Chief Executive Baby Sitter

Check it out Dad! That little girl on your lap looks pretty darned happy to be in the arms of Grandpa Walsh now doesn't she!? When do you think that she'll start calling you "Bud?" My guess is sooner than you think! Congratulations on your recent "appointment" to Chief Executive Baby Sitter, and Chairman of the Smiles Board. Oh, and incidentally... Happy Birthday Dude!!!

25 Years Ago Today

The strange thing is that although I was only ten years old, I vividly remember driving in the car with my mom when the CBC News broadcaster said something like "John Lennon, the singer, songwriter, former Beatle and peace activist was shot to death outside his New York apartment today." Not only that but I remember my mom gasping in horror, and me asking her "why would a man do that to him?" I don't recall the answer. Today, as I heard the CBC broadcaster remind listeners "25 years ago today..." I couldn't help but think of the first time I heard The Beatles "The White Album" and realized that almost everything that I listened to and loved in rock music "came from there." And also how relevant I think John Lennon and his moral center still is today. Especially today. I found this great quote from Norman Mailer just now.

"I have hidden myself in work today. But it keeps flashing in my mind. I feel shattered, angry and very sad. It's just ridiculous. He was pretty rude about me sometimes, but I secretly admired him for it, and I always managed to stay in touch with him. There was no question that we weren't friends, I really loved the guy. I think that what has happened will in years to come make people realize that John was an international statesman. He often looked a loony to many people. He made enemies, but he was fantastic. He was a warm man who cared a lot and with the record Give Peace A Chance helped stop the Vietnam War. He made a lot of sense."

So, in honour of the Statesman Who Never Was... STOP THE WAR! GIVE PEACE A CHANCE!

The Shameless Exhuberance Of A Child

Why is it that a simple thing like a day off from the studio and a midday skate-ski with my buddy Mike can enfuse me with such a childish sense of joy? Wait a minute... I said "day off" and "midday ski" in the same sentence... Now I get it! Or was it the café carajillo?

The view of Howe Sound from the Cypress Mountain ski area on a pretty winter's day. The rare combination of opportunity and access to the ever changing outdoors that is so representative of Vancouver. Hard to believe that this view is only 45 minutes from most parts of the city. Ah, bliss... Experiencing a vista like this is a huge part of the soupy mix of multiculturalism, liberal attitudes, modernity and optimism that makes up my perspective on Vancouver as a place. A place of a great unknown future that ultimately breeds engaging and interesting people of all walks of life. Can you tell I am all goofy happy from the ski? You knew it!!!

Megcita en sofa!

The question I know you are all asking is whether Megcita is smiling in this photo because she looks so beautiful and happy to be 32 weeks pregnant, or if it is because she can't hold back her joyous state of mind having received delivery of our new sofa. Agreed, it is tough question to answer. Nonetheless, there she is... "My" beautiful wife sitting on "her" beautiful new sofa!

The Trailer To End All Trailers

Click here to see the latest uber trailer for "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." Nine minutes long. You'd think that would be too much... but it is done in a very interesting way. Mostly, I just noticed the musical score which sounds great. Above are some stills from the NarniaWeb page. They are frames from some of the shots I worked on at Rhythm and Hues. There are loads more images on the NarniaWeb page under the image gallery link. After 8 months of hard work and expectation... It sure is nice to see the stuff out there! Only one week until the film opens, and I have to admit that I am unusually excited to see this one!

Atmospheric City of Perpetual Change

A funny and somewhat unpredicted result of moving back north to Canada from Los Angeles this year has been the number of people both here in Vancouver and down south who have asked me "so, will you miss the weather?" It is quite true that California has a generally lovely Mediterranean temperament when it comes to the weather. Especially, in my opinion, the north of California. But, what I found surprising was how although I appreciated very much the consistently dry roads while riding my bike, I found the weather in Los Angeles to be, well, a bit boring. I thought it would be cool to combine a few images from a local webcam to illustrate this point. Within the relatively short period of time that I was living there I found myself really missing the atmospheric sense of the weather you have in the north. I missed the clouds and the play of light that they bring. The sense of things changing, and time passing. Wind. Stuff like that. There is a "day to day" consistency about the weather in Los Angeles that people there love. It is in fact a reason why people move there! By comparison, in the past week in Vancouver we have gone from socked in seemingly perpetual fog, to brilliant clear and cold (it is the end of November after all), to the first snow fall of the year. This extraordinary change is what I missed. A sense of the unpredictable. Well, all this to say I am glad it is back and well, no complaints from me about the rain and snow this year. I promise!

New Narnia Film Trailer

Click here for a high resolution look at the new "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" film trailer. Looks quite good if I do say so myself! I especially like the "snowy bits." I am sure that this will go over very well given the film's holiday season release date. All of the visual effects work looks really outstanding, but then, we have come to expect this from the block buster seasonal films, so it is not all that exceptional. Still, the images do seem to really have some depth and warmth to them, which can only come from things well conceived. I am very pleased I had a small hand in them. Gryphons flying around looking as real as can be... Nothing like it! There is all sorts of other Narnia buzz here.

A worthy first photo!

Well, such a beautiful day here, I thought it a good idea to try posting my first photo. It is days like this when the rest of Canada is "dealing with the onset of winter" and Vancouver has emerged from a rainy gloom that the place just grabs you... in a way few places can. This is a view of Burrard Bridge, Bowen Island on the far right in the distance, and Kitsilano in the left. Enjoy.

The Computer Graphics Wasteland of the North

Since I arrived back in Vancouver I have more or less gone from the frying pan of finishing "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" in Los Angeles into the fire, no, make that raging inferno of finishing season nine of "Stargate-SG1" and season two of "Stargate Atlantis" the television series. I have been working pretty much 12 hour days, 6 day weeks at Image Engine.

Getting back in touch with the different demands and challenges of television post-production has been trying to say the least. The words "from scratch" have often come to mind. It has reaffirmed assumptions such as "television may be more forgiving, but if you can get it done on this schedule... You can do well on a features schedule." It is not that working on feature films is any less work, in fact at times it seems to be a lot more work, because you can't get away with anything - the scrutiny of the work is extreme (and often kills people's enthusiasm, but for me I love that scrutiny) and you therefore have to "build for it." The work has a different focus depending on the medium. "Make it look amazing!" always out-ranking "get it done" in the feature world. In the television world "done" is the only word of the day. Of course, all projects finish at some time, so there is an inevitable "just get it done" phase on films too. But, for television, you remain in that phase regardless of the production cycle. I suppose I lost touch of that a bit.

The great irony that I know that I face coming back to Vancouver is that I have just left a job and company (Rhythm and Hues) in Los Angeles that was certainly the best I have ever had in terms of working "family hours." In fact, it may have been the only employer I have ever had in this regard. This is ironic because we have returned to the Great White North for all of the non-work reasons such as starting our family, seeing close friends more frequently, job opportunities for both Meg and I (rather than I alone due to the U.S. visa situation Meg faced) living in the great city of Vancouver and living Canada in general (yes, it is better, thanks for asking!). But, we both seem to be killing ourselves at work these days. So, as a result... We aren't enjoying any of the above. I keep telling myself "this is temporary" due to the rare circumstances of our return to Vancouver (timing is everything after all). But, the cruel truth is that working in Vancouver... I have never experienced anything else but this manic pace because trying to achieve anything of quality here often takes Herculean effort above and beyond the call of duty and that is why I often refer to it as "The Computer Graphics Wasteland of the North" (tongue firmly planted in cheek, mind you). I fully realize and am very grateful for the opportunities that I have "on the good side of the border," but I have to say that so far that work has a real sticky point. Methods must improve.

Why does it have to be this way? Well, thus far the real answer is that it has to do with the access to higher end work, which is limited in Vancouver due to the limited relationships with people who have access to the work. To make a long story short, you have to do good work to get noticed, but really you have to have the relationships in place for that work to get noticed. A "chicken and egg" phenomenon. People in Vancouver have often made the mistake of thinking "if we just do good enough work..." When in reality, the level of accomplishment is very often secondary to the principle issue of "who has a relationship with whom?"

So, what to do? Well, now that I have seen the light so to speak at some pretty top-end studios over the past few years, I am bound and determined to bring some of that know how home. The thing is... Even some basic improvements will go so far (farther than I think people realize) and it will be very fulfilling to see them happen. It is just a question of having the opportunity and then doing the work to make good on that opportunity. One fine example is, of course, The Embassy who have recently done loads of high end work and all largely for out of town clients. I think it would be hard to argue that they are not doing the best work ever done in visual effects in Vancouver. A model for the future of The Computer Graphics Wasteland of the North? We'll see!

