if there aren't horses in heaven, i ain't going

I rode my horse yesterday for the first time in months. I love that dude so much, I have his mug shot tattooed all across my ribs.

So when the theatrical puppet epic, War Horse (based on a novel) hit London's West End a few years ago, I heard about it from all sides - my theatre geek friends and mutual barn-goers alike. We all lamented that we'd never see the spectacle (us not being in the UK).

Life-size 'living' 'breathing' horse puppets that could be ridden! A sweeping WWI coming-of-age story about a boy and his horse!

Cue tears.

Also, cue Steven Spielberg, who knows magic storytelling when he sees it.

Here's the super interesting and totally magical TED Talk from the original South African puppet troupe who brought the War Horse story to life onstage.



And here's the beautiful looking trailer for Spielberg's version.

Christmas at home is going to be a real tearjerker this year.

look at this gorg redesign of 'torque's movie poster

Just look at it.

One of my favourite films, Directed by Joseph Kahn.

does hbo ever make anything that's shitty?

Game of Thrones is now in the afterglow of its first season on HBO, and it's been a huge hit. It's the right kind of costume/period fantasy-action-thriller-drama trashiness to draw World of Warcraft addicts and intelligent popcorn-TV seekers alike into its special brand of indulgent fast moving mythic storytelling.

OK so I'm late to the party, but I have to point out that what I REALLY like about the show are its opening titles. Directed by Elastic (the CG company also behind Rome and Big Love's opening sequences). The GoT titles are not just super beautiful, they're packed with an insane amount of thought and detail - if you're interested in the intricacy involved, read about it here.

look at these sushi cases for the iphone

Just look at them.









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ilike

This surreal hyper slow-motion video portrait of a girl by Filmmaker, Veysi Slows.

project in motion - part 1

I'm working on a project with our Photographers to bring still images to life on the web as Cinemagraphs - the animated gif of web 2.0.

Here's a test we shot ourselves nextdoor at our local coffee grind.



This is without proper lighting or any art direction - I can only imagine how our Photogs will kick it up a notch.

I've given each of them a word to inspire and inform their own images: "killer, breathe, move, sexy and unusual."

Stay tuned for part 2!

make love, not war on bikes

Found on Craigslist - An Ode to Toronto's Female Cyclists by a mysterious, romantical 'F'.

Oh, women of this great metropolis,
On your mechanical, two-wheeled horses
You ride,
Fiercely, distractedly, unselfconsciously
In these bright summer days
And late,
Late into the night.

Geeky, gothy, indie, neo-hippie,
Black, white, brown,
And every shade in between and beyond,
Your beauty dazzles,
All of you,
A blur of flesh, cloth, and metal,
Clanging bells and heels on pavement
Of these often mean streets.

As I see you pedaling away,
I have often wondered:
Where to? Towards whom?
I have often wondered:
Without you,
What would this city become?
Drained of grace and intrigue,
An alienating collection of cars and buildings
By a lake and in a province called Ontario.
Thus, stay as you are,
Fleeting splendor that you embody,
And stay where you are,
On these often mean streets.

I have caught glimpses of expressions
Etched on your lovely faces:
Happiness, anger, hope, despair,
Sometimes, it seemed, all of them together.
And yet remember that you remain
Beautiful, always.
To me.

The trace of your perfume in the humid evening air,
The whir of your chain,
The flutter of your hair,
The echo of your laughter,
Already distant
Like a half-faded memory that bursts to life again
In unexpected ways,
Make me long for something that I never had
Nor knew that I wanted.

If you could stop for a moment,
If you would stop for a moment,
I would whisper in your ear:
'Thank you, thank you,
For merely the sight of you
Fills me with joy and desire,
Which I foolishly thought
Had been lost in this world.'

Oh, women of Toronto,
On your mechanical, two-wheeled horses,
Try to smile,
Maybe, even, say hello,
For it could be me, heart beating,
Crossing your path,
Shyly glancing at you,
Ever expectant that love will strike
On two wheels
On the streets of our city
One day
Or late,
Late into the night.


F.

Location: on a bicycle downtown
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
PostingID: 2452057070

down in picstory

In the vein of tumblr blogs that resurrect old vs new photography, comes this lovely project called, 'Dear Photograph'. I like it so much, I'm going to steal the idea when I visit my hometown next week.

"Take a picture of a picture from the past in the present."

stitching it to the man

Flickr user/Etsy seller Krupp makes totally nerdy cross-stitch patterns.

I don't think I'm far enough removed from when they weren't nerdy to actually want one, but here's to nerds!

sinews stand apart

Remember how beautiful and poignant Chris Landreth's animated short "Ryan" was? The Canadian Filmmaker won the oscar for it in 2004. It's easy to take for granted how visually impacting the animation effect used in the film was at the time.


This gorgeous music vid from the Memory Tapes for their tune, "Yes I Know" takes that visual cue further again - and watching the effect is so engrossing, it almost doesn't matter whether you've even paying attention to the song. In that way I don't think it's a big success for the band - music videos should probably push a commercial agenda - but it's also totally unusual for a music video to transcend like this one does, so it completely stands out as capital-A Art.

ilike

Jillian Tamaki's artwork for the Folio Society's new edition of 'Irish Myths and Legends'. So pretty.









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and that's how you do 'performance vid'

1) Rent big empty warehouse
2) Get lighting designer to pull out a sweet-assed laser/spot/strobe show
3) Film Robyn dancing exactly the way I dance to this song in my living room with a floaty steadycam
4) Do it all in one take

(Then get someone to mop the focus puller up off of the floor.)

alablammo

The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX kicks out movie goers who use their cell phones in the theatre. NSFW.

desperation

The Comrades Marathon in South Africa is the world's oldest and most epically grueling ultra - 89 kilometers of sub-saharan heat and hills billed as 'the ultimate human race'.

The thought of that distance makes my mouth go instantly dry.

The system for awarding medals depends on finishing time - every runner gets a participation medal, but which type you get is determined by the what's on the clock when you cross the line. The cutoff for the 'Bill Rowan' medal (named for the Comrades' first winner in 1921) is 9 hours.

Watching the seconds tick down on Sameul Corneluis's battle against time and the last hundred meters is intense. Doesn't it seem like lunacy? Jaw dropping, awe-inspiring, goddamn beautiful lunacy.

ilike

The cover illustration of the book I'm currently reading.

bring the goat

Sammy Ray Welch is a talented Director I work with, and his new PSA is pretty awesome, especially love the Deadmau5 track thundering in the background. It's airing now in Nova Scotia cinemas.

From Brett Van Dyke (Sammy's DP on the job) on the goat: "she was from Hali, she loved doughnuts, apples and was pregnant...and pee'd on every set."