A Steampunk Motivational Poster

Cars and Coffee..............no you can't dunk the spare.

Now that the weather is somewhat cooperating in my little neck of the woods, one of my favourite weekend past times is back. Cars and Coffee at the Shoreline Central Market.

This is the 2nd year that Shoreline has hosted Cars and Coffee and it's a growing event.

The original Cars and Coffee originated in Irvine, California and has now transplanted a group of car afficianados here to host a similar event and was started by one of the orginal Irvine creators.

I love this gathering. There is no entry fee. There is no set up ritual. There is no show and shine event. There is no judging. Ahh. No judging.

I've been several times last year and had never take the Bronze Bitch since it was in a constant state of construction, but last weekend I took Jake and he loved it.

I loved it too. I loved that I met some really great people with restored classic cars, expensive Italian cars and a few rat rods and everything in between. The fellow car folks I meant were great to mingle and talk with and can appreciate all manner of cars...............even Jake.

I think I'll be back this Saturday and get there earlier this time. I'll have to start getting some photos as well.

The Book of Zombie premiere update

WOW!!!

FUCKING WOW!!! This was just amazing!!!! The Paisley and I decided we needed to leave a bit early last Friday nite to make sure that we get to the premiere on time.

Along the way I needed to stop for fuel and as I'm holding down the petrol nozzle into Jake's filler I hear a sudden hysterical laughter. It's the Pais, but I can't tell what she's lauging at. Upon asking she points to the corner and what do I see? The best omen I could ever hope to see. Mormons. Yes you heard me......mormons.

Mormons were stalking us before the big premier of The Book of Zombie

This was perfect!! we're on our way to a film about mormon zombies and this was the greatest gift we could receive!!!

When we arrived there was already a line forming for people that were hoping to get tickets at the door. There were a few folks in the will call line. Man what a difference 15 minutes made!! The will call line was at least 20 deep and getting longer and the at-door sales line was getting longer as well.

The venue for the big premiere!!The Pais and the poster!!

There were two shorts prior to our film. The first was Blue Moon Day and The Familiar. I really loved Blue Moon Day !!! So much was done in just 4 minutes. The Book of Zombie was the last to show that nite.

It looked damn sweet on a big screen and the soundtrack put together by our very Adam Gehrke was excellent!!

The real talent lies with the actors and the directors/writers. Here's most of the talent with the Q&A after the showing.

L-R: Dave Preston, Adam Gehrke,Paul Cranefield,Adrew Loviska,Marcel Banks,Erik Van Sant,Adrienne McIain,Larissa Peters. The last dude there was hosting the Q&A.

I'm really glad that I decided to do this. I've never done anything like this before in my life and I certainly hope it won't be the last. This reminded me of what I really enjoy in life and what I should be doing instead of working for the cruise line. It only makes sense. I'm a movie geek and I should be making movies.

Imagine it: The Kilted Movie Maker instead of The Kilted Travel Agent. Still has a good sound to it, yeah.

After the films and the Q&A the Northwest Film Forum had an after party complete with free food and free beer and.......................

NORDIC GO-GO DANCERS!!!

Fuzzy boots and all!! There were more of them dancing their little Scandic hearts out, but these two were the closest so they got their photo taken.

So now flash forward to Monday and the announcement was made that The Book of Zombie won an Audience Award. That is great to hear and we hope that there will be many more accolades in it's future.

Next up: Crypticon. If you missed the opportunity to see it at STIFF then here's your chance to see it again. It will show at Crypticon at 3 pm this coming Saturday June 19th if you happen to be in the Everett Washington area. Get an all day pass and enjoy the horror!!!

The Book of Zombie Premiere!!!!

Well in just a few short hours, the Paisley and I will be on our way to the North West Film Forum for the premiere of a small indie film we worked on called The Book of Zombie.

This was a project that was started in 2007 as a lunchroom joke between some coworkers at a local tv news station and eventually developed into a story which in turn was turned into a script and just kept steamrolling from there. 

We became involved when one of these newsies (a friend of ours from way back) asked the Paisley if she would like to do costumes and then I came along and ended up working on the production crew and the rest is history I suppose.

