The Storm Wyvern's Lair

New Blog

2009-07-01T11:43:00.002-04:00

I have a new blog. It's called The Ink and Pixel Club. I will be posting a bunch of essays about animation there. You should check it out, as it's very unlikely I'm going to be posting anything here again.

Last of the Writing

2008-02-19T14:02:00.002-05:00

"The Lost History of Sathyriel" is finished, for the time being, as I still plan to go back and edit it quite a bit. It's over at StormWyvern Press, but you knew that already.

Holy Crap, More Writing?

2008-02-15T12:21:00.002-05:00

Part Seven of "The Lost History of Sathyriel" is up on StormWyvern Press. This is the first time I've been into the writing enough not to even bother putting on my recently compiled playlist of instrumental music. The ending should be coming early next week, if not sooner.

Thoughts on the Writing.

2008-02-14T14:40:00.002-05:00

No new "Lost History of Sathyriel" today as I wrote another partial section. But I figured I'd get down a few of y thought on how the writing is going.

I've been writing pretty regularly every weekday for I guess the past two weeks. The story is now about 37 pages long and over 13,000 words. I recently started checking how many word I write per day. I did about 800 on the previous two days and nearly 1,200 today due to a particularly long piece of dialogue.

As I said in the StormWyvern Press comments, I'm enjoying writing something where I'm certain of the ending but not all of the stops along the way. The conversation I'm writing now has to hit a couple of key points, but I'm not entirely sure how it will end or what else they might talk about on the way. I'm not sure, but I think knowing that I'll be writing every day makes me less anxious about getting through sections like this, since I know I'll be writing more tomorrow rather than waiting days before returning to it.

The one real problem is that I'm starting to worry about what I'm going to write after "Lost History" is done. Unlike "The Last Battle", the end is very much in sight. Continuing "Last Battle" may be an option, but I'm not sure it's what I want to do. I just hope I can find something that holds my interest; I want to keep this momentum going.

Yes, It's More Writing

2008-02-13T15:34:00.002-05:00

"Lost History", StormWyvern Press, you know the drill by now.

Workin' on a Mystery

2008-02-12T15:50:00.000-05:00

I did work more on "Lost History of Sathyriel" today, but I don't think it's enough to post yet. So instead, here's something fun I did yesterday.

I have a brief but strong memory from my childhood of seeing the video for Tom Petty and the Haertbreakers' "Runnin' Down a Dream". I remembered that it was animated and probably black and white, but not much else. So yesterday, I popped onto YouTube to see I could find it. Not only did I locate the video, but I discovered that it was a total homage to Winsor McKay's "Little Nemo in Slumberland"! Awesome!

Check it out

The Writing Continues

2008-02-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

Part Five of "The Lost History of Sathyriel" is up on StormWyvern Press. Link is in the usual place.

Look Ma, More Writing.

2008-02-07T14:50:00.000-05:00

The link is both in the entries below and on in the lists of links on the right, so I think you can find it OK. I'm nearly done telling iTunes where all the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack files are, so hopefully future writing will go faster without me having to periodically stop and locate another file.

More Writing

2008-02-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

A productive streak. Hope it lasts.

Storm Wyvern Press

New Writing

2008-02-05T18:07:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to get some writing done again. Starting the Front Lobby Bench back up is still in progress. So for the time being, I'm writing some stuff for StormWyvern Press. Please check it out and let me know what you think.

Oscar Thoughts

2008-01-30T16:29:00.001-05:00

Still no comments, which has admittedly slowed my enthusiasm for keeping up the journal. But I still feel like I should and I've got some thoughts worth writing about. So let's see how long this lasts.

The Oscar nominations have been announced. With the continuing writers' strike (which I support), the sort of ceremony we'll get - if any - is still in doubt. But for the time being, the speculation is on.

As usual, I haven't seen many of the big nominees this year. With Andrew's job, getting out to see movies has become even more difficult. I can tell you that we really liked "Juno" and I hear good things about a lot of the other films with a lot of nominations, but that's about it. The animated categories, on the other hand, I can say a few things about.

There are five films up for Best Animated Short. In most years, I end up seeing one or none of the nominated shorts, usually a Pixar offering if anything. The vast majority of animated shorts (and live action short films, for that matter) only show in festivals and touring shows nowadays and I seldom get out to see them. But this year, a friend of mine located either the entire short or a trailer for the short for all five nominees on YouTube. So i've seen three of the shorts in their entirety and trailers for the other two.

My pick up of the films I've seen in their entirety is "Peter and the Wolf", a stop motion adaptation of the Prokofiev piece. The story itself is pretty faithful to the original aside from a slight modernization and a little bit of additional material. What makes this short special is the animation. This is some of the most expressive stop motion I have ever seen, with beautiful suggestions of character through action and movement. There's no dialogue and everything is perfectly conveyed through the characters' expressions and particular little motions.

The runner up for me in this category is "Moya Iyubov" ("My Love"). This film is done with oil on glass, quite possibly the most insanity inducing method of animating I can think of. The animator makes a painting with oil paints on a piece of glass, shoots one frame, uses linseed oil to erase parts of the picture, makes changes, shoots another frame, an so on. It's all the difficulties of stop motion - where once a frame is altered, it's gone forever - without the benefit of at least having your set and puppets still there to work with when you finish. The result, though, is absolutely beautiful, like a painting come to life. The reason it isn't my top choice for Best Animated Short may not be entirely fair. The film is Russian, it has a lot of dialogue, and there's no subtitled version available. It also featured very realistic characters, to the point where it feels a little too much like live action with a filter on it to me. It's beautiful and definitely worth watching, but it's not something that I had any kind of emotional connection with.

The other three films are a comic computer animated short that isn't particularly impressive in any way and the two I only saw trailers for and can't really comment on.

Best Animated Feature Film is a bit more of a challenge for me. I've seen two of the three nominated films and I really can't decide between them. (Incidentally, the nomination of the third film, "Surf's Up", surprised even Sony, the company that produced the film. They did not run any kind of publicity campaign for its nomination, so why it was chosen is anybody's guess. It won't win, though. Penguin movies are so Oscars 2007.)

"Ratatouille" is Pixar and Brad Bird's latest film, about a French rodent with gourmet tastes and a dream of becoming a chef. It's a beautiful film with an excellent balance of comedy and drama. The animation continues to up the Pixar standard. It doesn't talk down to kids and in fact barely caters to them at all. It's just a really excellent movie, let alone animated movie.

"Persepolis" is based on the autobiographical graphic novels about a woman's childhood in Iran. It's 2D, with a very simple style, and most of the film is in black and white. It's in French with English subtitles. It isn't a complete downer all the way through; the pacing and insertion of scenes to relieve tension are quite good. But given the subject matter, it's not light entertainment and certainly not for the kiddie set. Frankly, I've never seen an animated film quite like it.

The problem I have in choosing between these two films points to a flaw in having a Best Animated Feature category (or Best Picture, for that matter). Aside from both being animated, these two films have very little in common and it's nearly impossible to judge if one does its job better than the other, just as it's hard to say whether a comedy does a better job of being a comedy than a period epic does of being a period epic. I'm glad that there is a Best Animated Feature category, as it sometimes brings attention to films the public may not be aware of. But it just seems fruitless to pick a best film when the group contains both apples and oranges.

Which will win? I can't say there either. More people have probably seen "Ratatouille", which may give it an edge. But voters may also feel that "Persepolis" is a more "arty" and "important" film, the type that Academy members like to vote for. I could easily see them voting for it based on the plot summary alone without even seeing the film. Whichever wins, though, I'll be happy. I think it's definitely a good thing when there are two animated films up for the Oscar that are both so good that I can't make up my mind which should take the honor home.

Tech Update

2008-01-24T09:39:00.001-05:00

Every now and then, I find it a little disturbing how addicted Andrew and I are to our technology. A couple of days ago, we were building Andrew's new computer desk, which took all afternoon and necessitated unplugging both of our computers. (I inherited his old computer desk.) Andrew commented on how strange it felt not to have internet access for even just a couple of hours. Of course, he uses his computer for work as well, but I felt much the same. We both spend a lot of time on the computers and a fair amount of time with the TV, either watching shows, watching DVDs, or playing video games. Even when I'm out walking the dog, I make the longer walks more interesting by listening to a podcast on the iPod. We end up kind of at a loss when the modem malfunctions, let alone when we're without power for a while.

Nonetheless, I generally like our various technology. Andrew and I each have a MacMini, each with an additional storage drive. Andrew just recently purchased a new Cintiq tablet monitor, which allows him to use a stylus to draw directly on the screen. Hopefully, he'll be able to do more work at home that way. I still have the iPod mini I got about three years ago. It's not as nice as Andrew's, which plays videos and has the nice full color screen and everything. But it still works. I mainly listen to podcasts these days, as they tend to be longer than most music I have and help me to pass time and stay interested while I'm doing something better than a bunch of short songs taking up the same amount of time.

If the internet is something of an addiction for me, video games are even more so, though I try to keep it under some level of control. I got three games for Christmas this year. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games is pretty much what it sounds like: the characters from the Mario and Sonic franchises competing for the gold in the summer Olympics. It's for the Wii and actually provides a pretty decent workout. Also for the Wii is Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, a kind of puzzle-adventure game which has been getting hugely positive reviews. However, I've only played "Mario and Sonic" a few times and I haven't even opened "Zack and Wiki" yet. Why? Mass Effect.

We bought an XBox 360 over the summer, largely so Andrew could have the version of the "TransFormers" movie game that came with a bonus disc. I appreciated the system's capabilities and even joined in the occasional Halo online battle. But I wasn't really playing a game seriously on the system until "Mass Effect". "Mass Effect" is a huge RPG from BioWare, makers of the popular "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic". "Mass Effect" is more of an homage to the great science fiction movies of the 80s and early 90s. You play as Commander Shepard, the first human to join the ranks of the Spectres, an elite group charged with maintaining order in the universe with carte blanche to act as they see fit. Your character's appearance is highly customizable. You can choose to be male or female, make up a first name (the game gets around this in dialogue by having other characters call you by your last name), change your hair, eye color, and facial features, and even select from a couple of different back stories. Unlike in many RPGs, your character does talk, with male and female voice actors recording hundreds of lines of dialogue for your character's various response options. Like the best games of its kind, "Mass Effect" gives the player tons of freedom. You can behave virtuously or demand payments from those you help or refuse to take on their problems. You can charm people in to seeing things your way or intimidate them into doing what you want. You can work on your main mission of saving the universe from a threat against all life, take on side missions on various planets, talk people through their problems, or just waste all your money gambling at the casino.

I was playing yesterday while waiting for Andrew to get home and came to a point where I had to make a call. Now a lot of the choices I make in this game are pretty clear cut, like "help this person" or "ignore this person". Some are less so, like siding with one person or another in an argument where both make good points. But this was a really difficult call. Though I couldn't be sure of the outcome, it seemed like something bad was going to happen either way. I made my choice and there were consequences. And I really felt it. I kept wondering if I had made the right decision, if things might have gone better if i had gone with the other choice. Then I realized that I was feeling exactly what I should have been feeling about that situation. If I really was a military commander who had to make a hard call with no clearly "right" choice, I would probably be second guessing myself and wondering if I had done the right thing. I was in love with the game already, but that was the point where it gave me something I had never experienced in a video game before: a real feeling of owning my actions and their consequences. It's an amazing game that I'd recommend you try if you get the chance.

Tired

2008-01-23T11:34:00.001-05:00

I just haven't felt like doing anything today. Why is that when Andrew tells me to be productive and spend some time drawing as he leaves for work, I end up completely not wanting to do either? Of course, I haven't in really wanted to draw for a long time, but that's another issue.

I spent most of the morning in bed. I haven't been able to really sleep in at all since we got Dante and I just wanted to rest. Dante likes sleeping on the bed, though he's not supposed to do it unless one of us is there to invite him. So he just curled up next to me and stayed there. I was glad for his company and for knowing that he wasn't getting into trouble.

Usually, I don't mind being alone for most of the day on most days. I can often get more done that way and do what I want without having to worry about anyone else's preferences for a while. But every once in a while, it loses its charm. I wish there was someone I could call or someone who would call me and just talk about how I was doing. I wish I had someone I could go to for advise about how to get past the points where I feel stuck. And no, this isn't a "subtle" way of asking whoever might be reading this to pay more attention to me. Through no one's fault but my own, I just don't have the kind of friendships where I can talk about these minor issues on a daily basis without it being a big deal with lots of catching up and possibly more worry than is necessary involved. Again, not anybody's fault but my own.

More upbeat post next time.

An Open Letter

2008-01-21T20:08:00.000-05:00

Dear Lady with Four Dogs,

You don't know me, but I'm the woman you saw late this afternoon walking the mid-sized terrier mix up my driveway to my house. You were the woman with four little dogs (I think it was two pomeranians, a chihuahua, and what looked like a very small spaniel) walking along the bike path. For reason I'll get into in a moment, I couldn't help but notice that none of your dogs were wearing leashes. The town laws, which you probably received just as I did when you got notification that it was time to renew you four dog licenses, state that all dogs must be leashed or under effective command. Now I know dogs aren't always perfectly behaved and I'm generally not going to complain if a dog comes over to sniff me so long as the owner has the dog under reasonable control. As you may have guessed from the fact that I have a dog, I love dogs. I love dogs of all breeds, shapes, and sizes. The fact that your four dogs are all very small does not come into this. As long as you're keeping your dogs under control within reason, you'll have no trouble from me.

Unfortunately, this was no the case. As I was coming home from walking my dog, on-leash, I heard a high pitched barking. Looking up my driveway towards the bike path, I saw one little dog running up from the bike path in my direction. Seconds later, I was stunned to see the one dog joined by three more little dogs, all running from the bike path onto my property, all barking like crazy at my dog.

Now again, I like dogs. I hope I never in my life have to hurt one for any reason. But when I see a bunch of dogs running at me barking with no owner in sight, I get worried. And when my dog is with me, my dog who is a great dog but who gets very excited when he sees other dog and who seldom has the sense to see when another dog clearly does not want to play with him, I get worried about him. My dog's safety comes first. I told him to sit and despite being excited, he listened. I put myself between him and your four barking dogs as best I could and started trying to shoo them away. I yelled, I waved my hands and the end of the leash. I was not exactly friendly to them. Under those circumstance, it's hard to be.

It was at this point that you started calling your dogs. And I watched as, hesitantly, they turned around and started running back to you. But they didn't make it all the way back. They turned right around and ran back into my yard over to my dog. You called again, they came closer to you. Some of them did actually come back that second time, but there was one who still wasn't convinced. he headed back towards me and my dog and you had to call him a third time before he rejoined you and the others and you were on your way.

Now what's wrong with this picture? My dog - who is far from perfect obedience-wise, but generally responds to my commands - was on a leash, on my property, heading home from a walk. Your four dogs were off-leash, ran onto the property of a total stranger, barked at a strange dog who was on his property and not bothering them at all, and failed to come all the way back to you before you had called them three times. I do appreciate that you at least did not get mad at me for yelling at your dogs to beat it. But an apology, or some acknowledgment of the fact that your dogs should not have been on my property, would have been nice.

Again, the law in this town is that dogs need to be restrained or under effective command when off the owner's property. Your dogs were not under your control in any sense of the word. They need to be on leashes. Now maybe you think that's too much hassle. Maybe the leashes get all tangled up and you spend more time getting them straightened out than you do actually walking. I don't care. You're the one who chose to have four dogs. You're the one who needs to figure out how to walk them effectively and within the boundaries of the law and the bike path. And it's not just me that I'm thinking about here. It's your dogs too. What if they had run into someone else's yard, someone who didn't just yell and wave her arms, but gave each of your dogs a good sharp kick? What if one of your dogs ended up in a yard with a little kid and before you could get the dog back, the kid pulled the dog's tail and the dog bit the kid? Or what if one of the dogs even just wandered onto the wrong side of the bike path just as a fast moving cyclist was coming the other way?

I am an understanding person, especially when it comes to dogs. Had I met your four dogs under better circumstances, I may well have liked them very much. But for your dogs to run into my yard and bark at me and my dog, completely free of your control, is unacceptable. If your any of your dogs ever ventures onto my property again, I will not hesitate to tell you to leash your dogs. And if you give me the slightest bit of trouble, I will not hesitate to call the police - who have their station right on the other side of the bike path, in case you didn't know - and ask them to speak to you about leashing your dogs. For the sake of your little pack, if nothing else, I hope you are more careful in the future.

Regards,
Sara

Pets Update

2008-01-21T09:52:00.000-05:00

I don't harbor any illusions about keeping this blog updated on a regular basis again. But I figured I'd give it a shot just for good measure. Hopefully, it will inspire people whose blogs I read to update as well. Anyways, it's been a while, so there is quite a bit to discuss. I was going to do it all in one fell swoop, but it's turning out pretty long, so I'll be doing separate posts.

We adopted a dog in September. Much talk and planning went into this. (It's the reason I was cleaning off the upstairs landing in August: anticipation of a dog crate.) Dante is some kind of terrier mix, possibly some hound and whippet in there too. He's now about eight months old. I had no intention of getting a dog that young, but he honestly seemed like the best fit for our family. His original name was "Loafer" due to his low activity level indoors and his refusal to walk on a leash on the shelter's bare floors, making t necessary for the staff to kind of drag him around. After going through a bunch of name ideas, we settled on "Dante", after the main character in "Clerks. He's a wonderful dog. After a few weeks of me thinking that I'd made a mistake n getting a dog (which is fairly normal when I bring any new animal home), he settled in and became part of the family. He's fully housebroken, knows "sit", "down", "stay", "wait", "come", "crate", "hop up", "off", and "paw", graduated from his obedience class, and loves us both. He's absolutely fine with the bunnies - partly because we worked on introducing them and partly because his indoor prey drive is pretty nonexistent. Currently, his only real issues are barking at the door - which can be stopped pretty easily, his carsickness- which we're hoping he'll grow out of, and chewing on things that aren't his when we leave him alone for a while. He never shows any interest in doing this while we're home, so we're just resigned to crating him when we go out. Overall though, he's a terrific dog and I can't imagine being without him.

The story of another dog in my life has finally reached the point where I can talk about it this month, A couple of weeks before we brought Dante home, we had adopted another dog from the same shelter. "Dolly" (we never came up with another name for her) was a beautiful aussie/border collie mix with a likely difficult past. She was shy and probably had been mistreated before coming to the shelter. She seemed to be doing well around people when we brought her to the pet store and on her first walk, so I decided she would be OK coming to our neighbor's block party. On the way there, she was frightened by a kid bouncing a beach ball near her. She slipped out of her collar and ran away from me.

We spent the next two weeks trying to catch her and then to just find her. We called animal control, which provided very little help, and the Animal Rescue League, who were helpful, but unable to trap her. Eventually, we stopped getting phone calls from people who had seen her and we resigned ourselves to the fact that she was gone. We were both heartbroken. I felt like I had completely and catastrophically failed at the thing I had been planning for and looking forward to for months. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that if I didn't try again with another dog, this dog I had known for less than a day was going to keep me from feeling like I could have a dog for the rest of my life. That's when we returned to the shelter and adopted Dante.

