Notes from the ground.

Missing link found?

2009-08-30T19:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in quite a while. Have been very focused on other things... This however seems post worthy. I'm also not sure how reliable sky news is. Interesting find for the Germans if it really is the missing link though.

Chimp and Dog

2009-07-14T11:37:00.001-07:00

I laughed pretty hard at this... can't help myself. Thought I'd share the joy of Chimp and Dog doing sit-ups.

Life in Polaroids...

2009-07-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

I love film and have a special place in my heart for old school Polaroids. So, it's pretty sweet that my GF is intent on capturing us in this format. They may be digital by the time they hit this blog... but it the real world they develop right before your eyes and you can stick them on the fridge or in your shirt pocket to look at whenever you want. No magnet will erase them... they are real and tangible. I love it. : )

what the F?

2009-07-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

This Senator not only says that the Earth is only 6,000 yrs old, but that we were doing just fine without environmental laws. Also, she states that you'll never even know the mine was there when it's done. Oh, except that it will be a massive radioactive hole.
Oh, and btw.. the radioactive half life of Uranium is longer than she thinks the world is old. The half-life of uranium-238 is about 4.47 billion years and that of uranium-235 is 704 million years, this is why it is used in Carbon dating. The scientific way of dating things. I don't know what Bible she is getting her Earth age from, but after watching Religulous the other night, I think they should have a mandatory IQ test to get into the Senate. Seriously.

They really should mine that uranium, her state needs the money. We really need to be able to coat shells in uranium so that they can get through armored vehicles and young soldiers and civilians can inhale depleted uranium and have deformed and sick children and die of cancer. Or maybe we could use it to create power... that way we only make barrels of toxic waste that will be around hundreds of generations from now. After all, we want our children to have the same lifestyle that we do.

This woman should be forced to work the Uranium Mine.

Monkey's friends with Giant Rodents.

2009-07-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Not much to say. Those things are huge. I'm not sure if they are cute or scary. I feel bad that these guys are in a prison, but glad that they appear to be friends. Those rodents were living too close to the power plant. WTF.

They are almost as poised as big cats though.

Cute.

Cats...

2009-06-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything lately due to intense amounts of work.
Since I still don't have time for anything in depth...
here's some cats.

Another Airbus disaster.

2009-06-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

This is happening way too often. This is an Airbus with over 200 people on board. I hope it was quick and they didn't live just to get picked off by sharks.

Terrible...

Here is the Airbus crash a little while ago in Brazil. It skidded off the runway and into a fuel station.

In the last year, Airbus has had planes crack in half on take off and landing and had engines explode just after take off. It's a lot of souls at once when one of these things goes down.

Where the sun doesn't set...

2009-05-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

ahhh... Water Dragon?

2009-05-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

The post where I found it said

" Biggest Alligator Found in an Indonesia River. "

If this is legit, which is always hard to tell with really compressed footage... this would be like a giant from prehistoric times. That thing must be old growing to that kind of size. What was it feeding on? What the hell is in the water in Indonesia? Sometimes I think that there is more in this world to be discovered and that some things that we think are stories to scare children might just be true.

Ancient stuff, things of legend. Dragons.

Mr. Clean

2009-05-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

He's totally taking care of his own space. He probably looks after his place better than most college kids. It may be a human prison, but he's pretty dignified about it. My favorite part is when he puts the glove on, but misses the thumb... I couldn't help but laugh. Him and his buddies under the blankets were pretty funny too.

I love Orangutans though... this guy is great.

Dom Deluise is dead.

2009-05-05T11:33:00.000-07:00

He was 75, which by all accounts is a long life... I just find it extra sad when comedians die. As anyone knows, life can be painful... people can put that aside when they are entertained. I believe this is a noble pursuit. He lives on in his work.

Here he is on the Muppet Show.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2009-05-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

I hope they washed their hands afterwards.

I'm a nerd.

