CANCER & CONCERNS $ CASH - life in the SLOW LANE and a FUNNY CLUB 'The KNOWitALL Club'

well it been a long while since i got back into the Babble with the Rabble of my mindless and mindful thoughts....

well got another emergency call from the General Hospital to attend a meet in 6 hours with the spinal radiation specialist; so, instead of enjoying a moderation of the arctic -30temps that have haunted my outdoor life in Ottawa's Sandy Hill, i had to cancel my ski-out of the day to prep for this meet and jusst went for a one hour hikeAlong the Rideau Riverside.

My thoughts turning to a recent email received from one of my former associates when i produced, cooked for and hosted a Toronto Soup Kitchen at St. George's.

Haven't heard or seen him in a decade or more and receiving his email about his robotic cancer surgery but nothing about how i feel or what state my cancer is at.

Instead he offered his solution which was to write poetry to my Cancer as though it would listen or cause me some relief.

Being an avid lifelong filmaker i sent him my most recent mini-doc called SOLITUDE - shot from my kayak during the water woods of NB i.e. Spring floods produced a 'lakeinthewoods' thus i was able to kayak which a month later would become impossibe since the earth would absorb the water.

It's one of the miracles of daily kayaking most of the year to have this amazing experience. Very meditative and very wonderful kayaking ...... floating thru the woods instead of hiking over them.

To help the viewer experience this meditative miracle i put a Tibetan Bhuddists chant under the image.... and told my former collegue this was my poetry ( he was well aware of my creative filmaking lifestyle . )

Instead of showing any interest in it at all he went into a tirade of ridiculous ways of how to shoot image from my kayak - i would point out that  he's never been in a kayak, never been in NB, never been kayaking in any kind of water source and never shot one inch of film/video footage; thus, he qualifies to be the next PRESIDENT of the KNOWitALL CLUB.

Because the PRESIDENT must know it all and do absolutely nothing about anything....


p.s. i should mention i know or knew many guys those years back who would qualify for the PRESIDENCYof the KNOWitALL club not unlike that idiot who now is President of America .... sad very sad.... he reminded me of the patience I used ot have for such creatures of negativity... and sometimes still tolerate them but not as often mmmm.

PETER'S article in NB FILM CO-OP Newsletter

NBFC Weekly Friday E-News

January 19, 2018

Peter Evanchuck is busier than ever in 2018.	Peter Evanchuck floats his way down the river and into the past.

 

ALL'S USUALLY WELL THAT CONTINUES WELL - THAT'S THE HOOK FOR AN ACCOMPLISHED LIFE 

'WANDERING THOUGHTS FOR A WANDERING MIND'
Well after a long hiatus dealing with my cancer and creating 'real and new' projects with my partner Helene Lacelle, I'm back at the helm of my life despite my Cancer. (going in for 'robotic cyber-knife radiation on my spine in a couple of weeks )
Been having memory problems with FCPro7 since it's a very sophisticated software editing program (yes I'm still using it and not X yet but will probably soon upgrade/change as there are no longer updates for FC Pro 7. I guess age and illness and doing lots of shit doesn't make the memory that agile, at least not mine. )
The question is whether to stay with FC or go with Premier which crosses platforms on Mac and Windows OS.
Anyway, I'm working away on a series of short documentaries because they're cheap to make using digital gear and easier than fiction films that require actors/scripts, etc.
Recently, I completed SOLITUDE, shooting from my kayak with my Panasonic 770 in one hand and my kayak paddle in the other'. Not sure if that qualifies as a 'run and gun' setup or a 'paddle&cam' style of shooting. It's all very fast and easy since I hand hold rather than 'rig a jig.'
SOLITUDE was shot in 3 hours while the Fundy Tide and Spring ice melt raised the water levels on the Salmon River about 8' which made the riverside woods a water wonderland - no earth to be seen.
For us kayakers it was a miracle paddle weaving my way through birches and pines floating on water instead of stepping on earth; unique indeed.
Moments like this make kayaking a true communing with nature event.
For those of us who experience nature in person and, not from our computer screens, the 'feel' of such an experience blossoms our Spiritus Sanctus. It's a religious definition of a miracle lived in reality.
I wish others could realize such experiences and as Archibald Lampman in 'Morning on the Lievre' poetically phrases 'and to experience joy like a child again.'
PS: just completing another short documentary entitled REMNANTS which nostalgically traces the decline of the log river runs down the Salmon River to the mill. Interweaving the past with my present kayak paddle along the shore of the Salmon River documenting the remnants of the old ways from river log jams before they began hauling the logs with tractor trailers. 'ART never SLEEPS'