One of the best blogs that chronicled the making of this film was put together by our DP. You can follow along here and see just what it took to put this film together. There are somethings that you won't find in there like the super secret ending. No hints just yet!! I think it needs to be out for a while before I discuss it. All I can say is that the writers were just fucking genius with the ending!!

We've had a lot of support from a local radio station and from the followers on the sites Facebook and Twitter pages.

There has been one review that I have seen so far from a paper here in my little corner of the world. Thankfully it doesn't reveal too much. I'm holding out trying to read anything about the film until after I've seen it later tonite.

If you live in or are visiting the western Washington area hopefully you have prepurchased your tickets as tonites venue is sold out and there will be limited tickets available at the box office.

T-minus 6 hours and counting!!!

Taking a break and posing with one of the prop firearms

The Oregon Files: The destination

Every journey has a final destination. For our anniversary that destination was the McMenamins Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, Oregon.

The Grand Lodge was originally constructed as a retirement home for Masons in 1922. There is also an orphanage on sight for children of Masons. The facility was used until 1997 and then purchased by the McMenamin brothers, renovated and reopened in 2000 as a European style hotel with on sight restaurants.

If you've never been to a European style hotel, you're really missing out. We had a queen size room with a small sink vanity and a closet. There are nice tall windows to allow in a lot of light and wi-fi.That's it. No high end bathroom with a whirlpool tub or TV or radio. The McMenamin properties are all about entertainment and getting away from everyday living.

The Grand Lodge boasts a restaurant called the Iron Grillworks. The food is excellent and the portions generous. We mostly ate from the happy hour menu which as I mentioned provides generous portions and of course the low prices associated with happy hour.

Except for the two beers, all this food was $12. That burgers were roughly $3.50 each, the garlic fries, $2.50 and the salad was the other $2.50. The beers (brewed on sight) were $3 each. This was a really great way to eat while we were there. We had actually purchased a package called the Hammerhead (named for one of the micro brews they make on sight) which gives us $20 credit towards breakfast on our check out morning and $50 credit towards dinner on our final full nite.

The Grand Lodge has movies and live music on the second floor in the Compass Room theatre. The basement has a billiards room and vintage pub in the Doctour's office.

The Compass Room Theatre

There  is outdoor/casual dining at the Yardhouse Pub, which serves many of the same foods offered in the Ironworks Grill. There is seating inside, but you won't really want to sit inside. The outdoor dining has four times the seating and there are large propane heaters and blankets available for chilly days and evenings.

Outdoor seating at the Yardhouse Pub.

The hallways boast a lot of local artwork and concert posters for musicians and bands that have played the Grand Lodge in the past 9 years. There is a Frisbee disc golf course on site and time for relaxation later on in Ruby's Spa or in the outdoor soaking pool.

Forest Grove is a college town so there are plenty of things to see and do locally and for a fair price.

During our stay there was a medieval faire put on by Pacific University. The grounds were made to look like a small village with demonstrations in fencing, archery, royal court protocol, medieval cooking, crafts, book-making and more.

My favourite part was being able to walk the ground with a tall pint in one hand and a cigar in the other and not being chastised for it.

Here in Washington state, we are forbidden from smoking indoors in any building, in public parks and within 25 feet of doorways and ventilation openings. Basically we can smoke in our homes or our cars only. While I no longer smoke cigarettes anymore I do like a cigar or smoke a pipe periodically and don't like to be hassled about it.

There are more than enough wineries within the Willamette region as well for tours and tastings. The Tillamook valley is an easy drive for tours of cheese facilities on your way to the Oregon coast for a dip in the Pacific ocean.

 This is just one of many Chinese dragon's in the hotel. This one is in the Ironworks Grill. There is another at the entrance of the hotel. As you can see behind the dragon there are quite a few books available for reading. I actually did find myself doing some reading while there relaxing and just taking in the fact that I was out of state and away from my everyday world.

This statue greets you at the entrance of the Ironworks Grill.I think this was my favourite. I seem to be attracted the past few years to symbols of Eastern religions. I'm sure it has to do with being about inner peace, serenity and being closer to the earth and all that it brings to us and the need for harmony between earth and humans. Something that I find I want more of in my life as I get older.

