New Painting!

Here is my latest pianting, an image of Monument Valley, Utah, at sunset. This painting was created for whipmaker Joe Strain in return for a beautiful 16 plait Australian targeting bullwhip he sent me.

The medium is acrylic on masonite 24" X 30"

Rest In Peace, Robert Goulet

'Waaaay back, in 1986, I worked on a feature film called "MONEY CAN'T BUY YOU LOVE." I was the 2nd Assistant Cameraman, working under my friend John Lambert, the D.P. We filmed for two weeks in Las Vegas, and the film starred Robert Goulet. I had the opportunity to work directly with Mr. Goulet, and I can tell you from personal, and professional experience, he was one of the nicer people in this industry. He was quite nice to me, and we had the chance to chat a number of times during the shooting.
I was very saddened to learn of Robert's passing today, and I just want to tell everyone who reads this, that he made not only an impression on the world, but a personal impression on me as well.

So to honor him, and his wonderful sense of humor and fun, I am posting this commercial which he did a few years back. I hope you find it as funny and memorable as I do.



God welcome you, Robert Goulet. We'll miss you on this Earth.

How Far Will The Government Under Bush Go?

Okay, I know I've been saying some things that could be considered politically stupid (to SOME people) but, I just read the following story, and felt the need to post a copy of it here. I came off of CBS2.com's news site.
You say "it could never happen here," huh?

It can and it is.

So, here's the story. Before you pooh-pooh it as some liberal bias of mine, just know that as a certain Vulcan once said, "I do not invent the legend. I merely report it."

Scientists Fight Background Checks Ordered By Bush
(CBS) LOS ANGELES Twenty-eight senior scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging what they call the federal government's invasive background checks into their personal lives, including their sexual orientations.

At issue is a 2004 executive order signed by President Bush requiring federal agencies and facilities to institute an identification badge.

The plaintiffs -- all long-term California Institute of Technology employees -- allege the Bush administration is requiring them to consent to broad written waivers permitting investigators to obtain records from their past employment files.

Investigators will also be allowed to question the employees’ friends and associates about their emotional and financial well-being, as well as their sexual histories, according to Dan Stormer, one of their attorneys.

"They're being required to give up every personal record they have," Stormer said. "It's just a despicable incursion into constitutionally protected rights."

The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction against implementing the background checks.

The JPL scientists and engineers, some of whom worked on the recent space probe sent to Mars, are not employed by the federal government, Stormer said. They have been informed they must comply with the background checks by Sept. 28 or lose their jobs a month later, he said.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are NASA, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA. The Commerce Department contracts with Caltech for various services.

Stormer said in an interview that he is very confident the injunction will be granted, adding the background checks were "part of the Bush administration's assault on the Constitution."

Caltech officials did not immediately comment on the action.


(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. )

So, there you have it.

And, as a good journalist, I felt compelled to report it. That's part of what keeps America free, at least in theory. A free press, that brings a healthy skepticism and a powerful magnifying glass onto ALL governments, of all parties.
I am not profiting by this re-post. The story is the property of CBS, they own the copyright. No copyright infringement is intended or inferred on my part.
Just trying to help focus our attention on our "government" in the spirit of a free press.

The War in Iraq

Most of you who know me know I am generally a leftist, but with Libertarian tendencies. I am against Bush, and feel he and his unjust war are destroying all that used to be great about America. However, that does not mean that I disrespect the troops over there who are doing what they feel is their duty, in an honorable manner. They deserve all the respect we can give them. When you think of the word "COMMITMENT" consider the images and thoughts below. Thanks to my friend Fausto for passing these along. I hope they give you something to think about.
And, my thanks to our troops, for showing honor, and a commitment to duty.




You stay up for 16 hours.
He stays up for days on end.




You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.




You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.




You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.




You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.




You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.




You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He patrols the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.




You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.




You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.




Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.




You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.




You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.




You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.




You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.




You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.




You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.




You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.




You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.




You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger.




You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.




You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He tries to sleep but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long.




If you support your troops, the click "reply to poster" copy all the codes, and repost the bulletin.

If you don't support your troops well, then don't re-post. You won't die in 7 days, your love life won't be affected, and you won't have the worst day ever. You don't have to repost. It's not like you know the men and women that are dying to preserve your rights.

Cat Herding!

I love cats, and I love crazy commercials with them. This is one of the best I've ever seen.

Super Bowl Classics - Cat Herding

Posted Mar 07, 2005

An inside look at the brave men steering felines across the plains.

