Rutherford House

Rutherford House
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.

Just cause the Rutherfords are that important.

Edmonton River Valley

Edmonton River Valley
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.

The following two pictures are ones that i took of the U of A campus and surrounding areas. click on the photo to go to my flickr account and have a browse through these photos.
Despite the next comment on the Timms Toilet Bowl, it is a very pretty campus, especially during the fall.
I was taking photos a few days ago, and i thought i'd share some of them.
Rob.

The Arts Are Going Down The Toilet

Timms Toilet Bowl
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.

This is the Timms Centre for the Arts. It is a theatre that showcases plays produced and acted by university students (for the most part). However it must be said that this building looks like a giant toilet bowl. I'm sorry, but whoever came up with this design should have been taunted and mocked until throats were sore.
This is one of the glorious buildings that comprise the U of A (for those of you not accustomed to the lingo, thats the University of Alberta) campus.

Why, Why, WHY?!?!

Why do I always do this? Leave homework until the last minute? I mean i've had over 2 days to do my research and fine-tune a topic for my term project (EAS 394) but nooooo i have to leave it for wednesday, the day before it is due (my project proposal that is).
I always say that i am going to be on the ball and not slack and get my homework done right away, but I NEVER DO! This is my final year of UNI, the marks MATTER! i'm am completely disappointed and disgusted with myself right now, i don't even want to look at me.
Okay...now back to work!

Hollywood Here I Come!

It's not everyday you get to rub shoulders with some of Hollywoods finest, and its definitly not everyday you get to work with them on a movie. I, however, did. Jealous yet?

Currently Brad Pitt is filming "The Assination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford" a western biopic. They are shooting parts of this film right here in Edmonton, using Fort Edmonton Park as the location for part of the town that Jessie James lives in.
Back at the end of July the producers of this film held an open casting call for extras to play background actors. They were looking for men with facial hair, scruffy-looking types, and women with long hair. It was my brother who got our family interested in this. a "friend of his" wanted to be in the film and try out (though i think his motivation to help her out was something more than simply friendship). Regardless, my mother had some contacts with some talent agency located in Red Deer and she signed us all up with it. So now the whole family had an agent and we were going down to try out to be in this film.
We stood in line for 8 hours outside of the hotel where the director and the extras casting people were. It was a total gong show. We didn't actually get in to see the people. by about 3pm some people who were working on the film started handing out forms so that people interested could mail in their photo and measurements to the film crew. I grabed the form and we were out of there as soon as possible.
In the last week of August i asked my mom about the status of our "auditons." Whether or not she had heard anything from the film company. turns out she thought that myself and my brother Will (the one who got this whole thing going) weren't interested anymore. So i mailed in my photo a couple of days later, though i didn't expect to hear anything, because i thought that the date to have these things in was past.
two weeks later, the day before uni started back up, i got a call from a woman named Roxanne, she was incharge of extras casting and they wanted me to be a reporter for the film!

I went down to Fort Edmonton Park for a costume fitting a few days later. There, along with many other extras, were ushered through the costume area like cattle trying on clothes circa 1882. It was a lot of fun dressing up in that time era, though i don't envy the women of that time. Talking to a few of them, they were so laced in with corsets and the like that they couldn't even sit down!
I was dressed in black trousers that came up past my stomach and opend up from the side (they had no fly!), a white button up shirt with a back vest overtop. i got to wear a black bowler hat and a grey suit jacket. They had the collars that were attached separately with little buttons. The ties back then were also rather bizzare.

I was only supposed to work on Tuesday, sept 13th, but due to the weather (it has been well rainy and cold for the past 2 weeks) htey didn't manage to film all of the scenes that they wanted to. So they asked me back on Wednesday.
Some of the scenes you might see me in, i stress might because i could just as easily end up on the cutting room floor, would be the funeral of Jessie James, the press conference for Robert Ford (after he shot Jessie James), the chase of the photographer from the funeral home to the Photo Studio (i might actually get some screen time in this one!) and when the photographer takes the photo of the dead Jessie with all of the reporters. Mary-Louise Parker was in that shoot, as the greiving widow.
I was also a background extra in a sceen where Robert Ford and his brother, played by Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell respectively, run across the street into the telegraph building. Though i don't think anyone would be able to recognize me as they were filming the glass of the building and i would simply be a reflection, a very small reflection.