Early this month, I got a call from a woman asking if I had a dog who was missing. Against all odds, she had found Dolly in North Reading, miles from where we'd last seen her. The woman had been patiently and eventually was able to get close enough to bring her inside. Totally stunned, I called Andrew and we went to pick her up. She looked remarkably well for having been loose for four months. We brought her home with us and considered what we would do. We wanted to take care of Dolly. But the issues that had caused her to leave us were still very much there. Though Dante liked having another dog in the house, he was constantly pestering her and she'd often end up growling at him to leave her alone. I had no way of knowing if they would be able to work it out eventually and it seemed like a bit much for Dolly. Though Dante was reasonably well behaved by this point, I didn't know if I had the energy to go through training and adjusting to another dog so soon. The decision became final when I was bringing Dante in from a walk and Dolly shoved her way past me and ran out the door. I was able to get her back before she got out of the driveway using the information I'd learned when she ran away the first time: lay down on my stomach, let Dante out as far as he could go on his leash, called to Dolly, let her come to Dante, and reeled him in until she was close enough for me to grab her harness. I realized that we just didn't have the facilities to keep this dog safe and that if we kept her, I'd be spending every day worrying that she might leave again and really never come back. We drove her up to the animal shelter, as we were contractually obligated to return her there if we couldn't keep her. I gave them all of the information I had on her: very shy, needs training, must be walked on a harness, should have a secure yard, likes other dogs if they're calm. We left a donation and said our goodbyes. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it wasn't easy for either of us.

A little over a week ago, Andrew's uncle who works at the shelter told us Dolly was adopted by a nice family with two older kids and a beagle. It sounds like a good match and I am confident that Dolly will be happy and well taken care of. I still sometimes wish I could have kept her, but given my history with her and our current situation, I know it wouldn't have worked. But now I finally know that she's being taken care of and loved and I can put her disappearance and all the guilt I had from it behind me.

First Anniversary

2007-08-27T14:12:00.000-04:00

(Yeah, I know. It's been a while.)

It's the first anniversary of our wedding. If you were there, you can check the back of your little blue dish to confirm this. Andrew is working today, so we had our low key celebrations mostly yesterday. Andrew picked up two bags of chips and some ice cream, including a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby for me. (No comment on the name, please.) I gave him a bunch of DVDs, including one with material from the first five years of Sesame Street (which is before either of us were born).

So today, I've been by myself since about 6:30 or so this morning. I put away the laundry and cleaned the rabbits' litterboxes. I walked over to the grocery store t get ingredients for the homemade guacamole that I will be making for the first time tonight. Right now, I'm taking a short break from cleaning the upstairs landing in the hopes that something much better will replace all the stuff I'm clearing off of there. Since I can't do things like exercising, going for long walks, or cleaning without a few podcasts to keep me entertained, I went and loaded up the iPod before I started. So I just finished listening to a "This American Life" about - and I did not realize the irony of this until near the end - break-ups.

This may sound like I'm complaining about how mundane or lonely my life is right now, but I'm actually not. I've had my ups and downs lately and throughout my life, but I'm happy. I've been fairly productive with my days, and when that's done, I never lack for entertainment. My husband loves me and while neither of us are perfect, he does regularly show me that he cares. My family is happy and healthy. I've got a roof over my head. I have friendswhose company I enjoy and they seem to reciprocate. My life may not always be everything I want it to be, but it's good and I'm largely happy with it.

Return of the Meme

2007-02-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

Got tagged by Kim, so here we go:

RULES: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. No tagbacks.

1. I have an unusually good memory for television shows and cartoons. I'm pretty sure it's genetic and comes from my dad. It does not translate into remembering anything useful.

2. I have patches on dry skin on both of my ankles, which have been there since I was pretty young.

3. Mushy brown banana makes me retch. It's not just unpleasant to me' it makes me physically nauseous.

4. I sometime call Blitz (among other things) "Ms. Bun", "Big Bunny Blitz", "Grey", and "Pretty Grey Girl". Larry's nicknames include "Laurence B", "Beige", "Mr. Man", and "Lorenzo di Bunici".

5. I have no allergies that I'm aware of.

6. I sometimes enjoy very violent movies and video games, like "Kill Bill" and "God of War".

7. I enjoy cryptology, though it's usually limited to translating codes an symbol alphabets found in comic books.

8. My favorite pizza topping is mushrooms. It was what my family had when I was little and it's still a major comofrt food for me.

9. The only serious unjury I've ever suffered was a couple of winters back when I slipped on the ice and dislocated my knee.

10. I check the internet in a particular order. Blogs are one of the last things I look at.

Everyone who reads this has already been tagged. I tag anyone who stumbles accross this blog and would like to try this meme.

Goals: One

2007-01-24T22:30:00.000-05:00

I need a new job.

There have been some pretty big changes at what I affectionately call "fake job number one". The woman who was pretty much my direct supervisor left to pursue a different job. I liked this woman very much and quite a bit of the day to day work of the office was taken care of by her with me helping to free her up from the more mundane stuff. Unfortunately, there was very little overlap between when her replacement was hired and when she left. So while her replacement is settling in, the stuff that got taken care of by her gets taken care of by me, when I'm not teaching the new employee how to do it. There are things that only I know how to do right now, which strikes me as bad all around since I'm a volunteer who comes in twice a week.

Aside from the general insanity caused by my sort of boss leaving, I feel like I want to try something different. I'm not event sure how long I've been at my current volunteer position. It's been at least two years, as I was there at the time of the '04 election. It was something to do, something to get me out of the house, something I could contribute to a cause I did support. But it wasn't completely "mine" either. I went there because my mom had been involved there and because it was an easy drive away. It's pretty much secretarial work, which is certainly not bad, but not the most fulfilling thing either. I know what I do is valued by the people I work with and I genuienely like them, but I'd kind of like to have something that I felt more passionate and enthusiastic about. Andrew and I have been discussing his new job lately (which I couldn't be prouder about) and I've realized that for all his stressing and complaining about it, he has fun and he loves what he's doing. I want that and he wants me to have that.

Now yes, I could just quit my job and devote myself to writing (or even keep my job and devote the rest of my time to writing). But for one thing, I need something to get me out of the house. And more importantly, I know I'm not that self motivated. Unless there's someone standing over my shoulder saying "I will pay you "x" dollars to write "y" words this week", it's just not going to happen regularly. Heck, I've had situations where I've tried to write regularly for other people and it just falls through.

I think I know the kind of thing I would like to do. Problem is, I don't know how to get that point. The places that seem like ideal candidates are inconveniently far away. And on top of that, there's the thing that happens when I try to get a job. Every time I've made an attempt to get a job I think I would actually enjoy, no matter how good my chances seem initially, I will eventually get the brush-off. "Not what we're looking for", "We're not really hiring right now" (in direct contradiction to large "Now Hiring!" banner in store window), or just no calls back. I once had a store look like they were going to offer me a managing position (I have no clue why), only to have it fizzle out. Heck, I've failed to get a volunteer position at a cat shelter because "the timing didn't work out".

It's not that I really blame the stores in most cases. I do not have a particularly impressive resume, even now. I have a degree I'll never use, no long term work experience (aside from fake job number one), and a crippling fear of driving. Not exactly a wondeful job candidate by most standards.

So I was poking around for opportunities when I came accross and ad for a full-time or part-time receptionist at an animal behavior center. I knew the place; my parents took Pedro there one year for agility classes. It was nearly perfect: I probably had the needed skills, I could walk to work if needs be, and I'd be around animals some of the time at least.

So I sent an e-mail inquiring if the position was still open. A couple of days pass and no response. So I call. A woman answers and I ask if the position is still open. There's a pause and she says "Not that I'm aware of". I point out that there's a listing for it on their website. She tells me she think "that's been on there a long time". (I have no clue what that's supposed to mean.) In a conversation that's akin to pulling teeth, I get her to take a message for the person who might know something about the receptionist position. But I know where this is going. I know I will more than likely not get a call back to either confirm or contradict what I've been told. This is yet another dead end.

And that's pretty much what I've been finding since. I've looked around the internet for a job or volunteer work in the area that fits my interests. But so far nothing close enough that I can do.

I don't know what to do about this. Not even where to start, where to ask for help. For the time being, it looks like I'm stuck where I am.

More Writing

2007-01-02T13:02:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

My new year's goal/resolution is to do more writing. So there's a new post up at StormWyvern Press (link to the right). If you want to help me in this endeavor, please read what I have there and post replies. I need feedback.

I'm hoping to post some highlights from the past year and goals for the next here soon. Until then, I hope 2007 is a wonderful year for all of you.

Well, Hell must have frozen over...

2006-12-05T13:39:00.000-05:00

...because I just made a new post on StormWyvern Press. Link to the right.

We Got A WII!

2006-11-19T15:55:00.000-05:00

I know I haven't posted here in a while, but this is a pretty momentous occasion. The title, coupled with the date, says it all.

We weren't able to get a preorder due to the limited numbers and a couple of preorder related fiascoes. We had decided to arrive at what we though was a very early hour (roughly 5:30 AM) at our local Target, which we had heard had at least 100 Wiis coming in, probably 120. But when we got there, contrary to our expectations of low turnout, at least 120 people were forming a line that went around the side of the store. Tents and opened cars told us quite a few people had been there a very long time. Disheartened, we left, and decided to try a few more places before resorting to ordering online. We decided to go with a less likely store. I hesitate to even name it as we may need to rely on the trick of going there when the next generation of consoles comes out. Friends can e-mail me if they're curious. Anyway, this store initially had no line. We went to check another nearby store quickly, found it did have a line, and returned to the previous store to find two people waiting. We quickly secured our places waiting for two (we had a friend with us) of the 6 available Wiis.

I'm very happy to say that the people we ended up waiting with were a great group. Everyone was really friendly and as far as I could tell, not one of them was looking to resell the system. We chatted, checked out a new DS game, held a spot for the mom of a twelve year old while she went to retrieve her son from the nearby Circuit City line. (She later repaid us with a cofee and donut run.) We had arrived around 5:30 and the store wasn't supposed to open until 10, so we were prepared for a length wait. But one of the managers decided to let us in around 7! The only downside was that our friend had gone home to grab some warmer clothing. Fortunately, since Andrew and I still count as two people, we were able to pick one up for him. The signage outside had indicated that the store was only selling bundles. None of us knew what this meant and we were pretty nervous, having heard tales of $600 bundles of crappy games. But we were in luck. The bundle here was the system, and extra controller of your choice (remote, nunchuk, or virtual console controller), and either "Excite Truck" or "Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess". We, of course, picked the latter.

So how is it? FUN. Thw controls work extremely well and the whole interface is a joy to use. The game included with the console, "Wii Sports" shows off the controller functions very wel through a number of fun little sports games. There's not much depth, but you can customize your characters and all the games are pretty fun. "Twilight Princess" would be a great game without the Wii functionality. I've been waiting over a year to play it. But I do dearly lover aiming my slingshot with my remote and hearing it emit sword slashing sounds as I swing it to slash away at my foes.

All in all, this was a surprisingly good experience, and the real fun is just begining. I'll try not to neglect my social contacts, but if you hear me talking about triple bogeys and triforces as I talk to you with one hand holding the phone, you'll know what I'm up to.

Meme Time

2006-09-27T11:32:00.000-04:00

I did this on Kim's blog, so the Law of the Internet says I must post it on mine. Enjoy, my readership of two, possibly three.

1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Movie:
4a. Favorite Book:
5. Favorite Song:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:

HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...

1. Do we know each other outside of Live Journal?
2. Whats your philosophy on life?
3. Would you have my back in a fight?
4. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
5. What is your favorite memory of us?
6. Would you give me a kidney?
7. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
8. Would you take care of me when I'm sick?
9. Can we get together and make a cake?
10. Have you heard any rumors of me lately?
11. Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?
12. Do you think I'm a good person?
13. Would you drive across country with me?
14. Do you think I'm attractive?
15. If you could change anything about me, would you?
16. What do you wear to sleep?
17. Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?
18. Would you go on a date with me if i asked you?
19. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?
20. Will you post this so I can fill it out for you?

Q & A

2006-09-06T19:53:00.000-04:00

Another one of these things. I guess it's a good way to see if anyone still reads this.

I want everyone who reads this, that wants to, to ask me 3 questions, no more no less. Ask me anything you want and I will answer them as honestly and completely as I can. Then I want you to go to your journal, copy and paste this, allowing your friends (including me) to ask you anything.

I Now Pronounce Thee Done.

2006-09-01T20:39:00.000-04:00

I guess it's about time for me to recap the wedding experience. Unlike diligent blogger Jon, I didn't manage to make daily reports. But the again, Jon wasn't in the process of getting married. Apologies if I forget anything or anyone; it was a somewhat crazy couple of days.

FRIDAY

Erik and Trina are supposed to arrive today, so good chunks of the day are spent cleaning. We've also scheduled lunch at Lexx for Andrew's family and mine to meet up before the wedding. Andrew has opted out to wait for Erik and Trina to arrive and to continue cleaning. Donna and her Andrew are going into Harvard Square. That leaves Andrew's parents, Meredith, my parents, and me. Everyone arrives in a timely fashion and the food is good. Andrew's family gives me a white purse for the emergency kit Meredtih and I have been putting together, which is another worry off the list. Our families get along fine and I get a tasty four cheese macaroni and a so-so white chocolate bread pudding.

Later on, we stop by Andrew's aunt's house to see some of his family, including Andrew's ten month old first cousin once removed, Logan. Logan is at a particularly curious age and seems particularly interested in Andrew. Much as he complains that he doesn't like kids, Andrew seems to do pretty well with them one on one.

The day goes on. Erik and Trina get delayed by evening traffic in Connecticut, so we eat the takeout we ordered before they arrive. They get around nine with a sleeping Orin in tow. We reheat the pizza and chat for a while before heading off to bed.

SATURDAY

Andrew and our guests go out to see the local toy stores. I opt to stay home, get my nails touched up (for free!), and plan the "rehearsal dinner". Since we're not having an actual rehearsal, we've decided to just have a nice meal with some of our friends. I make reservations at Kushboo, our local Indian restaurant, then start calling people to see who's coming. Andrew, Erik, Trina, and Orin get back from shopping and we head over to Baja Fresh for a late lunch.

Our guests start arriving in the evening. We have a few late arrivals, so Andrew stays behind to wait for them while I take everyone else over to the restaurant. Kushboo is very accommodating, especially considering that w end up with one more person than we anticipated. Once everyone arrives, we have 11 people and one baby: Dave, Keng Qui, Tim, Les, Jon, Erik, Trina, Donna, Donna's Andrew, Andrew, and me. Since we all share similar interests, everyone gets along very well. Aside from Orin fussing and no one remembering the name of Superman's third obscure girlfriend, the night is a success. We come back to our house and continue chatting until we kick everyone out so we can get some sleep.

SUNDAY -THE BIG DAY

Sleep turns out to be an unattainable dream; we wake up around 3 AM and don't really get back to sleep. I get up a few hours later to prepare for Meredith arriving around 8:30. The stylist comes at 9 to do my hair and makeup. Everything goes pretty smoothly, but I'm still nervous. All the last minute concerns I have no control over are hitting pretty hard, to the point where I keep tensing my shoulders. To try to calm down, I watch my favorite relaxing movie: Toy Story 2 with commentary. It's fun, familiar, and a good way to kill time. Eventually, we head outside and Trina spots the limo at the end of the street. We climb in and head for the restaurant.

I call my mom from the limo to let her know we're on our way. She helps my anxiety by telling me everyone is already having a great time and not to worry. In spite of my worries, we approach the restaurant on time. I call one more time so Mom can alert the photographer to come down and take pictures as we exit the limo. We're greeted b the staff and head upstairs to the dining room.

Once we arrive, I feel about ten times better. The room looks fantastic and everyone got there without incident (even my mother's brother and his family, who were coming in by train with very little time to get to the restaurant). I greet as many people as I can, pick up by bouquet, and get a quick look a the cake. This was one of my worries; last I heard, the florist and the restaurant staff hadn't talked and the cake was supposed to be decorated with flowers. But once I see it, I'm convinced they got in touch.

After the greetings, I talk to our officiant and gather our wedding party to start the ceremony. The Grover "reading" comes in right on cue (thanks to Donna's Andrew) and goes over very well. The only hitch is when I have to say my vows. I'm both nervous and really happy, which tends to make me giggle. I mess up one line and have to repeat it. Andrew does just fine and the rest of the ceremony goes smoothly.

The photographer grabs us for various family group pictures after the ceremony. Once those are done, we get to mingle and sample the appetizers. The only real problem with any of the day's events is the music. We spent hours picking out music and putting it in order....and no one can hear it. I guess if we had dancing, it would have focused more attention on the music, but as is, I guess no one minded since everyone was talking anyway. If something had to go kind of wrong, I guess it was pretty minor and didn't really bother anyone but us.

After talking to people for a while, we sit down for dinner. The food is quite good for the most part and everyone comments on how tasty it is. Andrew gets the tofu entree and I get the chicken, so we each have an opportunity to try a bit. My dad and sister both make beautiful toasts. I manage to thank everyone for coming and remember everything I meant to say without notes. Andrew and I circle around from time to time to talk to people at other tables when we're not enjoying our food.

I get the room's attention again to call attention to the favors and announce the cake cutting. The waitress tells us that there's cardboard about an inch in somewhere, but I never figure out exactly where. We cut the cake with Andrew's parents' cake knife from their wedding. We feed each other without too much frosting mess and everyone seems happy to discover that the cake inside is chocolate. The cake and dolci is a big hit all around. I make my last announcement and present my bouquet to my sister for luck with her wedding. People begin to leave and we're eventually down to one table. We head out before 5 and the rain that's held off until now makes an appearance. Will and the limo driver provide umbrellas, so we get to the limo relatively dry. We return home in plenty of time to feed the bunnies. I change into more comfortable clothing (those shoes will probably not be worn again), and take a brief nap on the couch. Around 8, we decide we're hungry and go out to Chili's with Erik, Trina, and Orin. It's a nice, casual end to the day and I'm feeling quite satisfied as we go to bed.

(I may add an entry for Monday at some later time, but I'm running out of steam, so this is it for now. Additions and comments welcome.)

W Minus Five: Real Progress

2006-08-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

Now this is more like it. I think the list is actually getting smaller. Andrew's family is now back in town and his sister has been a huge help. Stuff has just generally been coming together in the past few days. Plus, Andrew is done with his job, so I can freely bug him to do wedding related stuff.

Things That Are Done (Or Mostly Done)

Pen for the guest book - Andrew's dad is supplying us with a nice pen from his large collection of free pens he's received. This is a relief, since pens seem to cost either 99 cents or 30 dollars with not much in the middle.

Confirm ceremony plan - Our officiant is all set on what we want to do. Just one or two tiny details to iron out, but this is essentially done.

Get hairclips and other dress accessories - Meredith and I visited the mall last night and got this taken care of.

