“A thing long expected takes the form of the unexpected when at last it comes.”- Mark Twain. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t pick up a paper or watch the news and hear another journalist or economic prognosticator ratcheting on about the looming threat of inflation. I half expect to see people lined up outside the local Home Depot, clamoring for their wheelbarrows to carry their unwanted cash to the bank, much like the days of the Weimar Republic in Germany in the 1920s.

But as we are reminded by Mark Twain, the expected does not always occur. So let me offer a possible alternative in the form of inflation’s ugly cousin – deflation – and how that might affect commercial real estate in the not-so-distant future.

As those who followed the late economist Milton Friedman will attest, inflation is and always will be a monetary phenomenon: Too much money chasing too few goods, causing a general rise in the level of prices of goods and services.

The key word here is chasing. In real estate this means higher cost for material and labor which translates into higher building costs and ultimately higher rents. To combat inflation, central banks fight back with higher interest rates equating to higher borrowing cost to builders and owners.

The most frequent cause of inflation is the soaring deficit our government is running and the resulting massive expansion of the money supply. Under normal times this certainly would sound the inflation alarm, but in a period of de-leveraging like the one we are in today, the velocity of money is much more important than the amount of money. Too much money is just too much money when it is not moving through the system.

Consider the Japanese economy, where the mounting debt is equal to 170 percent of GDP, the largest among developed nations and almost twice that of the United States. They have been battling deflation for decades with interest rates near zero. Their stimulus efforts went to prop up “zombie banks” and did not allow the market to establish a clearing price for the collateralized assets. The net effect has been a prolonged period of reduced demand and lower prices for most assets – including real estate.

Back in the States, where our stimulus is not getting outside the banks to allow for new loans that fuel demand, it is unlikely that the velocity of domestic funds will increase anytime soon.

Changed spending habits fuel deflation

Consider the current U.S. economy where consumer spending accounts for nearly two-thirds of our economic output. With real wages in decline, excess capacity in the labor market, a contraction of available credit to consumers and a potential secular shift in spending habits among consumers – the savings rate for U.S. households has risen from nothing to more than 5 percent of income in a short period of time – it is doubtful that we will be able to rely on the Jones’ consumption patterns to stoke the economic engine sufficiently to produce inflation. When a cyclical recovery does occur, it is likely to be sluggish for quite some time.

This leads us to another assumption that foreign borrowers will no longer be willing to finance our deficits and will begin to diversify their foreign exchange reserves driving down the value of the dollar creating higher prices in commodities (most commodities are priced in US dollars) and other goods. The largest foreign holder of US Treasuries is China, where the economy is heavily dependent on exports to the US (less than 8% of the Chinese population has any discretionary income). It is improbable to assume that the Central Bank of China will not continue to support its own economy by continuing to purchase US dollars and thus make their goods more affordable to the US shopper.

So before we slip into a boring narrative on macro economics lets bring this back to the topic on hand and how deflation, rather than inflation, might be the peril we need to be watchful of and how that will affect commercial real estate in the near future. How will that affect commercial real estate in the near future? We have already seen a general decline in rents across all commercial property types by as much as 50 percent in some sectors. The cost of building continues to decline, although at a much more subdued rate, but without available credit, it is improbable that there will be enough demand to spur new development. Although the economy is stabilizing, there is unlikely to be a sustainable force of consumption to maintain historical growth rates.

With adversity comes opportunity. Investors who have over-leveraged will discover that risk does not pay during deflationary periods and cash becomes king. Opportunities will continue to arise as the calamity unravels and a new generation of capital flows into the market. This, of course, will take years to play out and good sound counsel will again be at a premium.

Mike Eyer is an advisor with Sperry Van Ness / The Group Commercial in Fort Collins, CO. He can be reached at mike.eyer@svn.com or follow his blog at http://mikeeyer.blogspot.com

Range is one of two RuneScape Gold non melee combat skills, the other being magic. Ranged is extremely useful because, like magic it can hit from far away, and players/monsters using melee will have to chase you down to attack you. Another benefit of ranged is that unlike magic, where you lose runes per cast, with ranged you just have to pick up  your arrows, although you will still lose some as not all appear on the floor.