Tomorrow I'll write on our visit to McMinnville and the Hotel Oregon which is also a McMenamin's property.

The Oregon Files: The Journey Begins

I've been a bit behind in life updates a bit.

Back at the end of April the Mrs. and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We decided that it had been a bit since we went anywhere for our anniversary and we should get out of town. This year we chose the hotel property McMenamin's Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Before we move onto the destination, lets start with the journey. After all every trip begins with a journey. Through some fortuitous good standing with my father in law, last year we were given an offer to use his new car for a weekend get away. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! It's not a new car, but new to him.

Here is why I couldn't believe the offer that was being extended to us..................................

This is my father in laws car, the 2001 Porsche Boxster S. This photo was taken on Highway 47. As  you can see it's a two lane logging road that twists and turns for roughly 16 miles.

*grinning ear to ear*

The highest speed I saw posted for any given turn on this highway was 35 mph. I didn't take a turn on this highway at anything less than 45 mph. True to form, this one handles like it's on rails just as it should.

Here's the Paisley digging the ride. I was pretty surprised that not once during the trip did she comment on my driving. Maybe it was the car. Usually she is working her passenger side equipped brake pedal.

The 2001 S variant has the larger 3.2 litre, water-cooled flat 6 known as the M96. The M96 is the first completely water cooled engine used in a production non-front engined Porsche. This model has a 6 speed manual transmission, four wheel ABS disc brakes and produces 249 hp and does 0-60 in 5.9 seconds.

We only had the top up when it was parked overnite and the one time that there was a brief downpour for 10  minutes. Luggage was a bit of an issue. The two big suitcases and the laptop were stowed in the front trunk and the rear trunk had some room for anything that we picked up along the way.

After the trunk, service is a big issue with this car for me. You can check the oil and the coolant from the rear trunk and you can top off the oil and coolant from the rear trunk, but that's about it. All other service work has to be done from under the car on a lift.

The over all look and styling of the car is very appealing to the eye. The interior is comfortable, but I actually have more leg room in my 944 and it's a bonus that my seats can recline. The cabin storage is pretty non exsistent. There are pockets in each door and a very shallow cubby in the centre console and a small parcel shelf behind the seats that is easy to reach if you're a contortionist.

As I stated earlier this model as any other Porsche, handles like it's on rails and the punch behind it is pretty good. That little beast just kept pushing up the passes and I still didn't get to really get it stretched out enough to get it into 6th. The best I got (in state) was up to 105. That speed in that car was very smooth.

There are more pros than cons to this car. Not my first choice mind you, but it's a very good candidate for another road trip. I still dream of a 1986 911 Targa, with the deep dish Fuchs wheels in black.

Tomorrow, the destination.

A STIFF Book of Zombie Premiere!!!

Well folks, it's been a long time. Longer than it seems it has been and definately longer than it should have been.

How long has it been, you ask and for what?

The Book of Zombie!!! Yes you heard me, The Book of Zombie. It's a soon to be released indie zombie film that will eventually become a cult classic and allow me to make some money back as one of the executive producers and lead to me eventual employment in the film industry.*

OH. THAT Book of Zombie!

For a bit of history, my wife and I were asked in the very late winter/early spring of 2007 to work on an indie film a friend of ours was going to be shooting with some workmates. We agreed and filming started the first Friday of June 2007 and wrapped in October 2007.

I know it took a long time, but cut us some slack. We're working people and shooting was limited to Friday and Saturday evenings.

Beyond that there was two years of editing and pick up shots and other assorted post productions work. Then the is the shamless pimping of said film to various film festivals. The one that has picked it up this year for 2010 is Seattle True Independant Film Festival or STIFF for short.

The first showing is next Monday June 7th in the afternoon. Who goes to those? Most cast and crew will be at the Friday June 11th showing at 9:15pm.

If you find your self in Seattle, you can find tickets on line through Stranger Ticketing.

Come meet the cast and the production crew. If you're still not sure, then check out the website and then go on line and get your plane ticket and get out here to Seattle to see The Book of Zombie.


* seriously, if anyone is looking for production worker/actor then hit contact me and lets chat.