drowned rat

the health food gods decided to punish me this afternoon when i said yes to walking the 1 block that it takes to get from work to the golden arches for an ice cream treat.

when my co-worker and i strolled out of our building there was no rain. just a lot of dark clouds.

i with my ice cream cone and he with his sundae and hamburger, we walked out of the golden arches and it was ever so slightly raining; very light stuff.

my co-worker and i even commented on the people huddled by the door to said arches saying that they were wimps.

but immediately after our comments, the rain became exponentially greater and harder. we got stuck at the middle of the intersection and was just pelted with rain. i couldn't even open my eyes.

i had already eaten most of my cone and was holding it precariously with two fingers. his bag o' burger was entirely soaked. the both of us couldn't do anything but face away from the direction of the downpour and just laugh.

we ran back to the building and was greeted by the resident PR person who asked to take a picture of our dripping bodies for the company newsletter.

article: social networks and class divisions

Came across (via Brazen Careerist) a link to an interesting article about class divisions between the dominant groups who utilize MySpace vs. Facebook.

"Viewing American class divisions through Facebook and MySpace" by danah boyd

tip: you know it's a sociology article cuz the word "hegemony" appears in it.

wedding video biz

so, rob had a bit too much time on his hands today and came up with this handbill layout to generate interest in our wedding video business.

this is the kind of design crime that can happen when technology gets into the wrong hands.

please note his special offer at the bottom of the layout.

greek day in kits

we got there at 5pm when it was still raining and scored very close parking. the crowds were not as big as last year due to the rain but i love the rain (some days) and we were true vancouverites by walking around without umbrellas.

we ate:
pork souvlaki with beer
fried dough w sugar water, cinnamon and sesame seeds
roti canai w curry sauce

the pork souvlaki with beer cost only $8 and we didn't have to drink the beer in a beer garden. i thought this was brilliant and weird since you can only drink beer in a beer garden at the pne. i guess the greeks must have pull at city hall.

we watched greek dancers perform and at least two little kids crying as they walked alongside their moms carrying a balloon.

the sun came out around 7pm as we left the festival area. it was perfect.

priorities

bizarre but i can't sleep so i spent about 3 hours on facebook. searching and browsing; hoping to find old friends and acquaintances. but i found no one and nothing.

things that i'm trying to make a priority these days are:
1/ finish ladyhawk trailer - i think this will be done by tomorrow
2/ figure out appropriate packaging for the ladyhawk trailer dvd when we send it to the record label
3/ figure out a new website for the wedding biz - layout, colours, font. yes, i'm starting over.
3/ purge more clothes and stuff out of my life.
4/ design decision on renovating kitchen - i'm going with an open concept
5/ design decisions on renovating bathroom - white on white with light blue/grey. getting rid of that tiny closet.

and, i think i need to micromanage our condo insurance claim rep. he hasn't been very assertive with getting answers from the whole "neighbour flooding our condo" situation. it's been 2 months.

also, i'm toying with the idea of going into a duplex with my brother.

additionally, i've been avoiding purchasing new "things" like clothes and furniture and household stuff. i figure there's enough "stuff" in the world that i don't need to perpetuate stuff being made in china and then shipped to vancouver so i can buy it for a ridiculous small amount that results in high eco ramifications.

and finally, i'm having a real hard time lately just thinking about consuming chicken. the thought of it makes my throat feel tight like i'm going to vomit. i can't explain it since i like eating anything. i suspect it's a combination of the slow realization of what i'm ingesting and texture issues but i think my chicken eating days are over.

well, i'm going to lie down and see if i fall asleep now.

father's day dinner

rob had to work last night so he missed out some good chinese food with my family at shiang garden. we had peking duck and it was actually well-made.

then afterwards, we all went to this dessert place called '100% healthy desserts.' i'm not kidding, that's the actual name.

anyways, it's pretty small and is located on westminster highway close to number 3 road.

the desserts are a crazy asian-inspired zoo of colours, shapes and tastes.
> corals - transparent coral shaped and firm that had no taste to them. i think they were made out of starch.
> tadpoles - multicoloured globes with tails on them. also no taste.
> coconut juice noodles - these actually tasted like coconut.

these options sit on top of the regular asian dessert selections like red bean, black sesame, mango pudding, etc.

i take it all the way by ordering a banana split which came with a scoop of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream (rather tasty ice cream) and slices of banana. the craziest part of my dessert was that they stuck 2 chocolate pockies into the ice cream.

next time i go, i'll take rob and order the black rice with coconut milk and taro. heated. yummy. and, apparently, 100% healthy.

if anyone wants to go with us, let me know.

such a tease

we started putting together a teaser trailer for the doc today.

after spending 3 months logging the footage, today felt like walking into a candy store.

above is a still of a clip that's currently in the consideration pile. who knows if it'll make the final edit. there are so many gorgeous looking clips and fabulously funny quips to choose from.

but before we selected clips, we watched trailers for some great documentaries:
> gimme shelter (rerelease trailer) - this was amazing
> grey gardens (original trailer) - dated
> luna doc - lovely and closest to our doc
> wilco doc - very mtv-styled
> lost in translation - gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous

okay, so lost in translation isn't technically a doc but it was sitting right there on the shelf and it's an all-time favourite. the trailer was very inspiring, actually.