Make emergency kit - We also took care of most of this at the mall. We still need some lipstick and a travel sewing kit, which Meredith is taking care of. Aside from that, maybe a nice bag to put it all in.

Clothes shopping with Andrew - This may not be necessary anymore, but even if it is, it shouldn't be too tough.

Plan family lunch - I think we're on for Friday, probably at Lexx in the center. Note to self: Call on Friday to reserve a table.

Figure out jobs for people - I think this is pretty much worked out. I should work out who will take what to the site and make sure they have it ahead of time.

Finalize menu with planner - I just got off the phone with her. All I need to do is make sure we have a final seating count and get the name of the person who will be there on the day.

Things To Do

Buy other part of favors - This should be really easy.

Get something old and something borrowed - I know what the something old is and will pick it up on Friday.

Resize Andrew's ring - We'll be doing this today or tomorrow.

Call and confirm vendors - I will probably do this Thursday or Friday. The only one I absolutely need to talk to is the photographer.

Check prices for parking garages - This is easy, I just need to sit down and do it.

Tell Andrew I love him - It's not that I haven't; I just need to keep it up.

Bonus: Andrew is working on cleaning today!

W Minus Seven: One Week To Go

2006-08-20T16:59:00.000-04:00

A busy and fairly eventful couple of days, though I still feel like I have virtually nothing done. Thursday was my next to last day of fake job before the big day. I did get a call back from our officiant, but I'm still waiting on an e-mail from her finalizing the details of the ceremony. It doesn't help any that I think I left my e-mail program at work on and it has a nasty habit of grabbing up all my mail from Gmail before my home program gets it. I've been checking via webmail, but it's still pretty annoying. Note to self: do NOT forget to turn off e-mail program at work on Tuesday. In fact, consider disabling automatic checks for personal e-mail address altogether.

House cleaning is proceeding slowly. Andrew is working on a freelance job which I can't really say much about, so I can't ask him for help at least until Monday. Which would be OK except that the majority of the stuff that needs to be cleaned up is his and I don't have a clue where he wants it. I did get most of the front hallway and living room vacuumed; both areas sorely needed it. And to be fair to Andrew, he did clean up the kitchen prior to this job coming in. I gave the bathroom a good scrubbing then we reorganized the kitchen, resulting in a new "bunny corner". There's still a lot to be done, but it feels pretty overwhelming right now.

Andrew dropped me off at my parents' house Saturday evening so that I could go with my dad to pick up Donna and her Andrew. I've seen a fair amount of my parents lately. I'll frequently stop by their house after work since it's a short walk. And with Andrew needing some time alone to get more work done, my visits have been getting longer. After work on Thursday, I stayed for dinner out at an Italian restaurant near Mom's work. I do like visiting with them, and getting to spend some time with just my dad is especially nice.

Anyways, Donna called us from the airport and Dad and I headed out to pick her up, with Pedro in tow. Pedro absolutely loves car rides and behaves very well one them, so we like taking him too. He spent the majority of the ride curled up in my lap, happily relaxed. Logan was the usual horrendous mess and we ended up accidentally leaving the airport, then looping around the terminals an extra time. Once we found Donna and Andrew, we had a pretty uneventful drive home.

We got back to my parents' house and various belated gifts were exchanged. Then we got the big news: Donna and Andrew are engaged. I'm quite happy for them. Andrew is a great guy and I'm sure they'll continue to make each other and their two cats very happy. It gives me someone to pass my accrued wedding knowledge on to before I forget all of it. And my parents only have to remember one son-in-law name.

Andrew called and said he was exhausted, so I took Mom and Dad up on the offer to stay the night. I chatted with Donna and Andrew for a while, then went to bed for a less than easy sleep. Guess I'm just not used to being in a strange bed sans fiance. I woke up somewhat early for me, got a morning greeting from Pedro, and had breakfast. Everyone else was going up to Maine, so I got a lift home before they left.

The one wedding related thing I've managed to accomplish is getting a pretty complete music playlist ready. I have to check on some things with the iPod and speakers to see if I can shuffle the reception playlist. Otherwise, I need to put it in order myself. On the positive side, the wedding dreams have either stopped or stopped being memorable. Still nervous though.

Things To Do

- Get a pen for the guest book
- Confirm ceremony plan with officiant
- Finalize menu with planner
- Buy other part of favors
- Get hairclips and other dress accessories
- Get something old from Mom and something borrowed
- Make emergency kit and find someone to hold it
- Resize Andrew's ring
- Go clothes shopping with Andrew
- Call and confirm vendors
- Plan family lunch
- Figure out jobs for everyone
- Check prices for parking garages
- Tell Andrew I love him

Notice how the list gets longer instead of shorter? Yeah, that's really good.

W Minus Ten

2006-08-17T11:06:00.000-04:00

It is ten days before I get married. There's a part of me that's still pretty suprised by that. The rest of me is busy freaking out.

Prior to now, I've been relatively calm about this whole thing. I've never been nervous about the marriage aspect of it and I'm not now. As I see it, we'll wake up in the morning together and go to bed at night together and the only tangible difference will be the addition of a couple of rings. It's not that I don't place any importance on getting married; if that were true we probably wouldn't be going through with this. It's just that since we've been living together for several years, we share a house, and we parent two rabbits together, I don't see this as a new begining or a life altering event. It's more a formal confirmation of what we already have. The worry is because of the event, not what it symbolizes. Andrew feels much the same way, but he got a head start on being nervous about it, so I have to cram an equivalent amount of worrying into roughly two weeks.

To be fair, we have accomplished a lot. I just spoke briefly with our officiant, who is supposed to call me back, which would mean the really essential stuff is pretty much set. But there are still those little things to deal with and that nagging fear that something more important than the music is going to go wrong. For two straight nights, I've had dreams about things going wrong at the weddings, one of which involved Darth Vader (who, weirdly, was not at all related to the problem we were having).

To (hopefully) calm my nerves and possibly make for some interesting reading, here's what we've got done and what we have left to do:

Things We've Done

- Booked the location
- Sent invitations and recieved responses from pretty much everyone
- Decided on the menu
- Ordered the flowers
- Hired an officiant
- Bought speakers for the iPod
- Purchased and recieved wedding rings
- Decided on outfits
- Gone to salon and made home appointment for the day
- Hired a limo
- Bought a guest book
- Obtained a marriage license
- Contacted photographer
- Had my mom order favors

Things To Do

- Get a pen for the guest book
- Finish selecting music
- Confirm ceremony plan with officiant
- Finalize menu with planner
- Buy other part of favors
- Get hairclips and other dress accessories
- Get something old from Mom and something borrowed
- Make emergency kit and find someone to hold it
- Tell Andrew I love him

If you notice any obvious omissions, please let me know. I may have done them and just forgotten to write them in.

So we do have a lot done. But there's still a lot to do, and this doesn't even touch on cleaning the house for our coming guests. I can only imagine how crazy "normal" brides with their much bigger weddings and 100 or more guests, must get my this point. Or is it comforting to have worked over every detail for months on end and have a rehearsal and so on? I like to think my smaller wedding is saving me some stress, but you never know.

Given what I've still got to do, I'm not sure if I'll get back to the blog before the big day. I'll try to at least post a rundown of how things went, though most people who actually read this will be attending. Until then, I expect to continue being stressed out and having odd dreams.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Donna!

Comic-Con Report

2006-07-26T18:40:00.000-04:00

We got home from San Diego on Monday evening, following a delayed flight to Cincinnati that nearly caused us to miss our flight home. It was crazy and tiring and usual, but still a lot of fun. Here's the happenings in brief:

Lowlights (because I'm a firm believer in bad news first)

Getting told we had a king size bed after I called three time to make sure we were down for two doubles and was told everything was fine. They couldn't even guarantee us cots. We ended up with a two bed smoking room.

Blarney's Irish Pub, our Thursday night dinner choice, which went far beyond understandable problems with more than the usual number of customers and being short on staff and ended up in sheer incompetence. I thought the last straw was when my salad came with a side of butter instead of dressing. (I tried it, thinking it was dressing. Not good.) But then they brought the bill.

Missing panels I wanted to see. We got in Thursday afternoon, so some had already passed. Some overlapped with other panels, and some happened when we found a spare moment to eat lunch. This happens every year, so I was kind of prepared for it, but it's still frustrating.

People who step in front of you, separating you from the people you're walking around with, only to stand around or shuffle along as slowly as possible without allowing you to pass by them. Again, this happens every year and having been before, I was now more ready for it.

Cool Stuff Outside the Con

Our Hotel - Aside from the bed problem, this was a really pleasant experience. Last year, Andrew and I stayed at a place sneezing distance from the border and had to take the unbelievably pokey trolley to and from the con. This year, our hotel was the one right next to the convention center. SO much nicer. We could just go back to our room any time we wanted to drop off newly acquired stuff, make meal plans, or just chill for a bit. We also sampled the pub, the bar, and the Starbucks. If we go again next year, I'm seriously considering getting a room there again.

Indian Food - Our Friday dinner, a huge step up from Thursday. Terrific food and service made for a very satisfying meal. Of course, I can't remember the name of the place? Jon? Les? Anyone?

Meeting Up with Dave - I knew Dave back in high school and Les and Jon had been in touch with him more recently. We had a tasty dinner at a brewery restaurant (right next to the vats) and caught up while chatting about animation, which is always fun for me.

Our new Cell Phones - Obtained shortly before the trip they hold a charge much better than our old ones. Cell phones are essential for Comic Con; the convention center is huge and you will inevitably need to contact someone who is not currently with you, even if your intention was to be with this person the whole time. Our phones worked beautifully, with a few exceptions due to poor reception, and kept us in touch with everyone we needed to talk to.

Panels

Hellboy Animated - We were treated to a trailer and a full color scene from the upcoming "Hellboy: Sword of Storms". Tad Stones, Mike Mignola, Phil Weinstein, Matt Wayne and Sean Galloway talked about the film, along with Guillermo del Toro, who showed up fashionably late. The movie focuses on Japanese folklore, which Mignola's apparently really jacked about. Some version of "Heads" is included, but it's not the entire story. They pointed out a kappa among the character designs and I'm pretty sure I spotted an one as well. The clip we saw looked really good; the coloring is especially sharp. The movie will premiere on Cartoon Network in October with a DVD release following early next year. Oh, and "Hellboy 2" is search of a new studio since Revolution kind of went under.

Bruce Timm Retrospective/Legion of Super Heroes - I went in really early to get a good seat and ended up catching a good chunk of the panel for Fox's "Bones" with David Boreanaz. Snagged a better seat as the room cleared between panels. Bruce Timm joked about how retrospectives usually denote the end of a career and he's still paying off a mortgage. Timm talked about how "Batman" got off the ground, the particular difficulties of doing "Superman", and what they learned from the first season of "Justice League". (He talked about that being the first time animated shows that weren't done by him and his crew were really setting the standard for TV animation, specifically mentioning "X-Men: Evolution" and "Samurai Jack".) An interesting thing happened during a showing of clips from Timm's DC shows. When "Batman Beyond" came on, people were clapping and cheering and screaming like crazy. After the clips were over, Timm noted that most of the audience was probably livid about the show when they first heard about it. (Guilty as charged.) But to be fair, he said that he and the WB Animation crew weren't to keen on a Kid Batman either when they first heard about it. Q&A started up and Timm gave advice on spotting particular storyboard artists scenes, revealed that the Bat-embargo wasn't much of a problem after the initial annoyance wore off, and expressed sympathy for the directors of "Braniac Attacks", who apparently had a very short time to do their work. There was some mention of that little rumor that was floating around the internet. (Timm claims this was a misunderstanding and he's actually working on a show for Food Network called "The New Fondue". We'll see.) But the big reveal came towards the end as Timm was saying that his current projects were still in the early stages and he really couldn't talk about them...as a dripping red Superman logo on a black background appeared on the screens behind him. Now what could that possibly mean? :) Timm then cleared out to make way for the "Legion of Super Heroes" preview. The show looks pretty good, the cast is solid, and the ideas seem strong. I'm not as sure about it as I am about "Hellboy", but there's a strong chance it could be good. Still, the big thrill for me was getting to see somebody who had such a huge impact on my view of so many DC characters.

Center for Cartoon Studies - James Sturm is one of Andrew, Les, and Jon's favorite professors, a creator of some excellent comics, and the founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies. CCS is located in Vermont and teaches students the art of comics. James and some of the other faculty/comics greats talked about the school, the small town it's located in, and the various programs offered. I'm really impressed with what we heard and glad to see that James is doing well.

The Tick Animated - I was very happy to see that the first season of this terrific series would be coming out on DVD in late August (minus one episode due to legal complications). Creator Ben Edlund, who I had met many moons ago, talked about the pre-cartoon history of the Tick. Voice actor Townsend Coleman favored us with a hearty "Spoon!" and a bit of "Oh! Little Wooden Boy!" (aided by a life sized Little Wooden Boy provided by a fan). We got to see a demo of puppet version of The Tick and Arthur who would have provided content during the credits if the show had been renewed for a fourth season. The Tick was a two liter soda bottle and Arthur was a milk carton. In addition to "The Tick vs. Season One", there are plans for a Tick anniversary's comic which Ben may actually draw a page for.

Cartoon Voices II - I missed "Cartoon Voices I", so I made certain to catch this as my last panel of the con. Boy, was it ever a great way to end things. The participants included Billy West (Fry, Prof. Farnsworth, Dr. Zoidberg, and Zap Brannigan on "Futurama"), April Stewart (most of the female cast of "South Park"), Bob Bergen (the current Porky Pig), Kimberly Brooks (Buena Girl on "Mucha Lucha"), and Wally Wingert (a lot of voices on "Family Guy"), with perennial panel host Mark Evanier playing MC. Everyone had tons of fun stories and did voices on request. The bulk of the panel consisted of the actors performing a script from the "Flash Gordon" radio show which they hadn't seen before. When Mark Evanier said "Change!", whoever was reading had to go back and redo the last line with a different voice. The audience, myself included, completely cracked up as heroic Flash Gordon acquired a Porky Pig stutter, a seductive space princess became a valley girl, our narrator morphed into Butthead, and a crazed German scientist turned into George W. Bush. Improvisation abounded and the whole event was a huge success. If they have this panel again next year, I will definitely make a point to catch both.

People who Drew in my Sketchbook Last year, I started a convention sketchbook for drawings from the pros. It kind of became a rabbit themed sketchbook, though I honestly didn't intend it to at first. I'm happy to say my sketchbook doubled in size this year, thanks to these kind people.

Linda Medley - The creator of "Castle Waiting", one of my favorite comics ever, was doing signings at the Fantagraphics booth. I bought a new copy of the collected hardcover and got it signed, then came back the following day for the new issue. In return, I got a drawing of a rabbit guy in an Elizabethan collar.

Takeshi Miyazawa - Artist on "Sidekicks" and currently "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane", Takeshi Miyazawa was somebody I HAD to have a sketch from. It ended up being the only sketch I paid for, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Like everyone I spoke to, Mr. Miyazawa was extremely nice. I also had the first "Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane" trade with me and got it signed. Turned out he hadn't seen it yet, so of course I let him check it out.

Want to see the sketch that I got done? Do ya? Do ya? Well lucky for you, it's already online! Just go to Takeshi Miyazawa's Gallery Page, click "Con Sketches 2" and check it out. Which one is it? Well, I think you can figure that out yourself. Just remember the theme. (And remember that there's a second page of sketches.) I may well put the rest of them up myself at some point, but I"m stupidly afraid of scanning them.

Los Bros Hernandez - The team behind "Love and Rockets" was doing sketches while I was looking for Roger Langridge. Two awesome artists, free quick sketches, virtually no line? I'll take it! I got a quick cartoony bunny each from Gilbert and Jaime.

Roger Langridge - The creator of "Fred the Clown" was another person I really wanted to see. We chatted a bit while he was drawing and I found out that he did an upcoming Marvel Christmas story. Sweet! Mr. Langridge finished out my sketchbook for ComicCon '06 with a Groucho Marx rabbit in color.

Other Cool People

Paul Chadwick - I didn't get a sketch from the creator of "Concrete" because I already had one; the first one I got for the sketchbook, in fact. Still, I stopped by to say hi and pick up a Concrete trade I didn't have, which is now personalized with a signature and sketch.

Rick Geary - The artist on the new "Gumby" comic signed a copy for me and gave me two promo posters for free!

Geof Darrow The guy behind "Big Guy and Rusty" and "Shaolin Cowboy" was at a remarkably uncrowded table. I called Jon to let him know and Jon talked with him for a bit about living in France. Were I not drowning in stuff to hang on my wall and afraid of shipping large posters home, I would likely have one of his prints.

Mike Mignola - Hellboy's creator didn't have enough time to do sketches, but he did have time to sign a book of his sketches and hear my positive opinions on the aforementioned "Sword of Storms".

Craig McCracken - I didn't see the father of "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends" at a booth. He was just hanging out on the exhibit hall floor talking to some people. Craig McCracken is one of a very few artists I admire who I can also recognize on sight. Unfortunately, he was engaged in conversation and I didn't want to be rude and bug him while he was "off-duty". So the opportunity to meet one of my animation heroes passed me by. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Greg Weisman - I made a point of tracking down the chief architect of the "Gargoyles" universe at the Slave Labor Graphics booth. I got a promo poster signed by him, artist David Hedgecock, and colorist Will Terrell. I'm pleased and amazed to say that Greg remembered me from the Station 8 comment room. He wrote "Welcome to the clan" on my poster, which I assume he does for everyone, but it still made me happy/

Andy Runton - I really would have liked a sketch from Andy Runton, but my sketchbook was with Takeshi Miyazawa when I saw him and I would have felt bad going back and asking for a sketch after he already signed a book for me. But I still got a cute little drawing in the latest "Owly" trade.

Billy West - Before I saw him bring the house done at the voice actor panel, I strolled by his booth and saw that he was there. I waited around for a while. listened to him talking to other people, and finally got to speak with him a bit. We chatted about politics (we're on the same page there) and I bought a photo which he signed for Andrew and me. He wrote "Greetings from the Year 3000! It still sucks!", which I can only imagine being said in a Zoidberg voice.

Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine - Les drew in my sketchbook last year. They are nice. Buy their book.

Well, that is not remotely everything I saw and did and bought at the con. But that's the main stuff. It was a lot of fun and even better than last year. Thanks for reading though my mammoth recap. Hope you enjoyed it.

Fun Time

2006-04-12T14:58:00.000-04:00

As of late, I've been getting over that cold I got after vacation, dealing with a new and hopefully brief ailment, caring for a sick bunny (who is doing much better now) and other stuff that is not enjoyable. "Kingdom Hearts II" is helpful, but Andrew likes to watch all the cutscenes, so I can't play when he's not here. So I hereby decalre this to be "Fun Time" on my blog. Basicly, that means I'll pick some of the neat things I've seen other people do on their blogs lately and do them on mine. Feel free to do them on yours too. Ready? Here we go!

Wikipedia Fun

The instructions state that you should go to Wikipedia.org and enter your birthdate without the year. List three facts, two births, and one death that occured on that day. I will be taking those numbers as suggested minimums.

