In Edmonton for some Wedding stuff

I'm here again in Edmonton. I know I was just here in May. What brings me here you ask? Weddings. That old tradition where your need to make you commitment to someone becomes a legal matter. Crazy, I know.

To Quote Steve Malkmus: " I don't need a Minister/ to call me a groom".

So, I managed to go for a long run because I'm training for Victoria and I can't take time off, there are no vacations from this Marathon I've signed up for. I went down to the river valley on Wednesday and boy was it a hilly 25k that I blindly dove into. I thought this city was flat until I did that monster of a run. If there would have been one more hill I would have collapsed. Boy does it make me appreciate the Stanley park Seawall. I took yesterday off but today I'll try for a 10k.

I tried to do a pre-wedding video but Kerry and Kirstie didn't have enough free time to donate to the project so we scrapped it. That's OK though because it allowed me to just relax and Hang out with my Dad and Mom.

My Dad's Birthday is coming up so Mona, My Sister and I went in on a Wii for him. Cathy, his friend Harvey and Him just loved it. They played Golf and Bowling for most of the afternoon. It's amazing how people who have never played video games pick up the Wii. I guess that's why it's so successful.

Mona comes today which is awesome cause I miss her somethin' fierce. Tonight we stay over a Kerry's and then it's the Wedding tomorrow. We did the rehearsal last night and the Justice of the Peace scolded Ed, Jamie and I (the groomsmen) for talking. Apparently she was an ex-school teacher. At the end she got real heavy on us and stressed that she would not marry two people who had been drinking. If that was the rule no one would ever get married.

Mona is videotaping the Wedding but this time I'm the best man so I won't be shooting I'll just try to come up with a few good zingers to send the video over the top.

Terry's gone and done it again

Terry Miles, who never ceases to amaze me, has finished filming his third feature film. This one is called the Red Rooster and I was glad to be a part of the last day of production.

Mona and I went down to Relish (the restuarant the were filming at) last night to get some behind the scenes footage and help out with the production however we could. As with Terry's last film (When Life Was Good) he is a crew of one most of the time. He did have one other person helping him on this film but last night he was all alone. I did some focus pulling and some grip stuff but pretty much he did it all himself. Mona filmed some stuff but had to get up early so she left just after 11.

The production wrapped at around 2am and by what everyone was saying it seems like he completed another relatively stress free film experience. The proof of this is he's worked with his two leads (Casey and Kristine) on two features and about a dozen short films. People are loyal to Terry because he's a good guy and treats you well on set. Sounds simple but most new filmmakers get this part wrong. They get so stressed out and end up alienating the entire cast and crew. So, I'm glad to say I've learned a lot from Terry and when Mona and I do our first fictional feature we will be putting a lot of what Terry does into practice.

I can't wait to see the finished film.

Training for the 42K

It's been 8 years since I've completed a marathon, so having had enough time to completely forget the pain, I've decided to run the Victoria marathon on Oct 12th. Out of the dozen marathon's I've completed it was my favorite. The course is gentle and the climate is mild.

A few things have changed since 2000 in the world of long distance running.

First off, I now use the Nike-ipod combo to track my pace and mileage. This handy little device allows me to listen to my favorite tracks while having a soothing female voice give me pace and distance updates at the push of a button (or automatically if I choose). The clothing hasn't changed much but there seems to be a lot of new nutrition supplements and performance enhancers. I'm just glad the shoes are still squishy so as to take the pounding away from my knees.

My longest run to date is 18 kilometers but I will build up to around 32K. The new thinking is to build up your longest run to about 70% of the distance. This way you don't burn yourself out before race day.

I did have a little scare a few weeks back when my hamstring seized up but I went to my massage therapist and he got me back running in a matter of days.

More on my progress as it unfolds

Freelance, whatever that means

Hello all. I am now no longer employed at the Hotel. I now free to pursue my creative and artistic goals. This will mean having to eek out a living doing freelance editing gigs in the mean time though.

I am listening to a lot of great music at the moment. At the top of the list is Fleet Foxes, a band on subpop, who conjures up memories of CSNY, Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket. These long haired dudes who loves the reverb-heavy multi-part harmonies have really gotten to me. Whenever one of their songs comes on the ipod during a run my pace quickens. White Winter Hymnal is my fav right now but there are lots on great ones on this disc. I am told they are friends with Cave Singers so hopefully I can meet them the next time they are in town.

Mona and I went for a walk through our neighborhood and took a few pictures...