Wednesday, January 5, 2011trash story
This on the way to the bus stop. Sometimes even litter is exciting.
It looked like someone was having a pretty good night, but the prescription for Olanzapine - an antipsychotic, which makes the broken makeup and empty condom wrapper all that much sadder. Tuesday, January 4, 2011Monday, January 3, 2011peeking through gates
I thought the mysterious lot near our neighbourhood was a scrap metal yard. I was planning on sneaking in to take pictures, but the day I had decided to risk it there were trailers all around and a cop at the gate. Turns out it's a movie lot. And I have since decided not to sneak in. I shot this through the gate. Sunday, January 2, 2011Saturday, January 1, 2011a couple of youtube videos I likeI'm kneeling on a kitchen chair at our fabulously convenient "bar" type counter which overlooks the ocean, mountains, Port of Vancouver, and the precious television all at once. I do mean for you to be jealous. Things are quiet right now because the Schmidt part of Schmidt and Weston is busy at a spin class, which is remarkable considering it is a Saturday and a holiday and we stayed up late at a party and it is cold by wimpy Vancouver standards (there is frost on the green grass - laugh at us, rest of Canada, cause I sure do.) ... and the Schmidt is not often fond of structure combined with moving rapidly. I'm very proud of her. I'm irrationally proud of myself for not turning on TeeVee to fill the void. Not being a fan of numbers and dates, I don't usually spend much time contemplating the new year. But it has been a pair of particularly challenging years for the two of us, and I'm quite happy to see 2010 go away. I'm not a whiner, so I won't go into the why. I figure most of the interesting people have some troubled times, and I'd really like to be an interesting person in the future. In the most doldrum of days, the internet has provided me with a pair of important little videos that have inspired me to get back to creative work and stop writing endlessly ignored cover letters. The following is not my work at all, but I am touched and inspired by what is created and perhaps you will be too. The first is from a very photogenic couple in San Francisco called Pomplamouse. They are potentially familiar because of the xmas themed Hyundai ads they've been doing. Not only are they cute, but their videos seem to feature their home full of incredible instruments, and I was jealous until I realized there is nothing stopping the pair of us to doing our own collaboration. Neither C or I can sing, so don't worry... you won't get a Christmas Album from us next year. (But thank you so much Mark Near. Your singing was brilliant in its own way). Genius, no? The next youtube video is from a lovely lady from eastern Canada, Tanya Davis. She is singing about art. A Montréal film producer that was once a friend and perhaps the oddest of mentors, once told me something very wise about art... "MY ART EXCEEDS MY CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND IT." He wrote it on my white board so I wouldn't forget. I must have been whinging about something. I tend to do that when I lack inspiration or am simply procrastinating. I have forgotten that comment too often, because when someone asks how I made something (almost no one asks that though. I think it's mostly just me talking to myself.) I can't answer, because I have no real idea what happens between starting the computer and what the camera and computer combination spits out. I know I have something to do with the process, cause if I don't show up... nothing happens at all. Still confused about my role in the pretentious "process". Tanya Davis clearly understands something about all this. And that is it. Two videos that I had no hand in making, but deserve all the attention they get. Have a very fine day and year... cause if the crazies are right, it might be the last year for us all. For the record, I'm not buying that whole 2012 end of days argument though. End times never happen when you are sitting around expecting them. I resolve
I resolve to continue to flagrantly disobey stupid rules. I do not like to be told what to do (unless I am getting paid - then everything changes because money changes you). Friday, December 31, 2010Wednesday, December 29, 2010snacks
You should always make new years resolutions that are achievable. I resolve to eat more snacks. Friday, December 24, 2010Christmas is very NearDear loyal and precious blog readers, It took until today, christmas eve, for me to get my christmas cheer levels up to scratch. Suddenly all the carols have purpose other than to further my resolve to never be without my little ipod head phones firmly planted to my ear holes. Mark Near, who you should know from this recent post, is a good friend of mine. We met a few years ago when I was still a forest fire fighter. I was told that I had to meet him and Rob Philips (Far) that we would get along immediately. They are the closest I've come to meeting a real life Bob and Doug Mckenzie. And that is why I interviewed the pair of them. One of my favourite stories about Near (I have never called him Mark... always Near) is when his crew was sent to Ontario to fight a forest fire one summer. Near had grabbed a pair of rubber chainsaw boots before leaving Alberta and was all set, he thought. Sadly, he had been far too excited about the promised overtime and adventure and had grabbed two left (or right) boots. This would have stopped most people in their tracks and forced most of us to admit to making a mistake that had to be dealt with. Not Near. With his roommate unable to leave the room due to laughter, Near somehow managed, in a panic, to get a left boot on his right foot. If that wasn't enough, he also managed to walk as normally as he could (I imagine him walking in one large circle) to the morning briefing and tried to play it straight as if nothing was amiss. Eventually his prominent limp caused management to take notice of this one fire fighter who was not like the others. It is that kind of optimistic problem solving that brings a smile to even the most cynical. Mark Near contacted me through the evil that is facebook and let me know that he was building a christmas album. I generally avoid such things relying on the radio to give me all the christmas music I need for the pair of days I can tolerate it. But this album I had to have despite the obvious copyright infringement. Only paranoid filmmakers and litigation lawyers worry about such things anyway. I promised to review the album for Near, as the man deserves to be famous. The music is all karaoke versions of christmas carols... but being Near, it is the preamble that brings the carols a fresh new sound. The over-enthusiasm often means that he is off key or completely off beat, sometimes very far off beat. This is actually not as much of a problem as you might imagine. He clearly loves these carols, especially the Little Drummer Boy, and his christmas cheer levels are exceedingly high. I laughed and cried and thanked various deities that I can call Near a close friend. I will always share my scotch with this man. To rarely take oneself seriously is an especially fine quality in a friend. I'm not sure how many of these home albums Near made, but Christmas is Near deserves to be an instant classic. As my gift to all of you who clicked on a link, or googled the word Sidonglobophobia, or considered hiring me and instead found this blog and then possibly changed your mind, here is Mark Near singing Silent Night as you've likely never heard it. I adjusted the levels of the music so it doesn't blow out your computer speakers... added some rare photos of Near when he decided to get a perm (I strongly supported this decision) and some snow flakes... which are all artificial and lovingly rendered with 6 hours of computer time, as each flake is carefully and individually created by this computer because there is no snow in Vancouver. Enjoy and a very Merry Christmas to you all.... Wednesday, December 22, 2010
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