Events:

622 - Muhammad completes his hegira from Mecca to Medina. (The oldest one listed for that date. Pretty cool.)

1493 - Christopher Columbus departs on his second expedition to the New World. (In which Columbus took slaves in defiance of an order from the Spanish monarchy not to and imposed a system by which natives who did not turn over a certain amount of gold would get their hands chopped off. Fun guy.)

1789 - The United States Supreme Court and the position of Attorney General are established. (Two brnaches of government were not enough.)

1789 - The United States Post Office Department is established. (Prior to this, people jus threw letters out their windows as paper airplanes.)

1852 - The first airship is displayed. (Laying the groundwork for thos to come in "Final Fantasy".)

1869 - "Black Friday": Gold prices plummet as Jay Gould and James Fisk plot to control the market. (Yeah, there are a couple of these "not so good" events in here)

1890 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially renounces polygamy. (They later moved on to making informative PSAs to teach kids morals.)

1957 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends United States National Guard troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, to enforce desegregation. (No quip for this one.)

1962 - United States court of appeals orders the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith. (I guess that thing in 1957 didn't fix everything.)

2005 - Hurricane Rita makes landfall in the United States, devastating Beaumont, Texas and portions of southwestern Louisiana. (One of only two events for that date in my life time and it has to be this.)

Births:

1564 - William Adams, British navigator and samurai (How many people can claim both of those on their resume?)

1724 - Sir Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer (Yes, that Guiness)

1755 - John Marshall, Chief Justice of the United States (Longest tenure as Chief Justice in the court's history.)

1871 - Lottie Dod, English athlete (Listed by the 1803 fellow's Book fo World Records as the Most Versatile Feamle Athlete.

1896 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist (I read "The Great Gatsby" in high school.)

1936 - Jim Henson, American puppeteer (d. 1990) (I actually knew this already.)

1941 - Linda McCartney, American singer and activist (d. 1998) (And she was on "The Simpsons". Just like...)

1948 - Phil Hartman, Canadian actor (d. 1998) (Knew this too. Died too young, along with Jim Henson.)

1950 - Alan Colmes, American talk show host (Oh goody.)

1958 - Kevin Sorbo, American actor (Cool!)

1959 - Steve Whitmire, American voice actor (Probably made for a big birthday celebration at Henson Studios.)

Deaths (not nearly as many):

768 - Pippin the Short, King of the Franks (But did they call him that while he was alive?)

1991 - Dr. Seuss, American children's writer (b. 1904) (Pretty sure I knew that too.)

Whoo, that took a while. OK, what's next?

Stupid Pet Fun

adopt your own virtual pet!

Apparently, hedgehogs eat strawberries and bounce. There's a decent variety of animals available, including a wolf. (I'm looking at you, Kim.)

I'm poking around, but nothing else is striking me asomething fun to do with my blog. So here's a favorite clip of mine off of YouTube.

Actual news sometime later, maybe.

Vacation Wrap-Up

2006-03-21T10:22:00.000-05:00

We got back from our trip to Orlando yesterday. From warm weather and theme parks to 28 degrees and bills. Whee.

We had two pre-trip problems. One was that I did not realize when I booked our vacation that "Pirates of the Caribbean", one of our favorite rides, would be closed during the whole month of March. We'll just have to make do with the soundtrack CD I got for Andrew last year for a while longer. The more worrying thing was when my debit card stopped working. I called up my bank and found that some weird charges to me card had been attempted (but didn't go through) and the bank had decided to cancel my debit card and send me a new one. Of course, I discovered this the day before we left. Thank goodness for our credit card.

Aside from these headaches, we did have a nice time in Disney World. Here's a park-by-park rundown:

Disney-MGM Studios - We checked out some old favorites like Star Tours, MuppetVision 3D, and the Great Movie Ride, but this is still probably the park with the least for us to do. We checked out Walt Disney: One Man's Dream, a museum exhibit type of show about the life of Walt Disney. We found it interesting, but it seemed strange that the creative minds at Disney Imagineering couldn't come up with anything more than a rather typical exhibit to explore the life of the Disney Company's founder and guiding force. We also checked out the "Chronicles of Narnia" exhibit, and I'm sorry to say I was hugely disappointed. You wait in a fairly lengthy line and go through an extensive pre-show to see....clips from the movie and about six props and maquettes. Perhaps this was more exciting before the movie came out, but as it was, it felt like a lot of buildup for very little payoff. We stuck around the park all day mostly because we had priority seating for Fantasmic!, the park's night show. I enjoyed seeing it again, but in hindsight, I think Andrew might have preferred the SpectroMagic parade at the Magic Kingdom, or skipping the nighttime shows altogether.

Epcot - We spent two partial days here, one largely dedicated to the World Showcase, the other for Future World. We skipped the few rides in World Showcase this time. We ate at the counter service restaurant in Japan, which was pretty good, and I managed not to make a total idiot of myself with the chopsticks. Conveniently, Japan was having an exhibit on tin toys, so we went and checked that out. Then we headed to Germany for drinks and France for pastries. We didn't hit Norway until our next visit, when we checked out the small exhibit on Vikings. The rest of our time was spent browsing the shops. Future World has been a bit of a letdown for us in recent years. The lack of recent updates to the park's rides and attractions means that today's Future World just isn't very futuristic. We did very much enjoy "Turtle Talk with Crush", part of the Living Seas recent "Finding Nemo" makeover. A CG Crush talks and interacts with the audience in real time, taking questions from the audience and asking them questions in return. It's one of Epcot's recent highlights and it's even been changed up since the first time I saw it. We rode on Spaceship Earth, a.k.a. the big golf ball at the entrance to Epcot, which we both agreed could use updating in both technology and content. For a show about communication, it feels just a bit behind the times (and a bit West-centric too). We picked up FastPasses (time stamped tickets that allow you to come back later and wait in a shorter line) for "Soarin'", Epcot's newest attraction which had a whopping 80 minute wait in the normal line. If you're familiar with the Massachusetts Museum of Science, Soarin' is much like the Omni theater with a seating rig that pulls you up into the air and tilts in various direction to suggest movement. As its name suggests, Soarin' is a very gentle ride, so unless you get motion sickness easily, you probably won't be losing your lunch. It was kind of fun, but we really though it could have been better. It's not very long and the film has abrupt cuts every few minutes that spoil the illusion of real flight. I'm glad we saw it, but I'm extremely glad we didn't wait around for over an hour to do so. We made an attempt to see Journey into Imagination, having heard that it had been revamped since a very disappointing redo we saw several years ago. Unfortunately, the ride was out of order when we went, so no visit with Figment this time.

Animal Kingdom - Andrew had never been to Animal Kingdom before, and I was eager to show him the rides I liked. We went on the day when the park opened an hour early and zipped over to Kilamanjaro Safari, which rewarded us with a brisk 10 minute wait time. Of all the parks, Animal Kingdom is the one where it's most critical to try and get there early, since the midday sun drives the animals into the shade. Again, our timing was good and we saw numerous animals at very close distances. After lots of photos, we caught the 3D movie It's Tough to be a Bug, which also greeted us with short lines. We had a good time and Andrew was impressed with the audio-animatronic Hopper. Our last big attraction stop was Dinosaur, which was probably the most extreme ride we went on during our visit. It's not a roller coaster, but it does take place in the dark and shake you around quite a bit as you ride by ocassionally loud dinosaurs. We both had fun, but wished there was just a little more to it. After that, we went at a more leisurely pace. Animal Kingdom features two animal viewing trails, one in Africa and one in Asia. We took both, and caught a show about birds before heading home for the day.

Magic Kingdom - Disney World's premiere park was our first and last stop. At Andrew's request, we rode the Haunted Mansion 4 times during our stay. The first was a little disappointing, as the ride was stopped for a while before we could get on and some of the effects weren't working right. But all was fixed for our subsequent rides. With a detailed dark ride like Haunted Mansion, you do notice more and more things as you ride it again and again, so neither of us got bored. We stopped by many other old favorites like Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventures,and others. There were a few new rides since Andrew was last there, which we made a point of seeing. Stitch's Great Escape is cute in parts, but a little thin in content with too much reused from its former incarnation as Alien Encounter, which I preferred. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was also a little light on story and complex animatronics, but it does use some very simple and effective visual tricks. We both really liked the 3D show Mickey's PhilharMagic, which has Donald running through various classic Disney musical numbers in pursuit of Mickey's sorcerer hat. I had though we were going to skip It's a Small World, but Andrew decided it would be a nice way to end our visit. We were both glad that we did. The refurbishment that closed it down on my last visit resulted in a new facade of geometric architecture and a working clock, reminiscentappearancede's appearence at Disneyland. Inside, the ride had been touched up, most notably with new lighting which did wonders for the look of the show.

Our flight back to Boston went smoothly. The bunnies got a good report card from their sitter and we are settling back into our normal routinessouvenirs our souveniers and photos should be arriving in the mail sometime soon. I'll post any good picture we may have.

Vacation

2006-02-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

It's time for a vacation. If you've lived in New England, you know why. While the snow hasn't been to insane this year aside from the occasional blizzard, it is cold. The weather widget I have says it is currently around 18 degrees. I was just out mailing some packages and that seems about right, though it's worse with the added wind. I haven't been on vacation since my trip to Portland last September and Andrew hasn't been on one since July. So we're more than ready to take off for a while.

I don't think anyone will be surprised to hear that we're going to Disney World. We had a few other destinations in mind for a while, but due in no small part to the aforementioned cold, Orlando won out. Aside from the Disney factor, the nostalgia factor, and the fun factor, what I like about vacationing in Disney World is how easy it is. Once you actually get there, your biggest concern is usually the lines, and we're going at a somewhat off time in hopes of cutting down on those. You don't really have to worry about how you'll get to the next thing you want to see or whether there's anywhere to eat nearby or how you'll get back to your hotel at the end of the day. It's all laid out for you. This in contrast to our trip to the San Diego Comic Con last year. We did have fun and will try to go again this year, but that is NOT a relaxing vacation. Trust me, the worst lines in Disney World do not compare to simply trying to get around the convention floor at Comic Con. And after staying at a hotel some distance from the convention center, we found that we are not fond of San Diego's trolley system, which had a habit of getting stuck for long periods of time and taking forever to reach its destination.

So the reservations are made, the bunnysitter has been booked, and all that's left is to wait until it's time to go and get packing. If we end up with any good photos, I'll try to put them up at a later date along with a rundown of our trip. Until then, I just hope the weather here warms up just a smidge.

Animation Talk: Good News From Disney

2006-02-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

Been a while since I wrote one of these. I figured when I did the first one that I would be putting the out quite frequently, but then I had other outlets for my animation related opinions. Now I'm limited to anyone I can get to listen to me and the blog. So I should probably get back to writing my animation thoughts here, where people can choose to read or ignore them, rather than making some unfortunate and handy soul listen to me rant.

Okay, I'm guessing most of you heard already that Disney has bought Pixar. The move is already the source of some debate: Did Disney pay too much? Should they have tried to continue building their own studio back up rather than buying the current animation king? Will Pixar's winning streak continue long enough for Disney to get its money's worth? But that's not what's on my mind right now. What I want to talk about today is some Disney related news that was reported here. I mention this largely because I haven't seen any confirmation of these events yet. So I don't know if it's all true or not. So take everything I say from here on with a big grain of salt.

In case you decided not to read the article, here's the scoop. When Disney bought Pixar, John Lasseter, probably the name most closely associated with Pixar, took on some pretty hefty new responsibilities. And according to this story, Lasseter is looking to make some changes over and Disney Feature Animation. Specifically, he's looking to take out the middleman. In the case of Disney Feature Animation, the middlemen are those business types who mostly do not have a creative bone in their body, but nonetheless think that they know how to make an animated film. They're the guys who want to play it safe, repeat the successes of the past, chock every film full of marketable characters, and generally keep the real creative people from doing what they do well. When the end product fails to make money, they're quick to place the blame on the creative people.

If this is true, it's really good news. Many animation fans and pundits have long cited the interference of business interests as the reason for Disney animation's generally poor performance over the past decade or so. And I think one of the reasons for Pixar's success is that nearly every one of their pictures has a major creative force behind it. A Pixar film is someone's vision, someone's baby. Many people contribute to the final product, but there's usually one guy whose job is to protect the integrity of the original idea. Books and toys and rides can come later; while the film is being made, the story is the important thing. If Disney can really start being a place that nurtures stories and ideas again, it could regain its place as the major force in animation.

The second item (it's not the second in the article, but it's the next one I want to do) is the only one that we seem to be a little more certain about. One of Lasseter's first moves in his new job at Disney was to stop production on Toy Story 3. This is also good news. I think the recent trend of Disney producing sequels to everything exemplifies what is wrong with the company's approach to animated films. In their rush to cash in on hot properties, they've turned the Disney films and characters from special events to omnipresent background noise. I can remember when the new Disney animated film was a really big event, something worth waiting for. Now, between sequels pushed in to theaters, sequels on DVD, and the regular dose of Winnie the Pooh, Disney films are a much more regular occurrence, to the point where it's become a little more mundane. Sequels do even further damage; a poor sequel can cheapen people's memory of the original. A series of bad sequels can cause the original to become lost in all the mediocrity as parents stop enjoying the movies with their kids and start using them as convenient babysitters. If there are too be sequels, they should be made by the original team if at all possible and only when there is a story idea that can live up to the original (see "Toy Story 2").

What isn't as certain is the other part to this story, which says that Lasseter may be keeping Circle 7 - the studio Disney set up to make "Toy Story 3" and possible future sequels to the Disney owned Pixar films - open. While he understandably didn't much like the idea of anyone else producing continuations of the movies he and his colleagues had made, he did reportedly like some of the work they were doing. So what might we see from Circle 7, if they do in fact remain open? That's not really clear yet. Maybe they'd provide extra manpower on feature films, maybe they'd do slightly lower level work like animation for TV or the parks. Right now, it's wide open.

Speaking of the Disney parks, Walt Disney Imagineering is another area where Lasseter will apparently now have some major sway. According to the article, he's using his clout to do two things with the department responsible for keeping the Happiest Places on Earth happy. One is to direct some much needed cash flow to Imagineering. The story for the past few decades has been that the imagineers have a lot of great ideas for rides and attractions, but the money to make them really work or even get the projects off the drawing board just isn't there. Enter big time fan of the Disney parks Lasseter, and a Disney company that apparently really wants to keep him happy, and somehow you end up with a promise of more money for Imagineering. So what's Lasseter's vision for the parks? Well, this is the one point where things get a little iffy. Supposedly, Lasseter wants to start putting rides into production at the same time as the movies that they're based on. So in theory, had this system been in place back in the 90s, you could have gone to see "Beauty and the Beast" in theaters, headed over to the nearest Disney park, and taken your place in line for the attraction based on the movie.

At first blush, it sounds good. Wouldn't it be great to be able to reap the benefits of a hit film while it's in theaters and fresh in the public consciousness by having a matching attraction right there the minute the audience has an appetite for it? To a degree, yes. But a lot of conditions have to be met for this idea to work. For one, the film needs to actually get made. This may not sound so tough, but more than one feature film in animation history was scrapped before making it to the screen. If a film in progress gets canned, then both the feature animation department and Imagineering would have wasted time and money on something that won't ever see the light of day (barring any clever repurposing of some concepts on Imagineering's part). And even when a film does get made, any number of scenes may be cut before the story is finalized. What if the big action sequence a film's tie-in ride is based around gets rewritten or dropped entirely? Finally, there's the problem of deciding which films merit rides. To keep things sane, we probably won't see an attraction for every "jungle Book 2" or "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" that comes along. But even some of the classic features may not really make great ride material. People may like "101 Dalmatians", but does that mean they'll want a ride based on it? In addition to films that don't quite lend themselves to becoming a theme park attraction, there are the films that just don't do very well. Fans have already been wondering what would have happened had this policy been in place for "Atlantis", "Treasure Planet", and "Home on the Range", among others. While some of these films have sequences that would have made great rides, people aren't going to line up if they didn't see the movie. A stage show, a parade, or a couple of costumes can be packed away if the film they come from fizzles. But if you build an attraction, that's going to be around for quite a while. So the question is, who's going to be the one to say: "I think this is a nice little film, but I'm not quite seeing blockbuster and there's really not much potential for a good ride."

All in all though, this is some pretty good news from parts of Disney that haven't had much good news as of late. It may be some time yet before we see the results of these policies, assuming the account of events is even accurate. But I am actually starting to feel hopeful that Disney might be on the road to recapturing its former glory.

The Betrayal of Susan

2005-12-26T22:23:00.000-05:00

We went to see "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", though at the price of having to drive through a nasty and rather unexpected blizzard in which the car got stuck twice. I liked the movie. It wasn't 100% perfect, but I thought it was very faithful to the spirit of the book and all the additions made were good and justified.

As days went on and I found myself with a copy of the Making Of book of the movie (and early Christmas present from two people I still have to meet), I found myself thinking about the series quite a bit. I've only re-read the first two books (chronological order), but I remember the whole series fairly well. Specifically, I started to think about the final book in the series, "The Last Battle". (Yes, I know I need to change the name of my story. It was just a placeholder anyway.) I don't hear many people say it's their favorite of the series. It's kind of a tough read. This is the Narnia version of the end of the world, which means a lot of characters dying. I distinctly recall putting the book down for a while because a passage about the death of a bear was just too much for me.

But there's another reason a lot of people find "The Last Battle" rather harsh. See, if you read the books in publication order (Which I think works better if you're reading them for the first time), you learned about Narnia with the four Pevensie children. Gradually, you meet other children from our world who get to visit Narnia. "The Last Battle" gathers them all together again and returns them to Narnia. Well, all except one. If you haven't guessed who, then you aren't paying much attention to the title of this entry. But I'll show you how it's explained:

"Sir," said Tirian, when he had greeted all these. If I have read the chronicle aright, there should be another. Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?"

"My sister Susan," answered Peter shortly and gravely, "is no longer a friend of Narnia."

"Yes," said Eustace, "and whenever you've tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says 'What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.'"

"Oh Susan!"said Jill. "She's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up."

"Grown-up, indeed," said the Lady Polly. "I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can."

Now C.S. Lewis was writing in the 1950s, which make could make sexism on his part somewhat forgivable. Fantasy author Neil Gaiman, best known for the "Sandman" comics series, is not so forgiving, feeling that Lewis is all around harsh on female characters who are not young girls or old women or friendly beavers. He's apparently written a short story entitled "The Problem of Susan", dealing with this very idea. I haven't read it yet, and that's partly why I'm writing this now; I want to get my thoughts on the subject out before I read his and start to be influenced by them.

Re-reading this passage, I'm especially surprised by Jill's lines. As far as I remember, Jill never actually met Susan in the course of the books. Yet here she is, talking about how Susan was always too eager to reach maturity.

