Of Jackalopes and Apple's Brilliance

I had the great pleasure this week of enlighting a friend to the amazing world of the Jackalope. Growing up in the midwest, I am, of course, aware of one of the great treasures of fly-over-country-America. Drive I-40 or I-35, and you're sure to find countless novelty shops and gas stations selling stuffed Jackalopes. Though I'm sad to see the little critters there and not bounding across the fruited plains like some miniature balls of antlered energy. They must be plentiful for them to be so readily available for purchase. Some people might claim that it's just a rabbit with antelope horns glued to it's head, but those folk just don't have a clue...I've not seen any zoological studies on the natural habitat of this imaginative little critter, but I'm sure it'll be published soon. Next time you're driving across the great plains, sure you might see some buffalo, antelope, prairie dogs and other such average creatures, but you make sure you keep an eye out for our beloved little Jackalopes... ...seriously, you'll puncture a tire on those horns if you're not paying attention. So it's been another week of fun at work and I've been spending a good deal of time on the phone talking to the great state of Pennsylvania. So much so that I picked up a Vonage this weekend. I'll post some thoughts when I've used it a bit. One of the coolest bits of news from the week is that Apple is making it so the new intel macs can dual boot to Apple's OS (a thing of simple elegance that I am coming more and more around to) and Windows XP (brute force that works...most of the time). My next computer purchase may just have to be....*gasp*....a mac workstation. My brother will be proud - he's a machead.

Wrapping up...

Song of the day - "Even Rats" - The Slip I'm a bit tardy in wrapping up my L.A trip, though I don't imagine there's too many people waiting for the close (except maybe my mom, "Hey, Mom!":). For her sake I'll close it off. Monday, I went for another nice jog in the morning and took a dip to swim a few (very few) laps. Then I headed down to meet up with Dave and some old SCAD friends at their studio. I hung out for a bit and Tracy made me draw her a caricature to put next to Daves over her desk (Dave's was better). It's funny what a small world it is. I got to talking to another of the animators there and he was a good friend of my art director on the project I'm on at Midway. Go figure. We decided to go out for a bite and I had cuban for the first time. It was a awesome. I got the Vegetariono (awful spelling I'm sure) that had blackbeans over white rice, carmelized plaintains and some interesting (but tasty) potatoes. To close it off, I had a bit of mango cheesecake which was incredible. I LOVE cheescake. We split up on the way back and I headed back to the hotel and took a little rest - processed some pictures and wrote a couple of emails. My mentor came to get me and we headed to North Hollywood for the film festival part and got there early on my bad intel so decided to get a bite to eat at Pizza place across the road. There was a nice cold drizzle with a rather warm temp (compared to Chicago evenings). It felt nice - I actually like a little cool mist in the air every now and then. When we finished up the meal and chatting we headed back over and saw the festival. There were some amazing films. I especially enjoyed "Tycho's Nova" and "Love Letter" (whose site doesn't appear to be up quite yet). They only showed the first place winners, I'd have liked to have seen the rest. I'm gonna try and track em down on the web when I get some down time. Tuesday, I went for a walk on Sunset Blvd and picked up a couple more books. I was also able to snag an "In and Out" Burger which, though tasty, had nothing on a OKC Johnnie's burger. The flight out was great with a breathtaking view of sunset over eastern California mountains and the Mojave desert. The rest of the week at work was cool. Nothing too crazy. However, Friday the game team went out for some Whirlyball fun. Nothing special this weekend except some freelance and running (both errands and the physical type). Hopefully my brother and I can hook up some iSight video chat so I can see him and the muchkin nephews. Good times. (Disclaimer: Sentimental babbling follows) I had a hard conversation with a friend today. It was hard, but it was good one. A lot of things are like that. Life doesn't have a handbook that makes finding your way easy. Heck, God didn't even really provide one in the Bible - most of it is stories of people stumbing through life just like us, meeting God along the way, and finding what life is like after that. Life is meant to be hard, it's meant to make us who we're supposed to be. I imagine that an easy life wouldn't be that much fun - like playing a video game on easy mode or going back to reading See Spot Run after having worked through Shakespeare. Growth is implied in our existence - we see it in the world around us in plants, animals, even celestial bodies. There's times that God is silent to me and there's times He's as real as my own skin. He's been very real lately and that's a blessing, but I know a time will come when I'll cry to the heavens and only hear the answer of my own echoing voice. I've been there before and I'll be there again. Life seems to be less about stoically marching along some certain path than stumbling through it together - sometimes you lean on another and sometimes they lean on you. The time comes when you find yourself on the precipice again and you don't know exactly will happen if you take that step - will you be dashed against the rocks or plunge into the sea? Only one way to find out. But for now, I've gotta wait.

L.A. Day Two

What a great morning. I got up, spent some time reading the book of Matthew a bit and went out to enjoy the absolutely glorious weather. So, I threw on my running shoes and was out the door. I started off going north towards some small mountains hoping I could find a way up them. I jogged a couple of miles and found a promising road with about a 15 degree incline and started up it (half way up, my jog became a rather labored hike). The road ended, but I spied a nice deer trail so started up the mountain. When I got to the top of one of it’s forks I took a seat and enjoyed the early morning sun washing downtown Hollywood in a glowing haze. To the east a few small sky scrappers climbed through the mist. To the North rolling mountains progressively turning blue on their march towards the horizon. Glorious. Thanks for the view, God. At that point I was wishing I brought along my camera - that is until I started back down the mountain. I had hoped to find a road up top to take back town but found jack squat except private property security fences so I headed back down the way I came - almost tumbling down more times than I’d like to admit. But, it was an adventure:) The best part of running up hills is running back down them. I love running down hills being on that verge of going so fast you’re going to take a rather nasty spill but not quite there - you’re running faster than you could ever run on a flat stretch. Like I said yesterday, I’m a goob. I ran back past the hotel and decided to run down hollywood strip where all the theaters stand and the star’s stars checker the sidewalk. On the way, I made note of a couple to come back to and headed back to the hotel, worked out a little in the gym and hopped in the pool. I miss swimming. I gotta find a place to go in Chicago. Running around L.A., I’m struck by a few thoughts- 1) many women here seem to have a peculiar allergy to clothing which seems to be particularly heightened at night which presents itself as wearing as little as possible or as tight as possible. 2) men who are young dress to look older and chic and men who are old dress to look young and hip. It’s a city of facades - of wanting to be thought more than one is. However, these are just the thoughts of a midwestern boy who probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about. After I cleaned up, it was time to get out to try out the camera a bit more. So I took lots of photos of stuff - if something looked halfway interesting, I prolly took a picture of it.

Levar Burton was kind enough to offer his star for a sec. This is the closest I think I'm gonna get:)

This little guy was kind enough to pose for me.

My buddy, David Bokser, picked me up around 1:00 to go grab a bite to eat. We were first heading to In and Out burger, but the wait there looked to be anything but “In and Out” so Dave suggested Thai. I think what I had was called “Thai Pad” or “Pan” or something to that effect - noodles, shrimp, chicken, some sort of sprouts and some chopped nuts. It was delicious. We hung out for the afternoon (making a detour to Target to get some black socks as I thankfully checked that morning and realized I didn't have em) then he brought me back to the hotel to clean up and was gonna meet me at the shindig. So, I got dudded up and went to find the rest of the student film makers to find the shuttle to the ceremony. The night was a lot of fun, all the film makers and folk from the academy were talkative and plenty of interesting conversations were just a “hello“ away. We had about an hour of cocktails and I met my assigned mentor and his wife and we had nice chat. Dinner, which is sometimes a bit interesting at catered formal events (not that I have a long list of ones I’ve attended), was really good - some sort of all-natural salad with figs and green leafy stuff I’ve never seen in the grocery store, some deliciously tender chicken and creamy sliced potatoes and book-ended with some personalized apple pie things closing out the courses. The awards ceremony itself was very well done and entertaining. It was great to see the clips of the winners; I can’t wait to see them in their entirety tomorrow at the festival. When my turn came, my heart was beating a mile a minute, but I managed not to trip going up the stage. I said a few thank yous and went to get some pictures taken. After it was all done, we milled about for a bit waiting for group pics. There were lots of celebrities - some I knew, others not. All the ones I had a chance to chat with were very warm and easy to talk to. Dave was excited to meet the director of ”24“ so I snapped pic of them and I met one of the guys from the ”Gilmore Girls” which, I’m a little ashamed to admit, I do watch from time to time. After that, we headed back to the hotel then a group of us headed back out into the night for a little ”after-party-party“ and sat in a cool little lounge bar till 2:00 in the morning chatting it up. By that time I was more than ready for bed and was happily greeted by my king sized sled to dreamland promptly upon return.