It was an awesome experience, i got to see first hand how a big budget movie is made, i gained a new respect for all of those people who work on movies but don't star in them, honestly it is a lot of work and INSANE hours. They were working 12-18 hour days. On the tuesday that i needed to be there, i had a call time of 6:30am! we did the first bit of shooting and then all of the extras were ushered into extras holding where we just sat around for hours. luckily enough though, extras holding was located in the upper floor of the photographer's studio so we were warm (when the rain came) and we could watch the filming in the street below.

Will this be the start of my Hollywood film career? No, I don't think so, but hey who knows.

Rutherford Family

Rutherford Family
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.

Here is a Photo of my Dad's side of the family. My Uncle Richard and his family were visiting from the States, my Aunt Joan and Uncle Dietheart were visiting from B.C., and my family is always hanging around Edmonton. This is one of the rare times when my Dad and his siblings (minus my Uncle John) are all in the same place at the same time. Just thought i'd share.

Country Sunrise

Country Sunrise
Originally uploaded by Rob Rutherford.

I'm going to upload more photos, but i thought i'd put up this one of a sunrise out at my place. our house faces east so we get to see some spectacular sunrises int he mornings. Especially if you are up at 6am for work!

Super Awesome Update

It's amazing how quicly life can go from 1st gear to 5th in a matter of days.

Last I wrote I was living a rather boring and slow life. Gettin gup every morning simply because i had to. Then after moaining a bit, scuttling off to work to begin yet another vigerous day of moving things around the Royal Alexandra Hospital or the Glenrose.

By about mid August things starte to pic up again. Though my weeks were still full of the same monotonous tasks they have always been this summer, the weekends were actually something to look forward to. Now dates are a bit foggy to me so you'll have to put up with some abiguity.

Firstly there was the weekend where i went to Matt's (my peer student from Transitions 2004, and an exchange student from the UK) going away party. A couple his friends and myself (i knew a few of the people there through loose connections or through other friends) started out at O'Byrn's. An Irish pub in Edmonton. They had a few drinks, and i had one, since i have to drive home all the time. after we stayed there for a few hours enjoying the craick that O'Byrn's generally generated (though it's never as good as any pub in Ireland!)
After O'Byrn's we headed down Whyte Ave to another club, i cannot recall the name of it at this moment. There we danced and made merry. It was actually a suprisingly fun evening.

The following weekend was even busier than the first! My cousins from Washington D.C. had come up for a visit and we decided to go celebrate by going out and getting drunk. At about 9pm we met up on Whyte Ave and went to the Iron Horse, it was my other cousin's b-day and he was celebrating there. Iron Horse was fun, after that we headed over to O'Byrn's for a few more pints.
The next night i hit up the Fringe Festival with my friend Erin and her bud, Nicole. We had a few pre-drinks at Erin's place, then we went to see a show; two shows in one actually. They were called "The Love Course/ A Day For Suprises." They were both really good, but i prefered the Love Course to the other one.
Later we went to the Funky Budda, a club on Whyte Ave. We ran into the same people who were there for Matt's going away party. it was a crazy night. not to worry, just talk to Erin, if you want to see some embarrassing photos of me.
Then on Sunday, there was a huge pool party and BBQ at my Grandma's house. Her side of the family was there and my cousins fromt here states were there as well. In total there were over 36 people at that party. Stay tuned for some photos.

Last week was also uber-busy, i was working from 2-10pm all week and from Wed through to Fri i was busy from 8am in the morning volunteering for the International Center's orientation program, Transitions 2005. i met so many really cool people and had a blast participating in the various activities. The Living Day To Day presentation was a lot of fun! pictures to follow, the commentary.

More interesting news; Currently in Edmonton a hollywood movie is being filmed. Its called "The Assination of Jessie James" staring Brad Pitt. The production company had an open casting call back at the end of July. My family all went down there to try out. Last Friday i got a phone call to participate in the film. I'm going to be an extra, a background person. I'm going to be a reporter. Yesterday i went to get fitted for my costume. It was a lot of fun dressing up in 19th century clothes for an hour or two. The 13th of september is the day i go in for Filming, so i'm pretty excited about that. Keep your eyes open for the movie next year and keep an eye out for me!

Finally to finnish off, i'm back at uni this week. I've been to all of my courses and i think i am really going to enjoy them all! but i'mvery tired of typing so i'm going to end now.
bye!

Update To Come, Stay Tuned

A big hello to all my faithfull readers out there,

I know i haven't updated the blog recently but that is becuase i have been rather busy this past week and haven't found the time. Plus having a phone line internet connection at home makes for rather tedious photo uploads and i'd rather do it at uni where they have a faster connection

so anyways, by friday i'll have this thing updated with stories of Rob's adventures and photos of said adventures.

later.