I've seen some fans of the Narnia books act very much like Jill. With the clear-eyed vision that only hindsight can bring, they look down their noses at Susan. And there certainly are fairly legitimate reasons to do this. A reader can't help but feel sort of betrayed by Susan. It seems almost unthinkable that one of the few children to be able to go into Narnia - an enviable experience for most readers - would turn her back on the kingdom as its darkest hour approaches. For some readers, it may hit a little close to home, reminding them of someone they knew once who suddenly renounced all childhood in favor of "maturity", possibly leaving a few people behind in the process.

For, to be fair, there is no shortage of adolescent girls like Susan. You can find them in any high school, middle school, or increasingly, elementary school. They're the ones who seem to disappear into the school bathroom for unusually long amounts of time, the ones who start wearing revealing clothing and makeup long before it looks remotely appropriate, the ones who seem to believe that female existence revolves around the teenage years, with particular emphasis on sixteen through seventeen. Various media sources, magazines, and products encourage them in their thinking. As for those women who spend the rest of their lives trying to stay at that age, pop culture is littered with them. There's no denying that Lewis's vision of the older Susan has a basis in reality.

But I can't quite bring myself to believe that how Susan ends up is only a reflection of how some normal teenage girls end up. Susan is not a normal girl and I think there's something else going on with her. Something a little deeper and a little sadder.

Imagine yourself in Susan's position. You're a child during wartime, shipped away from your home to live with strangers so you'll be safe from enemy attacks. You don't have much say in this or much of anything that happens to you.

And then, you go to Narnia. And suddenly, you're somebody really important. All kinds of fantastic creatures are looking to you and your siblings to save their world from tyrannical rule and eternal winter. You never even dreamed this place existed and yet your coming and your deeds have been foretold. Of course, it's not without danger. Those in power know that you can bring about their downfall and they'll use any means necessary to stop you. But with your siblings and your newfound friends, you succeed. And then, you're queen! The four of you rule the land together and grown into young men and women.

But it can't last. One day, you find yourself back in the world you came from, the same as you were before. If you take the movie's view of the book, you've gained a new wisdom and appreciation for your family. But it still can't be easy, going back to being an ordinary girl after being a queen. So you're probably pretty happy when you get to return to Narnia. It's tough to see how much time has passed in what felt like a short absence, how much has changed. But it's still good to be back.

Then, the bombshell drops. You are told that this is it. You will never be able to return to Narnia.

(This, incidentally, is something of a contradiction, as Aslan tells Peter that he won't be coming back either. He eventually tells Edmund and Lucy the same thing. I'm not sure whether there's some Biblical reference I'm missing or Lewis simply didn't realize at the time that he'd be bringing three of the children back to Narnia some day. Either way, it is a little troubling and I don't recall any given explanation for it.)

So you go home. You know this time for certain that the adventures are over. No more tea with kindly fauns, no more rescuing innocent creatures turned to stone, just regular life like before you even knew Narnia existed. Except now you do know it exists. But no one else does, save your brothers and sister and possibly that eccentric old professor. You can't tell anyone else about your adventures in Narnia, about the wonderful things you saw and did. They would think you were crazy or ill or just making it up. Heck, even you didn't believe your own sister when she first told you about Narnia. So now you're back to being ordinary you. You've grown from your time in Narnia and you've learned things, but you just can't figure out how to put them to use back in your world. Because no one understands and everyone is still treating you like a child. You've got all these adults still bossing you around and acting like manners and homework and proper nutrition are the most important things in the world. And it's not so much that they aren't treating you like a queen; it's that you've grown so much and no one seems to see that. And all the while, you see all these adults running the country and the world and making a total mess of it and you know you could do better because you did. But n one here is going to give you a chance.

I do realize that the element of the spiritual is an important one in the Chronicles of Narnia, even though you can happily read through them without being at all aware of it. I don't feel I'm really qualified to discuss it too deeply as it relates to Susan. I'll just say that I think it would be very hard to go from a world where the savior figure is very near and physically present and you can get close enough to touch him and feel his breath and even play with him after his resurrection, to one where the savior figure your seeking might seem more distant and less tangible. Religion is tricky and personal, so I'll leave it at that.

Anyway, there you sit, becoming more and more certain that your best days are behind you and nothing you do in this world will ever be as wonderful or as meaningful as what you did back in Narnia. What do you do? How do you keep yourself going? What's your new purpose in life when it seems like destiny is done with you?

I, at least, like to think pretty well of myself. So I'd like to imagine that I'd use what I'd learned from my time in Narnia to put my energy into curing diseases or ending wars or running for prime minister or some such thing. But I can see, and I hope you can as well, how easy it would be to fall back on something more immediate and more superficial. We are talking about a teenager here, so she's limited in what she can actually accomplish right away. So Susan throws herself into being a stereotypical teenage girl. Her energy goes into getting the right clothes and going to the right parties with the right boys. She makes herself believe the hype that if she does all this, she'll be happy and popular and loved and grown up. And somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows she wants this because she wants to be the woman she was in Narnia again, the queen who everyone thought was beautiful and gentle and wise. The adolescent concept of maturity is a poor substitute for the real thing, but she believes it's the best she can get since Narnia is gone now. And slowly, she convinces herself that Narnia couldn't possibly have been real, because knowing that it was real, but she can never go back, is just too painful. So she convinces herself that Narnia was just a childhood game and that this, what she's doing now, is what life is really all about. And she tells herself she's happy and she's never been happier.

It's not the best reaction to being exiled from your kingdom, but it is an understandable one. C.S. Lewis may have intended Susan's turning away from Narnia to seem more clean cut, more black and white. But I can't just turn my back on her as suddenly as Jill and scoff that Susan was always too eager to grow up. I never saw that in her when I read the books. Her actions, as reported to us, may be poor choices, but they are human ones.

All of this begs the question of how the movies might handle this upsetting idea, assuming they get as far as "The Last Battle". The film's characterization of her is setting her up as scholarly and logical, which may be laying the groundwork for what's to come. And yet, the movie is the story of a family becoming closer and stronger through their magical experiences. And I just can't see Susan's siblings turning their back on her, or allowing others to talk about her in such nasty terms, as they do in the book. Even if it does happen, the movie is a long way off, so I won't know for some time. Meanwhile, I'll be trying to find a copy of Mr. Gaiman's short story. Now that I've got my thoughts out, I want to see what he has to say.

A Blip

2005-12-06T08:32:00.000-05:00

This post is largely to explain a brief Blogger hiccup some of you may have noticed. Sometime yesterday, BlogSpot went blooey, leaving everyone who didn't host their Blogger blog on their own webspace sans blog. This is not a big deal for my regular blog, which is updated very infrequently. But it was a problem because I'd just put a new story part up at StormWyvern Press (link to the right). Fortunately, I could still log onto Blogger and view my posts. Only the blogs themselves were gone. Worried that the situation might get worse, I grabbed everything I had written of "The Last Battle" so far and saved it to my computer. Today, everything seems to be fine, though I haven't seen any explanation as to why the outage happened. So I'm posting here largely to let people know that both blogs appear to be up again and there's new content at StormWyvern Press.

We're now fully into the holiday season over here. So far, this mostly means trying to get our shopping done. We've had our first snow that stayed around, measuring in at roughly three inches. We're supposed to get more today. "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" comes out this week and I'll likely go to see it at my earliest convenience. My family - both the human and bunny members - is well and the house is staying relatively warm so far this winter, though we do need to get our windows replaced sometime when the weather is warmer.

So take a look at StormWyvern Press, as that's where the party is these days. Take care.

Console Wars: Why the XBox 360 Will Be Stupid

2005-11-16T16:46:00.000-05:00

I will almost certainly get a PlayStation3 when it comes out.

I might get a Nintendo Revolution when it comes out.

I was not planning on getting an XBox 360 when it came out (have to draw the line somewhere), but someone online just pointed out a factor that makes me even more certain of my decision.

I don't think I've ever been outright down on the original XBox. There are, in fact, a small number of games that make me very jealous of XBox owners (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic being a major one.) But as compared with the other two consoles, there just weren't that many XBox only games that I really wanted. The system had a direction that didn't include quite enough of the kind of games I like to make buying it worthwhile.

Considering this, buying the 360 was never really a consideration. The other two systems will be able to play all of my current game library, plus a number of oldies if the Revolution's retro library pans out. Unless something very odd happened, like Final Fantasy suddenly going exclusive to XBox, there was just no reason to pick up the 360. But after what I've learned, I wonder if a lot of people who actually have XBoxes now might feel the same way.

We've known for a while that there will be two versions of the XBox available at launch. One is a "value priced" version, with only the basics included, pretty much system and controller. The more expensive premium package has some extra bells and whistles, like a headset for talking online, an ethernet cable, and a hard drive. Now you might be thinking that all this extra stuff is fun but fairly unnecessary. Think again. If you have a pile of XBox games sitting around and you want to play them on your shiny new 360, then you NEED that hard drive. That's right, the XBox360 is backwards compatible ONLY IF you have a hard drive for it. The hard drive can be bought separately if you have the core package for about $100. (If you are considering getting a 360 and want it to be backwards compatible with your XBox games, I would recommend the premium package, since the price difference equals the cost of the hard drive by itself and you get some extra goodies as well.)

But wait, it gets better, by which I mean worse. Y'see, your new system will be able to play only SOME of the XBox games you have now. As best I understand it, the hard drive of the 360 contains an XBox emulator much like the emulators for older console that I'm sure none of you have on your computers because it's illegal. The XBox emulator, however, can't handle every XBox games as is. Tweaks to its code will be needed to allow many games to be played. And because this takes time and work, Microsoft is going to have to pick some games for the honor of being playable on the 360. Isn't that nice?

Now to be fair, I checked the stats for the PS3 while writing this article to make sure there wasn't a similar thing going on. And in the interests of honesty, even the people at Sony are saying that the PS3 may not be 100% backwards compatible. Some PS2 and PSOne games just may not play on the new system. Given people's problems with some PS2s not playing various games and DVDs, we may well see the same thing in the new system. But at least they are able to aim for total backward compatibility, as opposed to the "array" of original XBox games you can play on the 360, according to the display ad in Toys R Us. I pretty much knew I'd be staying brand loyal with my consoles, but now I'm absolutely certain.

Well That Ain't Right

2005-11-13T21:15:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while, but I have something I need to get off my chest.

Recently, a house in my town quite literally blew up. No one was seriously injured. The cause was a gas leak which was entirely the fault of the gas company who had connected two lines that shouldn't have been. This has apparently been causing several gas leaks around town and cut of heating for roughly 2,000 people.

For the past few days we have been seeing evidence of this. Gas company trucks have been all over the place. Representatives have come knocking on our door. It's been all over the local news as well.

Today, however, things took a turn for the outrageous. Andrew had just come home from dropping me off at the gym. He found gas company trucks all over the area and a police car near our home. Andrew went up and asked the officer if everything was OK. The officer explained that he and the gas company workers has just been in our house. Apparently, the gas company was going around the neightborhood and checking for leaks. If no one answered the door, they simplyy had the policeman pop the lock and came right in!

There are any number of things wrong here. Aside from the obvious violation of our privacy, there's the matter of our animals' safety. We often let the rabbits run around the kitchen while we aren't home because we keep both doors to it closed and they can't get into trouble. The gas company workers could not know this and the rabbits could easily have bolted out the front door as the workers went in and out. They did not lock the door upon leaving, meaning anyone who observed what was happening and decided to illegally enter our home for less legitimate purposes could have gained access without any trouble. To top it off, they did not leave a note explaining that they had been in our home. If Andrew hadn't come by when they were leaving, we would have just come home to an unlocked door and no explanation.

And what is they absolute best part of this story? WE DON'T HAVE GAS HEAT. As far as we know, this house has long been heated by oil and before that, coal. There is a gas line in our driveway, but we have no idea why it's there. And those gas company guys who came by our house before. We told them we didn't have gas. Twice. On two separate days. You would think they would have made some record of our answer the first time, but no. Andrew tried to explain this to the people who were in our home, but they still insisted on inspecting the house until they had confirmed that there was, surprise, no gas.

What really frustrates me about this is that I'm essentially left with no recourse. If this were a company that I was actually getting service from, I could just call them and say "This is unacceptable and I will be taking my business elsewhere!" But as it is, a company with which I have no financial relationship entered my home without my consent, my prior knowledge, or as far as I can tell, good cause. I did call up the gas company, but I don't know what good it will do. What I do know is that I actually fell less safe after this whole ordeal.

Storm Wyvern Press News

2005-10-29T21:46:00.000-04:00

Just becuase I don't upadte there (or anywhere) very often and some of you may only look at this blog, I wanted to let you know there's a revision up at Storm Wyvern Press of the first part of my first story. Now with 30% less suck, roughly.

Real updates here when I feel like it.

Something Else

2005-10-12T17:06:00.000-04:00

StormWyvern Press is now up and running. This is going to be where I house all of my writing unless otherwise noted. I got it set up yesterday, but I wanted to wait until I had something resembling part of a story to show before I announced it. Feel free to go have a look. Use either the link in this entry or the one with the links on the right.

NaNoWriMo? No. But Maybe Something Else

2005-10-10T22:01:00.000-04:00

One of the other blogs I read regularly mentioned something called NaNoWriMo. Intrigued by the acronym, I googled it and found the aforelinked website. For those of you who don't like clicking on links, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. The month in question is November. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel starting on November 1 and finishing November 30. For those of us who are comics types, it's kind of like 24-Hour Comic Day but without the pictures and a lot longer.

What do you get for accomplishing this feat? You get a nice certificate, a little web graphic, your name on the winners' list, and a 50,000 word novel complete with all the sense of accomplishment that comes with that. No publishing deal, no free lunch with an agent, no promises of fame and fortune. So why do it? Well, it probably has a lot to do with that shiny sense of accomplishment. You'll have positive proof that you can write a 50,000 word novel, that you can meet a pretty tight deadline, and that it is possible to just sit down and get these things out of your system. How many us have an idea for a novel in some stage of development right now, whether it's just a hint of an idea, a notebook full of concepts, or a big text file of disconnected paragraphs? How many of us just keep picking it up and putting it aside because of some section that isn't coming together, some story problem that's too har to solve, some sentence that isn't quite perfect? That's the kind of thing NaNoWriMo can help with. The point is not to write the perfect version of your novel. The point is to get 50,000 words down in thirty days. Some of it is likely to suck, but when you're done, you will have a completed version of your novel. And hopefully, there will be some little spark of of something wonderful that can be nurtured and cultivated, but that likely wouldn't have come about if you hadn't pressed on and written those 50,000 words and all of that crappy stuff. You can always go back and refine and edit and add and cut anything you want. But now you have a framework. You're not just looking at a blank page and holding the whole story up until that perfect word arrives.

So you're probably wondering if I'm going to be participating in NaNoWriMo. Or maybe you've already guessed based on the title of this entry. I'm not going to do it. I think it's a creat idea and anyone with an in progress novel should think about trying it. (I'm looking at two people who may be reading this who really should consider it.) But I think I have a pretty good reason for bowing out. I don't have a novel. In fact, I don't know that I've ever had a real solid idea for a novel in my life. There have been ideas that I thought were novels in the works, but really I think I just wanted them to be a series of novels because that seemed cool. They didn't have enough to them to be actual novels.

What I do have is a bunch of short story ideas. And as a matter of fact, I was just reminded of one of them this morning. So I was thinking tha maybe I could use this idea to get me working on at least one of them. Sort of a LoShoStoWriMo, if you will. I may not even wait for November. In fact, I may set up a second blog for that purpose and start writing in the very near future. I may even let you see it if my first drafts don't suck too much.

I'll keep you posted.

Everything

2005-10-07T09:28:00.000-04:00

As usual, I've fallen behind on the blog. So a lot of things that I meant to be in separate posts are now going to all fall under this one big post. I think there's more chance of me getting it done that way. I'm not going to go in chronological order. It's going to be good news, bad news good news, because that's what I prefer.

The first good news is that I had my birthday. It was nice, though fairly sedate. The one person who still lives nearby who I thought of inviting over to celebrate was out of town, so we had a rather quiet celebration. I got some nice gifts from family and friends and several well-wishes. We went to visit may parents, but it ended up being just my mom because of events leading up to the bad news. Thanks to everyone who remembered and took the time to wish me a happy day or bring a gift. I really appreciate it.

The bad news is that my grandfather died. He had been doing progressively worse after a couple of strokes, and the past couple of weeks were especially bad. Andrew and my Mom and I drove out to western Massachusetts for the funeral. (Mom still can't drive because of her eye operation.) Grandpa was 82 years old. He was a writer for his local newspaper and my uncle read several of his colmns at the service. Before that, he was a high school teacher. The success of his work was clear from his former students, some of whom came to pay their respects and one of whom wrote an excellent letter to the editor about him. (She didn't show up at the service and we're still trying to find her.) I learned a lot that I didn't know about him, but I wish I did, like the fact that he carried the ticket from his first date with my grandmother in his wallet for the rest of his life. He was smart and funny and clearly had a big influence on who my family is today. We miss him.

I was happy that the other good news came about just as my grandfather was taking a turn for the worse and my family could use some good news. I was also just plain happy that it happened at all. After almost nine years of being together, Andrew and I decided to get engaged. I think only one of you who reads my blog regularly doesn't know this already. I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you more privately; I've been having a tough time getting a hold of you. It happened on my birthday in a fairly casual manner. No big buildup, no getting down on one knee. It just felt pretty natural at this point. The ring came a little less than a week later (photos available upon request). After that, we started telling family and friends. There's a lot going on with many of the people we want at our wedding right now, so we're not thinking about a date yet. We do know we want it to be fairly small and intimate, so don't start anticipating a cake that costs more than my car.

So that's the news from me. I'll try t keep you updated as more things happen, but I doubt I'll have anything quite as big as this to report.

Portland

2005-09-22T09:45:00.000-04:00

My trip out to Portland was a somewhat spur of the moment decision. My mom was supposed to go and visit my sister for her birthday, but instead, she ended up having surgery and a lengthy recovery afterwards. (Surgery went fine and she's doing well.) This started me thinking that maybe it would be a good time for me to go to Portland. I didn't end up making it in time for Donna's birthday, as that was only days away when my mom had to cancel her plans. But before very long, I had made the necessary arrangements for a week's vacation. I would be going by myself; Andrew had kindly agreed to stay home and care for the animals, which turned out to be an even bigger deal than I initially thought. Shortly before I left, the website I had booked my flight with sent me a link to a list of songs and movies that would help me "get in a Portland state of mind". I never did get around to looking at that list, thought I should see if I still have it, as I can't think of any films or songs that prominently feature Portland.

My trip started out a little rocky, but went smoothly after that. I had called for a taxi the night before since Andrew was sick and I didn't want to make him drive me to the bus station at such an early hour. The time I had scheduled pick-up for came and went with no taxi in sight. As it was getting late, Andrew drove me out to the airport shuttle. I called the taxi company on my cell (earlier calls only got a machine) and learned that they had assumed I was in the town that they're based in, despite the fact that I had told them I wasn't. Scratch one cab company. The bus got me to the airport in plenty of time and my two flights went smoothly. After I brief mix-up where I ended up in the drop-off area instead of the pick-up, I found Donna and her Andrew and was on my way to their place.

