The Mentalist Season 5

Franco Biciochi/HBO

Ever since I watched HBO's Rome I have been following Polly Walker's career. She played Atia the niece of Ceaser and mother to Octavian. She's a great untapped British actress. She starred in the highly acclaimed miniseries State of Play and was recently in BBC's Prisoner's Wives. So I was happy to here an American show brought her on for a stint on The Mentalist. The Mentalist is about an infamous 'psychic' abandons his public persona, outing himself as a fake, to focus on his work as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation in order to find "Red John," the madman who killed his wife and daughter. *Spoilers* Here is the synopsis of the season premiere while Jane tries to decipher Lorelei’s connection to Red John, the CBI team is forced to partner with the FBI to solve the murder of a hotel employee, airs on Sunday, Sept. 30 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS. Emmanuelle Chriqui (“Entourage”) returns as Lorelei Martins, Polly Walker (“Rome”) guest stars as Senior FBI Agent Alexa Schultz and Ivan Sergei guest stars as FBI Agent Gabe Mancini.

CBS

New FALL shows in review part three

Here is part three more to come.

Last Resort 
Navy show. Just as the sub crosses the equator they get a coded authenticated fire message from Antarctica. Is it a coincidence the sub had just picked up a crew of US Army Seals I think not. The captain calls America to confirm the message. The captain gets relieved of his duty on board and Scott Speedman is given command, he asks for conformation and the lines goes dead. They are then targeted by a missile. The crew decide to take cover on an island and stand up against the lies the US government is putting on the news back home. This seems more like a movie then a show to me, plus I'm not big into the war thing so this is a NO for me.

Elementary
Present day Sherlock Holmes. They have Lucy Liu as a female Watson who is sent to keep Holmes sober. Holmes is as usual, a know it all. There is no chemistry between them which if you are going to even think of putting a female Watson in the mix there should be. NO for me.

Made in Jersey

This is a fish out of water story. A Jersey girl gets a job in the big apple as a 1st year lawyer who gets the chance to prove herself and be third chair on a murder case. She uses her detective skills to prove her client is innocent and gets the case dismissed. this just feels like CBS is trying to remake their own Ugly Betty and I just can't handle the Jersey accent. NO for me.

New FALL shows in review part two

As I mentioned before here are some more reviews of the new fall shows. This post contains spoilers.

Partners
Part of CBS' new laugh track comedy this season from the creators of Will & Grace. It's about two best friends one is straight and one is gay and they both work together as architects. I'm not sure if this is CBS' version of every best friend show except no one cares about these characters they are annoying and insult each other. The straight one is unsure of whether to get married or not and the gay one insults his fiancé who nether relationships have chemistry. They also have a cliche hispanic secretary. I really enjoyed watching Michael Urie on Ugly Betty and David Krumholtz on Numb3rs but this is definitely not a platform for either of them. And the clapping in between segments is annoying as hell. It also proves that being gay on TV isn't anything to be excited about anymore. NO for me.

Ben and Kate
Brother and sister Ben and Kate are completely different. Ben is crazy and carefree. Kate is a single mom and is by the book. Ben comes back to town to stop a wedding. It;s a classic case of a reckless guy you hate but deep down he cares and thats why you love him. I found the characters boring even the crazy brother was too tame for me. NO for me.

The Mindy Project
Mindy is a OBGYN who's talkative, candid, dramatic and very Brigit Jones Diary. A girl who has watched every romantic comedy and has just had her heart broken. There's the hot English doctor and the tell it like it is doctor and of course the hot one is not right for her.  YES for me.

