Kitchen Costuming

At the end of July, David once again asked if I would like to help him on another one of Nathan Blackwell’s web series -Voyage Trekkers. The premise for this show is not a parody of Star Trek, but homage to all sci-fi. The twist being, “With all the starships in the galaxy, somebody’s gotta be the worst”…or as the tagline goes, “These are the voyages that don’t make the captain’s log”.

Blackwell gave us the footage for episode nine, filmed entirely with green screen background. David chose to do physical models for these shots instead of digital. I was in charge of making the models, while David was responsible for prop designs and postproduction effects.

Our assignment was to create a columned great hall similar to one in Star Wars and a large impenetrable door. We had a few recyclables to choose from so David decided that Gatorade bottles might work. (continue reading…)

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to help on a web series project with former Star Trek VFX supervisor, David Stipes. Local filmmaker, Nathan Blackwell, has been making short films for some time and has recently been showcasing his two new web series on the internet. For this project on “Normally This Weird”, David and I needed to build a death ray prop and help David’s son create a time machine from a derelict old sports car. I am going to focus on the time machine for this post, but to see the making of the death ray for the series “Normally This Weird”, see David’s blog at http://davidstipes.com/blog/?p=556.

Three days before the shoot, I was sent on location to view our prospective time machine. A grimy, un-restored Austin Healey Sprite needed to be rolled out of the garage, hosed off, and cleaned out before we could even begin to figure out what we were going to do with it. (continue reading…)

Celebrities are splashed all over the internet with wardrobe flubs.  They are either unaware of how they look or are seeking attention for their insecurities. I could very well fit into one of these categories with the exception of not being a celebrity.

Yesterday was my day for errands.  Although it is September, here in Glendale the temperatures are still hovering around 104 degrees. A couple of everyday practices, such as keeping the blinds closed to keep the house cooler and getting out early before it got too hot, collided with my intended fashion sense. Having used the headboard lamp in order to see the grocery ads in my bedroom, I was temporarily blinded when I flipped the light off and grabbed my shoes. I wandered the house for a few minutes while I gathered up my essentials for my outing and headed out the door. 

I had to make a couple of quick stops, so I decided to have my prescriptions filled at the local pharmacy first. The drug store was busier than I had normally encountered it because it was now lunchtime. After turning my prescription over to the pharmacy technician, I decided to cruise the store and price some items.  Eventually I wandered my way out to my car and drove to the next stop.  As I was leaving, I noticed a young man looking at me with a slight smile on his face. (continue reading…)

Five is the number of change, and for my mother that was certainly true. For some unexplained reason, Mom always had an aversion to the number five.  It didn’t matter whether it was just the plain number or paired with other numbers such as fifteen or twenty-five.  She constantly wanted to believe there was something inherently negative about this number.  I don’t know when this obsession first began, but I spent many days of the last few years of her life listening to what bad things were going to happen because there was a “five” associated with it.  I once asked her about this, but never got a very satisfactory answer.  (continue reading…)

Flies are some of the most disgusting pests I can think of in the insect world.  Although in some cultures, the presence of a fly can be a sign of good luck.   I had been dodging flies outside since the end of May, but I hadn’t seen any good luck come my way in my effort to refinance my house.  Actually it was just the opposite.  Since St. Patrick’s Day, I had been working with my local bank loan officer to get my monthly home payments reduced.  Considering the state of the economy, the banks, and the real estate market, it was amazing anyone at the bank was even talking to me.  Without going into a lot of detail, let’s just say that there were a few set-backs in getting this thing moving. Finally after many delays, a title company officer came to my house to have papers signed.  Unfortunately, she left me with the impression that there was still an “if” about the loan closing.  Geez God, just send me a sign already, I thought.

Two days later, I noticed a couple of my indoor cats hovering around the back end of the arcadia door. I shooed the cats away to see about ten flies flitting around on the inside of the glass door.  I grabbed the can of insect spray and blasted them.  The cats had now found something else to grab their attention in the nearby window.  As I pulled the blinds away, there were several more flies.  What is going on here?  Where are all these flies coming from?  There were lots of flies outside, but how are they getting into the house?  With this many flies in the house, I would think I would have seen one buzz by me.

When my son, Todd, came home later that day, I told him the creepy story of the flies before I went to lie down.  My head never hit the pillow when I heard, “Hey Mom, come here and see this!” As I rounded the corner, I could see my son over by the arcadia door.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  There were about twenty more flies crawling on the glass.  As the last fly succumbed to the insect spray, I cautiously moved towards the living room window.  The wooden shutters were closed with a couple of slats open.  A scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds crept into my mind as I slowly opened the shutters.  I slammed the shutters closed and ran for the bug spray.  When the toxic fumes cleared, I had annihilated over thirty flies just in the living room.  We estimated the body count was somewhere around sixty plus altogether.

So are flies lucky?  Well obviously not for them, but the next day I received the papers in the mail telling me the loan that I had tried for over fours years to refinance was now paid in full.  Somehow through all the goofs and delays, I managed a five percent interest rate.  My monthly mortgage payment has almost been cut in half.  Along with the papers was a big check I wasn’t expecting.  A week later, I got another big check from the escrow account.  Where did all the flies come from?  We never found out and they never came back.  Be careful when you ask God for a sign, you just might get one (or sixty).