First on the agenda was, of course, meeting the kitties. They were a little wary of me at first, but that didn't last too long. Phoebe is a little shy, generally well behaved, and vocal. Owen is a little mischievious, but he's also a total cuddle kitten. He'll come up to you and purr, whether you pat him or ignore him. They're both very playful and, not surprisingly, cute.

I was pretty beat when we got to the apartment, having read on the plane instead of sleeping. Donna gave me an early birthday present: the DVD of "Firefly". I was too tired to watch it that night, but we got about halfway through the episodes before I left. I fell asleep before anyone could even turn the couch into a bed.

We spent the week alternating between touristy stuff and hanging out at home. We checked out the Portland Museum of Art, which has a particularly nice collection of Native American art from around the country. They were also showing a collection of John Singer Sargeant's paintings of children. It was interesting, showing a nice variety of gift portraits for friends and patrons and more artsy works. They tried to include some biographical info about each of the sitters, which was neat. But the endings were pretty much "He was killed in WWI", "He was killed in WWI", "He never married and shot himself at age 40." (I stopped reading them after the last one.) Later in the week, we went to the Oregon Zoo and did a little sketching. Towards the end of the week, we saw the Chinese garden and Powell's, the ginormous book store. (I picked up some gifts for Andrew and Nancy Cartwight's autobiography to read on the plane ride home. Time at the apartment was spent watching "Firefly", playing video games (with focus on World of Warcraft), watching a little TV, and chatting.

Of course, we also paid a visit to Les and Jon, meeting at the local comic shop. We had a nice dinner with some very tasty pesto mac and cheese. I also got to meet Donna's Andrew's parents and have more mac and cheese (at a different restaurant). By the way, Jon, Andrew seemed into the idea of having a "hockey buddy", so give him a call whenever an interesting game is on.

The one real downside came near the end of my trip. Andrew called and said that Blitz wasn't eating. This persisted the next day, so he took her to the vet. It turned out that our bunny was blocked internally. Blitz is not the most cooperative bunny, so Andrew had a pretty tough time getting her medicine into her, in addition to being worried about her health. I felt really bad that this was happening while I wasn't there to help. Fortunately, Blitz has recovered nicely and has regained her appetite, thanks in large part to Andrew.

Portland is a nice city. In my limited experience, it's not too overwhelming, but there's still a lot to do. It was great to see my sister and her boyfriend and Les and Jon, all of whom I miss. And it's always nice to travel every once in a while. I'm sure I'll be back again before too long, though next time I'll probably have Andrew with me.

The Revolution Starts Now

2005-09-17T15:04:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know, I should really be doing a write-up on my trip to Portland or finishing those two unfinished entries I still have bumming around my blogspace. But before all that, I did want to do a quick follow-up to one of my earlier entries. I did say that I'd let you know if I heard anything new regarding the Revolution, Nintendo's entry for the next battle in the Console Wars. Well, we have some news. At this year's Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo revealed the much anticipated controller for the Revolution. (As usual, I'm overcautious about grabbing images, so you'll have to check out the link to IGN.)

"So," those of you who are too lazy to click the link are likely asking, "What is this industry defying new controller?" Well at first glance, it looks a lot like a rather skinny TV remote. It's vertically oriented and designed to be held in one hand. Not impressed? Well, I haven't got to the good part yet. The controller comes with a sensor which you place near your TV. This sensor is used to translate movements of the controller in your hand into movements on the screen. The sensor apparently reads not only up, down, left, right, movements, but also forward and backward as well as various twists and tilts.

So what does this mean for actual gameplay? Just imagine exploring a 3D room by simply waving your controller in the direction you want to go. Consider what it would be like to steer a plane by tilting your controller left and right. The demo shown at Tokyo Game Show included a few generally crude demo games suggesting other uses for the controller. One was a crude fishing game suggesting how the player would use the controller like a fishing pole to cast and pull in a catch. (The standard controller is reportedly rumble ready, which should add to this experience.) A slightly more polsihed demo showed how the controller could be used for aiming in a first person shooter.

It's certainly an innovative idea, not what I was guessing at all. (Though to be fair, that dumb hint about the controller having to accomodate games from all Nintendo's past systems didn't help at all.) I'm certainly interested, but I do still have some concerns. The most notably absent feature on the standard controller is an analog stick. I imagine this is designed to force both gamers and designers to use the "point and move" feature to get around 3D spaces, rather than just ignoring it for the more familiar control. Still, the lack of an analog stick out of the box may well put off some gamers. Nintedo has designed two addon peripherals for the controller, one of which is an analog controller with two trigger buttons. Dubbed "the nunchuck" (I'm pretty sure the fans came up with that), it attaches to the main controller via a short cord that plugs into the bottom of the controller. The demo suggests that in a first person shooter, for example, this would control your movements while the pointer would let you aim. The other scheduled add-on is a shell resembling a more standard controller which the remote-styled one can be plugged into. This is probably intended to allow for easier play of your games designed for the earlier systems. Please note that the picture IGN has of this is their own mock-up and not necessarily what the actual controller shell will look like.

My other big concern is on that's been voiced a lot by gamers: Is the Revolution too revolutionary? For various reasons, the GameCube was left behind on a lot of cross-console games. I'm a little worried that the Revolution may suffer the same fate, in part because its creators freely admit it's a less powerful system, and in part because it's just too different. I know virtually nothing about game programming, but I imagine configuring an exisiting game to respond to a pointer-style controller is going to be trickier than just switching the functions of a few buttons. Developers may just ignore the feature, require the anaolg add-on, or skip the Revolution altogether. If Nintendo wants this to work, they're going to have to woo some big developers and/or get a lot of first-party software out there. Hopefully in a timely manner. ("Twilight Princess" is DELAYED?!?? I'm upset, but hardly shocked.)

I haven;t really come to a conclusion about the controller yet. I feel generally positive towards it, but it's not a "i'm sold" or "No way" situation. A lot may depend on me getting my hands on one of the new controllers and seeing how it feels, how easy and intuitive it is to use, and whether the button placement works. Once again, I'll let you know when I know more.

Time Slip

2005-09-02T10:07:00.000-04:00

Note to Self: Starting in on big long posts and then leaving them to be finished later is not conducive to regular updates.

Yeah, it's been a while and I'm sorry. I have had a number of things going on, but it's really no excuse. Right now, however, I'm at work without a whole lot to do (at least as long as the printer keeps telling me there's no black ink when my boss says she just put a new catridge in). So consequently, you get a long overdue update on just about everything.

Listen to the Toon Nerds

I think most of you know this already, but in case anyone doesn't, I now have an internet radio show. AnimationHQ's Animation Roundtable (we are trying to come up with a new name) can be found on ToonRadio Sunday nights at 8 PM Eastern and Thursday nights at 7 PM. (There's also a 4 AM airing on Wednesday, but I don't think many people tune in for that.) My co-host and I pick a couple of animation related subjects each week and discuss them. We also do a brief news segment and profiles of people in the animation industry. We've even had a guest host. I really enjoy doing the show, but it's been frustrating at times due to various problems we're still working out. Still, I think our content is good and I'd appreciate you tuning in.

More Construction

A couple of posts back, I told you about the completion of our basement bathroom. Well I'm now happy to report that our upstairs bathroom has been redone and is now virtually finished. We learned various fun things about our bathroom as it was being torn apart: there was no insulation on the wall facing the outside, the wall facing the attic stairs was nothing but insulation inside, there were several sizable holes in our floor under the tile, and our sink's poor drainage was due less to clogging and more to a lack of venting. Needless to say, the bathroom is now in much better shape and we're very happy to have a functioning toilet on the same floor as the bedroom again. Coming up next is the repaving of our very long driveway.

Movies

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was pretty awesome. Probably not everybody's cup of tea, but I was really glad to see Tim Burton doing a Tim Burton film again. It was also good to see some new twists on a story that most people already know. I cannot wait to see "Corpse Bride".

Most recently theaterwise, we saw "Broken Flowers" with Bill Murray. It was pretty good, but not quite as satisfying as I'd hoped. The film has a somewhat ambiguous ending and that's kind of tricky to pull off. I'd say rent it; it's not the kind of film that you need to see in theaters.

On DVD, we got "Pom Poko". It's a Studio Ghibli film, but it's directed by the studio's other major director Isao Takahata, not Hayao Miyazaki. (This should not be counted against it; Isao Takahata is also a great director of "Grave of the Fireflies", among others.) The American DVD release of "Pom Poko" came as a surprise to some people as the film has a rather odd reputation for being about shape-shifting raccoons who attack people with their giant testicles. While this is a part of the film, it's not really a fair description. "Pom Poko" tells the story of a tribe of tanukis - not actually raccoons, but native Asian canids with a striking resemblance to raccoons. The forest home of the tanukis is being destroyed by rapid expansion of the humans cities. As their habitat shrink, the tanukis decide to fight back through the ancient art of shape-shifting. Their attacks take various forms, some of which do include using the family jewels as weapons. (The traditional Japanese depiction of a tanuki include large testicles, said to be a symbol of good fortune.) But "Pom Poko" also features beautiful naturalistic and cartoony animation. The story itself is actually a serious and sad one highlighting Japan's huge problem of urban sprawl and loss of green space. I very much enjoyed it and I'm quite happy to see it being released here. (incidentally, the dub gets around the potential crudeness of the story through use of the word "pouch". The subtitles feature no such euphemisms.)

Time Bandits

That refers to things that eat up my time, not the movie.

I've continued to play World of Warcraft while trying not to be too unreasonable about the time I put in. Donna's computer is working again and she made a new character who's closer to my level. So we play together sometimes; other times we just chat. It's a lot of fun and leveling up isn't too difficult, which was my main problem with Final Fantasy XI.

I got a Nintendo DS, essentially the new Game Boy. I bought mine on eBay at a pretty decent discount and with a few games to boot. About a week ago, Andrew picked me up a copy of Nintendogs. It's kind of like a very sophisticated virtual pet. You pick out a puppy from a variety of breeds. The touch screen and stylus allow you to interact with the puppy: patting, training, playing, feeding, and going on walks. You can train your puppy for specific contests. Make it to the top three and you earn money for supplies, redecorating, or more puppies. I currently have a Shettland Sheepdog named Blue and a chihuahua named Chalupa. I'm hoping to unlock beagle puppies soon. (There are three versions of Nintendogs. Each has different starter breeds, but every breed can be unlocked on all cartridges.)

Trip

Next week, I'll be headed out to Portland, OR to visit my sister and Les and Jon. Andrew has kindly agreed to stay and watch the animals so we don't have to go through checking the sitter's availability. This either means that I owe him or I already did something nice for him and I forgot what. Probably both. I'm looking forward to seeing people I haven't seen for a while and checking out Portland for the first time. And trying what I hear is some really exceptional mac and cheese.

That's likely all you care to read for today, so I'll stop. Oh, if you want to reply, please notice that I added word verification. It's one of those things where before your post goes through, you're shown a picture of some letters and numbers and asked to type them. One friend of mine got 13 spam replies on one entry in his blog and another got a particularly tasteless bit of spam that start off talking about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, literally drops of mid-sentence, and starts plugging a site about co-op advertising. So I'm being proactive.

Filler Fun

2005-08-04T13:18:00.000-04:00

I have two big entries in the works, but I'm taking a breather to post this, which was on the blogs of a few friends. I think the response I send is supposed to be via e-mail, since I've never seen anybody respond in the replies on thei blog.

Reply with your name and I'll respond with one (or more) of the following about you.

1. I'll tell you what song/movie/book/fictional character reminds me of you.

2. I'll pick a flavor of pudding to wrestle with you in.

3. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.

4. I'll tell you my favorite memory of you.

5. I'll tell you what animal or plant you remind me of.

6. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.

If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST. It is written.

So Long and Thanks for the Cold

2005-07-31T17:14:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to get back up to speed with the blog, so I should probably mention the most major event of the past week or so. Our friends Les and Jon have taken off on their big move out to the west coast. Needless to say, my feelings on the matter are mixed. I do think the move is a good idea for various reasons, so I'm happy for them on one level. But it is pretty tough to have friends go from being people you see at least once a week to people you only see when you have time to make the trek across the country. I've never been all that adept socially and though I have improved over the years, it's still not easy for me to meet new people. So having friends leave tends to be a pretty big deal. On the plus side, they're going to be living pretty close to where my sister lives now, so I can get a lot of visiting out of one trip. Still I imagine these next couple of weeks will be an adjustment period.

One lingering reminder of the guys is the cold which they passed along to me while we helped them pack up the moving van. It's a pretty nasty affair with a lot of congestion and soreness and coughing. I've spent the past few days on Nyquil, Dayquil, generic Robutussin, throat drops, orange juice containing massive amounts of vitamin C, and ice cream. The latter two were inherited from Jon's fridge and have been rather helpful. Les and Jon are apparently still suffering the effects of the cold, which I hope is due to them being on the road and not to the normal duration of this particular illness.

If you're curious, Jon is documenting the roadtrip on his blog, which you can get to through my link over on the right.

And Now, The Kittens

2005-07-28T22:02:00.000-04:00

Don't worry. I haven't expanded my fuzzy family, or at least, not the immediate one. But remember how I said there was some big news a while back? Well this is it. I just wanted to wait until I had pictures.

A month or so ago, my sister and her boyfriend adopted two little kittens from a rescue organization. They're now about three months old and pretty well adjusted to their new home and people, from what I hear.

That's Phoebe

That's Owen

Since I haven't actually met them yet, there not too much more to say. I am working on a report on my trip to ComicCon, but it's kind of slow going. Once I work my way through that, I'll have more new stuff to discuss. For now, enjoy the cute kitties.

Questions

2005-07-10T00:27:00.000-04:00

I answered this for Jon and now I'm putting it up here. For the sake of honesty, I'm copying the questions verbatim and not removing any. But "No Comment" and "I don't know" are perfectly acceptable answers. Just post your answers in a comment reply to this entry.

1. Who are you?
2. Are we friends?
3. When and how did we meet?
4. Do you have a crush on me?
5. Would you kiss me?
6. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
7. Describe me in one word.
8. What was your first impression?
9. Do you still think that way about me now?
10. What reminds you of me?
11. If you could give me anything what would it be?
12. How well do you know me?
13. When's the last time you saw me?
14. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?
15. Are you going to put this on your blog and see what I say about you?

Congratulations, It's A Bathroom

2005-07-07T22:14:00.000-04:00

The big news for today is that our basement bathroom is finally finished. This is the second bathroom in our house and the first is in need of a major overhaul, which is part of why we had the new one put in. (Not having a bathroom for unknown number of weeks ain't my idea of fun.) The tile is all in and everything works. It's not the most conveniently located bathroom in the world, but it seemed like the best option given the space we have and it works.

After getting pretty fed up with the one I had, I went out and bought a Mac keyboard for the Mini. It's a great improvement. My shortcut keys all work again and the extra USB ports allow me space to plug in my iPod. I started to install Creative Suite yesterday, but then I realized that I needed to install Photoshop first. It's not a huge deal, but I kind of lost enthusiasm for doing it that day. Maybe tomorrow.

I've also got some other pretty exciting news, but I think I'll save that until I have some pictures to go with it. Stay tuned.

Independence Update

2005-07-04T22:53:00.000-04:00

Whoops, sort of slacked off on updating this thing for a while there. Chalk it up to momentary peaks of busy interspersed between the usual valleys of lazy.

I guess the big news of late is my new computer. For a variety of reasons (not least of which was wanting to play World of Warcraft with my sister), I decided I needed my own computer. So I got a little Mac Mini, the desktop computer that's slightly larger than a CD case in length and width and just two inches high. It's about as powerful as the older computer (now completely Andrew's) with a few new bells and whistles. I bought it a few accessories and it's been running pretty well despite a brief hiccup due to the mouse's software and a keyboard that will likely need replacing. Of course, my sister's computer is currently out of commission, but at least I can get my new World of Warcraft character caught up to hers.

As it's the Fourth, I should wish a happy birthday to my dad. I called him with my well wishes earlier today and the present I want to give him should be arriving sometime this week.

We're getting into the final countdown for the San Diego Comic Con. It's our first year going, so we're excited and a tad overwhelmed. The full schedule just went up and there's tons of stuff I want to see, some of which overlaps. It's going to be really hard choosing between the Teen Titans Q&A and voice actor script reading and the Slave Labor Panel with Greg Weisman discussing the new Gargoyles comic. And that's not even factoring in all the other stuff I want to see and shop for.

I'll try to get back to more frequent blogging soon, but I make no guarantees until after my vacation.

Hot, Hot, Hot

2005-06-26T20:37:00.000-04:00

It's hardly original to complain about the weather, but this heat is pretty tough to ignore too. It was roughly in the high 90s today and that's been pretty near par for the course this summer. We do not have central air conditioning, but we do have a window unit in our bedroom and a relatively cool basement to retreat to when we're feeling overheated. I'm really more concerned about the animals. Terra the hamster tends to do pretty well as her ancestors came from the desert. (She did, however, give us a brief scare when she was resting outside of her cage earlier today.) The bunnies, however, just aren't built for this weather. To help them cool off, we mist them with a spray bottle of cold water, give them a bottle of ice, and keep the kitchen fan on for them. We even tried bringing them up to the bathroom today and putting a little cold water in the tub so they could splash around if they decided too. They didn't seem to care for it, but we did get to shop them how to hop down the stairs afterwards. We also try to brush them frequently, though that's harder than it sounds. Their fur is very light and fine and they shed a lot this time of year, making it tough to get anywhere close to everything with any kind of brush we've tried. Plus, neither of them will usually sit for it; the scars I have from Blitz's struggling last time we held her down for grooming are still faintly visible.

Aside from the heat, I'm doing OK. It does, however, seem like a lot of stuff is coming up all at the same time. I might, in theory, be able to deal with it separately, but piled up together, it's a bit much. You know what they say: when it rains, you get wet.

Oh, I should definitely mention that Jon graced us with both his presence and his famous souffle omlettes this morning. The heat and humidity made things a little complicated, but they were still delicious and definitely on my list of top omlettes. After breakfast, we watched a trailer DVD I had received with my copy of Nintendo Power with previews of all kinds of games. Andrew is starting to find the Nintendo DS very tempting.

Hope you're all staying cool.

"I Too Am In Suburbia"

2005-06-23T11:43:00.000-04:00

Two days ago, I discovered a dead pigeon outside of the building where I work. Either the building or the city has a potted plant next to the door for beautification purposes and the pigeon was lying right behind it. I didn't look to closely, but there were no obvious signs of injury, so I'm guessing the bird just settled down in the shady spot and passed away. At least, I hope so.

I do feel somewhat sad in situations like this even though I realize that they're natural and hardly uncommon. But when I come across a dead animal, I have a very definite gut reaction, in that my gut gets tight and I'm stuck between a desire to look away and an inability to do so. I'm not sure why this happens. Maybe it's the fact that it's unexpected and I never know how much carnage I'll end up seeing. Maybe it's related to something in my childhood; our cat Sheba would kill the occasional mouse and sometimes I'd come across the remains. Or going further back, maybe it's an instinct inherited from my distant ancestors who, upon coming across a dead creature, might well have become very concerned that whatever had killed it was still lurking around. Or possibly most likely, maybe I just don't like being reminded of my own mortality.