Political Correctness is running AMOK

Well, what I have here just proves to me that PC has become the new fascism. Below are a series of TV ads that were all banned from the airwaves for one reason or another. Personally, I cannot understand why these ads would be banned, as I find nothing offensive about them.

Banned Toronto Blue Jays Ad

Posted Apr 09, 2007

Canada has decided to ban this playful pillow fight spot, deeming it too violent for the airwaves.

Volkwagen: Jumper

Posted Mar 01, 2007

Volkswagen caved in to mental health advocacy groups and recently agreed to pull this ad depicting a man about to commit suicide.

Root Collection For SuperBowl Channel - Banned Ads - Airborne: Mickey Rooney's Banned Ad

Posted Feb 03, 2005

This Super Bowl ad was rejected due to the showing of Mickey Rooney's geriatric behind.

Root Collection For SuperBowl Channel - Banned Ads - Wynn Las Vegas Super Bowl Ad

Posted Feb 03, 2005

Steve Wynn stands on top of his stunning new hotel in Las Vegas.

Dove Pro-Age Ad

Posted Feb 15, 2007

See the commercial that could not be shown on tv.

Banned Axe Commercial - Workout

Posted May 21, 2007

One minute he's taking a shower, the next this guy's leading an all-lady aerobics class wearing nothing but his birthday suit.

California's oppressive gun laws

I saw this blog article, and just had to reprint it here.

