Back from a break

Being burned out from being at the computer all day and night, everyday for years: it was time for me to pursue my original dream of driving a semi truck. So I did! For the past 2 years, on and off, I have been driving 2 different Peterbilts all over Canada and the north western States and loving it!

At first I was with a pal's brother in a brand spanking new 2014 beauty that we drove all over, in one of the worst winters in Canadian history! Talk about being thrown to the wolves! But thanks to my many years of mountain driving in Colorado, I did fine and avoided the ditches all winter long... and it was long! I took a break in the spring to go back to the flowers which I love and then started up with 18 wheelers again in the fall.

I hauled cattle mostly, but other things too: in a 1998 POS.  Wait, I mean POL---"poor old lady" and she was something. Barely meeting the safety requirements, and at the end I had to tie the seat belt around the passenger's seat to keep the door shut, but I was learning on my own, and it was a good experience to have for the future.

During this time, I thought about water usage many times—while cleaning out the cattle trailers and other vans after hauling fresh produce. As the water was gushing out of the fire hoses, I couldn’t help but think that almost a billion people around the world still lack fresh water. Even with all the hundreds of organizations that help--and that number continues to grow as people realize the magnitude of this problem—it’s still unbelievable that the modern world has this issue. Perfectly clean water was wasted on cleaning out cattle poop and it just rubbed me the wrong way.

There is still such an important message that HAS to get to the general public!!

The message? If we don’t change our behaviour about wasteful water usage, it’s not going to be only states like California and Texas who are severely suffering from water shortages, drought and conservation troubles. It’s not just a small issue anymore and hasn’t been for years, but people ignore the reality of water situations in their everyday life, and continue to be wasteful. They will change when they have to change, and it might be too late.

Yes there are many people who know and care about issues like tap water vs. bottled water, water shortages, ecosystems that are shot because of water abuse, and lots of other problems, but they're the same people who watch documentaries about it and do things to help. They are NOT the everyday general population who really has to be informed because it will affect future generations to years to come!

What better way to get people to learn, than for this message to be inside a fun movie. People watch movies all the time! And I don't mean documentaries. But use it to teach and raise money to help... By the way, "Did I Say Thousand Island?"  has now been seen in 202 countries----there are only 196 recognized countries! Think about THAT! Somewhere on some remote island, in some remote sea, there are people who have seen this movie! Really unbelievable, but true.

This website “Remake 4 Water” has been up for a few years and although the format hasn’t changed too much, and I've kept current to some extent, I have now updated the old links and statistics that have changed. I will never give up on this.

People have to start becoming more responsible about water usage. Big troubles will happen sooner than most people know. Plain and simple.

California or bust!

Yeah... Lets go to California where the grass is green all year long, the sun is always shinning and life is great!

Well, maybe things aren't so great there at the moment. Matter of fact they're terrible. The worst drought since records have been in existence... I have read in some articles.

Been a long time since I have blogged, but I still care very much about the state of water affairs in our world today and frankly, it stinks! I went to a meeting back in October that featured Maude Barlow, who chairs the Council of Canadians. I was shocked to see that the number in attendance was sadly small considering the importance of the topic. She recently launched her latest book: Blue Future, and she talked about the water situation in Canada as well as the rest of the world. It's worse than I even thought and I have done a considerable amount of research on the subject ever since starting my Remake 4 Water project.

When are people going to realize that we need to DO something and on a big scale!? Hopefully before it's too late to fix the damage. What about the kids in the next generation? Like the 2 little girls in this photo, Gina (8) and Sydney (9). (Photo credit  goes to Rich Pedroncelli/ AP) What's going to happen when they are older and raising families? Is there going to be clean water for them? California or elsewhere....?

They are walking on rocks that are usually at the waters edge.

People have to learn to conserve water now and get used to saving water everyday. It's much easier to modify behaviors on a smaller scale when they need to, and avoid such drastic measures when droughts hit. Public awareness is sadly lacking despite all the warnings. I still believe that a movie that is relatable to everyone (we all go out to eat), and about a subject that is closely related to water (restaurants), would be a great way to get the message out that we need to change our relationship with water, and sooner rather than later!

