The hole in the bridge

So I had been hired to light the Hawthorne bridge in Portland, Oregon. The crew had cut a hole in the bridge to access the underside. They covered the hole with a grid made out of what seemed to be tubing from old TV antennas. I found a board and cover up the hole as well as I could but I still thought it was unsafe so I went in search of something else. I found myself at an old black man’s house. He took me downstairs to his basement workshop which had a window from which I could see the bridge. He gave me a couple of welding clamps and I found a bigger piece of plywood leaning against the side of the house. I went back to the bridge. I then began to think that the hole was only in my imagination so I climbed up on the bridge's superstructure. I then leapt towards the hole. As I approached the hole suddenly everything became sandy and yellow and the dream ended.

Water Slide

I am someplace in the United States. Someplace in Rhode Island I think. I am in a car but I seem to have an inflatable raft too. It is a beautiful day. I am in rural area. I see a man in another inflatable raft and he is floating in a muddy creek that is running very fast. I now too am in my raft and going down the creek. The creek cuts though a field of tall green grass. I pass a creek side mom and pop grocery store and come to rest on a muddy bank. I get out and realize I don’t remember where my car is. I seem to abandon the raft and begin walking. The road runs though beautiful rural landscapes. I eventually come to what I guess is tire store and see a short man dressed in a sort of loud suit. I ask him for a ride to my car and explain the raft trip. He tells me it happens all the time and says he will take me but alludes to the fact that he will need to be paid. I pull out a five dollar bill and he tells me he was glad it was five because he would have been disappointed if it were anything less. Somehow my dog Mac appeared. We get in his old station wagon and retrace route I followed to him. I see my car and wake up.

Approaching 10 million views...

I did a series of spots a few years ago for a Belgian phone company. They were rude, crude and lewd. Really. I loved them. We did 7 in 2 days. I shot them too. The budget was like 18 bucks. So this morning before the family awoke I was checking out a video on youtube that a friend sent me about this overly enthusiastic Korean drummer and for some reason on the little sidebar thing I see a frame from one of these spots. So of course always happy to see my work once again I click on it. OK I watch the spot and then I see that nearly... 10... million... people have seen it. Madre mia... friggin' hell...

So this brings up all sorts of issues... one... how can I get a piece of this... two... if 10 million people are looking at my work why do I feel so lonely... three... wouldn't it have been nice if the agency said good job little man, here's six pack of Belgian beer and we'll see you on the next one baby. See it here.

I am sure I will be yammer on about this in the near future. Like in 15 minutes or so.

Walter Ate a Peanut... the blog...

To track the joys and disasters of our short film "Walter ate a Peanut" we have set up a site here. It's early on but perhaps breathtakingly interesting to some. Forgive the left over html goo... it's my first day.

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Processions

I have to say that I am surprisingly moved by the processions. Last night we went to three. Basically what happens is that hundreds of people parade through the streets. Some wear the traditional garb of anominity which looks exactly like what the klu klux klan wear... which takes a little getting used to. The women all wear black dresses and mantillas, the traditional tall hair combs and lace veils that we all remember from "Ferdinand the Bull". Then there are the platforms with life size representations of Jesus and Mary which are carried by a bunch of guys who are hidden from view by an ornate cover and a band or two playing sad, funerial marching music that sounds like what you heard in the Godfather.

If you are lucky some will begin to sing an improvised song to the Virgin. The procession stops and all attention turns to the individual who just popped put of the crowd. As incense swirls the wailing rings out through the narrow streets. Tears are shed. Rosaries are clutched a little tighter. The singer makes his or her final plea and then dissappears into the crowd.

Many people touch the platforms as they pass by in hopes for good luck or good health. I have to admit that I did too.

I took lots of pictures. I will put them up on flickr as soon as I can.

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Sin part one

The Andalusians believe one must sin during the week so one can confess one's sins and repent on Sunday. We did it backwards by sinning on Sunday by having a 4 hour lunch of pinchos, carne a la brasa, pan con sal, couscous, chorizo, tomates, galletas americano, vino, cervesa, cafe... We finished up with a jam session featuring Evert and Fernando on Guitar and Pepe y yo on harmonicas... 2 harmonicas? Si!!!

Semana Santa

We are in Granada for Semana Santa... the week leading up to Easter. Andalusia is really ground zero for the Spanish version of fundamental Catholicism.

It should be an action packed week of holy processions and penitentes, tapas and dolores, sin and salvation. Tune in regularly.

Darrell really is a genius

So I and Darrell and Kathleen Lopez all met for dinner on Friday night. After a few hundred hours of story telling we finally got down to the business of shooting this sucker. Ultimately its going pretty well. There are some pretty big tasks at hand but we seem to getting though the list. I had this brain storm... I plan on coming back to Portland with the whole family this summer. We should shoot another one of these. We need another script from Darrell. So I tell him about this and he says, "Well, you know, I just can't come up with things that quickly..." I said I understood but if he did have any other ideas he should let me know. We eventually said our goodbyes and I headed back home. Before I went to bed I checked my email, there were 2 news stories from the maestro... Darrell really, really is a genius.

