Lost in Narnia

Hey! Long time no blog entry. Where have I been?
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In Narnia, so to speak. In Chemainus actually, which is like Narnia, except for without the fauns. I'm in tech week for our kid's show out here on the island, and it's going swimmingly. Great cast and great prodution team. Remember that SNL short, the Chronicles of Narnia? I keep singing that in my head. Come on out if you're in the neighbourhood. We open July 1st.
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And then it's off to Toronto! Yahoo! Haven't been there in ages. See you at Polaris - or Toronto Trek, or whatsit called, and lo and behold, I've just checked the website and I see that that other guy is going to be there too. Why does he keep following me around?...
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And then, then! it's off to Australia for another spin at Best of Both Worlds. I've always had lots of fun there - looking forward to that one!
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Busy summer! I'll be back with a fresh batch of where in the world pics soon.

Back to Work...

Is it May already? Where has the time gone?...

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I'll tell you where it's gone - to work. A flurry of little jobs came my way this past month, which is nice considering McGillion's got himself a cameo in a recent blockbuster. I gotta keep up!

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I finished a great little short called "Voodoo" courtesy of the Kickstart program and Mark Ratzlaff and Co. Quite fine. Worked with some lovely and talented actresses. Ali Liebert and Camille Sullivan. (above) Lucky me.

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And a commercial. Well kind of a commercial - a PSA even. Those of you in Canada will see it soon enough. Just shot it on Friday. We recommend you don't plan on drowning. Just don't.

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And auditions, of course. Oh and some directing too! That's going to be fun. I'm just prepping my directorial return to the Chemainus stage with the stage adaptation of the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, which I'll be directing later in June. That'll be fun.

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What else - spoke to Joe Mallozzi today - he told me about the Atlantis script and some "chunky" Zelenka scenes coming! So don't despair, ye Atlantis faithful. There's still more Zelenka coming!!

That was fun...

How'd you like my fic?

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I've gotta write more Sheppard/Weir. There's unplumbed passion there. That'll be in my next book. And thanks for the photo, anonymous slovak person...

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Back in Vancouver with several little fun projects brewing. The kettle is finally getting warm. I took a 500 photo "picture movie" of my drive up the I-5 with shots every few minutes, hoping to make a kind of Phillip Glass sense out of all that open country. Not sure it worked.

Astro physicists for hire

Will work for Argand diagrams.

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Saw Mr Hewlett last week. He's doing well. Also in Los Angeles. Getting off an exploding planet is easy, getting out of LA - not so much. 

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Looking forward to Creation con next week in Vancouver. They tell me that I'm going to be in the cabaret on Friday evening. Oh really? ...That should be interesting.

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Speaking of interesting here's a great link if you have a spare hundred minutes and a high speed connection. Those channel Four people have got it going on! Hope they pull out of the financial mess. I hope we all do. Oh and one more: I'm going to see this for sure.

Creation in Vancouver

Quick post, no pictures... oh well here have one - (Hi Chuck and Jerry - remember work?...)

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Looks as though I'll be a last minute addition to the line up at the Creation convention in Vancouver April 3rd (The Friday, I believe) Even though I'm not yet on the website because, well I don't know why. So come on out. I'll see you there. (More on this later, when I have more time...)

Two doctors and a wraith walk into a bar...

...and the bartender says "what'll it be?..."  and the Wraith goes: "I'll have the tuscan chicken quesadilla with the tabouli salad" and the first doctor says "I'll have the Huevos Rancheros and a coffee" and the second doctor goes "Do you have rye toast?".

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...and that's all of the joke that I can remember. 

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Meet Aaron Craven a recent Wraith Commander and all around television visionary (r), and the unbuttoned and unHINGED Paul McGillion (l), mid crosswalk on Sunset. It's finally stopped snowing in Los Angeles and the sun has come out, so we've been going around the neighbourhood sitting in people's lawn furniture, just to check out, you know, how it feels.

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The Simpsons have a star on the boulevard. All is right.

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Speaking of rye toast, Gehry's Disney Concert Hall  is quite an awesome building. It sits like a burning element in downtown L.A. I didn't go inside, but walked all around it. The sun hits it and it illuminates like a hot ember. Many modern buildings are cool, watery - they flow and soothe, but this building starts fires and browns delivery vans. Very neat. Good metaphor for a philharmonic orchestra.

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Getting Even More Famouser

Hello? Anybody still out there? Yoohoo?....

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It's nice to see some of you guys still keeping up with this irregular little blog - sporadic as it may be. It's a pleasure to have you here. 

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It's pilot season in Los Angeles, which is like the actor's "Incredible Race", a no holds barred fight for the thirty jobs out there. Whew. Better watch out, Leo and Johnny, I'll be in the room too. And I came by zebra. 

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The sun is sure a nice change. Not having seen it since October up in Vancouver, being in L.A. is like coming out of a matinee of a David Lynch film - blinded, confused and warm inside. Hard to describe. (By the way his weather reports are brilliant.)

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Went to rubberneck at the Oscars last night (no I'm not going to put that stupid copyright thingy beside the word) and got as far as the police blockade (above). Apparantly they didn't see my work in Crackerjack 2. Uncultured lugs.

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Spring's coming kids - billions are being spent, the birds will soon return, and short skirts will be making a comeback, I'm told. Something's bound to happen.  

Two more

I'm not done with Ireland yet. I got a couple more pictures...

