begin part one.
i was a spy sent in to rescue prisoners which were held in small boxes surrounded by laser beams that didn't kill you but alerted the bad guys to my presence. i was together with a friend who i can't remember at this point, and we snuck closer to our targets. we were in the mountains in korea, whereas this is irrelevant militarily, the area was just wilderness and roads as most places in the south are. the lasers were multi-coloured and surrounding several posts in the middle with three-beams in a gate like fashion. thin enough to get through, and that's what we did, and soon we were examining the posts closely. however, the boxes were impossibly small for people, and the realization i made in the non-linear fashion, was that these were bodies, cremated and stuffed into these small boxes on the posts. why so were they protected i wondered? well, there was no way we could carry them, let alone rescue them, so we decided to make a break for it. however, my partner accidentally stepped too far back and tripped the lazer. so we ran, however, the lazers had a slowing side effect. and as a result even though we were running away as fast as we could, we still weren't moving fast enough to get away. or so i thought. as we were running up a mountain road trying desperately to escape our captors, i passed by an idling truck, and realized it was my getaway truck. except the girl who was in the driver's seat (i didn't recognize her) said that i had taken many hours for what felt like a few minutes. i stopped by the driver's side window to find out more about my missing time, when she looked at me and said i wasn't who she remembered me to be. i was someone else. it was then i realized that it was i who had been in the boxes, and somehow my rescuer (which i had been in the consciousness of earlier in the dream) had switched places with me as he/i ran through the lazer beams.

end part one

begin part two.
i was at a jam session with all the usual suspects, i think it was in scott's basement, or something similar, and there were stacks and stacks of amps and gear everywhere. i was very excited because there was a musician who i admire that was playing there. so after a while of watching the bands jam it out, i went up to this musician (who also is a guitar player) and asked her if i could play guitar with her. she said yes, and we tried to jam, unfortunately no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't find that groove together, and i couldn't tell if it was her or me that was making it sound so bad. consequently, after a few tries, she explodes on me and yells that i'm terrible, and we clash so bad because i'm so bad. at this point, i'm very embarassed, and i try to show her some work i did on the computer as reconciliation, however, cubase wouldn't work, and i couldn't play her any music.

end part two

of course, these are edited versions of it, and some parts i don't remember as clearly as others, and other feelings don't translate at all in to words, but it was a very lucid dream, the clearest i've had in a while.

don't think i'd post this to my portfolio site :)

i have a much more complete version of my website finally up. becoming a hermit at home has some advantages, as i have actually been working on things. writing, editing, mixing, and finishing up my portfolio.

check it out:

Rob's Portfolio

if it turns out that this site turns out to be functional and easy to update and use and such, i will retire this blog and use the website as my everyday blog.

enjoy

wow, two film projects in as many weeks. AMACHJING! i was looking back through my stockpiles of footage, and found the original scans for the Swaying Image video shoot. I forgot what the original stuff looked like after seeing the final version of the video for going on six years now. I thought I might reedit the video and make a version I can call up to the standards I have now for quality of projects. However, after removing everything that I found to be cheezy, or out of focus, I found that I actually didn't have nearly enough footage for the four and a half minute-long song. So, since NIN is always inspiring to me, I decided to do another entry for the Ghosts film festival, although this time, my intention is not to keep the music, this I will compose and make a new short film out of an old project. So I attached the rough cut, there is still one or two shots I think I will change, and I'm not sure yet how attached I am to the fades, but that said, I'm lazy, and I may do nothing more at all except change the music. It's amazing to me that I'm on this roll of tying up loose ends of projects. Only have a website, a script and an album left to finish, and I'll be semi-caught up for now. Here's the rough cut, a very different feel I'll admit, a much slower, eerier approach, with basically no references to the Linger band or concept. Enjoy.