The Goings On These Days

Meg is up at 5:30am and I doze to the sounds of the shower and the traffic outside for a few minutes more. I try to tell myself "it is like waves lapping at a shore" until the radio comes on at 6:15am tuned to CBC's "Music and Company." My turn in the shower. Scarf some breakfast. Usually a slice of toast, maybe some hot cereal this time of year, coffee will have to wait. Somewhere between 7:05am and 7:15am we're out the door. Pretty much everyday I say to myself "I hate driving." I drop Meg off at Stratford Hall School sometime between 7:20am and 7:35am depending on traffic. I then thank "my lucky stars" (where did that phrase come from again?) that the commute is almost over. Every 23 minutes a new driver is added to the Vancouver area. I head back to Main Street, sometimes stopping for a coffee at Calabria Caffé on Commercial Drive (and a chat about pregnancy and visual effects with The G), but mostly just head into the studio to get a start on the day. Working too much, yes, thank you or asking. Check my renders. Swear. The morning goes by in semi-hallucinatory haze of moving images and caffeine. The Gollum-like animal squirming in my gut indicates that I have yet again "forgotten the necessary fuel for this habit." So, I scramble for something to eat. Luckily there's lots close by... and I love this neighbourhood for it. Sometimes I head to Bucket's place to hear him play The Strokes on his guitar. Noodles on Main Street occasionally, but usually a sandwich at Terra Breads. By 2:00pm it is heads down again as I can feel the day slipping past me just as quickly as it came. 6:30pm comes far too quickly aided no doubt by a couple more coffees. Rushing off to get Meg who has completed yet another Herculean effort at the school and is starving. About half the time, we eat out somewhere between the school and home, or at her parents, and if we have time and the forethought (to say nothing of luck), we eat at home. If I am even luckier, I have wine. After dinner, depending on how the day has gone I am either relaxing at home, and trying to keep some semblance of order, or rushing off to the studio again for a couple more hours of work before my eyes start to bleed (proving once again that living close to the studio is not an option, it is a method of survival). After I have successfully set fire to "both ends" I head home, and to bed for a few pages of my book. Meg is already a piece of comma toast, and I say to myself "hang in there." I fall asleep with the lights on wondering when I will find the time to ride my bike.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Ocean attempts to relocate to Lynn Valley...

Yes, what I mean is that it is raining like the bejezuz-bells out there. "Monsoon-like" would also be a good way to describe the rather humid conditions out of doors these days. Click here to see what I mean! Almost makes one miss the bland, but ever present, "dry haze" of Los Angeles (no, the sky is not blue there). Almost... It was one of the things that people in Los Angeles always said to me when they heard that I was leaving for Vancouver. "But, what about the rain? Like, dude, what are you going to do?" As if the mere thought of occasionally getting wet (outside the context of surfing, that is) was tantamount to torture.

I grew up on the west coast of Canada, in a lovely little piece of "fake England" called Victoria (I could swear, now that I have seen the real thing, that somebody had the idea of picking up Bournemouth, and relocating it to the southern tip of Vancouver Island!). And although positively balmy by Canadian standards in winter, and downright Mediterranean by summer, Victoria got its fair share of "northern weather." Even if we played ice hockey inside a rink the stinging pain of frozen feet and hands following the soccer match as they warmed in a hot shower is an all too common memory for many of my friends and I.

Endurance through the onslaught of winter in the north is a Canadian identifier and bonding experience across cultural barriers. Once you've "lived through" a few years of near zero degree pounding rain on the West or East coasts, or a sub - insert ludicrous number here - degree snow blown landscape in the rest of Canada, you can safely say you have bonded with the rest of the nation. There is something so endearing, to me at least, about being "out in the weather." It makes you harder somehow, more quietly confident. Enjoying what the out of doors has to offer "in spite of it all" is just something that seems to make sense to me... perhaps it is something that makes me "Canadian?"

T-Bird men win Canadian University Rowing Championship

There's few things in life that please me more than a row of navy blue with gold trimmed crew shirts ripping down he course ahead of all comers.

T-Bird men win Canadian University Rowing Championship

VICTORIA

A year ago, it was the UBC Thunderbird women winning the Canadian University Rowing Championship. This time around, the powerhouse UBC men claimed top honours, fending off a strong challenge from Western Ontario and Queen’s to take the title in the final race, the men’s eights, at Elk Lake UBC started Sunday's four-boat 'A' final on the right foot, winning the men's pairs with a dominant performance from national team veterans Kyle Hamilton and Ben Rutledge. Rob Weitemeyer, also a national team member, followed up with a convincing win in the men's single sculls, making it his second sculling title at the CURCs, having won previously in 2002.

The UBC lightweight men had to hang on in a deep and competitive field in the coxless fours. Rich Cotter, Julian Lamoreux, John Page and Andrew Poole finished in a solid fifth place, and in the light men's singles, Page rowed to strong seventh place. These finished added six valuable points to the T-Birds’ mounting total.

While UBC dominated the heavyweight small boats, Western and Queen’s were picking up consistent top finishes across the board. By the last race of the day the scene was set with Queen's, Western and UBC in a tight points race, leaving the eights to determine the national champion.

To qualify for the finals, UBC narrowly edged out Western, UVic and Queen’s in Saturday's time trial, which was raced over a short 1,000 metres due to rough water and high winds. The final was raced over Elk Lake's 1,850m course. UBC was able to step out early, powering off the line to gain a half-boat-length advantage over Western by the first 750 metres. UBC slowly started to build on this lead, while the Western crew began to concern itself with Queen’s, who were determined to make it a three-horse race. UBC managed to draw clear of Western and Queen's by the finish to win in a time of 5:36.77. Western finished second in 5:41.84, and Queen’s followed in 5:41.97. The UBC eights was made of Cox Jane Maxwell, stroke Rob Weitemeyer, Ben Rutledge, Kyle Hamilton, Thorsten Schmidt, Ben Dove, Chris Kemppainen, Alex Doucette and Curtis Dearden.

The T-Birds collected 56 points overall to claim the men’s title over Western (47) and Queen’s (45). UVic and Brock rounded out the top five with 34 points apiece. On the women's side UBC fought hard, qualifying for four of six 'A' finals with some very competitive finishes in an attempt to defend their 2004 title. But Western and UVic would prove too much to handle with Western sweeping all three heavyweight events and UVic, who covered all the events with solid finishes, ultimately reclaiming the national title from the T-Birds. UBC's Jen Andrews turned in a silver-medal performance in the heavy single sculls. Lailey Wallace and Julie Miller won bronze in the light double sculls and the heavyweight eights would also win bronze.

UBC (63) finished eight points up on Western, while UBC (36), Queen’s (30) and Brock (25) rounded out the top five. UBC coach Craig Pond was voted the 2004-05 Canadian university coach of the year.

Holy War Looms Over Disney's Narnia Epic

Click here to read a Guardian article about the current "media campaign" surrounding the release of Disney and Walden Media's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" feature film.

"To millions 'The Chronicles of Narnia' are a childhood tale of wonder and triumph now made into a film that could inspire millions of children to read. To others, including the celebrated fantasy author Philip Pullman, they are stories of racism and thinly veiled religious propaganda that will corrupt children rather than inspiring them."

Essentially this film is turning into yet another "the public eye is on this one so let's all turn it into a religious debate" film. This year's "The Passion of The Christ"if you will (although obviously with that film it was pretty obviously intended to provoke). Whenever there is a contentious issue such as this one I find it odd how as an artist working on the film you become so consumed in "making it look cool" that the broader context of how the work will be received eludes you. Of course, it comes up in casual conversation all the time amongst the artists, but you never really feel that you are contributing to an agenda of any kind. The idea that "hey, I am making Jesus in the guise of a huge photoreal computer generated lion" never really crossed my mind. Those who worked with me might beg to differ as they recall a bellowing "ooooh ggggeeeeezzzzuuuzzzzz" or two as my renders went horribly wrong. In reading Pullman's comments (I am a big Pullman fan) I am inclined to think that his criticisms are valid given that in general I share his "spiritual perspective." Nothing like a devout atheist to get you biting the hand that feeds you!

El cumpleaños de "La Embarazada" lo mas bonita!

Here's a little photo of Megcita pregnant on her 32nd birthday... there have been a ton of requests, and I am sorry to say I have not been too good about taking photos! What can I say? It is a little hard when I have been in Los Angeles and she has been in Vancouver. I hope to make up for it in the near future... keep your eyes peeled!

Two Movies On Battle Of Iwo Jima

Yep. I am a Clint Eastwood fan... how can you not be? I love the fact that he has grown so much throughout his career and remained creatively vital for so long -- and much past many of his contemporaries. He is often under appreciated by many who have not seriously taken a look at his greater body of work. His better films, for example "A Perfect World" and "Unforgiven" from the early 1990's, always seem to tackle difficult characters and challenging tense situations. I can't help but think that his drive to present such a horrific subject as the battle fought on Iwo Jima "from both sides" is a not so subtle way of waking American people to what's happening elsewhere in the world due to their involvement. What's happening on the "other side" of the Iraqi situation?

‘You Just Have to Trust Your Gut,’ Eastwood tells TIME

New York – Next fall, Clint Eastwood will simultaneously release two movies telling the story of the battle of Iwo Jima – one will be from the American perspective, and the other told from the Japanese perspective, TIME’s Richard Schickel reports in TIME’s What’s Next special issue (on newsstands Monday, Oct. 17).

Beginning next February, Clint Eastwood will start shooting the companion movie to Flags of Our Fathers, tentatively called Lamps Before the Wind. Typically, Eastwood is not able to articulate fully his rationale for this ambitious enterprise: “I don’t know—sometimes you get a feeling about something. You have a premonition that you can get something decent out of it,” he says. “You just have to trust your gut.”