Speaking of the movie, on one site alone--and it's downloadable on many sites, but on Mininova which tracks countries, it's been seen in 195 countries. Considering that there are 196 countries recognized by the UN, not too shabby for a no budget indie effort! Yahoo, only 1 to go!

Ok, that's about it for now. I will never quit in my search for the right person to remake my "still growing after 7 years" movie, but I have been very busy with my new career, so back to it. What am I doing rather than wasting time blogging? What I have wanted to do for many years but it wasn't time yet.....till now........driving the big rigs! Yup! 18 wheels a turnin'! So catch ya on the flip side....We gone ba bye!

Colorado Drought

Not only was I able to see the incredible drought in the Midwest this year,  now, unfortunately, I've seen it in my beloved Colorado. I lived there for about 15 years and saw variation in water levels of Dillon Reservoir, but this year was especially a down year. Why is this important? Because it's part of Denver's water source. Actually it's about 40% of it, and many people in Summit County and Denver know this.

But not everyone knows their water source, and from this article by The Nature Conservancy it appears that most people don't. What does that translate to? Public Awareness. Oh yeah... that! Again. 

If you know what my mission is, you are not surprised by this information, if you don't know what my mission is, here you go: To remake a movie that has already been seen all over the world, and use it to bring funds and AWARENESS to the Global Water Crisis. Simple idea really, and a very timely one with all the drought situations in the world.


"Denver Water invests millions of dollars into conservation programs to encourage customers to reduce their use." Found this line when making sure I had the right info about Denver water. It's all about learning, then being aware, then changing behavior. Just like smoking (see below) is a behavior, so is water conservation. And if it becomes an addiction, wow, what a great addiction that is! I've had it for years and it's served me well. My record for water use when I lived in my cabin on the side of a mountain in Colorado was 68 gallons of water for 6 1/2 weeks, including 25 plants and a thirsty dog. (not including showers which I took short ones elsewhere).

When I was just there visiting, I had a few "water police" moments with 3 different people. Two of them know about the water project so I was quite surprised! One didn't remember so he was forgiven... actually I hope he forgave me when I reached over and turned off the water that was running while he wiped around the counter top! And when I was doing the dishes at another place, I put a bit of water in a pan, added soap, and this is what happened:

"What are you doing? my friend asked.
"I'm doing the dishes."
"Why are you using the pan?"
"Because I don't fill up the sink, I just use a pan or bowl."
"But it's a dirty pan."
"No it's rinsed. Why, how do you do dishes?"
"I just do them under the running water."
"You let the water run?!?!"
"...Ah...yeah..."

IN Denver! Where there is a drought!! So it's just not just a matter of awareness, but finding a way to make people change their behavior. But can "Hollywood" do this? Do people actually pay attention to celebrities? Ummm let's see...

We all know that humans are influenced by famous people and especially by "Hollywood"--good or bad. Remember the old movies when everyone smoked? Well, it was cool to smoke back then because the actors in all the movies did it, and... hey wait a minute! I just looked up smoking in the movies and was shocked to see that it still goes on! (ironically I actually don't watch many movies) But look at this site, and if you search: "smoking in the movies facts" you'll find a bunch.

People magazine pretty much is all about celebrities right? And Time magazine is about serious news. Even though many printed magazine numbers are declining somewhat, here are statistics from the Audit Bureau of Circulations:  by June 30, 2012 People was at 3,563,035, and Time was at 3,276,822 -- not a lot of difference, but while People increased .2%, since 2011, Time decreased 2.9%. AND, for the Top 25 U.S. Consumer Magazines by Single-Copy Sales, Time didn't even make the list! People was at #4 with Cosmopolitan, Woman's World and First For Women on top. (Newsweek wasn't on any lists at all.)

By the way this goes along with what my friend said about escapism in the movies: "We are in the longest period since Vietnam." Yup, that is why people don't go to see documentaries as much as the "Hollywood" narrative movies. People don't want to get depressed and serious, they want to be entertained!