Oppression, bigotry, dignity and the necessity of self-defense.
Am I pro-gun? I don’t know what that means actually. A gun is an inanimate object with no will or its own and no ability to act. It is acted upon. And like any other inanimate object what happens with it is entirely in the hands of human beings. It can do great evil and great good. The same is true of many things. Some religious fanatics managed to turn air planes into weapons of mass destruction far more deadly than any handgun. Drunks turn automobiles into killing machines. Even a hand that can produce great things can become a fist that inflicts pain.Now I am not a member of the National Rifle Association. Not now, not never, though I have been a member of the ACLU. I'm not a joiner. I don’t own a gun. I have never owned a gun. The only time I fired a gun in my entire life was at school! True -- but the school had a rifle range and it was part of a class and I had no choice in the matter, obviously this was a few years ago.Second, I have been the victim of armed attacks. I have had a deranged and violent criminal put a pistol to my skull and promise to kill me. On a second occasion I was shot at. So I know what it is to be the victim of an armed assault.When a gang of three men entered my home they tied me up and threatened to kill me. With my hands tied behind my back I was pushed down on the bed as they ransacked the house. What they did not know was that when they tied my hands I had used an old conjuring trick so that the ropes immediately became lose. Only one of the three men was armed. He was in front of me going through the shelves in the closet with his back to me.I reached out from behind my back and took a large sum of cash that was in the bedstand and threw it under the bed. And at that moment I realized that if I had a gun in the bedstand or under the bed I would have been able to shoot the man and put an end to the trauma. I didn’t have one. So it continued. And I was not their only victim that day. It is something I prefer not to discuss in much detail. But I knew I could have ended it immediately. I could have stopped the evil. At that very second a gun would have done me and my partner much good.The second time I watched in horror as two men, one armed, grabbed someone I love very much in order to gain access to my home. They demanded to know where I was. They walked past the bedroom window where I stood watching this. I only intended to let them know that they were spotted and hoped they would conclude that I had called police or set off a silent alarm. But they weren’t looking in my direction.I only meant to get their attention. I took my hand and went to slap on the window just to make a noise. But the adrenaline was flowing and instead I shattered the entire pain of glass with a loud bang. Shreds of glass came flying out toward them and their hostage. The one armed man turned away from his hostage and turned toward me. He raised his pistol and fired, the bullet went into the window pane a few inches away from my head. He and his accomplice turned and ran leaving their hostage behind.It was only later that I realized what had happened. Their would-be hostage told me that when I hit the glass and it shattered that it sounded like a gun going off. I believe that is what those thugs thought as well. They believe the flying glass was caused by a weapon fired in their direction. And the moment they decided I was armed they decided it wa a good idea to go elsewhere.During the dying days of apartheid I witnessed police brutality first hand. A conference I attended was “evacuated” by the police over an alleged bomb threat. There was no bomb. It was a police hoax to force us out of the building so they could videotape who was attending.Twice that day a young thug of a cop tried to arrest a man who worked for the conference. His crime was that he was black. The first time he grabbed his victim several people grabbed the man from the other side and pulled him away from the cop. We stood in a line between the policeman and his intended victim. An arrest in South Africa under apartheid often meant a violent beating and could result in death. The officer backed down when he found a group of angry white people refusing to allow him to continue.We were allowed back into the building. Once again this thug in uniform took it upon himself to try to arrest the same black man. But many of us were still there standing with him. People blocked his way and refused to allow him through. He started becoming agitated. He got into a scuffle with a young woman. She threw her cold drink at him. And suddenly his fist started slamming into her face repeatedly.At times like that you do not think, you react. And you react according to the deepest values you hold. I, someone who had spent my life avoiding violence and fighting, grabbed the left arm of this officer and clung to it. Another man standing nearby had done the same with his right arm. I just keep whispering in his ear: “You shouldn’t hit a woman.” Actually you shouldn’t hit anyone. Maybe I was sexist but I believe it. You shouldn’t hit a woman, anyone, but especially not a woman or a child. The policeman was spitting venom and threatening us. He promised to arrest us and to hurt us. I don’t know how it ended. I really don’t remember. At some point he calmed down and we let him go. He was still furious but not violent. His superior came over and realizing this act of brutality was being conducted in front of hundreds of witnesses -- white witnesses, which made it worse in the eyes of the advocates of apartheid, took him away.People sometimes forget that the police are often the agents of oppression as well. And when guns are outlawed only outlaws and cops have guns. And that scares me.People in South Africa eventually were forced to fight their own government violently. This does not mean I support the ANC. I actually don’t. But I supported the freedom struggle which is a different matter. I have friends who were part of that struggle. White friends who protested and were arrested and black friends who used weapons to fight against the apartheid state. There were things that some “freedom fighters” did which were wrong. But there were many things they did which were right and just and necessary. And the simple truth is that the police were the last people a black victim of crime in South Africa would want to call.Only the most sheltered or ignorant do not know of the attacks on black Americans in the Deep South perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan and their allies in the state governments and the police. If a black man was attacked he couldn’t call on the police for help. Too often it was the police who were the attaqckers. Government was not there to protect the rights of black people. Government was the agent of their destruction.W.E.B. DuBois realized the problem in the South: “In the last analysis lynching of Negroes is going to stop in the South when the cowardly mob is faced by effective guns in the hands of people determined to sell their souls dearly.” Herbert Harrison, president of the Liberal League of Negro America, in the 1920s, gave this advice: “I advise you to be ready to defend yourselves. I notice the State Government has removed some of its restrictions upon owning firearms, and one form of life insurance for your wives and children might be the possession of some of these handy implements.”The Deacons for Defense and Justice, organized by the black churches, set up armed patrols to protect black neighborhoods from white vigilantes. Klan attacks had a tendency to stop when they knew their victims were armed. Her other views aside, Condoleezza Rice grew up in the segregated South. Her father was one of the armed men who took to the streets to protect his family. The Montgomery Advertiser wrote:
