Outrage Today

CRAZY MONTH - BEGIN

2010-07-08T00:14:00.001+01:00

Tomorrow I'm off to L.A. and VIDCON, followed by a few days on Venice Beach and then even more travels. This month is going to be an amazingly fun blur that I'll be trying to hold onto with photos and footage, both of which I plan to put up on here afterwards. When I get back it will be time for the moderately secret super Handful special as well as my friend Mark and I finally beginning the process of pitching our science fiction series with a complete and properly polished pilot. I'm very excited to see what in the heck will be going on with me and my career pursuit by the end of the summer.

In the meanwhile, here's a scene from a new television program by Louis C.K., Louie, that is not only very funny but really got me thinking about a word I haven't seriously considered for a very long time.

Entropy is my homeboy.

2010-06-19T22:03:00.005+01:00

So I've taken one big step closer towards becoming the kind of old man I'm planning to be and I figured it'd be worth writing something here.

I'm tempted to do a kind of overall appraisal but that's really what my annual End of the Year entries are for!

I will say that I'm increasingly excited about Vidcon in July. If all I do is have fun then I won't think it a failure, but I am of course hoping to promote the heck out of the show. I'm perfectly aware that while my traffic has been increasing and my subscriber base has doubled since the start of the year...I still have a significantly smaller footprint than your average photogenic teenager talking into a $50 webcam about their hobbies.

I say that without any bitterness or resentment! I'm very happy with what 2010 has done for the show so far, I'm just aware that in order to even make a part-time living I will need to increase my subscriber base to at least ten times it's current amount.

I've been experimenting, of course. The "Radio" show christmas special, some Project Wonderful advertising, taking a break in January to build an episode buffer, getting more out-of-studio footage, A Very Special Surprise I'll begin putting up at the start of August, taking a topic from a viewer's suggestion and generally busting my butt to keep improving the Basic Product (I've finally gotten Adobe CS5 so I can learn how to clean up my greenscreening and perhaps do some effects that won't be as cheesy as any number of Dragonball Z fireballs or their ilk).

The big thing is to try and escape a trap I've built myself.

By trying to stand out from the crowd in what I talk about, framing episodes as reviews to help make things (ideally) more interesting then a straight up rant, I've ironically made it much more unlikely for people to find me. It's no secret that there are far more people searching for popstars, movies, video games, bands and Sexy Things than anything I talk about. While I do think there is something to the idea of the Internet as a meritocracy, I think that the nature of search engines, Youtube and just plain ol' people do a lot to prevent it from being a "pure" one. It makes sense and hell, it's not like I'm some superior being who never looks up any of that stuff!

I bet I could do some could even do a pretty good show about that subject matter, but it's not where my strongest passions lay (for now, at least) and I have to wonder if becoming one of So Many wouldn't obscure me just as much.

My best boosts have always come from someone with a larger audience being kind enough to point them in my general direction and what's encouraging is that when I do get a big influx of eyeballs, the vast majority of them choose to hang around. But that sort of thing comes about almost entirely by chance and I know that one of the first things to happen to anybody with some decent success is for them to become, understandably, chronically irritated by requests for a link or a mention in a video or whatever.

Of course, I could just suck! Land sakes alive, I don't want to be one of those guys who constructs an elaborate theory for why they aren't having the sucess they'd like to have when the answer is plain to see for anyone who isn't him. But this conflicts with my natural desire to problem-solve, which means trying to come up with an explanation as well as a plan of action.

In non-Handful related news...
Though I've been thinking about it for a couple of months, I am now seriously looking at a trip to the Ukraine and Russia (the eastern bit) in fall of 2011. It should come as little surprise to most that my goal would be to traipse through the ruins of the Soviet Empire and that while this would certainly include Chernboyl & Pripyat, the Disneyland & Orlando of this kind of journey, I'd also be trying to get to a variety of other curious locations. I reckon I need to start planning now if only because I haven't figured out precisely where a lot of those things are! When I get closer to the date I think I shall see what I can do about contacting Russian urban explorers and maybe even seeing if I have any Russian fans who'd be willing and able to help me out in one way or another.

I figure that it's all very well and good to talk about Perfectly Wonderful & Horrible things but I also would like to see more of them up close. Plus, although I certainly did enjoy a lot about my trip to Athens I'd have to say the most valuable thing I took from that trip was a lesson in what kind of travel actually appeals to me. After seeing most of the classic ruins up close I found myself basically killing time until my flight back to England. Places to eat foreign (to you) food, places to swim, drink, dance and go for nice walks can all generally be found where you live - I'm not pissing on anybody elses parade but Athens taught me that doing those things in another country doesn't stimulate me enough to feel the expense is worth it. Maybe in time my mind will change or if I have the right company...but that's where I'm at now.

What absolutely feels worth it for me is not to take a vacation so much as to have an adventure. Meeting all sorts of Internet folk I've only emailed before, trying to promote the show and getting around a major American city that I may have to spend more time in if my career takes certain paths is a little adventure to me. Digging my way through the still standing bones of Reagan's beloved "Evil Empire", an entity whose imagery & culture have flooded so much fiction & non-fiction I've seen for my entire life, that strikes me as a big adventure the likes of which I may still be talking about when I reach that point I mentioned earlier.

Coping with the Big Lever

2010-06-18T02:48:00.002+01:00

"Hey humanity, what did you do today? "

"Oh, I killed the gulf of Mexico".

"Ah...good lad. Run along and play now."

So how do you make peace with this?

I actually had to call my mum this morning and ask her how she coped when the Cold War was at it's height. When it felt like a button might be pressed and that'd be the end of that.

The thing the Cold War had over our War on the Environment is that, thanks to MAD, it was a very binary thing. Either somebody presed a button and launched nukes that started a chain reaction of retaliation which wiped out the species or they didn't. If they did then you'd have so little time to think about it before you died that you might as well not worry. Although you may very well end up living in a horrible blend of medieval technology and fascist government I suppose, though I always thought Threads was a tad optimistic.

This isn't to trivialize the Cold War or provide a launching pad for a big fat, spittle spraying We Are Doomed rant.

I just want to point out that the War on the Environment AKA Operation: Piss in Your Own Pool AKA Russian Roulette with an Automatic Pistol...is not a big red button to be pushed or not pushed. It's like a bloody great big lever that can be pulled or pushed closer to armageddon and it is very, very difficult to pull back. I could batter you over the head with statistics and links and flowery prose but that's not what I'm writing about here.

I'm wrestling with how to cope and if you're paying any attention at all then I imagine there are moments where you struggle as well. So how do we do?

With the Cold War it seems the most sensible thing was to remember that all you could do was try to vote in leaders who wouldn't press the damn button and otherwise remember that you were just one person with incredibly limited influence so you may as well accept your relative powerlessness and try to fucking relax. It'll happen or it won't. Though I'm not a fan of feeling powerless, I think I would have coped with the height of the Cold War reasonably well - not because I'm Batman but just because of how my mind works. I'm good at accepting things I have no power over, when that's truly the case.

Operation: Shit in Your Own Mouth is different. I very much have an influence on it, we all do. Clearly world leaders and corporate CEO's have much, much more influence...but nobody can abandon responsibility like you could with the Cold War. Leaving your computer on overnight for no good reason? Driving any damn vehicle for any damn distance? Having a kid? Thanks buddy, you just helped lean a little more on that lever. That's good that you're recycling and please don't stop, but you could certainly do more.

You could always do more. It's pretty overwhelming and a great way to become so neurotic it'd make Woody Allen say "Hey, slow down buddy" followed by "Anyways, it's totally less creepy I married my adopted daughter now that she's thirty-five".

In the same short period of time I read the thing that sent my head spiralling harder then it had done since I watched a certain film, this floated up to the surface as well. It's not like it's the first time I've thought or read about the idea that we should be the last generation. It's not like I didn't think "Well maybe I should off myself...or at least get a vasectomy".

But it reeks of giving up.

I hate giving up.

It's clawing for an excuse to treat this like the Cold War, of wanting the lever we're all leaning on to be that big old red button.

You don't need me to tell you how to live or vote more environmentally and like I said, that's not what this is about. It's about how do you cope?

Well there's always denial, but you'll know what you're doing. If you have any conscience it'll eat at you and just cause a different kind of stress. So no, denial isn't the way to go for anybody except the kind of person who wasn't bothered by all this in the first place.

I know the best thing for someone like me, someone who hates to give up, is to try and work things through in your head - perhaps sharing via writing or video - and then seeing what more you can do. I realize I won't be singlehandedly saving the world, but I'm starting the road towards becoming a vegetarian or at least cutting down to meat only once a week because I know that that will help.

This won't be easy as I love meat, have been crap about vegetables my whole life, don't have any dietary need to stop eating it and certainly have no moral qualms with eating animals...but I know if I don't want to go crazy then I need to do more for the environment and, unlike having the CEO of British Petroleum forced to swim in the mess his company made, vegetarianism is within my reach.

By the by, nobody will singlehandedly save the world by doing any single thing. Accepting that is certainly a good thing to help you cope. You're not giving up, you're removing a popular obstacle people often place between themselves and doing any damn thing.

"Recycling these cans won't magically save the world and give me a ten hour solid gold erection so why bother?".

Naturally I'm curious to hear anybody else's suggestions for how to cope wtih this thing. Like it or not, we're all in this together...

MAH TOOF

2010-04-04T02:32:00.000+01:00

AUGH!

Though I realize they'd have done nothing for my tooth, I think I might start wearing gloves and maybe even elbow pads when I longboard now. Both would have helped my forearms take more of the impact and potentially reduced the damage or even kept my face out of the equation all together. I just count myself lucky that I didn't go under a car (or that my board did the same, though that's a distant second as my concerns go!

FINALLY

2010-03-27T13:59:00.003Z

After almost two years, I'm finally selling I GOT OPINIONS shirts. Pass it on!

