February 18, 2013

BEING GRATEFUL. As our youtube channel approaches 50,000 views, I’m humbled at all the support that we have received along the way including our Veterans, Soldiers, sponsors, producers, writers, editors, artists, viewers and everyone else. Every single foot in our … Read More

December 7, 2012

THE MEMORIAL OF CPL. MIKE STARKER Battle Scars Season One – Episode Three was dedicated to Mike Starker and the many soldiers like him that have died while serving in Afghanistan. This movie remembers Cpl. Michael Starker who was a … Read More

August 29 / 2012 – Battle Scars Season One Schedule Announced

BATTLE SCARS SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED… I just got this email from SHAW TV… Starting on September 10th, they will be playing our show across the province and in Edmonton TEN TIMES a week. So as we film Season Two to … Read More

August 5 / 2012 – New Battle Scars Photography

Rob Patterson, the good looking one of our dynamic photo taking duo, has been keeping me on the straight and narrow path of making the Battle Scars and Paratroopers artwork look tight. Thanks Rob and your crew of scene stealing … Read More

September 29 / 2012 – Meet Captain with Flowers.

MEET CAPTAIN with FLOWERS. In case you did not know, The Captain is quite a green thumb, in fact his very large yard in st. albert contains like 100 types of flowers and plants and every year all will agree, … Read More

November 11 / 2012 – First Ceremony in 67 Years

FIRST CEREMONY IN 67 YEARS. The Captain wrangles WWII Navy Veteran WIlliam Opitz into the legion to prepare for William’s distiguished part in the parade. The Naval vet is shown here attending his first Remembrance Day Ceremony, or any ceremony … Read More

September 8 / 2012 – Production Begins on Big Bad Wolf

DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?

Christie girls hard at work on their Wolf documentary – still without a title and looking for suggestions. Working to dispel myths and misunderstandings about wolves – directed by 8 … Read More

October 2 / 2012 – Battle Scars Season Two Production Begins

PRODUCTION BEGINS. Finding a media partner like the Royal Alberta Museum meant a lot to me. Their Curator of Military and Political History may be the most learned person about Canadian militaria in Western Canada. The RAM holds over 22,000 … Read More

November 14 / 2012 – Filming Every Day This Week

FILMING EVERY DAY THIS WEEK!!! Today with the UA, tomorrow we are filming Battle Scars Season Two, and the pilot of Dust to Dust, Loyal Edmonton Regiment, Friday with UA at 3 locations. It’s just too awesome! After filming all … Read More

September 11 / 2012 – Mastering the Triple Threat Braid

I am a single father most weekends. There are many skills that you didn’t ever think you’d need in life. Like braiding. The girls love it, the moms love it, and when the devastating trio are all in matching outfits, … Read More

October 3 / 2012 – The Waskatenau Quilt

MEET SHIRLEY ELLIS and the WORLD WAR ONE WASKATENEAU QUILT. Okay, so during the first two wars one in every 4 persons would have had a family or loved one in the war. Nearly 70,000 men were killed. The Waskateneau … Read More

September 12 / 2012 – Fuzzy World

FUZZY WORLD. SO I have tried to fight off aging and the effects of gravity as best as I could but for some inexplicable reason, everything I look at close up is getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Last night this label … Read More

October 18 / 2012 – The UA Local 488 Gives Back

THE UA LOCAL 488 GIVES BACK. Being rich with friends and family really is the greatest blessing but to also have awesome colleagues that inspire you to create and support you in your work really can make life as an … Read More

September 13 / 2012 – Best Wishes to the Captain!

BEST WISHES. Our Producer CAPTAIN (ret’d) Bill Dickson, CD is having surgery. Captain – I know you hate it when I do this but you mean far too much to myself and your pals in the Airborne Brotherhood so today, … Read More

October 18 – Watch Battle Scars Now

WATCH BATTLE SCARS SEASON ONE NOW on SHAW TV CHANNEL 10… Monday 8:30am & 10:30pm Tuesday 8:00am Thursday 10:30pm Friday 7:30am & 4:30pm

Saturday 8:30am & 5:00pm Sunday 8:00am & 10:30pm

*Also airs in Fort McMurray and Red Deer … Read More

September 13 / 2012 – The Captain Wants Brandy!