Vegas
1960 Las Vegas. Stars Denis Quaid, Michael Chicklis and Carrie Anne Moss, I quite enjoy watching all three. Denis Quiad an ex cop is brought in to investigate the murder of the mayor's daughter in exchange for not having planes fly over his ranch. Michael Chicklis is the mob owner of the Savoy. Carrie Anne Moss is the Assistant to the DA. I'll give it another episode before I make up my mind. MAYBE

Animal Practice
Stars Justin Kirk from Weeds, Tyler Labine from Breaker High and JoAnna Garcia Swisher who played Reba's daughter on Reba. There's also Crystal the monkey, who I've come to learn is richer than anyone. Kirk's character is asked to perform surgery on Labine's dog. JoAnna's character tries to fi in the with the staff and ends up drunk adopting a pig. It's animal loving to the extreme. NO for me.

Guys with Kids
It's funny because I worked on a demo for a Canadian version of this. I guess after the movie came out about the same thing fathers and kids everyone jumped at the chance to make this a TV show. Created by Jimmy Fallon as a live audeince comedy show. It's about 3 best friends who have kids, 2 have wives, while the oner one has and ex wife and girlfriend. The only story line that was interesting was Anthony Anderson and Tempestt Bledsoe's where the Tempestt forgets their anniversary and Anthony holds it over her. But if this is what NBC can come up with having Jimmy Fallon as an exec. than my answer is NO.

The Neighbours
This is straight out of a time capsule, think of Bewitched and I Dream of Jennie. The Neighbours is about a family form the city how move to the suburbs and into an alien community. That's right aliens. Everything here is cliche. The aliens named themselves after famous athletes like Dick Butkus, really does that still get people laughing? NO for me.

My Emmy Score

So here is how my predictions faired. I was surprised by the votes this year usually I'm pretty good about guessing these things.

   = My Prediction
   = Emmy Winner

Best Comedy Series

"The Big Bang Theory"

"Curb Your Enthusiasm"

"Girls"

"Modern Family"

"30 Rock"

"Veep"

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"

Tina Fey, "30 Rock"

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"

Melissa McCarthy, "Mike & Molly"

Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"

Louis C.K., "Louie"

Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"

Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series

Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family"

Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
Eric Stonestreet

Max Greenfield, "New Girl"

Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live"

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory"

Kathryn Joosten, "Desperate Housewives"

Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"

Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

Merritt Wever, "Nurse Jackie"

Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live"

Best Drama Series

"Boardwalk Empire"

"Breaking Bad"

"Downton Abbey"

"Game of Thrones"

"Homeland"

"Mad Men"

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Kathy Bates, "Harry's Law"

Glenn Close, "Damages"

Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey"

Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"

Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Hugh Bonneville, "Downton Abbey"

Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"

Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

Damian Lewis, "Homeland"

Supporting Actor, Drama Series

Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"

Giancarlo Esposito, "Breaking Bad"

Brendan Coyle, "Downton Abbey"

Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"

Jared Harris, "Mad Men"

Supporting Actress, Drama Series

Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad"

Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"

Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey"

Archie Panjabi, "The Good Wife"

Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"
Christine Baranski "The Good Wife"

Best Miniseries or Movie

"American Horror Story"

"Game Change"

"Hatfields & McCoys"

"Hemingway & Gellhorn"

"Luther"

"Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (Masterpiece)"

Best Actress Miniseries or Movie

Connie Britton, "American Horror Story"

Ashey Judd, "Missing"

Nicole Kidman, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Julianne Moore, "Game Change"

Emma Thompson, "The Song Of Lunch (Masterpiece)"

Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

Kevin Costner, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Benedict Cumberbatch, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (Masterpiece)"

Idris Elba, "Luther"

Woody Harrelson, "Game Change"

Clive Owen, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Bill Paxton, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie

Denis O'Hare, "American Horror Story"

Ed Harris, "Game Change"

Tom Berenger, "Hatfields & McCoys"

David Strathairn, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Martin Freeman, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (Masterpiece)"

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie

Frances Conroy, "American Horror Story"

Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story"

Sarah Paulson, "Game Change"

Mare Winningham, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Judy Davis, "Page Eight (Masterpiece)"

6/15

Emmys 2012 Predictions

Here are my predictions.