“During the bombings of the summer of 1963, her father and other neighborhood men guarded the streets at night to keep white vigilantes at bay. Rice said her staunch defense of gun rights comes from those days. She has argued that if the guns her father and neighbors carried had been registered, they could have been confiscated by the authorities, leaving the black community defenseless.”In fact this is precisely the origin of some of the first gun control laws in America. For instance, Michigan only implemented it’s law requiring gun permits from the state after a black man, Dr. Ossian Sweet, was forced to defend his house from a white mob intent on burning him out. He shot and killed one of the mob as the police stood on the sidelines watching and refusing to act. Sweet was defended by the great champion of human rights Clarence Darrow and acquitted.Like the oppressed people in South Africa the blacks in the American South, not that long ago, could not call upon the police for their protection. Too often the local Klan was run by members of the police department.It wasn’t that many years ago I was in a car driving through the streets of Chicago. I was shocked to see dozens of police cars surrounding a building leading people out one by one and arresting them. Who were these people? What had they done?They were gay men inside a gay bar who had done nothing. But that alone was sufficient cause for the Chicago police to raid the bar and arrest the men. Some years later I was having dinner in a restaurant in San Francisco with some friends. The waitress warned us to avoid the “riot” down the street. Of course as we left the restaurant we went to see what was happening.Dozens and dozens of police, heavily armoured and with batons ready, had stretched themselves across the width of Castro Street, at the corner of Market. The “riot” was angry residents of this gay neighborhood demanding the police leave. The “officers” marched down the streets forcing everyone to lock themselves inside. I later learned that on numerous occasions the police used various excuses to invade the Castro, sometimes quite violently.And we should not forget that it was one of these cops, Dan White, who was elected as a City Supervisor who walked into City Hall in 1978 and assassinated the mayor and the first elected gay official Harvey Milk. The police, to say the least, were very understanding with Mr. White.Even to this day many black and/or gay Americans can’t rely on the police to protect them. It isn’t that these people are necessarily advocates of a “gun culture”. Many don’t even like guns. But what other choice do they have? To disarm them is to put them at the mercy of every bigot and homophobe in or out of uniform. Today there is a group of 40 chapters of Pink Pistols, a group that helps gays, lesbians and transgendered people learn how to use weapons in self-defense.It is hard to convey the necessity of being able to defend one’s self to people who have never had to do so. I don’t think I could understand the attitude of many black Americans had I not witnessed police brutality against blacks in South Africa firsthand. I know what is like to feel fear and to face violent police officers.The unfortunate reality of this world is that too often there are people who simply can’t rely on the police to protect them. And still, too often, it is the police from whom they need protection.The idea that firearms must be a state monopoly is one that makes no sense in light of the history of our world. I can only suggest that individuals who advocate such things are unaware of how often, and how easily, the state has become the greatest engine of genocide in the modern world.Can anyone rationally defend the premise that people of Warsaw, in 1944, would have been better off with fewer guns? For 63 days they valiantly tried to end the domination of the Nazis. Betrayed by the Soviets they were left to die. What they needed was not gun control but more guns.Only one year before the Jews of Warsaw were confined to the ghetto awaiting deportation to Auschwitz, Birkenau and the other concentration camps. On January 18 armed Jews in the ghetto resisted the Nazi deportation process for the first time. The deportations stopped as the Nazi regime tried to decide what to do.For three months there were no more deportations, no further deaths. During this time the people of the ghetto prepared to make their stand. They dug intricate tunnel systems and established air raid shelters and bunkers from which to fight. But they had only some pistols, a few rifles and one, perhaps three, machine guns. They mostly relied on home-made bombs.The Nazis planned their attack for Passover and assumed it would take three days to clear the ghetto. It took a month. The Nazis, true to form, killed indiscriminately and destroyed the ghetto house by house. Over 13,000 were killed in the attack and 50,000 were sent off to the camps. Who would tell me that these people would have been better off with fewer guns?It is the boot of oppression that drives home the importance of being able to defend one’s self. I’m not “pro-gun”. I’m pro freedom, pro human rights, pro self defense. Guns are merely tools to help achieve those ends. To be pro or anti gun makes a much sense to me as being pro and anti hammer, or pro and anti screwdriver. But people, especially those who are the victims of prejudice and hatred, must be able to defend themselves. I wish the world we lived in were a different place where none of this were necessary. But wishing does not make reality.History tells us that victims often can not rely on a state monopoly to protect them. Often the very individuals who run that monopoly are either participants in these attacks or willingly turn a blind eye to them. Even under the best of circumstances they are less than willing to make an effort to stop such attacks or investigate them.There are hateful people in this world. And as long as there are their victims will need to be able to defend themselves. Disarming victims never helps the victim. It only helps the victimizer. Disarming the oppressed is an elixir that makes oppression stronger. It is a betrayal of every value that decent people hold dear.