....................
so, it appears that i had already posted in may that we were working on a new trailer. well, that was an untruth since, at that time, we were not finished with 'double pass logging.'

also, this trailer will only be 2 minutes long.

my cutie

my nephew (and his parents) returned from calgary this afternoon. they've been away for 3 long weeks. so, we did the usual for our family when someone travels: we have a meal together right away.

we ate at the always reliably delicious Crab House Restaurant which is right behind the original Canadian Tire on #3 road in richmond. my dad had a fever so he didn't have dinner with us but here's what we had:
> fried pork chops with salted spice
> beef, ginger and green onion hotpot
> chinese water lettuce
> beef and bitter melon

but enough about us.

let me tell you about the other table where a chinese young woman dressed stylishly conservative ate with a young caucasian man in a suit. they sat across from each other on a rather small table that wasn't more that 3 feet square.

here's what they ordered:
> crab cooked in cream sauce with efu noodle (look behind ethan's head in the top photo)
> beef and broccoli
> full order of crispy chicken

as we walked towards the bubble tea place in the same strip mall, the four of us decided that the dinner was an attempt by the chinese girl to impress her new boss. we believe this solely because of the unusual pairing of the dishes.

it's like this: if you're a lover of crab in cream sauce with efu noodle, it's highly unlikely you're gonna want to order crispy chicken because these are two dishes that are typically 'heavy.' it's just not generally done.

also, beef and broccoli. who orders beef and broccoli? okay, yes, even chinese people order this dish or else why would they have it on the menu.

it's just that the selection of the 3 dishes didn't seem balanced and, to us, revealed an attempt to impress somebody.

look at my nephew's expression, even he wasn't impressed.

a tale of two films

"stranger than fiction" and "punch drunk love"

i watched both movies for the first time in the past 3 weeks and noticed some similarities:
1) male leads are generally loners and socially inept
2) male leads somehow hook up with rather attractive females
3) female romantic person seems blissfully happy after their "first time" together

i don't know. this just doesn't add up for me. maybe i'm too cynical.

sorry, so sorry

yes. i have succumbed.
i've just spent over 4 hours setting up my facebook profile.
i have nothing else to say.

stop the logging

finally. FINALLY!
we've finished logging the footage. as of yesterday, we completed "second pass logging" in which we go through all the clip descriptions and pull out the best clips and categorize them further. and we high-fived it but we did it with ironic intention.

yes.
and now onto the business of laying out the elements that will make it into the doc which we started doing this morning. but rob is working this evening and i'll be a production assistant for terry's shoot tonight.

i'm so excited to be in this part of the process. obviously, it's more creative. and we deserve it after spending about, oh, 3 months in the logging process. but it's all necessary so we can access clips with a single search.

but, first i gotta buy some dish washing gloves for rob.

the brilliance of terry miles

terry is working on a webisode/feature film project (when life was good) in which:
1) the production crew consists of terry
2) actors are given words or emotions to hit
3) actors are asked to improvise how to get there

rob and i are super excited about this project and have watched most of his footage so far.

go see his trailer for "when life was good" at
http://www.whenlifewasgood.blogspot.com

above is a still taken on a shoot where rob and i helped out one evening.

this and that

... music ...
wilco's sky blue sky: enjoyable.
vincat concert: happier and popier arcade fire *see rob and ken above*

.
.

... film ...
jet li's fearless: boring.
curse of the golden flower: horrible.

.
.

... garden ...
snow peas: still alive
tomatoes: growing an inch a day
zucchini: still hanging in there

.
.

... me ...
rob and i are putting the ladyhawk doc at the top of our priority list these days.

today

rob and i got up at 7:30am this morning to go to my dad's to help him with some gutter thing on this house.

this is clearly much too early for both of us and we are still waking up as we walk into the underground parking when...

a huge splatter of vomit greats us at the door leading to the garage. we stop just in time and carefully jump over the large mess. i feel guilty just leaving the mess but i'm already late for my dad.

rob helps my dad with the roofing. we have lunch. we return home at 3pm

vomit is still there and we both step in the outskirts of the vomit. gross and why is it still there?

so, i do my part as an owner in the building and gather my supplies:
rubber gloves
vinegar
paper towels
plastic bag to hold used paper towels
camera

i go to the offending scene, take several pictures and clean up the mess.

it takes me about 20 minutes to clean the whole thing up and i'm worried that my ex or (even better) my ex along with his woman show up. but they don't. only 1 person comes through and doesn't even ask me what the fuck i'm doing on my hands and knees. she just says "excuse me" in her little priviledged voice as she steps over me.

i finish and go back home to craft a scathing notice to put up. see picture above.

but my printer decides to run out of ink so i spend another 30 minutes changing out all 4 ink cartridges.

and, like a predictable hollywood movie, as i'm putting up the notice at the door to the garage, guess who shows up. yup. the "even better" scenario with the ex and his woman combo.

i'm not looking up, i'm just holding the door open as they bring thru groceries and large jugs of water. i don't say a thing. i'm mute.

but.
fuck.
she decides to ask me what i'm doing. so i answer in monosyllabic words and wait for them to go up the elevator.
just fucking great.