"My Arctic Adventures in INNOVATIONS MAGAZINE!"

Innovations magazine hosted a few pages from this very blog! Here are the scans! If you want to read more check out the original blog entry HERE and more about my arctic travels HERE. Hope you enjoy, if the words on this scan are too small just click on the photo and it will expand!

"International Polar Year Film Festival & Riversings CBC"

Sept 28^th, 2009

Halifax – Ottawa

“International Polar Year Film Festival”

Sound Track:

Artist – Phish

Song – “You Enjoy Myself”

I am on the airplane flying from Halifax to Ottawa, You Enjoy Myself (ambient jam) is playing on my headphones, my beautiful wife Jess and sweet baby Kaiya are sitting beside me to join me on my adventure to the capital city of O-Town, it’s a good day. I have been invited to screen our film Melting Lands at the International Polar Year Film Festival. When my Italian partner Federica and I first came up with the idea to shoot a documentary in the arctic we both could never have imagined that not only would we end up finding a way to shoot the film but also that it has been given such an honor at prestigious film festivals like this one, to be held at the Canadian National Archives and Gallery.

When did I travel last? It must have been the trip to Ontario for our road trip, this flight and the one home will be Kaiya’s 6^th time on a plane, and she is only 18 months old! More travel for her soon, Vancouver in a few weeks, Chicago, then New York City, I’m sure we will get South at some point as well. This weekend I fly to Southern France after my sessions with the Wallace McCain Institute to hit Cannes for the 6^th time in 3 years for MIPCOM. The time has come where I need to start making a proper income in television, sadly you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to make this happen by attending events like that, oh well, can’t complain too much I guess.

Last week we shot a very cool episode for CBC’s Land and Sea. All about one of my favorite places on Earth, the St. John River. We based this river doc after singer song writer Brent Mason’s album entitled “River Songs” which gives homage to this great and beautiful river. Basically we spent a week on the river with canoe, motorboat, car and ferry to capture the essence and the spirit of this infinitely giving resource. We shot scenes at the St Mary’s First Nation’s reserve as they built birch bark canoes, we filmed at Jemseg where there was an old de-commissioned cable ferry, we hit Queenstown which is one of the most beautiful riverside communities North of the Mississippi, then Elm Hill which was one of Canada’s first black settlements, then down river to Evendale to spend a few nights at the Evendale Inn for live music and rhubarb wine with a cable ferry backdrop, then a paddle past Nerrapis through Grand Bay to Indian Town, then portaged over the Reversing Falls via the Harbor Passage to the mouth of Saint John harbour at Fort Latour. Keep an eye out on CBC and you will be able to see what I’m writing about!

This is a stellar version of You Enjoy Myself….how soon do I forget how incredible the band Phish is…I haven’t seen them in years, I miss the tours, the shows, the campgrounds, the balloons?!? Haha. I have had 3 tickets for this summer’s tour and wasn’t able to make any of them, I must say however its so worth it that I did not get to go on Phish tour because I need and want to spend every spare minute with my sweet Kaiya…gotta have Kaya now (thanks Bob). Since baby has come to bless our lives I have put a lot of stuff on the back burner, and its all good. Having a baby completely changes a man for the better; Kaiya has brought me joys I can’t find words to write.

Back to the bass…(if you wonder why I always say that when trying to focus myself, then look back a few years and get to know the band Fat Tala…the bass the bass the bass….back to the bass…it makes sense and is easy to type. Now that I’m back to the bass I am reminded that this post is about our tip to Ottawa, oh yeah…we landed in Ottawa, got into out sweet suite, invited my main boyz from the old skool Mike and Mike, as well as Mike’s lovely wife Tammy and sweet little baby Madeline, Madeline was born a couple weeks before Kaiya..they will best friends and dangerous together I am sure when they get older!

Had a great night with the extended friend-fam and then went to sleep, dreamt a little bit then woke up, hit the mall of all places then screened my film that night! Melting Lands was the last feature of a 3 day film festival; it was an honor to be there. I introduced the film and had a question answer period after, Mike and Mike showed up, as well as one of my other old skool friends Mary McFarland and my Cruise Ship friend from back in the day Jamie. One of my favorite people and marketing guru Kim Houlahan had lunch with us and also showed up at the screening, its so great to have such supportive friends! Check out Kim’s blog here http://fanaticalsabbatical.blogspot.com. I also met up with some other stellar arctic filmmakers for drinks after, great conversations and great local beer.

My computer battery is about to die..Bouncing Around the Room is surrounding my skull taking me way back to memories of carefree summers! Gotta run!