He asked Paul Haggis, who wrote Flags, if he would like to write the Japanese version as well. The writer of Million Dollar Baby and director of Crash, Haggis was overbooked but thought an aspiring young Japanese-American screenwriter, Iris Yamashita, who had helped him research Flags, might be able to do it. She met with Eastwood, and once again his gut spoke; he gave her the job and liked her first draft so much that he bought it. It was she who insisted on giving him a few rewrites she thought her script still needed, TIME reports.

Taken together, the two screenplays show that the battle of Iwo Jima—and by implication, the whole war in the Pacific—was not just a clash of arms but a clash of cultures. The Japanese officer class, imbued with the quasi-religious fervor of their Bushido code, believed that surrender was dishonor, that they were all obliged to die in defense of their small island. That, of course, was not true of the attacking Americans. As Eastwood puts it, “They knew they were going into harm’s way, but you can’t tell an American he’s absolutely fated to die. He will work hard to get the job done, but he’ll also work hard to stay alive.” And to protect his comrades-in-arms. As Haggis’ script puts it, the Americans “may have fought for their country, but they died for their friends, for the man in front, for the man beside ’em.”

Type and the truth will be told...

Click here. You know you want to...

Back On the 24/7

Well, work at Rhythm and Hues Studios over the past few weeks has finally felt like all my other computer graphics jobs. That is, I have been shackled to my desk for hours on end. It seems to have been a long time coming. We are on "work as much as humanly possible" mode at the moment trying to finish all our work for "The Chronicles of Narnia" to the highest standard possible before our looming deadline arrives towards the end of the month. I have been here since mid-march and it is a testiment to the relative sanity of this studio, and the fine folks running it, that only now am I posting this comment. This gig at R&H has been the closest thing to a 9 to 5 job I have ever had in computer graphics. I have to admit to feeling quite conflicted about it. While Meg was here it was certainly nice to be able to guarrantee her I'd be home at a certain time. That hasn't happened a lot in my career. But, as it turns out I took a big cut in pay due to the relative lack of over time hours here. It made Los Angeles seem a lot more expensive to me as a result I guess. I am not at all apprehensive about leaving R&H because I know that there are great challenges waiting ahead. But, I will "miss it." It has a tremendous "studio vibe and culture" and a relative lack of egotistical behaviour that has been great. Like an oasis in an otherwise not very admirable city. Easy to leave Los Angeles, not so easy o leave Rhythm and Hues!

Vangroovey Tops The List

Click here to read an article about a survey conducted by The Economist Group that proclaims that of the 127 major cities in the survey Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is the most "desirable place to live" in the whole world. It is always a bit odd to read something like this when you are from the place they are talking about. But, I have to admit to being a total "homer." I believe most of my friends would attest to hearing me rave once or twice about the place (and I trust will permit me yet one more rant). But I also recognize that in this respect I won the lottery. How did I end up a Vancouverite? My father grew up in New Westminster and having spent a decade in the east at graduate school and beginning his career throughout his late 20s and early 30s he elected lifestyle over careerism and chose to move to the much sleepier climate and take advantage of the family proximity of Victoria. His forethought, my lottery. I grew up in Victoria and only became a "Vancouverite" in earnest when I went to The University of British Columbia in 1990. Being a formative time in my life, I fell in love with the place and I haven't ever really lost the passion for it. It is my place and I am very comfortable about that.

I think the thing that strikes me most about Vancouver these days is that I realise now more than ever that it has yet to fully define itself. Its character is in flux. And while you live there you are a part of defining that character by what you do and your values and the choices you make in your life. Having lived in places like London and Madrid recently, I recognize that Vancouver "is not" but "will be" what it is... The vast majority of the character of the place has yet to be etched in stone. There just hasn't been enough time yet. It is cool to be part of that defining process rather than inheriting it. Of course, much will be derived from the local surroundings. The presence of the ocean and the mountains and the trees is a constant reminder that the place was built on the backs of "pioneers" from elsewhere in the western developed world who gave little attention to the local colour at the time of their arrival. Nonetheless, I think that this sense of pioneerism is still very much a part of the culture there. New things do well in Vancouver. There is a spirit of openness and honest opportunity that is greater than elsewhere I think!

For me, Vancouver also personifies the movement towards a kind of cultural fusion. As such it is a city of people who are best when embracing the best of multitudes of cultures and trying something new. That's why there is such a diverse range of people and their food, there is comparatively broad opportunities and a lack of discrimination, and a sense of a growing vibrant place. This vibrancy is one of the things I really noticed having been away for a few years. Something that you don't necessarily catch while you're living there day to day. By way of comparison Spain is incredibly rich culturally, but you don't get the sense that much is evolving. Spaniards are pretty happy with the status quo. London is also a very engraciating culturally mixed place, but it gives you the impression of a place that the cultural mix is being "enforced" in a way. The fall out of a empire that once reached around the globe. In Vancouver, fusion is the only way there has ever been.

Anyway, a feather in the cap. Here's hoping that the rain keeps all the baddies away!

Behind The Scenes Hoop-lah!

Click here (warning: film look spoilers!) to see a featurette about the visual effects post production work ongoing on "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." I believe this is one of the behind the scenes documentary style movies that are all the rage these days (used as a compliment to the DVD package). There are a few of my shots in the mix. They are the ones that feature the "flying hawks and gryphons" during the battle sequence. What you see there is definitely "work in progress" and I was surprised to actually see them in there! Because they are missing all sorts of elements and so forth... C'est La Vie! There has been a lot of press buzz being generated out of Sony Imageworks especially, and WETA Workshop, about the work and it has been a bit of a thorn in the side of the companies who do not have the same level of PR resources: Rhythm and Hues Studios in particular. It is very difficult for a truly independent studio like Rhythm and Hues to go head to head with Sony when it comes to "exposure." Little do people know that Rhythm and Hues Studios is officially the Lead Visual Effects Facility, entirely responsible for the digital Aslan character, the Centaurs, all the Massive work in the film, and for that matter the vast majority of the key battle sequence towards the climax of the film. In the long run, when the credits roll I think that the perception of Rhythm and Hues Studios will stack up really well. The shot that I feel is really exemplary of the full range and level of the work is featured very briefly as a split screen of a centaur walking. Totally convincing. And I might add that the background roto/prep work is astounding on its own. Lookin' good people!

American Automotive Industry Stupidity!

Check out this shining example of American automotive industry stupidity! If there is one thing holding Southern Californians image of rampant stupidity and ignorance hostage, it is the Sport Utility Vehicle/Pick Up Truck. When! I ask you are these moronic gearheads going to be shaken from their intellectual slumber? 13 Miles per gallon? What the hell!? Most of these vehicles never see anything rough in terms of terrain than the parking lot medians they regularly drive over as their helmsmen strain to make out anything outside the cab. Pure gluttony in a time of mounting global concern over fossil fuel usage. Meanwhile, companies like Toyota seek alternatives (they are offering more hybrid engines than any other manufacturer) which while still using gas are at least a step in the right direction... Thank you for not even trying America! Trying to find a reason the U.S. invaded Iraq? Or why 2000 Americans have lost their lives? How about "the two-wheel-drive Ram Mega Cab takes a 47-foot-wide road to turn around. "

Rhythm And Hues Explodes!

Well, now that it is all over, the rumours of our untimely demise have been greatly exaggerated. But, it is true that there was a "large explosion" at Rhythm and Hues Studios yesterday at about noon. I was in film dailies at the time, and there was a terrific bang followed by the sound of debris landing all over the roof of the cinema, and then the power going out. I was standing near the back of the room (film dailies is packed these days as we final all sorts of work for "Chronicles of Narnia") with my buddy Rodrigo "La Velha" Teixeira, and when we heard the noise we just turned and ran outside through the loading dock to see what had happened or if we were in any danger. I honestly thought ludicrously that we had been hit by "falling plane debris" because we are so close to LAX. It is amazing what sort of ridiculous imaginings your mind throws at you in times of stress. As we exited the building there was obviously an exploded transformer or something going up in flames outside the building and it was threatening to spread to all the adjacent poles, the building, etc. So we ran back in and started to tell people they'd best get out of the building pronto. Everybody was remarkably calm. It was a horrific bang and there were probably 200 people within 20 meters of it, but everybody just calmly left the building. It was quite chaotic getting away from work, but as a result of the incident, it did afford us the day off and an afternoon of beer and quesadillas de pollo! Bueno, perfecto! Click here to check out the damage!

First Avenue Machine

All right already! Enough of the humorous anecdotes and back to the slick computer graphics! Check this out! Some very stylish use of High Dynamic Range Imaging and Ambient Occlusion. The compositing is really well done too. Nice integration, etc. But what is perhaps the most impressive is just the creative diversity represented within one coherent idea. Wheew! That hurt!

It rained...

