Photos: Peggy Sue's Good Eats

My wife had to travel to Mt. Ayr, Iowa, to take care of some professional matters, so I joined her on the day trip with our friend Al. He wanted to show us a cool 50's-themed restaurant, but we arrived to find it closed for the day. Hopefully we'll get a chance to go inside some other time, because looking through the windows revealed some great retro decor.





Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Photos: June Bug

Check out this rather large June Bug on the screen of our back door here in Iowa last night.

A comparison beside the tip of my thumb....




Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Photos: Bettendorf, Iowa Trip

Here's some photos from a trip to Bettendorf, Iowa where I attended an Education Technology Conference with my wife on June 21 and June 22.

We stayed at The Lodge, a European-styled hotel with lots of fantastic wood carvings, furniture, artwork, and architecture. I didn't have a lot of time to take photos, but I was able to capture a few interesting shots. April also managed to snap a few photos of the exterior from the vehicle on our way home.

















Apparently, Iowa can lay claim to the 'World's Largest Truckstop'...



Satellite dishes outside of Iowa Public Television...



Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Photos: Bathroom Spider

One of the cats saw this critter crawling into the bathroom last night. The photos make it look larger than actual size, which was about the width of a quarter. Still, I wouldn't want it creeping up on me, so I scooped it up and put it outside.




Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Photos: Iowa State Insect Zoo

My wife was asked to photograph the Iowa State Insect Zoo traveling exhibit so I tagged along and snapped a few shots of my own. There were lots of other events including craft activities, games, storytelling, a book fair, and a snack room where guests could make 'Ants on a Log.'

Colorful, creepy crawlies and snacks...what more could a kid ask for?













Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Photos: June 19 Hail Storm

Some photos from an early morning hail storm here in Creston, Iowa:






Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Photos: Picking Mulberries

We have a Mulberry tree in our backyard in Iowa, so we decided to pick some of the berries that were ready. As usual, one of the cats (Monique) decided to join us.






Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Raiders Celebrates 25 Years

25 years ago today, movie fans witnessed "the return of the great adventure" when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg brought us Raiders of the Lost Ark.

A personal all-time favorite, Raiders took viewers into the world of archeologist, Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones, Jr. and his quest for the lost Ark of the Covenant. The film, styled after old movie serials, would spawn two sequels, video games, books, comics, and other related merchadise. Currently discussions are underway to film a fouth adventure with the Fedora-wearing, whip-wielding archeologist.

As was the case with the original release, the film continues to inspire filmmakers, archeologists, scholars, artists, video game designers, special effects technicians, stunt men, sound designers, and armchair adventurers.



To celebrate the historic film and its anniversary, I've put together a few links to send you off on your own adventure...

Twenty-Five Reasons to Watch Raiders Again - The official Indiana Jones website provides 25 little-known facts about the film.

TheRaider.net - One of the finest digsites for news, facts, events, fan films, forums, and references about the Indiana Jones projects. Be sure to check out the great 25th anniversary tribute post they've put together, with wallpapers, screenshots, and references.

IndyGear - From the famous Fedora, to the rugged leather jacket, to the trusty bullwhip, IndyGear is THE Indiana Jones Equipment Resource. Spend valuable research time in the Props section and visit the forum where you can learn how other fans make their own. Make it a priority to visit Dr. David West Reynolds' The Archeology of Indiana Jones section so you can learn about the real-life inspirations behind the movies!

Indyfan.com - A website by Indy fans for Indy fans.

Indiana Jones (In Development) - Information, screenshots, and a trailer for the upcoming video game from Lucasarts.



Step into the time machine and check out the original trailer for Raiders of the Lost Ark at this link.

Images TM, © & Copyright © Lucasfilm, Ltd. and Paramount Pictures.

Photos: Venus Fly Traps

I've always wanted a Venus Fly Trap and we know a few friends who might like to have one, so we picked up a few today. April and I were supervised by the cats while we transplanted the Fly Traps into larger pots.









Photos © 2006 Chad Kerychuk.

Dracorex hogwartsia

A new type of dragon-like dinosaur has been named Dracorex hogwartsia in honor of the celebrated Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling.


