margonaut musician, librarian, writer, enigmatic weirdo, and lover of the one-ness

flower buying tip

Orchids cost more than roses, but they last and last (with proper care, for years) whereas roses wilt after a few days.

I gave these to my Mom in November for her birthday, and they're still going strong....

seedlings

My brain is focused on getting ready for NaNoWriMo.

So many ideas...

Toronto daze

I'm doing pretty well in Toronto right now. I have a contract job that just got extended (until March) and am making enough to get by and go out for dinner once in awhile. My job is a bit boring, but I have good working conditions and am making good contacts. I'm drumming in two bands and going to a film club meeting twice a week to learn more about creating my own media.

I'm glad I came back here, it's obviously part of the greater picture. Toronto is a great city and many will benefit from what I'm learning, doing, and becoming here.

That said, I miss BC & I'll be back there eventually. Hopefully with the means to manifest a nice piece of land and/or with a soul mate.

Until then, I will enjoy what's awesome about the East.

this is me drumming

A teaser of the country project:

meh

Wish I were on the Coast right now...

recommended reading for film & media types

An article about how media and the media business is changing in today's society from the brilliant & consciousness evolving Reality Sandwich...

The War for Control of the Story
http://www.realitysandwich.com/war_control_story

In the new model that is still emerging, the creative energy of the filmmakers no longer ends with the completion of the film, but continues to be drawn upon for the entire life cycle of the project. The distribution and marketing of the film become a direct extension of the process of making it, and the creativity extends to every aspect of promoting, marketing, packaging, distributing, and showing it. On one side, this means that the artist can no longer be naive about business, or distanced from it, and hope to survive.

While artists have to become business savvy, on the other side, the business people have to become more like artists, sorting through all sorts of radical possibilities that didn't even exist a few years ago. In the film world and other cultural areas, business is becoming more like art, and art is becoming more inseparable from business. Art purists may feel this is a bad thing; although it is a bit exhausting for the creative person who might like to retreat to his studio, I like these new developments and find them promising as well as exciting.

We are in a new kind of Renaissance - a creative entrepreneurial gold rush. These days, at least half of the musicians and directors I meet seem to be developing "technology plays," new software systems and mechanisms for creating revenue and making their projects stand out in a blizzard of seemingly infinite options. The entire situation is maddening in it's intricate convoluted complexity, but also fascinating. In the breakdown of the old models, media has become incredibly liquid, like mercury that runs everywhere and can coagulate into any form, at least momentarily, before it flows away again.

con-testing

So a few weeks ago, I sent the screenplay to two different contests, each of which promised to provide feedback. I received it from both this morning.

One of the contests obviously didn't read past the first 10 pages, while the other actually provided some useful feedback.

I'm done with contests, but I'm going to continue sending the thing around to real people. I'm still optimistic I can go somewhere with it, and last week I got a tingly feeling when I walked into a The Baitshop, a skate shoe store and more (photos) in the neighbourhood that would be a perfect location for Bryce's shop.

The same thing happened a few weeks ago at The Music Gallery, a converted church used for concerts and events. I had finished writing a few days earlier, and felt as if I was sitting inside what I had just created. The performer I saw there even said something about "emanate, elevate" like my female lead.

So, I carry on.

cleaning up

Getting rid of unwanted items tip: put it on the curb, post a "curb alert" to the free section of your local Craigslist and two hours later it's gone.