(Please watch in HQ, it's incredible the difference it makes)

**EDIT** Final touches have been applied, enjoy.

Finally! Thank god! It only took me since January 2008 to finish it, but finally, I have completed my entry for the Ghosts Film Festival on Youtube.com. I've been using nine inch nails as a soundtrack for years, but now i finally have permission! Unbelievable. Now, this film can be a little deceiving, but there isn't a shot in the whole project longer than 4 seconds that hasn't been messed around with in some way. At times there is between 3-5 layers of video. All the footage is from the Prelinger archives at archive.org. Without further adieu, here is 33 Ghosts IV. Enjoy. (Make sure you watch in HQ, the difference is remarkable)

this is what we do with our cultural heritage...

The school year has begun again, and now i have some time on my hands...more time than i've ever had, so it seems. This year kat and i have determined that we are going to get out more and see more of the country. already we have taken a short trip to Andong, just a couple hours south of Taebaek. Now, this in itself doesn't seem to be particularly interesting, so let me tell you of a few of the other ways i've decided to fill my time.

1. Lord of the Rings Online. Potentially the most addicting game I've ever played in my life, moreso than Diablo 2, moreso than Magic Cards Online (yeah, i am a geek, i know). This game has kept me riveted night after night for nearly 5 months now, exploring Middle Earth and saving it's inhabitants single handedly (or in a group) from all the evils of the fantasy world. I've walked Rivendell with Frodo, comforting and preparing him for the journey, have seen the fellowship off to their brave deed, and wasted damn near 500 hours of gameplay time to an imaginary world where the game never ends, isn't beatable, and just continues to morph and grow.

2. My Portfolio Site. I am not a web designer. I can make webpages, but they must be simple, and it usually takes me an ungodly amount of time. I am quite thankful for my new computer, as it has a program called iWeb, which is like iMovie, but for web design. a program that is simple to use, largely drag and drop, and vastly customizable, i've done more work toward a website in 4 hours than i have in damn near a year. it is limited in the scope, you're restricted to the templates, and it's difficult to add anything outside the normal realm of simple web site, but it'll do the trick. the site is still a work in progress, but all my video, and the best of my recent photographs are all together in one place.

3. Kat has the Key - As Yet Untitled EP. We succeeded in laying down enough tracks for a healthy EP. This group took an intense nearly 8 days (or part-days anyhow) laying tracks for about 8 songs. we'll see how this progresses, as it is still being worked on across the ocean. however, i have faith that this will turn out to be a solid recording.

4. Silent Hill 5!!! I just downloaded it today, and i'm excited to see if it holds up to previous versions. this is the first one of the series programed in High Definition, and i finally have a computer with High Definition playback.

5. Reunion. My first attempt at a feature length script. I have completed the outline (in itself, 10 pages), and have completed about 20% of the script. I know that although I've been working on this idea for a few years, progress goes in leaps and bounds. most of the completion of the script took only a few days, whereas the outline took most of last year. It was my intention to be finished it last January, so I am trying to weasel it into my priorities above LOTRO (though it's hard).

...

other than that, i spend a lot of time surfing the internet, pretty sure i've visited every site there is, twice. i only teach about 18 hours a week (in the rare instance that i work the full week), and that means i have 22 hours a week of sitting at my desk, staring at the computer. i try to fill it working, but when i only have two hours of work in 22 hours of downtime, it's pretty boring.

i'm starting work on some more video projects as well, and now that i have the tools to, finishing up the two projects i spent working on all last year, the Linger video reedit, and the Nine Inch Nails Ghosts 33 video that is about 85% finished...i hope to make this year the year of tying up loose ends, especially when i have five projects within a solid evening's worth of work to completion.

here's an entertaining video i found on the internet:

These images are the first captured on motion picture film, back in the late 1800s. hard to believe it even exists. i particularly enjoyed the shot of the busy street in the city, with no power lines, and horse drawn carts being pulled everywhere. it's hard to believe that the technology for making motion pictures precedes the car, precedes common electricity, and precedes the mp3 player...hard to believe, i know.