2009-05-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

This is interesting... simplified to a large degree, but a neat 200 year economic sketch. Of course, the map would look a lot different a few thousand years ago.

The video is cut off at the sides a bit for some reason.

even better than the real thing...

2009-05-03T16:41:00.000-07:00

This to me seems like a much better way to blow off steam from a rivalry than to actually murder each other.

Look how much fun that one guy is having... and quite the spectacle. Just hope there are no oily rags or dry wood piles close to the church.

the 3 stooges

2009-05-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

My Mom sent this to me... it's the cover of the first issue of a student comic at SFU that featured my Dad and his 2 best friends. Who still happen to be his 2 best friends, his life long fishing buddies.

Swine Flu?

2009-04-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

All of the news coverage that I am seeing right now on Swine Flu is stating that it is a virus that has never been seen before. If that is the case then it must be different than this.

The internet is great for referencing the more recent past, when someone tries to pawn something off as new, there is a good chance that it is just recycled. This is of course the most obvious in music. But it works for fear mongering as well. There was a campaign to spread the fear of anthrax a few years ago that mimicked one from 40 years ago. Buy plastic sheeting and duct tape to protect your home. Did wonders for the makers of duct tape and plastic sheeting. Maybe this one is brought to you by the makers of paper masks and plastic gloves.

Not to downplay the seriousness of an outbreak of a potentially deadly flu... it's just suspicious that it is being sold as something new.

The Nuclear War that already happened...

2009-04-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

There have been 2,049 registered nuclear weapon explosions on the Earth. There are also 116 PNE's ( Peaceful Nuclear Explosions ) by the Russians and 26 by the U.S. These PNE's were for a number of reasons, from snuffing out underground oil fires to excavating. The detonation of the 2 atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki while having a very large death toll, do not come anywhere near the environmental damage that the other explosions caused.

Chernoble, 1 facility... leaked radioactive fallout that was measured on every continent. I could not even imagine what the real spread of radiation from all that testing would be.

I do admit to seeing beauty in the shapes created by the explosions... the smoke and plasma allow you to see the physics behind the motion. It really is incredible to watch... mesmerizing, beautiful. Unfortunately, each one is a radioactive nightmare that has technically created some post apocalyptic conditions on the planet. Polluting the air, the water and the soil. We carry the legacy of all this testing in our genetics now.

Cancer rates are incredibly high all over the world. Not just in older people but in children who have not had time to be exposed to long term effects of anything. Parents are passing genetic problems to their children... War vets from the Iraq wars have come home to get sick and have deformed and sick children. Most likely this has something to do with the depleted uranium that they coat shells with to make them able to pierce heavy armor. Whenever the shells are fired it turns into a fine dust. Every soldier and citizen on the ground there is being exposed it. Cancer rates and birth defects increased dramatically in Iraq after the first Gulf War.

At the very least, we may not have dropped those atomic bombs on cities, killing, burning and poisoning people, destroying infrastructure... and the tests were also spaced out over time, but it doesn't change the nature of what each one was.

I also do not think that it is unrelated that we have a massive whole in our ozone and that we set off nuclear explosions in our upper atmosphere. There is no scientific doubt that CFC's are eating away at the ozone layer, but I believe that we may have initially caused the hole through upper atmosphere atomic testing.

Warning about this next one... turn down off the sound completely unless you want to hear extremely heavy metal music. It is worth watching as it has incredible footage of explosions and the impact of seeing so many explosions back to back does drive home the scale of things.

Everyone in the world in power during this period of time must have been completely insane. This isn't meant to be doom and gloom, just stating the nature of our situation. This is why you cannot just blindly trust world leaders to do what is right. Scientists warned them about radioactive fallout and they did it anyways. People need to force their leaders to do what is in the best interest of the people and the planet.

Here is a comparison of yield for a few of the explosions. Hiroshima is a mere 15 and Nagasaki is 21 kt. The Russian Tzar Bomba is 50,000 kt. Insane.