Another whip painting

Here is the second painting I have done for Joe Strain. It is acrylic on Masonite, hand-painted except for the lens flare effect, which I added in Photoshop.




Note the detail of the barbed wire, which I'm rather proud of.

My latest painting

Well, I've picked up the brushes and the paints once again, and did a painting for Joe Strain, as payment for the whips he sent me. I'll be doing another one in the next day or so.

This one is acrylic, on Masonite, 30"X 24"

Homophobia, homo-hatred

My friend Michael sent me this recently. I was very moved by it, and so I am reposting it here.

Love is not defined by color, creed, or gender.
I am the mother who is not allowed to even visit the children I bore, nursed, and raised. The court says I am an unfit mother because I now live with another woman.
I am the boy who never finished high school, because I got called a fag everyday.
I am the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian.
I am the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman.
I am the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights.
We are the parents who buried our daughter long before her time.
I am the man who died alone in the hospital because they would not let my partner of twenty-seven years into the room.
I am the foster child who wakes up with nightmares of being taken away from the two fathers who are the only loving family I have ever had. I wish they could adopt me.
I am not one of the lucky ones. I killed myself just weeks before graduating high school. It was simply too much to bear.
We are the couple who had the realtor hang up on us when she found out we wanted to rent a one-bedroom for two men.
I am the person who never knows which bathroom I should use if I want to avoid getting the management called on me.
I am the domestic-violence survivor who found the support system grow suddenly cold and distant when they found out my abusive partner is also a woman.
I am the domestic-violence survivor who has no support system to turn to because I am male.
I am the father who has never hugged his son because I grew up afraid to show affection to other men.
I am the home-economics teacher who always wanted to teach gym until someone told me that only lesbians do that.
I am the woman who died when the EMTs stopped treating me as soon as they realized I was transsexual.
I am the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I didnt have to always deal with society hating me.
I am the man who stopped attending church, not because I don't believe, but because they closed their doors to my kind.
I am a warrior for my country serving proud, but can't be my true self because gays aren't allowed in the military.
I am the person who has to hide what this world needs most, love.
I am the person ashamed to tell my own friends I'm a lesbian, because they constantly make fun of them.
I am the boy tied to a fence, beaten to a bloody pulp and left to die because two straight men wanted to "teach me a lesson."
This is the boy, Matthew Shepard. On October 7, 1998 Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson lead him to a remote area east of Laramie where they demonstrated unimaginable acts of hate. Matthew was tied to a split-rail fence where he was beaten and left to die in the cold of the night. Almost 18 hours later he was found by a cyclist who initially mistook him for a scarecrow. Matthew died on October 12 at 12:53 am at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. KILLED BECAUSE HE WAS GAY!!!---IF YOU BELIEVE THAT HOMOPHOBIA IS WRONG... REPOST THIS AS "HOMOPHOBIA."

Carlton Simonds died at King-Harbor Hospital E.R. just like Edith Rodriguez

Considering the recent death of Edith Rodriguez at King-Harbor Hospital's ER (formerly King-Drew Medical Center, and before that, M.L. King Hospital) as a result of apathy on the part of the hospital staff and indifference to the point of bureaucratic bullying on the part of the two 911 operators (one of which was formally disciplined for the same offensive attitude to other 911 callers in the past) I simply had to say that, along with other reports of similar deaths due to hospital personnel indifference, that I, too, had a friend who died the same way in the same E.R.
His name was Carlton Simonds. Actually, the last name may have been spelled Simons or Simmonds. I don't remember, but Carl was a dear friend of mine from back in the Youth Group days. We were both members, in the mid-1970's, of Metropolitan Community Church's Friday evening group for Gay kids, Growing American Youth. Carl, Richard (RC) Chapman, and I were very close.
Carl died in early 1996 on the waiting room floor of the King E.R., literally vomiting up blood from a perforated ulcer in much the same way that Edith recently died, and none of the staff lifted a finger to help him.
Obviously, there's a reason this place is called "Killer King."

Ocean's 13 - WARNING! Possible SPOILER!!!

Okay, I just saw Ocean's 13 yesterday. Liked it a lot. As I enjoyed the first two films, I loved this one as well.
In fact, I have a name for the caper the guys pulled.

I'm calling it... Henry Blake's Desk.

Whaddya think?

The Falcon's Return

This is the latest test for The Falcon's Return. It is the opening title sequence. The titles may change as we get more people on board, and the cast may change before all is said and done.
I wanted to see if I could emulate the look of not only the titles from The Maltese Falcon, without directly imitating them, as well as getting the effect of titles shot as artwork and printed on an optical printer, rather that the more stiff look you normally get from digital. These were, of course, digitally-made, but I pulled a few tricks out of my sleeve to give it more organic look of film, especially the fade-ins and fade-outs. Film done on an optical printer or animation stand tends to show certain photographic characteristics, including holding the highlights during a fade out, so that as the image fades away, the highs stay visible longer than the darks. CGI fades tend to create a flat veil of black across the entire image at once, and don't appear photographic. So, I tried to get away from that with these. I must admit, I'm very happy with the way they came out.

Baron Hats spot - Lightning Test 1

This is a compositing test for the Baron Hat commercial. It's supposed to be in an alley in Downtown L.A., 1943. A stormy night. It's basically a multiplane animation shot. The elements that make up this shot are:
The clouds, moving forward and lighting up with lightning;
The image of City hall, taken in the 1940's during the day;
The alley off of Skid Row, shot as a hi-rez still during location scouting;
A separate image of me and my shadow shot in a different location and comped in.
This was created in Photoshop and Final Cut Pro just to see how it would look. I think it looks pretty good!




