“…yet there is no conceivable time or occasion when you will find them in such countless numbers and in gayer or more jovial spirits, than around a dead sperm whale; moored by night to a whaleship at sea. If you have never seen that sight then suspend your decision about the propriety of devil-worship, and the expediency of conciliating the devil.”
Herman Melville, “Moby Dick”, 1851.
HAS RORY BEEN KIDNAPPED AND HELD HOSTAGE IN SCOTLAND?
The rumour mill has been churning in my hood. We are encountering the usual gang of dogs and owners and the latter look at me in disbelief asking who the new dog is and what happened to that Westie Rory? It is if I had been kidnapped and held hostage in some run-down pub in Peterhead, Scotland!
Bob needs to convince them I am Rory Dylan Stephen! It has taken some time to sink in but I think they finally believe him. Whoever could have thought a puppy could be the victim of mistaken identity!
“I went off flabbergasted by what I had seen and trying to imagine what tribe of creatures she belonged to, hunting as obviously she did on this sepulchral terrain. Was she a single prostitute who had struck on the brilliant idea of frequenting graveyards and picking up unhappy men still haunted by the loss of a wife or mistress and troubled by the memory of past caresses? Was she unique? Or were there more like her? Was it a professional speciality to work the cemetery like the street? The loved one of those laid to rest! Or was she alone in having conceived the psychologically sound idea of exploiting the feelings of amorous nostalgia awakened in these mournful venues.
I was longing to know whose widow she had chosen to be that day.”
Guy de Maupassant, “Laid to Rest”, b 1850 d 1893.
“The neighbours sometimes talked of ‘certain better days’ that little Mrs Sommers had known before she had ever thought of being Mrs Sommers. She herself indulged in no such morbid retrospection. She had no time-no second of time to devote to the past. The needs of the present absorbed her every faculty. A vision of the future like some dim gaunt monster sometimes appalled her, but luckily tomorrow never comes.”
Kate Chopin, “A Pair of Silk Stockings”, Kate Chopin b1850 d1904
“She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.
She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked saved with love upon her, fixed and grey and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.”
Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour”, Kate Chopin b1850 d1904
“He stared at the opposite bank where an angler was fishing, his line perfectly still. All of a sudden the man jerked out the water a little silver fish which wriggled at the end of his line. Twisting it this way and that he tried to extract his hook, but in vain. Losing his patience he started pulling and as he did so, tore out the entire bloody gullet of the fish with parts of its intestines attached. Paul shuddered, feeling himself equally torn part. It seemed to him that the hook was like his own love and that if he were to tear it out he too would be gutted by a piece of curved wire hooked deep into his essential self at the end of a line held by Madeline.”
Guy de Maupassant, “Femme Fatale”, b 1850 d 1893.
“The fact was that despite himself, without knowing why how it had happened and very much against his better judgement, he had fallen hopelessly in love. He had fallen as if into some deep and muddy hole. By nature he was a delicate and sensitive soul. He had had ideals and dreamed of an exquisite and passionate affair. And now he had fallen for this little cricket of a creature. She was as stupid as every other woman and not even pretty to make up for it. Skinny and foul-tempered, she had taken possession of him entirely from tip to toe, body and soul. He had fallen under the omnipotent and mysterious spell of the female. He was overwhelmed by this colossal force of unknown origin, the demon in flesh capable of hurling the most rational man in the world at the feet of a worthless harlot.”
Guy de Maupassant, “Femme Fatale”, b 1850 d 1893.
“Despite the proximity of the river and the huge trees shadowing it, the place was suffocatingly hot. Mingling with the fumes of spilt drinks came the smell of flesh and the cheap perfume with which the skin of those trading in sex was drenched. Underlying all these smells was the slight but persistent aroma of talc, which wafted with varying intensity as if an unseen hand were waving some gigantic powder-puff over the entire scene.”
Guy de Maupassant, “Femme Fatale”, b 1850 d 1893.
Benny (Skene Kittle) half Japanese and half Caucasian undergoes a “Beyond Asian” procedure which erases all non-Asian heritage and implants artificial memories transforming Benny into a Full Asian.
A journey into what being fully white or fully Asian might have been and Benny’s reaction to those different scenarios.
Rather psychedelic and complex short film leading to the inescapable conclusion of careful what you wish for.
Dr. Frankenstein created a monster. Creating Benny into a Full Asian is something causing great rejection on Benny’s part. He is content being who he is
A fantasy with a message.
Director and writer Ely Davidson.
The film was shown at an 11April2026 Crazy8’s Gala Screening in Vancouver.
RKS CANADIAN Film Rating 80/100.
Crazy8s is an 8-day short filmmaking challenge and program that provides support and funding to emerging filmmakers to produce a short film and provides training opportunities to crew and cast. Each year, more than 100 teams apply to be part of Crazy8s.
Crazy8s is run by the Crazy8s Film Society, a registered British Columbia not-for-profit organization. Its mandate is to foster support for emerging and mid-career BC-based, Canadian short filmmakers who have limited access to resources or funding to produce professional-quality short-form content. Since 1999, Crazy8s has produced 151 short films that have gone on to win awards at film festivals worldwide.
It is the 25th anniversary of the bingo hall and a documentary film crew is there to film it all.
Dave (David Landmark) is the caller. A nerdy guy that has been calling since the age of 12 but he barely possesses the ability to ride his bicycle without crashing it.
Dave has throat problems and at times can’t properly call and to add to his woes an automated caller is being introduced.
Bingo as he and its patrons know is dying, as in many respects society is with automation and artificial intelligence. Bingo for Dave is a calling, and he compares himself to a preacher when calling.
Will bingo die at this bingo hall or can it be resurrected to the higher calling as it was always intended to be?
A short that contemplates more than a bingo hall.
Director Mariel Calvo. Writer Miguel Da Ponte.
The film was shown at an 11April2026 Crazy8’s Gala Screening in Vancouver.
RKS CANADIAN Film Rating 83/100.
Crazy8s is an 8-day short filmmaking challenge and program that provides support and funding to emerging filmmakers to produce a short film and provides training opportunities to crew and cast. Each year, more than 100 teams apply to be part of Crazy8s.
Crazy8s is run by the Crazy8s Film Society, a registered British Columbia not-for-profit organization. Its mandate is to foster support for emerging and mid-career BC-based, Canadian short filmmakers who have limited access to resources or funding to produce professional-quality short-form content. Since 1999, Crazy8s has produced 151 short films that have gone on to win awards at film festivals worldwide.
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