nostatic at all...

Dogs and ponies tap dancing. But evidently I actually have been thinking about things...and I'm quick on my feet. Guess that's what I'm paid for.

An ST2 this time. Probably a short-timer though...

Finally got to see wall-e tonight. I make no secret of the fact that I'm a huge Pixar fan, and think that they are pretty much the best story tellers going right now. Yes, I know that they tell essentially the same story over and over again, but the fact that they do it in fresh and entertaining ways shows that they are very, very good.

I'm all for explosions, but when they're expected. Some people are nuts...but at least no one lost an eye (at least that I know of). Happy 4th.

Another rediscovery, this time Alan Parsons Project. The boy was especially taken with "The Turn of a Friendly Card," so it was off to iTunes to buy the song. Well, then I saw all the other songs that I'd forgotten so instead it was a triple "best of" album. And now to learn a bunch of new songs. But this time, it was helping the boy to figure out a song by ear then work with his singing voice...that one needs a bit of work. Nothing time and practice won't solve.

that Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play.

Welll, ok...only been a year. So my math isn't so good...sue me.

Watched "The Player" tonight in preparation for two weeks of production on an internal video thang. I'd forgotten quite a bit of the film and it was interesting to watch it in light of the past few years of my personal and professional experiences.

What kind of water do you want?

And so begins the one-man production unit. Have 38 interns to interview. Did 9 today. About on target, but not all of them responded to the email. Guess a few are camera shy...heh, like that will stop me.

19 of 38 interns now shot. Getting the patter down, but I'm still not sure how this is going to cut. I ripped a few scenes from The Player (thanks, Handbrake!) and will try to use that as glue to weave the piece together. Of course most of the interns were in elementary school when that movie came out but that's the way it goes. In retrospect maybe a Star Wars thang would have been preferable. Oh well...

Or more accurately, creaky morning. Back to Tai Chi for the first time in too long of a time. Actually the legs were fine. Now it is the shoulder and rotator cuff. Doing sticky hands can be tricky when you have trouble raising your arm...

Friday night at the Getty, and quite the interesting scene. I have to say that the musical "entertainment" was weak, but the company was excellent, the people watching riveting, and thankfully the exhibit of Becher and Sander photographs was amazing (especially the former). Here I was influenced by the Bechers and didn't even realize it...

Finally connected with Mike and a buddy of his for a run up the crest and breakfast at Newcombs Ranch. Quite the busy morning, about a hundred bikes up at Newcombs, and the obligatory CHP and ambulance heading up as we were heading back down. Uneventful ride except for when Mike and I swapped bikes for a bit. He wanted to ride my Aprilia, and I was on his Ducati Paul Smart replica. Egad, talk about your torture racks...and he's going to do a thousand or two miles on that bike next weekend. Better him than me...

Day two of shooting. Starting to get into a rhythm. But time for another nastygram - some people don't want to be shot it would seem. Heh...no hiding allowed.

A day or running around, though next time I need to remember to bring my proof on insurance with me - no rides without it. Progress on the ST2 with top box installed...I'd forgotten how damn useful they are. Then a proper coffee at Peets, then a long trek to Sierra Madre to grab late dinner and what was supposed to be some Latin jazz. Instead, the musical inhabitants of 322 was a blues quartet. And not a particularly good one at that. Thankfully a streetside table muted the sounds, and mother nature provided better entertainment in a few lightning strikes while on the road and some raindrops on the ride back.

it's surf city...at least that's what the signs say

Not sure that my rotator cuff agrees, but push hands certainly does get the chi and blood moving. And the sweat pouring as well. Maybe I'm just out of shape...well, only one way to fix that.

Yup...that was my day. Hitting the "i" and "o" keys logging video clips so I can start assembling a rough cut.

Wait, what did you think I was talking about?

Ah, technology. Either a hiccup or news.google.com has a sense of humor

Time to crank out a set list and some charts. Hey wait...that sounds like work!

Just minding my own business talking with a K1200S rider when we're overrun by scooters. Vespattack!

In the pipe dream world I occasionally live in, I was going to be done with the rough cut by today. HA!

It'll get done by noon on the 30th. That's as far as I'm going to predict though...I need another hard drive though...

To get out of town, one must get things in order. To get out of town. Hard drive? Check. Split shot sinkers? Check. Broken mirror on the bike? Check (arrgghh - stupid me). Laundry? Check. Food/snacks? Uh, not yet. Packed? Umm, no. Coffee? Not enough....

A week (well, 4 nights) of vacation with the boy in Big Bear. We did this 2 years ago and it was the first time fishing for Calvin. He found it to be boring, but even doing boring stuff with dad is better than doing fun things alone. Such is life at 11. I'm sure in the teen years that might shift a bit. All the more reason to embrace it today...

Not retouched - just a tad of crop. Nature rocks.

Sometimes the sun going down is more scenic

Just another day at the lake.

I know they talk about blue water, but from the fake stream? Scary...LA has followed us!

photos by s. tse

I suppose if you've never played certain songs live before (youtube notwithstanding) it would be good to actually practice them a few times. Wait...practice?

Sometimes it feels like you're about to hit the wall, other times the wall falls on you. Hmm, too much melodrama. Let's just say that when one tries to pack the day full of stuff it can be a little draining. Not good when you have a piece to finish cutting. The reality is that deadlines are a good thing...otherwise nothing would ever get done.

Deadlines. Gotta love them. It is amazing how much editing you can get done with one is looming. Rough cut in the can, but still a ways to go...

Sometimes a plan comes together. I will admit that this isn't exactly following my original "vision," but part of being an artist (or at least some of the creative process) involves morphing your vision to fit the material. The cut actually hangs together pretty well. The final candidate is burned and works. Half a day early. Hmm, there are still some tweaks that I could do though...

Well, either everyone was being nice or "The Intern" was a hit. In fact there were requests for dvds, and plans are already underway to shoot more footage for v2 (I suppose I could call it a sequel, but v2 is more appropriate). For those that care:

The Intern

You'd think we were in Europe somewhere rather than Encino. Jazz outdoors at a cafe seems so civilized...