Normally, this would not be worthy of note, but today it is... It rained in Los Angeles for the first time since I arrived in March. No kidding. There has not been one single drop of rain the entire time. People went nuts out there today. Film dailies were cancelled in the morning due to the rain! No word of a lie! I didn't see anyone at all riding into work like me (well, not that I see a lot of people anyway in the SUV Culture Capital of the word, mind you) and I got to work people said things like "did you really ride to work in the rain?!" "Did you get wet?!" and "Are you hurt?!" It was hilarious. As I woke up to a by now unfamiliar sound of rainfall I was over-joyed! I couldn't believe my reaction as I gleefully hopped on my bike to "ride in the rain" to work. Totally childish but true! I was thinking, what a foreshadowing of my impending move north to Vancouver! There is so much "negative press" about the north down here is it silly. People say all kinds of stuff without having any idea! The funny thing is here are the real statistics:

Los Angeles Annual rainfall: 380mm (15 inches)
San Francisco Annual rainfall: 508mm (20 inches)
Seattle Annual rainfall: 914mm (36 inches)
Vancouver Annual rainfall: 1117mm (44 inches)

"Good Lord," I said to myself Vancouver is "only 3 times as rainy as Los Angeles!?" What the hell? Would you have thought that the rainfall in Los Angeles was "more than half of that in San Francisco?" I wouldn't have. Here I was believing in all the hype... Maybe now I won't feel so bad when the Pacific Ocean annually attempts to relocate onto dry land in Vancouver. Dark days of winter here I come! I suppose that the rainfall in Vancouver falls over quite a few more actual days of the year which makes it feel like more rain... When it is raining outside I guess that's all that counts in people's minds, not the actuall amounts.

What I have found amusing living in Los Angeles is that the sun worshippers here absolutely cringe at the idea of being caught out in any sort of weather aside from beaming sunshine. They simply can not function in anything otherwise. Truth be told I have really enjoyed the weather in Los Angeles, but I can't say that the weather in general is something that "gets me out of bed in the morning" you know? I guess that comes from growing up soaking wet all the time and it not bothering you. Either that, or my "bred for the North Atlantic" Irish blood. Whatever the case, I can't stand the "sun or nothing" attitude down here. I think I am one of those "I need to feel the change of seasons people." I have had so many memorable times due to being "out in the weather" and I wouldn't trade those memories for any number of sure fire sunny days.

Vangroovey All Right!

Jesus Murphy! Check this action out!!!

All for a "tortilla de papas!"

The other day "mi companiero del piso" (room-mate) Raul Sanchez Ortega had a bit of a Spanish-style spazz attack whilst realizing that he had not had any "real Spanish food" for almost a year. I believe he said something like: "Estoy hasta las narizes con esta puta mierda comida rapida en Los Estados Unidos joder!" which basically translates as "I have had it up to my eyeballs with this crap American food!" So, I said, hey man, calm down, no worries, this City of Angels is what? 12 million people? Somebody out there has got to be running a Spanish restaurant with "real Spanish food." So we took to the computer and searched for such a place and low and behold we found a place in Glendale called "Spain Restaurant." Not exactly an appetizing name, but I thought, what the hell. Let's find that sucker and head on over there for some tapas. So, that's what we did. Although in doing so I once again confirmed a realization I have had about my "L.A. experience." It is not representative of the city at all... I live and work in the posh and gentile confines of the west side nearly always within sight or sound of the Marina and the beaches. This is a mere sliver of an existence. There is a heck of a lot of "yuck" out there. Due to my inherent fear of the highway (and Veronica sharing that fear) we set out to find Glendale Avenue via city streets... Before long we were lost in the abyss-like grid of Hollywood traveling slowly eastward. As I sat in the back of Raul's open jeep I thought to myself "why am I so freakin' cold!? Is this not he sunshine state? And am I not Canadian?" To cut a long story short, the ride was horrendously long and the scenery foreboding. 30 miles of concrete and low lying buildings. When we finally arrived at our chosen destination we were starving, which I have to admit helped he flavours of the food! But, the food itself was great, even if the restaurant was slightly on the sketchy side. Sort of a half take-out, half eat-in place just stuck on the side of a nondescript five-laner. Typical of L.A. We happily ate tortilla de papas, gambas al ajillo, chorizo asado en vino tinto, ensalada de Rusa, etc. All the while fearing the return journey across town... Raul has voluntarily decided not to be so touchy about the food.

Sir Lancelot Rides Again?

Click here for the latest speculation! It seems he may be at it again... Well, only time will tell if he makes the "right decision" in this case. People are already throwing out the comparison to Michael Jordan who came back only to look very human after once appearing as a god. For my part, I think this case is different. Jordan spent far too long away from his sport and came back for the money. Lance is riding on the heels of criticism and innuendo about his fabled past. He has not been out of it long (mere weeks really), and has plenty of "fresh fuel" for the fire courtesy of the unforgiving and often flagrant French press... So, entirely different circumstances. But, it still remains to be seen if one man can suffer for a living for that much longer. Even if the drug rumours are substantiated (I am in the "no way!" camp on that one) perhaps he's one of those athletes who needs to know definitively that it is over... Perhaps he feels he must be beaten to truly pass the torch. That certainly would fit his profile. Ah well, cycling in the headlines, what's wrong with that!?

For some inexplicable reason...

You ever have one of those mornings where in your semi-awake, not quite sufficiently caffeinated, cerebral haze a thought just sort of floats through... And it is gone!? Well, this morning, I snagged it on the way past! The thought was "I wonder what Bryce Duffy is doing these days?" Bryce is a dude I sort of knew during the 1980's in Victoria, B.C. Now, if Bryce and I had been closer friends back in the days of high school this thought might somehow seem pretty normal. But, the fact is that we weren't close, but only friends in the context of having friends who were friends. That kind of thing. And the vast majority of my memories of the dude revolve around his infatuation with one of the high school girls... In other words, not a lot to base a friendship on! So, here I am thinking this thought, when the omniscient internet makes itself known and I say to myself "hey, why don't I Google that $%&*er!" And low and behold Bryce's new website! Amazing... Pretty nice work too! Apparently, Bryce has become an accomplished photographer. Good on yah, dude. So, from me to you, for some inexplicable reason... The work of Bryce Duffy, old high school acquaintance.

Holy Spam Batman!

I lost my "blogger spam virginity" this week! A hilarious telephone message from my sister (thank god for family watching out for your best interests!) tipped me off to the fact there were some shall we say "disturbing" messages posted in the comments section of the previous posting. I apologize to anyone offended, but I am sure that most people would have recognized the expletive-infused gibberish as a classic spam attack. Anytime you see the phrases "get Muslim religion" and "free black p***y" used in the same sentence you know that something is up! I have changed some of my website settings to hopefully avoid this in the future.

"I walked with the Zombies..."

Okay, this is totally cool. I can't believe I missed it! I think this kind of informal public gathering is what creates the heart and soul of a place. "Vancouver, where dressing yourself as a creepy character from a B Horror film is a way of life." Amazing! And so long as nobody wrecks anything, damages property, or otherwise acts like an ass it should be totally supported in the community! An annual zombie walk, man! Everyone is so scared of breaking the law down here in Los Angeles this kind of thing would never happen. Sad. Groove on Vangroovey!!!

Moving Makes You Question Moving

The amazing thing to me about moving is that every aspect of it makes you question why on earth you ever undertook the ridiculous venture in the first place... Why am I moving again? Why can't I just leave everything where it is? It is not bothering anyone! It makes you say to yourself "I am not so sure that humans are inherently nomadic afterall!" Even in the comfortable circumstances that I found myself in today, where I had a representative from a company whose sole job it is to take your 'stuff' from one location to another directing the entire process, I found myself wanting at every moment to just light everything on fire so that I could say "whoops! I guess there's nothing to move then! eh?" Stuff. Even though the moving guy told me that we have "less than average" for a married couple I can't think that we have anything but too much of it! It is indeed a hilarious contradiction that when you are staring at all your stuff, displaced from it "place in the world," and struggling to come to grips with the enormity of your materialism, that you somehow come to legitmize every last thing you have. "Hey man, I need that stuff!" "People should never be defined by their stuff" I say to myself. But then again, have we not always? Do cave paintings qualify as stuff? Do Haida totems classify as the Haida's "stuff?" Seems weird to say that my new television and DVD recorder are on the same fundamental level as a totem pole. But, hey, maybe they are? The problem is that stuff keeps people in place. People should have the freedom to move, the freedom to roam without limitations, and national borders, etc. And maybe they would... if it weren't for all their stuff.

The Ghetto-copter Flies At Night!

Last night I woke up abruptly to the "chop! chop! chop!" sound of a Los Angeles Police Department Helicopter flying low over Venice Beach. I suppose it was my fault for having the window on the south side of my apartment open, but nonetheless, the sound was really loud and it woke me up. I went to the window and since my apartment is sort of higher up on a knoll in Ocean Park I could look down on Venice Beach. Sure enough there was the much heard about but seldom seen"mysterious ghetto-copter." It arrived to the scene of an ongoing crime like a ficticious beast descending on its prey. Cherry top lights flashing in the night gloom with a big bright beam cutting downward to earth through the amber haze searching the ground below. It went around and around and around. Occasionally some kind of announement would spew forth like "Do not attempt to run! The dogs are trained to bite!" Circling and circling it carried on for sometime and it was a while before I dozed off to sleep once more. When I woke up in the morning, I was still wondering if the surrealism of the images from the middle of the night were at all real... A strange, but apparently "essentially L.A." experience. I believe I'll be just fine with leaving Los Angeles without seeing the fabled "ghetto-copter" again, thank you very much! Spooky man!

