http://www.semiuseful.com/ information, ideas, images, and intro/retrospection After a while, strange things started showing up on the Crafty table…things like bottles of clam juice or what looked to be items from the International aisle that no one ever bought…ever. /articles/gods-gift-to-filmmaking http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/gods-gift-to-filmmaking If you’ve ever sat through credits at the end of a film, maybe you’ve noticed titles such as Best Boy Grip, Key Grip, Dolly Grip, etc. and wondered, what the hell is that? /articles/what-the-hell-do-you-do http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/what-the-hell-do-you-do Lock it up: The A.D.’s will call this before the director is ready to shoot. It’s the P.A.s’ cue to start getting everyone quiet and to stop foot traffic. /articles/surviving-on-set http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/surviving-on-set The most important skill you need as a P.A. is likeability. If you have to spend 14 hours a day, five days a week with anybody, you’re going to make sure you hire someone you can stand for that long. /articles/how-to-get-a-job http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/how-to-get-a-job Aside from grave fires, I’ve seen semi trucks flip end over end, a building explode, streets transformed back to 1933, cars blown up, crashed through buildings and driven into rivers. /articles/movie-madness http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/movie-madness I was 16 and searching for a position for my then dream job: a cabin boy on a tropical cruise ship. /articles/being-an-extra-on-set http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/being-an-extra-on-set I flipped out when I turned 25. “I’m a quarter-century old," I hyperventilated. "A third of the way to being dead!” /articles/immortal-combat http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/immortal-combat Justin Tom Jones had the swagger in his voice, but Neil Diamond was a bit more of a renaissance man. While Tom Jones seemed to spend most of his time on a Vegas stage dodging panties, Diamond was singing duets with Streisand at the Grammys and starring in “The Jazz Singer.” /articles/neil-diamond-vs-tom-jones http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/neil-diamond-vs-tom-jones Caralyn It IS possible to have a houseful of friends gather around something other than the silver bullet steel of a cooling keg. Like, you know, a table. /articles/crusader-of-a-lost-art http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/crusader-of-a-lost-art Dan The aging process is supposed to prep us for the final outcome, but it’s scary at times and a bit uncomfortable throughout—like a colostomy with partial sedation. /articles/perks-and-pitfalls-of-being-old http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/perks-and-pitfalls-of-being-old From roundhouse kicks to pay-per-view and Latin slander and Qdoba burritos, here is what our readers recollect about the most notable (and usually only) fight they’ve ever been in. /articles/true-stories http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/true-stories Justin It’s impossible to have an issue on fighting without a sidebar on the best fight sequences on film. /articles/movie-melees http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/movie-melees Justin I may be an anachronism in my affinity for physical altercation. /articles/fight-club http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/fight-club Justin Remember: a good swift kick to the nuts is winning, not cheating. /articles/how-to-throw-a-punch http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/how-to-throw-a-punch Jeanette I will sometimes reflect on my situation, my 200 pounds of excess, and shamefully wonder "How did I let it go this far?" /articles/180-from-390 http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/180-from-390 Jeanette This diet promises to give you clearer skin, shinier hair and stronger nails, but drinking nothing but sugar water for two weeks will surely make you constipated. /articles/fad-diets-101 http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/fad-diets-101 Elise If you are older than 21, quit trying to buy the cheapie low-rise jeans from the Juniors section. /articles/half-baked-hips http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/half-baked-hips Chris As it turns out, many outfitters can hook you up with everything you need to make your car bounce, shimmy, and even drive on two wheels—who hasn't wanted to do that? /articles/dont-pimp-my-ride http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/dont-pimp-my-ride The key to golf is to relax, and I'm about as relaxed as that time an ER nurse tried to administer my first (and last) ever suppository after an ill-conceived bender on Spaghettios and Pay... /articles/be-the-belle-of-the-ball http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/be-the-belle-of-the-ball As our first-ever 101 guide, we have a two-part feature on golf: the first, an expert's explanation (qualifications: belonging to a fraternity for scholastic caddies)-the second, a... /articles/golf-101 http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/golf-101 Either ad agencies are poring through Ray Bradbury for inspiration or retired astrophysicists have been doing pro bono consulting in Madison Avenue. /articles/2008-face-odyssey http://www.semiuseful.com/articles/2008-face-odyssey