THE CAPTAIN WANTS BRANDY. Last month I posted about a revolutionary new robotics surgical tool I filmed at the Royal Alex for the UA 488. My partner, 37 year Airborne veteran Captain Bill Dickson had a mass removed from his … Read More

October 20 / 2012 – Meet Chief Stoker William Opitz

MEET WILLIAM OPITZ. “We lived like pigs”, was one of the many descriptive, and less expletive ridden ways he described living conditions on the BANGOR class minesweeper that took a double occupied ship to France for the D-Day invasion. William … Read More

September 14 / 2012 -Bailey Rocks the Ram

8 year old daughter Bailey is directing her first documentary to dispel myths about wolves. Here she is at the Royal Alberta Museum interviewing Dr. Mark Edwards, the Curator of Mammalogy. She was perfectly poised, not in the least bit … Read More

October 23 / 2012 – Meet Poppa and Baby Bear

PAPA and BABY. Shooting DSLR is Not as easy as it would seem, and until I can afford a Sony NEX 700, it’s all I got. So you see here both my DSLR rigs, the 5D with L 70:200 glass … Read More

September 14 / 2012 – Creative Commons

CREATIVE COMMONS – BATTLE SCARS for schools, colleges, cadet corps, regiments, veterans homes, everywhere. I watched The Yes Men this weekend and realized our path; make everything we do FREE through Creative Commons. It doesn’t make for a good sound … Read More

October 25 / 2012 – 180 Gigabytes.

180 GIGABYTES. I have about 50 external hard drives. Today we shot 4 segments at Loyal Edmonton Regiment, will explain later but entirely manual on our new and improved setup. Filmed 180 GIGS of material; broke one eye piece, A … Read More

September 17 / 2012 – The Captain is Back!

The Captain underwent major kidney surgery last Wednesday and today, 5 days later, joined me for our Season Two series planning with ARMY Public Affairs officer here Anthony Wright. What a guy. AIRBORNE!

Read More

October 31 / 2012 – Batte Scars Season One is ONLINE

DOING IT RIGHT. Takes time and a lot of patience and it might not even be good or great but if you have a sense of self worth and are OCD as I am, you find yourself doubling up and … Read More

September 21 / 2012 – FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES.

UA Local 488 President Stu Macleod and Business Manager Larry Matychuk represent the close to 11,000 Plumbers and Pipefitters. Needless to say that they were cautious with their praise when it came to the videos I was producing for them. … Read More

November 7 / 2012 – Remembrance Day Special

REMEMBRANCE DAY SPECIAL. Shaw TV will be broadcasting the two hour Battle Scars 2012 Remembrance Day Special at 8PM in all their markets across Canada! Join us as we remember our veterans. (8PM in most markets, 7PM in Calgary)

Read More

September 2 / 2012 – Battle Scars Season Two Production Begins

PRODUCTION BEGINS. Finding a media partner like the Royal Alberta Museum meant a lot to me. Their Curator of Military and Political History may be the most learned person about Canadian militaria in Western Canada. The RAM holds over 22,000 … Read More

September 21 / 2012 – Season Two Photo Shoot

BATTLE SCARS SEASON TWO photo shoot today! Thanks to Rob, Meeks, Gary and Stevo for giving up their evening for beer and chips – we got some amazing photos for the upcoming Season Two – starting production next week! Would … Read More

November 8 / 2012 – The UA Presents Battle Scars Season One Remembrance Day Special

THE UA LOCAL 488 PRESENTS… The UA Local 488 has always been a supporter of Canada’s Veterans and Soldiers and for the past four years, have been supporting our Battle Scars TV series and my documentaries including Paratroopers. Together, we … Read More

September 3 / 2012 – The Waskatenau Quilt

MEET SHIRLEY ELLIS and the WORLD WAR ONE WASKATENEAU QUILT. Okay, so during the first two wars one in every 4 persons would have had a family or loved one in the war. Nearly 70,000 men were killed. The Waskateneau … Read More

September 22 / 2012 – Afghan Haze.