The strange thing is that I never have this reaction when I've had to deal with my own pets passing away. I certainly have a reaction; when our hamster Jinx died, I was upset to the point where it started to effect me physically. But we did make the decision to see her before we buried her. (The vet kindly wrapped her in a towel after he euthanized her, so there was the option not to.) Again, no tight gut or anything. It's possible that in these situations, I'm more prepared or too sad to have the usual reaction. Whatever the reason, I'm glad of it, because I think I needed the closure in that case.

Anyway, between the building owners and the town, the pigeon was taken away at some point. Which is good because there's a educational toy store two doors down from us and I imagine most kids would be pretty upset seeing a dead bird. And I'm not traumatized by it or anything. It never lasts more than a few seconds. It's just one of those things that gets me thinking, and that's what blogs are for, right? I do wonder how common it is for people to react like this when seeing a dead animal unexpectedly. Is it normal or is it just me?

Beyond Words

2005-06-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

(I did want to have pictures for this one, but I think it'll be easier if you just head to the official site, check out what they have, and go from there.)

I like to think of myself as a fairly articulate person most of the time, especially when I'm writing. But there are times when I'm so completely blown away by something that I'm quite literally at a loss for words. This seems to happen when I see Miyazaki films. I spent several minutes completely unable to say anything after seeing "Spirited Away" for the first time. I suppose that partially explains why it's taken me a few days after actually seeing it to try to write about "Howl's Moving Castle".

In the world of "Howl's Moving Castle", witches and wizards are common, but exist largely on the fringes of society. One particular wizard by the name of Howl travels about in a giant structure that walks about on spindly little legs and is rumored to devour the hearts of pretty young girls. Our heroine Sophie doesn't figure that she has much to fear from Howl; she's never thought of herself as pretty and her work at her late father's hat shop seldom leads her into danger. Nonetheless, she does end up getting mixed up with Howl, who seems much less dangerous than the rumors suggest. And shortly after, Sophie is transformed into an old woman by the much less pleasant Witch of the Wastes. Seeking a cure, Sophie leaves her home and ends up at the titular castle where she becomes Howl's cleaning lady.

So that gives you some idea of the story. But like a lot of Miyazaki's films, "Howl" is impossible to appreciate from just a plot synopsis. The story isn't just an excuse for the visuals as it tends to be in some anime. But it is definitely what makes Miyazaki's films truly breathtaking. Very few other animation studios so consistently show me things that I feel I've never seen before. Take the castle itself, for example. It looks like a mishmash of mechanical parts with occasional pieces of house sticking out of it and a vague face on the front. It's also the most convincing moving "background element" I've seen in animation. Its various components retain a 2D handcrafted look, unlike many oversimplified or overdetailed 3D elements in 2D films. And it has a very distinctive way of moving around, a trait which all of the characters seems to share. In this one film, you've got a fire demon with a mostly amorphous body, the grotesquely fat Witch of the Wastes whose rolls of fat are largely concentrated around her neck (or lack thereof), an enchanted scarecrow who bounces around on the stick that serves as his legs, and an aging dog who the elderly Sophie has to lug up a flight of stairs at one point. It's a very diverse cast of characters, yet they all still feel like they belong to the same world.

Another hallmark of Miyazaki's films is the level of detail. In "Howl" this ranges from the elaborate hats Sophie is working on at the start of the film (making her own plain hat seem all the more so), to the dust and cobweb strewn mess of most of Howl's castle that Sophie has to clean up, to the strange assortment of pendants and toys that clutter Howl's personal quarters. The result of all this detail is a world that you buy completely, one that you almost want to reach out and touch. I'd actually take deep breaths during scenes in wide open fields. The lushness of these places is just so convincing that I wanted to breathe it in on some level.

So to sum up my fairly obvious impressions, GO SEE THIS MOVIE. It's a work of art and an incredible experience.

Oh, and am I the only one who thinks that Howl is pretty hot?

Anyone?

hello?

At The Movies

2005-06-13T22:44:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I went to see "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". I realize this movie is not exactly breaking news, but we somehow never got around to seeing it when it was in the first run theaters. So we went to an evening showing at a second run place.

I've actually never read any of the Hitchhiker's Guide series. (I know, I'm a failure as a nerd.) Andrew was the one who really wanted to see it. I myself am more excited about Hayao Miyazaki's latest, "Howl's Moving Castle", which should be getting out of my dreams and into wide release this Friday. So I went in with a kind of "take it or leave it" attitude. Given all this, I did have a pretty fun time.

The "Hitchhiker's Guide" movie isn't going to change your life in any direction. It's not a total visual extravaganza, it's not mind-alteringly deep, and it's more subtly humorous than gut busting funny. But sometimes that's fine and this is one of those cases. It was kind of nice to see a movie that wasn't trying to wow me with special effects every other scene. Not to say that the effects aren't good, but they seem content to take a back seat to the story. The various aliens all looked good, though Marvin felt a little light in the weight department. The sets were nicely understated, the acting was solid and convincing, all in all it did it's job. I guess my one real complaint, though it's fairly light, is that most of the aliens did end up looking human. It kind of took away from the whole "Earth blew up and you're the last two humans in existence" thing. But again, I haven't read the book so I don't know how accurate this was.

So yeah, it's a fun view, if not really must see material. I'd recommend it.

Oh, and Andrew says the robot waiting in line is the Marvin design from the "Hitchhiker's Guide" TV show.

Clocks are Full of Elixir

2005-06-11T18:16:00.000-04:00

Confused? Well, I'm replaying an old favorite video game: Final Fantasy VI. It originally came out for the Super Nintendo and you may know it as Final Fantasy III. Y'see, back in the day, Japan actually had about three more Final Fantasy games that we in the States did. Japan's Final Fantasy IV was actually only the second game released here, so we knew it as Final Fantasy II. FFVI underwent a similar name change for it's US release. Then someone at Squaresoft apparently decided that life would be much easier if Final Fantasy games had the same number in Japan and America. So Final Fantasy VII was known as such worldwide, even though it had only been preceded by three games over here. And when Square started re-releasing some of the older FFs for the PlayStation and including some of the formerly Japan-only titles, they used the Japanese numbering.

So where was I? Oh yeah, the title. Well, one interesting thing about FFVI is that clocks are indeed full of elixir. Walk up to pretty much any wall clock in the game (there are a few exceptions), search it, and you're the proud owner of an elixir. Considering that elixirs fully restore your hit points and magic points, it's a pretty good deal. But there's only one elixir per clock, so it's not an endless supply.

I usually find that old RPGs are still a lot of fun. As I've said before, RPGs are heavily based around telling a story, which doesn't tend to date the way the graphics do. And since the fighting controls are menu based, you don't have problems with the controls not being as responsive as they are in modern games. Even though Final Fantasy games have stayed the same in a lot of ways over the years, it's fun to see changes in gameplay that either influenced a later game or never really showed up again.

Just in case you're getting the only half true impression that my life is nothing but video games and the internet, I did had something of a social life this week. Jen came by to visit yesterday. Since Jen now lives out in Michigan, I don't get to see that much of her these days. We were hoping to have some more people join us, but unfortunately, that didn't pan out. So we just hung out in my living room and chatted for a while. It was a good time, though it did remind me how little time I spend with any of my few girlfriends. It's not so much by choice; distance and time just seem to get in the way. I suppose I should probably make an effort to meet more women around my age, but I've realized that I don't know what women my age do.

Despite the very hot weather, Andrew and I are finally getting around to doing some much needed painting. He's working on the front door and I painted one of our basement windowsills. It's a bit of a slow process, but the heat does make the paint dry faster. We'll probably get some more done tomorrow.

....But It's Never Over.

2005-06-09T23:21:00.000-04:00

I hate conflicts. I know there are some people out there who get a kick out of arguing their viewpoints with others, but that's not me. Even really minor disagreements tend to upset me more than they should. I can deal with friendly debates, but that's really about it. Given the choice, I'd rather avoid the whole thing altogether.

But just because I don't like arguing doesn't mean I don't end up doing it on occasion. There are times when I'd really rather just let something slide, but there are times when someone pushes me a bit too far and I pretty much have to take some kind of a stand. I think I'm pretty good at articulating my views, I just don't have that much confidence in the very often. I like to believe that my ability to see another person's side of things is a positive trait, but it makes me pretty lousy in arguments.

Even when I do have some confidence in what I'm standing up for, I still hate arguing about it. No matter how much both parties try ( or claim to try) to keep things objective, there's always emotion in an argument. There probably wouldn't be an argument were that not the case. And the more emotion you get tied in, the less likely it is that there's ever going to be a solution. Both sides get emotionally attached to their positions, they start hearing what they want to believe the other person is saying, and nothing gets resolved.

Now I'm probably as guilty of this as anyone. Andrew has told me that I can be really nasty in a fight and he probably gets the worst of it since he lives with me. But I try. I try to listen, to stay relatively objective, to address the points the other person makes. But unfortunately, that's seldom a guarantee that the other person will extend the same courtesy to me.

As usual, no specifics, at least on the blog. It was kind of a rough day or two but we'll live. And I imagine I will be totally off this subject tomorrow. So stay tuned.

Over

2005-06-09T01:36:00.000-04:00

Two posts in one day. Weird, isn't it?

Well, the thing I was talking about earlier pretty much came to a head tonight and now it's pretty near done with. No one is physically hurt, Andrew and I are both pretty much OK in all respects. We've made a decision. It's not the outcome I would have preferred, but I think under the circumstances, it's for the best. Like I said, it's not a huge deal, nothing big and life changing, so don't worry. I still don't feel that it's appropriate to talk about it since the matter isn't totally resolved and I'm still fairly upset. I may well never air it on the blog. So just remember that everyone's OK and don't worry.

I Chase the Bright Elusive Butterfly of Sleep

2005-06-08T11:15:00.000-04:00

I guess this title is a little out of date. You see, I was going to write about how I couldn't sleep either Sunday or Monday night. But due to that fact, I was really too tired to make a post about it, especially yesterday evening. And having exhausted myself for two nights straight, I actually slept pretty well last night. And this after I'd thought up a nice post to make about sleeplessness and that metaphor from the commercial for some sleep aid pill where elusive sleep is represented by a butterfly. Oh well.

So why couldn't I sleep? I dunno. I figure it could be any number of things. The weather has suddenly become very hot and sudden changes in the weather tend to affect me adversely. We haven't moved our air conditioner down yet either and the fan we do have can be a bit noisy. I was also nervous about a couple of things Sunday night, though that wasn't really the case on Monday. Sometimes it's just that my brain refuses to shut up, even though it's run out of intelligent things to say.

Anyways, I'm feeling a lot better today, despite a brand new cause of stress rearing its ugly head last night and continuing into this morning. Its not something I think I should discuss here. What you think should and shouldn't go on your own blogs is your own business and I'm not about to tell you you're wrong. But my personal feeling is that this is not a diary and I can't just assume it's only being read by a few friends (even if that's probably the case). And no matter who's reading my blog, I feel it's generally best not to put feelings I'm having in the middle of a dispute out in the open where everyone can see them and they'll remain for the foreseeable future. However, I did hand write a rather lengthy synopsis of the issue in question in my sketchbook just for my own use. I've found that writing out all my thoughts on something can be rather therapeutic and I may actually have need of them sometime in the future. I'd also be fine discussing the issue privately if anyone is curious or concerned (though trust me, it's not that big a deal). I just don't want the whole thing roaming around the wilds of the internet.

Big Yellow Birds

2005-06-04T22:13:00.000-04:00

Andrew helped me make this avatar for the Atomic Underpants Message Boards. I imagine everyone who reads this (all three of you) already know that this is a chocobo, preferred mode of transportation of many in the Final Fantasy games. Oh sure, you almost invariably get an airship which is usually faster. But chocobos have more character. They can sometimes get to places where airships can't land. And they have their own theme song which has remained pretty consistent through the games.

Aside from letting you ride in style, chocobos have also been involved in several side quests which allow you to reap great rewards upon completion. One of the first was in Final Fantasy VII, which allowed you to raise, race, and breed the birds in order to hatch chocobos with the ability to cross different types of terrain. Final Fantasy IX allowed you to go on worldwide treasure hunts with a single chocobo. Final Fantasy VIII could have been a really great chocobo game, but the stupid PocketStation never came out in the States, so you never got to go adventuring with your little feathered friend.

There have also been two games released in the U.S. with a chocobo as the star. Chocobo's Dungeon 2 (the first one never got a U.S. release) had a rather cartoony chocobo working his way through the levels of a deep dungeon with various allies in tow. Chocobo Racing featured many of the same characters from Chocobo's Dungeon. Chocobo zips around on jet powered roller-skates and settles various disputes by racing. A version of the Chocobo's Dungeon chocobo as a coin bank sits atop my PS2 next to a plush Final Fantasy IX chocobo.

Before everyone gets completely sick of me going on about chocobos, here's an amusing little animation that Kim linked to on her blog. The tune is the famous Chocobo Song, but the lyrics are original. Enjoy.

Getting Back on Track

2005-06-03T15:26:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts as of late, but I have actually been somewhat busy. The Atomic Underpants Robot Contest, which Andrew was running, came to an end on Tuesday. And as the one of us who has a better understanding of HTML and GoLive, I was charged with putting the site together. It ain't perfect by any means, but I did manage to get everything up a day after the contest ended, which was pretty good. We're keeping it open to submissions, but without the deadline or the prize. So if you or anyone you know would like to do a one-page comic about robots, here's your chance.

The "Gargoyles" layout drawing I purchased came in the mail a few days ago. Based on what someone online told me and the size of it now that I have it in hand, it is definitely a layout drawing and not a storyboard. Storyboards are much smaller and "Gargoyles" apparently used the format where the boards were drawn on xeroxed templates. It looks really nice, though these is a crease down the middle. Art for features tends to get archived or at least treated very well these days, but I imagine no one realized that TV show layout drawings would ever be sold to rabid fans someday. The cel is not here yet' it was sent back to studio for repairs on the linework, which I was told would be necessary. The people at Van Eaton Galleries seem really nice; I almost wish I could buy things from them more often.

I've got a few more random things I want to talk about, but I think I'll save them for future posts. Stay tuned.

Thank You, Jon (Again)

2005-05-30T22:08:00.000-04:00

I know I already gave a shout out to Jon when he pointed me in the direction of the soundtrack to my beloved "Final Fantasy VII". Well, now Jon has helped me to expand my little iPod mini's musical vocabulary. Quite a bit. To the point where I could probably go to the gym for several weeks without repeating anything whatsoever. Now there is some stuff on here that likely won't be accompanying me to my workouts. (And I probably could have led a perfectly happy life without ever hearing William Shatner's cover of "Mr. Tambourine Man".) But the majority of what I've listened to or found so far is pretty awesome, and that definitely includes the orchestral Super Mario Bros. Theme.

So thanks, Jon. I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoyed the food and "God of War".

The "Revolution" Starts at an Undetermined Date in 2006

2005-05-28T23:38:00.000-04:00

E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo, I believe), the video game industry's big shindig to show off shwag, is over. Has been for a while, in fact. Granted I haven't followed every update or kept up with every revelation. But what I did see was pretty interesting. There's a lot of games coming out, like "Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess, Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts 2, Nintendogs, and a bunch of other games that I'm either very interested in or definitely going to buy someday.

But of course, the big news was the next generation consoles. The first story to break was the XBox 360, followed by the PlayStation 3. And last but hopefully not least, there was Nintendo. Along with a new iteration or two on the GameBoy, Nintendo gave the public a preview look at its new system, codenamed the Revolution. Now it doesn't seem like the Revolution is quite as far along in development as its competitors; fans mostly got a looks at the box and a few tantalizing bits of info about what it's going to be able to do. From what I've seen and read, this has the potential to be a big step in the right direction for Nintendo, but there's still a few things that may end up holding it back.

The Good:

Backwards compatibility, All the way backwards - In what may be their smartest move with the Revolution, Nintendo announced that not only will the new system be able to play GameCube discs, it will also give you access to N64, SNES, and NES games. Through the Revolution's online capabilities, players will be able to download older games to play on their new system. Nintendo is reportedly even talking to other companies in an effort to get non-Nintendo titles made for the old systems into the library of available games. There's no word yet on what, if anything, this service will cost. But if Nintendo can keep the price reasonable, it'll help to take a big bite out of the emulator market.

It's Online - The GameCube really got left behind when it came to online gaming, with essentially only one title to make your modem worthwhile. But no more. The Revolution will be able to go online and the only title announced for its launch - a new version of "Super Smash Bros." - will make use of this feature. (Kim, if we both get the system and this game, we can play "Smash Bros." together all the time!!!

Normal Sized Discs and DVD - finally. The shape of their software was another problem that held Nintendo back in the console wars. While the first PlayStation doubled as a CD player and the PS2 and XBox could both handle your DVDs as well, Nintendo brought up the rear with cartridges and mini-discs. Now Nintendo has shown that the Revolution will take full sized discs and - with the aid of a separately purchased peripheral - be able to play DVDs as well.

Wireless Controllers - This looks like it's going to be the standard for next-gen systems; XBox 360 is definitely wireless out of the box and it looks like the PS3 will be as well. But after Nintendo missed out on so many opportunities in the past, it's nice to see them getting in on the ground floor with their competitors.

It's Cheaper (Maybe) - One of those most tempting tidbits about the Revolution is that Nintendo is going to try to launch it at under $200 retail. This could give the system a major boost if the 360 and the PS3 debut at higher prices. I'm not going to hold my breath on this one, but it'll be pretty cool if they can make it happen.

The Bad:

Timing - XBox 360 us due out sometime this November. PlayStation 3 is supposed to come out in March of next year. The Revolution . . . well, we're not quite sure yet. Like I said, Nintendo's newest system still seems like it has a ways to go before it's really ready for the public. So it's a good guess that the Revolution will be the last of the next-gen consoles to debut. If gamers decide that they want a new system sooner rather than later, Nintendo could get burned.

The Dumb Hint about the Controller - probably the biggest mystery surrounding the Revolution is its as yet unseen controller. Nintendo says this is the feature that will really make the Revolution revolutionary. But details on what makes it so special are few and far between. Which is fine. But Nintendo's on hint about the new controller strikes me as kind of dumb. They're saying we should think about the fact that it needs to be able to play games from all of Nintendo's past consoles. Well guess what? I can already do that on my GameCube controller! So it's hardly a helpful hint. (Andrew however, has made a guess that it's going to be an LCD touchscreen that can show any number of different button configurations. Just a guess, since neither of us know anything more than the general public.)

It's a Smaller System - By Nintendo's own admission, the Revolution is just not going to be as powerful as its competitors. It's designed to be a smaller, more affordable system that's accessible for the whole family. If Nintendo can keep the price low at launch, this might work out for them. But still, potential buyers may be tempted away by the 360 and PS3.