How to Disarm a Cheeseball

So I went to the flat of my fantastic Quebecois friends Nathalie and Mathieu on Friday night. They were having a bit of a "wine and cheese" type of get together on their monstrous deck overlooking the harbour in Marina Del Rey. Of all the entertaining incidents that occurred as the evening passed none was more entertaining that the slaying of an unknown, delinquent and disowned cheeseball by our hero Marc Rubone. The esteemed Marc Rubone, compositing wizard at Rhythm and Hues Studios, following the consumption of what I believe to be one too many "vodka and redbulls" (yes, I said it was a wine and cheese party) made the startling realization that said cheap Cheddar cheeseball (brought to the party by an as yet to be made known guest) still lingering on the cheese plate was "giving him attitude." It is indeed a little difficult to understand what, if any, attitude a cheeseball could project, however, I believe it may have "looked at him funny." In the ensuing face-off Marc attempted to ascertain the cheeseball's point of origin by direct interrogation ("Duuuude, like, where are you from?") however, when this failed to yield appropriate results, he was forced to "take him out" medieval-like and pulverized the cheeseball with a shot glass and the used rind of a lime. As best as I can describe it, the scene was like a "never before seen" footage out-take from the film "Animal House." A la "Blutowsky kills the cheeseball." Fortunately for all those present, the cheeseball did not put up a fight. Things ended rather unceremoniously as Mr. Rubone proceeded to pontificate about "cheddar cheese as a metaphor for production values on the Chronicles of Narnia." But I digress... Thanks to Nathalie and Mathieu for letting Blutowsky in the door!

Pictures From Burning Man

Click here to see some amazing photography from the site of the Burning Man Festival, or gathering, or whatever these modern day hippies call it... Some crazy stuff happening out there in the desert it seems! I am fascinated by the creative outpouring of energy some people put into this event. You'd have to be so committed to build some of these objects and installations. And how much sense does it make to just go out there and burn them afterwards! Don't really know much about the festival aside from the fact that it began when I guy built an effigy of his ex-girlfriend on the beach in California somewhere and then burned it. Uh, yeah. I think it just grew from there into this strangely modern pagan burning ritual, a cleansing type of thing, as flakey as that may be. Who knows when it moved to the desert. Check out the "shark bus." Weird.

A Place To Put On The List...

This past weekend Meg and I made a whirlwind road trip from Vancouver east into the mountains of south-eastern British Columbia to the lovely town of Nelson and back. We went to the Kootneys for the wedding celebration of our friends Carmen Stephen and Nilesh Patel who decided to have their ceremony in the "Jewel of the Kootneys" in order to collect friends and family from far and wide... The wedding itself was a beautiful and unique combination of an East Indian ceremony and a Western Civil ceremony at a large mansion (built ages ago by some big mining executive so-and-so) overlooking Kootney Lake. It was a lot of fun to see my beautiful Megcita dressed up in a sari for the ceremony. It really suited her well! And I had a fun time running around with a video camera as a favour to the groom. Nelson has a bit of a history as a "hippie town" now as a result of being the small town of choice for American "draft dodgers" wishing to "disappear into the woodwork" in British Columbia during the Vietnam War era. They went to hide from "the man," work at the mill, and grow pot. They are still there, and still growing pot, though the mill has disappeared in favour of a booming tourist trade (which looks very good on the area incidentally, in both summer and winter high seasons). Nelson is more posh now than in days of old I imagine. You can get a proper cafe there now, organically grown and fair traded beans of course, and not just diner food for lunch. There is a decent Mexican food restaurant and a funky place called "The Preserved Seed" which uniquely offers food prepared exclusively with raw ingredients grown on their own farm. Ridiculous, of course, when there is such great organic produce in the area, but amazing nonetheless. And not a fast food chain in site! Yeah! The town is gentrifying as word of its "higher than average sophistication for a small town" gets out, but it is still a very laid back feeling place despite the new influx of cash. And it still suffers from that slightly depressed feeling of a place where legitimate and continual jobs are few and far between. As well, the "hippies" have changed a lot and now can be more accurately described as ski or mountain bike bumbs, no-ambition potheads, and people "finding themselves" while sampling the historical significance of the place rather than the challenging folks of the past. That being said, I would far rather spend my holiday time with the delightfully deluded than the redneck infantry so common in more off the beaten path areas of the province, and the average Nelson-er seemed to me to be a very genuine, slow moving, and happy type who made us feel very welcome. Fine by me! Meg and I nearly instantly began to speak about coming back up there next summer to spend a little more time in the area. Perhaps we too will become part of the growing trend soaking up what Nelson has to offer on a somewhat annual basis... for better or worse as I am sure the locals will say.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Bicycle!

Click here to check out a really cool lookin' hydrogen fuel cell powered bike! Looks pretty slick... The idea certainly is interesting as an alternative to gasoline, however, as The Rasch Factor says:

"Now all we need is a cheap source of Hydrogen. Doesn't it strike you that fuel cells are just high power batteries, rather than an alternative energy source? There is a future for nuclear power yet, but maybe not for commuters. What will happen to the suburbs when the oil runs out?"

I think there is definitely something to this last comment. It struck me while living in Madrid (a city of 4 million plus with an amazing Metro system built on the spine of the dense medieval core of the city) how this old European city could possibly be a model for cities of the future, belying its obvious past. My observation was based on the centralized nature of the city which is very common to cities in Europe. The actual foot print of the city is so minimal that in such a large urban city it is so easy to get around! People don't give a thought to going across town because the Metro works so well. Sure, there are taxis for trips out of the ordinary, etc. But if you added to this an extensive bicycle path network, you'd have an even cleaner city! As well, the amenities are spread so evenly (almost every street seems to offer what you need...) that the necessity to travel great distances is dramatically reduced. That being said, I do remember flying into Madrid in August and I was shocked by the grey-purple thick cloud of haze hanging over the city... The light was cutting through it at sunset, and it looked pretty, but still this was evidence of a very bad pollution problem. I am thinking this has more to do with the type of engines used in Europe in addition to numbers of cars. I guess what I am saying is that the 'building blocks' for a more sustainable system are all there in this more dense model. If distances are shorter, then the transit become that more easier! Whereas in the North American suburbs... An even greater problem is looming! As Niall says:

"As for the oil running out, it won't need to *actually* run out to cause huge problems - our oil requirements are steadily increasing, so as soon as supply fails to keep up with that demand (i.e., when global production peaks), we'll see huge changes. There are indications that peak production is likely to come in the next few years. Put it like this, unless you're a millionaire, I'd enjoy cheap air travel while it still exists..."

At the very least, Vancouver has a 'chance' to get ahead of the curve on this due to the fact that there exists reasonable public transit and a centralized core (though an argument can be made to counter both of these claims I am sure). A place like Los Angeles that is so locked into it's future as a suburban experience is doomed. No public transportation to speak of, and worse, no will to develop one. "Gimme mo dat bling bling baby!" is seemingly the only thing on people's minds down here! Perhaps they should be checking out the ENVY from some of that shine...

Finalmente, Megcita Esta En Vancouver!

After 26 months living abroad, firstly in San Francisco, secondly in Madrid, and finally in Los Angeles, my Megcita has returned to Vancouver. And carrying my "little package" home with her as well! I am pleased to say... She flew home with Lucy today who has been visiting us here in Los Angeles for a few days. So, with her trip today, Meg and I are one step closer to becoming full time Vancouverites once again! Some have asked "why the temporary separation... Yet again?" Well, sometimes life just conspires again you I guess. Meg is beginning to teach full time for the fall semester at Stratford Hall School, and this necessitated a mid-August return date for her (in addition, we have Carmen and Nilesh's wedding to attend this weekend!). The only real way for her to get set up with a part time gig for the next few years was to take this opportunity now. As for me, I signed onto this film which completes post production in October. So basically, in order for both of us to manage those commitments we will have to spend some time apart. I am hoping to get a trip in sometime late September that will ease the pain so to speak, but we'll have to see what happens with the ole film's schedule here. Things will undoubtedly be uber-busy for both of us over the coming weeks with my project finishing post production and Meg's school year beginning... Let's just hope that the time flies right by! Wish us luck!

SIGGRAPH 2005

Yesterday, I lost my "SIGGRAPH virginity," as the computer geeks say. It was my first trip to the conference of conferences in the computer graphics world. Well, hardly a trip I suppose, being that I am in Los Angeles these days. Although, the insanity on the Los Angeles freeways traveling between the tranquil confines of Marina Del Rey to the ugly core of the city has got to count for something! 10 lanes of freedom baby! I had the afternoon off from production on "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" to head to the Los Angeles Convention Center to check out all the latest whizzle shnizzle from both the software vendors and the companies represented at the conference. All in all, not a bad way to spend the afternoon. However, I have to say if I heard the phrase "and all these eye-popping fantastic bug-free features for only 795 US doh-lairs!" one more time I think my head would have exploded. I suppose that if you go to your first SIGGRAPH conference after 9 years of experience working in computer graphics, the latest of the latest of the button pushing doesn't quite grab you in a way it once did! Of course, there were a ton of impressive innovations. So, I suppose I should mention a couple.

