The leading edge of Chaos

Updates and anecdotes

2011-11-29T17:13:00.000-08:00

Yeti, Yeti, Yeti.....

He's been peeing on the floor since Jim's niece's wedding, when we were gone for a week. So after we tried everything we and our friends and family could think of, we took him to the vet.
Maybe it's a bladder infection, maybe it's FUS, maybe it's something else. But no, he's in perfect health.

It's emotional problems. Yeti has separation anxiety. It started when we were gone for so long, and ontinued because Jim went back to work after months off.

Jim tried saying, "You're a cat Dude, get over it!" But it didn't work.

The vet suggested we start him on anti-anxiety meds, but I can't imagine that shoving a pill down his throat daily would be LESS stress than Jim going to work. So we bought some $36 cat food with anti-anxiety stuff in it. Yeti loved it! But it had zero effect on the peeing.

So, in a fit of frustration I tossed his frigging arse outside. He has always been an indoors cat. So he hid under the porch until I crawled in to get him. Next day he was at the door, begging to get out. So now he thinks he loves it outside, well, up until today's rainstorm.

Yeti: I want out, I want out!
Me: It's raining, you don't want out.
Yeti: Out! I want out!
Me: Ok, if you want out....
thirty seconds later....
Yeti: It's raining, I want in!

catching up!

2011-10-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile, my bad. But things re going well on several fronts:

I'm 80% finished principal photography on my labour of love, Our Pagan Heart, a film about a medievalish village facing harsh challenges and tragedy over the course of a year. We've been filming since last February, s I needed to film ner the ctual seson nd holidays. We sure didn't have the budget to do a fake snow scene like Lord of the Rings. LOL

I had 2 art shows for my paintings in the last year.

What else?
A family wedding and 2 engagements.
I started 2 documentaries, one on my family, one on Jer's Vision (www.jersvision.org)
I'm working with Valley Wind on a steampunk version of Through the Looking Glass.
My documentary on Attawapiskat "Canada: Apartheid Nation" screened at the Toronto Independent Film Festival, and at the National Archives in Ottawa.
I'm planning to take the winter for me. Aside from filming days already booked, I'm going to spend the winter months painting, writing and editing.

Thinking of ways to get an income while waiting for these projects to start paying. Maybe corporate videos, maybe something else....

Escape!!

2011-06-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

So, I go out to do a bit of weeding before the rain starts, because Gods know the weeds don't need any more water, and hear odd, guilty clucking from the barn. Not the coop, the barn. Then I see a flash of cinnamon in the tall grass.
Shit! There has been an escape.

Somehow the door to the chicken run had blown open and half the chickens had run free before we noticed. While we normally let the chickens run outside for a while every day, we are there to keep an eye on them. The neighbour has dogs, there are wild foxes in the area, and traffic goes by at about 120.

We also keep them out of the garden.

Don't let people tell you that chickens have no expressions on their faces, because the girls in the garden looked extremely guilty. They should feel guilty, they broke a number of the bean seedlings and apparently dug up and ate all my unsprouted seed: turnips, swiss chard, spinach, 3 types of squash, cucumber..... sigh.....gotta hope I have enough seeds to replant. Or hope that all the scratch marks mean that they looked, but maybe didn't find.

Little bastard decided to take the opportunity to attack Jim, but Jim was expecting it. Little bastard got a face full of icy water before he even got fully into position. That should cool his jets for awhile. lol

My porn has started arriving!

2010-12-09T14:33:00.000-08:00

Porn; noun, short form of pornography, photos or video of sexual acts, or fantasies....

Well, what I fantasize about during the cold snowy winter, is gardening.... ergo, my seed catalogues have started arriving. :)

So, do I dig into my seed storage and buy to replace the old seeds (probably the wise move), not replace it (probably the hubby's preference), or buy all the new fascinating varieties (probably not the wise move)? And how much to plant? My back gets worse every year, I'm starting to need a gardener!

And then there's the chickens.... The girls will be 2 yrs old this spring and the laying has really dropped off in the cold. From 18 a day to a maximum of 6. They are no longer paying for their own feed. we stand to lose a few $hundreds this tax year, and more next year if they don't hop to it.