L.A. Day One

First things first, I got my kickin new camera AND my business cards yesterday which was quite the treat. So expect Lots - o - pictures. I started off the day to about 3 hours of sleep on account of scrambling to get some stuff together I had been counting on Kinkos to help me out with the previous evening. (Kinkos, I’m sorry, but we’re done) It would be ingenuous to place all of the blame squarely on their shoulders as I could have taken care of a lot of it earlier in the week, but I didn’t - I’m a goob. So I finished up everything about 3 am and got up at 6:15am or so sans alarm (the internal clock is still beating my digital one by about 40 minutes every day) and went and worked on on the mind numbing treadmill, got up and around and my roommate took me to the airport about 9:45. It’s awesome not traveling on the holidays, it took next to no time to get through security and to the boarding area. I hit the jackpot on my seat in the plane, I was in the first coach row after first class and my seat jutted out in the aisle a little so I had all the leg room I could possibly want (that is for my short little hobbit legs). It’s the mental comfort of knowing IF I was 6’ tall, I’d be just fine. My co-row passengers were a mom and daughter coming to Cali to decide if the daughter wanted to take a job here. They were nice folk and the mom was reading Captivating which was written by an author I really enjoy so we had something to chat about for a bit AND she gave me a stick of beef jerky and some big pretzel sticks so my meal-less fight wasn’t such a famine. When we were done chatting, I through on the IPod and enjoyed one of my favorite pastimes - reading. I finished one book and started another. The second was about a laugh a page for most of the remainder 4 1/2 hour flight. Donald Miller is an author that weaves insight and mirth into a fine tapestry of story that speaks to me in a way few authors do. He’s a bit like C.S. Lewis but more “everyman.” The shuttle ride from the airport to the hotel was entertaining. For one, I saw this:

Heck of way for a dog to get around.

I ended up sitting with an Australian girl named Lea (I think- my memory isn’t the best) who is a nurse and is taking an 8 month holiday. Now, I ask you, why is it the europeans and the aussies take these 6,7, 8 month holidays and we Americans take like a week, two weeks max typically? Is it because we’re too busy? Honestly, I’m not sure I could go that long without “working” but I think taking more time to live life than get ahead isn’t such a bad idea. After I got to the hotel, I dropped off my stuff and headed out to try out the new camera while I waited for my friend and her husband to come pick me up for dinner. Here’s a bit of what I saw.

Lots of expensive cars

But these were more interesting. (They're to the left of that car)

Then, my ride came. Dinner was a lot of fun. I’d not seen Selina since being in D.C. in 2001 and I had never met Dave before. We went to this “in” place called Domick’s with small delicious portions and big numbers on the menu. However, you don’t do stuff like this very often, so it’s one of those, “Eh, I’m prolly never going to do this again, so what the heck.” We got all kinds of stuff. For an appetizer, we got a grilled artichoke and some special spinach. I’ve never had artichoke before and it was amazing though I learned that trying to eat the leaf doesn’t work so well. I’m still not a fan of spinach in any cooked form. For entrées, Selina got the veal and Dave and I got the spaghetti and meat balls (the meat balls being the size of small tennis balls). We shared a little so everyone got to taste and it was amazing. Desert was even better. We got the triple gelato - banana chocolate chip, butterscotch and (I think) vanilla AND some fritters with chocolate dipping sauce. Wow. It was good. After that, they took me to see San Rodeo Drive and we walked around a bit commenting on the stores and Selina telling us all kinds of relevant pop culture tidbits. We moseyed along for a bit and then they took me back to the hotel where I crashed the instant my head hit the pillow.

An absolutely gorgeous day....

Song of the day - "This World" - Caedmon's Call - Self Titled Album Today was amazing outside and I was out most of the day to enjoy it. I headed downtown this morning to meet a friend to go to the St. Patrick's Day parade and spent almost the whole day out in the glorious weather. The parade was a little lack luster, however we did see them dye the river green which was pretty cool. It was a green as lime koolaid which is pretty impressive. It was a bit of a let down to see that they just dyed it with what looked like little cups of dye. I had hoped for giant leprauchan cauldrons spilling green goo into the water...but perhaps there were no cauldrons around:) It was a fun day. So I've decided that I'm not drawing enough, so I'm instituting a new rule - No blog entries without a pic or a sketch (we'll see how long it lasts - and hopefully they're better than this one). One of the guys at work was able to get together enough people to pay for a figure drawing class at work. That's gonna start this Tuesday. That should provide some opportunity to stretch the drawing muscles. Technology is a fickle mistress. I can't seem to get my ipod reformatted on my home machine. I keep getting these weird errors. My options are 1) see if it does the same thing on my work pc and or 2) take it in to be serviced. None of the stuff I've found googling the problem have worked. Ug... In general, I'm on a antitech bent right now (so you've been warned). Also, something appears to be very wrong with my computer. I can't seem to access the disk management utilities via the administrative tools and other such weirdness. I'd like to reformat and start from scratch but I think waiting till my current freelance gig is done is a better route to go. Photography has always interested me to some degree. I think a lot of it has to do with good photography's dependence on lighting. I'm something of a lighting nut (if that's not obvious in my cg work). Getting a good render out of the computer is a lot like painting with light. I'm thinking about splurging and getting a good digital SLR to pick up a new hobby and hopefully expand my understanding of composition, light, and quite possibly - candid shots of friends:) This week I discovered a few cool places on the net:

• My buddy Scott Spencer wrote a review over at highend3d. Holy moly, I want one of those. Want being the operative word there.
• Thanks to Cory, I discovered another friends blog.

That lobster needs a haircut!

I love it when I find stories about new animal species being discovered (I've been a bit of an animal nut since I was a kid). However, this one was especially cool. Check it out.

Business Cards and Animation

Song of the Day: "Leaving It Up To You" - Jill Phillips - Writing on the Wall Well, I thought I was gonna go to bed, but I just got my second wind. Funny how that works. I've been working a bit on animation this evening and talking to some friends via IM. I also decided I'd best get some more business cards for my trip to LA. My last batch seems to have been lost in the move from Savannah. So I updated my design a little and sent em off to the online press. I used these guys for the last batch and was very pleased. 500 cards - Full color both sides, glossy finish and rounded corners shipped for under $75. That's hard to beat. Last batch I got was a little more purple than blue on the front, but I changed the color a little so hopefully that'll fix it. If not, blue violet (while not my color of choice) isn't as bad as it could be;). Color space issues are not one that I'm nearly as versed in as I should be. If you don't know what I'm talking about, believe it or not, but the colors you see on your monitor may not actually be the colors that images actually are. Isn't that fun to know? Here's the designs: Front Back Since my second wind shows no sign of slowing, might as well get back to it...

Taxes and an update...

Song of the Day: "Shiloh" - Andrew Peterson - Carried Along Album Good golly I dig Andrew Peterson's music. You'd think I'd be sick of it by now having listened to Carried Along most days in the car for the last 2 months. You'd might think that, but you'd be wrong.

It's that fun time of the year. Ah yes, taxes. I really don't have a problem with taxes, but they could make things a little easier to understand. It's one of the only times in life that you can have absolutely every good intention of being honest and doing the right thing and chances are, you're breaking some minutiae of law. A couple years back, I called the IRS cause I had a question. The guy answered it, then added the addendum that the IRS would not be held accountable for his answer and that if he told me the wrong thing to do, it was still my fault.

Fun times...

I've got a little render test from my current gig that doesn't really give anything away but is close to the final look. The lighting needs some tweaks and Tiko's gonna be sped up a few frames, but it's a good first step.

Here ya go.

Suffice it to say, more happens after that. But for that, you'll have to order a DVD from Bitstream when it's done. Not only will you get to see it, but you'll be contributing directly to the "Josh-Burton-Gets-Out-of-College-Debt-Fund" as anything I get is going there. It's a good cause, trust me. That and Tiko needs to eat...;)

Time to throw Toy Story 2 on and get to animatin'!

Another weekend...

It's been a pretty good weekend overall. Yesterday, the weather was a bit warmer (low 40's) so I went for a nice long run. I even found some trails to start exploring. Yesterday in the 40's, today it's snowing again. Ah, well. I'd been struggling with some tech issues on my freelance gig - namely getting a good particle export into Lightwave using Point Oven. Mark who wrote the transfer app was kind enough to give me a hand and I was finally able to begin experimenting with the look of the effect in Lightwave. Here's a test. It still needs a little umph, but it's getting there. I got the Grease Pencil Script (look at the post two down) running and am using it to working through some animation issues on my gig. I must say it is indeed awesome. Thanks Jason! Let's see, what else is going on...