High Fives - The Movie

2010-03-18T21:28:00.002Z

Vidcon, Satire, Vlogging and Crudbump!

2010-02-11T03:26:00.001Z

VIDCON!
http://www.vidcon2010.com/
http://tinyurl.com/yhpejbb

DREW N' CRUDBUMP
http://crudbump.com/
http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/drewtoothpaste (less info)

Baaaaaaack

2010-02-06T17:20:00.000Z

So later today I'm putting up the first episode of what you could call "Season Three" of the show. I said I'd be working hard to improve the show and I have, but some of the improvements won't kick in until a little further down the road GOSH DARN IT.

But whatever man!

It was tempting to try and turn the show completely upside down with different fonts, a new intro and all the rest but in the end I figured it's best to be consistent with the general look. What will be new is (eventually) background music, which has proven a stickier wicket than expected, some new effects and better green screening thanks to Adobe After Effects CS4 (goal #1: obliterate the fine teal line around my body that I can never quite remove) and for every four or five "standard" episodes of the show I am going to try to do something irregular.

Now this doesn't mean that I'll be doing a completely different kind of show, I still want it to feel like In a Handful of Minutes. But I want to do more interviews with folk connected to past or upcoming episodes (one got filmed yesterday with which I'm very happy), try presenting the odd thing in a more anecdotal fashion (filmed one of those a couple weeks back) provided that thing is something that fits into the show's loose theme of "Perfectly Wonderful and Horrible Things" and...well I'll keep the third thing a secret for now.

Meanwhile, I've signed up for Vidcon 2010 and hope to use my time there to promote the show as well as meet in person some of the folk I've had the pleasure of getting to know via Youtube. Plus it'll be the first time I've been to the states since I was nine? I SURE HOPE AIR TRAVEL HASN'T CHANGED, FOR SOME REASON.

Entertaining Ghosts

2010-01-24T21:18:00.001Z

It's always a little bit of a shame when you come across a website or a youtube channel or the like which has marvelous content on it, but clearly hasn't been updated in some time and likely has been abandoned by it's creator.

This video for Radiohead's "All I Need" comes from just such a youtube channel. It hasn't been updated for two years but the person who put it together made a respectable quantity of beautiful, meaningful music videos for several Radiohead songs by mashing up old footage.

I'm guessing he was a film or art student...or at least someone passionate about stuff other than good ol' mainstream fare, given that he used some Marcel Duchamp footage. Then there's Standish Lawder footage in this chilling video for "I Will".

Entertainment, something different, something that teaches and something that inspires: A cocktail I'll be aspiring to with this year's Handful, that's for sure.

KAMERA UND TOONES

2010-01-10T02:53:00.000Z

Dang, I finally got my own decent camera for use with the show. Amongst other benefits....now when I think of a shot I'd like to grab, I can just go out and grab it! That alone has me very excited!

Meanwhile, a fan of the show linked me to some of his music and I rather enjoyed this little tune. MAYBE YOU WILL TOO?

d_Verge - Brain Infection by d_Verge

I'm not the boss of you

2010 - will it be an unsatisfactory sequel to 2001?

2009-12-31T18:03:00.000Z

Well, will it? I hope not, since that'd mean we'd be getting a crop duster slamming into the side of the Seattle Space Needle, thus giving America the reason their current administration has been dying to have so they can invade...French Guiana? Bah, I'll leave the futurism to more talented folk.

So it's New Years eve and small wonder what a man's mind wanders towards...

But hoo boy, I could have used a bit more space between Christmas holidays and New Years this year. So many things to do, so many things done. In fact, I would like to take this moment to dub 2009 The Year Which Went Too Quickly but also The Year in Which Shit Got Done.

What shit got done? Well I...

Finally took a writing retreat, something I've wanted to do since I was in England and reading about the Cotswolds. While there I...
Made a serious stab at finishing a new feature length script. Unless a miracle happens, it won't be done before year's end but with a finished treatment and 37 pages written (as well as piles of notes) I know it's reached a crucial point that makes it a lot easier for me to return to the work and polish her off.
Organized funding for shooting a small pilot I wrote, which my pal Mark then filmed. That was part of a lot of other writing and groundwork which was laid in preparation for pitching what I can only refer to right now as "A Science Fiction Series" early in the New Year (ideally late February).
Busted my balls on Handful, of course, raising the quality of the show significantly and building a suitably large archive of episodes so as to achieve escape velocity from planet "Something I did for a little while and then got distracted". That...that is a terrible planet whose gravity is often much stronger then you might expect!

This included another interview, which I actually managed to keep to a reasonable length! I'd like to do more, but it's tricky since my topics keep changing and I rarely know somebody relevant to, say, Seasteading.
Got my first fan video!
Broke both the one year and fifty episode marks.
Through the show I attended my first TIFF event and learned more about Roller Derby, something I'd been curious about for a good while.
Became a fan of The Pillow Fight League via the episode I did. When I went to another match in July I was actually approached by Olivia Neutron Bomb, who told me she enjoyed it!
Pulled together the big special and thus introduced the world to SHAWN MACLEAN.
Made some buttons, even if I am now deciding to give this batch away and do a fresh one with a new design to replace the "Lake Karachy Rowing Club" button. These and the business cards helped make it all feel less like a hobby and more like A Thing.

Did some other fun little videos, mainly as a way to force myself to continue on with my bit of self-education & writing practive via Stephen Fry.

This included another Urban Exploration adventure to Toronto's not-so-secret ballroom.

Got my own dang longboard!

Which made the 2009 board meet that much more awesome.

Worked with my roommate Christina to decorate and otherwise set up what is easily my favorite place that I've lived in since leaving my parents after graduating High School.
Did some more painting, though not quite as much as I would have liked.
Went to my first North American webcomic convention and got to briefly meet & chat with Paul Pope!
Got piles of proper use and enjoyment out of my membership at the AGO, which meant a lot to me as I didn't get as much use out of my membership at London's ICA as I would have liked.

I may have done some other shit, but those are the big things. True, Handful isn't making me money yet...but I think I was being a little naive. From what I've learned of other folk with webshows or webcomics, 18 months seems to be about half the amount of time it's taken most folk to be able to make any kind of living from their online efforts. I guess I should just quit! OH NO WAIT...

My other big goal for the year, to try and finally host a Handsome Boy Modelling School party may just have to go on the pile of broken dreams...but I think I can live with that regret!

So what of 2010? Well, I feel very excited to build upon what I've done this year and (especially after reviewing some of my pictures from London) I know I'd really like to get in a trip to somewhere other than Ottawa. It's been far too long since I've seen a concert in Montreal, but I'm also curious about New York since fully half the people I know visited there in the time since I moved to Toronto!

And then, there's this. Anybody want to sponsor a webshow hosts trip to L.A.?

Dang, I gotta get on with the day! So I think I'll close here for now and get into more depth about next year sometime in it's first few days.

I feel like I just gave birth to ten whales

2009-12-27T21:54:00.004Z

And then life gets crazy busy again

2009-12-13T17:25:00.000Z

Ah well! Can't do much about that.

So, other than fighting crime I've been working hard on the show and trying to plan all the right moves for at least the first few months of next year.

You can expect me to elaborate on such things in my fourth annual End of a Year post, if not sooner! but for now I have piles of running around to do before heading to my folks for the holidays.

(Great Batman photo by Posterchild)

TERRIBLE TEEN TUNES

2009-12-06T01:03:00.001Z

A nice find

2009-12-05T22:02:00.000Z

How much is it to ride that mustache in the window?

Stephen Fry Poetry Challenge: Round Four

2009-12-01T13:15:00.001Z

SAXX LAWS

2009-11-30T23:35:00.001Z

Saxx Laws from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

This is a pretty specific thing, but if you know where it's from then you'll likely love it!

Flapper Lady

2009-11-26T19:44:00.002Z

I did this a little while ago but I just realized that I never put it up here! Dang but it has been hard to find time to draw and paint lately. Part of that is wrestling with exciting and terrifying distractions, a post upon one of which may follow later today!

Abandoned Ballroom

2009-11-19T17:56:00.005Z

I've been sitting on this since February and I wasn't going to post it....but I checked out the ballroom last week only to discover that basically...

1) Everybody knows about it anyways, now. I ran into a pack of photographers this time around, who had been told of the place by further friends and when I ad in all the people I know who know about it and how it's been posted on various UE forums then....eh.

2) The hotel has installed some working lights that are left on in the evening, which is a pretty strong sign that if they aren't at least finally fixing up the joint then they too are WELL AWARE of people coming on up. I also ran into a polite security guard who, fortunately, got distracted by the photographers.

Anywho, for a number of reasons it looks like I shan't be filming here but I'm glad I got to visit before those lights were installed. It's really something else when the only lighting is provided by the faint glow of moonlight and the surrounding buildings.

ALSO

I should mention that I met someone a couple of weeks ago who claimed to have been there eight years ago and that then it was full of mannequins. Whether or not that's true, the idea is pretty sweet!

And now I've filmed fifty...

2009-11-17T01:37:00.000Z

Right then, I just survived the final filming of Handful of the year!

I had to take a liberty or two, but I'm now covered for the rest of 2009. There's still some work to do for the year end special that Joe and I have been planning for....six months? But whatever man! It feels good.

Also? I know anybody could just google my name anyways...but I still find it a little creepy that I got a google alert today letting me know that this website has assembled a kind of profile on me?

EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME

2009-11-10T16:49:00.001Z

I seem to be writing here less and less, which runs somewhat counter to this interesting article on the ol' "Forum/chat room problem" and how it relates to Facebook vs Twitter vs Blogs. What's funny, is I want to be writing here more and more...partly out of inspiration by the quality of this blog.

Once thing that definitely has me wanting to get back on the blog-o-horse-o is that when I used this more regularly, it was pretty much all I used. For example, when I was in London and taking some neat pictures with my digital camera then I knew there were only really two possibilities for sharing - printing a copy for my photo albums and tossing it up on el bloggo for friends and family.