When you start range you will be  level 1. At level one get a normal shortbow or longbow (shortbow recommended) and some iron arrows. The armour you should wear is, leather or fancy/fighting boots, leather vambraces, leather body, a cowl, leather chaps, leather body, if you have 10 defence instead of a leather body get a hard leather body and an amulet of power. At level one you should train on chickens, as they are level 1 and never hit anything. It is recommended to collect their feathers and the Raw Chicken and sell them on G.E, for funding of arrows, armour and bows. Chickens are found north of Lumbridge and also on the other side of the Lum River Bridge.
At level 40 you can start training on level 21 zombies and flesh crawlers on the second floor of the Stronghold of Security; it is recommended to bring food as they are aggressive meaning they attack you. This is very fast exp. You can train here until about level 50, which is when you can start on red spiders and moss giants in the varrock sewers. At around level 60 you should go back to the Stronghold of Security, go to the third floor and train on giant spiders. At level 80 you may want to start training on ankous on the 4th floor on the Stronghold of Security. You can train on Ankous until level 99.

When you reach level 99 if you decide to become a member you can get your ranged skillcape

Before we look at whether a herbal depression solution could be the answer to all our prayers, let us look at a few facts about depression.

People tend to shrug their shoulders when confronted with depression in a loved one or colleague and rarely know how to handle it. Yet the statistics show that this mental condition is a serious illness and needs to be treated. Look at the figures from the National Mental Health Association. There is a strong link between suicide and this condition. Between 30 -70% of suicide cases have had some form of depressive illness during their lives.

Do you know what Jarsin 300 is? it is the most popular brand of all the herbal depression remedies in Germany. In fact it accounts for between 25- 50% of all the prescriptions in that country for depression and puts Prozac and Xanax, the conventional anti depressants, in the shade.

The herb used in this preparation is called St. John’s Wort and has been used for over two thousand years, first as a diuretic by the Romans! In fact, the Roman physician Galen, who was the doctor to four Roman Emperors, used it successfully for many ailments although he did not realize that it was also useful for depression.

People are curious to know why this herbal depression solution is so popular in Germany. The answer is that Germany is more open minded about complementary medicine, as indeed is the UK. This means in practice that there are more funds available for research. That research has shown that symptoms of depression are greatly alleviated using this preparation with much fewer side effects than those experienced with Xanax and Paxil, the conventional chemical synthetic medications.

Side effects from the anti depressant drugs mentioned above can range from loss of libido, weight gain, suicidal thoughts and even aggressive behavior, not to mention self injury. There are also some mysteries about the long term effects of these drugs and there are dangers of getting addicted as well. Finally, they do not cure this mental condition at all and their main effect seems to be to alleviate symptoms but the ‘zombie’ feeling and living in a shadowy world are often noted.

If you are suffering from depression, it may be time to take a closer look at a herbal depression solution and look at other herbs such as ginseng, passion flower and gingko biloba. You could also do a check on the company producing these herbal depression remedies to make sure that they are following FDA guidelines and are offering guarantees. You can find more information by visiting my website below.

Don’t be intimidated – it’s much easier to get started playing online networked PC games than you might think. There are a number of different options for first timers looking to get involved in multiplayer gaming that will help you into the immersive world of online games.

Before you do anything else, first it’s important to make sure the computer hardware you have is correct for accessing online gaming networks. Most online PC games do not require the world’s most advanced computer, but having a solid graphics card and a decent amount of RAM can go a long way towards making sure a game plays properly. The GeForce 8800GT is a cheap and powerful video card that should be able to play most modern games and 2GB of RAM should also be sufficient, but more is always better. High speed internet is also a necessity, so those on dial-up should consider upgrading to either cable or DSL connections.

Online games such as World of Warcraft are incredibly popular and require a subscription based fee. This can either be paid via credit card or by visiting an electronics store and purchasing a pre-paid game card. Online shooting games such as Call of Duty or Team Fortress 2 do not require any additional top-up funds and will simply be available over the Internet after purchase.

Casual games, such as many of Popcap’s popular titles like Bejeweled, Plants Vs. Zombies, and Bookwork Adventures, can be downloaded for lower prices than other mainstream titles. These are popular and fairly low-tech, so they do not require particularly advanced computer hardware to be able to play. However, many of the games do not take advantage of online chat features and are simply available for download online.

There also a number of free online games available. For instance, Puzzle Pirates offers fun multiplayer puzzles with a nautical theme. Fans of large scale multiplayer role-playing games will be pleased to know that Dungeons and Dragons Online is available for free: no download fee and no subscriptions.