• We had our second friends-from-work-poker-night this week. We have a 5 dollar cash in for the night and only bet nickels, dimes and quarters so there's no big losses. I had a repeat performance of losing my cash...one more occupation to go on the list of things I could never do for a living - "Professional Poker Player". Check.
• Work is going well, I'm working on a pretty sweet project. Wish I could show something, but I'm afraid it'll be awhile.
• Next weekend I'm going to the St. Patrick's Day parade downtown with a new friend. I hear that they dye the river green. Looking foward to it.
• I'm heading to LA the 18th which I'm pumped about. Speaking of which, I need to get some stuff together for that...

Disney Research Vault...

IGN has a sweet little article on a tour they took of the Disney Research Library. Check it out. I'd like to spend a few days in there....

Greasy Virtual Pencils...

My buddies told me about this script for Maya a while back and I'd forget. However, I saw a link for a video of the creator (Jason Schleifer) demoing and now I'm sold. Now, why is it called a Grease pencil script you might ask? Well, a lot of animators would draw their arcs and timing data on their crt monitors, then erase it and do it again shot by shot. I'm not sure what folk do with LCD's as I imagine they don't respond so well to heavy rubbing. Either way, Jason has solved that. VERY cool. Here's the vid. Why did I leave my Wacom at work!?

Ode to a Mocha Coconut Frappuccino...

Saturday has come again and I have no idea where last week went. I think that Time's brakes are loosening up a bit- need to get that checked. Wonder who you see about that... It's been a pretty good week all in all. We have a almost daily game ritual at lunch at work of squeezing in a few minutes of Guitar Hero in. My buddy Mike is the greatest hero of our sorry bunch but I successfully completed my first song on expert on Friday - so yeah, I'm pretty much guitar soloist material here as long as you give me a guitar with 5 buttons that is preprogrammed with the songs we'll be jammin too. Maybe I should stick to my day job. I've discovered my new favorite cereal - Yogurt Burst Cheerios. I got Strawberry and they're mighty tasty. Of course that means that they'll discontinue them once I get to rely on them. Sorry, I stopped by Starbucks today to get a Frappuccino and was reminded again why I don't go there. They used to make the epitome of drinks that was the Mocha Coconut Frappuccino. This delectable beverage was a mocha frappuccino with a shot of Coconut Syrup and delicious toasted coconut shavings mixed in. However, they pulled the drink off their menu a few years ago. For a time they still had the syrup and would make a regular Mocha one with some coconut syrup but when their on hand syrup supply was gone, they ordered no more and my love affair with Starbucks came to a rapid halt. Today I walked in, looked at the menu and saw nothing that sounded appetizing. I looked at the geek chic cashier and asked if they had any coconut syrup and he gave me a glassy eyed look and shook his head and asked his manager if he remembered a time when they stocked it. I remember. Every six months or so, I stick my head in to check. Maybe this summer the time will be ripe for a reprise of that special summer drink I know and love. Eh...at least it gave me something frivolous to ramble about for a bit:)

Amen

A buddy and I were talking about God the other day - he believes there may be a God, he just isn't so sure he wants to have much to do with Him. Hearing his church experience, I can understand that. Churches are comprised of broken folk trying to allow God to work in them and through them. A lot of the time they either don't come across that way or sometimes they just actually aren't. Someone whose only experience of God is through a church of "happy plastic people", I can understand not exactly being enthusiastic about signing up. Heck, I've left them myself. That being said, it's hard trying to follow Jesus. As many times as He's proven Himself, as many times as He's lifted my head in the depths of the darkest night, I have a short memory. It's easy to get wrapped up in the day to day. Somedays I just don't want to do what's right; somedays the words of Andrew Peterson's song playing on my CD player say just what needs to be said.

It's taken me years in the race just to get this far Still there is no end in sight, There's no end in sight 'Cause I've carried my cross into dens of the wicked And you know I blended in just fine Well, I'm weak and I'm weary of breaking His heart With the cycle of my sin, of my sin Still He turns His face to me and I kiss it Just to betray Him once again Well, I've got oceans down inside of me I can feel the billows roll With the mercy that comes thundering O'er the waters of my soul So, Amen Come, Lord Jesus Amen Oh, Amen Come, Lord Jesus Amen

Potter Updates...

When it rains, it pours:)

• I found out this past weekend that The Potter got first place in nontraditional animation in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation College Television Awards. They're going to be so kind as to fly me to LA for the ceremony. It's gonna be a lot of fun. I've never actually spent any time in LA so I'm hoping to see a few things while I'm there. Sadly, I gotta rent myself a tux, but it's a small price to pay for something so cool.
• I also noticed the Animex 2006 awards list on Cg Society and took a peek and saw that The Potter got the "Animation Stills Prize".
• I've had numerous reports that the article is in the March issue of 3d World. I'm gonna go try to find a copy today.

A couple weeks in the life of...

Wow, things have been a little crazy round here, I've got a lot of catching up to do. A couple weeks back I went and saw Andrew Peterson in concert up in Rockford. It was excellent. However, I have to take issue with the state of Illinois having FIVE tolls over a span of 80 some odd miles. However, I then ended up sitting with a nice young couple from up north who had driven about five hours to be there. This put my measly toll paying in perspective. This past weekend, my cousin Jon and his girlfriend Tabitha came in to town and stayed with me till Thursday. They're moving up here in a few months with some friends to take a shot at Second City. Speaking of which, on Tuesday, Jon got us some tickets to go to the show. So, they picked me up after work and we headed downtown and had a great time looking for a parking spot for thirty minutes. Our wait was rewarded with a broken meter spot 50 yards from Second City. Score. When we got to the door, there was a sign on the door that said there was a panel discussion on "Censorship" going on with Dino Stamatopoulos and some guy from Cartoon Network who's name I can't recall. I remember Dino's name because Tabitha and Jon both were about as excited at seeing his name as I'd be to see Glen Keane giving a paneled discussion on character animation. We had some time to kill before Second City started, so we went to it. They started off by showing an episode of Moral Orel - Starmatopoulos' creation. This one hadn't made it to TV yet because they needed to ease the audience into ever increasing, what could be called, sacrilege. I could understand why they needed to wait. Jon and Tab had showed me an episode the night before which I tolerated rather than enjoyed so you may understand why I wasn't exactly excited about the discussion. However, I enjoyed it very much. I wish we could have stayed longer. After listening to Dino speak, I wasn't so much offended as sad at some of the honest commentaries buried (though rather deeply) in his extreme satire of the Christian faith - or more poinently, Americanized Christianity. One of the things he said was that Jesus would be appalled at the"f@#%$d up mess" Christians had turned Christianity into. On that point, I can't honestly disagree though I would probably phrase it a little differently:) Through all of Dino's gruffness, deep down I saw a frustrated guy who desperately wants to believe in God. I maybe wrong, but that was my impression. Sadly, about forty five minutes into it, we had to leave. All that being said, I wouldn't want any kids I was raising watching it. Definitely a satire for adults (though not this one). Second City was a sketch based 2 hour comedy show that was a fun ride. The humor was a little more blue state heavy then balanced, but this is Chicago. I'm looking forward to going back and seeing Jon and Tabitha up there one day soon. Things have been moving along slower than I'd like on my current freelance gig so I'm hoping to make up some time this weekend. Work has been a lot of fun this past week. Scott and I are developing our own facial rig and it's challenging work that is a lot of fun as well. It's a heck of a lot more enjoyable than cleaning up motion capture data:)

Nice little comic how-to...

And a nice strip as well. Check it out.

My uncle the columnist...

Last week, I gave my uncle who's taking care of my grandmother a call to chat and it so happened my other uncle was in town as well. This uncle lives in Colorado and is a reporter and columnist. Over the course of the conversation he told me that his column was now online every Wednesday so this morning I got up and checked it out. If you'd like a laugh on the proper rules concerning the picking up of dog "presents" at the city park, give it a shot - here. edit- Apparently the column is only available on Wednesdays...

In the presence of masters...