But of course I eventually got into Facebook and, a whiles after that, Handful has led to my reviving the Twitter account I originally put down as quickly as I picked it up and even a brief dabbling with the utterly forgettable Dailybooth. I don't much care for feeling redundant when I want to post a link-or-picture on Facebook for pals and then the same link-or-picture on Twitter for some other friends plus Handful fans and then OH YEAH DIDN'T I USED TO DO ALL THIS ON MY DANG BLOG, WHICH I LINK TO ON THE ABOUT PAGE FOR HANDFULOFMINUTES.COM?

Also? It kind of makes me feel young again to be using this sucker as if it's a brand new toy - so apparently my threshold for nostalgia is about three years. NOW. It's tempting to be all "anyways guys, get ready for the exciting retro-nipple-clamping future past of blogging to begin....soon". But that is The Shittiest Thing with blogs and so I am going to follow up this "Oh hey I like my blog again (and apparently I have made peace with that word)" stream of gobbledefuck with something akin to what I hope to be putting up here on a semi-regular basis again!

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE/WHAT IS GOING TO BE DONE

I am often struggling with the desire between what I know is sensible & rewarding (waiting until you have done something worth talking about, then talking about it) and what is very exciting & sugar-high gratifying but also potentially unwise (talking about what I'm gonna do). If I was a perfect man then I'd stick entirely to the former...but, surprisingly, it would seem that I am not a perfect man.

So here is what is going in with me in the former:

The sci-fi project for which many glamorous folk donated money to earlier in the year has had it's series outline finished, it's pilot filmed and the first cut of the editing on that pilot also finished. Wheels continue to turn and I hope to have more to report before year's end.

Handful proceeds apace and, I'm told by some, continues to improve. "Introducing Shawn MacLean" has been generally well received. I'm wondering if it'd not be a bit much to try and do something special for the fast approaching fiftieth episode, given that I already did something special for the one year anniversary episode AND I have something diabolical planned for a year end special. Better to let it pass with quiet dignity, I think...

The feature script I started in June during my writing sabbatical has been picked up again. With 36 pages of script and a 99% finished outline, I might make my goal of finishing the sucker before year's end. What's that? I didn't write about the sabbatical at the time? Well basically, my pal Joe and I were fortunate enough to be able to borrow a cottage where we could Get Away From It All to just focus on makin' things which we were having a hell of a time makin' during out regular routines in the city.

From this was birthed the slightly-less-than-halfway written feature script, spawned by almost two years of tossing notes in a bucket labelled "try to do a new take on post-apocalyptic-film"...and many, many improvised "Introducing Shawn MacLean" audio clips. It was grand and I'd love to do it again next year.

Organization of all the crap I'm juggling has gotten better since I nabbed a beautiful beast of a magnetic dry-wipe board and stuck it on my wall. I can't believe it took me this long since University to get another organizer, given that my last one repeatedly saved my bacon while I was earning my degree. This has led to my plotting out basically everything I'm doing for the rest of the year, which produced the alarming sensation that that time had already passed.

It's an annoying choice to have to make, but given that the time is going to pass anyways...I'd rather choose to feel a bit like I'm pressing the fast-forward button on my life and have accomplishments to look back on then to kind of drag my heels and stretch out my perception of time passing but then have a very disappointing life to look back on.

Now, the latter:

Going to Russia to Wade Through the Ruins of the Soviet Empire is an idea that has seized me by the sensitive bits rather firmly over the past year. I think I may even have gotten a pair of pals interested. This is something that will take a lot of prep and probably won't happen until I'm thirty, but dangit I want an adventure and I want to do more than look at crazy old ruins on the Internet. I'd like to think that if I lived twenty years after the fall of the Roman Empire that I'd want to go crawl through that, as well.

It's something I'd definitely want to film and document, but there'd be good reason to try and work out some contacts before arriving. I don't believe that Russia is filled with nothing but starving pseudo-serfs and fat, violent mobsters...but I am also hardly under the impression that I could just show up with a bunch of AV equipment, some cash and a smile.

The Handful End of the Year Special: I can't tell you anything except that the "Introducing Shawn MacLean" bits I've started tacking on the end of episodes are, in fact, building to this. Also, if all goes according to plan, it should go up on Sunday, December 27th.

But for now: I gotta go do exciting things like laundry. I shall return (promptly)!

Big ol' lights

2009-10-04T02:23:00.001+01:00

Dang but I would like some big ol' lights!

Stephen Fry Poetry Challenge: Round Three

2009-09-25T00:23:00.000+01:00

Street Fart

2009-09-23T01:17:00.003+01:00

I spotted this guy on my way home today and I daresay it's my favorite piece by Posterchild in a little while. Very sexy, very stylish and great integration of both his name and his signature symbol.

FAAAAAANS

2009-09-20T20:11:00.004+01:00

Holy mother of mercy!

So, whenever I see that someone new has subscribed to the show I like to send a little "Thanks for signing up! Feel free to yell about the show to strangers on the bus or something!" message of varying length. No matter how detailed, I always include the same two things.

1) Thanks for signing on.

2) Yell about the show on a bus.

Well blow me down, that has led to this video response made by a pair of superfans in Alabama!

LOOK AT THEIR T-SHIRTS

Oh dannnnnnng longboards!

2009-09-11T22:34:00.005+01:00

Hot dang, I'm doing the 2009 Board Meet tomorrow. Last year I had a couple of months experience and was riding my friend Victor's spare board. Despite rain and the crazy nature of taking over a major city road with about 250+ other people on boards...I only came off my board once and it was one of those "Oh hey now I am running beside my board, maybe I should hop back on" moments.

This year I have a year and a couple of months and my own board, with which I'm pretty comfortable. The weather looks like it could go either way. I predict I will crash headlong into the worlds largest cream pie, which two very strained men will be trying to move across the road at just the moment I'm coming through.

Stephen Fry Poetry Challenge: Round Two

2009-09-08T18:43:00.002+01:00

It also has FONTS.

2009-09-01T00:06:00.008+01:00

Scriptin' Fancy Like: Final Draft

I popped through an Apple Store today and was darkly amused to see that Final Draft - AKA the industry standard - was selling for either PC or Mac at $299.99. (It's a little cheaper if you buy it as an online download).

This is powerful softeware, you understand, as you would need a minimum of an Intel Pentium III chip to run it! It can process text and it comes with formats as well as the ability to colour code things and search for specific words.

Hoo boy.

In much the same way that you'll be very lucky to find a graphic design student with a legit copy of Adobe Photoshop, I can say that I don't think I've ever met anyone trying to get into the film or television industry as a scriptwriter that has purchased Final Draft.

It's a good program to have, but it should also be selling for $20 at the most. This, I think, should be true of any software that can run on a computer from twelve years ago while basically being a pumped and tweaked version of something from the Microsoft Office Suite circa 1996.

So uh yeah, I guess I have made my feelings pretty clear about this!

But what else needs to be made clear is that however you get it, you should get it. For whatever original reason, this is indeed the most well known and commonly used scriptwriting software. It does have all sorts of useful features that will make life a lot easier for you than if you were to try and imitate them with macros in Word. People may actually send you Final Draft files and expect you to be able to open them.

But for gods sake, don't buy the latest version fresh off the new arrivals shelf. If you're the kind of aspiring scriptwriter who can afford to do that, well then you must be really doing it for love because you sure don't need the money!

Abandon ship? Naw

2009-08-24T15:24:00.002+01:00

So I had a think and decided not to abandon this url and make a new blog. The service is fine and I'd have to break the long line of continuity from when this thing started. I think I'll just do a re-design in the next little while - and post the odd video bloggeroo here. Like so:

and SO:

But yeah!

Meanwhile I'm picking up the tools for Handful after a nice break for a couple of weeks and, blessedly, just what I wanted to happen is indeed happening. I'm so excited to be doing it again.

No burning out for me! NEVER.

EVER.

NO WAY.

The title of the ol' video bloggin' comes from here, of course.

Next post? Something with NO INTERNET RELATED CONTENT WHAT-SO-EVER. Can he do it?

ONE MORE YEAR ONE MORE YEAR

2009-07-27T22:16:00.009+01:00

Maybe even more?

It feels pretty good to have made it a year, since so many Internet things get abandoned before reaching any real conclusions or meaningful milestones. Aside from doing a gimmiky episode where I managed to recruit some pals to put their aesthetically pleasing faces in front of the camera, I've decided to mark the end of the first year by retiring the brown short sleeve shirt (yes it's on a female torso plastic dummy thing, my roommate doesn't make much in the way of clothes for men).

Dang, I still like some of those FWP strips. Anywho, now I have a year under my belt...maybe I'll look into them New Media grants or some other way to get a bit of money to invest in the show. Certainly, I'd like to get my own Camera of Quality. But enough about the show...

I can't believe it, but after all these years I seem to have broken down and found myself enjoying...Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelogggerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs. Well, just the th ree so far. It's...it's uh...giving me temptations. In one form or another, I think it's about time to start a new blog - this one has sort of grown away from it's original purpose and though I couldn't bring myself to delete it...it doesn't really seem entirely fitting for what's going on with me and where I see myself in the next few years.

Any opinions?

Sometimes I do things for the show that don't get used...

2009-07-12T19:33:00.005+01:00

Four men enter, one man leaves...

And now you know...

2009-06-28T19:16:00.001+01:00

Also

2009-06-19T00:28:00.000+01:00

I miss updating this thing more often!

