SA Collection: A Closer Look

I love the week in between Christmas and New Year's Day. It's a time for people like me, who are fortunate enough to get the 'extended' Holiday break off work, to just sit back and relax. In my case, this means having the extra time to sit in front of the computer for hours, uninterrupted. During one of these marathon sessions today, I decided to go through all my old video sales emails, to see what the exact numbers were. Below is the result of that search, with DVD, year, and copies sold:

LOVE (2004) 159
A Perfect Spinning Circus (2000-2002) 57
Lemonade (2005-2006) 44
The Fine Art of Tenacity (1996-1999) 39
Out of the Blue (2009-2010) 30
Weather You Like It Or Not (2007-2008) 26

As the numbers indicate, LOVE is the top seller by a large margin. This is due to a couple of factors. First and most obvious, it's the oldest, so it's been available longer than the others. Secondly, back in the mid-00s people were much more open to the idea of paying for chaser highlight videos. Lastly, I was able to catch lightning in a bottle by using ebay. I listed LOVE weekly for over a year, with great success. Even with competitors listing at lower prices, I was able to consistently move units all through 2005, highlighted by a particularly-successful April during which 23 of my 27 listed DVDs sold. It also didn't hurt that by the time LOVE came out, I'd built a reputation and had made several friends in the chasing world. No doubt their support was a critical ingredient to my debut's success. The actual sales number is unknown, because early on most of the orders were snail mail, and I've since either deleted or simply lost any correspondence regarding those transactions. I used to keep a journal documenting each sale and customer, but that's been lost to the ages. The last time I looked, LOVE was well into the 160s.

A Perfect Spinning Circus is number two, mostly for the same reasons LOVE is number one. However, Circus is a collection of retro material that was produced well after the fact, and its release came smack dab in the middle of LOVE's initial run, so I never pushed it the same way. I knew it would suffer because it fell on the heels of a highly-successful debut, but I'd wanted that material released for years, and when the opportunity presented itself, I took it. It's one of my favorites, and is probably the best "all around" video of my collection, featuring hail, structure, and high winds along with the tornadoes. It also features an extended-length Easter egg that impatient viewers have likely still not discovered.

Lemonade comes in third, as what I feel is my strongest effort to date. This video was the true follow-up to LOVE, as Circus and Tenacity (both of which were released in 2005) were retro collections. My creative inspiration and the raw chase footage itself were simultaneously more powerful than perhaps any other video cycle I've gone through. Things were starting to fall into place for what seemed like a smash hit in the making. Most chasers had released a current video in 2005, I hadn't. The 2006 season was one of the worst in history for chasers, yet I had been fortunate enough to observe a few events nobody else witnessed, along with one high profile event. This, when coupled with my 2005 video, was everything I needed to put together a blockbuster DVD. So by the end of Summer 2006, I was poised to release a very strong DVD with little to no competition. To further enhance my seemingly, already huge advantage, I decided to take a chance, and broke the Cardinal Rule of waiting until year's end to release the DVD (risking a Fall event that wouldn't be included if I released early), pouring Lemonade into the world August 31. It was the first Summer release of a chaser DVD that contained footage from that same Spring, perhaps the only one. There were few newsworthy chase events that year to date, which had enthusiasts chomping at the bit for new material. There were no other DVDs released for months after Lemonade. Yet it flopped. The first week of a chaser DVD release is the most critical, because interest wanes dramatically thereafter. That first week, Lemonade sold three copies, and only garnered rare, random sales over its first year as an individual item. Over half the sales of Lemonade are attributed to SA Collection sales, well after it was released. It remains one of the strongest DVDs on the market, and virtually unknown.