I was really impressed with a demo of the camera and 3D mapping tools in Digital Fusion compositing software by Eyeon Software Inc. The ease of creating a pseudo 3D environment from stills with which you could create realistic, believable camera moves was a pleasure to see from an artist's standpoint. Not at all a complex "wow, look at that!" type of feature, just a truly useful and direct way to make images. What a great tool for ease of creating matte paintings! When I was at The Moving Picture Company we had a nifty MEL script that exported simple geometry in a script file that could be read into Shake to allow mapping of images on "3D planes." But, it was a bit clumsy and took a lot of fiddling in a non-artistic way to get the results. The Digital Fusion system seemed really direct and easy to set up some complex multi-planing images. Still, I am not a Digital Fusion user, so I could have just been impressed by all the flashy-flashy of the demo.

The other software I thought looked useful and impressive was ZBrush by Pixologic. I guess this is new to me being that I am not a real modeler, but still it seems to be another tool that was pushing the "intuitive envelope." Direct artistic access being the theme. Although it looked like the results were somewhat "impractical" from a production standpoint, in that they were invariably massively dense, there relative ease of creating detail and quickly fleshing out a model seemed extraordinary. I got the impression that a lot of folks were using this tool as a way to make high resolution models for illustration or concept art. Pretty nifty!

And, of course, it was cool to see the latest that the Massive Software people were developing. I will have to get my hands on a copy of Massive to learn a bit more about it. It was also funny to be sitting at the Massive booth watching a 10 meter tall floating head of Jordi Bares talking about how great the software was... Jordi is omnipresent! Being able to realistically manufacture and orchestrate crowd animation is such a huge component of computer graphics work both large and small these days that the contribution Massive has made to the medium can not be underestimated.

I suppose that the best thing about going to the exhibits was running into people I have worked with in the past and not seen for a while. The craziest thing happened when I pulled out my phone to give my buddy Blake a quick call (he is setting up his own boutique studio in Los Angeles and I wanted to see how he was doing) and literally as I said hello he said "dude I am looking right at you!" So weird! And that was my first SIGGRAPH!

"Okay, now say something!"

Last night I got a call from Meg's Dad who at the time was standing in the backyard of the family house in Vancouver celebrating the fact that he was visiting with his cousins from Spain who he has not seen in 50 years. Civil wars have the tendency to do that kind of thing to people. Tragic, but there they were nonetheless, in a place they could not have imaged they would ever met, and at a time in their lives that at one time they may not have thought they would see. There was probably a dozen people out there, eating, drinking, and enjoying the summer evening in the little courtyard that Meg's parents have created over the years. Meg's Mom, her aunt Lynne and uncle Pedro, and family friends Sharon and Paco, and a few others, I am not sure exactly, but it sounded like there was a hundred people partying up at storm! And of course, without so much as a proper introduction, Meg's Dad shouts into the phone "okay, I am gonna pass the phone... now say something in Spanish!" And the next thing you know I am on the phone with Primo Marcelino from Madrid, who I have never spoken a word to in my life (for some reason unbeknownst to me, when never had a chance to meet when I was in Madrid) and he is asking me in the most perfect posh Madrileno accent "so, like, what do you think about Madrid man?" As I struggled through my best Vallecano Spanish to answer him, I could hear Meg's uncle Pedro in the background yelling over and over again "la comida aqui es de puta madre!" Which basically means "the food here is the phookin' best!" Anyway, complete and total "family chaos" and I miss it terribly! Good thing I am on the way home!!!

El Jordisimo!

Click here for a link to the newly updated online portfolio of mi amigo en Londres Big Jordi "El Jordisimo" Bares Dominguez. I was just "checking in" with Jordi myself and found myself happily exploring around his site. Some really cool work here in the commercials and music video sector that he has done as a key figure in the computer graphics team at The Mill in London. Disregard all the humbleness you read here, Jordi is a mover and shaker extraordinare in the post production community in London. In fact he is a "developer" of sorts and the kind of person whom you see as a "floating head" on a gigantic screen at SIGGRAPH yacking about the latest innovations in 3D software. Although not quite as tall as me, he's still a pretty cool guy because he is engaged to my little amiga from Barcelona - Elisenda Faustino Deu. Not only that, but he let me crash in his spare bedroom at a time when I really needed a place to stay! That's what friends are for!!! Check out his work...

Third Wedding Anniversary!

Last night I took Meg for dessert at Primativo, a posh tapas bar on Abbot Kinney, to celebrate our third wedding anniversary! We "reflected" on the great times we have had the fortune to experience over the past few years and especially our recent time in Europe. It was tough at times with things like our separation due to lack of work for me in Madrid, which forced me to got to London, and then the bombings in Madrid... But it was also exhilarating to be in two amazing cities and to really experience them in a way that you only can by living and working! there... In much the same way as we have gotten to know Los Angeles of late. If you'd asked me on our wedding day "Walshman, where do you see yourself in 3 years?" There's no way in hell I'd have been able to say "yeah, in 3 years time, I see myself sipping an Oloroso made by the great sherry bodega of Pedro Ximenez in Jerez, Andalucia, coupled nicely to sampling of peach torte, at a posh Los Angeles tapas bar while reminiscing with my wife about our adventures." Crazy. Not to mention the fact that we'd be celebrating Meg's 14th week of pregnancy as well! Meg had made a beautiful meal at home prior to the desert - fish tacos! which is another new addition to our menu for which we have Los Angeles to thank. So all in all it was a tasty way to celebrate our good fortune. We also looked ahead to our impending move back to Vancouver with real excitement - Meg going back to work at Stratford Hall School, and me finding a studio to hang my hat, and then the arrival of "el niño" in January surrounded by family and friends. The year ahead looks spectacular and next year will be celebrated with an additional member of the family! Wow! It all seems to have happened so fast...

The Assault on Encinal Canyon

This past week saw The Walshman grind out a total of 331 kilometres on his beloved Cramerotti road bicycle (referred to affectionately as his "Lil' Mule"). The highlight of the week was a 125 kilometre tour of Encinal Canyon in Malibu that featured an hour plus accent through dense fog and then a screaming descent back to the Pacific Coast Highway via the Mulholland Highway (and a new record top speed of 72.1 kilometres per hour no less!). Terrific stuff all around. As we climbed up from the ocean through the coastal fog, and emerged onto the winding ridge top back roads, a burning sun shone down revealing a tremendous view of the coastal Santa Monica range. The Mountains appeared like giant serpents lumbering through a strange sea of clouds. I reflected that my riding had come a long way since my arrival to Los Angeles in March. Back then, this ride would have done me in for certain. The climb was an agonizingly consistent killer that didn't show any signs of relenting until you had almost overcome it's height. That's one of the great things about riding I find. The simple feeling of accomplishment when you reach a goal. And it can be something so unannounced and spontaneous in our otherwise regimented lives. Somebody in the group just says "who feels like giving Encinal Canyon a go?" And you're off to see yourself up to the top. Just like that! This one was really worth and I imagine I will do it again prior to leaving Los Angeles this fall. Especially if it includes the essential "coffee and muffin stop" on the way home.

A Race At Two Speeds?

Read below an interesting, yet a bit deflating, article about doping in cycling. Thanks to Paul for sending it my way. Where "The Lance" is concerned, I guess I just am a sucker for the "why, as a cancer survivor and generally accepted hero of the people, would I risk throwing all that away?" theory... He can't be doping, he musn't be doping, because there is too much to lose? Right? No? Especially since he does have a "proven medical track record" of off the charts physiology. Perhaps I need to be more skeptical? Who knows...

A "race at two speeds?" Doping continues to haunt Tour
By Justin Davis
Agence France Presse
This report filed July 15, 2005


Following the expulsion of one rider and the arrest of another, talk of doping at the Tour de France has re-emerged as the doctor of one of France's top teams said the race is still being "contested on two levels."

For Gerard Guillaume, the doctor of the Francaise des Jeux team of Bradley McGee and Baden Cooke, his riders simply can't keep up with a peloton whose speeds have amazed everyone in the first 12 days of the race.

The Tour, which American Lance Armstrong is bidding to win for a seventh consecutive time, has so far been raced at a punishing pace, leaving some complaining they are not all racing on the same level.

Although that can partly be explained by the fact the peloton benefited from favorable wind conditions as they raced from west to east in the first 10 days, speeds on the race left many, otherwise good climbers
struggling to hang on in the tough Alpine cols.

"At the Dauphine Liberé I had no problems in following the best climbers. At the Tour, I just can't," said Frenchman David Moncoutie after he won the 12th stage Thursday - a medium-difficulty climbing day. "It's
like that every year, but all I can say is 'too bad.'"

For Guillaume, there's only one explanation.

"There's two Tours de France being raced at the moment. We're not in the same race as those who are at the front, that's for sure," he said in French daily L'Humanite Friday.

"Our best rider for the general classification, Sandy Casar, is already 15 minutes behind."

Cycling has been one of the sports to make the most progress in fighting doping since the 1998 Festina doping scandal almost brought the Tour to its knees.

After years of dubious performances, it was finally revealed that crafty, illicit methods were being used to administer the banned but very effective blood boosting hormone EPO (Erythropoietin).