Pippity Pippity Pippity

2009-05-11T01:02:00.011+01:00

So hip-hop hooray, another batch of shows in the can. Filming yesterday was pretty interesting since it was the first time I used two sets of duel-500W lights for more than a few minutes and the living room got pretty damn hot! Luckily we were able to cool things down by opening all the windows after we realized the microphone was directional enough to be able to get my voice while not registering any background stuff from outside.I also had had a makeup student that my roommate hooked me up with. It was pretty funny whenever she worked on me as I sort of went into my default "Doctor or Dentist Mode" where I close my eyes, shut up and just let them get on with it. Twice she said "You can open now", meaning my eyes as she'd have finished my eyelids, and I opened my mouth first!
I took some photos through the celebratory martini I made myself after we finished shooting and I rather like the effect! (One part Amaretto to two parts Creme de Cocoa, by the way).Today, feeling a bit cracked out since I'd been up late the night before and my treacherous body insisted I wake up at A QUARTER TO FIVE, I checked out TCAF. I was pretty pleased! It was the first webcomic/comic thing I've been to since London and I'm not entirely sure why - I'll have to make more of an effort in the future. Aside from picking up a couple of prints, one of Ryan's shirts (it only took me six years BEST BUD EVER) and Joey's new book, I had the unexpected surprise of finding out that Paul Pope (AKA my absolute favorite comic book artist) was going to be there for a signing!I lucked out again by grabbing the last available copy (at TCAF) of his art book and then I got in the line up before it became unbearable. He was a very pleasant, totally affable fellow and he did my up this little number (Eloy is my favorite character from my favorite work of his. Favorite).He told me an interesting story about how he lived in Toronto for a short time in the same manner as Eloy - inside a refitted grain silo. Between our short fanchat and what I've read so far in the art book, which reveals him to be far more thoughtful and literate than his comic writing (that is saying something), I consider my expectations met and exceeded. You can't ask for much more then that!

Ahhhhh THERE we go

2009-05-01T23:41:00.001+01:00

I think the sound is a bit better too.

I'm not a man with fists full of dollars...

2009-05-01T02:04:00.002+01:00

...but I felt this was worth making a donation to - hopefully you will too.

TEALSCREEN

2009-04-27T02:53:00.003+01:00

DIDN'T WORK SO HOT ON THE FIRST TRY

NEXT TIME WE SHALL TRY

SEALSCREEN

Annnnnnd breath!

2009-04-16T00:39:00.004+01:00

Okay! So I have come out the other end of a stressful but productive stretch wherein' I finally got ahead on the show, upgraded the lighting & sound as well as got everything together needed for the show's launch on lifeforce.tv
I am satiated for a while, I think. By "a while" I basically mean a couple of days. I've been out for a drink and a movie for the first time in ages and I feel good. I've also finally framed a poster I had up in my room in London, which has in turn been rolled up every since I got back!

Now it is time to keep on top of things, work towards the return of the greenscreened backdrops and get out for the odd adventure which has nothing to do with the show.

Hark!

2009-03-22T23:57:00.009Z

I don't really think this one is "pretty" but I was cleaning off my camera and thought "Hey, why not?".
I think this part is what I really like. Unlike everything else I've painted, this one had no reference picture. One evening I just felt a bit possessed - so I decided to exorcise the feeling by madly dabbing paint.Despite a million things to do indoors and revolving around the Big Projects I have assigned myself, I made a point of getting out for a while to not only get carrots but take a fucking relaxing stroll, dammit.Passing by the back end of the AGO I thought about how this park would be "my park" for the coming warm weather, much the same as Kensington and Trinty-Bellwood parks were "mine" during the glorious five and a half months I took off working last year. Well, glorious but for the poverty and stress over said poverty near the end of that time, let's not coat such recent memories with nostalgia just yet!The market was bustling with the usual weekend traffic and though most everyone still has coats on, a lot are being undone at least partially. It's funny what a short walk I have to take from the edge of Toronto's MoneyTowne (where I now live) back to Bohemiaville, beside which I lived for the lion's share of last year. I like it, though, I think I'd really be a bit bothered if I couldn't easily visit all the little shops and spots I got to know in 2008.After treating myself to a book with a title that seized my heart (the first three chapters, read upon getting home, have me convinced it was a good choice) from a store I've always wished I could support more...I went by Kensington Park. The pigeons were out and, nearby, I found evidence that the street artists had also been up to their business.Yes, that is a birdhouse!

Man, I have to be careful to both meet deadlines and yet also not burn myself out between now and the 12th of next month. It's a sign that I have to watch myself when I find writing an entry like this to be almost as relaxing as the walk that spawned it!

Who's a clever little sausage?

2009-03-20T01:33:00.003Z

The answer: Nobody in particular, I've just been listening to Ricky Gervais stand-up most of the day and it put me in the mood to use that turn of phrase.

So yes, more Handful news. I know I know, but it really has been a rather large part of my life since the year began and I've been able to ramp things up to a respectable quality and regularity.

I've just agreed to a non-exclusive, one year distribution deal with a Toronto based web television network and I must say it's rather exciting. I'll get into more detail once we get closer to the launch date of April 12th but for now let me say that it should - if nothing else - result in a good deal of help for me in the area which I find I have the least time and energy for: Promotion.

It's also a nice little touch of validation since I was approached by the company, not the other way around. We'll see what comes of this...

Meanwhile, here is a very short urban exploration clip from Berlin that my pal Steph put up.

Good night you clever little sausages of New England

Hot dawg

2009-03-10T01:50:00.004Z

The last two weeks I have to admit I've been struggling to think of novel ways of promoting the show that don't involve being a human spam-bot. I had one good idea which I look forward to implementing soon but until then it's great to have things like this happen - not only for the traffic but because it shows that someone at Blip.tv has an eye on the show and if it continues to improve then I might be able to look forward to being featured in the big video clip thing (Featuring "The Crew" in the picture here) and other traffic grabbin' things.

Meanwhile!

Tonight I burned a DVD of the first fifteen episodes and then had a Handful marathon. I took notes along the way and hope this helps me improve the writing as my homework for the rest of this week is to get at least four episodes written for filming on Saturday.

I'd write more but the fact is that between the show and my full-time day job I am kind of spending a lot of time at the computer!

2009-03-02T02:11:00.001Z

Paw found this one for me, which I enjoyed particularly since Liverpool station was a frequently used junction for me when I wanted to check out things to see and do in Jack the Ripper's old neighborhood.

In which I explain my relationship with heights...

2009-02-28T01:47:00.002Z

...from a great height.

Sorry Mom, but it's kind of undisputed!

HYDRA

2009-02-27T00:00:00.004Z

Because this entry has many head(er)s, get it? No? Oh.

(That's okay, I don't either).

The Webshow Meet

So that went down on Monday. It had ups and downs and I learned a whole hell of a lot that I'm struggling to retain. That last bit may make me sound a bit dim but hoo dog did I have to eat a lot of alphabet soup (re: acronyms for things I'd never heard of before).

The actual amount of people that showed was pretty disappointing. It's maddening, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of real feeling of community amongst these sorts (in Toronto). I was particularly pissed to see that a person I know who complains regularly about this lack didn't show. Now, the people who did show were quality, but I cannot blame the organizer for getting disillusioned - though it didn't help that he'd had a terrible technical problem arise earlier in the day which looked to cost several hundred dollars to fix.

I gave my presentation, but it was as much for shits as anything else. Still, I enjoyed doing it.

The ups came from the fact that I learned a lot from the other presenter about what is happening regarding the government and it's views on "New Media", that loosey-goosey term for Innernet Stuuuuuf. I'm going to email the presenter soon and ask her if she'd be willing to send me a list of the names she mentioned so that I can then do a little of my own research and then try to spread the good work - for these names were names of people and organizations which are currently flapping their gums in a way which will have a profound effect on the future business viability of Canadian webshow entertainment. Expect more on that if I am able to get this in order.

I also made a pair of very useful contacts and for that, if nothing else, I'm glad I went. Here's hoping that the rough plan of trying again in four months, after more promotion, works out and I get a second chance to present to a bigger audience.

Nostalgia

It's no small coincidence that I've got an episode of the show on this topic coming soon. Lately I have been hip deep in the stuff. It's hard to say why, I'm pretty happy with stuff right now and I'm rather looking forward to what this year seems in order to deliver. I think that perhaps part of it is how quickly last year seems to have passed, but mostly I think it has to do with how cleary demarcated my adult life has been so far. My early twenties were DownTown Ottawa and then a very thick line was drawn between then and now, that line being Fourteen Months In London of course.

I don't know what's up with that, I don't know what's up with that but I reckon it's responsible for this wordy entry.

Cursing

People who know me would never accuse me of being the sort to go around sticking bars of soap in other people's mouths. Outside of certain contexts (i.e. teaching a kindergarten class) I think that words are just words and it's the way they are used that gives them meaning and/or power. Lord knows I certainly don't shy from crude or unusual and crude ways of expressing myself.

But I wonder, am I getting worse?

What stirs up these thoughts is something that happened as I was getting off the subway yesterday. I started to get out of my seat and the train shuddered in a way that led to me mashing my left knee on the handrest of a bench. This was pretty damn hard, hard enough that I had a noticable limp for the next fifteen minutes or so.

"Ow, fuck" I exclaimed as I excited the car. Okay, whatever. But then, blessedly out of earshot of anyone but without having made of point of being in such a space, I took a step that aggravated it and chased the earlier curse with "Fuck, fuck, fucking shit, fuck a child in the eye this shit hurts!".

Uh huh...this is probably nothing to worry about. I'm doing everything in my power to get to earning a living by my writing. I get bored with conventional phrases when I hear them come out of my mouth and so for that, and other writing related reasons, I often try to spin something a different way. Maybe that was a result of this habit? Maybe I just need fiercer cursing to register in my brain as cursing?

Maybe this isn't the thing to think about, but instead I should worry if I start saying that stuff so others can hear - well, others who don't know me well enough. I'm obviously not ashamed of it to the point I won't put this up on the Internet for anyone to read...

Urban Sexploitation

Last night I was taken on my second swing at Urban Exploration, although don't go getting impressed or anything as it was even easier to get into than the Brickworks. Basically I've had more trouble entering and risked greater injury by trying to enter a relaxed state of mind than this place. I'm being vague because I don't want to attract further attention to it, lest this lead to it being properly guarded or even locked. Why mention this shit at all then? Because of two reasons.