Best Comedy Series

"The Big Bang Theory"

"Curb Your Enthusiasm"

"Girls"

"Modern Family"

"30 Rock"

"Veep"

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl"

Lena Dunham, "Girls"

Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"

Tina Fey, "30 Rock"

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"

Melissa McCarthy, "Mike & Molly"

Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"

Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"

Louis C.K., "Louie"

Jon Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"

Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series

Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family"

Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"

Max Greenfield, "New Girl"

Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live"

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series

Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory"

Kathryn Joosten, "Desperate Housewives"

Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"

Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"

Merritt Wever, "Nurse Jackie"

Kristen Wiig, "Saturday Night Live"

Best Drama Series

"Boardwalk Empire"

"Breaking Bad"

"Downton Abbey"

"Game of Thrones"

"Homeland"

"Mad Men"

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Kathy Bates, "Harry's Law"

Glenn Close, "Damages"

Claire Danes, "Homeland"

Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey"

Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"

Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Hugh Bonneville, "Downton Abbey"

Steve Buscemi, "Boardwalk Empire"

Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"

Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

Damian Lewis, "Homeland"

Supporting Actor, Drama Series

Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"

Giancarlo Esposito, "Breaking Bad"

Brendan Coyle, "Downton Abbey"

Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"

Jared Harris, "Mad Men"

Supporting Actress, Drama Series

Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad"

Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"

Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey"

Archie Panjabi, "The Good Wife"

Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"

Best Miniseries or Movie

"American Horror Story"

"Game Change"

"Hatfields & McCoys"

"Hemingway & Gellhorn"

"Luther"

"Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (Masterpiece)"

Best Actress Miniseries or Movie

Connie Britton, "American Horror Story"

Ashey Judd, "Missing"

Nicole Kidman, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Julianne Moore, "Game Change"

Emma Thompson, "The Song Of Lunch (Masterpiece)"

Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

Kevin Costner, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Benedict Cumberbatch, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (Masterpiece)"

Idris Elba, "Luther"

Woody Harrelson, "Game Change"

Clive Owen, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Bill Paxton, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie

Denis O'Hare, "American Horror Story"

Ed Harris, "Game Change"

Tom Berenger, "Hatfields & McCoys"

David Strathairn, "Hemingway & Gellhorn"

Martin Freeman, "Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia (Masterpiece)"

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie

Frances Conroy, "American Horror Story"

Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story"

Sarah Paulson, "Game Change"

Mare Winningham, "Hatfields & McCoys"

Judy Davis, "Page Eight (Masterpiece)"

Research Grant

Did you know that there are research grants fro artists? I thought research was only for scientists. But it turns out that you can apply for grants to do research for your script or treatment and thats what we intend to do. Jessie and I are planning to do a documentary about the LGBTQ community's biggest party and non violent protest, World Pride in Toronto 2014!

We met this morning to go over our proposal which is due October 1st. We have written a one page about our goals, how we've planned it so far, what we are researching and so on. We have a budget on what the money would be used on. We also have a schedule with deadlines like when the first draft of the treatment is due and so on. Lastly we have to include two pieces of work to submit to the judges so they could see what we've done in the past.

We have a couple of things to fine tune and then it's off to the Canada Council.

Letter in the mail...

So I finally got my letter from the BC Arts Council in the mail regarding a grant I had applied for in May. Turns out the BC Government only had 82 applications and only 20 people were able to get funding. I unfortunately wasn't one of them. Suffice to say it was my first application and I now know how much work it takes to write one of their grants. I thought there would be more applicants than there was, so looking at the positive I am going to keep writing grants until I get one. I just wish I knew what exactly they were looking for or what I did wrong. If anyone out there knows of a good course on the matter please let me know.

New FALL shows in review part one

Here is the first batch of new shows I've seen. Keep in mind there maybe some spoilers.

The New Normal
I quite enjoy this show, this is Ryan Murphy's latest. Justin Bartha still plays the nice guy except he's gay. The show centres on a single mom who decides to become a surrogate to a typical gay couple. The one exception is her grandmother played by Ellen Barkin who is a witch. I've watched 2 episodes now and I got to say I'll continue watching, the plus was in episode 2 it references Grey Gardens. YES for me.