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Here's a link to Peter's article in NB FILM CO-OP Newsletter

HAD a GREAT adventure road trip/shoot for upcoming shows and movies - Toronto was like summer one hand on bike handle other on my pan770 shooting

yeah it's something all creative people should do.

Take off 'get outta Dodge' pronto tonto as often as u can - and get invigorated and get those sleepies outta ya.

RL Stevenson when asked why he travels his answer was simple and real , 'I travel to move.' - shake the foundation of ur lethargy by travelling to new adventures that offer some level of risk - the braver u are the bigger the risk and, i think, the greater the creative rewards.

Well cancer has curbed my great adventures but i still have some reasonable juice left in me to 'get the hell outta Dodge' - now if u don't know that that exprssion means let me enlighten ur old school notions of ur life in the slow lane.

Getting outta Dodge does not mean a place but a mind set. IT means that a creative person has to shake their brain as often as necessary to keep it acitve, alive and functioning at some higher than normal creative level.

so if u're stuck in the muck of ur dull existence don't blame or shame the messanger but look in the mirror and see the culprit.

grab ur keys, grab ur lunch and put a bunch of k's on ur RAV and make some movies....

good luck and enjoy the moment and the 'ALL TIME' of ur life.

adios amigos & amigas

ya gotta be versatile since ART NEVER SLEEPS and since we live our normal lives and it's follies - the simple life of Candian artists

Well HELENE and I are versatile for sure - yesterday for example we did a CURB UR ENTHUSIASM mmoment.

We had to rebuild our recent side yard fence due to neighbour's roof snow piling up and pushing our fence apart. He put his tarp-shed against his garage directly on his property line and years back he removed his roof clips that hold the snow from sliding down and covering our property - well Larry David would have a field day dealing with neighbour events like that.

Nayway, onward we go with out 'art' recenly being accepted at the Shenkman Gallery in Orleans ( a 'burb of Ottawa ) as well, we have pieces at the ART HOUSE GAllery on Somerset and the Ottawa Gallery locally.

So although thse are 'art pieces' not movies they keep us creative. And with our latest creations MARVELOUS REALISM they actually sell so we get some coin to spend. These are photos of various interesting culture moments in time like the Abandoned Homes of NB and the Blueberry shacks on hwy 7 near Perth. These photos are embellished by Helene using traditional as well as modern photo shop techniques to creat a different 'feel' to the original images.

All very creative and interesting

of course i should mention that i'm creating mini-docs with a historical base i.e. the decline of river log runs on the Salmon River in NB and my kayaking the water flooded woods after the ice melt and the Spring floods of the Salmon RIver. And a group of docs dealing with mental illness, poverty and homelessness.

Today i hope to complete REMNANTS the river loggin mini-doc and move on to PIG GIRL in WONDERLAND which Helene not only is starring in but helping me make it both on camera and production assistant

then tucked away in my archives ihave this novel which i'm turning into a script WHY INJUN JOE KILLED MARY MOTHER OF GOD.

sooooo enough versatiity to keep all of us active and creative and accomplished

p.s. i perhaps should mention that all of this is depsite my lifelong fight with Cancer that has now spread into my spine - last week i went for two biospies the lower spine showed nothing alarming but the upper spine showed spread of my thyroid cancer into my spine and the collapse of vertebrae - so this week i'm off to meet with the neurosurgeon re surgery to reinforce that collapse after my robotic cyber radiation on the affected area.... my upper back still very sore from that upper back biopsie where they used hammer and chisel to get some bone fragments - very sore...