Old freinds

You know there are just people that you just align with. You can be completely different with radically different lives. But like breathing it's just there and it goes on for life time. It's easy. In our American culture we seem to be closer to our friends than to our families. Its great to just be comfortable with who one is and to be with people who are seemingly happy to have you be who you are.

Shaken...

How do we fall away from extremely close friends? How do we not know that one of the most special people in one's world has left it. To have missed the smile and laughter of a truly remarkable woman. To have not been there to share the loss, to help, to support. How does it happen?

Workers in Dubai

Workers in Dubai, originally uploaded by robinwillis.

Finally scanning in the Dubai photos. Here's the first.

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Clones again

I somehow missed the fact that the EU has provisionally approved cloned meat and dairy products before the FDA. Japan's in too. Wait till the Chinese get a hold of this. 6 legged chicken anyone? Read this and this.

Mc Clone part 2

Read this.

It's a done deal. Hostia.

Mc Clone

I've been picking this up pereferally through the Spanish papers. OK genetically modified corn was one thing but the FDA is going to approve meat and milk from cloned animals! I should have guessed this was coming. Isn't anybody going to react to this! Next up... Blade Runner. Or Pakistani clones working on the next Dubai. Am I missing something here...

Caras de Sants 2

Kid in Metro.jpg, originally uploaded by robinwillis.

Finally go the scanner working right. 35MM, TRI X baby. Nikkormat with 35 Nikkor. Here's some hints for those that need them. My pain is your gain. For black and white negs scan 16 bit at 400 DPI or as close as you can. It will give you a great 12 X 17 inch print if you want. I'm using an Epson 3590 with Vuescan software. Get it. And Lightroom rocks. I just wish it wasn't an Adobe product. There, I just gave you info that cost me 3 weeks of dinking around.

Camel Spaghetti

Well me and my pal and perhaps the world's best doc editor Georgia Wyss have finally put together 7 minutes from the Saharawi footage. The idea now is to set up a film boot camp in the... camps and teach the Saharawi how to direct, shoot and edit their own TV program... to be run on the BBC? Channel 4? Lake View, Nebraska Cable Access. We are trying to talk to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about bankrolling the project. Ah... dreams for a better world. An entire army of super talented pals have signed on. God bless them all! Take a look. Send cash.

"Walter Ate a Peanut" The Movie

Folks there is a new project beginning. Remember my friend Darrell's amazing short story, "Walter Ate A Peanut?" Well I am going back to PDX and we are going to turn it into an equally amazing short film. And here's how: Like Chris Marker's famous short "La Jetee" we are going to do it with a still camera and then edit the stills into a movie on my laptop. We are shooting for a budget of around a hundred bucks. Which is less than half the budget of the commercial that brought me to this lonely place at the top of the advertising food chain. Anyway like that commercial we will use next door neighbors exclusively as talent. Hopefully my old friend Kathleen Lopez is going to produce it. Tune in regularly to follow this hot, fast breaking story.

Snowboarding for fun and profit

We went skiing. OK beeg deal. Well chicos it is for me because I is back! Yes I went up last year once and did OK for a cripple. But this year I wolfed down some cortisone and did some pretty quick runs down the black slope... OK it was a not very black... black slope but I did good enough for me to have major back spasms on the way up on the chair lift over and over again. I am glad the slopes were basically empty because my fellow chairlift travelers would have though I was having a heart attack or a religious experience or both. By the way the place we went to was super fabulous... Vall de Nuria. OK not much to speak of run wise but it so beautiful and the only way in is by rack railroad. The Pyrenees are just too wonderful for words. Little mini mountains with happy shepherds and mountain sheep. And great chow!

Anyway the last half day I rented a snowboard and walked up and slid down the bunny slope until I got it. So I have decided its time to retire the ski equipment and buy a bong and go riding. I don´t know what it is with the big flat stick but it just feels so much better. Look, fundamentally you can only do perfect turns. I have been skiing for 20 years and I think I have been happy with a turn like maybe 3 times. OK I have high standards but the whole Zen, doper aesthetic just seems right right now. The boots are big, floppy and comfortable. The board is easy to lug around and you can use it for a coffee table when you are not riding... man.

The other thing that was enlightening was that I basically had no arthritis related pain... OK thighs on fire and the aforementioned labor pains yeah but no joint stuff. Before my hips were killing me and my right ankle was a little rough and the left knee was reminding who was the boss... but on the slopes I completely forgot about it and the euphoria has kept on going for a week. So as far as I am concerned it`s full tilt action man from now on. I am going up again this week. Just me, my pal Mick's board, my new "on sale" boots and my bong... man.