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.