1) I was scouting a location to hopefully film in later this year.

2) It afforded me a sight which I found to be so awe inspiring as to be life affirming. That feeling is worth mentioning, if nothing else in this entire entry. There was something about the mixture of height and decayed decadence (anyone who's been there now knows where I mean) that played a tune

I hope things come together that I can then show you guys this place via the medium of fillum.

Beards

After being beardy since about mid-2002...fully bearded since late 2004...I shaved the whole damn thing off and plan to keep it that way for a while. "BIG WHOOP" you say "WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP" you inexplicably follow with...but it is kind of a neat thing, particularly when coupled with a new haircut/style. I'm now seeing a version of my face I haven't seen since before the second Iraq war. Drinking orange juice was livened up this morning when I actually felt it lap against my upper lip - when was the last time drinking orange juice surprised you?

To further hammer the point home, against my already pale skin I noticed that the recently debearded flesh was even paler for having lived in a hairy cave (uhhhh) these past years. Makes sense, but is odd all the same.

Just shut up and get on with it

Okay

BOOOOOO-TONNES

2009-02-26T00:01:00.002Z

If all goes well, I hope to be selling these next week!

Ups, big

2009-02-24T14:02:00.004Z

Posterchild clearly put a lot of work in this - it is easily my favorite thing by him in a while.

Sometimes I like the colour textures...

2009-02-20T01:39:00.001Z

....of a string of shots in the editing suite. This is possibly the most unusual episode preview I've done!

Cuisiness Bards!

2009-02-19T16:00:00.003Z

These arrived yesterday, in plenty of time for the February webshow meet on Monday.I realize, of course, that any twat with enough cash on hand to buy a special edition DVD can get his own business cards.Nonetheless, it made me feel like a Real Man to be that twat! I got'em from Moo.com if anyone is interested and yes, I was a little pleased/bothered to learn that it was cheaper for me to get nicer cards from a company in London then at the supposed bastion of the man with few dollars and a need to print - Kinkos.

Feelin' a little juvenile today

2009-02-16T19:51:00.002Z

2009-02-15T03:19:00.002Z

This is why I lose my shit sometimes over things like the amount of humans on the planet or people not turning off the damn heat and putting on a sweater. It's why the past few days of unseasonably warm weather scare the living crap out of me. I know nobody wants to hear it, but man it's real.

Who's a big boy now?

2009-02-11T13:02:00.004Z

Last night I ordered my first ever batch of business cards from these characters. Man, I won't deny that I've pretty much been eating, sleeping and (painfully) crapping Handful for the past week. As I said to a friend on the phone last night, I think the greatest challenge won't be making it profitable...it'll be not driving everyone I know insane by talking about it non-stop!

Addendum
Well sometimes I think about other shows, which I'm tripping over far more than usual in all this webshow werrrrrk. You might like this one, I did.

Manageable Portions

2009-02-08T16:09:00.003Z

Something that is looking to be my own personal motto for the first few months of this year is "Work smaller, that way things get done". I'm trying to do less projects (sadly, I've had to at least temporarily remove myself from that musical project I mentioned) and then within those projects I'm trying to do shorter things (with some success - i.e. the newest Handful episodes are around 3:30-4:00 long instead of the swollen 5:30-6:45 they were becoming. Now I say SOME because next weekends will be about 6:00...).Well, that goes for painting as well.
For whatever reason, I find it very easy to imitate the artistic style of Phil Hester & Ande Park...
So we get this triple-set of Oliver Queen!

There is not even any mixed media in this post

2009-02-03T13:55:00.004Z

what

ANYWAYS I have a spare moment so I thought I'd use it to mention a few things here.

1) The Handful buttons should be in my greasy little hands soon, perhaps by the end of this week. Now I just need to figure out the shipping side of things and the inevitable extra step in the process for putting a Paypal thingy in a Wordpress page.

2) I've been asked to be one of two presenters at a monthly Toronto Internet TV and Web Video Group meeting in the last week of this month. Basically I'm going to talk about my experiences with Handful, how it got rolling and give some advice - I also want to try and draw a few parallels between where Webcomics were five years ago and where Webshows are now, then extend that into a possible future for the latter. This should all be going down in front of several dozen people at U of T.

A friend pointed out that this will be the first time that A) I'll see my work blown up on a screen far, far larger then I make it for and B) I'll get to see a "studio audience" reaction past my plopping a pal in front of my laptop. Scary, maybe?

Also it seems I lied about the lack of media in this post. Tom Milsom (AKA the British fan who kindly lit a fire under my arse a couple of months ago) has done something interesting with Englands recent freakish (for them) weather.

Sets and Framing

2009-01-27T04:01:00.004Z

Two items!
1) A favorite t-shirt was on it's last legs, but luckily the design was still intact. So with liberal help from my roommate Christina, I cut and stretched part of it to wrap around a length of cardboard from one of those terrible Wal-Mart Art things. The result is pretty damn nice and I hope I can get another five years out of the $20 it cost me in the first place.2) For the first time ever, I filmed an episode of Handful in my home. The lighting wasn't what I'd like, but the sound was decent and the final product is one I'm rather proud of - particularly since it includes footage from In The Field. The set up was pretty ad-hoc, to say the least, and I thought you all might be amused to see it. The tall fella is my pal (and cameraman for that episode) Rob.

Les Boo-Tonnes

2009-01-20T16:16:00.011Z

So I'm looking at a cheap way to wiggle my toes in the merchandise pool - one inch buttons. Here are the four first designs I'm looking at. Thoughts and opinions are always appreciated. Unless they are racist, I mean Jesus Christ.These first two are pretty firm in my mind, but the next two...not so much? I love the idea of this fella...
...but am open to fiddling with it's design, I feel like I could do more with it. This next one would be cut so that the button would be entirely the face (and frame) of the pocketwatch. I think the image is sharp, but is the idea?

My friggin' Dad

2009-01-18T15:20:00.001Z

Has been sort of ramping up his kite related stuff for the past decade and now....now he wants to do this.

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

IN THE FIELD, STILL

2009-01-17T17:58:00.000Z

IN THE FIELD

2009-01-13T00:18:00.001Z

ON-LINE

2009-01-01T21:31:00.005Z

So I finally made use of a couple of photos from this great series.

For the record, "Sound-Dust" is the name of what I will always consider to be one of the most beautiful records ever made.

Two Thousand and Feelin' Fine?

2008-12-31T20:01:00.004Z

Russian Dolls from Made in Mundo on Vimeo.
This...this is just here.

Moving on!

I hate to trot this old trick, but if Present Oliver turned around and told Oliver Circa Dec 31st 2007 that in a years time he'd be where he'd be....he'd be pretty pleased!

Good or bad, 2008 has been nothing if not busy and eventful for me. Despite becoming a "victim of the economy" a couple of weeks ago, I feel really optimistic about the coming year. I have crazy fun plans for more Handful episodes, which oughta come out more regularly when I'm not getting let go just before the holiday season and then moving into a new place right after. Urban Exploration! Nostalgia! Pillow Fight League! Burlesque (finally)! and more? Yes! Why, there is even an episode where I might just get to bully a lot of my friends into wearing one of my shirts.

Oh and uh yeah I am moving into a new place, basically ten feet from my current place. I am greatly looking forward to it, if only because it is a three bedroom that was plainly intended for a family as there are two kids bedrooms and one, huge mummy/daddy room. Guess which room I'm taking? I did some measurements and I will be able to set aside enough space to fudge my own lil' studio for filming Handful - another tick in the "Things Which Will Help More Shows Get Made, More Often" column. I've also recently found my damn tablet again, which will be helpful for when I want to doodle up images either for a regular show or one of these terrifying things.

I also enjoy how Handful is making me get out and not only look for new things but try them. Maybe I would have tried UE regardless of Handful....but I can't say that for sure. I certainly wouldn't have gone out of my way to learn about terrifying lakes or done a fun interview with Ryan North. So hopefully this is a preview of when I will be a Big Scriptwriting Man who gets sent around the world on adventures by studios.

Also, it's incredibly tenative at this point buuuut, I might be writing a musical? And getting the wheels turning to make the feature film of Tonight We Fall In Love? There are other things too, but it's absurd to mention them at this stage. The point is that the fire has some irons in it.

With moving into the new place I am committing to Toronto for at least another year and...honestly, at least another two. Why at least two? This is because I have moved an ungodly amount of times since I first left ma and pa's porch, manfully steeling myself against the sound of my mother sobbing as I strode out into a world which could produce something like this. I'd like not to be thinking about moving or the possibility of moving for a while, so valuable time and energy can be freed up for the important things.

So yes, the results are in: Between London and Ottawa, I find Toronto to be the middle bowl of porridge. Good size, enough interesting stuff and a good group of people to get up to shenanigans with. Let's hope I'm piping the same tune in 356 days time.

To close, here is a great sign that my pal Victor spotted (and nabbed) while we were walking along the street.
I can only hope the person who wrote this will eventually learn the error of their "racism" or at least figure out how " " should be used.

2008-12-23T19:38:00.002Z

We need more ads like this one, I feel. Also...do you think the wretched bastards who are trying to get people to think coal is cotton candy...well, what would their reaction be to Santa dropping coal in their stocking?

Better than a stickman?

2008-12-16T20:11:00.002Z

Here's hopin'

More words later, Oliver busy

2008-12-15T17:20:00.009Z

These are from my first Urban Exploration, over at The Brickworks - a location suitable for a beginner.

I cannot explain this canoe, can you?
Oh look, Hipster detrius....

I cannot get this style of architecture out of my head...

2008-12-12T02:45:00.003Z

...ever since seeing a big hardcover on the stuff at the AGO when I went.
Yes, I do believe I have to paint this. I've done a pair from that IBM series, which I'll post pictures of when I get a chance, so I reckon it's fair to set a new target.