Bottom line? Same as I have been saying all along. Why not use the platform that is already established to do something good! Messages can be very effective if placed in movies...we know that. People pay attention to celebrities. We know that too...Wouldn't it be great if "Hollywood" had a campaign where instead of being cool by collecting all the __________ from the _________series, (which end up in a landfill anyway) you could be cool by helping people get water and learning how you can help yourself? How? By being entertained and going to see the "Did I Say Thousand Island?" series. Wouldn't that be cool?

What Colour is Your Washing?

Green or pink? Are you confused? Well, this has to do with social responsibility, social awareness and giving: which is what my mission is all about.

These are from Wikipedia:

Greenwashing:  Marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization's aims and policies are environmentally friendly.

Pinkwashing: The promotion of consumer goods and services using the pink ribbon that represents support for breast cancer-related charities.

Why am I bringing these rather negative terms up? Recently by chance, I saw a great documentary about 'buying to help others', named "Philanthropy Inc."  The tag line: How the new world of strategic marketing has turned charity into a profit center. It was very informative and educational and is one to watch for sure. So I am discussing this because it shows how the idea of R4W will work.

I have 4 pages of notes from the film but I'll just touch on what is pertinent to my mission. First, this is a new wave. The whole "shared value" idea has certainly taken hold, so the time for a benefit movie is perfect. They mention the power of marrying brands to raise awareness and making positive changes, so having a movie that serves as a tool for raising funds and awareness fits right into this new formula.

As much as many people don't like Walmart for some of it's practices, when Katrina hit, Walmart beat the government in getting aid to the people, and regardless of how cynical some people reacted to that, the bottom line is that help was where it needed to be. Walmart went from a dragon, to a rescuer, which exemplified the power of corporate philanthropy.

Water was a huge issue when the documentary mentioned the partnership of the WWF and Coca Cola and unfortunately not much was positive. The water wars in India and China are especially a concern and although this film was made in 2009, there are still issues going on. So awareness about partnerships is very important.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation is the breast cancer awareness leader and has its pink ribbon on many products, but there was quite a story about Yoplait yogurt and the rBGH hormones that was in the milk used in its production. A controversy grew. A foundation that supports cancer research was partnering with a product that contained an ingredient that actually caused cancer? Think Before You Pink fought this and won. rBGH is no longer in Yoplait. It was very inspirational that people can make a difference when they believe in something.

The filmmakers showed both sides. Corporate philanthropy was criticized in the film, more than once. It's just marketing. Are they really altruistic?  They're just benefiting from good press.

So. What about Remake 4 Water? What about a movie that would raise awareness and funds for the Global Water Crisis. Is it going to be green, pink or even brainwashing? NONE of the above!

1. Hollywood already has the market on movies. There isn't any competition.
2. People already go to see movies. There isn't any controversy.
3. It would look good for Hollywood. (Not a bad idea.)
4. People already go to see movies. They aren't changing behaviour.
5. Water and restaurants have a natural relationship. No hormones needed. (Just seeing if you're awake!)

Water is an extremely important issue that needs to be addressed. Hollywood is seen as a single entity. Not many people on the outside speak in specifics like studios or publicity companies. It's all lumped together. So this Hollywood "corporation" wouldn't be criticized because it's Celebs Doing Good and people would know they are helping by going to watch a movie. We all like to be part of a good thing.

You know that march on Walstreet? I have been saying for a long time that it will eventually happen to the entertainment world like, sports and Hollywood. So how about if we beat the "Holiday Rush" and have some good things come out sooner rather than later? Sounds good to me. C'mon. Let's Do It!

Massive Drought

Having been in the Midwest and South in the States recently, I saw the massive damage that this drought is causing,  From Wisconsin to Florida and back, what I saw was worse than I personally had ever seen. Is this photo typical? It is of the drought! This is in Wisconsin in July where it's supposed to be green. Anyone in those places and pretty much the whole land east of the Mississippi knows what I am talking about. Oh wait, forgot Texas. Can't even imagine.

This reinforces the mission of raising awareness of water conservation within the general public. Sure they're thinking about it right now because it's "in their face" but water conservation needs to be a way of life all the time, every day, not just when it's bad. People need to be aware of the ways in which they can conserve and steward their water. Here on this page is an e-book that gives you about 100 practical and easy ways to save water.