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The first one is a picture of a typical Irish homestead. Becaue of the balmy weather there is no need for a front door, or even corners, insulation and roof gutters. I couldn' help but wonder where all the rain goes and how the Irish make their toast since I couldn't see any electrical plugs. Very resourceful people. I was lucky they weren't home too.  By the way, the Burren was amazing: I don't think I've ever seen anything 6000 years old.

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The second picture I can't explain; only that I like the trend to wearing blue and red blotches on your nape. I'm going to start doing that.

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Okay enough sillines. Time to be serious: I'm in Los Angeles, a place that tolerates no ridiculous behaviour. I saw the good Paul McGillion last night, he says hi to you all (actually he didn't, I'm just saying that, but I'm sure he would) and we've finally put the finishing touches on our plan to take over the world. More on that later...

Ireland

The Cliffs of Moher, County Clare.

Slea Head and Blasket Island, the very tip of Dingle Peninsula

The Blarney Stone


Drombeg Stone Circle, County Cork

Closing night, Carran's, in Cork City
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On Galway sands they kiss your hands./They kiss your lips at Carney./ But on the Lee they drink strong tea/ and kiss the stone that's Blarney.
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I remember seeing a cheesy postcard or some such with a cartoon representation of a leprechaun kissing a stone labeled Blarney. They were out on a field somewhere and the stone was just that, a rock in a field with grass growing underneath it. Now I knew enough that not all Irish people are four foot nothing and sport ginger beards, green hats and long pipes (actually, on second thought...) but for some reason the idea of the Blarney stone being a boulder in a field somehow stuck in my subconscious.
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Fast forward to last Thursday and my surprise that in order to actually kiss the Blarney stone, you have to lie down on slippery rain soaked ramparts over a hundred feet up at the top of Blarney castle, literally bend over backwards while a rain soaked dude (bloke - chap?) holds you by the waist and basically shoves your face into the castle wall while his buddy takes your picture (ten euros, if you please).
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Reality: one. Preconceptions: zero. And the tower of Pisa is not held up by Greg from Baltimore like in those pictures you always see.
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But Ireland. What to say. It was lovely. Of course. I drove most of the south western peninsulas (the rental car has a handy reminder sticker on the dashboard: Stay Left <--- ) and the weather broke for those three days, so I actually saw the peninsulas Beara, Iveragh and Dingle. I was expecting it to be much colder, but the gulf stream keeps the lucky Irish in a mild and wet winter, where many people have sub-tropical plants in their gardens.
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My thanks to the Warpcon people (Noirin, Karen, Steve, Eoin - did I spell that right?) and their hospitality. It was, like the Guiness, smooth and rich.

Danny Boy

Anyone going to be in Ireland this weekend? Yeah?... I'll see you there! Come on down to Cork and Warpcon ... The first trip of '09 has me jetting across the Atlantic to the emerald isle where my prose writing will get even more purple as I attempt to catch up with the linguistic acrobatics of a nation that has a lot to say. The Celtic Tiger, The Luck of the Irish, and all that Blarney. I'm really looking forward to it.
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Thanks for all your kind words - I wasn't expecting my last post to be so sympathy evoking. And another shout out to the "unwillingly ice bound" Kimmel family. That sounded harrowing.
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Sunny day - blue skies - snow's almost all gone. Hope you guys are keeping warm out there. Talk again soon...

"Hey did you notice how I saved the world last Friday night?

I should put that on my resume. "Saved the World. Jan 09/09" Did you notice that? The idea for the thingy? You know... "Enemy at the Gate" ..?
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That was, as I understand (and sometimes I don't understand much) the last and final episode of Stargate Atlantis last Friday night.
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Bummer. Totally. I don't know how else to put it. --Too bad it's over. It was a great ride. I loved that job.
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My last day on the Atlantis set was Sept 09 2008 - the last scene with the good Dr Woolsey in "Enemy at The Gate" - the idea for the thingy scene - what was it again?...Wormhole Hyperdrive . I think...
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At any rate - I want to thank the Producers for a great gig, the Writers for some terrific and memorable scenes, my other Cast mates for their integrity and talent - it really was great working with you, and to a production team that isn't just the best in the world as the old cliche goes, but instead is, without a doubt, the best in two galaxies. At' se zas někdy potkáme...
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That's a picture of me and a goat. Because pictures are necessary in a blog.

Merry Arctic Inflow

Snow. And again. I've not seen this much in this city for over a dozen years at least. And it's not about to go anywhere. It's going to stay piled up right on top of my car, and then freeze, and then compress with the salt and turn into a sedentary layer of white limestone betraying to future civic paeleontologists the location of that 1/2 inch copper hose coupling I dropped today and could not find anywhere. Burst outdoor piping. Don't ask.

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I've heard the meteorologists down south repeat the phrase "arctic air coming down from Canada" when this kind of weather blows in. We don't have no 'Canada' to blame up here. Instead the weatherpeople use the ominous "arctic inflow" to describe weather that's meant for Edmonton but somehow ends up getting lost and howls down the coast. And let me tell you "arctic inflow" ain't no appliance manufacturer. It's nasty cold. Above is a picture of the inflow inflowing - on a recent crossing of Hotham sound. That's cold you can see. 

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But it will soon be Christmas. And that's good. So let me take this chance to wish you all a wonderful Christmas, and a healthy, happy, prosperous New Year.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!