Special super not so secret mock-up...

2008-12-10T14:59:00.005Z

...for the new Handful site design, which I did up with my CSS enabled pal last night.The pocketwatch will be cleaned up a good deal, possibly with the chain re-attached to trail off into infinity and the cartoon version of yours truly on the right just MIGHT be of a higher quality. It will likely be faceless, primary coloured dealie with no facial features. I want it to be more of an icon than a false idol of one Mr. O T C B. It occured to me last night that I basically don't need newsposts much longer than the little blurbs Christ Onstad puts up sometimes over at Achewood, since I'm already sharing links on the left-hand side and as for talking with my audience....I'm kind of doing that in the video!

Kind of.

I'm not sure how big of a deal this is, BUT

2008-12-08T19:47:00.004Z

I just got invited and then approved to become a Motionmaker over at Dailymotion, one of the several sites I upload Handful to using Tubemogul. Apparently "Several creative users and talents have been discovered thanks to the MotionMaker program.", but we shall see!

MEANWHILE

I didn't do a write-up here on Sunday as I usually do, because I'd thrown myself into a deep well marked "Hedonism" as a way of reconstituting myself. The previous weekend was spent entirely doing errands and filming, the latter of which is fun but still technically a form of work!

More interesting news to report is that the disappointment of not hearing back from my prospective editor when I actually called upon him to back up his positive noises with positive work...was lightened by my discovering that a good friend of mine a) knows CSS like the back of her hand and b)is willing/excited to help me redesign my website so it doesn't scream "AD-HOC BLOG-SITE".

It just screams and screams!

So, that's pretty okay. I reckon I'm going to see if we can't get something which sits in the same neighborhood as www.qwantz.com and www.octopuspie.com as I find they have the most appealing and usuable websites of anything I regularly browse.

ADDENDUM: Here is my new, customized Dailymotion profile. I'll pipe up if this has any result past letting me wank around in Photopaint for five minutes!

I discover the saddest things....

2008-12-02T01:28:00.002Z

...while cobbling together these fucking Rube Goldberg designed videos I call "Handful".

Horse Dogg Maniac

2008-11-30T14:49:00.001Z

Today will consist of filming a new episode, finishing editing the previous one I filmed and then putting it online? In case I don't find the time to write a proper update here I just thought I'd share the following, which I couldn't help thinking of while writing a line for what I'm filming today.

Pip Pip

2008-11-27T00:13:00.003Z

So it seems that the rising star, Scroobius Pip, that I caught in Camden last year has a new and much more professional video out for their song "A Letter from God to Man".

This reminds me....I haven't been to one (music) show all year! WHATTHEHELL

HUH

2008-11-24T13:47:00.001Z

I didn't know my hometown had had a big UFO story when I was a kid!

2008-11-24T01:43:00.003Z

With the help of a friend I filmed the first "Season Two" episode of Handful yesterday and, thanks to what I hope is a clever idea on my part, I currently have footage to slap together two new episodes. I still have the number of that editor I met up with a few weeks back and I could certainly do with offloading some of the work - but the control freak in me just wants to do it himself...

I saw the best view I've ever seen in Toronto

2008-11-20T02:04:00.001Z

from the balcony of an apartment I'll likely never see again while both my cameras sat snugly in their pouches on my bookshelf.

I figured I'd give it AGO

2008-11-16T18:47:00.010Z

The AGO renovations finally finished and it's free entry for the smelly masses during the initial weeks - so I thought I'd see if I could get my smelly mass in this morning.
The second photo is where I began my line-up journey. It extended forward to the intersection and then left to the front of the AGO, where it snaked a couple of times. Though intimidating to look at, once the doors opened I was inside within about five minutes - so no complaints there. I think there was a pretty capable staff of paid workers and volunteers on duty today.This crucifix/compass really did it for me. I haven't much interest in religious artifacts until you make them double as gadgets.
This is a bad photo (cameras aren't allowed - I'm a dick - so I had to take some shaky numbers while attempting to be surreptitious) of a good subject. There were many, many ornate model boats in the AGO's collection but this and it's contemporaries hooked me in the most due to their being prisoner ships. That is to say they were made by prisoners of the British, mostly French sea men, who would use the bones from their meals for parts.

This inscribed Atlas was also a treat. Fact is though, there were many treats! That is what happens when you have five floors and a basement filled with art.That is what happens.
As for the building itself...it's spacious, mostly white walls and glass...and very trick to photograph from the inside. But a couple of features I can show in a decent fashion are the attractive rear staircase which connects the fourth and fifth floors...
...and one of the rear-viewing seating areas, on both the fourth and fifth floors, which were in constant demand.I read some articles recently which rabbited on comparing the AGO - and by extension, Toronto - to other galleries and, also by extension, other cities. London came up the most often as a kind of competitor/measure of what to aspire for and speaking as a fellow who's been to the Tate, Saatchi and other famous London galleries...I think the AGO measures up just fine.

Some of the articles tried to reposition Toronto as a "more reserved" city, as if "Oh we don't do Greatness here, that's just a little loud for our distinguished Canadian tastes". Well, if that didn't feel like a rationalization for a euro-inferiority complex then I don't know what does!Fuggit, the AGO has a strong collection housed in a well designed building that was a pleasure for me to spend almost four hours in today. Whether you live in Toronto or plan to visit, I'd say it's worth the fee they'll start charging soon.

[----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------]

Meanwhile I finally got a new video up at Handful Of Minutes and have plans to continue doing so at a reasonable pace. Instead of the weekly updates, however, I'm going to have a "when it happens" schedule until early next year as I know the rest of 2008 is just going to be too chaotic for me to promise any more. I'll still aim for once a week, but shan't go making big promises and raking myself over the coals when events prevent me from fulfilling them.

After a two month break, it felt good to slap something up again!

For those who give a shit

2008-11-09T21:49:00.003Z

Here's some test footage from that camera I discussed in my last post. I think the sound is good enough for Handful, do you agree?

Talking Cat Author, New Camera and also SWEARS

2008-11-09T16:22:00.005Z

Tuesday night was special for millions, if not billions, of people all around the world. The reason for this, of course, was that I got to have a brief chat with Chris Onstad while (and after) he signed my copy of the GOF book.The best part of the evening came before this photo was taken, however, when I completely snubbed Onstad because I failed to recognize him walking along with Ryan. This is attributable to two things:

1) Unlike most webcomic authors, Onstad has never done conventions or even much in the way of being photographed. This book tour is his first ever series of public appearances, seven years after he started the comic and with his popularity already well established amongst the usual circles.

2) The one photo I ever saw of him was from an interview with The Onion AV Club, a photo which my memory decided to switch to a high-angle-looking-down perspective which made him appear about 5'6 when he is more like 6'3.

Speaking of The Onion AV club, here's an interview with Felicia Day - who is mostly known for a pair of web series called The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - which I found handy in the context of Handful.

SEGWAY

So I'm testing another camera, this one being more upscale than the Flip Mino knock-off but still decidedly in the realm of "consumer toy" rather than professional equipment. But for now I only have consumer dollars, though it sure would be nice to get the show to a point where I can sell merchandise and/or solicit donations which could go towards professional equipment!

Inspired by yet more nice comments which have come as a result of that young British fan's showcasing the Great Lakes episode, I have desperately been trying to whip together something for this weekend. Long story short, I seem to have to uninstall and completely reinstall my editing software - rarrrrgh.

But on the other fag, despite the fact that this camera (that links to pretty much the same model, just replace the "SDHC" after the slash with "PC") comes with it's own terrible editing software that insists on being the only way to get reasonable files off the camera....it just might be what I go with. At the very least, it's much closer as there are a reasonable amount of features (i.e. low-light compensation, backlight compensation, a pseudo-directional mike called a "zoom mike") and palatable video/sound quality for what I want to do. Also it is cheap enough that I could stomach going into a little debt for a second one and a tripod.

Assuming I get the editing software thing resolved today I will at the very least be uploading some of the different slices of test footage I've done and if the planets align I'll even have a new episode of Handful up!

Oh wait, I'm not sure I got in the swears I promised (sorry mum).

FUUUUUUUUUCK PROPRIETARY EDITING SOFTWARE THAT WON'T LET ITSELF BE INSTALLED ON ANY DRIVE OTHER THAN "C:" AND FUUUUUUUUUUCK THE COCKSLAPPING SLAPCOCKS WHO WON'T JUST LET ME GRAB THE FILES OFF THE CAMERA IN A REASONABLE FORMAT LIKE .AVI or .MPEG BUT INSTEAD MAKE THE RAW FILES SOME .MOD BULLSHIT THAT HAS TO BE SQUEEZED THROUGH THEIR SOFTWARE'S SPHINCTER TO BECOME A USABLE .MPEG

Count down the seconds until "Software Sphincter" becomes a common programming term! Count'em off!

Erection Day

2008-11-04T03:07:00.005Z

The election which has more of an impact on our lives than that of our own nation's happens tomorrow.

Finally.

I wouldn't say I'm worn out, but it's been getting hard to remember what I did with some of my spare time when I wasn't obsessively bouncing between the BBC, Crooks & Liars, The Daily Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, fivethirtyeight.com and - when feeling particularly obsessive - any damn news source I can get my hands on.

I read three articles in the Toronto Sun today. The Sun for Christ's sake.

The way I see it is this, yes I can end up being pretty OCD with my interests but this is something else. Bush Jr came into power not long before I left home and his reign kicked into overdrive as I'd barely begun my University degree. So he has basically been the U.S. President of my adult life thus far. Say what you will about the coming end of American dominance, this has been and will continue to be one of the most influential individuals in the entire human race. And though he's a far cry in deeds, I can't say much more about our own slide from Chretien to the breif bit of Mr. Mediocre to Prime Minister "Fuck the arts, fuck the environment, fuck you" Harper.
It's been an adult-hood where I've witnessed the bar just sink lower and lower and lower. Where I've repeatedly felt like the satirical warnings of yesterday have become the terrifying realities of today. I'm not some naive twat that thinks Obama is going to fly around the world dropping "Solve all your problem" vouchers.
But good gravy, I think that he'll be a breath of fresh air after the last eight years. I even think there is a good chance he'll put as positive a tone to the next eight as W. has put a negative one to the last eight.

