I feel 15% cooler just hanging out with these guys. I'll post some more of my new set when I get a few more seconds at the internet...

Hunter S goes out with a bang

thank you johnny depp

The last several weeks of my life have been encapsulated by constant and continuous working. Even my vacations usually involve working. On top of my 60+ hour a week job, I am producing a music video, working on a project w/ mark involving Souris Valley. It's kind of a good thing Kat is out of town, 'cause if she wasn't, I still wouldn't see her. Why have I become such a workaholic? I've decided I can't wait 'til I'm out of debt to start working on my own shit, if it means less sleep, then that's what it means. I don't think I've been this busy since school, at the same time it's exhausting, it's exhilarating as well. I'm finally putting my education to use. It's all short term as well, Cornergas only goes until the end of September, then I'll get a couple of weeks off, which I need to use wisely.

Some cool things are in the works though, this video's rough budget is about $26k, though that funding hinges on some elements beyond my control, namely, the band's. As well, I'm heading into Souris Valley on Saturday morning to take pictures and measurements, and that is fucking exciting. I haven't been in there since '02, and I have missed it. I was actually supposed to be in there both this past sunday and the week before, however, it got pushed back. I've decided it's time to start organizing and submitting my photographs for publication as well, maybe submit to some galleries...

The upcoming edition of Splice Magazine, Regina's independent filmmaking magazine will be featuring several pictures by yours truly. Pick it up at your local library or the regina filmpool. peace

Kat and i went adventuring this weekend to winnipeg, the dirty city (i'm just saying that to bug mark)...I had a blast...between blunts and budgeting, i only got out into the city a little bit to explore, visited the same ol' haunts (kustom kulture), and some new ones (fyxx, the toad), and plotted out some more of the souris valley project...i can release as of yet nothing detailed until it's a bit more formal, however, i can assure you that it's still going ahead, and i'm heading into the building likely saturday morning or sunday afternoon to take a few sample pictures which i hope to post alongside my digitized canoe trip pics, if and when that happens...

whilst in winnipeg, i dropped into a small theatre named the cinemateque which was quite cozy, and was also showing a NEW Ingmar Bergman picture, which, for those of you versed in Swedish drama, you'd know that Bergman publicly announced that he was shooting his last movie, "Scenes from a Marriage", in the early 1980s, and thus retiring...however, nearly twenty years later, the 86-year old director came out of retirement to shoot a sequel, actually more of a continuation of his last movie. Saraband, which clocks in at only 90 minutes, revisits some classic swedish actors like liv ullman (who you finally get to see naked, 'cept she's like 60 some years old)...

in other news, i've lined up a gig to shoot a video for local underground hip-hop sensation Def3, who was the headliner for the hempfield party...They are pioneering the local hip-hop scene, and i am in awe of their talents, it makes me feel musically unfulfilled watching these guys work...i finally understand turntables and sampling, and yes, it is an artform...we're presently applying for grants and choosing a single...i'll update you when i know more...

I can't complain

Deep green hedges, tall, above their heads pass them by like walls in a corridor. The cemetery-like stone cobble on the ground, moonlit. Patio-lanterns drape the hedges, casting a warm, coloured glow upon the faces of the two children, old enough to be aware of love and life, but too young to understand them. They dash away from the adults, the loud country music starting to fade and echo into obscurity, with only the abstract bass still recognizable. Laughter quieting down as they skip further away from the crowd. She pulls his hand, his reluctance more out of obligation then hesitation, hopelessly wide-eyed and euphoric of just being in this private moment. Anticipation brimming over like an ebbing tide, she pushes him to into the hedge, and though the branches scratch and sting, his attention is never taken away from her eyes or her smile. She leans in and gives him a soft, brief kiss. A secret, precious moment for only them to share.

This moment doesn't end. Sometimes, in the worst throws of anxiety, he crawls into the shower, curls up into a feotal position and sits in the spray, a symbolic womb, in utero, traveling back to this moment. She is gone from his life, the memory simultaneously comforting and crippling. She was his best and only friend. Melancholy melds into sadness, sadness becomes uncontrollable fear. It is this and only this moment that keeps him alive in a pitiable state.

This place still pulls me close...Mark, Matt, Kat and I talked out some things today, and Mark made a suggestion that could get us to at least somewhat preserve the building for which we've been so inspired...The idea of a 3D digital composite of Souris Valley opens many a door to artistic possibilities...if we could convince someone to give us money to make a model of SV, then there would be a shot at closure, I could rest easy, knowing someday i could show this muse to share the feeling...

From: rob.hillstead@sasktel.net
Subject: check it out
Date: August 7, 2005 8:00:28 PM GMT-06:00
To: mail@markbauche.ca

Souris Valley Digital Preservation

Intent

To digitally preserve Souris Valley Regional Care Centre by capturing the building into an interactive 3-D environment. This is meant to be both a detailed, historically-accurate archival preservation, as well as a marketable model to be used for educational, artistic and commercial purposes.

Project Description:

Phase I: Photography and survey.
- photograph samples of textures for each room
- measurement and scaling (pending acquisition of architectural plans)
- 360° hi-res digital photographs of each room
- hi-res photographs of exterior and grounds
- aerial hi-res photographs
- research for sampling for buildings which no longer exist

Phase II: Creation of a 3-D model of SVRCC, past and present.
- data-entry
- 3-D modeling of present RFVSS
- modification to past SVRCC, and creation of models of torn-down buildings
- basic rendering

Phase III: Art direction and additional content
-period research
-modelling of furniture and extraneous objects, people, and other such
environmental stimuli
-textural compositing
-documentary component
-architectural information
-create interactivity, method to explore and learn
-compression and creation of a DVD containing all such above information

Phase IV: Marketing
-reproduction
-packaging
-distribution

Time Frame

Phase I: October 2005(completion)

Phase II: December 2005 (completion)

Phase III: February 2006 (completion)

Phase IV: April 2006 (completion)

Well, I have been waiting for 10 years for this, and it finally looks like it's gonna happen...I'm going to see Nine Inch fucking Nails...I picked up tickets today for both edmonton and calgary, despite the fact they are also playing in Winnipeg, I had to pass up hitting all three ($$$)...But I will get to see them twice, which will also bring my Queens of the Stone Age live show count up to 3...

Some people don't like the new album, well, I could care less, as I love this album as though it were my own, people said the same thing about The Fragile...With Teeth has a depth to the lyrics that NIN has only touched upon in previous albums, and the minimalistic (relative minimalistic) approach to the music has combined to hit me right in my headspace, and well, it only happens once in a while (A Perfect Circle, Tool, QOTSA), but I get to cross off another one of those bands off my "must-see" list...System of a Down and the Mars Volta are two others that I like a lot and get to see in a month or two...

I implore you all to take this chance and buy tickets...they are also hitting Winnipeg, on November 14, buy tickets on saturday august 6, enjoy life...

"See the animal in his cage that you built...
are you sure what side you're on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye...
are you sure what side of the glass you are on?"