Photo of Dracorex hogwartsia © The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

The nearly complete skull was discovered by three friends from Sioux City, Iowa during a fossil collecting trip to South Dakota. More information can be found at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis Dinosphere website.

Be sure to check out the video interview with the donors of the fossil, the Museum President, and world-renowned paleontologist Dr. Robert Bakker.

Thanks to Atomic Surgery for the link.

Ray Harryhausen Brings New Projects to Life

Ray Harryhausen tribute painting © Jim Dallmeier.

Stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen will be helping to develop a series of new features, TV movies, video games, and merchandising under the Ray Harryhausen Presents banner for Mindfire Entertainment according to Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter via Yahoo! News. From the article:

Producer Mindfire Entertainment, which joined forces on the projects with the 85-year-old director, said several scripts are in development -- one set in Greek mythology and another with an alien invasion theme. Production on the first film is set to begin in the fall.

The plan is to release one movie in the $15 million range and three TV projects in the $4 million range every year, Mindfire CEO Mark Altman said. Harryhausen will oversee all visual effects, which will be done in CGI (computer-generated imagery) but will be in the spirit of his stop-motion effects, Altman said.

Harryhausen said "utilizing the incredible advances in visual effects technology" would enable him to reach an entire new generation of audiences. "These stories are universal, and I could not be more thrilled than to revisit some of my favorite worlds -- past, present and future -- in these new films," he said.

As a great admirer of Harryhausen's work, I'm thrilled to hear that he's bringing out some fresh ideas from old worlds for all of us to enjoy. Take a look at many reecent feature films (Jurassic Park, Starship Troopers, Peter Jackson's King Kong) or video games (Killer Instinct, Age of Mythology, God of War) and I guarantee you'll see the Harryhausen influence.

Even if Ray does nothing more than provide the initial concepts and inspiration, you can bet the projects will be both epic and fantastic.

Classic Muppets

A Muppet classic found over on YouTube...

"Mahna Mahna:"


More Muppet goodies at YouTube.

The Wife Meets The Woz

April met The Woz last night. How cool is that?!


April showing Steve a poster of himself, his son, and some PowerBooks.


Kerychuk and Wozniak. Gurus of technology and education!


Evening at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

April and one of her work associates attended an AIM Institute banquet in Omaha where Steve was the keynote speaker. After the speech, Wozniak hung around to pose for photos and graciously sign Macs, Apple II's and other historic Apple and Woz-related items. She said he was not only an entertaining speaker, but also listened attentively to guests and welcomed their own stories.

Steve Wozniak: a class act all the way.

Update: My wife has posted her recollection of the event in the comments section, while another Woz fan shares his experience at Applemacpunk.com

Pirate Radio in Miami

I finished watching Miami Vice Season 2 on DVD (one of my all-time favorite shows) a few days ago and was reminded of the episode "Trust Fund Pirates" by this CNN story.

Fans of Vice will recall Richard Belzer's (Law & Order) character was a pirate radio station operator who conducted his illegal broadcasts from out in the ocean near Miami.

Watch this space.

Hello all.

Between working on a film set and catching strep throat and a flu, helping out family and friends with work and projects, and trying to get other stuff finished, I haven't posted much on my personal blog here in about a month. We've also got a huge dump of snow in the last few weeks here in Alberta (not to mention most of Canada) and it generally slows one down.

So while we thought we were nearly done with winter (mild as it may have been), we knew better. Right now with all the snow, it looks as if we've been in winter for months on end when it's really near springtime. Oh well, at least the ski resorts and farmers should be happy about it!

As I've mentioned though, I'm working on the Mark Schultz interview and some other fun posts to make up for the lack of posting. I think you'll enjoy them.

Note: If any of you DDM blog readers have actually ordered anything through my Amazon links (not just clicked on them or performed searches), please drop me a line and let me know. I think I'm having some difficulties with the tracking reports generated by Amazon.

Thanks!

New Posts Coming Soon

Yeah, I'm still here folks. Got some new posts coming soon, including interviews, beginning with author/illustrator and Xenozoic Tales/Cadillacs and Dinosaurs creator, Mark Schultz.

Stay friendly.