Go On
This is Matthew Perry's newest show where he plays this kind of House-esque character who just grates on my nerves. The pilot episode has him holding a group therapy session where he's completely oblivious to people's problems. He also trets his assistant like crap. Granted by the end of the episode he promises to change. But I just found his character irritating. NO for me.

Revolution
JJ Abrams' latest show. It takes place 15 years after all electronics stop working. The series focuses on the Matheson family, who hold the key to reversing the blackout. When the head of one of the republics Monroe, send militia after Ben (the dad) he ends up dead and son Danny is kidnapped. Daughter Charlie must find her uncle Myles who is the only one who can save her brother. The village doctor Maggie and friend of Ben's Arron go along with Charlie where they find her uncle in a Chicago Hotel. A sword fight takes place in the hotel and Myles agrees to go with them. This show has every apocalyptic cliche, the characters are boring and in true Abrams fashion the pilot ends on a cliff hanger and a very boring one at that. NO for me.

Mob Doctor
The title says it all. A pretty doctor Grace, who is all about her patients gets caught up in the mob by making a deal to save her brother's life. The current mob boss Moretti asks Grace to kill a witness for the prosecution but she can't do it. When Moretti comes knocking on Grace's mother's door she is able to get him to chase her to family friend Constantine's house. He shoots Moretti and now Grace has to decide if she stays in Chicago or continues to work for the mob but under Constantine's rule. This is your run of the mill show strong female character, who has to balance being a doctor for good and a doctor for the mob. Fox has had a show like this before except it was about a female cop called The Chicago Code and it only lasted 13 episodes we'll see how long this will last but it's a NO for me.

TV shows I watch

As we approach the new fall TV line up here is my list of TV shows I currently follow.  I blame growing up in the '90s for all my TV watching.  But to be honest most of the time I am multitasking when I watch TV or watching an episode or two before bed. But there are those "few" shows that you just have to make time for. That being said here is my list:


FALL
American Horror Story (FX)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Dexter (Showtime)
Downton Abbey (ITV / PBS)
The Good Wife (CBS)
How I Met Your Mother (NBC)
Parenthood (NBC)


MID SEASON
The Big C (Showtime)
Californiacation (Showtime)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Mrs. Brown's Boys (BBC)
Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Prisoners' Wives (BBC)
Smash (NBC)
Veep (HBO)


SUMMER
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Mad Men (AMC)
The Newsroom (HBO)
Rookie Blue (ABC)
True Blood (HBO)


GUILTY PLEASURES
Covert Affairs
Drop Dead Diva
Gossip Girl
Hart of Dixie
Spartacus


I will be writing a post of the upcoming new series and my thoughts.

Downton Abbey

I am in love with pretty much all things British, especially TV. Downton Abbey returned in Britain this Sunday!

*Spoilers* This will be the third season for Downton Abbey and what makes me even more excited to watch this season is Shirley Maclaine makes an appearance as Cora's mother. I  just adore Ms. MacLaine. And who can't forget that Christmas episode with Lady Mary and Matthew, finally getting together and this episode featured their wedding!

Festival show prep

Met with co-director Jessie today to discuss plans / strategies on our development for a one show focusing on the pride festival. Our plan is to shoot the international pride festival in 2014 which will be held in Toronto. This is going to be the biggest production I have ever tried to put together so far. Jessie is actually taking some documentary classes to help get first hand experience on how we can approach this size of a project. I'm talking a multi cam shoot of a parade shot on an independent budget. We are currently in the process of writing grant letters to help raise funds. We will be needing a lot more in the form of in kind donations and such later.

Our plan is to showcase one of the funniest and historical parties of this century. We both have been to the Vancouver Pride Festival for the past 4 years and not only are we "Allies" in the community I know I want to support everyone. We not only want to showcase the big party but also the history behind the festival. Our grant is due on October 1st and I still need to make a budget and buff up my resume.Wish us luck.

