A Legend Dies, But His Work Lives On

Joseph Barbera died today of natural causes at 12:15pm at his home in Studio City. He was 95.

I have had the privelege of working at the same building as he did for about 5 years. (yes, he did still come into work!) I didn't have a lot of contact with him, but the handful of times I did speak with him, I'll always remember.

We are still producing spin-off shows based on the characters he created many decades ago. This year's variety is called "Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue".

GO HERE to view a post I wrote about him in April.

My Trip To Outer Space

I have nothing new to report about the film industry right now, so I thought I'd treat you to some photos from a recent family vacation.

The view over Africa was spectacular.

Accomodations were provided by the Mir Luxury Resort.

We stopped off at a nearby moon. (light-side)

Even though there is just one set of footprints in the moon-sand, I know He's carrying me.

Me, going out to take some more pics.

Amateur

I saw this on a couple other blogs I read, and man this guy is awesome! He claims to not be able to play, but he is a composer just the same. Check out these editing chops!



Now that's a nice mixture of my two passions: drums and editing.

Go Speed Racer, GO!

I know this news is ‘sooo 10 days ago’, but I learned today that Larry and Andy Wachowski (writers and directors of “The Matrix” trilogy) are writing and will direct a live-action version of "Speed Racer".

Here’s an excerpt from the Hollywood Reporter article:

After years of idling, the big-screen, live-action version of "Speed Racer" is ready to zoom, this time with Larry and Andy Wachowski behind the wheel.

The Wachowski brothers are writing and will direct the movie, which will be produced by Joel Silver. "They are approaching these racing scenes in a way you've never seen before," said Silver. Silver also said that "Speed" would be family-friendly.

The plan is for the Wachowski’s to shoot in summer 2007 for a summer 2008 release.

I have been waiting for years for someone to get it together and make this film. “Speed Racer” was one of my favorite shows as a kid, so my level of anticipation is very high, and knowing what the Wachowski brothers are capable of, I also have a high-level expectation for quality .

I'm really looking forward to seeing who is becomes attached to play Speed and Racer X (Speed's estranged brother - don't tell anyone). More good news is that John Gaeta, responsible for the ground-breaking special FX in "The Matrix", is on-board as well.

It’ll feel like a long wait for this to come out, but I remember first hearing about the "Lord of the Rings" movies going into production. That felt like an eternity too, but now those films are already sitting on my shelf.

I guess I’ll have to figure out something to pass the time. Maybe I could modify my car to have a "Mach 5" steering wheel. My favorite button is "A". That's the one that deploys the 'jacks' that Sparky uses to work on the car, but Speed uses it to jump over just about anything in his path. "C" is a good one too. That one deploys the forward rotary-saws for heavily wooded terrain. I would use it to get through LA traffic faster.


Or, maybe I could modify my whole car into a working "Mach 5" replica. Honestly, who DOESN"T want one of these.



Summer 2008? I should be ready by then.

Go here for in-depth information and history of “Speed Racer”.

Drumming For A Lifetime, pt.5

Woodsheddin'

Despite the focus on a sound design career and that silly "making a living" stuff, I have tried to keep my inner-drummer happy throughout the years. Since moving to LA, I've been fortunate to have several gigs and the occasional recording session.

For the last few months, the drummer in me has been screaming to get more slack in the leash. Luckily, I have a few cool playing opportunities coming up in the next couple of months.

In December, I will be reuniting for a couple of nights with a Dallas based band I played with several years ago. The band's name was The Calling. You can hear a few of the songs we recorded here. Some of the drum parts are a challenge, thus the bunker-down in the woodshed to get ready. (actually, it looks more like a small isolation booth in my studio)

When I played with The Calling, it was an era when I probably used "too many notes", as I criticized in my last "Drumming For A Lifetime" installment, but hey, it is what it is - and the music is fun to play, so I'll deal with it.

Boo

Here are a few of pics from (before) the halloween party we went to Saturday. Chana was a great (and fine-lookin') Poison Ivy. I was Henchman #17. (The previous 16 have been killed, thrown in prison or placed in long-term care at Arkham Asylum. I am hoping to have an extended run without having to face the Batman or any of his friends. I know that THIS time it's different for Ivy. She really cares about me...)


Micah offered Chana his snake Levi for the night, and it rounded out the costume perfectly. Most people at the shindig were happy to hang out with a live snake; something I wouldn't have been too keen on a few months ago.


A friend of ours was there dressed as Jesus, and I guess Levi recognized him, because when "Jesus" held Levi, he just contentedly wrapped around his arm and became very calm. Just goes to show ya, that Jesus really does hold dominion over all creatures, and they are naturally drawn to Him (or even a pretty good likeness).

[Now, don't comment to show me all of the obvious theological holes in my previous paragraph. But you can comment and tell me what your costume was this year!]

Mooch

Get the money. Get the girl. Get it all for free.

The mail came yesterday, and with it came a copy of my friend's new novel.

Adam Palmer just recently had his novel "Mooch" published and released. Back when I lived in Tulsa, we had many musical adventures together; many live ones, and some when I recorded his band's demos in my recording studio.

He's one of those guys that is funny, who is just naturally cool, and has potential running out of his ears. Refreshing thing is; he's one of the few guys like that who's actually doing something with those gifts.


I was allowed to read the book before it was printed, as I was asked to give an endorsement. Why me? Because I'm known the world over as an authority on good writing. No, that's not it. Actually, I have no idea why I was asked, but I'm glad that I was.

At first, as you can probably imagine, I was nervous to read it. I have become accustomed to Adam's writing talent and know what he is capable of, but what if my friend's book stunk? Not surprisingly however, my worry was short-lived, because the sideways humor paired with the inspiring story grabbed me from start to finish.

I became happier for Adam the further I read, knowing that his great talent was about to be released to the masses. Good for the masses.

Get a copy of "Mooch"for yourself HERE.

Other books by Adam include:
Taming A Liger: Unexpected Spiritual Lessons From Napoleon Dynamite, and Cracking DaVinci's Code, Student Edition.