There's always peas in my pockets, these days.

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” - E.B. White

 Well, not to brag or anything, but I'm super proud of my little garden. My yard's still pretty hideous, but I put in flowering perennials when I can. I recently put in some lupins, lavender and some various other large-ish flowering perennials.


I'm picking peas by the handful every couple days. Heads of lettuce every week or two. Tons of radishes. My pumpkin plant is just... insane. Gardening has become my weekly rage dump, a place where my brain sort of empties and I get a little zen. Although gardening affords it's own stresses, there are typically practical solutions to any problems I may encounter - whether they be pest, harvesting or upkeep problems. Let's just say gardening is very straight forward, and it's a skill I actually really value having. Plants? Infinitely more simple than people and all of their feeeeeelings.

I've gotten into the habit of looking up birds in the Sibley guide when I see them. My problem, however, seems to be that I have so little skill in identifying birds, I end up sifting through the entire book like three times before I maybe find what a bird might be. Maybe. While I was camping with work (yeah, you heard right), there were these finches that hung around quite a bit. I'm sure they were something quite run of the mill, but for the life of me, I can't identify them. Not even with the book. And the internet. Yeesh.

Today's harvest

My videography gig is keeping my schedule fairly dense. The great thing about being so damned busy - and I think I've even mentioned this before - is the lack of time to sit and stew. I've got time to think - between bus trips, mindlessly cutting together  montages of 10 year olds ransacking Vancouver, picking snap peas - but it's like a higher grade of thinking. Business and general exhaustion just kind of skim off those curdling thoughts that sort of stab at me when I least expect it. Those thoughts of the larger, disturbingly angst-ridden variety. No body wants those.

I've picked up a second summer mantra. So, now there is a little purple bear sitting on my hippocampus wearing a party hat who is chanting 'Meet new people, meet new people'. He's seated next to the little gargling giraffe who shrieks, 'Use your words!'. I'm sure that will be an interesting party once the 'Why put off til tomorrow...' toad gets there with the chips and dip.

My parents came to visit last weekend - this lovely stack of books from Café Books came into my possession. I haven't bought a fiction book for myself in a while. I've either been reading them on my Kindle or getting them from the library. This stack is special because of the influence John Green (and his brother Hank) have had on me. The two of them run a little YouTube channel called Vlogbrothers (among others). John Green can have my money. Why? Because of his philosophy. The Green brothers advocate knowledge, intelligence, community, creativity and positive influence. They're tremendously entertaining, respectful to their fanbase, and really seem just like all-around nice guys. So yes, John Green can have my money. And I'm really stoked to get started on this stack of stories.

On a more serious note, This quote from Christopher Nolan in a statement he issued to the public  (source) sums up a chunk of my feelings about the July 20th shooting in Aurora, Colorado, "The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me." On top of the fact that this is a massively unnecessary tragedy - for me the cinema is a safe haven, a place of expression, a social outlet, a place to escape. And even though your average Cineplex is considered by most people to be a sticky-floored, over-priced social outing - and even though this tragedy took place far away from me, it hits strangely close to home. And it has rehashed the age-old debate on the right to bear arms. I found Roger Ebert's post on this completely agreeable and logical. I really don't like how one vicious idiot can have such a broad, negative effect on so many people. This week I'm glad I can't afford cable, because I'm guessing the media's taken this and spun it all sorts of ways. It's difficult to see these kinds of things happen, a needless, impulsive action that ends lives, ruins families, and ultimately ends up restricting society through a fear of another incident, and fruitless prevention measures.

ANYWAYS. I hope everyone's July has been great, and is gearing up for August! I'm back in Canmore in a month, sooo... if anyone's out that way, we should have a pint or a coffee sometime. Yiss.

Things to check out!

Remember to keep up with Canadian Frame(lines) !

Mode Moderne - a pretty swell Vancouver-based band.
Who Needs Feminism?

The Days are Just Packed

And they simply are.

 Well, my first week and a bit with my videography gig down, I realize that - although time flies when the days are rather occupied - they are better days. This in contrast with my June of doing... well... nothing at all. Every week day, after an exhausting trip shooting footage and herding 11 year olds, I come home, cut and convert and upload for two hours - then the rest of the evening is mine. There's less time to stew, more time for actual, practical thinking. A little time to read, a little time to watch movies. Everything's nicely moderated.


  This past weekend, my pet project was figuring out what to do with the yard. We've got a pretty haggard property, as numerous tenants live on it and we're in charge of taking care of it (but no one really does?). Yay, 20-something hosers renting a proper home. Oi. But! I've been out there on my two days off this sunny week, getting sunburned, hacking away at the various infestations that have graced the lawn, planning and replanting some things that didn't like all of that rain we had earlier. On Sunday I pulled up my entire patch of radishes, which I'll slice up and freeze for future stir fries/sandwiches, I also got a couple small-ish heads of romaine lettuce. I picked up some zuccini, onion and celery transplants. Seeded a different variety of carrots and radish. I'm also trying my hand at beets. It's nice and hot now, so all of my tomatoes and peas have been flowering like crazy. I really, really enjoy gardening. I wish I had the time, money and property to try everything.