A note about etiquette: Internet communication novices need to be aware that these games feature other players from all over the world and that these people come from a variety of different cultures and have wide-ranging views. Avoid using slang or offensive language, no matter what the circumstances. Many of the games will be closely monitored and negative or combative language could lead to a variety of punishments by the online game’s staff.

Like any environment, making friends online is all about staying civil. Talk about the game, friends, family, movies, and things like that. Avoid discussing politics or other controversial topics: it’s the quickest way to start an argument, and it’ll probably create a lot of frustration within what might have otherwise been a relaxing time playing your favourite game.

Playing a game on an online network is a great way to experience a whole new world with other people who have similar interests to you. Just follow a few rules and experiment to find out what type of community is the best fit for you and there’ll be no end to the amount of fun you can have with online PC games.

Luke 1977, the iconic UK menswear label, brings together classic mens’ styles with designer flourishes. Luke 1977 garments are perfectly suited to an afternoon on the terraces or night on the tiles.

Founded in 2001 by Luke Roper, Luke 1977 has grown into one of the UK’s hottest menswear labels. Luke 1977 garments have been seen being worn by celebrities including The Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs, The Twang and actors Danny Dyer and Stephen Graham, who wore Luke 1977 clothes in the zombie comedy film Doghouse.

Luke Roper, Luke 1977’s founder, was exposed to clothes and tailoring from an early age, since his mum made wedding dresses at home. He soon discovered a talent for cutting patterns and making clothes, funding his university days by making smart clothes for friends to go out clubbing. Luke 1977 started out as Luke selling printed T-shirts from a van, struggling to get his brand established.

Today, nine years later, it’s an iconic brand with hotly anticipated Luke 1977 lines and styles regularly featured in modern men’s magazines such as Loaded, Nuts, GQ and Zoo.

The modern Luke 1977 is about much more than just T-shirts, with a comprehensive range boasting shirts (casual and formal), jeans, knitwear, shoes, watches, scarves, wallets and wash-bags – all featuring the trademark Luke 1977 lion’s crest. The Luke 1977 is edgy and urban, but practical too – ideally suited to the lifestyle of a fashion-conscious working-class lad.

This January, Luke 1977 added a completely new jeans and casualwear range, ‘Forever in Luke’, including T-shirts, sweats and denim. T-shirts include the classic vintage-look ‘Jerry’ striped polo, as well as easy-wearing but sharp-looking tees like ‘Nikko’ and the hooded ‘Fuji’. Sweatshirts include the Henley-neck ‘Froggy’, in marl grey and antique white stripe, and the sporty ‘Jaguar’ zip-through hoody with enzyme wash, available in indigo blue and marl grey. The jeans themselves build on the denim look of the main Luke 1977 range with the humorously named ‘Bugs’ carrot-fit jeans, ‘Hank’ carpenter style and ‘Jolly’ double-leather cinch styles.

The main Luke 1977 spring/summer 2010 collection includes a number of updated styles and classic cuts, including the ‘Williams’ polo, which is now available in updated summer colours including Cyan, Flame, Lemon and Sport Red plus classic shades like navy and white. All colours feature new collar trims and the famous lion logo.

Western-styled check shirts include great new styles like ‘Prarie’, with short collar and cuffs and contrasting white button-down trim. Luke 1977’s ‘Crew’ short-sleeved check shirts offer a classic look with an eye-catching button trim, while the dressier ‘Bazel’ and ‘Brazil’ shirts offer a smarter option for a big night out.

Also new for Spring is the Luke 1977 ‘Beec’ V-neck sweatshirt, available in a fantastic range of shades including cyan marl, dark navy, flame, lemon marl, razza (Continental red) and skins (sporty green). ‘Franky’ is a fashionable yet practical crew with two button-down pockets, available in antique white and sky marl. For a more vintage look, ‘Hatters’ is a short-sleeved polo with an old-school intarsia pattern on the front. Finally, ‘Jarvis’ is a limited edition short-sleeved button-down small-collar polo with diagonal stripes, available only in black.

Luke 1977 is famous for its casual jackets, and this season features a superb range of bold designs including the ‘Berto’ sports blouson, the much-loved ‘Butcher’ field jacket in stone, navy or powder blue and the sportier “Fraudster’ zip hoody with tape detail, available in black, navy, metal and louder flame orange.