All's usually well that continues well ... that's the hook 'an accomplished life'

Well after a long hiatus dealing with my cancer and creating 'real and new' projects with my partner HELENE LACELLE, i'm back at the helm of my life despite my Cancer.

Been having memory problems with FCPro7 since it's a very sophisticated software editing program ( yes i'm still using it and not X yet but will probably soon upgrade/change ... since google no longer updates FCPro7)

The question is whether to stay with FC or go Premier which cross platforms both Mac and Windows OS.

Anyway i'm working away on a series of short docs - 'cause they're cheap to make using digital gear and easier than fiction films that require actors/scripts etc.

Recently i've completed SOLITUDE shooting from my Kayak 'my panasonic 770 in one hand and my kayak paddle in the other' . Not sure if that qualifies as a 'run and gun' setup or a 'paddle&cam' style of shooting. But it's all very fast and very easy since i hand hold rather than 'rig a jig'

SOLITUDE was shot in 3 hours while the Fundy Tide and Spring ice melt raised the water levels on the Salmon River about 8' which made the riverside woods a water wonderland - no earth to be seen.

For we kayakers it was a miracle paddle weaving my way thru birches and pines floating on water instead of stepping on earth - very unique indeed.

Moments like this with make kayaking a true communing with nature event.

For those of us who experience nature 'real' not from our computer screens, the 'feel' of such an experience blossoms our spiritus sanctus.... it's naturally a religious definition of a miracle lived in reality.

I wish others could realize such experiences and as Archibald Lampman in 'Morning on the Lievre' poetically phrases 'and to experience joy like a child again'

p.s. just completing another short doc. REMNANTS which nostalgically traces the decline of the log river runs down the Salmon River to the mill - weaving the past with my present kayak paddle along the shore of the Salmon River documenting the remnants left of the old ways from those riverlogruns before they began hauling the logs with tractor trailers. 'rust never sleeps'

HERE'S A TOTALLY NEW UPDATE RE MY LIFELONG FIGHT WITH CANCER AND MY GREAT LOVE OF CREATIVE WORKS - 'ART NEVER SLEEPS'

ahhh well - it's the CANCER - yes a modern health issue that so many of us have to endure and live with. In my case it's a lifelong problem that can NOT be eradicated so i have to make the best of my life while every 3 months i see the hematologist , the surgeon (4 major surgeries so far), and the oncologist to see if i'm gonna live another 3 months.

Creative work never sleeps, like rust, so the saying goes... and it's that type of work i've been gifted to accomplish.

Lately i've been creating with my life & creative partner, HELENE LACELLE, a series of photographs which we have developed creatively ( sorry for the excessive use of that word ) , the 'magic realism' developed in Mexico caught my attention years back and so using that as a 'muse' HELENE and I developed/created a new type of modern and traditional art form called 'MARVELOUS REALISM'

MARVELOUS REALISM combines my photographs with Helene's traditional art work and her amazing photo-shop embellishments - we've had numerous shows across the country and recently sent some accepted pieces to Venice as well. Sales are reasonable which is another plus indicating the acceptance and interest in our marvelous art work.

Now that long winded opening will get to my movie-making side. The side that inspires me a bit more - nothing wrong with a jpg but a mp4 is still more my love.

Since the cancer has slowed me down making feature length dramas seem to be too much for me these days, but; this is where my docs take over.

With the help of award winning editor, M.C. SARDA(The Fast Runner) and HELENE LACELLE , i accomplished making several longer length docs about a social subjecct close to my heart - mental illness and homelessness : MARKO's MANIA and THE POETRY OF PAYNE.

But even these proved to be difficult as my cancer progressed and an additonal 3 major surgeries/treatments really put me 'out of it' for a while and on my return to creative movie work, I discovered that mini docs on social/nature subjects could be accomplished even in my debilitated condition

Thus out sprang a plethora of mini docs on a variety of social and natural subjects. The latest is SOLITUDE where my love of kayaking and shooting digital image were combined to produce a very interesting 3 minute natural doc proving that 'art never sleeps'

p.s. please go to movieshandmade.com to see my shorts enjoy.

Peter Evanchuck