways that insects copulate.” - Isabella Rossellini
When Isabella Rossellini and The Sundance Channel set out to make a series of short films for the internet about the sex lives of animals, they had no idea what was in store.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Visit The Other Britain
Welcome, intrepid internet interloper! You have electronically stumbled upon a land unlike any other. (Definately unlike stuffy old Britain with it's Stonehenge, London Tour Busses and rip-off theatre tickets). This is The Other Britain. The alternative. It's the funky underbelly. It's the razor-sharp fashionable knife blade of cutting edge cool.
One of the projects that I was previously involved in, and helped the agency clinched a 3-year retainer... A milestone I guess. Kudos to my ex-creative team that pulled this together, without them this project would not have surfaced.
U2 & Taylor Deupree double-take?
Both album covers were inspired by Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, but Taylor blatantly said that U2 was ripping them off. Afterwards, he commented that he shouldn’t have said “ripoff” because that implies intent. And both covers are similar and being based on the same photograph which both parties had legal rights to use, so what’s the beef? Here's the rant, and another resemblance from the Brothomstates cover.
Freehand Anonymous
Yes, Freehand is alive & kicking. InDesign may be de rigeur for most design work but Freehand rocks my desktop anytime too. I really don't give a damn if it doesn't work with the current Apple OS X, cause there's always a conversion to fall back on. This adaptation of a recent piece for Creative Review magazine will attest to that...