So, should we get more layers in the spring, or let things wind up naturally? Having the girls really limits our travel as they must be fed/ watered at least every second day (every day in summer) so we can only go away overnight. Unless we can find a sitter.
But I do love farm fresh eggs and chicken meat. So I'm looking at heirloom breeds that are hardy and prolific. Any suggestions?

Homesteading and food storage

2010-08-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

So, the food storage area is becoming more organized. I'm noticing holes in my storage that I didn't see when it was just stacks of stuff. So, I'm looking for ways to fill it in.
We raise our chickens for meat & eggs, raise a few veggies in the garden, and learn what weeds are actually food in disguise. But some things must be bought. Without breaking the bank, or spending the mortgage.

This site has a good list of $10-15 per week purchases that will set up a food storage system for 2 people.
"http://www.self-reliance-exchange.com/?p=7713"

Salt and flour and sugar & things like olives and oil. Maybe even canned 'instant' food, for days we're too tired to cook.

Back at the chicken coop, a girl escaped the other day. Managed to get left outside overnight, too. Jim found her moping by the coop the next day. She was sure that there was normally a door back into the coop, but just couldn't find it.

Little B@st@rd tries again

2010-07-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

So, Little Bastard tried for the crown the other day. But he's bad king wannabe, he attacked from behind, for the second time. And lost for the second time.
The heat is killing us. We lost a rooster to heat stroke yesterday, fortunately it wasn't Pretty Boy, unfortunately it wasn't Little Bastard either.
The chickens are really feeling the heat, laying is way down. Don't blame them, the humidex was 44C, they were probably too hot to push.
Little bastard attacked Jim the other day. Drew blood, though not as much as when he attacked me last time.
You should've seen Jim smacking him upside the head a few times, the chasing him with the hose. We now understand the saying "madder than a wet hen". The girls Little Bastard tried to hide behind were not pleased by the collateral damage.
Jim sprayed him every time he saw him for a couple of days. He's a much better behaved bird now.

Laurie vs the Rooster Strike 2

2010-06-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

So, it's strike two for the rooster, the little, vicious one. He jumped me again today when we let them out in the yard.

The little bastard gives the camera the 'hairy eye'.

I'll start at the beginning....

A few weeks ago the littlest (but alpha) rooster attacked me while I was filling their food & water. He attacked, full on, talons out (look at photo for an idea of why that's bad) and put several bleeding gashes in my right knee. I kicked him off, several times before he gave up the fight. In the end I'd had to kick him pretty hard to get him to stop attacking.

Look at the hook on the back of his leg!

He's been pretty good since, staying out of my way, shooting me sulky looks. Odd thing is he's not the biggest rooster in the chicken house. Seriously. He's about 3/4 the size of the other black rooster and 1/2 the size of Pretty boy.

Today, we headed out to the coop, and as I rounded the corner of the garage, I spotted a 6 foot length of aluminum tubing. Although the rooster had been fine for weeks, something told me to bring it. I listen to my little voices... er, not in a weird way... you know what I mean! I brought the pipe!

Good thing too. The girls were acting a bit strange, didn't want to come out into the yard, which is very odd. Usually they can't wait to get out. So, I'm standing off to one side, 10-15 feet from the coop door, sorta clucking and 'pretty girl, chick chick' ing', and eventually about 6 girls and the little bastard come out.

I watched him as he picked his way up the yard, about 3 feet from me, and went past me. Then I noticed that the girls were staying around the coop, again very odd. The white girl usually heads straight for the tall grass at the edge of the coop.

Maybe the little bastard had been bragging about his plans? I turned to see where he ws just as he attacked. Again! his time he opened a big gash on my left leg, and may have nicked a blood vessel. I bled fairly badly and for about 1/2 hour.

Anyway, I hit it with the pole and knocked it about 3 feet away. I would've left it at that if he would've, but he wouldn't. He fluffed up his neck ruff like the little dinosaurs on Jurassic Park and opened his mouth to hiss at me. Well, I've been here before (and saw Jurassic Park!) so before he could fly at me again, I whacked him like a golf ball about 10 feet to the edge of the coop.