EPO benefits athletes' by boosting the red blood cells, thus allowing more oxygen to be pumped into the muscles. The result is that riders can last for much longer and, more importantly on the Tour de France,
recuperate quicker.

Even before the 1998 scandal better controls have been introduced, including the UCI blood test to check riders' hematocrit (red blood cell) levels.

The average hematocrit level for normal healthy adult athletes is around 45. The UCI permits riders to compete with levels up to 50, before declaring them "unfit" to ride and requiring a two-week "rest" break.
Some people are born with abnormally high hematocrit levels and the UCI does allow cyclists to prove it with an extensive medical history.

But despite the progress in catching cheats, there are widespread suspicions that new, improved methods are being used to elude the drugs controllers.

EPO was once detectable for up to six days, but now it is suspected that athletes are using micro doses of the drug. It ultimately lets them slip through any drug controls.

"Detecting EPO used to be much easier - there was a five or six day window in which to act. But I think now because of different methods and micro-dosing the window of detection is only 24 hours," said Guillaume,
who also suggested that growth hormones - a test for which is supposedly being used on the Tour this year - could also be widespread.

"The cheats now have got more chance of not getting caught than getting caught," he added.

The first controversy of the race came a few days ago when Russian Yevgeny Petrov, of Lampre, was thrown off the race after his red blood cell count was over the permitted threshold of 50.

On Tuesday Fassa Bortolo rider Dario Frigo, who had been sacked by his team for doping in the past, was also thrown out.

His expulsion became automatic when he was questioned and held by police after his wife Susanna was caught by customs officers with banned substances in her car, believed to be vials of EPO.

French veteran Didier Rous has in the past admitted to using banned substances when he was with Festina. He suggested Wednesday that cheating on the Tour was evident - and called for it to stop.

"There has to come a time when you say, 'right that's enough'," said Rous, a former national champion who raced with Festina when the team was thrown off the Tour in 1998.

"One minute we're able to keep up with the best, then all of a sudden we're not. I can't hold my hands up and say what's going on at other teams. I've got no proof."

"Anyone, he said, can make a transforming robot..."

Click here for a Yahoo News article on the upcoming "Transformers" movie scheduled for release July 4th, 2007. Seeing as I got my start in computer graphics as an animator on "Beast Wars: Transformers" the television series, I have a sort of "looking back on the golden days" type of attitude towards this film... maybe I'll have to do a stint on this one!? Hardly likely, but it could be fun... what was great about the series is how solid the characters were. Sure, the stories were corny as hell, the characters were very well defined and that made for a fun project. That, and non-stop 80 hour weeks at Mainframe for 2 years straight... yeesh, what am I thinking?

The Stupid Venice Beach Drum Circle

So there is this thing in Venice Beach, California called "The Venice Beach Drum Circle." It is one of those things that people who have only ever lived in Los Angeles County (or the United States outside of San Francisco and New York) call "an amazing cultural experience." I can only describe it as the following: a bunch of people (including some with very questionable musical talent) arrive to the Venice Beach board walk with percussion instruments both traditional and otherwise, and proceed to pound, whack, and hit on them synchronously and asynchronously for hours on end making a hell of a racket for little or no apparent reason or artistic Merit. And this is "culture?" Well, of a kind I suppose. The people are of all walks of life, but frequently look like this guy who has shown up to wield that most sophisticated of percussion instruments - the cow bell! "Freaks upon freaks" as my friend Rob once said as we walked the board walk... It goes on and on, pounding away into the wee hours, and is miraculously tolerated by the locals. I suppose they might all be out there pounding on their own instruments of sonic torture. I admire the shear chaos of the event, the complete and total lack of organization, and refusal to submit to any sense of "marketing" that is so ever present in the United States. It is a real relief. Just a bunch of people doing something for the sole reason of doing it. However, that being said, I still can't get myself past the fact that the sum of the parts that is The Venice Beach Drum Circle... Is well, just kinda stupid. Then again, maybe I just need to assimilate!

Backstroke of the West!

Finally, Star Wars is explained!

Oliver Stone's 9/11 Movie

My word... Someone please shelve this project!!!

"Just when you thought the summer couldnÂ’t get worse for Hollywood, Paramount has announced that Oliver Stone will be directing the first major feature film about 9/11. The movie will star Nicolas Cage as Port Authority police sergeant, John McLoughlin. The sergeant and fellow officer William Jimeno were the last two men to be pulled alive from the rubble of the World Trade Center. The film will be released next year - thus guaranteeing another summer of bad box office returns. (Memo to Hollywood: Why not “The Passion II: The Afterlife”?)"

We all know that Nicolas Cage is clearly nutso, especially since dumping the lovely Patricia Arquette in favour of Elvis's lunatic daughter, but Oliver Stone at least has some measure of street credit for being a "challenging director." So, in this case, the "powers that be" will surely force this into some sort of American Imperialism propoganda vehicle. Truly embarassing. I guess you get what you deserve after making "Alexander."

More of the Good Stuff from Gorillaz

Click here to see some "wicked-awesome" in the form of a new Gorillaz music video... What's really impressive to me about the music videos for this group is the way in which animation pushes boundaries. The timing is odd, the look is deceptively simple, there is a kind of "multi-media approach" that I really love... Things like that! Just the sort of mad-cap way that the 2D animation is integrated with the 3D is a real pleasure to see because it is so loose and not overworked like so many things you see these days. It just "feels right" nonetheless. See it, dig it, love it!

The Greatest Music Video...

Ever in the history of the medium!!! Click here to see it! And wait for the flying fish!

Smart Parts

Click here to check out the promotional website for "Smart Parts" an independent feature film written and directed by Derek Franson. A friend of mine in the Vancouver visual effects industry, Mark Benard, is serving as VFX producer on the project and I thought I would shout-out a shameless plug! Actually, I think Mark is splitting his time between growing beets in the Comox Valley and forging ahead with his guerilla visual effects business otherwise known as Lost Boys Studios, but that's beside the point... Take a look at the promo on the website and you'll see that the work is right off the whizzle shnizzle!

Baby Nia and The Vangroovey!

Last weekend featured a visit home to Vancouver and a trip to Victoria to meet my niece Nia for the first time! It really was quite incredible to "look the next generation square in the eye." A totally astounding experience. Seeing my sister and her "pal" Gord caring for an infant was a mind blower and they looked as impressed with themselves as they were with their little offspring Nia. I can only imagine what my mother and father must be feeling as the importance of the arrival of baby Nia will most definitely be exaggerated for them... Little Nia was just a true pleasure hangin' with the old folks and very well behaved! I'd have to say that she's just gonna be a little peach of a kid. Meg and I indeed had a lovely couple of days just hanging out with our now slightly expanded family! It even included picking fresh Tay Berries from my mom's backyard and eating them in a pie the very same day! How's that for down home treatment? Not so bad indeed!

As well, I can only say that it felt amazing to be back in Vancouver. I just love the place and I didn't want to leave! It feels so diverse and interesting compared to Los Angeles! Why did I ever leave? Just kidding, the past few years have been a wonderful, though stressful, experience. Lately I have really realized that for me, I do not need the "ego" of being in a place like Los Angeles, working at a big name studio or whatever... I mean, it is great and Rhythm and Hues has been wonderful exposure to a cool studio with an amazing vibe (as was ESC Ent. and The Moving Picture Company), but to me, if I am interested in what I am doing and struggling to do nice things at work, and I am with good people who respect each other, and there is a balance in my life... This is great and the most desirable thing. A lot of people who may be in London, or in Los Angeles, will never achieve this in my opinion... It is just impossible. These "centers" are incredible places to go to experience the pinnacle (if you are so lucky) of your field, but not places to call "home" necessarily. There are just too many demands and complications.

That being said, I don't think I could have gotten to this phase in my life/career without going far away to
work on these big projects, because I had to "go through it." This is a real personal truth as well. This knowledge comes after working at some big name studios. Also, what I have learned is that when I do get frustrated, or I feel the need for the "big time" Meg has the will to travel and we can do it. I am going to love being back in my home city eventually, and I feel very grateful that it is Vancouver, more than I ever have.

High Resolution "King Kong" Pictures

Click here to check out some really beautiful high resolution stills from the upcoming Peter Jackson's "King Kong." Apparently, Mr. Jackson has been "waiting a long time to remake this film in his own vision." Or, isn't that what they always say? Not so sure I believe the hype, but the story goes that Jackson had to agree to do a remake of "King Kong" to get the New Line Cinema people to buy off on the three part Lord of the Rings films. I guess that they didn't really have any idea what they were getting themselves into now did they? That, or pure rumour mill! I am pretty impressed by what I see here in these images, and although the backgrounds look quite "painted together" they do have a really cool "from another place or era" look and feel about them. You have to be excited about the potential for this film to make everything else at this Christmas 2005 Box Office humble in comparison!

Gettin' Getty Again!