Whatever happens on and off the field this summer, Luke 1977 wearers can rest assured they’re sporting some of the UK’s foremost styles for street, terrace and nightclub.

Few cities in the world are as dependent on one industry as Detroit is when it comes to automobiles. Decades ago, the southeastern Michigan city hitched its fortunes to the auto industry which has resulted in spectacular times as well as many years of financial want. These days, Detroit and some of its surrounding communities are virtual zombie towns, occupied by the living dead who don’t quite know that they are indeed dead.

To be fair, Detroit has produced some amazing products down through the year – whether designed locally or built elsewhere – the Ford Mustang, Chrysler’s minivans, Jeep, and the Chevrolet Corvette are among the many models which represent the best of America’s automotive fleet. Unfortunately, arcane management practices, outdated union rules, and stiff competition has taken the sheen off of the Detroit glitter, putting the city in the precarious place that it finds itself today.

One of the crown jewels of the beleaguered city is its annual auto show which has earned the title of North American International Auto Show due to its proximity to Windsor, Ontario and for the reason it is considered to be the premier event in two countries for the introduction of new automobiles. Annually, as many as seven thousand members of the international press show up at Detroit to get a glimpse of new models, to network, and to report on the industry. Hundreds of millions of dollars is poured into the gritty city, funds which help bolster the financial position of Detroit.

This coming show will be a bit more subdued as the world passes through one of the most difficult financial crises seen in decades. The NAIAS is not immune to pain as several automakers have announced that they will stay away from the upcoming show. Perhaps most surprising was the recent announcement that Nissan – one of Japan’s Big Three automakers – would not appear at the Detroit show (or Chicago in February) choosing to conserve its marketing funds.

Nissan now joins Suzuki and Mitsubishi as three Japanese automakers who are forgoing the Detroit show along with Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Land Rover, and Porsche who previously announced that they would not be in attendance either.

For the city of Detroit, the absence of any automaker is a bit of a sting, but for others it becomes an opportunity to find some space at the crowded Cobo Center. Brilliance Automotive is one of the Chinese brands who will likely petition to occupy Nissan’s space, a move that could give the automaker prime marketing real estate in advance of selling several models stateside later in the year. Inadvertently, Detroit may be making it easier for one more competitor to gain entrance to the competitive American market, low cost cars from China which will certainly provide more pressure on General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler during a tough economic decline.

Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary, North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including custom tail lights and headlights.

The irony is so rich you could cut it…

And simultaneously, we have a massive inflection point in the world.

It used to be that the countries of the world looked to America- the champion of free enterprise- to lead the world out of recession.

Now they look to a Communist led country: China.

This last week has seen a SIGNIFCANT landmark. China is moving world markets, including American. The Dow is moving according to what Chinese leaders say about their economy and stimulus programs.

The gap between Chinese and American military will also close as economies balance out between the two countries.

Most importantly, the Chinese have quickly learned that they can no longer afford to pin their hopes on producing products for Americans. Americans have stopped buying and China must learn to consume it’s own products.

With that massive population of theirs, a ‘virgin’ population when it comes to luxuries we’ve taken for granted, enter the next superpower. So am I telling you this to depress you? NO! As I keep saying in this newsletter, you don’t have to keep your hard-earned cash within American borders. There are funds you can invest in that ride the Chinese train all the way. This is not unpatriotic- we live in a free global economy and you’re entitled to invest in a way that suits you best.

PLEASE, start thinking more laterally about your finances.

The effect of this, combined with the resultant loss in appetite for American debt (Chinese buying US government bonds) to keep American interest rates artificially low so they buy Chinese products, and you have a rapid shift in power emerging. In fact, if it happens too fast it would be catastrophic for America.

Right now, a situation of ‘mutually assured destruction’ exists between America and China. If the Chinese stop lending to America, American interest rates soar and Americans stop buying products which are of course, predominantly Chinese made.

So both countries need this arrangement. BUT, the big difference is that the American situation is a relatively permanent one, the Chinese is not. As soon as domestic demand picks up in China, the Chinese can happily dump US debt (and probably will).

So knowing this, if you were president, what would you do?

Of course, you’d be wise to prepare by
1) reducing the need for this debt with the Chinese and
2) by getting manufacturing American goods more efficient and cost-effective so they can compete with the Chinese.

