Enschrede, Holland - ABN

Woke up and was ready by 7.00. First time working in Holland in a few weeks, and I felt I knew what to prepare for. After a long day like this, I just want to sleep. I also want to push the ball forward in a lot of areas of my life, but I wonder if sleeping isn't the best way to achieve that. Right now Guido changes channels and wants to sleep. As he turns the light out, leaving the changing glow of the TV for a second... only to go dark and start to sleep. The last week was really a challenge for me. I was suppose to visit my father over Thanksgiving, but that did not work out. Not enough money, really. Just had to close up my Taxes for the last 3 Q and it was not a pleasant surprise. Sandra is now in Brazil, and after only one week, she has found herself established, with friends, and a full working schedule. I even was asked on Saturday if I could build a reservations program for the Brazilian Branch. Brazil must be an amazing land, and if I can, I would do it for cost, just for the experience. She is an amazing woman, and I have yet to find the drawer to categorize her in. Very special, the little Mexican / Deutsche / Italian / Brazilian monkey. Dirk has been drinking noticeably more. He comes home from the Clink and picks up a beer for the road. Spends about two hours at the office, then picks up something to eat, and a bottle of white wine. That is usually almost empty by the time I get home, and it's not always the end of the drinking for the day. I wish him the best, but It's time I focus on my own life and stop trying to help him. I have done all that I could ask a friend to do for me in the Lifeguard roll. My mother wrote me a letter. I feel for her, but still that part of my family is simply a part of the past. I miss it only in a reminiscent, sentimental sort of way. I have been having many strange dreams the last week. Very intense, and fun to recall the next day. I wish only that a machine could be invented to record dreams, it would sure be fun to watch them conscience. I have been searching for a new 'game' the last few weeks. Not having something to do when I want to play is always dangerous, so I have set out to research flight simulators. I played them quite a bit as a kid, and know from taking flying lessons that they make the theory and instrument understanding a lot of fun. Heh, the first time I flew a plane, the instructor keep telling me I spend too much time looking at the instruments and not enough time looking up and flying-- a good problem if I go for my Instrument Rating. The simulator I settled on was Orbiter - a Space Mechanics and Piloting simulator. Space Pilot, sure... why not. It's almost midnight, and I had better get some sleep, as I have a 7:00 wakeup.

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Spermcoaster - Blender 3D

Here is a wee test animation made using Blender 3D and Voodoo Camera Tracking. For the non-german speaking: 'die zwillinge' means 'the twins', a small advertising agency I work with here in lovely Sonsbeck. Twin Pictures is the production company I started as the media arm of die-zwillinge. Now shut up and watch the video already.

Utrecht, Netherlands

Night street sounds pass below the open hotel windows. Bikes rumble by, then silence for awhile. A mix of languages—some in my mothers tongue—laugh and converse in dark tones as they walk home from the bars and clubs. An in the next moments, as sleep creeps in, I wonder if this night will be recalled accurately, in all it's splender.

God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland, and Utrecht is one of the the hubs. Because of its central location, the Ultrecht hauptbanhauf makes more connections, moves more people that any where else in the country. With a film festival in town, the streets seemed amplified with mixes of students, funky film-goers, locals and stop-overs.

High above the old canals stand the winding tangle of street, bridge and alleyways connect a village for uses long abandoned. Put in the past like the stately windmills that dot Hollands dykes. What would it all look like back in action. Windmills truning with sails full of wind, canal boats delivering goods from the harbors to the wagons and stores. It must have been an amazing place—still is. map

Things I Learned Last Night > Blender 3D to NTSC Widescreen Video

I have learned a few 3D programs over the years. Learning a new one has been my obsession the last weeks. Blender is an impressively powerful 3D modeling and animation program. Blender is also open sourced. This means it is free to download, use and enhance. It is also supported by a global team of friggin cool people -- accessed via wiki and googled websites -- that help Blenders learning curves slide by a bit smoother. It is in this vein that I am collecting my findings on rendering an animation for video here. Once it is complete, I hope to join the ranks of the friggin cool.

So, Things I learned Last Night about:
I. Rendering a Blender animation for use in After Effects/Premiere
D1/DV NTSC Widescreen (1.2)
SizeX: 720, SizeY: 480 - This will render the proper (or close to it for now) screen size
AspX: 12, AspY 10 - Video pixels are not square, 12 x 10 will render the proper pixel aspect ratio, however the final footage must be interpreted manually later on
Fields on - so that the interlaced fields are rendered for video
Odd on - so that the bottom field renders first for NTSC
Output to Targa files (Extensions on) - Better than AVI in case the machine crashes during render
Save the file before rendering

Render the file from the command line like so:
blender -b <path to file><filename.blend> -a

When render completes there should be a list of .tga files in the render folder (C:/temp)

Open up After Effects / Premiere Set up Composition / Project for D1/NTSC Widescreen (1.2)
File > Import > File... > Browse to list of targas
Select first .tga file
Check Targa Sequence check box, Open

Right click on the new footage > Interpret Footage > Main...
Set Pixel Aspect Ratio to: D1/NTSC Widescreen (1.2)

There you have it.

Get Along Little Doggy

Being pulled through the mountains on a Six Dog Powered sled is unlike anything I have ever experienced. First, you have to respect the fact that they love their life. Everyday they get to run, run, run! They like running so much they don't stop... not even to poop or eat snow. The back two dogs are called wheelers. They are pretty much the power houses of the outfit. The lead dogs are called, well, leads. They are pretty much the brains, you tell them where to go and they pretty much listen. After doing this, I can't help but imagine a dog sledding team made up of 20 Jack Russel Terriers. Not only would it look friggin' awesome, but imagine all 20 of them seeing the same damn squirrel. Now that would be a ride!

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Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

Let's call it a working vacation along the lines of work hard play hard. Currently I find my self smack-dab in the middle of the playing part. Yesterday Bill, Hunter and I went snowboarding at Blackcomb and Whistler. It's been a about four years since I have been on a board, and wow am I feeling it today. I think I will live through the day so long as I stay clear of any activity involving squatting. Today's line up: Dog Sledding.

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Anti Pope

Like a lion kills an antelope, and yes, yes, even like a hammer hits a cantaloupe Movlanian heart-throb Zladko "ZLAD!" Vladcik has declared himself as the Anti Pope. If you enjoyed the greatness of such true Europeans as Pleasureman Günther -- or even fake Europeans -- Zladko's blood-chilling video: Anti Pope is sure to please. But if speaking backwards through a hooded translator is not your thing, then check out project fast. Be sure to take a joyride and and 'Shake what your motherland gave you'. Now get back to the Internet.

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I (heart) gypse chicks

I have a wee thing for Gypsies. And the wee thing grows a bit larger when it comes to Gypsy Music. Be it gogol bordello or filthy little gypsy girls with fiddles, I just can't get enough. One such bands that I very much enjoy is Hot Club of Cow Town. Good Texas Swing, that. But I just read a great story about guitarist Django Reinhardt and his Quintet Hot Club of France, complete with vintage video download. Check it out at WFMU's Beware of the Blog.

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