So that's my layman's view of the Revolution, from what's been said so far. There's a lot of factors that are still up in the air that could tip the scale in one direction or the other: launch titles, prices for downloading old games, third party support, and what that mysterious controller ends up being. I'll keep you informed if I hear anything new. But for now, the Revolution is looking interesting at the very least.

But It's So Pretty!

2005-05-27T23:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I bought something today. Two somethings. And they're not exactly inexpensive either. But this was one of those rare opportunities that doesn't come around all that often. And I think I'd be kicking myself if I hadn't taken it.

I bought this:

Also this:

Now really, how often am I going to have the chance to buy original artwork from "Gargoyles", my very favorite animated TV show? Not many, I'd say. There were quite a few other cels and drawings to choose from and it was not an easy decision. (To my very slight credit, these are nowhere near the most expensive they had.) What I like about this cel is that it's a multi character composition and they're all on model, but it's not too perfect like a sericel. (Sericels are those limited edition cels depicting popular scenes from movies and TV shows or sometimes simply groups of characters. Production cels are the real deal; cels that were actually used in the animation process.) It also shows them breaking out of stone, which is something unique to this show and its characters. The drawing (which is either a storyboard or a layout drawing, I'm not sure yet) may not be a perfect match to the cel, but it's definitely the same scene. And I really love Angela turning and smiling at Bronx, even if it's not in the final scene.

So now I own artwork from "Gargoyles" and all that's left is to atone for having spent the money. I have promised myself and Andrew to lay off the big ticket purchases. But I should probably think about selling some stuff as well. Or maybe I could fast.

Gray Days

2005-05-25T19:15:00.000-04:00

I know, complaining about the weather is pretty pointless, as there's very little you can do about it. Yet, here we are. If you happen to live in Massachusetts (and most of the people I know to be reading this do), you know that the weather has just been really lousy lately. It's cold, it's gray, it's wet, and it's not going away. The odd thing is that I often like rain, though not necessarily being in it. I especially like thunderstorms (part of the inspiration for my blog's title). But this is just several days of thick clouds and little showers here and there. Nothing really dramatic; just kind of depressing. The kind of weather where you'd rather just stay in bed in the morning because anything you have to do seems pointless and too hard. (I skipped the gym today, on Andrew's suggestion. Probably going tomorrow.)

So what did we do on our dreary Wednesday? After work, Andrew picked me up and we went to get comics. Later on, we had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, which just opened near us. I am slightly addicted to cheesecake, so going to a place with possibly the world's widest selection of cheesecakes is somewhat dangerous. We both had sandwiches and each took half home. I finally settled on a slice of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cheesecake (I think that's the order it went in) which was the longest name on the menu and extremely tasty. The prices weren't too bad either, so we had a good time.

Oh, and we watched some of the commentary on the Batman DVD last night. Fun stuff, as usual. The commentary for "Read My Lips" included Michael Reaves, one of my favorite TV writers who's been all over television animation, including "Gargoyles". Oftentimes, Andrew and I get into a minor dispute because he like going straight to the commentary track for TV shows we've seen before and I like to watch them straight first to refresh my memory. But I saw these Batman episodes so many times they're pretty much ingrained in my head, so I didn't object to watching the commentary right away,

The march of DVDs continues. It looks like "Danger Mouse: Seasons 1 and 2" is coming out next week. How am I going to watch all these DVDs? Where will I put them? Is this really a problem I should be complaining about? Probably not.

In Brief

2005-05-24T23:11:00.000-04:00

Got home from visiting Tim and his kitties a little late, so I'm kind of beat. The iPod works great at the gym. "Demon Days" seems pretty good so far. I'm just about to head upstairs to watch my Batman DVD. I wish this rain would stop so I can go get comics tomorrow.

Tuesday Anticipation

2005-05-24T09:53:00.000-04:00

With a title like this, you can tell it's been a slow day.

But regardless, Tuesdays are often pretty cool. New DVDs, music, and video games all tend to come out on Tuesday. And this week looks like it's going to be a lot of fun for me. Two items I've been eagerly anticipating are coming out. Specifically...

Gorillaz - Demon Days

I wish I could find a picture to go with this that I felt OK about snatching; I'm probably overly cautious about taking images off the web without explicit permission. Anyway, Gorillaz is probably completely unique in that I enjoy the visual aspects of the band's products as much as - if no more than - their music. Don't get me wrong, I really like the songs too and "Feel Good Inc." gets stuck in my head for about three days every time I hear it (in a good way). But it's the illustration and animation that really gets me jazzed. If you haven't seen the video for "Feel Good Inc. yet, I suggest you stop reading this immediately and go see it now. It's some of the best animation I've seen in quite a while.

Also...

Batman: The Animated Series - Volume 3

(Linking to IMDB because Warner Brothers' Batman:TAS site is pretty craptacular.)

This - it seems - is the last of the episodes of this spectacular show's run. (I'm 99% certain some of them were run under the "Adventures of Batman and Robin" name, but it's still all before the move to WB and the style change for "The New Batman/Superman Adventures".) Quite simply, for me, this IS Batman. Forget Michael Keaton, forget Val Kilmer, and please for the love of all that is good, forget George Clooney. (Well, not entirely. Just in that movie.) At this point, I can't even remember if I saw any of the movies before I saw this show or not, but no matter. This is what shaped my view of who Batman is and what he's all about. Granted, this particular box set contains the worst Batman: TAS episode ever ("The Terrible Trio"), but it also has some of the best, like "The Demon's Quest", "Sideshow", "Showdown", "Harlequinade", and "Harley's Holiday". (I'll be happy to summarize these episodes for anyone who might be curious.) Plus, the DVD has sweet, sweet commentary, including a video commentary that I'm looking forward to. All in all, the nostalgia shall be heavy in the air.

So if I don;t get a post done tomorrow, you'll know why.

iPod!

2005-05-23T09:31:00.000-04:00

iPod!

iPod iPod iPod! iPod iPod iPod! iPod iPod iPod, iPod!!

iPod! (mini)

So if you've been keeping up since my LiveJournal blog, you know that I had a deal with Andrew, where if I went to the gym regularly and stuck with it, I could get an iPod. As you've probably guessed, I have been very good and gone to the gym at least twice a week, usually three times. So today, we went out and I bought an iPod mini. I went with the smaller mini as it's less expensive and I don't atnicipate needing more than 1,000 songs or so with me at any one time. I put the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack on it to test it out and it only took up a teeny bit of the iPod's total capacity. (I'll probably take most of it off eventually. I don't really need every track with me all the time.)

After that, I spent the evening importing CDs I like into iTunes for future listening. I imagine it will bring me closer to my CD collection, which I don't normally listen to that often. It's also helped me to notice a few boxes without discs in them. (Have you seen my copy of the "Kill Bill Vol. 2" soundtrack?)

Anyway, the iPod seems to work quite well, though I haven't tried out all of its features yet. The earphones appear to be staying in when I shake my head around, so I'm hoping they'll stay in through my workout. I'll keep you posted once I've taken it for a "field test".

Random

2005-05-20T22:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the lack of post yesterday. We ended up going to a midnight showing of "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" so between that, work, going to the gym, and visiting Les, I was not home much. And when I did get home, I just wanted to collapse. My post for today was going to be about Episode III, but Andrew requested that I post something I said today. So . . .

"The worst kind of chocolate croissant is one where you bite into it and realize that all the chocolate is kind of solidified in one corner and the rest is just hollow and empty inside and then you feel hollow and empty inside."

Thank you.

Sitting Through "Sith": A Review

2005-05-20T19:17:00.000-04:00

As I said last time around, we went to see "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" at a midnight showing. We weren't planning on doing this; in fact we waited and saw a midday showing of "Attack of the Clones" a week or so after it came out. But due to a snafu, our friend Tim had two tickets that weren't attached to anyone. So we went.

Now before I get into the actual movie, I would like to say that going to the midnight show was actually a very pleasant experience. When we did the same thing with "Phantom Menace" back when we were living in Savannah, it was much less so: huge throngs of people, hot, bright spotlights from the news crews, and all kinds of complaining from the audience. The audience we saw it with was much more pleasant. Sure, there were people in costume and guys with lightsabers, but no one was being obnoxious or anything. Plus, movie theater employees brought popcorn and drinks in while we were waiting in the theater, for a dollar each no less. I'm glad that seeing the first showing of the last Star Wars film was such a good experience atmosphere-wise.

OK, the movie. So the verdict is . . . I'm really excited for "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe".

Yeah, I know, I've stalled long enough. But it is kind of tough to sum up how I felt about "Sith". If I had to choose between "I liked it" or "I hated it", I'd say I liked it. It's definitely the best of the three prequels, though that isn't saying a lot. But sadly, there are still some pretty big flaws.

Visually, this is definitely the strongest of the three prequels. We get a nice big space battle in the beginning and the CG works pretty well for the most part. Pretty much all the battle scenes are fun to watch. This also delivers on being the very dark movie we were promised. Most of the Jedi we've been introduced to through the past two movies die onscreen and though it isn't actually shown, it's made very clear that Anakin slaughters the children in the Jedi temple. Some of the acting has improved from the previous two films. The script actually surpassed my expectations in some places. I had been concerned that Anakin would come off as rather stupid and side with Palpatine before figuring out who he really was, not understanding the truth until it was too late. So I was pleasantly surprised that Anakin actually uncovers Palpatine as the Sith lord prior to joining with him. The clueless role then falls, unfortunately, to Padme. Oh, and there's almost no Jar Jar.

Poor Padme seems to be at the root of a lot of "Sith"s problems. Unfortunately, the romantic dialogue hasn't improved any. You believe that these characters are in love largely because you have to. Even the hardcore midnight showing audiences still laughed at all the Anakin and Padme scenes. Padme's role and strength as a character has been reduced to almost nothing. Her main concerns now are with starting a family and trying to pry information from her troubled husband. (On a side note, I really don't want to hear a Star Wars character talk about "fixing up the baby's room". It just seems so mundane. The scene could have conveyed Padme's excitement about the baby's impending arrival just as well without the line.) I wasn't expecting her to take up a lightsaber and start slicing up clone troopers. But in the previous films, she was an active participant in the battles. And she's still a senator. In the scene where Palpatine ends the republic and establishes the empire, she has a little line about democracy ending to the sounds of applause, but we don't see her standing up and protesting formally or anything. By the end of the movie, her unwavering love for Anakin just seems pathetic.

Andrew and I were discussing after the movie how "Star Wars" is in the rather unique position of having characters and concepts built up by its merchandise. The big example of this backfiring was Darth Maul, who was on virtually every piece of Episode I product and gained an aura almost as big as Darth Vader. But when the actual film premiered, Maul really didn't have the presence or the lines to back up the status he had gained. While there aren't any characters in Episode III for whom perception and reality are that greatly different, the same thing is going on. Take General Grievous for example. There's tons of merchandise featuring this alien cyborg and building up his reputation as a killer of Jedi who takes their lightsabers as trophies. And if you happen to watch the "Clone Wars" cartoon explaining the events between Episodes II and III, you get to see him in all his vicious glory. But in the actual movie, he's introduced with a vaguely Russian accent and a lingering cough. He's looked on by the Jedi as a coward who's constantly running away. He just never really rises to the level you expect him to. Same thing goes for the wookies in general. You'd think from the merchandise and advertising that they have a pretty big role in the film. But they actually have a pretty minor role and their inclusion seems to be more about getting a Chewbacca cameo into the movie.

If you enjoyed Episodes I and II, I imagine you'll love "Revenge of the Sith". If not, it is an improvement, but it doesn't make the first two films any more worthwhile. It's an OK flick, but it's deeply flawed movie that still lacks the charm and wonder of the original trilogy.

Animation Talk: Sure To Be the First of Many

2005-05-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

Take the Last Exit to Springfield for all your Simpsons needs.

As of today, I've got a good sized chunk of animation stuff to talk about. So let's get going, shall we?

First on the agenda is "The Simpsons". I know there's been a lot of talk already about whether the show is just past its prime or really going downhill at top speed. Putting that aside, I want to talk about something that I noticed on Sunday night. For anyone who hasn't been watching FOX lately, the network has a new block of Sunday night programming known as "Animation Domination" which launched just a few weeks ago. "Animation Domination" consists of two episodes of "The Simpsons", the revived "Family Guy", and new series "American Dad". ("King of the Hill" is currently separated from the Domination by "Malcolm in the Middle" for some reason.) So last Sunday, I was checking the info on the latest episodes, and what do I see? The second "Simpsons" is the season finale!

Now granted, "The Simpsons" may no longer be the anchor for FOX's Sunday night lineup. But what could the programmers have been thinking? Now they're either going to have to make a change to the "Animation Domination" lineup scant weeks after its premiere or treat us to a double dose of reruns every Sunday. Prior to the new lineup's launch, we got maybe two or three new "Simpsons" episodes in a row with reruns and movies filling the weeks between. But once the new animation block debuted, FOX seemed all too happy to race through its limited supply of remaining new episodes. This seems like an extremely dumb move that will only weaken the lineup's appeal. Maybe what we're seeing is the beginning of the end. Maybe FOX realizes that the show's golden years are behind it and is getting ready to call it quits. But even if that's the case, this move seems like it will hurt the lineup FOX has put so much effort into promoting.

Groupshot from Station 8 Gargoyles

All right, how about some happier news? After a somewhat underpromoted release of its first season on DVD, it looks like "Gargoyles" may be getting a second season DVD. A representative of 3oh!5 Creative - a company that Disney uses for DVD production - started showing up on the boards of "Gargoyles" fan sites asking what fans wanted to see for special features on a Season 2 DVD. Greg Weisman (one of the series' creators who answers fans' questions over at Station 8) confirmed that this guy was legit and the show's fans collectively jumped for joy. Mind you, there's been no official announcement from Disney, so nothing's set in stone (sorry) yet. But this little revelation means the chances for "Gargoyles" - Season 2 on DVD are looking very, very good.

Finally, I've been looking at the special features on the "Pocahontas" DVD Andrew got me recently. I'm well aware that this is not many people's favorite Disney film for numerous reasons, many of which I don't disagree with. But the movie does have one big thing going for it, that being GLEN KEANE. My first favorite animator not only did supervising animation on the main character (and if you try to tell me that the animation on Pocahontas isn't good . . . well, I'll just tell you you're wrong. 'cause you are.), he also worked on the film's storyboards. The result was some beautiful pen and ink sketches and tons of spectacular charcoal drawings, which is what I'm enjoying on the DVD at the moment. If you've never had the pleasure of seeing the concept art for this movie, you should check it out. Beautiful stuff.

I really wanted to have a nice Glen Keane drawing to go with this part of the post. But there don't seem to be many online, my coffee table book is too big to scan, and I can't capture from my DVD here. So instead, here's an interesting little story by my boss (of sorts) about how and why the development of "Pocahontas" started out very differently and then took a sudden U-turn, resulting in the film we have today.

Thanks for indulging my long-windedness. I'll try to do something short tomorrow.

And Now, The Bunnies

2005-05-16T21:11:00.000-04:00

Andrew requested that I write something about our rabbits. And since I do find them an interesting topic of conversation, I'm obliging.

For about a year and a half, we've shared our home with two bunnies. Their names are...

Larry

and

Blitz

Much like cats, rabbits tend to be happiest living in pairs (or sometimes larger groups). They're very social creatures and enjoy having a friend to interact with when their people are away or busy. Larry and Blitz were already a bonded pair when we adopted them from the House Rabbit Network, which saved us the trouble of having to introduce two bunnies. They're very sweet to each other (most of the time) and a lot of fun to watch.

Larry and Blitz live in a large dog crate in our kitchen. The kitchen was the easiest room in the house to clean and to shut off from the rest of the house. The big dog crate gives them a home base with plenty of room to lounge around, as they're demonstrating in this photo. It also makes sure that they stay safe and out of trouble while we're out of the house or sleeping. They are litterbox trained and are pretty good about remembering to use it. We give them lots of cardboard and other fun toys to keep them busy in and out of the cage.

Both of our bunnies were named before we got them. Larry has two brothers who were at one time known as Curly and Moe. Larry is a dwarf rabbit, which is why he's significantly smaller than Blitz. This also makes him much easier to pick up, a fact that he sometimes resents. Once you're actually holding him though, he's generally well behaved. Sometimes he even enjoys sitting with people and shows his appreciation with bunny kisses. Larry is definitely the more adventurous of the two. If we leave the kitchen door open, he's almost always the first to hop out. If he's in the right mood, he'll perform a dance in the front hallway.

Blitz is a pretty grey rabbit with a bit of an attitude. She absolutely hates being picked up and tends to struggle and nip if you try to hold her. But she's also more receptive to pats than Larry, especially when she's in the cage. Blitz usually prefers to stay close to the back of the kitchen, but she'll sometimes venture out into the living room with Larry. She's very good at getting on top of the cage. She loves getting treats and Andrew was able to teach her to go "up" and "down" with voice commands for a raisin reward.

Check out the House Rabbit Network website for more about rabbits and rabbit care.

Final Fantasy VII: And So the Madness Began

2005-05-15T19:43:00.000-04:00

Image from Final Fantasy Shrine

Listening to the soundtrack to Final Fantasy VII over the past few days has me on a nostalgia trip. Hard to believe that it's been almost eight years since my very favoritest video game had its US release. I didn't get it right away; not for a while in fact. At the time, I didn't even own a PlayStation. I had played FFII and owned FFIII, but much as the movie trailer-like ads for the new game intrigued me, I didn't see myself shelling out for anew system. I figured I'd just stick with my Super Nintendo and let the next generation of consoles pass me by.

This plan fell apart around Christmas. Andrew and I had been dating for about a year then and he apparently felt that what I needed in the way of a present was a PlayStation and Final Fantasy VII. He was, of course, right and from the very beginning I was completely enthralled. While I already liked the Final Fantasy series, this was the game that solidified my addiction.

The fact that FFVII was the first PlayStation game I ever played may be part of the reason I loved it so much. But I did have a freebie demo disc of various other games and none of them seemed to come close to what FFVII provided. Square was clearly king at the time when it came to graphics. And by this point, I think I was developing a preference for the RPG. I still like various other game genres and every now and then I need to take a break and have some mindless fun (hence "God of War"). But I love the depth of story that the RPGs provide and the fact that your reward for completing a task is either story progress or beautiful cutscenes, or even both. FFVII provided deep story and incredible visuals in spades with the added benefit of chocobos.

Time is not kind to video game visuals. What is groundbreaking for its time often becomes primitive and clunky in the space of a few years. Still, the original impact of Final Fantasy VII's graphics has stayed with me. And the story remains on of the best loved narratives in the entire series. It's a fact that Square-Enix clearly realizes, given the upcoming release of Final fantasy: Advent Children, a direct to DVD sequel to FFVII. As for me, I'm surprised how easily the score of FFVII can take me back to specific moments in the game, from the house full of cats in Wutai to Red XIII stumbling around in his soldier disguise to chocobo racing at the Gold Saucer. While I'm always excited by new advances in video game technology and ever more stunning graphics, Final Fantasy VII will always have a place on my video game shelf.