Meg and I headed up to The Getty Museum for the second time since coming to Los Angeles to check out the current exhibit of Rembrant paintings. Such a beautiful location, I could just lounge there all day... we took some photos, had lunch, slept on the lawns near the garden. Really nice time... and such a deal. You pay $7.00 for parking, and the exhibits are all free. Positively European! I am always surprised by the simplicity of what people like to do. You give them a view worth a second or two, some sun and a terraza where you can have a beer, and suddenly, 90% of the folks are in a great mood. The Getty is like that - a lot of the people come up there to see the work on display, of course, but there is a greater portion of people who are there just to be in that environment, in that space. I just love the way that the very modern approach to architecture fuses with some very European and old ideas... down to the simplest details, the open spaces "just for sitting" and use of plants that reflect the traditions of terrazas all over Europe, etc. That is, quite apart from the fact that you always feel as though you are in a scene from an old Star Trek episode featuring some sort of utopia. I kept looking around for the doomed "mystery extra" on our tour of the galleries! Ha!

The art world's newfound appreciation for drawing!

Click here to read an article about the returning interest in drawing within the "Art World." Thank god. It is about time in my books! I have always been a great admirer of preparatory drawings, etching and engraving (that are effectively printed drawings), and all the other manifestations of drawing typically on view at major galleries. But, as this article points out this is the first time in quite a while that some of the major players in the current contemporary art world are drawing. And that the drawings are standing alone as completed works. What is strange to me though sitting from my chair in a film production studio where drawing is still such a core element (usually limited now to the preproduction, concept design, story boarding side of things) is that respect for drawings as an end in itself is such a nouveau thing! Haven't any of these art critics ever read a comic book? Surely, the continued popularity and increasing sophistication of comic book illustrations attests to drawing's vitality as a creative force? In fact, I think it is the simplicity and immediacy of drawing that is often the appeal to the current audience. In the age of Black Berries and Palm Pilots drawings somehow represent an uncluttered efficiency. A directness that is very appealing in an increasingly complicated world. Okay, enough pontificating, here's the shameless plug: if you are ever so fortune to see a show of work by Galan Akin or Ben Reeves advertised, don't miss out. Some tremendous scribblin' going on with these two!

"FRANKLY, MY DEAR, I DON'T GIVE A DAMN"

Click here to view the American Film Institute's "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes." This year's list of lists:

Each year, AFI's 100 Years . . . series has garnered considerable attention from movie lovers around the world. Previous programs within this series have included AFI 100 Years . . . 100 Movies (1998), . . . 100 Stars (1999), . . . 100 Laughs (2000), . . . 100 Thrills (2001), . . . 100 Passions (2002), . . . 100 Heroes & Villains (2003) and . . . 100 Songs (2004).

Kinda pointless, kinda fun. I was surprised how many I didn't really recall!

The Chronicles of Narnia Film Poster

Click here to see the first "official film poster" for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe." I am currently working on the visual effects for this film, as a Lighting Technical Director, at Rhythm and Hues Studios in Los Angeles. The poster looks quite representative of the work completed thus far at the studio and I think is a fair take on what the film "feels like." There are some lovely, dreamy shots that really do feel like "another world, similar to our own..." Although, in this poster, the lion is obviously a retouched photograph and as I am sure the majority of readers who follow the visual effects business already know, the film will feature a fully computer generated lion. He has to talk and emote for goodness sake! Some of the final shots completed thus far have people saying that this work will be the first to challenge the level of achievement on the Gollum character that WETA Digital produced for "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. In fact, a funny story from the work Rhythm and Hues did for the film trailer was that the production editor of the trailer (presumably a well qualified individual) asked the production visual effects supervisor "how'd you get the lion choreographed like that?" Har, har. We'll see how it all shakes down. There is still lots to be done before the Christmas release date! and Gollum put the bar pretty damned high on the shelf. Back to work for Donnie Walsho!

A Smoke Free World?

When I read articles like this one, I am made to recall a night in Madrid a little while back, when I had what can only be described as an "allergic attack" to a smoke filled taberna. Meg and I were out with Vicky and Pablo, our Uruguayan/New Yorker friends in Madrid and after having a lovely dinner, we sauntered over to a cafe adjacent to the restaurant (a very customary thing to do in Madrid... Share the wealth!) to have our desert and post dinner chat. When we swung open the door the place appeared as though there was a lit bonfire in the center of the room. It was incredible, I couldn't remember ever being in a cafe or restaurant in my life with that much smoke from cigarettes. I carried on pleasant conversation, and had a generally very agreeable time, aside from the fact that I kept looking around to check that the walls were not actually on fire! By the time I went home, my eyes felt like they were bleeding, and I couldn't breathe through my nose. The next day, I woke up blowing green chunks from my nose. I had such a strong "reaction" of whatever kind to that environment that I had picked up a nasal infection! I was shocked, and vowed to never enter that particular cafe ever again. Following several conversations about this incident with both foreigners and Spaniards, I struck upon an essential difference in the "logic of personal rights and freedoms" that exists between Canadians and Spaniards (for the most part). Most Canadians feel that they have "the right to clean air" and that legislation should reflect that stance. Someone else's behavior should not be "forced upon us" is the line of thinking. Whereas in Spain, people generally feel that legislating against smoking reflects an infringement on their personal rights and freedoms. They feel that a person's body is their own and they should be able to do with it as they wish. They inherently seem to be missing the entire point that when you smoke in an enclosed area, you are affecting those around you in addition to yourself and thus infringing on their personal rights and freedoms! It is a strange thing to encounter in this day and age of open acknowledgements about the harmful effects of smoking, even from the cigarette industry to find people defending their ability to slowly kill themselves and those around them! I was easily the first thing on a list of annoyances I encountered while living in Spain, short though the list may be!

What's the Weather Like?

Click here to see what the weather is like in Vancouver. The view is looking north from Spanish Banks in Point Grey towards the North Shore Mountains. The road you see is one I ride on when I am in Vancouver. Nice view from the bike huh? Maybe I am just a little homesick or something, but I found myself hitting the "refresh" button one too many times today! Yeesh...

Troubles on the Visual Effects Horizon in the United Kingdom

All the while I was working in Soho, UK, there was all this background hub-bub about the "tax incentives" and "lease buy back program" that was (depending on who you listened to!) footing the entire bill for the expansion and growth of the Soho post-production houses, or merely a helping hand along for a ride that was largely merit driven. For example, the Soho studios were doing good work, and therefore getting more work as a result of that good work. Although it seems to be true that if you look at, for example, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" the shots completed in the United States (the Dementors at ILM) versus the shots completed in the UK (everything else at The Moving Picture Company, Double Negative, Framestore/CFC and Cinesite) there is hardly a recognizable "quality gap." Especially if considering the average cinema goers' eye for level of accomplishment. So, given this increase in level of accomplishment to match the high levels of achievement in US -based visual effects, or seeming parity amongst studios on both sides of the Atlantic, one can only really draw one conclusion... That the work was coming to the UK because the producers liked what they saw! In fact, and with the benefit of growing hindsight, these incentives were largely the motivating force behind the growth and expansion of the UK visual effects industry. Sadly, it has had little to do with the work (some of which I did!) aside from the fact that American producers knew that they "could get it done in the UK." As this recent news item points out, as the laws that allowed for the incentives come under review, the post-production work is already moving elsewhere. As always, you just have to follow the trail of money:

The uncertain future of Britain's entire film industry was triggered by a revision of Section 48 tax benefits for films with budgets of more than £15 million, which the Government found was being abused by some producers.

The situation has been worsened by the weakness of the dollar against the pound, which has meant that American film producers are finding it as much as 30 per cent more expensive to make movies at studios such as Pinewood than it was 18 months ago.

Industry executives expect a huge drop in film production because of the uncertainty. Pinewood suffered a hit this year when Paramount indefinitely postponed shooting its $120 million (£66 million) feature The Watchmen.

Concerns remain over whether the forthcoming Bond film, Casino Royale, and Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix will be shot in the studios. The producers of both are considering going to cheaper Eastern European cities, such as Prague and Budapest.

The Film Council, which represents the industry, is in talks with the Treasury to work out a framework for tax relief. It is expected within weeks to set down a timetable for rolling out a new tax regime that will allow for a fresh round of investment from Hollywood studios.

Topanga Canyon Road

My regular Saturday morning riding group veered dramatically away from the normal routine this weekend. Instead of the usual 80 kilometre "out and back" on the Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu, we ascended Topanga Canyon Road from the ocean up and over the Santa Monica Mountains to Encino in the Valley. It was probably the most challenging, but also the nicest, ride I have done yet in the Los Angeles area. The climb begins innocently enough, ascending on a gradual pace away from the ocean, and then suddenly a couple of miles into the climb you encounter the first of several "up and overs." About a half-mile of steep and winding grade with a sheer cliff on the side. Just as you begin to wonder why on earth you chose to spend your Saturday morning on this particular for of overzealousness, pretty views and the warm, dry smell of the canyon surround you, and you grind away! It is about this point that you really begin to feel that you have left the city behind as the canyon closes in around you. Although I am very much used to the drama and grandeur of the British Columbian forests, with their rich deep shadows cast by enormous trees, I am beginning to see the desert beauty in these dusty canyons north of Los Angeles. They have a kind of spare, minimal beauty. Like the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The separation from the city alone is worth the effort. Lots of twists and turns, and ups and downs later we reached the summit of Old Topanga Canyon Road and a nice view out over the valley below. The return trip featured a rocket descent and then a clockwise lazy right hand turn through Encino on Wells Drive, and then back into Santa Monica via Sepulveda Boulevard. All in all, the best Socal ride yet.