Obama is doing the exact opposite:
1) he’s building EVEN MORE DEBT and
2) he’s supporting inefficient industries instead of letting them die with government money (see number 1) and building EVEN MORE DEBT.

With General Motors continually asking for more of OUR money, can you now see why this is bad for America long term? GM and others are like that relative every family has. They mis-manage their affairs and well-meaning senior family members keep throwing money at them, but it’s a financial black hole. They’re not doing that relative any favors because that person will never have an incentive to solve his problems. It’s treating the symptom, not the cause.

Obama’s a smart guy. He undoubtedly knows this, but he serves the shuffling zombies on Main St. and what’s he’s doing is what they want: as always, free money and an instant fix to their ‘problems’. You know, problems like not being able to keep up the payments on the Hummer and having to downgrade to a 4/3 instead of a 6/5 home.

By the way, they’ve stopped making Hummers “for now” as nobody is buying them. Maybe it will go the way of the Delorean car and the do-do.

This made me wonder: in 50 years time will there will be an exhibit at a museum dedicated to the long gone days of American excess? A Hummer will stand in the center display as something that epitomized the ‘bling-bling’ days at the turn of the century. I can see school kids looking at it scratching their heads. These kids just arrived by electric bus and wondered whatever we were all thinking around 2000 A.D., as oil has become a highly-prized and expensive substance to them, only begrudgingly used for lubrication and that World War III nearly started because of the race for the last of oil. Kids will laugh scornfully at the history books, much like we do now when reading about any uncivilized peoples.

Moving on…

Here’s something that slips under the radar and could affect you: just about every weekend now, a bank goes bust. These are the smaller independent banks that the government won’t bail out. If I had any money in “The Colonial Cracker Bank” or whatever else they’re called, I would get my dollars the heck out of Dodge- FAST.

Across the pond to Europe. Here’s an interesting article I picked up (not for the faint of heart):

“Conspiracy or…?

On the 11th February the Daily Telegraph’s Brussels correspondent Bruno Waterfield wrote an article under the header: “European banks may need £16.3 trillion bail out, EC document warns.” In the article, the reporter revealed that he has seen a secret document produced by the EU Commission which briefed the union’s finance ministers on the true extent of the banking crisis. Less than 24 hours later, the article’s header was changed to “European bank bail-out could push EU into crisis” and two paragraphs had mysteriously disappeared. Here they are:

“European Commission officials have estimated that “impaired assets” may amount to 44pc of EU bank balance sheets. The Commission estimates that so-called financial instruments in the ‘trading book’ total £12.3 trillion (13.7 trillion euros), equivalent to about 33pc of EU bank balance sheets.

In addition, so-called ‘available for sale instruments’ worth £4trillion (4.5 trillion euros), or 11pc of balance sheets, are also added by the Commission to arrive at the headline figure of £16.3 trillion.”

Do yourself a favor – read those two paragraphs again. Newspaper editors do not change content light-heartedly. Did the Telegraph editor receive a call from Downing Street? Or Brussels? Did he have second thoughts about the avalanche that he could possibly instigate? I don’t know and I probably never will. But one thing is certain. If the EU Commission’s estimate of £16.3 trillion of impaired assets is correct, then the crisis is far worse than any of us could ever imagine. Not only would we have to get used to the prospects of a systemic meltdown of our banking system, but entire nations may go down as well.”

A few issues ago, I said the Euro was overvalued and now you can see where I’m coming from. If you’d have gone short the Euro then, you’d be in the money. The Yen is the next to fall.

Currencies will go down like dominoes, and the US dollar will be seen as the best of a bad bunch as everyone flocks to it for ’safety’. When they realize that is an illusion (because the Fed prints so much of the stuff and it’s backed by a lame promise), gold will be seen as “the currency of last resort” as one fund manager recently put it.

My views on oil, wheat, corn, silver and gold are unchanged (see past issues). I love them all for the longer and term.

The stock market is grinding downwards just as I predicted after it fell through the critical November low, and looking at the bigger picture I can see why: the government is dithering and having to go through the process of a democratic consensus. China needs no such consensus- they just announced a stimulus package. Stock markets like this kind of leadership and direction and Chinese stocks have responded accordingly.