Jim came out of the chicken coop in a hurry, though seeming more puzzled than worried or angry. "Why did you just hit the chicken like a baseball?" So I showed him my bleeding leg. After ascertaining that he had slashed me with his talons, not just a lucky peck, Jim looked like he was going to kill him right there.

But being a true romantic, he didn't want to step on my toes. That rooster's head is mine!

But, it is a rare breed, and very pretty, so he gets one more ball. Sorry for the confusion between baseball metaphors and golf comparisons, but hey, I'm an artist not a jock!

Either way, the little bastard gets one more chance. He attacks again and I have chicken stew for supper. After all, there are 3 more roosters.

Pretty Boy with the girls.

white roses

2010-06-02T14:39:00.001-07:00

Just a few updates

2010-06-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

The girls (the chickens, if you're confused) are now getting a daily walkabout in the yard. We don't dare let them free range, because regardless of Doug Thew's loving his coyotes, I don't want them eating chicken!
They've always had a fenced in run so they got sun and fresh air, but now that they're older, we're starting to let them chase bugs in the yard a little every day.
They're smart enough to head back into the coop, almost on command. There's just a couple of daring ones who have to be chased back in.

Also, after more than five years of nothing, not even a leaf... my rosebush is back! It's obviously growing from the rootstock, not the fancy rose I planted, but I like it even better. It's a highly fragrant white wild rose!! With about a dozen blooms!

I'll post photos of both the girls and the roses as soon as Jim works his majic and makes them small enough to upload.

Me VS the rooster... duh,duh,duh.....

2010-04-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

So, I went out to collect the eggs the other day.

Most of the girls were pretty good, though 2 were trying their best to fit into one nesting box, gave me a few warning pecks when I tried to grab an egg. Oh well, they were probably uncomfortable and cranky. :)

But one of the roosters! When I bent over to open the water jug, he jumped me. And not in a fun way either.

He left five gouges in my knee where his claws ripped through my pants. I was bleeding! Not impressed!

I got into a kicking contest with him, which was a bit unfair as I was trying not to hurt him. He, however, had no such constrictions about me. Eventually I had to kick him hard enough to send him into a corner of the coop, where he stayed hissing like a cat, and his feathered ruff extended like those little dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.

I didn't realize how badly I as bleeding until I got back in the house. Jim says not to worry so much about hurting the rooster, we got three more. And he can be replaced!

somethings and nothings

2010-04-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

So, I'm going away for a bit over a week on a film shoot. Poor Jim is left babysitting the rabbits and chickens.

The girls have been definitely showing that they cycle with the weather, warm days we get 18-24 eggs. Cold or damp days 7-10. But we usually have a gross or more to sell at brunch every weekend. Word is getting around, too. The other day I got an email from a friend of a friend wanting eggs.

Cool! They're already paying for their own feed, maybe soon they'll start on the mortgage. :)

Spring is here, and I would be putting down seed if I weren't going away for 8 days. But Jim says he won't guarantee the cats survive my absence let alone wee seedlings.

So I ordered $300 worth of live seedlings from Richters. Tomatoes & peppers, & basil & eggplants! And herbs, herbs, herbs. It's looking like a yummy summer!

Fundraiser Gala tomorrow!!

2010-02-12T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well, this is it! We have a few tickets left and are entertaining pleas of poverty as an excuse to get deep discounts!

Buy tickets at our website! www.voicesofthepeople.ca

Carribean cruise, here I come!!

2009-12-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

So, we are less than 1/2 hour from leaving the hotel for the port. There to board the cruise ship for 7 days, woo hoo! Yule in Puerto Rico!

We've had a lovely time in Plantation Florida, got to see Douglas and have a wonderful lunch with him and Bill. I wish I could see him more often, my little guy is all growned up. *sniff*

10 minutes to go! Gotta do the last minute room check, check out of the hotel and run for the shuttle. I'm all aquiver!

