Paul Kimball's blog

This Love

paulkimball — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 04:09:08 UT

Paul McCartney was right - there's nothing wrong with silly love songs.

"This Love"

I crossed the ocean
and touched the sky
the clouds dropped tears
upon my eyes,
but I go on
even though I'm scared,
it hurts to see such pain
but you will not drive me away,
this love, pulls me close to you
to stay.

I believe in you
and I believe in us
a constant dream
within the storm,
I stand in this place
and will not move
I'll never give up on you,
it hurts to see such pain
but you will not drive me away,
this love, pulls me close to you
to stay.

The road less travelled
is the one to take,
hold onto my hand
it's still not too late,
believe in us, believe in me
like I believe in you.

PK

Rule #1 for Poker

paulkimball — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 21:16:48 UT

Played in my regular bi-weekly game last night, and got hammered. I didn't see a lot of good cards, but the real reason I walked away with nothing was that my head wasn't in the game. I was thinking of other things, and wasn't focusing on the play. It's a $50 mistake I won't make again!

PK

PK in the UK, Vol. VI

paulkimball — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 05:03:41 UT

Another shot of me on the London tube, this time with my old pal Will Fraser.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/7373/pkwflondontg6.jpg

PK

PK in the UK, Vol. V

paulkimball — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 04:59:15 UT

Another shot from Blackpool.

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8138/pkblackpool2bf4.jpg

It was a windy seaside day... my kind of weather!

PK

PK in the UK, Vol. IV

paulkimball — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 22:00:01 UT

I love the United Kingdom, especially the history. That's why, when I was in Manchester, I wanted to spend our one free day in Chester, a very historic old town that I visited briefly 18 years ago. Alas, my cameraman, Findlay Muir, desperately wanted to go to Blackpool, and, as I'm a good employer, I acquiesced (despite the advice of our host in Manchester). Thank God I did - Blackpool was great, especially as I was really suffering from hay fever - getting to the ocean was a tonic.

Lots of history in Blackpool, too, of a different kind and era than you'll find in Chester, but fascinating nonetheless.

And other things that caught my eye...

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/517/lingeriepkdk1.jpg

PK

PK in the UK, Vol. III

paulkimball — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 21:47:34 UT

Interviewing British civil servant / ufologist / author Nick Pope outside Parliament, London, June 2006.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2685/863/1600/paul%20and%20pope.jpg

A suitably grey English day!

PK

PK in the UK, Vol. II

paulkimball — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:41:37 UT

Waiting in Manchester's Picadilly Station for the train to Blackpool, June, 2006.

http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/839/pkmanchestertrainul4.jpg

PK in the UK, Vol. I

paulkimball — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 08:03:14 UT

A photo of me on the Picadilly Line, London, United Kingdom, June, 2006. I was there filming for a documentary, and speaking at a UFO conference (in Manchester)

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/8471/pkinuk1jj8.jpg

PK

Being Byron

paulkimball — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 05:05:08 UT

Surfing around Facebox can be annoying, especially when I pop by a woman's site and see some of the comments left by guys, many of them young. It reminds me of my days as a social butterfly (i.e. when I spent a fair amount of time in bars), watching guys try to pick up women. I was never sure whether to laugh or to cry (almost always went for laughing, unless I had had one too many scotch and waters, which sometimes tipped me into melancholy). The Internet, whether at Facebox or elsewhere, has come to resemble those nights at times.

I suppose it depends on what you're looking for, but frankly these guys - and you know who I mean - give the rest of us a bad name. It's embarrassing to read some of the stuff they write, just as it was embarrassing to watch them go to work at 1:30 in the morning, trolling the bar for the proverbial Ms. Right Now.

Ick.

Some of my single female friends despair of ever finding a nice guy, who knows how to treat a lady (a word that you just don't hear used very much anymore, alas). I assure them that those guys are out there, although many of them are taken.

I summed it up, at least as far as I'm concerned, in a screenplay I wrote a couple of years ago called "Darkest Hour". In it, a twenty-something waitress (who is actually a vampire, looking for her soul mate who will release her from her torment and allow her to become mortal again) meets a guy (who turns out to be that soul mate), and they connect instantly. The guy quotes Byron and Shelley to her, which I've always thought was a good sign of someone who was worth the effort of getting to know. At one point, she looks at him and says, "My mother always told me to marry the man who could quote Byron."

Good advice.

So here's a little Byron to get guys started:

"She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies."

A final note - it always helps if you're sincere when you quote this. A woman can usually tell when you're not.

In other words, don't just use Byron for your own purposes - BE Byron, for her.

PK

Do You Think

paulkimball — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 04:40:10 UT

I wrote this one when I was 13... and we included it on our "wonderful broken silence" e.p. 15 years later. It's the only song I ever sang while with Tall Poppies or Julia's Rain.

Do You Think

You look around the earth
and for what it's worth
do you think
do you care
or do you just sit back and stare
at problmes you could fix
but let other people wear
do you think
do you care.

Read the papers
watch TV
all the horros that you will see
do you care
do you think
do you dare to leave the solutions dry
I can only look at you
and ask you why
you don't think
you don't care
you never even cry.