Turn off your cynicism for a moment and just try to imagine such a thing. It's rather pleasant and uplifting, isn't it?

I'm going to go to an election party at the Bloor Cinema tomorrow night and expect to get as wound up as I've often seen others get while watching the final game of the World Series or the like. The stakes are certainly high enough!----

In other newz, lord but I kind of want this but must pinch pennies for a camera or two and also other important things that are not an internet reference in shirt form.

Hallowed Weiners

2008-11-02T16:03:00.006Z

Hooo boy Halloween was good this year. My buddy Victor saved me from coming to our party as "Jerk Without A Costume" by whipping up this little number.Alas, the nearest dollar store was all out of toy guns I could have done up to help complete the look, but I ain't complaining.The past week has been something of a blur thanks to the latest in my favorite video game franchise of all time. Once more I am reminded of a friend's suggestion that I look into writing for video games, given the overall trend to graft a cinematic storyline onto even the dumbest, most straightforward 'tard-with-gun simulators being produced. It's an interesting thought but:

I know very little about how to get to the point where I'd help write a game.
It would involve collaborating with an entire team of writers, not something I'm sure I'm keen on.

But who knows what the future might bring?In Handful news, I succeeded in finding an editor only to have a different rug pulled out from under me. My cameraman is, quite fairly, taking six weeks paid work on a production which will render him incommunicado for that period (for those who don't know how these things tend to go, my pal is due for days that will average ten to twelve hours and which will frequently go for longer. Understandably he will want to use his small amounts of free time to rest!).

So I am leaning even more towards accepting some debt and investing in a pair of cameras along with a pair of clip-on microphones. I desperately need to get more control over the means of production if I'm going to get the show coming out on a regular basis when I get into season two, instead of fits and starts.

But I am feeling encouraged today, thanks to a very kind gesture by a British fan who gets piles of traffic. A couple of days ago he set my "Not So Great Lakes" to be the featured video on his youtube channel page, which has resulted in it's views going to 1,826 as of five minutes ago. This in turn has led to some more subscribers and some kind, thoughtful comments - which are basically as rare an occurrence as air turning to gold.

Seeing London, Seeing Toronto

2008-10-26T23:42:00.008Z

Look up.

So I followed through on my desire to take more pictures, but I guess I mostly got the desire to literally try a different way of looking at the city.
Not to be mean to Toronto, but in London I could just spin in a circle, tap the button and get an interesting picture - if I put myself in the right neighborhood. I find that isn't the case here.
But I don't want to give up on finding a little wonder where I live, just because it's more familiar.
I haven't spent as much time here as I did in London, but we're getting there. In a little over two weeks time it will have been a year since I returned from London.
To myself I have fairly frequently thought "A year ago I was doing X in London, today I'm doing Y in Toronto". No one comparison is enough to answer "Did I make the right call coming back? Did I make the right call to go in the first place?". So I keep checking and I guess I won't stop until November 14th, a year from the day I dragged my life down the Northern Line and into Gatwick airport.
Trying to answer those kinds of questions is fairly asinine in my opinion, but necessary all the same. Between having received something of a steady kicking for the past couple of months and seeing several projects and working relationships change shape recently...I'm feeling that urge to try and draw out on a piece of paper the perfect diagram of what I'd like to make happen in the months to come.
So take a picture why don't you.

I'd prefer the "Well Read Room"

2008-10-18T17:10:00.005+01:00

These last two are from The Red Room, part of a pseudo-franchise which includes The Green Room, Nirvana and the Java Hut. They're all pretty good places if you want to get a tasty meal for less than $10, listen to good music and enjoy a casual ambiance.
This made me piss myself laughing and has been added to my "Got to Paint" list...it is a funny little portrait of James Barry.

Oh look he's taking pictures again

2008-10-14T00:34:00.005+01:00

So yeah we've had a pretty okay weekend in Toronto, weatherwise, and after finally getting a new charger for my camera's battery I'm taking pictures again.
And it's something I really want to take up again. Taking pictures for el bloggo here was certainly an important part of what would motivate me to get out and explore London - to make the most of it.
It's often tempting to feel that, even though this is my first time living here and I certainly have not seen all Toronto has to offer, there isn't much reason to do this here. "It's Canada, whatever...I've seen Tim Hortons before. I've seen the architecture and heard these people before. La dee dah".
But that's a pretty shit way to look at where you live and - frankly - a great way to get depressed! So here's to trying to make more of an effort to enjoy the city at it's fullest and to report back here with some decent pictures - I want to do more on-site stuff, when possible, for Handful and I reckon that ought to feed back into this as well.

Hoo boy! THEFT

2008-10-11T20:15:00.002+01:00

Remember that lovely racist comment I got on the General Butt Naked episode? Well it turns out that arse features ripped my video, added some in-video notes and posted it as his own - where it has more views! AUGH

I flagged it as "infringing my copywrights" but I'm not sure what else I can do (other than start a useless flame war, I guess?). It's not the end of the world but it certainly gets up my ass a fair bit!

Just sayin'....longboards!

2008-10-08T23:28:00.001+01:00

In other news I don't think I like anything anymore.

Just sayin'!

VEEEEEEEEEEEE BLOGGGGGghghghghghghg

2008-09-29T19:11:00.004+01:00

So yesterday I gave the Movie-Pix HD mini-cam a whirl to see if it might be of use for the next season of Handful. Amongst other muckings around, we have this spontaneous...interview?

It's not a bad little fellow, filming in a perfectly acceptable resolution...but it loses quality when there is any serious motion. My pal and sometimes cameraman/collaborator Mark theorized that this may be because it almost certainly only records one frame out of thirty - which would make sense since it's files are ungodly small for filming in high definition at a 1280 x 720 frame rate.

All this might have been okay, except the tiny mike inside it is kind of shitty? On top of that, for reasons known neither to man nor beast, the audio doesn't even show up at all in my editing software. The device comes with it's own proprietary video software but that sort of thing always makes me hell of wary. I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO TAKE A PEEK THOUGH.

On the plus side it can take an external memory card. 8 GB's get's me just over four hours at top resolution and the card only cost $20, which brought the total cost up to about the same as a Flip Mino (which I was first looking at).

In the end, unless I discover some rather cleverly hidden features which aren't even listed in the manual, I think I'll be taking this guy back. It's annoying though, since this is very close to what I want to try using for the show! FUGGIN' UNSATISFACTORY CONSUMER ELECTRONICS MAKE FIRST WORLD HULK MAADDDDDDD

Radiohead strikes again

2008-09-26T21:07:00.003+01:00

Man, I didn't know you could make a shirt out of recycled water bottles and cotton!

It's bloody expensive, though I don't know how much of that has to do with the way the shirt was made and the fact that it is band merchandise, which is traditionally about 200% above usual prices.

Life has been rather mad for the past two weeks but the dust is finally starting to settle and so I hope to get something substantial up here in the next while. Perhaps a dissertation on THE HORRIBLE URGE TO QUALIFY NOT HAVING WRITTEN A LONG POST ON YOUR BLOG?

Perhaps!

Screw Harper Screw Harper Screw Harper Screw Flanders

2008-09-25T01:33:00.005+01:00

I'm usually not one for "Voting strategically", but when it comes to Harper I think it could very well be warranted. Anyone But Harper offers this interesting widget which helps you work out the candidate to vote for in your riding who has the best chance of cockblocking the conservative candidate.

Anyone But Harpergreat free widgetsWidgetbox

There's a more detailed description here and I must say that this little group keeps good company.

I'm also half convinced "her" child with down syndrome is really her daughters, but hey there's enough other stuff to work with.

2008-09-16T02:48:00.003+01:00

Sarah Palin's Churches and The Third Wave from Bruce Wilson on Vimeo.
I'm not a big fan of political censorship, Internet censorship or this stupid cow who somehow set the bar for American politicians even lower - so I'm helping to spread this video.

True story.

1234

2008-09-14T00:32:00.006+01:00

Shucks howdy, I sure had me some fun joining my friends Victor, Paul and Ryan in The Board Meeting yesterday. I'll share some of the pictures when I can steal'em off Victor (man I can't wait to finally get a new battery charger for my own little beast in a couple of weeks).

So yes, I didn't really finish my thoughts in the last post.

The sabbatical was a success in many ways. I distinctly remember setting myself two goals.
1) Get paid for writing.
2) Make something, anything.

I achieved both and so I guess I'm pretty satisfied! I wish I'd been able to find someone else to do the editing on Handful. As much as I enjoyed challenging myself in quite possibly my weakest area, at the end of the day I'm not trying to become an editor/tech support guy...I'm trying to become a successful writer/director! So it is without any great dismay that I've begun looking for someone to take that over and, blessedly, I got a lead yesterday that might pay off.

I can also fairly say I made pretty good use of the summer weather, there was no languishing in a beige bin while gay children busied themselves under a shining sun. I wrote a fair deal while sitting under a tree in either Kensington or Trinity-Bellwood parks and so that was another little personal goal that was met.

But man I could have done without winding up in such dire money trubbles. I guess I could have escaped them if I'd been willing to go back to temporary office work to sustain myself, but I felt that after almost two years of the shit...well it's called temporary for a reason. Even though I've ended up back in retail to rebuild my coffers, it's at least at somewhere I can feel like an adult and maybe even a little classy at times. Plus I saw a rich woman punch her husband in the gut, then face...so I guess some of my friends predictions that this would provide good writing fodder were pretty apt. My coworkers are pretty A+ too, which is always key.