Film fundraiser, support local film-making!!

2009-11-19T11:14:00.001-08:00

Me, my Mom & a Whistle's second fundraiser is Friday, Nov 27th at The Cajun Attic (349 Dahousie St, Ottawa)after 9pm. Advance tickets are only $5!!
NOTE: only the advance sales go towards the film, the door goes to the bar! So find me or Lisa and buy in advance.

The fantabulous Pat Patenaude will be performing again with his mix of Celtic/ Irish inspired drinking songs. He was a crowd fave at the last fundraiser as our closing act.

The last fundraiser at Busters Bar & Grill on Carling raised about $1500, and saw some very happy winners, including Corey Bombay who won tickets to a Sens game!

Sponsors of our last fundraiser included Beau's Beer, Absolute Comedy & Morrighan Films. Stay tuned to see who sponsors this one.

Dwayne Desveaux and his beautiful lady Jodi won tickets to Absolute Comedy!!

Future fundraisers are on the go for the new year!!

FUNdraiser!!

2009-09-14T09:51:00.001-07:00

We're having a fundraiser to support local independent film!
September 22nd, 8pm to closing, @ Busters Bar&Grill, 2525 Carling Ave in Ottawa.
Only $10 at the door gets you a live show! Three different bands, from Irish drinking songs to Electronic rock, to hard edged and golden oldies! Plus raffles for Sens tickets, and prize packages from Beau's All Natural beer and Absolute Comedy.

Come early! Come often! Bring your friends!!

World's prettiest chicks, or just pigs with wings?

2009-07-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

129 one day old chicks, already eating their little heads off!

The yellow ones are boys, the cinnamon ones are girls. They were so cute at this age! Look at how tiny he is, and he weighs next to nothing. They're very skittish, it's hard to catch them, and they're so fragile.

But only 24 hours later, they start to get their first real feathers, at the tips of their wings. They are also starting to get markings. Some get brown-black spots, some stripes, one guy got chipmunk markings!

This chick is cool; if the yellow ones are boys and the cinnamon ones are girls, what is s/he? Judging by the wings, I'd say female. But we have another that started off the same, and is getting white-pink wings.

This butch little girl is one of only a few that won't run when you try to pick her up. Half the time she'll peck at you, but mostly she just tries to out-stare you. You can poke her in the chest, and she just gives you a regal stare. She also likes to play "king of the castle" on top of the water dishes.

They were showing almost fully feathered wings by 6 days old. At a week and a bit (we got them on June 24th) they're already partly tamed, and getting very pretty! The photo below is my favourite pretty boy!

The babies are currently learning to fly. They practice by fluttering across the bottom of the wading pool they're in. Except for one, who practices by fluttering madly as he tries to climb the wire fence around the pool. He nearly made it over the top today, so we're going to have to build a net ceiling. I can't wait to see what they get up to next.

Adventures in Homesteading: cont....

2009-06-17T05:58:00.000-07:00

So, Harry's still on the loose. Taunts us from the neighbour's fields regularly. B@&TT@RD!

But ignoring him, we've 5 roosters out in a chicken tractor. No, no little John Deer caps, just a moveable pen that puts them in the field eating the bugs that lust after my veggie garden.
We've also finished the enclosed run off of the chicken coop. The ladies can get a little fresh air & sun now.

And next wednesday, 125 day old chicks arrive! I'll bet they're seriously cute! Photos will definitely follow.

We've got most of the garden in, yellow & purple tomatoes, jalapenos, kiwi, onions, spinach, tons of herbs, leeks, strawberries....

Beauty is as Beauty Does

2009-06-17T05:57:00.001-07:00

So, I finally heard from the publisher (they've had it for 50 weeks!) and they apologized for the delay. Gotta love British understatement. LOL

So, they love the story, they love the characters, they love the 'voice'. They hate the ending. :(

But, at least they're willing to work with me on it, in the fall. (next time we're both free to take on more work). So, I'm still on "the list" for Cutting Edge Books, and still listed on Amazon.ca. (under a pen name)

Adventures in homesteading: the Great Escape

2009-05-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

We've been having fun with one of roosters, I think I'll name him Harry. As in Harry Houdini.