  

  I've also decided that, with our lease all renewed, I'd put in some perennials where the landscaping is... lacking (which is most places, but some corners are particularly barren). I'm going to try a combination of transplants/seeds of taller perennials such as lupins, foxgloves and torch lilies. The limitation at this point is money. I'd love to put in blueberry bushes, peonies and the like - but the fact that we're renting and the fact I've got to pay for it isn't all that inspiring.

  I'm really amped to go home at the end of August. I've got another six weeks of videography work, at least three weekends of grip/gaff work and a miriad of other things going down. At the end of all that, I think I'll definitely be ready for a trip home, to hang out with my folks and my dog, drinking beer on the back deck, going on adventures and what not. Maybe (?) I'll have a first or second draft of my fall semester script to pick away at/storyboard. We'll see! I'm also headed to the Canmore highland games on the September long weekend. Helloooo Scottish events/heavy drinking! Aw man! I hope the crazy European candy stand is going to be there this year. That'd be just gravy.

Things to check out:

Manboyhood, a short documentary by Daniel Jeffery

Congratulations to all of the short films from SFU who got into the Montreal Student Film Fest! Sooo many films got in this year, and I'm super proud to be part of that community.

Keep checking out Canadian Frame(lines) with Ryder and Alex. They're in need of tons of support, dolla dolla bills, and press. They're weekly updates are great for keeping up with the project, their press, donations, and what I like most about them is their depth - how we get to see them talk about the steps they are taking to get themselves out there, what has worked, what hasn't. It's rather inspiring, I'd say.

A new friend I found in the bathroom today

I went to see Beyond the Black Rainbow at the Vancity Theater last week - I had seen the trailer last year, and was pretty excited to see a science fiction-esque film based in the past (1983). This film is worth a viewing just for the visual style. Vancouver cinematographer Norm Li utilized the 35mm format for irregular framing, subjects falling in and out of focus, not to mention a wide array of lighting techniques as the mood of the film changes. It was inspiring and refreshing to see, reminding me that, as a filmmaker, there are no bounds. Sure there are rules, but those really need only be used in moderation. I also saw Take Shelter. Holy smokes. Give that one a watch for all sorts of reasons.

Harvesting Bravery

Happy July everyone! In the two days I've had in the month, I've been whittling my way through Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, making banana bread, and fuming about this and that and the other thing. Namely all of this rain. I just want to see the sun for more than an hour at a time!

Here's something to think about for a moment: the fact that a great many of us think about the same relatively futile things, but are rather persistent in hiding it from one another. It seems rather... absurd. The fact that a great many of us seem to experience the same confusion and doubt on a daily basis - you'd think there would be much more of a community of 'communal human experience'. Apparently this is something that does not exist..

I'm currently doing video work for PRESL Vancouver. It's proved to be a challenge for me, in the first two days, just because I've never had to spit out a couple videos so quickly after shooting the footage every day. My first obstacles came in the compression stage, as the client requested that the files be .wmv. I am on a Mac, so this ended up being a large hullaballoo. What I ended up doing (after numerous 'trial-and-error' programs), is utilizing a little program called Video Monkey. What this allowed me to do was export as a .wmv as well as monitor the file size output, which was vital because we have to upload everything to a server and we have a cap. My job for today was figuring out Automator for Mac to resize and rename photos as per the client's request.  Hair-pulling adventures!

Still whittling away at my film for the fall. I'm getting increasingly attached to it. I've got a bit of conflict going, so I'm going to say - it'll work out just fine. I've got a whimsical wee feeling that I'd like to establish in the styling of the environment and the characters that inhabit it. I think it's going to be a blast. But for now, it's something I might send to my parents as a first draft as a sort of 'how stupid does this sound?' litmus test, then send it on to more critical eyes.

In gardening news, my vegetables have gone a little feral, as I've been a little busy/it's been pouring rain at all hours, and things have gone rather jungle-like. I did harvest some radishes last week though, and my first strawberry of the year. Pretty superb. Looks like the snap peas I planted are going hell-a nuts. Hopefully the weather will not be despicable this weekend, and I can actually caretake my yard/get weird sunburns.

I definitely started watching Doctor Who last week. Cannot stop. Just a heads up. If I disappear for a few days, I'm probably curled up in a dark corner watching Doctor Who.

Toodles!

Things to check out!

Canadian Framelines! Check out Ryder White and Alexandra Caulfield (plus their amazing bus) showing off their splendiferous exploration of Canadian identity, super 8mm film (yes!) and community. They've got an Indiegogo campaign started up, be sure to check out all of their videos!

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, PLUS To Wong Foo: Thanks For Everything, Julie Lamar - between the two, you see Guy Pierce, Hugo Weaving, Terence Stamp, Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo having a pretty swell time in drag. In addition, with Priscilla, you get gorgeous Australian landscapes. You really cannot go wrong here.