Flying back to Western Canada and seeing how green it is here was amazing. It's exactly opposite of what is normal for this part of the world. Climate changes are real no matter what you call them or how you use them for your own agendas. Here's an article that was in The Globe and Mail, a newspaper here in Canada. It talks about climate change and some of the factors. Interesting read.

This is a sad topic today. Not the usual upbeat "let's do it" emotion. Maybe it's because sometimes this problem of water seems so huge that there's no way to fix, help, change, modify or address it. But then I remember that almost a year ago I was at the UN for the water forum and has anything happened? Is there any big public plan going on that people are talking about? Do you hear about a public movement to change water issues? Nope, nope nope. Don't hear it. Only the problems.

So I quit. I quit thinking that it's too big. Why?? Because it's too important. Water is just too important. So I am going to keep on telling people about the mission and am going to contact those Hollywood people who have the power to influence the masses and we're going to make this happen! 

We need to be aware. We need to be educated. We need to change our behaviours to protect our valuable resources like water or it's not going to be pretty and I'm not talking just landscapes...


Hi Family! No one reads these blogs, so I am putting a link to the family reunion book that I made. Enjoy! 

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

For The Record

Blogging used to be a simple way to share thoughts with others. It's escalated into so much more but I never caught on so back to basics and sharing thoughts just for the record.

Water. Always been my thing. Always been on water patrol everywhere I went.

Waitressing. Loved it all my life. Yup, got the university degree, and from a great school by the way, but stayed out of the corporate world. Just didn't fit my life (and I'm not alone).

Movies. Fun to watch, but never wanted to be in the biz. Still don't and won't ever be.

Why these three things? No idea. Just the way it happened. Now my mission has to do with all three.

You know? I just want to help servers to be seen in a way that isn't degrading. I want to tell the public in a nice way, that they might want to consider changing their opinions about servers. (AND I heard it again on Friday night) "People are waitresses because they can't do anything else."  Really? But I loved my job and made good money, even though I always hated filling out my tax forms and wished I didn't have to put "waitress" as my job. I hate to admit it that I allowed others to influence my feelings, but I always felt inferior, and I'm not alone it that either. "A real job"? Tried them. Made less money. Had more stress. Had less fun. I was miserable. Sure if I stuck to them for years I would have made more money, but it was never that important to me. My freedom and quality of life has always been worth more. Call me crazy that's fine with me--always have been, but it's kept me from goin' insane. Sing it Waylon!

I want to help people know that water is a concern that has to be addressed. We really can't waste much more time on this fact. So how do we address it? Stars! With stars! Not the kind that twinkle, the kind that billions of people have to know what they do. The kind that everyone wants to follow, copy or be associated with. If you put a Hollywood star and a Nobel Peace Prize winner in the same room. Who do you think will get the most attention? Who draws the crowds?

So remake a movie that has already been seen all over the world. Put together a soundtrack that has music that crosses generations (which is easy to do these days), and open it on World Water Day or during World Water Week and get money for water orgs. After that, everyone can make their money.

I haven't written this down, but have told some people: when I got back from Ireland where I lived while I was writing the script, I happened to watch "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when it was released on DVD. I ended up watching it twice in a row-- listening to the commentary the second time. I had 4 pages of notes. Nia and I were thinking and feeling the same things when we were writing our respective movie and how we hoped people would feel when they watched it! I was amazed and very happy at the time. I was on the right track, and now I know my movie hits a nerve--in a good way.

Is it crazy to think that any good clean movies, fund raising events (outside of politics) or generous group actions can come out of Hollywood anymore? I don't think so. Despite what so many people on the street say, I think there are a lot of good people there who are getting involved in social issues even more in innovative ways. Use up and coming stars. Use interns and film schools to supply the crew. Use the companies that are water conscious to have product placement. Use existing music from musicians who care about water. Have the CD sales go to water. Advertize who is involved and showcase their generosity and concern. We seem to do it with all the bad, why not with some good for a change?

