Another fun day at Ferris State.  This morning I gave the keynote address at the festival which went really good.  I kind of ran out of time, but ended it pretty well.  Next time I give a speech I’ll have a better sense of how to time it.

I went to a few presentations by other speakers, all of which were pretty interesting.  I ate lunch with my film professor and a bunch of students in the same building I used to eat lunch at when I stayed at Ward Hall back in the day.  It’s AMAZING how much better the food is now.  The cafeteria is essentially the equivalent of the Warner Bros. Film Lot commissary.  I then sat on a panel which concluded the Festival.

Spent the late afternoon over my film professor’s house on the river with another professor and another Ferris grad, before having dinner tonight at a local Mexican joint.

I’m flying back to Los Angeles tomorrow.  It was a really cool time…

Had a really fun day today at Ferris State U.

This morning I went to the restaurant next to the hotel for breakfast.  I was the only customer in the whole joint.  The waitress talked to me the whole time until my food came out.  You would never see that happen in LA…

I spent the afternoon with my old film professor.  I actually had a pasty for lunch, a pretty good one at that.  Later on in the afternoon I talked to his class (gave them a heads up on the real world), and checked out the campus a bit.  There’s quite a few new buildings, giving it a much more modern look than it had when I was there.

I’m quite impressed with the number of Avids the students have now to edit on.  Back in the day we only had one edit bay, an old school linear bay.  Now the students have several bays to cut on.

Tonight I screened ‘Valley of Angels’ in an auditorium.  The bad news is that the TSA x-ray machine wiped out my hard-drive, so I had to screen off a DVD.  But it was okay.  It’s always great fun to watch an audience respond to your film.  I answered a few questions afterward and then went out for dinner with the professors.

Tomorrow morning I give my keynote address.  It should be fun.  It’s nice to get back to Big Rapids after all these years.

So I’m sitting in a Holiday Inn, blogging from Big Rapids, the home of my Alma Mater, Ferris State University.   Tomorrow night I’m screening ‘Valley of Angels’ and Friday I’m giving the keynote address for their annual video festival.

I spent most of the day in a plane.  Here’s my observations:

1. A very cute young lady who wasn’t wearing any underwear bent over in front of me at LAX – very L.A.

2. Whenever I fly, I’m always amazed at how much empty space this country has.

3. The houses and yards around the nation grow much larger as one leaves Southern California.

4. LOTS of people in airports now have netbooks and a few even have iPads.

5. The automated plastic-covered cans in the men’s room at O’Hare rock, and always have.

6. Grand Rapids is really not that big of a city.  I guess it’s about the size of Burbank/Glendale.  It’s like a larger, newer version of where I grew up.

7. The people in the Midwest tend to be much nicer than those in L.A. – instantly noticeable.

8. There are many deer on the side of the road from Grand Rapids to Big Rapids (and a few turkeys).

9. Big Rapids and Ferris seem to have changed a bit since I was last here 16 years ago.  There’s lots of new buildings.  Can’t wait to see it in the daylight.

10. Most establishments in Big Rapids are closed by 9pm – very small town-ish.

11. It’s colder in Michigan than in Southern California.  But it’s actually not that bad for April in the Midwest.

12.  I’m watching a movie on TV starring Kristen Bell before she knew how to act and before she got a boob job (who knew?).  Time to switch on the game…