The Fine Art of Tenacity probably could've been called "Whew!!!", because I was just as relieved to get my oldest analog footage onto digital mediums as I was excited about the DVD itself. After carrying my old VHS and VHSc masters around in crates, boxes, and briefcases for years, I was finally able to put them away for good, without having to worry about losing them to the ages. Tenacity was a project very similar to Circus, just a collection of retro material I'd never been able to release prior. In fact, the very first chase video project I conceived in 2001, was going to be a 2-VHS set of everything I'd seen to that point, entitled "Passion For the Twist" (and no, this wasn't a play on the Gibson film, just an unfortunate coincidence). However, so much time had passed while the project was delayed, by the time I was able to move forward with it I had too much material for the original concept. So, I divided it into two projects: 1996-1999, and 2000-2002. And since I was already working on two projects that were years past due and following a DVD from 2004, I did them in reverse chronological order, with the 2000-2002 project (Circus) coming out in March and the 1996-1999 project (Tenacity) arriving in September. 2005 was basically the year I got 'caught up' on my video library. Tenacity itself never did much as a stand-alone DVD, selling only 12 copies as an individual item in six years. Even so, it's near and dear to me personally, a relic of my early chasing years.

Coming in fifth is Out of the Blue, my most recent offering. Despite its position on the list, it's done fairly well by my standards. It started off fast, and had a pretty decent first month. Sales have since declined, as they always do after the "new" wears off, but it will likely pass a few of the DVDs ahead of it. This release benefited greatly through the utilization of social media, namely Facebook. In fact, I didn't even bother promoting it on Stormtrack, knowing it wouldn't make a difference (I went back to Stormtrack this Holiday season for a one-month promotional push, netting zero sales, so my theory proved correct). This was also the first DVD I was able to pimp through the use of a promo clip on youtube. The difference wasn't dramatic, but noticeable enough that with further understanding of how to market through social media, I should be able to have even more success the next time. Strangely, despite the fact I've been chasing for 15 years and have released several DVDs prior, many newer followers of my chasing exploits associate Bridget and myself most closely with Out of the Blue, probably because of the Rice, TX tornado, and the fact we haven't done much since.

And at the bottom we find "Weather You Like It Or Not", which is the DVD I was talking about when I once said "I can't make two of these." What I meant by that statement was, though overall I feel the video stands up just fine, it's got enough roughness that I don't want to repeat it. It works as a single unit, a cog in the overall machine of my chasing story, a continuation of the entire adventure, but it's nothing I strive to do again. From a production standpoint, it was quite the process. It was done in two parts, the first one in October just getting the raw video into the storyboard and doing the menu. Phase two came in November, when I worked by myself for the first time (without Mickey there to answer my thousand questions). I found I actually learned pretty well when I had to troubleshoot my own issues, especially when trying to beat a deadline. Mick had already done all the detailed stuff, so once I completed the storyboard, it was finished. I started the rendering process, and we left to go see a friend. When we returned, Weather You Like It Or Not was sitting in the tray, ready to be unleashed on the world.

So there you have it, the detailed history on how the video collection most people don't want to buy came about. Allow me this moment to thank each and every valued (and appreciated) customer since day one. I am honored to have done business with each of you, and you all help to continue the adventure.

Faith vs Truth: No Contest

The reaction from yesterday's entry was surprisingly positive, although I assume that's due to the fact not many narrow-minded people chose to comment. However, in the discussion that developed on facebook, I saw a few examples of why some people make me wanna slam my head into a brick wall over and over.

It was suggested by an individual that feelings such as anger and depression are "un-christian." What does this mean? That a perfectly good Christian, who's spent maybe 5-10 years not only professing their faith, but actually living by it (unlike so many others) can suddenly have a bad day and then be ousted from the holy kingdom? As if waking up and having feelings that are anything less than ecstatic suddenly change a person's character to the point they're deemed no longer worthy of eternal salvation? What ever happened to "body of work" when deciding a person's worth? When did judging a person's overall character become microcosmic?

I'm sure the types I'm talking about are now saying to themselves "you're taking this out of context", or "you're putting words in our mouths", or, my favorite, "you're misinterpreting the bible." Misinterpreting? Let's look at that a bit closer. What bible thumping christians call "misinterpretation" is actually a "gray area" which is perfectly designed to counter any argument of reason against their "faith" or belief system. It's obvious the bible isn't meant to be read, page by page, and taken literally. If it is, then everyone who ever existed is going to hell, so why bother? Go out and bang hookers, do coke off their asses, and mainline paint thinner. Your fate is sealed. No, the fact is, much of what's in the "good book" can be interpreted any number of ways, which immediately, to anyone who has a shred of objectivity and reason, ends any argument about "what is and what isn't" inside those holy pages.