My friend cautioned me as what to write here in this blog, but I just want to shout: IT'S SO EASY, THIS WOULD HELP! IT CAN BE DONE! I ALREADY HAVE AN AUDIENCE! As a Hollywood movie this would be popular. It already is. Here's an idea. We already have: get this free action toy at _________when you buy a ________. Some plastic thing that is played with for a day and ends up in a land fill. Let's try: get this refillable water bottle at ___________ when you buy a  large salad  (promoting healthy eating while we're at it) during opening week. Let's use social media to promote and not spend millions on advertising. Word of mouth works we all know that! There are loads of ideas and ways to make this happen that would benefit so many people.

Being raised in the burbs of Chicago but born on a farm, my dream was always to live in a cabin in the mountains and have a horse. Well I've had that for years so I have to default to one of my other dreams. That was: to do something big that would help a lot of people. Never had a clue how, what or if that was even possible. Well it is and this is it. So crazy as it might be, I will persist. There will be someone who discovers Remake 4 Water and says, hey, she might have something there.

Last Call At The Oasis

Wonderful. Shot beautifully. Very Interesting.

That's the impression from the trailer and the reviews concerning the latest documentary about the water situation in the world. This film however doesn't focus on Third World countries, rather on the US (in particular the Western States), Australia and even Palestine. The Toronto Review states:

The Bottom Line:

Doc about more-urgent-than-you-think water issues wisely focuses on their relevance to the U.S.

Erin Brockovich (remember her... the Julia Roberts movie? of course you do), Peter Gleick (yes I know he's in hot water at the moment) and Patricia Mulroy are the main speakers in this film that is praised by both critics and viewers. Rotten Tomatoes website gave it a great rating --85%. And the info about the movie sounds like a movie that could be interesting: "The global water crisis will be the central issue facing our world this century. We can manage this problem, but only if we are willing to act now. Last Call at the Oasis is a powerful new documentary that shatters myths behind our most precious resource."

It's not all doom and gloom about the world water shortages as many docs are. But even with this beautiful and positive spin on a problem that affects ALL of us, here are the box office numbers for a movie that was screened at 4 film festivals: After 3 weeks at the theatres, it's has earned...drum roll please.... almost $41,000! WOW....

Even "What To Expect When You're Expecting" which was rated at 22% by Rotten Tomatoes earned $22.1 million. Ok, it had a wide release and Oasis had a very small release, but that fact in itself reveals another point of Remake 4 Water. People don't go and see documentaries no matter how great they are. They go and see Hollywood movies, no matter how not-so-great they are! Not everyone in the world is going to get pregnant, but WE ALL ARE GOING TO BE AFFECTED BY WATER! We already are. Most of us just aren't aware.....

Yet.

Time for putting a serious message into a fun movie which by the way has already been seen in 185 countries. (Just added another this week!!) Then people will go and see it and afterwards think about it, and not feel they were hit over the head. "These things must be done del-i-cate-ly....." Quote from a green faced women who scared me as a child... C'mon! Let's Do It!

World Water Day Documentary

It came and went. Did you know? If you're like most people, you didn't.

Many thanks go out to Zoe Slusar and Bailey Kerluke of Untitled Productions who made a short documentary that brings up the issue of water awareness. You can see it on their website. It's a pretty awesome short and you can certainly tell the difference between people who want to be and who are film makers, and someone who had no idea what they are doing--like Did I Say Thousand Island? . But I did know that I would never quit.

So it is with Remake 4 Water.

Did you watch the video mentioned above? Did you notice what was said between 5:43 and 6:15? This was just a regular gal who said exactly what Remake 4 Water is all about! I was there when they were shooting to talk to people after their shot, but not before hand--they had no idea about R4W. How great is that? Sooner or later the right people will find out about this and see the validity and marketability of this concept involving restaurants.

Things are still changing. Movies that are made outside the big studios are being seen by the public in masses. October Baby is one that is doing well. It's a story that touches on a social issue, as does the movie Bully . Both of these are narratives which have higher attendance than documentaries, which is good, but they're not happy movies and some say too political or religious, depending.

We are still in a long era of escapism in the movies and I know that a fun movie that has an important but subtle message that affects all of us would be successful. By combining the subject matters while still being light hearted, it will draw people who want to be entertained. By addressing an issue that absolutely needs our attention, it will serve a purpose. C'mon. Let's Do It!