Lost in a Monet

A friend of mine was in town this weekend and we had a great time hanging out and dreaming a bit about animation possibilities. Saturday we decided to do something special and headed down town to the Chicago Institute of the Art Museum. After locating some parking, slipping on the black ice in the parking lot and paying our entry fees, we stepped through the portal of the ordinary to that of the illuminating. I was unprepared for the breadth of the collection of the museum. I just had no idea they had so much amazing art. Apparently they have one of the largest collections of impressionism in the world here- how sweet is that? Here are a few pics that my friend was so kind enough to send. This is the first piece that really grabbed me. I don't recall the artist's name and I vaguely remember seeing it in one of my art books but the use of color is just passionately vibrant and I made my buddy take a picture of it. My friend admiring what I believe is a Rodin if I remember right. Yet another amazing Monet. This was my favorite of a series of studies of the same scene he did. His work feels so "soft" to me - if that be a usable descriptor. The palette sings the coming of dawn and the rising sun light bathes the ground in brushstrokes of warmth. Saving the best for last. Van Gogh is probably my favorite painter of all time. This was the first time I had ever seen one of his paintings in person (much less multiple ones). Everyone has their favorite artists, but Van Gogh, for me, paints in a way I don't see in other works. He paints not with pigment, but with colored passion etched on a canvas of deep reflection. Every brush stroke is alive with energy and the whole painting vibrates with purposeful gesture. This is a "still life" that is anything but still and is pregnant with life.

What a day.

And the lion shall lay down with the lamb...

Ran across this story and had a chuckle. Click it, you know you want to:)

I'm a liar...and other stuff

A few weeks ago I wrote that there was gonna be an article in 3d World on The Potter. January's issue has come and gone and I actually was mailed a copy of February's issue which I thought would contain it. Alas it did not. I say I'm a liar because I made a statement based on bad "intelligence" that I believed to be true that turned out to be wrong. The story may turn up in time but for now but, according to the politics of the day, I am a liar. So for making statements I believed to be true, I must and shall be villified. Any takers? Enough satire. Edit 02/06 - A buddy emailed me this morning and informed me that the the article is in the March issue...sweet vindication:) Things are going along fine. I've been coming home and putting in 4-6 hours a night into this freelance gig I've been truckin on. I'm getting close to being done with blocking for the whole thing so I expect to really start moving this weekend. I took a break last night and did a little test render for the client of the set and modeled some flourishes as well and did another pass of polish on surfacing. Getting close on a final set. I received copies of the new Houdini book that used a Potter image over the weekend. The publisher was kind enough to send copies for the whole team so I gotta make a run to UPS. Some buddies got me to try site called linkedin.com last week. It seems pretty sweet for maintaining connections and broadening your industry connections. Give it a whirl.

A few more...

I really wish I could sleep later than 8:00am on a weekend. It seems my body just won't allow it anymore. Plenty to do today, lots of animation to block and plenty of tunes to jam to doing it. It's amazing how much reading old writings can bring you back to where you were when you wrote those words. Any art in which we must dip the brush into our very soul will surely bear that mark. We fix something of ourselves to that moment of creation - time does not dim its illumination even if those feelings are much changed upon reflection. And tracing from then to now, we see where we've been and hopefully if we turn around we catch a glimpse of where we're going. Continuing the look a old writings, I've got a varied collection today. Swimming in a Cynic's Sea - 1998 I drift and sink amidst the hypocrisy Of myself and of that which I carelessly say; Wishing there an end to this seekers road- Islands of peace on which to rest. I question you until there is no you That I see; For all of my inquiries Fill the void of my mind until I feel As if I will burst into a thousand shards Of a once stable son. All I desire is to know and follow you- You call and all I do is run Back to my cynic's sea and find comfort In the insanity of a void of concrete truth And an ocean of contemplation fills my gaping mouth Till all I taste is the salt of the faithless' sea And I wait to be thrown out And be trampled by men- For I fear I will never be salty again. Loss - 1997 Which way is up? Which way is down? They reach and surround me without a sound or whisper; Enveloping me with dark hands full of blood (It tastes like wine); Offering sensuous delights for nothing...free? Ecstasy for a night, no hidden cost, no sense of loss (until morning). The Son rises and finds me asleep in the light; clutching the fruit of the season's container, Oh, my beloved Sustainer! What has become of my steadfast heart? "My child, but open your eyes, look and perceive: surely it is more blessed to give than receive; Or did you not know...the wine you drank was the blood of infant saints made sweet by but a lie of generosity." Conformity - 1995 Standing in a masquerade; Keeping step in life's parade grows old and silly; Yet I see the mask I hold in my hands is just what conformity demands. They just wouldn't understand the me I want to be is not the me they daily see; So as they perceive, I become; God, that sounds awfully dumb.

Alienation - 1995ish

He sits, They move, He speaks, They go on in their conversations ignoring his petition, Signed by countless hands of alienation personified In the hands of Old Man friendship; The darkness illuminated by a dim candle of Truth That is snuffed time and time again by noses looking too high To see him, standing alone. He is every man or woman At some time or another; Searching for affirmation In accolades that never could nor would Come from a world that doesn't care Nor sees its own hand stabbing at the hearts of children Who just want to feel love. The piper of this world plays his fife And finds many who follow in blind obedience To where they know not and care not and would rather not know. And he sits She sits And waits until someone says, "Hello."

Old Thoughts...

When I was in the Marines and some in High School, I wrote a lot of poetry. I thought a hard drive crash a few years back had wiped out most of it. I found some old hand written journal portions of it recently and was thumbing through it today. Much of it is sappy and hopelessly romantic writing from the countless times I “fell in and out of love” and is pretty cheezy looking back at now. However, some of it still speaks to me. I thought I’d share a little at the request of a friend. I actually found one that was pertinent to this "looking back" - back when I was blogging before there were blogs. This is from 1997 or so.

"Write." What kind of command is that? But this is what I feel the Spirit of God telling me. I search the wrinkles of my mind for something worth writing, some insight, some new concept that would possibly be worth someone's time and effort to sit some quiet afternoon and delve into. Yet nothing comes to mind except a silent melody that has been written on the stanzas of my life and whose harmony finds its way every now and then to perceivable decibels of my heart's ear.

Everyone has a symphony of sorts etched into the fabric of their souls that God has been playing and writing since the dawn of time and even before our recognizable history. Each staccato cry of a newborn begins another symphony's opening night. The Psalms say, "All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be." Perhaps it isn't a book that God keeps of our lives, but a concerto. Maybe each experience, each moment in our existence is another measure being played on the strings of our hearts, the percussion of our thoughts, and the winds of our souls. We can learn lessons in the music if we listen close enough. Maybe you'll find some of the same harmonies in your life's song that you see in mine as I attempt to play some of the most important movements on an, often inadequate, instrument of written language.

Memories are funny things, as I'm sure you know, they came be clear as crystal one moment and the next be nothing more than a faint and diminishing dream. We're lucky to live in the age that we do that we can go back and jar the stubborn memories free with photos and diaries, home movies and even public, though hopefully not criminal, records. We all enjoy every now and then seeing an old yearbook or a drawing we made in school when our grips were not so refined and pencils were held more frequently as "swords" than as instruments of expression. To look back in our lives at the valleys of pain and learning, the mountains of joy and ecstasy, the woods of doubt, past crossroads of decision to where we find our selves makes the dim view we have of our futures seem not so bleak- but hopeful of a better day.

I think I know why God told me to write, and that can be best wrapped in words that aren't mine but for the life of me, I can't place who said them at the moment: "You know best where you're going by looking back at where you've been."

Girl Scout Cookies...

Yesterday I walked into the lunch room with every intention of eating "right"- I had my Lean Cuisine (which are quite tasty by the way) and a thing of Jello-pudding. As I was setting my stuff on the table, I saw a pile of boxes - Girl Scout cookies and a pay-by-honor coffee can. I quickly scanned the pile and was both happy and sad to not find my personal box of vice in the pile. With a little sigh, I began to sit down when the guy selling these cookies for his daughter walks in and my friends and I make a joke about it and he says he'll go get some more. As he walks out the room, I asked him, "You wouldn't have any Thin Mints would you?" He did. My will power put up a valiant fight for all of, say, 3 seconds and my hand went for my wallet. They are in my opinion the greatest cookie currently being mass produced- coming second only to really great home made chocolate chip cookies. By the end of the day, I had 4 to take home to dip in some milk. The rest had succumbed to, in a minor extent, the appetites of fellow coworkers and mostly to my own crazy eyed cookie desire. I'm grateful that I only get the opportunity to purchase them once a year or so.

Commencement speech by one of my favorite Artists...

This is the 1990 commencement speech of Bill Watterson at Kenyon College. He is, in my opinion, the writer of the greatest comic strip yet written and I think this speech shows a little of why that was. I have no idea who to ask if I can reprint this, so I'm just gonna do it. If you know who would, by all means let me know.