A week or so ago, he raced out of the chicken coop while my wonderful hubby was feeding & watering the chickens & rabbits. Feeling the Spring in his blood, warm weather & sunny skies called him to freedom and he ran for it.

Well, as far as the ditch between us and next farm anyway. So we spent the next hour chasing the stupid bird, with no luck might I add. They are deceptively fast runners and decent flyers.

After we gave up, he settled down to eating the seed from my neighbour's newly planted corn field, bathing in the ditch, eating worm & bugs, and terrorizing any barn cats stupid enough to take him on. And, occasionally, coming up to kitchen window to taunt me.

That night, he settled down happily (after another game of "can't catch me")in the pine tree in front of my living room window. From there he could torment my cats as they sat on the window ledge, staring at the bird of their dreams.

We had a friend over the next night, and he figured all we needed was a plan, so outside for round three. This time, my neighbour saw them, and offered them a net to use. Round four....

Rooster 4: humans 0.

Film busyness!

2009-04-30T06:56:00.001-07:00

Busy last 2 weeks!
Well, I was reallyreally busy the last 2 weeks! We held auditions for Me, my Mom & a Whistle on the 20th and 21st. SEVENTY people showed up, making for two 15 hour days! I was astonished by how amazing some of the actors were. Non-union, practically unknown, and just freaking brilliant. This will lead to some very hard decisions!

Then I had to prepare and submit two applications for funding to make music videos by the 23rd. I'm producing music videos for two local bands "naked i" and "Mo Sayk", as a way of raising seed money for the film.
I'm also looking for 3-4 bands for the June 11th deadline, as we'd like to do as many as possible before we start principal photography on the film.

We are now about four months away and I NEED to get funding happening! I'm doing up a budget based on deferrels, but that'll entail a whole new repayment schedule. A woman's work is never done. Anybody have any money they don't need? Any at all? Anyone need a business loss for tax purposes? You can carry forward prior year earnings to cover it and lower your previous taxes. (at least I think you can. you used to be able to)

Then there's this week's deadline. Tomorrow I have a development application for CJOH to get a little money to write my next film. Or one of my next films.

Friday is also the deadline to notify the NFB that you intend to propose a project for the Aboriginal Film Development somethingorother. So I'm working on a film idea for that. It's real deadline is May 12th. Plenty of time! At least, these days it seems like plenty of time. LOL

This weekend

2009-04-03T07:42:00.001-07:00

The Genies are in Ottawa! So, it's party tonight, brunch with the nominees tomorrow, then more contract negotiations.... and, oh yeah... THE GENIES!!!

Adventures in Homesteading; the heartbreak

2009-03-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

We lost a chicken the other day.
Apparently one of the roosters was overenthusiastic and crushed her under the edge of the wire netting, so she suffocated.
I seem to recall an episode of CSI Miami where something very similar happened. Guy was having sex in the swimming pool of the Canadian Embassy (no wonder I remember, this too was our fault ;})and he accidentally drowned the girl because he was too "into it" to notice her situation.

I guess all males are alike, on some level. Particularly when it comes to sex.
(apologies to my darling husband, who would never do anything like this.)

In good news, we're up to 6-8 eggs a day, anyone interested in buying farm fresh eggs?

The start of a great thing!!

2009-03-17T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so now I'm starting active preproduction for "Me, my Mom, and a Whistle", script by Lisa Meuser (Muses Productions) and directed by Gemini Nominated Scott Eldridge.

As you might be able to tell, I'm pretty excited! This looks like it's going to be utterly amazing!

I've been putting together a fabulous package:
Lisa is a successful playwright, who's adapted the screenplay from her own sold out stage play of the same name.
I've gotten the rights to my favourite Good Lovelies' song (http://www.goodlovelies.com/home.html)
and signed multi-award winning cinematographer Nena Toth.
I'm in negotiations with another band to get a song written for the opening credits.