Date	Name	Yield (kT)	Country
1945-07-16	Trinity	19	USA
1945-08-06	Little Boy	15	USA
1945-08-09	Fat Man	21	USA
1949-08-29	RDS-1	22	USSR
1952-10-03	Hurricane	25	UK
1952-11-01	Ivy Mike	10,400	USA
1953-08-12	Joe 4	400	USSR
1954-03-01	Castle Bravo	15,000	USA
1955-11-22	RDS-37	1,600	USSR
1957-11-08	Grapple X	1,800	UK
1960-02-13	Gerboise Bleue	70	France
1961-10-31	Tsar Bomba	50,000	USSR
1964-10-16	596	22	PR China
1967-06-17	Test No. 6	3,300	PR China
1968-08-24	Canopus	2,600	France
1974-05-18	Smiling Buddha	12	India
1998-05-11	Shakti I	45	India
1998-05-11	Shakti II	12	India
1998-05-28	Chagai-I	9–12	Pakistan
2006-10-09	Hwadae-ri	<1	North Korea

Earth Day 2009

2009-04-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

The first image is zoomed and cropped to produce the next 2.

Originals are available at :

http://www.nasa.gov/

This was released by Nasa today for Earth Day. I would love to see this in it's original resolution and projected in a large format. It must be so surreal living up on that station.

http://anon.nasa-global.edgesuite.net/HD_downloads/HD_Earth_Views.mov

It is breathtaking footage, amazing how our traces just fall between the cracks and ridges and disappear at a high enough altitude. The Earth is truly an incredible and fascinating place, worth saving.

on another note...

It seems that Stephen Hawking is quite sick.

It really is quite something that he has been able to overcome his condition for so long and produce so much complex thought. It will truly be a sad day when we lose Dr. Hawking. His books are a humbling experience to read.

He is one of the greatest minds in recorded history.

For real.

the best thing to happen to gambling...

2009-04-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

This is old news, but a nice example of natural law and order.

Casino's are not safe from the wrath of God.

Here is the Valace casino... all smashed up.

This massive pirate ship casino was destroyed by Katrina.

Also, the Hard Rock casino completely destroyed.

I hope they were able to rebuild quickly... otherwise where would people go to flush their lives down the toilet.

so wrong...

2009-04-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to explain how wrong this is. They should take away this woman's right to reproduce she is so stupid. I honestly think it would be less embarrassing for her 11 yr old son if she was an actual prostitute.

All she has to contribute to the world is to be a walking billboard... Very Sad. Apparently she likes positive things in her life... like gambling. Or say, getting a facial tattoo to promote gambling. What a selfless hero.

what the eye can't see...

2009-04-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

These are radar images of some places of interest on the planet.

Lost City of Ubar, Oman

Dhakla Oasis, Egypt

Angkor, Cambodia

Jerusalem and the Dead Sea

The Great Wall of China

Safsaf Oasis, Egypt

Wahdi Kufra, Libya

Here is a close up of the upper part of the image.

What are these Hexagonal structures?

Secret Libyan cloning facility?

Cardboard box factory?

For bigger versions go here:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/radar/sircxsar/archaeology.html

head in the clouds...

2009-04-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

Baltic Sea

These are images from a pretty incredible and expensive project by ESA ( European Space Agency ) to image our world from high altitude. I would say they have produced some amazing images. This much distance from the surface really draws out features and large scale textures. Incredible...

A dust storm in Iraq

Wildfires in Australia

the Mississippi

Scandinavia

Tibet

You can look at much better resolution ones on the site or find out more about the project check here:

http://www.esa.int/esa-mmg/mmg.pl?b=b&type=I&collection=Observing%20the%20Earth&start=1

Images from space...

2009-04-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Even though Nasa is a science based organization, they often name things based on mythology and religion. Not an entirely new photo, but beautiful and awe inspiring... the Eye of God.

Now, new from then Chandra X-ray telescope... the Hand of God.