Speech by Bill Watterson

Kenyon College, Gambier Ohio, to the 1990 graduating class.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE REAL WORLD BY ONE WHO GLIMPSED IT AND FLED Bill Watterson Kenyon College Commencement May 20, 1990

I have a recurring dream about Kenyon. In it, I'm walking to the post office on the way to my first class at the start of the school year. Suddenly it occurs to me that I don't have my schedule memorized, and I'm not sure which classes I'm taking, or where exactly I'm supposed to be going. As I walk up the steps to the postoffice, I realize I don't have my box key, and in fact, I can't remember what my box number is. I'm certain that everyone I know has written me a letter, but I can't get them. I get more flustered and annoyed by the minute. I head back to Middle Path, racking my brains and asking myself, "How many more years until I graduate? ...Wait, didn't I graduate already?? How old AM I?" Then I wake up.

Experience is food for the brain. And four years at Kenyon is a rich meal. I suppose it should be no surprise that your brains will probably burp up Kenyon for a long time. And I think the reason I keep having the dream is because its central image is a metaphor for a good part of life: that is, not knowing where you're going or what you're doing.

I graduated exactly ten years ago. That doesn't give me a great deal of experience to speak from, but I'm emboldened by the fact that I can't remember a bit of MY commencement, and I trust that in half an hour, you won't remember of yours either.

In the middle of my sophomore year at Kenyon, I decided to paint a copy of Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam" from the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of my dorm room. By standing on a chair, I could reach the ceiling, and I taped off a section, made a grid, and started to copy the picture from my art history book.

Working with your arm over your head is hard work, so a few of my more ingenious friends rigged up a scaffold for me by stacking two chairs on my bed, and laying the table from the hall lounge across the chairs and over to the top of my closet. By climbing up onto my bed and up the chairs, I could hoist myself onto the table, and lie in relative comfort two feet under my painting. My roommate would then hand up my paints, and I could work for several hours at a stretch.

The picture took me months to do, and in fact, I didn't finish the work until very near the end of the school year. I wasn't much of a painter then, but what the work lacked in color sense and technical flourish, it gained in the incongruity of having a High Renaissance masterpiece in a college dorm that had the unmistakable odor of old beer cans and older laundry. The painting lent an air of cosmic grandeur to my room, and it seemed to put life into a larger perspective. Those boring, flowery English poets didn't seem quite so important, when right above my head God was transmitting the spark of life to man. My friends and I liked the finished painting so much in fact, that we decided I should ask permission to do it. As you might expect, the housing director was curious to know why I wanted to paint this elaborate picture on my ceiling a few weeks before school let out. Well, you don't get to be a sophomore at Kenyon without learning how to fabricate ideas you never had, but I guess it was obvious that my idea was being proposed retroactively. It ended up that I was allowed to paint the picture, so long as I painted over it and returned the ceiling to normal at the end of the year. And that's what I did.

Despite the futility of the whole episode, my fondest memories of college are times like these, where things were done out of some inexplicable inner imperative, rather than because the work was demanded. Clearly, I never spent as much time or work on any authorized art project, or any poli sci paper, as I spent on this one act of vandalism.

It's surprising how hard we'll work when the work is done just for ourselves. And with all due respect to John Stuart Mill, maybe utilitarianism is overrated. If I've learned one thing from being a cartoonist, it's how important playing is to creativity and happiness. My job is essentially to come up with 365 ideas a year. If you ever want to find out just how uninteresting you really are, get a job where the quality and frequency of your thoughts determine your livelihood. I've found that the only way I can keep writing every day, year after year, is to let my mind wander into new territories. To do that, I've had to cultivate a kind of mental playfulness.

We're not really taught how to recreate constructively. We need to do more than find diversions; we need to restore and expand ourselves. Our idea of relaxing is all too often to plop down in front of the television set and let its pandering idiocy liquefy our brains. Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery-it recharges by running. You may be surprised to find how quickly daily routine and the demands of "just getting by: absorb your waking hours. You may be surprised to find how quickly you start to see your politics and religion become matters of habit rather than thought and inquiry. You may be surprised to find how quickly you start to see your life in terms of other people's expectations rather than issues. You may be surprised to find out how quickly reading a good book sounds like a luxury.

At school, new ideas are thrust at you every day. Out in the world, you'll have to find the inner motivation to search for new ideas on your own. With any luck at all, you'll never need to take an idea and squeeze a punchline out of it, but as bright, creative people, you'll be called upon to generate ideas and solutions all your lives. Letting your mind play is the best way to solve problems. For me, it's been liberating to put myself in the mind of a fictitious six year-old each day, and rediscover my own curiosity. I've been amazed at how one ideas leads to others if I allow my mind to play and wander. I know a lot about dinosaurs now, and the information has helped me out of quite a few deadlines. A playful mind is inquisitive, and learning is fun. If you indulge your natural curiosity and retain a sense of fun in new experience, I think you'll find it functions as a sort of shock absorber for the bumpy road ahead.

So, what's it like in the real world? Well, the food is better, but beyond that, I don't recommend it.

I don't look back on my first few years out of school with much affection, and if I could have talked to you six months ago, I'd have encouraged you all to flunk some classes and postpone this moment as long as possible. But now it's too late. Unfortunately, that was all the advice I really had. When I was sitting where you are, I was one of the lucky few who had a cushy job waiting for me. I'd drawn political cartoons for the Collegian for four years, and the Cincinnati Post had hired me as an editorial cartoonist. All my friends were either dreading the infamous first year of law school, or despondent about their chances of convincing anyone that a history degree had any real application outside of academia.

Boy, was I smug.

As it turned out, my editor instantly regretted his decision to hire me. By the end of the summer, I'd been given notice; by the beginning of winter, I was in an unemployment line; and by the end of my first year away from Kenyon, I was broke and living with my parents again. You can imagine how upset my dad was when he learned that Kenyon doesn't give refunds. Watching my career explode on the lauchpad caused some soul searching. I eventually admitted that I didn't have what it takes to be a good political cartoonist, that is, an interest in politics, and I returned to my firs love, comic strips. For years I got nothing but rejection letters, and I was forced to accept a real job.

A REAL job is a job you hate. I designed car ads and grocery ads in the windowless basement of a convenience store, and I hated every single minute of the 4-1/2 million minutes I worked there. My fellow prisoners at work were basically concerned about how to punch the time clock at the perfect second where they would earn another 20 cents without doing any work for it. It was incredible: after every break, the entire staff would stand around in the garage where the time clock was, and wait for that last click. And after my used car needed the head gasket replaced twice, I waited in the garage too.

It's funny how at Kenyon, you take for granted that the people around you think about more than the last episode of Dynasty. I guess that's what it means to be in an ivory tower.

Anyway, after a few months at this job, I was starved for some life of the mind that, during my lunch break, I used to read those poli sci books that I'd somehow never quite finished when I was here. Some of those books were actually kind of interesting. It was a rude shock to see just how empty and robotic life can be when you don't care about what you're doing, and the only reason you're there is to pay the bills. Thoreau said,

"the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation."

That's one of those dumb cocktail quotations that will strike fear in your heart as you get older. Actually, I was leading a life of loud desperation.

When it seemed I would be writing about "Midnite Madness Sale-abrations" for the rest of my life, a friend used to console me that cream always rises to the top. I used to think, so do people who throw themselves into the sea.

I tell you all this because it's worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to cultivate the resources in yourself that bring you happiness outside of success or failure. The truth is, most of us discover where we are headed when we arrive. At that time, we turn around and say, yes, this is obviously where I was going all along. It's a good idea to try to enjoy the scenery on the detours, because you'll probably take a few.

I still haven't drawn the strip as long as it took me to get the job. To endure five years of rejection to get a job requires either a faith in oneself that borders on delusion, or a love of the work. I loved the work. Drawing comic strips for five years without pay drove home the point that the fun of cartooning wasn't in the money; it was in the work. This turned out to be an important realization when my break finally came.

Like many people, I found that what I was chasing wasn't what I caught. I've wanted to be a cartoonist since I was old enough to read cartoons, and I never really thought about cartoons as being a business. It never occurred to me that a comic strip I created would be at the mercy of a bloodsucking corporate parasite called a syndicate, and that I'd be faced with countless ethical decisions masquerading as simple business decisions. To make a business decision, you don't need much philosophy; all you need is greed, and maybe a little knowledge of how the game works.

As my comic strip became popular, the pressure to capitalize on that popularity increased to the point where I was spending almost as much time screaming at executives as drawing. Cartoon merchandising is a $12 billion dollar a year industry and the syndicate understandably wanted a piece of that pie. But the more I though about what they wanted to do with my creation, the more inconsistent it seemed with the reasons I draw cartoons. Selling out is usually more a matter of buying in. Sell out, and you're really buying into someone else's system of values, rules and rewards. The so-called "opportunity" I faced would have meant giving up my individual voice for that of a money-grubbing corporation. It would have meant my purpose in writing was to sell things, not say things. My pride in craft would be sacrificed to the efficiency of mass production and the work of assistants. Authorship would become committee decision. Creativity would become work for pay. Art would turn into commerce. In short, money was supposed to supply all the meaning I'd need. What the syndicate wanted to do, in other words, was turn my comic strip into everything calculated, empty and robotic that I hated about my old job. They would turn my characters into television hucksters and T-shirt sloganeers and deprive me of characters that actually expressed my own thoughts.