AFGHAN HAZE. Is that smoke or is someone burning some poppy crops? It’s actually Alberta’s awesome Golden Hour, just as the sun drops beneath the horizon. I shot all these closeups on my super sharp SMC Takumar from the 70′s. … Read More

Nopvember 11 / 2012 – Captain Bill Remembers

CAPTAIN BILL REMEMBERS. We attend the Remembrance Day Ceremony in St. Albert with The Captain as Parade Marshall. Hundreds weathered the -23 weather to attend including our own PPCLI, cadets, RCMP and a half dozen other regiments and groups. The … Read More

September 6 / 2012 – Sprinting Towrds the Finish Line

Here shown in rare form, Dixon is SPRINTING towards the finish line on our TV series… It will be nice to see daylight again in a few days but in the meanwhile if someone could throw me a bag of … Read More

September 26 / 2012 – UA Becomes Battle Scars Season One Title Sponsors

The United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 488 is a proud supporter of Canada’s military and communities also. I traveled with them as they gave away nearly $500,000 across the province this summer. Thanks to the UA Local 488, … Read More

November 11 / 2012 – William Opitz is Remembered

WWII VETERAN IS REMEMBERED. My daughters and I enjoyed the privilege this morning of bringing the 93 year old WWII Naval stoker to the Remembrance Day Ceremony today as a welcomed guest of honor. The horrors of war were feet … Read More

September 7 / 2012 – What Are Kids Wearing These Days?

It never surprises me what my kids are wearing these days. Kevlar Helmet with NVGs and C8 with Elcan Optics – filming for upcoming Season Two of Battle Scars.

Read More

July 11 / 2012 – We Have Positions to Fill

Hype TV is looking for a SALES PERSON and EDITORS! We are looking for a dynamic individual to help us with national and province wide sales on our Movie and TV series. Most of the work could be … Read More

July 21 / 2012 – Another Great D-Day Ceremony

That’s the Captain on the left, my buddy, my mentor and 37 year army vet that still kicks butt at 74 – imagine bad ass Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino!!! If you find yourself in a place where all … Read More

July 10 / 2012 – The Captain Goes Topless

I am a weekend dad, and it’s something that I just love being a part of. In the midst of all of this seeming chaos, my life with my young girls has been an incredible blessing. My girls are 4, … Read More

July 1 / 2012 – Sit Rep

I’ve been absent from my blog for a few good reasons I suspect, however I can’t remember them now at this time of writing. Sometimes working in this vacuum, it feels like you lose a connectivity to the people that … Read More

June 1 / 2012 – RIP Jan de Vries

RIP – Private Jan De Vries, World War II Veteran. WE WILL REMEMBER. Here’s the difficult part of this otherwise amazing job; burying your friends. Jan De Vries jumped into Normandy on D-Day, was the last President of Canada’s 1 … Read More

May 19 / 2012 – All mixed up

If you ever wonder why I take a few weeks off here and there, as if anyone ever reads this blog enough to track that sorta thing, our world is in constant upheaval and it’s very difficult to ever know … Read More

May 20 / 2012 – Wrapping Up Season One of Battle Scars

Battle Scars has been an incredible experience but I cannot tell you that I am not happy to see this series end. This next few months will see us producing the Movie Series so this down time will give us … Read More

May 21 – Battle Scars RE – TOOLED

So I guess we won’t be taking too much of a break. Since cranking out the show every week leant itself to “many great opportunities for challenge” as they say, once the show is done, we will have a … Read More

May 22 / Layne Mitchell to Narrate Part 7 – Somalia

Outside of his great work on the Battle Scars TV series, Layne Mitchell is a bit of a local celebrity as the host of Sonic Radio’s afternoon drive time show. One of the things that we trey to do here … Read More

May 23 / 2012 – Back to Visit Gordon King

I was back at the Touchmark by Wedgewood home to visit with my new friend, Gordon King. He has a second book that was produced after his near 2 year stint as a German Prisoner of War at Stalag Luft … Read More

