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There’s a good article in the New York Times about a mysterious new syndrome hitting honeybees. Some people are calling it Sudden Bee Death. (You need to register at NYTimes.com to read the article but registration is free.) This is a scary syndrome. Noone’s really sure what’s going on. It’ll be interesting to see what develops.

On a happier note, our bees appear alive and well and we expect most of them to make it through the winter. Still… we’re on pins and needles waiting for more information.

When I started this blog back in July 2006 I had two goals in mind. One – I wanted to use writing to create links between the work I’m doing as a painter, a filmmaker (and a beekeeper)! And two – I wanted to give you, my readers, a reason to keep coming back to my site by providing useful and / or interesting dynamic content about artmaking.

It’s been a fun experiment. Now that I’m getting comfy with the idea of writing for public consumption I’m ready to raise the bar by increasing the frequency and regularity of my posts. So starting next week I’ll plan to post weekly with new posts arriving on Tuesdays. See you then!

Ooh! One of the unexpected bennies of joining the IFP this year to promote SISTER BEE was receiving an invitation to vote on the 2007 Spirit Awards. Fun project. I confess… I didn’t get to view all the nominees but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Andy and I spent the last three weeks studying up – watching a nominee a night – trying to cram them all in. I won’t bore you with a blow by blow of each film. But thought I’d pass the word along about some stellar films you may not yet have had a chance to see.

MOST CHARMING
Had to be WRISTCUTTERS. A romantic comedy in the vein of “Harold and Maude,” WRISTCUTTERS features the surreal yet banal adventures of a motley group of suicides as they navigate the afterworld in search of love and hope. Quirky story. Great cast (Tom Waits, Patrick Fugit). Wistful. Strangely uplifting. Don’t let the title turn you off.

MOST HIP
FOUR EYED MONSTERS. Hmm… how to describe this innovative film? Two young artists (a filmmaker and a painter) meet online and carry out an experimental courtship in which they choose not to speak. They communicate by scrawling post-its, tapping out email, IM’s and making video blogs and collaborative drawings. It’s a semi-autobiographical film with a documentary feel. I didn’t make a love connection with either of the principal characters but had a blast watching them play at making art out of bits and bytes. Beautifully shot. Absolutely worth a look-see.

MOST ARTFUL FREAK SHOW
In the mood for something a different? Check out BROTHERS OF THE HEAD. Another feature-shot-like-a-documentary about a set of conjoined twins – teenage brothers who become punk stars after an ambitious music promoter whisks them away from their childhood home and teaches them how to play guitar. BROTHERS OF THE HEAD offers a punk-poetic exploration of celebrity, individuality, brotherhood and privacy. Creepy-beautiful.

MOST THRILLING
I don’t want to give away any plot points for SORRY, HATERS (which, by the way, turned out NOT to be the sensitive, character-driven film about race relations in post 9-11 New York I thought it was going to be). Let’s just say that Robin Wright Penn’s portrayal of a New York career woman who takes a fateful cab ride rivals Glenn Close’s performance in FATAL ATTRACTION for most hair raising. SORRY, HATERS is an uncompromising thriller that left my jaw hanging. If you get a chance to see it, drop me a line. I’d love to hear what you think.

BEST PERFORMANCE
Ryan Gosling garnered an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a drug-addicted school teacher in HALF NELSON. Light on plot but heavy on character and atmosphere I appreciated this film’s slowness which seemed about love to me.

I’m the type of person who likes to lift the lid. Look inside. Peek underneath. This makes winter tough for me as a beekeeper.

Winter’s a risky season for the bees. There’s no forage. The weather’s mostly too cold or windy for flying. (Bees fastidiously avoid defecating in the hive and will literally “hold it” until the weather warms up enough for them to leave on cleansing flights.) They’re more vulnerable to varroa mites, intestinal distress and other diseases in the winter than at any other time of the year.

Of course, I’m curious to see how they’re doing. (Aren’t you?) But lifting the lid is verboten! Opening a hive in winter can profoundly disrupt the bees’ winter cluster putting the queen and the entire colony at risk of dying from the cold. So it’s my job to do what I can to support their health from spring through fall and then just leave them alone.

It’s been a fierce winter here in Boulder. Record breaking amounts of snow. Deep cold. The bees have been quiet for weeks. I’ve felt anxious and curious about how they’re doing. So it was great see them flying yesterday! It was a warm day. Low to mid sixties. Perfect for cleansing flights. I took a break from my computer to watch them circling over the snow. The windshield of my car is covered with bee poo (healthy amber splotches about the size of a nail head). When I drove downtown to do errands yesterday it made me smile. Although it’s too early to predict who’ll make it through the winter and who won’t. We’ve still got two months of snow before the dandelions bloom.