On those terms, I found the offer easy to refuse. Unfortunately, the syndicate also found my refusal easy to refuse, and we've been fighting for over three years now. Such is American business, I guess, where the desire for obscene profit mutes any discussion of conscience.

You will find your own ethical dilemmas in all parts of your lives, both personal and professional. We all have different desires and needs, but if we don't discover what we want from ourselves and what we stand for, we will live passively and unfulfilled. Sooner or later, we are all asked to compromise ourselves and the things we care about. We define ourselves by our actions. With each decision, we tell ourselves and the world who we are. Think about what you want out of this life, and recognize that there are many kinds of success. Many of you will be going on to law school, business school, medical school, or other graduate work, and you can expect the kind of starting salary that, with luck, will allow you to pay off your own tuition debts within your own lifetime.

But having an enviable career is one thing, and being a happy person is another.

Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it's to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential-as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth. You'll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you're doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you'll hear about them.

To invent your own life's meaning is not easy, but it's still allowed, and I think you'll be happier for the trouble. Reading those turgid philosophers here in these remote stone buildings may not get you a job, but if those books have forced you to ask yourself questions about what makes life truthful, purposeful, meaningful, and redeeming, you have the Swiss Army Knife of mental tools, and it's going to come in handy all the time.

I think you'll find that Kenyon touched a deep part of you. These have been formative years. Chances are, at least of your roommates has taught you everything ugly about human nature you ever wanted to know. With luck, you've also had a class that transmitted a spark of insight or interest you'd never had before. Cultivate that interest, and you may find a deeper meaning in your life that feeds your soul and spirit. Your preparation for the real world is not in the answers you've learned, but in the questions you've learned how to ask yourself. Graduating from Kenyon, I suspect you'll find yourselves quite well prepared indeed.

I wish you all fulfillment and happiness. Congratulations on your achievement.

Bill Watterson

Yahoo Music...

http://music.yahoo.com baby!! This is one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time. A buddy at work was listening to this little personal internet radio and enlightened me to the power of expressing preference. In about 20 minutes, the thing is playing all of my favorite bands and folks I like on the radio but didn't have a clue who they were. You can even listen to your friend's stations. Mine is here. However, it's not quite fully trained yet, so I don't wanna here any complaints if you get some funky polka. It's doing a pretty amazing job on picking for the short time I've been training it. Good internet radio, good boy. No more do I have to get tired of my measely itunes music collection...if only I could get this in my car...

Minor Updateage

• Discovered this blog by accident that happens to be written by a guy that went to my brother's church halfway across the country...small world.
• Making progress on my never quite done freelance gig, I gotta thank my client for being so cool with all the schtuff that's been going on to keep progress back. Finally got the disappearing remote set driven rig setup. I also came up with a ball rig that I've not seen used before that I think is gonna be fun to play with. I'm hoping to have the 3d animatic done Friday and get a shot or two animated this weekend.
• I've been on a classics reading kick, or some mighty say girly reading kick...I read two Jane Austin's - namely Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Call me a sucker for witty humor and chivalry but I thought they were great. The book of Sense and Sensibility was much better than the movie. They left a bit too much out for my taste. Pride and Prejudice was pretty spot on in both the BBC version and the more recent one. I think I'm gonna stay on the classics bent for my fiction reading for a bit though I think a change of authors is due.
• Found out Andrew Peterson is gonna be putting on a concert within driving distance. He's my current fav musician. If you dig Rich Mullins, you owe it to yourself to at least check him out. The Far Country is my favorite album so far and the artwork for the jacket was done by some friends to boot. I'm gonna try my darnedest to go though I don't know any other fans around...need to find some fast, otherwise, it'll be just Jesus and me (though that's not a bad idea).

Time to hit the rack...

The smell of East meets West

Tonight I got home and dutifully climbed my three flights of stairs and as I opened the door to my floor and was greeted to the smell I've come to expect. Now, my building happens to contain a lot folk from India and this is the first time I've lived near a lot of people of that particular ethnicity. It's also interesting that if I come in one door, it's this smell and if I use the other, it's another altogether. All that being said, I'm really struggling to figure out what blend of spices could cause this smell every day. It is even more puzzling because the smell (at least to my nose) is so thoroughly American... Fritos. Completely-overpowering-stick-your-head-in-the-bag frito smell. If I could bottle it, I'd bet there'd be a market for it- Junk food perfume! It's a heck of a lot nicer smell to come home to than Pine Sol. The fact that I've not had a frito since I can't remember may perhaps be causing some of my nostalgic euphoria here, but that's okay with me.

Merry Christmas from Oklahoma

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. This morning I got up and spent a little time talking to God which is one of my favorite things to do on this day. The weather here in Oklahoma is beautiful- at least when compared to my first abysmally cold Chicago winter. It's like 40's and 50's here. Yesterday, I went jogging in shorts which is a far cry from the bundling up I do just to walk the 75 some odd yards to my gym from my apartment up north. I flew into Oklahoma City Friday night for the week and am very much looking forward to the break. Last night, I went to the candle light service at my old home church which was as beautiful as always. The lighting of the first candle and the passing of the flame to the hundreds of unlit candles until the lights in the house are brought down and a sea of little flames lights the auditorium in flickering beauty. A single verse of Silent night is sung and the blowing out of our candles is our communal good bye. I am a sucker for Christmas carols; I love the old ones. I saw some old friends as well which is always a pleasant surprise. The son of a couple of my high school friend's cancer is in remission and that is wonderful news indeed. In other news though unrelated to Christmas, my buddy Jon just let me know that the book (who is using an image from The Potter on the cover) just went on presale on Amazon and it now has a thumbnail. On top of that bit of good news, as long as everything went in alright, there should be an article in February's issue of 3d World on The Potter. Very cool. Gonna have to jet, time for the annual pilgrimage to Dallas to see the rest of my family. That and my nephews need to be held upside down by their ankles. Merry Christmas.

Another lesson at Josh's expense...

Saturday night I wanted to finish off the left over tacos I had in the fridge, so I warmed up the meat. I had a funny feeling in my gut that maybe I was pushing the safe time table in which it was safe to eat said left overs. But I said, what the heck, and ate it anyway. I got a stomach of steel. About 10:00pm, I sensed things to be amiss. My new roommate wanted to play some Mario Kart, so we played for about forty five minutes or so and my stomach was starting to do some funny things. After that, it seemed like bed time was calling loud. I heeded the call and was looking forward to a long night's sleep. However, my gut was not happy with my choice for dinner and it was about to let me know just how much displeasure it had. It proceeded to do so just about every hour on the hour until 5:00am. Two words - violently ill. Fun times. This morning my new roommate was so kind as to go get me some saltines and gatorade and then some meds this afternoon. I'm grateful for him being such a good sport after only two days here. Lesson - When your gut tells you not to eat something and you ignore it, your gut just may make sure you get the message in the end.

The importance of correct power supplies...

Did you know that even though two power supplies may have the same connector for the back of your electronic gizmo, they may not work correctly when interchanged? In fact, the same shape connectors can have two very different voltage outputs. This was apparently something I had missed somewhere in my electronic pilgrimage. The last week or so, I've been clearing out my second bedroom to make room for a roommate and i had disconnected my wireless router and modem in that process. Well, last night, I went to hook the net back up and plugged in my modem and my router. The modem started up fine, however, I quickly noticed a peculiar smell- burning carbon and plastic. If you've never smelled this before, I assure you it is an unmistakable scent. I picked up the router and felt the bottom getting rather hot so I unplugged it as quickly as I could. However, the damage was done. That little piece of electronics had served me well the past 4 years and it wasn't going to be routing anything anymore. It was probably time for a new one anyway, I just wish it could have gone out more gracefully - perhaps as a donation rather than in the garbage can. Alas. Lesson - Label any unmarked power supplies when moving things in the future.

The things you love...

I'm reading this collection of John Eldredge. He's a great writer who happens to write in a style I can connect with. He's been talking about life, heart, desire for more than we find in our day to day lives. It speaks to me. In the reading I did today, he said to write down those things you love - the moments that make life amazing. I thought it would be a fun exercise.