We're currently preparing for 2 days of auditions, and already the quality of applications is stunning! At the risk of sounding like I appprove of the current econimic situation, hard times does seem to mean better actors applying for low budget indies, probably because the big funding entities are so nervous right now.

Check us out at (http://www.indiegogo.com/individual/view/5210?iggref=IQAC_SHWI)
And at (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116255735373&ref=ts#/profile.php?id=591520106&ref=name) and (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=90406208)

We're looking into as much private investment and as few government hoops as possible. With all the cuts to Arts funding that have been done, and more being discussed, as well as the ever-changing qualifications, it just seems so much easier to do without the big boys. Not to mention it's a chance for investors to make money off of what is bound to be a great comedy.

If you're interested in helping fund the development or getting your name in the credits, go to (http://www.indiegogo.com/individual/view/5210?iggref=IQAC_SHWI)

So, I'm nearly done

2008-09-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

So, I turned in my Novella on time, got the expected "yeah we got it, we'll let you know", and never heard from them again. Why does a contract force me to finish a specific story, in a specific style at a specific date, but forces them to do nothing? They signed it too!

Now I'm only a couple of days from my deadline with CJOH on a first draft script. I've already been warned that they don't have the budget to contract for a second draft, and only 1/100 get sent to Toronto hoping for further development. So, I can't say I'm all that excited about sending it in. But that aside, I'm only 2-3 pages from finished and I know my ending, so that feels pretty darned good.

Especially since in the last couple of weeks, I've harvested 90% of my beans (pinto and kidney), all my peas (for pea soup, mmm), canned 150 pounds of tomatoes into stewed tomatoes (1 litre jars mostly), picked 50 pounds of cabbage for sourkraut and canned slaw, 40 pounds of squash for storage, and dried oregano, mint, dill, chamomile, spice coriander and thyme. Not to mention picking & drying untold amounts of zucchini. Gods, the zucchini!! Who'd have thought 4 plants could produce so much? I'm definitely saving seed!

What this means is I want October off! no work!! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depends on your POV) I've been contracted to produce Scott Eldridge's next film here in Ottawa. It's a comedy, and will be shot entirely in/ around Ottawa. We hope to start filming in late summer or fall, so I should start asap to look for funding.
Anyone want to volunteer as an extra? Or a runner?

And it's away...

2008-07-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

So, I sent the book in on time, and got an email saying they got it. Not accepting it, mind you, just they received it.
Since my editor's no longer there, it has to be read by someone, decided whether to toss it or rewrite it or buy it. Then it get assigned a new editor (after all, there's no way it gets tossed, right?) and returned to me for changes and polishing.

At least that's the way I hope it goes, because I'm in development with another project now. And prep for a film shooting next spring. Seems that once I'm selling my writing, and I don't have time to write.

Deadlines and editors

2008-06-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

So, my novel is due at the publisher on Monday. Except that my editor is no longer working there and the publisher isn't sure if they're expecting my book or not. I have less than 20 pages left to go.

She says to send in the completed manuscript (without the section by section feedback I had been receiving) and they'll decide whether to go forward when they read it. Am I the only one this makes nervous?

But I guess I'll know soon.

2007-10-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, and I completely forgot about the garden. We tried Square Foot Gardening for the first time this year. It promises that you can grow far more than you thought possible in less space than ever before, or something like that.

And it works. For the past week or so, I've been collecting a few beans, a zucchini, some mint/oregano/thyme, and a dishpan of tomatoes every second day. Today I collected the usual stuff, AND a 25 litre bucket of tomatoes...

And the broccoli has yet to notice that it should've stopped producing in August, because I'm still collecting that, too.

So, on top of all the real (re: paying) work, I'm also canning like a fiend. Tomato sauce, pickles, jams, jellies, veggies plain and fancy....

It never rains but it pours

2007-10-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed that the universe never sends things to you in a nice slow, steady stream? You're either standing around with your thumb up your butt, wondering where everybody is, or your running around squawking like a headless chicken. Ok, maybe headless chickens can't squawk, but I'm sure you get the picture.