May 24 / 2012 – Don Cherry Set to Narrate Part Eight – Afghanistan

Don Cherry sent me an email today agreeing to narrate a movie in our series. That was a bit surreal especially when said that he’d be honoured, and to donate his fee to the troops and that I should “keep … Read More

April 13 / 2012 – Watch Episode 06 Now

Read More

April 14 / 2012 – Great Machines of War (and other wonderful new developments)

So here it is I am more than two weeks behind in posting my supposedly daily blog posts. What I do however is track on my day to day calendar what news I have so that when I do get … Read More

April 15 / 2012 – “From Above” New Series of Segments

Thanks to our friends at the Alberta Aviation Museum and especially General Manager Tom Hinderks we have begun production on a series of segments that feature the machines and men of the skies. From Above will begin with the feature … Read More

April 18 / 2012 – Watch Battle Scars Episode 07 Now

THE PPCLI – PART TWO     (4:00)The Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry Museum in Calgary      An exploration of the PPCLI’s history and artifacts housed at The Military Museums in Calgary, Alberta with Afghanistan vet MWO Jason Yardley.

408TH … Read More

April 19 / 2012 – Gordon King – Last POW Survivor of the Great Escape

92 year old Gordon King may be the last remaining survivor of the Luft III Prisoner of War Camp. The infamous story of their planned escape later became the content of Steve McQueen’s movie and Hogan’s Heroes.

I met Gordon … Read More

April 20 / 2012 – Meet Andrew Nicholls – Another willing lamb to our world of Chaos)

I just wanted to say thanks to another amazing editor who’s been able to withstand the pressure of cranking a show out per week and deal with all of the challenges that we face for every show. It’s really not … Read More

April 25 / 2012 – Beethoven’s Fidelio

I was inspired to take in an Opera last night. And for those of you that have never been, it’s usually a spectacle of sight and sound. Also, due to the fact that I’ve been privy to the inner workings … Read More

April 27 / 2012 – Back to Calgary for Shoulder to Shoulder Militaria

Today, I met the latest Battle Scars TV series sponsor at Shoulder to Shoulder Militaria. Reid Moseley hosted two new segments; one on his astounding collection of war badges and the other on German collectables. Watch for upcoming segments in … Read More

April 29 / 2012 – Watch Battle Scars Episode 08 Now

THE PPCLI – PART THREE                                                                         (4:30) Welcome to the PPCLI with Major Kevin Barry The Major is joined with amateur historian Major Jade Watson. The two give a brief talk on the history of the regiment from the formation … Read More

April 12 / 2012 – DND Milestone

Part of this process is gaining the permission to use appropriate footage, photos, archival recorded materials and so on in our productions. We’ve been working with Canada’s Department of National Defence for 4 years but only now did we just … Read More

April 11 / 2012 – Battle Scars Episode 6 Airs This Week – James Lange and Niel Gow!

One of the challenges that we face each week is assembling the shows and getting the timing of each show just right. For example, if we plan that a segment on James Lange, Canada’s Most Prolific Jumper, should be 8 … Read More

April 10 / 2012 – Back to Kerr Museum

I spent the morning and part of the afternoon with Allan Kerr today. We did a nice segment on Trench Art and does he ever have a lot of it. Wow!

Also, managed to kick it on a Children of … Read More

April 10 / 2012 – Edmonton Aviation Heritage Centre

I was invited to come out to the Edmonton Aviation Heritage Centre today and film three more segments. What a busy day! I was met by the Executive Director Tom Hinderks and we began production on the segments:

Read More

April 6 / 2012 – The Shooting Edge

I was happy to get into Calgary this weekend and see JR Cox and Brian Kenney at The Shooting Edge. We filmed their commercial and it was a perfect time to do so; the place was packed from floor to … Read More

April 7 / 2012 – Calgary Gun Show

I loaded in at the gun show Saturday morning and having arrived at about 11, would require that I hump gear across the Round Up Centre parking lot which was seemed to be about a quarter mile. This got me … Read More