Here is the background plate which you can see in the sky at the end of the alley. It is also a composite of several images, heavily manipulated in Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. The original image was shot in Downtown L.A. in the 1940's, during broad daylight.

A Toby Peters Mystery?

Well, I have been writing the second commercial for Baron Hats, this one a detective story set in Los Angeles, 1943. And what better style of detective story than a Toby Peters Mystery?

In case you're not familiar with them, the Toby Peters Mysteries, by bestselling author Stuart Kaminsky, is a series of about 23 books, all of which take place in L.A. circa WWII. They all involve a real-life guest star, like Bela Lugosi or Cary Grant, and are simply hilarious.
Anyway, we are hoping to get the right to film this short Toby Peters story, which I have written with Stuart Kaminsky's blessing. As to what his agent will say, I don't yet know. So, here's to hoping.
Ed and I have made a couple of informal photos of me as Peters, one of which I've made into a poster. And yes, that's Andy Garcia on the poster. We're hoping to get him to play the Boss bad guy. Mark Mejia knows him, so again, who knows?
Here are the images. 'Till later!

Baron of The Great Fedora

Okay, if you read this blog around Spring of 2006, you read about my production of Baron of The Great Fedora.
Well, here it is, albeit with most of the commercial elements removed. Hopefully, this will make it more of a fan film, and I won't get sued by George Lucas or Paramount for putting it up, condidering how many other fan films are out there with blessings.
Anyway, if they want me to remove it, I will. But, for now, here it is...

Pony Horton, LAND BARON! Part 3

Here is a video I shot the other day when I visited my Tehachapi property for the first time AS ITS OWNER.
I have decided to call the property, "Starbase 7: Clancy's Place" in honor of my boy. I was so looking forward to the day when he could run free up there. Now he can, at least, do it in spirit.

'Bye, Clancy....

Two nights ago, the camper I lived in with my dog Clancy, and two cats, Batsy and Tribble, burned to the ground. As I was driving across town, the engine caught fire (there had been no problems up to that point...) and the camper was fully engulfed in about 30 seconds. I was not able to get Clancy or the cats out, as they ran and hid under the rear table, and the fire was blocking my way to them. I broke the rear windows out, and called for Clancy to come out, but the flames swept right through the window, burning the hair off of the top of my head, and my beard.
By the time it was over, they were dead, and everything I had was gone.
I so wanted to give a better life to my pets. That's what I was trying for with this house project I'm hoping to create on my land in Tehachapi. Clancy, I'm soooo sorry I couldn't save you, and Bats and Tribs. A friend told me that you're happy now, with Odus, in a better place. But all I can think of are those last horrible moments as you were crying out for me. I heard you as I broke the windows, heard your cries of terror and pain. But I couldn't get in past the fire. All I wanted for you was a better life in the mountains. I feel I've failed you, and all of life, and I'm sorry. 'Bye, my babies. Clansto-pup and Mama Fluff, and Mr. Tribs. I wish I could've done better by you.

My companions died, and I was left standing on a dark street with a burned-out husk of a vehicle. And now I feel somehow unworthy to ever have the privelige of having a four-legged friend again.

So now what the fuck do I do?

Star Trek early CGI updates

This is an early concept of CGI done for the STAR TREK episode The Doomsday Machine.
I especially like the vision of the opening title sequence.

Bill & Fred's Ride to Owens Valley from A Test of Integrity

This is a scene from A Test of Integrity, a docudrama I am producing on the life and work of William Mulholland. Starring Victor Izay as Mulholland, and Art Prickett as Fred Eaton. This scene depicts Mulholland and Eaton on their first buckboard trip to the Ownes Valley in 1904, scouting the route for the future Los Angeles Aqueduct. Lotsa cool matte shots of what it looked like back then. Additional footage courtesy Los Angeles Department of Water & Power.

What Do Dogs Dream When They Sleep?

Just a fun little video my dog Odus and I made based upon Mark Phillip Lopez' Moth Music series. The music is a piece Mark wrote about Odus, titled The Mind of Odus Senior. I thought it was so cool, that Odus and I made a video using the song. odus is in doggie Heaven now, but with this video my old friend lives on.

Antelope Valley - Room To Grow

A short demo film detailing some of the attractions of the Antelope Valley. Produced and Directed by Pony R. Horton of Gravity Arch Media.