March hiking report

In between rubbing elbows with the Celebes and working the job, I did manage to squeak out a few miles, 45 to be exact. Just shy of the average 50 I need to keep on top of it. The ytd (year to date) total is 139; 11 miles under where I should be right now, so time to get hoofing. Picked up 10 miles over the weekend and now that daylight savings in effect, I'll be able to get hikes in after work.

In other hiking related news, I uploaded photos from a hiking adventure from January 2003 when I hiked the West Highland Way in sunny Scotland. You can check them out by following the Flickr link on the lower right side of this page. Enjoy.

And where have you hiked lately?

OK HW

Sometimes Dreams Do Come True

I think that photo says it all. I wasn't the only one smiling like that. Yesterday at the Byrd Theater in Richmond, Va., there was a long line of beaming film fans, all patiently waiting for their turn to get a few books or DVDs signed and shake the hand of Ray Harryhausen. Everyone from large, rough punk rockers to graying middle-aged business types were reduced to fawning ten year olds as they got to spend a minute or two meeting the man himself. I was no different, thrilled and honored to shake his hand and thank him for all the inspiration that his work has provided. His fantastic work is part of why I became an artist. I want to thank the organizers of The James River Film Festival for arranging to bring Mr. Harryhausen to their fine festival. He was featured in two events on Saturday and provided to be a charming and unpretentious speaker, regaling the crowd with many wonderful stories including hanging out with his childhood pals Ray Bradbury and Forry Ackerman, working with his mentor Willis O'Brien on "Mighty Joe Young" and many others. The only disappointment during the second event was the theater projectionist inability to overcome some technical glitch that resulted in a mostly empty screen while the interviewer scrambled to try and move the program along at what was often a frustrating and confusing pace. The clips that were shown were often not insync with the discussion and were silent, with Mr. Harryhausen commenting multiple times about how the scenes are more effective if you could hear the music. I was looking forward to seeing clips from all (or most) of his films, particularly those that I haven't seen in a long time like "First Men In The Moon" and "Valley of the Gwangi , but as it turned out, we didn't even get to see one clip from any of the Sinbad films. No matter, what I'll always remember is getting to listen to Mr. Harryhausen tell his tales and getting to shake the hand of the man that created so many fantastic worlds for us to enjoy.

OK HW

Uncle Ray is Coming to Town

Ray Harryhausen. That got your attention didn't it? The man is a legend. It's hard to imagine what the current state of fantasy and SF films would be like without his incredible contribution. A huge part of my childhood sense of wonder and adventure was shaped by watching his films. To this day I still get goose bumps when the 7th Voyage Cyclops or Golden Voyage Kali come on the screen. Ray's last film was "Clash of the Titans" way back in 1981. Since then he's authored a couple of books and supervised the completion of a pet project of short animated films. He has a new book coming out this year and will be on tour this spring in the USA supporting that project. He'll be the guest of honor at the James River Film Festival March 24, 25, check it out:


I'll be there and I hope to get to shake the man's hand and thank him for all the wonderful dreams and nightmares.

OK HW

WHAT I DID TODAY THAT WILL HELP ME BE A better FILMMAKER!

I like that phrase, it is a good motivator and cuts through the crap. I found it on a blog call "themudthebloodthebeer" written by John C. hailing from bean town. When I'll use that phrase (steal it I will, thank you John C), I may modify it to read "WHAT I DID TODAY THAT WILL HELP ME BE A BETTER ARTIST!" as my creative interests and endeavors reach beyond filmmaking right now. Like what? you might ask, and rightly so as I haven't seen fit to share whatever it is I'm up to with the likes of you two (or three) that stop by once a month. OK, the glove has been thrown down, so I guess it's put up or shut up time. Fine. Check this out.


What the hell is that? You might ask. Well, I'll tell you. That's a drawing (black ball point pen on paper) I recently did of an African mask from "Guere-Wobe, Liberia". It's copied from a photo in a great book called "Masks of Black Africa" by Ladislas Segy and according to the caption, "This mask was designed for the prevention of disease and for use in exorcism rituals.". It creeped me out the first time I saw it. There's something very dark about this mask, something mysterious. What compelled me to draw this piece was the fantastic textures and the bold shapes. I can noodle around losing myself in that stained fabric all day long and did.

So when I ask myself that question, "What did I do....etc", today, I have an answer.

zahdah,

OK HW