But I think that the next step is to focus more on writing, get the second season of Handful made and ready to upload before the first episode is put up and to start applying for writing grants like crazy. Money from the gubbermint to live on while I scriptwrite? YES PLEASE.

Grants are a side of the industry I haven't thought about since just after I got my degree and I might have gone longer still if my pal Mark hadn't started applying for some himself. Most government grants aren't open to folk who're less than a year out of school, so that mixed with my feelings that I didn't have enough "chops" to have a chance of getting anything and led to my ignoring grants for long enough to plum forget about'em.

But it's been a couple of years and now I've got film and show ideas bursting from a fat binder and several notebooks. I've got a little bit to show, between my trailer and Handful (and that short film I've gotten paid to write, once it's made). I'd also like to think my writing has improved!

You know what, I will.

I will think that.

I've slapped together a three to four month plan and as long as I don't eventually get up to a five-year plan I think life won't feel too fleeting.

Wimmin and Werk

2008-09-09T19:23:00.008+01:00

We men sure like to draw them! It's part of how we try to own them, own them with OUR MAGIC OWNERSHIP EYES. Neither of these are done, but both were started this weekend and I'm finally returning to the reg'lar workforce this Thursday so I don't know when I'll be finishing them.
Which I guess means my unintentionally extended writing sabbatical is over, having run about three months and three weeks. I am pretty okay with what happened, though I wish I'd done more but isn't that always the way.

Regardless of your opinions on poly-ticks

2008-09-09T12:53:00.000+01:00

This gets oddly hypnotic!

RADIOFACE

2008-09-08T16:41:00.001+01:00

As if in answer to my post yesterday - and I assume it is because I am AN ONLY CHILD AND THE WORLD REVOLVES ARRRRROUND MEEEE - there is this interesting episode of a new British webshow called Radioface.

To be quite honest...

2008-09-07T21:12:00.003+01:00

....this phenomena is a big part of why I decided to leave England. I was lucky enough not to be victimized directly, but it had a profound effect on my psychological state at times and it was easy to tell when you were talking with someone who was wound up about it in one way or another - regardless of the topic actually being discussed. Folk often asked me about the cameras and what effect they had on my mindset, but really it was the effect they (and all that comes with them) had on people I interacted with.
This is also probably why I'm overly quick to get fed up with the highly reported Toronto crime "scene". Putting out thirteen trillion images and twenty kajillion words worth of media for every dick who stabs another dick doesn't do anything to make me safer, you dicks!

We all know Youtube comments...

2008-09-05T18:50:00.003+01:00

...tend to be the lowest form of Internet discourse, just after a manatee slapping it's blubbery dick on the keyboard while reciting Mein Kampf. Check it out folks, the first highly offensive comment on a Handful video! (Speaking of which, there will be an update later today, I've decided some content with a forgivable error is better than nothing).You can go swear at this guy here, if you like. Anywho, I gotta go click "delete" now...

Turn up your speakers for this one

2008-09-03T21:16:00.002+01:00

Do you like voice actors? Have you watched a movie trailer in the past thirty years?

MAYBE YOU'LL LIKE THIS THEN

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2008-09-01T03:27:00.011+01:00

So I just saw this and I think it's worth a little blather. First I'll paste in the opening plot description from Wikipedia and then we'll get to my own thoughts.
----

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlet Johansson) visit Barcelona for the summer, staying with Vicky's distant relative Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and her husband, Mark Nash (Kevin Dunn). A Narrator (voice of Christopher Evan Welch), present throughout the film, describes the two friends: Vicky is practical and traditional in her approach to love and commitment, and is engaged to the reliable but unromantic Doug (Chris Messina). She is in Barcelona getting her masters in Catalan Identity, a project spawned by her love of the works of Gaudí, and is emotionally moved by Spanish guitar. Cristina, on the other hand, is spontaneous and unsure of what she wants in life. She is just out of a relationship and wants to get over the bad time she had making a 12-minute film about Love.

At an art exhibition, they notice the artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Cristina is impressed with him at first sight, and grows intrigued when Judy and Mark tell the girls that the artist has suffered a violent relationship with his ex-wife, María Elena (Penélope Cruz). Later that night, the girls notice him across the room in a restaurant. He approaches their table and abruptly invites them to accompany him to the city of Oviedo, where they will sight-see, drink wine and, hopefully, make love. Cristina accepts at once, but Vicky is skeptical and refuses. She is eventually convinced however, and the pair accompany Juan Antonio to Oviedo on a small private plane during a storm...

----

First off, this is a good movie to get you talking afterwards if only because it is very difficult to watch this without being drawn to trying to figure out how much of yourself there is to be found in either of these two women who sit on different sides of the fence when it comes to love.

Secondly, even though it seems ripe for having a bunch of simple characters that embody certain arguments and nothing more...this pitfall is carefully avoided. Bardem is introduced as a musk-laden, life affirming Spanish Lothario to be sure...but as you get to know him, other sides to the man come out. The two girls may be presented by the narrator as basically being "the reckless, passionate one" and "the uptight, overly planning her life one" but they two show elements of the other (as best friends often do) while also showing sides that are something more than their core element or the exact opposite of said core.

Allen shoots their story in some of the most picturesque Spanish cityscape and countryside you'll ever see. I've often said that if you can't afford a trip to Japan, that renting Lost in Translation is a cheap substitute and I'll say the same about this film with regard to southern Spain. His knowledge of their art and architecture is frequently injected into the narrative without being overbearing or coming off as Allen wanting to show off.

His relatively hands off and trusting style of handling the cast pays off handsomely when you consider the talented roster. None of the drama slipped into melodrama and everything felt quite natural. The character of María Elena might be a bit much for some people, but I found that she was fleshed out enough for me to not just think "Here comes the crazy lady" every time she entered the room.

I've heard several people sing the old song about how "Woody Allen's finally got It back!", but given that this was said about Match Point and a few of his other films of the last fifteen years...well I just think that there are fans of his that need to move on from Annie Hall the way there are Radiohead fans who need to move on from OK COMPUTER. I feel it's a strong effort and I was pleased to see that all the work he's been doing with Scarlett Johansson seems to have helped her become a more interesting actress. Sure she's playing something of a sultry sexpot once again, but compare her character in this film to the one she played in The Prestige and I think you'll see what I mean.

I highly recommend bringing a friend with you and a partner if you've got one (certainly, judging by all the couples in the audience when I was there...I'm not the only one who thinks this is a good date movie) and to go for a meal or a drink after, somewhere you can discuss what you've just seen. Me? I'd see it again in theaters and I'm certainly going to have a peek at it on DVD if the price is nice.

----
MEANWHILE: My friend Sara got a role in a neat little music video you might like. Warning: The music is actually pretty good!

I went to a friends film fundraiser last night

2008-08-29T18:21:00.003+01:00

and it was a good time, though both my friend and I wished more folk had come out. A lot of folk were busy, though my pal Rob still had me drop some dollars into the donation box on his behalf so hey, and the reasons were generally just.

But I caught through another friend that the reason some weren't coming was because they too led the Poor Artiste Life and that hey why should they come give money to a guy for his project when they need money for theirs?

GEE I DON'T KNOW FELLAS/LADIES, MAYBE BECAUSE ONE DAY YOU MIGHT WANT FOLK TO GIVE MONEY TO YOU?

Plus, Christ, it's not like these sorts of wingdings happen every day of the week or the suggested donation was more than the cost of seeing a movie - hell, it was actually a chunk less than going to see something at the AMC. Oh well!

It certainly got me thinking about what I'll do in months to come. I'm loathe to commit to anything just now, as I'm still wrapping up a couple of things, but I know that I want to push forward the feature length making of Tonight We Fall In Love. It's a fair guess that I'll need to raise "money" in ways other than tugging on the arms of organizations or individuals with large amounts of discretionary income. Heh, it'd be nice to think that Handful might have enough of a following by that point that I could raise some cash via an Obama style micro-payment dealie but that just MIGHT qualify as getting ahead of myself...especially since, though the technical problem has been solved, it was solved at a late enough point to make putting off the proper episode until next Friday a mandatory act (for the sake of quality).

I want I want I want...

2008-08-27T13:23:00.002+01:00

Who I Am and What I Want, David Shrigley from Richard Summers on Vimeo.

I want to be able to figure out how to get around what seems to be a lighting problem in the remainder of the Handful footage so I can not have to cut the first season (already short) very very short...

I want to get onto some new projects...

I want to eat bones and shit ghosts...

Vixy

2008-08-17T15:46:00.004+01:00

One nice side-effect of making Handful is that I have learned a great deal and found many new, useful websites in my efforts to make the show more visually interesting than just my mug in front of a brick wall. For this coming week's episode I wanted to insert a clip that I had found on Youtube. After securing permission from the owner, I had to learn that .flv is the filename suffix for all flash compressed videos hosted on Youtube and it's many compatriots. From there I learned the hard way that my editing software doesn't know what to do with the shit!

So I poked about a bit further and found this magnificent site - Vixy - which not only facilitates the downloading of online flash compressed video but it converts the bloody .flv's into far more usable formats such as .mov, .avi and the format in which I always upload the show (.mp4).

Oh, for the record, the clip I nabbed off of Youtube is not this.

Armstrong & Miller

2008-08-15T18:44:00.002+01:00

A marvelous discovery that was passed along to me today...

The song's seem a cornerstone but they do more than that!

Hawt Dawg

2008-08-13T21:38:00.002+01:00

Thank goodness for blogs that raid other blogs - thanks to getting linked to on Fleen, Handful has been linked to by comixtalk.com today! This also might be the beginning of my being known as a "DIY magazine show creator". Well, that's certainly not the worst title to have.

Neat

Oh hey sweet

2008-08-12T22:58:00.001+01:00

Handful just got linked to by Fleen - this is the benefit of covering something with a bit more general appeal than cannibalistic, late '90s African warlords or polygamist cults!