In the end
all that counts
for me and you
are the things in this life
that we say and we do
do you care
do you think
how do you sleep at nights
do you leave on all of the lights
or do you think that somehow it'll be alright
it's not alright.

PK

Review: Le Theatre De Boheme stage Genet's

paulkimball — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:41:05 UT

My review for Le Theatre De Boheme's current production of Jean Genet's "The Balcony" can be found at: http://metrobackbeat.blogspot.com/2006/11/review-jean-genets-balcony-by-le.html

PK

Just Around the Corner - Vol. II

paulkimball — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 21:29:26 UT

"New mental illnesses such as 'digital depression' and 'connected aloneness' are on the rise as people spend more time engaging virtually with others through the Internet and cell phones rather than face-to-face. Future products and services that enhance personal experiences and life enrichment could help meet the challenge of restoring the personal-virtual balance."
- Karl Albrecht, "Eight Supertrends Shaping the Future of Business," The Futurist, Sep-Oct 2006, p. 27

I know more than a few people in the film and television industry - mostly producers and distributors, and moreso in the UK than in North America - who are almost totally virtual, in that they have no "bricks and mortar" office, but rather work with a cell-phone and a lap-top.

The times, they-are-a-changin'... but I still prefer to meet folks in person, and size them up as flesh and blood beings, as opposed to a disembodied voice on a phone, or an avatar on the Internet.

PK

Just Around the Corner - Vol. I

paulkimball — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 19:53:07 UT

"Computers will be more than 1,000 times more powerful in a decade, one million times more powerful in 20 years, and one billion times more powerful in 30 years. By then, some machines might have capabilities to rival the human mind, giving rise to a new intelligent species to share the planet with us."
- Damien Broderick, "Nanofactories, Gang Wars, and Feelies," The Futurist, Mar - Apr 2006, p. 47.

Cylons, folks... Cylons!!

PK

The Proper Use For Hypnosis

paulkimball — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:01:12 UT

Memo to: Budd Hopkins, David Jacobs, et al - abduction "researchers"

From: Paul Kimball, Ufological Bad Boy

Re: Proper Use of Hypnosis

Gentlemen - see: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3400578421404924373&q=erotic+hypnosis&hl=en

If I have to choose between being in her power, or yours, I'll take Stacy any day of the week, and twice on Sundays.

Kind regards,

PK

P.S. For a slightly more serious take on the alien abduction phenomenon and the use of hypnosis, see: http://redstarfilms.blogspot.com/2005/04/abduction-phenomenon-and-hypnosis.html

Celebrity Morons, Vol. I

paulkimball — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 19:48:04 UT

Nicole Ritchie (technically a "celebrity" :

""I'm going to have five kids," the socialite said. "I'm going to have three girls and twin boys... I love twin boys. I think they are so cute. I've had twin dogs before. They were cute. I just love twins."

Source: http://news.channels.aolsvc.aol.ca/entertainment/article.adp?id=20061031105109990013

There are moments in each day, usually when I run across a remark like this, where I question whether everyone should really have the right to vote. Honestly.

Then I remember what Churchill said about democracy in 1947 - "Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

I have a feeling that Ritchie would agree - once somebody explained to her that Churchill liked dogs. Heck, he probably even liked twin dogs.

PK

More Time Travel Speculation

paulkimball — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 18:56:36 UT

Rayxr responds to my recent post about time travel. http://www.en.facebox.com/rayxr/blog/blogid=109...

PK

Spotlight - 30 Oct 2006

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 23:48:03 UT

Every day I take some time to surf the facebox universe, which is great fun. All sorts of people to take a peek at - it really makes one feel part of the global community.

I've decided that every now and then I'll try to shine the "spotlight" on someone who really caught my eye as I surfed along.

Today it's Katherine, from the great city of San Antonio, Texas (and if you've never been there, you really should go). Check out her Facebox profile here: http://en.facebox.com/artkat

She's clearly a talented artist, with a great deal of creativity and a unique vision. As I noted at her guestbook, one of the things I like most about the American southwest are the artists and artisans. I hope she gets more pictures of her work up as time goes on - I really like the three pieces she has there already. I'd be really interested to learn how she goes about choosing the components of each piece, and what each piece means to her.

Katherine and her work definitely have soul, and I'm glad they caught my eye today, and broadened my horizons!

PK

Blue Monday

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:18:43 UT

I sit with my drunken friends,
in a bar where the night never seems
to end,
we drink to the days of our lives,
even as another one just passes
us by,
on a blue Monday,
where everything is always grey
to me.

There is no happy hour here,
the liquor only serves to mask
the fear,
we try to hide behind our smiles,
but the safety only lasts for a
little while,
on a blue Monday,
where everything is always grey
to me.

"Elivis is alive, you know,"
I said as I looked deep into
her eyes,
her laughter tore through my soul,
but still I asked her to spend
the night,
on a blue Monday,
where everything is always grey
to me.

PK

Science That Matters

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 20:55:16 UT

What next - Cylons??