This made me think though: as and when this administration finally does show some single-minded ACTION (not words), the US markets could take-off for this final surge before the bottom- the fabled bear market rally. And I believe this one could be a mother. So much so, it will fool everyone into thinking the worst is over. The bear is sick- he wants to destroy as many people as possible- he’s not happy to just go down to 4000 now, he wants to suck more people back in first, tempting you with crazily low values.

I still believe this is coming and it will make gold drop (buying opportunity) and make stocks fly (last chance to sell!).

Until next time,

Mark Patricks

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is set to be the biggest programme in its 63-year history and the organisers have attracted more performers and companies than ever before from over 60 countries – 34,265 performances of 2,098 shows in 265 venues. Last year there were 31,320 performances of 2,088 shows in 247 venues.   It generates tens of millions for the Scottish economy.
This year comedy is accounting for a full third of the performers with big names including comedian and awards host Frank Skinner, Clive James, Denise Van Outen â?? and Alistair McGowan, who will be singing Noël Coward.
There will also be the usual mishmash of performing misfits who make Edinburghâ??s streets such fun from August 7 to August 31. Among them is Dixie Longate, who is performing her one-woman hit show at The Pleasance, telling how she became the doyenne of Tupperware-selling. The Chippendales are performing a 21-night run of their male â??erotic reviewâ?.
This year, comedy makes up a full third of the Fringe programme. Performers include Ricky Gervais, Stewart Lee, Jimmy Carr, Rhod Gilbert and Jason Byrne. The Stand Comedy Club, however, is presenting serious drama: a revival of Gregory Burkeâ??s acclaimed debut The Gagarin Way.
Fittingly for Scotlandâ??s Year of Homecoming, a quarter of Fringe shows are homegrown â?? a big increase on last year. They will include two Muriel Spark adaptations. A special Made in Scotland programme, funded by the Scottish Governmentâ??s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, includes two shows by the Scottish Dance Theatre.
Musicals feature heavily and this yearâ??s offerings include the new works Chomp: A Zombie Musical and The Great British Soap Opera.
There is also a rich selection of serious theatre including Palace of The End from the Royal Exchange Theatre Company, Manchester, and, from Balancing Act Productions, A Personal War, which recounts witness testimony of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Throughout our relatively young life as a video-sharing site for people with discerning tastes, Openfilm has been able to show off the work of some great, yet-to-be-discovered artists. One of our most exciting contributors has been the French-Canadian writer, director and animator Patrick Boivin. From his wacky, battle-bot, stop-motion-animation shorts to his more serious live-action work, Boivin has permanently raised the bar for everyone here at Openfilm. In this interview, we discuss how he does it and where he goes from here.

 

Q: What first got you interested in filmmaking? Were you working on other kinds of art before you started making films?

 

A: My first approach with art was comic books. I learned to draw just to be able to tell stories. Then I discovered that it was faster to tell stories with a camera. By chance, I came to the cinema when it was changing and becoming more accessible with DV cameras and computer editing. So I learned to use those tools as they were developed. Also, since I didn’t go to film school, nobody told me I wasn’t supposed to do everything. In a way, that became an advantage, because I can now perfectly understand every step in the process and, sometimes, create films completely on my own for fun.

 

Q: Your films are filled with striking images, often involving characters with distinctive make-up and costume design. How do you work with your crew to get the pictures in your head onto the screen?

 

A: Actually, for lots of my recent work, I’ve been doing it on my own. But I usually make very precise plans, and then I go shoot my film once with a mini DV camera, alone with an actor, and then edit it as a first draft. If I’m happy with it, I use it as a prototype and show it to every key member of the crew. Then I choose stills from the film to build a precise storyboard for the actual shoot.

 

Q: What challenges are presented in working with animation as opposed to live-action?

 

A: I have to answer that question as two different guys. The first one is Patrick Boivin, who prepares a lot for his live-action projects. The second one is Monsieur Monsieur Boivin, a retarded kid who animates toys for the Web just to have a reason to buy and destroy some. If I have an idea, I buy the toy and begin to think about all the shots without trying them first. Since I’ve done a lot of directing, having a one- or two-minute animation story with all the shots clear in my mind is easy. And so I animate a shot each time I manage to find an hour or two alone in my apartment. I edit the story progressively and change things throughout the process. A real animator would have a great time laughing at me when I do my thing over a corner of my dining table. The bad thing about this is that I sometimes regret choices that I made earlier. When I really regret a shot, I do it again. But since it’s something I do for fun, I’m not too hard on myself and I include a lot of mistakes in the final cut.