Another five day holiday immediately following a five day holiday. There's something pleasant about following the same schedule as students when it comes to breaks and days off. Kat's even luckier, she has the entire month of January and February off. I have to teach half days for the next three weeks. Not too much work really, and then we come back to Canada. We arrive Jan.24 at 7:30pm in Regina. I think we're gonna sit down with our families first to have a bit of a catch up dinner (at the copper kettle of course), and then we'll be off to Weyburn. While some of my vacation will be free and easy, it's still gonna be busy as hell, and if I can't pull off getting a driver's license for that time, then things might be a little trickier. I think the first week we get back will be a week of meeting up with friends and family with Weyburn as the home base. If we can pull it off, we might go to Regina as soon as Thursday, Jan.29. However, people are more than welcome to come down to Weyburn and live it up hillbilly style. Maybe go marvel at the soon to be disappeared cultural symbol of Souris Valley Mental Hospital. Take in the delicious food at the El Rancho, and follow it all up with a $3 pint at the Weyburn Inn, the only bar in town that you are likely to not get beaten up.

I jest of course, I look forward to those hillbilly times. I think it will be an opportunity to spend some close time with our families, catch up on some of the local cuisine, and, well, rest! I'll get to pull out my acoustic guitar that has been collecting dust now for some time, and maybe strum some chords once or twice before we set about making some music with KHTK.

We got back from Cambodia and Vietnam on Monday. A shocking and wonderful experience all at the same time. Cambodia is a wounded culture that is slowly recovering from a truly horrific past. Angkor Wat was one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen in my entire life.


Keep an eye on the travel blog, there should be a new post in the next few days. Either way, I'll be seeing you in a a couple weeks.

Peace
rob

Hello, loyal readership (Kat!), I hope things have been faring you well. It has been a long time since we have had a heart to heart. Although there hasn't been much newsworthy going on in my life, at the same time, many things have come to pass in just a few short days. December 3 was Katherine's and my anniversary, nine years, in itself slightly newsworthy. December 8 was my birthday, I didn't turn 27, I didn't grow older at all this year. December 10 was the one-year point for being in Korea. In a period of one week, there has been much nostalgic reflection. Time is ticking away. One week to Cambodia/Vietnam, five weeks to Canada.

Aside from that, Kat Has the Key has gone into some greater discussion related to the impending album recordings. So much work to do, so little time to do it. But it's like a focus point, something to concentrate on. School is now slipping into a groove that makes it go faster and easier.

I am prepared to return to Canada. Jan.24-Feb.22. I will drive from the airport to O'Hanlon's and buy a pizza and a pint of Stella Artois. From there, we will go to Weyburn, stop at Souris Valley and see it in all it's decrepit glory. After a short stop by the grocery store, where we'll buy bologna, raisin bran, relish, cheese, five pounds of ground beef, candy, ice cream, perogies, frozen veggies, and then go eat them all in one sitting. Even if I'm shivering from the disgusting cold, I will still go tobogganing.

But for now, I must prepare for my English camp this weekend, and start to pack to get ready to go. I think the next 11 days will be a whirlwind, but when it stops, I should have a few days to recover and relax. Or so I hope! If I don't get on here again before xmas, let me just wish you a happy holidays and all that jazz. don't do anything I wouldn't do...

peace
rob

Well, Katherine and I have been mulling around for the past month or so in decision-making mode. Really, the decision has been made for some time now, but we've basically been coming to terms with it. No matter which direction we choose, there will be a loss of some sort, so it's been very difficult in letting go what could or might be. So we've been drowning ourselves in busy-ness to avoid having to cope with it. So to ease the pain of another year, we've decided to take a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam for Christmas with Erin Grosjean and Jeffrey Fridfinnson. Our original plan was Thailand, however, it is more expensive and more touristy, so we'll put that off to some other time. Perhaps next year at the same time. It will be a very short trip, hopefully not too rushed, just short. Two and a half days in Siem Riep and Phnom Penh (Cambodia), one day taking a boat up the Mekong River into Vietnam, and one day in Ho Chi Minh city, formerly known as Saigon (Vietnam). Then, we fly back to work the next day. Exciting. Siem Riep in Cambodia is best known for the famous temple ruins Angkor Wat. Phnom Penh is a much more somber destination, with the Killing Fields, and the Genocide Museum. However, this is something that is meant for balance. Nothing makes the things that are beautiful and good moreso than the contrast and reality of the other extreme.

Anyhow, more on that as the situation develops. Either way, expect us back in Canada for a visit in February, now only a few months away...