Damages

I just watched the series finale of Damages. Damages stars Glen Close and Rose Byrne who both play opposing lawyers. Glen Close is true to form as Patty Hewes a nasty, high powered lawyer who doesn't stop until she gets what she wants. Rose Byrne plays Ellen Parsons the the naive lawyer who is Patty's protégée. The first few seasons center around the law firm Hewes & Associates  a major case that Hewes and her firm take on, while also examining a chapter of the complicated relationship between Ellen and Patty. Later seasons center more on Patty and Ellen's relationship as Ellen begins to distance herself from Patty and begins to concentrate on her independent career.

I love this show because of the format it's told in: a puzzle. Each episode is broken up into different pieces of time and the viewer is guessing what each clue means. A few of my friends have tried to watch the show but haven't gotten hooked I think it's mainly because they were trying to watch it one sitting and that's not the point. It is probably one of the few shows that have to be watched week by week. So if your up for a 5 season puzzle you should check it out on Netflix.

17th Ave / Uptown

17th Ave SW aka Uptown is Calgary's version of a Main Street meets Robson Street in Vancouver. We went to my friend's favorite bar Melrose Cafe and Bar for lunch there. I had a Champeach and a Melrose Bellini to drink and Patchos (cajun fries topped with blended cheese, green onions, black olives, diced tomatoes & jalapenos, served with spicy pepper aioli) to eat. After lunch we walked down 17th going into some vintage stores like Feisty. We tried to go see a psychic but that failed again clearly it was not meant to be. After roaming around 17th we went back to my friend's place hung out for a bit before hopping on Calgary transit to the Greyhound station.

Shopping

I went out on my own today to go shopping to Chinook Centre Calgary's biggest mall. It's got a lot of american stores there like Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie and Fitch. There was a steampunk dinosaur at the entrance and in the food court there were small mechanical air crafts on a conveyor belt.

Calgary Aliens

This morning we went downtown to a park with statues that look like aliens! The installation is called the Family of Man and is dedicated by the Duke of Kent in 1968. The statues are 21 feet tall. 

Then we went to see the new Bow Building which my friend helped build. It is 58 stories high and the tallest office tower in the western Canada.  Outside the Bow is this  12-metre tall steel mesh head of a girl called Wonderland which looks pretty creepy. 

After lunch we went to the Kensington Wine Market. A great place with a huge variety of wine from all over the world. A bigger choice then in BC. I got a few bottles of wine to take home with me. We had to go back home because there was a wind warning.

Calgary Tower

The day started off with my friend and I going down to Kensington Street, the 2 block hipster community. It's right beside the Bow River. As I found out Calgary is one of those cities that believe in closing down most of it's stores on Sunday, so I didn't get to see very much. After Kensington we walked across the Bow River on the newly built Peace Bridge.

After we crossed the bridge we walked to the downtown Core Mall which closed at 5pm. In he mall they have one of the largest indoor gardens on the 4th floor called Devonian Gardens. Once the mall closed it started to rain. So we went for drinks.

We went down 10th Street to a bar called Bottlescrew Bill's they have over 300 different beers from all over the world. We had 2 beers from Belgium, Fruli and Leffe Blonde and we also had 2 beers from the UK, Fuller's Vintage Lager and Well's Banana Bread Beer. Which were all very good.

We then went to the Calgary Tower after that. We went up to the 525th floor. There was a part where the floor was glass which was really cool. We took lots of pictures of the city at night. And in a ridiculous attempt we went into this hurricane simulator.

After the tower we wandered around downtown, there was an old piano on the street, so we decided to play it, cause why not. Before going home we went to Earl's.