"China Makes a Sexy, Slutty Robot" - http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/robots/china-makes-a-sexy-slutty-robot-210802.php

While this all seems a bit, er, "stiff", imagine where we might be in ten or twenty years in terms of robotics, and artifical intelligence. If the Internet is any guide, it will be sexbots that, er, "drive" the industry forward.

Alas, there will still be guys who won't be able to get a date... even with a robot.

You know who you are.

PK

Best Sci-Fi Series Poll

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 20:11:20 UT

For a couple of months now, I've been running a "Best Sci-Fi Series Ever" poll at my blog, The Other Side of Truth (Vote at www.redstarfilms.blogspot.com - go to the sidebar section).

The X-Files are the current front-runner.

The poll will be open until the end of 2006.

PK

Mysterio

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 18:35:22 UT

You can listen to the Julia's Rain version from our "wonderful broken silence" e.p. (1996) here: http://www.badongo.com/vid/228723

It was a lot edgier live. I always wanted to re-record this one, which was our signature song.

"Mysterio"

I don't know the secrets of life and death,
I don't know what happens after your last breath.

[Chrous]
I just know that you're here,
I just know that I'm here,
I don't know about tomorrow
all I know is that I'm crazy for you,
crazy for you.

I don't know the secret of the pyramids,
I don't know where the golden treasure is hid.

[Chorus]

I don't know why Kennedy had to die,
I don't know why Richard Nixon chose to lie.

[Chorus]

[Mid 8th]
Are any of us ever really free?
I don't know, it's a mystery to me.

I don't know how to stop hate and war,
I don't know why we have to have them both for.

[Chorus]

PK

My Pal Amy Kerr

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 03:59:44 UT

How did I wind up at Facebox, as I was perfectly happy blogging away at The Other Side of Truth (www.redstarfilms.blogspot.com)? Well, I was invited by my friend, Amy Kerr, one of the nicest folks I've had the pleasure to meet in the film and television business over the years. She's a very talented and hard-working young actress that I had the pleasure to work with on my (still in post) first feature film, Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow, a post-apocalyptic adaptation of MacBeth that I hope to have done in 2007 (still got a couple of scenes to shoot).

You can check out her Facebox page here: http://www.en.facebox.com/amykerr

I've written about Amy a number of times at The Other Side of Truth as well (hey - all UFOs and no fun...) - the best story can be found here: http://redstarfilms.blogspot.com/2006/04/umm.html

I'm just waiting for someone to set up an Amy Kerr fan club so I can get my official membership card!

Thanks for the invite, Amy!

PK

Darkest Hour

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 03:50:16 UT

When you're in love, the worst thing is being unable to help or comfort, for whatever reason, when the person you love is in pain.

"Darkest Hour"

The car, in your dream,
shattered by the side of the road,
the driver,
frail,
broken,
dying,
a whisper and he's gone.

You,
helpless and
alone,
a wound inside
afraid
of what lies beyond.

I wish I could share this dream
and take the hurt
away,
or at least be your comfort
when you awake.

It's three a.m.,
still no sign of light,
the darkest hour of the
soul,
I want to be with you
tonight,
to give you,
to give you,
to give you someone to hold.

PK

The Galactic "Barrow's Boys"

paulkimball — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 02:57:54 UT

One of my favourite books is Fergus Flemming's Barrow's Boys, which recounts the adventures (and misadventures) of British explorers like John Franklin and William Parry in the first half of the nineteenth century. In a similar vein, another fave is Arthur Herman's To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World. Both books are cracking good reads, but they also got me to thinking about UFOs, and a theory that I first heard from my friend, the late Karl Pflock, a couple of years ago.

Karl was of the opinion that some UFOs were in fact alien spacecraft, that they popped by earth, checked it out for a bit, and then headed back to where they came from. As far as he was concerned, they hadn't been back since.

Now, most ufologists I know, particularly the ones committed to Exopolitics, would scoff at this notion. "Ridiculous," they would say. The aliens came, they saw, and they've been here since.

Maybe.

But a study of the history of human exploration shows that Karl might have been on to something. Even into the first half of the nineteenth century, there were areas of the world (Africa, the Artic, the Antartic, large parts of the Pacific) that were still unknown to the Europeans. The explorations that they sent out were small, almost always under equipped, often poorly managed, and usually had no idea of what they were doing. Being British, they sometimes - but by no means always - muddled through, but almost never without mishaps. Sometimes they would visit a place, and then leave, not to return for decades.

With this is mind, perhaps Karl's theory wasn't so crazy after all. What if the aliens are the galactic equivalent of the Europeans, and good old Earth the equivalent of Melville Island? Under Karl's theory, even the Roswell crash would be possible. Consider it the alien Franklin.

At the end of the day, who knows? But it makes as much sense to me as hybrid-colonization schemes, or underground bases, or aliens at Area 51.

Somewhere, out there, maybe there's a three foot tall, grey, alien bureaucrat - a Sir John Barrow from Zeta Reticuli - wondering what happened to that expedition he sent out to Terra Prime.

Or maybe the next expedition is just leaving the interstellar dockyard for a return voyage to that wild, strange planet at the edge of known space.

I just hope they bring some cool trinkets... and return Elvis!

Paul Kimball