Wednesday, March 11, 2009

All Roads Lead To Something.

Boy this has been a week. I started a series of short rose "how to" videos about a week ago and I'm having a blast doing them. I've kept it quiet from my rose world but I spent 15 years touring the U.S., Canada and even the Caribbean first as a comedic juggler/magician, then as a stand-up comic. I even toured Renaissance Fairs in a 1968 VW Camper Van. This whole odyssey ended up on late night TV at ABC as head writer and then comedy segment producer. You might say not only do have I a bit of being a "Ham" in my background but I know how to use it!

I've wanted to write, shoot, produce, edit and host something like this for years but events got in the way and like so many things it went on the back burner. But now that we are moving forward my creative juices got flowing and an outlet needed to be found. Enter the Flip Mino and a down loadable version of Movie Maker Software. This nifty little camera is ready made to put video on the web. Marry it with You Tube and Move Maker Software and we're off.

While at ABC I loved post production work. Taking all those individual segments of scenes and assembling them into a comedic bit was like making a jigsaw puzzle with laughs. And I'm having blast with this too. Not as many laughs but if they make roses less intimidating I'll take it.

What this brings me to is that who knew some 30 years ago when I entered the Dell Arte School of Mime and Comedy and spent two years there learning all kinds of great things it would wind its way to producing rose videos for my nursery. From old Italy to Hollywood to Campobello SC. Not even Robert Frost could write that into "The Road Not Taken"

While you go through life never question why you are on the path you are on. In the end there is a purpose to it all if you just open yourself up to see it. Then suddenly all those jigsaw pieces of your journey merge into one thing. Your Life. I hope it's one less traveled by.

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

5 comments:

  1. You've had quite an amazing background! I just watched the video on pillaring and really appreciated your clear explanations.

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  2. Glad you enjoyed the video. Now that you've read the blog you can see why I'm having so much fun doing them.

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  3. Just watched the moving rose video. Gaah. Wish I'd known this when I moved about a dozen roses earlier in January. I was trying to dig up as much of the roots as possible, but in our So Cal clay soil, it was tough. Now that I know it's okay to sever some roots and how much top growth to cut off, I feel much better about the next moves. Thanks again, Paul. These are invaluable. My only suggestion is if you could zoom in with the camera or insert close up still photos, it might be easier for viewers to see.

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  4. So it worked that time. Bear with me please. I just posted at reasonable lenght and it would not accept it - tried again and voila! In the meantime first post lost.

    OK let's try and cimpose it again.
    Hi Paul, Trish and Co,
    I am enjoying your blog and I just wanted to let you know that. I wish you had a branch of Ashdown in Canada so that I culd purchase some of your roses.

    I also must tell you that after a recommendation on Garden Web, I
    So it worked that time. Bear with me please. I just posted at reasonable lenght and it would not accept it - tried again and voila! In the meantime first post lost.

    OK let's try and cimpose it again.
    Hi Paul, Trish and Co,
    I am enjoying your blog and I just wanted to let you know that. I wish you had a branch of Ashdown in Canada so that I culd purchase some of your roses.

    I also must tell you that after a recommendation on Garden Web, I looked at your U-Tube video on How to create a pillar rose. I loved it and will be trying that for sure. I always wondered how it was done. I looked at the videa twice so have not looked at your others yet, but looking forward to them also.
    I found your blog link from Nikkopolina's blog and have now a recommendatio to it from my own blog.
    Look forward to reading more and seeing more videos. BTW, a further comment, The video was VERY well done and so easy to understand and humorous too. Thank you.
    Pauline

    PS I had copied this, in case I lost it, and I guess I had as it is not in the place I put it. Also For some reason I did not see this post of yours and the comments from Nikkipolani on the my very same subjec. too funny. I am keeping my fingers crossed this time.

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  5. Hi Paul, I so apologise for the messy post. I guess in the end I was typing quickly hence many errors. Embarrassed!
    After a good 3/4 hour I finally got something posted anyway. There was an inbetween one mistakenly put under another topic of yours. So if you see that maybe some of this will fit in place. I apologise profusely once again!
    Pauline

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