Something we have been observing for over 20 years on Saturn... the Hexagon. Incredible to see something so geometric and constant. Also, we have no other examples of this phenomenon. I'm sure the more we search our universe and gain in or understanding of quantum mechanics we will come up with an explanation for this.

Mind boggling...

In a Dream...

2009-04-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

Caught this trailer and had to post it. Looks like an interesting study of the life of an artist and what it would be like for the family of someone so driven. At any rate it seems like something that would be worth watching and raises the question... what is the line between inspiration and madness?

IN A DREAM: Theatrical Trailer from Herzliya Films on Vimeo.

A stack of Vagina Monologues.

2009-04-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

I filmed / edited / authored the UBC V-Day production of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.

It was an epic 2 hours and 30 minutes of girl power. The crowd went through a variety of emotions and the performers got a standing ovation from a full theatre. This one is for everyone on the V-team.

Easter and the smell of bluebells...

2009-04-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

I think these bunnies grew up too close to the power plant. They're huge! What the heck. Is this real? I want to hug these giant bunnies.

The best part about Easter for me had nothing to do with the holiday itself. Except that it freed up some time so that I could wander and enjoy the company of someone special. This started with a picnic in Queen E park... with lots of duckies and birds playing, cleaning and showing off in the background. Then a tour of the blossoming flowers.

I have always loved the smell of bluebells... Since someone I know has bottled essence of bluebells, now I can smell them even when they aren't in season. Yum.

We took a drive around the half empty mansions of the super rich. The streets had blooming cherry blossoms and every other home looks like a castle. Some of the people who own these places rent them out for movie shoots... or high class parties. I won't mention what I think goes on at these parties, but if you have seen Eyes Wide Shut you might be thinking the same thing.

I worked inside one of these mansions on Airbud 2. I had the glorious task of cleaning up after everyone and covering everything in cardboard so it wouldn't get dented or scratched. Floors, walls, staircases... we destroyed the lawn with big planks, trampled bushes... all at the expense of the production company and all for this turd on celluloid.

So, it was a surprise to discover that among this cluster of the super rich were a group of Monks living in one of the houses. The Monk that was there allowed us to take pictures.

I find it interesting that among such greed and obvious displays of material wealth that there is this spot where Monks are living a life of introspection. Monks who I'm sure do not care if they are in a horse pulled cart or a BMW. Monks who refuse to be a part of the capitalist ideology that is engulfing the world and turning us against each other to make a buck.

It was nice to find this place and to have shared that moment with someone else.

Then the rain drops started falling and it was time to head in...

War Horse

2009-04-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

This appears to be a realistic look at the role of horses in World War II. Obviously the main feature would be the attempts to bring full sized horses to life with puppeteering. It does however look as though they were not relying on the puppets as a gimmick, but rather just set them into a serious drama.

I like that they kept the look of them a bit stylized and integrated the puppeteers quite well. When I was at UVIC, a friend in the theatre department put on a puppet version of Peter and the Wolf. I did live drumming with a kit and some unusual things like a bucket with glass in it. There was also a small live orchestra, flute, violin, cello... It was neat to be a part of. This is quite a bit more complex than that student theatre production. A lot of work I'm sure.

The motion of the horses looks great! I love when people put that kind of detail into works of art. It is one of our best human traits, our desire for artistic creation. At any rate, would be an interesting production to try and bring to town. If you were inclined towards that sort of thing.

Good reviews, cutting edge theatre.

Pretty neat stuff. I would like to see this. Here is the sneak peak:

Photos of my Dad...

2009-04-02T16:38:00.001-07:00

So... here's my Dad, fresh faced and off to War. He told me the story about how he avoided being in the infantry. Apparently he impressed a high ranking officer with his ability to read topographical maps during a training exercise involving tanks. He made his superiors look good and thus was saved from becoming canon fodder.