April 6 / 2012 – The Military Museums

Rory Cory is the head curator at the Military Museums in Calgary – he was kind enough to give me a personal tour of the main storage area for over 95% of the museums collections. It was awesome to say … Read More

April 7 / 2012 – Crown Surplus

I also got out to film the commercial for our Calgary sponsors in Calgary, Crown Surplus. Gordon and son John have been longtime supporters of the military of course, but what I did not know is that they’ve also worked … Read More

April 7 / 2012 – The Calgary Crew

Was cool to have time to hang with Rui at his place again. With Sabina out of town, Rui was served baked green beans and some top shelf Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. While we seem to be cut from … Read More

April 7 – 2012 – Happy Birthday to Bill Dickson

The Captain is one of my favorite people in the whole world, just in case you did not know that. He’s provided mentorship, friendship and a world of wisdom that made the impossible possible; the movie and the TV series … Read More

April 8 / 2012 – Episode 04 WATCH IT NOW

This episode is entirely dedicated to the memory of Corporal Michael Starker who was killed in Afghanistan in 2008.

Read More

April 9 / 2012 – Battle Scars EPISODE 5 – WATCH IT NOW

Battle Scars – S01 E05 – Canada’s Military in Peace and War. Episode 5 of Battle Scars features the following stories:

THE CORPS OF COMMISSIONAIRES: Northern Alberta, NWT, and Nunavut Division            Providing meaningful employment opportunities … Read More

April 5 / 2012 – Battle Scars Episode 03

This is episode 03 of the first season of Battle Scars.

This episode features the following segments:

YMCA – Protecting the Souls of Soldiers in War An overview of an organization that played a vital role … Read More

April 2 / 2012 – Welcome The Shooting Edge

JR Cox at the Shooting Edge is ex-Airborne and the first Calgary company to come on board as a sponsor. Our friend and ex-Somalia 2 Commando veteran Brian Kenney is a trainer and manager at the shop, and they welcomed … Read More

April 3 / 2012 – 408th Squadron in Tactical Skills Training

The Shooting Edge welcomed me recently to film a segment about some fo the soldiers from 408 Squadron in Edmonton. We filmed their exercises and will be producig a segment for an upcoming episode of Battle Scars. Thanks to all … Read More

April 4 / 2012 – Niel Gow – The Duty Bugler

Here is another poignant example of how one’s nature can be both inescapable and tiresome and yet sometimes, bare great fruit. It can be a reminder that although you tend to pour over the details at times and examine the … Read More

Aprtil 4 / 2012 – Shaw TV Scheduling Changes for Edmonton week starting April 9

From time to time, Shaw TV will make changes to the airing schedule of Battle Scars.

Wednesday April 11 – Battle Scars will air at 6pm instead of 8PMFriday April 13 – Battle Scars will air at 8:30 PM … Read More

March 20 / 2012 – RING OF FIRE

Ring of Fire is an exhibit that is showing at the Military Museums in Calgary. This segment works in conjunction with our ongoing series about Canada’s Defence of Canada in British Columbia during WWII.

Read More

March 20 / 2012 SHAW Schedule Changes for Battle Scars for next week Episode #4

Wed Mar 28Battle Scars #4 will appear at 7:00pm instead of 8:00PM Fri Mar 30Battle Scars will appear at 7:30pm instead of 8:30PM

Saturday March 31Battle Scars will appear at 6:00PM at usual. Sun Apr 1Batte Scars will appear at 10:00pm instead … Read More

March 19 / 2012 – SHAW Adds Fourth Weekly Time Slot For BATTLE SCARS

Thanks to our friends at Shaw TV, you can enjoy the latest episodes of Battle Scars FOUR TIMES a week. The new time slot is Friday at 8:30PM.

Wed. 8:00PM (Can be pre-empted by WHL Hockey)Fri. 8:30PM (Can be pre-empted … Read More

March 14 / 2012 – The New and Improved Tourniquet

Bill and I were at the base today over at the 3PPCLI lines. I’ve been working with Bill and Chris Kopp and his crew over at CTOMS to assemble the assets together for our documentary short on the Tourniquet. In … Read More