Calgary Zoo

Went to the Calgary Zoo today. There was a sad Dinosaur exhibit, an African, Eurasian, South American, Canadian and botanical gardens exhibits. There were some really cute animals like the red panda, tiger cubs and the meerkats. The scariest were the condors, one of them was eating a bunny. But the best part of the zoo was the penguins! There were 4 different types of penguins there, King Penguins, Humboldt Penguins, Gentoo Penguins and Rockhopper Penguins. Here are some of the pictures we took.

 

  

 

Greyhound ride

For the first leg of my trip I was sitting beside a lady from Port Moody who was going to Salmon Arm for her older sister’s funeral. Her sister had died of ovarian cancer and had ben struggling for the past 3 years not wanting to give up. She was writing the eulogy for the funeral so I gave her some tips, don’t worry about crying it’s to be expected, add some humor and something her sister always did or said. I learned something from her that women can get a blood test to see if they have ovarian cancer or not. After Salmon Arm I was by myself.

My bus ride took me from Vancouver to Coquitlam, to Langley, to Chilliwack, to Hope, to Meritt, to Kamaloops, to Chase, To Sorrento, to Salmon Arm, to Sicamous, to Revelstoke, to Golden, to Lake Louise, to Banff, to Canmore and finally to Calgary.

I have to say Driving through the Rockies this time of year was still gorgeous. There was still some snow on the mountain tops and the reminance of summer still lingered on the ground it was a golden colour. I ended up watching The Cabin in the Woods which was a great look into the horror genre. 17 hours on a greyhound bus was very exhausting but I made it, with 6 hours extra to spare thanks Greyhound. Luckily my friend’s girlfriend was able to meet me.

Calgary here I come...

I’m off to Calgary to visit my best friend. Even though I’m travelled to Europe and the USA I’ve actually never travelled to any other province in Canada. (Grand Prairie doesn’t count according to my friends) I’m excited I haven’t seen my best friend on like 3 years. We’ve known each other for 24 years which is scary because only a hand full of pepe can actually say they have known me that long. She’s also the only person I can talk on the phone to for hours and hours without getting bored or repeating myself, and I hate talking on the phone. I know I’m going to Calgary a few months after tourist season but to be honest I’d rather see a city on the off season, for one there are less tourists and the locals are much more welcoming. I do have a small list of things to do in the city.

1. Calgary Zoo.
2. Calgary Tower
3. Kensington Street 
4. Shopping because not only is there 7% less tax in Calgary there are a few stores I can’t find here in Vancouver.
5. Farmer's Market
6. Find a funky pub
7. And just walk and walk around the city. 

Pyros Season 2

Not long after my contract ended with Ice Pilots NWT my boss called me to see if I was still around to do some work for Pyros Season 2. It works out great I was able to see my Gran and I still get to go to Calgary to visit my best friend in September. The first night shift went well, I think mainly because I'm a night owl. It's actually an easier system than the one I was using on Ice Pilots. I just have to learn all the GFA's name on the show. Pyros airs on the Discovery channel.

KMIA season 2

Had a great meeting today with the Kiss My Incoming Abs team to discuss season 2! We've got a new approach to our workout segment that I think every one can enjoy ;)

We will be airing some short clips to keep you motivated until November when season 2 begins again on Novus TV and our YouTube channel.

Grant writing

My friend Jess and I have spent the last 2 days writing a grant for a documentary about the Vancouver Pride Community. We still have a long way to go with budgeting and writing about artistic merit towards the project. I find that every time I start writing a grant I need a dictionary to decipher what fluffy words the application asks for. With all our research done we now have to focus on writing our narrative for this documentary, which is the hardest part. How do you write something you don't think you can predict. But the truth is you can. About 75% of what's on screen in documentaries is written ahead of time. I mean we are still in pre production but we can at least break up our doc into points and begin there.

Since we are "co-directing" this doc it's been easier to bounce ideas off each other, from the visual look to the educational and historical facts. It also helps because we have different strengths which does not conflict on our priorities we can divide the tasks at hand. I'll be doing the budget and she will be focusing on the "detailed description". Then we'll meet up, give our input and finalize the rest. This grant is due in October so we don't have much time left.