 

Q: Your work sometimes has a political bent, from the Confederate flags in Jazz with a General Problem to the brain-dead politician at the center of The Bean. What’s your philosophy on mixing art and politics?

 

A: I’m really interested in what’s going on in the world today. An important part of my dayâ??to-day thinking is about politics and human beings. So when I develop a story, I think those concerns naturally come up. And, of course, those concerns sometimes provoke stories. But it’s not something that I feel forced to do. It’s just part of the process, and having good ideas is so difficult that I don’t trash one for the sake of political correctness.As for the Confederate flag in my last animation, it all began with the desire to invent a Transformer. So I had to find myself a cool car! I’m 34 years old, and when I was a kid, my favorite car was The General Lee on “The Dukes of Hazzard.” I figured from the start that the Confederate aspect of the car would embarrass some people. I even thought of picking the voice of a known black actor to make my General Lee talk, just to add some more confusion. By the time I was ready to animate the segments where he talks, I thought of Michael Madsen, who plays the evil Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. So General Lee, the Confederate decepticon, is in fact Mr. Blonde, the evil maniac of Reservoir Dogs, killing one of my favorite autobots with his Confederate flag â?? an unfair weapon in a fist fight. All of this is to say that when you feel you have a great idea, you can easily lose yourself in explanations and justifications. In the end, I personally think that all that matters is to be comfortable with your own sensibility. Doing things to please everybody ends up watering it all down.

 

Q: The National Endowment for the Arts in the United States is not a well-funded organization. Could you talk about the Canadian system and how government grants have helped to fund your work?

 

A: I’m not well informed about the arts funding system in other countries, so I won’t try to make comparisons, but I feel that in Canada, we’ve managed to find good ways to help artists over the past 20 years. But it’s really hard to get funding for any kind of project because I feel the cultural budget is not enough. Also, I’m living in a French reality, here in the province of Quebec, where the market is small. We are a bit over 7 million, and our French movies don’t travel much, so the private funding is almost nonexistent. And, most importantly, the actual government is engaged in a cutting campaign over cultural sector funding. That’s what my film LES COUPURES, Ã?A TUE LA CULTURE is all about. It was a commercial made just before the federal elections we had in Canada this October. Personally, 90% of what I have done for the last 15 years has been independently financed.

 

Q: PhylactereCola is the name of one of your channels on Openfilm, but it’s also the name of a TV show you were involved in. Could you tell us about the show?

 

A: “Phylactere Cola” was a French-Canadian TV show that was broadcast in 2002-2003. There were nine of us doing everything, from the set building to the acting. I was the director, DP, cameraman, editor and FX coordinator. One of the team members, Strob, specialized in 3D and makeup. Another one, Eric Pfalzgraf, was the sound designer and music compositor. Everyone had a specialty. An important thing to mention is that we were all cartoonists. That’s how we met at first. Since we started the project as a hobby many years before doing it for TV, we have made over 400 sketches. That was my school.

 

Q: What’s on the DVD that’s for sale on the PhylactereCola website?

 

A: It’s the complete second season of the TV show, plus some extras like making-of.

 

Q: Radio is probably the best film anyone has uploaded to Openfilm so far. Where did the idea for the film come from?

 

A: Wow! I’m glad you appreciate it! One day during a car ride, a friend of mine â?? who was also a team member of Phylactère Cola â?? told me he had an idea about a guy hearing news from a broken radio, but he wasn’t sure about doing something with it. It was my birthday, and I asked him to give me this idea. Ten drafts later, I was shooting it in a five-day production. Eric Pfalzgraf took care of all the audio parts, including the beautiful music he made with another great composer named Alexis Lemay.

 

Q: What films/directors inspire you?

 

A: It changes a lot. I think the work of Roy Andersson, who did Songs from the Second Floor, and Paul Thomas Anderson is what I’m going to be looking forward to the most in the next years. But to be honest, I think Tom Waits is my greatest inspiration. Oh, and my all-time favorite movie is 8 1/2 by Federico Fellini.

 

Q: What films/projects are you working on now?