• The eureka moment after having spent hours on a problem
• Sitting under the stars away from the city lights
• Fishing on a quiet lake
• Seeing my team excel in their gifts and accomplishing what we couldn't do alone
• Hearing one of my friends say they've met Jesus
• Sketching and sketching and sketching to finally meet that character you've been searching for
• The fellowship of family and friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon
• A baby's hand curling round my finger
• Really great animation that lives and breathes
• Eddy's Frozen Fruit Coconut Bars
• Hearing God speak when I slow down enough to really listen
• A great movie that takes you from laughter to tears and back again
• Really great finger-licking BBQ from some place you've never heard of
• Waking up to a fresh snow before the plow man has gone to work
• Worshipping God in those rare services where God infuses the air like incense and, no matter how many or few people may be in the room with me, in that moment I am alone in the presence of my God
• A roaring fire and a mug of hot chocolate
• Holding a sleeping baby
• Turning the last page of a great novel
• An old friend with whom no span of years makes our friendship diminish
• My mom's pasta
• My aunt's homemade french fries
• Seeing someone connect with one of my films or stories
• Seeing little kids dance with reckless abandon to no more music than what plays in their little heads
• Finding a new author who grants me a new perspective
• Knowing that I am loved and accepted by the God of the universe
• Rich Mullins wailing on the hammer dulcimer
• Climbing a mountain and seeing the horizon laid out like a painting

By no means an exhaustive list, but it made me smile just to make it. Give it a shot.

I'm a lousy neighbor...

This morning, my rental office called and said the neighbors below me complained that it sounded like I was throwing weights around or something. The truth of the matter is that I've been clearing out my 2nd bedroom all afternoon and was setting some books on the book case in my bedroom when the shelf in the case suddenly shifted. That can't be good, I thought. All of a sudden, two shelves of books came crashing down on top of me and it was all I could to to hold the rest of the bookcase up. What I should have done was empty the rest of the case and taken care of it in the morning. However, I was tired and grumpy at having had some rather heavy art books fall on me and so my first instinct was to fix it. So I did. Tearing up some cardboard, I wedged it under the front of the case so it would have a natural back tilt. I then grabbed my hammer and stud finder and resecured the bookcase to the wall with a Thud, Thud Thud. I suddenly heard a reply of Thump, thump, thump coming from the floor below me. I figured it was a neighbor irritated with my hammering. I thought, wonder what they're so uptight about as I turned and looked at the clock. Oh. I had been so busy with the work that I had completely lost track of time. It was just shy of midnight. I, of course, felt like an inconsiderate dufus. In the future, should a shelf of books fall on me, I will look at the clock before grabbing my hammer.

To anonymous commenter...

Thank you for the comment. I'm glad you liked my work. On the rest, I definitely hear you. It's difficult to speak directly to your thoughts lacking knowledge of how you view the world. But I'll try. I agree that we accept a certain amount of risk and exposure when starting relationships - be they romantic or strictly friendship. Free will means that the choices of two people will probably not always conincide. With conflict comes many possibilities - rejection, reconcilliation, misunderstanding, growth. But to be afraid to take those chances would result in a life that wouldn't be really living. We can only truly be alone by choice. However, that stems from my belief that God is real and loves you and I unconditionally and there is no place I can go, no sense I can lose, no pain I can suffer that will change my faith in that. Even if you reject that notion, the fact that another person seems to be at the same crossroads you find yourself at at the same time surely must mean something. For everyone that is at this place of finding their hearts shattered, there is another that is ahead or behind us on the same trail. Life is a communal experience that way. I'm continually amazed when I read the words of some centuries-old mystic writing in a country that no longer exists crying out to God and their words could just as easily have been mine at that exact moment. It's as if their pen dipped in an inkwell so long ago was dipping into my very heart. If I understand your implications, I think healing is the most important step to take at this point. We do funny things when we're in pain, things that would normally repel us suddenly seem the only logical decision to be made. Time will change that, sharing life with others will heal that. Don't force life, let it come. You can chug a glass of wine but you ruin the flavor.

A broken mac and thoughts on life...

Last week I was writing some emails on my 7 month old Powerbook and, having finished, closed it up and sat it down. When I came back to use it, it was off and when booted only showed a gray screen of nothing. I searched the web for a while looking for answers and tried the reasonable ones (seriously, are there people that take a part lap tops themselves?). Nothing worked, so I took it to the Apple Store on Friday. The sent it off and I hope to get it back soon....I miss the little guy. That baseball bat to the face life threw at me a while ago is still stinging but I'm working through it. I’m a thinker. I want to understand it all, but I know that’s not possible. That’s where knowledge ends and faith begins. It might be nice to have more control in what happens to us, to be able to mulligan our mistakes, to not let the decisions of others shatter our realities, to choose only the things that make us happy to meet us on this road we tread - It might be nice, but it wouldn’t be life. Life is isn’t so much about what circumstances we find ourselves in, but who we become in those tempests.

So windows can whistle...

This past weekend a good buddy of mine from my days in DC came to stay with me for the weekend. I've not seen him for almost 4 years but it was like I'd seen him last week. Friends like that are rare and far between and it was great to hang out again. Back to the point, Saturday night was a windy one here in the Windy City. Tonight is as well, which is what reminded me. So it seems that the windows of my apartment are so positioned that a heavy wind happens to interact with the sealing on my patio door to cause a high pitched whistle. I had the pleasure of being awakened at about 3:00 am to such a whistle- I'm sure you can imagine my happiness. I just heard it again...I'm sure this is the beginning of many a fun evening as Chicago's winter season settles in.

Savannah Film Festival and catching up...

Headed out a week ago Thursday for the Savannah Film Festival and had great time. The festival went out of it's way to make sure we were taken care of. Talking to some of the other festival hoppers, that is most definitely not always the case. I met some great film makers and saw some phenomenal pieces. I had a great time overall. I'm heading to California for Thanksgiving to hang with my brother and nephews which should be great times- nothing makes you smile like having a couple of pint size nephews jumping off your back. Also, my brother is getting an Xbox 360 which should mean some late night frag-a-thons. I saw Chicken Little last week in 3d which was a treat. I really enjoyed the film overall. The story wasn't as strong as I'd have liked but the animation of the main characters was outstanding overall. The fish was my favorite character- great attitude sans words. When I first started seeing stuff on the film, I was worried that Chicken Little's "pupil eyes" would have issues being as expressive as "real" eyes. However, I think they worked great. I wonder how it would work on a character without glasses as they are a good natural cheat. Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I some vacation days I had to use before the end of the year- nothing like being ordered to take paid time off.

Stuff...

Life has a funny way of hitting you in the face with a baseball bat when you least suspect it. Well, I got a doozy. Things suck right now; that's all I'm gonna say for now. Back to pretending it's all good. In other news: • I'm heading to Savannah tomorrow for the Savannah Film Festival. The Potter is showing there and they were kind enough to invite me out. I'm really looking forward to getting away for a few days, see some old friends, and watch some animation. • I got a call from a publisher who wants to use an image from The Potter for a book cover which is very cool if that goes through alright. • Freelance work is going well and I have had a very interesting lead turn up that I'm very excited about. • My best friend recently had his first child...err, his wife did but I imagine he had something to do with it • There is a great collection of concept art - here Should be writing soon on the wonder world of Tivo and gonna have a ton of movies to talk about. How can a CG nut not be excited about movies in the next two months?!

Sweet, sweet Prevacid...

About a year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with Acid Reflux. Simply put, that means that if I look at food I get heartburn. My doc in Savannah got me on a sweet little drug called Prevacid which stops such heartburn. Since then, I've been heart burn free so long as I took my pill every morning. Miss it one day, and the burn is back. When I got to Chicago I was on another insurance plan for a month as my company was in a healthcare provider changeover. I ran out of Prevacid during that little changeover and tried to get a refill. The pharmacy said that my healthcare provider said that there was an age restriction. I thought maybe I was too young or something so I called them for clarification. They told me that I was not too young, I was too old. I said, "Too old? I'm 27, how old is too old?" "We only authorize it for infants." I stared blankly at the phone. "But it's a gel cap, does it come in other forms?" No answer to that question but, "We can offer you something else." So I went and got replacement A and proceeded to have terrible heart burn from that day on. I was popping extra strength tums like candy and swigging Malox at night. So that was my routine for a while. October came and I made an apointment with my new doc and had it this week. When I asked him about it, he smiled and said there was no reason for that restriction, but that insurance companies make deals with drug companies and put asanine restrictions on said drug company's competitors. Nice, everyone wins....right? Turns out my new provider has a deal with the makers of Prevacid and so I can go through the day now and not feel like my stomach acid is going to burn though my lungs. . . go healthcare!