This is him in Okinawa. He told me a story about flying over Okinawa in a military plane. It was during a bad snow storm... thunder and lighting too. He said that the plane was shaking so much that it started to split open and that there was a foot wide crack that was letting snow into the cabin. He never wanted to fly again after that... Although he did once, to go to Mexico with my Mom before I was born.

Here he is stationed in Korea.

Cutting a friends hair at a military base.

Back from the war and in California I think.

Working for a military contractor called Aerojet. Among other things they developed delivery systems for chemical weapons...

My Dad at SFU with his best friend Ken Strand.

If you have been to SFU there is a Strand Hall.

Named after Ken, on the right.

The 3 of us used to go fishing together.

Ken and my Dad always wore cop shades...

They also always out-fished me.

Of course, I was just a kid.

My Dad's Corduroy Jacket...

2009-04-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I wear this jacket out of comfort...

Sometimes to feel the authority that my Dad exuded

when he was teaching. He wore this when he was the Dean of Arts at SFU and subsequently when he was an English professor at O.U.C.

He would tell me how he used his first class of the semester to scare away 30% of the students so his class sizes would be smaller. He would let them know that most of them would not pass his course and that they should leave now to avoid wasting his and their own time.

Apparently it worked like a charm and students would actually walk out during his speech. He graded hard and did not have much sympathy for weak students.

I've had it for years now. I wore it when I taught at the Trebas Institute and when I Directed at Mainframe / Rainmaker.

Of course... I also used my position to dress up like a cowboy, scientist and doctor. Perks of authority. Nobody questions your right to dress up in a ridiculous fashion.

The best part about this jacket... the patches on the elbows.

My hero has a Salvador Dali moustache.

2009-03-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Something fun... just for girl lightning.

There's a trailer...

2009-03-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

So, here is the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are

Directed by Spike Jonze.

October seems far away now...

apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare

I want one of these...

2009-03-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

First, I think Spike Jonze is great. Second, I just want to ride around on one of these in my pajamas all day. I hope the studio doesn't interfere with his work. I'm sure he has been battling to keep this thing under his control. If he got to make it his way, then it will be a treat.

I also love the big monster muppets from the Muppet show. Jim Henson was a genius and he wasn't afraid to show the darker traits of humanity to kids. We shelter children far too much and then force feed them the lies about the world to protect ( ? ) them. Thus, I love the Dark Crystal.

I think that practical effects / puppeteering / animatronics / miniature sets are all great. When there is something really in the frame interacting with other physical things... it really does draw you in more. I spent many years working in CG and very rarely have I been convinced that an addition to a live-action scene was truly there. The technology and artistry are getting close, but it also hangs on the actors to respond to something that isn't there. Turns out, many of them can't.

I have a lopsided smile too...

2009-03-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

I made a few blog entries on my myspace page at one point in time, but I just have not been inspired to publish my thoughts online very much. Personally I write constantly and have been filling notebooks and sketchbooks for many years.

So, inspired by someone who appears to be as sharp / curious / playful as I am... I'm starting up this blog. If nothing else than as another form of expression. It could provide a fun way of communicating with the probably very few people that would ever see it.

I'm starting this while capturing footage of MOZHDAH, the Afghani pop starlet. Multitasking... a trait we have done well at developing. Of course, most of the time it is used to do multiple useless and trivial things at once. It's great that people can smoke / talk / text / drive at the same time. That's just what the world needs more of, oblivious people in metal killing machines burning dinosaur bones and smashing into each other.

I have just realized the potential for ranting this medium provides.

on another note...

I have had genuine uncontrollable smiling fits recently. This coming out of an especially busy, stressful and dreary winter. All because of someone who has seemingly just fallen into my lap. Whether it is a series of random events or karma or fate, I am at the very least thankful that the universe has presented me with something to be intrigued about.

a thing of beauty...

I more often than not find people to be at the least uninteresting and at the most grotesque. The world is full of exceptions though. There are many broad strokes than can be painted, but the fine detail of human nature is only seen by the right kind of eyes.

more to come.