 

A: I just finished two shorts on the same level as Radio. One is a love story. The other is the story of a dead clown discovering that he became a zombie. And I’m actually working on the editing of a 30-minute science-fiction film with a lot of FX work. I’m also working on four feature films. The more conventional one is scheduled to be shot in May. As for the stop-motion, I think I’m done with it for a while. It started as a funny hobby, but the last one took me a lot more time than I had planned. There are many things I’d like to experiment with in life, and I already know that if I managed to live another 50 years, it won’t be enough. So when I do something, I try to be as intense as possible, which sometimes leaves big gaps in my responsible adult life.

Billboard hosts its Regional Mexican Music Summit, through October 8 in Los Angeles, where regional artists, concert promoters, retailers, sponsors, managers as well as record label, digital/mobile entertainment, marketing, advertising and radio executives come together to network, do business and discuss current industry topics. At the EkoFilm International Film Festival on the Environment and Natural and Cultural Heritage, the aim of the festival is to present new films and video programmes that reshape our perception of the environment through natural and cultural heritage in a local or global fashion. The Festival runs in Prague, October 6-12. Kimberly Graham, an associate at Judy Henderson Casting, conducts a limited group casting workshop in New York, on October 7. At Berlin’s PopKomm, expo goers can take part in an international music and entertainment business conference, focused on creation, communication and commerce, and with more than 400 solo artists, bands and DJs playing in over 25 official locations, all happening October 8-10. Monte Carlo will host the International Emerging Talent Film Festival, October 9-12, an event run by the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), a not-for-profit organization based in Monaco.

A Model/Actor Boot Camp with Aaron Marcus, will cover: preparing for auditions and casting calls; understand the differences between agents, managers, art/creative directors and casting directors; using special techniques for TV, film and commercial auditions/go-sees; accurately managing and understanding the business side of the industry; helping your agent by marketing yourself, and more. MIPCOM is the global content event for creating, co-producing, buying, selling, financing and distributing entertainment content across all platforms. This year when it is held in Cannes from October 13-17, it features a series of specialised networking breakfasts designed with the intent of creating a unique forum around some of the challenges facing the industry today. At this year’s ShowEast, happening October 13-16 in Orlando, just some of the activities you can preview are major studio and independent feature films slated for Holiday 2008 release, product reels of upcoming releases, visit a comprehensive trade show of motion picture industry products, services and concession items, networking, and actually much more. The music industry operates under quite different conditions than the film industry, just as music festivals and film festivals do, and so MOFFOM was founded to build synergy between these two worlds. And so from October 16-20 in Prague, Music on Film, Film on Music will be conducted from Prague with a rich assortment of live music and film events.

The 43rd Chicago International Film Festival last year, was dedicated to distinguished film critic Roger Ebert. At this year’s opening night presentation, join director Rian Johnson and actress Rachel Weisz, for ‘The Brothers Bloom’, and a Perspectives Tribute October 18 honoring Sidney Poitier. The Connective Series in New York educates emerging artists, musicians and music business professionals, serves as a networking opportunity and helps raise awareness and funds for charity,  and on October 21 they review “How International Bands Can Break in the US Market”. From October 21-25, CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival gets underway, with most of its activities clustered within the New York University area of Greenwich Village, day and night. The Florida Media Market, October 23-26 in Miami Beach, is a non-profit membership-based organization whose goal is to build a platform where independent film and media makers meet with international buyers, distributors and production companies to buy, sell and network. SMPTE 2008, the annual event for technology, production and operations in the motion imaging industry attended by professionals in the motion picture studios, broadcast and cable networks, production and post-production community and related industries, gets underway October 28 for three days in Hollywood.

The above events are only a sample of what is fully listed. Complete details are on the “Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events” page. Video and podcast versions of this news summary are also available at popular video sites around the Web like MySpace, YouTube, Bit Torrent, as well as on The Actor’s Checklist podcast blog, a great place to get your iPhone, ipod or Apple TV download from. The Free Home Video Showcase serves as an archive for all past video presentations. This month on video you will see trailers and sample clips of Black-Smith Enterprises’  recent release of new feature, ‘Till Death…’  Surreal indie short by Marco Sanchez, ‘Emily in Nightmare Land’. Community generated zombie documentary, ‘Lost Zombies’. Horror genre short, ‘Creepers’, making the festival circuit, and slated for screenings in The Terror Film Festival, October 23, and The Severed Head Horror Film Festival, October 31.