No person has any type of authority, be it earthly or holy, to say, with absolution, what a particular bible passage really means. Hence the term "interpretation." There are only opinions, to which every human being has a right. Therefore, it is easy to conclude that there are no rights or wrongs when it comes to discussing what's inside the bible. However some christians will vehemently deny any and all other ideas or philosophies, taken from the same source (bible), that defy their own. They cannot accept that anyone would choose to believe any differently than what they themselves do, because letting in the idea that there could be another after-life possibility casts doubt in their minds about their own beliefs. After all, why would they spend their entire lives devoted to a book if everyone else didn't also think it was the right thing to do? Absolution.

This brings me to the thing that bothers me most about the type christian I'm writing about today: their misuse and misunderstanding of the word "faith." Referring to the previous paragraph, the belief that what you believe is, beyond all doubt, absolute truth, is just that: a belief. An understanding and acceptance of what one perceives to be fact, actual, reality. It just is. Like walking outside on a clear day, looking up at the sky, and saying "I believe the sky is blue." This would be accurate, because the sky is blue, and because you understand and accept that fact, you believe it. Nobody needs to have faith in the fact the sky is blue. Because it is.

However, some christians will beat you over the head with their beliefs, about how they are "truth", and then in the same breath proclaim their undying faith for god. Do they not know how ridiculous this is, or do they just not care? It is not possible to have faith in something you already believe is fact. It is quite possible to have faith in something you believe. Faith operates in flux, not absolution. It is based on not knowing factually, but believing spiritually or from within. A risk of sorts, but something you feel strongly enough about to invest in. Truth operates solely in absolution. It is based on evidence that is acknowledged, understood, and accepted. It requires no spiritual or inner support, because regardless of how you might feel about it, it simply is.

From my point-of-view, there are two types of christian: those who believe, and those who have faith. The ones who believe will say that what they think is the truth. They will say that if others don't live their lives the same way, they will be damned for all eternity and suffer forever in the fires of Hell. Then they will listen to the other person speak. When the conversation is over, they will walk away thinking "that person is going to burn in Hell." The ones who have faith will listen to the other person speak, respectfully disagree in their mind, and then offer their own thoughts to the discussion. When the conversation is over, they will walk away thinking "I believe what I just told that person is true, but I have no way of knowing it. That's why it's called faith."

Stop Taking The "Christ" out of Christian

The term "Xmas" has been in use for as long as I've been alive, and who knows how much longer. Its use is fairly obvious: a simpler, faster way to write "Christmas". However, a few years ago, I started seeing angry people screaming about "Xmas" users "taking Christ out of Christmas," which, in my opinion, is ridiculous. Now, if there were legions of folks running around saying "Fuck Christmas, XMAS!!!" I could understand these reactions. That would indicate that the point of it was to criticize the traditional Christian celebration, a kind of blasphemy. But that's not why people use it. Not at all.

It's an abbreviation of Christmas. That's it. It's not the Devil rearing his ugly, horned head. It's not an evil cult plotting to rip everyone's faith away from them. It's not some Holiday Jack-the-Ripper looking to slice Santa's fat, bearded, mythical throat. It is a simple word which serves no other utility than to shorten the time it takes to write. But if you bible-thumpers need a reason to embrace the reality that this is nothing disrespectful or evil, try this: roll that 'X' over 45 degrees and walla = a cross. Now if that ain't godly I don't know what is.

Lastly, why are Christians so easily-offended in the first place? It's like these types are just looking for reasons to be upset. I've already explained my usage of "Xmas" to people before, and they kept coming back with the whole "it's unholy" angle. Like my words are just bouncing off them, like they're water and my words are oil. Now that I think about it, that's a reaction I would expect when trying to mix some christians and reality. A volatile cocktail indeed.

So be angry if you choose. Be narrow-minded. Refuse to understand a different viewpoint than your own. Refuse to turn the other cheek. Continue to judge those unlike yourself. And when you're done doing all of that, take a good long look in the mirror. Because what you're seeing is nothing resembling a christian.