My email postman has been a little lax...

Apparently my email isn't working quite right and I've missed two VERY important emails that only providence revealed to have been missed at all. So, until I get this figured out with my host, please email me at "j j b u r t o n @ g m a i l . c o m" (please remove spaces, added to stop stupid spam bots). If you've tried to reach me in the past week or two and I've not responded, please resend. I appologize for any inconvenience.

Great making of vid...

This is a great making of vid from Le Building which was a pretty spectacular looking toon shade film of the summer. Check it out... Here it is

Finally a sketch or two...

It would have come sooner, but in my move the power adapter for my scanner seems to have been misplaced. You'd think I could just call the company and order a new one for a reasonable amount of money.... You'd think that. Oh no, a new adapter was 2/3 the cost of a new scanner, so I plunked down my card and got a new scanner today. Sorry Epson, I won't be purchasing from you again. My new one even is powered through the USB cable, how cool is that? Here's some sketches from the past few weeks. I've been playing a lot with animals which may or may not having something to do with what's in my creative crockpot at the moment:). More to come.

Katrina...

I've struggled over what to say about this travesty. A few days before it hit, my uncle told me on the phone that it was a shame I hadn't been to visit New Orleans cause, well, it would be gone. I laughed that off thinking that the thought was improbable at best. Watching the TV and taking in the news though out the day via the web one breaks at work, I just couldn't understand and many thought raced through my mind Why did the people stay? Why weren't there supplies at the dome? Why didn't help get there faster? Then the blame game started. There is a time for everything under heaven, but this is the time to help, not to hinder. By all means, look at what went wrong, but not while people are still in need of rescue and shelter. I just don't get it. I hope we all help any way we can and pray for those ways we are not able.

Check those fluids...

You walk up to your car and start seeing little puddles of greenish fluid underneath. At first it's just a few drops here and there, however with time, it becomes substantial little patches. If you're a car mechanic genius like me, you just chalk it on the list of I'll take a look at that later. However, I'm here to testify that you let that go long enough and you'll have a morning like mine. I got up this morning, checked my email and on the back up restore of an old client's site who got hacked by some eastern European hacker group whose message was both incomprehensible due to complete lack of command of the english language and reprehensible due to a the graphic imagery of infanticide. I really don't understand hackers. However, back to the story. Got on the road at my normal time and headed towards work. I started noticing something funny was going on as my little civic was idling strange (jumping between 800 and 1500 rpms which even my mechanically challenged self knew wasn't right). It was sporadic and I thought I outa get that looked at sometime as well. About a third of the way to work I noticed smoke coming from the hood and took a peek at the temp gauge- it was pegged. Actually past pegged. Thinking it might be wise to pull off the road, I looked in the rear view mirror before changing lanes and saw that my car had a full Spy Hunter smokescreen in tow. Blinding the drivers following, I got off the road and shut 'er down. I thought I forgot my cell phone so didn't bother to look (how is it we know we've forgotten something without actually looking? But I knew). A cop showed up about 20 minutes later and said he'd call for a interstate help service to bring me some water for my radiator. I asked him if I could use a phone, but all he had was a personal one and I guess that's against regulations or something. I got back in the car to await some thirst quenching water for Sarah (my car's name, I've met enough people that do the same that I know longer thing I'm the oddball there). The guy finally showed up and poured water in and as fast as he poured it in it started pouring out. He said, "I don't think you should drive on that." I believed him. I thanked him and called the insurance company to arrange the tow. 'Bout an hour later, the driver showed up and had me pull the car up on the truck cause he couldn't work a stick. So Abdul from Palestine and I chatted it up all the way to the mechanic. My boss said I could just stay here as most of the day was spent but I got a meeting that my suggestions and requests were a major point in bringing about, so I gotta head in for a bit for that. That and so the rest of the guys can laugh at my story. In other news, my buddy Scott Englert from The Potter was up here last Friday for an interview and looks like he'll be starting in early October. So, grats to him.

Cool link of the week...

Came across this high-speed video site. Great reference for fx artists and animators and people who just wanna see someone's face jiggle as a fist impacts it at high speed. How do you get a guinea pig for that? "Hey, Jim, come ere', I wanna film your face for a sec..."

Festival Updates and a bit of the (other) Potter...

Work is going well, but busy. It's hard to find time to update the sites. However, I did update The Potter site last night with the latest in festivals and the team page as well. I found out about 3 festivals in the past week which is pretty darn cool. It's a finalist in the Stash DVD GSAA comp so it'll be in one of those issues and Animation Magazine's Student Competition so there might be an image in that. I also found out that it was accepted to the Savannah Film Festival so I'll be heading back to Savannah in November. Thankfully it's then, and the hot humid days they're going through now will be long gone. Speaking of, some of the guys here are complaining that it's hot and the radio is making it sound like "Black August" or something. After living in the soup that is summer in Savannah, it feels just fine to me....reminds me of Oklahoma. I've gotta get caught up on blogs. I read an article last week in Time that I've been wanting to harp on a bit about Harry Potter in which the author feels a need to bash C.S. Lewis the whole time. I'm a huge fan of J.K. but I'd rather not have to read her praises juxtaposed against a poorly researched caricature of Lewis...reminds me of why I don't read the paper much any more. I'll get to it. I read the latest Potter book in a day and it was very, very good. I'm taking it piece meal now on my second time through. I'll wait a bit to write on that to give people plenty of time to read it without getting a spoiler from me. The 3rd is still my favorite...ah, well.

I'm a commuter...

For the past four years, my commute has consisted in getting up, walking 30 feet and sitting at my computer too start my freelancing day. Dress was "house casual" and lunch breaks were sitting and eating while watching a bit of TV. No more. I've joined the hustle and bustle of brake lights and 5 mph on the interstate and have to say that though it takes some getting used to, it's not that bad. Driving my 5 speed is much more enjoyable in traffic than my automatic for no other reason than it gives me the opportunity to keep my mind on something else and coast at times. My game of the week has been to see how long I can go in bumper to bumper standstill traffic without stopping. Nothing dangerous, just giving enough buffer room between me and the car in front of me that I don't have to slam on my brakes every time they touch theirs. I really don't understand how some people follow as closely as they do in this traffic. ANYTHING happens and you have a 20 car pile up in no time. The truck drivers leave a big buffer and they're on the road all the time, so I'm gonna follow their lead. Life in the big city. There must be some speciality of science to understand traffic patterns, cause I just don't get it. My drive time can be as short as 40 minutes to as long 2 hours. I haven't found any rhyme or reason to it. I can leave at the same time 3 days in a row and have completely different drive times. Forget about weather forecasts, I want traffic forecasts....

Another week, another....blog entry

It was a good week-nothing crazy good or bad. Picked up another freelance gig which should be fun. A little cg add-on ladybug for a live action movie that filmed here in Savannah. My buddy Jon and I are gonna handle that. He's heading off to Europe for one last quarter before letting go of his school days, so hopefully we can get his match move knocked out early in the week. Made some good progress on a spot I'm doing for a little studio up in New York. I'm pumped to get to play with Tiko again. I'm grateful for the chance to work on some freelance gigs that involve some animation instead of just design. Good stuff, but gonna be a busy few weeks. I've been trying to decide what to spend my gift certificate money (grad gift from my brother and his wife, though the fact that its for a game store leads me to think my brother was making the call on that one...thanks, Mike!). I've been fighting the call of Azeroth for a long, long time....is it time to give in.....? I gotta say Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends has to be my new favorite cartoon. The get so much antic, squash and stretch and just fun-to-watch animation in the simple style, that you just gotta love it. That and, Bloo is selfishly awesome...he cracks me up. Had a good phone interview with a company and heard from some others. One is flying me out this week which I'm excited about. All of my packages have arrived at the studios I sent them out to, so I guess I'm in the waiting game to see if I get any responses there. All the responses so far have still been from posting on the web, so I guess that's a good way to go to get some response for my fellow job seekers.

Good news all around...

This morning, I read the blog (see "I got a rock") of a friend of mine who has been having some major bad luck. Things have been a bit wonky (spell check might not thing that's a word, but we know better) round here so I was hoping that I wasn't gonna start a streak of that myself. I worked a bit today on figuring out how to podcast for a clients site and found a great little how-to if anyone is interested and it worked like a charm. This afternoon brought nothing but good news in the form of a couple of freelance animation gigs. One of which I've been waiting for months to see if the funding was gonna be in place on their end for me to start and it is. Tiko will fly again... The other project I can't say much about yet, but I'm excited to see what comes of it. I should know more next week. How much I'll be able to divulge is another question entirely. Great way to start a weekend!