Three months ago (and for the past four years) I've been hustling to get film/ writing work. I've managed some paid work, and a decent resume of unpaid productions. Then, all of a sudden, I have an Executive Producer wanting me to "come to town" to negotiate a contract for one of my spec scripts, and is willing to let me both do the rewrites and produce.

And, I get a book deal with a UK publishing house, provided I can deliver a completed manuscript by the first of December.

And, I got selected for a film competition where you are given the "theme" of your short film, and 60 days to write, shoot, edit and submit the film.

And CTV accepted my proposal for a TV movie and sent me a cheque to write a first draft script.

And, since I am way too busy already, I got a fabulous idea for a new low-budget film.

Thank Gods I have friends in the business who could pick up the slack!

Oh, and one more thing? I've been asked to help publicize one of the best 2-day film courses Canada's ever seen. Elliot Grove (founder of Raindance, Raindance Film Festival, British Independent Film Awards, and other things to numerous to mention) will be in Toronto in late October to teach his Low-to-No Budget Film-making course. I took that course last year. It gave me a new way of looking at both writing for the low budget film, and of producing without a "Hollywood budget". (www.raindancecanada.com)

I'm not saying that Elliot is solely responsible for my current success, but he sure as hell helped. And he's very entertaining, too honest for this business, and very approachable.

Trust me, take the course!

Yes, but am I paranoid enough?

2007-08-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

Every generation has its fears and paranoias; UFOs in the 50's, demons in the middle ages, succubus in the dark ages. But todays demons are both more common-place and more frightening than these simple fears of our race's youth. Now we fear *each* other more than *the* other.
I'm not saying that's a bad attitude. Seems to me that we have more sexual and violent predators per capita than at any other time in recorded history. Could just be that people are actually recording it now, but it seems more likely to me that the predators are feeling the need to act out more than before.
Perhaps it's what I've always thought of as "too many rats in cage". You have X many rats in one cage, they're happy, well-adjusted rodents. You put in X+1, you get X many dead rats, with one very vicious berserker-rat left alive. Now consider places like New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto....
Perhaps we've simply reached the maximum number of rats this society can hold. Now some of the rats are going berserker and preying on the others.
Or maybe it's the fact there's no food in our food anymore. Aspartame, MSG, growth hormones, fake estrogens, god-knows-what, yes; but no food.
So I garden my own veggies, try to buy additive free meats, religiously check the content labels at the grocery store, take herbal supplements instead of drugs, and you know what? I still want to kill that SOB that just passed us on the highway offramp at 120km, then cut us off to avoid actually getting off the highway.
So perhaps paranoia is a healthy response to today's world. Like a fever fighting off an infection. The girls who fall prey to these serial predators are frequently described as kind-hearted, trusting, helpful, they usually are trying to improve the world. Me? I want to put up a fence and secede from the human race, just out of spite. So, I'm probably safe.... because I don't trust people. Especially normal looking, polite, quiet, helpful nebbishes. Like Dahlmer, and Bundy.

Check these links to see how fashionable paranoia has become.
(http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/back-to-school-shopping-dont-forget-the-bulletproof-backpacks/)
(http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/clothing/stab+proof-clothes-protect-british-kids-from-pointy-things-289868.php)

Introductory Post

2007-08-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

August 15th, 2007

The first post in a new blog... how do I properly introduce the myriad topics I'd like to explore? A simple list of articles and websites is sooo dull, and dull is not like me at all.

I want to use this site to explore the things that inspire me to write and produce films; what makes a man kill those he loves? Why does no-one notice our vanishing freedoms in the face of terror? Are killers getting more evil, or just more... free to express themselves? Unafraid of being caught because there is no death penalty? Censorship; obvious and subtle. Are we really sprouting serial killers and predators like two-month old potatoes do shoots, or are they just being recognized for what they are more often? Is the religious right correct about this being the end-times?

Now, I will be posting links to specific articles and such that excite me, though I'll try not to bore people. I'll also try to find more than one source for the more outlandish things, and possibly photos. No video blogging until I get hi-speed, though. Sorry, that's a given.